Drinking Straight From The Bloggle

It's the Inequality, stupid

2011-02-23T09:07:00.000-08:00

I have this theory that Conservatives misunderstand Liberals when Liberals harp about inequality and taxing the "rich". It seems that Conservatives immediately translate "rich" to mean "anybody with more money than the person speaking".

That's somewhat understandable, especially if the person calling for greater taxes on the Rich is a homeless person (to whom everyone else seems "rich"). But that's not what most Liberals mean. Most Liberals mean people with 8, or 9+ figure net worths (i.e. people who have 10's of millions or 100's of millions or even billions of dollars). In other words, the ULTRA-rich. Sorry all you people who make $500k/year, YOU ARE NOT ULTRA-RICH.

Why do Liberals & Progressives feel that "taking other people's money" is justified?

I can hear the arguments spinning in the Conservative's mind right now: "So what if they're ultra-rich? That's their money and they got it fair and square. You Liberals & Progressives just feel ENTITLED to something YOU DIDN'T EARN."

Well, if you bother to look at that wealth and how it was "earned" with a critical eye, you see that they didn't actually "earn" it. At least, not in the sense that 90% of the population views "earning". The system has been gamed by those same people, and they obtained that wealth through manipulation of the system, not through productive behavior. Don't believe me? Take a look at this link.

The charts at that link are pretty eye opening (if you are a Conservative who thinks that "The Rich" are being unfairly treated). Here are a few samples you can pull from the data:

1) Taxes on millionaires are at the lowest point ever since AT LEAST 1945.
2) Taxes on millionaires have steadily GONE DOWN since 1945.
3) Corporate taxes have gone down for the past 60 years, with current taxe rates on Corporations matching the all-time low set in approximately 1983.
4) Since 1979, the average income (after taxes!) as measured by share of overall wealth of the top 1% has gone up over 120%.
5) Since 1979, the average income (again, after taxes) as measured by share of overall wealth of the bottom 80% has gone DOWN between 5% and 30%.

File Under: Cute Quotes

2011-02-23T08:41:00.000-08:00

"You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water."

- Rabindranath Tagore

File Under: Great Quotes

2011-02-22T21:43:00.001-08:00

"Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

Don't Let Wisconsin Divide us

2011-02-20T08:05:00.000-08:00

Despite what the Elites would like us to believe, Conservatives & Liberals actually AGREE on THE MOST IMPORTANT things:

In fact, most Americans - conservatives and liberals - are fed up with both of the mainstream republican and democratic parties, because it has become obvious that both parties serve Wall Street and the military-industrial complex at the expense of most Americans.

In reality, all Americans - conservatives and liberals:

Want to break up the unholy alliance between big government and big banks

Want to break up the giant banks (and see this)

Agree that the Wall Street criminals who committed fraud should be thrown in jail

Agree that the Federal Reserve should be audited

Are against corporate socialism

Are against rampant inequality

Want to stand up to the ruling class

And are against unnecessary imperial wars

More here.

Both Parties are on the Take

2011-02-20T07:29:00.000-08:00

An interesting interview with Jeffrey Sachs, a professor at the University of Columbia. He obviously skews toward the Left quite a bit, so I didn't agree with everything he said. However, he did say two things that are very obviously true to me:

1) BOTH Parties are on the Take. He specifically mentioned the Republicans being controlled by Big Oil, but the Democrats are controlled by other mega corporations and Financiers. Both parties have had their palms greased so many times it's hard for them to hold pencils in their hands.

2) The country is being systematically manipulated by the top 1% to give them all the wealth and strip it from everyone else. Again the Ultra-wealthy who control the Mega Corporations manipulate the laws and tax system of our country to increase their wealth by orders of magnitude at the cost of everyone else in the country and when the inevitable crash comes, they throw it on the backs of the working poor claiming that they are being unfairly taxed.

Watch the interview here.

File Under: Cute Quotes

2011-02-16T22:02:00.000-08:00

"If you steal $25, you're a thief. If you steal $250,000, you're an embezzler. If you steal $2,500,000, you're a financier."

(Liaquat Ahamed, "Lords of Finance," p. 441, 1933)

The more things change...

TSA = Thieving Scum Authority?

2011-02-16T21:45:00.000-08:00

A TSA supervisor stole money from passengers who went through his security checkpoint and accepted bribes and kickbacks from a colleague.
Michael Arato, a supervisor at Newark Liberty Airport, admitted on Monday that he regularly took money from passengers during security screenings and deliberately targeted foreigners who could not speak much English.
The 41-year-old, from Ewing, admitted in federal court that he permitted a worker he supervised to steal $10,000 to $30,000 in cash from traveller's bags over a 13-month period.

More here

Yep, that pretty much sums it up...

2011-02-16T21:36:00.000-08:00

Over drinks at a bar on a dreary, snowy night in Washington this past month, a former Senate investigator laughed as he polished off his beer.
"Everything's fucked up, and nobody goes to jail," he said. "That's your whole story right there. Hell, you don't even have to write the rest of it. Just write that."
I put down my notebook. "Just that?"
"That's right," he said, signaling to the waitress for the check. "Everything's fucked up, and nobody goes to jail. You can end the piece right there."

More here.

I want to scream, but I have no mouth

2011-02-15T23:12:00.000-08:00

Every time I hear somebody say that Corporations are being overtaxed, it makes me grind my teeth.

Here's a nice article that explains why.

Poor General Electric – who produces the News that tells you how unfair corporate taxes are in America had such a rough time with their $156Bn in 2009 revenues that they had to ask for a $1Bn Tax REBATE from Uncle Sam last year. It’s amazing how fast a gross profit of $77.8Bn (49%) can disappear as it becomes an Operating Income (bonuses must be paid) of $29Bn (18.5%) and then, for tax purposes, just $10Bn which, somehow, causes GE to get a refund of $1Bn (10% of reported Income). Did they have a loss in 2008 that offset it? No, they declared $19Bn in taxable income and paid $1Bn in taxes (5%). How about 2007? No, they declared $26.5Bn of taxable income and paid $4Bn in taxes (15%).

More here.

File Under: cute quotes

2011-02-15T13:07:00.000-08:00

"There is a time when panic is the appropriate response." - Eugene Kleiner

Today is not one of those times though.

False Flag Events

2011-02-10T16:25:00.000-08:00

Have you ever heard of a "False Flag" event? No? Well, take a look at Wikipedia's entry for "False Flag":

False flag operations are covert operations designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is, flying the flag of a country other than one's own. False flag operations are not limited to war and counter-insurgencyoperations, and can be used in peace-time.

Why am I talking about False Flag event? Well, for one, Gerald Celente is predicting that one will happen soon.

Don't think it can happen? Do you think it's just a crazy Conspiracy Theory? Well, sadly, they are not. Here is an article that lists all the PUBLICLY ADMITTED AND DOCUMENTED False Flag Operations carried out by governments across the world (including the US Government). The article includes links to documents where the admissions are written in black and white.

The CIA admits that it hired Iranians in the 1950's to pose as Communists and stage bombings in Iran in order to turn the country against its democratically-elected prime minister...As admitted by the U.S. government, recently declassified documents show that in the 1960's, the American Joint Chiefs of Staff signed off on a plan toblow up AMERICAN airplanes (using an elaborate plan involving the switching of airplanes), and also to commit terrorist acts on American soil, and then to blame it on the Cubans in order to justify an invasion of Cuba....Quebec police admitted that, in 2007, thugs carrying rocks to a peaceful protest were actually undercover Quebec police officers...At the G20 protests in London in 2009, a British member of parliament sawplain clothes police officers attempting to incite the crowd to violence

Remember, these are just the publicly admitted False Flag Operations. How many more supposed "terrorist attacks" were actually False Flag Operations? How many more WILL actually be False Flag Operations?

The Biggest Crime in the History of the World

2011-02-09T22:24:00.000-08:00

So while everyone moans about the Healthcare Reform which will supposedly cost us $1 Trillion spread out over 10 years, we have public confirmation that the Banksters have already stolen $12.3 Trillion from us... yet nobody seems to care or take notice...

We were finally granted the honor and privilege of finding out the specifics, a limited one-time Federal Reserve view, of a secret taxpayer funded “backdoor bailout” by a small group of unelected bankers. This data release reveals “emergency lending programs” that doled out $12.3 TRILLION in taxpayer money – $3.3 trillion in liquidity, $9 trillion in “other financial arrangements.”
Wait, what? Did you say $12.3 TRILLION tax dollars were thrown around in secrecy by unelected bankers… and Congress didn’t know any of the details?
Yes. The Founding Fathers are rolling over in their graves. The original copy of the Constitution spontaneously burst into flames. The ghost of Tom Paine went running, stark raving mad screaming through the halls of Congress.

I'm sure all the Republicans and Democrats will ignore this while they go on and on about Gay Rights or Abortion or Illegal Immigration or Marijuana Legalization. Why should they pay attention to this? It's only the gutting of our entire economy, the take over of our government by Oligarchs, and the financial enslavement of society in general... What's the big deal...

WikiLeaks: Saudis are going to hit Peak Oil Next Year

2011-02-09T22:13:00.000-08:00

Ho hum, this isn't news to me, but perhaps it might lend a bit of authority to the Peak Oil adherents.

The latest startling revelation to come via documents leaked to Julian Assange's muckraking website and published by the Guardian should give pause to every suburban SUV-driver: U.S. officials think Saudi Arabia is overpromising on its capacity to supply oil to a fuel-thirsty world. That sets up a scenario, the documents show, whereby the Saudis could dramatically underdeliver on output by as soon as next year, sending fuel prices soaring.

Perhaps some of you scoffers ought to pay attention now, yes?

First Date Questions - a fascinating article

2011-02-09T09:13:00.000-08:00

I just read this article. It was very entertaining, and gave reinforcement to some stereotypes I have, but I would take it with a huge chunk of salt as the "conclusions" are merely the result of a statistical survey, and you know what they say about statistics...

Still, some interesting nuggets:

If you want to know:
Do my Date and I have long term potential?
Ask your Date and yourself:
1) Do you like Horror movies?
2) Have you ever traveled around another country alone?
3) Wouldn't it be fun to chuck it all and live on a sailboat?

Supposedly, if your answers match your Date's, then you have good long term potential. I guess that makes me a little nervous (not really), because I'm pretty sure that both my wife and I would answer with opposite choices for 2 if not all 3 of those questions.

Another interesting nugget:

If you want to know:
Do my Date and I have the same politics?
Ask him or her:
Do you prefer the people in your life to be simple or complex?
Supposedly, People who prefer Complexity are 2:1 Liberal and those who prefer Simplicity are 2:1 Conservative.

This matches with what I observe amongst my Liberal & Conservative friends and myself. I see the world and people as innately complex. My Conservative friends tend to view things through a simpler lense. Of course, there are exceptions. But by and large, I find this to be mostly in agreement with my own observations.

There is another nugget about Spelling & Grammar being determinants for religious inclination. I found that fascinating, but I couldn't make that comparison amongst my friends as I haven't noticed a huge disparity between those who are religious and those who are not (at least, in regards to spelling and grammar).

More here.

Idiot or Evil Genius? Neither

2011-02-08T20:50:00.000-08:00

I found this article sums up my position on political choices in our country.

The elite use a system of two controlled false choices to give the intended victims their “choice” of power. We are given the “choice” of the lesser of two evils, the Republicans or the Democrats. This is exactly how I give my 5 year old daughter the “choice” in clothing she’s going to wear for the day. She feels good because she had the power to choose the pink dress and not the purple dress. Meanwhile, she did not have the choice to wear pants, shorts, or even just stay in her pajamas. That is the same thing we get in our two completely bought and paid for Republican and Democratic parties.

More here.

Unemployment Numbers - there is no Puzzle

2011-02-04T21:06:00.000-08:00

Today the latest unemployment numbers (for January, 2011) came out.

Supposedly, unemployment decreased from 9.4% to 9.0%. However, the number of jobs created was a paltry 36,000.

This led to a lot of "puzzlement" amongst the media economic analysts. How could the unemployment go down by such a significant amount yet only 36,000 jobs were created (that's less than 750 jobs PER STATE)?!?

DUH.

These people (the spin media) are either truly ignorant or purposefully trying to deceive the public into thinking this is somehow good news, even though they are somewhat "puzzled" by the apparent numerical contradictions.

In fact there is no contradiction and the numbers are accurate, but they are not at all praiseworthy. There are only two ways a nation with 12.5 million people unemployed (which represents 9.4% of the workforce of 133 million) can have it's unemployment reduced from 9.4% to 9%.

One way would be for 500,000 of the 12.5 million to find jobs.

Another way would be to simply no longer count 500,000 of those people as unemployed, if they stopped looking for work.

But how is one to tell the difference?

Simple. If 500,000 new jobs were reported as added then we are headed in the right direction. But if only 36,000 jobs were reported, this can only mean that 464,000 stopped looking for work and are no longer counted. This is terrible news.

Up to now I've always assumed that television hosts of financial shows had a basic rudimentary knowledge of the subject they were reporting on. But the fact that many of them are "puzzled" by what they see as the apparent contradictory nature of the drop to 9% versus a 36,000 gain in jobs makes me believe that they do not understand basic concepts and basic arithmetic.

An old article from Rolling Stone: Goldman Sachs - the Vampire Squid

2011-02-04T14:18:00.000-08:00

This article, by Matt Taibi, was written in 2009. Well over a year ago. Still, nothing has changed. Goldman Sachs is still feasting on every facet of our country and many others as well. We still have not been able to free ourselves from this giant blood-sucking vampire squid.

Still, I think that people forget what is going on here. So, I recommend this article for a refresher and reminder: the Banks have turned our government into a Plutocracy and they are BY FAR The Greatest Threat to this country. Not socialized medicine. Not Islamic terrorists. Not Barack Obama. Not Sarah Palin. THE BANKS.

The article starts out:

The first thing you need to know about Goldman Sachs is that it's everywhere. The world's most powerful investment bank is a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money. In fact, the history of the recent financial crisis, which doubles as a history of the rapid decline and fall of the suddenly swindled dry American empire, reads like a Who's Who of Goldman Sachs graduates.
By now, most of us know the major players. As George Bush's last Treasury secretary, former Goldman CEO Henry Paulson was the architect of the bailout, a suspiciously self-serving plan to funnel trillions of Your Dollars to a handful of his old friends on Wall Street. Robert Rubin, Bill Clinton's former Treasury secretary, spent 26 years at Goldman before becoming chairman of Citigroup — which in turn got a $300 billion taxpayer bailout from Paulson. There's John Thain, the asshole chief of Merrill Lynch who bought an $87,000 area rug for his office as his company was imploding; a former Goldman banker, Thain enjoyed a multi-billion-dollar handout from Paulson, who used billions in taxpayer funds to help Bank of America rescue Thain's sorry company. And Robert Steel, the former Goldmanite head of Wachovia, scored himself and his fellow executives $225 million in golden-parachute payments as his bank was self-destructing. There's Joshua Bolten, Bush's chief of staff during the bailout, and Mark Patterson, the current Treasury chief of staff, who was a Goldman lobbyist just a year ago, and Ed Liddy, the former Goldman director whom Paulson put in charge of bailed-out insurance giant AIG, which forked over $13 billion to Goldman after Liddy came on board. The heads of the Canadian and Italian national banks are Goldman alums, as is the head of the World Bank, the head of the New York Stock Exchange, the last two heads of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York — which, incidentally, is now in charge of overseeing Goldman — not to mention …

But then, any attempt to construct a narrative around all the former Goldmanites in influential positions quickly becomes an absurd and pointless exercise, like trying to make a list of everything. What you need to know is the big picture: If America is circling the drain, Goldman Sachs has found a way to be that drain — an extremely unfortunate loophole in the system of Western democratic capitalism, which never foresaw that in a society governed passively by free markets and free elections, organized greed always defeats disorganized democracy.

The bank's unprecedented reach and power have enabled it to turn all of America into a giant pump-and-dump scam, manipulating whole economic sectors for years at a time, moving the dice game as this or that market collapses, and all the time gorging itself on the unseen costs that are breaking families everywhere — high gas prices, rising consumer credit rates, half-eaten pension funds, mass layoffs, future taxes to pay off bailouts. All that money that you're losing, it's going somewhere, and in both a literal and a figurative sense, Goldman Sachs is where it's going: The bank is a huge, highly sophisticated engine for converting the useful, deployed wealth of society into the least useful, most wasteful and insoluble substance on Earth — pure profit for rich individuals.
They achieve this using the same playbook over and over again. The formula is relatively simple: Goldman positions itself in the middle of a speculative bubble, selling investments they know are crap. Then they hoover up vast sums from the middle and lower floors of society with the aid of a crippled and corrupt state that allows it to rewrite the rules in exchange for the relative pennies the bank throws at political patronage. Finally, when it all goes bust, leaving millions of ordinary citizens broke and starving, they begin the entire process over again, riding in to rescue us all by lending us back our own money at interest, selling themselves as men above greed, just a bunch of really smart guys keeping the wheels greased. They've been pulling this same stunt over and over since the 1920s — and now they're preparing to do it again, creating what may be the biggest and most audacious bubble yet.
If you want to understand how we got into this financial crisis, you have to first understand where all the money went — and in order to understand that, you need to understand what Goldman has already gotten away with. It is a history exactly five bubbles long — including last year's strange and seemingly inexplicable spike in the price of oil. There were a lot of losers in each of those bubbles, and in the bailout that followed. But Goldman wasn't one of them.

More here.

"The Rod" vs. "A Rod" - Spanking & Christian Parenting

2011-02-02T14:06:00.000-08:00

I've had an ongoing debate/disagreement with my wife over the Biblical correctness of using corporal punishment on children (i.e. spanking, hitting, pinching, beating, whipping, etc. etc.). I am steadfastly against it in my family. The pastor of the church we currently attend is steadfastly for it (sidenote: both he and I were spanked/beaten as children by our fathers. Interestingly, I have yet to see him ever even *hint* that maybe his father made ANY mistakes in raising him, but that is a topic for another post). As you can imagine, this is a source of consternation.

Here is an excellent article on the topic which supports my point of view.

"One of the most unfortunate misunderstandings of Scripture concerns passages that refer to the necessity of using the rod of discipline” in the training of children. These include:

Proverbs 22:15 — “Foolishness is bound in the heart of the child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.”

Proverbs 23:13 — “Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die.”

Many well-intentioned Christians take these passages and others like them to mean that God is specifically instructing parents to spank children when they misbehave; further, that these spankings should be administered with variations on the general theme of “the rod”: belts, hickory switches, paddles, and the like. This misinterpretation is understandable, but reflects a wrongful application of the principles of Biblical exegesis, or critical interpretation and analysis."

More here.

Note, I do not post this on my blog to condemn those parents who do spank their children, though I think it is a mistake of epic proportions. I only present it as a Biblical counter argument to all those who hold up these particular passages (plus Proverbs 13:24) as justification for hitting/pinching/slapping/whipping their children.

If I buy a flashlight, I'm buying a Maglite

2011-01-27T20:19:00.000-08:00

And here's why.

"• Mag Instrument has always been headquartered in the U.S.A., where the company's only flashlight production facilities have always been located, and where it is now expanding those facilities.

• Every Mag Instrument flashlight was personally designed in the U.S.A., by Mr. Maglica, under whose watchful eye Mag's engineering staff in Ontario, California, still works constantly at improving and refining Mag's products and developing new ones.

• Every single production employee on the Mag Instrument payroll lives and works in the U.S.A.; and it has always been that way. Of course, Mag does employ sales personnel in the other regions of the world where Mag® flashlights are sold; but all of Mag's flashlight production facilities, and all of its production employees, are in the U.S.A.

• Every Mag Instrument flashlight, no matter where in the world it ends up, comes from a factory located in the U.S.A. and staffed by American workers."

Success is Life Well Lived, not "He who dies with the most money, wins"

2011-01-24T11:07:00.000-08:00

My sister sent this link to me, and I thought it was pretty good (well, probably because I came to the same conclusions 10 years ago, so it's kinda ego-stroking.. heh). Please view and hopefully, take it to heart.

China finds a way...

2011-01-24T00:09:00.000-08:00

"The Chinese have decided to devalue the US dollar’s buying power, without devaluing the US Treasury holdings they hold. It is an elegant solution to their issues. It will be interesting to see if they can pull it off, while they try to prop up the European Sovereign debt markets at the same time.

The Chinese are attempting, successfully so far, to introduce the Yuan as a global currency in which to settle international trade. China is pumping into its own internal currency markets so much liquidity, they need an export market to develop for the Yuan or their own internal markets will overheat.

So China is going to start offering Yuan based savings accounts, to westerners as a vehicle in which to park capital. While this is a test case only, one might expect Yuan based accounts to be offered around the world sooner rather than later."

More HERE.

Jim Cramer - always good for a laugh

2011-01-24T00:05:00.000-08:00

So, Jim Cramer says the Housing Debacle, I mean, "Decline" has "ended" (last year even! LOL)...

“These good numbers can’t be denied anymore,” Cramer said. “The decline in value of homes is over. It ended a year ago, as I told you it did. I await someone, anyone, to come out and admit that they were wrong this summer. But they never will. They have no accountability. It disgusts me. It should disgust you.”

Who the heck listens to this moron?

Beware the Patriot Pied Piper

2011-01-23T23:54:00.001-08:00

This one has so much awesomeness in it, I can't even pick out any choice quotes. Just read it HERE.

Will our exported inflation return home?

2011-01-19T22:43:00.000-08:00

Interesting article here.

"While prices for food and energy have been rising, inflation in the United States has remained relatively subdued.

One common explanation for that phenomenon is that U.S. inflation has been "exported" to China and elsewhere through the U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policy. And given the perennial U.S. balance of payments deficit, it's good to know the country has found something it can successfully export!

However, the bad news here is that inflation does not stay exported - and in 2011 it may boomerang back to make life on Main Street miserable."

More here.

Social Security Solvency is a Fantasy

2011-01-17T21:01:00.000-08:00

The plight of Social Security is an interesting one to me. Mostly because I hear such extremely different statemetns regarding it's solvency or lack thereof. I've read statements that say "Social Security is completely solvent and has been running a surplus and will continue to do so for the next 5 years minimum!". Other statements say "Social Security is sucking money out of the economy like a giant leach and will cause the government to implode under a crushing deficit!"

How can the opinions be so completely opposite? Where is the data and what does it say? If you listen to the mainstream news, they quote estimates from sources like the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) and the Social Security Administration (SSA). Both of these sources say that things are relatively sound with regards to Social Security. According to the CBO and SSA, Social Security is still in the black and won't have expenditures exceed income until 2015 or thereabouts.

So what about the people who claim the opposite? That Social Security is running deeply in the red, and is on an unsustainable fiscal path that is actually paying out way more money than it brings in? Are those people just crazy?

It doesn't seem so.

Take a look at this article.

-------------------
"The consequences of these numbers are gargantuan. Outlays are increasing 3.5% a year or more, while receipts plummeted by 8% from 2009 to 2010, supposedly a "recovery" year in which the economy grew by over 2% per annum.

Relying on these pie-in-the-sky estimates to judge the system "secure and solvent until 2037" is a massive fraud. I invite you to study all the data presented above, and pore over the source documents at length. You will be forced to conclude the following:

1. The estimates are so far off from reality, even those looking a mere one year ahead, that they are useless if not outright dangerous/fraudulent.

2. The Social Security system's outlays are rising far faster than previous estimates and the economy as a whole as Baby Boomers retire at 62 rather than hang around to 66 to collect their full benefits.

3. The Social Security system's income is cratering, with no evidence to support the notion that the "recovering" economy is generating higher SSA receipts. Indeed, the data is conclusive: SSA income fell by a massive $66 billion decline in just one year, 2009 to 2010.

4. The Trust Fund is an accounting fiction, as its disappearance would make no change in the reality that the Treasury has to borrow money on the global bond market to fund Social Security's growing shortfalls between receipts and outlays.

The bogus Trust Fund and absurdly optimistic estimates constitute two fundamental frauds at the heart of the Social Security system. Forget the delusional propaganda estimates and look at the actual Treasury data for outlays and receipts. The system is not "secure;" it ran a $76 billion deficit in 2010, and it is on track to run a deficit in 2011 that it was not supposed to reach until 2025.
Wake up, America, and look at the data, not fantasies."
----------------------
More here.

What if The Fed had never been?

2011-01-16T13:13:00.000-08:00

Another interesting article here. What would have happened if The Fed had never been created?

..."#4 If the U.S. government could issue debt-free money, it is conceivable that we would not even need the IRS. You doubt this? Well, the truth is that the United States did just fine for well over a hundred years without a national income tax. But about the same time the Federal Reserve was created a national income tax was instituted as well. The whole idea was that the wealth of the American people would be transferred to the U.S. government by force and then transferred into the hands of the ultra-wealthy in the form of interest payments...."

More here.

Yet another proposal to sell out the country to the banks...

2011-01-15T21:36:00.000-08:00

Interesting Reading here. I hope it does not come to pass, but looking at the way things have been going, I would be surprised if it didn't come to pass.

"So by looking at this proposal, we are looking at the state of play among high level policy makers in DC, particularly of the New Dem bent. This is how the administration will probably try to play foreclosure-gate.

Their proposal, not surprisingly, is yet another bailout.

The big difference between the original and the new, improved version of the bailout model is that the payouts to the banks were at least in part visible the first time around. This is an effort yet again to spare the banks any pain, not only at the cost of the rule of law but also of investor rights.

This proposal guts state control of their own real estate law when the Supreme Court has repeatedly found that “dirt law” is not a Federal matter. It strips homeowners of their right to their day in court to preserve their contractual rights, namely, that only the proven mortgagee, and not a gangster, or in this case, bankster, can take possession of their home.

This sort of protection is fundamental to the operation of capitalism, so it’s astonishing to see neoliberals so willing to throw it under the bus to preserve the balance sheets of the TBTF banks. Readers may recall how we came to have this sort of legal protection in the first place. England learned the hard way in the 17th century what happens with low documentation requirements: abuse of court procedures, perjury and corruption become the norm. Parliament enacted the 1677 Statute of Frauds to establish higher standards for contracts, such as witnessing by a third party, to stop the widespread theft of property that was underway."

More here.

These here 'bents are tricky!

2011-01-15T15:57:00.000-08:00

Well, it's the weekend, and I finally had time to finish assembling my new recumbent bike. It took me a while because I don't have a bike work stand, so I had to lean it against the wall in the garage as I worked on it. As I carefully threaded the chain through all the derailleurs, cogs, tubes, and idler, I found out that it (the chain) was a little too short. No worries, Craig at Boomer Bents & Bikes must have known that the chain was going to be a bit short, so he sent me some extra. The chain tool that came with the bike looked nice, but it was really a piece of garbage (it broke within a few minutes of use!). Luckily, I have my own chain tool, and I was able to get the chain extended and hooked up relatively easily.

Yesterday, I stopped by an LBS and picked up a couple Schrader to Presta valve adapters so I could use our old Schrader bike pump to pump up the Presta valve-equipped tires on the bike. I'm still planning on buying a new pump, but this will work for now.

Okay, got it all together, the brakes seem to be functioning, and the shifters seem to function okay (not great, because I haven't tuned them, but good enough). So, let's see how this thing rides! I am in the garage, the garage door is open, and the great outdoors is beckoning! (okay, so it's raining pretty well too, but what's a little water to an Oregonian? Pshaw!) Here I go, ready to rocket around the neighborhood at inhuman speeds!

Or not.

Well, I made it about 5 feet and then fell over. Okay, this is a bit trickier than I remember. It's been about 5 years since I last rode a bike. Wait, that was a trike. Hmmm. Okay, it's been a REAL LONG TIME (over a decade?) since I last rode a two-wheel bike. And that was a regular upright bike. This is a mid-low racer recumbent. I guess it's gonna take some practice.

Try again. Plop. This time I make it about 3 feet. Geez, is it supposed to be this hard? I try again about 4 or 5 more times and get no further. Head scratching, and a bit of embarrassment ensue... I realize that riding a recumbent mid-low racer is difficult, and I am out of practice, but should it be THIS hard?

No. It should not. I look down at the bike pondering my next move when I notice something. The handlebars are not aligned with the front wheel. In fact, they are probably off by about 15-20 degrees (!). *Palm Face*. No WONDER it was so hard to ride! I can't see the front wheel because of the recumbent position, so I had no idea that the steering was tweaked. Mumbling insults at myself, I set about straightening the handlebars to align them with the front wheel. It's a bit tricky (again, working by myself, with nothing to hold the bike while I adjust it) but I manage to get it to a reasonable approximation of straight.

Okay, now where was I? Oh yeah, about to launch out of the Man Cave (garage) on my missile of human powered speed! Here I gooooooo....

Or not.

I make it to the end of my driveway and onto the street and then proceed to panic as I realize that it is indeed quite hard to maintain balance on a recumbent of this type. Our house is near the crest of a very steep, curved street on a hill. The road is slick with rain, and the tires are 1" wide (or less) tires that are almost racing slicks. I try to start up the hill, but I quickly realize I am in too high a gear. Forgetting how to shift gears (hey, give me a break, it's been many, many years since I've ridden a bike) I accidentally shift UP instead of DOWN. Now the bike is slowing down dangerously and I have to give up and put my feet down. I don't tip over, but I am in a fairly precarious position as I can't get much leverage to stand up. Gah.

Well, I manage to stand up, shake my head, and turn the bike around to go back in the garage. Since it's downhill, I am able to much more easily coast down my short driveway right into the garage. But just to keep me on my toes, the wet tires (did I mention they are < 1" wide and slick?) decide to BOTH skid on the smooth concrete floor as I apply the brakes. Luckily, I am able to maintain balance and no dumpage occurs. Whew!

Okay, so, lessons learned:

1) Make sure handlebars are connected and aligned with the front wheel.
2) Practice on a flat and level surface (probably will go down to the local High School track) until I feel much more comfortable with the bike.
3) Invest in some non-slick tires. Something a little wider might not be a bad idea either.
4) Practice when nobody is around to laugh at me.
5) Practice shifting gears.
6) Don't ride on the road in the wet until I have better tires and am much more experienced with the bike.

That's the update for today. I'm going to take a break from the bike for now and go work on assembling batteries for my EV project.

What does the Bible say about Christian Working Moms?

2011-01-14T09:10:00.000-08:00

I stumbled across this article today. As a Christian, I thought it was worthwhile since my wife works and many of our Christian friends strive to have their wives stay home in order to "be better Christians".

"...Sister Christian Working Moms I cannot find any verse in the Bible that says a woman cannot work outside the home. If you can find one, please let me know. The idea of a mother not working outside the home is a relatively new concept. Actually, it is considered a luxury in most parts of the world. Often women in the history of the United States have worked outside the home. During World War II many Moms were working outside the home. So, the idea that generations of children are being harmed my mothers working outside the home, is just not true. Moms have been working very hard at home and outside the home for many years and centuries, for that matter.

.... There is not a Biblical mandate to stay at home or work. Sometimes there is no choice and women must work outside the home and they should not be made to feel guilty for helping support their families. The Bible's message is timeless and covers all cultures. So, I think it would be wrong to tell a Mom with children starving in a third world country that she should not work outside the home and find food for her child. You may think that argument is ridiculous, but if no Mom should work outside the home then that should apply to all Moms. Closely related to this point is the millions of single Christian Working Moms who are working to support their children and do not receive child support. Are they not to work outside the home? Each family has to make the choice that is best for them and one size does not fit all. If a family chooses to make the choice for a Mom to work outside the home they should take comfort in the knowledge that the Bible does not say a Mom cannot work outside the home..."

More here.

Money does not necessarily make you wealthy

2011-01-14T08:18:00.000-08:00

I saw this article on TodayShow Online via MSNBC this morning as I was getting the kids ready for the day.

"Wall Street traders may be dejected by the declining size of their bonuses this year, but they can take comfort in one fact reported by Bloomberg this week: They still earn much more than brain surgeons and top U.S. generals."

More here.

It immediately made me think of a scene in the movie, "Pretty Woman". Richard Gere's character says to his greedy partner (played by Jason Alexander):

"We don't make anything."

Jason Alexander's character retorts, "What? Whaddya mean? Sure we do! We make MONEY!"

This illustrates the main problem with society today. We have replaced the real definition of "making something" (Real Goods) with the medium (money/currency) that we use to make it easier to exchange those "somethings".

Despite what everyone says, and what most people believe to be a basic truth, money is not what has value. The Real Goods that you can buy with money are what have value. Money is actually quite worthless without the ability to exchange it for Real Goods. Think about that for a second. In America, most people believe (worship?) Capitalism. Most people in America believe that they are practicing Capitalism by striving to increase the amount of money they have. They believe that they are "becoming more wealthy" by acquiring "more money".

So, are they becoming more wealthy by acquiring more money?

The answer is not as clear as one would first think. Yes, they are becoming more wealthy as long as they can exchange that money for Real Goods. But what happens when that money becomes debased? What happens when each Dollar buys less Real Goods (inflation)?

Here's a hypothetical situation to think about. Take two people. One, an Amish Farmer who has very little income, as measured in US$. The other, a high powered Trader who makes a LOT of income in the form of US$'s on the Stock Market.

Say the Amish Farmer makes $10k/year selling his goods to the surrounding communities. Normally, a person living on $10k/year would be considered living in poverty, but since the Amish Farmer grows his own food, builds his own house, sews his own clothes, and is in general, capable of sustaining himself and his family with very little outside help, he lives a good (albeit physically hardworking) life. More importantly, he is actually generating more Real Goods than he consumes (as evidenced by his ability to trade his produce/goods for the small income he makes). Thus, he is engaging in Real Productive Activity.

On the other hand, the Wall Street stock trader makes $1 million/year, lives in an opulent loft in downtown New York City, enjoys the finest restaurants, cars, clothes, and luxuries that life can afford.

Most Americans would say that the Trader is quite wealthy, and the Farmer is quite poor.

But...

Is the Trader engaging in Real Productive Activity? Is he producing a Real Good? Is he producing more than he takes in? I would argue that he is not. The Trader is a "Net Consumer". In other words, he is consuming more Real Goods than he is producing. At first, one does not see a problem here. "So what if he consumes more than he produces? He's paying good money for it!" The problem is that money is only as "good" as the Real Goods it can be exchanged for. If fewer and fewer people are producing fewer and fewer "Real Goods" then what exactly is the money worth, and where is the "value" of the money coming from?

Even worse, what happens when the controlling entity of the money supply increases that money supply by two-fold (2x), yet the production of Real Goods (which again, are what give money it's "value") does not increase to match? Is everyone twice as rich since there is twice as much money around? Or is everyone twice as poor? Think about it...

What happens when a society transforms from one of production to one of non-production (consumption)? What happens when the majority of the population moves toward non-productive careers (in terms of "Real Goods") like Stock Traders, Bankers, Entertainers, Real Estate Agents, Service Industry, Lawyers, Video game Developers, etc.) and away from productive (again, in terms of Real Goods) careers (manufacturing, farming, engineering, construction, etc.)? What happens to the wealth of that society? I suspect we are going to find out.

It's here, it's here, hooray!

2011-01-13T08:46:00.000-08:00

Well, after waiting all day long yesterday, UPS finally got around to delivering my new bike yesterday. I quickly opened the box to find a beeee-yootiful carbon fiber/aluminum frame and parts. Here is a picture with the front wheel mounted, boom in place, and handlebars in place.

Note: the bike is upside down because I was working on it.

Craig, at BoomerBents&Bikes, did a great job packing the bike, but unfortunately, UPS didn't do such a great job shipping it. There were several large chips in the paint and a scratch in one of the carbon fiber tubes . Nothing serious, but it was annoying. I e-mailed Craig about it just to let him know. I don't expect him to do anything about it, but he mentioned he might change delivery services (apparently, it's not the first time). The bike did come with a small bottle of (what looks like) touch up paint, so I may try that.

Another minor hiccup was the fact that the bike came with a Trike assembly manual, which is obviously not the correct manual. "No big deal," I thought. "I'll just download the right manual from the website!"

Uh oh. The website was down. Doh! (*Update: it's still down this morning, although Craig e-mailed me telling me they are working on it).

Undaunted, I decided to assemble as much as I could without the manual. Keep in mind folks, this is NOT a regular bike. It's a recumbent, carbon fiber/aluminum mid/low-racer. It's a pretty odd beast compared to most bikes. Also, I haven't assembled a bike in oh, a couple decades. So, let's just say I was a little tentative.

Fortunately, most of the bike was already pre-assembled. The crankset, pedals, and front derailleur were mounted in the boom. The cables were all routed. The fork was already mounted, as were the brake calipers. All I had to do was attach the handlebars, the seat, the wheels, the rear derailleur, route the chain, hook up the derailleurs, tune everything up, and away I go!

Or not.

Looks like I need to buy a bike pump. Our old Shrader valve bike pump doesn't fit on the Presta valves that the tires use. No biggie. I'll pick up a pump at the LRBS (Local Recumbent Bike Shop) Coventry Cycles soon enough. Yes, I know I can pick up bike pumps at ANY LBS (and a lot of department stores too for that matter) but Coventry is THE recumbent bike shop here in town, and like they say, "you gotta support the local (recumbent) bike shops!". I plan on buying all my accessories at Coventry. They are super nice folks.

Well, here's a pic of the bike almost fully assembled:

In future blog entries, I'll give my thoughts about the OEM components, the overall quality, my buying experience, modifications I plan to do, and of course, riding impressions. Consider it an ongoing review.

9.4% unemployment? HAHAHahahahahahaha...

2011-01-10T22:24:00.000-08:00

The government claims that the unemployment rate dropped down to 9.4% in the latest numbers. What. A. Joke.

"But alas, this is all a dream and the media is using their very best, tried and true propaganda to keep the people from getting too upset with reality. Let me just state that the real rate of unemployment is much, much more than the 9.4% and if the government really reported what was really going on, there would be revolution in the morning. Allow me to destroy this fictional 9.4% number and the billion dollar propaganda machine that provides cover for the trillion dollar banking and government schemes. I will accomplish this magical feat with writing a blog post in my pajamas. That is real magic!"

More here.

Are we in for a major run-up in silver?

2011-01-10T19:23:00.000-08:00

Somebody thinks so... or at least, they really, really, want to hold physical silver for some reason...

"...We witnessed a massive withdrawal of silver unprecedented in the history of the comex. First there was a smallish 6507 oz of silver deposited to two customers, one being 497 oz and the other 6010 oz). But just look at the huge withdrawals:

Four customers (not dealers) withdrew a total of 1,019,310 oz from the comex vaults. This is real silver leaving from 4 registered vaults. The individual withdrawals are: 579,081, 30,380, 399,994 and 9855 oz.

The dealer (our bankers) also were involved in the withdrawal of silver to the tune of 769,941 oz (there were 2 dealers involved removing 102,866 and 667,875 ozs)...."
-----------------------------
(emphasis added by me).

This makes me think something is afoot. Do you have your physical silver? Now might be a good time to get some if you don't...

Everybody scams the middle class

2011-01-09T00:25:00.000-08:00

A very interesting read, particularly if you have left-leanings...

In Entitlement America, The Head Of A Household Of Four Making Minimum Wage Has More Disposable Income Than A Family Making $60,000 A Year

"...America is now a country which punishes those middle-class people who not only try to work hard, but avoid scamming the system. Not surprisingly, it is not only the richest and most audacious thieves that prosper - it is also the penny scammers at the very bottom of the economic ladder that rip off the middle class each and every day, courtesy of the world's most generous entitlement system."

More here.

Bike Rides I want to do

2011-01-08T22:53:00.000-08:00

Now that I've ordered my new Recumbent Bike I am already planning rides that I want to do. Here are some I've found or know of. If you have suggestions, please share!

* STP (Seattle To Portland) - The Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic, or STP, is an annual one- and two-day supported bicycle ride from Seattle, Washington to Portland, Oregon in the United States. The STP "is considered one of the 10 biggest recreational bicycle rides in the country, drawing riders from across the nation and from other nations", and has been operating for more than 25 years.[1] The ride is organized by the Cascade Bicycle Club. It is approximately 200 miles (322 km) in length. Most riders complete the distance in two days; however, about 15% complete the ride in one day.

* RSVP (Ride from Seattle To Vancouver & Party) - RSVP - Ride from Seattle to Vancouver and Party! is a two-day, 186 mile (299 km) bike tour from Seattle, Washington to Vancouver, British Columbia, along scenic back roads of Washington and British Columbia. One of the most anticipated cycling events in British Columbia, RSVP is held in August. The event is produced by Cascade Bicycle Club who also organize the Seattle to Portland. For a number of years the RSVP ended during the Celebration of Light, a fireworks festival held in English Bay, Vancouver.

* Columbia River East Highway Cruise - "This tour travels on a restored section of the Historic Columbia River Highway, where you’ll ride through one of the highest concentrations of waterfalls in North America. Other trip highlights include spectacular views of the Columbia River Gorge from Chanticleer Point, the opportunity to tour the historic Vista House, and chances to stop and hike at many of the state parks on this route. Terrain: This route follows the Historic Columbia River Highway east for 20.9 miles, starting at Lewis and Clark State Park and ending at Ainsworth State Park in the Columbia River Gorge. From Ainsworth State Park you’ll retrace your route back to Lewis and Clark State Park for a total mileage of 41.8."

* Banks-Vernonia State Park Ramble - "This fun family ride takes you on a paved multi-use trail through a fern-filled forest in rural Columbia County. The ride begins in Anderson Park in the small town of Vernonia and takes you on a scenic 14-mile out-and-back ride along the banks of the quiet Nehalem River and bubbling Beaver Creek. Terrain: Paved multi-use path."

* Champoeg State Park Ramble - "This tour begins in Champoeg State Park and travels on rural roads through the farming country of French Prairie. Highlights of this tour include fascinating history and geology exhibits at the Champoeg State Park Visitors Center, the Robert Newell House Museum, a stop along the scenic Willamette River, and a tour through the historic community of St. Paul. Terrain: This route follows rural country roads that lead you through the farming area of French Prairie and the small community of St. Paul."

* Covered Bridges Cruise - On this tour you can view five of Oregon’s rare covered bridges. The ride begins in the sleepy town of Scio and loops through rolling farming country of Linn County. Terrain: One major highway with moderate traffic; the rest of the route follows rural roads with light traffic and no shoulder.

* Columbia River Springwater Corridor Ramble - This route is a great introduction to some prime multi-use bike paths on the east side of Portland. These include the I–205 bike corridor, the Columbia River Trail, and the Springwater Corridor Trail. The expansive views along the Columbia and the wild isolation of the Springwater make this an enjoyable loop. Terrain: City streets and multi-use paths.

My New Ride

2011-01-07T03:33:00.000-08:00

So, I'm really excited.

I finally decided to take the plunge and buy a bike. I've been holding off for quite a while, but a couple conversations with a friend and my wife convinced me that now is the right time. So what did I buy? Well, here's a picture:

Yep, that's a recumbent. A Carbon Fiber/Aluminum Mid-Racer Recumbent. Sweeeeeet....

Why a recumbent? Because they are comfortable, fast, and efficient from an engineering perspective (those who know me know I have this thing for efficiency). I find regular up-right bikes (or "diamond frames" as they are known to 'bent riders) to be painful to ride (in many places), and fairly in-efficient (from an aerodynamic efficiency standpoint).

I used to ride a recumbent trike (KMX brand for those who are wondering) but once we moved to our current home, the hills prevented me from enjoying that particular vehicle, so I ended up selling it (which was a sad day). I loved riding that trike (the fact that I could ride for HOURS without getting ANY soreness ANYWHERE was the best part) but sadly, a purely human-powered trike is just not feasible in the area where I live - the hills are just too steep. An electrically assisted trike would be another story though... but I won't get into that in this post.

So, feeling the recumbent fever again, I decided to go with a 2-wheeler and use lightness and efficiency as my guiding strategy. This carbon fiber & aluminum mid/low-racer is super-light (for a recumbent) at only 25 lbs with stock components. Being somewhat low to the ground, it will be easy for me to put my feet down should I feel the need to stop during a steep ascent (hill climbing is the weakest point for recumbents). However, on the flats & downhill, it should be a rocket - even for an old fogie like myself.

I did take a bit of a risk because I bought it sight unseen from a company in Florida, but I've done my research and I'm comfortable with the decision. The manufacturer of the bike is Taiwanese and known for putting out fantastic frames with mediocre components. That's okay. You can always change/upgrade components, but you can't change the frame. I am already anticipating that I will be changing the seat and a few smaller components based on reviews I've read online.

It should arrive in about a week. I intend to do a review of the bike once I've gotten some quality seat time in it and put a fair amount of mileage on both the bike and my body. I haven't ridden a bike regularly for over half a decade, so I anticipate a fairly long period of time spent getting used to the bike. So far, I have to say that my dealings with the distributor (Boomer Bents & Bikes) in Florida has been stellar, but we'll see how things go once the actual bike arrives.

Now to make training plans for this year's Big Bike Rids (S.T.P.? R.S.V.P.? Oregon Recumbent Rally?).... :)

Ron Paul continues his solitary fight... no longer!

2011-01-07T03:08:00.000-08:00

Rand joins father Ron in attempting to save the Titanic...

I know that Rand is a controversial figure for saying many things that were a bit "un-wise" during his campaign, but his father, Ron, is right on the money... as always.

Why the World is Financially Doomed - in 4 charts

2011-01-06T20:58:00.000-08:00

My friend Craig sent me a link to this article, and it nicely sums up where we stand and how we got here... in 4 simple charts.

"...It boils down to these basics:

1. When money is dear and difficult to borrow, then productivity and capital accumulation are encouraged, speculation, malinvestment and debt-based consumption are discouraged.

2. When money is "free" (zero-interest rate policy) and liquidity is unlimited, then the opposite conditions hold: speculation in risk assets, malinvestment and debt-based consumption are all encouraged, and productivity and capital accumulation are heavily discouraged.

3. When debts exceed the value of the underlying assets, the only way out of the Tyranny of Debt is to write off the debt on both the borrower and lender's balance sheets, wiping out their capital via liquidation and bankruptcy.

4. The "extend and pretend" policy pursued by all major nations is simply transferring the impaired debt from private hands to the taxpayers (public debt), crippling the economy with higher taxes and higher debt service.

5. The Central State's "extend and pretend" policy requires heavy borrowing every year to prop up the status quo, pushing the Central State (or equivalent, i.e. the Eurozone) in an inescapable double-bind: either continue increasing public debt and cripple the economy with high taxes and high public-debt servicing costs, or let the financial status quo of "profits are private, losses are public" implode.

The first path leads to default, as the Tyranny of Debt cannot be masked for long, while the second path wipes out the Financial Power Elite which feeds the politicians..."

More here.

Who is buying government debt?... The government.

2011-01-06T05:39:00.000-08:00

An interesting article:

Is the Federal Reserve Really Purchasing Over 60% of 2011’s Fiscal Deficit? In a Word, uh . . . Yeah.

"...So conservatively speaking, the Federal Reserve will directly finance no less than 60.51% of the U.S. Federal government’s deficit for fiscal year 2011. That figure might be as high as 67.09%, depending on the size of QE-lite.

These are the official numbers—as promised, none of these are dodgy numbers from the disreputable sources ax-grinders like to use. These numbers are straight from the horse’s mouth: The White House, and the Federal Reserve."

---------------------
So what does this mean for those of us in the USA? It means, the Fed owns the market for US Deficit funding. Not U.S. Citizens. Not China. Not Saudi Arabia. The Fed. Less than 40% of the deficit is funded by those other sources. And my guess is, it will continue to get worse.

At some point, the Fed will be funding 100% (or more!) of the U.S. Deficit. At that point, the U.S. Dollar becomes Monopoly money not only in name, but in reality. How soon will this happen? Well, there are A LOT of short term bonds that are due to expire this year and next. We'll see who picks those bonds up. My guess is: nobody but the Fed.

Uh oh... Hotmail users, check your deleted emails folder..

2011-01-02T05:58:00.000-08:00

"NEW YORK — Some users of Microsoft Hotmail are starting off the new year scrambling to get back e-mails of old. A chorus of frantic users has posted complaints on Microsoft's online forum that all of their messages have disappeared.

"Please help me get them back," wrote one user under the moniker 'Zacgore' in a post dated Saturday. "All my kids' info and pictures are in there!"

Others complain that the majority of the e-mail in their inboxes was sent to their deleted mail folders instead. It is unclear from the posts how widespread the problem is. The free Web-based e-mail service is the world's most used with about 360 million users globally, according to comScore Inc."

More here.

Retirement Community = Pit of Vipers

2011-01-01T20:45:00.000-08:00

The storm that struck the housing market has strewn many casualties—lenders, builders, real-estate agents, mortgage-bond investors. Add to the list the comity of certain communities where residents live close together, some of them paying their mortgages and homeowner-association fees, and some not.

...In August, about two years after she stopped paying her mortgage, Ms. Garcia lost her apartment to a foreclosure by the lender, although she continued to live in International Village in someone else's unit. On the day she and her husband were vacating their own apartment, two female neighbors openly celebrated while making their way to the pool. "Thank God they are moving out," said one, a blue ball cap pulled over her eyes. The other, wearing an olive-green dress and sunglasses, said she couldn't understand why Ms. Garcia had been allowed to stay so long. "It takes so long to get them out," she said, and then listed others she said were behind on payments....

More here

Bachus says "the government should serve the banks"

2011-01-01T19:41:00.000-08:00

Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), the incoming chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, is coming under fire from liberal groups for suggesting that federal lawmakers and regulators exist to "serve the banks."

Bachus, who is poised to oversee the implementation of the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory overhaul, made the comment in an interview with The Birmingham News.

"In Washington, the view is that the banks are to be regulated, and my view is that Washington and the regulators are there to serve the banks," he said.

-------------------

We have the best Congress money can buy.

More here.

1/3rd of all wealth is held in offshore banks

2011-01-01T19:28:00.000-08:00

Food for thought...

"...The super wealthy and the international banking elite think that it is really funny that our paychecks are constantly being drained by federal taxes, state taxes and Social Security taxes while they literally pay nothing at all. These incredibly rich elitists make a ton of money doing business in wealthy western nations and then they transfer virtually all of their profits offshore where they don't have to contribute any of it in taxes. It works out really great for them, but it sucks for the rest of us...."

More Here.

Welcome to you and 2011

2011-01-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

Welcome and Happy New Year. (Well, a bit premature for those of us on West Coast time - it's only 10:45pm Pacific Time). I've decided to move all my posting over to this blog instead of Face Book. I'll still keep the Face Book account (for now) so y'all can still contact me via that avenue, but most (if not all) of my posting regarding myself, family, friends, work, economy, energy, technology, etc. etc. will be here.

Why the move? Well, Face Book is great for staying in touch and really, I'm glad I am able to stay in touch with friends and family. It's even better to reconnect with some old friends and make new ones along the way. But, as some of you may have noticed, I post stuff that is, well, kind of a downer. I really don't consider myself to be a negative guy, and I like to believe that most of the people who know me, know me as a fun loving person...

So, I decided to segregate my gregarious self from my serious self. I want to maintain contact with all my friends and acquaintances on FB, but I don't want to be a downer, so I'm going to do my regular posting here on my Blog. That way, if people find it interesting, they can read it. If not, they don't get it spammed in their faces.

Anyway, so here's to a New Year, and New Adventures. Oddly, I don't really have any New Year's Resolutions. It's not that I don't believe in them, but well, I guess I don't feel like I need a special occasion to make a resolution to change my life in some way. I guess I do have "plans" though. Things I would like to do this year:

1) Pray regularly with my wife. I'm not good at this, and honestly, it's a big effort for me. But, I'm going to try to make good on it, so I've committed to gathering prayer requests during the week and praying on Saturdays. So far, so good.

2) Find a regular volunteer service activity for the family, or at least, myself.

3) Finish up my EV project.

4) ...?

It's 12:00 now. Happy New Year!