Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Billy Joel isn't endorsing anyone, but his lyrics spoke volumes to one attendee at a recent press club conference. After playing some music, all Joel had to say was: "I'm not going to get up on a soapbox here. I am a piano player."
I'm a piano player, too, and I'm thinking of getting off the soapbox entirely and going back to just doing what I love. There are a few interesting opportunities opening up that I'm not going to talk about today. I think I've waited long enough.
Mark Cuban - who's life story resembles mine (except that he cashed out in July, 1999, and I crapped out in March, 2000) has made a lot of sound suggestions regarding managing your future lately. In particular he's advocating doing something about credit cards, something I talked about a month or two back. My method, however, wouldn't stimulate the economy so much as take a lot of bad money out of circulation - and drastically reduce or eliminate:
Lew Rockwell is advocating not voting this year.
Hey, Lew? Why should I give up my chance to give the establishment the finger?
A zillion intellectual "conservatives" are coming out for Obama, instead of slinking off and forming their own party. I'm sure their tepid and late support, will be rewarded by the die-hard Dems soon to be in power.
According the news reports, banking failures and higher interest rates have left Iceland a ghost town. I have yet to hear from an actual person living there...
Every time I get frustrated at my job and entrepreneurial opportunities I remember that there are far weirder things I could be doing...
Billy Joel closes out his concerts screaming "Don't take any shit from anybody" - to a huge audience reaction - and his is the kind of music I like to hear. The brilliant Nylon Curtain always brings me down, and an Innocent Man always cheers me up.
The National debt has increased 530B dollars in a month. It's now at:
Now, unlike some, I'm not one to extrapolate trends from the most alarming data points, but this trend, if continued, would basically beat Moores law - another doubling of debt in less than 18 months. It took BushCo 7 years to double the debt the first time.
And for all that, the first bucketloads of fresh Federal Reserve cash aren't going out to banks until next week. Jeeze, how hard is it to print and ship electrons? Or are they spending their creative hours developing 10,000 dollar notes?
I doubt that... why is it, when ATM machines first came out, back in the early 80s, service was free, the withdrawal limit was $300 dollars? 25 years has gone by, and all you can typically withdraw is $500, with service fees ranging from $2 to $7.50 (what I pay for an international transfer of $500) I've known a lot of people, desperate for the dregs of their savings accounts, willing to pay that fee for their last $20....
I'm a piano player, too, and I'm thinking of getting off the soapbox entirely and going back to just doing what I love. There are a few interesting opportunities opening up that I'm not going to talk about today. I think I've waited long enough.
Mark Cuban - who's life story resembles mine (except that he cashed out in July, 1999, and I crapped out in March, 2000) has made a lot of sound suggestions regarding managing your future lately. In particular he's advocating doing something about credit cards, something I talked about a month or two back. My method, however, wouldn't stimulate the economy so much as take a lot of bad money out of circulation - and drastically reduce or eliminate:
- credit card payments
- ursurious interest rates
- the profession of debt creation and collection
- foolish spending and spenders
Lew Rockwell is advocating not voting this year.
Hey, Lew? Why should I give up my chance to give the establishment the finger?
A zillion intellectual "conservatives" are coming out for Obama, instead of slinking off and forming their own party. I'm sure their tepid and late support, will be rewarded by the die-hard Dems soon to be in power.
According the news reports, banking failures and higher interest rates have left Iceland a ghost town. I have yet to hear from an actual person living there...
Every time I get frustrated at my job and entrepreneurial opportunities I remember that there are far weirder things I could be doing...
Billy Joel closes out his concerts screaming "Don't take any shit from anybody" - to a huge audience reaction - and his is the kind of music I like to hear. The brilliant Nylon Curtain always brings me down, and an Innocent Man always cheers me up.
The National debt has increased 530B dollars in a month. It's now at:
Now, unlike some, I'm not one to extrapolate trends from the most alarming data points, but this trend, if continued, would basically beat Moores law - another doubling of debt in less than 18 months. It took BushCo 7 years to double the debt the first time.
And for all that, the first bucketloads of fresh Federal Reserve cash aren't going out to banks until next week. Jeeze, how hard is it to print and ship electrons? Or are they spending their creative hours developing 10,000 dollar notes?I doubt that... why is it, when ATM machines first came out, back in the early 80s, service was free, the withdrawal limit was $300 dollars? 25 years has gone by, and all you can typically withdraw is $500, with service fees ranging from $2 to $7.50 (what I pay for an international transfer of $500) I've known a lot of people, desperate for the dregs of their savings accounts, willing to pay that fee for their last $20....
Labels: banking
¶ 12:57 PM
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Hey Dave;
Nice post. Not sure what to make of all this. I'm trying to think of this election, not in terms of what happens or doesn't happen to 'America' [or rather, USA(tm), the public services subsidiary of War Incorporated] but rather in terms of the broader context of international relations.
I think the World at large, will view a McCain/Palin victory as a refutation of all of us who has been telling the world, 'It's not us, it's our government.' It will be an endorsement by 'us' of our current government and it's international policies. This will start driving fence sitters into the folds of the likes of Czar Vladimir II (Putin and his empire) The so-called Radical Islamists, etc. Even further isolating the USA(tm) and chilling the worlds economy.
OTOH, an Obama/Biden win will be more along the lines of 'Oh, that's interesting. Let's wait and see.'.
As to Rockwell's call to protest the vote: "This year especially there is no lesser of two evils. There is socialism or fascism. The true American spirit should guide every voter to have no part of either. " I would ask, when has it been any different?
I think this so-called American Conservative needs to read his history. Under Washington (war president) and Adams and Jefferson (the last of the peacetime presidents) things were moving in a certain direction, with the election of the our first fascist, Hamilton, things started heading in a direction that led pretty directly to our second revolution, aka the Civil War. Reconstruction led us to bankruptcy (not for the first time) which took us straight down the road of socialism, which in turn helped build the nation that took us into WWII, which built the USA(tm) that most of us think of. All this talk about choosing socialism/fascism is rather lost on me. I'd like to know where this American Conservative thinks his wealth and security comes from exactly.
When I say american history, I don't mean the history book version. The version that includes all the IWW wars, and all that fun stuff.
Nice post. Not sure what to make of all this. I'm trying to think of this election, not in terms of what happens or doesn't happen to 'America' [or rather, USA(tm), the public services subsidiary of War Incorporated] but rather in terms of the broader context of international relations.
I think the World at large, will view a McCain/Palin victory as a refutation of all of us who has been telling the world, 'It's not us, it's our government.' It will be an endorsement by 'us' of our current government and it's international policies. This will start driving fence sitters into the folds of the likes of Czar Vladimir II (Putin and his empire) The so-called Radical Islamists, etc. Even further isolating the USA(tm) and chilling the worlds economy.
OTOH, an Obama/Biden win will be more along the lines of 'Oh, that's interesting. Let's wait and see.'.
As to Rockwell's call to protest the vote: "This year especially there is no lesser of two evils. There is socialism or fascism. The true American spirit should guide every voter to have no part of either. " I would ask, when has it been any different?
I think this so-called American Conservative needs to read his history. Under Washington (war president) and Adams and Jefferson (the last of the peacetime presidents) things were moving in a certain direction, with the election of the our first fascist, Hamilton, things started heading in a direction that led pretty directly to our second revolution, aka the Civil War. Reconstruction led us to bankruptcy (not for the first time) which took us straight down the road of socialism, which in turn helped build the nation that took us into WWII, which built the USA(tm) that most of us think of. All this talk about choosing socialism/fascism is rather lost on me. I'd like to know where this American Conservative thinks his wealth and security comes from exactly.
When I say american history, I don't mean the history book version. The version that includes all the IWW wars, and all that fun stuff.
re: World at large - when I was last in Stockholm the ratio of Europeans supporting Gore vs Bush was roughly 12 to 0.
The overseas people I meet now are roughly 100 to 0 in favor of Obama.
Americans are ornery (which is why I still like a few) and don't like to be wrong.
Foreign-bashing could be a significant factor in the vote, if someone could manage to pin the economic meltdown on the shoulders of the rest of the world.
Now, as for Rockwell, it's good that I pay attention to Libertarians just so I know where I differ from them.
History is fascinating. There's so many different versions to choose from. I used to believe in Horatio Alger, for example. Still do, on alternate tuesdays.
I have long thunk upon writing up a passionate defense of FDR's CCC. Everywhere I've been in America I've seen remnants of that work.
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The overseas people I meet now are roughly 100 to 0 in favor of Obama.
Americans are ornery (which is why I still like a few) and don't like to be wrong.
Foreign-bashing could be a significant factor in the vote, if someone could manage to pin the economic meltdown on the shoulders of the rest of the world.
Now, as for Rockwell, it's good that I pay attention to Libertarians just so I know where I differ from them.
History is fascinating. There's so many different versions to choose from. I used to believe in Horatio Alger, for example. Still do, on alternate tuesdays.
I have long thunk upon writing up a passionate defense of FDR's CCC. Everywhere I've been in America I've seen remnants of that work.
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