October Week 2 2008
|
October Week 2 2008
|
|
"I hate banks. They do nothing positive for anybody except take care of themselves. They're first in with their fees and first out when there's trouble." Earl Warren (American Republican Politician and Judge, 1891-1974) The (financial) world is still crumbling, I have no idea how much longer this will continue or whether or not I will ever get any of my money back. Cindy has officially left the house, I regret that she is gone like this but it's her decision, there is no legal way I can prevent her from doing her own thing... I would if I thought I could make it stick but laws being what they are she is officially an autonomous person. I just found out her boyfriend has been spreading the word that he has "rescued" her from us, we had apparently been treating her like Cinderella...I think you will be hearing a lot more from me on this subject... I will refrain at the moment because I have promised myself I wouldn't write about things that piss me off until I calm down. I have a lot more to say on this subject but unfortunately this isn't the forum... say a prayer for Cindy, if you are into that sort of thing, she will need all the help she can get. Tuesday, October 07, 2008 If the test of patriotism comes only by reflexively falling into lockstep behind the leader whenever the flag is waved, then what we have is a formula for dictatorship, - not democracy... But the American way is to criticize and debate openly, not to accept unthinkingly the doings of government officials of this or any other country." Michael Parenti I am watching the debate with Christy... Obama is holding his own, I switched to CNN because Kos said they had a real time graph of the responses to the debaters of 'uncommitted voters' in Ohio... interesting to watch. When Obama speaks, the graph goes up, when McCain speaks the graph flat-lines. I am fascinated by people who profess to be undecided. Most of the people I know are rabid supporters of one candidate or another. Folks cling desperately to whichever ideology they have preconditioned themselves to believe in. I am biased toward compassion for the underdog, a hard core Liberal minded guy. Others are convinced that conservative individualized self assertive capitalism is the answer. I suppose there is a middle ground between the give me what I need people and the give me what I want people. A place where sharing and hoarding can meet, a philosophy that will allow the 'I got mine. you get yours' philosophy can meld with the 'You help me and I will help you' minded people. I had a long discussion with two guys, both small business men, both a couple of go-getters. Both very self confident both very energetic and both ruthlessly adamant about their right to make a buck. I am not any of those things. My life has been focused on making a living, a secure future at the expense of a chance for wealth. I am not an entrepreneur, I am not a 'risk taker' I have always ben a loyal dependable employee and I believe I was compensated adequately... (Not so confidant about that at the moment) What they believe is that anyone can do what they do if they want to bad enough. I happen to think that is bull... people like them need people like me to buy their stuff and they need people like me to do the day by dreary day job while they go out and take risks. They will always find a way to survive, If Union 76 puts up a gas station/convenience store within 5 miles of the MMM he will be out of business, and unable to get his money back out of his store. The other fella is an upholsterer and his situation would be different, he carries his skills with him with very little overhead but he inversely feels the pressure of the economy and he would definitely be impacted by more competition. Disrespect, McCain hooking his thumb at Obama and saying "That one" was a poor move. It is bad enough when a citizen disrespects a candidate but when the candidates show distain it's a lot different. When McVain mad that flippant remark and trivializing gesture I was hoping Obama would say something... even a questioning "That one?" would have been sort of cool but I understand why he didn't. Reactions by minorities to insensitive remarks is assumed to be acting 'over sensitive' and can be off-putting to folks who have never experienced it. The other thing that surprised me about that was that by disrespecting Obama he was disrespecting me and everyone who supports him. Many of us have deemed our support for him to be well considered, a result of our research and analysis, when Obama is demeaned so are his supporters. He also came off as a bit condescending to the only black man in the audience to ask him a question... inferring he was probably not aware of the existence of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac... Wednesday, October 08, 2008 "There is one category of advertising which is totally uncontrolled and flagrantly dishonest: the television commercials for candidates in Presidential elections." David Ogilvy (Scottish born British military intelligence officer and later top advertising executive, 1911-1999) Colville with Monica, shopping packing ... busy busy busy. New Supermarket in town! A new supermarket opened in town. It has an automatic water mister to keep the produce fresh. Just before it goes on, you hear the sound of distant thunder and the smell of fresh rain. When you pass the milk cases, you hear cows mooing and you experience the scent of fresh mown hay. In the meat department there is the aroma of charcoal and grilled steaks with onions. When you approach the egg case, you hear hens cluck and cackle, and the air is filled with the pleasing aroma of bacon and eggs frying. The bread department features the tantalizing smell of fresh baked bread and cookies. ...but I won't buy toilet paper there any more.
Thursday, October 09, 2008 Journalism is publishing what someone doesn't want us to know, the rest is propaganda.
Horacio Verbitsky, journalist (b. 1942) We are off to the Cogswell Reunion in Boise Idaho... back on Sunday. We got in to Boise late because the freeway was shut down for a Motorhome on fire, we had to take a detour. Friday, October 10, 2008/Saturday, October 11, 2008 I had a good time reminiscing with the other old farts. We laughed and told Sea Stories (The difference between a Fairy Tail and a Sea Story is that a Fairy Tail begins "Once upon a time..." and a Sea Story begins "This is no shit...") I was talking to Don Moog, a retired Chief Petty Officer. He said, "When I got out of the Navy I took an oar, put it on my shoulder and started walking East. When I got to Las Vegas someone asked me "What's that thing you're carrying?" so that's where I settled down." Autumn seemed to have a good time, she behaved herself and was not the least bit disruptive. It is interesting to monitor people's reaction to her. Autumn is so obviously disabled and has such a fragile, simple, accepting connection with the world... anyone who spends more than a minute with her seems to melt. Sunday, October 12, 2008 We we got back from the Cogswell Reunion in Boise Idaho around 1900, 10 hours on the road. All is well at home.
"This economy of ours is on a solid foundation."
President Bush - Jan. 4 after meeting with the President's Working
Group on Financial Markets. "You don't put robbers to work in a bank" -
American Proverb each candidate behaved well in the hope of being judged
worthy of election. However, this system was disastrous when the city had become
corrupt. For then it was not the most virtuous but the most powerful who stood
for election, and the weak, even if virtuous, were too frightened to run for
office." - Niccolo Machiavelli (Italian
writer and statesman, Florentine patriot, author of 'The Prince', The Democrats think
Republicans are stealing elections. The Republicans think Democrats are stealing
elections. And those of us independent of the two old parties know they are both
right." - Kevin Zeese Ike minds hard to find By ERIC MARGOLIS The Canadian and U.S. election races look like passengers fighting over deck chairs on the sinking Titanic. The terrifying financial panic that has engulfed the entire globe seems to make all other human pursuits seem trivial. But let's not forget an important political dimension to this crisis. The disaster would not have erupted had small "c" conservative economic and moral principles been followed. Unfortunately, neither Canada nor the U.S. has a genuine moderate conservative political party, only power seekers and agents of special interests who masquerade as conservatives. America's Republicans long ago deserted the conservative political, economic and foreign policies of the greatest true conservative president, Dwight Eisenhower. "Ike" believed in small government, avoiding foreign wars and entanglements, a non-aggressive foreign policy, low taxes, restrained government spending and keeping government out of the social domain. This greatest modern American president called for nuclear disarmament and rightly warned his nation of the dangers of what he called "the military industrial complex." Half a century later, I still like Ike -- and am proud to call myself an "Eisenhower Republican." Equally important, traditional conservative principles demand hard work, thrift and saving. One does not buy anything until saved-up cash is available. Governments spend only what they collect in taxes, not future generations' money known as "deficit spending." While necessary for long-term investment, borrowing must be strictly limited and tightly supervised. Today's Republicans call themselves "conservatives" but are nothing of the kind. Under President George W. Bush, government size, spending and deficits have become gargantuan. "Conservative" in the U.S. has become synonymous with social dogmatism of the religious hard right and rural crassness and ignorance. Now, thanks to their "rescue package," Republicans (and Democrats) seem well on their way to socialism. Under Bush, the U.S. has become a swaggering imperial power locked in two lost wars abroad. The president's only real conservative act was to cut taxes. But even this was folly when Washington was pouring $1 trillion into foreign colonial adventures -- almost all borrowed from China and Japan. FINANCIAL TSUNAMI Republicans helped unleash the current financial tsunami by addicting the nation to the financial steroids of low interest rates, creating an orgy of reckless borrowing and fraudulent finance. The 1930s Depression also was caused by run amok debt. In spite of their name, Canada's Conservatives are not a traditional conservative party, either. Were Tories real conservatives, they would have cut taxes, reduced the size of Canada's bloated government and refused to support the pipeline wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as contrary to Canada's traditions and national interest. Once again, many of the impulses of Canada's big "c" Prairie Conservatives can be traced to fundamentalist religious beliefs and a slavish devotion to the far right (but not conservative) ideology of the Wall Street Journal. This is a great pity. Had the Tories cut taxes and government fat, and not blown $20 billion on Afghanistan, this country could have become a world-beating economic tiger. Canada needs a real conservative party to unleash its latent power. Canada's Liberals are squishy centre-left apparatchiks, and the NDP unashamed, old-time socialists. But the NDP was absolutely right about Afghanistan. MEDIOCRE JOB America's Democrats love big government, bureaucrats, teachers and high taxes. They can always be counted on to do a mediocre economic job of running the nation. But it's impossible to think of worse damage to America than was inflicted by the Bush/Cheney chest-thumping Republicans. Obsessing over Iraq, Afghanistan and al-Qaida caused the administration to spend recklessly and fail to prevent the greatest threat to U.S. national security of our era, the current financial meltdown. The U.S. Congress also shares blame. But Calamity George was at the helm of the USS Titanic when it the iceberg of financial disaster. Like Canada, America desperately needs some real conservatives of the type common to Europe's moderate centrist parties. But if the financial disaster worsens, we could end up with jackbooted demagogues rather than moderates. The real Bush legacy Publish Date: Saturday,11 October, 2008, By Eric S Margolis NEW YORK: Given the current financial panic sweeping the globe, America’s electoral race resembles two men fighting over a deckchair on the Titanic. Compared to this monster financial crisis, everything else seems trivial. Whoever wins the presidency – and Barack Obama has taken a commanding lead – will inherit the worst financial mess since the 1930’s Great Depression. Once markets calm down, finger-pointing will begin. Primary responsibility for this global disaster appears to rest with the Bush administration’s reckless financial policies. The roots of this crisis began before President George W Bush took office. Finance had already become America’s primary industry, accounting for 23% of all economic activity (GDP) while manufacturing slipping at a mere 12%. But under Bush and the Republican Party, the Wall Street titans of finance and money lenders were allowed to run amok. In return, America’s financial industry became the largest contributor to the nation’s politicians. By 2007, America had become so addicted to running on borrowed money (known as ‘leverage’) that the nation owed twice its net worth. Americans ceased saving, plunging instead into wild consumerism funded by loans on their homes. All of this was encouraged by the White House which was determined to keep the credit-fuelled good times rolling. In 2008, in an act of supreme idiocy, the US Security and Exchange Commission bowed to pressure from the big five Wall Street banks and, after a mere 55 minutes of discussion, according to a New York Times investigation, changed the ‘net capital rule’ regulating the financial industry. Hailed as a brilliant act of deregulation, the new rules allowed banks to lend out $30 for every $1 they had in reserves, almost doubling their ability to lend. Monitoring of their financial security was left to the banks themselves. In other words, the wolves were let into the sheep pen. An orgy of reckless lending followed as banks vied to see who could make the more risky loans. No one cared as long as their profits and huge commissions kept rolling in. Sales of $40mn yachts and $50mn beach houses in the Hamptons surged. The collapse of Lehman Brothers and ensuing world market panic marked the end of this era of financial debauchery. Wall Street’s export of fraudulent financial instruments undermined the world banking system and plunged it into a near death experience. Former US president Jimmy Carter has squarely blamed the Bush administration for the disaster. Carter charged the world crisis was caused by Bush’s “profligate spending” and dangerous tax cuts at a time when the US was spending nearly $1tn on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Carter warned that Bush’s massive foreign borrowing - $1tn from China and at least $500bn from Japan – had fatally undermined the US economy. When Carter was president from 1977-1981, he inherited a dangerous inflation crisis caused by president Lyndon Johnson’s refusal to raise taxes to pay for the unpopular Vietnam War. Johnson preferred to borrow to finance the war, setting of a storm of inflation that Carter had to deal with as president. President Bush did the same thing with his failed wars, borrowed from Asia to finance them while cutting taxes at home. American taxpayers will repay these loans in coming years either through higher taxes or inflation – which is a form of indirect taxation. The Bush administration inherited a $236bn surplus from the Clinton presidency, low inflation, and a booming economy. Eight years later, the deficit stands at $407bn and growing. Under Bush, government spending rose 16% and military spending by 50%. The size of government under Bush grew more than under any president since the Democrat Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society and Roosevelt’s New Deal. While President Bush and the real power behind the throne, Vice President Dick Cheney, were obsessed waging war against Muslims, they ran the US economy onto the rocks. Under their disaster-plagued tenure, the US plunged into huge deficits and waged two wars costing $1tn in Afghanistan and Iraq, invaded Somalia, and got whipped by Russia in Georgia. Just when it seemed the hapless Bush White House could not create another disaster in its final days in office, the Panic of 08 erupted that could mark the beginning of the end of America’s super-power status. This is the Bush legacy. |
