Striking Sail

6 Charts That Suggest The Unemployment Crisis Is WORSE Than It Looks

2010-08-06T12:34:00.001-07:00

Awaken... It was BOTH parties that got us into this mess - and we let them. Those that point fingers at the other party are lost. It is decades of crony-ism, exorbitant military spending by ALL, unmanaged and misguided social programs by both parties, mis-regulation (poor and loopholed) of the largest companies while over-regulation of the mom & pop businesses & lemonade stands across our country. It will only be when the 2/3 rds of the population that do not trust their governmental leaders wake up and realize that we have a choice - a choice to choose "other". The other being Green, Workers, Constitution, Libertarian. We must pull the power from the power brokers in our state governments, in DC who work with and FOR the politically connected elite in this country. We must not listen to the media conglomerates who lie to us daily. We must reclaim our power from them - WE THE PEOPLE. Peace Out - in Liberty!
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Quants and market collapse

2010-05-04T17:41:00.000-07:00

Love this video. I like the part where they talk about how the bankers tell them to change the model so the model reflects the risk the bankers want to have. Nothing like fudging the numbers. I believe that is called FRAUD!!!

Can a state go bankrupt? They wish.

2009-11-14T00:09:00.000-08:00

State Finance Directors Warn of More Trouble Ahead - WSJ.com:

"'I looked as hard as I could at how states could declare bankruptcy,' said Michael Genest, director of the California Department of Finance who is stepping down at the end of the year. 'I literally looked at the federal constitution to see if there was a way for states to return to territory status.'"

As of July 2009, California's budget shortfall was 49.3% of its general funds. States have considered drastic options to fill such gaps.

Michigan, which could end the recession with 25% fewer jobs than in June 2000 and a total of one million job losses has an unemployment rate in September was 15.3% (more likely well over 20% if you look at those who have given up looking or are working reduced hours).

"Citizens don't quite understand yet the implications of some of the cuts that we've made," Mr. Bean said. "A lot of it has fallen on local governments. I am very concerned that we're going to have a lot of insolvencies in local governments."

Dilbert - on the take

2009-10-14T14:29:00.000-07:00

A great Dilbert today. Nicely timed for all the bills coming off the hill.

Pension Trouble

2009-06-03T15:07:00.000-07:00

How can pensions be guaranteed? My 401k is not guaranteed. It is a taxpayer black hole and a Wall Street dream. Wall Street looses pension money; governments send them more money to make the pension whole – again and again. It is time for full reform.

http://www.pensiontsunami.com/

State governments buried under pension debt. NY State has nearly 700 educators receiving annual pensions of more than $100,000. Story from Albany Times Union: http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=692650

California has over 5,000 people receiving pensions of more than $100,000, some making almost $500,000 a year (retired treasurer from city of Vernon, CA). Over 3,000 are educators. http://www.californiapensionreform.com/calpers/

Unions are payed off with sweetheart deals for pensions – government agencies thinking they paying for the pension will be someone else’s problem. Many pensions end up paying out more each year than the employees earned at any year in their working career – this is due to the employee padding their final years wages with additional income.

Watching the AIG testimony for the second time

2009-05-15T15:59:00.000-07:00

Every time I watch this I get more out of it. This time Marcy Kaptur stood out in her strong advocacy for the American worker. Rep Kaptur - you have my support - go after them and bring out the TRUTH. You are so right in how wall street and corporate America has decimated mid America and the small towns across the country. We as a people are ashamed of how we have supported them throughout the years.

Tim Ryan and the SIFMA role in bailouts

2009-05-14T12:33:00.000-07:00

From reading the documentation the Judicial Watch obtained I wonder what role Tim Ryan from SIFMA.org played in the government funding of the 9 large banks. SIFMA (Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association) is a major lobby for the securities industry and large banks. Why or how they were involved with the federal infusion of money into the banks is beyond me. You can be sure that they DON'T have the taxpayers interest in mind.

We may never know the truth, as the government has redacted most of the documents released under the FOIA request:

I hope that these industry lobby groups are looked at during the coming years as we determine how we fell so low.

AIG forced by Federal Reserve to pay all CDS contracts at 100% - way above current value at the time of settlement.

2009-05-13T14:06:00.000-07:00

I have yet to see this on the MSM – but Karl Denninger picked it up as covered on CSPAN.

AIGs CEO Liddy answered a question posed by Rep Kaptur:

"When The Fed set up Maiden Lane they took on responsibility for settlement of all of the CDS."

"The Federal Reserve decided we should pay 100 cents on the dollar",

Rep Issa expanded the truth of this in a followup - they could have purchased those contracts for far less in the open market at the time.

"AIG repaid counterparties one to one, dollar for dollar, but when it comes to teachers and firefighters in Ohio, [they got] zero," Kucinich said. "This is not acceptable, Mr. Liddy. I'm not going to let you get away with it."

Rep Issa called the three-member board from the NY Fed that oversees the government’s 80% ownership stake in AIG "an unconstitutional and unaccountable entity."

As Mr. Denninger says: “The bottom line is that the testimony was that The Fed decided to settle the contracts in a non-economic manner that resulted in screwing the taxpayer by transferring more than $100 billion dollars of taxpayer money out to these banks when the cash value at the time was FAR LESS.”

This is the ONLY reason that the large banks have reported large first quarter profits.

Mr. Denninger continues: “The allegation just made by Liddy is that Bernanke and The Fed literally stole $100 billion dollars from you and I by intentionally and wantonly overpaying on the settlement of these contracts!”

AIG is fighting all requests from the congress: "AIG has spent millions of dollars on high-priced P.R. firms and big-time lawyers to attack its critics," Rep. Towns said. "Clearly, AIG is making sure its lawyers and PR firms are watching its back."

naked capitalism: Federal Reserve Inspector General Unable to Answer Basic Questions on Where the Trillions Went

2009-05-12T08:28:00.000-07:00

The oversight of the fed is severely lacking. It is outrageous that they can have taken on Trillions of non treasury related securities but either don't know or won't tell on their current status.

naked capitalism: Federal Reserve Inspector General Unable to Answer Basic Questions on Where the Trillions Went: "Federal Reserve Inspector General Unable to Answer Basic Questions on Where the Trillions Went
Rep. Alan Grayson asks Inspector General Coleman of the Federal Reserve some very basic questions of about various Fed programs and activities and gets nowhere. And the worse is that the IG isn't stonewalling, but instead is clearly completely clueless. Watching the video, you get the impression that Coleman can't name a program beyond the TALF.

But there is a possibly more important issue at stake. The interview is with the Inspector General of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. The programs are actually at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. For reasons I cannot fathom, the Board of Governors is subject to Freedom of Information Act requests, while the Fed of New York has been able to rebuff them."

Troubled banks must be allowed a way to fail

2009-05-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

Finally some common sense! Hoenig needs to be put in charge of the Fed.

FT.com / Comment / Opinion - Troubled banks must be allowed a way to fail:

"Troubled banks must be allowed a way to fail
By Thomas Hoenig
Published: May 3 2009 19:01 Last updated: May 3 2009 19:01
When the
financial crisis began to unfold in 2007, US policymakers reacted quickly out of
fear that rapidly evolving events would lead to a global economic collapse. In
my view, the policy response to this point has been ad hoc, resulting in
inequitable outcomes among firms, creditors, and investors. Despite taking a
number of actions to stabilise markets and institutions, uncertainty continues
and markets remain stressed.
I believe there is an alternative method for
addressing this crisis that deals more effectively with the issues we currently
face while also considering the long-run consequences of those actions: the
implementation of a systematic plan to resolve large, problem financial
institutions."

The deceptive nature of Large Numbers

2009-05-04T11:17:00.000-07:00

When President Obama recently announced that they would be finding savings of one hundred million here, one hundred million there to cut costs in the federal budget, many were impressed.

On the other hand, that is is like an average American family cutting two dollars out of their yearly budget - not very hard to do.

Institution: Average Family
Yearly Budget: $40,000.00
Yearly Savings: $2.00
% savings: 0.005%

Institution: Federal Government
Yearly Budget: $2,000,000,000,000.00
Yearly Savings: $100,000,000.00
% savings: 0.005%

When our government has it's budget in the Trillions of dollars, a hundred million dollars is NOTHING!

UAW takes over Chrysler in hostile takeover

2009-05-02T14:39:00.000-07:00

This is one big political payback. I will never buy a Chrysler or GM car until the companies are turned back over to their rightful creditors.

Freddie Mac forced to take losses

2009-04-23T13:03:00.000-07:00

Obama FHFA pressures Freddie Mac to not disclose how the housing recovery plan will force Freddie Mac to incur additional losses. Nothing like the government trying to "hide" information from the public.

Freddie Mac Executive Had Taken Week Off to Deal With Stress

"Yet Kellermann has also figured in recent controversies at Freddie Mac. He and
a group of company attorneys tussled with its regulator in early March as the
firm prepared to file its quarterly earnings report with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. The group insisted that Freddie Mac inform shareholders of
the cost to the company of helping carry out the Obama administration's housing
recovery plan. The regulator urged the company not to do so, according to
several sources familiar with the matter. An FHFA official contested that
account, saying the regulator did not oppose disclosure but how the information
was portrayed in the filing.
Freddie Mac ultimately disclosed the material."

401K - tough times for those who need money now.

2009-04-21T16:21:00.000-07:00

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4955194n

These individuals were not helped in saming their money safely. Too many just put their money in and forgot about it, or trusted in the "diversify" and you will be safe. They would have been better if they had just put their money in a mattress!

Citi makes "bank" betting on its own demise.

2009-04-19T22:53:00.001-07:00

Citi Reports $4.69 Billion in Fixed Income Trading

...something magic happened in the fixed income trading group for Citi. This is pure gold if you like arcane financial statements packed with fictional earnings. If you dig into the quarterly report, you'll learn than fixed income trading revenues were boosted by a "net $2.5 billion positive CVA on derivative positions, excluding monoclines, mainly due to the widening of Citi's CDS spread.

That takes some sorting out. A CVA is a "credit value adjustment." As you can learn here, it's the credit risk premium of a derivative contract. Once you sort it out, you learn that Citi "made" $2.5 billion on a derivatives position designed to profit when the companies own credit default swaps spreads widen.

Or, in plain English, Citi profited because it made a bet that the cost of insuring itself against a default would go up. The credit default swap market is the place where you can bet on the credit worthiness of a firm, or, essentially, the chance that a firm might default on its bonds. Citi appears to have reported a $2.5 billion trading gain in the fourth quarter precisely because the market thought the company stood a good chance of failing (hence the widening CDS spread).

Now that's some life insurance policy!!

Profit from our Sweat: exploiting the credit spread and fees

2009-04-09T10:46:00.000-07:00

As the population works hard to stay afloat, scrimping away money into savings accounts paying just over ZERO percent, Wells Fargo comes out this morning and says they're going to make a "record" profit, claiming an expected 55 cents a share? WOW - where is this profit coming from? The cost for them to borrow money is near ZERO, this has allowed them to increase their profits per home loan from $1000 to $4000. Have credit card rates fallen? NO, I don't think so. Have auto loan rates fallen? No, I don't think so.

These banks are exploiting the population both by not passing on the full extent of saving in borrowing costs and by charging exorbitant fees on customers during times of turmoil.

Bank earnings have also been helped by the recent FASB Mark to Market changes. They will also book earnings from AIG counterparty payments that are coming from taxpayers.

Don't believe the banks are out of the water yet. This is going to be a multi year problem.

Banks increase derivative exposure in Q4

2009-03-30T14:05:00.000-07:00

We are letting the biggest US banks grow bigger and take larger risks ALL THE TIME. Where are the systemic regulators?

Wall Street Journal: US Banks lose total of $9.2 billion on derivative trades in 4th Quarter. The notional value of derivatives held by U.S. banks climbed $24.5 trillion in the fourth quarter to $200.4 trillion, as major U.S. investment banks converted to become banks to access government aid.

Bank Losses Spreading!:

"According to the OCC’s Q4 2008 report, America’s top five commercial banks control 96 percent of the industry’s total derivatives, while the top 25 control 99.78 percent. In other words, for every $100 dollar of derivatives, the big banks have $99.78 … while the rest of the nation’s 7,000-plus banking institutions control a meager 22 cents!

Commercial banks lost a record $3.4 billion in interest rate derivatives, or more than seven times their worst previous quarterly loss in that category."

Schumer on the passage of Graham Leach Bliley bill

2009-03-27T11:17:00.000-07:00

Schumer is so bought by the banks it's not even funny.

CONGRESS PASSES WIDE-RANGING BILL EASING BANK LAWS - The New York Times: "''If we don't pass this bill, we could find London or Frankfurt or years down the road Shanghai becoming the financial capital of the world,'' said Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York. ''There are many reasons for this bill, but first and foremost is to ensure that U.S. financial firms remain competitive.''"

The downside risk

2009-03-25T13:50:00.000-07:00

Denninger is truly concerned that unless congress swiftly acts, that the populous will not be happy.

The Market Ticker: "Come summer and fall there will be no political capital available to play games, either in the American public or the Congress. If Congress tries to appease the Wall Street pressure groups again, they will run the risk of having the Capitol put under siege by angry citizens demanding 535 immediate resignations - or worse.

I further believe the American Public is getting damn close to the breaking point. The tone among people I interact with daily and among what I see online and off is shifting from hope and faith to anger with each passing day, and each revelation of another 10 billion here or there that get funneled through some conduit to an offshore bank just raises the pressure another notch. The people now want blood, and I believe the minimum they will accept are thousands of indictments, prosecutions and prison sentences along with forfeiture of these men and women's fortunes. Madoff didn't satisfy, it further enraged."

I hope it does not get to this point!

Op-Ed: Dear A.I.G., I Quit! - NYTimes

2009-03-25T09:21:00.000-07:00

So long, farewell, Auf wiedersehen, goodbye - YOU WILL NOT BE MISSED.

Op-Ed Contributor - Dear A.I.G., I Quit! - NYTimes.com: "It is with deep regret that I submit my notice of resignation from A.I.G. Financial Products. ... The profitability of the businesses with which I was associated clearly supported my compensation."

You and your kind take what you have and run. Your false profits, excess pay are nothing but a blight on society. Eating the profits from the shrinking middle class. Like a tumor you have slowly killed your host. GOODBYE!!!

Bank of America’s Bernstein Says Sell Bank Stocks After Rally - and then is fired

2009-03-24T16:08:00.000-07:00

Bernstein speaks up and tells it like it is - and then is fired. Management doesn't like the truth being told...

Bank of America’s Bernstein Says Sell Bank Stocks After Rally - Bloomberg.com:

"March 23 (Bloomberg) -- Investors should sell bank stocks after they rallied 12 percent today because the Treasury Department’s plan to buy toxic assets won’t stop profits from dropping, Bank of America Corp.’s Richard Bernstein said.

Removing devalued loans and securities from banks’ balance sheets is a short-term solution that will delay the problem’s ultimate solution, which is bank takeovers, Bernstein said. The government won’t be able to inflate the prices banks receive for selling bad assets indefinitely, he added.

“The history of bubbles shows quite well that financial sector consolidation is inevitable,” Bernstein, Bank of America’s chief investment strategist, wrote in a research note. “Financial stocks will be attractive when the government tries to speed up that inevitable process. However, to the contrary, the government continues to attempt to stymie that inevitable consolidation.”"

Come on government - get on with it - quit trying to save the system!!!

Condolences for the Rowes

2009-03-23T15:37:00.000-07:00

Condolences to Devon and Leslie who just lost their little girl. My heart is truly saddened. May your thoughts and prayers be with them in this tough time. You can read her blog, and read all about Jordan.

Geithner Obama Kowtowing to "Massively Corrupted" Banks Galbraith Says

2009-03-23T11:40:00.000-07:00

Yahoo Tech ticker interviews Galbraith who says Obama and Geithner have been pushed over by the big banks and colluded in the cover up. Watch the video interviews below.

Krugman agrees with Galbraith - see Krugmans weekend BLOG at nytimes where he says "The zombie ideas have won. The Obama ministration is now completely wedded to the idea that there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with the financial system — that what we’re facing is the equivalent of a run on an essentially sound bank."

What is going to happen with this new TARP is this: Banks through 3rd parties will purchase their own toxic assets at an inflated price. Why you ask? - the banks will only have to put up 5% of the purchase price. 5%? yes, the taxpayers pay the additional 95%, thus taking almost all the risk. The banks get to offload their toxic assets at inflated prices for only a 5% loss. Great deal for the banks - awful deal for the taxpayers!!! See this link for a more detailed explanation.

Galbraith says that putting the banks into FDIC receivership will be the only way that the corruption is uncovered:

"Crucially, FDIC receivership also means new management teams for insolvent banks; and Galbraith notes new leaders will have no incentive to cover up the fraudulent or predatory lending practices of their predecessors. Given the entire system was "massively corrupted by the subprime debacle," the professor believes criminal prosecutions on par with the aftermath of the S&L crisis - when hundreds of insiders went to jail - is a likely (and necessary) outcome of the current crisis."

Part I Geithner's Plan "Extremely Dangerous," Economist Galbraith Says

Part II Geithner Obama Kowtowing to "Massively Corrupted" Banks Galbraith Says

Part III "Happy Talk" Won't Solve Crisis, Galbraith Says: Much More Govt. Action Needed

"But don't expect to see many 'perp walks' if Geithner's current plan comes to fruition. That's one reason Galbraith called the plan 'extremely dangerous' in part one of our interview.

So why isn't the Obama administration pushing for FDIC receivership? 'Political influence of big banks,' the economist says."

Please contact your representatives and newspapers and expose this looting of the treasury! Follow the money trail - it goes from the taxpayer pockets, to our congress and then to the megabanks and wall street cronies!

Dodd Does an About-Face on Exec-Comp Wording in Law - FOXBusiness.com

2009-03-19T01:20:00.000-07:00

Woops!!!

Dodd Does an About-Face on Exec-Comp Wording in Law - FOXBusiness.com:
"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s office said the Senator did not know who put the
exemption in the bill, but his staff was trying to find out who was responsible.
Sen. Dodd said on Wednesday that without excluding bonus contracts already
agreed to, the executive pay limits could have met significant legal challenges.
Many legal scholars have said that breaking such bonus contracts would be
unconstitutional.

Sen. Dodd also said no one ever brought up AIG bonuses when writing the exemption into the bill. AIG donated more money to Sen. Dodd during the 2008 election cycle than to any other candidate, according to OpenSecrets.org."

But no conflict here. Dodd has been a major problem for years! Time to quietly resign.

The real scandal at AIG is the not the bonuses. It's the payments to counterparties. - By Eliot Spitzer - Slate Magazine

2009-03-18T13:50:00.000-07:00

Mr. Spitzer back in the game (after being taken down by the Bush justice department on behest of the banks). This is a travesty, and shows how much the fox is in the hen house. The bonus issue is a smoke screen that is trying to distract the American public.

The real scandal at AIG is the not the bonuses. It's the payments to counterparties. - By Eliot Spitzer - Slate Magazine:

"So here are several questions that should be answered, in public, under oath, to clear the air:

What was the precise conversation among Bernanke, Geithner, Paulson, and Blankfein that preceded the initial $80 billion grant?

Was it already known who the counterparties were and what the exposure was for each of the counterparties?

What did Goldman, and all the other counterparties, know about AIG's financial condition at the time they executed the swaps or other contracts? Had they done adequate due diligence to see whether they were buying real protection? And why shouldn't they bear a percentage of the risk of failure of their own counterparty?

What is the deeper relationship between Goldman and AIG? Didn't they almost merge a few years ago but did not because Goldman couldn't get its arms around the black box that is AIG? If that is true, why should Goldman get bailed out? After all, they should have known as well as anybody that a big part of AIG's business model was not to pay on insurance it had issued.

Why weren't the counterparties immediately and fully disclosed?

Failure to answer these questions will feed the populist rage that is metastasizing very quickly. And it will raise basic questions about the competence of those who are supposedly guiding this economic policy."

Full Tax Disclosure or Tax Revolt

2009-02-03T11:42:00.000-08:00

The Market Ticker:

"I keep hearing people say they're going to file absolute crap this year.
Utter garbage. 'The Dog ate my Schedule C.'

If The American People do this, Mr. President, government funding will
collapse. The IRS can't possibly audit everyone and we all know it.

Your administration is dangerously close to creating a full-on tax revolt
among Americans. You would not believe how often I have heard this among people
both online and off in the last couple of weeks. The anger, especially when the
people who are cheating are folks like Daschle and Geithner, is VISCERAL - these
are the people who both wrote the tax code and were involved in the bailouts and
handouts which you expect we the people - ordinary Americans - to pay for.

I file and pay every year exactly what I owe. No cheating, no games, no BS.
I spend upwards of a full week preparing and checking my tax return to make sure
that I pay every dollar that is due (but not one more!) But now we discover that
every day another one of your appointees in your 'new day' for Washington DC has
cheated on their taxes and in the case of Daschle and Geithner they knew they
owed the money and didn't pay until you tapped them?

Against this backdrop you expect ordinary Americans to file and pay for
bankster bailouts to cover the fraudulent actions of the banking and
securitization industry?

You might want to rethink this one, and I can come up with only two ways to
do it:

- Audit EVERY Congressperson and EVERY staffer in your
administration, including yourself. Everyone, all the way back to the statute of
limitations, with the results of those audits made public.

- Ditch the IRS and the current tax system entirely (mooting the
question) and move the nation to The Fair Tax, thereby firing all the tax
lobbyists and game-players in DC and elsewhere.

Frankly I prefer #2 but #1 is acceptable.

"Do nothing", on the other hand, may well NOT be accepted by The American
people.

If what I hear in my day-to-day the patience of "The People" is about
done."

I hear the same type of anger in the people I talk with. They've really had enough of this garbage. Middle class doesn't like to pay taxes and support the system while the ruling elite skip out of their taxes - passing the buck to "the people".

Driving Tom Daschle

2009-02-02T15:29:00.000-08:00

Driving Tom Daschle - WSJ.com: "Mr. Daschle says he used the car service about 80% for personal use, and 20% for business. But his spokeswoman says it only dawned on the Senator last June that this might be taxable income. Mr. Daschle's excuse? According to a Journal report Friday, 'he told committee staff he had grown used to having a car and driver as majority leader and did not think to report the perk on his taxes, according to staff members.' How's that for a Leona Helmsley moment: Doesn't everyone have a car and chauffeur, dear?"

ummm - Hello!! No we don't all have a car and chauffeur. Average Americans don't have political connections at hedge funds to give them a car and driver for 3 years or a "job" at the hedge fund that pays $1,000,000 a year. Are you kidding me - ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I want to know how much that hedge fund made - and from what? What connections did it get for that BRIBE. Oh I am so lucky I don't live in DC or I'd probably be arrested by now for egging him or throwing bags of dog dung at him.

Obama - Please!!! In appointing Mr. Daschle, Mr. Obama is showing that lobbying is fine as long as it is done by people who agree with him. If Mr. Daschle were the stand-up guy his fellow Democrats say he is, he'd withdraw his nomination and spare them the embarrassment of confirming someone else who thinks the tax laws apply only to other people.

Fuld should be in jail so he can be taken advantage of as he did to his investors.

2009-01-28T00:27:00.001-08:00

Lehman’s Ex-Chief Sold Mansion to Wife for $10 - NYTimes.com

Housing prices are falling around the country, but this one sounds hard to believe: A seaside mansion on Jupiter Island in Florida, bought for more than $13 million five years ago, was just sold for $10.

That’s right, 10 bucks. But in this case, the transaction is likely to raise eyebrows for reasons other than the price.

The seller, according to county records, was Richard S. Fuld Jr., the former chairman and chief executive of Lehman Brothers. The buyer was his wife, Kathleen.

The motivation is unclear, but Mr. Fuld has been under intense scrutiny since Lehman declared bankruptcy in September.

The longtime leader of the brokerage firm is at the center of a federal investigation into whether Lehman executives misled investors about the state of the company. And he was grilled by lawmakers at a Congressional hearing in October.

Pigman Subpoenas - It's about Time

2009-01-27T16:48:00.000-08:00

Why is it that only New York AGs ever have the balls to go after these crooks? Come on congress - get with it!!!

The Market Ticker:
"It is being reported on CNBC (and now on Marketwatch) that Andrew Cuomo (one of the
few law enforcement folks who actually take the word law and enforcement as
serious commitments, in my experience) has decided to subpoena former CEO Thain
under the Martin Act (a securities guy's nightmare, as it is a criminal fraud
statute!) related to the bonus payment move-up.

I'll say this - if Cuomo starts bringing charges related to the collapse and bullcrap that has gone on over the last year and a half, especially if he starts targeting the fools who
paraded their companies around CNBC claiming they were 'Well capitalized' days
before collapse, I'll kiss Cuomo on the lips - and I'm not gay.

I'm truly impressed, and will pray nightly that Cuomo hasn't hired any $3,000/hour hookers
that can be used to derail his investigation as happened with Spitzer."

Words from the (investment) wise for the week that was (January 12 – 18, 2009) » Investment Postcards from Cape Town

2009-01-19T11:46:00.000-08:00

Words from the (investment) wise for the week that was (January 12 – 18, 2009) » Investment Postcards from Cape Town:

Very funny cartoon - we'll have great infrastructure to get to non-existent jobs... tough life.

"Bernanke said Barack Obama’s economic package could provide a “significant boost” to the US economy.

18-jan-v1.jpg

Source: Daryl Cagle"

The Market Ticker

2009-01-14T23:59:00.000-08:00

The Market Ticker:

Derringer as usual is right on with what we need to do. If only the people will wake up and wake up their congress.

"To avoid this impending disaster, you must:

1. Refuse to authorize the remaining $350 billion in the EESA/TARP. That bill was an act of outright theft, it could not have worked in its original form, it definitely didn't work in its modified form, and there is no defense for continuing the charade.
2. Force, either by demand or if ignored by regulation, the full disclosure of all Federal Reserve 'assets', from where they came, the prices paid, and the terms, and demand that all 'in extremis' programs end ninety days hence. If the Fed doesn't like this de-authorize The Federal Reserve Act and replace them. I am well-aware that this will cause the collapse of a significant number of banks. We will deal with that momentarily.
3. Withdraw all debt-based support from the general economy. It is necessary that the over-encumbered go under. We have a means of dealing with this - it is called bankruptcy. Do it and get it over with. There is no alternative and stretching this out just makes it worse. If you have cancer the longer you wait the worse it is, and if you wait too long it spreads and you die. We are very close to having the economy die; there is no time for more delay.
4. Repeal the 'Bankruptcy Reform' act. That was a monstrous travesty demanded by the banking lobby to enslave Americans they ..."

RGE - "Adding a Trillion Dollars in Debt is Quite Manageable"

2009-01-09T08:50:00.000-08:00

RGE - "Adding a Trillion Dollars in Debt is Quite Manageable":

I've been calling for this. Large banks have outlived their usefulness. They are bloated and don't provide the services they should provide, but instead they take TARP money, deposit it in the FED and earn interest on our tax $$. Meanwhile they are all about charging FEES. Have you looked at your local bank or Credit Union lately?

"I think that in a few years even the existing financial institutions, the ones that have been saved, probably won't look anything like they do now. Do we really want a financial system with a few big universal banks, riddled by internal conflicts and contradictions, and yet too big to fail?

We have to rethink banking. Suppose you were putting your money in a bank, and it's being insured up to a large amount by the government. Suppose then the bank is taking the money and putting it at the Federal Reserve and getting interest on it. This arrangement begs the question of what the bank exists for. Should the bank just be charging for markup services on checking? If the government is ultimately going to be the one providing liquidity services, should the whole structure be different than it is now?"

Snow covered flowers - remnants of summer gone

2008-12-22T14:09:00.000-08:00

Oh bus - where art thou?

2008-12-22T14:05:00.000-08:00

As I stand here cold, any bus would work. But 90 minutes later I'm heading home. Hmm - if I can make it without chains, why can they not make it with chains?

The locust tree backlit by sun across from our house.

Warm inside - cold outside

2008-12-22T12:55:00.000-08:00

Inside, the platter of fruit hides the fact that we are burried in snow.

Spicy Eggplant Curry fills the house with a rich aroma.

A look outside shows almost a foot of fresh snow.

The house looks nice covered in white.

Stop Paying your Mortgage

2008-10-30T01:01:00.000-07:00

Radical Idea - let me call my CPA and lawyer:

Stop Paying Your Mortgage Today

I am tired of the being told that I - the prudent guy, and my kids when they grow up, should pay taxes so that bankers can get $70 billion in bonuses, so banks can use my tax money to buy other banks up like vultures feasting on roadkill and so that the guy down the street from me who took out an exotic mortgage to buy a house he couldn't afford can extract $200,000 or more from me and the rest of us in this nation - and keep his house.

That is outrageous, it is unjust, and in fact it is nothing other than raw theft, literally at gunpoint.

See, in many states purchase-money first mortgages are "non-recourse", meaning that all they can do is ruin your credit and foreclose on your house.

That's it.

They cannot force you into bankruptcy, they cannot garnish your wages.

And from the time you stop paying until the time you get evicted, you get to live there for free.

Finally, after you have been foreclosed upon, your house (and lots like it if your friends and neighbors do likewise) will drop dramatically in price. Presto! In a year or two you will be able to buy it back at half what you paid for it in 2004 or 2005. Now that's a bargain.

So give the government and the banks back what they're trying to give to you - a royal screw job.

Police State Brutality and C-SPAN debate - please take the time to watch

2008-10-24T20:23:00.001-07:00

America must see this - please forward!

Dear Friends and Family.

I fear the worst for our Sweet Land of Liberty when our nations bravest are treated this way upon their return home. When events like this happen but you don't hear about them on daily shows, radio and newspapers, we are truly in the final stages in our turn towards a Fascist state.

Iraqi war veterans face trampled by police horses at Hofstra University during this years Presidential debate after being dragged to ground by riot police:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlI7tQCqwbU

Using horses as weapons to beat down protesters:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjBEwhisGJs

And for those that missed it live last night - here's the C-SPAN Presidential debate between Ralph Nader and Chuck Baldwin - even if you'd rather vote republicrat, watch it just to see what you are missing in the false, controlled republicrat debates, here is 90 minutes of real discourse, real options, real time to talk about the issues. If you are a republican or democrat, and are NOT IN A SWING STATE - I deplore you to consider voting for one of these 2 candidates- both uphold the principals of our founding fathers, respect the power of the law and truly would uphold the constitution of our grand United States.

http://c-span.org/search.aspx?For=third%20party%20debate

Third Party Presidential Debate

Third Party candidates Ralph Nader (I) and Chuck Baldwin (Constitution Party) meet in a debate, hosted by Free and Equal. This is Mr. Nader's fourth presidential campaign. Mr. Baldwin is a radio talk show host and Baptist Minister.

Thursday : Washington, DC : 1 hr. 31 min.

Wash. Journal Question: "Do Third
Political Parties Matter?"

If we continue down this path - we will end up here - if you haven't watched it you should:
http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/the_end_of_america/

I have also cross posted this to my blog, where you can read about more of today's issues:
http://strikingsail.blogspot.com/

Tolli

I quoted some comments from around the world in regard to this debate and the push towards our individual breaking point. What is your breaking point?

http://www.breakingpoint08.com/

I'm going to go ahead and be extreme here: Not supporting Nader/Gonzales is being out of your ever-loving mind. After eight years of the Bush Administration, after twenty-eight years of a dynastic government by, for, and of the rich, how much more do people in this crumbling country need to experience to see that the Democrats are not the "good guys?" Obama is a hypocrite, McCain is just another rich Republican monster, and yet these are our "choices." Again! When will Americans be able to finally identify evil when they see it? Besides, our elections are about as fraudulent as you can get. Americans don't vote a President into office, but merely "root" for someone to win, knowing that in the end, it's really up to the powerful. Hence third party candidates not even being allowed to debate. And we call this a democracy, the "land of the free." Wake up, folks. Stop getting your news from CNN. Subscribe to national newspapers like The Progressive, Lowdown, Harper's, and a host of others. Read. Inform yourselves. Get the Big Picture.

Comment from Sweden, part 1 of 3

Ralph Nader,

I'm a US citizen living in Sweden. My life here has enabled me to see the US in a new light when I compare it to Sweden's healthcare, education, consumer protection, energy use, environmental attitudes and fairness in government.

- Healthcare: tax funded, available to all at minimal cost (max. 130 USD per person per year)
- Education (university): tax funded, available to all at minimal cost (books, some living expenses)
- Consumer protection: complies with EU standards plus its own strict measures. Large percentages of most food items are produced and sold in Sweden with organic certification.
- Energy use: many cities are soon attaining a goal of deriving 5% of their energy from wind. Geothermal heating methods are commonplace as well as solar. Car refueling stations with bio-gas, electricity and ethanol are located in all major cities and towns. Recycling rates and kitchen waste donations to city bio-gas plants are high.

Comment from Sweden, part 2 of 3

- Government: Sweden has seven official parties and they are all represented together in public debates prior to elections. Voters are not pressured into believing that only one of two parties has a chance to succeed. They are all heard and all represented in the government, according to the percentage share of the popular vote they receive. Corporate financial bias not allowed.

This all probably sounds wonderful and perhaps it only works in a small, attitude-homogenous country like Sweden. However, I believe that the US can attain, to some degree, in its own fashion, similar high-standard qualities for living. It certainly has the means to do so.

Comment from Sweden, part 3 of 3

Despite the glitz and power that still emanates from the US, it is a country which is gravely behind the living standards of other modern nations. Ignorant voters, poor government and greedy corporations have held it back. From what I have read and heard from you and your running mate, I believe that you are the only candidates who can help the US catch up with countries like Sweden.

I posted my absentee ballot yesterday. I confidently voted for you and Gonzalez. May the US open their eyes and see that you're they're only chance to reach their full potential!

Laura Kvarnstrand
Sweden

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth... For my part, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst; and to provide for it. --Patrick Henry

Tolli Lowell-Forker

Ron Paul Telling it like it is.

2008-10-24T01:25:00.001-07:00

Strait talk express - if only it was Ron instead of John. Inflation on the horizon. Must let the failures happen. We don't want zombie banks and business.

Interview - Give Me Liberty

2008-10-09T01:41:00.001-07:00

Scary stuff here!! Not sure what to think about this...

1st Brigade on homeland patrol:
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/09/army_homeland_090708w/

End of America Video:
http://www.endofamericamovie.com/

My America Project:
http://www.myamericaproject.org/

Time to stand up - take back your government - control your money supply - inform your local government - contact your state and federal representatives.

Bob takes your questions on Debate Night

2008-10-08T12:35:00.001-07:00

Wow - really nice to see direct answers to the questions. Whether I agree with him or not, I think it would be good to have a third party in the white house - just to hold the other 2 parties accountable.

New York to Regulate Credit Default Swaps - NYTimes.com

2008-09-23T07:56:00.000-07:00

More truth revealed about the true nature of the crisis - not just tied to bad loans, but to bad derivative and credit default swap plays by the very big institutions... This problem was not caused by main street, but by wall street.

New York to Regulate Credit Default Swaps - NYTimes.com: "In an interview Monday, Mr. Paterson added that credit-default swaps were “the real problem with A.I.G.”

“When we peeled back the onion, we found out that A.I.G. had so many credit-default swaps that we couldn’t calculate how much money they probably had wasted,” he said.

Last week, Mr. Paterson’s administration allowed A.I.G. to borrow $20 billion from its own subsidiaries to help bolster its capital, not long before the federal government announced an $85 billion bailout. The credit crisis is expected to weigh heavily on New York, which derives a fifth of its tax revenue from Wall Street.

Officials at the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department had no immediate comment on the governor’s plan, or on his call for federal regulation. Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, is scheduled to testify before Congress on Tuesday, and credit-default swaps are likely to be on the agenda.

The governor said the state’s insurance department would begin regulating credit-default swaps as insurance products in cases where the buyer of the swap also owns the underlying bond it is meant to back.

In those cases, only licensed insurers will be able to issue credit-default swaps. New guidelines will also increase minimum capital requirements and the reserves that"

Ron Paul has nothing good to say about the Wall Street bailout plan | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times

2008-09-22T02:01:00.000-07:00

If only Paul had won the election...

Ron Paul has nothing good to say about the Wall Street bailout plan | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times: "WOLF BLITZER ('Late Edition' host): What do you say to the president who wants you and your fellow Republicans and Democrats to quickly pass this $700 billion bailout package?

PAUL: Well, I think that's a mistake because we don't have the money. But that doesn't mean you have to do nothing. I mean, we could reform the system. We could return to sound money. We could balance our budget. We could change our foreign policy. We could take care of our people at home. We could lower taxes.

There's a lot of things that we can do. But the worst thing that we can do is perpetuate the bad policies that gave us this trouble in the first place, and that is that we no longer, over the last quite a few decades, believed in free-market capitalism. Capital is supposed to come from savings. We're supposed to work hard and save."

$800 Billion for RTC 2.0 - Then What? - Seeking Alpha

2008-09-22T01:07:00.000-07:00

$800 Billion for RTC 2.0 - Then What? - Seeking Alpha:

I say you are so right on - I have been drawing the Japan connection for some months now. We are repeating history - and have not learned from it. So disappointing.

"The government, in fact, may inhibit the repair process if it endlessly delays the attainment of the clearing price within the economy. This is what happened in Japan, and why many have made the Japanese analogies to America today.

In fact, one could make a cogent argument that we are in this mess because the government never allowed market prices to clear after the collapse of the Tech Bubble. By inflating our way out of the tech collapse, we avoided taking the medicine we needed to clear out the excesses in the economy. The secondary and tertiary after-effects of these policies created an even bigger asset bubble and more daunting problems in the economy, which almost certainly would not have happened had the Federal Reserve not kept interest rates so low and the government not run enormous deficits. It is easy to be an arm-chair critic in hindsight, but by not taking our medicine, we merely delayed the inevitable and made the problem worse.

Similarly, If RTC II delays the attainment of the clearing prices within the mortgage and housing markets, economic growth will be slow at best and possibly delay and damage the economy at worst."

Ron Paul blasts the Bailouts

2008-09-20T12:12:00.000-07:00

A drug addict getting a fix - prolonging the addiction to easy money.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/09/19/ron.paul.bailouts.cnn

MUST READ: Important News

2008-09-19T00:33:00.000-07:00

OK - the secret is out of the bag - the secret behind the collapse is not HOUSING, but the DERIVATIVE market: read this one!!!

OpEdNews » It's the Derivatives, Stupid! Why Fannie, Freddie and AIG Had to Be Bailed Out: "What had to be saved at all costs was not housing or the dollar but the financial derivatives industry; and the precipice from which it had to be saved was an 'event of default' that could have collapsed a quadrillion dollar derivatives bubble, a collapse that could take the entire global banking system down with it."

Send the phony paper money companies down the toilet.

2008-09-19T00:14:00.000-07:00

Would a Resolution Trust Corp.-type solution work? - Los Angeles Times:

"Today's troubled securities are much more complex than the S&L assets, with valuations that may not yet have reached bedrock.

'They're very hard to account for and their value is still a moving target,' said Michael Greenberger, a law professor at the University of Maryland and a former official at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. 'Creating a bureaucracy that takes paper that has no value and tries to sell it is just going to look like more smoke and mirrors.'

Because the assets are not already in government hands, as was the case with the RTC's portfolio, the new agency would have to acquire them from their troubled owners, presumably at a discount price. This would probably force the sellers to record the sale as a loss -- exactly the outcome that many banks and investment houses have tried to avoid. Any overvaluation by the government buyer would mean a potential loss for taxpayers, which would be politically explosive."

Not on my back you don't!!!

Buffett's time bomb goes off on Wall Street | U.S. | Reuters

2008-09-18T23:58:00.000-07:00

Buffett's time bomb goes off on Wall Street | U.S. | Reuters: "credit default swaps are turning a bad situation into a catastrophe"

I always thought these were a bad thing. They can't easily be understood and are just asking for trouble.

"This is the derivative nightmare that everyone has been warning about," says Peter Schiff, the president of Euro Pacific Capital at the author of "Crash Proof: How to Profit From the Coming Economic Collapse."

"They booked all these derivatives assuming bad things would never happen. It was like writing fire insurance, assuming no one is ever going to have a fire, only now they're turning around and watching as the whole town burns down."

USA becomes USSR: The Times of India

2008-09-17T22:20:00.000-07:00

USA becomes USSR: $85bn bailout for AIG-Intl Business-Business-The Times of India: "WASHINGTON: Another week, another bailout. The United States of America (USA), for long the world’s capitalist preacher and role model, is taking on the characteristics of a United States Socialist Republic (USSR), following Washington’s $85bn takeover of American Insurance Group."

Nationalization is the stepping stone to a fascist government that has control over all your life.

Boo Hoo - they're shorting us...

2008-09-17T22:01:00.000-07:00

Short them I say - all they have is paper $$ - they are part of the biggest lairs club ever, emperor with no clothes.

FT.com / In depth - Morgan Stanley in talks with Wachovia: "John Mack, Morgan Stanley’s chief executive, was said to be livid at the plunge in the share price. He contacted Hank Paulson, Teasury secretary, and Christopher Cox, Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, accusing short sellers of targeting Morgan Stanley and urging them to take action.

The SEC on Wednesday night said it would subpoena hedge fund managers who had traded in 19 financial institutions and require managers with holdings of $100m or more in certain securities to report their short positions every day.

In a memo, Mr Mack said: “There is no rational basis for the movement in our stock or credit default spreads...We’re in the midst of a market controlled by fear and rumours and short sellers are driving out stock down.”"

FT.com / In depth - America will need a $1,000bn bail-out

2008-09-17T16:28:00.000-07:00

FT.com / In depth - America will need a $1,000bn bail-out: "America will need a $1,000bn bail-out

By Kenneth Rogoff

Published: September 17 2008 19:06 | Last updated: September 17 2008 19:06

One of the most extraordinary features of the past month is the extent to which the dollar has remained immune to a once-in-a-lifetime financial crisis. If the US were an emerging market country, its exchange rate would be plummeting and interest rates on government debt would be soaring. Instead, the dollar has actually strengthened modestly, while interest rates on three- month US Treasury Bills have now reached 54-year lows. It is almost as if the more the US messes up, the more the world loves it."

More to come.

FT.com / In depth - Panic grips credit markets

2008-09-17T16:24:00.000-07:00

FT.com / In depth - Panic grips credit markets: "All thought of profit was abandoned as traders piled in to the safety of short-term Treasuries, with the yield on three-month bills falling as low as 0.02 per cent – rates that characterised the “lost decade” in Japan. The last time US Treasuries were this low was January 1941."

I called the match to the Japan slump. Time to pay the piper...

Fed will lend money for stocks.

2008-09-15T00:20:00.000-07:00

Bloomberg.com: Worldwide: "The Federal Reserve also said it will be willing to lend money in return for a wider array of collateral including stocks."

What? The fed lending money for Stocks - are you kidding me - outrageous!!! OK, I've got some stocks that I would like some $$ for. Oh, the stocks are now worthless - hhmmm, what to do? Taxpayer bale out.

So it's gone from treasuries, to mortgage bonds to stocks...

No Golden Parachute

2008-09-08T19:46:00.001-07:00

Ousted Fannie, Freddie CEOs Could Still See Big Paydays - washingtonpost.com

Tell them "NO" - no golden parachutes for the executives that helped lead these institutions to government bailout.

The severance packages could be worth as much as $14.9 million for Richard F. Syron, the former Freddie Mac chairman and chief executive, and as much as $9.8 million for Daniel H. Mudd, the former Fannie Mae chief executive, said David M. Schmidt, a senior consultant for the executive pay consultancy James F. Reda & Associates.

Please - Open the Debates!

2008-09-06T22:30:00.001-07:00

Why should the PDC (Presidential Debate Commission) be allowed to choose who the USA see in the debates? This is a partisan entity.

Wiki:
The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) was established in 1987 by the Democratic and Republican parties to establish the way that debates between candidates for President of the United States are run. The Commission is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) entity as defined by Federal US tax laws, funded entirely by corporate contributions.

The Commission is headed by Frank Fahrenkopf, a former head of the Republican National Committee, and Paul Kirk, a former head of Democratic National Committee.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commission_on_Presidential_Debates

Do you ever think we will see real change if this is the group that decides who has access to the media.

Look at what happened with Jesse V when he got in the debates - he went from 10% to winning.

OPEN THE DEBATES!!!

3G app crash fixed

2008-08-31T16:20:00.001-07:00

I reset all settings, rebooted, and then all the third party apps
started to work again.

Sent from my iPhone

2008-08-30T16:25:00.001-07:00

Sent from my iPhone

iPhone 3G - 3 days old and all my apps crash - very buggy!!

2008-08-30T14:09:00.000-07:00

I was very excited about trading in for the iPhone 3G, but less than 3 days in and with 12 apps installed I have the "app crash bug" - no 3rd party apps will run: they start, then about 2 seconds later they crash and go back to the home screen.

This is more buggy than XP or Vista - come on Apple!!!

Shareholders Get Left Behind In Fannie and Freddie Rescue - WSJ.com

2008-07-16T00:50:00.000-07:00

Shareholders Get Left Behind In Fannie and Freddie Rescue - WSJ.com:

It was the lobbyists on capital hill from the banks that held these mortgages that were partially to blame for pushing the GSEs to take these riskier loans - and now we pay the price, and the brokers and executives that came up with this garbage are vacationing in the Tahiti or skiing in the Pyranese.

"Then came the mortgage and credit crises. Most financial institutions responded by tightening their standards. Fannie and Freddie should have done the same, or at least held to the status quo. Instead, with Congress's encouragement, the mortgage buyers loosened theirs. Jumbo mortgages (and bigger risks)? No problem. Alt-A mortgages? Bring 'em on. The companies have an estimated $80 billion in what were once considered nonconforming mortgages -- and are now considered toxic waste -- on their balance sheets. As for the higher capital requirements meant to reassure investors, they were reduced.

All this was done in the name of propping up real-estate values, a strategy that has been a manifest failure as home prices continue to plummet in most parts of the country. This was the flip side to Fannie's and Freddie's Faustian bargain with the federal government."

Concord Monitor - Consider Paul, Barr and Kucinich

2008-07-09T23:10:00.000-07:00

Concord Monitor - Consider Paul, Barr and Kucinich: "It is time for a D.C. house cleaning. A few names that one may write in for president in November to begin that house-cleaning would be Libertarian candidate Bob Barr, Democrat Dennis Kucinich and Republican Ron Paul, who both were blacklisted by the war-mongering, fascist mainstream media.

Your choice, America: real change or just believing a pack of lies talking about change. It is sad to see the American people duped by the lies. Please, wake up, America."

Why I can't vote for Obama (does not mean I am voting for McCain)

2008-07-09T22:18:00.000-07:00

Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com: "Obama voted along with all Republicans for cloture. Hillary Clinton voted with 25 other Democrats against cloture (strangely, Clinton originally voted AYE on cloture, and then changed her vote to NAY; I'm trying to find out what explains that).

With cloture approved, the bill itself then proceeded to pass by a vote of 69-28 (roll call vote here), thereby immunizing telecoms and legalizing warrantless eavesdropping. Again, while Obama voted with all Republicans to pass the bill, Sen. Clinton voted against it.

Obama's vote in favor of cloture, in particular, cemented the complete betrayal of the commitment he made back in October when seeking the Democratic nomination. Back then, Obama's spokesman -- in response to demands for a clear statement of Obama's views on the spying controversy after he had previously given a vague and noncommittal statement -- issued this emphatic vow:

To be clear: Barack will support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies.

But the bill today does include retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies. Nonetheless, Obama voted for cloture on the bill -- the exact opposition of supporting a filibuster -- and then voted for the bill itself. A more complete abandonment of an unambiguous campaign promise is difficult to imagine."

Asia Times Online :: A tale of two downturns

2008-07-08T23:53:00.000-07:00

Asia Times Online :: Asian news and current affairs:

I think Britain and much of Europe are 6 to 18 months behind us in this recession. We will see what happens when all of the worlds largest economies are down - how will to people react?

"One reason for Britain suffering a deeper recession than the US is that its house prices got more out of line. Whereas in the United States, the house price to income ratio peaked at 4.5 times, against a long-term average of about 3.2, in Britain in 2006 that ratio peaked at around 5.5 times. Housing is more tax-advantaged in the United States, since mortgage interest payments are tax deductible, unlike in Britain. Hence the equilibrium British house price to income ratio would appear to be about three times, marginally above the 2.7 times level of 1970, when the British housing market was close to equilibrium. That implies that an average fall in real British house pieces of 45% is needed to bring the market back into equilibrium, considerably larger than the 29% drop needed to bring the US market into equilibrium.

Those figures may seem startlingly high but remember: the average Tokyo house price dropped by no less than 70% between 1990 and 2005, as Japan's 1980s stock and real estate bubble deflated. Thus a 45% drop is perfectly within the bounds of possibility. The US housing market appears well on its way to the necessary 29% correction, with the Case-Shiller house price index already down 18% since late 2006. Conversely, the British market has only just begun to drop in price, with current"

Welcome to the Surveillance State

2008-07-08T23:19:00.000-07:00

Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com:

"August 8. That is the day in 1974 when Richard Nixon was forced to resign from office for his lawbreaking and surveillance abuses. That day illustrates how far we have fallen in this country in less than 35 years, as we now not only permit rampant presidential lawbreaking and a limitless surveillance state, but have a bipartisan political class that endorses it and even retroactively protects the lawbreakers. ...

"give us the powers we want and immunize our lawbreaking or be killed by Terrorists." That's how our country has been "governed" in the Bush era -- with heavy-handed, authoritarian decrees that we must comply with our Leader's secretly-formed judgments if we want to survive -- and it's likely how it will continue to be governed. ...

The political class has made as clear as can be that it is intent on supporting a limitless erosion of core constitutional liberties and the creation of a two-tiered justice system that exempts the political elite from the rule of law. Neither the "opposition party" nor the establishment media are the slightest bit interested in, or capable of, stopping any of that. Battling against that is the responsibility of citizens who find these political trends dangerous and intolerable."

Support the Strange Bedfellows coalition by pledging to donate to the Accountability Now PAC on August 8th. You can pledge to donate here -- or by clicking on the logo below.

The Raw Story | Kucinich to bring single article of impeachment for misleading US into war

2008-07-08T23:18:00.000-07:00

The Raw Story | Kucinich to bring single article of impeachment for misleading US into war:

"Kucinich to bring single article of impeachment for misleading US into war"

There can be no greater responsibility of a Commander in Chief than to command based on facts on the ground, and to command in fact and in truth. There can be no greater offense of a Commander in Chief than to misrepresent a cause of war and to send our brave men and women into harm's way based on those misrepresentations.

There has been a breach of faith between the Commander in Chief and the troops. Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 or with Al Qaeda's role in 9/11. Iraq had neither the intention nor the capability of attacking the United States. Iraq did not have weapons of Mass of Destruction. Yet George W. Bush took our troops to war under all of these false assumptions. Given the profound and irreversible consequences to our troops, if his decision was the result of a mistake, he must be impeached. Since his decision was based on lies, impeachment as a remedy falls short, but represents at least some effort on our part to demonstrate our concern about the sacrifices our troops have made.

What Every American Needs to Know (and Do) About FISA Before Tuesday

2008-07-08T23:15:00.000-07:00

What Every American Needs to Know (and Do) About FISA Before Tuesday:

"In the video below, I talk about what every American needs to know — and do in the next 24 hours — about the new FISA (Federal Information and Surveillance Act) amendments."

Mr. Ellsberg from the Pentagon Papers fame:

What Every American Needs to Know (and Do) About FISA Before Wed., July 9th from Tim Ferriss on Vimeo.

Senator Dodd Speaks in Opposition to FISA Bill on Floor of U.S. Senate | U.S. Senator Christopher J. Dodd

2008-06-25T19:12:00.000-07:00

Senator Dodd Speaks in Opposition to FISA Bill on Floor of U.S. Senate | U.S. Senator Christopher J. Dodd:

"“Trust me” government is government that asks that we concentrate our hopes and dreams on one man; that we trust him to do what’s best for us. My view of government places trust not in one person or one party, but in those values that transcend persons and parties.

Those words were not spoken by someone who took our nation’s security lightly, Mr. President. They were spoken by Ronald Reagan -- in 1980. They are every bit as true today, even if times of threat and fear blur our concept of transcendent values. Even if those who would exploit those times urge us to save our skins at any cost."
"Why are some fighting so hard for retroactive immunity? The answer, I believe, is that immunity means secrecy, and secrecy means power.

It’s no coincidence that the man who proclaimed “if the president does it, it’s not illegal”—Richard Nixon—was the same man who raised executive secrecy to an art form.

The senators of the Church Committee expressed succinctly the deep flaw in the Nixonian executive: “Abuse thrives on secrecy.” And, in the exhaustive catalogue of their report, they proved it."

Every American should read this speech. The question is today - what did you do to stop this?

corporate amnesty

2008-06-20T14:47:00.000-07:00

Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com: "It's bad enough watching the likes of Steny Hoyer, Rahm Emanuel and a disturbingly disoriented Nancy Pelosi eviscerate the Fourth Amendment, exempt their largest corporate contributors from the rule of law, and endorse the most radical aspects of the Bush lawbreaking regime. But it's downright pathetic to see them try to depict their behavior as some sort of bipartisan 'compromise' whereby they won meaningful concessions:

'When they saw that we were unified in sending that bill rather than falling for their scare tactics, I think it sent them a message,' said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). 'So our leverage was increased because of our Democratic unity in both cases.'

Not even the media establishment and the GOP can refrain from mocking this pretense they're trying to peddle. What's amazing is that they're actually as devoid of dignity as they are integrity."

Let's look at where Steny gets his $$$:
http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/can_give/2007_H2MD05155

Outrageous!!!

Speakers announced for the Revolution March (July 12th) on Washington DC: includes Naomi Wolfe and Dr. Paul

2008-06-17T14:11:00.000-07:00

REVOLUTION MARCH-
The Fight Continues…

This is our fight. This, as we and Dr. Paul have said since the beginning, is not about a man, it is about the idea and the belief in freedom. For this to be restored, we will have to work for it. Though it is our right and the founding principal of our country, we will have to continue our efforts to keep what is ours.

The next step in continuing the revolution is here. On July 12, 2008, more than 20,000 citizens will gather in D.C. to tell the government that its reign is over. This is We The People 2.0, this is the Revolution March! Together, you and I will begin to take this country back from the hands of corrupt power.

Our goal is to organize a peaceful, non-violent march on the streets of Washington D.C. followed by a rally in support of restoring constitutional government as the founding fathers set forth. A R3VOLUTION that calls upon all Americans who believe in Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. By involving as many volunteers and participants as we can, we intend to spread the know-how of mass mobilization and direct- action to the movement. As a peaceful law abiding movement, it is our responsibility to wisely and effectively use our constitutional right to assemble. By inviting ALL Americans, we hope to extend the R3VOLUTION to all people of all backgrounds in the hope of forming a more perfect union.

Speakers include Ron Paul, Chuck Baldwin, Michael Scheuer, Tom Woods, Naomi Wolfe, Bob Schulz, and G. Edward Griffin, among numerous others.
At 9:30 AM, we will assemble at the northeast quadrant of the Washington Monument, and proceed to march down Constitution Avenue, toward Capitol Hill. The west side of Capitol Hill will be where everyone assembles for the rally, which will start around 11:00 AM. The speakers, musical guest, and entertainers will then proceed to give their ideas, speaking on the Constitution, the Federal Reserve, the NAU, and terrorism. The entire week preceding the march we will have seminars on lobbying your congressional office, and encourage attendee’s to visit their congressman’s office to inform them that we are here to stay. The day after, CatHerder Project will have a symposium of freedom-oriented events that will be educational and useful for all.

We recognize the restraints of time and money for travel, and are doing our best to help everyone complete this trip in the most financially acceptable way possible. Our travel coordinator has been working tirelessly to secure group rates for hotels, cheap campgrounds, and a Ronvoy through every state to the march. This can be done! Visit http://www.revolutionmarch.com/travel.aspx to find everything we have available, or contact Susan Wolfe for more information.

Be a part of something big, be a part of the revolution.

Www.RevolutionMarch.Com
Www.MarchBomb.Com

Mary-Grace Cook
Revolution March National Coordinator
nationalcoord@revolutionmarch.com

McCain's YouTube Problem Just Became a Nightmare

2008-06-17T13:48:00.001-07:00

What a great compilation of McCain quotes - the truths, the half-truths, and the outright lies... He does not deserve to be president and will not get my vote.

Notes From a Convention by Butler Shaffer

2008-06-09T16:25:00.000-07:00

Notes From a Convention by Butler Shaffer: "It had been forty-four years since I last attended a political convention. I was part of my state’s delegation to the 1964 Republican National Convention in San Francisco, an experience that helped push me over the threshold in my abandonment of political action. But last week I found myself headed to Rochester to sit in – as an observer – on the Minnesota Republican State Convention. My Minnesota daughter and her husband have been very active Ron Paul supporters, with her husband serving as a delegate to this convention. Perhaps for the same reason that leads people to visit the site of a train-wreck, I decided to attend.
...
Perhaps my greatest sympathy, however, went out to a man who wasn’t even in attendance: Jesus. I am not a religious person, but I do believe a man like this deserved far better treatment than he got from this crowd. Speaker after speaker expressed his or her love and devotion to Jesus, at the same time cheering on any and every expression of pro-war sentiment. When one delegate – presumably of Ron Paul’s persuasion – made a motion to allow those who opposed the Iraq War to be heard, he was greeted with a thunderous chorus of boos. I imagined what might have transpired had Jesus been a delegate and asked to address the convention on the essence of his message: love and peace. After the boos had subsided, I suspect the sergeant-at-arms would have been instructed to go to a hardware store for a box of nails!

It was telling that I did not once hear the word 'peace' expressed at this convention.

In the course of my numerous trips around the sun, I don’t know when I have previously witnessed such a collective insistence upon dishonesty, contradiction, and unprincipled direction, all held together by empty rhetoric. A group of people lusting for nothing greater than a pro-rata share of the power they envisioned trickling down to them was pathetic. That the convention ended on an address by Karl Rove – one of the principal architects of the catastrophe with which the GOP and the Democrats have infected America – is testimony to a party in a terminal state.

Various speakers told the delegates "we must get the Republican message out!" Here is a party that professes love for Jesus and respect for life even as it insists upon present and future wars that have thus far killed more than a million innocents; that babbles its bromides about "liberty" even as it expands police powers, surveillance, imprisonment without trial, and the use of torture; that speaks of the dangers of runaway government spending while pouring billions of dollars into war machinery and the pockets of corporations supplying it; and which, at one of its own state conventions, insists upon a disparate application of rules applicable to others in order to give preferential treatment to established officials. This is the "Republican message" – as well as the Democratic one – and the young adults who throng to Ron Paul in search of a different message are evidence that, among a growing number, it is being received and rejected."

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man - Part II

2008-06-07T02:14:00.001-07:00

The continuation of the hit man interview.

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man - Part I

2008-06-07T02:05:00.001-07:00

This is an interesting interview.

Jesse Ventura on Larry King

2008-06-07T01:43:00.001-07:00

How about a Paul / Ventura ticket for President?

Shenanigans at the State Convention in Spokane

2008-05-31T22:06:00.000-07:00

Challenge to the Skagit county delegates
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNAR6qKIKos

Especially watch at 4:02 on this video - watch Uke the Lessor (Luke Essor) change his mind and switch to the vote for the insiders:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt5ONN75wT0

We did get get one resolution passed after the McCain supporters & party insiders walked out and called for a quorum call (trying to end the convention prior to the debate of any resolutions) - luckily those left in the room (including me) won the quorum call and then brought this one resolution to the floor and approved it prior to the McCain supporters & party insiders re-entering the room. They then used other delay tactics to hold off any further discussion of any resolutions. Text follows:

Constitutional Declarations of War by the House of Representatives

WHEREAS, The People must bear the burden of fighting wars, and
WHEREAS, The House of Representatives is the voice of the people, and
WHEREAS, The Founders recognized these realities by granting the House of Representatives the power to declare war, and
WHEREAS, The House is not authorized to delegate, to others, authorities granted it, and
WHEREAS, military actions in Korea, Viet Nam and now the middle east, the House authorized the use of force by the President, in effect delegating to the executive branch the House's authority to declare war, and
WHEREAS, three generations of military personnel have served their nation without the full support of The People in those military actions, now

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Republican Party should support formal declarations of war passed by the House of Representatives and repudiate "authorizations to use force" or any other delegation of war powers to any other body.

Carlyle Capital Collapse

2008-03-13T23:21:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how stupid and greedy business can be. They acted like the spoiled family who takes a home equity load to go on a vacation. Outrageous!!

Bloomberg.com: Worldwide: "Carlyle Capital originally delayed and then cut the size of its IPO by about 25 percent as the subprime contagion began. In all, the fund used about $670 million of equity to amass a $22 billion portfolio of mortgage debt. For every dollar of equity, the pool borrowed $32."

Ron Paul Bests Everyone in Military Donations, Again.

2008-02-02T19:30:00.000-08:00

Its striking that Dr. Paul once again gets more support from the military than any other Republican. It shows that these blow hards on Republican ticket are nothing but hot air - if they really spoke for the military, the military would be supporting them - not Dr. Paul. Not only does he beat every one individually - but he beats them all combined: an amazing feat!!

American Chronicle | Ron Paul Bests Everyone in Military Donations, Again.: "Ron Paul not only out-raised every other Republican candidate in the 4th fundraising quarter of 2007, but defended his 3rd quarter title as the United States military´s favorite candidate. This time, the victory was decisive. Paul received approximately three times as many Army donations as Senator John McCain, twice as many from the Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force, and more military donations overall than all the other Republican candidates combined. In fact, the United States Army alone was Paul´s biggest contributor, outstripping students and every other branch of the military.

Total Military Member Donations:

Ron Paul – 931
McCain – 466
Romney – 125
Huckabee – 141"

So McCain - what do you have to say for yourself?

Dr. Paul on MTV (Part 1)

2008-02-02T17:59:00.000-08:00

Here was the first part with Dr. Paul on MTV. He gets some tough questions but sticks to his constitutional line. Have a look.

Dr. Paul on MTV

2008-02-02T17:56:00.001-08:00

This was a great interview where he was given time to speak to the young and young at heart.

What do you think?

Wisdom, Folly in Turmoil - WSJ.com

2008-02-01T23:40:00.000-08:00

Aaron sent me this article - I think it's a great demonstration of where we are - and where we should be.

Wisdom, Folly in Turmoil - WSJ.com: "Wisdom, Folly in Turmoil
Credit Crunch's Results
Upend Biblical Parable
On Being Caught Short
By HUGO DIXON
December 26, 2007; Page C12

The kingdom of heaven will be like 10 virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.

The foolish ones said to the wise: 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.' 'No,' they replied. 'There may not be enough for both us and you.'"

It goes on to list the 10 virgins of our current Folly and Turmoil...

Amazing coverage of Ron Paul on KCPQ Fox Seattle

2008-01-29T01:13:00.001-08:00

This is a great interview from our local FOX affiliate. Great questions and an amazing amount of time given to Dr. Paul!!!

CNN - 1 Minute Diebold Memory Hack

2008-01-11T09:33:00.001-08:00

And you think that the election can't be rigged? 1 professor and 2 grad students did it in a month. I'm glad I have a paper ballot (which I photograph before I send in).

Ron Paul at South Carolina debate 1-10-08

2008-01-10T23:17:00.001-08:00

You've got to see what McCain says at 1:58 into the video - outrageous, those kinds of comments are what makes us so dangerous. I will not vote for McCain!!!

RON PAUL, FOX NEWS INTERNAL MEETING

2008-01-08T01:41:00.001-08:00

This is very funny - but it could happen couldn't it? I can imagine the meeting.

CNN hides Dr. Pauls 10% in pie chart, but shows Richardsons 2%

2008-01-04T16:34:00.000-08:00

Matt Stooks.com - CNN keeps blowing, and blowing, and blowing…: "CNN keeps blowing, and blowing, and blowing…

CNN had two different pie charts up at the same time during the Iowa caucuses.

Here’s the pie chart they put up for the Democrats.

...

Notice how CNN went out of its way to squeeze Bill Richardson’s two percent piece into the pie?

Now, look at the Republican pie chart.

...

Notice the giant void between McCain and Huckabee on the chart? At this point, Ron Paul had 10 percent of the vote. Why isn’t he listed when Bill Richardson’s two percent makes the Democratic pie?"

I think they didn't want to include Ron Pauls name on the screen - especially showing that he was beating Rudy JulieAnnie.

This again is an example of how Big Business and the MSM are running our lives and choosing our leaders.

Canyon Park 7th Grade Concert Band - Holiday Performance

2008-01-03T18:01:00.001-08:00

He is in his second year of band - I recently went with a trip to the Seattle Center with him for a performance. It was a lot of fun.

Predicted Ron Paul victory

2008-01-02T15:24:00.000-08:00

European banks predicting Ron Paul victory in 2008.

Press TV: "Denmark-based Saxo Bank predicts Ron Paul presidency in 2008, saying US economy will plunge into a depression prior to the election."

The Bank predicted that Ron Paul, US congressman and Republican presidential candidate, will win the US 2008 presidential election.

Saxo Bank says the US economy will shrink by 25% and the Chinese economy will decrease by 40%. The economic downturn will come about as a result of the housing crash.

Ron Paul has been critical of the Federal Reserve and has blamed the Federal Reserve for causing the real estate bubble and crash. Paul has said that the loose monetary policy of the Fed had artificially inflated real estate prices which lead to the collapse.

Paul supports 'Sound Money' and opposes the Federal Reserve's 'Inflation Tax' and says that he wants to prevent a dollar collapse.

Saxo Bank also predicts $175 a barrel for oil and the price of grain will double. Some have predicted that oil will climb to $250 a barrel if the US attacks Iran. The bank also predicts that 30% of large building companies will go bankrupt.

Ron Paul: an absolute faith in free markets and less government | csmonitor.com

2008-01-01T02:49:00.000-08:00

Good Page 1 coverage in the CS Monitor. This is great fair coverage.

Ron Paul: an absolute faith in free markets and less government | csmonitor.com: "At the heart of Paul's worldview is a conviction that people are born free and should govern themselves – and that free markets make better decisions than governments do."

Comparison of Meetup groups

2007-12-20T16:27:00.000-08:00

I saw this on the http://www.donate2008.org website. It's a comparison between the MeetUp groups for the various candidates.

Other candidates MeetUp groups (go to their website to see the animation between other candidates):

Ron Paul MeetUp groups:

WOW!!!

Who supports Ron Paul? - not JUST college kids living in their mommas basement!!!

2007-12-20T01:44:00.001-08:00

Read the responses to this post.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/bryantpark/2007/12/who_are_ron_pauls_supporters.html

This is who supports Dr. Ron Paul - and WHY!

The road to Fascism and the link to the church - why the government must stay out of religion.

2007-12-19T16:44:00.000-08:00

An interesting quote from 'imbabci2' from a post on this blog:

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/election08/71066/

History Lesson: Mussolini had to foster good relations with the Roman Catholic Church because, regardless of his dictatorship, the Roman Catholic Church was such a powerful institution in Italy. While Mussolini governed the political side of Italy, the Roman Catholic Church governed the spiritual side. In this sense, Mussolini could not afford to anger the Roman Catholic Church.Mussolini had recognised this as early as 1920 when the fledgling future leader of Italy had said that the pope "represents 400 million men scattered the world over…….(this was) a colossal force." Once leader, Mussolini had to decide on whether to take on the power of the Roman Catholic Church in Italy or to work with it. He chose the latter. In this way, Italians did not have to have divided loyalties. Therefore, Mussolini worked to get the Roman Catholic Church to accept a Fascist state while he planned to offer the Roman Catholic Church what it wanted.In particular, Mussolini and the Roman Catholic Church clashed over who should control education. To ensure that children grew up as good Fascists, Mussolini wanted the state to control this - as it did. However, the Roman Catholic Church felt that it should have this power. Both sides worked for a compromise. The attempt to settle this dispute started in 1926 and it took until 1929 for agreements to be signed. These were the Lateran Treaties. They covered areas other than education.The Papal States,the name given to land previously owned by the Roman Catholic Church in Italy, had lost all its land in the 1870 unification of Italy. The Roman Catholic Church received £30 million in compensation in 1929 and the Church was given 109 acres in Rome to create a new papal state - the Vatican. The pope was allowed a small army, police force, post office and rail station. The pope was also given a country retreat called Castel Gandolfo.Another part of the treaty was called the Concordat. This made the Roman Catholic faith the state religion - this was a fait accompli anyway. The pope appointed his bishops, though they had to receive the government’s blessing. Religion had to be taught in both primary and secondary schools. The Roman Catholic Church was given full control of marriage.When these agreements were signed in 1929, Mussolini’s popularity was at its highest. He had got what he wanted - the support from the members of the public who may not have supported the Fascists but who saw the Roman Catholic Church working with the Fascist government, and that by itself created a tacit acceptance of Mussolini’s government.

Why we need Ron Paul to clean house

2007-12-14T12:29:00.000-08:00

Take money from the poor and middle class to subsidize the rich - that is what are government is all about - then pass the debt to our children. John Stossel writes about how the government subsidizes the insurance on all the expensive beach houses along our coasts.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Insurance/story?id=94181

A few years ago, I got a call from a friend. 'Happy New Year,' he said, 'your house is gone.' And it was. During a fairly ordinary storm, the ocean just dug up the sand under the pilings and took the whole house away.
There it was the next day on the front page of the newspaper. I'd always wanted to make front page news, but not like this. It was an upsetting loss for me, but financially, I made out fine. National flood insurance paid for the house and its contents. I could rebuild my house, and the government would insure me again — and again. I didn't rebuild. I'd learned my lesson; I sold what was left of my land. But the outrage is that federal flood insurance exists at all. There is a quarter-million-dollar limit on each payment, and as long as I build my house in accordance with zoning laws and ordinances, there is no limit on how many times the government will pay if a house keeps washing away.
Give Me a Break.

From a recent interview with Dr. Paul by ABC he explains his views:

That means he often votes against laws that would give money to the very constituents that elect him.
Paul represents a district that lies on the Texas Gulf Coast. It's prone to hurricanes and flooding.
But that doesn't stop Paul from voting against big government programs like Federal Emergency Management Agency — the federal government agency that responds to natural disasters.
"I think FEMA helps create the flood problems," he says.
He explains that the federal government, by subsidizing insurance policies the cover houses built near the water, encourages people to move to flood-prone areas.

"If the government subsidizes the insurance," he says, "[then government is saying] if you build there, don't sweat it, we're going to bail you out. So all of a sudden, more people move into the flood-prone areas. And then who are the people that have to bail you out? Somebody that lives out in the desert some place. So, it's unfair, it's not good economics, you create more problems, more houses get flooded, and it becomes a general problem, rather than an individual problem."

BW Online | March 18, 2002 | Japan s Deflation Disaster

2007-12-12T23:12:00.000-08:00

Were we may be in a year or two - and even so, our dollar will be weaker, so even though prices may go down in an economic slowdown, we may still be able to afford less.

BW Online | March 18, 2002 | Japan s Deflation Disaster: "There big homebuilders such as Mitsui & Co. MITSY and Misawa Homes Co. show off their latest homes which boast elegant tatami rooms wine cellars and saunas. But there aren t many takers these days. This despite the fact that Misawa and rival homebuilder S x L Corp. last year triggered a price war that has crunched prices for a new home by as much as 28 . 'Times are awful ' says a Mitsui salesman. 'And the competition is ferocious.' Life is hell for such foot soldiers of the Japanese economy. Why splurge on a big-ticket purchase like a new home now consumers figure when it will likely cost less next year And buyers aren t likely to change their tune any time soon."

Video: EPISODETITLE . NOW | PBS

2007-12-11T02:42:00.000-08:00

Video: EPISODETITLE . NOW | PBS:

"Preview: The Ron Paul Phenomenon NOW talks to Congressman Ron Paul and his supporters across the country about Paul's surprisingly popular run for the Republican nomination, led in large part by people acting on their own without help from Ron Paul or his campaign."

I can't wait to watch the entire show. I am happily waiting for the 16th to celebrate the Boston Tea Party and make it the biggest single day ever for a political fund raiser. I have been forgoing my coffee and donuts, eating top-ramen for lunch. I am there for you Dr. Paul! If I wasn't booked for Christmas plans, I'd love to take a week off and go volunteer in Iowa.

David Sirota: The People Party vs. The Money Party: Here Are the Players - Politics on The Huffington Post

2007-11-30T11:06:00.000-08:00

David Sirota: The People Party vs. The Money Party: Here Are the Players - Politics on The Huffington Post: "The fact that our nation's politics is divided not between Democrats and Republicans but between the People Party and the Money Party is obvious to anyone who looks at the political system honestly (which is to say, not most journalists or Washington political hacks). Calls for 'bipartisanship' and faux 'centrism' that has nothing to do with the actual center of American public opinion are most often moves to prevent the political debate from analyzing the People vs. Money divide that actually fuels our politics. We already have plenty of 'bipartisanship' - Republicans and a faction of Democrats who regularly join hands to screw over the vast majority of Americans."

When we elect representatives - who do they support? This is an interesting article.

Banks Gone Wild - New York Times

2007-11-25T01:21:00.000-08:00

Banks Gone Wild - New York Times: "“What were they smoking?” asks the cover of the current issue of Fortune magazine. Underneath the headline are photos of recently deposed Wall Street titans, captioned with the staggering sums they managed to lose. ... what hasn’t happened to the men on that Fortune cover — namely, they haven’t been forced to give back any of the huge paychecks they received before the folly of their decisions became apparent. Around 25 years ago, American business — and the American political system — bought into the idea that greed is good. Executives are lavishly rewarded if the companies they run seem successful: last year the chief executives of Merrill and Citigroup were paid $48 million and $25.6 million, respectively. But if the success turns out to have been an illusion — well, they still get to keep the money. Heads they win, tails we lose."

The sad state of our nation - where individual and corporate greed go on without more than a small hiccup by the masses.

Ron Paul on Face The Nation 11-11-07

2007-11-14T01:40:00.001-08:00

Another great interview - Dr. Paul is very straightforward and quick on his feet, nice to see him on the MSM. Oh - and check out http://teaparty07.com - I think he will have another big day.

Naomi Wolf: Finally, Action! Ron Paul Introduces Bill to Defend Constitution! - Politics on The Huffington Post

2007-11-14T01:28:00.000-08:00

Naomi Wolf: Finally, Action! Ron Paul Introduces Bill to Defend Constitution! - Politics on The Huffington Post:

"Rep. Ron Paul, the outsider Republican presidential candidate who has long upheld these values and who was an early voice warning of the grave danger to all of us of these abuses, introduced the AFA's legislative package into Congress."

"The American Freedom Agenda Act would bar the use of evidence obtained through torture; require that federal intelligence gathering is conducted in accordance with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA); create a mechanism for challenging presidential signing statements; repeal the Military Commissions Act, which, among other things, denies habeas corpus to certain detainees; prohibit kidnapping, detentions, and torture abroad; protect journalists who publish information received from the executive branch; and ensure that secret evidence is not used to designate individuals or organizations with a presence in the U.S. as foreign terrorists."

Well about time!!! This is the point where you need to make a decision - how important is your liberty, your freedom? How important are the beliefs that you hold dear, do you not see the approaching danger? This is Naomi Wolf for peats sake, not some republican lackey. The time is now; call your senator, write your newspaper, call your radio talk show - we must get this bill pushed through. We must push for Dr. Paul to be heard.

Glenn Greenwald - Salon: Ron Paul distortion and smears

2007-11-14T01:14:00.000-08:00

Glenn Greenwald - Political Blogs and Opinions - Salon:
Glenn shines the light on many recent attacks on Dr. Paul and his record. He explains many of Dr. Paul's votes and how his bills were demonstrations of the correct constitutional methods, and were even opposed by Dr. Paul.

"Unlike Hillary Clinton -- the Democratic Party front-runner who, 'along with Sen. Robert Bennett, a Utah Republican, introduced a bill that would make flag burning illegal' -- Ron Paul was and is vehemently against any and all laws to criminalize flag burning, including the constitutional amendment he introduced. He introduced that amendment solely to make a point -- one he makes frequently -- that the legislation being offered to criminalize flag burning was plainly unconstitutional, and that the only legitimate way to ban flag burning was to amend the First Amendment. Indeed, he only introduced those flag-burning amendments in order to dare his colleagues who wanted to pass a law banning flag burning to do it that way -- i.e., the constitutional way. When introducing his amendments, he delivered an eloquent and impassioned speech on the floor of the House explaining why he considered anti-flag-burning measures to be 'very unnecessary and very dangerous.'"

The people powering the Paul phenomenon - Politics - MSNBC.com

2007-10-31T00:21:00.000-07:00

One of the quotes from this article caught my eye:
The people powering the Paul phenomenon - Politics - MSNBC.com:

"“Before G.W. Bush changed the landscape, conservatives — especially Christian conservatives — mostly subscribed to Augustine’s just war theory, regarding accepted protocols for the conduct of war. Today many of my Christian friends have foolishly followed Bush’s pre-emptive war theory which before now was practiced mostly by pagan emperors.”"

This is how I've felt for a while. Pre-emptive war is so much like Hitler invading Poland.

Who will run the country after the next 9/11? - By Ron Rosenbaum - Slate Magazine

2007-10-20T19:55:00.000-07:00

Please read this - it is extremely important we act quickly to prevent a constitutional crisis.

Who will run the country after the next 9/11? - By Ron Rosenbaum - Slate Magazine:

"In other words, in the weasel-speak of NSPD-51, it implies that one or more branches of the government will have to cede power to another. And since everything is to be 'coordinated by the president,' I'm guessing that the members of the Supreme Court left alive and some congressional leaders left alive (How chosen? What party balance?) will in effect have to sit around a big conference table and do a lot of 'ceding' to the executive. ...
In other words, even if you don't believe the most sinister paranoid coup theories, the document does nothing to allay one's fears that it could be used in a sinister way.
I wish I did, but I see nothing in the document to prevent even a "localized" forest fire or hurricane from giving the president the right to throw long-established constitutional government out the window, institute a number of unspecified continuity policies, and run the country with the guidance of the "National Continuity Coordinator" and with the "Continuity Policy Coordination Committee" for as long as the president sees fit.
This order has been issued by executive fiat and has not been subjected to any public examination by the other two branches, which have behaved in a supine way that suggests how they'll behave when comity time arrives and urgent decisions on the fate of the nation and perhaps the world (nuclear retaliation being what it is) need to be made immediately.
The fact that Congress has not scrutinized and challenged the potential here for an emergency-situation power grab is scandalous, unacceptable."

I've heard about these before, but this is the first time it's been well explained to me. Please contact your representatives to shed light on this issue.

Are we headed for an epic bear market? - MSN Money

2007-10-16T23:43:00.000-07:00

Why we we need Ron Paul - stop the paper money conspiracy.
Are we headed for an epic bear market? - MSN Money:

"Das is pretty droll for a math whiz, but his message is dead serious. He thinks we're on the verge of a bear market of epic proportions.

The cause: Massive levels of debt underlying the world economy system are about to unwind in a profound and persistent way.

He's not sure if it will play out like the 13-year decline of 90% in Japan from 1990 to 2003 that followed the bursting of a credit bubble there, or like the 15-year flat spot in the U.S. market from 1960 to 1975. But either way, he foresees hard times as an optimistic era of too much liquidity, too much leverage and too much financial engineering slowly and inevitably deflates.

Like an ex-mobster turning state's witness, Das has turned his back on his old pals in the derivatives biz to warn anyone who will listen -- mostly banks and hedge funds that pay him consulting fees -- that the jig is up.

...Turning $1 into $20 The liquidity factory was self-perpetuating and seemingly unstoppable. As assets bought with borrowed money rose in value, players could borrow more money against them, and it thus seemed logical to borrow even more to increase returns. Bankers figured out how to strip money out of existing assets to do so, much as a homeowner might strip equity from his house to buy another house. These triple-borrowed assets were then in turn increasingly used as collateral for commercial paper -- the short-term borrowings of banks and corporations -- which was purchased by supposedly low-risk money market funds. According to Das' figures, up to 53% of the $2.2 trillion commercial paper in the U.S. market is now asset-backed, with about 50% of that in mortgages. When you add it all up, according to Das' research, a single dollar of 'real' capital supports $20 to $30 of loans. This spiral of borrowing on an increasingly thin base of real assets, writ large and in nearly infinite variety, ultimately created a world in which derivatives outstanding earlier this year stood at $485 trillion -- or eight times total global gross domestic product of $60 trillion."

This is really incredible.