politics: The way it will go down...
- 10/15/08 05:24 AM
These are my predictions for the next few years...
Obama is likely to be the next President. He is only going to serve one term. The race will tighten, but it won't come down to just one state like the last few elections. McCain only have about a 1 in 5 chance of winning the election. The popular vote will be in the 49-48-3 (the also rans) range. Obama will announce that the country has spoken and this is the solid signal that the country needs a change. The media won't speak up and declare that Obama only barely cleared half … (16 comments)
|
politics: What Caused Our Economic Crisis?
- 10/14/08 02:16 PM
Under 11 minutes. Give yourself just under 11 minutes.
I get asked every day and many times, what caused our Economic Crisis, this video does a great job of answering that questions, Watch this video in its entirety.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RZVw3no2A4&feature=iv&annotation_id=event_597487
FYI I'm not taking sides but it makes you think.
Scott
… (2 comments)
|
politics: FactCheck.org? Or...
- 10/14/08 12:56 PM
not so much...
Fox News, the neutral network (hold your applause) recently had a story on its website about FactCheck.org, Sarah Palin and Joe Biden. It is kind of humorous, kind of sad and terribly annoying.
I will readily admit that I am a Fox viewer. I turn on my hometwon boys (I have friends that work there, for Pete's sake) but have to leave after just a few shows. That would be CNN for those that aren't paying attention... I also turn on MSNBC, CNBC, CBS, NBC and ABC. Same basic story.
A few days ago, I watched a segment … (6 comments)
|
politics: Why tax business?
- 10/14/08 04:27 AM
I often wonder about this. I hear all of this campaign rhetoric... "Don't cut taxes for 'big oil' or 'fat cats on Wall St', instead, we need to raise taxes on big business."
That is when it becomes obvious that most of our politicians have NEVER run a business. They simply don't understand that increased expenses lead to increased prices. Like Hillary Clinton talking about a "Windfall Profits Tax" on "Big Oil" to be used to send money to the consumers (oddly, at the time, Obama said it was a gimmick, now he has proposed something similar)... Did she not realize … (9 comments)
|
politics: Chicago Sheriff Refusing to do Foreclosure Evictions
- 10/08/08 07:59 AM
This is from the AP.
Residents of foreclosed properties in Chicago and other parts of Cook County don't have to worry about deputies forcing them out. Sheriff Tom Dart says that starting Thursday his office won't take part in evictions.
Here is a link to the story.
on the face of it, I am offended that the Sheriff in Cook County is refusing to do his job. And that is specifically and exactly what is going on here. I'm sure it isn't fun... and I have accompanied Sheriff's Deputies on a Foreclosure Eviction... but that is not the point. The point … (16 comments)
|
politics: Taxes on the rich and how it affects everyone
- 10/07/08 08:06 AM
While having a conversation with one of my high end clients recently, we started talking about taxes. I will state u front that he is NOT in the 95% that one candidate claims won't be affected by tax increases... he is a top earner. He wasn't born rich... he made it himself.
This is what the conversation about tax increases came to...
If the tax increases that Obama has stated he wants come to pass, he will HAVE to cut his staff.
That means that the increased taxes will cost jobs. He is actually looking at an expansion, but because … (17 comments)
|
politics: I wasn't going to do any more political posts for the week...
- 10/02/08 04:42 AM
But this is still just too funny...
If you haven't seen Tina Fey doing her Sarah Palin impression, you have to... it is great. I have the clip below so that you can review it...
There are a couple of things that stuck out at me though.
Governor Palin is only portrayed as attractive and religious... that diminishes her other attributes, like intelligence and independence. Hillary Clinton is portrayed as strong... if a bit bitchy, but is seen as the stronger of the two... and smarter, etc. The very best line of the skit was Hillary "I believe that diplomacy should … (8 comments)
|
politics: Say What? Sonny isn't paying attention...
- 09/30/08 05:09 PM
No, I'm not going to rail on him for not doing enough to solve the gas supply issues in Atlanta, but I am going to make fun of him for two different thoughts he has voiced that are at opposite ends of the reality spectrum...
The first is that he instituted an emergency order, which brings "anti-gouging" laws into effect... basically, it is a type of governmental price control that prevents gas station owners from charging much more for the gas during the shortage than they did before the shortage.
And now he is calling on the federal government to release … (8 comments)
|
politics: Gouging...?
- 09/29/08 02:15 PM
If you are spending any time watching the news, there is agood chance you have seen that the southeast has been having some gas pains. Lines, shortages and lots of stations with no gas. It is a real pain in the tank...
And through it all, there is a "no gouging" law. And I think it is time to say... out loud... so people can hear it...
It is making matters worse.
Did you catch that? There likely wouldn't be a problem if not for the "anti-gouging" (pro-consumer?) laws. There is another component that makes it worse... EPA formulation requirements... but … (8 comments)
|
politics: Just a few political videos...
- 09/25/08 03:13 PM
I just couldn't help myself. After seeing the polls, and the reports... and knowing that so much is missing from much of the coverage...
The videos all together take about 10 minutes. And as a collection, they are pretty powerful. Do they say that McCain did everything that possibly could have been done? No, I'm sure that he could have introduces another bill in the Senate. I'm sure that he could have pressed harder.
The point is to simply state... emphatically... that the GOP introduced legislation to try to reign in Fannie and Freddie. The President also tried to stop … (12 comments)
|
politics: Leadership or Followship?
- 09/25/08 03:38 AM
The events of the last 24 hours are pretty interesting.
If you have sworn off news because you don't want your optimism bubble popped, this is a little of what has happened... John McCain has suspended campaigning and fund-raising in order to concentrate on the financial crisis from the halls of the Senate. He also asked that Obama agree with him to delay the first debate for a couple of days so that both of them could be in DC rather than Mississippi prepping for a debate.
Obama and McCain also issues a joint release regarding the financial crisis and points … (2 comments)
|
politics: Enter ACORN... and the Presidential Candidate...
- 09/23/08 09:46 AM
If you haven't already read Part I of this, please go back and read it... I'll wait.
So, now that you are caught up, we can talk about ACORN and their use of the CRA to control the activities of banking interests.
To start with, let's take a moment to talk about ACORN, or the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now. Reading over their Wiki entry, many folks will read their own spin into the text. But there are a few things that stick out in my reading about ACORN. To start with, they don't treat their own people the … (20 comments)
|
politics: Pointing fingers at who?
- 09/23/08 07:47 AM
I've been reading, which raises questions, which makes me search for answers, which means I have to do more reading. Information surfing... And, unlike surf surfing, with information surfing, one doesn't know where they will end up. If you grab a board at the beach, you are supposed to end up at the sand.
Let me tell you where I started...
I was looking at the beginnings of the sub-prime mortgage market, and how that situation came to be... and what I found was this.
Banking in the 1970s, when CRA was passed, was a highly regulated industry in which small, … (10 comments)
|
politics: Mark to Market... know that term.
- 09/23/08 04:10 AM
There is a term that is going to become to new buzz in the current Wall Street crisis... and it is...
Mark-to-Market
Simply put, it is the the valuation of assets that a particular institution holds. Let's say that a bank holds 1,000 shares of a stock called PU, and the per share price is $13.666. It would be quite obvious that the asset is worth $13,666. It makes absolute sense. The banks SHOULD know the value of the assets that they hold.
But there are some questions in Mudville...
Real estate. The same rules are supposed to apply to real … (9 comments)
|
politics: Greed?
- 09/21/08 06:49 AM
I think that I have heard three score and seven commentators use the word "greed" today. And honestly, I'm pretty tired of it. They all seem to have an idea of what they mean, but none of them seem to have a clue what it actually means.
The "accepted definition" is something like: excessive desire, especially for wealth or possessions.
But that leads to a GIANT problem.
Who decides what is too much?
I'm not defending greed. I'm saying that it is a vacuous term. Instead of worrying about greed, maybe we should worry about ethics. Maybe we should worry about … (43 comments)
|
politics: RE Up? RE Down?
- 09/20/08 03:00 PM
I have been looking at the impacts from the proposed bailout... I see three possibilities:
As the federal government goes on their trash run, picking up the bad debt from Wall Street, the banks will once again be ready to loan money. Qualified consumers will be able to get loans again, and with the pent up demand, real estate will start to move again. We will have tested the bottom, found it solid and found a path to recovery. I call this the "Band-Aid falls off by itself."
As the federal government finds itself with all of these properties, they … (9 comments)
|
politics: It's $1,000,000,000,000...
- 09/20/08 01:42 PM
A billion here, a billion there... pretty soon we are talking about real money.
And yes that seems to be the thought process up in DC these days. Bail-outs beget bail-outs. And now we are talking about one trillion dollars. $1T... heck, that should be bold. $1T.
Without getting into the ethicacy of the "Mother of all bail-outs", this has got to be a giant wake-up for politicians, regulators, banks and everyone else. The country is literally a different place today. We now have a government that owns "private corporations." And we are soon going to have a government that … (8 comments)
|
politics: The deeper issue in this election...
- 09/19/08 03:23 AM
We are currently sitting on the edge of a dangerous precipice. This is in addition to the threat of global terrorism and the meltdown of our financial system. And this is a precipice that both the Democrats and the Republicans seem unwilling to face, much less do something about...
In fact, neither of the parties would even think about steering us away from this danger because they think it would be political suicide. And it is fundamental...
Income taxation and "the majority"
As of 2005 (the IRS was able to deliver the numbers in October of 2007 for the 2005 tax … (10 comments)
|
politics: Obama v. McCain... hilarious v. rave
- 09/13/08 12:15 PM
I know that it isn't politically correct, but Jon Stewart thought it was funny enough for the Daily Show. And I thought that Bill Mahr wanted to be Politically Incorrect... oh, that's right, he just wants to be canceled... and a hack.
I hope you were able to set aside your political preferences for a monet and see just how humorous that was... And just to be balanced... kind of.
Thank you and good night...
Originally posted to LaneBailey.com
… (12 comments)
|
politics: Stormwatch!?!
- 09/13/08 10:27 AM
[rant on]
I have had the various news channels playing in the background for a large part of the last 24 hours. Occasionally watching, sometimes listening... often ignoring. And I have noticed something humorous...
The politicians can't get a word in edgewise...
Seriously... unless they stand in the winds of Hurricane Ike, they are NOT in the news cycle. Obama could have had Jesus descend from the heavens for a campaign appearance... no news cameras. McCain could have had Lincoln come back from the dead to endorse him... still no news cameras.
Instead...
Right now, Anderson Cooper is standing in water … (7 comments)
|
These are my predictions for the next few years... 
Get great free widgets at 
;)
;)
;)
