Of all the preposterous things the idiots who run NJ’s pensions have done, this one takes the cake.

We are all bagholders now. The US gubmint has identified us as being the biggest dupes on Earth.

Actually, I think the schneider piece Alap posted hits it on the head. Precisely dead on.

As for the war, you may be surprised to learn that I was against it from the outset, though not for the same reasons you might have been against it. My sentiment at the time was that it was a bad idea but if we are in it, let’s win it. But I knew that it had a high probability of political failure (not military failure. There we succeeded. But we don’t live in a world where folks distinguish between armies fighting each other and insurgency during occupation, thus military and political success are not different things anymore).

As you might gather, I wasn’t as much against the war as I was against the occupation. That had disaster written all over it from the start. The Iraqi system utterly collapsed, and that surprised everyone, but it might not have if we pulled out immediately after accomplishing military objectives. Staying was a mistake and, from his comments at that time, I think even Rumsfeld knew it would not be a good thing.

Up!

take that back. I don’t believe, I know.
How do I know?

ha ha ha….
buzz off DHS.

SAS

“Local money manager accused of running Ponzi scheme”
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_12098700

If anyone out there follows my posts, you will know that I believe fraud & corruption is more prevelant than most want to admit & that if there will ever be an “economic recovery” much fraud will have to be purged. Not an easy thing to do since your 401k & pensions funds depends on it. so you best thank your local drug dealer next time your 401k gets back in the green.

however, with little stories like this one, and all the other stories starting to start to pop up, one can argue this is a return to free markets.

Why? for fraud to work, as odd as it may sound, there has to be a certain level of trust in order to carry it out.

No trust, people are skeptical about pricing & investments, harder to fool, and more educated about their purchases.

but, thats the last thing the so called system want: you to be a rational consumer.

just my 2 cents.
SAS

One reason I can think of for lower gun control: people are probably more worried about jobs and not so much on gun control. In a bigger scheme of things, gun control (as of now) is probably a lower priority issue. Sort of like the Iraq war.

On a side note about changing degrees of support on issues — anyone here that cheered the war and now regrets (not due to the strategy, but more at a basic level that it was a wrong that cost a few hundred thousand lives)?

S

Interesting. I noticed that CNN is the only MSM outlet trying to keep up the drumbeat on this issue (though one story they ran was in conjunction with Time). This is the third story that they ran today on gun control and the recent shooting.

Further to that story in Time. I still did not get my order from Ruger, and I got it in before the inauguration. Have to check to see if it was backordered due to unbelievable demand or simply fell through the cracks.

Did get my shipment of metals though. Not buying gold when brass and lead are the metals I should have in my portfolio.

(CNN) — Has public opinion shifted on gun control?

Yes. And in a very surprising way.

Binghamton . . . Pittsburgh . . . Oakland . . . Samson, Alabama . . . Carthage, North Carolina . . . sensational incidents of gun violence all over the country.

Are we seeing an impact on public opinion?

Since 2001, a majority of Americans has favored stricter gun laws. Though support has been trending slightly down. Eight years ago, 54 percent of Americans wanted stricter gun laws compared to 50 percent in 2007, according to a Gallup poll.

And now? A sharp, sudden drop. Only 39 percent of Americans now favor stricter gun laws.

It may have to do with the President Obama and the new administration.

“If he and the people in control of Congress right now could have what they want, they would heavily restrict or eliminate guns from this country,” said Sean Healy, an attorney who has advocated on behalf of gun rights. At the moment, the country is seeing a surge in gun sales.

Or Americans may have heard what the new attorney general said. “There are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstate the ban on the sale of assault weapons,” said Attorney General Eric Holder in February.

They may have also heard what the new secretary of state said about the ban.

“I, as a senator, supported measures to try and reinstate it. Politically, that is a very big hurdle in our congress. But there may be some approaches that could be acceptable and we are exploring those,” Clinton said in March.

Support for tougher gun laws has held fairly steady among Democrats, but the sharp drop has been among Independents and Republicans, where there are fewer Obama supporters.

Among Republicans, only 33 percent support stricter gun laws now compared to 50 percent in 2007, according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey. Among independents, support has dropped from 34 percent to 21 percent.

The Gallup poll reveals a gradual, long-term decline in support for gun control from the early 1990s to 2008. That coincides with a decline in the murder rate. But this year’s sudden drop seems to be influenced by politics.

Now, as a BC alum, I suspect The Boathouse was your No. 1 toss joint, followed by The Bow and Arrow and The Hong Kong.

If you tell me The Ha’ Penny pub, you have clearly dated yourself.

If you say Plough and Stars, that isn’t really Harvard Square. And if you tell me Man Ray or the Cantab Lounge, well, you were too drunk to know where you were.

I saw him dribble up and down the court with 2 basketballs, lefty and righty, at the same time. There was nobdoy, dribbling one ball, that could beat him. He also knew how to twirl the baton, no pun.