I found the link to this New York Times article on MSNBC this morning.  Reading it I got the sinking feeling that we may look back on the year of hanging chads with some nostalgia.  Over the last seven years I have read several articles about concerted efforts by, usually, Republican officials in Red states trying to trim the voter rolls, usually, to the detriment of the Democrats.  Though the NYT did not find evidence of an intentional bias, I am such a suspicious old biddy that I can't help but wonder.

This article from the International Herald Tribune boils down the reasons why all the frantic activity of governments around the world may not put our shattered financial system back together.  At least not to the extent that we can resume the business that has been normal for the past forty or so years.  Over the last few years, when Mom and I discuss the economic events over our morning coffee or evening news programs, I have often asked: what happens to a consumer driven economy when the consumer can no longer consume?  We may be on the verge of finding out given that the lion's share of consumption in the recent past has been facilitated by debt (credit cards, retail loans, student loans, and home equity loans.)

Continuing Friday, October 10. Above written Thursday.

As an adjunct to the above cited New York Times article take a look at Eric Altermann's 'Think Again' column here.  I have often thought over the last few years, since George Bush was elected, that much of the charges of voter fraud by Republicans was designed to reduce the number of Democrats, reduce the number of minorities and poor who often vote Democrat, and to frighten the groups trying to bring eligible but previously unregistered voters into the process.