You want to know the pure definition of irony? Irony occurs when the greatest spy nation of all time, charges one of it's own spies, for releasing secrets directly related to the extent of their spying.  This week the government that brought you the Patriot Act, worldwide eavesdropping, bugs designed to destroy computer networks, the capability to intercept anything you do or send on a computer or phone including GPS which is able to track your movements, places cameras in public venues, embeds microprocessors in your passport, operates drone aircraft able to photograph a mole on you ass from 4 miles away, and a hierarchy that has the power to shut down every means of communication available to you if it feels threatened, has charged Edward Snowden with espionage. That is some rich shit, indeed. In a world turned completely upside down, where the cowards and traitors of Congress, point fingers at Ed Snowden and tell us that somehow his telling the truth is treason a

Just a hint of tapering off. Bernanke's remarks yesterday had Wall Street bankers running for the exits. Bond yields ratcheted up. Markets sold off in dramatic fashion. Bank repo rates in China last night were quoted beyond 25%. That led to the greatest stock market loss in the Hang Seng all year, a nearly 3% loss. Hong Kong Hang Seng Index   +  Add to Watchlist HSI:IND 20,382.87 604.02  2.88% Three days ago, on CNBC, every guest and host said "buy stocks." That's the same shit I've been listening to since this manufactured QE recovery began in Mar. of 09. It's always been a liquidity crisis. The world is awash in a sea of debt and even the masters of the universe can't change that. Extend and pretend time is over. The "spend our way out of debt" exercise is wrapping up. There is no "jobs recovery" just job splitting to evade Obamacare rules. There is no building renaissance as lumber prices tumble, no demand. In Boise, t

Taking the long route today. Debate club, old man style. That's why I like Huffpo. Debating causes me to think. I am in awe at some of the positions liberals take. I am not kidding when I say this. Dyed in the wool leftists often cannot grasp why government would lie. They simply give government officials, particularly "theirs" the benefit of the doubt. It defies belief. But in as much as they defend "theirs" they hate "yours." Leftists always think they know your agenda. Whenever I am debating an issue, let's say in the case of the Congressional Budget Office's allegation that this year's deficit will only be 642 billion, I stick to the facts. Generally what happens is this. a) Intelligent people realize when they are wrong or at the very least, realize when they have been mislead. They will go quiet. b) Every once in awhile, I actually have a decent back and forth discussion with an intelligent person without name calling. This cau

Over the weekend, Darth Cheney called Edward Snowden the NSA exposer- a "traitor." Here's what Snowden had to say. "This is a man who gave us the warrantless wiretapping scheme as a kind of atrocity warm-up on the way to deceitfully engineering a conflict that has killed over 4,400 and maimed nearly 32,000 Americans, as well as leaving over 100,000 Iraqis dead," Snowden purportedly wrote in a  public, online chat  Monday hosted by the Guardian newspaper. "Being called a traitor by Dick Cheney is the highest honor you can give an American," he added.