Economic bubbles

An interesting article about economic bubbles. Let me see, there was the roaring 20's, the post war (WWII) housing boom, the dot com boom. Anyone think of others?

Bubbles

Lead that nasty heavy metal

(And I don't mean a rock group) is now believed to be a cause of increased aging in people exposed to it at a young age.

Lead


Something this article fails to mention is that since lead was used in gasoline for decades before being removed, the residule lead at the edge of roadways across the nation is still present. I remember when I was first certified to remove lead. One of the very first jobs was to remove lead paint at a daycare. The standard proceedure was to take wipe and soil samples after the removal was completed to prove that there was no lead remaining. Only problem was the consulting firm doing the samples could not get a totally clean sample. The shrubs, trees, grass and dirt had been contaminated from years of cars driving by. What was done? You guessed it. All of the shrubs, trees, grass and about a foot of dirt were removed from the site.
Always wise to wear gloves when working in the dirt and don't forget to wash your hands after.

Your $800 rebate is now $600

I think the only reason we are seeing any consideration of a rebate is because the stock market took a dump loosing over 2000 points in just a few months. Had that not happened you would have seen nada, zip, zero from the federal government. It would have been business as usual since those at the top had lost nothing. As Bush has screwed up everything he's touched I think he was hoping to slide out of town after the election having raped this country with his stupid economic policys, unethical and illegal government policys, and incompetant cronies. In trying to pump the economy he's hoping to try to keep the dog and pony show going just long enough to so republicans through out the land aren't send running out of town tarred and feathered.
Sorry for all the cliches.

Sorry economy

What will $600 buy? That would pay for about one month's rent and some groceries depending on where you live. Uugghhh we've been Bushwacked again.

Bye Bye Dennis

Dennis Kucinich has droped out of the presidential race. I hope he'll stay positioned in congress to be a thorn in the side of the republican party.
Sorry to see you go

Health care

I'm somewhat tied up with medical problems in the family. All I can say is don't get sick at least not in this country. We managed to get an operation for a relative back east after the groveling, paperwork and massive internet search as to how this could be accomplished. Why corporate america doesn't realize that it would cheaper in the long run to have health care for all americans and have a major benefit to their bottom line is beyond me.

An interesting web site

If your looking for a little honesty in information here's a treasure trove on the background of the deception leading to the Iraq war and a host of links about how your state government really works.
Be patient there's so much info it takes a while to load.
A great site for government research

"I added another tax cut for my friends in this plan"



Wouldn't you just like to bitch slap that smirk off his face?

Crumbs for the peasants

Just love how king George is playing Marie Antoinette you know "Let them eat cake". Let's see, the "tax breaks" won't come until June and the max amount is $1600 which is roughly the average mortgage payment or maybe the cost of filing bankruptcy. I'd say Shrub hasn't balanced his checkbook since before college.
A day late and a dollar short
Anybody know how much in tax breaks he gave his "have more" friends? If so please don't hesitate to get that info out on the web. You will have my undying gratitude.

photo not responding so I changed it.

For those wondering about the Super bowl

It will be New England and Green Bay. Call me a tin foil hatter but I think it was predetermined.

Mitt gets caught in a lie

S*it Romney gets caught saying his campaign is not run by lobbyists. As it turns out one of his top advisors is a lobbist.
Another lying republican

Inflation?

Don't you just love accurate reporting? Here's a cut and paste from Google news about the economy. I just love how one news outlet says the the economy is great and others say it's in the tank. This is not a case of the glass is half full or half empty. The underlying factor is that the idiot in the white house has spent it all, let companys get away with murder (Kenneth Lay) and basically destroyed this nation.




Turkish Press
US Economy: Inflation Slows, Production Unchanged (Update3)
Bloomberg - 7 hours ago
By Courtney Schlisserman Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Consumer prices in the US rose at a slower pace in December and industrial production failed to grow, giving the Federal Reserve the room and reason to cut interest rates at its next meeting on Jan. 30.
But Jump Is Unlikely to Deter Fed Wall Street Journal
Inflation Continues to Edge Up New York Times
MarketWatch - Reuters - BusinessWeek - CNNMoney.com
all 522 news articles »

Enlightment of our healthcare system

Got a kick out of seeing a conservative talking head Glen Beck realize what the actions of his party have done to the health care system. I'm thinking of a new label to put on all of this but I just can't put my finger on it. Something like hoisted by ones own petard just doesn't exactly fit. Any ideas?
There's a great lesson in this

Couldn't believe the pictures of Cleveland

As I watch the economy tank I take note of how this is effecting real communities. Let's see, gas is over $3 a gallon and heading higher. The stock market has only had one up day this year (down 246 on Friday). The dollar is down and the price of gold is over $900. Unemployment is up (7.4% in Michigan). People are foregoing paying their credit cards and phone bills. And even the Shrub in chief is talking about trying to help (God help us all. You know he'll screw it up). Remember all of the safety nets that had been cut years ago have now been eliminated. I just wonder how really bad it will get in the months to come.
They showed some shots of Cleveland on the news. One homeowner in that area noted that when homes go abandoned (forclosed) squatters move in bringing drugs and prostitution. The mayor is concerned as the tax base falls. There are over 10,000 forclosures in that city. With a falling tax base police and fire departments must be cut adding to the problems.

The dumbest statement by a U.S. president?

We should have bombed Auschwitz
I can't believe the stupidity to which this president has stuped.

Environmental meme

Came across a comment on Pyalgia's blog about being tagged for an environmental topic. I wasn't tagged but I thought I'd throw in my two cents for what it's worth. Basically it's about what we can do to save this piece of real estate in the universe for human habitation.
Strangely enough my interest in the environment came more by economic necessity than interest in eco matters. Back in the early eighties I noticed that our dumpster was getting fuller and the price of pick ups was going up. I sugested we see about a recycle bin so we could get a smaller dumpster at less cost. Oddly enough what started as one small recycle bin soon turned to three then four larger ones. This has worked well for some time, but I've noticed some changes in the last few years. Some recycle plastics are not recyclable. The clam shells that cookies come in even though being marked with a 1 in a triangle can not go into the bin. Same is true for many of the bubble wraps. Here's the real kicker. I read an article in the local paper (when I used to subscribe) that said that if the company that was picking up the recycle bins had too much material that the excess would get dumped with the garbage. This is sad because I know in Japan they will take all the garbage in a 20 yard container and recycle nearly all of it.
As for the other cost and environmental saving habits I've picked up came from the last recession. A list below:
Turned the thermostat on water heater down to 120
Bought a new energy efficient water heater
Bought a new energy efficient washer
Changed to low flow shower and water heads
Changed interior lights to mostly cfls
Changed exterior lights from 500 watt halagons to 150 watt high pressure sodium (nearly the same amount of light output)
Just had our windows and slider replaced to a higher energy efficient low e vinyl type.
Replaced my computer with one that is easily recyclable and I won't have to pay to get rid of this one. And this one uses less energy.

And no I didn't do this all at once. Most of the major purchases were in the last eight years.
I am looking into changing to LED lighting but right now they look a bit expensive ($15 to $45 each) but they only use 2 to 3 watts for the same output as a 60 watt bulb. I know as they start to catch on the price will come down just like the cfls.
Sadly I can't compost here there's just no place to do it. Another point, stop putting food waste down the disposal or the toilet. It's better put in with the yard waste or the garbage. Think about where the waste goes and remember it has to be taken out of waste water before that water can be treated and put back into the environment.
More on all of this later

Oil surges hitting $100 a barrel!

I generally tend to try not to be vulgar in this blog but on this I'm going to make an exception. As Stranger over at Blah3 pointed out, it's a time to give great adulations to our Shrub and the vice shrub in the white house two great oilmen who promised in their first term to do something about gas prices when the price was less than $2 a gallon! Shall we all just bend over now and prepare for the excrusiating pain that will be on us shortly? And all this in an election year. Shrub has no morals. And to all of the republicans who supported him over the years it's like he's telling them screw you. I won't be here. I'll just set myself up pretty and leave all the problems for the next guy just like he did in Texas. Asshat!
Happy Scew Year

Sub prime mortgage debacle

The is more up Invictus' alley about the investment pools in Florida. Notice how Jeb Bush enters the picture via the Lehman Brothers. Seems unethical business practices run in the family as far back as Prescott Bush. Should we be surprised?
Florida subprime debacle