I believe we talked about this effect when the ARC project was announced. While I agree that some towns stand to gain tremendously from this (Bergen County especially), this effectively diminishes the “Midtown direct” effect for the towns that currently benefit from it. Some towns will lose out.
Main/Bergen as well as Pascack Valley lines will get one-seat rides in, as well as the Raritan Valley line. Towns that lose exclusivity of the one-seat ride? Glen Ridge, Montclair, Millburn/Short Hills, Summit, Chatham, Madison, etc. The loss of exclusivity will result in lowering demand in those areas, as a host of other viable options will become available. Dare I say some desirable towns become even more desirable, for example, Ridgewood or Westfield.
Buyers and sellers alike should consider this information before the cars start rolling.
The full study can be found here:
From the NY Observer:
How a $9 B. Tunnel Could Make Jersey Homeowners Richer
Much was made in the 1990s about the “Midtown Direct” effect in New Jersey—the apparent causation of major increases in home values and housing demand in certain New Jersey suburbs, Maplewood included, by the creation of new commuter train lines with one-seat rides to midtown Manhattan. Faster, more convenient commutes equates to more well-paid Manhattan workers wanting to live in New Jersey, so the thinking goes.
Now the Regional Plan Association is out with a study that looks at the rise in home values that followed the creation of the Midtown Direct line in the `90s, along with other improvements that opened up a more convenient commute, and makes predictions about what a new Hudson River rail tunnel, called Access to the Region’s Core (or ARC), might do for commuters in future years.
The result, RPA suggests: Property values for homes within two miles of a station could rise by a total of $18 billion. (It’s probably good to note here that RPA, which has long advocated regional transit and another rail tunnel, gets a significant amount of its funding from the two agencies sponsoring the tunnel: the Port Authority and New Jersey Transit.)
From the Star Ledger:
Railroad tunnel connecting N.J., N.Y. will increase property values, study says
The planned trans-Hudson commuter rail tunnel will boost home values by thousands of dollars and help hold down property tax rates in areas where commuting times will be cut, according to a report released today by a regional planning group.
…
The numbers cited in the report are based on an analysis of 45,000 home sales within two miles of commuter rail stations before and after three prior rail enhancements: Midtown Direct Service on the Morris & Essex Line; the Montclair Connection for the Montclair-Boonton Line; and Secaucus Junction, which serves the Pascack Valley and Main/Bergen/Port Jervis Lines.The value of homes within a half mile, or walking distance, of a station would increase by $29,000, while homes within two miles would appreciate by $19,000, the report concluded.
…
The planning association also said the project would boost total property values by $18 billion, helping to hold down property tax rates. William Dressel, executive director of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, said the figure was, “not a surprise at all,” and would help cities and towns meet the new 2-percent cap on property tax increases.
From the Record:
Foreclosure filings up 28% in first half of 2010
Foreclosure filings in the New York metropolitan area, which includes North Jersey, rose almost 28 percent in the first half of the year compared with the same period in 2009, RealtyTrac reported Thursday.
Foreclosure activity was up in 75 percent of the nation’s metropolitan areas, the California company reported.
“The fragile stability achieved in many local housing markets hinges on improvements in the underlying economy, specifically job growth,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “If unemployment remains persistently high and foreclosure prevention efforts only delay the inevitable, then we could continue to see increased foreclosure activity and a corresponding weakness in home prices in many metro areas.”
…
The New York area was ranked 145 out of the 206 metropolitan areas surveyed by RealtyTrac. In this region, one out of every 67 households received a foreclosure filing in the first half of the year, compared with one of every 78 in the U.S. as a whole.
Earlier this week, the N.J. Judiciary reported that foreclosure cases have doubled in the state in the past year.
Headline of the day, from Bloomberg:
Americans Buy IPads While Broke in New Abnormal Economy
In March, Ralph Ronzio went to a warehouse in a seedy part of Orange County, California, and watched a man auction off his condo for half what he’d paid for it. Ronzio had bought the place for $329,000 in 2005, when he moved to Southern California from Rhode Island to take a job at a data-storage company. It was the first place he’d ever owned.
“It was totally my bachelor pad,” he says. “Not much inside other than the usual leather couch and the big screen TV. My fiancée made me sell the couch.”
…
The more he thought about the money he was losing, the more it stressed him out. Finally, Ronzio enlisted the help of a firm called You Walk Away and did exactly that from the remaining $319,000 on his condo mortgage. When the bank foreclosed, he says he felt a sense of relief. He also had more cash. He and his fiancée took the kids to Disneyland. Ronzio, 31, gave himself a treat as well.
“I bought myself an iPad,” he says.
From HousingWire:
Weekly Mortgage Rates Hit New Lows
Mortgage rates set new record lows in two weekly surveys.
The Freddie Mac survey put the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) at 4.54% with an average 0.7 origination point for the week ending July 29, down from last week’s average of 4.56% and a year ago, when the average was 5.25%. It’s a new record low for the survey, which began in 1971.
The Bankrate survey of large banks and thrifts put the average rate for a 30-year FRM at 4.71% with a 0.44, down from last week’s average of 4.74% and a new record low for the nearly 25-year-old survey.
“For the sixth week in a row, interest rates on fixed-rate mortgages eased to all-time record lows during a week of mixed housing data reports,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.
From the Star Ledger:
N.J. treasurer says schools, municipalities should expect the same level of funding for 2011 budget
After a year of deep budget cuts, the state’s schools and municipalities should plan for the same level of funding in next year’s budget — and no more, the state treasurer said today.
Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff acknowledged in an interview that while the governor had not yet tackled some of the major underlying costs that made up the $11 billion deficit he dealt with in the budget passed last month, Christie would be asking the Legislature to address the “underlying drivers” of spending.”It’s unfair to all stakeholders … to maintain the fiction that we can return to the halcyon days,” he said. “Because we can’t do it and we won’t do it.”
Question:
We are in final negotiations on buying a house as our primary residence, my agent suggested to waive the mortgage condition, in order to get the price down a little more, and be sure to be able to move in by Sept. , since the banks are these days somewhat slow in getting the loan done in time.
I have the cash for the full price, but plan to get a mortgage (within the conventional limit) anyways. (plan is to buy the house where the tax+mortgage payments are below the going rental rate for the kind of house in question, in case we ever need to move away and don’t want to sell the house into a distressed market)
What are the things too look out for on the mortgage condition waiving? Is this going to create all kinds of problems in getting a loan (would this then look more like a refinance rather than a new buy)
Thanks
(been reading this blog for years now …)
Americans splurge on i-Pads while going broke:
Only in America:
http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=av6psxDBo63Y&pos=15
4 – Why does NJ have a League of Municipalities? Is it a lobbying group? Howbig is their budget? Who funds it? How much does Dressel make? What does he do for the residents of the state?
Frist!
“I bought myself an iPad,” he says.
F-Ing Classic!
dblko (5)-
Nothing inherently wrong in making a cash offer and waiving the mortgage contingency. Hopefully, you will get a significant break on the price in return for the guarantee that you’re able to close.
If you think the selling price is absurdly high, you may want to order your own appraisal (and put an appraisal contingency in the contract). Every so often, a seller will attempt to unload his house at way above market value to a cash buyer, in the hopes that a deal-killing appraisal won’t be done.
If you buy cash and mortgage the house post-closing, it’s a refi. Keep in mind that refis are recourse loans.
Retail psychotherapy, or retail self-medication, take your pick.
I spend to prove to myself that I am in control, and that everything is alright.
In our (conspicuously) consumerist society, spending is one of the only ways to outwardly demonstrate control over the environment.
I spend, therefore I am.
Jim,
If you spent any time on this site, you would have realized that we have all turned Japanese a long time ago. Some even have gone to great lengths to have their name changed.
“James Bullard, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, warned that the Fed’s policies were putting the economy at risk of becoming “enmeshed in a Japanese-style deflationary outcome within the next several years.”
“The U.S. is closer to a Japan-style outcome today than at any time in recent history,” he wrote.
Link to # 12;
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/business/economy/30fed.html?_r=2
BC (12)-
Our endgame will be far more entertaining than Japan’s.
We will get elements of Japan, Argentina, Somalia, US circa 1776 and Hungary in 1956.
Time for rice and fish breakfast.
No more whiskey for Doom, now you get sake.
BTW, does this blog make my ass look big? (just a leftover joke from yesterday.)
sl
…and the flesh-eating zombies from I Am Legend.
I hate sake. Would rather drink warm antifreeze.
The Aug/Dec gold spread collapsed yesterday. Use summer seasonal weakness to buy/add. Get ready for the post Labor Day rally.
All disclaimers.
Doom [14],
Bingo. Our best hope is to have our wives trading, selling, US dollar futures for the next carry. Unfortunately, we’ll end up much worse that Mrs Wantanabe.
My Tanita scale insults me every morning. Did I mention that I’m particularly vulnerable while on that thing in my underwear?
It’s like a bad grade school nightmare.
Bad enough that I have a gut, qualitatively. Leave it to those Japanese engineers to make a scale that confirms it quantitatively.
than
Doom I concur, ethelyne glycol is at least sweet and the final outcome can really relieve you from all your worries
“The planning association also said the project would boost total property values by $18 billion, helping to hold down property tax rates. ”
How many will misread this to mean their tax bill will be held in check?
Value up, taxes up.
You think we were going to let you eat that cake too? Shut up and hand over that cake.
IMF Says U.S. Financial System May Need $76 Billion in Capital
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-30/imf-says-u-s-banking-system-might-need-as-much-as-76-billion-in-capital.html
Grim #11
I don’t spend therefore I am not.
I save, thereform I am (not in debt up to my eyeballs and sleep well at night).
Blog social impact statement. I avoid splurge purchases entirely, and now seem to have limited ability to suppress my opinion that government employees are mostly a complete waste of tax dollars and that all of them should be given the choice of hitting the road or taking the same job part-time for an hourly rate.
A casual friend invited me to a GTG last evening. I’m aware that she and her husband are long-time Federal employees.
“I’m thinking about taking a part-time job with the County, but just can’t reconcile myself to becoming a parasite.” Oops.
Four Wide Eyes. “Pat, you know that there is waste everywhere, and not all government employees are parasites. They perform useful functions. It’s just easier to fire the bad ones in private positions.”
Apologetic, “Oh, gosh, my word “parasite” is just coming from 25 years of private employment with real performance expectations and 80 hour weeks and layoffs and job searches and moves and no pension. You know, public vs. private stuff.” Oops, even worse.
She didn’t even respond to my e-mail “Thank you.”
Clot, I blame (credit) you- but at least I didn’t bring up the final solution.
Pat, 27
You officially have an open invitation to any social event at my house.
sl
Blog social impact statement. I avoid splurge purchases entirely, and now seem to have limited ability to suppress my opinion that government employees are mostly a complete waste of tax dollars and that all of them should be given the choice of hitting the road or taking the same job part-time for an hourly rate.
How about firing everybody and hiring the one’s we need as contractors.
Back to the weight thing: Grim et al, do this and the lbs will come off. I did it and lost enought to be able to exercise without putting my joints in a lot of pain.
Most versions of the diet begin with the claim that the dieter will lose weight by means of a chemical breakdown. In fact, weight loss on this diet results from simple calorie restriction; the diet allows between 600 and 1,100 calories per day.
Basic three-day diet plan.
Day One:
Breakfast: Black coffee, water, or tea; half of a grapefruit or pink grapefruit juice; and one slice of toast with 1 or 2 tbl of peanut butter
Lunch: Black coffee, water, or tea; 1/2 cup of water-packed tuna; and one slice of dry toast
Dinner: Black coffee, water, or tea; 3 oz lean meat; 1 cup green beans; 1 cup beets; 1 cup vanilla ice cream; and one small apple
Day Two:
Breakfast: Black coffee, water, or tea; one egg, any style; one banana (some versions say 1/2 banana); and one slice of dry toast
Lunch: Black coffee, water, or tea; 1 cup of cottage cheese; and five saltine crackers
Dinner: Black coffee, water, or tea; two hot dogs; 1/2 cup carrots; 1 cup broccoli (or cabbage); one banana (some versions say 1/2 banana); and 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream
Day Three:
Breakfast: Black coffee, water, or tea; five saltine crackers; one egg (or one slice cheddar cheese); and one 4-oz glass of apple juice
Lunch: Black coffee, water, or tea; one hard-boiled egg; one small apple; and one slice of dry toast
Dinner: Black coffee, water, or tea; 1 cup tuna, chicken, or turkey; 1 cup cauliflower or green beans; 1 cup beets; 1 cup cantaloupe or one small apple; and 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream
Instructions
Some Internet versions of the diet include tips and instructions for the dieter:
Do not alter amounts or make substitutions on the diet menu
Drink at least four glasses of water or diet soda each day
Salt and pepper may be used but no other seasonings
No snacks allowed
Use this diet for three consecutive days each week
After three days of dieting, resume eating as usual but avoid binging
After four days of normal eating, repeat the three-day diet
Cheating on the diet will make it ineffective
Strictly follow the rules of the diet
Pat
We are seeing average net tax rates of 30-40% there have been wars fought over much less. This nation was founded in a war over a tea tax. of course there is the social catch22 that everyone is so busy trying to “live” that very few have the time to care. By the time you get home from work, feed yourself/the kids, and get ready for the next day its 10pm and you have to be up at 5am to get ready for work.
Released on 7/30/2010 8:30:00 AM For Q2a
Prior Consensus Consensus Range Actual
Real GDP – Q/Q change – SAAR 2.7 % 2.5 % 1.0 % to 3.4 % 2.4 %
GDP price index – Q/Q change – SAAR 1.1 % 1.0 % 0.4 % to 0.5 % 1.8 %
Nomad, 30
I like Doom’s diet:
Breakfast: scotch
Lunch: scotch
Dinner: scotch.
Snacks (2) grilled NAR reps.
sl
SL – plus you can use it to clean out a wound!
Personally, never liked Scotch but what do I know.
Happy weekend all
We are so messed up.
Since moving to the DC area, I’ve noticed that many, many of the Federally-employed families have four children and a stay-at-home. Four. Who can afford four kids?
How many of you in private employment in other parts of the country know anybody who works with four kids unless they inherited or have a Grandma money dispenser?
“How about firing everybody and hiring the one’s we need as contractors.”
Yome,
That’s the business model going forward.
Nomad, 34
Antiseptic, analgesic and anesthetic all in one!.
I didn’t like it til I found Johnny Blue. Now I’m smitten.
But I only get to enjoy him once in a while.
And never on a “school night.” No tipsiness allowed in the Pit.
sl
Nomad 30,
That may work well, but long term sustainable weight loss requires that you bring your food consumption and exercise levels into equilibrium. The problem with most diets whether its south beach or any of the other popular ones is that they are not generally meant to be long term eating habits, but short term weight reduction. Odds are that after such a diet you will gain the weight back.
An easier long term method is to cut out refined sugar and find an aerobic hobby you will actually stick with and make it a regular non-negotiable routine.
On the diet you listed, assuming you undertake any amount of aerobic exercise, your body is likely to go into “starvation” mode and attempt to maintain fat reserves. So you may drop weight quickly initially but its likely you will see a snap back once you come off of the diet.
just a janitor, not a nutritionist.
120 proof 60% alc by volume. Got to start reading those labels before that beer kills you.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66S3SR20100729
Pat (27)-
It’s us against them. No turning back.
#27 Pat – Good for you! Gov’t employees need to hear the truth once in awhile.
39
Not quite as high test, but definitely strange. I prefer the squirrel, it has a nuttier taste, although not as hoppy as the hare.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38376048/ns/us_news-weird_news
My wife thinks I’m nuts for having my family bring in Great Lakes when they visit, I could throw one of these in the fridge and really flip her out.
I usually combine aerobic and anaerobic exercise in my 30 min cardio.I bring my heart rate to about 140 for 2 min and bring it down to 130 for 2 min for a period of 24 min ,which is the aerobic.Heart rate is not too fast and still breathing normally.last 6 min I bring it to 160 and 14o. anaerobic,can’t hardly breath at more than 160.Any thoughts?
Pat’s night out at the neighbor’s:
http://tinyurl.com/yjzj8g3
SL – 34 – what billing code do you use for JW Blue – same code for each?
“Antiseptic, analgesic and anesthetic all in one” You forgot diagnostic!
Hyde – you are right – that diet is a good way to get things moving quickly – in the end, have to burn up more fuel than you take in to reduce weight. People like to see results quickly so from a feedback positive results perspective it’s effective.
sl (33)-
Actually, you can substitute any kind of whiskey for scotch.
Final Doom says:
July 30, 2010 at 9:32 am
sl (33)-
Actually, you can substitute any kind of whiskey for scotch.
Fcuk you!
Pat (35)-
Sounds like a Vatican conspiracy to co-opt the gubmint. Please investigate further.
“Since moving to the DC area, I’ve noticed that many, many of the Federally-employed families have four children and a stay-at-home. Four. Who can afford four kids?”
43 – target heart rate training is always effective. get one of those monitors – pretty cool to get the real time feedback. Used to have to use a chest strap w/sensors but I think you can get the watch type ones – not sure if as accurate but the chest strap is comfortable and does not inhibit the workout. Dicks or Runners World has them.
rep (42)-
That is the most f’ed up thing I have ever seen.
And I’ve been to an all-Armenian tractor pull.
“Value up, taxes up”
Yup. I just LOVE the politicos who make the statements like “we have kept taxes flat” when they mean the rate and actual taxes skyrocket on increased valuations. If one is not selling or is not sucking out equity, the increase in value from X to 2X brings no benefit and the doubling of taxes, based on the same tax rate, brings a real downside.
hughes, 42
awesome! Hangover cure: Hair of the hare that bit you!
sl
Shore (51)-
Easy for political hacks to play this game in a constituency that has the math skills of a first-grader.
“The worshippers of Keynes, that rule the country, are pissed off at you. Don’t you realize that government spending of your money, borrowed from the Chinese, with the bill passed to your grandchildren, was supposed to reinvigorate your animal spirits. They handed you other people’s money to buy cars and homes and what do you do? You stop buying cars and homes as soon as they stop paying you to buy cars and homes. You ungrateful bastards. Bennie has been hugely successful at ruining the retirements of millions of grandmothers by paying them .20% on their money market accounts while forcing mortgage rates for 30 years down to 4.5%. And still you don’t buy houses. Timmy has instructed Fannie Mae to make home loans to anyone with a pulse who can make an X on a piece of paper. No money down, no proof of income, no assets. Just like the good old days. Still you don’t buy houses. What is wrong with you?”
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-ruling-elite-called
sl (52)-
Ever see nervous girls who scrape at the labels on a bottle of beer? Imagine what they’d do to a weasel-wrapper.
“squirrel”
Squirrel cannot taste any worse than possum.
It’s all in the preparation, Shore.
Japanese? Fed just laying the groundwork for QE 2.0. I say bring it on we are comitted now no going back.
I would also add in red dawn scenario, and jericho.
Nom I have a question. What’s the difference between common law and maritime/admirality law. We are all slaves to the corporation? If so I suspect we are still subjects to the Queen.
What a fing fraud unreality we live in
This convo is so fun, I just treated myself to a big short on PHM.
I don’t think I have to disclaim anything to a group that discusses drinking beer out of a dead animal.
50
Anyone else go to urban dictionary to make sure “Armenian tractor pull” wasn’t something else?
Cue John.
No beach day for the PPT today.
sl
Shore 51 – New neighbors across the street bought a 2 family house assessed at 657000 in a useable sale for 440000. They filed a tax appeal which has not yet been heard. In the interim, they’ve made some very modest improvements to their cr*pshack and the assessor has hit them with about 50k in added assessments. They’ll now be paying about 18k in taxes on a place that they might get 475-500k for on a good day.
We spent a good portion of our appeal hearing discussing this sale. I might need to take the day off for their hearing to watch our tax assessor get deservedly humiliated.
Sometimes an Armenian tractor pull is just an Armenian tractor pull.
Doom,
I prefer a nice monster truck rally myself! GO GRAVE DIGGER!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LIifYLOcz0
Doom,
Maybe we could pile up a bunch of bankers in one spot and a bunch of politicians in another and use them as obstacles in the freestyle competition!!!!
hyde (65)-
We’d have to kill them all first, so the obstacles remain stable.
Only # 3? C’mon where’s your effort Jersey?
http://www.fincen.gov/news_room/nr/html/20100730.html
Doom 65
Nothing an industrial strength tranquilizer cant handle!!!
of course we could always make it a cage match V the monster trucks!!! Imagine the revenue we could bring in if it was pay-per-view!
#27 Pat/Doom
I’ve worked in both the private and public sector. I have seen just as many useless employees on both sides and in every sector of private industry. I don’t believe it’s any harder to fire someone in the private sector than the public. It’s all incumbent on the manager documenting poor performance. Federal salaries are capped as well as OT. On top of that, some positions require you to sign a mobility agreement. On top of that, there are always temporary assignments away from the home office. I’ve been in a situation where I was asked to go somewhere on a temporary assignment for 3 months and had 15 minutes to decide. Answering “No” wasn’t really an option.
Are there some slugs in the government that are parasites? Sure there are just like some of the useless people I have worked with in the private sector. Be cautious about painting everyone with a broad stroke.
Shore 56 you only want to eat the hind quarters, of the squirrel that is I have no experience with grilling or stweing our resident marsupials.
RU
Government jobs are in net, a loss to society. That is they have a net cost as opposed to profit. The corporate world is not perfect and is a mixed bag, but in general have to be a net profit or they go out of business.
While there are both slothful and productive government workers, the point is that the government should not and cannot in the long term be the majority employer or even a major employer. In general, the larger a government the more parasitic it is upon the populous.
Our current government at virtually all levels has become massively parasitic and must be beaten back.
Young roasted rabbit. Chunks of rabbit, wrapped in bacon, roasted in the oven with large rings of vidalia onion.
sl
Hyde, 71
Soon the flea will outweigh the dog.
sl
SL,
I once had Boar chops stuffed with sausage and wrapped in bacon! MMMMM meat stuffed with meat, wrapped in meat!!!!! It was from a guy i know who is a big hunter and happens to be a chef! Once of the best pieces of meat i have ever tasted.
Uh oh…the mere mention of Vidalia’s might bring JJ back.
Anything wrapped in bacon is delicious.
Rehabilitation not far away, nothing like a good monster truck rally
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/synopsis
Pain,
Its the southern boy in me coming out!
The discussion has gone from diets to bacon…
insanity at it’s finest.
Lib, 75
Maybe he’s graduated to humping honeydews?
Less stinky?
sl
Richie,
bacon, the beginning, the ending, the almighty bacon!
I don’t even like Pork and I love Bacon!
RU, my bad on the parasitic thing. But my horror years in a consulting group of a large accounting firm and an internet start-up have darkened my opinions for life.
I will always compare my experiences with those of friends and relatives who’ve retired from municipal jobs, teaching jobs and Federal jobs. And there is absolutely no comparison.
I sadly reject your experiences.
I will say that one of the gentlemen I’ve met here who works in DC has some political stress every four years.
He worries that his cushy job will be handed on a whim to someone of the other party.
Just a note about the chest strap heart rate monitor…
I had to get one of these after I had a little cardiac episode last year. I found that many on the market have batteries that are not replaceable by the consumer, which means you’ll have to send it off to have the battery replaced. The Timex battery is field replaceable using no tool other than a coin to remove the battery cover.
Nomad/Me,
Try my diet … very effective … lost 10lbs this week …
(stomach virus)
Bacon wrapped Bacon
http://filesll.fluxstatic.com/00B7805801800C6E00073EFBFFFF/633757350600000000
Food for thought.
Why is it ethical/moral to be able to saddle our children and grandchildren with debts from pensions that were promised by those who would never have to face the consequences of funding those promises?
It would seem justified for a group that had no say in financial promises to refuse to honor them. In theory you could run a pension that wasnt a ponzi scheme by demanding that those who are taking part in it fund it to a specific level and then they can draw from it for a set period of time at a set rate/% based on the total value of the fund and adjusted annually for the EOY value.
If you want to talk about odious debts, massive pension obligations that will be paid for by the pensioners children and grandchildren seem like a very good candidate.
just a thought
Hyde, in some ways it starts to become generational monetary warfare. Part of the reasons for keeping kids fat, numbed and TV dependent. If I didn’t know better I would swear there is a conspiracy, but something of that magnitude falls to the illuminati believers. I am just not one of those.
Value up, taxes up.
You think we were going to let you eat that cake too? Shut up and hand over that cake.
Umm, did the homeowner create the value? Why should he/she be allowed to keep the gains tax free? That is called free economic rent.
Besides, the amount that you “save” on your property taxes, goes to the bank in the form of mortgage interest.
Speaking of whiskey I am headed over to dear old Ireland for some RnR this evening. My family owns a pub in a quaint village, so I be sure to drink a few to all of you fine folks.
Although Marc Faber is considered to embrace views that are not in the mainstream, his comments below, sourced from CNBC, are a succinct description of a “Nompound.” Comrade Nom should copywrite the name, develop a detailed marketing plan, and find a way to profit from this soon. Before the “crazy concepts” of the fringe element find their way to the center. And make sure to get paid in shiny!
Marc Faber from CNBC – http://www.cnbc.com/id/38481469
“And how do you trade the Dow at 1,000?
One suggestion from Faber is buying a self-sustainable farm in the middle of nowhere surrounded by high voltage fences and barbed wire and equipped with booby traps and an arsenal of machine guns, hand grenades and armed vehicles guarded by vicious Dobermans.”
Thanks Juice,
And when you toss your cookies, think of Jamil.
pain 89
Not a bad setup. get the older generations hooked on promises of other peoples money and they will end up fighting for you in case the younger generations ask too many questions or get a little upity. While at the same time you promise the younger generation that they to will get to financially r@pe the generations after them is they leave the system intact.
I dont see a conspiracy Pain. Look at it in terms of cattle. For maximum efficiency you want your cattle raised in a feedlot, but for maximum quality you raise them free range.
This is a derivative of the quality triangle ( Cost, Speed, Quality, you can only ever get 2 of the 3 in any one system). The catch of course is that a quality product generally has inherent limits on how fast in can be produced. Now go back to the “people as cattle” example. The society/government can produce the end results they want quicker and cheaper with a feedlot human as opposed to a free range human. The same results could be produced with free range humans but would take much longer and could take a very different path.
Given that governments will often choose the path of least resistance and the path of least uncertainty, the feedlot model of human society would be a natural “attractor” in terms of a complex system.
Also consider that like cattle, the feedlot model can be run at much higher population densities and with fewer per capita resources then a free range model. The feedlot model can be grown significantly larger and faster then any free range model ever could.
i think most people on this blog want a free range model and are stuck in the feedlot.
RU (69)-
My issue with the public sector isn’t the employee performance/non-performance. It’s that the vast amount of the jobs they fill shouldn’t exist.
pain (70)-
Squirrels have a little saddle/loin, like rabbits. You can wrap in caul fat (for moisture) and roast it.
Speaking of free range, does anyone know why there are always only two doors on a free range chicken coop?
Cause if there were four doors it would be a chicken sedan.
I’ll be here all night folks.
Dark (92)-
Or, as we call it here, the good life:
“…a self-sustainable farm in the middle of nowhere surrounded by high voltage fences and barbed wire and equipped with booby traps and an arsenal of machine guns, hand grenades and armed vehicles guarded by vicious Dobermans.”
#83 Pat, I wasn’t trying to hammer you but I was a little offended to painted as a parasite. I’ve missed many family functions because of work as well as taking work related phone calls all hours of the day and night.
For federal employees retirement, you’ll have to look at when they entered into service. Anyone after 1985 is not getting a great pension. It’s way under 50% of their highest salary. They changed it in 1985 after they realized that the old system of paying retirees 70% of their salary was burdensome and fiscally irresponsible. Now federal employees retirement is mostly based on a 401K type plan. I’m not complaining. Just happy to have a pension in this day and age but it isn’t like what NJ state employees currently receive. As far as benefits, federal employees pay 25% of the cost of their healthcare with a choice of a couple of companies depending on where they are located. It doesn’t include dental or vision benefits.
I went to work for the federal government because of job security. I knew that as long as I worked hard and lived within my means, I could support a family. I will never be considered rich but I’m not a materialistic person either.
More feedlot…
In a “free range” society, social programs will have inherent limits due to the lack of resource redistribution you would see in the free range model. The feedlot model allows for substantial redistribution and most likely needs it to remain stable.
RU,
We are all just trying to get by, but as clot so aptly pointed out, there is a good chance that your job probably shouldnt exist in the first place. That isnt directly your fault, but it doesnt change the fact of the matter. Its not about you or any of the other workers, its about the job in the first place. I net your job costs me and every other citizen money.
There are of course a core set of services that should be supplied by/managed by the government but the majority of the government as it currently exists is nothing but bloat.
“Tunnel Arbitrage!”
tunnel to where? jobs?
those days are gone. old ways are dead..dead..dead…
Its ain’t 1968 anymore Beatrice.
SAS
Doom (98)-
I’ll have the oxen position the howitzer in order to establish a firm perimeter and discourage any potential troop massing for a full force assault.
101#: Hyde, I won’t go into what I do but it is a necessary job that couldn’t be outsourced. I was going to ask you for a list of jobs that you feel shouldn’t exist but it may be a little burdensome. How about a list of agencies? I respectfully disagree about the majority being bloat. Are there inefficiencies? Absolutely. On every level of government. Instead of a majority being bloat, I beleive it is a small percentage.
RU – Gov’t spending as a percent of GDP is way out of control and unsustainable.
Some charts.
http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/downchart_gs.php?year=1903_2010&view=1&expand=&units=p&fy=fy11&chart=F0-total&bar=0&stack=1&size=l&title=US%20Government%20Spending%20As%20Percent%20Of%20GDP&state=US&color=c&local=s
Also Here is the reason why.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MQ2pk7kkm4&feature=player_embedded
Americans putting off getting healthcare / seeing doc:
Orig in the journal and reposted on:
http://finance.yahoo.com/insurance/article/110187/americans-cut-back-on-doctor-visits?mod=insurance-health
#105: Juice, Totally agree. Gov’t spending is out of control. I’m not debating that. There are a lot of problems with the government. I took exception to Pat saying that gov’t workers are parasites along with the lack of work hours, mobility and job expectations. I was sharing with Pat what my experience has been within the government and how it compared to my experience as an employee in the private sector.
“Why is it ethical/moral to be able to saddle our children and grandchildren with debts from pensions that were promised by those who would never have to face the consequences of funding those promises?”
Hyde,
Because they will be the beneficiaries of worthless government promises of govt assistance and protection. Unfortunately, as a result, they will be stripped of any chance of building personal wealth.
Would give my left nut to watch Bill Clinton work his daughter’s wedding for girls tomorrow.
BC (108)-
What is this “personal wealth” concept of which you speak?
All wealth accrues to the secretariat. Don’t you know that?
“tunnel to where?”
Tunnel of love.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF2Y8umAyaI
109: I’ll venture that he’s had most of the invitees. Between he and the SOS, should be slim pickin’s among the female guests for Chazz Reinhold.
Muzzled,
“All wealth accrues to the secretariat”
This one?
http://www.circledhorses.com/Secretariat_Preakness.jpg
Well, with all this gloom and doom, I feel pretty good in my profession – global investing. More and more people now seem open to the idea of global & emerging market investment. And when the dollar falls in value, other currencies might not.
On the topic of the day, I’m still on the Raritan Valley Line, but farther away, in Bridgewater, formerly Scotch Plains. Maybe in 2019 I could ride the train to NYC in 90 minutes, but I’m only going to NYC 10 to 20 days a year now. Scotch Plains/Westfield will get a bigger benefit, probably could do 50 minutes in a straight shot into NYC. Connection time within NYC to final destination will be a crucial question.
What I’d really like is for my company to relocate to Wyoming. Or Bermuda, for that matter, though I’ve never been to either place. If my company’s founders were starting their company now, I’m almost sure they’d pick somewhere other than NJ to place the firm. The only think keeping my company here is inertia and transaction/moving costs. The second highest guy here is very free market, despises bureaucrats/politicians/taxes, and would love to hand out a big one-time relocation bonus and move the whole firm to a smaller-govt tax haven, but even a move to PA would be disruptive and would take a couple of years to plan.
Capital really is mobile.
A. West,
If anyone is hiring in Bermuda, let me know.
Here are the final two paragraphs from Mises’ “Bureaucracy” (1944):
http://mises.org/etexts/mises/bureaucracy.asp
The plain citizens are mistaken in complaining that the bureaucrats have arrogated powers; they themselves and their mandatories have abandoned their sovereignty. Their ignorance of fundamental problems of economics has made the professional specialists supreme. All technical and juridical details of legislation can and must be left to the experts. But democracy becomes impracticable if the eminent citizens, the intellectual leaders of the community, are not in a position to form their own opinion on the basic social, economic, and political principles of policies. If the citizens are under the intellectual hegemony of the bureaucratic professionals, society breaks up into two castes: the ruling professionals, the Brahmins, and the gullible citizenry. Then despotism emerges, whatever the wording of constitutions and laws may be.
Democracy means self-determination. How can people determine their own affairs if they are too indifferent to gain through their own thinking an independent judgment on fundamental political and economic problems? Democracy is not a good that people can enjoy without trouble. It is, on the contrary, a treasure that must be daily defended and conquered anew by strenuous effort.
RU 104
A list of all of the federal agencies
http://www.usa.gov/Agencies/Federal/All_Agencies/Includes/Agency_Index.pdf
You dont see a few in there that might not be critical to the daily existence of this nation? Did you see the recent article on the extent of the US intelligence agencies (washington post, A hidden world, growing beyond control) ?
But it goes way beyond that. Your specific job may very well be a needed one, yet it is still likely that your specific job is redundant, that there is someone else somewhere in the government doing essentially the same job.
In the end this debate quickly boils down to your stance on political philosophy. Do you want a paternal government that will hold your hand or one that simply ensures that you may pursue life to the best of your ability by providing basic border security and critical infrastructure. There is a spectrum in between these two poles, but we have long since slide to the hand holding extreme
#117 Hyde, Sorry. I should have been more clear. My fault. I meant agencies that you feel shouldn’t exist not a list of all agencies. I knew how to obtain that.
One thing with intelligence that you have to remember is that the word “intelligence” is widely used after 9/11 in a fight for dollars. Most agencies have their own intelligence in order to provide products specific to that agency. Is there some redudancy? I’m sure there is. The only way to solve it is to tear it all down and start from scratch. Unfortunately, politics and egos won’t allow for that.
In the end, I think our political philosophy is the same. I prefer a smaller government to allow me to pursue life to the fullest.
west (114)-
Can I come be an analyst for your firm?
I promise not to drink before 11 AM.
#97 Oh God. I am humiliated to report that I laughed at that chicken coop joke.
OOS:
I’m glad that someone likes my kindergarten humor.
No one here need apologize when the entire domestic and foreign policy of the United States is the equivalent of one long fart joke.
RU/Hyde,
Let’s pick one. How about The DOE formed in the late 70’s to end our dependence on foreign oil? Over 100,000 employees, federal and contractors, and an annual budget over $20b? How much closer are we today regarding energy independence?
Then again, what’s $20b in the days of trillion dollar bailouts and stimulus to the dead?
[24] grim,
“Value up, taxes up.”
Anything that helps me sell without taking a loss. If the tunnel causes a price spike in Brigadoon, I am all over that. Cash out and move out, establish PA residency, and rent.
Primary homeownership? Never again.
Just had a refreshing conversation with our across the street neighbors today. These are the ones who got hit for the added assessments when they purchased their home for 200k below their assessment. Well 3 weeks after trying to hike their assessment over $700k, the town sent them a settlement offer for $440k. That’s another $260k off the Montclair tax rolls this year. Let’s buy a community center!
Incidentally said neighbor is from Finland and thinks our blue ribbon schools really suck. Kids over there start school at about 7, can go wherever they want in the country to school – she says the money follows the kid, so schools are run like businesses there so bad schools die, and what they teach there blows our schools away. Every kid learns at least 3 languages – Finnish, Swedish and English. When she was a teenager, she got turned down for a job at McDonald’s because she ‘only spoke 3 languages’. She tried to raise her sons trilingual here and her school district requested that she stop doing it, because they thought her older son’s English was too slow.
We are so F’ed as a country.
RU
The only way to solve it is to tear it all down and start from scratch
I like your plan and agree :)
Wantan
how about we ace the department of education!
[92] dark matter
“Comrade Nom should copywrite the name, develop a detailed marketing plan, and find a way to profit from this soon. Before the “crazy concepts” of the fringe element find their way to the center. And make sure to get paid in shiny! ”
Working on it. Nice to hear I was ahead of the curve, but the curve has a way of catching up quickly.
[88] hyde
“Why is it ethical/moral to be able to saddle our children and grandchildren with debts from pensions that were promised by those who would never have to face the consequences of funding those promises?”
Aside from the fact that we take the known over the unknown, most people don’t see it as saddling their kids. They see it as saddling someone else’s kids.
I am not immune. Part of my aggressive estate planning is setting up an asset/estate plan that allows my children to appear poor but have access to capital. Kind of like having a rich uncle in another country. The best way to do that, of course, is to arrange it so that they always have a job. I think that is the best thing that anyone can leave to their kids. Which is why you see so many foundations run by the children of the benefactors.
grim – 125 in mod. Please set free!
“Final Doom says:
July 30, 2010 at 9:32 am
sl (33)-
Actually, you can substitute any kind of whiskey for scotch.”
Wow, things must be worse than I thought.
hyde (126)-
Half measures no good. All gubmint must be destroyed.
Burn the mf’er down and start over.
Obama tops Bush on the Stupidity Meter, escalating things in Afghanistan and ignoring the Break Up of the Soviet Union, of which 10 years in Afghanistan was a key cause. Even Bush wasn’t stupid enough to try and conquor Afghanistan. He must be trying to match LBJ’s VietNam fiasco. Unfortunately, he’s broke, LBJ wasn’t. It can’t be to capture Osama, he’s not in Afghanistan. Then again maybe I have Obama wrong. Maybe his Goal is the destruction of the US, in which case I stand corrected, He’s not stupid. Afghanistan is the place to accomplish that, as the Russians found out.
In general, the US policy is to start and perpetuate endless war, wherever it can be done. If we do it right, it will both thin the population and assist in the impoverishment of the middle class and subjugation of every individual to the fascist regime.
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2010/07/existing-homes-double-digit-months-of.html
Inventory – on its way up – to double digits soon. from CR
Also – from Housing Wire
http://www.housingwire.com/2010/07/30/shadow-inventory-to-push-2011-home-prices-lower-than-09-altos-research
Shadow Inventory to Push 2011 Home Prices Lower than ’09: Altos Research
I haven’t read the report, but the Raritan Valley Line is getting electrified? Or is NJTransit going to buy reliable dual-mode locos to run the RVL?
Primary Sources: President Johnson’s “Peace Without Conquest” Speech
On April 7, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson delivered his first major speech on the war in Vietnam. Opposition to the war had been growing as a result of Operation Rolling Thunder, an expanded U.S. bombing campaign against the North Vietnamese that began the previous month. LBJ ordered his staff to compose an address that would appease his detractors.
The president announced plans for an ambitious $1 billion development program along the vast Mekong River that would benefit not only Vietnam, but all of Southeast Asia. The program was intended as an offer to North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh. Flying back to Washington after the speech, Johnson confidently predicted to his press secretary, Bill Moyers, “…old Ho can’t turn me down.” But the next day, Ho did just that. The rejected Mekong River development proposal was one of many instances in Vietnam where Lyndon Johnson’s formidable skills as a consensus builder and deal-maker would fail him.
Lyndon Baines Johnson
Address at Johns Hopkins University: Peace Without Conquest
April 7, 1965
Mr. Garland, Senator Brewster, Senator Tydings, Members of the congressional delegation, members of the faculty of Johns Hopkins, student body, my fellow Americans:
Last week 17 nations sent their views to some two dozen countries having an interest in southeast Asia. We are joining those 17 countries and stating our American policy tonight which we believe will contribute toward peace in this area of the world.
I have come here to review once again with my own people the views of the American Government.
Tonight Americans and Asians are dying for a world where each people may choose its own path to change.
This is the principle for which our ancestors fought in the valleys of Pennsylvania. It is the principle for which our sons fight tonight in the jungles of Vietnam.
Vietnam is far away from this quiet campus. We have no territory there, nor do we seek any. The war is dirty and brutal and difficult. And some 400 young men, born into an America that is bursting with opportunity and promise, have ended their lives on Vietnam’s steaming soil.
Why must we take this painful road?
Why must this nation hazard its ease, and its interest, and its power for the sake of a people so far away?
We fight because we must fight if we are to live in a world where every country can shape its own destiny. And only in such a world will our own freedom be finally secure.
This kind of world will never be built by bombs or bullets. Yet the infirmities of man are such that force must often precede reason, and the waste of war, the works of peace.
We wish that this were not so. But we must deal with the world as it is, if it is ever to be as we wish.
The world as it is in Asia is not a serene or peaceful place.
The first reality is that North Vietnam has attacked the independent nation of South Vietnam. Its object is total conquest.
Of course, some of the people of South Vietnam are participating in attack on their own government. But trained men and supplies, orders and arms, flow in a constant stream from north to south.
This support is the heartbeat of the war.
And it is a war of unparalleled brutality. Simple farmers are the targets of assassination and kidnapping. Women and children are strangled in the night because their men are loyal to their government. And helpless villages are ravaged by sneak attacks. Large-scale raids are conducted on towns, and terror strikes in the heart of cities.
The confused nature of this conflict cannot mask the fact that it is the new face of an old enemy.
Over this war — and all Asia — is another reality: the deepening shadow of Communist China. The rulers in Hanoi are urged on by Peking. This is a regime which has destroyed freedom in Tibet, which has attacked India, and has been condemned by the United Nations for aggression in Korea. It is a nation which is helping the forces of violence in almost every continent. The contest in Vietnam is part of a wider pattern of aggressive purposes.
Why are these realities our concern? Why are we in South Vietnam?
We are there because we have a promise to keep. Since 1954 every American President has offered support to the people of South Vietnam. We have helped to build, and we have helped to defend. Thus, over many years, we have made a national pledge to help South Vietnam defend its independence.
And I intend to keep that promise.
To dishonor that pledge, to abandon this small and brave nation to its enemies, and to the terror that must follow, would be an unforgivable wrong.
We are also there to strengthen world order. Around the globe, from Berlin to Thailand, are people whose well-being rests, in part, on the belief that they can count on us if they are attacked. To leave Vietnam to its fate would shake the confidence of all these people in the value of an American commitment and in the value of America’s word. The result would be increased unrest and instability, and even wider war.
We are also there because there are great stakes in the balance. Let no one think for a moment that retreat from Vietnam would bring an end to conflict. The battle would be renewed in one country and then another. The central lesson of our time is that the appetite of aggression is never satisfied. To withdraw from one battlefield means only to prepare for the next. We must say in southeast Asia — as we did in Europe — in the words of the Bible: “Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further.”
There are those who say that all our effort there will be futile — that China’s power is such that it is bound to dominate all southeast Asia. But there is no end to that argument until all of the nations of Asia are swallowed up.
There are those who wonder why we have a responsibility there. Well, we have it there for the same reason that we have a responsibility for the defense of Europe. World War II was fought in both Europe and Asia, and when it ended we found ourselves with continued responsibility for the defense of freedom.
Our objective is the independence of South Vietnam, and its freedom from attack. We want nothing for ourselves — only that the people of South Vietnam be allowed to guide their own country in their own way.
We will do everything necessary to reach that objective. And we will do only what is absolutely necessary.
In recent months attacks on South Vietnam were stepped up. Thus, it became necessary for us to increase our response and to make attacks by air. This is not a change of purpose. It is a change in what we believe that purpose requires.
We do this in order to slow down aggression.
We do this to increase the confidence of the brave people of South Vietnam who have bravely borne this brutal battle for so many years with so many casualties.
And we do this to convince the leaders of North Vietnam — and all who seek to share their conquest — of a very simple fact: We will not be defeated. We will not grow tired.
We will not withdraw, either openly or under the cloak of a meaningless agreement.
We know that air attacks alone will not accomplish all of these purposes. But it is our best and prayerful judgment that they are a necessary part of the surest road to peace.
We hope that peace will come swiftly. But that is in the hands of others besides ourselves. And we must be prepared for a long continued conflict. It will require patience as well as bravery, the will to endure as well as the will to resist.
I wish it were possible to convince others with words of what we now find it necessary to say with guns and planes: Armed hostility is futile. Our resources are equal to any challenge. Because we fight for values and we fight for principles, rather than territory or colonies, our patience and our determination are unending.
Once this is clear, then it should also be clear that the only path for reasonable men is the path of peaceful settlement.
Such peace demands an independent South Vietnam — securely guaranteed and able to shape its own relationships to all others — free from outside interference — tied to no alliance — a military base for no other country.
These are the essentials of any final settlement.
We will never be second in the search for such a peaceful settlement in Vietnam.
There may be many ways to this kind of peace: in discussion or negotiation with the governments concerned; in large groups or in small ones; in the reaffirmation of old agreements or their strengthening with new ones.
We have stated this position over and over again, fifty times and more, to friend and foe alike. And we remain ready, with this purpose, for unconditional discussions.
And until that bright and necessary day of peace we will try to keep conflict from spreading. We have no desire to see thousands die in battle — Asians or Americans. We have no desire to devastate that which the people of North Vietnam have built with toil and sacrifice. We will use our power with restraint and with all the wisdom that we can command.
But we will use it.
This war, like most wars, is filled with terrible irony. For what do the people of North Vietnam want? They want what their neighbors also desire: food for their hunger; health for their bodies; a chance to learn; progress for their country; and an end to the bondage of material misery. And they would find all these things far more readily in peaceful association with others than in the endless course of battle.
These countries of southeast Asia are homes for millions of impoverished people. Each day these people rise at dawn and struggle through until the night to wrestle existence from the soil. They are often wracked by disease, plagued by hunger, and death comes at the early age of 40.
Stability and peace do not come easily in such a land. Neither independence nor human dignity will ever be won, though, by arms alone. It also requires the work of peace. The American people have helped generously in times past in these works. Now there must be a much more massive effort to improve the life of man in that conflict-torn corner of our world.
The first step is for the countries of southeast Asia to associate themselves in a greatly expanded cooperative effort for development. We would hope that North Vietnam would take its place in the common effort just as soon as peaceful cooperation is possible.
The United Nations is already actively engaged in development in this area. As far back as 1961 I conferred with our authorities in Vietnam in connection with their work there. And I would hope tonight that the Secretary General of the United Nations could use the prestige of his great office, and his deep knowledge of Asia, to initiate, as soon as possible, with the countries of that area, a plan for cooperation in increased development.
For our part I will ask the Congress to join in a billion dollar American investment in this effort as soon as it is underway.
And I would hope that all other industrialized countries, including the Soviet Union, will join in this effort to replace despair with hope, and terror with progress.
The task is nothing less than to enrich the hopes and the existence of more than a hundred million people. And there is much to be done.
The vast Mekong River can provide food and water and power on a scale to dwarf even our own TVA.
The wonders of modern medicine can be spread through villages where thousands die every year from lack of care.
Schools can be established to train people in the skills that are needed to manage the process of development.
And these objectives, and more, are within the reach of a cooperative and determined effort.
I also intend to expand and speed up a program to make available our farm surpluses to assist in feeding and clothing the needy in Asia. We should not allow people to go hungry and wear rags while our own warehouses overflow with an abundance of wheat and corn, rice and cotton.
So I will very shortly name a special team of outstanding, patriotic, distinguished Americans to inaugurate our participation in these programs. This team will be headed by Mr. Eugene Black, the very able former President of the World Bank.
In areas that are still ripped by conflict, of course development will not be easy. Peace will be necessary for final success. But we cannot and must not wait for peace to begin this job.
This will be a disorderly planet for a long time. In Asia, as elsewhere, the forces of the modern world are shaking old ways and uprooting ancient civilizations. There will be turbulence and struggle and even violence. Great social change — as we see in our own country now — does not always come without conflict.
We must also expect that nations will on occasion be in dispute with us. It may be because we are rich, or powerful; or because we have made some mistakes; or because they honestly fear our intentions. However, no nation need ever fear that we desire their land, or to impose our will, or to dictate their institutions.
But we will always oppose the effort of one nation to conquer another nation.
We will do this because our own security is at stake.
But there is more to it than that. For our generation has a dream. It is a very old dream. But we have the power and now we have the opportunity to make that dream come true.
For centuries nations have struggled among each other. But we dream of a world where disputes are settled by law and reason. And we will try to make it so.
For most of history men have hated and killed one another in battle. But we dream of an end to war. And we will try to make it so.
For all existence most men have lived in poverty, threatened by hunger. But we dream of a world where all are fed and charged with hope. And we will help to make it so.
The ordinary men and women of North Vietnam and South Vietnam — of China and India — of Russia and America — are brave people. They are filled with the same proportions of hate and fear, of love and hope. Most of them want the same things for themselves and their families. Most of them do not want their sons to ever die in battle, or to see their homes, or the homes of others, destroyed.
Well, this can be their world yet. Man now has the knowledge — always before denied — to make this planet serve the real needs of the people who live on it.
I know this will not be easy. I know how difficult it is for reason to guide passion, and love to master hate. The complexities of this world do not bow easily to pure and consistent answers.
But the simple truths are there just the same. We must all try to follow them as best we can.
We often say how impressive power is. But I do not find it impressive at all. The guns and the bombs, the rockets and the warships, are all symbols of human failure. They are necessary symbols. They protect what we cherish. But they are witness to human folly.
A dam built across a great river is impressive.
In the countryside where I was born, and where I live, I have seen the night illuminated, and the kitchens warmed, and the homes heated, where once the cheerless night and the ceaseless cold held sway. And all this happened because electricity came to our area along the humming wires of the REA. Electrification of the countryside — yes, that, too, is impressive.
A rich harvest in a hungry land is impressive.
The sight of healthy children in a classroom is impressive.
These — not mighty arms — are the achievements which the American Nation believes to be impressive.
And, if we are steadfast, the time may come when all other nations will also find it so.
Every night before I turn out the lights to sleep I ask myself this question: Have I done everything that I can do to unite this country? Have I done everything I can to help unite the world, to try to bring peace and hope to all the peoples of the world? Have I done enough?
Ask yourselves that question in your homes — and in this hall tonight. Have we, each of us, all done all we could? Have we done enough?
We may well be living in the time foretold many years ago when it was said: “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.”
This generation of the world must choose: destroy or build, kill or aid, hate or understand.
We can do all these things on a scale never dreamed of before.
Well, we will choose life. In so doing we will prevail over the enemies within man, and over the natural enemies of all mankind.
To Dr. Eisenhower and Mr. Garland, and this great institution, Johns Hopkins, I thank you for this opportunity to convey my thoughts to you and to the American people.
Good night.
http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/110173/renter-nation?mod=realestate-buy
Nom 124 – “Primary homeownership? Never again.”
Check out this projection: 64% home ownership by 2015 – back to 93-94 levels.
Cindy [135],
In a bubble, prices overshoot to the extreme. In a bust, prices overshoot to the extreme. We are sliding down the slope of hope. This bust will take prices much lower and last much longer than 99% of the pundits can imagine.
GDP chart:
http://link.businessinsider.com/view/fk1.4b4/3e6ba0db
Looks like a piece from The Onion but rest assured, you can’t make this stuff up. Do yourself a favor and watch the entire two minutes.
“Woman Wakes Up to Find Intruder In Her Bed”
http://www.youtube.com/user/Z01D1111#p/a/u/0/ua-OqYZC1DA
138 – BC
Agreed
They say ’09 prices in 2011 – How long before we see ’99 prices?
How much lower?
US gov. fueled billions into Afghanistan over the last several years.
Much of that money found it’s way into Pakistan.
Pakistan uses funds to train tewworists who then go back to Afghan.
and kill American soldiers. Brilliant strategy.
Where does one get caul fat in the Madison / Morristown area? Pretty hard to find a real butcher ’round here.
http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2010/pr10174.html
BFF!
104 – Georgia (What is it with Georgia?)
105, 106 – Florida
Cindy (146)-
Them Georgia folk ain’t too good at figgering. ‘Specially big numbers.
“What is it with Georgia?”
RU, imagine the good to society if all of your productive hours had been spent actually producing something that could be a net gain to GDP. Security? RU talking about all that spy stuff like the marshmallows who just got traded? Gimme a break. My brother just retired from a famous three letter agency after 30 years. About ten percent of every agency does 90 percent of all the work.
I know an accountant for the Dept. of _____. A lot of accountants for a lot of agencies, actually. One guy never misses his kids’ swim meets and volunteers for a lot of the stuff. Another four-kid family. They all swim. All year. What a great guy to be able to go to all those meets, every weekend. Wednesday night at 5, right on time. Friday nights, Saturday morning, travel team, the works. I suppose it helps that his wife can stay home. Plus they live in a nice paid-off house with a pool and have a sweet little vacation place down the shore. And better yet, he only has to work maybe another ten years. By the time the youngest is in college, he can retire and just do nothing.
INSERT SAM KINISON VOICE: He’s an accountant!!!!!
Where in the US does an 8-4, no overtime, month-off accountant live and afford four kids, nice property, vacation place? Pa-leese. John, please tell me where in heavens name these types of private firm accountants exist.
250k, I just watched your homeboy. Like it. Good attitude. Potential.
Can we put him someplace high in FBI?
Cindy [143],
We will be deleveraging for many years. This is not a hiccup in a strong economy. This is the death of a fabricated, manipulated economy. This is not an inventory slowdown, rather a good old fasioned balance sheet depression. The bigger the bubble the greater the bust. We are in the beginning stages of secular changes that will play out for many years to come. Bergabe must be twisting,viewing the below chart.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_m5i6pLhlNWU/TFMtJcn8n1I/AAAAAAAACr8/RDodBqS6Sm0/s1600/SAV.JPG
We will make new highs in the savings rate, break the 10% level. In conjunction with this, credit will continue to be tight as a drum. How does a consumer economy fare in this scenario?
150 – BC
Nice chart….
We are so f**ked.
If anyone’s keeping count…
#105 – WA
#106 – OR
#39 yo’me/#42 hughesrep
There are several breweries that have been competing to brew the highest alcohol beer possible. The problem, IMHO, is that it stops being beer after about 15-18% ABV. There are many examples of 10%+ ABV that are still clearly beer. But when the alcohol content gets much higher than that, its just too much alcohol to recognize the stuff as beer.
Best I can do…no Colonial Bacon, but you get the full effect…..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRqbCEQQYzM
Wrapping your beer bottle in roadkill:
Ewwww… who’s gonna drink that?
#147 Yep. We sure know our figgerin’ down here in Georgia. Since 2002, 36 banks have failed. As I understand it, it’s been way too easy to start up a bank here. Get a nice trailer, a little cash and you’re all set. I am not kidding – the bank that failed tonight started out in a trailer.
Confused in NJ says:
July 28, 2010 at 5:24 pm
Bill & Hillary ups Wedding Cost to $3M – $5M.
Only daughter. surprised it wasn’t $10 mil. i have no problem with this at all. heck, if she was the 3rd of 3 daughters i have no issues with dropping serious loot on this wedding.
if you’ve got it, why not?
stater (156)-
By the time this financial nightmare ends, check cashing bodegas will be recognized as national banks.
Bank of Kingsley Ave.
It has a ring to it.
#145 New in NJ
Re: Caul fat
My mom sent me on a wild goose chase for that stuff when she decided she wanted to make calf’s liver wrapped in caul fat like she had when she was a little girl. Finally ran into a older butcher in the Flemington ShopRite who directed me to these folks:
Dealaman Enterprises
218 Mountain View Road
Warren, NJ 07059
908-647-5533
Its a slaughterhouse. I called them asking for caul fat and they said no problem. When I got there, there were pigs hanging from meathooks all over the place. I found the guy working there and told him I was the person who called about the caul fat. He dragged out a bloody bucket and asked me – what did you want this stuff for?
He was covered with blood and holding a really large knife. So I resisted the temptation to mumble “satanic ritual” and just told him about my mom.
Ket,
DoE is not about finding new forms of energy. Its main purpose is developing, testing, and maintaining nuclear weapons and the infrastructure necessary for achieving those purposes. The rest of its functions are window dressing.
Brrrrrrrrr………helloooooooooooooooooooo…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m4Ys8ceY0E&feature=related
For those of us who said to themselves, “What the heck is caul fat,” here is the answer:
http://www.eatmedaily.com/2009/10/offal-of-the-week-caul-fat/
Babs nephew gets the sentence….
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/man_gets_prison_for_vomit_assault_NYtNN0uxdNgzGvjai1GB7J
Albert Haynesworth collects a 21 mm bonus in April and shows up for training camp out of shape.
Football is a degenerate sport.
willwork4beer
Thanks for the tip about Dealaman. I’ll have to run down there and pick up some for the freezer. It wouldn’t be worth the trip every time I need a few ounces of the stuff.
I’ll occasionally make a rustic pâté, and caul fat is the perfect terrine liner. Regular pork fat will do, but that lacy caul fat is so much more decorative than slabs.
I made a batch of pâté just yesterday, as a matter of fact. I couldn’t even find regular pork fat. I ended up buying a whole loin – my freezer stock of chops was nearly depleted anyway – and stripping the fat layer myself.
Now, we’re getting somewhere. This should be entertaining, as this stupid, corrupt woman will probably self-destruct under questioning:
WASHINGTON (AP) – A second House Democrat, Rep. Maxine Waters of California, could be facing an ethics trial this fall, further complicating the midterm election outlook for the party as it battles to hold onto its majority. People familiar with the investigation, who were not authorized to be quoted about unannounced charges, say the allegations could be announced next week. The House ethics committee declined Friday to make any public statement on the matter.
Waters, 71, has been under investigation for a possible conflict of interest involving a bank that was seeking federal aid. Her husband owned stock in the bank and had served on its board.
#166 New in NJ
Welcome, happy to help.
Apparently they don’t get many requests for it, so give them a call before you drive down. They’ll have it waiting for you.
New in NJ,
Website and a different phone #:
http://www.pigroastingnj.com/contact.dws
908 755-1780
Heck, Montclair is looking pretty good compared to Larchmont, the new Irvington.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/31/nyregion/31metjournal.html
As for the trains, just who takes them into the city? They break down all the time, cretins yap into their phones, and are ludicrously overcrowded. Always glad to support the bus.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704532204575397650696492136.html?mod=WSJ_NewYork_NewsReel
Chris Christie in the news @ WSJ
Christie, Critics Spar Over ‘Tool Kit’
“Since taking office, Gov. Chris Christie has been hammering away at one message: New Jersey government must function more like the private sector. Now, to make it happen, he’s taking out the sharper tools.”
Peggy Noonan also did an opinion piece on Christie yesterday.
“Mr. Christie was direct, unadorned: You can’t tax your way out of a spending problem, you’ve got to stop spending.”
For those looking for a delicacy to go with your roadkill-wrapped beer:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut_%28egg%29
(Warning: not for the faint of heart.)
Mabuhay!
Do you guys know how absolutely disgusting it is to read about fat before breakfast? EEWWW. I knew better than to click on 172. I figured I might end up running to the bathroom to throw up.
I gotta go to the bank before it fails.
How about this delicacy (Warning)
Crickets Adobo style
http://habagatcentral.com/2009/04/11/mangan-tamu-kameru-adobong-crickets-of-pampanga/
150 – BC Another way to look at things…
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/The-Buzz-Consumers-arent-cnnm-1168163191.html?x=0
Consumers Aren’t Spending, and That’s a Good Thing
“It’s a good sign. Consumers are making a choice between saving and spending. That is a long-term positive even though it takes away from growth.”
http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/real-estate/the-10-worst-real-estate-markets-in-the-u-s-where-foreclosure/19573907/
The 10 Worst Real Estate Markets in the US
“As each month passes, it has become clearer that unemployment is the single greatest cause of high foreclosure rates and falling home prices. The correlation between cities with high jobless rates and extremely high foreclosures is stunning.”
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/07/rutgers_study_suggests_nj_publ.html
“Public-sector workers’ compensation is neither the cause, nor can it be the solution to the state’s financial problems,” wrote Keefe in the report…”
177- All I can say to that article is “Yeah, Duh!!”
Unless you are a trust fund recipient or a miser with a stash of cash hoarded away, your rainy day fund only lasts so long.
By most accounts on this blog, it seems the prevailing belief is that the US economy/housing/education will continue to spiral downwards.
So my question to all is how would you position yourself to profit from this?
Follow AW and invest in emerging markets?
Purchase property in Canada and create a series of Nompounds?
#180 I don’t think I will profit from this. The best I’m hoping for is to be able to hang on to whatever I’ve already got. From my perspective, the entire world has changed in the last few years. The old models are dead and the new ones have yet to be formed. We are all in a maelstrom with an uncertain outcome. There are certainly pockets of opportunity and some great fortunes will likely be made, I just don’t know how or where.
I’m amazed that people will eat the ungodly chemical experiments that are foisted on us by the major food manufacturers (telling term, isn’t it?) and fast food joints, but go all queasy at the sight an honest bug on a dinner plate. That’s the first cousin to a lobster or a crab!
I guess it’s all a matter of looks. Mmmm. Looks like chicken, gotta be good.
Chris Christie in the news @ WSJ
Cindy: you focused too much on Christie Cream Doughnuts…you let these gems slip through your honey-glazed fingers…..
Critics say they also will change the quality of life in New Jersey. “If you’re completely focused on desperately cutting taxes, at a certain point you end up cutting the things that made you want to live there in the first place,” said Nick Lewis, who serves on Montclair’s town council.
In Montclair, Mayor Jerry Fried said he is worried because his government has already been pared down. “The tool kit, the things that cut expenses, are very helpful,” he said.
Pat, You’re basing your opinion on a couple of examples. From your earlier postings, it sounds like your one friend is a political appointee. That’s a lot different than the rank and file. I know my agency and a lot of employees from other agencies that are consistently working 60-80 hour work weeks. Getting temporary assignments away from our families as well as from time to time forced transfers. I have a lot of questions about your friends paying off their houses while their wives stayed home. When did they buy, how much did they pay, what was their financial situation (did they come from wealthy families). Federal salaries are capped at a certain amount. Most accountants in the government that I know of do not make over $1ook. If they are political appointees, that is a whole other ball game.
[180] blindjust
“So my question to all is how would you position yourself to profit from this?
Follow AW and invest in emerging markets?
Purchase property in Canada and create a series of Nompounds?”
IMHO, you need to take a multipronged approach. Various investments, commodities, at least fractional interest in a nompound, and hedges against a black swan.
FWIW, a nompound is intended to preserve wealth, and if set up properly and as part of an estate plan, it should make an effective tax shelter and intergenerational wealth transfer vehicle. Depending on location (e.g., Canada), it also enables the investors to seek PR status, and eventually citizenship, which has its own tax advantages (and they are substantial). If the nompound is productive beyond its inhabitants’ needs and the cost of upkeep, that is a bonus. I have no model that calls for a nompound to throw off enough cash to fund retirements. That is one reason it should represent just a portion of one’s overall portfolio.
As for where to invest in future markets, and what to hold in the event of a black swan, I defer to the investment advisers on the board.
125.
Gator,
I’ve had these types of conversations with recent immigrants since I was in grade school. Greek, Italian, Korean, Taiwanese, Indian etc. We do it wrong, they do it right….yet they are HERE. not THERE. Legitimate problems aside, it begs the question…
This may sound like gobbeldygook, but open the link and look at the charts. Eerie:
“Recently we posted a required reading analysis by Nanex in which the market trading analytics firm presented irrefutable evidence of quote stuffing by HFT algorithms in tens of stocks, in which thousands of cancelled quotes would reappear each second with a definitive periodicity and regularity, around the time of the May 6 flash crash. Aside from the fact that it is illegal to indicate a quote without a trade intent, this form of quote stuffing is in fact manipulative when conducted by HFT repeaters in specific “shapes” as it actually moves the NBBO actively higher or lower, in cases pushing the bid/offer range up to 10% higher without even one trade ever having occurred, simply by masking a big block order which other algos interpret as bid interest and pull all offers progressively or step function higher (or vice versa, although we have rarely if ever seen the walking down of a stock over the past 18 months). It is as if the HFT lobby has been given the green light by the powers that be that it is safe to activate merely the bid-size quote stuffing algorithms, and not worry: the fact that the market is so one sided in its quote stuffing patterns is sufficient reason to worry of a concerted effort to push stocks higher, initiated from the very top, and effected by not only the Primary Dealer community but by the end-market “liquidity providers.”
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/its-not-market-its-hft-crop-circle-crime-scene-further-evidence-quote-stuffing-manipulation-
I love the word “gobbeldygook” also: “flim flammery” and “shinnanigans”
also 187, those are some nifty patterns. Its almost like a computerized loom. Almost, exactly…
Barbara 188 –
I do, too. Those terms aren’t used enough, especially since there is so much “gobbeldygook”, “flim flammery” and “shinnanigans” present in our society.
RU, I’m liking this discussion on the differences between opinions and the possible realities surrounding government expenditures – personnel costs are just one aspect.
You don’t know me, but I’m the investment-through-observation type. I like to notice little things that most people don’t see, and then spend about an hour a day thinking about my observations and how they fit my beliefs about what’s best for my family’s future. Usually, when I say that I know X who does Y, the reason I’ve noticed the situation is that it’s a repetitive pattern – not an outlier.
I’m currently watching the volume change of anti-spending articles (not anti-establishmentarianism stuff). Of course, this makes me more aware of individual situations, which would probably make me a less objective. The other day, I noticed an article making “the case for” decentralizing or moving the DC machine out into the rest of America. So that’s when I began to contemplate what I’ve seen since moving to Maryland two years ago. I’m probably not capable of being more than 60 percent objective in what I perceive as the reality of the cases I watch, but that’s enough to rely on for my purposes. You don’t know me, and I know nothing of you outside of your postings. My observations may be worthless, but discussing them is not.
Turning 105, Englewood woman credits luck and liquor
By GIOVANNA FABIANO
The Record
Posted: 07/30/2010 11:00 PM
Agnes Fenton remembers Decatur Avenue in Englewood in the early 1950s, when she arrived as a young newlywed, ready to start fresh after several backbreaking years of running her own restaurant in Memphis.
More than 57 years later, the neighborhood looks a little different aesthetically — there are fewer trees and there is more traffic from nearby Route 4 — but the people haven’t changed much, she said Thursday, as she sat in her “easy chair,” taking a sip from a can of Miller High Life.
(snip)
Fenton, who turns a remarkable 105 years old Sunday, is an anomaly in her age group. In fact, she is among several centenarians chosen to participate in a Boston University study on longevity and genetics.
As the elderly live longer, financially burdening the health care system and often becoming increasingly dependent on loved ones, Fenton remains largely independent. She lives alone, cooks for herself and sometimes, her neighbors, and has dreams of traveling abroad.
“I’ve always done what I want to do when I want to do it,” she said, wearing a dress in her favorite color, fire engine red.
The study has just begun, but her nephew, Lamont Saunders of Teaneck, said he believes his aunt defies modern beliefs on longevity.
“Here I am on three different medications, and she swears off all medicine. She’s got a natural remedy for just about anything you can imagine,” Saunders said.
Blood pressure a little high? Fenton recommends some garlic soaked in water. Feeling generally weak, perhaps from low blood sugar? Drink a little bit of sherry.
But what may surprise most people, Fenton said, is her daily ritual, which she has sworn by since 1943. “Three cans of Miller High Life a day and a shot of good booze at 5 p.m.,” Fenton said.
Her cocktail of choice is Johnnie Walker Blue.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/99678554_A_study_in_longevity__She_ll_drink_to_that.html
OK, I give up.
Stuck in moderation trying to post an article about a healthy lady who lives alone in Englewood and is turning 105 tomorrow.
Her secret to a long, healthy life:
She drinks three cans of beer and a shot of Johnnie Walker Blue every day.
(Grim, please delete the offending posts)
http://www.northjersey.com/news/99678554_A_study_in_longevity__She_ll_drink_to_that.html
RE #192
I had a grandfather who had a raw egg and two shots of
four roses every morning for breakfast………… died at 98.
I should drink more.
ww4b, above.
You got caught by the c.o.ck.tail. :)
[ya know, just like me – the potty mouth.]
sl
beer (192)-
If she’s from Memphis, I gotta figure we’re related.
It’s the whiskey that keeps me going, too.
Cocktails at the beach.
I’ve about worn out this martini shaker.
I need some co.cktails at the beach…
sl
I need a drink. Gobol Bordella at the Starland. These guys are nuts.
#6
Harvard and IMF? And he states that 90% of Americans have jobs based on the ~10% unemployment figure? I suppose I could infer what he meant, but to invoke those titles, you’d better be pretty damn precise.
“Some consumers are probably liquidity-constrained,” says Kenneth Rogoff, Harvard University professor and former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund. These are “the ones who are probably not the ones buying iPads. But 90 percent of Americans do have a job, and maybe 70 percent are confident about them. And maybe half of those have liquidity.”
#29
“How about firing everybody and hiring the one’s we need as contractors.”
The problem with this is strategy is that the gov’t does the contracting.
But I don’t think the contractors should be able to commitment/spend of taxpayer money, so we’re back at square one.
Look at Lockheed Martin. That company should for all intents and purposes be considered a taxpayer enterprise.
Q: Looks like a skunk (maybe 2) live under our new neighbor’s deck. In the last few weeks, we have seen the skunks burrow they way under our fence into our yard.
Best way to broach the subject with them? We have never spoken to them. Is a smart move to talk to the – gasp! – community association?
Or just go to home depot, get some skunk poison, and wipe these little bastards out?
[202] yikes
I’d check the law on this. It is illegal in NJ to kill certain animals, even if pests. I am aware that this is true of racoons. I suspect it is the same for skunks, but I am not sure.
Yikes,
If the skunk has a logon name of RE 101, or better yet, 50.5, then wipe the bastard out.
#202
Skunks don’t need to be “wiping out”…
You can attempt to trap it yourself (careful with release), or call a pro to do it.. Since they reside at your neighbor’s house, I’d offer to split the cost of removal. If you take the DIY route, this could be a great neighbor bonding experience (this will be important when no one is willing to come within 30 ft of either of you, and you’re temporarily banned from your house).
I’d avoid the poisons as you may end up endangering something else (neighbor’s pet? toddler?) you did not intend to target. If you are set on destroying them vs removal, then you should shoot them. Much more direct and humane than waging chemical warfare.
But, my guess is if you have a community association, the second option is out.
“wiped out”
#203 It’s illegal to kill a raccoon in NJ?? Okay, nobody make fun of Georgia where the town of Kennesaw has an ordinance on the books requiring the head of every household to own a gun and ammo.
183 – Chicago – “You focused too much on Christie Cream Doughnuts..”
I thought folks might be interested that CC was in the news. He is trying to do something. More than I can say for the yahoos in Sacramento.
Folks here in CA left town without a budget. They are on vacation. Arnold has yet to truly engage in budget negotiations. (It was due July 1st.) $19 billion off – furlough days again and I.O.U.s. Budget? No way. At least your guy is on the job – folks there are talking/trying.
Fruity gin cocktail at the start of the AC Food & Wine Festival Grand Market – couldn’t even last the whole 3 hours and needed a nap. I need to start drinking more regularly I guess.
Suggestions for a BO Administration theme song?
These Anthrax tunes hold promise:
Potters Field
C11H17N2O2SNa
Burst
AC/DC’s Highway to Hell could work.
As could Tom Petty’s Freefalling, the Temptations’ Shakey Ground
Whenever I hearBO speak about his “economic plan,” I also hear the talking heads “We’re on the road to nowhere” and Billie Holiday’s “These Foolish Things.”
And his borrowing and spending hangs on us (and our posterity) like Big Momma Thornton’s Ball and Chain.
The list can go on and on. Any thoughts from anyone else?
Wake up people.
Why do I have to swear on the Bible in court when the Ten Commandments cannot be displayed outside?
Greenspan repeated his warning that fiscal deficits could cause long-term interest rates to rise and threaten the recovery.
Financial System ‘Broke’
“At the moment, there is no sign of that, basically because the financial system is broke, and you cannot have inflation if the financial system is not working.’’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXhBVjoPvh0
Shore – 209
Lead Belly tunes (any number of them) Blues from back in the day…
Relax Your Mind
Black Snake Moon
House of the Rising Sun
Good Morning Blues
Cotton Fields
Baby Take a Whiff on Me
Easy Rider
See See Rider
Midnight Special
And of course –
Good Night Irene
125 – Gator
“………..Every kid learns at least 3 languages – Finnish, Swedish and English. When she was a teenager, she got turned down for a job at McDonald’s because she ‘only spoke 3 languages’. She tried to raise her sons trilingual here and her school district requested that she stop doing it, because they thought her older son’s English was too slow.
We are so F’ed as a country.”
Gator –
I had a friend from Sweden that told me they had to teach English in Sweden because if they didn’t they would be cut out from the world as a country. They NEED to learn English because at this point English is the universal language, which they recognize. We don’t need to learn Finnish or Swedish. So why spend our time learning Finnish unless you have to or you find it interesting? Unless my kid loved learning multiple languages, I’d rather my kid spend his time acquiring another more useful skill.
However, I agree, we are probably F’ed as a country, but not because we are not learning multiple languages. Just a thought.
#113 I vote for House Of The Rising Sun. The title is so hopeful, Hope and Change only it’s really Hoax and Chains. “One foot on the platform, the other’s on the train. I’m going back to New Orleans, to wear that ball and chain.” Kinda sums up our next few decades of financial servitude, doesn’t it?
“Why do I have to swear on the Bible in court ”
In most places one will not encounter a bible in a court. One must either 1) swear or 2) affirm that one will tell the truth. Whether one is swearing or whether one is affirming is not stated to the court, one chooses in one’s mind. And, affirming does not indicate godlessness, just ask the Society of Friends who are believers but refuse to take an oath except to God.
Cindy,
Leadbelly, Robert Johnson, and a host of other Blues masters may well be the most appropriate.
After all, even Led Zeppelin’s When the Levee Breaks is just an updated version of an old Blues (I believe by Kansas Joe and Memphis Minnie) about the Mississippi River levee break that sent so many rural black farmers and other country folk heding up to Chicago, Detroit, etc.
I seem to recall that it was 1927 but someone on a real computer could do a search and confirm the dat and the song authors.
Given our debtload, When the Levee Breaks may well be the best song for this administration.
“When the levee breaks, I’ll have no place to live”
Mr Wantanapolous says:
July 30, 2010 at 8:05 am
The Aug/Dec gold spread collapsed yesterday. Use summer seasonal weakness to buy/add. Get ready for the post Labor Day rally.
Good stuff, BC. Any idea why it collapsed?
With apologies to Louis Innis and Moon Mulligan:
THE B.O. and Democratic Party song:
Seven days to tax
Seven days to spend
Seven days put a smile on my face
With a different spending program in a different place
Seven days to tax
I’ve got seven days to spend
Monday I’m gonna tax the rich
Tuesday, don’t wanna hear them bit(h
Wednesday, Its the middle class
Thursday knock them on their @ss
Friday, expand the ranks of the poor
Saturday and Sunday I’ll tax some more
wnVoPq lbkgverpafbj, [url=http://cufoegvlxjgi.com/]cufoegvlxjgi[/url], [link=http://fnrevtpmthvu.com/]fnrevtpmthvu[/link], http://lvyojujcjhmt.com/
thanks for the skunk advice. will talk to the neighbor this week.
If you are set on destroying them vs removal, then you should shoot them. Much more direct and humane than waging chemical warfare.
I would love target practice on a skunk, but I do fear someone calling the cops out of fear of random gunshots in a backyard.
If you see a skunk in the daytime, chances are decent the skunk is rabid. Skunks are nocturnal.
If you suspect a rabid skunk, call the police. They will send a cop to shoot it.
NJ Vermin Control Report
Ladies and gentlemen, your finest US congresscritter…hard at work:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxPzxTAOjgg
To give due credit to Saddam Hussein, he would’ve had her dragged out of the chamber and executed.
Cindy (213)-
“Life During Wartime”, Talking Heads
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGoEcIEv3_Y
I got three passports
A couple of visas
I don’t even know my real name
We stopped at an open house today and there was a line outside. The first family waiting told us the realtor was only letting one family in at a time. We drove away.
I stopped at a second open house and the couple in front of me was black…the realtor insisted on giving us a “tour” and practically had a break down when they were a few feet away…”let us stay together”. The house was a 50 year old three bedroom ranch and everything was original! What the hell did he think we were going to steal–the avocado refrigerator?
A few closings in the Brig (Westfield) last week. Someone wake me when the folks here are living in their cars.
OLP/SP (recent previous sales if available)
299/290
549/535 (sold for 430 in March2003 – I think the real OLP is higher as I recall seeing this one for a long long time)
649/589
749/739 (sold for 510 in June2009)
849/856 (sold for 845 in May2008)
879/815
leave the skunks alone. We have had a few families of skunks living within our 6 house/neighbor radius. We’ve never been sprayed or hassled, plus the kits are way cute. I’ve been outside sipping coffee at 2am and they will parade right across the sidewalk, mom and kits.
leave the skunks alone. We have had a few families of skunks living within our 6 house/neighbor radius. We’ve never been sprayed or hassled, plus the kits are way cute. I’ve been outside sipping coffee at 2am and they will parade right across the sidewalk, mom and kits.
coffee at 2 am?
check back in when you get sprayed, Babs. Not that I have, but i’d rather not even be in that spot. I like FD’s idea of just saying it is rabid and the cops will shoot it. brilliant!
WTF?? Let’s get something damn straight. Don’t you EVER think that I’m not monitoring this damn board for your damn subversive activity. This damn board is constantly being monitoring and you damn well better believe that a little damn stunt like the one you just pulled GETS YOU RIGHT AT THE TOP OF THE DAMN LIST.
There’s only one damn way to keep your ass from being detained tomorrow morning. Take it back and apologize. Dammit.
Mr Wantanapolous says:
July 31, 2010 at 11:39 pm
Yikes,
If the skunk has a logon name of RE 101, or better yet, 50.5, then wipe the bastard out.
of course you do, because its bad assed. Woo!
On occasion, one of these damn liberal republicans shows his ass. This party has no room for damn people like Lugar, Scrowcroft, Eisenhower, Rockefeller, Powell and republicans of that ilk. Hell, damn Abe Lincoln might not meet the damn standard of today. I DEMAND IDEOLOGICAL PURITY DAMMIT! Unless you’re prepared to do that, then just get the hell out of my damn party and let the damn door hit you where the good lord split you.
One such of these damn turncoats is this wuss, David Stockman. This damn punk helped devise the damn supply side economic theory and now claims that “he doesn’t like it”. Guess, what punk? We don’t give a shlt what you like or don’t like. If you got a problem with America, then go to Iran or some other God forsaken place, but we’re not about to let you sit up here and dog the damn party.
When we pass out the damn tax cuts, everyone gets one except you. Punk.
More fundamentally, Mr. McConnell’s stand puts the lie to the Republican pretense that its new monetarist and supply-side doctrines are rooted in its traditional financial philosophy. Republicans used to believe that prosperity depended upon the regular balancing of accounts — in government, in international trade, on the ledgers of central banks and in the financial affairs of private households and businesses, too. But the new catechism, as practiced by Republican policymakers for decades now, has amounted to little more than money printing and deficit finance — vulgar Keynesianism robed in the ideological vestments of the prosperous classes.
This approach has not simply made a mockery of traditional party ideals. It has also led to the serial financial bubbles and Wall Street depredations that have crippled our economy. More specifically, the new policy doctrines have caused four great deformations of the national economy, and modern Republicans have turned a blind eye to each one.
The first of these started when the Nixon administration defaulted on American obligations under the 1944 Bretton Woods agreement to balance our accounts with the world. Now, since we have lived beyond our means as a nation for nearly 40 years, our cumulative current-account deficit — the combined shortfall on our trade in goods, services and income — has reached nearly $8 trillion. That’s borrowed prosperity on an epic scale.
It is also an outcome that Milton Friedman said could never happen when, in 1971, he persuaded President Nixon to unleash on the world paper dollars no longer redeemable in gold or other fixed monetary reserves. Just let the free market set currency exchange rates, he said, and trade deficits will self-correct.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/opinion/01stockman.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
of course you do, because its bad assed. Woo!
Watch your step Lady.
222
Skunk is the half black half white mammal destroying quality of life all over america? And cops will shoot it if asked? Great news.
Where did bi go?
“Where did bi go?”
I heard the skunk (50.5) sprayed his ass. Then again, he was short gold.
#191 Pat, I’m not judging your opinion. I just wanted to make you aware that the situation you described earlier regarding your friend is the exception and not the norm. If he is worried about the next election, then most likely he is a political appointee. Considering where you live, the government is the biggest employer so you will run into it often.
freedy pesche, this one’s for you, bad boy.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/08/former_nj_gov_jon_corzine_carl.html
Italics
So Roman
Oh reinvestor (smoochy smooch) [[[hugs]]] – missed ya.
How are those gasoline soaked boxers?
sl
Realizing everybody’s sleeping, I will share my midnight exploits. Cheap wine and cake.
Kid’s party is soon, but we want to do something at home, just us. So DH carefully suggests maybe a cake and some presents. Cake? Lemme at it. So I bake. I’m gonna make one of those round ones with the pretty icing and make it say, “Happy Birthday!”
So I mix her up as best as I can manually, not feeling like dragging a high chair over to get out the mixer. It’s been up in some way-high cupboard since we moved. I pour the stuff in the round pans – why bother with the whole grease-N-flour routine? We’re just going to eat it, anyways, and it’s midnight.
So I open the oven door, and put one in. Then the other. But it flips over. DAMN, there goes the batter down the inside of the door and into the broiler drawer thing. Crap. Hot. I drop the wine glass, grab the pan back, but it burns my arm so I just toss the pan on the rack and leave.
What can I make? The spilt pan makes a thin rubbery round thing.
This is my solution. I am Cake Boss.
Bonus points if you know what it is and you don’t laugh so hard you hurt yourself. If you are still laughing at 10 am, please donate to grim.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/39818435@N08/4852574722/
reinvestor 232
Oooooooooh I love it! when you talk dirty!
sl
Pat 242,
OUCH. You should see a doctor. Come visit my ER. Tonight I have seen more fu.cking drunks, drug addicts and generally miserable fu,cking self centered “all about me” people than you can ever imagine. Everyone has had it today. Not even a full moon. It’s just wretched. I have seen more self induced medical problems: alcohol and drug addiction related problems.
sl
Can see the pic. Work computer is filtered. Will look at it when I get home (if I ever fu.cking get home.)
My clinical info mgr shift wasn’t filled. I’m on my own totally for charts (for the most part.)
Fu.ck everyone.
sl
sl, I swear that tonight was the first time in forever on the wine.
I’m so exhausted that two glasses did me in.
I’ve been to the ER with these kinds of burns before, so I know what to do. No need to waste gas. No bones show, and it’s not ballooning out.
And, I fu.cking hate the italics thing.
A fu.cking POX on every drug addict and alcoholic right now.
sl
But I never knew a tootsie roll and four jujubees could be so important.
Pat, 246
Finally home, Nice Cake!!! I officially charge you with DWI, decorating while intoxicated….
sl (ps: I totally dig the skateboard!!)