Left Coast Loons............

Jerry Brown, Harry Reid, Barbara Boxer.  Elected.

We know what is wrong with these people we don't know what is wrong with voters who put them in office again.

An American Veteran's Perspective..............

"I'm 63 and I'm Tired"


by Robert A. Hall

I'm 63. Except for one semester in college when jobs were scarce and a six-month period when I was between jobs, but job-hunting every day, I've worked hard since I was 18. Despite some health challenges, I still put in 50-hour weeks, and haven't called in sick in seven or eight years. I make a good salary, but I didn't inherit my job or my income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, there's no retirement in sight, and I'm tired. Very tired.

I'm tired of being told that I have to "spread the wealth" to people who don't have my work ethic. I'm tired of being told the government will take the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy to earn it.

I'm tired of being told that I have to pay more taxes to "keep people in their homes." Sure, if they lost their jobs or got sick, I'm willing to help. But if they bought McMansions at three times the price of our paid-off, $250,000 condo, on one-third of my salary, then let the left-wing Congress-critters who passed Fannie and Freddie and the Community Reinvestment Act that created the bubble help them with their own money.

I'm tired of being told how bad America is by left-wing millionaires like Michael Moore, George Soros and Hollywood Entertainers who live in luxury because of the opportunities America offers. In thirty years, if they get their way, the United States will have the economy of Zimbabwe , the freedom of the press of China the crime and violence of Mexico , the tolerance for Christian people of Iran , and the freedom of speech of Venezuela .

I'm tired of being told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace," when every day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and daughters for their family "honor"; of Muslims rioting over some slight offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren't "believers"; of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning teenage rape victims to death for "adultery"; of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little girls; all in the name of Al lah, because the Qur'an and Shari'a law tells them to.

I'm tired of being told that "race doesn't matter" in the post-racial world of Obama, when it's all that matters in affirmative action jobs, lower college admission and graduation standards for minorities (harming them the most), government contract set-asides, tolerance for the ghetto culture of violence and fatherless children that hurts minorities more than anyone, and in the appointment of U.S. Senators from Illinois.

I think it's very cool that we have a black president and that a black child is doing her homework at the desk where Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation. I just wish the black president was Condi Rice, or someone who believes more in freedom and the individual and less arrogantly of an all-knowing government.

I'm tired of a news media that thinks Bush's fundraising and inaugural expenses were obscene, but thinks that Obama's, at triple the cost, were wonderful; that thinks Bush exercising daily was a waste of presidential time, but Obama exercising is a great example for the public to control weight and stress; that picked over every line of Bush's military records, but never demanded that Kerry release his; that slammed Palin, with two years as governor, for being too inexperienced for VP, but touted Obama with three years as senator as potentially the best president ever. Wonder why people are dropping their subscriptions or switching to Fox News? Get a clue. I didn't vote for Bush in 2000, but the media and Kerry drove me to his camp in 2004.

I'm tired of being told that out of "tolerance for other cultures" we must let Saudi Arabia use our oil money to fund mosques and mandrassa Islamic schools to preach hate in America , while no American group is allowed to fund a church, synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia to teach love and tolerance.

I'm tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global warming, which no one is allowed to debate. My wife and I live in a two-bedroom apartment and carpool together five miles to our jobs. We also own a three-bedroom condo where our daughter and granddaughter live. Our carbon footprint is about 5% of Al Gore's, and if you're greener than Gore, you're green enough.

I'm tired of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses while they tried to fight it off? I don't think Gay people choose to be Gay, but I #@*# sure think druggies chose to take drugs. And I'm tired of harassment from cool people treating me like a freak when I tell them I never tried marijuana.

I'm tired of illegal aliens being called "undocumented workers," especially the ones who aren't working, but are living on welfare or crime. What's next? Calling drug dealers, "Undocumented Pharmacists"? And, no, I'm not against Hispanics. Most of them are Catholic, and it's been a few hundred years since Catholics wanted to kill me for my religion. I'm willing to fast track for citizenship any Hispanic person, who can speak English, doesn't have a criminal record and who is self-supporting without family on welfare, or who serves honorably for three years in our military.... Those are the citizens we need.

I'm tired of latte liberals and journalists, who would never wear the uniform of the Republic themselves, or let their entitlement-handicapped kids near a recruiting station, trashing our military. They and their kids can sit at home, never having to make split-second decisions under life and death circumstances, and bad mouth better people than themselves. Do bad things happen in war? You bet. Do our troops sometimes misbehave? Sure. Does this compare with the atrocities that were the policy of our enemies for the last fifty years and still are? Not even close. So here's the deal. I'll let myself be subjected to all the humiliation and abuse that was heaped on terrorists at Abu Ghraib or Gitmo, and the critics can let themselves be subject to captivity by the Muslims, who tortured and beheadedDaniel Pearl in Pakistan, or the Muslims who tortured and murdered Marine Lt. Col. William Higgins in Lebanon, or the Muslims who ran the blood-spattered Al Qaeda torture rooms our troops found in Iraq, or the Muslims who cut off the heads of schoolgirls in Indonesia, because the girls were Christian. Then we'll compare notes. British and American soldiers are the only troops in history that civilians came to for help and handouts, instead of hiding from in fear.

I'm tired of people telling me that their party has a corner on virtue and the other party has a corner on corruption. Read the papers; bums are bipartisan. And I'm tired of people telling me we need bipartisanship. I live in Illinois , where the " Illinois Combine" of Democrats has worked to loot the public for years. Not to mention the tax cheats in Obama's cabinet.

I'm tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of both parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting caught. I'm tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor.

Speaking of poor, I'm tired of hearing people with air-conditioned homes, color TVs and two cars called poor. The majority of Americans didn't have that in 1970, but we didn't know we were "poor." The poverty pimps have to keep changing the definition of poor to keep the dollars flowing.

I'm real tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions. I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination or big-whatever for their problems.

Yes, I'm real tired. But I'm also glad to be 63. Because, mostly, I'm not going to have to see the world these people are making. I'm just sorry for my granddaughter.

Robert A Hall is a Marine Vietnam veteran who served five terms in the Massachusetts State Senate.

You just have to watch this..............

By NEIL GENZLINGER


Don’t think of it as spending six hours at the circus, a brain-numbing prospect for some grown-ups. Think of it as investing six hours in an elegant eavesdrop-on-our-family reality show that puts all the noisy, obnoxious examples of that genre to shame.

“Circus,” a six-part study of the Big Apple Circus that begins on Wednesday on PBS, has its share of aerialists, jugglers and clowns, of course, all beautifully filmed. But this quietly addictive program isn’t really about what goes on inside the Big Apple’s single ring. It’s about the people, both under the lights and behind them, who make those performances possible. And, to PBS’s credit, “Circus,” filmed over the 2008-9 season, isn’t a mere highlight reel; it takes the time to let you get to know this unusual collection of misfits and perfectionists, making their triumphs and especially their setbacks truly affecting.

For much of the first hour “Circus” doesn’t seem as if it would be worth the commitment. The initial encounters with the principal players include an awful lot of predictable, overblown blather about the wonders of the circus life. It’s every youngster’s dream to join the circus, assorted people repeat in one way or another, a cliché that hasn’t been true for a few generations. We’re all one big family, everyone says, another cliché, though more accurate.

“Six hours of this?” you’re thinking, but just then Maro Chermayeff and Jeff Dupre, the directors, throw in a jolting combination: a nasty accident during training and an incident involving a ring-crew worker that brings the police. It’s suddenly evident that these filmmakers have been given a level of access that will get them well beyond the platitudes.

And sure enough, the subsequent hours bring romance, firings, laughs, injuries, even death. Each episode has something unexpected in it, as well as moments of honesty that make up for the overly romanticized stretches (which are many, with Part 6 getting especially drippy).

It may be news to some viewers that the Big Apple Circus, whose current incarnation in Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center is the 33rd, essentially starts from scratch each year. Though some performers return — Barry Lubin, for instance, seems to have been the clown Grandma forever — others are new, and their various routines must be whipped into shape and blended into a coherent whole. The supporting crew also has to be trained.

The opening episode, “First of May,” records the beginning of this process, in Walden, N.Y., where Steve Smith, the director for the 2008-9 season, and Paul Binder, the circus’s longtime artistic director, assess what they’ve got and try to form it into a quality show. There is trouble in the ring — it’s a good thing that the horse-riding acrobats wear safety tethers and that the trapeze has a net under it — and some discomfort outside of it, as people get to know one another.

Once the circus hits the road, a couple of big-picture stories emerge. One is Mr. Binder’s announcement that the season will be his last as artistic director. Another is the economy.  “Here we are on the 29th of September 2008,” Mr. Smith is heard to say as the camera pans the tent during a performance, revealing that at least half the seats are empty. “The Dow Jones dropped 777 points today. Money is tight.”

But the real beauty of this program is in the smaller stories and in the openness with which they’re told, from Mr. Binder — his ambivalence about leaving the job couldn’t be clearer — down to the low-wage grunts who set up the tents and clean up after the animals.

“There’s a woman, prison, babies and courts, and that explains it all,” one tent rigger says by way of describing how someone comes to be doing what he’s doing. “Most people who know those four things know you end up in jobs like this.”



By season’s end, this man has gone through quite a journey, and so have the juggling brothers who barely talk to each other, the clown who takes mood-stabilizing medication, the wire walker who wants to have a baby, and just about everyone else in this well-conceived program. You probably won’t be inspired to run off and join the circus after watching “Circus”; heck, you might be left with the suspicion that economics and other forces are going to kill off this art form before too much longer. But you’ll be glad that there were people who did, and that these filmmakers captured them before time marched on.

Election Day yuck..........

Do you know what happened 160 years ago this fall... back in 1850?


California became a state.

The people had no electricity.

The state had no money.

Almost everyone spoke Spanish.

There were gunfights in the streets.

So basically nothing has changed except then the women had real boobs and the men didn't hold hands.

ZeroHedge.com

The finest web site on the planet, exposing the fraud of Wall Street on the American people.

Here they are taking on  the big banks holding your mortgage note.  Maybe you want to keep an eye on what is going on yourself.

Heard Anything?


When news broke that Wall Street had made a total mess of our mortgages, we launched a website that let homeowners ask their bank a simple question: where's my mortgage note?

By law, banks had 20 days to respond to your request. We're coming up on 20 days - can you give us a few minutes to tell us what you've heard? Click the appropriate link:

My bank sent me what they claim to be the original note.

My bank responded, but did not send me my original note.

I haven't heard back from my bank.

We've already started to hear back from some of the 200,000 homeowners that have gone to our site. So far, the responses are troubling.  Some banks claim they have no idea where the note is. Others have sent what they claim is the note, but closer inspection shows that it's a completely different document.

But, the most troubling of all is the response that many homeowners have gotten from Bank of America. They're telling customers they have no legal right to see their own note. Think about how absurd that is; your mortgage note is a contract you signed with your bank - and they're telling you that you can't see it?

Did your bank give you a similar response? Click here to alert your state attorney general: http://action.seiu.org/page/s/investigate

We aren't going to get to the bottom of Wall Street's mess overnight. But step one is alerting the authorities if your bank fails to honor your request in a way that you think is acceptable. And if there's any hint of possible fraud, it needs to be investigated immediately.

I'll send you another update once we hear back from other homeowners in the same boat as you. If we're going to keep paying thousands of dollars to these banks, we have every right to demand some shred of accountability from them.

Irish Setter boots, the Elk Tracker 880

I am really disappointed in this boot.  Always wanted a pair and got around to picking up a pair at the Sportsmans Warehouse in Chattanooga, TN.   Put about 25 miles on my first pair, oiled them and all of a sudden they just wear out my left arch with poor stitching once the boot was pliable and was fitting my foot.  There was a large knot from a leather joint that was about as hard as diamonds and it was just killing me on every step.   So, I called the GM back in TN, he had another pair, I rolled up there two weeks ago and started the process all over.  Next thing I know I have a large blister on the heel of my right foot.   I don't get it.   I have more hunting boots than Carters has liver pills and I get a couple Irish Setter duds.

I should have asked for a discount in having to drive 200 miles to pick up the last pair.    It's my last pair of Irish Setters I will ever purchase.  One pair of dud boots, your fault,  two pair of duds, well, definitely your fault,  there won't be a third time.   I have had enough.  

Here's what Irish Setter has to say about the boot.

"Constructed entirely of super premium work-grade leathers, the Elk Tracker is our “Franchise Player”. It breaks in fast and fits great from the word go. With sturdy cleats that grab hold on any terrain, this big time performer makes even seasoned hunters its #1 fan"

I have to say that is all nonsense.  Hype.  BS.

Quantitative Easin'

All my stocks are up in my 401(k)

And my random walk, is still lookin' okay

I'm even safe with AMBAC muni bonds from L.A.

Quantative easin', takes my risk away.

Stopped into my bank, to pay my loan today

Well the banker takes my fiat, and we pretend I pay

You know that leech he wants my gold, but it's all squirrelled away

Quantative easin', boosts my silver play

My real estate is down, and my mood is gray

So I will just default - it's that easy they say

I'll give the house keys back, eighteen months from today

Quantative easin', makes my rent free today

Quantative easin', where politicians play

Quantative easin', is surely here to stay

Dead wrong Wall Street analysis..............

By now everyone is aware that M&T bank acquired Wilmington Trust in today's version of Merger Monday... however this time with a twist. The company was acquired at a 40%... discount. That's right, as shareholders were happy with their WL positions at close yesterday, it appears the financial firm, and its acquirer were all too aware that the sellside pump syndicate was woefully wrong on the name, and 11 analysts had an average target on the stock of $10.31. The question then becomes if Wall Street is so very wrong in evaluating one of its own to the tune of a 40% plunge to closing price, and 60% to the target consensus, just how overvalued are all other financial firms, all of which continue to trade based on circle jerk rating boosts by one another, even as those behind the Chinese Wall (such as M&T management and WL executives) know all too well the fair value of assets is way below where the gullible public is buying the stock. Which is why we present some of the most egregious examples of sellside hubris and pumpatude disclosed by this price discovery event: below are the hall of shame analysts who missed this take under by about a mile.

At the top: SunTrust's Mac Hodgson whose latest price target on WL was $22... just over 80% where the company ended up being acquired! Going down the list we see such other wizards of financial modelling as Keefe, Bruyette's McGratty who has a $13 PT, RBC's Cassidy who recently reiterated a price target of $12, Credit Agricole's Ruthschow with $11, Morgan Stanley's Pate with $10, B Riley's Stapp with $9, and so forth. One wonders if this cadre of hall of shamers was so very wrong on WL, just how correct their other buy "calls" must be...