It's sad that bear market bottoms are not made from scare but rather despair. In other words, when you're completely disgusted, fed up and throw your hands in That is when the bottom is made. I don't say this as I'm looking for a bottom or that we're near one, rather the mess we're in is turning emotions inside out. One day it looks like the bandage will hold on the wound, the next day we need a triage unit to separate bodies. For the average American, this sickening problem is coming to the fore, and with an election upcoming, a stand needs to be made.

Our Leadership is Deplorable and Once Again Late

Riding in to save the day once again, that's our Plunge Protection Team, all done in the name of protecting the markets. Doesn't sound like good policy in a 'free' market to me. Numerous times they've looked into the future and may have seen Armageddon, and come out with some plan to prop us up. These decisions of course are Band-Aids on a flesh wound, bound to fail in the short term, until another one is applied.

Now here comes Congress, less than six weeks before an election and they are using scare tactics to panic Americans. Saying this deal must get done before September 29. Who's running this place? Deals done this quickly are never good. Yet, we have leaders such as Bob Bennett (Senate - R, Utah) saying this: "While no doubt narrowly true (presumably it's Wachovia), implying that the bank will go under due to the failure to implement the Paulson plan is just plain dishonest. The bank has been wobbly for a very long time and it isn't at all clear that the plan, even if it had been voted in last week, would be implemented in time to have any impact or would have done anything other than delay the inevitable."

The 'Deal' is no Silver Bullet

I have not pored over any details of this but frankly it's not going to be a winner for the American people, simply because this is hastily done and argued too much. Why so quick? A Senator asked Secretary Paulson Wednesday why this needed to be done in seven days, even knowing that God may have created the universe in such time? Perhaps some short term pain will come of it, but wasn't that known?

Will a shot gun deal ease our minds? Perhaps for a few hours, maybe a few days, even restore confidence worldwide that a solution can be achieved. The costs will be enormous as Congress slaps on tons of pork to the bill.

Can We Blame Short Sellers This Time? (Again)

Can't blame them, now can we? It's not as if jerking with the free markets weren't bad enough, but now many of these financial institutions are in worse shape than they were prior to the ban. Of course, we mentioned it was pure nonsense and market rigging. Let me ask you, when oil was plunging from 145 and recently hit 97 a barrel, where were the safeguards against short on oil? Nowhere to be found. Why didn't the Fed protect the long oil traders? Fact is that you can't regulate markets in this fashion. Just last week, China is re-allowing short selling to help prop up their market. What a concept, huh? Maybe we'll follow their lead.

Price Headley is the founder and chief analyst of BigTrends.com.