It is a dismal field seeking to become President in 2012. Here are some good reasons why the best plan might be to stay home on election day.
Why (or why not) to vote for...
Rick Santorum:
A new anti-abortion debate would keep our minds off the economy.
We might find out why he is so worried about showering with gay soldiers.
He invented the term 'Islamic facists'.
Newt Gingrich:
You didn't get enough Newt back in the 90's?
His favorite movie is 'The Hangover'.
He thinks gay marriage is a 'temorary abberation'.
Rick Perry:
You really want a President who denies evolution.
He thinks global warming and social secuity are scams.
His hunting lodge could become the new western White House?
Michele Bachmann:
Confused John Wayne and John Wayne Gacy.
Wished a Happy Death Day to Elvis
Thinks a vaccine made a young girl retarded.
Ron Paul:
He's a grumpy old man.
Believes disaster relief is an un-American activity.
He gets kind of mushy about Anwar al-Awlaki.
Jon Huntsman:
It is time a Kurt Cobain groupie was President.
He couldn't spell his name on campaign launch day.
He dropped out of high school to play keyboard for 'Wizard'.
(+ He's a 3rd cousin of Mitt Romney)
Herman Cain:
Thinks that if you are not rich then you must be lazy.
You like his 999 (% ???) tax on the poor.
A strong supporter of TARP!
Mitt Romney:
Wants to 'reverse Obama's massive defense cuts'.
He's the original author of Obamacare.
He's till the same guy that lost to McCain in 2008.
(+ He's a 3rd cousin of Jon Huntsman)
And then there is Barack Obama ... enough said.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
Empty words fuel 'cult' non-story.
The Most Ridiculous Story of the Week award goes to the controversy over Dallas evangelical pastor and Perry supporter, Robert Jeffress, calling the Mormons a 'cult'. Where is the story? There is nothing new about this evangelical view of Mormons, Perry (and others) didn't even bother to take the bait, and the comment was actually made by Jeffress in a private interview with journalists. Even stranger, the story keeps rolling through the GOP race like a clap of divine revelation - despite the lack of further fire and brimstone. It must have been a really slow news weekend!
The word 'cult' has a whole pile of meanings in most dictionaries, but Jeffress chose to use the most common theological definition. A cult , by this standard, is simply a religion that follows a person - in this case Joseph Smith - not a divine figure. It is a view shared by his Southern Baptist Convention (the largest Protestant denomination in the world) and most other born again evangelicals. It is a little bit like the difference between a terrorist and a freedom fighter. Terrorists are nasty and evil - unless they are fighting to kick Satan out of your backyard! The word 'cult' has much the same quality. If you don't accept that Christ was divine - then Jeffress is the one involved in a cult. If you do accept Christ's unique divinity - then Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Islam, and most other faiths all become 'cults'. It all depends on your a priori beliefs. Jeffress at least gave a very clear definition, too bad no one was listening!
The media still can't seem to leave this issue alone, probably because 'cult' has come to have quite a different meaning in secular society. While reporters don't even attempt to define their words, they are clearly talking about things like Satanists, Waco, and Jonestown - all cases that might not even meet the theological definition since the devil is hardly human and Karesh and Jones only claimed to be 'prophets'. The point of the whole media reaction is that 'cult' is a very negative indictment. Yet, Jeffress admits that he would vote for Romney over Obama - claiming it is better to vote for a man that follows some biblical principles than a Godless liberal democrat. Not so negative after all, perhaps?
Still, the stupidest part of this whole farce is the idea that Jeffress' comments somehow cross the line between church and state. Really? The separation of church and state is all about the relation between the elected government and the people. There is absolutely nothing wrong with preferring to elect a politician that represents your views - or faith! How many Mormons won't back Romney or Huntsman? How many pro-choice advocates would vote for a conservative evangelical - even if he/she was otherwise the most competent candidate? Voting is all about finding someone who mirrors your views, and if you go to Jeffress' church that is likely to be Rick Perry, or maybe Michele Bachmann.
The 'thought police' have had a busy weekend with this story and, as usual, they seem to have got lost in the semantics. A good case in point is the Gay marriage debate. I believe that most people in this country would gladly allow Gay unions with full legal rights, but a lot of people still get hung up on their demand to co-op the word 'marriage' - which is still a religious sacrament to many.
We may actually manage to tone down most of the right-left rhetoric if we could all manage to agree about the meaning of all those too often meaningless words we utter. Jeffress at least led with his definition - that is more than I can say for the media.
The word 'cult' has a whole pile of meanings in most dictionaries, but Jeffress chose to use the most common theological definition. A cult , by this standard, is simply a religion that follows a person - in this case Joseph Smith - not a divine figure. It is a view shared by his Southern Baptist Convention (the largest Protestant denomination in the world) and most other born again evangelicals. It is a little bit like the difference between a terrorist and a freedom fighter. Terrorists are nasty and evil - unless they are fighting to kick Satan out of your backyard! The word 'cult' has much the same quality. If you don't accept that Christ was divine - then Jeffress is the one involved in a cult. If you do accept Christ's unique divinity - then Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Islam, and most other faiths all become 'cults'. It all depends on your a priori beliefs. Jeffress at least gave a very clear definition, too bad no one was listening!
The media still can't seem to leave this issue alone, probably because 'cult' has come to have quite a different meaning in secular society. While reporters don't even attempt to define their words, they are clearly talking about things like Satanists, Waco, and Jonestown - all cases that might not even meet the theological definition since the devil is hardly human and Karesh and Jones only claimed to be 'prophets'. The point of the whole media reaction is that 'cult' is a very negative indictment. Yet, Jeffress admits that he would vote for Romney over Obama - claiming it is better to vote for a man that follows some biblical principles than a Godless liberal democrat. Not so negative after all, perhaps?
Still, the stupidest part of this whole farce is the idea that Jeffress' comments somehow cross the line between church and state. Really? The separation of church and state is all about the relation between the elected government and the people. There is absolutely nothing wrong with preferring to elect a politician that represents your views - or faith! How many Mormons won't back Romney or Huntsman? How many pro-choice advocates would vote for a conservative evangelical - even if he/she was otherwise the most competent candidate? Voting is all about finding someone who mirrors your views, and if you go to Jeffress' church that is likely to be Rick Perry, or maybe Michele Bachmann.
The 'thought police' have had a busy weekend with this story and, as usual, they seem to have got lost in the semantics. A good case in point is the Gay marriage debate. I believe that most people in this country would gladly allow Gay unions with full legal rights, but a lot of people still get hung up on their demand to co-op the word 'marriage' - which is still a religious sacrament to many.
We may actually manage to tone down most of the right-left rhetoric if we could all manage to agree about the meaning of all those too often meaningless words we utter. Jeffress at least led with his definition - that is more than I can say for the media.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Right and Left Sides of The Coin?
Time to get a little more serious and write a really bipartisan blog. It is tough work, but somebody has to do it and our leaders seem to have gone on permanent vacation!
I have finally come to the conclusion that Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party are really two sides of the same coin.
We all know that America is in a mess. That, at least, is indisputable. In fact, it is even worse than Washington wants us to believe. Unemployment is not 9% - the real number is closer to 30% according to most household surveys. And that black hole debt is now approaching 15 trillion - but that is just what's on the federal government's credit card. Even the OWS protesters are now urging us to stop spending. Yet, just today, Romney was still promising to spend even more money to keep us in the World Super Cop business - not a plan that will thrill either Tea Partiers or OWS activists. Why keep on trying to rule the world when we are being forced to abandon many of our social and environmental contracts? Whose agenda is this? Would most Americans really vote for a stronger military paid for by ransacking entitlements and destroying the planet? Not likely! Romney is just the last of a dying breed - a mouthpiece for the Corporate States of America (aka: the military-industrial complex for us Baby Boomers).
On both sides the question is not whether the system is broke, but rather which road is the best path forward. The Tea Party would have us cozy up to the Corporate States of America - while Occupy Wall Street would dismantle this fickle union and form some vague new social contract. At least the Left has finally found some focus for the first time since we got out of Vietnam - the last time they got into a meaningful street fight. Their principal point is clearly that the relationship between this corporate state and the majority of its people is not working. What is good for big business is no longer the same as what is good for the 99% - if it ever was.
The Right is clearly worried by this new development. Herman Cain and Rush Limbaugh are already running around with their heads cut off, claiming this is all an Obama conspiracy - perhaps funded by Hungarian billionaire, George Soros. This idea has several huge flaws. First, it assumes that Obama is really smart enough to go this BIG, then it assumes that he is dumb enough to start such an unfocused anti-government protest. Eric Cantor is also already sweating about 'mobs' in the street. Ever been near a really loud Sarah Palin rally, Eric?
What really worries the Rad Right is the threat of class warfare and the presence of the unions has done nothing to ease that fear. Remember Hoffa's comments on Labor Day about 'taking these son of a bitches out'? The Tea Party hasn't forgotten! It is a frightening idea for those who are honestly embracing this new corporate state and depending on this relationship to save America's bacon.
Over the past two years, the Tea Party has been the most polarizing influence in America - but do they really want to go there? The numbers say no. If it comes down to the crunch, there are a lot more pissed off poor people than millionaires and big corporations. The polls on Obama's 'tax the rich' proposal show that about 65% have little sympathy for the wealthy. I even believe that many soft Tea Party supporters are actually more anti-big government than pro-corporation. They just haven't quite figured out who is the villain. The Tea Party have picked up most of their support in the fight against the debt and high personal taxes - now Occupy Wall Street is a taking up this same theme and offering a different solution. They want the big corporations to pay for the monstrous mess they have created. An attractive idea?
The other analogy for both The Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street is the Arab spring. All across the world, people are going into the streets to throw off oppression - but who is America's oppressor? OWS would seem to argue that the big corporations have clearly turned their backs on the American people and made the search for profit their single focus. As a result, the US has become the world's unpaid Super Cop, jobs have been exported, we are drowning in debt, and forced to abandon many of our social and environmental goals in a last ditch attempt to stay afloat. The Tea Party would instead argue that big government is the issue and that only by allowing unchecked free enterprise to flourish, will we ever find our way back to glory. The truth is that separating big-government and big business is impossible. Free enterprise and small business are the backbone of American - the large corporations are much less friendly. The Tea Party too often blurs this critical point - Exxon and your corner grocer are not the same animal. The big corporation is only pro-profit and has no special love for the American people, while small business is all about freedom and liberty. Do we really want to embrace this Corporate States of America? Still, the pro-corporation Tea Party position at least offers the promise of a new minimum wage economic revival. Can Occupy Wall Street offer us any anything more than bigger government and growing poverty? Maybe time will provide a new consensus, but it seems unlikely that any workable solution can ignore either side of the equation.
Only one thing is really clear at this moment in time - the American people are really pissed off and want a new deal. That is what Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party have in common - where they differ is whether or not we should friend the rising Corporate States of America.
I have finally come to the conclusion that Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party are really two sides of the same coin.
We all know that America is in a mess. That, at least, is indisputable. In fact, it is even worse than Washington wants us to believe. Unemployment is not 9% - the real number is closer to 30% according to most household surveys. And that black hole debt is now approaching 15 trillion - but that is just what's on the federal government's credit card. Even the OWS protesters are now urging us to stop spending. Yet, just today, Romney was still promising to spend even more money to keep us in the World Super Cop business - not a plan that will thrill either Tea Partiers or OWS activists. Why keep on trying to rule the world when we are being forced to abandon many of our social and environmental contracts? Whose agenda is this? Would most Americans really vote for a stronger military paid for by ransacking entitlements and destroying the planet? Not likely! Romney is just the last of a dying breed - a mouthpiece for the Corporate States of America (aka: the military-industrial complex for us Baby Boomers).
On both sides the question is not whether the system is broke, but rather which road is the best path forward. The Tea Party would have us cozy up to the Corporate States of America - while Occupy Wall Street would dismantle this fickle union and form some vague new social contract. At least the Left has finally found some focus for the first time since we got out of Vietnam - the last time they got into a meaningful street fight. Their principal point is clearly that the relationship between this corporate state and the majority of its people is not working. What is good for big business is no longer the same as what is good for the 99% - if it ever was.
The Right is clearly worried by this new development. Herman Cain and Rush Limbaugh are already running around with their heads cut off, claiming this is all an Obama conspiracy - perhaps funded by Hungarian billionaire, George Soros. This idea has several huge flaws. First, it assumes that Obama is really smart enough to go this BIG, then it assumes that he is dumb enough to start such an unfocused anti-government protest. Eric Cantor is also already sweating about 'mobs' in the street. Ever been near a really loud Sarah Palin rally, Eric?
What really worries the Rad Right is the threat of class warfare and the presence of the unions has done nothing to ease that fear. Remember Hoffa's comments on Labor Day about 'taking these son of a bitches out'? The Tea Party hasn't forgotten! It is a frightening idea for those who are honestly embracing this new corporate state and depending on this relationship to save America's bacon.
Over the past two years, the Tea Party has been the most polarizing influence in America - but do they really want to go there? The numbers say no. If it comes down to the crunch, there are a lot more pissed off poor people than millionaires and big corporations. The polls on Obama's 'tax the rich' proposal show that about 65% have little sympathy for the wealthy. I even believe that many soft Tea Party supporters are actually more anti-big government than pro-corporation. They just haven't quite figured out who is the villain. The Tea Party have picked up most of their support in the fight against the debt and high personal taxes - now Occupy Wall Street is a taking up this same theme and offering a different solution. They want the big corporations to pay for the monstrous mess they have created. An attractive idea?
The other analogy for both The Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street is the Arab spring. All across the world, people are going into the streets to throw off oppression - but who is America's oppressor? OWS would seem to argue that the big corporations have clearly turned their backs on the American people and made the search for profit their single focus. As a result, the US has become the world's unpaid Super Cop, jobs have been exported, we are drowning in debt, and forced to abandon many of our social and environmental goals in a last ditch attempt to stay afloat. The Tea Party would instead argue that big government is the issue and that only by allowing unchecked free enterprise to flourish, will we ever find our way back to glory. The truth is that separating big-government and big business is impossible. Free enterprise and small business are the backbone of American - the large corporations are much less friendly. The Tea Party too often blurs this critical point - Exxon and your corner grocer are not the same animal. The big corporation is only pro-profit and has no special love for the American people, while small business is all about freedom and liberty. Do we really want to embrace this Corporate States of America? Still, the pro-corporation Tea Party position at least offers the promise of a new minimum wage economic revival. Can Occupy Wall Street offer us any anything more than bigger government and growing poverty? Maybe time will provide a new consensus, but it seems unlikely that any workable solution can ignore either side of the equation.
Only one thing is really clear at this moment in time - the American people are really pissed off and want a new deal. That is what Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party have in common - where they differ is whether or not we should friend the rising Corporate States of America.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Cain - but not too able.
The GOP race for the presidential nomination has a new leader - Herman 'The Pizza Guy' Cain! Several recent polls, including CBS and CNN, have placed Cain in a dead heat with Romney, both well ahead of the plummeting Perry, grumpy Ron Paul, and creaking Newt Gingrich. Now a new Newsmax/Insider Advantage poll actually shows Cain to have a slight lead at 26%!
What happened? Just a couple of weeks ago Perry was already getting fitted for his coronation robes, then along came Latinogate and got him deported. It seems that happy Hispanic college kids are not big GOP kingmakers. In the meantime, Cain scored a landslide in the Florida straw poll, then repeated the performance with the National Federation of Republican Women. The result was a 20% kick in the pants. Imagine, just a month ago, Bachmann was the flavour of Iowa and by November we might be praising The Almighty Newt - or not. Let's admit it, nobody is getting goose bumps watching this Class of 2012, and with Christie and Palin at last out of contention, chances are that the re-cycled lead will be the Republican's only green policy. Of course, the way the calender is changing, the primaries may start before Halloween!
Cain may have a 'Rocky Road' ahead, but why even bother to check out 'Black Walnut'? Who will all the Bubbas vote for if this turns into an Obama-Cain race? Others are already claiming that Cain will actually be the first 'Real Black President'. Sorry, Barack, I think you just got downgraded to gray! It seems that 'The Pizza Guy' has inherited the weekly Tea Party mantle just because he has avoided sticking his head in the oven - at least until yesterday. Telling the Wall Street protesters to blame themselves if they are poor and unemployed was not exactly the pinnacle of tact and compassion - even if they aren't the kind of registered 'reds' he is wooing.
Does selling pizza really prepare you for being 'The Leader of the Free World'? Are we ready for 2-for-1 diplomacy and hot wing innovations? Cain's 9-9-9 plan also sounds like a another crusty old coupon promotion - though it is really more alpine holes than Swiss cheese. When corporate and income taxes plummet, Cain's sales tax will have to apply to everything from hookers to peanut butter to fill the tax void. Ready to pay Uncle Sam 9% on your next 'Italian Monkey Bread'? Taxing the rich is apparently wrong - but no pledge seems to prevent him from trying to tax back 9% of your food stamp goodies. Cain also loves to deliver holier then thou 'Humble Pizza'. Did we really need to know what Perry's hunting ranch was once called? Claiming that African-Americans have been "brainwashed" into voting Democrat is also rather taunting. Guess they would have been better off if they had all voted for Goldwater.
It is hardly a surprise that Republicans are still praying for a new candidate to ride in on his white charger and pull the conservative pie from the fire. If Herman 'Pizza King' Cain is their most able candidate, Obama may not be the real underdog for long.
What happened? Just a couple of weeks ago Perry was already getting fitted for his coronation robes, then along came Latinogate and got him deported. It seems that happy Hispanic college kids are not big GOP kingmakers. In the meantime, Cain scored a landslide in the Florida straw poll, then repeated the performance with the National Federation of Republican Women. The result was a 20% kick in the pants. Imagine, just a month ago, Bachmann was the flavour of Iowa and by November we might be praising The Almighty Newt - or not. Let's admit it, nobody is getting goose bumps watching this Class of 2012, and with Christie and Palin at last out of contention, chances are that the re-cycled lead will be the Republican's only green policy. Of course, the way the calender is changing, the primaries may start before Halloween!
Cain may have a 'Rocky Road' ahead, but why even bother to check out 'Black Walnut'? Who will all the Bubbas vote for if this turns into an Obama-Cain race? Others are already claiming that Cain will actually be the first 'Real Black President'. Sorry, Barack, I think you just got downgraded to gray! It seems that 'The Pizza Guy' has inherited the weekly Tea Party mantle just because he has avoided sticking his head in the oven - at least until yesterday. Telling the Wall Street protesters to blame themselves if they are poor and unemployed was not exactly the pinnacle of tact and compassion - even if they aren't the kind of registered 'reds' he is wooing.
Does selling pizza really prepare you for being 'The Leader of the Free World'? Are we ready for 2-for-1 diplomacy and hot wing innovations? Cain's 9-9-9 plan also sounds like a another crusty old coupon promotion - though it is really more alpine holes than Swiss cheese. When corporate and income taxes plummet, Cain's sales tax will have to apply to everything from hookers to peanut butter to fill the tax void. Ready to pay Uncle Sam 9% on your next 'Italian Monkey Bread'? Taxing the rich is apparently wrong - but no pledge seems to prevent him from trying to tax back 9% of your food stamp goodies. Cain also loves to deliver holier then thou 'Humble Pizza'. Did we really need to know what Perry's hunting ranch was once called? Claiming that African-Americans have been "brainwashed" into voting Democrat is also rather taunting. Guess they would have been better off if they had all voted for Goldwater.
It is hardly a surprise that Republicans are still praying for a new candidate to ride in on his white charger and pull the conservative pie from the fire. If Herman 'Pizza King' Cain is their most able candidate, Obama may not be the real underdog for long.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Addicted to Cheap
China is not making happy faces at the US Senate these days. Monday, Senators voted 79-19 to debate a new bill that would smack Chinese currency manipulation with steep new tariffs. Chinese spokesman, Ma Zhaoxu, immediately pouted that any action against their products would violate World Trade Organization rules and obstruct China-US trade ties. Nice try Ma, but it's time to pay the piper! China has been stealing our jobs and markets for too long, now the tide is turning - well... maybe!
Who can blame China for wanting to maintain this crazy good trade deal? It is never easy to knock off leeches once firmly attached! A $273 billion trade surplus - up from $83 billion just ten years ago - is worth a few grumbled threats about trade wars. The Chinese 'renminbi' (who knew?) is currently fixed at about 6.4 to the dollar - at least 25% cheaper than its actual value. This not only makes US imports more expensive, it also makes cheap Chinese crap even cheaper. Given this unbalanced trade balance, is a trade war really such a bad idea? It would be nice to think that we can just run the Chinese trade train off the cliff, but Old Ma does seem to have a point. What would we do if they forced us to quit Chinese cheap cold turkey? It would be rather gruesome to see everyone running around naked - to say nothing of the impending Toyaggedon! Can you imagine our children forced to play with real wooden blocks and their parents trying to tweet with an abacus!
Still, it is tempting to tack on a nice 1000% tariff and knock China completely out of the market. Wouldn't it be refreshing to go to the store and actually find something made in the USA. I even get nostalgic on the the rare occasion I find a TV still made in Japan. Unfortunately, bashing China is not entirely practical. Walmart, as we know it, would cease to exist - putting over 2 million people out of work. Even worse, many of these new unemployed would be 'greeters', workers who would be forced to run for congress - the only other job for which they are qualified.
I should have guessed there was no simple solution. It seems we are now addicted to cheap Chinese products and pay for our addiction by exporting jobs. If we continue down this road we will soon not have even enough 'renminbi' left to buy even he cheap Chinese junk that feeds our consumer addiction. Still, if we go the other route and bash our pusher-in-chief, we will soon go crazy broke buying Indian saris and Swedish computers. A tricky problem, for sure!
Not to worry! As usual, it seems nothing positive is happening in Washington. The House Republicans have already decided not to take up the senate's lead and even Obama is hedging his bets. Sound familiar? Boehner and Obama want a more comprehensive trade deal with China and look at currency manipulation as just 'one part of the problem' - Washington code for 'don't rock the boat'. Such all or nothing tactics may be the current flavor of the day - but right now they just giving keep China laughing all the way to the bank. Maybe we should let The Donald negotiate with Beijing!
Who can blame China for wanting to maintain this crazy good trade deal? It is never easy to knock off leeches once firmly attached! A $273 billion trade surplus - up from $83 billion just ten years ago - is worth a few grumbled threats about trade wars. The Chinese 'renminbi' (who knew?) is currently fixed at about 6.4 to the dollar - at least 25% cheaper than its actual value. This not only makes US imports more expensive, it also makes cheap Chinese crap even cheaper. Given this unbalanced trade balance, is a trade war really such a bad idea? It would be nice to think that we can just run the Chinese trade train off the cliff, but Old Ma does seem to have a point. What would we do if they forced us to quit Chinese cheap cold turkey? It would be rather gruesome to see everyone running around naked - to say nothing of the impending Toyaggedon! Can you imagine our children forced to play with real wooden blocks and their parents trying to tweet with an abacus!
Still, it is tempting to tack on a nice 1000% tariff and knock China completely out of the market. Wouldn't it be refreshing to go to the store and actually find something made in the USA. I even get nostalgic on the the rare occasion I find a TV still made in Japan. Unfortunately, bashing China is not entirely practical. Walmart, as we know it, would cease to exist - putting over 2 million people out of work. Even worse, many of these new unemployed would be 'greeters', workers who would be forced to run for congress - the only other job for which they are qualified.
I should have guessed there was no simple solution. It seems we are now addicted to cheap Chinese products and pay for our addiction by exporting jobs. If we continue down this road we will soon not have even enough 'renminbi' left to buy even he cheap Chinese junk that feeds our consumer addiction. Still, if we go the other route and bash our pusher-in-chief, we will soon go crazy broke buying Indian saris and Swedish computers. A tricky problem, for sure!
Not to worry! As usual, it seems nothing positive is happening in Washington. The House Republicans have already decided not to take up the senate's lead and even Obama is hedging his bets. Sound familiar? Boehner and Obama want a more comprehensive trade deal with China and look at currency manipulation as just 'one part of the problem' - Washington code for 'don't rock the boat'. Such all or nothing tactics may be the current flavor of the day - but right now they just giving keep China laughing all the way to the bank. Maybe we should let The Donald negotiate with Beijing!
Monday, October 3, 2011
Fool's Gold?
Everybody loves gold - but why? True, 'Goldfinger' sounds a lot better than 'Hogfinger', but given a choice I'd rather eat a pork chop than a South Africa Krugerrand. It may also be a lot sexier to caress a bar of gold than a musty stock certificate, just realize that ingot won't be paying any dividends other then attracting a few equally precious old gold diggers.
Mankind has been infatuated with gold ever since we first crawled down to the riverbank and discovered junk investments. In fact, gold was first used as money as early 700BC by the early Greeks. Since that time, politicians have been spending it faster than we can sluice it -with the Greeks tending to lead the pack if their current economy is any measure. Over the millennia, untold millions of people have also been maimed, tortured and killed in the quest to accumulate more and more of this hard political capital. Sure, gold allowed wealth to be accumulated and empires to rise - not a small achievement - but all those slaves worked to death in old gold mines probably found this scholarly argument as unconvincing as our modern inflated tax bills. There was also a time when US dollars were actually backed by gold. Have you ever wondered how much gold would have to be stored in Fort Knox to back up a $15,000,000,000,000 debt?
Modern investment dealers still love gold and keep advising us to hold a slice of our portfolio in this traditional 'safe haven' - despite the facts that the dealers extract a pound of flesh in commissions and it makes a rather nasty lump in our pillows. Not surprisingly, these pundits have been somewhat quieter this past month. Gold just about jumped off the charts in August after the greenback was thrashed by S&P. The price rose almost $400 in just a few weeks - only to lose nearly $300 in the last month. It would seem that gold may have suddenly lost its lustre after so many years as the reigning king of collateral!
Why has gold fallen? It is really the most ironic story of the year and this simple truth is actually funnier than any cheap attempt at humor. When the US almost defaulted and the credit rating was downgraded, the markets went into a predictable red funk of selling. The result was that investors had a lot of homeless cash looking for a place to crash. They could have bought gold - but they didn't! Instead they went and invested in those same downgraded US treasuries that financed the same enormous dysfunctional debt that had caused the original economic problem! The result of this strange financial somersault was to actually drive the dollar up and treasury interest rates down to historic lows!
This must be the first time in history that a bad credit report has resulted in a flood of loan offers at bargain rates! Try not paying your mortgage this month and see how many banks will be begging you to borrow their money at next to no interest! Yet, amazingly, this is exactly what happened!! Investors simply decided that it was better to loan their money to broke Uncle Sam at nearly 0%, rather than buy some shiny, expensive metal they couldn't eat or smoke.
Now that we have finally broken the old taboo and admitted that a tin can of beans has more real, intrinsic value than a huge lump of soft yellow metal, I am expecting that the next fad in jewelery will be pasta rings, bean studs and M&M necklaces. This trend should give a whole new meaning to the old saw about 'saving for a rainy day'.
Mankind has been infatuated with gold ever since we first crawled down to the riverbank and discovered junk investments. In fact, gold was first used as money as early 700BC by the early Greeks. Since that time, politicians have been spending it faster than we can sluice it -with the Greeks tending to lead the pack if their current economy is any measure. Over the millennia, untold millions of people have also been maimed, tortured and killed in the quest to accumulate more and more of this hard political capital. Sure, gold allowed wealth to be accumulated and empires to rise - not a small achievement - but all those slaves worked to death in old gold mines probably found this scholarly argument as unconvincing as our modern inflated tax bills. There was also a time when US dollars were actually backed by gold. Have you ever wondered how much gold would have to be stored in Fort Knox to back up a $15,000,000,000,000 debt?
Modern investment dealers still love gold and keep advising us to hold a slice of our portfolio in this traditional 'safe haven' - despite the facts that the dealers extract a pound of flesh in commissions and it makes a rather nasty lump in our pillows. Not surprisingly, these pundits have been somewhat quieter this past month. Gold just about jumped off the charts in August after the greenback was thrashed by S&P. The price rose almost $400 in just a few weeks - only to lose nearly $300 in the last month. It would seem that gold may have suddenly lost its lustre after so many years as the reigning king of collateral!
Why has gold fallen? It is really the most ironic story of the year and this simple truth is actually funnier than any cheap attempt at humor. When the US almost defaulted and the credit rating was downgraded, the markets went into a predictable red funk of selling. The result was that investors had a lot of homeless cash looking for a place to crash. They could have bought gold - but they didn't! Instead they went and invested in those same downgraded US treasuries that financed the same enormous dysfunctional debt that had caused the original economic problem! The result of this strange financial somersault was to actually drive the dollar up and treasury interest rates down to historic lows!
This must be the first time in history that a bad credit report has resulted in a flood of loan offers at bargain rates! Try not paying your mortgage this month and see how many banks will be begging you to borrow their money at next to no interest! Yet, amazingly, this is exactly what happened!! Investors simply decided that it was better to loan their money to broke Uncle Sam at nearly 0%, rather than buy some shiny, expensive metal they couldn't eat or smoke.
Now that we have finally broken the old taboo and admitted that a tin can of beans has more real, intrinsic value than a huge lump of soft yellow metal, I am expecting that the next fad in jewelery will be pasta rings, bean studs and M&M necklaces. This trend should give a whole new meaning to the old saw about 'saving for a rainy day'.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Hard turbans for terrorists?
There once was a time when being a dead 'freedom fighter' was at least romantic. Che Guevera was captured by 1800 Bolivian troops (backed up by Green Berets and the CIA) before a Hollywood style execution in a remote mud hut. Sound messy? Not a good day for sure - but a lot better than having your car blown up by a US drone launched missile in some Yemeni backwater. Anwar al-Awlaki had no time for last immortal words or a brave warrior's death. One minute he was just sitting in his car dreaming of those California prostitutes he once coveted - the next moment he was meeting his 72 untalented virgins! It is a fate shared by at least four others on the FBI terrorist list - plus al-Awlaki's American buddy Samir Khan who is now literally 'one' with his dead al Qaeda leader. Even Bin Laden didn't fare much better. Shot by Navy Seals while all wrapped up in his blankie watching TV - he was then dumped into Sponge Bob Land where it is hard to build lasting memorials.
Terrorist Central really needs to get on top of this issue. It is very difficult to achieve immortal martyrdom when your brains are splattered all over the leather seats of your Land Rover. Every movie fan knows that the bad guys are supposed to get a big send off - like Dr evil drifting off into space, or Bonnie and Clyde's bullet riddled corpses twitching in the dirt. It seems so unfair to rise all the way to the top of the FBI list - only to go out with so little glory. Steel reinforced turbans might at least keep the gray matter intact long enough for a death bed video clip. A floating turban with a built in GPS locater might also be a good plan if you've pissed off the navy and want your body recovered for blessed burial.
It is a real shame that an American boy who rose to the top of his profession should be turned into pea soup by his own government. After all, the 2.0 'You-Tube' terrorist revolutionized the whole business of slaughtering innocents and even invented the 'underwear bomb'. Ron Paul and the ACLU have already condemned the al-Awlaki 'assassination', though they seem to be more worried about the fact that Americans killing Americans without a trial sets a dangerous precedent. Perhaps Ron Paul is getting a little nervous about driving around Texas?
What will Hollywood do when the time comes to tell the al-Awlaki story? No romantic Butch Cassidy shoot-out - just a little kidding around with Sammy, then poof the lights go out? Of course the truth has never stopped the movie moguls from working their immortal magic. Andy and Sammy will likely be chased between the sand dunes by the ever closing missile, evading it for several minutes before a last ditch AK-47 attempt at close-in defense.
There is clearly a plot afoot to take the glory out of terrorism, but it is eventually doomed to failure. The truth stands no chance of immortality when illusion is so much more entertaining. Stay tuned for the 'Andy and Sammy Saga' at a theatre near you!
Terrorist Central really needs to get on top of this issue. It is very difficult to achieve immortal martyrdom when your brains are splattered all over the leather seats of your Land Rover. Every movie fan knows that the bad guys are supposed to get a big send off - like Dr evil drifting off into space, or Bonnie and Clyde's bullet riddled corpses twitching in the dirt. It seems so unfair to rise all the way to the top of the FBI list - only to go out with so little glory. Steel reinforced turbans might at least keep the gray matter intact long enough for a death bed video clip. A floating turban with a built in GPS locater might also be a good plan if you've pissed off the navy and want your body recovered for blessed burial.
It is a real shame that an American boy who rose to the top of his profession should be turned into pea soup by his own government. After all, the 2.0 'You-Tube' terrorist revolutionized the whole business of slaughtering innocents and even invented the 'underwear bomb'. Ron Paul and the ACLU have already condemned the al-Awlaki 'assassination', though they seem to be more worried about the fact that Americans killing Americans without a trial sets a dangerous precedent. Perhaps Ron Paul is getting a little nervous about driving around Texas?
What will Hollywood do when the time comes to tell the al-Awlaki story? No romantic Butch Cassidy shoot-out - just a little kidding around with Sammy, then poof the lights go out? Of course the truth has never stopped the movie moguls from working their immortal magic. Andy and Sammy will likely be chased between the sand dunes by the ever closing missile, evading it for several minutes before a last ditch AK-47 attempt at close-in defense.
There is clearly a plot afoot to take the glory out of terrorism, but it is eventually doomed to failure. The truth stands no chance of immortality when illusion is so much more entertaining. Stay tuned for the 'Andy and Sammy Saga' at a theatre near you!
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