"News that's not known, or not known enough."
Helen & Harry Highwater's cranky weblog of news and opinion.
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"News that's not known, or not known enough." Helen & Harry Highwater's cranky weblog of news and opinion. |
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Meet 'Foreclosure Phil' by Madeline Zane Monday, July 14, 2008 PERMANENT LINK Top McCain campaign advisor Gramm calls America "a nation of whiners" What's even more galling about this is that the man who's accusing Americans of making up the disastrous economy in our heads, is one of the people who is most directly responsible for it in real life. A recent MOTHER JONES profile of "Foreclosure Phil" details how little-known legislation introduced by Phil Gramm in 2000 created the unregulated "credit swaps" that in turn created the subprime lending crisis.
FEMA, Congressional Republicans, and even the mainstream media contend that FEMA didn't know how bad the formaldehyde problems were in the trailers. But when the companies informed FEMA that "informal tests" told them that there was less formaldehyde than the absolute maximum that workers are allowed to be exposed to momentarily in the workplace, FEMA had no additional questions. Even though the number the companies cited, 750 parts per million, was above the 500 parts per million standard at which employees are required to be medically monitored. Even though children were living in these trailers around the clock. Madeline Zane  Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and evolution by SirJ Monday, July 14, 2008 PERMANENT LINK Fed comes to rescue of Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac
I'm sure you will run into this story along the way at some point. Just passing it along thinking I might be first to tell ya. After reading Mr. Chuckles' message about GLD now being optionable, I realized Fannie & Freddie as so oversold at this point they would be a much better buy. Sadly, there is no time to act. Now that officialdom has spoken, I expect huge gains on these two in the first few minutes of trading. SirJ We're living in interesting times, as they say. If Bush-Cheney make a clumsy move this could be the beginning of the end, whereas if they move more adroitly the beginning of the end could still be months away. Helen & Harry Tony Snow's bio at nndb.com says evolution "has been observed in microorganisms." Can anybody direct me to a link on the Internet to confirm this? Observing a gene change here or there in a microorganism is a far cry from verifying the creation of a new species, which is after all what the theory of evolution contends. Have any new species been created in the lab? No new species = no verification. SirJ I'm nowhere near prepared to seriously defend that bio's claim, though I wrote it. According to my notes I was relying on this and this. Isn't an observed gene change that's passed along to subsequent generations verification of evolution? Is a new species required? I will quickly and cheerfully admit to being no expert in science. Helen & Harry
Bush's almost certain escape by Mr. Chuckles Monday, July 14, 2008 PERMANENT LINK Re Low to mid 10,000s by Marlene Marlene's car-buying story is eerily similar to mine, except that I bought a Toyota pickup in '94, not a Chevy Sprint in the mid 80's. Like Marlene, I refused the dealer options on the "sale" vehicle: no passenger side mirror, no radio, and not even a bumper! Later I had a mirror installed on the passenger side because I had to haul a seriously large load and required the visibility. It doesn't get 50 MPG but on the other hand, it doesn't require a lot of repairs — almost none, in fact. And it is all paid for, for many years now. I paid like $9500 (or 9900? — I forget), but I am always getting unsolicited offers from Mexicans! I've had Mexicans knock on our door asking to buy my truck. Just a plain old white truck with nothing on it. The trick is to not drive your vehicle as much as possible. That way you save on maintenance as well as gasoline, and even the insurance is cheaper...not to mention the reduced risk of an accident. About Dow 10,000. Richard Russell says 10,725 is likely, with another drop to 7286 possible. My view on this is... a) I don't care about the Dow, and b) I think that Bush is most likely in self-preservation mode, wanting more than anything else to escape office with his hide intact and no indictments. Right now the Democrats are complicit, and they are very eager to assume power, so if Bush can hang out and not start another war, and somehow keep the economy from totally crashing, then he can make his escape in safety (subject to foreign indictments one day, which are totally unlikely because of moral corruption throughout the rest of the world — ain't happening unless the US loses a world war.) Here is something to look at and the story behind it. (Do not interpret this as a suggestion, and not in particular, a suggestion to go out and sell stocks to buy gold. I suggest nothing here. I do think that the late Harry Browne had it about right: 1/4 stocks, 1/4 bonds, 1/4 cash, and 1/4 gold, rebalanced annually.) If I were going to care about a stock index, hypothetically, then I would look at the global stock index: Dow Jones World Stock Index. Mr. Chuckles Election? What election? by Herb Ruhs, MD Monday, July 14, 2008 PERMANENT LINK Question: how do you elect another Republican after eight horrendous years of violence and criminality? Answer: you get the Democrats to throw another election, but just in case you cover your bets by using even more election tampering. Herb Ruhs, MD The tampering will do the trick, but I really think Obama could have won in a landslide too large for stealing, if he'd stood for what's right on FISA/immunity instead of pandering to the neanderthals. In the back of my mind I'm wondering if he's just another cooperative patsy like Gore and Kerry — if he's the latest incarnation of the Washington Generals, against the Republicans' Harlem Globetrotters... Helen & Harry
Democrats and Bush rush toward economic armageddon by Mary Ann M. Monday, July 14, 2008 PERMANENT LINK The only thing the US government has going for it now is that there are many countries with even less effective national leadership. The world has been in a Currency War, a war to print money faster than the other guys to maintain export competitiveness, and something like 50 countries now have 10%+ inflation rates. But if the US government's spendthrift policies continue I expect the people of the world to stop buying US dollars as "reserves" and to load up on other things, like, say, gold - or anything else, really. And if that happens, we're in deep sh*t. ... Click for more ... Mary Ann M. Poor man's EMP by The Canadian Monday, July 14, 2008 PERMANENT LINK LONDON TIMES says Bush gives Israel 'amber light' to attack Iran
Once again its either PsyOps or its real. There is no middle ground anymore. In any event, the message to Iran & the world is blunt, to say the least. Also, I do believe that HR 362 continues to make rapid progress. In my opinion, HR 362 will be perceived by Iran as a declaration of war whether or not a naval blockade is executed. The Canadian These jackasses always want to send a message, send a message. Why don't they send a frickin' post card? Helen & Harry Re Abandon fear and invite fortitude by Herb Ruhs, MD On the subject of American military "expats": The issue is settled, we just have our fair share of straw-man bureaucrats and lackeys, too EMP continued... I am quite well aware of the "poor man's EMP". TEMPEST has been around, though, for a very long time. Critical military/government infrastructure is shielded, but the matrix is complex and one never knows where cascading failures wave will flow. Without simple electricity, technologically speaking, we will move back 125 years in time within a few weeks. The consequences will certainly thin the present gene pool of N. America. Here is the core flaw of your thinking: If you seriously think that the US/NATO do not have the military means to retaliate with ground burst & airburst nukes, you are wrong. An EMP will not end post-industrial economic nihilism; it will start a post-industrial nuclear annihilation. Room 101. I'll leave you with some juxtaposing thoughts from an interesting guy: 1. Blind Nationalism:
2. Critical Reasoning:
The Canadian Our corrupt system vs. Ron Paul's purported libertarianism by Marie K. Monday, July 14, 2008 PERMANENT LINK I do assume that Ron Paul's foreign policy ideas would reduce the number of guns, but his solution of (individual) self reliance and probably scrapping or mostly scrapping our welfare related programs and programs like Medicaid and Medicare (entitlement programs) just seems wrong to me. ... Click for more ... Marie K. Obama's massive miscalculation by Angry Annie Monday, July 14, 2008 PERMANENT LINK There are a hundred issues I disagree with Obama on, but very few of those issues are life or death, make or break issues. This is one of them, right up there with if he had announced that he plans to expand the capacity at Guantanamo or refuse diplomacy with Iran and just bomb 'em. He has slashed at one of the key issues that make (made) Obama a better candidate than McCain. ... Click for more ... Angry Annie The Lieberman trap by Amanda W. Monday, July 14, 2008 PERMANENT LINK Senate Democratic leaders will likely kick Lieberman out ... next year Why not this year? Why not today? Why not a year ago, or two? Certainly "next year" does no good in preventing Republicans from lauding McCain for his "bipartisanship" when Lieberman speaks at the Republican Convention and endorses McCain, or when McCain names Lieberman as VP ... or Secretary of State ... Amanda W. International distress by Really Annoyed Monday, July 14, 2008 PERMANENT LINK California calls for firefighters from Australia ... because the National Guard has been decimated to occupy Iraq. Really Annoyed |
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