Fraudie and Phoney - The Aftermath
The Market Ticker ® - Commentary on The Capital Markets
Posted 2008-09-07 21:46
by Karl Denninger
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Fraudie and Phoney - The Aftermath
 

Watch this folks...

Now let's talk about it a bit more in depth.

First, we have hot off the wires that Chris Dodd of the Senate wants to hold hearings on this bailout.

Why, you might ask? 

Well, Paulson said he would not use this authority and that it was simply for "moral suasion" when in front of Dodd's committee a couple of months ago.

He lied.

Dodd, and the rest of the House and Senate, now are going to have to grapple with the truth that I pointed out a couple of months ago - on July 16th, in fact.

"Third and finally, since I expect we will try to get right to questions in the next hearing, let me say a few words about the G.S.E. bailout plan. When I picked up my newspaper yesterday, I thought I woke up in France. But no, it turns out socialism is alive and well in America. The Treasury Secretary is asking for a blank check to buy as much Fannie and Freddie debt or equity as he wants. The Fed’s purchase of Bear Stearns’ assets was amateur socialism compared to this. "

That was from Senator Bunning's speech.

Did anyone listen?

Nope.

Was he right?

Yep.  In less than two months.  That's pretty good for an old pitcher.  How's your record Mr. Dodd?  Mr. Shelby?  All the other asshats in the House and Senate who voted for this crap?

You have been gamed into granting Treasury the ability to skull-screw every American out of three hundred billion dollars - at minimum - to "rescue" the GSEs.  A sum that, I might add, is likely small - S&P says the total could reach over one trillion, and I happen to agree - it just might.

How many times do you have to get conned by these people - Bernanke and Paulson - before you rescind their authority, start investigating them for perjury and inside dealing and put a stop to this******of the American consumer?

You've been had twice in a row.  Bear Stearns and now this.  Are you going to allow it to pass some "innocent" explanation?

Where does it stop Mr. Dodd?  $300 billion?  $500?  $700?  You and the rest of the Democrats whine about Iraq and its cost, but when it comes down to the truth that's chump change.  Here we have you fools in the House and Senate spending over $500 billion thus far on a "stimulus" that didn't, on a rescue of a failed investment bank, and now Hank's "Bazooka", which he told you he wouldn't have to use, turned out to be in fact loaded with over $100 billion of immediately-committed taxpayer dollars, with more available as he chooses to use it!

Exactly why should the Chinese - or Bill Gross - be made whole?  Are you blind Sir?  Let me reproduce once again the face page from a Fannie Mae prospectus:

Is there any ambiguity there?  Is there any way to read this other than "you might lose money, and the government won't stop it"?  Can you make a cogent argument why we should retroactively change the rules for these people at taxpayer expense after they made their bets and collected the excess money in higher yields and thus higher mortgage rates for Americans?

I warned you at the time that nobody puts on a condom unless they intend to screw, but you didn't listen, did you?  Why it was important to "protect America's homeowners", right?

You protected nothing and once again mortgaged our future so that The Pigmen could "make theirs" at our expense, this time to the tune of three hundred billion dollars and counting, with Paulson's authority to continue this charade being unlimited - because you literally gave him a signed, blank check.

There was no reason to do this.  If the United States needs a formal liquidity provider under government control we have one - Ginnie Mae.  Ginnie was more than capable of underwriting and guaranteeing solid and safe loans.

There was no reason to extend this "lifeline" to the GSEs.  But now it is done, and we are going to get the bill.  You passed this piece of trash legislation without even allowing Jim DeMint or anyone else to offer amendments, nor did you require Paulson to come back for specific authorization before he acted.

You are traitors Mr. Dodd, along with your other 99 cronies in The Senate, and all 435 of your co-conspirators in The House.

You have been consistently and repeatedly lied to from the outset of this credit crunch by an administration and Federal Reserve that are interested in goading you into doing things that they cannot do on their own, but which will benefit their friends and disadvantage the American people.

You have been all too happy to oblige as you tear into our wallets like a rabid pack of wolves, mortgaging our futures, our children's futures, and our nation.

The Truth is and always has been that housing cannot return to affordability until you can afford to buy a house with a 30 year fixed mortgage and a 36% DTI, and you can save 20% in down payment over the space of a couple of years.

The Truth is that until this happens everything you do in Congress to "try to stabilize the housing market" is instead causing household costs to rise precipitously and destroy Americans' personal balance sheets, and if you don't stop it soon, our economy will be forced not into Recession, but Depression, as there is simply no more credit capacity possible.

The Truth is that you folks in Congress keep lying to the American people day after day, claiming that there is some magic elixir that changes the mathematics of credit, the mathematics of debt, and the mathematics of affordability of both housing and everything else in this economy.  We the people are tired of being lied to systematically while you sit in your offices in Washington DC and tell us how you're going to "protect the taxpayer", then you******us for $300 billion frapping dollars!  If that's protection I want a new condom.

The Truth is that after 9/11 instead of allowing the market to correct as you should have and forcing all the bad debt out of the system you instead stood back and listened to George Bush tell us all to "go out and shop" and further stood back while Alan Greenspan intentionally inflated a housing bubble with the help of Fannie and Freddie, two agencies that then spent $200 million dollars bribing, er, lobbying, to allow them to provide the fuel for the most insane bubble economics in the history of mankind.

The Truth is that this whole scheme of bailout after bailout is escalating at warp speed in terms of its cost, and yet it is doing exactly one thing - preventing the stock market from correcting to a sustainable earnings level with financials making honest money instead of swindling municipalities on swaps (as has recently been uncovered in regards to Alabama and elsewhere) and similar "structured products" that are in fact nothing but a gigantic scam.  Yet the first of these, Bear Stearns, was $29 billion and created a ramp job in the futures and stock market for a couple of months.  This one has a price tag of at least $100 billion and perhaps as much as $1 trillion according to Standard and Poors, yet you were told (and told us!) that this was a $25 billion expense, according to the CBO.  You lied to us again and the price of these repeated "stick save" attempts for the markets is increasing at an exponential rate

The Truth is that American does not have the money for any of this crap.  The government doesn't have it and the people don't have it.  We are going broke fast as our cost of living has, for most necessities such as food and fuel, doubled in the last two years.  I just received notice that my electric bill will be increasing by 30% in three steps over the next six months.  How the hell is someone on fixed income supposed to cover that?  These cost increases are a direct consequence of your actions.

The Truth is that Hank Paulson just spent in five minutes half of what it took us four years to spend in Iraq!  Further, he spent it to bail out the Chinese and Japanese central banks and investors in foreign lands.  You folks kvetch about the war and its cost, well, how about economic warfare waged by these people where we don't even bother to fight back - we just give them all our damn money!  How in the hell do you justify such an outrageous transfer of our wealth?

The Truth is that all of the money that could have been spent reforming health care, developing alternative energy and repairing our nations' infrastructure was just blown on bailing out China and you are directly responsible for itYou can forget about any of those programs you want in the next Congress - the money is all gone.

The Truth Chris (and the rest of you clowns) is that there is absolutely no reason for Americans to get up and go to work any more.  Those of us who are prudent, who play by the rules, who buy our homes with solid, 30 year fixed mortgages and 20% down payments, who don't lever ourselves up to our chins and cheat little old ladies out of every dime they have lose every time when you folks start this crap.  We have our cost of living double, we have our homes pumped to insane levels and then destroyed, we lose our jobs and we lose our futures.  Our children can't afford college because your loose liquidity and money policies, which you cheer onward, cause college costs to rise to the point that our kids "graduate" with $100,000 or more in debt - a debt they can't walk off from in bankruptcy, because you changed the laws to make that impossible.  Our children are literally debt slaves and if you could get the rest of us to be that stupid we would be too.

The Truth is that Congress pulled this crap back in the 1970s and it destroyed many people in the Middle Class.  I remember it and it sucked.  I remember my families' grocery bill doubling in a couple of years' time, I remember gas prices more than doubling and I remember heating oil going up so fast that we had to finance a gas furnace replacement in order to avoid going broke one winter.  You are responsible for it this time Chris - you and your cronies in Congress who gave a blank check to Paulson after he and Bernanke LIED to you.  I told you he was lying and you didn't listen

You were wrong, Chris, and I was right

You believed both Paulson and Bernanke and they lied to you.

Twice.

Now stop the crap and reverse this - right now - by enforcing your power as Congress to regulate the money supply.  Specifically:

  1. Repeal Paulson's "Bazooka" or force these firms into receivership.  Do not allow him to blow the $300 billion we do not have.
  2. As I have noted, split off the current book of business and let it run down; what happens to those debtholders and shareholders happens.  Underwrite NEW loans at 30 years fixed, 36% DTI and 20% cash down payments.  Guarantee these new MBS with the full faith and credit of the government.
  3. Tell Bernanke to drain the damn swamp and force the other banks, both investment and commercial, to take their marks.  Tell Sheila Bair to do the same damn thing with the banks under her control at the FDIC.  The FDIC is losing, on average, more than 30% of the asset base in each bank it closes right now.  This is a historic high and THE FDIC IS GOING TO RUN OUT OF MONEY IN A FEW MONTHS IF YOU DON'T STOMP ON THIS RIGHT NOW.  There are literally DOZENS of banks, including some big ones, that need to be closed TODAY while there is still value in them.  Proof of this is found at IndyMac that should have been closed last FALL.  There are SEVERAL other institutions, including a couple LARGER than IndyMac, that have even more booked "capitalized interest" from Option ARMs that will never be collected, yet is on their books.  THESE BANKS WILL ULTIMATELY GO UNDER, IT IS SIMPLY A MATTER OF WHEN, NOT IF.  The longer the FDIC waits the worse the cost will be and THAT promise - the $100,000 deposit insurance - is one you MUST keep.  THERE IS LITERALLY A TRILLION DOLLARS OR MORE OF EXPOSURE HERE IF YOU DON'T PUT A STOP TO THIS IMMEDIATELY.

Now let me make clear, Mr. Dodd, that my Tickers, petitions and other messages are available to anyone and everyone, and are archived all over The Internet in various caches and web stores. 

The truth of your "performance" in this mess and the veracity of your, Bernanke's, and Paulson's "assurances" is thus available to every American every single day.

While The American People are generally rather foolish and prefer to watch American Idol rather than pay attention, when they can't make the food and electric bill they are going to be rather upset, and they are going to look for answers.

When they find those answers it will not bode well for the continued presence in Washington of either Democrats or Republicans, given recent history.

I have long contended that a third party would be healthy for American Politics.

I no longer believe it would be healthy. 

I now believe it is necessary to avoid the all-on collapse of our government, as we are now increasing our "bailouts" at a rate of 10 times per six month period - a rate that clearly, if it runs one or two more iterations (and the FDIC going under will do it) risks reaching a mathematical tipping point where the fiscal destruction of our nation's government is assured.

This is one time I hope I am wrong, because if you fail to act and I'm right, our nation's ability to fund its government is finished.

Think about the dice you're rolling this time Chris, and think back about the odds - twice you've gone ahead with things I've made clear would be disasters, ignoring those predictions, and twice you've been proven wrong.

We cannot afford for you to go 3 for 3.

Discussion below (registration required to post)
 

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User Info Fraudie and Phoney - The Aftermath in forum [Market-Ticker]
Fidgit
Posts: 17784
Incept: 2008-02-18
Green
Tax Unit #1,384,923,781
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So good. Thx Gen :) :)
Burtoby
Posts: 617
Incept: 2007-10-28
Green
Arlington,Tx
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Thanks Bud.

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Tryin' to turn 6 figures into 7.
Eleua
Posts: 14028
Incept: 2007-07-05
Gold A True American Patriot!
N 47.72/ W 122.55
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Here is a thought.

Much of this taxpayer money is going to China, which is a slave nation of 1.3 billion.

If the ChiCom government dispatched 200,000 ChiCom government officials to span across America and shake down Americans at the point of a gun, we would all grab our weapons and fill them full of lead - instantly and without hesitation.

Instead, the ChiCom government (the same people that threaten Taiwan, crushed people at Tienamen Square, and killed tens of millions) uses our own Treasury Department, and its 110,000 IRS agents to span across America and shake down Americans at the point of a gun. This is to send China a tribute for a loser "vendor financing" scheme that was never guaranteed in the first place.

It's one thing if my own government sticks a gun in my face and holds me up for money to fund its own purposes - that's tradition. It's quite another to do this for another government.

In the New Testament, the "tax collectors" were so hated by the Jews, because they (Levi/Matthew) were shaking down their own people and passing the money on to the Romans.

I see their point.

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http://clearcutbainbridge.blogspot.com/
"My object in life is to dethrone God and destroy capitalism." - Karl Marx
"Destroy the family, you destroy the country." - Lenin
"Education is a weapon whose effects depend on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed." - Stalin

Fidgit
Posts: 17784
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El, exactly.
1000ohms
Posts: 7384
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aka inflam
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but we did get cheap plastic **** in return....

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I make somewhat of a sport out of costing people their merchant accounts doing this. I recognize that small tickets are a problem but the solution isn't do violate the rules you voluntarily agreed to when you got your merchant account. - Genesis
Gametracker
Posts: 299
Incept: 2008-03-07

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Awesome stuff once again, thanks for the research and effort

Spot on call-out of the corruption, except you make a few assumptions which I seriously doubt...

Quote:
You were wrong, Chris (Dodd), and I was right.


If Dodd knew of Paulson's intentions from the start and played along, then HE wasn't wrong at all. He, along with his banking buddy Paulson, accomplished their goal.


Quote:
You (Dodd) believed both Paulson and Bernanke and they lied to you.


I don't think he believed them at all. I think all these pigs are working together.


Quote:
Paulson said he would not use this authority and that it was simply for "moral suasion" when in front of Dodd's committee a couple of months ago.


I think it's Paulson's committee, not Dodds. hmmmmmm

JMO


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"Everything predicted by the enemies of banks, in the beginning, is now coming to pass. We are to be ruined now by the deluge of bank paper..." Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Cooper, 1814. ME 14:61

Tickerfan
Posts: 2847
Incept: 2008-01-02
Silver
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God how I've missed your***** and vinegar. Excellent ticker, K.D., your writing is exemplary!

Sideler
Posts: 984
Incept: 2007-11-10
Green
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Excellent as usual.....Can you pin this please?

The average joe is not going to know what hit him.

The avalanche begins in full force. This will be ugly.

Gs_hedge
Posts: 1333
Incept: 2008-02-09
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If Chris Dodd were to investigate Paulson, wouldn't the FBI lower "Friends of Mozilo" boom on Chris Dodd...
Eternalblue
Posts: 4721
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sokali
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thanks for your efforts despite the bleakness of the situation
Oldboat
Posts: 36
Incept: 2007-11-25

livermore, ca
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genesis,
your analysis is spot on accurate, logically presented, and shows just how screwed we are. i can write or fax dc all i want, but this administration has shown they are just going to let this all be shoved up our butts. i am at a loss to understand their thinking. where are we supposed to get the money to pay off this disaster (and all the other disasters)? why do i have to pay off someone elses bad loans?
i thank you for the analyis and the forecast for the future, but i am really starting to think that sometime next year it is going to be every man (or woman) for himself. what a ****ing mess.
Wthef
Posts: 734
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philadelphia
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excellent ticker again, sooner or later people will wake up to the crap thats going on, hopefully before its too late
thanks

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"I had to look at her today and sat there staring at her bronze naked body laying in the sun, a flaming red candle in her hand she took me in. Her figure consumed me 36-32-34 and said "take me" I stumbled forward as I engaged her stare and she pulled me down towards her. I ripped off my shirt and dropped my pants, we f
Eternalblue
Posts: 4721
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sokali
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i just wrote my congressional dopes again;



"This weekend, it was revealed that Hank Paulson from the US Treasury fully intends to bail out Freddie and Fannie losses, estimated to be potentially more than a trillion dollars, mostly to the benefit of large institutional investors and foreign entities.

Despite this, there is NO OBVIOUS benefit to existing homeowners as previous mortgages are already locked in and most of the problem loans are already underwater.

AS AN ELECTED OFFICIAL, IT IS YOUR JOB TO PROTECT THE INTERESTS OF TAXPAYERS, NOT LARGE INVESTORS AND FOREIGN BANKS.


PLEASE, DO YOUR JOB AND PROTECT US TAXPAYERS.

Most congressmen and women have used the EXCUSE that they do not like to involve themselves in the financial and banking system, but it is CLEAR now that the Federal Reserve and the Treasury CANNOT be trusted.

-j


Refer to the following link for additional information;

http://market-ticker.denninger.net/archi...."


this is ****ing ridiculous, first unlimited loans, then 30B, then 800B, wtf.

Nevertoolate
Posts: 1219
Incept: 2007-08-26
Gold A True American Patriot!
San Antonio de Bexar de runover with illegals, Texas
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The primary reason these elected officials voted for these bailouts was that all the IB paid handsomely for those votes. Whose going to fund the 2010 elections when there is no one left but GS and they won't need to give the finance committee members it's millions in campaign contributions.

Thanks again KD for teaching most to fish, make us better fishermen, or just provide a place to share ideas about fishing. TF members are as well informed and prepared as any. The ability to survive is now on each of our own shoulders. Good hunting on Monday. Be nimble, be quick.

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"Socialist never mind stealing, as long as they are the ones doing the stealing. They never mind lying, as long as they are doing the lying."-Mannfm11

Before you attempt to beat the odds, be sure that you can survive the odds beating you.

Reason: sp
Ksfq
Posts: 1109
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California
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After this, it will be very hard to say no to Ford and GM for extra $50B.
Dogbert
Posts: 253
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Tucson, AZ
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Very compelling.

Thank you.
Eaglewwit
Posts: 6054
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SoCal
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The whole thing is quite surreal.

Nobody even asks, "Where is the Money going to come from?"

We are a nation severely in debt, now we must go even deeper, and this is a good thing. We live in interesting times, many of which make me want to puke.

I like the constitution and the ideas it sets forth. However if this is what this country has become, then I am going to get out. How can we hold our heads high while this **** goes on here. We should level Washington, take the constitution out of the Smithsonian, and go start a new Capitol somewhere else. Wipe all the laws off the books and start over. We certainly have learned a lot of lessons that should allow us to make better laws this time around.
Etz
Posts: 13890
Incept: 2007-06-26
Silver
LA
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Son of bitches even have the balls to announce how they will waste $200 billion of taxpayer money in new loans until they're off the hook.

Paulson deserves to go the way of Mussolini.

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Legal chicanery and beneficent darkness are the banker's stoutest allies - F.Pecora.

Rjazz117
Posts: 17791
Incept: 2007-09-11
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Sick, idn't it?

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“To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.” Thomas Jefferson
Genesis
Posts: 130744
Incept: 2007-06-26
Admin A True American Patriot!
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It will not stop until you, along with a few thousand of your neighbors, make it stop.

Its that simple. If you have kids, you must hate 'em if you're not working on those neighbors, because if not before you're dead and gone, certainly after, they are truly and royally ****ed.

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I don't care if it makes sense -- only if it makes money. -- Me
Bank (n): See scam, fraud and theft. Eat a bankster -- they're low-carb.
What part of "shall not be infringed" was unclear?
Bluntfacts
Posts: 693
Incept: 2007-10-09

Las Vegas, Nevada
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Wow. I get up early to watch what will likely be a fun day and I discover a SECOND Ticker for Sunday. Besides the video, I really liked this line:

"While The American People are generally rather foolish and prefer to watch American Idol rather than pay attention, when they can't make the food and electric bill they are going to be rather upset, and they are going to look for answers."

Upset? How about DESPERATE? I hope I am wrong, but I truly believe that is what it will take. Based on the runup in unemployment (5.0% in April becomes 6.1% in August), DESPERATION will likely come much quicker than even I expected.

Finally, Idol is so last May. The current circus of choice is FOOTBALL and my guess is ALL the people in all the stadiums on Saturday and Sunday, along with ALL the people watching at home or in bars; well, the audience has to easily exceed Idol.

And here is hoping Ike fizzles out.


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"Will someone come on TV and tell the truth about how bad it is". Jim Cramer August 2007.
"We can change the focus to a soft blur; or sharpen it to crystal clarity" The Outer Limits 1964.

Reason: spelling error
Xfgaez
Posts: 16
Incept: 2008-06-02
Green
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Game, haven't you watch enough Law and Order to know it's the old "GOOD COP BAD COP play".

When Washington sends very little cash to our educational system they have our little ones right were they want them. IN STUPIDVILLE! Some slip threw the cracks and make it to a respected university where they are taught to take the money and run. Some do not need the university to get the latest concept.

Watching American Idol is a reflection of our education. The vidiots now dream about the imperfect making it big and somehow relate to the winners success. They hope they can win some day. All-the-while our government has chosen to not give adequate funding to the education system thus keeping the the young ones down.

It is much easier to manipulate the uneducated and overworked. First off they respond to fear with directions given by the dictators. The dictators never know exactly the right amount of fear it will take but sometimes they hit it right on. For example 911! They always have the goods ready to implement when the time is right.

The key is to bring the message in a form which is understood by those who are now in STUPIDVILLE. This might explain Buffetts recent attempts to reach out through cartoons.

I want to make one thing clear. Getting to STUPIDVILLE travels through ignorance. To stay out of ignorance one must learn how to learn and find it fun to learn. No matter what it is they want to learn.

I am suggesting that the self interest within the government has our children going right down the path they set out over 40 years ago. Keep our children ignorant, tired and throw in a little splash of hate, racism or religion either one will suffice, has the self interest winning all the time.

Widgeon
Posts: 13481
Incept: 2007-08-30
Green
Region formerly known as the United States
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Small detail ... we NEED SEVERAL NEW & EFFECTIVE political parties ... not just one third party.

Sharon
Posts: 4352
Incept: 2008-02-10
Green
Odessa, Missouri
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The problem with getting people stirred up is not that they are watching football or American Idol, so much as it is that they are reading the coverage in the newspapers. Around here, our major metropolitan newspaper is The Kansas City Star. I seldom read it, because it makes me retch, but it appears that lots of other people in our sleepy little hamlet do read it. (They don't have the Sunday edition piled up on skids at the grocery store for no reason.)

Holy ****ing Christ. Read the business and financial section of that paper some time, just for ****s and grins. The financial section appears to have been written by Brahms--consisting mainly of lullabyes, in case the subject comes up at all. Reading that stuff, after reading about the financial crisis on the 'net, will give you some serious cognitive dissonance. Pretty soon you are doubting your sanity, and even your ability to do basic math.

People around here do understand that all hell is about to break loose, economically, but they don't have any clarity about the reasons. E.g., our roadside market gardener is quite sure we're heading into a depression. He fears that, if Obama is elected, we will have a return to the race riots of the sixties, and he told me horror stories about people who worked up in the city not being allowed to leave work until the National Guard arrived to escort them out. It was quite an inconvenience.

He's not wrong. But it doesn't matter much who is elected. The inconveniences that lie ahead may feature unhappy dark people with funny hair, but probably won't feature a city job. Or any job.


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Semper ubi sub ubi.
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