OBAMA'S SPEECH TO THE NATION

 Obama's speech last night was remarkable.  Critics said it was too long.  I could have listened to him for hours.  His passion for the Health Care reform was genuine and convincing.  It sounds like a dream come true for many Americans.  Critics said, that if the plan was so good, why didn't they do it in past years?  Why didn't they stop the Medicare fraud before?  There were only a handful of medical professionals that got busted.  My humble opinion is that they did not have the manpower to go after everyone who double billed, and commited fraud in various departments.  How are they going to enforce this Health Care plan now? Obama said, that if they can stop the medical fraud, they will have the money to enforce this plan.  Ouch!

Did you hear about the Cash for Clunkers? The Obama program promised  the auto purchasers $4500 to trade in their clunkers  in order to purchase new cars. The used cars had to be destroyed.  The government would reimburse the auto dealers up to $4500 in cash.  The dealers waited, and waited for their money and one by one they backed out of the program.

Another reason for backing out of the program, the auto dealers were never informed that the Government wanted the dealers to collect taxes from the customer if they owned money to the government for any reason.  Not sales tax, nor luxurey tax.  The dealers said they were not tax collectors and had no way of knowing if their customers owed any money personally.  The dealers were only told this new peice of information while waiting for their money.  Some dealers had to go out of business because of the money due them from the government. The government would not issue money to the dealers unless the auto dealers collected the additional tax money.

 It was difficult for the government to handle this deal.  So how are they going to handle this wonderful health care program.  I love it, by the way.  I hope it works for everyone.  Critics say it cannot work, and has not worked in other countries.  What is your opinion.  Please comment at bottom of page

"Using massive cuts to Medicare as a way to pay for more government-run health care isn't the kind of change Americans are looking for," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said Thursday in a speech on the Senate floor. "Americans want savings from Medicare to be used to strengthen Medicare, not to create a system that would ... lead to a government takeover of health care."

Political role reversal
The dueling sound bites frame a political role reversal.

When the Republicans were in power, their attempts to cut Medicare to reduce government spending ran into a wall of opposition from Democrats. Now that Democrats are in control, they're calling for hundreds of billions in Medicare cuts to help the uninsured get coverage

September 9, 2009 6:48 PM

Van Jones Plotting His Next Move

Posted by Kevin Hechtkopf

(You Tube)

Former Obama adviser Van Jones, who resigned over the weekend after criticism over his past statements about Republicans and association with the "9/11 Truther" movement, is now working out of an office at a liberal think tank, according to reports.

Politico and the New York Daily News report that Jones is utilizing space at the Center for American Progress (CAP) as he thinks about his next move.

It was previously reported that he had taken a new job there, where he has worked in the past, but CAP later clarified in a statement that he hadn't taken a new job.

"We have offered Van office space for him to work out of while he figures out what he wants to do next," CAP spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri said.

CAP was founded by John Podesta, who was President Obama's transition team leader and was chief of staff to former President Bill Clinton.

Politico's Ben Smith had this to say about the move, even though it doesn't include a new job: "The welcome from the establishment Democratic political and policy shop demonstrates that Jones, despite having resigned from the White House, remains very welcome in the party."
Jones did get the ball rolling, pushing among other initiatives the $150 million in Pathways out of Poverty grants from the stimulus funds targeted for low-income and minority neighborhoods. Whoever replaces him has to see those grants and other federal green jobs programs through, and push for expansion of those programs.
Jones will land on his feet, rejoining with groups like Green for All and the Apollo Alliance to continue advocacy, but voters and activists must push the White House to stay committed to green jobs for the ghettos as well. The White House should not let Jones' role go vacant for too long. They should either replace him immediately with someone who's experienced in delivering successful green jobs programs -- someone like Majora Carter, formerly of Sustainable South Bronx, Robert Bullard of the Environmental Justice Resource Center, Beverly Wright of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice or Peggy Shepard of WEACT in Harlem.
If not, Jones' former responsibilities should be folded under the Environmental Protection Agency or Department of Labor, whose Secretary Hilda Solis wrote green jobs legislation when serving state public office in California.
If the White House chooses to abandon green workforce policy altogether, that is when real disappointment should set in, and the community organizers, activists and voters should rally. Except for that total abandonment, the resignation of Van Jones does not have to equal the end of green jobs for the poor.

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READ OBAMA'S PREPARED SPEECH TO BE GIVEN TO SCHOOL CHILDREN TODAY

For those who did not have a chance to read or hear Obama's speech to be given to school children today, I have copied it for your review.
 
By The Associated Press (AP) – 3 hours ago

The prepared text of President Barack Obama's back-to-school address scheduled for Tuesday, as released in advance by the White House:

OBAMA: Hello, everyone — how's everybody doing today? I'm here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we've got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through 12th grade. I'm glad you all could join us today.

I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it's your first day in a new school, so it's understandable if you're a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you're in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could've stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.

I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn't have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday — at 4:30 in the morning.

Now I wasn't too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I'd fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I'd complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."

So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I'm here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I'm here because I want to talk with you about your education and what's expected of all of you in this new school year.

Now I've given a lot of speeches about education. And I've talked a lot about responsibility.

I've talked about your teachers' responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.

I've talked about your parents' responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don't spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.

I've talked a lot about your government's responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren't working where students aren't getting the opportunities they deserve.

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.

And that's what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.

Every single one of you has something you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide.

Maybe you could be a good writer — maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper — but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor — maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine — but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a senator or a Supreme Court justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.

And no matter what you want to do with your life — I guarantee that you'll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You're going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can't drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You've got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.

And this isn't just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you're learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.

You'll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You'll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You'll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.

We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don't do that — if you quit on school — you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country.

Now I know it's not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.

I get it. I know what that's like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn't always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn't fit in.

So I wasn't always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I'm not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.

But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our first lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn't have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.

Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don't have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there's not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don't feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren't right.

But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life — what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you've got going on at home — that's no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That's no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That's no excuse for not trying.

Where you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up. No one's written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.

That's what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.

Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn't speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.

I'm thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who's fought brain cancer since he was three. He's endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer — hundreds of extra hours — to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he's headed to college this fall.

And then there's Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she's on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.

Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren't any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same. That's why today, I'm calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education — and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you'll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you'll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you'll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you'll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don't feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.

Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.

I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work — that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you're not going to be any of those things.

But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won't love every subject you study. You won't click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won't necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.

That's OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who've had the most failures. JK Rowling's first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

These people succeeded because they understand that you can't let your failures define you — you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn't mean you're a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn't mean you're stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.

No one's born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You're not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don't hit every note the first time you sing a song. You've got to practice. It's the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it's good enough to hand in.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust — a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor — and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.

And even when you're struggling, even when you're discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you — don't ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

The story of America isn't about people who quit when things got tough. It's about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best. It's the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.

So today, I want to ask you, what's your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?

Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I'm working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you've got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don't let us down — don't let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

COMMENTS

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former First Lady Laura Bush says she supports President Barack Obama's planned speech to children. The former school teacher tells CNN that it's "really important for everyone" to respect the president. She says her husband, former President George W. Bush, agrees, adding that Obama also doesn't need "second guessing" on the part of a former president.

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OBAMA'S SPEECH TO STUDENTS VIEW RECENT MOVIES

On Tuesday, Obama will be giving his speech via TV to all the schools in America. Since it is the start of the new school year, his intention is to inspire students from pre kindergarten to 6th grade to do well.

But critics objected to the language of one of the lesson plans for students in  pre-kindergarten through grade 6. He suggests that students "write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president." Another assignment for students after hearing the speech was to discuss what "the president wants us to do."

After much criticisms regarding this, Obama changed his assignment for the students saying ""Write letters to themselves about how they can achieve their short-term and long-term education goals". These would be collected and redistributed at an appropriate later date by the teacher to make students accountable to their goals.
Thus, far, I do not see anything wrong with this. Although students are impressionable they do need to respect their president.

Didn't John Kennedy say, " Ask not what the country can do for you, but what can you do for your country". Republican presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush delivered similar speeches to students.

The  president's address is causing much concern with both Republicans and Democrats.  There is so much fear out there.They distrust some of Obama's radical advisers and Americans do not want to become a socialistic country.

I am pleased that my fellow Americans, some of them anyway are on their toes. their ears and eyes wide open,  watching very carefully.  We all must watch carefully.  We are on treacherous territory at this moment.

However, for Obama's agenda for Tuesday, let's not go crazy out there.  Let our president plan on giving his address.  We will all be available to view his speech on Monday on the Board of Education Web site.  If the speech is not acceptable, then I can understand keeping children home from school.  But planing on doing so before hearing his speech is ridiculous.

Obama will deliver his speech at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Va.

ABC will air the speech after it is presented.  The time is not known as yet

PEACE TO ALL

	MARKET WHEEL  FRIDAY 09/04/09 Dow        9,441.27 +96.66 (+1.03%) NASDAQ   2,018.78 +35.58 (+1.79%) S&P          1,016.4 +13.16 (+1.31%)

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Attending funerals was always interesting to me, with the exception of my dear loved ones. However, it is comforting to hear loving eulogies and/or giving them as our way of saying goodbye.

But listening to eulogies in memory of friends and acquaintances made me learn more about them than I did before. As an example, I befriended lovely mature woman, perhaps in her early 70's. With gray hair and plump body, she certainly looked matronly. When meeting people in their senior years, it is hard to imagine  them looking, thin, beautiful and vivacious. Listening to the eulogies, several of her friends came up to the podium one by one, saying how beautiful and glamorous my friend was when she was young. Articulately spoken , and from their hearts, they described how she was in her earlier days. when she threw very elaborate pool parties with rose petals in the pool.  She would hold a glass of Champaign in one hand,  while the other holding a cigarette. It was unbelievable to think she was like another person. They spoke how generous and kind she was to all her friends who were not fortunate to have air conditioning in  their own homes.  Every summer my friend invited them to spend time at her home in Cape Cod. As each person spoke, about this wonderful person,tears filled my eyes with sorrow. Sorrow that she passed and that I lost a new friend. And, Sorrow that I never had the opportunity to know her in her younger days. In all instances it was a loss.

From that time, I made it a point to attend not just friends and family funerals but acquaintances as well There would be exceptions however due to traveling long distances.

I found myself fascinated with the Kennedys and extremely interested in Ted Kennedy. He certainly was one that everyone talked about as he made himself known wherever he went. We knew of him through the news media and articles we read. But listening to eulogies of his sons, family members and friends, were very enlightening.

We got an inside look at him from a family point of view. With each loving eulogy, whether it be his immediate family, or friends, they all agreed in a kidding way, he was not perfect and he was a man of flaws.

The following are just a few eulogies that I know you will enjoy watching.
You might wipe a tear or two, and at times be prepared to enjoy a good laugh


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MARKET WHEEL THURSDAY 09/03/09
DOW       9,344.61 +63.94 (+0.69%)
NASDAQ   1,983.2 + 16.13  (+0.82%)
S&P          1,003.24 + 8.49  (+0.85%

 
 MARKET WHEEL  FRIDAY 09/04/09

	Dow	9,441.27	+96.66 (+1.03%)
	NASDAQ	2,018.78	+35.58 (+1.79%)
	S&P	1,016.4	+13.16 (+1.31%)

The economy is showing consistent signs of improvement, but it hasn't been enough to stop employers from eliminating jobs or to keep the unemployment rate from rising. The Labor Department reports that the jobless rate increased to 9.7 percent in August, from 9.4 percent in July, as employers cut 216,000 jobs.

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ACTUAL PICTURE OF KIDNAPPED JAYCEE AT POLICE STATION

                        




This photo was taken in the police station last week when Phillip Garrido was arrested.


THE EARLIER VICTIM IN THE GARRIDO CASE read her story

Katie Callaway Hall trembled for four hours when she heard Phillip Garrido was arrested.

His name sent a flurry of emotion running through her mind."I screamed," she told CNN's Larry King on Monday night. "I started screaming 'Oh my god, Oh my god, it's him.' "

She has thought about him every day since November 22, 1976 when he asked her for a ride at a supermarket in California, before handcuffing her, binding her and taking her to a mini-warehouse in Reno, Nevada, where he raped her.

While Hall has tried to suppress some of the memories of what happened to her that night, Garrido's arrest took her mind back to that night in November.

"A man tapped on my window and asked for a ride," she said. "I agreed."

When she stopped the car to drop him off, Garrido took the keys out of the ignition, according to court documents from Garrido's appeal in the case.

Garrido, then 25, "told [Hall] it wasn't intentional that he had taken her, but that it was her fault because she was attractive," according to the documents.

"Soon after, I was cuffed, bound, gagged, and taken to a warehouse," Hall told CNN.

She was kept in the 6 by 12-foot storage facility, which Hall remembers was stacked with half-opened boxes with China-type dishes inside.

Large, heavy carpets were hanging from the ceiling, spaced apart every few feet

"It was like a maze," she said. "And in the back of the mini warehouse where he had me, he had it set up to keep someone for awhile."

"Most of the details about what happened to me after I entered that warehouse have been repressed."

She told Larry King that she feared for her life. "I thought I was dead," she said.

Hall was held in the small storage facility for five hours before she heard a noise.

"My recollections begin around 3 a.m. Someone banged on the door. I remember thinking, 'Oh my God, his friends are coming,' " she said. "Garrido said, 'Do I have to tie you up or are you going to be good.' "

She told him she would be good, but she knew if it was the police banging outside, she was going to "have to try something.""I thought I was dead," she said.

Hall was held in the small storage facility for five hours before she heard a noise.

"My recollections begin around 3 a.m. Someone banged on the door. I remember thinking, 'Oh my God, his friends are coming,' " she said. "Garrido said, 'Do I have to tie you up or are you going to be good.' "

She told him she would be good, but she knew if it was the police banging outside, she was going to "have to try something."

"I barreled my way out of the warehouse completely naked. I could see the officer and Garrido standing there. They both looked at me like I was crazy," she said. "I couldn't see the officer's car. I thought 'Oh God, he's not a real cop.' My state of mind was such that I couldn't fully embrace what I was seeing. Finally, I saw his police car."

Garrido tried to tell the cop Hall was his girlfriend."I screamed, 'No I'm not -- help me, help me,' " she said. "The officer told me to go back in and put my clothes on. When I went inside, Garrido must have convinced the officer we were both on drugs, because he let Garrido go back into the building alone," Hall said. "I had already put some of my clothes on. Garrido came back in and begged me not to turn him in." Half-dressed, Hall said she maneuvered past him and asked the police to keep him away.

"They asked if I was brought there against my will," she said. "I told them I was, that he had handcuffed and bound me. An officer shined a light on my wrists, saw the sores from the handcuffs, and arrested Garrido."

Though Garrido was put behind bars for what he did, Hall said that night changed her life forever. "For years, I walked around like a zombie," she said. "I had to tell everyone Imet what had happened to me -- because I didn't feel like myself. It was as if I had to explain why I wasn't 'normal.' "For her, that's the biggest pain Garrido put her though.

"I was a good person. I lived right, and treated others well," she said.
"He changed my life in an instant. I don't feel like I can ever be that person again. Being victimized is something that only a victim can understand. I hate that he did this to me, and I doubt I'll ever get over it."

Though the trauma of her kidnapping has stayed with her all of these years, Hall said she couldn't even begin to imagine the pain Garrido has caused Dugard and the two children she had with him.

"The only thing I can think of worse than what happened to me, is it happening to my child," she said. "I can't imagine what Jaycee is going through. He had me for 8 hours. He had her for 18 years.

"I was an adult, with instincts that helped me deal with the situation. She was a child. This is going to be with her for the rest of her life. I can only wish her the best."

MARKET WHEEL  WEDNESDAY 09/02/09

	Dow	9,280.67	-29.93 (-.32%)
	NASDAQ	1,967.07	- 1.82  (-.09%)
	S&P	994.075	3.29  (-.33%)

MARKET WHEEL THURSDAY 09/03/09
DOW       9,344.61 +63.94 (+0.69%)
NASDAQ   1,983.2 + 16.13  (+0.82%)
S&P          1,003.24 + 8.49  (+0.85%

MARKET FUTURES THURSDAY 09/03/09

Stock futures up on retailers, ahead of jobless data

Stock index futures rose on Thursday, ready to snap a four-day losing streak as retailers posted better-than-expected August sales and as investors wait for weekly jobless claims data. 9/3/2009 8:25 AM

• Many U.S. retailers report lower August sales 9/3/2009 8:20 AM
• New U.S. jobless claims fell last week 9/3/2009 8:39 AM
• EU probes Oracle bid for Sun 9/3/2009 7:57 AM
• Global recession ending: OECD 9/3/2009 7:02 AM
  

US gold rises toward $990 on asset allocation demand At Thomson Reuters 10:48 AM...

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Solar and Wind Sectors Powering Alternative Energy Industry Going 09/01/09

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Market Report -- In Play (UFPT) 09:50 AM

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Market Report -- In Play (ARD) 09:31 AM

Arena Resources increases 2009 capital expenditure budget 26% to $107 million Co announces it has approved an increase in the 2009 capital expenditure budget) to a total of $107 million. The previous...

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Midas Inc tgt raised to $9.50 at Jefferies following sale of AT business . Jefferies raises their MDZ tgt to $9.50 from $6.50 following the co's agreement to sell its Analytical Technologies business...

CHILDREN OF JAYCEE JUST LEARNED WHO THEIR REAL MOTHER IS read more about it below

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Those pictures show where Jaycee lived.

For years, the freed kidnap victim's daughters thought Ms Dugard was their big sister.

But now they are struggling to come to terms with the fact that she is their mother.

Ms Dugard, 29, only told the girls the truth after she was reunited with her own mother a week ago.

The children were already said to be “distraught” after learning that the man they called “Daddy” was behind bars accused of kidnapping Ms Dugard from the street when she was 11.

“They thought Jaycee was their sister,” revealed Ms Dugard's stepfather Carl Probyn.

“People have to realise this is going to take years of therapy.” He said that Ms Dugard has been having “the happiest time of her life” bonding with her mother, Terry, and half-sister Shayna, 19.

It has been a tougher adjustment for Ms Dugard's daughters.

The family is in hiding as police investigate the possibility that Garrido may be behind a string of sex killings.

Ms Dugard's aunt is said to have told a friend that despite their long seclusion, the girls “know the alphabet and how to draw”.

The daughters never went to school, although they were taught by Garrido. “But they have no clue about history, politics, geography — nothing,” added the aunt.

Police sources said the girls lived in Garrido's house in Antioch, northern California, with him and his wife, while Ms Dugard was forced to live in a tent in the hidden garden compound.

“Jaycee was treated like a Cinderella who was kept out of sight and made to work and do the chores,” said one officer involved in the investigation.”

It also emerged that Garrido, 58, was so confident of keeping his secret that he even used Ms Dugard's photograph on business cards.

Antioch recycling centre boss Maria Christenson said Garrido gave her a card a decade ago.

“I am told it was a picture of Jaycee, although I can't be sure because I have never seen her,” she said.

“He told me that his daughter did all his designs but he never brought her to the centre with him.”

As fury grows over the decision to release Garrido after serving 11 years of the 50-year sentence he was given in 1977 for rape and kidnapping, a hand-written note revealed his attempts to persuade a judge he was rehabilitated.

Garrido wrote the letter a year into his sentence, blaming drugs for his downfall.

He wrote: “I am so ashamed of my past. But my future is now under control. I have set my goals and find myself well on my way. If I may please, all I ask is to be given the chance.”

THE STOCK MARKET CLOSE  09/01/09

	Dow	9,310.6	-185.68 (-1.96%)
	NASDAQ	1,968.89	-40.17 (-2.00%)
	S&P	998.04	-22.58 (-2.21%)

THE STOCK MARKET NEWS   09/02/09

Stocks zigzag as traders stay cautious after slide

Stocks are zigzagging in tight range, a day after a big slide, as a positive report on jobs did little to ease worries about the economy.

Allied Capital shares rise on debt restructuring - AP - 33 minutes ago

Shares of Allied Capital Corp., which provides financing for buyouts, advanced Wednesday after the firm announced a private debt restructuring.

Fragrance maker Blyth posts 2Q loss; shares drop - AP - 34 minutes ago

Blyth Inc. said Wednesday it fell to a loss in its fiscal second quarter as sales dropped amid lower demand for its scents, candles and home decorations.

Wall Street flat as factory, job data disappoint - Reuters

Stocks were mostly flat on Wednesday after three days of declines, as investors digested disappointing reports on the labor market and factory orders that increased worry the rally may have run too far ahead of the economy.

Take-Two shares rise after 3Q results - AP - 1 hour, 24 minutes ago

Shares of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. pushed higher Wednesday, with the video game maker showing a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss and analysts confident about a new slate of games.

Hologic shares fall as analyst issues downgrade
Shares of Hologic Inc., which makes diagnostics products for women, fell Wednesday as a Canaccord Adams analyst downgraded the stock on valuation and concerns over hospital spending.

Applied Signal shares fall after missing forecast
Shares of Applied Signal Technology Inc. tumbled on Wednesday, a day after the manufacturer posted a fiscal third-quarter profit that fell short of Wall Street's forecast.

Premarket roundup: VeriFone, Equity Residential

Shares of VeriFone Holdings Inc. jumped in premarket trading Wednesday, lifted by signs of improving demand and a growing share of the market for electronic payment services.