More signs of market meltdown recently. The Fed worked overtime on Sunday to prevent a spectacular brokerage firm failure by engineering the rescue of Bear Stearns. Lehman Bros. was rumored to be next, but the markets performed a giddy upturn following the Fed's further slashing of the discount rate.

Many analysts are beginning to question the wisdom of the Fed's slash 'n' print policy. This further weakens the dollar and pushes oil and other comodities up.

Some even suggest that we may as well surrender to the inevitable recession, and protect the value of our currency by letting interest rates rise. The housing market is hosed in any case, since long bond yields have been rising due to inflation fears even as short term rates fall.

Once again, I will point out that precious little has been forthcoming from the presidential candidates concerning the unfolding economic holocaust. Whomever takes office next January will be faced with hitherto unthinkable challenges. Isn't it time someone at least begins to outline some sort of strategy to deal with this mess? My prediction is we will be seeing serious unrest in the streets before the end of the year, even before the election.

Of the remaining candidates, Hillary would seem to have a slight edge in the sort of populist leadership ability we will need. However, one gets the nagging feeling that none of them are going to be the next president. The manipulation of the primaries by unseen forces seems to suggest that a surprise may be in the works. Look for a dark horse to arise in the hour of need, someone offering more than empty rhetoric or false ("audacity of") hope. However, the situation will likely be engineered to foster a draconian power-grab that makes Bush 43 look more like a constitutional liberal in comparison.

Regardless of who gets elected, here is my start on the list of policies that will be needed:

- Moratorium on home foreclosures for owner-occupied property

- Require mortgage lenders to write down loan values to match property values

- Quick and total withdrawal from Iraq and pullback of forces amassed in the Mideast.

- Repeal of the Patriot Act and other legislation that attempted to legalize torture and trial of enamy combatants.

- End the ghastly gulag at Guantanamo Bay and other secret detention sites.

- Launch a truly independent commission to expose the truth surrounding 9-11.

- Invest in infrastructure repair by creating public works programs

- End ruinous "free-trade" policies and began rebuilding our industrial base

- Encourage development of new energy technologies (instead of actively opposing it)