Wednesday, June 29, 2005
WHAT BUSH IS MISSING.....and why he's so wrong in Iraq
One of Dubya and the neocons chief misconceptions is that MUSLIMS WANT TO DESTROY AMERICA.....
NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH... IN FACT MUSLIMS AND ARABS ARE "BUYING UP" AMERICA FASTER THAN THE CHINESE ARE!
Nearly every convenience store and gas station in my area is Muslim Owned and Operated....GO FIGURE...WHY WOULD MUSLIMS DESTROY THE ECONOMY THEY ARE MAKING A LIVING IN??
It makes no sense...and IN FACT it may "explain" the "mysterious" absence of further attacks on America by Muslim Extremists.
Truth be told, the main Muslim complaint is with Israel; and their occupation of the West Bank and Gaza...America is only collateral to that issue....until recently.
HERE'S WHAT BUSH IS MISSING:
MOST MUSLIMS IN AMERICA ARE INVESTED IN THE ECONONY OF THE US BIG TIME. AND THESE AMERICAN MUSLIMS REALIZE THAT ANY MORE ATTACKS WOULD SERIOUSLY IMPERIL THEIR "INVESTMENTS."
THAT'S WHY THERE HAVE BEEN NO MORE ATTACKS..... AND VERY LIKELY THERE WILL BE NO MORE ATTACKS INSIDE AMERICA "AS LONG AS" BUSH GIVES MUSLIMS THE TARGETS THEY NEED IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN TO "VENT THEIR RAGE."
SIMPLY PUT, OSAMO WANTS TO BANKRUPT THE "GREAT SATAN" IN THE SANDS OF ARABY...NOT RUIN THE PROSPECTS OF ARABS AND MUSLIMS WHO ARE ALREADY IN AMERICA AND DOING QUITE WELL WITH THEIR BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS....
THAT GENTLE READER IS WHAT BUSH IS MISSING.....
NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH... IN FACT MUSLIMS AND ARABS ARE "BUYING UP" AMERICA FASTER THAN THE CHINESE ARE!
Nearly every convenience store and gas station in my area is Muslim Owned and Operated....GO FIGURE...WHY WOULD MUSLIMS DESTROY THE ECONOMY THEY ARE MAKING A LIVING IN??
It makes no sense...and IN FACT it may "explain" the "mysterious" absence of further attacks on America by Muslim Extremists.
Truth be told, the main Muslim complaint is with Israel; and their occupation of the West Bank and Gaza...America is only collateral to that issue....until recently.
HERE'S WHAT BUSH IS MISSING:
MOST MUSLIMS IN AMERICA ARE INVESTED IN THE ECONONY OF THE US BIG TIME. AND THESE AMERICAN MUSLIMS REALIZE THAT ANY MORE ATTACKS WOULD SERIOUSLY IMPERIL THEIR "INVESTMENTS."
THAT'S WHY THERE HAVE BEEN NO MORE ATTACKS..... AND VERY LIKELY THERE WILL BE NO MORE ATTACKS INSIDE AMERICA "AS LONG AS" BUSH GIVES MUSLIMS THE TARGETS THEY NEED IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN TO "VENT THEIR RAGE."
SIMPLY PUT, OSAMO WANTS TO BANKRUPT THE "GREAT SATAN" IN THE SANDS OF ARABY...NOT RUIN THE PROSPECTS OF ARABS AND MUSLIMS WHO ARE ALREADY IN AMERICA AND DOING QUITE WELL WITH THEIR BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS....
THAT GENTLE READER IS WHAT BUSH IS MISSING.....
CHEAP LABOR MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND
Another Tom Friedman column in the Times on how the miracle of cheap labor makes the world go round.....
There is no doubt that keeping the working classes "under the lash" is good for business, and benefits the "work ethic" of the laboring classes.
BUT SOONER OR LATER, LABOR ASKES TO BE INCLUDED IN THE ECONOMIC BOOM...THAT'S WHAT HAPPEN IN THE US IN THE 1940's. AND AFTER THE DISASTER OF WWII THE EUROLANDERS SAID: "NEVER AGAIN" AND FOLLOWED THE WELFARE STATE MODEL.....
FRIEDMAN HAS BECOME ONE OF THE CHIEF APOLOGISTS FOR CAPITAL AGAINST LABOR...BUT I WOULD NOTE THAT THE RISE OF "POPULISTS" ON NEARLY EVERY CONTINENT INDICATES THAT LABOR WILL AGAIN DEMAND IT'S "FAIR SHARE"...AND SOON.....
There is no doubt that keeping the working classes "under the lash" is good for business, and benefits the "work ethic" of the laboring classes.
BUT SOONER OR LATER, LABOR ASKES TO BE INCLUDED IN THE ECONOMIC BOOM...THAT'S WHAT HAPPEN IN THE US IN THE 1940's. AND AFTER THE DISASTER OF WWII THE EUROLANDERS SAID: "NEVER AGAIN" AND FOLLOWED THE WELFARE STATE MODEL.....
FRIEDMAN HAS BECOME ONE OF THE CHIEF APOLOGISTS FOR CAPITAL AGAINST LABOR...BUT I WOULD NOTE THAT THE RISE OF "POPULISTS" ON NEARLY EVERY CONTINENT INDICATES THAT LABOR WILL AGAIN DEMAND IT'S "FAIR SHARE"...AND SOON.....
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
FILE SHARING....then and now
The notion that companies that provide file sharing services can be held liable for their customers copyright violations is interesting....
Many companies advertize their services explicitly as a way to STEAL CONTENT UNDER COPYRIGHT......!! No wonder they are in trouble with the courts....
Now file sharing will have be WARN AGAINST USING THEIR SERVICES TO VIOLATE COPYRIGHT LAW. But will they have to moderate their customers' usage to avoid liability? Probably not.
All these companies have to do is act like those "grape juice" sellers during Prohitiion....who gave DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW "NOT" TO TURN THEIR GRAPE JUICE INTO WINE!
1. DO NOT ADD YEAST
2. DO NOT ALLOW TO FERMENT
3. DO NOT AGE FOR SIX MONTHS.
WARNING: IF YOU DO THESE THINGS AS INSTRUCTED YOU COULD MAKE A GREAT WINE.....WHICH WOULD BE ILLEGAL!
GET THE PICTURE.....?
Many companies advertize their services explicitly as a way to STEAL CONTENT UNDER COPYRIGHT......!! No wonder they are in trouble with the courts....
Now file sharing will have be WARN AGAINST USING THEIR SERVICES TO VIOLATE COPYRIGHT LAW. But will they have to moderate their customers' usage to avoid liability? Probably not.
All these companies have to do is act like those "grape juice" sellers during Prohitiion....who gave DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW "NOT" TO TURN THEIR GRAPE JUICE INTO WINE!
1. DO NOT ADD YEAST
2. DO NOT ALLOW TO FERMENT
3. DO NOT AGE FOR SIX MONTHS.
WARNING: IF YOU DO THESE THINGS AS INSTRUCTED YOU COULD MAKE A GREAT WINE.....WHICH WOULD BE ILLEGAL!
GET THE PICTURE.....?
THE FIVE COMMANDMENTS.....
The Supreme Court used it's Solomonic Wisdom in the Ten Commandments case.....they split the difference....!
Overtly religious displays of religious material will not be allowed, but "historical" references are permitted.
So, what to do? Perhaps hang the Magna Charta next to the Ten Commandments....?
There is actually a good argument that our current legal system is derived from Old and New Testament Law.... The Theory of Natural Law vs. Man Made Law is one philosophical basis for the current Common Law that prevails in the US.
So perhaps the Ten Commandments ARE more important HISTORICALLY than say, Islamic Law or other Eastern systems outside the Judeo-Christian tradition....?
In any event the court saved a lot of money on it's interior decorating with this decision.....THE PICTURE OF MOSES AND THE TEN COMMANDMENTS CAN STAY ON THE WALL.
Overtly religious displays of religious material will not be allowed, but "historical" references are permitted.
So, what to do? Perhaps hang the Magna Charta next to the Ten Commandments....?
There is actually a good argument that our current legal system is derived from Old and New Testament Law.... The Theory of Natural Law vs. Man Made Law is one philosophical basis for the current Common Law that prevails in the US.
So perhaps the Ten Commandments ARE more important HISTORICALLY than say, Islamic Law or other Eastern systems outside the Judeo-Christian tradition....?
In any event the court saved a lot of money on it's interior decorating with this decision.....THE PICTURE OF MOSES AND THE TEN COMMANDMENTS CAN STAY ON THE WALL.
THE RICH ARE DIFFERENT.....?
The accidental death of the Walmart heir shows that the rich really are different.... They can afford to take up dangerous hobbies that eventually kill them.....!
Saturday, June 25, 2005
MUSLIMS REJECT AMERICAN INTERVENTIONISM.....
As long as America is seen as "The Shill" for Zionism in the middle east...nothing will work. Dubya and the Neocons might as well withdraw from Iraq....ASAP. Strickly for DAMAGE CONTROL!
AMERICAN MSM IGNORE MARKET UNPLEASANTNESS
The American Media will likely try to ignore the recent unpleasantness on Wall Street,
because it is TOO SCARY to even discuss with the MENTAL MIDGETS that constitute the AMERICAN PUBLIC.
So, perhaps it's time to look to foreign sources for the real story about WHAT'S NEXT IN THE FINANCIAL MARKETS.....?
AFTER ALL, CHINA HAS THE "WHIP HAND" NOW..... ALAS, POOR GREEDSPAN....THE BUBBLE ERA IS OVER.
I would expect to see a ONE DAY 400 point drop in the Dow...very soon.
AND ALAS, THAT WOULD ONLY BE A "DOWN PAYMENT" ON WHERE THE DOW NEEDS TO GO...TO REACH "FAIR VALUE" ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.....
because it is TOO SCARY to even discuss with the MENTAL MIDGETS that constitute the AMERICAN PUBLIC.
So, perhaps it's time to look to foreign sources for the real story about WHAT'S NEXT IN THE FINANCIAL MARKETS.....?
AFTER ALL, CHINA HAS THE "WHIP HAND" NOW..... ALAS, POOR GREEDSPAN....THE BUBBLE ERA IS OVER.
I would expect to see a ONE DAY 400 point drop in the Dow...very soon.
AND ALAS, THAT WOULD ONLY BE A "DOWN PAYMENT" ON WHERE THE DOW NEEDS TO GO...TO REACH "FAIR VALUE" ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.....
IRAQ IS NOW AN UNWINNABLE QUAGMIRE.
The notion that the US,
which has shown no interest in the Muslims of the middle east, can now "transform" the Empire of Islam into it's own image is simply NUTS.
Anything with the "taint" of American approval will be rejected by Muslims without further discussion. Hence, the "new government" in Iraq will never gain credibility as long as it is "backed" by Dubya and the "Zionist" Neocons.
AMAZINGLY, THE CURRENT SITUATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST COULD BE WORSE THAN VIETNAM....
THE VIETNAM WAR WAS FAIRLY WELL CONTAINED AND DID NOT INVOLVE OIL....AND OCCURRED IN A GEOPOLITICAL BACK WATER. Only the false "domino theory" made Vietnam "significant." Not so in Iraq!
The longer Dubya and the Neocons stay in Iraq....the more unstable the entire region will become. Ultimately, Dubya and the Neocons could be the worst thing to ever happen to Israel.
Next to Sharon and the Lukud that is!
which has shown no interest in the Muslims of the middle east, can now "transform" the Empire of Islam into it's own image is simply NUTS.
Anything with the "taint" of American approval will be rejected by Muslims without further discussion. Hence, the "new government" in Iraq will never gain credibility as long as it is "backed" by Dubya and the "Zionist" Neocons.
AMAZINGLY, THE CURRENT SITUATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST COULD BE WORSE THAN VIETNAM....
THE VIETNAM WAR WAS FAIRLY WELL CONTAINED AND DID NOT INVOLVE OIL....AND OCCURRED IN A GEOPOLITICAL BACK WATER. Only the false "domino theory" made Vietnam "significant." Not so in Iraq!
The longer Dubya and the Neocons stay in Iraq....the more unstable the entire region will become. Ultimately, Dubya and the Neocons could be the worst thing to ever happen to Israel.
Next to Sharon and the Lukud that is!
GAME OVER: CHINA DUMPS DOLLAR HOARD
The recent unpleasantness on Wall Street was blamed on higher oil prices,
but the real reason was likely CHINA DUMPING DOLLARS.....!
The US has been pressuring China to "re-value" their currency UPWARD.... But the best way to do that...perhaps the only way in a Communist Economy...is to SPEND THEIR DOLLAR HOARD.
CHINA SIMPLY MUST QUIT "SUPPORTING" THE US BOND MARKET AND BY IMPLICATION THE DOLLAR...IN ORDER TO "RE-VALUE" THEIR CURRENCY UPWARD.
BUT ANY ATTEMPT BY CHINA TO "DUMP BONDS" COULD HAVE GLOBAL IMPLICATION FOR THE THE DOLLAR AND THE US BOND MARKET.
Essentially, this COULD BE "the event" that we have all been expecting to happen "sooner or later" as Greenspan has predicted....SIMPLY PUT THE GAME MAY BE OVER FOR THE US DOLLAR. AND FOR THE ABILITY OF AMERICA TO "FLOAT" IT'S HIGH DEFICIT, HIGH DEBT CONSUMERISM.
IN SHORT....."GAME OVER" ON WALL STREET....... THIS COULD BE THE MUCH FEARED "BIG ONE."
but the real reason was likely CHINA DUMPING DOLLARS.....!
The US has been pressuring China to "re-value" their currency UPWARD.... But the best way to do that...perhaps the only way in a Communist Economy...is to SPEND THEIR DOLLAR HOARD.
CHINA SIMPLY MUST QUIT "SUPPORTING" THE US BOND MARKET AND BY IMPLICATION THE DOLLAR...IN ORDER TO "RE-VALUE" THEIR CURRENCY UPWARD.
BUT ANY ATTEMPT BY CHINA TO "DUMP BONDS" COULD HAVE GLOBAL IMPLICATION FOR THE THE DOLLAR AND THE US BOND MARKET.
Essentially, this COULD BE "the event" that we have all been expecting to happen "sooner or later" as Greenspan has predicted....SIMPLY PUT THE GAME MAY BE OVER FOR THE US DOLLAR. AND FOR THE ABILITY OF AMERICA TO "FLOAT" IT'S HIGH DEFICIT, HIGH DEBT CONSUMERISM.
IN SHORT....."GAME OVER" ON WALL STREET....... THIS COULD BE THE MUCH FEARED "BIG ONE."
Friday, June 24, 2005
SOONER OR LATER...WAR CRIMES?
If Paul Krugman is right in today's NYTimes;
then sooner or later Dubya & the Neocons will be charged with War Crimes....
But remember, we still don't know how this AWFUL MESS is going to evolve.
The entire affair reminds me of the beginning of World War I, or the Civil War in the US....
Everyone just assumes that the "little unpleasantness" will be over "by Christmas"......but it never is.
The Middle East could unravel into a geo-politica/economic disaster of Global Consequences.
The likely point of failure will be the US Bond market...just as happen after LBJ's "nice little war" in Vietnam went sour....
We are already seeing the Oil Markets react 1970's style; which could get much, much worse over time...
Think $200 Oil....and $7 per gallon gas!
IT'S NEVER OVER, TIL IT'S OVER...AND THIS ONE HAS A LONG WAY TO GO.....WITH HUGE GEO-POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS.
then sooner or later Dubya & the Neocons will be charged with War Crimes....
But remember, we still don't know how this AWFUL MESS is going to evolve.
The entire affair reminds me of the beginning of World War I, or the Civil War in the US....
Everyone just assumes that the "little unpleasantness" will be over "by Christmas"......but it never is.
The Middle East could unravel into a geo-politica/economic disaster of Global Consequences.
The likely point of failure will be the US Bond market...just as happen after LBJ's "nice little war" in Vietnam went sour....
We are already seeing the Oil Markets react 1970's style; which could get much, much worse over time...
Think $200 Oil....and $7 per gallon gas!
IT'S NEVER OVER, TIL IT'S OVER...AND THIS ONE HAS A LONG WAY TO GO.....WITH HUGE GEO-POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS.
MARKETS STILL.... 'NO COMMENT.....'
Except to say that
the Dow will be VERY LUCKY to hold above 6000 within the next year....and that's assuming that the shills and touts do all in their power to SAVE GREENSPAN'S BUBBLE!
the Dow will be VERY LUCKY to hold above 6000 within the next year....and that's assuming that the shills and touts do all in their power to SAVE GREENSPAN'S BUBBLE!
CHINA BOND MYSTERY SOLVED!
Remember when the Bank of China was buying up all of those US Bonds? And everyone was asking why?
Well, now we know why....CHINA IS BUYING AMERICA...LOCK STOCK AND BARREL...!
China bought Maytag this week...and earlier this year they bought the IBM Computer Business.
NOW THEY ARE GOING AFTER THE AMERICAN OIL INDUSTRY!
WELL, I SUPPOSE WHEN WALMART IS YOUR MAIN SALES DISTRIBUTOR IN THE US MARKET....THE CASH JUST KEEPS ROLLING IN.....
The biggest problem with America today is the need to constantly view the world with rose colored glasses; NO MATTER WHAT THE FACTS MAY BE. Look at how we view Iraq, the Middle East, Israel, the deficits, health care in America and Job losses......it's ALL HAPPY FACE, ALL THE TIME...NO MATTER WHAT THE TRUTH IS.
THE US ECONOMY IS BEING LOOTED TO THE BONE....BUT NO ONE CARES. NOT THE KORRUPT KONGRESS. NOT GREENSPAN. NOT EVEN THE AMERICAN RICH...
IT'S ALMOST AS IF THE AMERICAN ELITE IS PLANNING ON "LEAVING AMERICA" AND MOVING TO ONE OF THEIR BELOVED "OFF SHORE" CAPITAL HAVENS...LIKE INDIA, ISRAEL, MEXICO, SINGAPORE; OR ANYWHERE ELSE BUT HERE....
BUT WHAT ABOUT THOSE OF US WHO CAN'T OR WON'T MOVE "OFF-SHORE"....
WHAT ABOUT THOSE OF US WHO CAN'T "FOLLOW OUR MONEY" AROUND THE WORLD....TO WHEREEVER THE "RETURN" ON CAPITAL IS GREATEST....?
CAN WE GET BY ON JESUS AND GAY-BASHING FOREVER....??
Well, now we know why....CHINA IS BUYING AMERICA...LOCK STOCK AND BARREL...!
China bought Maytag this week...and earlier this year they bought the IBM Computer Business.
NOW THEY ARE GOING AFTER THE AMERICAN OIL INDUSTRY!
WELL, I SUPPOSE WHEN WALMART IS YOUR MAIN SALES DISTRIBUTOR IN THE US MARKET....THE CASH JUST KEEPS ROLLING IN.....
The biggest problem with America today is the need to constantly view the world with rose colored glasses; NO MATTER WHAT THE FACTS MAY BE. Look at how we view Iraq, the Middle East, Israel, the deficits, health care in America and Job losses......it's ALL HAPPY FACE, ALL THE TIME...NO MATTER WHAT THE TRUTH IS.
THE US ECONOMY IS BEING LOOTED TO THE BONE....BUT NO ONE CARES. NOT THE KORRUPT KONGRESS. NOT GREENSPAN. NOT EVEN THE AMERICAN RICH...
IT'S ALMOST AS IF THE AMERICAN ELITE IS PLANNING ON "LEAVING AMERICA" AND MOVING TO ONE OF THEIR BELOVED "OFF SHORE" CAPITAL HAVENS...LIKE INDIA, ISRAEL, MEXICO, SINGAPORE; OR ANYWHERE ELSE BUT HERE....
BUT WHAT ABOUT THOSE OF US WHO CAN'T OR WON'T MOVE "OFF-SHORE"....
WHAT ABOUT THOSE OF US WHO CAN'T "FOLLOW OUR MONEY" AROUND THE WORLD....TO WHEREEVER THE "RETURN" ON CAPITAL IS GREATEST....?
CAN WE GET BY ON JESUS AND GAY-BASHING FOREVER....??
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
MARKETS NO LONGER MERIT COMMENT.....
The lunatics are running
the asylum on Wall Street these days...so there is really no need to comment on the markets except to note that REALITY will reassert itself someday..... And when it does it will come suddenly and without warning.
That's the way it always is when you are setting a SUCKER TRAP.
the asylum on Wall Street these days...so there is really no need to comment on the markets except to note that REALITY will reassert itself someday..... And when it does it will come suddenly and without warning.
That's the way it always is when you are setting a SUCKER TRAP.
DON'T WORRY....'06 WILL FOCUS THEM.
Tom Friedman notes that
the lack of a viable successor for Dubya has caused a drift to the right....
But that is only part of the problem....the other part was the triumphialism of the American Religious Right after the 2004 election.
Essentially, the Red State Republicans and the "Religious White" seemed to control the American agenda....
But still, Bush has been living off of the Clinton Prosperity and the 911 Fear for his entire term in office....far too long.
That's ending now. The Fed is raising rates to save the dollar from the ill fated hyper-liquidity experiment...so the Bubble Era will end, despite the best efforts of the Bank of China to intervene in the US economy.
MOST RED STATE BUBBAS REALIZE THAT BUSH IS NOT CONCERNED WITH THEIR ECONOMIC WELL-BEING; NO MATTER HIS PROFESSED CONCERN FOR THEIR "MORAL SALVATION."
MY SENSE IS THAT THE "NEW NEW DEAL" WILL COME IN 2008...THE ONLY QUESTION BEING HOW BIG THE BUDGET HOLE WILL BE....ONCE BUSH AND THE NEOCONS ARE FINALLY OUT OF TOWN.... IT'S ALL ABOUT DAMAGE CONTROL....BECAUSE DUBYA AND CO ARE COMPLETELY OUT OF TOUCH WITH REALITY NOW IN IRAQ AND WITH THE ECONOMY.
the lack of a viable successor for Dubya has caused a drift to the right....
But that is only part of the problem....the other part was the triumphialism of the American Religious Right after the 2004 election.
Essentially, the Red State Republicans and the "Religious White" seemed to control the American agenda....
But still, Bush has been living off of the Clinton Prosperity and the 911 Fear for his entire term in office....far too long.
That's ending now. The Fed is raising rates to save the dollar from the ill fated hyper-liquidity experiment...so the Bubble Era will end, despite the best efforts of the Bank of China to intervene in the US economy.
MOST RED STATE BUBBAS REALIZE THAT BUSH IS NOT CONCERNED WITH THEIR ECONOMIC WELL-BEING; NO MATTER HIS PROFESSED CONCERN FOR THEIR "MORAL SALVATION."
MY SENSE IS THAT THE "NEW NEW DEAL" WILL COME IN 2008...THE ONLY QUESTION BEING HOW BIG THE BUDGET HOLE WILL BE....ONCE BUSH AND THE NEOCONS ARE FINALLY OUT OF TOWN.... IT'S ALL ABOUT DAMAGE CONTROL....BECAUSE DUBYA AND CO ARE COMPLETELY OUT OF TOUCH WITH REALITY NOW IN IRAQ AND WITH THE ECONOMY.
AND SADDLY EVERYONE KNOWS IT......
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
CHINA BUYS MAYTAG.....?
Another brick in the wall..... The Industial America of the 20th Century is being reduced to a bunch of "brands" .... And why not? If you don't have the factories....why do you need the brand names... The Decline continues.
THE RELIGIOUS WHITE.....?
Much is make of the so called influence of the RELIGIOUS RIGHT in American politics, but consider:
IS THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT...REALLY THE "RELIGIOUS WHITE?"
Many WHITE MARRIED FOLKS feel greatly threatened by the liberal agenda of equal rights for women, blacks and gays......And when that is coupled with the economic fallout of free trade and globalism....IT'S NO WONDER WHITE FOLKS ARE WORRIED.
BASICALLY, THE AGENDA IN WASHINGTON FOR BOTH PARTIES HAS IGNORED THE WHITE MARRIED CROWD FOR DECADES....
WIVES ENTERED THE WORKFORCE BY NECESSITY. FERTILITY RATES FOR WHITE MARRIEDS DECLINED BECAUSE OF THIS.....
GAYS PROVIDED AN "ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLE" TO THE OZZIE AND HARRIET MODEL OF THE 1950's AND MANY WHITE MARRIEDS FOUND THIS THREATENING....
PROBABLY BECAUSE ANYTHING THAT WAS AN ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATIVE TO MARRIED WITH CHILDREN IN THE SUBURBS SEEMED "EXCITING."
AND, AFTER ALL, WASN'T "MARRIED WITH CHILDREN IN THE SUBURBS" THE WAY IT WAS----"SUPPOSED TO BE?"
Curiously, the Republicans were the first to exploit the anxieties of the RELIGIOUS WHITE.....but for the most part Republicans have exploited the "moral issues," not the very real economic ones.....
NOW MANY "RELIGIOUS WHITE" ARE VOTING TO EXPORT JOBS, REDUCE HEALTH CARE COVERAGE, AND STARVE THE BEAST IN WASHINGTON BY TAX GIVEAWAYS TO THE RICHEST OF THE AMERICAN ELITES, EVEN WHILE THE MILITARY INDUSTIRAL COMPLEX PROFITS BY ANOTHER "UNWINNABLE WAR".....ALL SADDLY DONE IN THE NAME OF JESUS...
YOU REALLY HAVE TO FEEL SORRY FOR "THE RELIGIOUS WHITE."
IS THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT...REALLY THE "RELIGIOUS WHITE?"
Many WHITE MARRIED FOLKS feel greatly threatened by the liberal agenda of equal rights for women, blacks and gays......And when that is coupled with the economic fallout of free trade and globalism....IT'S NO WONDER WHITE FOLKS ARE WORRIED.
BASICALLY, THE AGENDA IN WASHINGTON FOR BOTH PARTIES HAS IGNORED THE WHITE MARRIED CROWD FOR DECADES....
WIVES ENTERED THE WORKFORCE BY NECESSITY. FERTILITY RATES FOR WHITE MARRIEDS DECLINED BECAUSE OF THIS.....
GAYS PROVIDED AN "ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLE" TO THE OZZIE AND HARRIET MODEL OF THE 1950's AND MANY WHITE MARRIEDS FOUND THIS THREATENING....
PROBABLY BECAUSE ANYTHING THAT WAS AN ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATIVE TO MARRIED WITH CHILDREN IN THE SUBURBS SEEMED "EXCITING."
AND, AFTER ALL, WASN'T "MARRIED WITH CHILDREN IN THE SUBURBS" THE WAY IT WAS----"SUPPOSED TO BE?"
Curiously, the Republicans were the first to exploit the anxieties of the RELIGIOUS WHITE.....but for the most part Republicans have exploited the "moral issues," not the very real economic ones.....
NOW MANY "RELIGIOUS WHITE" ARE VOTING TO EXPORT JOBS, REDUCE HEALTH CARE COVERAGE, AND STARVE THE BEAST IN WASHINGTON BY TAX GIVEAWAYS TO THE RICHEST OF THE AMERICAN ELITES, EVEN WHILE THE MILITARY INDUSTIRAL COMPLEX PROFITS BY ANOTHER "UNWINNABLE WAR".....ALL SADDLY DONE IN THE NAME OF JESUS...
YOU REALLY HAVE TO FEEL SORRY FOR "THE RELIGIOUS WHITE."
SECOND HALF COLLAPSE.....
There is a lot of annoying and goofball chatter about a "second half" boom in stocks..."like last year."
But what the market pundits and shills are missing is that last years "second half rally" was BECAUSE OF THE REPUBLICAN SWEEP IN WASHINGTON.
THE PROSPECT OF "FOUR MORE YEARS" OF LOOTING AND "PRO-BUSINESS" LEGISLATION WAS THE REAL REASON BEHIND THE SECOND HALF "RALLY" LAST YEAR....AND THE REST HAS BEEN ALL GIVE BACK EVER SINCE...
The truth is that between RATES AND OIL this market could very well crash in the second half as the HYPER-LIQUIDITY EXPERIMENT ENDS..AND THE SAD AFTERMATH BEGINS.....
So all this hype about a "second half rally" for stocks is just so much VERY ANNOYING NONSENSE....to anyone who is still capable of looking at the big picture....
In fact, a second half CRASH IS MUCH MORE LIKELY.....as grim reality sinks in about Iraq and the Wars, the Economy and the prospects for Kongressional Republicans in the 2006 elections....
This sad chatter about a second half rally is really nonsensical.
But what the market pundits and shills are missing is that last years "second half rally" was BECAUSE OF THE REPUBLICAN SWEEP IN WASHINGTON.
THE PROSPECT OF "FOUR MORE YEARS" OF LOOTING AND "PRO-BUSINESS" LEGISLATION WAS THE REAL REASON BEHIND THE SECOND HALF "RALLY" LAST YEAR....AND THE REST HAS BEEN ALL GIVE BACK EVER SINCE...
The truth is that between RATES AND OIL this market could very well crash in the second half as the HYPER-LIQUIDITY EXPERIMENT ENDS..AND THE SAD AFTERMATH BEGINS.....
So all this hype about a "second half rally" for stocks is just so much VERY ANNOYING NONSENSE....to anyone who is still capable of looking at the big picture....
In fact, a second half CRASH IS MUCH MORE LIKELY.....as grim reality sinks in about Iraq and the Wars, the Economy and the prospects for Kongressional Republicans in the 2006 elections....
This sad chatter about a second half rally is really nonsensical.
Monday, June 20, 2005
BUBBLE BUTT.....?
HIGHER RATES assured....BIG TIME. The Ultra-Low Rate Scenario is OVER!
DEAL WITH IT....NOW.....or LOOSE OUT BIG TIME.
DEAL WITH IT....NOW.....or LOOSE OUT BIG TIME.
RICE WANTS DEMOCRACY....? BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR
After all, so far, "Democracy" in Iraq and Afganhistan has been...."problematic." To say the least! But I suppose at this point none of us are expected to be too "rational" about the situation.
STOCKS SOAR ON NEW HIGHS FOR OIL....?
Yea well, WHATEVER....!
The market is totally under control of the traders and shills....EVERYONE should be taking this opportunity to exit ASAP!!
RATES ARE UP. OIL IS UP. THE PROFIT QUALITY IS QUESTIONABLE. AND THE JOB MARKET STINKS......
THIS MARKET DOES NOT REALLY WARRANT COMMENT....EXCEPT TO SAY THAT IT IS ONE OF THE WIERDEST MARKETS I HAVE EVER SEEN....
The market is totally under control of the traders and shills....EVERYONE should be taking this opportunity to exit ASAP!!
RATES ARE UP. OIL IS UP. THE PROFIT QUALITY IS QUESTIONABLE. AND THE JOB MARKET STINKS......
THIS MARKET DOES NOT REALLY WARRANT COMMENT....EXCEPT TO SAY THAT IT IS ONE OF THE WIERDEST MARKETS I HAVE EVER SEEN....
Saturday, June 18, 2005
ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF THE CHINA GLUT?
Retailing seems weak....and it likely will get weaker as the year goes on.
One of the factors that is seldom discussed in the media is the ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF THE CHINA GOODS GLUT.....
Americans are AWASH in goods, products and services of every kind....some of these things are merely consumed and bought again....
BUT SOME GOES INTO THE "AFTER MARKET" AND IS RE-SOLD AGAIN AND AGAIN.....Consider:
The number of good used cars is huge....and most of these cars are reliable and CHEAP! So, why do people continue buying new....when used cars at 1/3 to 1/4 the new price are just as good?
THRIFT SHOPS AND YARD SALES ABOUND....WHERE NEARLY NEW ITEMS ARE SIMPLY GIVEN AWAY..... Many Boomers have declared War on Clutter!
USED AND REMAINDER BOOKSTORES ARE AVAILABLE WHERE NEW OR NEARLY NEW BOOKS ARE SOLD AT A FRACTION OF THE PRICE OF B&N OR BORDERS.....so why do people continue to pay full price at the Big Box Stores when the same thing can be had much cheaper?
THE POINT?
AS THE BOATS FROM CHINA OFF-LOAD THEIR MASSES OF MERCHANDISE FOR THE AMERICAN MARKET......THE FIRST SALE OF THOSE ITEMS IS OFTEN NOT THE LAST.....
A HUGE "AFTER MARKET" FOR GOODS EXISTS...
AND AS THE AMERICAN CONSUMER BECOMES MORE PRESSED FOR CASH BECAUSE OF HIGH OIL AND INSURANCE COSTS AND LOW WAGES.....THEY MAY ABANDON THE TRADITIONAL RETAIL OUTLETS FOR CHEAPER AFTER MARKET PRODUCTS.....
IN SHORT.....IF "VIN IS IN" ....
....WHY ALWAYS PAY MORE AT WALMART.....ALWAYS?
I AM EXPECTING A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF GLOOM AND DOOM IN THE RETAIL SECTOR LATER THIS SUMMER....AS THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF HIGHER GAS COSTS AND HIGHER INTEREST RATES WASH BACK ONTO THE RETAILING STOCKS......
One of the factors that is seldom discussed in the media is the ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF THE CHINA GOODS GLUT.....
Americans are AWASH in goods, products and services of every kind....some of these things are merely consumed and bought again....
BUT SOME GOES INTO THE "AFTER MARKET" AND IS RE-SOLD AGAIN AND AGAIN.....Consider:
The number of good used cars is huge....and most of these cars are reliable and CHEAP! So, why do people continue buying new....when used cars at 1/3 to 1/4 the new price are just as good?
THRIFT SHOPS AND YARD SALES ABOUND....WHERE NEARLY NEW ITEMS ARE SIMPLY GIVEN AWAY..... Many Boomers have declared War on Clutter!
USED AND REMAINDER BOOKSTORES ARE AVAILABLE WHERE NEW OR NEARLY NEW BOOKS ARE SOLD AT A FRACTION OF THE PRICE OF B&N OR BORDERS.....so why do people continue to pay full price at the Big Box Stores when the same thing can be had much cheaper?
THE POINT?
AS THE BOATS FROM CHINA OFF-LOAD THEIR MASSES OF MERCHANDISE FOR THE AMERICAN MARKET......THE FIRST SALE OF THOSE ITEMS IS OFTEN NOT THE LAST.....
A HUGE "AFTER MARKET" FOR GOODS EXISTS...
AND AS THE AMERICAN CONSUMER BECOMES MORE PRESSED FOR CASH BECAUSE OF HIGH OIL AND INSURANCE COSTS AND LOW WAGES.....THEY MAY ABANDON THE TRADITIONAL RETAIL OUTLETS FOR CHEAPER AFTER MARKET PRODUCTS.....
IN SHORT.....IF "VIN IS IN" ....
....WHY ALWAYS PAY MORE AT WALMART.....ALWAYS?
I AM EXPECTING A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF GLOOM AND DOOM IN THE RETAIL SECTOR LATER THIS SUMMER....AS THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF HIGHER GAS COSTS AND HIGHER INTEREST RATES WASH BACK ONTO THE RETAILING STOCKS......
Friday, June 17, 2005
FRIEDMAN'S SAD DEFEATISM....
Tom Friedman in the NYTimes says:
"So I have a question: If I am rooting for General Motors to go bankrupt and be bought out by Toyota, does that make me a bad person?"
Answer: YES!
The problem with Friedman is that he has given up on America and Americans....
BUT THE REAL PROBLEM IS THAT THOSE WHO WOULD LOOT THE AMERICAN ECONOMY--LIKE GREEDSPAN, WALL STREET AND THE REPUBLICANS ARE
TOTALLY OUT OF CONTROL.....
Only when the Culture of Greed is defeated and appropriate policies are in place can Americans recover from their current economic nightmare....
The De-Industrialization has continued for over 20 years and it can not be reversed over-night.
But National Health Care and it's resulting benefits, (like contolling malpractice costs, etc), is the first step....
TO A GREAT EXTENT AMERICA'S DOWNWARD SPRIAL IS BEING CAUSED BY THE CORRUPT ELITES TRYING TO DRAIN THE LAST PENNY OUT OF THE AMERICAN ECONOMY.....how else can you explain the huge tax cuts for the rich and abolishing of the estate tax, and limitations on bankruptcy protections for working people?
But people are wiseing up to the hidden agenda of the Wall Street elites and their Republican shills...EVEN the pitifully Ignorant Religious Right will likely see the errors of their stupidity before the 2006 elections.....
Friedman's constant DEFEATISM TOWARD AMERICA is disturbing and unwarranted.
"So I have a question: If I am rooting for General Motors to go bankrupt and be bought out by Toyota, does that make me a bad person?"
Answer: YES!
The problem with Friedman is that he has given up on America and Americans....
BUT THE REAL PROBLEM IS THAT THOSE WHO WOULD LOOT THE AMERICAN ECONOMY--LIKE GREEDSPAN, WALL STREET AND THE REPUBLICANS ARE
TOTALLY OUT OF CONTROL.....
Only when the Culture of Greed is defeated and appropriate policies are in place can Americans recover from their current economic nightmare....
The De-Industrialization has continued for over 20 years and it can not be reversed over-night.
But National Health Care and it's resulting benefits, (like contolling malpractice costs, etc), is the first step....
TO A GREAT EXTENT AMERICA'S DOWNWARD SPRIAL IS BEING CAUSED BY THE CORRUPT ELITES TRYING TO DRAIN THE LAST PENNY OUT OF THE AMERICAN ECONOMY.....how else can you explain the huge tax cuts for the rich and abolishing of the estate tax, and limitations on bankruptcy protections for working people?
But people are wiseing up to the hidden agenda of the Wall Street elites and their Republican shills...EVEN the pitifully Ignorant Religious Right will likely see the errors of their stupidity before the 2006 elections.....
Friedman's constant DEFEATISM TOWARD AMERICA is disturbing and unwarranted.
Monday, June 13, 2005
Sunday, June 12, 2005
GIVE EM HELL HOWARD....THE NEW DEAL IN HEALTH CARE
Paul Krugman writes in the Times:
"If reform fails again, we'll be on the way to a radically unequal society, in which all but the most affluent Americans face the constant risk of financial ruin and even premature death because they can't pay their medical bills."
But reform will fail again and again as long as Republicans are in control of the Kongress and the White House......
The only hope for American Health Care Reform is a DEMOCRATIC WASHINGTON......otherwise NOTHING will be done.
But, to acheive these reforms, the Red State Bubba Voters, who were duped into supporting the Republican looting of the US economy in 2004, simply must COME TO THEIR SENSES......
DUBYA & CO HAVE BEEN A DISASTER ON EVERY FRONT DURING THE SECOND TERM.....CONSIDER:
CORPORATIONS CAN GO BANKRUPT ON THEIR PENSION PLANS; BUT THE RED STATE BUBBAS CAN'T GO BANKRUPT ON THEIR CREDIT CARD DEBTS.....! GO FIGURE.
Rural and Red State Bubba voters simply must be targeted directly by the New Democratic Party....AND TOLD THE TRUTH FOR ONCE...BY PEOPLE LIKE HOWARD DEAN...
Those who criticize Dean for being blunt with the Rural and Red State Bubba voters are content to have the Democrats remain the 'ME TOO' Republican-Lite party forever..... The Dean PROGRESSIVE message has the needed traction....but only if all Democrats would take it up.
So, perhaps it is NOT the Insurance Lobby that stands in the way of the Progressive Agenda in America today....rather it's the lied-too and politically abused Red State Voters who hold the key to necessary reforms to save America from the limitless Greed of International Capital.....?
FINALLY A DEMOCRAT WHO'S NOT TRYING TO BE "REPUBLICAN-LITE."
"If reform fails again, we'll be on the way to a radically unequal society, in which all but the most affluent Americans face the constant risk of financial ruin and even premature death because they can't pay their medical bills."
But reform will fail again and again as long as Republicans are in control of the Kongress and the White House......
The only hope for American Health Care Reform is a DEMOCRATIC WASHINGTON......otherwise NOTHING will be done.
But, to acheive these reforms, the Red State Bubba Voters, who were duped into supporting the Republican looting of the US economy in 2004, simply must COME TO THEIR SENSES......
DUBYA & CO HAVE BEEN A DISASTER ON EVERY FRONT DURING THE SECOND TERM.....CONSIDER:
CORPORATIONS CAN GO BANKRUPT ON THEIR PENSION PLANS; BUT THE RED STATE BUBBAS CAN'T GO BANKRUPT ON THEIR CREDIT CARD DEBTS.....! GO FIGURE.
Rural and Red State Bubba voters simply must be targeted directly by the New Democratic Party....AND TOLD THE TRUTH FOR ONCE...BY PEOPLE LIKE HOWARD DEAN...
Those who criticize Dean for being blunt with the Rural and Red State Bubba voters are content to have the Democrats remain the 'ME TOO' Republican-Lite party forever..... The Dean PROGRESSIVE message has the needed traction....but only if all Democrats would take it up.
So, perhaps it is NOT the Insurance Lobby that stands in the way of the Progressive Agenda in America today....rather it's the lied-too and politically abused Red State Voters who hold the key to necessary reforms to save America from the limitless Greed of International Capital.....?
FINALLY A DEMOCRAT WHO'S NOT TRYING TO BE "REPUBLICAN-LITE."
FEAR OF THE BIG FIVE-OH.....?
It's not just Boomers who fear the Big Five-Oh..... Take the financial markets.....
The frenzy in the bond markets could be caused by attempts to keep the 10 year bond yield UNDER 5.0.....
Consider:
Greenspan created a situation after the first stock bubble burst wherein yield became SO LOW that many investors and pension funds simply had to take a flyer on stocks.....
Remember those .9% returns on bank CDs.....?
WELL THAT PUT, OR KEPT, A LOT OF PEOPLE SPECULATING IN STOCKS....WHO WOULD HAVE PREFERRED THE RELATIVE SAFETY OF BANK DEPOSITS...
Today, it is very possible that the BATTLE TO AVOID THE BIG FIVE-OH IN BONDS is just as urgent as the BATTLE TO HOLD DOW 10,000....! NO MATTER WHAT....IT'S THE NEW "SINE QUO NON" FOR WALL STREET TO SURVIVE.
Greenspan, and his clients on Wall Street, know that they are on THIN ICE NOW.... Stocks have not exactly been the place to be over the post bubble years....DESPITE HUGE EFFORTS BY THE FED TO KEEP STOCKS AS "THE ONLY WAY TO GO" .....PRIMARILY BY HOLDING RATES SO LOW, SO LONG......OR, IS IT TOO LOW, TOO LONG?
Alas, even to the point of trashing the dollar and spiking oil and other commodities....ALL ARGUABLY JUST TO KEEP PEOPLE IN STOCKS!
LATELY, FOR THE FED AND WALL STREET... THE ENEMY IS AT THE GATES--EVERYDAY.
THE FED SIMPLY MUST CONTINUE RAISING RATES NOW NO MATTER WHAT....THEY MUST CONTINUE BACKING OUT OF THEIR UNTENABLE POSITION OF ULTRA-LOW RATES IN THE POST BUBBLE ENVIRONMENT.
ON THE BRIGHT SIDE HOWEVER;
HIGHER RATES COULD SAVE THE DOLLAR AND REDUCE THE COST OF OIL AND GAS.... AND ALSO STOP THE CONTINUED OVER-EXPANSION OF GLOBAL CAPACITY IN PLACES LIKE CHINA AND INDIA....
ON THE DARKER SIDE;
HIGHER RATES COULD FREE MILLIONS OF SMALL INVESTORS FROM THEIR SLAVERY TO THE STOCK BROKERAGES....AND ALLOW THEM TO RETURN TO THEIR BELOVED BANK CDs WHERE THEY'LL FEEL SAFER.
FURTHERMORE; HIGHER RATES WILL LIKELY BURST THE MUCH TOUTED REAL ESTATE BUBBLE THAT IS MOST SERIOUS ON BOTH COASTS AND IN THE INTER-MOUNTAIN WEST....SO BEWARE FREDDIE AND FANNY!
For Greenspan it's really a case of choose your poison.....cheaper gas and support for the dollar;
OR,.... lower stock prices and a bursting of the house bubble.... WITH POSSIBLE CREDIT AND BANKING PROBLEMS TO FOLLOW....
No doubt Greenspan would GLADLY let the dollar slide...but for the effect it has on oil and commodities;
(despite valiant efforts to trash gold by the Fed's various shills in the thin gold market).....
RIGHT NOW EVERYTHING IS "HANGING FIRE".....AWAITING THE "NEXT BIG EVENT."
....or perhaps, the next series of small events that finally catches the imagination of the investing community. Stay tuned......
The frenzy in the bond markets could be caused by attempts to keep the 10 year bond yield UNDER 5.0.....
Consider:
Greenspan created a situation after the first stock bubble burst wherein yield became SO LOW that many investors and pension funds simply had to take a flyer on stocks.....
Remember those .9% returns on bank CDs.....?
WELL THAT PUT, OR KEPT, A LOT OF PEOPLE SPECULATING IN STOCKS....WHO WOULD HAVE PREFERRED THE RELATIVE SAFETY OF BANK DEPOSITS...
Today, it is very possible that the BATTLE TO AVOID THE BIG FIVE-OH IN BONDS is just as urgent as the BATTLE TO HOLD DOW 10,000....! NO MATTER WHAT....IT'S THE NEW "SINE QUO NON" FOR WALL STREET TO SURVIVE.
Greenspan, and his clients on Wall Street, know that they are on THIN ICE NOW.... Stocks have not exactly been the place to be over the post bubble years....DESPITE HUGE EFFORTS BY THE FED TO KEEP STOCKS AS "THE ONLY WAY TO GO" .....PRIMARILY BY HOLDING RATES SO LOW, SO LONG......OR, IS IT TOO LOW, TOO LONG?
Alas, even to the point of trashing the dollar and spiking oil and other commodities....ALL ARGUABLY JUST TO KEEP PEOPLE IN STOCKS!
LATELY, FOR THE FED AND WALL STREET... THE ENEMY IS AT THE GATES--EVERYDAY.
THE FED SIMPLY MUST CONTINUE RAISING RATES NOW NO MATTER WHAT....THEY MUST CONTINUE BACKING OUT OF THEIR UNTENABLE POSITION OF ULTRA-LOW RATES IN THE POST BUBBLE ENVIRONMENT.
ON THE BRIGHT SIDE HOWEVER;
HIGHER RATES COULD SAVE THE DOLLAR AND REDUCE THE COST OF OIL AND GAS.... AND ALSO STOP THE CONTINUED OVER-EXPANSION OF GLOBAL CAPACITY IN PLACES LIKE CHINA AND INDIA....
ON THE DARKER SIDE;
HIGHER RATES COULD FREE MILLIONS OF SMALL INVESTORS FROM THEIR SLAVERY TO THE STOCK BROKERAGES....AND ALLOW THEM TO RETURN TO THEIR BELOVED BANK CDs WHERE THEY'LL FEEL SAFER.
FURTHERMORE; HIGHER RATES WILL LIKELY BURST THE MUCH TOUTED REAL ESTATE BUBBLE THAT IS MOST SERIOUS ON BOTH COASTS AND IN THE INTER-MOUNTAIN WEST....SO BEWARE FREDDIE AND FANNY!
For Greenspan it's really a case of choose your poison.....cheaper gas and support for the dollar;
OR,.... lower stock prices and a bursting of the house bubble.... WITH POSSIBLE CREDIT AND BANKING PROBLEMS TO FOLLOW....
No doubt Greenspan would GLADLY let the dollar slide...but for the effect it has on oil and commodities;
(despite valiant efforts to trash gold by the Fed's various shills in the thin gold market).....
RIGHT NOW EVERYTHING IS "HANGING FIRE".....AWAITING THE "NEXT BIG EVENT."
....or perhaps, the next series of small events that finally catches the imagination of the investing community. Stay tuned......
Saturday, June 11, 2005
WACKO JACKO WILL WALK.....! ALMOST....
The jury in the Michael Jackson trial is taking way too long
....based on the facts presented to them. It's clear that many jurors likely DO NOT BELIEVE the accusors...or they think that Jacko was being "set up" by the accusors family for other reasons...
Jacko clearly has problems and needs an "intervention" to help him sort out his life...but he is not a "child predator" that is dangerous to the public....
Very likely, the jury is considering the providing alcohol to minors charge as an alternative to the more serious charge of molestation... JACKOS ACCUSERS ARE SIMPLY NOT SYMPATHETIC PEOPLE.....AND JACKOS ACTIONS IN THIS CASE, WHILE WRONG, WERE NOT AGGRAVATED ENOUGH TO WARRANT A LONG TERM JAIL SENTENCE....
THAT SAID, JACKSON WILL LIKELY NOT BE TOTALLY OFF THE HOOK....ON THE ALCOHOL CHARGE HE WOULD BE SUBJECT TO LONG TERM COURT SUPERVISION....ON PENALTY OF JAILING. CLEARLY, JACKSON NEEDS SOME KIND OF CONTROL OVER HIS ACTIONS...AND PERHAPS A BIT OF THERAPY AS WELL.
THE "SPLIT THE DIFFERENCE" VERDICT HERE IS THE LESSER INCLUDED OFFENSE OF PROVIDING ALCOHOL TO MINORS...THIS PROVIDES EVERYTHING THAT IS NEEDED IN THIS CASE, WITHOUT REWARDING THE ACCUSERS FOR THEIR OBVIOUS ATTEMPT TO EXPLOIT JACKO'S WACKINESS....
....based on the facts presented to them. It's clear that many jurors likely DO NOT BELIEVE the accusors...or they think that Jacko was being "set up" by the accusors family for other reasons...
Jacko clearly has problems and needs an "intervention" to help him sort out his life...but he is not a "child predator" that is dangerous to the public....
Very likely, the jury is considering the providing alcohol to minors charge as an alternative to the more serious charge of molestation... JACKOS ACCUSERS ARE SIMPLY NOT SYMPATHETIC PEOPLE.....AND JACKOS ACTIONS IN THIS CASE, WHILE WRONG, WERE NOT AGGRAVATED ENOUGH TO WARRANT A LONG TERM JAIL SENTENCE....
THAT SAID, JACKSON WILL LIKELY NOT BE TOTALLY OFF THE HOOK....ON THE ALCOHOL CHARGE HE WOULD BE SUBJECT TO LONG TERM COURT SUPERVISION....ON PENALTY OF JAILING. CLEARLY, JACKSON NEEDS SOME KIND OF CONTROL OVER HIS ACTIONS...AND PERHAPS A BIT OF THERAPY AS WELL.
THE "SPLIT THE DIFFERENCE" VERDICT HERE IS THE LESSER INCLUDED OFFENSE OF PROVIDING ALCOHOL TO MINORS...THIS PROVIDES EVERYTHING THAT IS NEEDED IN THIS CASE, WITHOUT REWARDING THE ACCUSERS FOR THEIR OBVIOUS ATTEMPT TO EXPLOIT JACKO'S WACKINESS....
GREENSPANS RATE PARADOX.....BLAME HYPERLIQUIDITY!
It now appears that Greenspan is going to have to keep raising rates....INDEFINITELY!
The paradox is that no one believes that the Fed knows what they're doing....hence rates keep falling......
OIL GOES UP...WHICH IS DOLLAR NEGATIVE.
BUT BONDS ALSO GO UP...WHICH IS DOLLAR POSITIVE.
What seems to be happening is that LIQUIDITY IS TRAPPED IN THE "PRODUCTIVE PART" OF THE ECONOMY.....WHILE THE "CONSUMER PART" IS BEING STARVED FOR LIQUIDITY BY LOW YIELDS AND LOW WAGES....
The result is that GOODS PRODUCERS HAVE LITTLE NEED FOR GREENSPAN'S MIGHTY HYPER-LIQUIDITY......AS THEY ALREADY HAVE A GLUT OF CAPACITY GLOBALLY....
SO SOME OF THAT LIQUIDITY IS SLOSHING INTO THE CONSUMER SECTOR AS MORE DEBT ESPECIALLY IN MORTGAGE AND CREDIT CARD DEBT....EVEN TO THE POINT OF CREATING THE WELL DOCUMENTED "REAL ESTATE BUBBLE."
NET NET?
Greenspan will have to raise rates MUCH higher than he would have, BUT FOR THE HYPER-LIQUIDITY ONE PERCENT SOLUTION OF THE LAST YEARS......
ESSENTIALLY, IT'S THE HYPER-LIQUIDITY TALKING IN THE BOND MARKET TODAY....THAT HAS CAUSED THE "CONUNDRUM" THE PARADOX AND THE ANOMALY IN BONDS.....
MOPPING UP GREENSPAN'S MESS COULD TAKE A WHILE.....AND THE DISTORTIONS AND DISEQUILIBRIUMS CAUSED BY IT...MIGHT TAKE YEARS TO WORK OUT.
The paradox is that no one believes that the Fed knows what they're doing....hence rates keep falling......
OIL GOES UP...WHICH IS DOLLAR NEGATIVE.
BUT BONDS ALSO GO UP...WHICH IS DOLLAR POSITIVE.
What seems to be happening is that LIQUIDITY IS TRAPPED IN THE "PRODUCTIVE PART" OF THE ECONOMY.....WHILE THE "CONSUMER PART" IS BEING STARVED FOR LIQUIDITY BY LOW YIELDS AND LOW WAGES....
The result is that GOODS PRODUCERS HAVE LITTLE NEED FOR GREENSPAN'S MIGHTY HYPER-LIQUIDITY......AS THEY ALREADY HAVE A GLUT OF CAPACITY GLOBALLY....
SO SOME OF THAT LIQUIDITY IS SLOSHING INTO THE CONSUMER SECTOR AS MORE DEBT ESPECIALLY IN MORTGAGE AND CREDIT CARD DEBT....EVEN TO THE POINT OF CREATING THE WELL DOCUMENTED "REAL ESTATE BUBBLE."
NET NET?
Greenspan will have to raise rates MUCH higher than he would have, BUT FOR THE HYPER-LIQUIDITY ONE PERCENT SOLUTION OF THE LAST YEARS......
ESSENTIALLY, IT'S THE HYPER-LIQUIDITY TALKING IN THE BOND MARKET TODAY....THAT HAS CAUSED THE "CONUNDRUM" THE PARADOX AND THE ANOMALY IN BONDS.....
MOPPING UP GREENSPAN'S MESS COULD TAKE A WHILE.....AND THE DISTORTIONS AND DISEQUILIBRIUMS CAUSED BY IT...MIGHT TAKE YEARS TO WORK OUT.
Friday, June 10, 2005
Thursday, June 9, 2005
BREAKING NEWS: BUBBA SPEAKS!!
FORGET GREENSPAN! BREAKING NEWS!!
I JUST OVER-HEARD A CONVERSTATION I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD HEAR....
TWO BUBBAS WERE TALKING ABOUT ECONOMIC ISSUES...!!
JOBS LOSSES! THE RICH TAKING IT ALL! THE DECLINE OF THE MIDDLE CLASS!
NOT JESUS! NOT HOMOS! NOT EVIL LIBERALS!
THIS IS BIG! AND, IF IT CONTINUES, IT COULD MEAN A SEA CHANGE IN OUR POLITICS....
CAN THE BUBBA CLASS ACTUALLY THINK?
OR ARE THEY "INFINITELY STUPID" AS MANY REPUBLICAN RICH ASSUME......STAY TUNED!
I JUST OVER-HEARD A CONVERSTATION I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD HEAR....
TWO BUBBAS WERE TALKING ABOUT ECONOMIC ISSUES...!!
JOBS LOSSES! THE RICH TAKING IT ALL! THE DECLINE OF THE MIDDLE CLASS!
NOT JESUS! NOT HOMOS! NOT EVIL LIBERALS!
THIS IS BIG! AND, IF IT CONTINUES, IT COULD MEAN A SEA CHANGE IN OUR POLITICS....
CAN THE BUBBA CLASS ACTUALLY THINK?
OR ARE THEY "INFINITELY STUPID" AS MANY REPUBLICAN RICH ASSUME......STAY TUNED!
WHAT IS TO BE DONE.....?
One of the biggest problems facing America today is....
NOT WHAT IS TO BE DONE?....BUT RATHER HAVING THE POLITICAL WILL TO DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.
Consider:
1. AMERICA NEEDS NATIONAL HEALTH CARE: Sooner or later the US will have to join the rest of the industialized world and establish NATIONAL HEALTH CARE. Whether the Canadian model is used or the Austrailian or the British or the German...MAKES NO DIFFERENCE. National Health Care would do more to save American Industries that anything else. No longer would American Companies have to flee to China or Canada or ANY PLACE ELSE to avoid the crushing burden of OVER-PRICED HEALTH CARE COVERAGE.
Of course the INSURANCE COMPANY LOBBY, BIG PHARMA AND THE MEDICAL ESTABLISHMENT stand in the way.....
2. MORE TAXATION OF THE RICH: The US tax code simply MUST be make more PROGRESSIVE to provide for the needed spending on infrastructure and social services in the future. The Rich BENEFITED MIGHTILY DURING THE BUBBLE YEARS to the point where WEALTH IS NOW VASTLY CONCENTRATED IN THE TOP 10% OF AMERICANS.
THE AMERICAN CONSUMER ECONOMY CAN NOT SURVIVE THIS VAST CONCENTRATION OF WEALTH IN THE HANDS OF A FEW. A SOCIAL SAFETY NET HAS TO BE RE-ESTABLISHED SOON.
3. STOP SUPPORTING ISRAEL'S ANNEXATION OF THE WEST BANK AND GAZA: For all of the rhetoric about the West Bank and Gaza EVERYONE KNOWS THAT THE ISRAELI ULTRA-RIGHT WILL NOT ALLOW A PALESTINIAN STATE ON THE WEST BANK.
Ultimately, this is going to result in a BATTLE FOR THE TEMPLE MOUNT and a large middle eastern war that could send oil to $200 per barrel and kill the global economy and end America's capacity to finance it's debts.
ISRAEL IS LEADING AMERICA DOWN THE PATH OF DESTRUCTION. BUT CAN THE ISRAELI LOBBY IN THE US BE STOPPED AND WILL THE LEADERSHIP IN ISRAEL STAND UP TO THEIR ULTRA-RIGHT ANNEXATIONISTS...?
4. THE CONTROL OF THE MEDIA BY AMERICAN ULTRA-CONSERVATIVES MUST BE STOPPED:
The mainstream media in the US has allowed the crackpot right wing to dominate the political discussion to the point where totally irrational positions are now touted to the vast uninformed American population as viable policies.
The religious mumbo-jumbo that Americans have been fed makes the US the laughing stock of most of the modern world....creationism and mystical embryo worship has made American science second class.
Homophobia and Gay Bashing are the new whipping Boys of the ultra-right, replacing Blacks. ALL OF THIS IS DONE WITH AN CLEAR INTENT TO CONTINUE LOOTING THE US ECONOMY WHILE THE IGNORANT BUBBA CLASS IS DISTRACTED WITH WEDGE-ISSUES. BUT WILL THE ULTRA-CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICANS BE ABLE TO PUSH THE BUBBA CLASS INTO FACSISM....?
THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA NEEDS TO WAKE UP TO THE THREAT POSED BY THE REPUBLICAN RIGHT.
NOT WHAT IS TO BE DONE?....BUT RATHER HAVING THE POLITICAL WILL TO DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.
Consider:
1. AMERICA NEEDS NATIONAL HEALTH CARE: Sooner or later the US will have to join the rest of the industialized world and establish NATIONAL HEALTH CARE. Whether the Canadian model is used or the Austrailian or the British or the German...MAKES NO DIFFERENCE. National Health Care would do more to save American Industries that anything else. No longer would American Companies have to flee to China or Canada or ANY PLACE ELSE to avoid the crushing burden of OVER-PRICED HEALTH CARE COVERAGE.
Of course the INSURANCE COMPANY LOBBY, BIG PHARMA AND THE MEDICAL ESTABLISHMENT stand in the way.....
2. MORE TAXATION OF THE RICH: The US tax code simply MUST be make more PROGRESSIVE to provide for the needed spending on infrastructure and social services in the future. The Rich BENEFITED MIGHTILY DURING THE BUBBLE YEARS to the point where WEALTH IS NOW VASTLY CONCENTRATED IN THE TOP 10% OF AMERICANS.
THE AMERICAN CONSUMER ECONOMY CAN NOT SURVIVE THIS VAST CONCENTRATION OF WEALTH IN THE HANDS OF A FEW. A SOCIAL SAFETY NET HAS TO BE RE-ESTABLISHED SOON.
3. STOP SUPPORTING ISRAEL'S ANNEXATION OF THE WEST BANK AND GAZA: For all of the rhetoric about the West Bank and Gaza EVERYONE KNOWS THAT THE ISRAELI ULTRA-RIGHT WILL NOT ALLOW A PALESTINIAN STATE ON THE WEST BANK.
Ultimately, this is going to result in a BATTLE FOR THE TEMPLE MOUNT and a large middle eastern war that could send oil to $200 per barrel and kill the global economy and end America's capacity to finance it's debts.
ISRAEL IS LEADING AMERICA DOWN THE PATH OF DESTRUCTION. BUT CAN THE ISRAELI LOBBY IN THE US BE STOPPED AND WILL THE LEADERSHIP IN ISRAEL STAND UP TO THEIR ULTRA-RIGHT ANNEXATIONISTS...?
4. THE CONTROL OF THE MEDIA BY AMERICAN ULTRA-CONSERVATIVES MUST BE STOPPED:
The mainstream media in the US has allowed the crackpot right wing to dominate the political discussion to the point where totally irrational positions are now touted to the vast uninformed American population as viable policies.
The religious mumbo-jumbo that Americans have been fed makes the US the laughing stock of most of the modern world....creationism and mystical embryo worship has made American science second class.
Homophobia and Gay Bashing are the new whipping Boys of the ultra-right, replacing Blacks. ALL OF THIS IS DONE WITH AN CLEAR INTENT TO CONTINUE LOOTING THE US ECONOMY WHILE THE IGNORANT BUBBA CLASS IS DISTRACTED WITH WEDGE-ISSUES. BUT WILL THE ULTRA-CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICANS BE ABLE TO PUSH THE BUBBA CLASS INTO FACSISM....?
THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA NEEDS TO WAKE UP TO THE THREAT POSED BY THE REPUBLICAN RIGHT.
Wednesday, June 8, 2005
ONLY A TOTAL RETARDO WOULD BY BONDS.....
How obvious is that....? Yet it just isn't sinking in with this market..... In truth the economic scene is spinning aimlessly now. This should resolve itself in "textbook" manner sooner or later.....and that could leave the "wishful thinkers" holding the bag....let's hope it's not the Hedge Funds and the Bankrupt Pension Plans...!
So any unbias observer would have to conclude that it's all over for the US and for it's dependant Global Markets....except for the inevitable kicking and screaming.
Whatever happen to "Don't Fight the Fed....?"
So any unbias observer would have to conclude that it's all over for the US and for it's dependant Global Markets....except for the inevitable kicking and screaming.
Whatever happen to "Don't Fight the Fed....?"
Tuesday, June 7, 2005
GREENSPAN'S CONUNDRUM: AN UNEXPLORED 'HYPOTHESIS?'
Greenspan's Bubblenomics has trashed the US economy nearly beyond repair
....but that is the one "hypothesis" the G-man seems reluctant to explore.....
Greenspan used de-industrialization and free trade globalism to beat the wage inflation of the 1970-80's.....but that was like selling the company, rather than "fixing it."
HOW TO "HANDLE" THE NEAR COMPLETE DEINDUSTRIALIZATION OF AMERICA IS THE REAL "CONUNDRUM" THAT NEEDS ANSWERING......
When Greenspan entered the Fed he had GM AMERICA to deal with....now he leaves the Fed with WALMART AMERICA.....that is our conundrum now.
....but that is the one "hypothesis" the G-man seems reluctant to explore.....
Greenspan used de-industrialization and free trade globalism to beat the wage inflation of the 1970-80's.....but that was like selling the company, rather than "fixing it."
HOW TO "HANDLE" THE NEAR COMPLETE DEINDUSTRIALIZATION OF AMERICA IS THE REAL "CONUNDRUM" THAT NEEDS ANSWERING......
When Greenspan entered the Fed he had GM AMERICA to deal with....now he leaves the Fed with WALMART AMERICA.....that is our conundrum now.
GREENSPAN ON CHINA TRADE....
The G-Man starts by saying:
"The pronounced decline in U.S. Treasury long-term interest rates over the past year despite a 200-basis-point increase in our federal funds rate is clearly without recent precedent. The yield on ten-year Treasury notes currently is at about 4 percent, 80 basis points less than its level of a year ago. Moreover, despite the recent backup in credit risk spreads, yields for both investment-grade and less-than-investment-grade corporate bonds have declined even more than Treasuries over the same period."
Ahhhh...the conundrum. The paradox, a most unusal paradox. And anomaly even, you suppose?
He concludes:
"The economic and financial world is changing in ways that we still do not fully comprehend. Policymakers accordingly cannot always count on an ability to anticipate potentially adverse developments sufficiently in advance to effectively address them. Thus our economies require, in my judgment, as high a degree of flexibility and resilience to unanticipated shocks as is feasible to achieve."
GREEDSPAN'S MONSTER......IS OUT OF CONTROL NOW.....AND NO ONE KNOWS WERE IT'S GOING.
One "hypothesis" that Greenspan doens't mention for the low rate anomaly is that HIS POLICIES HAVE BEEN A DISASTER FOR THE WORLD ECONOMY!
But then we wouldn't expect him to say that, would we.....? Even though it is the BEST EXPLANATION FOR WHAT'S REALLY HAPPENING.
"The pronounced decline in U.S. Treasury long-term interest rates over the past year despite a 200-basis-point increase in our federal funds rate is clearly without recent precedent. The yield on ten-year Treasury notes currently is at about 4 percent, 80 basis points less than its level of a year ago. Moreover, despite the recent backup in credit risk spreads, yields for both investment-grade and less-than-investment-grade corporate bonds have declined even more than Treasuries over the same period."
Ahhhh...the conundrum. The paradox, a most unusal paradox. And anomaly even, you suppose?
He concludes:
"The economic and financial world is changing in ways that we still do not fully comprehend. Policymakers accordingly cannot always count on an ability to anticipate potentially adverse developments sufficiently in advance to effectively address them. Thus our economies require, in my judgment, as high a degree of flexibility and resilience to unanticipated shocks as is feasible to achieve."
GREEDSPAN'S MONSTER......IS OUT OF CONTROL NOW.....AND NO ONE KNOWS WERE IT'S GOING.
One "hypothesis" that Greenspan doens't mention for the low rate anomaly is that HIS POLICIES HAVE BEEN A DISASTER FOR THE WORLD ECONOMY!
But then we wouldn't expect him to say that, would we.....? Even though it is the BEST EXPLANATION FOR WHAT'S REALLY HAPPENING.
WAITING FOR GODOT.....(aka Greedspan)
And what do they expect the G-Man to say?
Everything is peachy of course......buy stocks now....? Well perhaps, Greenspan has run the US economy "as if" only Wall Street mattered, when in truth Wall Street is far down the list of things that really matter in the economy.
But reversing this trend will be difficult....so much of the real economy has been trashed to support the speculators in securities. The entire nation has been DE-INDUSTRIALIZED....a word you NEVER see in the mainstream media.
So there is some question now if "protectionism" would have anything left to protect.....
HOW GREENSPAN GETS OUT OF THIS MESS, WITHOUT TURNING THE KEYS TO THE US ECONOMY, (AND IT'S KORRUPT KONGRESS) OVER TO CHINA AND THE ASIAN EMPIRE OF CHEAP LABOR HAS ME STUMPED......
AND IF THE EMPIRE OF CHEAP LABOR MUST PREVAIL......WHAT HAPPENS TO THE REST OF US? And no, more education and training is NOT THE ANSWER....that just makes you more "over-qualified".....!
Of course we could ALL become the next Hemingway and Faulkner......creative genius is always in demand.....but ALL OF US?
SOMEONE IN POWER NEEDS TO PAINT ME A PICTURE OF AMERICA IN THE FUTURE....BECAUSE I'M JUST NOT SEEING IT IN THE ECONOMICS TEXTBOOKS OR IN THE PUBLIC DISCUSSION...... HELP IS NEEDED!
Everything is peachy of course......buy stocks now....? Well perhaps, Greenspan has run the US economy "as if" only Wall Street mattered, when in truth Wall Street is far down the list of things that really matter in the economy.
But reversing this trend will be difficult....so much of the real economy has been trashed to support the speculators in securities. The entire nation has been DE-INDUSTRIALIZED....a word you NEVER see in the mainstream media.
So there is some question now if "protectionism" would have anything left to protect.....
HOW GREENSPAN GETS OUT OF THIS MESS, WITHOUT TURNING THE KEYS TO THE US ECONOMY, (AND IT'S KORRUPT KONGRESS) OVER TO CHINA AND THE ASIAN EMPIRE OF CHEAP LABOR HAS ME STUMPED......
AND IF THE EMPIRE OF CHEAP LABOR MUST PREVAIL......WHAT HAPPENS TO THE REST OF US? And no, more education and training is NOT THE ANSWER....that just makes you more "over-qualified".....!
Of course we could ALL become the next Hemingway and Faulkner......creative genius is always in demand.....but ALL OF US?
SOMEONE IN POWER NEEDS TO PAINT ME A PICTURE OF AMERICA IN THE FUTURE....BECAUSE I'M JUST NOT SEEING IT IN THE ECONOMICS TEXTBOOKS OR IN THE PUBLIC DISCUSSION...... HELP IS NEEDED!
ALL IN THE NAME OF JESUS....
Notes the NYTimes Editorial Today:
".....it is hard to imagine anyone supporting the notion of taking money from programs like Medicaid and college-tuition assistance, increasing the tax burden of the vast majority of working Americans, sending the country into crushing debt - and giving the proceeds to people who are so fantastically rich that they don't know what to do with the money they already have. Yet that is just what is happening under the Bush administration."
Yes but, it's all being done....IN THE NAME OF JESUS.
".....it is hard to imagine anyone supporting the notion of taking money from programs like Medicaid and college-tuition assistance, increasing the tax burden of the vast majority of working Americans, sending the country into crushing debt - and giving the proceeds to people who are so fantastically rich that they don't know what to do with the money they already have. Yet that is just what is happening under the Bush administration."
Yes but, it's all being done....IN THE NAME OF JESUS.
Monday, June 6, 2005
GOLD ON UP SWING....?
If you don't like the Dollar, and if the Euro is a problem.....perhaps GOLD? In the long run, Gold should track other commodities, like oil, no matter what the central banks do...
Indeed, the recent up-swing in the dollar was presaged by some mysterious drops in gold.... Remember? Perhaps the old Gold-Price theory is back....? The truth is the central banks have THE PROBLEM....Not the Gold Bugs.
Indeed, the recent up-swing in the dollar was presaged by some mysterious drops in gold.... Remember? Perhaps the old Gold-Price theory is back....? The truth is the central banks have THE PROBLEM....Not the Gold Bugs.
GREENSPAN'S CONUNDRUM
Greenspan's conundrum is the biggest thing going in the markets now....he who answers that riddle correctly will make some serious money....
DIRECTIONLESS MARKETS....AND GEOPOLITICS
THE ENTIRE WORLD SEEMS TO BE PADDLING WITH ONE OAR.....
Everything is going nowhere fast.....
But the probable direction of the next trend is clear.....DOWN.
Consider:
1. Oil is up and it's going to stay up....what with the new "middle class" in China and India that have "taken our jobs." And we ain't gonna quit driving either......
2. Interest Rates are going up...Greenspan is slowly backing away from the insane 1% Abyss...but at a "measured pace," and the US Trade and Budget deficits (the "twins") are more or less out of control, and they are going to stay that way...until...??
3. The War in Iraq is lost....the only question is when will Washington realize it and how much will it all cost.
4. The Housing Bubble will burst....NO, not all at once but once the trend starts it will take an huge stimulus out of the US economy which has been "bubble dependent" for nearly a decade.
5. The US will continue to lose respect in the world as long as Dubya is in the White House....only after 2008 will there be any chance of a return to rational policies...and that's 3.4 long years away.
And on the plus side:
Never under estimate Wall Streets ability to work itself into a lather over something...HYPE AND HOPE is what Wall Street is all about...but it's a Hell of a way to run the entire NATION.....
Clearly the current situation is waiting for SOME EVENT to instantly snap it into THE "rational position" on WHAT COMES NEXT..... That can take a while...but it will happen sooner or later. Because Never is not a option.
Everything is going nowhere fast.....
But the probable direction of the next trend is clear.....DOWN.
Consider:
1. Oil is up and it's going to stay up....what with the new "middle class" in China and India that have "taken our jobs." And we ain't gonna quit driving either......
2. Interest Rates are going up...Greenspan is slowly backing away from the insane 1% Abyss...but at a "measured pace," and the US Trade and Budget deficits (the "twins") are more or less out of control, and they are going to stay that way...until...??
3. The War in Iraq is lost....the only question is when will Washington realize it and how much will it all cost.
4. The Housing Bubble will burst....NO, not all at once but once the trend starts it will take an huge stimulus out of the US economy which has been "bubble dependent" for nearly a decade.
5. The US will continue to lose respect in the world as long as Dubya is in the White House....only after 2008 will there be any chance of a return to rational policies...and that's 3.4 long years away.
And on the plus side:
Never under estimate Wall Streets ability to work itself into a lather over something...HYPE AND HOPE is what Wall Street is all about...but it's a Hell of a way to run the entire NATION.....
Clearly the current situation is waiting for SOME EVENT to instantly snap it into THE "rational position" on WHAT COMES NEXT..... That can take a while...but it will happen sooner or later. Because Never is not a option.
Sunday, June 5, 2005
REPUBLICAN DIRTY TRICKS: THEN AND NOW
As Watergate Nostalgia Week draws to a close,
it might be important to note that dirty tricks are alive and well inside the Republican Party even now.....
I refer of course to the INFAMOUS CODE ORANGE ALERTS of the 2004 Presidential Campaign....!
Everytime Kerry was getting a little traction with the press....up would come a "Code Orange".....with Mr Ridge explaining a "serious increase" in "chatter." With no other particulars.....(now we know why....don't we?)
Remember?
PERHAPS RIDGE WAS REFERRING TO "CHATTER" IN THE PRESS AND AMONG THE PUBLIC ABOUT HOW INCOMPETENT DUBYA & CO WERE BECOMING......?
In any event, you'd think they'd have the decency to give us at least one "Code Orange" AFTER THE KERRY DEFEAT....!
BUT NO.....
REPUBLICAN DIRTY TRICKS....THEN AND NOW.
Postscript: But why did Nixon have to resign for it...and Dubya stays on....??
it might be important to note that dirty tricks are alive and well inside the Republican Party even now.....
I refer of course to the INFAMOUS CODE ORANGE ALERTS of the 2004 Presidential Campaign....!
Everytime Kerry was getting a little traction with the press....up would come a "Code Orange".....with Mr Ridge explaining a "serious increase" in "chatter." With no other particulars.....(now we know why....don't we?)
Remember?
PERHAPS RIDGE WAS REFERRING TO "CHATTER" IN THE PRESS AND AMONG THE PUBLIC ABOUT HOW INCOMPETENT DUBYA & CO WERE BECOMING......?
In any event, you'd think they'd have the decency to give us at least one "Code Orange" AFTER THE KERRY DEFEAT....!
BUT NO.....
REPUBLICAN DIRTY TRICKS....THEN AND NOW.
Postscript: But why did Nixon have to resign for it...and Dubya stays on....??
Saturday, June 4, 2005
ID vs EGO....or STUPID LIKE ME.....?
Notes Matt Miller in the NYTimes today:
"Alienation is the only intelligent response to a political culture that insults our intelligence."
Agreed.
But what is really at work now that was not in play before is the POLITICS OF ID vs THE POLITICS OF EGO.
Or perhaps, the POLITICS OF ME vs. THE POLITICS OF WE.....
Rationalists, like most liberals, think in terms of "we" whereas the Republicans tend to be "me thinkers."
It's not easy thinking about the BIG PICTURE....you can see this everyday in these forums where people essentially argue..."I've got mine to Hell with you."
THIS IS QUINTESSENTIAL RIGHT WING THINKING....
Here's the problem:
IF WE LET THE "ME THINKERS" RUN THINGS LONG ENOUGH....EVENTUALLY THE ENTIRE SYSTEM COLLAPSES INTO AN ORGY OF GREED AND SMASH AND GRAB....we are almost there now!
But sooner or later, the ME THINKERS ruin things and the WE THINKERS have to be called in to put the pieces back together again.....example: The New Deal.
NOTE WELL: THE SYSTEM IS IN GRAVE CONDITION NOW....THE ECONOMY IS RUNNING ON STEAM FROM GREENSPAN'S ENDLESS BUBBLES...AND THE GEOPOLITICAL SITUATION IS OUT OF CONTROL...
UNLESS YOU THINK THAT THINGS ARE "OK" IN IRAQ, AFGANHISTAN, UZBEKISTAN, PAKISTAN, SYRIA AND LEBANON....AND IN THE MIDDLE EAST IN GENERAL....
Soon things will start to spin out of contol....and the Bush "Stupid like Me" crowd will be discredited......
THEN AND ONLY THEN WILL THE "WE THINKERS" BE CALLED IN TO CLEAN UP THE MESS......
......AGAIN!
Does that made things a little more clear.....?
"Alienation is the only intelligent response to a political culture that insults our intelligence."
Agreed.
But what is really at work now that was not in play before is the POLITICS OF ID vs THE POLITICS OF EGO.
Or perhaps, the POLITICS OF ME vs. THE POLITICS OF WE.....
Rationalists, like most liberals, think in terms of "we" whereas the Republicans tend to be "me thinkers."
It's not easy thinking about the BIG PICTURE....you can see this everyday in these forums where people essentially argue..."I've got mine to Hell with you."
THIS IS QUINTESSENTIAL RIGHT WING THINKING....
Here's the problem:
IF WE LET THE "ME THINKERS" RUN THINGS LONG ENOUGH....EVENTUALLY THE ENTIRE SYSTEM COLLAPSES INTO AN ORGY OF GREED AND SMASH AND GRAB....we are almost there now!
But sooner or later, the ME THINKERS ruin things and the WE THINKERS have to be called in to put the pieces back together again.....example: The New Deal.
NOTE WELL: THE SYSTEM IS IN GRAVE CONDITION NOW....THE ECONOMY IS RUNNING ON STEAM FROM GREENSPAN'S ENDLESS BUBBLES...AND THE GEOPOLITICAL SITUATION IS OUT OF CONTROL...
UNLESS YOU THINK THAT THINGS ARE "OK" IN IRAQ, AFGANHISTAN, UZBEKISTAN, PAKISTAN, SYRIA AND LEBANON....AND IN THE MIDDLE EAST IN GENERAL....
Soon things will start to spin out of contol....and the Bush "Stupid like Me" crowd will be discredited......
THEN AND ONLY THEN WILL THE "WE THINKERS" BE CALLED IN TO CLEAN UP THE MESS......
......AGAIN!
Does that made things a little more clear.....?
Friday, June 3, 2005
PAUPER LABOR WILL NOT PREVAIL....
Tom Friedman of the NYTimes stupidly notes, per usual:
"I feel sorry for Western European blue collar workers. A world of benefits they have known for 50 years is coming apart, and their governments don't seem to have a strategy for coping."
WELL, TOM THERE IS A WAY OF COPING AND IT'S AS OLD AS GOVERNMENT ITSELF....PROTECT YOUR MARKETS!!
Ever since the FREE TRADE NONSENSE has overtaken the West...we have forgotten OUR HISTORY.
It is NOT UNUSUAL FOR NATIONS TO PROTECT THEIR MARKETS AND THEIR WORKERS.....it goes WAY back to ancient times and ever since.
IN TRUTH, THESE PERIODS OF "FREE TRADE" ARE THE ANOMALY IN WORLD HISTORY... SADDLY, THIS SCREWBALL NOTION OF "FREE TRADE" ALWAYS POPS UP WHEN THERE IS A FIGHT OVER "DOMESTIC" ECONOMIC ISSUES...
IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH "REALITIES" IN THE REAL WORLD AS FRIEDMAN AND OTHERS STUPIDLY PROCLAIM.
(CHECK OUT THE HISTORY OF OTHER FREE TRADE MOVEMENTS. PLEASE! WE DIDN'T JUST "DISCOVER IT" IN THE 1990's YOU KNOW!)
PAUPER LABOR, EVEN "INTELLIGENT" PAUPER LABOR, HAS BEEN WITH US SINCE MOSES BUILT THE PYRAMIDS IN EGYPT! IT'S NOT NEW....OK?
Here's what has to be done in Europe and in the US...tariffs MUST be established TO PROTECT THE LOCAL AND NATIONAL ECONOMIES...BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY...ALL ECONOMIES ARE LOCAL.
Friedman's FREE TRADE MIRACLE has only given us a MASSIVE TRADE GAP that no one even wants to talk about REALISTICALLY.
NO. WE AMERICANS WILL NEVER BE "AS CLEVER" OR AS HUNGRY AS THOSE WONDERFUL INDIANS, OR THE STRAVING COOLIE LABORERS OF CHINA....BUT WHY SHOULD WE BE? ANSWER THAT?
SHOULD WE ALL STARVE JUST TO SATISFY THE INSATIABLE GREED OF INTERNATIONAL CAPITAL?
MORE VOTES LIKE FRANCE AND HOLLAND TO COME TOM....get used to it.
And, it's coming to a ballot box near you...probably in 2006.
http://gloomanddoom.blogspot.com
Postscript: To Friedman-Your book is pure drivel. Soon to take it's place on the remainder table next to Dow 36,000.
"I feel sorry for Western European blue collar workers. A world of benefits they have known for 50 years is coming apart, and their governments don't seem to have a strategy for coping."
WELL, TOM THERE IS A WAY OF COPING AND IT'S AS OLD AS GOVERNMENT ITSELF....PROTECT YOUR MARKETS!!
Ever since the FREE TRADE NONSENSE has overtaken the West...we have forgotten OUR HISTORY.
It is NOT UNUSUAL FOR NATIONS TO PROTECT THEIR MARKETS AND THEIR WORKERS.....it goes WAY back to ancient times and ever since.
IN TRUTH, THESE PERIODS OF "FREE TRADE" ARE THE ANOMALY IN WORLD HISTORY... SADDLY, THIS SCREWBALL NOTION OF "FREE TRADE" ALWAYS POPS UP WHEN THERE IS A FIGHT OVER "DOMESTIC" ECONOMIC ISSUES...
IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH "REALITIES" IN THE REAL WORLD AS FRIEDMAN AND OTHERS STUPIDLY PROCLAIM.
(CHECK OUT THE HISTORY OF OTHER FREE TRADE MOVEMENTS. PLEASE! WE DIDN'T JUST "DISCOVER IT" IN THE 1990's YOU KNOW!)
PAUPER LABOR, EVEN "INTELLIGENT" PAUPER LABOR, HAS BEEN WITH US SINCE MOSES BUILT THE PYRAMIDS IN EGYPT! IT'S NOT NEW....OK?
Here's what has to be done in Europe and in the US...tariffs MUST be established TO PROTECT THE LOCAL AND NATIONAL ECONOMIES...BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY...ALL ECONOMIES ARE LOCAL.
Friedman's FREE TRADE MIRACLE has only given us a MASSIVE TRADE GAP that no one even wants to talk about REALISTICALLY.
NO. WE AMERICANS WILL NEVER BE "AS CLEVER" OR AS HUNGRY AS THOSE WONDERFUL INDIANS, OR THE STRAVING COOLIE LABORERS OF CHINA....BUT WHY SHOULD WE BE? ANSWER THAT?
SHOULD WE ALL STARVE JUST TO SATISFY THE INSATIABLE GREED OF INTERNATIONAL CAPITAL?
MORE VOTES LIKE FRANCE AND HOLLAND TO COME TOM....get used to it.
And, it's coming to a ballot box near you...probably in 2006.
http://gloomanddoom.blogspot.com
Postscript: To Friedman-Your book is pure drivel. Soon to take it's place on the remainder table next to Dow 36,000.
PUNKS JOBS CONFIRM DOWNTREND
How to spin it? How to spin it?
The latest from the Wall Street Spinsters is that the Fed will stop raising rates....!
But with the Housing Bubble now "unofficially"--- OUT OF CONTROL.....?
The Bond Market seems to see the weakness in the economy.....still with the Real Estate Bubble going into hyper-drive; and OIL and the DOLLAR in a yin-yang recessionary dance.
RATES ARE GOING UP NO MATTER WHAT....
THAT'S THE PRICE OF YEARS OF BUBBLENOMICS.....
PREDICTION:
STOCKS CRASH. BONDS CRASH. DOLLAR CRASH. AND AN OIL SURGE BY THE END OF THIS YEAR.....
Why? Because sooner or later reality simply MUST set in.
The latest from the Wall Street Spinsters is that the Fed will stop raising rates....!
But with the Housing Bubble now "unofficially"--- OUT OF CONTROL.....?
The Bond Market seems to see the weakness in the economy.....still with the Real Estate Bubble going into hyper-drive; and OIL and the DOLLAR in a yin-yang recessionary dance.
RATES ARE GOING UP NO MATTER WHAT....
THAT'S THE PRICE OF YEARS OF BUBBLENOMICS.....
PREDICTION:
STOCKS CRASH. BONDS CRASH. DOLLAR CRASH. AND AN OIL SURGE BY THE END OF THIS YEAR.....
Why? Because sooner or later reality simply MUST set in.
Thursday, June 2, 2005
YO-YO MARKETS CONTINUE....
Wall Street is way overdue for a STOCK CRASH, BOND CRASH AND A DOLLAR CRASH.......OR ALL THREE!
And this YoYo Effect seems to be predicting serious instability ahead. Something has got to give.....SOON.
And this YoYo Effect seems to be predicting serious instability ahead. Something has got to give.....SOON.
IT'S ABOUT HAVES AND HAVE NOTS, NOT LIBERALISM
Notes David Brooks today in the Times:
"The liberal project of the postwar era has bred a stultifying conservatism, a fear of dynamic flexibility, a greater concern for guarding what exists than for creating what doesn't."
Europe already has what most American Liberals want....and Europe wants to keep it that way.
The real issue is not "liberalism," but rather how to instill the money grubbing mentality that is so noticeable in the US and in Asia.
Many Americans today are "working for their health insurance," NOT BECAUSE THEY WANT TO WORK....
If Americans had National Health Care, I suspect that our "unemployment rate" would be equal to that of Europe...as millions abandon the work force to persue other interests...
At $900++ per month for basic coverage for a family of 3 or 4....the incentive to stay employed is huge!
THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT WORKERS NEED TO FEEL THE LASH OF POVERTY AND STARVATION TO KEEP THEM MOTIVATED....BUT IS THIS A GOAL THAT A NATION SHOULD STRIVE FOR?
EUROLANDERS WILL PROTECT THE EUROPEAN LIFESTYLE...AND THEY SHOULD!
LET THE AMERICAN WORKERS FEEL THE LASH OF POVERTY AND DISEASE LIKE TODAY'S CHINESE COOLIE LABOR THAT PROVIDES US WITH "CHEAP STUFF" FOR WALMART SHELVES.....
NOTHING LIKE POVERTY AND RUIN TO MOTIVATE THE WORKING CLASSES.
"The liberal project of the postwar era has bred a stultifying conservatism, a fear of dynamic flexibility, a greater concern for guarding what exists than for creating what doesn't."
Europe already has what most American Liberals want....and Europe wants to keep it that way.
The real issue is not "liberalism," but rather how to instill the money grubbing mentality that is so noticeable in the US and in Asia.
Many Americans today are "working for their health insurance," NOT BECAUSE THEY WANT TO WORK....
If Americans had National Health Care, I suspect that our "unemployment rate" would be equal to that of Europe...as millions abandon the work force to persue other interests...
At $900++ per month for basic coverage for a family of 3 or 4....the incentive to stay employed is huge!
THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT WORKERS NEED TO FEEL THE LASH OF POVERTY AND STARVATION TO KEEP THEM MOTIVATED....BUT IS THIS A GOAL THAT A NATION SHOULD STRIVE FOR?
EUROLANDERS WILL PROTECT THE EUROPEAN LIFESTYLE...AND THEY SHOULD!
LET THE AMERICAN WORKERS FEEL THE LASH OF POVERTY AND DISEASE LIKE TODAY'S CHINESE COOLIE LABOR THAT PROVIDES US WITH "CHEAP STUFF" FOR WALMART SHELVES.....
NOTHING LIKE POVERTY AND RUIN TO MOTIVATE THE WORKING CLASSES.
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