Gwen Ifill Responds
On an ad-lib basis I ran my mouth and pounded my keyboard yesterday morning based on a Drudge Report article about the financial interests and political affiliations of Gwen Ifill, moderator of tonight's Vice-Presidential candidate debate. It appears I ended up with some serious company with Michelle Malkin and others wading in on the subject.
(Scroll down here to yesterday's postings if you missed my missive.)
Any way, this morning Drudge has a link to this article saying Miss Ifill takes some offense to her portrayal here on the bloggosphere. She has apparently even tried to allude to a "race" card...Imagine that?
I'm busy working on some other stuff for work right now, so I have to limit my response at this time:
Waaaaaaaaaaaa haaaaaaaaaa haaaaaaaaa
(here's a dollar Gwen...buy some Klenex on me)
UPDATE 5:55 AM
Oh No...It seems that now not only am I a racist, but I'm also lambasting a handicapped woman as Ifill breaks her ankle on stairs at her house.
First On TVNewser: PBS' Gwen Ifill has broken her ankle after tripping and falling down stairs at her home last night, a NewsHour insider tells TVNewser. We're told Ifill had been walking up a staircase, carrying research related to her moderating duties at Thursday's Vice Presidential debate in St. Louis, when she took a wrong step.
We are also told the show will go on: Ifill is planning to travel to Missouri for the big event.
(I might be an insensitive bastard...but at least I'm an HONEST one and seek to excel at it most of the time.)
UPDATE 6:05 am (I CAN'T LEAVE THIS ALONE IT'S SO MUCH FUN)
Watch this clip of Ifill commenting on Sarah Palin's speach at the Republican convention and tell me she's objective...
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
"Laissez Le Bon Temps Roulet"
My Nominee For Head Clown In The Mardi Gras Financial Parade...
Heh...
MORE...
How Bawney sees himself:
(Lordy but I love Photoshop)
Double Heh...
Heh...
MORE...
How Bawney sees himself:
(Lordy but I love Photoshop)
Double Heh...
Wondering About The Truth??
Proof McCain Was On The Issue In 2005...
Been listening to the lamestream media play Bwarny Franke lisping his way through his baseless denials (not the river in Egypt) about his and his fellow Democrats involvement in the current financial/mortgage"non-crisis?"
Been watching the TV showing Obamarama looking all presidential as he tries to mitigate the circumstances?
Then Google Senate bill S-109, or just click on this link and save yourself the trouble:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s109-190
Once there, you'll see a page that looks like this (click on the image to enlarge):
Been listening to the lamestream media play Bwarny Franke lisping his way through his baseless denials (not the river in Egypt) about his and his fellow Democrats involvement in the current financial/mortgage"non-crisis?"
Been watching the TV showing Obamarama looking all presidential as he tries to mitigate the circumstances?
Then Google Senate bill S-109, or just click on this link and save yourself the trouble:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s109-190
Once there, you'll see a page that looks like this (click on the image to enlarge):
Now look at the bill's co-sponsors and you'll see this:
And if you click on the "Summary Button" on the website you'll see these words...
1/26/2005--Introduced.
Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (another Republican effort to fix this "problem"--VRR) to establish: (1) in lieu of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), an independent Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Agency which shall have authority over the Federal Home Loan Bank Finance Corporation, the Federal Home Loan Banks, the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac); and (2) the Federal Housing Enterprise Board.
Sets forth operating, administrative, and regulatory provisions of the Agency, including provisions respecting: (1) assessment authority; (2) authority to limit nonmission-related assets; (3) minimum and critical capital levels; (4) risk-based capital test; (5) capital classifications and undercapitalized enterprises; (6) enforcement actions and penalties; (7) golden parachutes; and (8) reporting.
Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to establish the Federal Home Loan Bank Finance Corporation. Transfers the functions of the Office of Finance of the Federal Home Loan Banks to such Corporation.
Excludes the Federal Home Loan Banks from certain securities reporting requirements.
Abolishes the Federal Housing Finance Board.
Can't you see that most all of the lamestream media, and virtually every one of the serving Dem's are lying partisan idiots...one and all...???
UPDATE 7:05 AM
Then there's this You Tube Video just in case you haven't seen it:
Are You starting to see the light yet?
"Debating" Media Bias
Sinking Further Into My Middle Aged Sarcastic Funk...
I have to admit that I don't put much stock in making my election decisions based on watching the media circuses called "Debates" on TV any more than I "hang my chads" based on the limited content and truth contained in most campaign ads.
Funny thing, but since first voting for Reagan in the 1980 presidential contest I've grown up and stopped deciding who to vote for based on what I am told.
Rather (but not DAN Rather), since 1992 I've voted based on what I read and see and hear in an active process of finding out what is really going on with a candidate and where they're coming from in their past history--and by reading and seeing and hearing I'm most definitely not talking about the Newspaper Headlines and the lamestream national TV news.
What's on my mind this morning is a Drudge Report linked article about the moderator of this Thursday's Vice Presidential debate having a book coming out for publication next January that is called "Pro-Obama."
This after having to listen to PBS's Jim Lehrer bumble through trying to get Obamarama and McCain to talk to each other in last week's debate like they were having a beer in the local tavern together, I just realized that now we're going to be subjected to the obvious liberal political leanings of yet another PBS employee moderating the Biden Palin match up on Thursday.
And not only is Miss Gwen Ifill publishing a book glorifying "modern successful minorities" including Obama, but she also works as a correspondent on Jim Lehrer's Online Newshour on PBS.
What I want to know is, who the heck appointed PBS TV the "official moderator" of these debates? After all, they're not being held in their studios and they're not paying for them.
(You know how I feel about "public television", and how with the commercial success of privately owned media the government should have gotten out of the "public radio" and "public TV" business in about 1975 when 99% of American households had cable TV available and there were privately owned TV transmitters on 100 mile centers.)
Next I went to this website and my head nearly obtained orbital rotational velocity when I learned that Tom Brokaw of NBC's "Meet the Press" fame has the moderator honors for the next Presidential debate in Nashville on October 7 and the creepy old Dan Rather pal over at CBS...Washington Correspondent Bob Schieffer has the last debate October 15th Hofstra University debate.
Anyone but me notice anything funny about the selection of these so called "moderators?"
Could it be that their all "flaming far left leaning liberals?
And might it not be slightly more than an itsy bitsy teensy weensy problem that all four of theseassheads media professionals have expressed their politics views and made them a matter of public record?
PBS couldn't last 90 days if they had to give up government tax dollars and live on advertising or subscriber revenue, and if you add up the total viewers of NBC, CBS, and PBS they wouldn't total HALF of the numbers that FOX News generates each evening.
Bill O'Reilly beats all three combined, but even with FOUR election debates, not a single person associated with FOX news was included in a moderator position.
(cue the sound of the crickets chirping...)
I'm telling you people, you're crazy if you don't see the manipulation you're being subjected to, and you're a complete and total idiot if it doesn't make you extremely angry.
Further, if you are under the age of about 35 you just better get yourself prepared to retire and die in a strange new world dominated by socialism induced shortages of things like water and food and electricity if you vote the way these partisan shills want you to vote, because the productive people are either all going to have already died else have given up producing because it just doesn't pay.
(ever read a book called Atlas Shrugged?)
I have to admit that I don't put much stock in making my election decisions based on watching the media circuses called "Debates" on TV any more than I "hang my chads" based on the limited content and truth contained in most campaign ads.
Funny thing, but since first voting for Reagan in the 1980 presidential contest I've grown up and stopped deciding who to vote for based on what I am told.
Rather (but not DAN Rather), since 1992 I've voted based on what I read and see and hear in an active process of finding out what is really going on with a candidate and where they're coming from in their past history--and by reading and seeing and hearing I'm most definitely not talking about the Newspaper Headlines and the lamestream national TV news.
What's on my mind this morning is a Drudge Report linked article about the moderator of this Thursday's Vice Presidential debate having a book coming out for publication next January that is called "Pro-Obama."
This after having to listen to PBS's Jim Lehrer bumble through trying to get Obamarama and McCain to talk to each other in last week's debate like they were having a beer in the local tavern together, I just realized that now we're going to be subjected to the obvious liberal political leanings of yet another PBS employee moderating the Biden Palin match up on Thursday.
And not only is Miss Gwen Ifill publishing a book glorifying "modern successful minorities" including Obama, but she also works as a correspondent on Jim Lehrer's Online Newshour on PBS.
What I want to know is, who the heck appointed PBS TV the "official moderator" of these debates? After all, they're not being held in their studios and they're not paying for them.
(You know how I feel about "public television", and how with the commercial success of privately owned media the government should have gotten out of the "public radio" and "public TV" business in about 1975 when 99% of American households had cable TV available and there were privately owned TV transmitters on 100 mile centers.)
Next I went to this website and my head nearly obtained orbital rotational velocity when I learned that Tom Brokaw of NBC's "Meet the Press" fame has the moderator honors for the next Presidential debate in Nashville on October 7 and the creepy old Dan Rather pal over at CBS...Washington Correspondent Bob Schieffer has the last debate October 15th Hofstra University debate.
Anyone but me notice anything funny about the selection of these so called "moderators?"
Could it be that their all "flaming far left leaning liberals?
And might it not be slightly more than an itsy bitsy teensy weensy problem that all four of these
PBS couldn't last 90 days if they had to give up government tax dollars and live on advertising or subscriber revenue, and if you add up the total viewers of NBC, CBS, and PBS they wouldn't total HALF of the numbers that FOX News generates each evening.
Bill O'Reilly beats all three combined, but even with FOUR election debates, not a single person associated with FOX news was included in a moderator position.
(cue the sound of the crickets chirping...)
I'm telling you people, you're crazy if you don't see the manipulation you're being subjected to, and you're a complete and total idiot if it doesn't make you extremely angry.
Further, if you are under the age of about 35 you just better get yourself prepared to retire and die in a strange new world dominated by socialism induced shortages of things like water and food and electricity if you vote the way these partisan shills want you to vote, because the productive people are either all going to have already died else have given up producing because it just doesn't pay.
(ever read a book called Atlas Shrugged?)
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Making A Sow's Ear Out Of A Silk Purse
They're Not Finished With Your Wallet Yet...
So here I am, found pretty much sitting on my hands in order to keep them away from my keyboard for the past few days as I watch the fur fly and the mud slung by "honorable" men/women in suits in Congress and by their foils in the lamestream media.
The wild eyed partisan TV talking heads tell us that financial Apocalypse is upon us in about thirty two minutes from now if we don't each immediately throw $3,500 per actual taxpaying taxpayer (this excludes those enjoying "earned income credits"--you're not a real taxpayer in the Websters Dictionary sense) into a giant hat, close our eyes, AND TRUST THE GOVERNMENT to spend it in one of the most expensive Zip Codes in NY City; on Privately owned Companies employing men and women many of which which make more in a year than most average Americans make in a lifetime.
Oh My GOD..."The market's down 777 points today" screams most of the Newspaper and website headlines after 95 Democrats voted against 140 of their fellow Congressmen in the process of not passing Nancy Pelosi's version of George Bush's "Financial Bailout Measure."
Funny thing, but the Democrats hold a 235 to 199 majority in the House at present, but the thing which surprised me the most was who actually voted against the measure--including Georgia's notorious Race Warlord John Lewis of Al Sharpton/ML King/Congressional Black Caucus fame.
"Foreign Markets At Risk"...to paraphrase...scream other headlines.
I say SCREW the #&$@! "Foreign Markets"...under my breath more than once in the past few weeks.
Since when have the "Foreign Markets" done anything for me and most Americans except make money while their peoples and their governments suck off the giant US government tits and boat loads of money shipped overseas by this same Congress that is so two-faced in their concern for the domestic financial markets.
I continue to have news for you this morning, and if you read the Internet sites outside ABC/CBS/NBC/CNN/MSNBC or AOL and Google and the NY Times/LA Times/Washington Post (name another lamestream dead tree legacy media or broadcast TV outlet) you'd know that profit taking has already begun in spite of the widely publicised "failures" in the financial markets and on Wall Street.
My Blog Idols over at Powerline have a good posting with references I'm going to expand on this morning.
First there's Joseph Calhoun's article over at "Real Clear Politics" that points out the new money being raised to buy and pay for the bargans out there if you're shopping for banks and other credit institutions:
In Times of Crisis, Trust Capitalism
By Joseph Calhoun
The US government is executing a coup d’etat of capitalism and I fear that we will pay the price for many years to come. Hank Paulson, Ben Bernanke and a host of others tell us the credit market is not working and the only way to get it working again is for the government to intervene. They claim this intervention is urgently needed and if we don’t act, the consequences are dire. Dire, as in New Depression dire. Have these supposed experts on capitalism forgotten how it really works?
Last week Goldman Sachs raised $10 billion in new capital in one day. They sold $5 billion in preferred stock and warrants to Berkshire Hathaway and also completed a secondary offering of common stock that raised another $5 billion. Friday, JP Morgan raised $10 billion in a secondary offering to help pay for the Washington Mutual takeunder. Both of these offerings were oversubscribed, meaning that the companies could have raised more capital if they wanted.
There is not a shortage of capital for well run financial companies.
HOLD IT...Hold It...hold it...
My POINT...exactly. Do YOU get what he's saying here?
What Mr. Calhoun doesn't say, however, is that the exact same condition which exists on Wall Street also exists on main street America for...
WELL RUN HOUSEHOLDS.
Get the Picture?
Calhoun goes on:
There is, however, a shortage of capital for companies that have acted irresponsibly with investor capital in the recent past. For some reason, our political leaders believe this is a failure of the market, but isn’t this what should be expected from rational investors? Given a choice, why would a rational investor allocate limited capital to the losers rather than the winners? If capital is really as scarce as it seems, isn’t it better for our economy if we make sure that it is allocated wisely?
The biggest bank failure in the history of the United States happened last Thursday night and by Friday morning, it was business as usual. The only difference was the name on the door and the losses suffered by those unfortunate enough to invest in Washington Mutual bonds or stock. The taxpayers didn’t lose anything and depositors didn’t lose anything, only investors. That is how capitalism works in case everyone has forgotten.
Likewise Joe, I say that there is also currently a shortage of capital for "individuals" and the Democrats beloved "Working Families" that have acted irresponsibly with "investor capitol" (read "investment capitol" to mean the shareholders of institutions willing to loan vast sums of money used buy large houses and cars and bass boats and $150 tennis shoes and expensive un-deserved vacations to Disney World for the kids.)
Calhoun's reference to the private fund raising going on piqued my interest, so I did a little Googling and found this to support his assertions:
Goldman Sachs Prices $5 Billion Public Offering Of Common Equity
September 24, 2008
Berkshire Hathaway Invests $5 Billion, Receives Warrants for Further $5 Billion
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) announced today that it has priced a public offering of 40.65 million common shares at $123 per share for total gross proceeds of approximately $5 billion. In addition, Goldman, Sachs & Co. has an over-allotment option of 6.10 million common shares.
This offering, combined with the recently announced $5 billion strategic investment by Berkshire Hathaway Inc. in the form of perpetual preferred stock, brings total capital raised to $10 billion. In addition, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. will receive warrants to purchase $5 billion of common stock with a strike price of $115 per share, which are exercisable at any time for a five year term.
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a bank holding company and a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm. Goldman Sachs provides a wide range of services worldwide to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high net worth individuals. Founded in 1869, the firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong and other major financial centers around the world.
And of course everyone knows who owns Berkshire Hathaway hiding out there in theethanol plants corn fields of Nebraska (not NY City)?
You'd be wrong if you thought of this Big Rich Guy with the bad comb over...
So here I am, found pretty much sitting on my hands in order to keep them away from my keyboard for the past few days as I watch the fur fly and the mud slung by "honorable" men/women in suits in Congress and by their foils in the lamestream media.
The wild eyed partisan TV talking heads tell us that financial Apocalypse is upon us in about thirty two minutes from now if we don't each immediately throw $3,500 per actual taxpaying taxpayer (this excludes those enjoying "earned income credits"--you're not a real taxpayer in the Websters Dictionary sense) into a giant hat, close our eyes, AND TRUST THE GOVERNMENT to spend it in one of the most expensive Zip Codes in NY City; on Privately owned Companies employing men and women many of which which make more in a year than most average Americans make in a lifetime.
Oh My GOD..."The market's down 777 points today" screams most of the Newspaper and website headlines after 95 Democrats voted against 140 of their fellow Congressmen in the process of not passing Nancy Pelosi's version of George Bush's "Financial Bailout Measure."
Funny thing, but the Democrats hold a 235 to 199 majority in the House at present, but the thing which surprised me the most was who actually voted against the measure--including Georgia's notorious Race Warlord John Lewis of Al Sharpton/ML King/Congressional Black Caucus fame.
"Foreign Markets At Risk"...to paraphrase...scream other headlines.
I say SCREW the #&$@! "Foreign Markets"...under my breath more than once in the past few weeks.
Since when have the "Foreign Markets" done anything for me and most Americans except make money while their peoples and their governments suck off the giant US government tits and boat loads of money shipped overseas by this same Congress that is so two-faced in their concern for the domestic financial markets.
I continue to have news for you this morning, and if you read the Internet sites outside ABC/CBS/NBC/CNN/MSNBC or AOL and Google and the NY Times/LA Times/Washington Post (name another lamestream dead tree legacy media or broadcast TV outlet) you'd know that profit taking has already begun in spite of the widely publicised "failures" in the financial markets and on Wall Street.
My Blog Idols over at Powerline have a good posting with references I'm going to expand on this morning.
First there's Joseph Calhoun's article over at "Real Clear Politics" that points out the new money being raised to buy and pay for the bargans out there if you're shopping for banks and other credit institutions:
In Times of Crisis, Trust Capitalism
By Joseph Calhoun
The US government is executing a coup d’etat of capitalism and I fear that we will pay the price for many years to come. Hank Paulson, Ben Bernanke and a host of others tell us the credit market is not working and the only way to get it working again is for the government to intervene. They claim this intervention is urgently needed and if we don’t act, the consequences are dire. Dire, as in New Depression dire. Have these supposed experts on capitalism forgotten how it really works?
Last week Goldman Sachs raised $10 billion in new capital in one day. They sold $5 billion in preferred stock and warrants to Berkshire Hathaway and also completed a secondary offering of common stock that raised another $5 billion. Friday, JP Morgan raised $10 billion in a secondary offering to help pay for the Washington Mutual takeunder. Both of these offerings were oversubscribed, meaning that the companies could have raised more capital if they wanted.
There is not a shortage of capital for well run financial companies.
HOLD IT...Hold It...hold it...
My POINT...exactly. Do YOU get what he's saying here?
What Mr. Calhoun doesn't say, however, is that the exact same condition which exists on Wall Street also exists on main street America for...
WELL RUN HOUSEHOLDS.
Get the Picture?
Calhoun goes on:
There is, however, a shortage of capital for companies that have acted irresponsibly with investor capital in the recent past. For some reason, our political leaders believe this is a failure of the market, but isn’t this what should be expected from rational investors? Given a choice, why would a rational investor allocate limited capital to the losers rather than the winners? If capital is really as scarce as it seems, isn’t it better for our economy if we make sure that it is allocated wisely?
The biggest bank failure in the history of the United States happened last Thursday night and by Friday morning, it was business as usual. The only difference was the name on the door and the losses suffered by those unfortunate enough to invest in Washington Mutual bonds or stock. The taxpayers didn’t lose anything and depositors didn’t lose anything, only investors. That is how capitalism works in case everyone has forgotten.
Likewise Joe, I say that there is also currently a shortage of capital for "individuals" and the Democrats beloved "Working Families" that have acted irresponsibly with "investor capitol" (read "investment capitol" to mean the shareholders of institutions willing to loan vast sums of money used buy large houses and cars and bass boats and $150 tennis shoes and expensive un-deserved vacations to Disney World for the kids.)
Calhoun's reference to the private fund raising going on piqued my interest, so I did a little Googling and found this to support his assertions:
Goldman Sachs Prices $5 Billion Public Offering Of Common Equity
September 24, 2008
Berkshire Hathaway Invests $5 Billion, Receives Warrants for Further $5 Billion
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) announced today that it has priced a public offering of 40.65 million common shares at $123 per share for total gross proceeds of approximately $5 billion. In addition, Goldman, Sachs & Co. has an over-allotment option of 6.10 million common shares.
This offering, combined with the recently announced $5 billion strategic investment by Berkshire Hathaway Inc. in the form of perpetual preferred stock, brings total capital raised to $10 billion. In addition, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. will receive warrants to purchase $5 billion of common stock with a strike price of $115 per share, which are exercisable at any time for a five year term.
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a bank holding company and a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm. Goldman Sachs provides a wide range of services worldwide to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high net worth individuals. Founded in 1869, the firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong and other major financial centers around the world.
And of course everyone knows who owns Berkshire Hathaway hiding out there in the
You'd be wrong if you thought of this Big Rich Guy with the bad comb over...
But you'd be right if you said THIS little rich guy, instead:
(For those of you busy rearing children or that went to college at UGA or Florida State, that would be Warren Buffett...)
Then over at
JPMorgan Chase & Co. Announces $8 Billion Capital Raise
New York, September 25, 2008 - JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) today announced that it intends to offer $8 billion of its common stock for sale to the public. J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. will serve as sole bookrunning manager and underwriter for the transaction. The underwriter will have a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 15% of the offered amount of common stock from the company to cover over-allotments, if any.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.0 trillion [emphasis mine-VRR] and operations in more than 60 countries....
Then after raising $8 BILLION new dollars from "investors" (not the government) in the face of the current catastrophe, the very next day last week JPMorgan did this:
JPMorgan Chase Acquires the Deposits, Assets and Certain Liabilities of Washington Mutual's Banking Operations
Highly attractive, strategic transaction significantly strengthens consumer franchise.
Deal expected to be accretive to earnings immediately. Adds large, stable deposit base and recurring earnings stream to company.
Company intends to raise additional capital in conjunction with this transaction to maintain strong capital position.
Acquisition creates largest U.S. depository institution, with over $900 billion of customer deposits
Expansion into attractive California, Florida and Washington State markets creates nation's second-largest branch network; also strengthens existing presence in New York, Texas, Illinois, Arizona, New Jersey, Colorado, Connecticut and Utah
Larger branch footprint will allow company to further extend and grow commercial banking, business banking, credit card, consumer lending and wealth management efforts
New York, Sept. 25, 2008 - JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) tonight announced it has acquired all deposits, assets and certain liabilities of Washington Mutual's banking operations from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), effective immediately. Excluded from the transaction are the senior unsecured debt, subordinated debt, and preferred stock of Washington Mutual's banks. JPMorgan Chase will not be acquiring any assets or liabilities of the banks' parent holding company (WM) or the holding company's non-bank subsidiaries. As part of this transaction, JPMorgan Chase will make a payment of approximately $1.9 billion to the FDIC.
If that's not enough to convince you that SOMEBODY believes that everything isn't going down the crapper on Wall Street without Federal intervention, on this past Friday they offered part ownership in their company for only another $10 Billion, apparently to be received from Lemmings willing to jump off the cliff with their fellow investors wallowing in the pit of insolvency:
JPMorgan Chase & Co. Prices $10 Billion Capital Raise
New York, September 26, 2008 -
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) today announced that it priced a $10 billion offering of approximately 246.9 million shares of its common stock at $40.50 per share. J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. served as sole bookrunning manager and underwriter for the transaction. The underwriter will have a 30-day option to purchase approximately up to an additional 37.0 million shares of common stock from the company to cover over-allotments. The closing is expected to occur on or about September 30, 2008.
I don't know about you, but I say that if BZILLIONAIRE Warren Buffet is buying into the investment houses this week, and "investors" are tossing billions at firms like JPMorgan, then as I said a few weeks ago...they're not burning American Dollars yet, people are still graduating from college and need a place to live other than an apartment, the housing market will recover given time, and finally...
the $#@%& Government should keep MY TAX DOLLARS out of this natural "correction process" in the markets and get their race baiting bigoted, group hysteria mongering fingers out of the investment and loan making process before they really do permanently screw things up.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Owl Gore's Crocodile Tears
Global Warming Weenies Lament Patchouli And Incense Producer Stock Plummet...
OK folks, take a look with me at a new NOAA image of the current Atlantic "Hurricane Basin":
Notice anything worth peeing your pants about this morning...unless you're a Moose up in Maine or Nova Scotia?
And gee wizz...but don't I remember that this year's "hurricane season" already "peaked" in mid/late September?
Yeah...I also remember that Hurricane Opal formed in the Gulf of Mexico off the Yucatan and roared ashore in early October of 2005 in less than a week, but right now from where I'm sitting all safe and comfortable on the banks of the Mighty Tennessee River I'd say that our "above average" so-called "active" hurricane season is about petered out for everyone that wasn't flooded out on the Texas coast...(and to them I send my personal understanding and sympathy.)
Global Warming...BAH HUMBUG!!!
OK folks, take a look with me at a new NOAA image of the current Atlantic "Hurricane Basin":
Notice anything worth peeing your pants about this morning...unless you're a Moose up in Maine or Nova Scotia?
And gee wizz...but don't I remember that this year's "hurricane season" already "peaked" in mid/late September?
Yeah...I also remember that Hurricane Opal formed in the Gulf of Mexico off the Yucatan and roared ashore in early October of 2005 in less than a week, but right now from where I'm sitting all safe and comfortable on the banks of the Mighty Tennessee River I'd say that our "above average" so-called "active" hurricane season is about petered out for everyone that wasn't flooded out on the Texas coast...(and to them I send my personal understanding and sympathy.)
Global Warming...BAH HUMBUG!!!
Busy Blogging Month
A New Personal Record...
As I've said and written here many times before, I don't write too much toward my audience's views.
Rather, I write what I think and let my audience come to me--with the singular exception of toning down the profanity and limiting my subject matter to that semi-acceptable to polite middle of the road christian political culture.
At the same time, I do manage to fairly frequently stumble into some taboo areas of our society and touch on concepts which "make people feel uncomfortable" and "hurt people's sensitive feelings."
Let's face it...I STOMP on toes when TOES are offered to be stomped on--things like the cultural failings of theblack negro African American society as a whole (read that total irresponsibility of the so-called men that exist therein) and the 70 plus percent out of wedlock birth rate they're experiencing today.
Likewise, I frequently lament things like the 60% drop out rate in many state'spublic government schools and worry about the "victim mentality" which has developed over the past forty or fifty years here in the United By-God States of 'Merica, with over half of the people out there believing now that it's the government's job, not theirs, to insure their safety and health and welfare in retirement--while at the same time expecting ME and my college educated hard working good decision making peers to pay for their largess.
Do any of these musings and writings make me a successful writer and Internet Blogger?
That would be a resounding YES if you consider averaging somewhere between 40 and 50 hits a day to be victory. But many of my blogger friends and peers get hundreds of hits a day--some averaging in the thousands.
The funny thing I've realized while writing here on this blog is this:
GOOGLE likes to use words in headlines when it comes to ranking their searches.
Further, write about the death of a celebrity or use the correct words describing a hot political news subject and your reader traffic will jump right through the roof over night.
Take a look at this months statistics from my Sitemeter Page:
As I've said and written here many times before, I don't write too much toward my audience's views.
Rather, I write what I think and let my audience come to me--with the singular exception of toning down the profanity and limiting my subject matter to that semi-acceptable to polite middle of the road christian political culture.
At the same time, I do manage to fairly frequently stumble into some taboo areas of our society and touch on concepts which "make people feel uncomfortable" and "hurt people's sensitive feelings."
Let's face it...I STOMP on toes when TOES are offered to be stomped on--things like the cultural failings of the
Likewise, I frequently lament things like the 60% drop out rate in many state's
Do any of these musings and writings make me a successful writer and Internet Blogger?
That would be a resounding YES if you consider averaging somewhere between 40 and 50 hits a day to be victory. But many of my blogger friends and peers get hundreds of hits a day--some averaging in the thousands.
The funny thing I've realized while writing here on this blog is this:
GOOGLE likes to use words in headlines when it comes to ranking their searches.
Further, write about the death of a celebrity or use the correct words describing a hot political news subject and your reader traffic will jump right through the roof over night.
Take a look at this months statistics from my Sitemeter Page:
See that set of bar graphs bouncing around down between 40 and 50 hits per day, then jumping up to over 200 last Sunday and over EIGHT HUNDRED on Monday, all because I wrote a fifty word posting mentioning that Senator and Democratic VP candidate Joe Biden's health was being examined and there was a rumor bouncing around the Internet for some time that sHrillary was coming in for his replacement in October.
I followed up with a detailed posting on Biden's health history on Monday and the hits kept coming, and here I set this morning on the banks of the Mighty Tennessee River having just finished my first week three "hits" shy of THREE THOUSAND READERS in my blogging career.
(The thing I have to keep in perspective is that even with THREE THOUSAND READERS in a single seven day period, my total for the 29 days thus far elapsed in September is just 53 hits over FOUR THOUSAND...)
Now that things have settled down a little I guess it time to pick up the trash and empty drink cups, gather my little group of regular readers back around me, and get back to working on some steel design and writing about the details of the recently minted 700 billion welfare package for Wall Street and the "community Redevelopment Act" beneficiaries and administrators over at ACORN.
Y'all have a good week...if you will...
Sunday, September 28, 2008
My Hat Size Is Bigger Than My Wallet
Who Knew?
Departing from my normal subject of politics and the other strange and inconsequential things which people I see around me in traffic and in the grocery store take as fact when they see it on TV or read it in the newspaper, I'm guilty of turning my attention to of all things...
MEN's FASHION this Sunday evening.
Specifically...
Men's Headwear.
I'll start out by saying that I've only owned a couple of real hats which were actually designed to fit my personal hat size in my life...
...that is, if you don't count the hundreds, and hundreds, and hundreds of free baseball caps I've been given and the other's I've purchased over the years of the "one size fits all" category.
Most of those don't count as true Headwear, because if you've ever seen me out wandering around in public with a hat on my head, chances are that even with the current massive levels of hair loss and resulting bulk circumferential reduction (2 * PI * head radius) the "adjustable band" with the little plastic thingies on the back or the little brass belt buckle or the annoying plastic or metal sliding cleat is positioned all the way out on the end of the adjustment range,millimeters sixteenths of an inch from letting go and allowing my hat to flop on the sidewalk or fall overboard out of the boat into the lake else out the window of the car...never to be seen or heard from again by anyone but an innocent bystander.
(While I'm thinking and writing here about articles of clothing, I have to admit that the same goes for XL socks with the range of 9 to 13 stamped on the package since everything in that category barely fits over my heal most of the time.)
Any way, I've been secretly coveting owning a nice Men's Fedora type hat like both my Grandfathers wore when they walked outside their home back in the year's prior to the 1960's and 1970's.
You know--back when women started opening their own doors and gave up relying on their long haired hippy draft dodging boyfriends and brothers to remove their Cubs and Yankees baseball caps when they entered a room, sat down at the table, or greeted a woman indoors or out.
(this behavior mostly from men that couldn't explain the infield fly rule and had never gotten closer than the beer vendor behind the third base dugout at the local AAAA level semi-pro franchise games...thus the insane insanity of the current popularity of "ball caps" residing on the heads of the "non-ball playing public.)
But I digress...
Any way, I'mlusting after looking around the Internet at some vintage Beaver skin hats made back in the 1940's and 50's and, SHEESH...are they expensive, and most of the time they are only out there on a one by one basis in what is today's boys' sizes 6X thru 12 6-1/8 through 7-1/2.
I your lovely and talented Blogmeister, wear a 7-7/8 OK, a 7-3/4 size in the better brands tightly, but prefer a size EIGHT in order to allow my massive, overtaxed and as yet under accomplished Cranium to Breath.
So what's up with that?? Ya Know....
Departing from my normal subject of politics and the other strange and inconsequential things which people I see around me in traffic and in the grocery store take as fact when they see it on TV or read it in the newspaper, I'm guilty of turning my attention to of all things...
MEN's FASHION this Sunday evening.
Specifically...
Men's Headwear.
I'll start out by saying that I've only owned a couple of real hats which were actually designed to fit my personal hat size in my life...
...that is, if you don't count the hundreds, and hundreds, and hundreds of free baseball caps I've been given and the other's I've purchased over the years of the "one size fits all" category.
Most of those don't count as true Headwear, because if you've ever seen me out wandering around in public with a hat on my head, chances are that even with the current massive levels of hair loss and resulting bulk circumferential reduction (2 * PI * head radius) the "adjustable band" with the little plastic thingies on the back or the little brass belt buckle or the annoying plastic or metal sliding cleat is positioned all the way out on the end of the adjustment range,
(While I'm thinking and writing here about articles of clothing, I have to admit that the same goes for XL socks with the range of 9 to 13 stamped on the package since everything in that category barely fits over my heal most of the time.)
Any way, I've been secretly coveting owning a nice Men's Fedora type hat like both my Grandfathers wore when they walked outside their home back in the year's prior to the 1960's and 1970's.
You know--back when women started opening their own doors and gave up relying on their long haired hippy draft dodging boyfriends and brothers to remove their Cubs and Yankees baseball caps when they entered a room, sat down at the table, or greeted a woman indoors or out.
(this behavior mostly from men that couldn't explain the infield fly rule and had never gotten closer than the beer vendor behind the third base dugout at the local AAAA level semi-pro franchise games...thus the insane insanity of the current popularity of "ball caps" residing on the heads of the "non-ball playing public.)
But I digress...
Any way, I'm
I your lovely and talented Blogmeister, wear a 7-7/8 OK, a 7-3/4 size in the better brands tightly, but prefer a size EIGHT in order to allow my massive, overtaxed and as yet under accomplished Cranium to Breath.
So what's up with that?? Ya Know....
Missy The Turbo Pup's Saturday Night
How Could You Not Want To Just Squeeze Her?
(Click on the image to see a larger format image and see all the long hair she's developing in the cooler weather here on the banks of the Mighty Tennessee River.)
US Department Of Peace?
Morris Udall's Offspring Keeping Up the Cause..
** This Ad paid for by "Americans for yet another Cheech & Chong Moment", in support of those folks you could send to Washington DC every few years.
** This Ad paid for by "Americans for yet another Cheech & Chong Moment", in support of those folks you could send to Washington DC every few years.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Burning Down The House
Lairs, Liars, Pants On Fire . . .
Crank up the volume on your computer speakers and watch this short video story in it's entirety:
There's a test later...so pay close attention...
Update: 10/1/08
You Tube took this video down not once but TWICE, but Rodger over at Curmudgeonly & Skeptical saved the day and has it up.
Crank up the volume on your computer speakers and watch this short video story in it's entirety:
Replay video Share video Watch more videos |
There's a test later...so pay close attention...
Update: 10/1/08
You Tube took this video down not once but TWICE, but Rodger over at Curmudgeonly & Skeptical saved the day and has it up.
Today's "Told You So" Moment
Lying Rat Bastard "Experts" Still At It...
I've mentioned about a zillion times before that I've had a cell phone since way before every one's children were born with cellphones in their hands.
In fact, continuing that thought, I believe it just might not be too long before some peoples' babies are born with the phone actually attached to the side of their head in place of one ear or even have a RF modulator chip and GSM card inside their skulls upon delivery.
Imagine signing up for lifetime cellular coverage with T-Mobile before your first birthday?
Any way, I'm always bitching here about missing my old 3 Watt Motorola Bag phone and the Nokia handheld that got stolen by a wrecker driver and for which I have a speaker phone and 3 watt booster setup still installed in my old Suburban today.
In spite of the improvement in cellular coverage, I still find places where these stupid little 0.6 watt phones work as well as holding my tennis shoe to my ear when it comes to making a call. Mexico Beach, Florida last time I was there and our old condo on St. Simons Island both existed in mysterious dead spots where you could drive a half mile in one direction and have a full strength signal and come back to my sofa to find yourself living in a Cell phone vacuum.
When I first found out that virtually everyone had stopped making non-handheld midget cell phones I started bitching about dialing on keys the size of Chiclets and holding something the size of a pack of chewing gum to the side of my head so that it could microwave my inner ear and hypothalamus for a few minutes each day.
I cant imagine what it's doing to you and your kids brains if you're one of these people that start mindlessly blabbing when you get up in the morning, carry on endless conversations in the car, and walk all the way through the grocery store holding a little electromagnetic transmitter against your skull because you're lonely or bored or afraid of being by yourself for fifteen minutes.
At least once every few months stories like this one questioning the long term safety of irradiating human brains leaks out into the media and my head starts spinning again.
The potential link between mobile telephones and brain cancer could be similar to the link between lung cancer and smoking -- something tobacco companies took 50 years to recognize, according to US scientists' warning.
Scientists are currently split on the level of danger the biological effects of the magnetic field emitted by cellular telephones poses to humans.
(snip) ...
Many studies denying a link defined regular cell phone use as "once a week," he said.
"Recalling the 70 years that it took to remove lead from paint and gasoline and the 50 years that it took to convincingly establish the link between smoking and lung cancer, I argue that we must learn from our past to do a better job of interpreting evidence of potential risk," said Herberman.
Isn't that just lovely?
I've got to go to work now, but I suggest that you think about this issue as you eat your healthy high fiber diet breakfast and drink your "fru-fru" bottled water on the way to the gym for your workout this morning.
If the computer operating the finely tuned machine you call your body crapps out early, all you're gonna end up being is a good looking corpse in an expensive box for everyone to say "he/she looks too good to be dead" in spite of all your efforts.
As for me, I'll continue to eat butter and eggs and red meat and over indulge in all the other things I consume, but I won't be paying AT&T/Sprint/T-Mobil to expedite my departure from this confused but lovely planet because my brain's being cremated...
AFTER I'm dead...not before.
I've mentioned about a zillion times before that I've had a cell phone since way before every one's children were born with cellphones in their hands.
In fact, continuing that thought, I believe it just might not be too long before some peoples' babies are born with the phone actually attached to the side of their head in place of one ear or even have a RF modulator chip and GSM card inside their skulls upon delivery.
Imagine signing up for lifetime cellular coverage with T-Mobile before your first birthday?
Any way, I'm always bitching here about missing my old 3 Watt Motorola Bag phone and the Nokia handheld that got stolen by a wrecker driver and for which I have a speaker phone and 3 watt booster setup still installed in my old Suburban today.
In spite of the improvement in cellular coverage, I still find places where these stupid little 0.6 watt phones work as well as holding my tennis shoe to my ear when it comes to making a call. Mexico Beach, Florida last time I was there and our old condo on St. Simons Island both existed in mysterious dead spots where you could drive a half mile in one direction and have a full strength signal and come back to my sofa to find yourself living in a Cell phone vacuum.
When I first found out that virtually everyone had stopped making non-handheld midget cell phones I started bitching about dialing on keys the size of Chiclets and holding something the size of a pack of chewing gum to the side of my head so that it could microwave my inner ear and hypothalamus for a few minutes each day.
I cant imagine what it's doing to you and your kids brains if you're one of these people that start mindlessly blabbing when you get up in the morning, carry on endless conversations in the car, and walk all the way through the grocery store holding a little electromagnetic transmitter against your skull because you're lonely or bored or afraid of being by yourself for fifteen minutes.
At least once every few months stories like this one questioning the long term safety of irradiating human brains leaks out into the media and my head starts spinning again.
The potential link between mobile telephones and brain cancer could be similar to the link between lung cancer and smoking -- something tobacco companies took 50 years to recognize, according to US scientists' warning.
Scientists are currently split on the level of danger the biological effects of the magnetic field emitted by cellular telephones poses to humans.
(snip) ...
Many studies denying a link defined regular cell phone use as "once a week," he said.
"Recalling the 70 years that it took to remove lead from paint and gasoline and the 50 years that it took to convincingly establish the link between smoking and lung cancer, I argue that we must learn from our past to do a better job of interpreting evidence of potential risk," said Herberman.
Isn't that just lovely?
I've got to go to work now, but I suggest that you think about this issue as you eat your healthy high fiber diet breakfast and drink your "fru-fru" bottled water on the way to the gym for your workout this morning.
If the computer operating the finely tuned machine you call your body crapps out early, all you're gonna end up being is a good looking corpse in an expensive box for everyone to say "he/she looks too good to be dead" in spite of all your efforts.
As for me, I'll continue to eat butter and eggs and red meat and over indulge in all the other things I consume, but I won't be paying AT&T/Sprint/T-Mobil to expedite my departure from this confused but lovely planet because my brain's being cremated...
AFTER I'm dead...not before.
Tons Of Steel...In A Hurry
You Want Fries With That???
After returning from five glorious days spent on our little Island on the Georgia Coast, I learned yesterday morning that I had to shift into Warp Drive at work in order to meet an expedited deadline on a project that suddenly flew in from over the horizon while I was away.
It looks like I'll be working through the weekend in order to have about 12 sheets of CAD drawings and design detailing modified and available for review early next week.
Please excuse me if the posting is sporadic, but then again my head may explode over something I see on TV or read here on the Internet and I'll be forced to stare at the keyboard through bloodshot eyes and wipe spit off the monitor as I let you know how I feel about the goings on in the world.
Until then, Y'all have a nice weekend...if you will...
After returning from five glorious days spent on our little Island on the Georgia Coast, I learned yesterday morning that I had to shift into Warp Drive at work in order to meet an expedited deadline on a project that suddenly flew in from over the horizon while I was away.
It looks like I'll be working through the weekend in order to have about 12 sheets of CAD drawings and design detailing modified and available for review early next week.
Please excuse me if the posting is sporadic, but then again my head may explode over something I see on TV or read here on the Internet and I'll be forced to stare at the keyboard through bloodshot eyes and wipe spit off the monitor as I let you know how I feel about the goings on in the world.
Until then, Y'all have a nice weekend...if you will...
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Are They Minting Money In Washington, Or Just Plain Stealing It In Tennessee?
Reaping What You Sew...
Are you, like me, spending any time scratching your head or other body parts wondering about the "Mortgage Crisis" and the other pending "financial meltdowns" going on up there in NY and Washington DC?
For a simple bit of clarification of how we got to where we are I suggest that you check out this NY Times story which might as well be considered to be the nine year old preface to the current drama we're watching today...
Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending
By STEVEN A. HOLMES
Published: September 30, 1999
In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.
The action, which will begin as a pilot program involving 24 banks in 15 markets -- including the New York metropolitan region -- will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. Fannie Mae officials say they hope to make it a nationwide program by next spring.
Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people [emphasis mine...VRR] and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits.
Let me caution you that I have a slightly different take on this debacle, in as much as if you listen to the Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats et. al. they are screaming that they have nothing to do with the current situation..."it's all the Bush Administration's mismanagement of the economy."
I'll buy exactly none of that garbage because the Democrats did in fact apply pressure to get people with crappy employment history and poor credit into mortgages in the late 1990's, continuing even to today as reported in the Times story.
Let me be clear--the Democrats fingerprints are all over this crime scene, but the prints are smeared by the handling that the Republican dominated Congress of that time gave the issue as they bumbled and fumbled their way through the "bipartisan" "reaching across the isle in cooperation" process they exude repeatedly on the TV sound bites.
Further, to hear the conservative pundits like Sean Hannity tell it, it's all the blue collar/minority pandering Democrats fault...PERIOD...and that take on things falls quite short of the truth and reality.
Fanny Mae WANTED to be allowed to make the money associated with buying "sub-prime" loans and collecting the associated higher interest rates they earned, confident in the fact the the Federal By-God Government of the United States of 'Merica would step in and cushion the blow should things turn south as they have today.
And the mortgage originators--savings and loans and banks and such--also wanted in on the action and needed to have a place to park the loans they made after the deal was done and they needed a fresh supply of money to lend.
Where do the bankers get their money?
Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac...in the NY Times own words:
In addition, banks, thrift institutions and mortgage companies have been pressing Fannie Mae to help them make more loans to so-called subprime borrowers. These borrowers whose incomes, credit ratings and savings are not good enough to qualify for conventional loans, can only get loans from finance companies that charge much higher interest rates -- anywhere from three to four percentage points higher than conventional loans.
It's clear to me after doing a little studying that going back to the repeal/modification of the Glass Act, again under Clinton in 1999, that this whole gang of scoundrel politicians, bankers, and corporate executives knew exactly what they were doing and worst of all, they knew that they were making huge amounts of money while at the same time relying on you and I--the American Taxpayers--to underwrite their risk should things go sour.
And go sour they did, and thus today I being told that I'm looking at handing over about $3,500 of MY MONEY this year (seven hundred billion divided by 200,000,000 taxpayers) to cover the cost of corporate compensation of assholes getting fired for doing a poor job and deadbeat fellow citizens that can't or won't pay for their homes.
What kills me is they're letting the people stay in their houses under "renegotiated terms" while I pony up the extra $3,500 in addition to the near $20,000 I'm paying for my own house, on time each and every month.
Welfare for the wealthy and unscrupulous, that's all this amounts to.
That, and yet another experiment in socialism gone bad at taxpayer expense.
Just wait until you hand over the health care system to these same elected idiots that can't help but screw up a two hundred year old banking system.
When your private parts swell up and start falling off or your eyeball pops out of it's socket and you're told that you can see a specialist sometime next year, don't come crying to me because I'm just gonna tell you...
I TOLD YOU SO
Are you, like me, spending any time scratching your head or other body parts wondering about the "Mortgage Crisis" and the other pending "financial meltdowns" going on up there in NY and Washington DC?
For a simple bit of clarification of how we got to where we are I suggest that you check out this NY Times story which might as well be considered to be the nine year old preface to the current drama we're watching today...
Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending
By STEVEN A. HOLMES
Published: September 30, 1999
In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.
The action, which will begin as a pilot program involving 24 banks in 15 markets -- including the New York metropolitan region -- will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. Fannie Mae officials say they hope to make it a nationwide program by next spring.
Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people [emphasis mine...VRR] and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits.
Let me caution you that I have a slightly different take on this debacle, in as much as if you listen to the Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats et. al. they are screaming that they have nothing to do with the current situation..."it's all the Bush Administration's mismanagement of the economy."
I'll buy exactly none of that garbage because the Democrats did in fact apply pressure to get people with crappy employment history and poor credit into mortgages in the late 1990's, continuing even to today as reported in the Times story.
Let me be clear--the Democrats fingerprints are all over this crime scene, but the prints are smeared by the handling that the Republican dominated Congress of that time gave the issue as they bumbled and fumbled their way through the "bipartisan" "reaching across the isle in cooperation" process they exude repeatedly on the TV sound bites.
Further, to hear the conservative pundits like Sean Hannity tell it, it's all the blue collar/minority pandering Democrats fault...PERIOD...and that take on things falls quite short of the truth and reality.
Fanny Mae WANTED to be allowed to make the money associated with buying "sub-prime" loans and collecting the associated higher interest rates they earned, confident in the fact the the Federal By-God Government of the United States of 'Merica would step in and cushion the blow should things turn south as they have today.
And the mortgage originators--savings and loans and banks and such--also wanted in on the action and needed to have a place to park the loans they made after the deal was done and they needed a fresh supply of money to lend.
Where do the bankers get their money?
Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac...in the NY Times own words:
In addition, banks, thrift institutions and mortgage companies have been pressing Fannie Mae to help them make more loans to so-called subprime borrowers. These borrowers whose incomes, credit ratings and savings are not good enough to qualify for conventional loans, can only get loans from finance companies that charge much higher interest rates -- anywhere from three to four percentage points higher than conventional loans.
It's clear to me after doing a little studying that going back to the repeal/modification of the Glass Act, again under Clinton in 1999, that this whole gang of scoundrel politicians, bankers, and corporate executives knew exactly what they were doing and worst of all, they knew that they were making huge amounts of money while at the same time relying on you and I--the American Taxpayers--to underwrite their risk should things go sour.
And go sour they did, and thus today I being told that I'm looking at handing over about $3,500 of MY MONEY this year (seven hundred billion divided by 200,000,000 taxpayers) to cover the cost of corporate compensation of assholes getting fired for doing a poor job and deadbeat fellow citizens that can't or won't pay for their homes.
What kills me is they're letting the people stay in their houses under "renegotiated terms" while I pony up the extra $3,500 in addition to the near $20,000 I'm paying for my own house, on time each and every month.
Welfare for the wealthy and unscrupulous, that's all this amounts to.
That, and yet another experiment in socialism gone bad at taxpayer expense.
Just wait until you hand over the health care system to these same elected idiots that can't help but screw up a two hundred year old banking system.
When your private parts swell up and start falling off or your eyeball pops out of it's socket and you're told that you can see a specialist sometime next year, don't come crying to me because I'm just gonna tell you...
I TOLD YOU SO
Morons And Trolls
I'm Operating A Storefront Of Words... Open To Infinity
Perhaps the coolest thing about writing here on the Internet is the reality that you never know who might be stopping by to see what's going through your mind and coming off your fingertips onto the computer keyboard on any given day.
Might be Madonna today, might be Micheal Jackson tomorrow, could be the Pope or someone working for the CIA next Tuesday...you just never know and I insist on being myself come what may rather than writing what I think that people might want to see and read.
Personally, I obtain a good deal of value from my efforts because writing things down (thoughts, ideas, etc.) and then viewing them in the light of public scrutiny helps me make better life decisions...in as much as if something sounds really stupid when I write about wanting to do it or already having done it I might reconsider doing it in the first place or repeating the effort in the future.
I also write about some things which I firmly believe but which many people would hardly ever say out loud let alone write down for public consumption.
I guess that it helps that I have a fairly strong personal belief system which I rely on to get me through each day, and rather than floating like a jellyfish through the sea of my fellow humanity which has elected or been taught to behave like spineless jellyfish, I instead tend to point myself in a direction and take responsibility for the consequences as they occur.
No, everything is and has not been perfect or easy in the process of meandering through almost five decades of life, but it certainly has been interesting when viewed from an internal perspective rather than worrying about what other people and society "thinks" all the time.
For instance, my recent Internet traffic increase had to do with an innocent posting I tossed up in a hurry this past Sunday entitled Biden's "Health Problems" addressing some rumors I'd been hearing over the past month about sHrillary replacing Biden on the Obama ticket for President.
As I've said in the past, I say/write what I think/believe here on this blog and you can and should take it with a grain of salt, but I do not support purveying outright liable and slander in my writing.
I just address the things that bother me or make me happy and if you don't like what I write you're welcome to get the hell out and go somewhere else on the Internet. Remember that just like the radio and TV have "channel knobs", the Internet has URL's and you're welcome to exclude mine from your favorites list any time you want.
That said, I've had a couple of snide commenter's take the time to poke me with a pointy stick this past week in the comments section and while I'm not going to lose any sleep over the occurrences I think that it's worth mentioning my position on comments and the inevitable encounters with "Comment Trolls" that every successful blogger has to attend to.
For those not versed in the subject, a "Troll" is a person that elects to hang around a website and nit pick or even torture the websites' owner on the basis of the commentary contained therein.
Thus far I've been such a low traffic, obscure site that I get virtually ZERO comments (other than Heather and Ed and Rick) so I have to assume that those reading my rantings either agree whole heatedly or could care less else find me too stupid to waste mental energy issuing a rebuttal.
Every once in a while, usually during a link induced traffic blast, I get someone that thinks themselves to be "intelligent" or "web savvy" and feel that they must impart some of their intellect on me and my blog.
Most recently I've had these comments:
"Not to rain on your parade but I didn't hear it here first. This speculation has been out for close to a week already."
"And your point is?"
The first comment was in response to my very short Sunday blurb pointing out that Biden's health was an ongoing issue on the Internet, but because of limited time I just tossed out the headline to acknowledge the event--so I guess that I have to accept the Anonymous commenter's one-upmanship that he/she knew about it before I could get to my keyboard.
In response to "And your point is?" I offer these closing paragraphs from my Monday, September 22nd essay:
"I can no more vote for him than against him using this data as the deciding factor than I believe that anyone should discount John McCain's ability to fulfill his term if elected president because of his age.
As to what if anything Obamarama's campaign might be planning regarding a personnel change in the Vice Presidential slot, I think that Senator Joe's mettle might just over-ride any purported physical fragility (which should have been vetted prior to the announcement of his inclusion on the Dem's ticket).
But then again--since when have the facts gotten in the way of expedience and "winning" when it comes to politics?"
So what is there to not understand in my efforts?
All I was saying was that people were interested in Joe Biden's health history, I handed out a few links to the details I could find, and I said that I wouldn't be electing a President and Vice-President based on anything I could find relating to the health of the candidates for those offices.
The good news is I've got Internet traffic, the bad news is that everyone doesn't think I'm smart and good looking I guess...
Perhaps the coolest thing about writing here on the Internet is the reality that you never know who might be stopping by to see what's going through your mind and coming off your fingertips onto the computer keyboard on any given day.
Might be Madonna today, might be Micheal Jackson tomorrow, could be the Pope or someone working for the CIA next Tuesday...you just never know and I insist on being myself come what may rather than writing what I think that people might want to see and read.
Personally, I obtain a good deal of value from my efforts because writing things down (thoughts, ideas, etc.) and then viewing them in the light of public scrutiny helps me make better life decisions...in as much as if something sounds really stupid when I write about wanting to do it or already having done it I might reconsider doing it in the first place or repeating the effort in the future.
I also write about some things which I firmly believe but which many people would hardly ever say out loud let alone write down for public consumption.
I guess that it helps that I have a fairly strong personal belief system which I rely on to get me through each day, and rather than floating like a jellyfish through the sea of my fellow humanity which has elected or been taught to behave like spineless jellyfish, I instead tend to point myself in a direction and take responsibility for the consequences as they occur.
No, everything is and has not been perfect or easy in the process of meandering through almost five decades of life, but it certainly has been interesting when viewed from an internal perspective rather than worrying about what other people and society "thinks" all the time.
For instance, my recent Internet traffic increase had to do with an innocent posting I tossed up in a hurry this past Sunday entitled Biden's "Health Problems" addressing some rumors I'd been hearing over the past month about sHrillary replacing Biden on the Obama ticket for President.
As I've said in the past, I say/write what I think/believe here on this blog and you can and should take it with a grain of salt, but I do not support purveying outright liable and slander in my writing.
I just address the things that bother me or make me happy and if you don't like what I write you're welcome to get the hell out and go somewhere else on the Internet. Remember that just like the radio and TV have "channel knobs", the Internet has URL's and you're welcome to exclude mine from your favorites list any time you want.
That said, I've had a couple of snide commenter's take the time to poke me with a pointy stick this past week in the comments section and while I'm not going to lose any sleep over the occurrences I think that it's worth mentioning my position on comments and the inevitable encounters with "Comment Trolls" that every successful blogger has to attend to.
For those not versed in the subject, a "Troll" is a person that elects to hang around a website and nit pick or even torture the websites' owner on the basis of the commentary contained therein.
Thus far I've been such a low traffic, obscure site that I get virtually ZERO comments (other than Heather and Ed and Rick) so I have to assume that those reading my rantings either agree whole heatedly or could care less else find me too stupid to waste mental energy issuing a rebuttal.
Every once in a while, usually during a link induced traffic blast, I get someone that thinks themselves to be "intelligent" or "web savvy" and feel that they must impart some of their intellect on me and my blog.
Most recently I've had these comments:
"Not to rain on your parade but I didn't hear it here first. This speculation has been out for close to a week already."
"And your point is?"
The first comment was in response to my very short Sunday blurb pointing out that Biden's health was an ongoing issue on the Internet, but because of limited time I just tossed out the headline to acknowledge the event--so I guess that I have to accept the Anonymous commenter's one-upmanship that he/she knew about it before I could get to my keyboard.
In response to "And your point is?" I offer these closing paragraphs from my Monday, September 22nd essay:
"I can no more vote for him than against him using this data as the deciding factor than I believe that anyone should discount John McCain's ability to fulfill his term if elected president because of his age.
As to what if anything Obamarama's campaign might be planning regarding a personnel change in the Vice Presidential slot, I think that Senator Joe's mettle might just over-ride any purported physical fragility (which should have been vetted prior to the announcement of his inclusion on the Dem's ticket).
But then again--since when have the facts gotten in the way of expedience and "winning" when it comes to politics?"
So what is there to not understand in my efforts?
All I was saying was that people were interested in Joe Biden's health history, I handed out a few links to the details I could find, and I said that I wouldn't be electing a President and Vice-President based on anything I could find relating to the health of the candidates for those offices.
The good news is I've got Internet traffic, the bad news is that everyone doesn't think I'm smart and good looking I guess...
It's Not Exactly Home Improvement TV...
But It's My Own Little Episode Called "Tip This House"...
I guess that practically everybody has heard the term "flipping" when it comes to the real estate investment business.
Well, I'm proud to announce that I've invented my own laid back beach bum version of this process, except instead of "flipping" I call my efforts "tipping"...as in causing something to slowly "tip" over.
It's not fast, it's definitely not pretty, but here's where I am right now in my 15 month long process:
What began as a tiny 1959 vintage duplex last summer looking like this...
Is now a 1200 square foot single family house that looks like this today:
I hope it's finished and that I'm out of the coastal Georgia real estate business by the new year.
Only time will tell I guess.
I guess that practically everybody has heard the term "flipping" when it comes to the real estate investment business.
Well, I'm proud to announce that I've invented my own laid back beach bum version of this process, except instead of "flipping" I call my efforts "tipping"...as in causing something to slowly "tip" over.
It's not fast, it's definitely not pretty, but here's where I am right now in my 15 month long process:
What began as a tiny 1959 vintage duplex last summer looking like this...
Is now a 1200 square foot single family house that looks like this today:
I hope it's finished and that I'm out of the coastal Georgia real estate business by the new year.
Only time will tell I guess.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The "UN Eviction Act"
Another Great Idea That Will Never Fly with the Dems...
I'm happy to report that the experiences of the past five nights of grand living spent down here on our Little Island on Georgia's Atlantic coast have renewed my spirit and balmed the sore spots in my soul (read that--eliminated the shaking and stuttering bouts of profanity issued in response to news stories of government bailouts of smarmy Wall Street hustlers and zillions of taxpayer dollars tossed at innocent victims of Greedy Republican/George Bush failed policy/Global Warming induced Hurricanes.)
We're reluctantly departing St. Simons about 7:00 AM this morning, headed back toward the banks of the Mighty Tennessee River.
Unfortunately, in the process we're facing another eight hours sitting in the car, burning Democrat declared "over priced" gasoline dispensed by "greedy" oil companies...but then again we simply have to return home after extending our trip by an extra day because there's our "fair share" of taxes due from the bulging financial account of this over-paid college educated racist/bigoted white man--allowed to sit around basically doing nothing all day except merrily designing hundreds of tons of steel up there in Eastern Tennessee--headstrongly ignoring the the grim realities of every-day life in a country lead byan ignorant Texan a Republican President
Did I mention that I just finished building my twelfth set for a Community Theater Play here on the Georgia Coast?
I'm happy to report that the experiences of the past five nights of grand living spent down here on our Little Island on Georgia's Atlantic coast have renewed my spirit and balmed the sore spots in my soul (read that--eliminated the shaking and stuttering bouts of profanity issued in response to news stories of government bailouts of smarmy Wall Street hustlers and zillions of taxpayer dollars tossed at innocent victims of Greedy Republican/George Bush failed policy/Global Warming induced Hurricanes.)
We're reluctantly departing St. Simons about 7:00 AM this morning, headed back toward the banks of the Mighty Tennessee River.
Unfortunately, in the process we're facing another eight hours sitting in the car, burning Democrat declared "over priced" gasoline dispensed by "greedy" oil companies...but then again we simply have to return home after extending our trip by an extra day because there's our "fair share" of taxes due from the bulging financial account of this over-paid college educated racist/bigoted white man--allowed to sit around basically doing nothing all day except merrily designing hundreds of tons of steel up there in Eastern Tennessee--headstrongly ignoring the the grim realities of every-day life in a country lead by
Did I mention that I just finished building my twelfth set for a Community Theater Play here on the Georgia Coast?
The big giant open frames around the back and peremeter will be covered with fabric later this week to complete the illusion of a living room and parlor.
Meanwhile, my Internet presence has also seen another minor milestone as a result of you new readers stopping by looking for information on VP Candidate Biden's "health issues," the result being my first day with over 800 "hits" and nearly 1700 visits in the past three days.
I've tried my best to keep up with the news by watching a little TV and perusing the usual sites like Drudge, but I still feel like I'm a few hours behind each day being off my normal ritual and away from my home server/workstation living on the old HP laptop.
Something that caught my eye this morning was fellow Blogger Rodger's reference over at Curmudgeonly & Skeptical to Colorado's sixth district Congressman Tom Tancredo's "UN Eviction Act" now meandering it's way across the floor and sewage plumbing of Washington DC.
This is exactly the kind of thing I've been talking about here since I started writing this blog. The United Nations and Kofi Annon et. al. are proven feckless, inept, obtuse idiots when it comes to actually doing the job of promoting world order and preventing Capuchin Monkeys look alike's like the Iranian dictator and Trolls like the penis bearing morons running Korea and Venezuela from killing their citizens and threatening the rest of the world's population.
I say that we hire a fleet of U-Hauls, pack the whole UN crowd up with their expensive suits, handbags, shoes, and limousines, and haul them all down to Haiti and let them solve the problems down there, and IF they're successful we'll think about listening to anything they have to say in the future.
What do you think?
Monday, September 22, 2008
Stairing On Stage
Making Sawdust...
This is more complicated than I thought, but we're coming along nicely...
This is more complicated than I thought, but we're coming along nicely...
Over 100% Of Americans Will Believe Any Made-Up Statistic
See What I Mean?
That will be all...for now...
That will be all...for now...
Joe Biden's Health--Part Deaux
Here's The Skinny As I Know It...
So I'm sitting here in our hotel room this morning on the last full day of my latest "working coastal vacation," perusing Drudge and the other usual websites and blogs trying to keep up with what's going on, when I jump over to this blog and check the Sitemeter statistics and find that I was blasted yesterday with people stopping by looking for information about Vice Presidential Candidate Joe Biden's rumored "health issues."
Amazing what brings in the readers...and I hope a few of you that entered this site for the very first time looking for information on the condition of Senator Biden's body stayed around to look at the issues I was actually writing about over the past few days and will possibly elect to stop back by every now and then to see what's going on in the cracks and crevasses of my demented, tortured, hyperactive (and Ritalin deprived) middle aged mind.
Unfortunately, I knew nothing as of this morning about Biden's body (other than it apparently having one head, one torso, two legs, two arms, ten fingers, ten toes, and other protrusions and orifices beyond the scope of this essay this morning.)
That said, I thought it only fair since people were Googling about Joe and finding me that as a service I direct them to where they were really trying to go, and possibly gain their return here in the future if they like what they see.
To that end, I did a little research this morning and found out that in fact the good Senator has had his own personal run-ins with doctors and the US health care system his party so desperately wantsto control give away Nationalize reform.
The first reference is copyrighted and cost a few bucks to view the entire story but here's the link to the February 12, 1988 story about Biden suffering from and being hospitalized for "neck pain."
Then there's this February 23rd, 1988 NY Times story about Biden having been diagnosed and having surgery for a "Berry Aneurysm" in one of the arteries in his neck feeding blood to his brain.
Following that 8 hour surgical procedure and nine day hospital stay, in mid March of that same year he was re-admitted to the hospital for treatment of a suspected post-surgery blood clot in his leg.
He left the hospital on March 25th "thin and full of good cheer" "despite a setback that has delayed a second operation on an artery in his head..." (viewing entire article costs $2.95)
Here's a FOXnews story which offers this summary while talking about South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson's similar surgery:
"According to CQ Today, a Capitol Hill magazine, several lawmakers have been derailed by illness and unable to vote, but have not given up their posts and eventually returned to office. Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., suffered an aneurysm and had brain surgery in February 1988. He returned to office seven months later and is still serving. [emphasis mine--VRR]"
Next, on March 9th, 2005 Senator Biden underwent emergency surgery in Naples Florida to have his Gall Bladder removed. This same article reports that the aforementioned blood clot in the Senator's leg actually moved to his lung, and as a result he had a "filter" installed to prevent future occurrences. (I actually had a similar "filter" installed in a big vein in my abdomen last February and appreciate the value of the procedure.)
So there you have it Ladies and Gentlemen...the results of a good hour's worth of effort which in the end only points out that Biden is in fact a typical human, and like most of us he has had previous problems with the organic machine God gave him to live in and operate while residing here on earth in the 20th and 21st centuries.
I can no more vote for him than against him using this data as the deciding factor than I believe that anyone should discount John McCain's ability to fulfill his term if elected president because of his age.
As to what if anything Obamarama's campaign might be planning regarding a personnel change in the Vice Presidential slot, I think that Senator Joe's mettle might just over-ride any purported physical fragility (which should have been vetted prior to the announcement of his inclusion on the Dem's ticket).
But then again--since when have the facts gotten in the way of expedience and "winning" when it comes to politics?
So I'm sitting here in our hotel room this morning on the last full day of my latest "working coastal vacation," perusing Drudge and the other usual websites and blogs trying to keep up with what's going on, when I jump over to this blog and check the Sitemeter statistics and find that I was blasted yesterday with people stopping by looking for information about Vice Presidential Candidate Joe Biden's rumored "health issues."
Amazing what brings in the readers...and I hope a few of you that entered this site for the very first time looking for information on the condition of Senator Biden's body stayed around to look at the issues I was actually writing about over the past few days and will possibly elect to stop back by every now and then to see what's going on in the cracks and crevasses of my demented, tortured, hyperactive (and Ritalin deprived) middle aged mind.
Unfortunately, I knew nothing as of this morning about Biden's body (other than it apparently having one head, one torso, two legs, two arms, ten fingers, ten toes, and other protrusions and orifices beyond the scope of this essay this morning.)
That said, I thought it only fair since people were Googling about Joe and finding me that as a service I direct them to where they were really trying to go, and possibly gain their return here in the future if they like what they see.
To that end, I did a little research this morning and found out that in fact the good Senator has had his own personal run-ins with doctors and the US health care system his party so desperately wants
The first reference is copyrighted and cost a few bucks to view the entire story but here's the link to the February 12, 1988 story about Biden suffering from and being hospitalized for "neck pain."
Then there's this February 23rd, 1988 NY Times story about Biden having been diagnosed and having surgery for a "Berry Aneurysm" in one of the arteries in his neck feeding blood to his brain.
Following that 8 hour surgical procedure and nine day hospital stay, in mid March of that same year he was re-admitted to the hospital for treatment of a suspected post-surgery blood clot in his leg.
He left the hospital on March 25th "thin and full of good cheer" "despite a setback that has delayed a second operation on an artery in his head..." (viewing entire article costs $2.95)
Here's a FOXnews story which offers this summary while talking about South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson's similar surgery:
"According to CQ Today, a Capitol Hill magazine, several lawmakers have been derailed by illness and unable to vote, but have not given up their posts and eventually returned to office. Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., suffered an aneurysm and had brain surgery in February 1988. He returned to office seven months later and is still serving. [emphasis mine--VRR]"
Next, on March 9th, 2005 Senator Biden underwent emergency surgery in Naples Florida to have his Gall Bladder removed. This same article reports that the aforementioned blood clot in the Senator's leg actually moved to his lung, and as a result he had a "filter" installed to prevent future occurrences. (I actually had a similar "filter" installed in a big vein in my abdomen last February and appreciate the value of the procedure.)
So there you have it Ladies and Gentlemen...the results of a good hour's worth of effort which in the end only points out that Biden is in fact a typical human, and like most of us he has had previous problems with the organic machine God gave him to live in and operate while residing here on earth in the 20th and 21st centuries.
I can no more vote for him than against him using this data as the deciding factor than I believe that anyone should discount John McCain's ability to fulfill his term if elected president because of his age.
As to what if anything Obamarama's campaign might be planning regarding a personnel change in the Vice Presidential slot, I think that Senator Joe's mettle might just over-ride any purported physical fragility (which should have been vetted prior to the announcement of his inclusion on the Dem's ticket).
But then again--since when have the facts gotten in the way of expedience and "winning" when it comes to politics?
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Biden's "Health Problems"
sHrillary As A Replacement VP Candidate?
Say it isn't so...but you heard it here first on the blogs if it's true...
UPDATE 9/22:
If you're doing a web search and found me based on this posting, go here:
http://coastalcompanion.blogspot.com/2008/09/joe-bidens-health-part-deaux.html
for my real attempt to tell you about Biden's body...
Say it isn't so...but you heard it here first on the blogs if it's true...
UPDATE 9/22:
If you're doing a web search and found me based on this posting, go here:
http://coastalcompanion.blogspot.com/2008/09/joe-bidens-health-part-deaux.html
for my real attempt to tell you about Biden's body...
Liberal Government Bullshit Jargon
Those That Ordinarily "Can", "Can't" Under Political Mandate...
Sitting here within a mile of the shore of the Atlantic Ocean this morning, I can't help but gloat over the absence of tropical weather on the NOAA website map -- although for all of you weather hysterics out there there is an "area of concern" out in the Lesser Antilles and one off Central America which could serve to give you and all of the sniveling Owl Gore Global Warming zombies something to cheer for in the next week or so.
By then we'll have driven all of our stuff and Miss Missy the Turbo Pup back to the safety of her suburban compound on the banks of the Mighty Tennessee River and will have to settle for watching the proceedings on TV rather than enjoying any impending "un-natural natural disaster" in person, but I digress...
My head starts spinning around slinging spit out of my mouth when I read News stories like this one talking about our so-called government keeping people out of their homes because of hazards like "mosquitoes" and the lack of "cell phone coverage" in the areas affected by weather aberrations and from which they were ordered to evacuate:
GALVESTON, Texas - Rats, raw sewage and a no-excuses curfew await exiled residents who try to return to storm-wrecked Galveston Island when it reopens next week, officials warned Saturday, a week after Hurricane Ike came thundering ashore.
Ugly as the city's last week and immediate future may be, the grim predictions didn't seem to scare some of the 45,000 evacuated islanders from trying to get home, even though most of the island won't open back up until Wednesday.
Another miles-long traffic jam clogged the only highway into the city Saturday. Some ignored orders to turn around, while others resorted to deception to sneak past police guarding a roadblock.
David Culpepper met his brother Joe in Atlanta, put a phony magnetic sign on a truck to masquerade as contractors and drove down to help a third brother, Michael, who owns an antiques shop on Galveston
Planes continued spraying the island to control mosquitoes, and officials urged returnees to wear masks to protect from mold and to properly dispose of spoiled food to stave off vermin.
...
"We don't want that flowing out into the streets," LeBlanc said. "We don't want varmints getting into it."
Hundreds of stop signs were being trucked in to replace traffic lights, nearly all of which were blown away, and 150 state troopers were on their way to help police the city.
...
More than 439,000 families had registered for FEMA assistance in the wake of Ike as of Saturday, and about 9,300 were staying in government-funded hotel rooms.
Have we really become a society filled with people that need the GOVERNMENT to protect us from NATURE; and from a lack of cable TV and cell phone signals and Internet?
Are we so fragile that our hearts will stop beating if we are forced to miss watching Geraldo and Gretta tell us about dead toddlers in Orlando and must resort to listening to Sean and Rush and Boortz on a battery powered AM radio while crapping in a 5 gallon pickle bucket with a toilet seat duct taped to the top and drinking government supplied bottled water, washing our feces stained hands in water boiled on a gas burner and cleansed with a few drops of Clorox?
We have?
And another thing...
If we did ever manage to screw up and get hit by a hurricane this weekend, since I never reproduced, and I'm currently not married but have been living with and own a home with a woman for going on eight years, do Pat and I and Missy the Turbo Pup qualify as a "Family" in the government and news statistics, or am I just a stupid single white bastard, Pat a "retired single woman", and Missy the Turbo Pup a "canine of undetermined origin" when they fill out the FEMA and HUD forms so we can qualify for our "spending cards" and get our trailer, replacement NBA jerseys, and $200 tennis shoe vouchers?
Well...I'm waiting for an answer here because I'm entitled to one else I'll probably need counseling by a government "grief professional" in order to get on with my life six or eight years from now.
Does the government really need to intervene with a threat of force or arrest to keep me from eating spoiled food from my sea water contaminated freezer while standing atop a live zillion volt electrical wire found laying in my driveway, as I force other peoples' children to walk barefoot through the glass shards from my shattered windows in my front yard in order to bring me a six pack of warm Budweiser and a carton of soggy cigarettes?
Things like this really worry me these days Ladies and Gentlemen, and starting right now I'm making it my civic duty...no...It's a religious calling...to get to the bottom of questions like this.
I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED, WHO'S RESPONSIBLE, AND WHAT OWL GORE, sHRILLARY CLINTON, OBAMARAMA, AND JOHN McCAIN ARE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT, AND I'MHOLDING MY BREATH NOT WATCHING ANOTHER SECOND OF THE VIEW OR OPRAH UNTIL I GET AN ANSWER.
Stay tuned for the answers published here when I get them.
That will be all...for now...
Sitting here within a mile of the shore of the Atlantic Ocean this morning, I can't help but gloat over the absence of tropical weather on the NOAA website map -- although for all of you weather hysterics out there there is an "area of concern" out in the Lesser Antilles and one off Central America which could serve to give you and all of the sniveling Owl Gore Global Warming zombies something to cheer for in the next week or so.
By then we'll have driven all of our stuff and Miss Missy the Turbo Pup back to the safety of her suburban compound on the banks of the Mighty Tennessee River and will have to settle for watching the proceedings on TV rather than enjoying any impending "un-natural natural disaster" in person, but I digress...
My head starts spinning around slinging spit out of my mouth when I read News stories like this one talking about our so-called government keeping people out of their homes because of hazards like "mosquitoes" and the lack of "cell phone coverage" in the areas affected by weather aberrations and from which they were ordered to evacuate:
GALVESTON, Texas - Rats, raw sewage and a no-excuses curfew await exiled residents who try to return to storm-wrecked Galveston Island when it reopens next week, officials warned Saturday, a week after Hurricane Ike came thundering ashore.
Ugly as the city's last week and immediate future may be, the grim predictions didn't seem to scare some of the 45,000 evacuated islanders from trying to get home, even though most of the island won't open back up until Wednesday.
Another miles-long traffic jam clogged the only highway into the city Saturday. Some ignored orders to turn around, while others resorted to deception to sneak past police guarding a roadblock.
David Culpepper met his brother Joe in Atlanta, put a phony magnetic sign on a truck to masquerade as contractors and drove down to help a third brother, Michael, who owns an antiques shop on Galveston
Planes continued spraying the island to control mosquitoes, and officials urged returnees to wear masks to protect from mold and to properly dispose of spoiled food to stave off vermin.
...
"We don't want that flowing out into the streets," LeBlanc said. "We don't want varmints getting into it."
Hundreds of stop signs were being trucked in to replace traffic lights, nearly all of which were blown away, and 150 state troopers were on their way to help police the city.
...
More than 439,000 families had registered for FEMA assistance in the wake of Ike as of Saturday, and about 9,300 were staying in government-funded hotel rooms.
Have we really become a society filled with people that need the GOVERNMENT to protect us from NATURE; and from a lack of cable TV and cell phone signals and Internet?
Are we so fragile that our hearts will stop beating if we are forced to miss watching Geraldo and Gretta tell us about dead toddlers in Orlando and must resort to listening to Sean and Rush and Boortz on a battery powered AM radio while crapping in a 5 gallon pickle bucket with a toilet seat duct taped to the top and drinking government supplied bottled water, washing our feces stained hands in water boiled on a gas burner and cleansed with a few drops of Clorox?
We have?
And another thing...
If we did ever manage to screw up and get hit by a hurricane this weekend, since I never reproduced, and I'm currently not married but have been living with and own a home with a woman for going on eight years, do Pat and I and Missy the Turbo Pup qualify as a "Family" in the government and news statistics, or am I just a stupid single white bastard, Pat a "retired single woman", and Missy the Turbo Pup a "canine of undetermined origin" when they fill out the FEMA and HUD forms so we can qualify for our "spending cards" and get our trailer, replacement NBA jerseys, and $200 tennis shoe vouchers?
Well...I'm waiting for an answer here because I'm entitled to one else I'll probably need counseling by a government "grief professional" in order to get on with my life six or eight years from now.
Does the government really need to intervene with a threat of force or arrest to keep me from eating spoiled food from my sea water contaminated freezer while standing atop a live zillion volt electrical wire found laying in my driveway, as I force other peoples' children to walk barefoot through the glass shards from my shattered windows in my front yard in order to bring me a six pack of warm Budweiser and a carton of soggy cigarettes?
Things like this really worry me these days Ladies and Gentlemen, and starting right now I'm making it my civic duty...no...It's a religious calling...to get to the bottom of questions like this.
I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED, WHO'S RESPONSIBLE, AND WHAT OWL GORE, sHRILLARY CLINTON, OBAMARAMA, AND JOHN McCAIN ARE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT, AND I'M
Stay tuned for the answers published here when I get them.
That will be all...for now...
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Back On Our Little Island
Spirits High, Soul At Ease...
After over eight hours spent blasting down the interstate across Tennessee and Georgia in the Chrysler 300, we finally cruised back across the bridge over the Inter coastal Waterway about 4:30 PM yesterday afternoon and almost all of my worldly cares immediately evaporated.
The smell of the salt water breeze has that sort of effect on me, and after all--we were "home" again after over a five week absence.
Even little Missy The Turbo Pup seemed to have a renewed sparkle in her eyes as she returned to the shores of the Georgia Coast where she spent most of the first 16 months of her life romping under the Live Oaks and spinning around on the pool deck and in the sands of East Beach.
After drinks at the locals watering hole over on the Marsh with friends and a hearty meal at my good friend and fellow Georgia Tech alum John Howden's Blackwater Grill, we settled in for the evening and I managed to forget to write anything here on the blog reporting our progress because...
after a little "puppy business" and further stowage and organization of provisions and supplies, I fell asleep about 8:30 PM.
Then I actually managed to sleep uninterrupted until after 2 AM, aided by the sound of the steady rain that began about sunset coming in from offshore.
This morning finds my contractor buddy Chuck and I meeting for breakfast and then wandering back over across the Marsh to the mainland, intent on making a bunch of sawdust on the stage of Brunswick's historic Ritz Theater--in the process constructing a giant staircase and associated balcony/handrails on which to stage the production of their upcoming play.
Whether it's Industrial steel infrastructure design one week, or short lived wooden fantasy scenes the next, I just love building things with life's "Adult" tinker toys.
I'vesuffered from this affliction been driven by this passion for nigh on 50 years now...and I don't intend to discontinue my antics any time in the near future.
(Stay tuned for photos of the progress to date on the never ending residential rennovation project...)
After over eight hours spent blasting down the interstate across Tennessee and Georgia in the Chrysler 300, we finally cruised back across the bridge over the Inter coastal Waterway about 4:30 PM yesterday afternoon and almost all of my worldly cares immediately evaporated.
The smell of the salt water breeze has that sort of effect on me, and after all--we were "home" again after over a five week absence.
Even little Missy The Turbo Pup seemed to have a renewed sparkle in her eyes as she returned to the shores of the Georgia Coast where she spent most of the first 16 months of her life romping under the Live Oaks and spinning around on the pool deck and in the sands of East Beach.
After drinks at the locals watering hole over on the Marsh with friends and a hearty meal at my good friend and fellow Georgia Tech alum John Howden's Blackwater Grill, we settled in for the evening and I managed to forget to write anything here on the blog reporting our progress because...
after a little "puppy business" and further stowage and organization of provisions and supplies, I fell asleep about 8:30 PM.
Then I actually managed to sleep uninterrupted until after 2 AM, aided by the sound of the steady rain that began about sunset coming in from offshore.
This morning finds my contractor buddy Chuck and I meeting for breakfast and then wandering back over across the Marsh to the mainland, intent on making a bunch of sawdust on the stage of Brunswick's historic Ritz Theater--in the process constructing a giant staircase and associated balcony/handrails on which to stage the production of their upcoming play.
Whether it's Industrial steel infrastructure design one week, or short lived wooden fantasy scenes the next, I just love building things with life's "Adult" tinker toys.
I've
(Stay tuned for photos of the progress to date on the never ending residential rennovation project...)
Thursday, September 18, 2008
The Value Of Having a "PROHIBITIVE" Cost Of Entry...
They're Still Not Burning American Dollars Yet...
At the ripe old age of "Nearly Fifty," all I can do is just sit here and shake my head at the current lamestream media hysteria and public uproar over the goings on on Wall Street and the latest round of so called "Bank failures."
Add this on top of Bush administration/global warming induced killer hurricanes on the Gulf Coast and $5.00 a gallon gasoline, and one could be inclined to think that Jesus had been seen putting his carry-on bag into the airliner's overhead compartment as he boards his return flight from Heaven or possibly that people were reported to be strapping on ice skates down in Hades.
Yes, I could see where those that are younger than me or otherwise uninformed could be looking around under their bed and in their closets for evil government regulators or greedy gas station owners lurking in the shadows--intent on stealing their last dollar intended to buyMcDonald's cheese burgers and Happy Meals butter and eggs, but in the perspective of the history I've witnessed since graduating from high school things aren't nearly as bad as some people would have you believe.
For instance:
Remember when we had "stagflation" in the late 1970's during President Carter's tenure, and the interest rates, according to this web site, were at nearly NINETEEN PERCENT as the prime rate rose up to nearly 21%?
Talk about the pleasure and pain of home ownership, if you don't believe me just take a look at this chart:
At the ripe old age of "Nearly Fifty," all I can do is just sit here and shake my head at the current lamestream media hysteria and public uproar over the goings on on Wall Street and the latest round of so called "Bank failures."
Add this on top of Bush administration/global warming induced killer hurricanes on the Gulf Coast and $5.00 a gallon gasoline, and one could be inclined to think that Jesus had been seen putting his carry-on bag into the airliner's overhead compartment as he boards his return flight from Heaven or possibly that people were reported to be strapping on ice skates down in Hades.
Yes, I could see where those that are younger than me or otherwise uninformed could be looking around under their bed and in their closets for evil government regulators or greedy gas station owners lurking in the shadows--intent on stealing their last dollar intended to buy
For instance:
Remember when we had "stagflation" in the late 1970's during President Carter's tenure, and the interest rates, according to this web site, were at nearly NINETEEN PERCENT as the prime rate rose up to nearly 21%?
Talk about the pleasure and pain of home ownership, if you don't believe me just take a look at this chart:
See what I mean?
OK, at the risk of boring everybody to death I'm gonna do a little math.
Say that today you want to buy a fairly modest home, so you run out to the bank and ask them for a $100,000 loan to go with the $15,000 your old grandma left you last year when she went to be with Grandpa.
Assuming that you have good work history and even AVERAGE credit, you're looking at getting a 30 year mortgage at somewhere less than 6.5% with low points, and your monthly payment would be about $632.00 for principal and interest each month according to this mortgage payment calculator website.
Add on your escrow payments for PMI, taxes, and homeowners' insurance, and I'm pretty sure that you'd soon be grilling burgers and chasing the dog in your own little slice of suburbia for about $750 per month.
Such a deal...
Now let's pretend that President "Jimmuh" Carter is president and you've just graduated from college, got that new job and spouse, and since it's almost 30 years ago on the calendar you want to purchase a house that only costs $75,000 new.
Using the same Mortgage calculator web site, in 1979 you'd be looking at handing over a whopping $1,191.67 each month. Adding in the tax and insurance escrow and you're looking at nearly THIRTEEN HUNDRED BUCKS A MONTH FOR A STARTER HOME.
(For comparison, in 1979 a $100,000 house would cost you $1,750 a month...and increase of $1000 over today's mortgage rates.)
Can you imagine what those mortgage costs did to the housing market in the late 1970's?
If you worked in the Mortgage Banking business or built houses for a living I'm pretty sure you lost your ass in the process, and let me remind you that a DEMOCRAT frm the great state of GEORGIA was in charge of things at the time.
Funny thing.
The cost of money doesn't go up when no one is borrowing money.
It fact, it actually goes up as demand increases, and back in the late 1970's the available money supply was being sucked up by YOUR GOVERNMENT spending it on handouts, with business competing for what was left over getting the buildings and equipment in place for the Reagan/Bush/Clinton technology boom.
And another thing, if the government hadn't have been able to hit the highest income earners of that day with tax rates upwards of SEVENTY PERCENT they never could have been able to pay their own interest rates to finance their spending.
No ladies and gentlemen, what we're witnessing today is simply another boom and bust cycle in real estate, banking, and Wall Street.
Pick your reason, act suprised, but I have to remind everyone that it's happened before and it will happen again. I elect to learn something from the pain and try not to let it happen again as a result.
Remember "Black Monday", October 19, 1987, when the market suffered it's largest one day loss in history--with the Dow Jones Industrial Average crashing down from a little over 2700 to around 1700 in one day (that would be a loss of over 35% for those of you that went to Georgia or Troy State.)
Here's the map of that miserable financial journey:
If you listened to the news, the next day you would have thought that the world had ended, and people were running around screaming and pulling their hair out and a whole bunch of assholes in $1000 suits working on Wall Street drove home that day in their BMW's and Mercedes thinking they were penny-less, and in many times actually jobless.
Not to worry, because the ones that left the "financial services" business were replaced with guys that came along just in time to steal five figures of MY MONEY in the the mid and late 1990's in the IPO debacle as Clinton's Technology bubble burst.
SSDD
That lesson was painfully learned, and today as a result of that and a few other experiences I'm just plain "bubbled out", but 'nother funny thing...
I, personally, have learned how to successfully employ the old axiom "buy low and sell high."
I sold in Mexico Beach before the current bust in resort property values hit, and I bought here on the banks of the Mighty Tennessee River as the prices held steady in the local market.
And another thing. Unlike some pockets in the national real estate market like Florida and NY and the West Coast, things are still moving along quite well here, as they are in the lower cost starter home market on the coast of Georgia.
So here I am, insulated from the current financial crisis by a little luck and a good deal of PLANNING. You can do it too if you'll just stop listening to the experts trying to sell you something and buy the things your brain and guts tell you you actually NEED and are in your best interest.
Now if I can just find a a car that gets 100 MPG to drive when we do seven hour road trips burning $4 gas, my life will truly be complete.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Professions Getting In The Way Of My Avocations
Distracting Distractions
Oh...I don't know...what's going on here on the banks of the mighty Tennessee River these days?
Not much writing if you haven't noticed...
Still screwing around with a whole bunch of steel at work--fine tuning our design and the drawings of the never ending Coke quench tower and stair tower projects.
Then there's the much anticipated upcoming glorious return to our Little Island and the Georgia Coast on Friday for a four day engagement in the set building business at Brunswick's Ritz Theater--this adventure's subject being the set for the play The Little_Foxes.
It's basically a giant staircase complete with handrails and a balcony that disappears upstage and off stage left (six years ago I couldn't tell my up stage from my down stage and stage right was a mystery to me also--I did know port and starboard and abeam and astern if needed however.)
I also have some real estate business interests to take care of in as much as this week my plumber finished new water supply piping from the city's water meter to two bathrooms, a utility room, and the kitchen of the never ending renovation project.
I have to schedule the plumbing inspection on Friday or Monday and the electrician starts work today installing a new electrical service entrance, panel, and all new wiring in the 1959 vintage structure.
Here inside my office and basement I have a number of electronic restorations in progress. The simplest is a 1944 wooden cabinet GE table radio I stole on E-bay that just needs new speaker cloth before it takes up residence in the living room foyer.
Projects #2 and #3 are again both old antique radios...a 1930's vintage battery powered Philco "Tombstone" farm radio (anyone got a 90.5 volt battery you're not using?) and a 1948's vintage Philco table radio like the one I lost in my house fire. Both radios need restoration of their electronic guts but I have downloaded the circuit diagrams and I have my soldering iron ready to get to work when we get back in town.
Then there is what I call the "Old Dell Laptop Computer Restoration Project" involving two old machines I've been dragging around in various stages of disrepair as "back-ups" to my current HP wide screen portable.
Since one machine had a dead display and the other suffered from a forgotten password, I guess their serviceability as "back-ups" are sort of like all of the combined forces of NATO and the United Nations could be considered "back-ups" for a couple of F-22 fighters and a division of US Marines.
Once again it was E-Bay to the rescue as I bought one lot of two Dell 640's in various stages of disrepair to get a working display, a cheep new copy of Windows 2000 XP Professional to keep Vista from wrecking further havoc on our network, and a USB hard drive caddy to allow me to recover the Photos and other files off both machines' hard disks before reformatting and installing the aforementioned 2000 XP and dancing the dance of success--having $5000 worth of computers (in 2003 dollars) working for less than $200 in parts and effort.
Just call me "Super Genius"...
Meanwhile, little Missy The Turbo Pup is getting her beach bag and bathing suits together, and we're really looking forward to getting her some exercise on the beach as they relaxed the leash laws on Labor day weekend and she can get back to her old ways of galloping unfettered along the surf in a 50 yard circle around us. She's certainly a little girl moulded in her dad's image of professional beach bum(ette.)
Other good news is that my company has recently been awarded some work which allows me to return to my Mechanical Engineering roots in Process Design and Thermodynamics, and my old college roommate Rusty's firm is partnering with us in the first of what we hope will be an ongoing series of systems which will increase my visibility and value to the firm.
I'm a much better Mechanical Engineer than I am a Structural Designer, but it's nice to brush up on the steel world after a seven year hiatus and let the synapses reconnect before moving back into Warp Drive.
I have to admit that the one thing I've learned the hard way over the past ten years is to not let my personal self esteem be singularly connected to my professional successes (or company failures), thus the wide ranging scope and variety of endeavors I find myself involved with today.
That said...I hope y'all all have a peachy day...If you will...
Oh...I don't know...what's going on here on the banks of the mighty Tennessee River these days?
Not much writing if you haven't noticed...
Still screwing around with a whole bunch of steel at work--fine tuning our design and the drawings of the never ending Coke quench tower and stair tower projects.
Then there's the much anticipated upcoming glorious return to our Little Island and the Georgia Coast on Friday for a four day engagement in the set building business at Brunswick's Ritz Theater--this adventure's subject being the set for the play The Little_Foxes.
It's basically a giant staircase complete with handrails and a balcony that disappears upstage and off stage left (six years ago I couldn't tell my up stage from my down stage and stage right was a mystery to me also--I did know port and starboard and abeam and astern if needed however.)
I also have some real estate business interests to take care of in as much as this week my plumber finished new water supply piping from the city's water meter to two bathrooms, a utility room, and the kitchen of the never ending renovation project.
I have to schedule the plumbing inspection on Friday or Monday and the electrician starts work today installing a new electrical service entrance, panel, and all new wiring in the 1959 vintage structure.
Here inside my office and basement I have a number of electronic restorations in progress. The simplest is a 1944 wooden cabinet GE table radio I stole on E-bay that just needs new speaker cloth before it takes up residence in the living room foyer.
Projects #2 and #3 are again both old antique radios...a 1930's vintage battery powered Philco "Tombstone" farm radio (anyone got a 90.5 volt battery you're not using?) and a 1948's vintage Philco table radio like the one I lost in my house fire. Both radios need restoration of their electronic guts but I have downloaded the circuit diagrams and I have my soldering iron ready to get to work when we get back in town.
Then there is what I call the "Old Dell Laptop Computer Restoration Project" involving two old machines I've been dragging around in various stages of disrepair as "back-ups" to my current HP wide screen portable.
Since one machine had a dead display and the other suffered from a forgotten password, I guess their serviceability as "back-ups" are sort of like all of the combined forces of NATO and the United Nations could be considered "back-ups" for a couple of F-22 fighters and a division of US Marines.
Once again it was E-Bay to the rescue as I bought one lot of two Dell 640's in various stages of disrepair to get a working display, a cheep new copy of Windows 2000 XP Professional to keep Vista from wrecking further havoc on our network, and a USB hard drive caddy to allow me to recover the Photos and other files off both machines' hard disks before reformatting and installing the aforementioned 2000 XP and dancing the dance of success--having $5000 worth of computers (in 2003 dollars) working for less than $200 in parts and effort.
Just call me "Super Genius"...
Meanwhile, little Missy The Turbo Pup is getting her beach bag and bathing suits together, and we're really looking forward to getting her some exercise on the beach as they relaxed the leash laws on Labor day weekend and she can get back to her old ways of galloping unfettered along the surf in a 50 yard circle around us. She's certainly a little girl moulded in her dad's image of professional beach bum(ette.)
Other good news is that my company has recently been awarded some work which allows me to return to my Mechanical Engineering roots in Process Design and Thermodynamics, and my old college roommate Rusty's firm is partnering with us in the first of what we hope will be an ongoing series of systems which will increase my visibility and value to the firm.
I'm a much better Mechanical Engineer than I am a Structural Designer, but it's nice to brush up on the steel world after a seven year hiatus and let the synapses reconnect before moving back into Warp Drive.
I have to admit that the one thing I've learned the hard way over the past ten years is to not let my personal self esteem be singularly connected to my professional successes (or company failures), thus the wide ranging scope and variety of endeavors I find myself involved with today.
That said...I hope y'all all have a peachy day...If you will...
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Quote O' The Day
Success...
"Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value."
Albert Einstein
US (German-born) physicist (1879 - 1955)
"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing."
Abraham Lincoln
16th president of US (1809 - 1865)
"It is possible to fail in many ways...while to succeed is possible only in one way."
Aristotle,
Nichomachean EthicsGreek critic, philosopher, physicist, & zoologist (384 BC - 322 BC)
"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."
Bill Cosby
US comedian & television actor (1937 - )
"Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value."
Albert Einstein
US (German-born) physicist (1879 - 1955)
"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing."
Abraham Lincoln
16th president of US (1809 - 1865)
"It is possible to fail in many ways...while to succeed is possible only in one way."
Aristotle,
Nichomachean EthicsGreek critic, philosopher, physicist, & zoologist (384 BC - 322 BC)
"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."
Bill Cosby
US comedian & television actor (1937 - )
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Silence
Tired...Busy...And Not Much Original To Say...
Work. Set Design. Travel Planning.
Writing's taking a back seat for a while.
Work. Set Design. Travel Planning.
Writing's taking a back seat for a while.
