Fantasy headline:

Fed must disclose all direct and indirect equity market support programs.

At least another 1-2 bubbles will have blown and popped by then.

sorry the records were destoryed in the snowblizzards. we have no idea of who got bailout.

besides they insurance companies were buying toxics hand over fist. but it for whatever reason we are going to get health care bailout. maybe that one of the reasons fed didnt want to say who got what when and how.

No effin' way this Court will decide in favor of the public interest. They'll cite national security or some such.

To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.

He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature.

He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states:

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing taxes on us without our consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury:

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses:

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule in these colonies:

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments:

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

rob dawg
the prince?

Declaration of Independence

Are you being coy?

When you look at the trampling of rights under the Patriot Act which started under GWB and has been continued under Obama and is being used to cover up malfeasance at the FED and Treasury it is clear that there is NOTHING different between the Republicans and the Democrats.

Well other than the fact that they are each answerable to and funded by different financial interest groups.

Change you can believe in? Change my frickin ass.

Rob Dawg wrote:

For imposing taxes on us without our consent:

Check.

ghostfaceinvestah wrote:

Check.

WTF are you talking about. I'm sure your consent was deemed.

What was I saying? HAMP = EPIC FAIL. Even the government is admitting it is a failure. Less disbursements because less modified loans.

What a waste of time and money. Let the market clear.

http://www.housingwire.com/2010/03/19/congress-told-hamp-will-cost-53bn-less-than-expected/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=congress-told-hamp-will-cost-53bn-less-than-expected

"The US Treasury Department initially planned to spend $75bn on the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), but in a recent report to Congress, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected the Treasury will spend a total $22bn on the program. This figure represents total expenditures from day one of HAMP until the program expires in 2012."

Rob Dawg wrote:

Sunday Session with deadlines anyone?

Especially when you think of how hard it is for them to draw themselves into session the rest of the time.

I'm always struck by the anti-Hanoverian tone of the DOI. And of course the "parlimentarianism." I think the Restoration pushed a lot of people into America.

Rob Dawg wrote:

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and ...For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment

i always knew king george III was out to get me

Thanks for posting that Dawg.

I have yet to be convinced that we are suffering under tyranny anywhere near as badly as the colonists were. There is no reason (yet?) for a revolution.

"I have yet to be convinced that we are suffering under tyranny anywhere near as badly as the colonists were. There is no reason (yet?) for a revolution."

When the revolution starts I plan to put a TV running American Idle reruns 24x7 in my driveway so that the gnashing hoards are lulled into complacency as they walk by my house.

"Yes, it will be interesting to see if there will be enough words in all the redacted documents to complete a single sentence. "

redacted, redacted "This suckers going down!", redacted, redacted ....................

poic wrote:

When the revolution starts I plan to put a TV running American Idle reruns 24x7 in my driveway so that the gnashing hoards are lulled into complacency as they walk by my house.

They'll know you have electricity. Might as well paint a bullseye on your chest.

Rob Dawg wrote:

i always knew king george III was out to get me

Bush II screwed you so bad, so think of him as King George.

"I have yet to be convinced that we are suffering under tyranny anywhere near as badly as the colonists were"

What tyranny..20-30 percent of future Americans were on the BRITISH side during American Revolutionary War! Another 30 percent did not give a shit either war.

I'm fluent in Newspeak. Maybe I should apply.

Chicago Dude wrote 10:35 am

I have yet to be convinced that we are suffering under tyranny anywhere near as badly as the colonists were. There is no reason (yet?) for a revolution.

seems to me one must exhaust all reasonable peaceful alternatives AND

have been the victim of great inhuman injustices and violence before one would even consider revolution

but i am in favor of trials, and prison sentences

and the federal reserve should be abolished....they stole from the american people

and i blame congress...the fed is a creature of their making and congress should drive a stake into its heart

LoserBeachBum wrote:

What tyranny..20-30 percent of future Americans were on the BRITISH side during American Revolutionary War! Another 30 percent did not give a shit either war.

This is true. The whole revolution was essentially carried out by a minority. OTOH, all the people who sat around and did nothing to oppose it were giving silent consent. And of course the number of people who could read was a much smaller proportionally than now, so many probably didn't know much about what was going on.

King George II was the Warren Harding that refused to go away silently for Cal.

We are in the midst of a financial war of sorts, and we'll get a ruling on this in a few years?

If only we could Schiavo it along a little quicker, eh?

Now that my 3-lbs of butter are chilling, lets play this out: After appeal, TheFed is required to disclose all requested documents. This process will as well be drawn out, document after document will be subject to still more court cases and arguments, and finally, it will be realized that TheFed had higher priorities than that of the USofA's. What few people will hear the abbreviated news report on too few networks, they will continue to be 'ostrich-like' in their reaction. Politicians will continue to compromise what few values they might still possess and they will continue with their haughty 'plantation owner to house slave' attitude as the wheels of justice turn slower and slower until creaking to a virtual stop.

When some of our congressmen feel that any voters' questioning of their opinions or beliefs is "harassment", we have some major problems, attitudes, and egos to overcome.

» The Heat is On: Congressman’s Office Says Constituent Calls Are ‘Harassment’ - Big Government

I predict an epic battle for the courts, with unexpected political stances or alliances

ghostfaceinvestah wrote:

For the minority who do step out of line, our prison system is much more advanced.

.....and the healthcare is better as well.....

Loan aid leads to drop in credit scores

Some good quotes in this one:
"Housing counselors say it's unfair, especially because the news often comes as a surprise to homeowners."
""Why should people's credit be hurt even worse when they're trying to do the right thing?" said Eileen Anderson, senior vice president at Community Development Corp. of Long Island, a housing counseling group in New York."

This is true. The whole revolution was essentially carried out by a minority.

Thank goodness. Then maybe change actually can happen now. Even if only 1% of the population is awake.

BTW, I'm looking for a new new world. Anyone know of any nice places that are as of yet undiscovered and brimming with natural resources? Preferably with desiduous trees.

It will be interesting to see these documents, but it might not be for a few more years.
- CR

The system can always be worked to the benefit of those in control.

Free socialized health in both prisons and the armed forces, funny that.

gabyjan wrote:

scone i think it would be lack of communications, news could only travel as fast as a horse, or a barge. news traveled slow in those days

That didn't help, of course. Most of the news was sent in the form of "broadsides" or "broadsheets," which were like pamphlets. They were spread up and down the coastal cities, passed from hand to hand and nailed to trees. If you couldn't read, you were out of the loop and had to depend on word of mouth. The spread of the revolution was by fits and starts, with a lot of confusion. It didn't help that the fighting was essentially a guerrilla war, either. Washington won just by a hair, in the end. It could easily have gone the other way. And the Brits didn't really give up until after 1812. If it were not for the French and the general distraction of the French Revolution/Napoleonic wars, we would never have won.

Are Americans being murdered by government agents? Are Americans being forced at gunpoint to take up arms against their fellow Americans?

No (with a handful of exceptions); but it is fair to ask whether this is merely because these are outmoded methods of control. We can see that the labor of hundreds of thousands of human lifetimes was recently stolen in order to support social position of those in the financial industry; is that really much better than forcing someone to serve at gunpoint? Further, there are plenty of things I can do, like protesting outside of a 'free speech zone', that will result in me being imprisoned if I push it. I would argue that in terms of impaired liberty the colonists were actually less oppressed than the people of America today, because the control of the government of today more than makes up for in ubiquity what it has given up in terms of outright violence.

very much alike prison and military and boarding schools(wonder if they have socialized health care?}

OT but a good summary of "health care" bill. (Warning four page pdf)
http://static1.firedoglake.com/1/files/2010/03/mythfactshcr.pdf

*Are Americans being murdered by government agents? *

*With today's brainwashing and control grid, murder is no longer necessary, there are much easier ways to control the population.

For the minority who do step out of line, our prison system is much more advanced.
*
Why murder us if they can enslave us via debt and suck us dry for the rest of our lives and we're so jacked up on Prozac and American Idol to ever realize we're nothing more than debt-bots?

Why couldn't the Fed and Treasury have shown this much legal backbone when it came to CDS payouts for Wall Street?

March 19 (Bloomberg) -- Senator Christopher Dodd will cut a provision from his financial-regulation proposal that Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair said could provide a “backdoor bailout” for failing companies. Senator Dodd, unaware that his microphone was on was overheard saying "...I called it the Barney Move...laughter...I got something else planned. When I get off the Hill I am going to be so rich..."

His spokeswoman Kirstin Brost said today in an e-mail that the Senator was misquoted and he really said "That Barney is a heck of a man. When I get off my pills I am going to be a real bitch."

Go justice system, go, go!!!!

nova (homepage, profile) wrote on Fri, 3/19/2010 - 10:58 a
A few years?
If they go all the way to the Supremes and they tell the Fed to make the documents available. Oh, say "2012."

hey we're still waiting for the release of all that top secret information about jfk assassination

from wiki

. "The unpublished portion of the (Kennedy) assasination records was initially sealed for 75 years (to 2039) under a general National Archives policy that applied to all federal investigations by the executive branch of government,[111] a period "intended to serve as protection for innocent persons who could otherwise be damaged because of their relationship with participants in the case.”[112] The 75-year rule no longer exists, supplanted by the Freedom of Information Act of 1966 and the JFK Records Act of 1992. ......snip....The remaining Kennedy assassination related documents are scheduled to be released to the public by 2017, twenty-five years after the passage of the JFK Records Act. The Kennedy autopsy photographs and X-rays were never part of the Warren Commission records and were deeded separately to the National Archives by the Kennedy family in 1966 under restricted conditions.[115]

Several pieces of evidence and documentation are described to have been lost, cleaned, or missing (including ) Oswald's military intelligence file destroyed in 1973

wikipedia

ha ha ha ha ha imagine that oswalds military record destroyed in 73

wtf

then again who would have thought to save those records for history

hey honey im cleaning out the attic...do we need these, nah just oswalds military records, ok ill just throw em out

effemol

In any case, we can't "change" effectively because we can't agree on what needs changing.

I'd be satisfied with throwing out the oligarchy and overhauling the corrupted financial system. I'll be you could get consensus on that ground. What % of the population were anti-TARP?

After that, just settle into states according to common interest, and we can peacefully co-exist.

Too utopian?

von Beck,

Don't worry about it. My coffee pot tells me every morning "Your mother was a frog! Your mother was a frog!" I have no idea what that means but as long as it doesn't start making decaf I am ok with it.

nova wrote:

If they go all the way to the Supremes and they tell the Fed to make the documents available. Oh, say "2012."

Probably December 21. They would plan it for the day of the apocalypse, wouldn't they?

Those devious holes.

I mostlly have daymares.

Vonbek777 wrote:

Not funny. That is what I thought at first too. My wife's boss's boss is a ham radio nut, he is going to come over and take a look. He is curious. I still can't tell where the sound is coming from yet. It doesn't sound like it is coming out of the speakers themselves.

Its pretty common problem. Solving Radio Interference RFI Breakthrough, Computer Speakers & HiFi
It happens to my spearkers as well but is usually pretty faint so it doesn't bother me.

One of my amps used to pick up a Spanish radio station. I just turned it down and learned a new language.

I just turned it down and learned a new language

.........LOL........

Maybe you can put them to pasture and have BSR milk them...

Driving through NM, you get Navajo on your radio dial...

You understand about every 11th word.

nova wrote:

Just because they are sociopaths does not mean they are dumb.

You're right. All of the dumb sociopaths work for the DMV.

I've got a number 10 tin of mountain house spaghetti that's good until 2034, or that's Mayan understanding...

noob....funny and true.

How does one go about getting a "rehearing" from the U.S. Court of Appeals?
or "appeal to the full appeals court". I thought next step would be SCOTUS ... any help?

Vonbek777 wrote:

Apparently this open case design with new sound card combined with my power amp for my speakers has the mysterious ability to broadcast radio communication from the local gas rigs.

In your setup do you have both 3 pronged power plus and 2 prong power plug on equipment that is connected via other cables? I've seen that setup act as a receiver before....

mock,

I used to work with a guy who was an investigator for the Senate Organized Crime. He told me he heard a wiretap that, for him at least, proved it was a mob hit.

Somebody posted an interactivee NJ ballance the budget thing some months ago and it was impossible to do without getting absolutely everyone mad at you.

Yeah, and there was a 2 for 1 coupon for a pyramid scheme on the outer cardboard box.

There was also a mobster that confessed to involvement in the affair on his deathbed. Of course this doesn't mean that the CIA wasn't also involved. The more the merrier.

scone wrote:

Look at the discussion here. It regularly devolves into flame wars at the slightest mention of anything that could be remotely construed as a hot button.

Actually, I thought we'd played nicely here.

Anybody can ask for a rehearing within something like 10 days from the same court that already heard you. Sometimes they even reverse themselves.

von Beck,

If you can wait until tommorow I will ask my coffee pot.

I called it the Barney Move

Why are they always picking on barney? who was it, dick armey a number of years ago busted calling him barney f@g? These boys all need to look in the mirror some day.

bbartlog wrote:

There was also a mobster that confessed to involvement in the affair on his deathbed. Of course this doesn't mean that the CIA wasn't also involved. The more the merrier.

The thing that always baffled me about the conspiracy theorists was that their theories always seemed to rely on a conspiracy involving the mob, the CIA, and Castro...Oh, and Oswald was trained in Russia....This all seems like a really odd crew to be involved in a conspiracy.

This will sound familiar...

660 KTNN-AM

thanks Liz ... that seems almost comical at first glance. "I don't like your answer, let me play again"

I think the CR forums are like the first level of hell. No one is going to change anybody's mind, but we keep talking ad nauseam anyway. After an eternity, people are going to rub people the wrong way, but unless you want to descend deeper, you are stuck, and may as well make it as pleasant and hopeless as possible.

very concise and informative, thank you!

Words are like a disease, they spread everywhere.

hmm... missile shield, pyramid shield...

Chicago Dude wrote:

I have yet to be convinced that we are suffering under tyranny anywhere near as badly as the colonists were. There is no reason (yet?) for a revolution.

Then you aren't paying attention.

Tool of the Fed:How does one go about getting a "rehearing" from the U.S. Court of Appeals?
or "appeal to the full appeals court". I thought next step would be SCOTUS ... any help?

Wow, ben is here asking for legal advice.

One Lesson From The Toyota Flap: Americans Can’t Drive - Rick Newman (usnews.com)

Cinco-X wrote:

Are you claiming to be only halfway prepared?

On a good day.

NateTG wrote:
Suffering is a state of mind.
So is the universe. It's just very persistent.

I meant "for a friend"

NateTG wrote:

Suffering is a state of mind.

Fathered by ignorance and want.

YouTube - Steely Dan-Third World Man

That's why Gandhi was against Partition-- look at the history of Pakistan and India. It's very dangerous to create these extremes.

In agrarian illustrations (where many of our phrases come from), on a farm you have many different types of animals. They graze peacefully in fields, mostly with their own flocks, with their own purposes, but all part of the same farm system.

Makes you think - if nature can do it, why can't we?

(okay - I'm done philosophizing now)

Makes you think - if nature can do it, why can't we?

...a good many would be tempted by sheep thrills

Bubblisimo Gerkinov wrote:

Same goes for 9/11.

Again, I promise you that Al Quaeda was behind 9-11........

My father just got back from a 'business' trip to Afghanistan a few weeks ago. He has traveled to some pretty rough parts of the world, in Africa and the Middle East...his impressions upon return, were most depressing.

Vonbek777 wrote:

My father just got back from a 'business' trip to Afghanistan a few weeks ago.

A mercenary?

California police and firemen need help fast. I'm sure Shedlock will be there with his group of volunteers shortly
Calif police department on alert for deadly traps | US National Headlines | Comcast.net

Let's just say the Army still needs his expertise in certain matters, and has retained his services. Thank god they didn't force him to put the uniform back on.

t r orwell wrote:

California police and firemen need help fast. I'm sure Shedlock will be there with his group of volunteers shortly
Calif police department on alert for deadly traps | US National Headlines | Comcast.net

FWIW, there's a high likelihood that arsonists will turn out to be firemen.

Vonbek777 wrote:

Let's just say the Army still needs his expertise in certain matters, and has retained his services. Thank god they didn't force him to put the uniform back on.

Givin' the enemy "swirrlies", huh?

Juvenal Delinquent wrote:
Can't wait for the Dillawhatevers costing $137.47 per pill on her bill (that big insurance will pay off)
Had a friend tell me about his experience with deathcare last year when they had their first child. Among notable anecdotes: OTC Tylenol, 1 dose (2 pills), $20. Eating identical food at the hospital with his wife in her hospital room: his charge less than $10, hers appeared on the bill at $40. Major hospital in the upper midwest.

On quite a few cars in Hemet, you used to see a bumper sticker that reads:

"Pray for me, I drive in Hemet"

The implication being that it was a holdout for bluehairs that didn't drive so well~

How things have changed...

If not, the supply siders are in big trouble.

lawyerliz wrote:

I was told that I was lucky the dr was there already so I didn"t have to wait to be screwed.

Gotta love that American health care system. In Canada you might have had to stand in line for a screwing-

JD,

If it looks like I am not going to be able to wipe myself and headed for deathcare I am going to a place near Cameron Station,sit down and die. They can pile rocks over me and leave me there.

Ready Orr not, here I come...

John Leonard Orr - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In Canada you might have had to stand in line for a screwing-

What was good for sarah palin might be good for you.

If only I had unlimited cash like the fed:
World's Top Adventure Trips

lawyerliz wrote:

I was told that I was lucky the dr was there already so I didn"t have to wait to be screwed.

so the whole foreplay requirement is a conspiracy

Talked to an elderly gentleman in Hemet awhile back on a late spring day. He literally cried about the heat and wished he lived on the coast

I had a co-worker who bought an investment rental house there (right before the bubble started). I hope he sold while the selling was good.

a Neo-Hessian

Mark Pittman was the Bloomberg reporter who led the charge and filed the original FOIA suit.

Cleaning up the file?

vote or you too shall be screwed

solohedger wrote:

Mark Pittman was the Bloomberg reporter who led the charge and filed the original FOIA suit. He died suddenly and unexpectedly on Nov. 25, 2009.

Unexpectedly? I'm not sure that word means what you think it means.

scone wrote:
All the hierarchical infighting and ritual peacemaking is who we are as great apes, smart and argumentative by nature. It has worked for us, we're at the top of the pyramid herding the herd animals-- we value power and success more than peace.

"And injustice for all"

Outsider wrote:

Makes you think - if nature can do it, why can't we?

Because they are completely domesticated and bred to be docile, easy to neuter, fatten and later led to slaughter. Now that I think about it - that does sound a bit like people.

noob - that photo is the BEST.

US 2y bumpin on 1

I admit, it did flit across my consciousness that people are sometimes murdered for a lot less than billions, much less a threat to the continued existence of TBTF institutions.

noob goldberg wrote:

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/9894/foilhut01.jpg 

OMG! How'd you get a camera in here?!?!?!?!?

March has been an interesting month, read/watched about a shipping conference on joc.com
lot of major shipping rates will have tripled in less than a year. we often talk about squatter stimulus, but how about the one in the shipping sector. transportation costs are incredibly powerful in determining the extensive margins of trade. The next set of new contracts should be coming into effect for June. Major factor in securing higher rates has been a lack of coordination. Orders came in late, everyone wants to ship at the same time, and they can get their hoping-for prices.
The story is interesting, but nothing new really. What has stuck with me is viewing all these supply-chain relationships, those who were weak before are asserting themselves to regain their share of end-profits. Manic depression. Even with the Chinese migrant workers staying closer to home in newer inland factories (part of a 2008 incentive plan to set them up there) after being screwed over last time on the coast are a part of the unhealthy instability
Lots of strike action.
Saw a bit about British Pensioners having their pensions frozen from the date they left the UK so with the fall of the pound and general inflation, they live off their kids / subsidized housing / welfare of the country they're in. If they don't have family to look after them, apparently it makes sense to move back to the UK
China. There is so much to say from their impact on neighbouring countries, to domestic affairs, to influence on commodities markets... but I will say this in response to something I think I saw on CR before about China's house prices reaching a permanently high plateau / high down payments / projected demand / ignore the vacant units / ignore the negative interest rate mortgages / ignore the 3rd mortgages / ignore the supplementary unofficial banking network / ignore the SOEs who invest directly in RE because they have to take out loans but have no need for them / ignore the golden triangle (bank/govt/soe) + organized crime/fraud/embezzlement / ignore the Insurance companies who can since Nov invest in RE / ignore the trillions of Yuan invested at negative rates of return
see the following article: 129 different SOEs that have no business in hoteling that have hotels
think about what that means
SOEs Ordered to Check Out of Hotel Sector_English_Caixin

Bubblisimo Gerkinov wrote:

OMG! How'd you get a camera in here?!?!?!?!?

I used your own webcam against you. Those pictures of Barney Frank in compromising positions that I keep sending you?

Everytime you open them, I get to snap 2 pictures of your tinfoilhut. I'm in the thousands, and it's flooding my inbox.

noob goldberg wrote:

They're also often inappropriate, so I'm pretty sure that I'll get fired one of these days if our IT people ever decided to monitor my Internet usage.

It's ok ... your IT person is this guy;

YouTube - The Office - The IT Guy, Tim, and Gareth

noob goldberg wrote:

Everytime you open them, I get to snap 2 pictures of your tinfoilhut. I'm in the thousands, and it's flooding my inbox.

Hit's self destr...

Bond Bid-Riggers Deserve Overdue Jail-Cell Justice: Joe Mysak - Bloomberg.com

March 19 (Bloomberg) -- Prison terms will do what years of good intentions, new rules and cash fines have not: clean up the municipal bond market.

THAT's what I'm sayin'

Y'all will like this: The Big Picture » Blog Archive » Explaining the Impact of Ultra-Low Rates to Greenspan

Where'd all the money go today? everything is red (except the price of 30yr treasury, and that is barely up).

noob goldberg wrote:

Death is always unexpected, so the fact that they felt the need to include the word 'unexpected' means that it actually was expected.

the telegraM
cAme
i Read it.
death we expeCt,
but all wE get
is Life.

--John Cage
"36 Mesotics Re and Not Re Marcel Duchamp"

The politicization of economic problems - Credit Writedowns

Posted by Edward Harrison on 18 March 2010 at 4:41 pm

In late 2007 the global economy began to stumble, slipping into the abyss of a deep recession and financial panic. We are only now recovering from this stumble, in large part due to an unprecedented level of fiscal and monetary stimulus. Yet, no sooner is daylight within reach, we start attacking each other, tearing each other down.

The two starkest battle lines being drawn are between the Greeks and the Germans and the Chinese and the Americans.

Last month, there was enough clear headedness that I could post a parody of the madness that has overtaken Europe in Video: The Germans take on the Greeks. But, no more. It is clear, the political nerves are frayed. You’ve got ‘Italy’s worse, and the Germans stole our gold’ and German Leader Says Euro Zone Should Consider Expelling Countries That Threaten Regional Stability. That pretty much sums the battle lines up.

On the Chinese – US front, I have been warning for some time that protectionist rhetoric has a slippery way of turning into trade war reality. Some people seem to think the U.S. isn’t risking a trade war, and that ‘the Chinese started this anyway’ or something to that effect. In any event, the feeling is the Chinese will take it on the chin while the US will get off relatively unscathed – if it actually does come to a tit-for-tat trade war. But is that really true? A trade war transfers wealth from domestic consumers to the protected producers and decreases consumption demand. Lest we forget, the US banking system is hiding hundreds of billions in toxic assets in loan-to-maturity, level three and off balance sheet asset pools. The US is hardly a bastion of economic strength.