Tuesday, October 14. 2008
 What the Obama people really want
Clinton official says Dems and Obama advisors share blame for bank crisis. Check out this warning letter from 2006 Obama: "I want to spread the wealth around." It would seem that Obama believes that the government owns the money this entrepreneurial hard-working plumber made. It's the zero-sum fallacy of wealth. Here's more on what "cutting taxes" really means Demography: "No Democrat has won a majority of the white vote for president in my lifetime..." Outside the Beltway Repubs and blue-collar voters. Front Page Why Obama's socialism matters. Am Thinker Howard Stern interviews Obama supporters. Unbelievable! Neoneo: Obama the soft socialist How to steal Ohio Messianic quotes re Obama. Suckers.
Monday, October 13. 2008
"Viva McCain," says Bill Kristol. He begins: It's been a dopey campaign. But they usually are. In 1932, Franklin Roosevelt ran on balancing the budget and cutting government spending. In 1940, it was preserving U.S. neutrality in the European war. In 1960, on the cusp of a decade of fundamental change in race relations and the size and scope of the government, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon spent a lot of time debating a nonexistent missile gap and Quemoy and Matsu. In 2000, the issue of Islamic terrorism was barely mentioned by George W. Bush or Al Gore. This isn't a criticism of America or of its democracy. Other countries are no better. And it's not as if our elites are any more far-seeing than our politicians. Election campaigns--like intellectual debates--tend to be past- and present-oriented. But sometimes the past and present are of limited use as guides to the future.
 ACORN, Obama, Barney Frank, and Dodd are the real cause of the banking crisis. I do believe that. And it especially peeves me that so many of these "homeowners" were speculators with several houses, playing Monopoly during a bubble.
Harvard economists against Obama: Mankiw. Krauthammer on Obama's associations. A bankrupt California seeks a high-speed rail bond Remember when banks used to give away toasters? Unbreakable encryption Iraq update: Things have changed ACORN: A mockery of Democracy. Surber Deepest fish caught on video. h/t, Gene Expression. I cannot figure out what they are doing. Krugman, yes, Krugman - the NYT columnist everybody loves to hate. Marginal Rev has an appreciative post. Obama should not relax just yet. And what's that about 40% of Americans paying no income tax? WTH? Everybody should chip in something if they want to be part of it.
It does seem that the Dow should be at 7000, because it's been a ten-year bubble from the trendline. Graph from Coyote, who explains. I am not inclined to own a stock unless the S&P drops to the 20-year trend: the odds of losing $ are too great. My tiny nest egg is in Vanguard bond funds until we see a serious correction. 
Sunday, October 12. 2008
 I am more of a Nobama voter than a McCain enthusiast. However, I have learned that politics is usually selecting the lesser of two evils, and that political enthusiasms are a bit crazy anyhow. If I were an ardent Lefty, I would be voting for Obama with enthusiasm because I believe him to be a radical, America-hating Leftist who is smart enough to minimize that on the campaign trail. I am not an hysteric: everything about his life says that is true, and I have been steadily posting the evidence for that.
As Roger Kimball says, “You’re beautiful, I love you, now change.” That is Team Obama’s message. “You’re beautiful, I love you as you are”: that is the message of McCain and Sarah Palin. It’s the difference between the utopian–who finds himself disgusted with every real-world polity, and who finds himself willing, indeed, eager, to sacrifice real people for the sake of the ideal ones he wishes to create–and the simple patriot who says Yes to the family, community, and country in which he finds himself. Most Americans, I believe, love their country for what it is–not what it could become if suitably socialized, taxed, neutered, and otherwise recast. If McCain-Palin can effectively articulate that message, they will win.
Here's today's samples: Obama promises to give ACORN a role in shaping his agenda. Here's an ACORN election update - they are everywhere. Also, the Obama-Ayers ideas of educational reform. Ad, guess what? Sissy found a cat that was registered to vote. Rezko sings. Rick Moran Right Wing Prof sees McCain-Palin enthusiasm. Government pension funds are in trouble. Ohio's Barbie Snodgrass is skeptical about Obama's tax promises. Subprime blow-up caused by Brett Favre signing with Jets, etc. Revealing graph. via Never yet Melted, Steyn: After ten minutes of Babes For Barack, I never want to meet a female woman of the opposite sex for the rest of my life.
School is open again in Baghdad. Rays vs. Red Sox: Bad sportsmanship
Saturday, October 11. 2008
 In Switzerland, it's about Plant Dignity. But I think psychosis has been going mainstream for quite a while, mainly because psychotics are noisier than the rest of us.
Fortunately, I use a compassionate and humane chainsaw when I murder and dismember innocent trees. The Stihl Farm Boss is the Official Maggie's Farm Humane Chainsaw. It is so good that the plants don't feel anything.
 Old poison bottle labels. h/t, Thompson's Friday Ephemera
The triumph of cultural Marxism in Sweden. Fjordman. Difficult to believe people go along with this BS. h/t, Gates of Vienna Stocks still aren't cheap. Tiger Mark Steyn is "allowed to write" in Canada. WTH? Know what a high speed stall is? Dems propose elimination of 401-K contributions. Related: The magic Obama tax cuts. How do you cut taxes for those who pay no taxes? A brief banking history of the US The light at the end of the crisis. Kudlow. The fear will subside. Forbes The forgotten war. Jules McCain's new ACORN ad. What does Obama know about the ACORN fraud? ACORN's criminal enterprise. Powerline Related: Dems registering jailbirds Does Obama have any non-Marxist friends? Racism in every hiccup. Michelle CEOs: Why Obama would be a disaster The Republicans have no candidate? Driscoll Lou Dobbs rightly blames Dems and ACORN for financial crisis. This toon via Dr. Sanity: 
Friday, October 10. 2008
 Are we seeing one?
I hope not, but it's always possible.
Who will be the buyers? It's easy to forget that American financial markets are dominated by institutional investors, not by individuals. Institutional investors do not "panic" but, these days, institutional investors are puking assets for a variety of reasons: hedge funds to cover redemptions and to reduce their leverage, banks to reduce their leverage (what fraction of a trillion $ of assets, for example, does just Goldman alone need to dump to reduce their leverage?), and so forth. Sovereign wealth funds are, I am told, concerned about an Obama impact on American business growth and profits. Of course, retail investors like me do get scared and begin puking our equities, for example, but this doesn't drive American markets. (Asian markets consist of a higher % of retail investors than do Western markets.) So my question is this: Who will be the buyers of all these assets? What institutions are flush with the cash to run around buying up all of these presumably well-priced or bargain-priced assets? At some point, I suppose pension funds and insurance companies will do so, but do they have the loose cash to support the markets? Well, I am assured that there is tons of cash out there, waiting for the right moment to commit. Nobody wants to jump in early, and few want to be the first to do it. Keeping their powder dry. Additionally, a friend of mine in the financial business told me that the markets are the least of the problem. "Markets go up and they go down - that's normal and that's the deal," he said. "The real problem is the potential depth and duration of the global recession we are looking at, and the markets only reflect that. This will not be a normal, ordinary recession, and the politics could worsen it just as they did in the Depression. The markets are telling us that we have been spoiled, and that the candy is going away for a while. Six months or 5 years? I don't have a clue anymore." "All I know for sure is that people in distressed assets will make money over the long haul - if they can last long enough." He concluded "One of my friends is so worried that he is seriously considering selling his Citation and switching over to NetJets." Here's a nice Citation X - the best way to travel. Doesn't the Constitution give me the right to have one of these? 
Toon via NE Repub: 
Big election troubles in Ohio. Imagine if these were Repubs. One in three men like smaller boobs Honesty from the Left on Hispanic immigration. Heather Macdonald Why the press hides Obama's lies. Roger Simon How will the MA tax referendum go in Nov? Viking House Dems aren't all left wingers Camille Paglia appreciates Sarah Palin VDH explains why he won't join the Obama crusade Is ACORN stealing the election? IBD So that's what community organizers do. Q&O Soothing smoothie Obama beats foe at own Mcgame. Rich Lowry Jimmy Carter re Brezhnev: "I can't believe he lied to me." I guess he never heard of liars. The thundering incuriosity of the press about Obama's leftist background Why politicians like cap and trade
Thursday, October 9. 2008
 Is this election a referendum on Obama? Sad to say, it probably is. Obama offers HOPE, CHANGE, and socialism. McCain offers...what? Ordinary decent, honest, moderate-conservative governance, I guess - which is not too exciting but which is all I ask for.
Hey, David Brooks. Flush that Manhattan condescension down the toilet. Can McCain bounce back? Baehr at Am Thinker News flash: the media backs Obama. I still wonder why. What do they want? Going the extra mile: Congrats, Indianapolis! 105% voter registration! A collection of Obama quotes. Here's one of them: "Anybody gone into Whole Foods lately and see what they charge for arugula? I mean, they're charging a lot of money for this stuff."
The economic adjustment. Calculated Risk. Related, The Fault lies closer to home. A quote: In the past, people used to rely on bankers to guard themselves from their own worst financial instincts. They might have wanted to borrow 100 per cent (or 125 per cent) of the value of a home without the need to demonstrate thrift and reliability by making a down-payment. But they were shown the door. Without bankers saying “no”, many people borrowed to the hilt, assuming that rising asset prices had eliminated all risk. Some confined themselves to buying bigger houses for themselves, while others bought second and third homes to rent them out while their capital appreciated.
Man, do I agree with this from Overcoming Bias: ...having as many people as possible voting is not a legitimate public interest. To maximize the chance that we elect the better candidate, we do not want people to vote if they are so ill-informed that by voting they will decrease this chance. And even if someone's vote would increase this chance, if the increase is infinitesimal the fact that voting is costly can make us prefer he or she just stay home.
 Something else that truly needs government regulation
It's always somebody else's fault China's role in the banking crisis. Related: World financial leaders seem to have a plan. Big Brother at Williams College A book: The Making of Goldman-Sachs Palin at the pizza joint. Perfect. Hillary went after the Ayers link hard. Too little, too late. But now Ayers is a "school reformer"? What's that? Is that a job? Call me anything as long as you call me to dinner. Speaking of dinner, this is gross. Eat me? Don't look at this: The 8 Phases of Dating. h/t, Cons. Grapevine Obama campaign ignores press. McCain campaign indulges them. Press still loves Obama. Tell me this: How long has it been since it was fashionable to be a Lefty? How out-of-date are these people? McCain bought into this dumb Hillary idea. I ain't buying this junk. "Does anybody really seriously believe that Barack Obama is a secret left-wing radical?" I have no reason not to. Well, facts don't matter, but he was a member of the Chicago Socialist party. More on that story from Powerline. Also, for O, any human need may deserve an entitlement. Matt Taibbi drinks the Kool Aid. Sheesh. I thought he was better than that. Great minds think alike. Sowell and Maggie's are on the same page: Tom Sowell on Facts Don't matter Tom Sowell on The Real Obama, Part 1 and The Real Obama, Part 2 Via Dr. Sanity: ‘You’ve got only a couple thousand bucks in the bank. Your job pays you dog-food wages. Your credit history has been bent, stapled, and mutilated. You declared bankruptcy in 1989. Don’t despair: You can still buy a house.” So began an April 1995 article in the Chicago Sun-Times that went on to direct prospective home-buyers fitting this profile to a group of far-left “community organizers” called ACORN, for assistance. In retrospect, of course, encouraging customers like this to buy homes seems little short of madness.
Gerry wants you to watch this Iowahawk presentation, a revision of the (removed) original creepy Youtube: Photo: The Pave Low chopper has been decommissioned.
Wednesday, October 8. 2008
Where ACORN goes, trouble follows. Caught again. The organization is beginning to look like a mob racket. NB: ACORN gets 40% of their income from government. Good grief. What is Palin? A monkey or a racist? What did not come up in the debate? "There was no mention of abortion, immigration, moral values, same sex marriage, guns, their role models, their view of the presidency, or their religious faith." The premise of Obamian Socialism: "The center of his economic universe is the budget of the federal government." These people are really green. And utterly insane, no doubt. Fusion? Why not? h/t, Flares J&J is over 100 years old. Good company, and they keep track of their history.
 I don't care about the value of my house, because I am not going anywhere. I love where I am, especially as the air grows crisper, the leaves change, and hunting season begins.
My pension though, of which 75% in the various stock markets of the world (but mostly US), has taken a bad hit, which is discouraging to say the least. This is ouch. And outside my pension - I could have had much more fun spending that money on toys and trips than watching it evaporate. I asked my money manager pal what he's doing. He said that, for taxable, he is buying medium-term high grade corporates and GNMA pass-throughs. Otherwise, he likes munis at this point. He (wisely) would not advise about holding or selling my stocks and equity mutual funds. Or buying now for the long haul, as Warren Buffet is doing. Thinking GE and American Express. Who knows? We're going into a global recession, so there will be time to think. But not to worry - America is strong and we barristers are always in demand. And, at Maggie's, we do not believe in retirement anyway. Who wants to be useless? Washington should make laws that investments can only go up, and that prices for other things we buy only go down, don'tcha think?
Not impressed by either guy's knowledge or grasp of the issues. Obama seems to fake it, understanding little but covering it up with style like a used car dealer. I think he's a slick phony. (Bill Clinton was slick, but not a phony.) McCain knows about foreign affairs, but that's about it, and he lacks vigor it would seem. In sum, McCain helped himself a little, and Obama just showed, again, how little depth he has. I hate to admit it, but these guys make Hillary look good and McCain looks like Dole redux - which I was afraid of. Both of them clueless, in my humble opinion.  neoneo: "A double train wreck"
The end of race as we know it. Chronicle McGovern: Obama is too radical Coming to your neighborhood soon: released Gitmo terrorists Obama's fishy $200 million Ohio: bussing the homeless to vote The current state of history teaching. Tiger UN Socialists exploit financial crisis. Pols do tend to exploit crises for their own agendas, don't they? Discouragement about the election via Kathryn Jean Lopez. A quote: My family and I will suffer serious financial hardship over the next 4 years. Obama has no understanding of those of us who work 80 hour weeks, spend countless nights away from our families to provide a good life for them and aren’t some notorious CEO’s (could that guy from Lehman be a bigger idiot?). Gov. Romney’s speech at CPAC and Gov. Palin in this campaign are the only two people that I have seen that speak to us who bust our backsides to support our family, don’t want Government to give us anything and understand what we are all about.
Tuesday, October 7. 2008
Everybody has ideas for McCain. Anchoress posts this idea. I like it, but it's not a game-changer. Why isn't it? Because people are worried about the future. Revenge and justice for the Fannie and Freddie Dem sleazes can wait, and will be served cold - in the increasingly unlikely event that McCain wins the election.
 Having fun with these markets yet? Too bad there isn't much left that you can short. It's goofy.
Soros and the missing SNL skit. Michelle McCain's health care ideas The People's Hedge Fund Insty: JENNIFER RUBIN: Since Palin was asked about creationism, Obama should be asked about Marxism.
I was 9 years old when my friend tried to kill you. Quoted from Steyn: The current characterizations of Professor Ayers—-“unrepentant terrorist,” “lunatic leftist”—-are unrecognizable to those who know or work with him. It’s true that Professor Ayers participated passionately in the civil rights and antiwar movements of the 1960s, as did hundreds of thousands of Americans. Really? Hundreds of thousands of Americans plotted to kill soldiers and their dates by blowing them up at a dance? No wonder Barack's ahead in the polls. From Willisms: 
 When a truck is parked next to my study, it interferes with the wireless to my machine. Honest.
Do I need a tin-foil hat, or does the truck, or does my machine?
 Just a thought: How much of the stock market correction is in anticipation of Obama's election?
The case that mark-to-market contributed to the banking crisis Not "mainstream" The reappearance of the Straight Talk Express "No, Barney … the conservatives haven’t been blaming poor blacks. They’ve been blaming you." Can McCain catch up? Doubtful. The economic news is a nasty headwind. Michelle Obama has always been a complainer The Wright Stuff. Kristol The worst academic careers, worldwide Watch as Dems blame banking crisis on deregulation The credit crisis will end, but the recession that began in September will be the bigger problem Voters easily deluded by populist simplicities. But is that anything new? Ayers, Rezko, Wright, and the Economy. Hewitt
Monday, October 6. 2008
When Jim Cramer says PANIC! SELL EVERYTHING! it sounds like true capitulation to me. He predicts a 20% stock market drop soon or over the next quarter. If you sell now, that's a 15% tax hit, so, effectively, that 20% drop is only a 5% drop. Of course, Obama promises us higher cap gains taxes, which is another subject. As is pension money.
 Front Page enjoyed American Carol
How the NYT handled the Ayers story Blue State Blues. Driscoll Germany to EU: Drop dead Staying out of poverty is simple I can't believe this less-than-enthusiastic Bill Clinton defense of Obama Winking update Vote fraud expected to be rampant this year Oil prices heading down This may explain why the Arctic ice was melting, but not Antarctic ice: wind. h/t, Tiger Formal complaint re foreign donations to Obama John at Powerline: When the McCain campaign ran an ad that had a white woman in it, it was denounced as racist. When it ran an ad that had an African-American man (Franklin Raines) in it, it was denounced as racist. Now the McCain campaign links Obama to a white man, the former terrorist, and still anti-American, Bill Ayers. That's racist too. I think we've exhausted just about all the possibilities. The only non-racist thing McCain can do, apparently, is concede the election.
More on that story at Jules
Sunday, October 5. 2008
This lady has fun campaigning. See any Teleprompter? Neither do I.
Rock on, Sarah.
Brit media snobs look down their noses at Palin. But it's not just Eurosnobs. We hear the same thing around here - entirely from women. (Is this about the Narcissism of Small Differences? Is it because hating happy, normal, well-adjusted people makes you feel smart? Or is it envy of her studly husband, her self-made success, and her obvious femininity and good cheer? Or is it all - probably - just because she's not a bien-pensant angry Chardonnay-and-Brie Limousine Lefty?) Some examples we've heard lately: - She's too feminine (I think that means she's trim and sexy)
- She didn't go to the right schools
- She takes religion too seriously (that's from church-goers)
- She talks with a funny accent
- She's not well-travelled
- She says "nucular" and "I-raq."
- She has too many kids, she's like a farm animal
- A woman who likes to kill animals? That's sick!
- She likes oil. Nobody likes oil. (said by a Lexus SUV driver.)
- Alaska is nowhere
- Nobody we know in Washington knows her
- She wouldn't fit in at our cocktail parties (actually, I think she'd be the life of the party) In other words, "She's not really one of us." These, I would contend, are all class-related, "We're so sophisticated" attitudes. When you think about it, it's funny how class-conscious and intolerant Liberals can be when they want to. Below is Palin in Carson on Saturday. Thank goodness for all of those non-snobs. They are the heart and the heartbeat of America, and we Eastern elites should thank God for them. 
As Jungle Trader links: Michael Goodwin of the New York Daily News: "Some day, we will look back with disgust at the abuse Palin has taken and wonder how it could happen in this great nation, circa 2008."
 Is Obama an effete, dithering, Ivy League twit, a member of the lunatic fringe with a suit as a disguise, a preacher manque, an unanchored megalomaniac, or a heavyweight ready to assume the terrifying responsibilities of the defence of America? I think he wants to keep us guessing, so everybody can fill in the blanks their own way.
I think he's all of the above, sort of a Jimmy Carter-Henry Wallace combo, but with a much better schtick: He made what? $4 million last year? Not too darn bad for a politician who hates capitalism. Jon Voigt thinks he's the second, but we don't take our insight from Hollywood, even though we like Voigt. The Brit Ambassador cannot figure out who he is, or what he stands for. I know facts don't matter in this election, but these are Obama's economic advisors. Sheesh. Greedy Dem thieves, every one. Not to mention Barney Frank's boyfriend. Simple, obvious questions that reporters will not ask Obama. They are afraid to. Gone raving mad. Powerline Palin: "Just once it would be nice if Barack Obama said he wanted us to win (in Iraq)." Fannie Mae: An insider's view The AP goes neocon, essentially admits Bush was right about Iraq. Is that a sign that they think the election is over? Photo: The Old Lyme, CT First Congregational Church. A beaut of its type. Built in 1817, it is the fourth church built by the congregation, which formed in 1665. It sounds like an active and growing church.
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