“It didn’t take much to buy a House vote, only about $130 billion in so-called sweeteners,” says Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party candidate for president, referring to the 58 members of Congress who changed their vote from 'no' to 'yes' in support of the bailout bill. “So now the House has joined the Senate in taking $700 billion-plus worth of Main Street’s money to bail-out Wall Street. Congress spent money it doesn’t have to get reluctant members to vote even more money that they don’t have."

"When will it end?” asks Barr.

“The bailout was supposed to pacify the markets, but the stock market dropped after the bill’s passage," Barr continues. "And no wonder; the 2008 federal deficit ran more than $400 billion. Even without the bailout, Washington will run up a half-trillion in red ink in 2009. The national debt already is $9.5 trillion, with the debt ceiling now pushed to $11.3 trillion. Toss on top of that the total unfunded liabilities for Social Security and Medicare, which exceed $100 trillion,” observes Barr. “Again, when will it end?” Barr asks.

“The bailout will set back the economy’s recovery. It tosses good money after bad. It also punishes companies that attempt to work through their problems without taxpayer largess. Now only a fool will take tough steps to clean up his firm’s balance sheet," Barr explains.

"Instead, they will put in a call to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to ask for help,” notes Barr. “Moreover, Congress is creating a bailout culture. No matter how foolish or irresponsible a borrower, lender, or investor may be, they can count on the government to bail them out,” observes Barr.

“Congress already has approved money for the automakers. How long before other industries begin lining up in Washington with their hands outstretched? Congress will have no good argument to use in saying 'no,'” warns Barr.

“Finally, who will bail out Washington when the government can no longer pay its bills?" asks Barr. "What happens when the Chinese stop buying America’s debt? If Uncle Sam can’t learn to say 'no,' the entire financial house of cards will soon collapse,” Barr says.

“Congress must say 'no' more. There must be no more special interest bailouts. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac must be privatized. There must be no more government pressure on banks to increase lending. We need oversight and transparency at the Federal Reserve. Political meddling in the economy must come to an end,” notes Barr.

“Neither the Republicans nor Democrats can be trusted to protect the taxpayers,” warns Barr. “Sen. John McCain called the bailout a ‘rescue’—a rescue of the most irresponsible and short-sighted borrowers, lenders and investors in America. This is the politics-as-usual railroad, not the Straight-Talk Express. Yet again, those who scream loudest and contribute the most money have their voices heard in Washington. Only a vote for Bob Barr and the Libertarian Party will change the Washington operates,” says Barr.

Libertarian Party presidential candidate Bob Barr represented the 7th District of Georgia in the U. S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003.

"Sen. John McCain claims he can provide leadership, but he panicked in the face of cries that the sky is falling from Wall Street investors who made bad investments, and the taxpayers are going to pay over $700 billion for his lack of leadership," says Libertarian Party Presidential Nominee Bob Barr.

"Sen. McCain claims he will change Washington by eliminating 'earmarks', but he just voted for more than $103 billion dollars of bold-faced earmarks," says Barr.

"Sen. McCain claims he will change the way things are done in Washington, but he railroaded a $700 billion Wall Street bailout through the Senate with no study or debate, no alternative and no special interest left behind," Barr continues.

"Sen. McCain claims he can act in a bipartisan manner, but his actions on the Wall Street bailout bill shows he acts in a bipolar manner," says Barr.

There were no fireworks so a lot of people probably missed it. We even forgot to mention it here on The Swamp when it happened though we saw the reports. Anyway, on the last day of September, the national debt hit $10 trillion plus.

President Bush signed legislation in July that raised the debt ceiling to $10.615 trillion. Meanwhile, the financial bailout legislation passed by the Senate last night would raise the debt ceiling further to $11.315 trillion.

Here's something else worth knowing. The gross national debt as a percentage of the gross domestic product has, under the Bush Administration, hit a 50-year high. The following two charts illustrate the trend nicely.

...In the future, I'll be looking at other wine regions, but today I want to focus on France. Even with the pitiful exchange rate, France is the greatest source of wine bargains in the world.

Price and value are, of course, two entirely different things. Price is simple. It is the amount of money that you are willing to pay for a bottle of wine. Value is dependent on price, and far more complicated. It brings us back to those subjective, flashpoint issues of style, taste and preference, and it forces people to ask themselves what they want out of a wine.

Nowadays, most $10 wines are decent, by which I mean palatable, without obvious flaws or problems. For many people, these wines are entirely satisfying. Others might wish for something better but are not willing to pay more, so they settle for wines like these.

I wouldn't argue with either group. But I no more want to drink boring wines than eat dull food. I want intrigue and discovery, excitement and the sort of pleasure that compels me to drink, drink again and pour another glass.

Have I ever found a wine like this for $10 and under? Sure. But I haven't found very many recently. For $5 or $10 more, though, the possibilities abound.

It more or less comes down to status and economics. These days, wines under $10 are generally the result of mass production and economies of scale. Wines made in that manner can be decent but are rarely exciting. Wines made on a smaller scale by vignerons have far greater potential to excel. Of course, they cost more to make, which rules out most of the higher status regions. I did find a very good 2005 red Bourgogne from Jérôme Chezeaux, but I think it was a fluke.

It's much easier to find cheap wine from Bordeaux than Burgundy, but I didn't find a lot to recommend. The real treasures lie in areas thought to be of lesser status.

Let's take Beaujolais, for example, the definitive cheap French red wine. For many people Beaujolais means Georges Duboeuf, the producer who dominates the market. But even Duboeuf's flower label series, entry wines to the cru villages of Beaujolais like Brouilly, Fleurie or Morgon, are now $10 to $15. They can be solid, enjoyable wines, though I often find them too sweet. But, oh, what a difference a few more dollars makes!

Pierre Chermette of Domaine du Vissoux makes some great cru Beaujolais that are, alas, more than $20. But his plain Beaujolais 2007, the lowest-level appellation, is a captivating, absolutely refreshing wine that I found for $14.99. I don't think I would ever get tired of drinking it, or other Beaujolais wines, like a light, juicy 2006 Côte de Brouilly from Jean-Paul Brun ($15.99) or a graceful, complex 2006 Morgon Vieilles Vignes from Daniel Bouland ($19.99).

Beaujolais is made with the gamay grape, which is grown in few other places in the world. One area with a small amount of gamay is the Loire Valley, which may be France's greatest region for wine bargains. For the past few years my Thanksgiving red for the big crowd at our family celebrations has been the Touraine gamay from Clos Roche Blanche. The 2007 gamay, which I found for $15.99 (it was around $10 three or four years ago) is exhilarating to drink, with its earthy, minerally flavors and great gamay fruit....