1. Are the U.S. twin deficits (internal and external) getting too large for the international community to be willing to finance, at least at current interest rates? Bush has so far showed no sign of being interested in facing this problem. Certainly the internal deficit is largely his creation.
   
2. Will interest rates be forced way up to stem the flight from the dollar which is always inflationary? A large rise in interest rates could help cause a new recession. Also, interest rate rises usually are bad for the stock and bond markets.

WASHINGTON - Homeland Security officials said Jesus Christ of Nazereth — formerly known as carpenter Jesus ben Joseph — will be deported Wednesday after being denied entry to the U.S. for being on a government watch list.

The former carpenter and now radical left wing philosopher was a passenger on United Airlines Flight 919, en route to Dulles International Airport from Tel Aviv  when the match was made Tuesday between the passenger and a name on the watch list, said Nico Melendez, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration.

The plane diverted to Maine and met by federal agents at Bangor International Airport around 3 p.m. EDT, Melendez said.

Homeland Security Department spokesman Dennis Murphy identified the passenger as Jesus of Nazeeth. "He was interviewed and denied admission to the United States on national security grounds," Murphy said.

Officials had no details about why the peace activist might be considered a risk to the United States. Jesus had visited New York in May for a charity event and to promote a DVD of his '22 Sermon on the Mount.

One official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Jesus, 33, was identified by the Advanced Passenger Information System, which requires airlines to send passenger information to Customs and Border Protection's National Targeting Center. The Transportation Security Administration then was contacted and requested that the plane land at the nearest airport, that official said.

Melendez said Jesus was questioned by FBI (news - web sites) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

Another federal official, who is in law enforcement and spoke anonymously because of agency policy, said that after the interview, Customs officials decided to deny Jesus entry into the United States.

Flight 919 continued on to Dulles after Jesus was removed from the flight.

Jesus, who was born Jesus ben Joseph, took Jesus Christ as his nom de plume and had a string of well known sermons in the early 20's. Last year he released two sermons, including a re-recording of his '09 hit "Sermon on the Mount" to express his opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq (news - web sites).

He abandoned his carpentry career  in the late teens and changed his name after being persuaded by God that he had more important things to do than pound nails. He later became a teacher and an advocate for his religion, founding a  radical sect that tried to abolish the charging of interest for loans. Well placed sources say that it was this position that got his name placed on the APIS

A statement posted on a fan-supported Web site where his sermons are promoted said Jesus' being on a watch list "is certainly an error."

"It's also a very sad state of affairs when a man best known as a peace loving philosopher can be grouped into the same category Osama Bin Laden just because of he thinks differently," the statement said.