When I was a kid we had a term for buggery. It started with the word "corn" and ended with the verb past tense, "holed."
One of the greatest defenses ever mounted by a defense attorney involved the use of a sodomy dog. The lawyer was defending a search of a client's residence wherein cops were searching for stolen property yet brought in a drug dog and subsequently busted his client for drug possession. The defense attorney took exception to the manner in which police conducted the search. What happened next was called the sodomy dog defense. The defense attorney argued that eventually law enforcement would start training dogs to detect sodomy which is still a felony here. They would simply walk up and down city streets until the dog detected and indicated sodomy coming from your house. Police would then enter your house under the emergency pretense of preventing the crime of sodomy, and finding none of course, would seize your dope instead and haul you off to jail.
So when I think of Corzine- my thoughts shift to sodomy. Odd, eh?
I have a theory. It goes like this. Go try and steal 1000 bucks from your neighborhood bank. Don't make any plans for about ten years or...
Become a campaign bundler for President Obama. Throw lavish parties in your NY apartment. Then go and steal 1.6 billion dollars from your clients. And watch as the nanny state government looks the other way.
Fuckers.
Look we all know life ain't fair. But isn't it the role of government to create the facade of fairness and pretend to enforce the rule of law? Isn't that why we pay taxes? Can somebody please act like they give a shit now- there is always time to pardon Corzine after the election. Ask Bill Clinton.
Banzai7 hilarity link http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2012-13-26/fuzzy-corzine-klepto-crony-fraudocratic-update
Somehow, you just know the dogs would have gone crazy on Oct. 31 at the offices of MF Global. Lotta Corzine going on.
ZH Linkage. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/corzine-corzined-congressional-panel-finds-former-mf-global-ceo-ordered-jpm-fund-transfer
Friday, March 23, 2012
Moonbats Rejoice! Collecting Rainwater Becoming Illegal
Oh the statists and the moonbats will be happy. We can never have enough laws to satiate the nanny state. Or enough money to pay for the enforcement and prosecution of these felons.
They can have my rainwater after I have used it once. Ha! On a reader tip. http://www.naturalnews.com/029286_rainwater_collection_water.html
They can have my rainwater after I have used it once. Ha! On a reader tip. http://www.naturalnews.com/029286_rainwater_collection_water.html
Welcome To Recovery Friday!
The minister of propaganda President believes he is entitled to another term for engineering the big job recovery.
The problem with the big job recovery is that nobody can find the big job recovery. It surely isn't showing up in tax receipts which through Feb.- are down 9 billion year over year. It surely isn't showing up in the 1.2 million people that have simply quit looking for work. And oddly enough, those people making a gross 1280 a month cannot qualify for a housing payment with taxes and insurance on anything except a yurt by the river. Quality jobs. With two breaks and some free fries.
Behold, more recovery proof here. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/please-highlight-housing-recovery-following-chart
The problem with the big job recovery is that nobody can find the big job recovery. It surely isn't showing up in tax receipts which through Feb.- are down 9 billion year over year. It surely isn't showing up in the 1.2 million people that have simply quit looking for work. And oddly enough, those people making a gross 1280 a month cannot qualify for a housing payment with taxes and insurance on anything except a yurt by the river. Quality jobs. With two breaks and some free fries.
Behold, more recovery proof here. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/please-highlight-housing-recovery-following-chart
An Agnostic Is Just Another Word For A Chicken Shit Atheist
The beauty of having your own blog is that you can write anything you want. Originally, I entitled this piece, "The Least Improved Human Being."
Who wants to win that award?
We are all on some sort of journey. Intuitively, I believe that our lives have some sense of purpose. I do not believe like many of my moonbat friends, that we crawled out of swamps in some random cosmic event. Sometimes when the moonbats call me a kook for my beliefs...I counter with this. Do this and you will shut them down.
Suggest the following when under attack by the agnostics and atheists in your life. Tell them to strip all of their clothes off, stand in front of a full length mirror and say out loud, "This is the greatest power in the universe." And then laugh like a hyena at the ridiculousness of that statement.
So years ago, I am doing the cop thing. I had a fellow cop who really didn't like me much. That was a total mystery to me back then but not such a mystery to me now. We were both assholes. That's something that comes with working a job where inherently- you realize that the people you are serving- really don't like seeing someone in uniform delivering bad news. And trust me when I tell you this, most cop news is bad news. Cops don't show up on your driver's side or porch because you won a free pizza.
So anyway, I am talking to this fellow cop who doesn't like me. The idea of any kind of self improvement is simply not a possibility in this guy's mind. He already knows everything. He has come prepackaged with all of the universal knowledge one needs for a successful life. He actually told me something quite similar. Paraphrased I think it was, "I don't need to hear any of your shit."
I was in awe. Not because I was this guy's boss at the time but because I had only seen that level of utter unconsciousness once before. In me. Therefore I was supremely compassionate and sympathetic as I pondered how much fun he was going to be with his friends and family. Like some sort of human skud missile. I know this because I had the gift of experience.
I cannot begin to tell you how much my life has improved emotionally and spiritually since leaving law enforcement. It's not that I have any knocks on law enforcement, I don't. I believe in the mission and that most cops are honorable or at least we start out that way. It just isn't an occupation that lends itself to self improvement along emotional and spiritual lines. It kind of forces you to draw a hard line because you are constantly exposed to the nastiest sides of human behavior. We pay cops to be judgmental and intolerant. That's really their job. What other occupation encourages that type of behavior? Not many. I get all of that now.
It took me the better part of 50 years to find happiness. I believe there is something out there that is greater than me and I don't need a full length mirror to prove it. Today, I am no longer interested in keeping the least improved human being award. I am more than happy to see someone else with that traveling trophy- if only for a little while.
Who wants to win that award?
We are all on some sort of journey. Intuitively, I believe that our lives have some sense of purpose. I do not believe like many of my moonbat friends, that we crawled out of swamps in some random cosmic event. Sometimes when the moonbats call me a kook for my beliefs...I counter with this. Do this and you will shut them down.
Suggest the following when under attack by the agnostics and atheists in your life. Tell them to strip all of their clothes off, stand in front of a full length mirror and say out loud, "This is the greatest power in the universe." And then laugh like a hyena at the ridiculousness of that statement.
So years ago, I am doing the cop thing. I had a fellow cop who really didn't like me much. That was a total mystery to me back then but not such a mystery to me now. We were both assholes. That's something that comes with working a job where inherently- you realize that the people you are serving- really don't like seeing someone in uniform delivering bad news. And trust me when I tell you this, most cop news is bad news. Cops don't show up on your driver's side or porch because you won a free pizza.
So anyway, I am talking to this fellow cop who doesn't like me. The idea of any kind of self improvement is simply not a possibility in this guy's mind. He already knows everything. He has come prepackaged with all of the universal knowledge one needs for a successful life. He actually told me something quite similar. Paraphrased I think it was, "I don't need to hear any of your shit."
I was in awe. Not because I was this guy's boss at the time but because I had only seen that level of utter unconsciousness once before. In me. Therefore I was supremely compassionate and sympathetic as I pondered how much fun he was going to be with his friends and family. Like some sort of human skud missile. I know this because I had the gift of experience.
I cannot begin to tell you how much my life has improved emotionally and spiritually since leaving law enforcement. It's not that I have any knocks on law enforcement, I don't. I believe in the mission and that most cops are honorable or at least we start out that way. It just isn't an occupation that lends itself to self improvement along emotional and spiritual lines. It kind of forces you to draw a hard line because you are constantly exposed to the nastiest sides of human behavior. We pay cops to be judgmental and intolerant. That's really their job. What other occupation encourages that type of behavior? Not many. I get all of that now.
It took me the better part of 50 years to find happiness. I believe there is something out there that is greater than me and I don't need a full length mirror to prove it. Today, I am no longer interested in keeping the least improved human being award. I am more than happy to see someone else with that traveling trophy- if only for a little while.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Happy Birthday Mamacita!
A few years ago, probably aided with a complete and utter pre occupation with self and/or a healthy hangover, I forgot my mother's birthday.
That has only happened once. I cannot disclose the mechanism of injury which has ensured that I will never again miss that day while dwelling topside on rare earth.
Happy Birthday mom.
We both know that I love you more than your other children. Remember, it is ok to reflect that special bond we share when you hand out the Christmas cards again this year. *wink
((hugs))
That has only happened once. I cannot disclose the mechanism of injury which has ensured that I will never again miss that day while dwelling topside on rare earth.
Happy Birthday mom.
We both know that I love you more than your other children. Remember, it is ok to reflect that special bond we share when you hand out the Christmas cards again this year. *wink
((hugs))
Time in a Bottle
It was like climbing in a Delorean. A time machine. "When Overachievers Divorce." I couldn't pass this one up.
The title just oozes ego. And that of course reeled me in. Here then is the link...http://www.huffingtonpost.com/emma-wilhelm/when-overachievers-divorce_b_1340275.html
It is written by a gal named Emma Wilhelm. Here is my quantitative analysis of that piece as written by Emma. The piece I suppose, offers the premise that overachievers simply cannot tolerate anyone who fails to meet their high standards of achievement. It forces them to get divorced. Makes them victims.
These are Emma's friends. Let me tell you about them. First there is "Erika." Soon to be medical professional, genius. She married a loser, a man lacking her profound sense of achievement. This was something she simply could not live with- thus she was "forced" to get a divorce.
Next up, Jolene. Jolene is another overachieving woman. Rather than focus on her ex- and his inability to see things her way, like "Erika"- Jolene is characterized as someone who sees the beauty in divorce. How it strengthened her. In fact, she calls it a blessing. Perhaps it was.
Last but no least, it's Emma's turn. Emma doesn't disclose anything about herself really, except to imply that she is in the overachiever class as well. She got a divorce 5 and a half years ago. Yea, me too. Let me tell you about mine.
There was a time in my life when I thought the external world was the problem. I couldn't possibly be the problem. My solution to that thought process was manifested as a fit of depression, heavy drinking, and blaming others. I never blamed my ex entirely, but I cannot claim that moral high ground until I got sober and connected the dots after I had regained control of my life. I see very clearly now- that I was always the problem. I made bad decisions, but that didn't mean I had to continue making them.
Here's my solution Emma, it worked for me and I will only suggest it to you and your over achieving friends. However, please feel free to ignore it if you want to stay mired in self pity and righteousness.
I have an ego which is mostly unhealthy. My first instinct is usually wrong. I am always the problem and when I work on myself and shoulder the blame- oddly enough- I don't blame others. My ego of course is the casualty in all of this- but I have found that killing my ego is very healthy. I no longer try to control the exterior world or tell you or anyone else- how to live their lives. I am not gripped with some unconscious fear that if you don't do things the way that I want- that somehow that will land us in chaos, make me unhappy, and feeling like a victim. Of course victimology means that someone else is always to blame- therefore to keep my feelings and emotions safe and intact- I must free myself from that partner who refuses to live life the way that I demand it.
Does that about capture the essence of what you have written Emma?
I'm not here writing because I need to heap some shame on somebody or claim some vastly superior intellectual high ground. I no longer feel it is necessary to hurt others to make myself feel better. I am writing this because there was a time in my life when I might have agreed with your premise. It was precisely that premise that enabled my ego to convince me that everyone else was to blame. Over achieving you see, doesn't have a damn thing to do with divorce. They are not mutually exclusive concepts with only one emotionally mandated outcome.
When I read this piece, it reminded me of that time in my life when I was completely unconscious and ruled by ego. It's not that I have lost my ego Emma, it's that I am aware of it. I am aware that what I have written here must seem superior and mean spirited. That's not the purpose nor a by product even. I found happiness because I embraced the concept that maybe I had been wrong all along. Maybe trying to change everything in my exterior world was wrong. Maybe it was as simple as fixing me instead. I was lucky- my friends told me what I needed to hear, not what I wanted to hear. And what I needed to hear was not what a great over achieving guy I was- but instead what a self centered and judgmental person I had become. Fix that first. Change that flat tire and get the car rolling again.
I know we speak two languages. I am male, I fix things.
Happiness is incredibly difficult to find within yourself, it is absolutely impossible to find outside yourself. Thank you for writing "When Overachievers Divorce"- it was like time in a bottle for me.
The title just oozes ego. And that of course reeled me in. Here then is the link...http://www.huffingtonpost.com/emma-wilhelm/when-overachievers-divorce_b_1340275.html
It is written by a gal named Emma Wilhelm. Here is my quantitative analysis of that piece as written by Emma. The piece I suppose, offers the premise that overachievers simply cannot tolerate anyone who fails to meet their high standards of achievement. It forces them to get divorced. Makes them victims.
These are Emma's friends. Let me tell you about them. First there is "Erika." Soon to be medical professional, genius. She married a loser, a man lacking her profound sense of achievement. This was something she simply could not live with- thus she was "forced" to get a divorce.
Next up, Jolene. Jolene is another overachieving woman. Rather than focus on her ex- and his inability to see things her way, like "Erika"- Jolene is characterized as someone who sees the beauty in divorce. How it strengthened her. In fact, she calls it a blessing. Perhaps it was.
Last but no least, it's Emma's turn. Emma doesn't disclose anything about herself really, except to imply that she is in the overachiever class as well. She got a divorce 5 and a half years ago. Yea, me too. Let me tell you about mine.
There was a time in my life when I thought the external world was the problem. I couldn't possibly be the problem. My solution to that thought process was manifested as a fit of depression, heavy drinking, and blaming others. I never blamed my ex entirely, but I cannot claim that moral high ground until I got sober and connected the dots after I had regained control of my life. I see very clearly now- that I was always the problem. I made bad decisions, but that didn't mean I had to continue making them.
Here's my solution Emma, it worked for me and I will only suggest it to you and your over achieving friends. However, please feel free to ignore it if you want to stay mired in self pity and righteousness.
I have an ego which is mostly unhealthy. My first instinct is usually wrong. I am always the problem and when I work on myself and shoulder the blame- oddly enough- I don't blame others. My ego of course is the casualty in all of this- but I have found that killing my ego is very healthy. I no longer try to control the exterior world or tell you or anyone else- how to live their lives. I am not gripped with some unconscious fear that if you don't do things the way that I want- that somehow that will land us in chaos, make me unhappy, and feeling like a victim. Of course victimology means that someone else is always to blame- therefore to keep my feelings and emotions safe and intact- I must free myself from that partner who refuses to live life the way that I demand it.
Does that about capture the essence of what you have written Emma?
I'm not here writing because I need to heap some shame on somebody or claim some vastly superior intellectual high ground. I no longer feel it is necessary to hurt others to make myself feel better. I am writing this because there was a time in my life when I might have agreed with your premise. It was precisely that premise that enabled my ego to convince me that everyone else was to blame. Over achieving you see, doesn't have a damn thing to do with divorce. They are not mutually exclusive concepts with only one emotionally mandated outcome.
When I read this piece, it reminded me of that time in my life when I was completely unconscious and ruled by ego. It's not that I have lost my ego Emma, it's that I am aware of it. I am aware that what I have written here must seem superior and mean spirited. That's not the purpose nor a by product even. I found happiness because I embraced the concept that maybe I had been wrong all along. Maybe trying to change everything in my exterior world was wrong. Maybe it was as simple as fixing me instead. I was lucky- my friends told me what I needed to hear, not what I wanted to hear. And what I needed to hear was not what a great over achieving guy I was- but instead what a self centered and judgmental person I had become. Fix that first. Change that flat tire and get the car rolling again.
I know we speak two languages. I am male, I fix things.
Happiness is incredibly difficult to find within yourself, it is absolutely impossible to find outside yourself. Thank you for writing "When Overachievers Divorce"- it was like time in a bottle for me.
The Pigeons Have Landed
This rant du jour is about crony capitalism. I can think of no better example of crony capitalism than General Electric and their flock of pigeons- often and euphemistically labeled as media.
I believe in conspiracies in the same sense that I believe like minded individuals are motivated by common fears. Think of a school of fish avoiding a predator or better yet, a flock of pigeons all trained in some Pavlovian experiment conducted by old people in parks each day. Waiting for their handouts. Fluttering about as some new and unknown walker enters their field of view.
Suckers in the gambling world are called "pigeons." Pigeons are an excellent metaphor for so many predictable and cowardly things.
Today's piece took a little work. It was spawned by a ridiculous story I read yesterday- a type of story that the Obama minions generate. Unfortunately, or fortunately as the case may be, I forgot to book mark it. It was a mainstream media account that concluded that the "recovery" is in full swing and that Obama will likely be re-elected.
The recovery, you see, is now a foregone conclusion. No argument, no dissent. It's a fact because the pigeons have said so. Thus the standard modus operandi emerges.
First, you must have an agenda. Then take some fudged government numbers, add spin, and offer an "opinion" as though it is a matter of fact. This type of garbage writing has been going on since the rise of Obama in 2008. This then- is what the pigeons call news. Just a handful of media empires have a virtual monopoly on all of the news that you will ever read, see, or hear.
The media conglomerates feed you garbage. So today I thought I would focus on GE. General Electric owns 49% of CNBC (51% Comcast) among other things. The quintessential corporate conglomerate which is completely in bed with Obama and government. Crony capitalism. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crony_capitalism
Gone are the days of independent reporting where reporters asked "hardball" questions and the answers found their way into print. In today's world, if you want to keep your job obedient workers, you will write what we tell you to write. That's the garbage you see on your homepage. On CNBC. On your nightly news. Here's a decent link that talks about the recognized media conglomerates and how they came into being. It includes GE. http://www.ejumpcut.org/currentissue/MeehanCorporate/index.html
Is it any wonder that Obama virtually bought a network when he appointed Jeffrey Immelt of GE/CNBC as his "Jobs" czar right before the election? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_R._Immelt
Here is how GE cashed in on TARP and the bank bailouts. http://www.propublica.org/article/how-a-loophole-benefits-general-electric-628
GE by the way, is one of the dirty thirty businesses that does not pay income tax. http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2012/01/21/tax-group-names-dirty-thirty-companies.html
This will frost your ass. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/business/economy/25tax.html?pagewanted=all
Like Steve Jobs said when looking back, "Are you starting to connect the dots?"
Nothing like an example to illustrate my point. The first link is actually an editorial about the big "recovery" and the improving jobs picture found oddly enough at Jeffrey Immelt's, CNBC homepage. http://www.cnbc.com/id/46819079
The next story, based on actual math and supported by a 9 billion year over year tax shortfall asks the question, did we just lose 1.8 million jobs in the last 15 months? http://www.businessinsider.com/did-the-us-actually-lose-2012-3
The President, Congress, and the crony capitalists have an absolute stranglehold on our country. Not only do they spin news in ways that benefit them, but they get government handouts, avoid taxes, bribe legislators with re-election donations or retirement gigs as consultants and board members. Then they stand behind old facades of credibility, telling the pigeons what to write and how to write it. Of course it's a conspiracy. A conspiracy of the status quo to retain power, wealth, and their super sized egos.
Pigeons have been flocking around them for a very long time.
I believe in conspiracies in the same sense that I believe like minded individuals are motivated by common fears. Think of a school of fish avoiding a predator or better yet, a flock of pigeons all trained in some Pavlovian experiment conducted by old people in parks each day. Waiting for their handouts. Fluttering about as some new and unknown walker enters their field of view.
Suckers in the gambling world are called "pigeons." Pigeons are an excellent metaphor for so many predictable and cowardly things.
Today's piece took a little work. It was spawned by a ridiculous story I read yesterday- a type of story that the Obama minions generate. Unfortunately, or fortunately as the case may be, I forgot to book mark it. It was a mainstream media account that concluded that the "recovery" is in full swing and that Obama will likely be re-elected.
The recovery, you see, is now a foregone conclusion. No argument, no dissent. It's a fact because the pigeons have said so. Thus the standard modus operandi emerges.
First, you must have an agenda. Then take some fudged government numbers, add spin, and offer an "opinion" as though it is a matter of fact. This type of garbage writing has been going on since the rise of Obama in 2008. This then- is what the pigeons call news. Just a handful of media empires have a virtual monopoly on all of the news that you will ever read, see, or hear.
The media conglomerates feed you garbage. So today I thought I would focus on GE. General Electric owns 49% of CNBC (51% Comcast) among other things. The quintessential corporate conglomerate which is completely in bed with Obama and government. Crony capitalism. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crony_capitalism
Gone are the days of independent reporting where reporters asked "hardball" questions and the answers found their way into print. In today's world, if you want to keep your job obedient workers, you will write what we tell you to write. That's the garbage you see on your homepage. On CNBC. On your nightly news. Here's a decent link that talks about the recognized media conglomerates and how they came into being. It includes GE. http://www.ejumpcut.org/currentissue/MeehanCorporate/index.html
Is it any wonder that Obama virtually bought a network when he appointed Jeffrey Immelt of GE/CNBC as his "Jobs" czar right before the election? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_R._Immelt
Here is how GE cashed in on TARP and the bank bailouts. http://www.propublica.org/article/how-a-loophole-benefits-general-electric-628
GE by the way, is one of the dirty thirty businesses that does not pay income tax. http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/news/2012/01/21/tax-group-names-dirty-thirty-companies.html
This will frost your ass. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/business/economy/25tax.html?pagewanted=all
Like Steve Jobs said when looking back, "Are you starting to connect the dots?"
Nothing like an example to illustrate my point. The first link is actually an editorial about the big "recovery" and the improving jobs picture found oddly enough at Jeffrey Immelt's, CNBC homepage. http://www.cnbc.com/id/46819079
The next story, based on actual math and supported by a 9 billion year over year tax shortfall asks the question, did we just lose 1.8 million jobs in the last 15 months? http://www.businessinsider.com/did-the-us-actually-lose-2012-3
The President, Congress, and the crony capitalists have an absolute stranglehold on our country. Not only do they spin news in ways that benefit them, but they get government handouts, avoid taxes, bribe legislators with re-election donations or retirement gigs as consultants and board members. Then they stand behind old facades of credibility, telling the pigeons what to write and how to write it. Of course it's a conspiracy. A conspiracy of the status quo to retain power, wealth, and their super sized egos.
Pigeons have been flocking around them for a very long time.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Is Bernanke a Complete Idiot With a Perfect SAT Score?
Quite possibly- the world's most intelligent idiot- is Ben "Shalom" Bernanke.
Bernanke is a scholar with a perfect SAT score. His credentials are impeccable. Unfortunately, confined within that monstrous ego of Bernanke's is the inability to be rigorously honest or to contemplate the possibility that he might be wrong about a few things. That's the problem with being a co-opted central banker. You desperately want people to use your worthless fiat currency. You are then forced to find some method of convincing intelligent people that you are right and they are wrong. You can't strip people of their wealth if they abandon your inflated and worthless currency for real money. Gold and silver. A few of us get that. Like Ron Paul. http://economy.money.cnn.com/2012/03/20/professor-bernanke-rails-on-gold-standard-6/?iid=HP_River
I loved that article. The great Bernank says, "there isn't enough gold in the world to adopt a gold standard" as though all of this worthless fiat currency that is floating around is far more valuable. You simply peg currency to a new standard. The last time I did this, priced in dollars, gold would be valued at 6300.00 an oz. That has undoubtedly gone up.
Ben acts as though there is simply no mathematical way to tie currency to a gold standard. That is quite possibly- the dumbest thing to come out of his mouth this week.
The key to stopping inflation has never been central bankers. The key to a stable non inflating currency is limiting the quantity of that currency. Gold backed currency means that you cannot print excess currency when it has no gold backing. That essentially ties thieving central bankers' hands and controls quantity. Inflation is held in check. The currency may actually go up in value. Savers are rewarded under that system and debtors are punished.
Can you create a fiat currency that works without a gold standard? Absolutely. As long as there are laws that rigidly regulate the quantity. Lincoln's greenback was a perfect example of this.
In a perfect world, any system that regulates and limits the quantity of currency will work. I don't need a Princeton professor blowing smoke up my ass and telling me that printing unlimited amounts of worthless paper has no ill effects. History and common sense has proven otherwise.
I really don't know how people like Bernanke live with themselves. Maybe he actually believes that shit. Many of us, unlike Ben, have no motive to lie. We don't make our living by lying to people.
Bernanke is a scholar with a perfect SAT score. His credentials are impeccable. Unfortunately, confined within that monstrous ego of Bernanke's is the inability to be rigorously honest or to contemplate the possibility that he might be wrong about a few things. That's the problem with being a co-opted central banker. You desperately want people to use your worthless fiat currency. You are then forced to find some method of convincing intelligent people that you are right and they are wrong. You can't strip people of their wealth if they abandon your inflated and worthless currency for real money. Gold and silver. A few of us get that. Like Ron Paul. http://economy.money.cnn.com/2012/03/20/professor-bernanke-rails-on-gold-standard-6/?iid=HP_River
I loved that article. The great Bernank says, "there isn't enough gold in the world to adopt a gold standard" as though all of this worthless fiat currency that is floating around is far more valuable. You simply peg currency to a new standard. The last time I did this, priced in dollars, gold would be valued at 6300.00 an oz. That has undoubtedly gone up.
Ben acts as though there is simply no mathematical way to tie currency to a gold standard. That is quite possibly- the dumbest thing to come out of his mouth this week.
The key to stopping inflation has never been central bankers. The key to a stable non inflating currency is limiting the quantity of that currency. Gold backed currency means that you cannot print excess currency when it has no gold backing. That essentially ties thieving central bankers' hands and controls quantity. Inflation is held in check. The currency may actually go up in value. Savers are rewarded under that system and debtors are punished.
Can you create a fiat currency that works without a gold standard? Absolutely. As long as there are laws that rigidly regulate the quantity. Lincoln's greenback was a perfect example of this.
In a perfect world, any system that regulates and limits the quantity of currency will work. I don't need a Princeton professor blowing smoke up my ass and telling me that printing unlimited amounts of worthless paper has no ill effects. History and common sense has proven otherwise.
I really don't know how people like Bernanke live with themselves. Maybe he actually believes that shit. Many of us, unlike Ben, have no motive to lie. We don't make our living by lying to people.
The "Dirty Thirty" Pay No Taxes
These thirty corporations not only have vast profits- they don't pay taxes. Instead they have collected 68 billion dollars in refunds over the past couple of years.. How do they do this? Well, by buying powerful politicians to block tax changes, that's how. More at the link. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/21/corporate-tax-dodgers-loopholes_n_1368420.html
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
The Zombie Stock Market De-Mystified*Updated
Every once in awhile, somebody gets a hold of me and says "If the economy sucks so bad, why is the stock market going up?" That is a fair question but it's not a question with a simple answer. If I were forced to give a simple answer it would be, "Primary dealers and free money from the FED have driven it higher. Retail investors, guys like me, have left in the millions."
So I am writing this piece for my investing friend, Pat. I am writing this for everyone puzzled by a rapidly inflating and deteriorating economy and a zombie stock market that only goes up. Many people are puzzled by this anomaly. So I am going to try and keep this explanation very simple while touching on and defining a couple of critical elements that I only have a rudimentary understanding of.
During my lifetime, until the repeal of the Glass Steagall Act in 1999, the stock market behaved in a predictable fashion. Retail investors, hedge funds, mutual fund managers, public fund managers, all performed the predictive function of the stock market. They invested on behalf of clients and themselves. They bought bonds, equities, and other investments like real estate trusts as long as the economic outlook was good. They sold positions when the economy didn't look so good. They did this through investment banks, broker dealers like Smith Barney or when I first started investing, Lehman Brothers.
We cannot have a discussion about the zombie stock market until we stop and define the two types of banks. Commercial and investment bankers. Giant commercial lenders like Citibank were restricted to mundane, money making activities like home loan lending and credit cards because of the Glass Steagall Act which was enacted in 1933. It was a law designed to protect us from a repeat of the catastrophe and great depression of 1929. Thus, it was illegal for commercial banks to engage in high risk-high reward investing. That was the glamorous domain of the investment banks.
So the big boring banks lived on fixed income that was pretty predictable. Wall Street was not confined to that boring and predictable income stream. They were creating all kinds of exotic investments and making gobs of money and bonuses. The big boring banks lobbied members of Congress to relax or eliminate all of the laws that prevented them from trading sexy new investments like the investment bankers could. It would also allow them to speculate and invest in credit and equity markets. The repeal of Glass Stegall in 1999, I believe, was directly responsible for the boom and bust that signaled the end of a healthy stock market by 2001. In fact, our markets have really done very little since then. Sideways. Dead money.
Bottom line. Glass Steagall did what it was intended to do. Congress, Clinton and Robert Rubin got rid of it. There has been nothing to replace it since then and therefore no real banking reform and I am purposefully ignoring the Dodd-Frank legislation which does nothing and in effect- is a joke. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass%E2%80%93Steagall_Act
One last pre-requisite piece of information. Primary dealers. Primary dealers are banks that are authorized to sell debt for the FED. One of the ways that commercial banks hide what they do- is that they use investment banking arms to sell treasuries, buy equities, etc. Primary dealers include all of the Too Big To Fail Banks. I notice that the newly bankrupt MF Global, the device Jon Corzine used to steal 1.6 billion from customer accounts, is no longer on the primary dealer list. Here is the list. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass%E2%80%93Steagall_Act
SUMMARY
As the FED issues and sells treasuries, it is creating money which is a debt instrument. Primary dealers sell those debt instruments. Primary dealers get the principal from the buyers. They turn around and use that newly created money to buy equities, or short precious metals, or manipulate commodities, because there are no other investment vehicles offering any kind of return. They don't need to pay the FED back necessarily since the FED is loaning the primary dealers money at essentially no cost right now. It's all funny money.
All that newly minted money has found it's way into the markets and inflated them. The primary dealers and the Federal Reserve are broke. Bankrupt. The world is disposing of and refusing to buy newly created U.S. Federal Reserve debt. So who is buying all of that new debt that we issue? You guessed it. Our own Federal Reserve. They call it monetizing the debt. I call it fraud. Whatever you call it, you cannot make this shit up. Primary dealers are desperately trying to repair their bankrupt balance sheets. They hide all of their losses, commercial and residential real estate, derivative exposure, through some of the most magnificent accounting gimmickry on the planet. Who allows that gimmickry? Our complicit and paid for Congress.
How long can this continue? I am in complete amazement that the masters of the universe have been able to manipulate markets this long. Going on four years. They are desperately trying to funnel everything and everybody they can into the stock market for one last giant catastrophe. Retirement accounts, the wealth of this country, is going to get stolen. It has to. That is the only wealth available to shore up the trillions in debt and losses that bankers truly owe. Time will run out before they can inflate away their losses with new and free money. It is that bad.
In the meantime, anyone getting into markets now, better be prepared to get fleeced. Obamacare is the last nail in the coffin. A CBO report has stated that Obama and the Democrats under estimated the cost of Obamacare (ON PURPOSE) by at least 1.2 trillion (incl. admin. costs) bringing the true costs of Obamacare to over 2 trillion in it's first ten years. Before it's even implemented. Who's gonna pay that? Apparently nobody gives a shit. http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/yes-obamacares-cost-have-almost-doubled/435111
On a personal level, I would love to get back in the market only to short it. This simply cannot go on much longer. This is the greatest battle ever waged by the elite against the hoi polloi. It is almost over. When this debt bubble eventually pops, it's going to make 2008 look like a birthday party.
* I had Dave in Denver look over this piece. He has solid credentials and asked him to see where I might be inaccurate- particularly I don't understand all of the transactions between Primary Dealers and the Fed. This is what Dave had to say.
So I am writing this piece for my investing friend, Pat. I am writing this for everyone puzzled by a rapidly inflating and deteriorating economy and a zombie stock market that only goes up. Many people are puzzled by this anomaly. So I am going to try and keep this explanation very simple while touching on and defining a couple of critical elements that I only have a rudimentary understanding of.
During my lifetime, until the repeal of the Glass Steagall Act in 1999, the stock market behaved in a predictable fashion. Retail investors, hedge funds, mutual fund managers, public fund managers, all performed the predictive function of the stock market. They invested on behalf of clients and themselves. They bought bonds, equities, and other investments like real estate trusts as long as the economic outlook was good. They sold positions when the economy didn't look so good. They did this through investment banks, broker dealers like Smith Barney or when I first started investing, Lehman Brothers.
We cannot have a discussion about the zombie stock market until we stop and define the two types of banks. Commercial and investment bankers. Giant commercial lenders like Citibank were restricted to mundane, money making activities like home loan lending and credit cards because of the Glass Steagall Act which was enacted in 1933. It was a law designed to protect us from a repeat of the catastrophe and great depression of 1929. Thus, it was illegal for commercial banks to engage in high risk-high reward investing. That was the glamorous domain of the investment banks.
So the big boring banks lived on fixed income that was pretty predictable. Wall Street was not confined to that boring and predictable income stream. They were creating all kinds of exotic investments and making gobs of money and bonuses. The big boring banks lobbied members of Congress to relax or eliminate all of the laws that prevented them from trading sexy new investments like the investment bankers could. It would also allow them to speculate and invest in credit and equity markets. The repeal of Glass Stegall in 1999, I believe, was directly responsible for the boom and bust that signaled the end of a healthy stock market by 2001. In fact, our markets have really done very little since then. Sideways. Dead money.
Bottom line. Glass Steagall did what it was intended to do. Congress, Clinton and Robert Rubin got rid of it. There has been nothing to replace it since then and therefore no real banking reform and I am purposefully ignoring the Dodd-Frank legislation which does nothing and in effect- is a joke. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass%E2%80%93Steagall_Act
One last pre-requisite piece of information. Primary dealers. Primary dealers are banks that are authorized to sell debt for the FED. One of the ways that commercial banks hide what they do- is that they use investment banking arms to sell treasuries, buy equities, etc. Primary dealers include all of the Too Big To Fail Banks. I notice that the newly bankrupt MF Global, the device Jon Corzine used to steal 1.6 billion from customer accounts, is no longer on the primary dealer list. Here is the list. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass%E2%80%93Steagall_Act
SUMMARY
As the FED issues and sells treasuries, it is creating money which is a debt instrument. Primary dealers sell those debt instruments. Primary dealers get the principal from the buyers. They turn around and use that newly created money to buy equities, or short precious metals, or manipulate commodities, because there are no other investment vehicles offering any kind of return. They don't need to pay the FED back necessarily since the FED is loaning the primary dealers money at essentially no cost right now. It's all funny money.
All that newly minted money has found it's way into the markets and inflated them. The primary dealers and the Federal Reserve are broke. Bankrupt. The world is disposing of and refusing to buy newly created U.S. Federal Reserve debt. So who is buying all of that new debt that we issue? You guessed it. Our own Federal Reserve. They call it monetizing the debt. I call it fraud. Whatever you call it, you cannot make this shit up. Primary dealers are desperately trying to repair their bankrupt balance sheets. They hide all of their losses, commercial and residential real estate, derivative exposure, through some of the most magnificent accounting gimmickry on the planet. Who allows that gimmickry? Our complicit and paid for Congress.
How long can this continue? I am in complete amazement that the masters of the universe have been able to manipulate markets this long. Going on four years. They are desperately trying to funnel everything and everybody they can into the stock market for one last giant catastrophe. Retirement accounts, the wealth of this country, is going to get stolen. It has to. That is the only wealth available to shore up the trillions in debt and losses that bankers truly owe. Time will run out before they can inflate away their losses with new and free money. It is that bad.
In the meantime, anyone getting into markets now, better be prepared to get fleeced. Obamacare is the last nail in the coffin. A CBO report has stated that Obama and the Democrats under estimated the cost of Obamacare (ON PURPOSE) by at least 1.2 trillion (incl. admin. costs) bringing the true costs of Obamacare to over 2 trillion in it's first ten years. Before it's even implemented. Who's gonna pay that? Apparently nobody gives a shit. http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/yes-obamacares-cost-have-almost-doubled/435111
On a personal level, I would love to get back in the market only to short it. This simply cannot go on much longer. This is the greatest battle ever waged by the elite against the hoi polloi. It is almost over. When this debt bubble eventually pops, it's going to make 2008 look like a birthday party.
* I had Dave in Denver look over this piece. He has solid credentials and asked him to see where I might be inaccurate- particularly I don't understand all of the transactions between Primary Dealers and the Fed. This is what Dave had to say.
Dave in DenverMar 21, 2012 05:25 AM
http://thecivillibertarian.blogspot.com
Couple of nuances you should change. 1) Primary dealers are the designated market-makers of Government debt. They are also designated trading counter-parties of the Fed.
2) Money is created (printed) when the Fed uses its balance sheet to buy Treasuries and hold them through the PD's. In this case, the Fed prints money and buys the Treasuries, increasing the size of its balance sheet. This is different than a Repo transaction, in which the money is "sterilized" because the Fed doesn't print up extra and the Treasury is used a "collateral" to borrow the money. In Europe, the LTRO "repos" are becoming more like a surrogate for printed money because the maturity is 3 years.
3) Here's a nuance most don't realize about injecting funds into the system. And it's more powerful than outright QE because it's not acknowledged as printing, per se. The Fed decreases its reserve requirements for banks - all banks - thereby INCREASING the leverage of bank balance sheets. This means banks can borrow MORE money from the Fed against less equity. This was done in a big way in 2004. The reserve ratio at banks went from like 10:1 to nearly 40:1. That's what all the b.s. about level 1, 2 and 3 assets was about. It was a bullshit way to enable banks to borrow more money from the Fed. This has flooded the system with liquidity that's considered "printed" money or QE.
And you are right, all this liquidity has flooded into the stock market. In fact, as money has flowed OUT of the housing stock, it has shifted in a big way into stocks and Treasuries. We have a big bubble in Treasuries and brewing bubble in stocks.
By the way, your piece is very good!
Couple of nuances you should change. 1) Primary dealers are the designated market-makers of Government debt. They are also designated trading counter-parties of the Fed.
2) Money is created (printed) when the Fed uses its balance sheet to buy Treasuries and hold them through the PD's. In this case, the Fed prints money and buys the Treasuries, increasing the size of its balance sheet. This is different than a Repo transaction, in which the money is "sterilized" because the Fed doesn't print up extra and the Treasury is used a "collateral" to borrow the money. In Europe, the LTRO "repos" are becoming more like a surrogate for printed money because the maturity is 3 years.
3) Here's a nuance most don't realize about injecting funds into the system. And it's more powerful than outright QE because it's not acknowledged as printing, per se. The Fed decreases its reserve requirements for banks - all banks - thereby INCREASING the leverage of bank balance sheets. This means banks can borrow MORE money from the Fed against less equity. This was done in a big way in 2004. The reserve ratio at banks went from like 10:1 to nearly 40:1. That's what all the b.s. about level 1, 2 and 3 assets was about. It was a bullshit way to enable banks to borrow more money from the Fed. This has flooded the system with liquidity that's considered "printed" money or QE.
And you are right, all this liquidity has flooded into the stock market. In fact, as money has flowed OUT of the housing stock, it has shifted in a big way into stocks and Treasuries. We have a big bubble in Treasuries and brewing bubble in stocks.
By the way, your piece is very good!
The Real and Destructive Intent of Barack Obama
In my two and a half decades as a police officer, I had one tool that rarely if ever, failed me as long as I looked for it. That tool was a common element of the law. We call it intent.
Intent is an element of many- if not most- criminal offenses. Sometimes it is very difficult to prove intent. Proving intent can be especially difficult when your target is well versed in criminal law. This is that loophole in the law that many criminal defense attorneys, and civil attorneys for that matter, point their clients through.
I often tried to identify and resolve the intent of individuals when solving crimes, measuring what people said to me, or even in settling disputes. What was this person's intent?
I am sure that more than a few of you have heard about cops and their "gut instincts." Let me give you an example of what a gut instinct can be. A gut instinct occurs when a veteran cop or just an astute cop makes an observation about someone or something that deviates from what your common sense tells you it should look like. I can honestly tell you that from the moment I witnessed President Clinton proclaim on national television that he "did not have sex with that woman" I knew he was lying. Knew it. Why? Because innocent people do not behave that way. Innocent people do not fear the truth because they know the truth will help them, not hurt them. That and Clinton never used her real name because he was trying to de-personalize her and distance himself. Convince us that he didn't even know Monica Lewinsky's name.
That is a gut instinct. And Clinton was prepared to lie his ass off and attack and vilify Lewinsky if he had to. But then there was that matter of semen and a blue dress. Tangible proof. And the great Rhodes scholar couldn't find the escape hatch. But he certainly showed us what kind of man he was.
If Clinton was an apprentice liar, then Obama is a professional. I can probably name 100 times that I have suspected Obama of lying. Probably ten of those lies (call them omissions) have to do with the documentation of his past... passports, transcripts, who paid for his schooling, where are his old girlfriends, etc.
As a side note, and this is the first time you will have read this...anywhere...think about why Obama put that abstract certification of live birth up and represented that as his "birth record" for nearly three years. The one with little or no information on it. Then suddenly, on the heels of Donald Trump's inquiries- a long form birth certificate materializes with all of the information we had been clamoring for. The question then becomes, "Why didn't you disclose that long form birth certificate the first time around?"
That is a gut instinct. That's how cops think. That's what I would be asking Obama while watching him squirm.
So when formulating intent- let's start with Columbia University. Columbia is the university that employed Professors Cloward and Piven. Cloward-Piven is a strategy that was designed by this married couple for imploding the United States by overloading the welfare system and causing a financial crisis. Is Obama aware of the strategy? Of course, he went to school at Columbia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloward%E2%80%93Piven_strategy
Obama was also a student of Saul Alinsky, friend of Jeremiah Wright, and associate of criminal William Ayers who probably wrote both of those fictional accounts of Obama's life. Alinsky was a community organizer just like Obama. He wrote Rules for Radicals. They call Alinsky the father of community organizers. He was from Chicago. Are you seeing a trend yet?
There is a reason they call Obama the food stamp President. Here is what Wayne Root says about Obama and Cloward Piven. Via Snopes. http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/overwhelm.asp
So if all of Obama's lies and omissions don't bother you, if all of his associations with radicals and criminals don't bother you, (don't forget Tony Rezko) then let's turn to what he has done as President.
Has he stopped the flow of food stamps or unemployment? No. Has he created jobs? No. Has he prosecuted any crooked bankers? No. Has he siphoned taxpayer money and given it to bankrupt companies like Solyndra? Yes. Has he used tax payer money to rescue his union voting bases at GM? Sure. Has he stopped spending? No.
The harsh reality about Obama and his modus operandi is that he keeps his mouth shut. He omits the truth. That is abundantly clear as we cast a backward glance at his Indonesian roots, his Muslim upbringing, and his alias name of Barry Soetoro. Not once did he mention any of that. Or his drunk driving father or his atheist mother. Instead he offered up those two fictional biographies most likely written by a criminal, William Ayers.
Two biographies. One story, two books. Even that makes me pause.
He consorts with criminals like Ayers and Rezko. He has radical friends like Jeremiah Wright which he threw under the bus when he had to. He most certainly worships Alinsky and he is clearly a student of Cloward and Piven.
His actions as President are all consistent with enlarging the welfare state and stealing from taxpayers. In addition to becoming the food stamp President, he is now trying to buy votes from underwater homeowners by enlarging another welfare pool that taxpayers will have to pay. He is overloading the system. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/obama-offers-mortgage-relief-millions-203817655.html
Is this all a giant coincidence or an agenda?
Folks, if it has feathers, webbed feet, an orange bill, if it quacks, and it has a water tight asshole- it most certainly is a duck. I haven't seen this many coincidences in a lifetime. By now Obama's strategies and his intent are not only clear- they are consistent. Either that or you can call it a gut feeling of mine.
Intent is an element of many- if not most- criminal offenses. Sometimes it is very difficult to prove intent. Proving intent can be especially difficult when your target is well versed in criminal law. This is that loophole in the law that many criminal defense attorneys, and civil attorneys for that matter, point their clients through.
I often tried to identify and resolve the intent of individuals when solving crimes, measuring what people said to me, or even in settling disputes. What was this person's intent?
I am sure that more than a few of you have heard about cops and their "gut instincts." Let me give you an example of what a gut instinct can be. A gut instinct occurs when a veteran cop or just an astute cop makes an observation about someone or something that deviates from what your common sense tells you it should look like. I can honestly tell you that from the moment I witnessed President Clinton proclaim on national television that he "did not have sex with that woman" I knew he was lying. Knew it. Why? Because innocent people do not behave that way. Innocent people do not fear the truth because they know the truth will help them, not hurt them. That and Clinton never used her real name because he was trying to de-personalize her and distance himself. Convince us that he didn't even know Monica Lewinsky's name.
That is a gut instinct. And Clinton was prepared to lie his ass off and attack and vilify Lewinsky if he had to. But then there was that matter of semen and a blue dress. Tangible proof. And the great Rhodes scholar couldn't find the escape hatch. But he certainly showed us what kind of man he was.
If Clinton was an apprentice liar, then Obama is a professional. I can probably name 100 times that I have suspected Obama of lying. Probably ten of those lies (call them omissions) have to do with the documentation of his past... passports, transcripts, who paid for his schooling, where are his old girlfriends, etc.
As a side note, and this is the first time you will have read this...anywhere...think about why Obama put that abstract certification of live birth up and represented that as his "birth record" for nearly three years. The one with little or no information on it. Then suddenly, on the heels of Donald Trump's inquiries- a long form birth certificate materializes with all of the information we had been clamoring for. The question then becomes, "Why didn't you disclose that long form birth certificate the first time around?"
That is a gut instinct. That's how cops think. That's what I would be asking Obama while watching him squirm.
So when formulating intent- let's start with Columbia University. Columbia is the university that employed Professors Cloward and Piven. Cloward-Piven is a strategy that was designed by this married couple for imploding the United States by overloading the welfare system and causing a financial crisis. Is Obama aware of the strategy? Of course, he went to school at Columbia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloward%E2%80%93Piven_strategy
Obama was also a student of Saul Alinsky, friend of Jeremiah Wright, and associate of criminal William Ayers who probably wrote both of those fictional accounts of Obama's life. Alinsky was a community organizer just like Obama. He wrote Rules for Radicals. They call Alinsky the father of community organizers. He was from Chicago. Are you seeing a trend yet?
There is a reason they call Obama the food stamp President. Here is what Wayne Root says about Obama and Cloward Piven. Via Snopes. http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/overwhelm.asp
So if all of Obama's lies and omissions don't bother you, if all of his associations with radicals and criminals don't bother you, (don't forget Tony Rezko) then let's turn to what he has done as President.
Has he stopped the flow of food stamps or unemployment? No. Has he created jobs? No. Has he prosecuted any crooked bankers? No. Has he siphoned taxpayer money and given it to bankrupt companies like Solyndra? Yes. Has he used tax payer money to rescue his union voting bases at GM? Sure. Has he stopped spending? No.
The harsh reality about Obama and his modus operandi is that he keeps his mouth shut. He omits the truth. That is abundantly clear as we cast a backward glance at his Indonesian roots, his Muslim upbringing, and his alias name of Barry Soetoro. Not once did he mention any of that. Or his drunk driving father or his atheist mother. Instead he offered up those two fictional biographies most likely written by a criminal, William Ayers.
Two biographies. One story, two books. Even that makes me pause.
He consorts with criminals like Ayers and Rezko. He has radical friends like Jeremiah Wright which he threw under the bus when he had to. He most certainly worships Alinsky and he is clearly a student of Cloward and Piven.
His actions as President are all consistent with enlarging the welfare state and stealing from taxpayers. In addition to becoming the food stamp President, he is now trying to buy votes from underwater homeowners by enlarging another welfare pool that taxpayers will have to pay. He is overloading the system. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/obama-offers-mortgage-relief-millions-203817655.html
Is this all a giant coincidence or an agenda?
Folks, if it has feathers, webbed feet, an orange bill, if it quacks, and it has a water tight asshole- it most certainly is a duck. I haven't seen this many coincidences in a lifetime. By now Obama's strategies and his intent are not only clear- they are consistent. Either that or you can call it a gut feeling of mine.
The Warning Bell Tolls On the USS Debt Titanic
I can hear that bell a ringin'. How long will it be until the USS Debt Titanic slips below the waves?
By my 'ciphering, we are past the mathematical zenith of our national debt trajectory. The question of collapse is no longer "if" in my mind, it is simply a matter of when. You do not have to be a mathematical genius to see this. We simply do not have the capacity to dig ourselves out of this mess like we have in the past. The difference this time is that we have lost as many as 30 million taxpaying jobs in the past 10-15 years. Remaining jobs are paying squat. Inflation is kicking all of our collective asses irrespective of those fraudulent numbers our government puts out. Those numbers exclude food and energy, they exclude rising taxes, they exclude rising rents and insurance, and they exclude dwindling salaries or excess capital which people are now using to pay for their own health care needs (which are also rising) in between bankruptcies.
This facade of an economy cannot forever stand against the building pressure of debt, lies, and manipulation.
They can't skew every number- there is one number that never lies. U.S. tax receipts. They are down 9 billion year over year through February. So while your government and head cheerleader (and media) talk big recovery- the facts do not reflect that.The stock market is a paper tiger propped up with counterfeited FED generated federal reserve notes and laundered through primary dealers.
Can you envision the miracle that makes this mess go away? I can't.
That miracle would require tremendous sacrifice on the parts of both houses in Congress and the Presidency. It would also require the will and sacrifice of the American people who are currently mired in tar pits of apathy while searching for pictures of Lady Gaga on their I-phones. So if you are pinning your hopes on our intellectually retarded population and the courage of our politicians- you are entitled and will receive...my personally handcrafted Frankenstein Government Eternal Optimist Award. This year I have polished, painted, and clear coated some authentic Black Labrador shit which I will ship to you first class with my very own personal award letter.
If however, you are somewhat mathematically inclined or predisposed to hearing the truth, maybe this guy can get it done for you. His credentials, while amounting to vast overkill, should satisfy most. He is author and M.I.T. whiz kid, Daren Acemoglu. His recent book, "Why Nations Fail" is gaining support although I am confident that our unconscious and mildly retarded, "goo goo for Gaga American majority" will not be reading it anytime soon. Here's a snip I stole from the comments on ZeroHedge regarding Acemoglu:
The new book that's surging is Why Nations Fail;
--co-written by --
Daron Acemoglu, a fairly credible M.I.T. economics professor, who is essentially stating outright that the U.S. Economy is severely bad, getting worse, and headed straight towards collapse. It would appear that he is insinuating that Deep Capture's opening of a fatal wound in the fundamental economic structure of the U.S. is prompting the Federal Reserve to accelerate its central mission of transferring the remaining value of the holdings of the 99.9x% to the 0.01% on an expedited basis.
It would appear that he has no desire to be part of the Confidence Fairy club.
It’s the Economy: Why Some Countries Go Bust
TPTB= The Powers That Be.
The wealth effect and transfer occurs when counterfeited money is given to the first recipient. The first recipient spends it (obtaining full current value, primary dealers, bankers, and members of the FED) and then it enters the economy where the newly minted money dilutes the existing money supply. The more our money supply is diluted with excess money, the more worthless the existing supply becomes.
It is the QUANTITY of un-backed money printing that causes runaway inflation like the inflation we are feeling now. They are even using excess money printing to short precious metals while central banks are grabbing all of the physical gold that they can.
The only thing that amounts to an opinion in this piece is whether or not, mathematically, we can un-bury ourselves with the MIA income of 30 million jobs and subsequent to that failure- when does the economic collapse occur? Where is the capacity to pay the principal on 16 trillion with another 100 trillion coming due and payable in the next twenty years? That does not count the liabilities of Fannie, Freddie, Obamacare, or interest rate hikes. So if you know the answer, do tell. I'm all ears. That's either the bell on the USS Debt Titanic or I have Tinnitus.
http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2012/03/acemoglu_on_why.html
By my 'ciphering, we are past the mathematical zenith of our national debt trajectory. The question of collapse is no longer "if" in my mind, it is simply a matter of when. You do not have to be a mathematical genius to see this. We simply do not have the capacity to dig ourselves out of this mess like we have in the past. The difference this time is that we have lost as many as 30 million taxpaying jobs in the past 10-15 years. Remaining jobs are paying squat. Inflation is kicking all of our collective asses irrespective of those fraudulent numbers our government puts out. Those numbers exclude food and energy, they exclude rising taxes, they exclude rising rents and insurance, and they exclude dwindling salaries or excess capital which people are now using to pay for their own health care needs (which are also rising) in between bankruptcies.
This facade of an economy cannot forever stand against the building pressure of debt, lies, and manipulation.
They can't skew every number- there is one number that never lies. U.S. tax receipts. They are down 9 billion year over year through February. So while your government and head cheerleader (and media) talk big recovery- the facts do not reflect that.The stock market is a paper tiger propped up with counterfeited FED generated federal reserve notes and laundered through primary dealers.
Can you envision the miracle that makes this mess go away? I can't.
That miracle would require tremendous sacrifice on the parts of both houses in Congress and the Presidency. It would also require the will and sacrifice of the American people who are currently mired in tar pits of apathy while searching for pictures of Lady Gaga on their I-phones. So if you are pinning your hopes on our intellectually retarded population and the courage of our politicians- you are entitled and will receive...my personally handcrafted Frankenstein Government Eternal Optimist Award. This year I have polished, painted, and clear coated some authentic Black Labrador shit which I will ship to you first class with my very own personal award letter.
If however, you are somewhat mathematically inclined or predisposed to hearing the truth, maybe this guy can get it done for you. His credentials, while amounting to vast overkill, should satisfy most. He is author and M.I.T. whiz kid, Daren Acemoglu. His recent book, "Why Nations Fail" is gaining support although I am confident that our unconscious and mildly retarded, "goo goo for Gaga American majority" will not be reading it anytime soon. Here's a snip I stole from the comments on ZeroHedge regarding Acemoglu:
The new book that's surging is Why Nations Fail;
--co-written by --
Daron Acemoglu, a fairly credible M.I.T. economics professor, who is essentially stating outright that the U.S. Economy is severely bad, getting worse, and headed straight towards collapse. It would appear that he is insinuating that Deep Capture's opening of a fatal wound in the fundamental economic structure of the U.S. is prompting the Federal Reserve to accelerate its central mission of transferring the remaining value of the holdings of the 99.9x% to the 0.01% on an expedited basis.
It would appear that he has no desire to be part of the Confidence Fairy club.
It’s the Economy: Why Some Countries Go Bust
"By his own admission, Daron Acemoglu is a slightly pudgy and fairly nerdy guy with an unpronounceable last name. But when I mentioned that I was interviewing him to two econ buffs, they each gasped and said, “I love Daron Acemoglu,” as if I were talking about Keith Richards. The Turkish M.I.T. professor — who, right now, is about as hot as economists get — acquired his renown for serious advances in answering the single most important question in his profession, the same one that compelled Adam Smith to write “The Wealth of Nations”: why are some countries rich while others are poor?
Acemoglu, told me that financial firms have so thoroughly co-opted the political process that the American economy has become fundamentally unsound. “It’s bad and getting worse,” he told me. Barring some major shift in our political system, he suggested, the United States could be on its way to serious economic failure.Or, stated alternatively, it would appear that he, like a select few others, believes that TPTB have lost control of the propaganda war, as the masses realize a large gap between what they're being told by the media and government officials, lose confidence in the very structure and foundation of the system, and that given this awakening taking place, TPTB that rely on the Fed Reserve as their wealth transfer mechanism can no longer afford to try to slowly simmer the frogs, and a quick boil it will have to be (in order to plunder while the plundering is good).
TPTB= The Powers That Be.
The wealth effect and transfer occurs when counterfeited money is given to the first recipient. The first recipient spends it (obtaining full current value, primary dealers, bankers, and members of the FED) and then it enters the economy where the newly minted money dilutes the existing money supply. The more our money supply is diluted with excess money, the more worthless the existing supply becomes.
It is the QUANTITY of un-backed money printing that causes runaway inflation like the inflation we are feeling now. They are even using excess money printing to short precious metals while central banks are grabbing all of the physical gold that they can.
The only thing that amounts to an opinion in this piece is whether or not, mathematically, we can un-bury ourselves with the MIA income of 30 million jobs and subsequent to that failure- when does the economic collapse occur? Where is the capacity to pay the principal on 16 trillion with another 100 trillion coming due and payable in the next twenty years? That does not count the liabilities of Fannie, Freddie, Obamacare, or interest rate hikes. So if you know the answer, do tell. I'm all ears. That's either the bell on the USS Debt Titanic or I have Tinnitus.
http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2012/03/acemoglu_on_why.html
Monday, March 19, 2012
New Apple CEO Wastes Little Time Unloading Apple's Cash Hoard
I have a few Apple products. Two laptops, an Ipod, and a Bose player. I have an Ipod connection in my car. The Ipod was a beautiful creation. All that music in one very small place.
I love Apple products. My computers cannot get viruses and they are easier to use. The Ipod is a fantastic device. I think the Iphone is as well but I don't have one. I simply refuse to pay monthly phone bills in excess of 100 bucks. Data is what my computer uses.
The Iphone and it's Droid cousins bother me. I am sick of seeing people preoccupied with their phones. It's like a grown up kid freak show. I was at dinner over the weekend and watched 3 young adults at one table, none of them talking to each other, all hunched over their phones like they wanted to be somewhere else.
Virtually every retirement fund, mutual fund, and high flying money manager owns Apple stock. It has been the darling of Wall Street. Apple is what America was. The capital appreciation in this stock has been outstanding. And while Steve Jobs was running the company, there was no way in hell Apple was ever going to pay a dividend. The only way to make money with Apple stock was to buy some and sell it at some higher price later on. Jobs was content with that. With a war chest right at 100 billion, a "Jobs" less Apple caved into the demands of investors. Today, Apple announced a ten billion share re-purchase program and an annual dividend of over 10 bucks a share. That is ginormous. In fact, they will burn off 45 billion dollars in the next 3 years.
This will give every one who owns Apple an artificial top with which to unload shares. A chance to sell. Apple traded north of 600 a share at one point today. All those company insiders can cash out.
Steve Jobs was a maverick. A very real and astute businessman. I simply cannot envision him unloading that cash hoard like this. Jobs was the supreme capitalist. I think he might have used that mountain of cash to take over the world or at least take Apple private again. I mean, why spread the wealth around? That's what socialists do. Jobs was no socialist. He socialized labor- paying rock bottom wages to Chinese working stiffs but he sure in the hell didn't socialize profits. Well, any more than he thought was necessary.
That leads me to my one great knock on Jobs. Greed. The absolute and most fascinating thing about human behavior is that successful human beings, really successful ones, simply cannot take their foot off the accelerator. Greed and enormous egos must be joined. At no point does a truly successful capitalist ever say, "Ok, I've got enough money." In fact, they do the opposite. They look to wring every last penny they can out of their businesses and the people that work for them.
In America, we worship greed. So maybe Jobs was simply a piece of Americana on steroids. There is no way in hell- Jobs would have supported this waste of the company cash hoard. The surviving and succeeding Apple executives and board, with Jobs gone, have done the predictable thing. They have found a way to get their hands on that cash and enrich themselves. Thus the life cycle of a great American company comes into full view. Apple has now left the growth stage and entered the mature phase of it's existence. Middle age. Perhaps the next artificial growth spurt will be a stock split or two as Apple becomes just another blue chip stock. We'll see. Personally, I liked it better when Jobs was around. It would have been fun to see Steve take over the world.
I love Apple products. My computers cannot get viruses and they are easier to use. The Ipod is a fantastic device. I think the Iphone is as well but I don't have one. I simply refuse to pay monthly phone bills in excess of 100 bucks. Data is what my computer uses.
The Iphone and it's Droid cousins bother me. I am sick of seeing people preoccupied with their phones. It's like a grown up kid freak show. I was at dinner over the weekend and watched 3 young adults at one table, none of them talking to each other, all hunched over their phones like they wanted to be somewhere else.
Virtually every retirement fund, mutual fund, and high flying money manager owns Apple stock. It has been the darling of Wall Street. Apple is what America was. The capital appreciation in this stock has been outstanding. And while Steve Jobs was running the company, there was no way in hell Apple was ever going to pay a dividend. The only way to make money with Apple stock was to buy some and sell it at some higher price later on. Jobs was content with that. With a war chest right at 100 billion, a "Jobs" less Apple caved into the demands of investors. Today, Apple announced a ten billion share re-purchase program and an annual dividend of over 10 bucks a share. That is ginormous. In fact, they will burn off 45 billion dollars in the next 3 years.
This will give every one who owns Apple an artificial top with which to unload shares. A chance to sell. Apple traded north of 600 a share at one point today. All those company insiders can cash out.
Steve Jobs was a maverick. A very real and astute businessman. I simply cannot envision him unloading that cash hoard like this. Jobs was the supreme capitalist. I think he might have used that mountain of cash to take over the world or at least take Apple private again. I mean, why spread the wealth around? That's what socialists do. Jobs was no socialist. He socialized labor- paying rock bottom wages to Chinese working stiffs but he sure in the hell didn't socialize profits. Well, any more than he thought was necessary.
That leads me to my one great knock on Jobs. Greed. The absolute and most fascinating thing about human behavior is that successful human beings, really successful ones, simply cannot take their foot off the accelerator. Greed and enormous egos must be joined. At no point does a truly successful capitalist ever say, "Ok, I've got enough money." In fact, they do the opposite. They look to wring every last penny they can out of their businesses and the people that work for them.
In America, we worship greed. So maybe Jobs was simply a piece of Americana on steroids. There is no way in hell- Jobs would have supported this waste of the company cash hoard. The surviving and succeeding Apple executives and board, with Jobs gone, have done the predictable thing. They have found a way to get their hands on that cash and enrich themselves. Thus the life cycle of a great American company comes into full view. Apple has now left the growth stage and entered the mature phase of it's existence. Middle age. Perhaps the next artificial growth spurt will be a stock split or two as Apple becomes just another blue chip stock. We'll see. Personally, I liked it better when Jobs was around. It would have been fun to see Steve take over the world.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Kill Only the Ones That Need Killing
You screwed up Sgt. Bales. You killed people who didn't need killing.
The really terrible part about war is that a lot of people who shouldn't die do. They have cutesy little names for these unintended deaths which are blamed on things like friendly fire or collateral damage. For a country that is terribly offended at the possibility that an innocent person on death row might be executed, we certainly seem ok tolerating hundred and thousands of innocent deaths with every new "conflict" we engage in.
Maybe we just don't mind killing as long as it's not us getting killed.
You might even get the idea that Americans like war and killing. We seem to do a lot of it. It's hard to imagine a country that does as much killing as we do- claiming that we don't really like war and killing. Clearly the facts don't support that assertion. Maybe we enjoy the martyr role. The ability to say it's our job to police the world. I don't know for sure.
I won't go into the history of people with guns acting brutally and savagely except to say that it has been going on forever. Etched into the recesses of my mind is that picture of a Vietnamese boy getting his brains blown out. How's that for due process?
I remember Wounded Knee. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wounded_Knee_Massacre The great American massacre and attempted cover-up. Unarmed women, children, and old men slaughtered and left frozen. They called it an uprising or a conflict. The massacre probably started when soldiers tried to seize a rifle from a deaf Indian who did not speak English. Go to Pine Bluff Reservation sometime and get the Indian version of those events. It is my opinion that most if not all of the deaths and injuries to our infantry at Wounded Knee occurred because of gatling type guns called Hotchkiss guns which were fired at close quarters and indiscriminately. Friendly fire. Unfortunately, who killed who- determined in some forensic and scientific fashion is lost to us forever. It is probably just as well. We tend to lie and cover up inconvenient truths as evidenced by the death of Pat Tillman. When we do something really bad, it seems our first instinct- the one we can never wrestle into submission- is that we lie. I think that's good. At least we are not completely socio-pathic and still possess some sense of guilt and shame.
So the latest war tragedy du jour is that of Staff Sergeant Bales. Sgt. Bales it seems, in some combination of mental illness, post traumatic stress disorder and drinking, thought it might be a good idea to go kill about 16 unarmed Afghan women and children and then light them on fire. I have noticed that lighting the bodies on fire has been escaping most media accounts of the incident. Minimizing. Remember those inconvenient truths? http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2012/0318/Sgt.-Robert-Bales-Defense-team-begins-building-case-on-PTSD
I must have read 20 different news stories this week about the incident. The ones that inflamed me the most were the ones where the media saw fit to publish Bales' family address with pictures of his home. Was that really necessary?
The Afghans are demanding justice in the form of Bales' execution. I doubt they are going to get that. Already I see opinion and the media doing what we do best. Shaping, minimizing, justifying- protecting our own. We have been doing this long before Wounded Knee. And most certainly we do it in a hotly contested political year.
The problem with guys like Bales is that they have to stick to killing the people that our government deems fit for killing. You can't just go off half drunk and murder part of a village and then try to burn the bodies. That kind of thing is hard to defend. But this is 2012 and an election year.
If history is any indication, I have the utmost confidence that somehow Sgt. Bale's fate won't be determined until sometime after November of this year. They are going to have a real hard time cleaning up this mess. But they will. They always do.
The really terrible part about war is that a lot of people who shouldn't die do. They have cutesy little names for these unintended deaths which are blamed on things like friendly fire or collateral damage. For a country that is terribly offended at the possibility that an innocent person on death row might be executed, we certainly seem ok tolerating hundred and thousands of innocent deaths with every new "conflict" we engage in.
Maybe we just don't mind killing as long as it's not us getting killed.
You might even get the idea that Americans like war and killing. We seem to do a lot of it. It's hard to imagine a country that does as much killing as we do- claiming that we don't really like war and killing. Clearly the facts don't support that assertion. Maybe we enjoy the martyr role. The ability to say it's our job to police the world. I don't know for sure.
I won't go into the history of people with guns acting brutally and savagely except to say that it has been going on forever. Etched into the recesses of my mind is that picture of a Vietnamese boy getting his brains blown out. How's that for due process?
I remember Wounded Knee. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wounded_Knee_Massacre The great American massacre and attempted cover-up. Unarmed women, children, and old men slaughtered and left frozen. They called it an uprising or a conflict. The massacre probably started when soldiers tried to seize a rifle from a deaf Indian who did not speak English. Go to Pine Bluff Reservation sometime and get the Indian version of those events. It is my opinion that most if not all of the deaths and injuries to our infantry at Wounded Knee occurred because of gatling type guns called Hotchkiss guns which were fired at close quarters and indiscriminately. Friendly fire. Unfortunately, who killed who- determined in some forensic and scientific fashion is lost to us forever. It is probably just as well. We tend to lie and cover up inconvenient truths as evidenced by the death of Pat Tillman. When we do something really bad, it seems our first instinct- the one we can never wrestle into submission- is that we lie. I think that's good. At least we are not completely socio-pathic and still possess some sense of guilt and shame.
So the latest war tragedy du jour is that of Staff Sergeant Bales. Sgt. Bales it seems, in some combination of mental illness, post traumatic stress disorder and drinking, thought it might be a good idea to go kill about 16 unarmed Afghan women and children and then light them on fire. I have noticed that lighting the bodies on fire has been escaping most media accounts of the incident. Minimizing. Remember those inconvenient truths? http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2012/0318/Sgt.-Robert-Bales-Defense-team-begins-building-case-on-PTSD
I must have read 20 different news stories this week about the incident. The ones that inflamed me the most were the ones where the media saw fit to publish Bales' family address with pictures of his home. Was that really necessary?
The Afghans are demanding justice in the form of Bales' execution. I doubt they are going to get that. Already I see opinion and the media doing what we do best. Shaping, minimizing, justifying- protecting our own. We have been doing this long before Wounded Knee. And most certainly we do it in a hotly contested political year.
The problem with guys like Bales is that they have to stick to killing the people that our government deems fit for killing. You can't just go off half drunk and murder part of a village and then try to burn the bodies. That kind of thing is hard to defend. But this is 2012 and an election year.
If history is any indication, I have the utmost confidence that somehow Sgt. Bale's fate won't be determined until sometime after November of this year. They are going to have a real hard time cleaning up this mess. But they will. They always do.
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