Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, began at Sundown last night and continues to sundown tomorrow. It marks the beginning of the ten high holy days a year for those of the Jewish Faith. It ends with Yom Kippur, a solemn day of atonement, accompanied by fasting. There's usually a celebratory meal called the break-fast when Yom Kippur ends at sundown. Observant Jews go to temple for both days. Others take the day off from work and think about the holidays or do other things. [More...]

The Dow had its worst drop in two decades today -770 points. I don't have any investments, but my mother has a modest amount that is used to pay for her nursing home care. Last week her account was dropping thousands a day, except for the day it was announced an agreement had been reached. Today, she lost many more thousands.

That strikes me as pretty serious. I do believe the market comes back eventually, but how much more can people afford to lose?

Alaska's Senator Ted Stevens would be an entertaining caricature if he were not actually a senator. His trial is suddenly beset with unexpected drama. What did you expect?

Prosecution witness Rocky Williams, "a construction foreman who was involved in renovations on Stevens’s home," contacted defense lawyers over the weekend and gave them critical evidence that the prosecution had not revealed.

Defense lawyers said Williams told them he spent much less time working on Stevens’s home than Veco’s accounting records indicate. That evidence, they said, “gravely undercuts” the government’s argument that Veco spent $188,000 of its own money on Stevens’s house.

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If you have a helmet -- bicycle, motorcycle, military, safety, whatever -- put it on. Markets around the world are falling, at least for the moment.

Asia Stocks Fall in Worst Rout for 21 Years as Bailout Rejected

Australia Stocks Tumble as Bailout Fails, Sparking Credit Fears

The president announced that the administration's "strategy is to continue to address this economic situation head-on." That is sooooo reassuring. President Bush will make "a statement on the financial-rescue package" tomorrow morning. What could he possibly say at this point that anyone would take seriously? [more ...]

Here is Barney Frank's priceless reaction to House GOP Leader John Boehner saying Republicans voted against the bailout bill because Nancy Pelosi hurt their feelings:

You gotta love Barney Frank.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Via Atrios, Dem option 4:

#4 -- Get More Democrats On Board: Finally, one other unlikely option talked about on Capitol Hill is to try to pass the bill almost entirely with the Democratic majority in the House. That would require adding a major stimulus package favored by Democrats, infrastructure spending, unemployment insurance spending, and heating and food stamp assistance for low-income Americans.

Um, why unlikely? Today changed everything. The Dems reached out and got their hands slapped. The Republicans do not want to be bipartisan. Nancy, Harry, Barney, you tried. Now you have to act for the American People. Time for Option 4.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Of all the reasons to oppose John McCain, the liberal blogger meme developing that he voted against Joe Biden's 1994 Omnibus Crime Bill is among the silliest and most misinformed.

H.R.3355, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, was one of the worst bills ever passed. The Republicans voted against it largely because it contained the ban on semi-assault weapons and represented a mass and over-federalization of state crimes.

Tucked among the provisions providing for more than 60 new death penalty offenses, $9.7 billion for new prisons, authorization of more prosecution of juveniles as adults, elimination of educational Pell grants to low income prison inmates, limitations on federal funds to states that didn't require offenders to serve 85% of their sentences, creation of a federal three-strikes law, limits on bail for those accused of sex offenses, criminalizing membership in a street gang, ratcheting up drug and other crime penalties and creating 50 new federal crimes, were Joe Biden's Violence Against Women Act and Safe Streets for Women Act. [More...]

Allrighty then. The GOP and McCain do not want the bipartisan bailout solution. Fair enough. Then it is time for the DEM bailout bill. With HOLC, a stimulus package, rigorous oversight of Paulson, equity stakes in the bailoutees, and everything the Democratic caucus thinks is necessary now.

Pass it on a party line vote. The Senate can then decide what to do. And then President Bush can decide what to do. The House Republicans do not want to be a part of this bipartisan short term bailout solution? Fair enough. Then Bush has to take the Dem bailout solution.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Public Policy Polling has a new North Carolina poll out. It's Obama 47, McCain 45 and Bob Barr 2. Full poll results are here.

Independents are moving toward Obama in droves. Where last week he had a 42-39 advantage with them, now he is up 48-37. He also now receives 36% of the white vote, up from 33%. He will likely need 35-38% in that demographic to win the state, depending on how high turnout from black voters is.

Sen. Barack Obama is campaigning in Colorado today. He has released this statement on today's Bail Out vote and John McCain's specious response.

“This is a moment of national crisis, and today’s inaction in Congress as well as the angry and hyper-partisan statement released by the McCain campaign are exactly why the American people are disgusted with Washington. Now is the time for Democrats and Republicans to join together and act in a way that prevents an economic catastrophe. Every American should be outraged that an era of greed and irresponsibility on Wall Street and Washington has led us to this point, but now that we are here, the stability of our entire economy depends on us taking immediate action to ease this crisis,” said Obama-Biden campaign spokesman Bill Burton.

Jury selection is underway in the trial of five men who were arrested for allegedly plotting an attack upon the soldiers at Fort Dix. As Wonkette noted, if a small group of guys who trained in the Poconos thought they could successfully attack a heavily armed military base, this was the dumbest terrorist plot ever.

But was it a plot? The government's strongest evidence comes from the informant who was paid to infiltrate the group. Whether there was ever a plot in the mind of anyone other than the informant will be the key to the trial's outcome. The prosecution will play some tapes that the informant recorded, but the defense says it will play even more tapes to prove their clients' innocence. [More...]

Here's the McCain/Palin Campaign's statement on the failure of the bailout bill to pass the House.

McCain falsely implies he brought about the bipartisan agreement for the bill and blames Obama and the Dems for its failure. If you needed a greater reason to see how McCain distorts the truth, this statement is it.

As for Nancy Pelosi's speech today affecting the vote, keep in mind the Dems got 140 of their members to vote for it and only 95 Dems voted against it. If McCain was so influential and wanted the bill to pass, why couldn't he persuade more than 63 of them to go along? Why couldn't he persuade the other 133 to listen to his advice? [More...]