The quarterback drops back to pass and he fakes handing off to the fullback. While the onrushing tacklers go for the fullback the quarterback sneaks to the outside and hits the left uncovered tight end with the game winning Hail Mary pass to win the championship football game. In a move worthy of David Copperfield the Grand Old Party has come up with the sleight of hand move of the century.

The Republican Party is in power because Karl Rove is calling the plays better than any Democrat. His quarterback George Bush was a deserter. The opposition quarterback John Kerry was a decorated war hero. No problem. Hire a few actors to go on television in a swift boat and say that John Kerry was actually a Viet Cong colonel who tortured John McCain.

The Presidents father, the former President, told his son the President, Look, I lost the Presidency because I said Read my lips, no new taxes. Then I raised the taxes and I lost the Presidency. If you want to win the Presidency and become President, all you have to do is to cut taxes. Who cares if the deficit goes to a trillion dollars, and the trade deficit goes to a trillion dollars, and we bankrupt the country? You will be President, I will sit on the board of directors of the Saudi Royal Family, they will funnel billions of oil dollars into our Swiss bank accounts, and let the next President worry about it while we live on yachts in the French Riviera drinking fine French port wine. The President answered, O.K. Dad.

Here is the Port Trick, otherwise known in Karl Roves playbook as 53 Red. The congressional elections are coming up in November. Every Republican congressman and congresswoman is doing everything possible to distance him/herself from the Presidents glaring lies, mismanagement of the war in Iraq, the imminent bankruptcy of the country and the Superdome fiasco. The President, the Senate and the House are all Republican and they are all going down the drain like American jobs fleeing to China, whose new car the Geeli is about to hit the U.S. market for $9,000 and get 225 miles per gallon. This all makes Ross Perot sound like the Prophet Isaiah.

So how do the Republicans stay in power in November? The Islamic Barbarianism over a stupid cartoon has every American even more fearful and hateful of the Muslims than after 911. So Karl Rove decides to pretend to sell all of the American Shipping Ports, New York, Miami, etc. to the Muslim countries responsible for funding and planning and harboring the 911 crews. The President says to him, Karl, we cant do that; theyll lynch me on the lawn of the White House. Karl says to George, Dont worry about it George. Have I failed you yet?

While the country now goes wild over the prospect of Osama bin Laden and Aymen Al Zwahiri shipping nuclear weapons to Al Qaeda cells in Manhattan, the Republican congress is now going to come to the rescue like John Wayne leading the cavalry and block the sale. Then, the Republican congress people are going to say to the American people during the upcoming political campaign, Look, we didnt follow George Bush. We saved you from him. We stopped Osama Bin Laden from owning your ports. Initially the bogus plan called for selling all of the American airports to Iran, but while Karl Rove and the Bushwhackers were rolling around laughing on the floor of the Oval Office at the thought of it, Karl said in a drunken stupor, The American people may be gullible, but they arent that gullible.

¶ 6:18 PM 0 comments

Our college-bound son just bought his first home at 21. He was able to buy a home for forty thousand under the appraised price, get a low interest rate, finance the closing costs, and pay no money down. How could he possibly do this? His credit score is over 700.

You can help your teenager prepare for his or her financial future by establishing a high credit rating. Offer your teenager these three crucial credit tips for a great financial future:

1. Start early. Begin by successfully managing a checking account-- the first credit requirement. Wells Fargo Bank has a program for children to open joint accounts with a parent as young as 13 years of age. For a free individual checking account, Washington Mutual requires a minimum age of 18 or a manager's approval for younger account holders.

2. Apply for a major credit card at 18. It's easier to get a first-class credit card with favorable rates and terms while a student attends college before the age of 22. Why do banks want to open accounts for students who have no credit history or employment? Because lenders know that college graduates in general make more money and also pay their bills on time. Also, most consumers don't like shopping around for credit and tend to keep their credit accounts. Therefore, lenders desire to establish strong relationships with the preferred market early in their credit experience.

This doesn't mean that you as the parent need to co-sign; banks expect parents to help out with the payments when necessary. Just be crystal clear with your child what you expect regarding debt management. The purpose is to teach responsibility and to establish credit--not to go into debt.

3. Manage the credit card account with credit scores in mind. Once the account is opened, encourage your child to use the card for necessities that would be purchased with cash--not luxuries--and to pay the debt before finance charges accrue. However, don't pay the entire balance off each month; let a little roll over at least every two months. Banks don't appreciate accounts paid in full each month. More important, paid accounts don't factor into the credit score as much as an account with a low balance.

Explain to you teenager that the purpose of using a credit card is to establish good credit. To do this, a credit card should never have a balance over 50% of the available credit. The best credit scores have accounts with only 10% of the credit line used.

Setting up a checking account and a credit card account helps your teenager learn about responsible money management, with the bonus of building strong credit to finance a home.

(c) Copyright 2005 Jeanette J. Fisher All rights reserved.

¶ 4:21 PM 0 comments