1 first

2 I got nuttin....

3 Only one real news story today:  Dez Bryant to Dallas.

4 I am convinced the stock market is being manipulated. Zero could get up on stage, say nothing other than to soil his pants, and the market will go up.

5

From the Chicago Scum Times

WASHINGTON — Senior staffers at the Securities and Exchange Commission spent hours surfing pornographic websites on government-issued computers while they were being paid to police the financial system, an agency watchdog says.

A senior attorney at the SECÂ’s Washington headquarters spent up to eight hours a day looking at and downloading pornography. When he ran out of hard drive space, he burned the files to CDs or DVDs, which he kept in boxes around his office. He agreed to resign, an earlier watchdog report said.

Our government hard at work

6

[...]behind the scenes, certain lobbyists are quietly but aggressively scurrying about, pushing hard for the passage of the CFPA in a power grab by the Executive Branch that would dwarf the Health Care Reform bill and the Patriot Act. And with the passage of the proposed CFPA, one man [Eric Stein] in particular with a history tied to some of the deepest tentacles in the financial crisis - and to the Comunity Reinvestment Act of 1995 - would gain the power to selectively manipulate the entire landscape of the financial, small business and housing markets.

Via American Thinker

7

I am convinced the stock market is being manipulated. Zero could get up on stage, say nothing other than to soil his pants, and the market will go up.

His buddy Soros is keeping it that way to make it look good

8

Our government hard at work

So a lot of morons work at the SEC?

9 5  ... When he ran out of hard drive space, he burned the files to CDs or DVDs, which he kept in boxes around his office. He agreed to resign, an earlier watchdog report said.

Our government hard at work

It Figures, they get rid of the one productive guy they had...

10

It Figures, they get rid of the one productive guy they had...

...at least he was working on something useful...

11 Tax implications of Benburger's suspension.

12

ZOMG tebow!!  ahhh wtf noooo!  ahhh not Tebow ahhh!!!!  *head explodes*

13

Oh there's quite a few who had the job well in hand

 An accountant was blocked more than 16,000 times in a month from visiting websites classified as “Sex” or “Pornography.” Yet he still managed to amass a collection of “very graphic” material on his hard drive by using Google images to bypass the SECÂ’s internal filter, according to an earlier report from the inspector general. The accountant refused to testify in his defense, and received a 14-day suspension.

Seventeen of the employees were “at a senior level,” earning salaries of up to $222,418.

He said in a statement that SEC officials “were preoccupied with other distractions” when they should have been overseeing the growing problems in the financial system.

Are you masterbating to pron? No, I'm preoccupied with other distractions.

14

Actual quote from Drudge: "GOV'T AT WORK: SEC STAFF SURFED PRON FOR HOURS... "

Lulz, he sed "pr0nz"; pwnz

15 Oh, and hoist a pint of ale for Shakespeare's birthday.  Thou gorbellied doghearted moldwarp!

16

"I am convinced the stock market is being manipulated. Zero could get up on stage, say nothing other than to soil his pants, and the market will go up."

It is bizarre, I have to confess. When I look at what is going on in terms of unemployment, real estate foreclosures, the huge debt we have incurred, the real estate debacle to come as billions of dollars of loans on commercial real estate (much of it underwater) come due, etc., etc., there seems to be little rationality to the rising market.

I've been wrong before, but I'm sure not making any financial decisions based on the stock market continuing to go up. I'm still much more in the "preserve what you have" mode right now.   

17

The big news for today is the that Horrible Harry plans to try to move the horrid Wall Street Fascism bill forward in the Senate today.  One of the pundits several days ago compared this to Sarbannes-Oxely and called it round II.  Like all federal regulation designed “after the fact” that bill was a miserable failure.

 

The problem will all federal regulations designed “after the fact” they rarely address the real causes of a problem, particularly in the financial area.  That is because politics always enters the picture.  The Democrats want Fascist and Communist solutions and the Republicans are willing to go along with that as long is it is in a milder version; call it Fascism/Socialism-Lite.  And the big Wall Street Firms, well they are willing to go along with it as well, as long as they get their own little quirks into the bill that give them a competitive edge over the competition.  Of course that only works in the short term but that is all American managers and CEOs care about anymore.

 

So what do all these Regulations normally accomplish?  Well S-O the only thing it did was to punish honest companies with a host of new intrusive paperwork issues and reporting requirements.  You see, that is always the force of government regulation, more paper and more reporting.  And what did S-O fix? NOTHING.  You see the Enron debacle was caused by lax government oversight and enforcement of EXISTING law. Yes, ENRON broke existing law which is why the CFO and CEO went to JAIL. 

 

There were no new laws needed, only better enforcement of the existing law. Instead of coming up with a bunch of new laws they should have fired a bunch of the assholes who were in the SEC and responsible for watching this shit.

 

That is the same thing going on with this current mess. It as caused almost exclusely by government action and regulation. What they need to do is repeal CRA, investigate and prosecute the crooks in Fanny and Freddie, disband F&F, and get out of the bailout business all together.

 

But like all the rest of the times that the Dems are in charge, that is not going to happen. Thanks 52%    

 

18 So when do we get a presidential frontrunner to announce 1) s/he'll rescind all these new big-guv Executive orders and 2) use prosecutorial discretion to NOT enforce these new Congressional laws cracking down mercilessly on generally law abiding taxpayers, businessmen, and institutions? First one to do so gets a big wad of dirty money. If the policy is actually enacted, they probably have dibs on my offspring.

19 http://tinyurl.com/2ceh5kq

X-37B launch - Start of a war in space, sez the headlines. So if this proves to be a useful tools; what is the over/under for BO canceling it within a week?

I was at Kennedy Space Center last week. It was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, I'm assuming that is different location.

20

they should have fired a bunch of the assholes who were in the SEC and responsible for watching this

Are you kidding? Where else am I going to get a job sittin' back and surfin' boobies?

21 Heartbreak for Notre Dame fans: Clausen still waiting to be drafted

22

"I am convinced the stock market is being manipulated. Zero could get up on stage, say nothing other than to soil his pants, and the market will go up."

Somebody here made the point that if the stocks are measured in US dollars and the value of the dollar is dropping, that the value of the stocks are also dropping...maybe it's something like that?

23 Stock market is never completely rational. But unless one is spooked to the point of buying gold what are you going to do? Real estate has to be maintained and rental income or resale right now? Plus there is Soros, but also a government program that was put in place to stabilize markets. Of course a chicago thug is using that tool for his own ends.

24 22

"I am convinced the stock market is being manipulated. Zero could get up on stage, say nothing other than to soil his pants, and the market will go up."

Somebody here made the point that if the stocks are measured in US dollars and the value of the dollar is dropping, that the value of the stocks are also dropping...maybe it's something like that?

Posted by: CanaDave at April 23, 2010 09:21 AM (/me2

If you measure the market versus Gold, the market has dropped.

25 RM: "I've been wrong before, but I'm sure not making any financial decisions based on the stock market continuing to go up. I'm still much more in the 'preserve what you have' mode right now."

Ditto. Granted, it's not like I have piles of money to move right now, but still... these green shoots are going to be stomped on by the bear. I think it's just a blip until the second dip of our extended recession. Traders may be playing on short-term momentum until the bottom falls out again. I have zero faith in any numbers coming out of government and am skeptical of stock pricing. It's an illusion IMHO.

26 It's the X-37B, stupid. Reagan's dream come true?

"In all honesty, we don't know when it's coming back."

Given it's electrical components, this orbiting shuttle is still subject to solar flairs.

Though not on it's test flight, I wonder if it's built to deploy things for the "international" space station that we built, or even to deploy things to the moon.

27 He who controls the orbitals, controls the whole world.

28 26 It's the X-37B, stupid. Reagan's dream come true?

"In all honesty, we don't know when it's coming back."

Given it's electrical components, this orbiting shuttle is still subject to solar flairs.

Though not on it's test flight, I wonder if it's built to deploy things for the "international" space station that we built, or even to deploy things to the moon.

Posted by: maverick muse at April 23, 2010 09:25 AM (H+LJc)

I thought the X-30 was what Reagan's speech was about; "Single Stage to Orbit" (SSO). It was canceled  by NASA after they found cracks in the fuel cells.

29 Yes, SEC is supposed to be watching for ENRON and Maddoff style fraud but instead they are watching porn on gov computers.

What is absolutely amazing is that the one of the guys only got suspended. Where I used to work surfing the net for porn was an immediate firing offense.  In fact, about a year before I left an individual got fired for that and his supervisor was fired as well because he/she knew about it and didn't report him to higher ups to be fired.  

30

Gah!  A little closer to home.  You need to check your strawberries.

http://tinyurl.com/27wlhwh

 

31 The stock market is the only place for money to go - banks aren't lending it, no interest on bonds, gold is too high.

32 Classic car values have gone up.

33 The stock market is the only place for money to go - banks aren't lending it, no interest on bonds, gold is too high. Bingo! You win a year's subscription.

34 Trust in Madoff. Unless you are a billionaire picking up investments pennies on the thousands of dollars, the only "profits" out there at the moment are their own frauds to draw in sucker investors.  What failed investments got repackaged and resold with a mighty bit of misrepresentation during the housing economic Fan/Fred fraud should not be quickly ignored, as it proved a "successful" template for those organized criminals in government who cover up and fabricate propaganda bait based strictly on their own whole cloth.

35

Oh, this is really something to look forward to:

http://tinyurl.com/23p55tr

I bet Barry and crew could find all sorts of fun and interesting ways to employ this.

"Arrest that man!  He dares to use *gasp* SALT."

36 GM builds their best trucks EVER! Our taxed funded advertisement says so.

Thinnest metal EVER. Why don't they just brag on being the lightest weight greenest friendly truck EVER.

37 I think a lot of people expecting big inflation are out buying on credit right now.

38 On a lighter note... I sold my Corvette last night! So at least I got that going for me...

39 His buddy Soros is keeping it that way to make it look good

You know, the one conspiracy theory that I actually find compelling is who pulled out the, what, $550 billion or so in money market funds in September, 2008.  To the best of my knowledge, this has never been addressed.  Yeah, I do think it's within the realm of possibility that Soros was behind it as a specific attempt to take down the markets prior to the election.  Hey, look what he did to the Bank of England.  I find it plausible. 

40 To be fair, the pron-browsing folks at the SEC were watching the "Ball Street" series of films, which does deal with securities fraud, albeit in a tangential way.

41 Greece is finally hitting the pavement today, IMF funds are not ready, not that Greece is an undeveloped country anyway pfft, and Merkel just said Germany is not putting any dough out until IMF talks are done

meanwhile they are rioting in the streets

good time to buy some gold, the dollar is rallying against the Euro since those peeps cant print their way out of this like Helicopter Ben,...

42 "I wonder if it's built to deploy things" -- keyword search -- global precision strike, smart crowbar, prompt global strike, next generation strategic option -- "Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategic Capabilities Brian Green told the subcommittee that the Defense Department also “is considering other, longer-term solutions, both sea- and land-based, to broaden the portfolio of prompt, non-nuclear capabilities. The additional concepts include sea- and land-based conventional ballistic missiles and advanced technologies, such as hypersonic glide vehicles, employing precision guidance, advanced conventional weapons, and propulsion.” Statement of Mr. Brian R. Green Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Strategic Capabilities for The Senate Armed Services Committee Strategic Forces Subcommittee Hearing Regarding Global Strike Issues, March 28, 2007, p.8. Conventional Prompt Global Strike, Green concluded, “is critical to meeting evolving U.S. security needs in the 21st Century.” id. p.11."

43 lol, my website has been banned? I dont spam! come on Pixy...

44 Hey, look what he did to the Bank of England.  I find it plausible.

He was actually convicted of doing the same thing in France. The SOB aught to be in jail.

45 Morning!
This essay by Jonah G. is very nicely done.

What Kind of a Socialist is Barack Obama?

snip from 3rd page...

"President Obama’s health-care plan is a pristine example of this approach. He is long on record saying he would prefer a single-payer system if we could design one from scratch. But since he has to work from within the confines of the existing system, he has given us ObamaCare instead—which, again, is now merely a “critical first step.” It uses insurance companies as governmental entities, akin to utilities, to provide a now-mandatory government service. The insurance companies will make nominal government-decreed profits on top of government-decreed “fees” and “premiums” (the quotation marks are necessary given that rates will be set by government and enforced by the Internal Revenue Service).

Obama still scoffs at the suggestion that he is a socialist largely to delegitimize his opponents. During his address to House Republicans at their retreat in December 2009, Obama ridiculed Republicans for acting as if his health-care scheme were some “Bolshevik plot.” In responding to the “Tea Parties” organized to oppose the expansion of government, Obama has explicitly likened those who describe his policies as socialist to the “birther” conspiracy theorists who foolishly believe he was actually born outside the United States: “There’s some folks who just weren’t sure whether I was born in the United States, whether I was a socialist, right?”

He reserves for himself the mantle of technocrat, disinterested, pragmatic, pushed to use the powers of government by the failings of his predecessor and the madness of the free market. He is not interested in ideology; he is interested in doing “what works” for the greatest number of Americans (he has often said that his guiding insight to government’s role is the notion that we are all our brothers’ keepers). Indeed, Obama goes further and often insinuates that principled disagreement with his agenda is “ideological” and therefore illegitimate. In a speech on the eve of his inauguration, he proclaimed that “what is required is a new declaration of independence, not just in our nation, but in our own lives—from ideology and small thinking, prejudice and bigotry.” In other words, to borrow a phrase from Lionel Trilling, ideology is an irritable mental gesture."

....

...

46 I see the president of Government Motors is doing commercials where he lies about paying back their government debt. Pure horseshit. Does he hope his customers are that stupid? It ain't me.

47
,,,

Denying that you are an ideologue is not the same thing as proving the point. And certainly Obama’s insistence that ideology is something only his critics suffer from is no defense when stacked against the evidence of his actions. The “pragmatic” Obama is only interested in “what works” as long as “what works” involves a significantly expanded role for government. In this sense, Obama is a practitioner of the Third Way, the governing approach most successfully trumpeted by Blair, who claimed to have found a “third way” that rejected the false premises of both Left and Right and therebylocated a “smarter” approach to expanding government. The powerful appeal of this idea lies in the fact that it sounds as if its adherents have rejected ideological dogmatism and gone beyond those “false choices.” Thus, a leader can both provide health care to 32 million people and save money, or, as Obama likes to say, “bend the cost curve down.” But in not choosing, Obama is choosing. He is choosing the path of government control, which is what the Third Way inevitably does and is intended to do.'

...

48 I like using lefty sites as references, as they then can't criticize my source: http://tinyurl.com/2dqz9k8

49 19 ludicrous

I was worrying over how the DoD could be letting us have no capabilities in space, I mean I dont want to see the Russians build a lunar base and we have no clue what they are doing up there..glad to see the Pentagon had a space aircraft ready to step into the NASA breach...

50 Greece is finally hitting the pavement today, IMF funds are not ready, not that Greece is an undeveloped country anyway pfft, and Merkel just said Germany is not putting any dough out until IMF talks are done

When you see IMF bailout remember that the largest contributor to IMF funding (by a large margin) is the U.S.

And we are bankrupt ourselves.

51

HeatherRadish, this one's for you on this glorious Friday morning.

The Shakespearean Insult Page.

Enjoy.

52 I think a lot of people expecting big inflation are out buying on credit right now.

I've been wondering about that.  I'm thinking about a newer car and weighing loan vs. cash.  On one hand, if my savings are going to be worthless, may as well have a car.  On the other, may as well pay the loan with inflated dollars.  Or put 50% down and maximize my losses.  Grrrr.

53 Rodent Freikorps -- the value of the stuff in my gun safe is doing better then my retirement plan.

54 BackwardsBoy--thanks.  I've been quoting from that on Twitter all morning.

55

Surprise surprise

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law is getting a mixed verdict in the first comprehensive look by neutral experts: More Americans will be covered, but costs are also going up.

Economic experts at the Health and Human Services Department concluded in a report issued Thursday that the health care remake will achieve Obama's aim of expanding health insurance — adding 34 million to the coverage rolls.

But the analysis also found that the law falls short of the president's twin goal of controlling runaway costs, raising projected spending by about 1 percent over 10 years. That increase could get bigger, since Medicare cuts in the law may be unrealistic and unsustainable, the report warned.

 

56
 But Obama promised his health care "reform" would "bend the cost curve" - yeah - UP.

57

Son-Of-A-Bitch!

N.C. town bans thongs after getting e-mail - http://bit.ly/bmX7JU

KURE BEACH, N.C. -- A town council in North Carolina has banned thongs, with the mayor saying he wants to keep the area as close to "Mayberry with a beach" as possible.

The Star-News of Wilmington reported that the town council in Kure (Cure-EE) Beach voted Thursday to ban the swimwear. The move came after the police chief received an e-mail earlier in the week asking if the town's existing nude bathing ordinance allowed thongs.

The ordinance bans nudity or "insufficient clothing," and the man wanted to know if thongs were allowed for both men and women.

58 KFC Double-down healthier than salad.

59

Well S-O the only thing it did was to punish honest companies with a host of new intrusive paperwork issues and reporting requirements.

Vic, that was only the tip of the iceberg.  Nobody could understand WTF types of tests that had to be performed to be in "compliance" with S/O so that called for an occupying army of consultants to be brought in to interpret the horseshit and sign off on it.  People from every department were drafted to be part of this clusterfuck so otherwise productive efforts that would produce revenue were undercut.  That this didn't immediately put the country into a recession is a testimonial to the resiliance of the US economy, which now Odumbfuck is trying to further undercut.

60 Posted by: conscious and depressed about this decision at April 23, 2010 09:47 AM (YVZlY)

LOL, Myrtle Beach banned thongs a long time ago.

61 Vic, that was only the tip of the iceberg.

Yeah, I am familiar with some of the other stuff but I didn't want to try to get too detailed and lose a lot of people and make the post into a ten page diatribe.

62

50  Yeah, the German government got their finacial and legal wizards working overtime to find a loophole in EU charter rules that essentially states that EU member states cannot provide the sort of loans the Greek bailout was to have.  Only the IMF can do that.  So yeah, let the Americans bail them out.

Of course the IMF loans carry certain guidelines as to what the loanee has to do (pension funds, that sort of thing), and the Greeks aren't too happy about that.

Fritz is somewhere in Berlin right at the moment, fingering the stash in his pocket and giggling merrily to himself.

63 57 conscious the guy reading the email had a panic attack thinking about a man in a thong....

64 the guy reading the email had a panic attack thinking about a man in a thong....

I think it was PJ O'Rourke who noted that the larger the German man, the smaller the German bathing suit.

65 Also, Greece is in the shitter but from what Zero Hedge says Portugal, Belgium, and Spain are not far behind. There simply is not enough people left to contribute to the IMF right now to bail all of these people out.

66 4 I am convinced the stock market is being manipulated. Zero could get up on stage, say nothing other than to soil his pants, and the market will go up.

Posted by: maddogg at April 23, 2010 09:02 AM (OlN4e)

I agree, O'Blather gave wall st. the what for yesterday. Speaking to them as if they were insulant 10yr olds. Fox interviewed a bunch of Wall St. types after the admonishment and none were too happy. Who the fuck is pulling the strings here?? This is just another artificial bubble to bust!  I wanna smack the shit out of every dope who bleeds, "Obama's doin great...just look at the stock market!"  

Fools!

 

67 MMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......nekkid wimmin.....MMMmmmm......

68 The candidate who faked being gay. How did he do it? Spit yogurt on guys backs?

69 Lileks FTW:

Now dissent is sedition. Don’t worry, it’s still the highest form of patriotism, theoretically, but it’s practiced by the lowest sort of people. They don’t even have clever bumper stickers. Then again, the left has nothing in their quiver anymore; QUESTION AUTHORITY was all edgy ‘n’ stuff, but GIVE AUTHORITY A LOVING TONGUE BATH doesn’t give you the same rebel cred.

70

Of course the IMF loans carry certain guidelines as to what the loanee has to do (pension funds, that sort of thing), and the Greeks aren't too happy about that.

Going to the IMF is worse than getting a loan from the fucking Mob, since their terms make it impossible for the underlying economy to grow enough to make payments feasible without severe pain.  The Germans were pretty fucking stupid to go along with the whole EU thing since they tend to take good care of their financial house compared to ass pounders like the Greeks.  They should've known that from their experience linking the deutschmark to the franc but maybe their leveraged buyout of East Germany made them feel invulnerable to shit like that.

71

66  Do you remind the dimwits that stock markets can be artificially manipulated, the media attention on the same can also help create an atmosphere of optimism that shouldn't be there, and this in turn leads to the "stock market's doin' great" right before a very nasty crash?

No? Eh, probably a wise decision -- they're too stupid to comprehend.  Oh well, at some point everyone comes face to face with reality -- and it's often a bitch.

65 Exactly, so what sort of precedent is being set with the situation in Greece?  My opinion: let the IMF (America) bail them out!  Do you think this administration would possibly pressure the IMF to say "no"?  Or that we could wring some concessions in return for the charity?  No?  Yeah, probably a wise answer to that one too.

PS. I thank goodness I have a German husband who really made for a bad German, but a great American (doesn't care for small bathing suits or anything remotely smacking of nudity, has sense of humor, hates soccer, loves baseball and hockey, believes in capitalism over socialism).

72 Morning Morons!

OK, today I am having lunch with Karl Rove and the head of the NC GOP.  Just 10 of us fat cats!

Yes, THAT Karl Rove, the magnificent bastard.

What would you morons like me to axe him?

I can't wait!!

73 71

66  Do you remind the dimwits that stock markets can be artificially manipulated, the media attention on the same can also help create an atmosphere of optimism that shouldn't be there, and this in turn leads to the "stock market's doin' great" right before a very nasty crash?

No? Eh, probably a wise decision -- they're too stupid to comprehend.  Oh well, at some point everyone comes face to face with reality -- and it's often a bitch.

 

Yeah...I rather just smack the shit out of them...i'm sooooo tired of teying to reason with these people.

74 channeling bho......"vat? i can't hear youuuuuuuuu!"

75 Those space/defense stuff was for ludicrous speed and maverick muse

76

70  Well, the Germans have always been susceptible to getting into bed with the French from time to time... It has never ended really well.

There is a growing desire within the German populace to get rid of the Euro and either go back to the deutschmark or form a new currency.  Of course, if Germany does that, then the whole EU experiment comes crashing down sooner rather than later.  The situation with E. Germany has been a factor in the public perception of this Greek bailout -- they are still smarting from the bill for that, now they find themselves looking at a long line of the same. 

Imho the only sane, intelligent country in Europe is Switzerland.  I also don't give a rat's ass what happens to Europe in and of itself -- I do get concerned about what the implications for America are though.  Expect them to try and draft off us yet again -- just when we are beginning to not be able to carry their deadweight.

 

77 kemp you lucky dog.....

78 Rodent Freikorps -- the value of the stuff in my gun safe is doing better then my retirement plan.

Posted by: Jean at April 23, 2010 09:43 AM (7K04W)

Heh.

I bet even the safe is going up in value. I don't have Scary Black Guns ^TM, but I may make an exception for the Saiga 12. I love that thing.

Saiga12

79

 I see the president of Government Motors is doing commercials where he lies about paying back their government debt. Pure horseshit. Does he hope his customers are that stupid? It ain't me.

Fuck GM with a red hot poker. 

I got back from working in NYC on Wednesday and my wife was complaining about her car.  So, I took it out for a spin and determined that the transmission was probably the problem.  I dropped it off yesterday, and sure enough, it's the tranny.

So, I asked the guy what on earth could cause a transmission in 2006 Trailblazer with 70k miles to go.  He told me that the fluid is electronically transferred to separate gears via a solenoid pack.  Apparently, a solenoid burnt out causing a couple of gears to run dry and toasting the transmission in the process. 

This got me thinking.  I mean the goddamned check engine light comes on if the gas cap isn't screwed in tight but there's no warning for a burnt out electrical component that will kill the transmission?  

I've bought Chevys for years.  I was probably going to Ford to buy my next car for the obvious bailout reason, but I wasn't completely there yet.  This episode sealed it for me. 

Asshats and their piece of shit cars.    

80 39 His buddy Soros is keeping it that way to make it look good

You know, the one conspiracy theory that I actually find compelling is who pulled out the, what, $550 billion or so in money market funds in September, 2008.  To the best of my knowledge, this has never been addressed.  Yeah, I do think it's within the realm of possibility that Soros was behind it as a specific attempt to take down the markets prior to the election.  Hey, look what he did to the Bank of England.  I find it plausible. 

Posted by: alexthechick at April 23, 2010 09:38 AM (8WZWv)

Didn't Soros get booted outta Europe for this kinda shit?? Why isn't this sheep fucker in jail?

 

81 77 Oh, keep up with the information -- I find it fascinating.  I was a big fan of the star wars program when it first got brought up, unlike most of my peers at the time.

82 What would you morons like me to axe him?

Does our Dark Lord prefer his sacrifices under the full moon or it is also acceptable to do so on the waxing and waning crescents?

83 4 "I am convinced the stock market is being manipulated. Zero could get up on stage, say nothing other than to soil his pants, and the market will go up."

Take a closer look at the one figure that most folks never see - Trading Volume.

The markets have been running scared for months and they still are.  Volume (on average) is WAY down, compared to normal trading.

84

I've been wondering about that.  I'm thinking about a newer car and weighing loan vs. cash.  On one hand, if my savings are going to be worthless, may as well have a car.  On the other, may as well pay the loan with inflated dollars.  Or put 50% down and maximize my losses.  Grrrr.

Yeh. We've got one car paid off and I'm looking at the other loan at 8%. Oh, that reminds me of an email I got last night...BRB.

85 Kemp -- ask him if the GOP is ever going to get themselves into position to take down the Dems and/or start really listening to the people and cleaning house...and maybe ask him for advice on getting rid of crows???

86

Barofsky: GM Used TARP Money To Pay Back TARP Loan http://bit.ly/bOh32L

A top Senate Republican on Thursday accused the Obama administration of misleading taxpayers about General MotorsÂ’ loan repayment, saying the struggling auto giant was only able to repay its bailout money by dipping into a separate pot of bailout money.

Sen. Chuck Grassley’s charge was backed up by the inspector general for the bailout — also known as the Trouble Asset Relief Program, or TARP. Watchdog Neil Barofsky told Fox News, as well as the Senate Finance Committee, that General Motors used bailout money to pay back the federal government.

“It appears to be nothing more than an elaborate TARP money shuffle,” Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said in a letter Thursday to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

. . .  

87 You know, the one conspiracy theory that I actually find compelling is who pulled out the, what, $550 billion or so in money market funds in September, 2008.  To the best of my knowledge, this has never been addressed.  Yeah, I do think it's within the realm of possibility that Soros was behind it as a specific attempt to take down the markets prior to the election.  Hey, look what he did to the Bank of England.  I find it plausible. 

Posted by: alexthechick at April 23, 2010 09:38 AM (8WZWv)

also crashed indonesias system.

as for the 550 billion, correct we never got an answer, But what always disturbed me is seeing Pelosi's and Reid"s smiling mugs coming out of that room waving  the Tarp bill.

They were very happy, strange innit?

88 Apparently, a solenoid burnt out causing a couple of gears to run dry and toasting the transmission in the process.

You know, I was talking to someone yesterday about how I'm considering getting a pre-1980's beater that's in decent running order simply to have a car without computers in it for when the SHTF.  I can't do much beyond changing my oil, wipers, air filter (crap note to self get air filter) and putting in washer fluid right now but I could learn.  What I can't learn is how to rebuild all the diagnostic equipment when the EMP takes all the electronics out.

89

Let's screw up something that works very well!

www.usaa-advocacy.com

90

Posted by: Kemp at April 23, 2010 10:07 AM (vSiVD)

Good for you! You might ask Rove where he hid the balls of the Republican Party. We are so damn sick of the squishes who won't come out and call Da Zero a socialist, and his policies socialist. Where is the leadership of the Republican Party? And when will Steele finally get the bum's rush? Silly fuck needs it bad.

91 Can I ask for some unofficial advice?

I have a 401 k from a previous job. The HR person advised me to leave it alone until it recovered most, if not all, of the losses from 2007-8. Recently, it has risen above it's previous high. I'm expecting the same crash that most of you are, what should I do with the 401 k? Roll it into a credit union IRA? Cash it out, take the penalty? It's not huge, about 30 grand or so. Or merely switch it to the low risk mode?

92

The one time I'm sure a link won't work, it does post.

USAA says the Senate bill will screw them over big time.

However, the current Senate bill would disproportionally impact USAA because we are a unique and fully integrated association. USAA is not like the banks and other companies that helped bring down our economy, and we never took a penny of TARP funds. We do not engage in the harmful practices this legislation seeks to resolve.

If unchanged, the bill would:
 

Prevent USAA from managing the associationÂ’s portfolio as we have for the past 87 years.

Jeopardize our ability to continue offering many of our competitive products.

Limit our ability to return money to our members. Last year, USAA returned $1.2 billion to our members in the form of distributions, dividends, and bank rebates and rewards

93 Kemp, ask Karl why Lindsey "I'm not gay" Graham is pushing amnesty.

94

Well, the Germans have always been susceptible to getting into bed with the French from time to time... It has never ended really well.

It's been pretty funny really; the Germans run a tight frugal ship and squeeze their citizens while the French are partying and spending their asses off while the franc maintains its purchasing power.  Even more hilarious is how the French build nukes on the German border infuriating the greens.

I've never figured out what's in it for the Germans....

95 Rodent Freikorps -- spend your money wisely: Benelli M1 Super 90

96

Posted by: Rodent Freikorps at April 23, 2010 10:12 AM (dQdrY)

I have a Saiga rifle I converted standard 30 round magazines to work with. I like it pretty well. I too would like a 12 ga. version.

97 96  Terminal, chronic case of coyote ugly?

98 Ask Cheney if he'd be willing to invite Obama out for a little excursion, - nothing too difficult like quail hunting, - but say, for a little fly fishing?

99 MamaAJ - I'm not sure messing with the bank and insurance company used by soldiers and veterans is best policy if the goal is to tone down the rhetoric.

100 oops, not Cheney, nevermind.

101 Let's screw up something that works very well! www.usaa-advocacy.com My wife forwarded an email to me from USAA. They want an amendment to protect them. Killing the bill would be better protection.

102

Sorry for the caps, but look what fun I'm in for today!

A SERIES OF UPPER-LEVEL DISTURBANCES ASSOCIATED WITH THIS STORM SYSTEM WILL RESULT IN A PROLONGED PERIOD OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED TO RESULT OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS. TORNADOES... ALONG WITH LARGE HAIL... DESTRUCTIVE STRAIGHT LINE WINDS AND HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS DURING THE ENTIRE SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK.

I guess I'd better move some boxes and get the van in the garage...

103

What would you morons like me to axe him?

 

Will the GOP ever stand up and fight, or will it continue to be support candidates who are nothing but spineless, lobbyist-owned squishes who care only for social status in Washington, maintaining their position, and maintaining power?

104 ask him for advice on getting rid of crows??

I think he uses his tin hat!

I will axe about "I am not Gay" Lindsey.

I am off for a quick work out, will check thread in an hour, lunch is at 12:30.   I have to go home and put on a suit after working out.

Oh, boy!

105 What I can't learn is how to rebuild all the diagnostic equipment when the EMP takes all the electronics out.

Posted by: alexthechick at April 23, 2010 10:16 AM (8WZWv)

I wonder if SHTF Motors would be a good business oportunity? I might check that out.

106 But unless one is spooked to the point of buying gold what are you going to do?

I'm that spooked right now. I hope I can buy my loft when it flips to condo, so I can get the fuck out of Dodge before the shit hits the fan.

If you measure the market versus Gold, the market has dropped.

Exactly. I'm not a gold bug, but this bill freaks me out. Plus, ATM machines in Germany and Switzerland dispense gold now. It's not that out there.

Perhaps itÂ’s not surprising, therefore, that Frankfurt Airport in Germany is the testing ground for a sophisticated new type of vending machine that sells gold bullion for investment purposes. As regards the typical trade-off between money laundering regulations and privacy, a camera monitors the machine. Presumably anyone hogging the machine to purchase large quantities will be regarded as suspicious.

Operator TG Gold-Super-Markt plans to roll out 500 of the machines in airports and railway stations across Europe, including Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the UK. They are also offering worldwide franchise licenses. The sophisticated machines sell everything from small bars intended as gifts, such as a 1 gram bar for about €30, to larger ingots aimed more at investors – a 10 gram bar costs about €245 – or gold coins such as the Maple Leaf  or Kangaroo.

107 Last two paragraphs in italics.

108 94  I'm sure my kids are going to love hearing about this...goddamnit!

109

What would you morons like me to axe him?

Whose brilliant idea was it for the Repukes to hire Michael Steele?

110 I am sure someone is going to axe him about Steele.  If not I will.

111 Ask Rove if he is willing to step in and replace Steele; or if the mood is somber - ask what the national strategy is to ensure that the right people are in place at the state level to ensure the census results are redistricted "correctly"

112

I guess I'd better move some boxes and get the van in the garage...

Posted by: Mama AJ at April 23, 2010 10:23 AM (XdlcF)

Stay safe!

113 So, I asked the guy what on earth could cause a transmission in 2006 Trailblazer with 70k miles to go.

You know, a few years back automatic transmission across the board used to be the most reliable part of a car.  From what I have seen lately they are all shit now. What the hell happened?

114 108  I don't know about you, but I can see a big opportunity for the criminally minded with that.

115 115  There is a problem with some of the compenents being made out of very cheap metal or even cheap plastic -- over time (not a lot of time), they have a tendency to warp/stretch out, causing slippage and excess wear.

116 Batten down the hatches and stay safe Mama -- looks like the spring storm season has decided to kick in.

117 I have a 401 k from a previous job. The HR person advised me to leave it alone until it recovered most, if not all, of the losses from 2007-8. Recently, it has risen above it's previous high.

Depends on your situation. For tax purposes if it was a before tax plan the best thing to do is get the administrator from your previous job to roll it into an IRA type account that invests in a quality high dividend stock like a utility. (Duke, PGN, etc)  If it is before taxes it can not go through your hands even if putting it in a tax deffered account.

If the IRA is after taxes I would just draw it all out and put it where you have other investments (hopefully high quality and none in banks)

118 I was at a meeting in DC earlier this week, two things stood out: 1) this financial bill really cripples the ability of energy companies to hedge natural gas prices -- resulting in an 8-12% rate hike for consumers; 2) this whole disparage Israel thing every branch of the government is doing is just cover, Bibi is going in and oil is going up -- how will the Repub's pin that on Obama/Reid/Pelosi.

119 120 is questions for Kemp

120 Rodent Freikorps -- spend your money wisely: Benelli M1 Super 90

Posted by: Jean at April 23, 2010 10:19 AM (h0rZ/)

I already have a couple of Browning shotguns I think would work as well. I like the clip feed for the Saiga.

121

I've been thinking about that a little, Vic.  My guess is that in an effort to make transmissions smaller and lighter they've engineered a work around where the gears don't sit in a bath of fluid, but instead have the fluid directed to the ones under load.  It requires less fluid and the housing can be much smaller.

Mind you, it's only a guess, but I've never run into this problem before.  My 1982 1/2 ton had 210 k when I got rid of it and the transmission was fine.  Hell, I used to plow snow in VT with that old beast.

 

122

Thanks, folks.

I get a little jumpy about these storms, but it doesn't hurt to have flashlights handy, and other little things ready.

123 I keep trying to convince myself that all this will turn out ok, but deep down in my gut I know better.
Stock up folks, this story is not going to end well.

124 We've got basically 2 elections left, if we can't turn it around by then were all pretty well screwed.

125 Ask Rove if he is willing to step in and replace Steele; or if the mood is somber - ask what the national strategy is to ensure that the right people are in place at the state level to ensure the census results are redistricted "correctly"

Rove would be a great choice, not sure if he wants the job though.

126

Will the GOP ever stand up and fight, or will it continue to be support candidates who are nothing but spineless, lobbyist-owned squishes who care only for social status in Washington, maintaining their position, and maintaining power?

Is is just fear of the media that keeps them from standing up and calling b.s. or are they corrupt and fearful?

I really wonder.

127 93 Can I ask for some unofficial advice?

I have a 401 k from a previous job. The HR person advised me to leave it alone until it recovered most, if not all, of the losses from 2007-8. Recently, it has risen above it's previous high. I'm expecting the same crash that most of you are, what should I do with the 401 k? Roll it into a credit union IRA? Cash it out, take the penalty? It's not huge, about 30 grand or so. Or merely switch it to the low risk mode?

Posted by: Luca Brasi at April 23, 2010 10:18 AM (YmPwQ)

Roll it over to a brokerage account then put it in cash and short-term bonds.

With an on-line brokerage account, you can re-balance pretty fast

128 Rodent Freikorps -- I was involved with the testing of a lot of shotgun for Army/USMC back in the 90's -- don't plan on that mechanism being reliable over time.

129 compenents being made out of very cheap metal or even cheap plastic

To lighten 'em up for CAFE standards? 

130

Obama criticizes AZ imm law http://bit.ly/ahNyzj

 PHOENIX - President Barack Obama on Thursday criticized a pending Arizona law that would make it a state crime to be in the United States illegally and require anyone suspected of being an illegal immigrant to produce identification.

Such legislation could "threaten to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans," the president said during a naturalization ceremony for members of the United States Armed Services.

131 don't plan on that mechanism being reliable over time.

Posted by: Jean at April 23, 2010 10:42 AM (7K04W)

Bummer. I thought that would be the ultimate anti-zombie weapon if you live in the city.

132 132  That and to reduce production costs -- gotta keep the profit margin.

133

Global Warming Panic Hysteria!

What should we do?  Nationalize the oil and gas industries and beg China and India for help.

http://tinyurl.com/29uob2z

134 Thank you!

135 Seattle:Air Marshal Arrested For Raping Escort (While Wearing Badge & Pointing His Govt-Issued Firearm At Her) http://aqnfd.th8.us

136 Fox (TV) is reporting that Horrible Harry has moved the financial regulation bill opening to Monday.

And shocker of shockers. during their "fair and balanced" debate the Dem rep agreed with the Republican rep in the fact that Obama has told the Dems no compromise in a ploy to make the Republicans look bad.

This is Bill Clinton shut down the gov II. Except in this case I think it will backfire for two reasons, provided the Rs jump all over it.

First they need to get out in front of this on ALL the talk shows explaining whey this thing is a POS and why it doesn't address the real causes and second they need to explain why there is no bipartisanship in Washington.

That is what they need to do, but I will not hold my breath.

137 Rodent Freikorps @ 134, it will be Ok if it is lightly used -- just don't plan on cranking 100rnd thru it every weekend at the range.

138

I met a small-business owner last night. Next year he will have to close a couple of marginally profitable stores and terminate 100 people to get below 49 employees, just so his company can stay in the black after Obamacare mandates.

This recession is just beginning, isn't it?

139 Outlaw, where you at? I know an honest transmission guy in Dallas.

140 Deadly Fungus Hits Oregon: http://tinyurl.com/2dfmd4r

141 145 Deadly Fungus Hits Oregon:
http://tinyurl.com/2dfmd4r

Posted by: UGrev at April 23, 2010 12:30 PM (862vz)

So Obama is visiting Oregon?

142

Damn, I just watched the local news. Weather not looking real good. Storms should start developing in the next few hours. Bad is when the local weather person is saying" we hope things don't develope like we think they will, oh, and btw we are going to have team coverage this afternoon and evening".

Crap...

143 try as I might, I just can't seem to get excited about Scott doing a prequel to Alien

http://tinyurl.com/2dmz5s8

144

Caught this one on the radio this morning:

"OBAMA HEADS TO ASHEVILLE FOR LONG WEEKEND"

 

I'm glad he thinks he's got his shit together enough to take a long weekend.  Maybe he'll even multi-task and get some golf in.

Surely there's no more important place for him to be than on vacation in late April like he's some kind of tax preparer.....

145
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