Couldn't soap your windows or steal your garden gate Orson so...

Where the Samhain did this come from? People getting dressed up in disguise and roaming the streets for treats? It's just another of our silly superstitions. Fearing the shortening of daylight and the coming of winter it was an odd celebration of the end of harvest. Huge bonfires were lit presumably to scare off evil spirits and people dressed in elaborate animal skins and heads in an attempt to disguise themselves from the real spirits and demons, or so it's reported. 

And what post here wouldn't be complete without at least one wooden stake waved at the other side of the aisle, silver bullets are far too expensive these days. Anybody know of a good exorcist? We laugh at superstitions as being just that, silly old folk lore, but it's not stopped the perpetuation of the illogical. Solving the health care problem by not providing it makes about as much sense as helping a bleeding victim with the use of blood letting. You know how that one will turn out.

So while the kiddies are all snug in their beds having walked miles with bags full of candy, a more sinister demon is lurking. No, not some greasy pedophile hiding in the bushes outside a bedroom window but a bunch of demented congressmen who'd have you believe night is day and day is night. They'd like nothing better than to steal your pensions, lower salaries and eliminate what's left of the last remaining safety nets. No imagined ghost or goblin could be more scary than that. Oh did I mention that tomorrow as a real trick (there are no treats these days) they'll be cutting off a nice chunk of food stamps to the kiddies. So I hope the kids have bursting candy bags because it may be all they have to eat for the foreseeable future. When will the rest of society take up pitch forks and torches and go after these monsters? That's anybody's guess. In the mean time staple some tea bags to your front door and have a three corner hat at the ready. You just might fool them until help arrives. 

Friday pussy - Lions tigers and bears edition

Everything seems to be a flub up. Nothing seems right. Which leads one to believe that this was the result of years of practice. This didn't happen over night. Pick any story any news item and it's a safe bet that it was a concerted effort. Forget weapons of mass destruction we have mass stupidity now and everybody has a say. Psychosis was once treated at a mental hospital. Now it's set on a pedestal and fed to us on a daily basis. How crazy is it to say that having health care will kill you? And forget the investigations because how many times has a product failed to meet customers expectations right out of the box? The sun didn't stop shinning when they rolled out Medicare part D and there were no blue ribbon panels then to get to the bottom of things.

Hurry up and change the carnival fatalities headline before mom and dad sees it. The promoter will be livid if he doesn't make quota this year. Note from the editor never place such an article on the front page if possible the circus won't buy anymore ad space. And why didn't little Billy get along with his teacher, now gunned down at the school, he was such a nice quiet boy?

My spy's better than your spy. How silly it is for the powers that be wanting to gather up every scrap of information from online tweets to the last sigh of a lover's phone conversation. Should we be concerned? Of course we should. It's all about that six degrees of separation. When you accidentally dialed Sabu at the local Quickie Mart your name was then tied to everybody he knows and by logic it's safe to say that he's connected no matter how indirectly to an extremist group. It's that friend of a friend of a friend thing going on here. Makes you want to be a hermit for cripes sake.  

But back to the flub ups. Where did we go wrong? It's all the examples we've set in the last 40 or 50 years. First off is that might makes right. We see that every day on TV and the movies and the net. He who has the most fire power wins and it doesn't matter the situation. Second debacle was promoting cheating and lying are perfectly acceptable. It's what they teach in Harvard business ethics. Just don't get caught and if you do there's a lawyer who'll lie and cheat for you. You can even get away with murder with the right legal team but you'd better have the bucks or it's a one way trip to the slammer. You can't openly steal money from customers but should you come up with an investment vehicle that's impossible to understand yet guaranteed to make you a killing then you're set for life. Just make sure you're too big to fail and too big to jail.

Bank fails later... 
UPDATE: No fails this week    

Report from the emerald city - well almost

A look with jaded eye upon the news of the world but I'm no green cub reporter ya know.

You know there's nothing to write about when the headline crawl includes the latest misadventures of Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus or Britany Spears. Sorry guys they're just about at the end of their shelf life. So don't be surprised if one of their next stunts involves riding naked on a white horse down main street. Got to do something to revive your ratings you know. Maybe a little more exercise would do wonders for the middle age pounch.

And while you were busy watching your pennies roll down the rabbit hole of debt, CEOs took home a banner year of bucks some toping a billion dollars. And for what you might ask? Basically doing nothing. Ear wax has a greater function in this world than these guys. They do little other than use up air and food that could be put to better use. Mold has more redeeming qualities if you ask me. But let's not forget the talking heads that promote these jokers. You will note that the bulk of them are far from drug and alcohol free which must be a cheap pay off for the vitriol they spew. Gee thought it was too early for vampires and zombies. Must be mistaken. But fear not Facebook now allows beheading videos so all must be right with the world, or not.

Those jobless figures are a bunch of bull. Reported at 7.2% the real figure is closer to 20%. How is that? When someone's unemployment runs out they are no longer counted. I know of at least 4 people on my street who fall into that category. About the only jobs left are in trucking or health care and those people are too old for that type of work. Then there's the idiots in DC who think it's a great idea to play the shut down and debt ceiling game once more in January. That definitely put the breaks on hiring. Watch the sales figures for the upcoming holiday season. Once the BS numbers are given just after Christmas, the revised numbers will come out in January and they won't be good. People are pissed at congress and worried they won't have a job come the new year. You think they'll buy the usual useless crap they sell around the holidays? Me thinks not. 

Hit the road Jack

Dear senators and congressmen

It has come to my attention that you make far more than 8 times what someone at the federal poverty level makes in earnings and with local taxes and fees going up those people have no other choice but to seek assistance from the government. Since you in congress have voted down any bill to provide jobs and the burden of educational costs have been shifted to students and their parents over the last 30 or 40 years, it only makes sense that you resign from office and let someone else take on the task. You do after all seem to hate government by your last recent actions. And you seem to have forgotten that government actually does provide services for everyone. Closing down the parks and blaming the park rangers didn't score you any points. You may pander to the very ignorant but the rest of America isn't that stupid.

So please congress people hang up your legislative hats and go home. You've surely milked the American public of more than enough to retire and most of you aren't getting any younger. Call it quits and let some young blood in there who might accomplish a kind act or two. As obstructionist as you people have been the last 5 years, the American public is looking for another party to vote for and I don't think you'll like it. We're sick of wars. We're tired of being treated like the enemy with airport pat downs and our email spied on. Yes we do want health care but not on your terms with a cheap chit to pay for it. Your idea of a $5000 voucher wouldn't pay for one root canal much less full medical coverage. And sorry but I can't borrow $10 million from my parents to start a business either. You have become blinded by all the PAC money thrown at you. Money that doesn't even have to be used for campaign purposes as we now have found out. The conflicts of interests in DC of late are mind boggling. You get inside information about companies then profit from the legislation you enact and often times that legislation is written verbatim by the companies you say you regulate.

So keep ignoring us at your own peril. You've trashed a nation with no regard to anyone but your supporters, a wealthy elite. There are those of us on both sides of the political spectrum who are fed up with your game and once we come together your days in congress are over. I believe there are enough of us to put an end to this nonsense by voting you out. Call this bi partisan hatred of what you've done to this country. To those on the right who obstructed and those on the left who let the minority get away with it it's time for a congressional shut down and reset. You haven't done any of us average people any favors with your recent shenanigans so it will be time for payback come next election cycle. Enjoy your playtime while you still have it because you'll be facing retirement shortly.

And don't come back no more.

Friday pussy - pre Halloween edition

We now return you to your regularly scheduled mundane life. Nothing to see here keep shopping.

What's new purry cat? No joy in Mudville that's for sure. Fukushima is still Fuking us. Forget GMOs we have bigger fish to fry. Fear not they'll come pre fried complete with your daily dose of Cesium. It destroys bones 12 ways Mr Wonder bread. Cause after all it's GE that brings good things to death. Who said you had to pass that nuclear reactor design class to make it to the big leagues?

And in other news a 99 year old woman married a 103 year old man. Rather tan say "I do" she probably said "I did"? And would you hurry it up rev we have a hearse waiting outside. Okay okay that's sick but no sicker than the rest of the news.

We now have nasty mosquitoes carrying something akin to west nile virus lurking in California. So forget the fear of gang members or terrorists carrying suspicious packages, have your long sleeves and cans of Deet at the ready the little blood suckers are worse than Dracula. Is it that time of year again? A holiday almost as big as Christmas which has become another waste of resources. But just to get you in the mood or not the following:

It all dates back to Samhain that Celtic holiday celebrating the end of harvest. Bonfires were lit (in essence burning the coming winter in effigy) and as people thought spirits roamed the earth they would dress up in disguise to fool evil spirits into thinking they were one of their own. The original jack o' lanterns were hollowed out turnips with lit candles to keep ghosts and spirits away. Pumpkins soon replaced the lowly turnips and who could forget that unique smell of burning candle wax and charred pumpkin lid at this time of year? Maybe a forgotten memory as now they're made of plastic and lit with LEDs. If you're too cheap for that there's always a free downloadable screen saver. How times change.  

But fear not the scariest thing roaming the earth at the moment are not some ghosts or goblins hiding in the shadows they're right inside the halls of congress trying their best to take away health care, food and the last pennies you have stashed. And no I won't be dressing up in some three corner hat with Red Rose tea bags dangling to try and fool them.

Bank fails later...
UPDATE: No bank fails this week but don't go shopping save your money for the next round of stupid come January.

This isn't the knight of Nea ya know

The more things change the more they stay the same. In reading about the Knights Templar we find the basis for much of today's economic and social mayhem. Seems the names may have changed but the game is the same. There was once slight difference between now and then. Back then it was the sons of noblemen who took up the arms fighting for the cause. While the primary mission of the Templar was said to be military it's infrastructure amassed massive wealth by issuing letters of credit to pilgrims headed to the holy land. A pilgrim would deposit all their valuables at a local Templar headquarters and receive a document stating how much he had deposited. Being an early form of a cheque it was the beginnings of the banking system we have today. With all it's wealth it was able to acquire land and build castles and churches all with other people's money. It became what is now considered the largest multinational corporation of it's day.

It needs to be understood here that this organization was given powers beyond local laws or even the laws of nations. A templar could travel unimpeded anywhere without having to worry about laws or taxes. And it wasn't until the organization divided into other factions that it declined. It's one final defeat at Arwad put an end to it's military mission. Support for the organization dwindled. But it left behind Templar Houses, businesses and a structure of banking that was still used by the locals. Not subject to local government its standing army could pass through any jurisdiction. This frightened European nobility as the organization became a state within a state.

We can see so much of what happened back then repeating itself today. The problem now is that it's the governments' turn to become perverted in it's mission. It has again given all the power to the banks, instilled massive debts on the masses all the while pocketing the benefits of people's hard work. We're back to fighting the crusades with factions in the middle east labeled terrorists. Our standing army moves through those areas unimpeded by local laws. Valuables (money) are still deposited in what are now multinational banks who control the armies. The only thing that's changed is that now governments have taken out loans (bonds) to pay for all the military hardware and left the burden on the taxpayer and the poor and never the nobles in this case. A neat trick when you can control the government and fool the people into voting against their own best interests. 

In a later post I'll get into the Rothchilds ( no tin foil hat necessary) and you'll see how they still play a part although minor now in how the world works and what changed to make their positions a "can't lose" proposition.

Friday Pussy - Scary spice edition

But it's not what's behind you that's truly scary it's what's right in front of you. (And Dave's not here and neither is she.)

Behind us was a stimulus package that didn't quit work. Granted it did slow down the economic bleeding for a while but the bulk of the benefit went to large corporations in the form of tax cuts. With the cash for clunkers and a loan to auto makers we managed to save the auto industry here in the U.S. Yes those were loans and they've all been paid back.

Then there was the sequester an across the board cut to all programs that was supposed to force hands at the budget negotiation table. It did not. And why would it? Those making that decision had no skin in the game. What would they care if some kid in south Hoboken goes without lunch or grandma gets her meals on wheels taken away? The congressional cafeteria never closed and it's a safe bet the cocktail parties never ended through all this. In fact by the looks of it the booze is flowing quite nicely in DC from the judgements these guys are making.

It was once said that to really screw things up use a computer. Think that can be changed to to really really screw things up use congress. Never underestimate the power of stupid because we all though they'd never allow a sequester (cut to programs that benefit you and me) or that they'd be crazy enough to shut the government, but here we are so it's a safe bet anything's possible. People rail against the government until it's their program that's being cut or eliminated. They seem to forget that we're all in this together whether we like it or not. And while the boys on Wall Street are raking in the green backs they'd better take heed because we've been slapped around once too often. They may control congress but we control the purse strings and it won't look too pretty come Christmas if the whole thing goes down the tubes.

So to all of those guys out there who hate government so much please do us a big favor and resign. You'll save us so much money we could hire six workers that actually produce something rather than grab a mic and spew hot air. Don't worry what's behind you, keep a close watch what's in front of you or you might just trip over somebody headed for the exits.

Bank fails later

And oh yes before announcing his exit Jamie Dimon just reported a 400 million dollar loss at JP Morgan Chase. Wonder what kind of bonus he got? 
UPDATE: No bank fails this week so keep shopping.

Tramps thieves and a worn out can

These people are idiots. The right thinks that they can cherry pick what they want to pay and not pay without doing damage to the world economy? Try doing that with your monthly bills and see what happens. When your credit rating tanks you'll land up paying payday loan rates going forward. Now who's the responsible party in the room senator tea bagger?

Fine go ahead shut the whole thing down and I won't pay my bills either. Let's all take a bill paying holiday until next year and see how that works out. And just how many people have died from the current shutdown? Your plan didn't quit work out like you planned did it? Shut everything and everybody will be happy didn't quit work the way you thought. And people may be slow but they aren't as stupid as you may think. Republicans I've talked to are pissed and ashamed of their party. They figured out your little game to steal their benefits. "You can't fool all of the people all of the time" and hum who said that?

So what just happened? While your attention was diverted to the pain and suffering of everyday folks Wall Street was busy raking in more dough. It jacked the market up by selling off gold and then bought hedges against a downturn. The market did just that going from nearly 16000 to 14500 in just a week or so. Once the hedges were cashed out they'll pump it up once again until the next manufactured crisis.

Not to be a scare monger but if you have any T bonds laying around you just might want to cash them in before they become about as useful as toilet paper. Expensive TP at that. The yield on them has doubled over the last week which means they've already lost value. As psychotic as all this sounds it now appears that the republicans are being hoisted by their own petard as the expression goes. Wall Street is now motioning that it's time to put the brakes on this run a way zombie crowd. The monster has pillaged the village but it doesn't look like anyone can stop him. Remember they were the ones who said they were against a shutdown and look where that got us.  

Gad and Halloween isn't even here yet

Forget Dracula the Mummy the Wolfman or Frankenstein. Perish the thought of the snakes, giant radioactive spiders or the Blob, we have the republican party, the scariest thing on the planet to date. No creatures from outer space could wreck such havoc  and they don't need death rays or poison gases to do their dirty work. Not so much as pen to paper does it take to induce more pain and suffering on the world's population. A mere verbal "No" vote and kids get food snatched from their mouths, parents scramble to find day care and those who have nothing to do with any of this get the pink slip or if they're lucky an IOU. Death panels? Hell republicans are the death panel.

Governments were formed to benefit their citizens not to inflict an array of hardships and mayhem. But like a bunch of spoiled brats these guys will trash the planet if they won't get their way. Grow up. We saw what happened when they disced police fire fighters and teachers the last election. If this is their way of gaining support and broadening their base they sure are going about it the wrong way. Americans will be pushed only so far there is a breaking point and I think we're starting to see the beginnings.

Keep it up idiots and see what's inside that corporate donation envelope after you play Grinch this Christmas to the American people. You may be sitting with a stack of green but we got the votes and they aren't for sale. I believe it was Mark Twain who once said something to the effect that congress should serve just four years then be taken out and shot. That way there'd be no revolving door lobbyists to play the system.

Here's an idea. How about we all not pay our bills this month or next? Congress doesn't seem to want to pay theirs. Why should we be any different? Send in a check for zero dollars and no cents with a note "compliments of your federal government". At least that'll keep the postal workers employed.

Kill kill kill

(Tees now available in the lobby in small medium large and extra large)

Mirror mirror on the wall who's the deadliest of them all? Not me that's for sure. Fire up the news and what do we see? I kid you not this is what was being dished out on the web's magic window to the world yesterday in exact order:

8 year old boy kills sister while driving a car

Student accidentally shot and killed by police

Inmate shoots deputy sheriff

Man kills girlfriend and 3 others in Seattle

Man sets himself on fire on the National Mall later dies

Cop killed in India

Four killed in Kenya after cleric is shot

Four people shot in kansas City

People being shot stabbed bombed and gassed, torture seems to be the lesser of evils at the moment. Calgon take me away, oops you just might drowned in the bathtub if somebody doesn't shove the plugged in radio into the bath water first. What's in the drinking water these days anyway? My kingdom for an ounce of kindness. Diogenes where are you? Guess he's busy playing liars poker with the boys.

So where do we go from here? How bad can bad be? That's right there's always worse. And just when you thought things were starting to head in the right direction the rug gets pulled right out from under you. That'll teach you to mix metaphors. The GPS will get you every time. At the end of your rope? (Now made in China.) Fear not it won't hold for long. This may be the end my friend. Pour me another cup of tea. No not the domestic you idiot, the imported, this calls for a celebration. Fire up the grungiest of mayhem tunes. Is that the four horsemen I see riding in the sky? Perhaps not just tornado warnings. Proceed to the nearest shelter and stay tuned for further updates. What fools these mortals be. Film at eleven.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled mundane life.

Friday pussy - raging edition

Road rage seems to be the new pitch fork and torches not to be confused with text driving. And why can't I eat a full course turkey dinner whilst tooling down the interstate? Perhaps a bit of funding of mental health might be in order. They have pills for that don't they?

Okay okay the gal was a single mom with a kid, pregnant and just lost her job wouldn't you be a bit depressed? No clue as to why she would go after the prez, after all he wanted to keep things going. 

To the rethuglicons you are about to get your walking papers from big business if you think that default is a keen idea. Not nice to mess with their profits. They may have bought their hedges against a further downturn but they hadn't calculated the fact that their insurance pool isn't going to cover everybody once the economic storm hits. Insurance is underfunded just like so many pensions. Hum haven't we been down this road once before? (cough cough AIG)

Not much heard from Iraq Afghanistan or Syria so we'll have to look elsewhere for our daily fix of mayhem. The Kenyan mall killings are still fresh but here's a devious tid bit now being reported. The soldiers who did the rescuing decided to help themselves to the malls abundance of goodies stripping clothing from mannequins, ripping open cash registers and even lifting bloody wallets from the dead. Sheesh and it's not even Halloween yet.

What torrent of terror would be complete without some natural disaster bearing down on us? We now have killer Karen swirling her way through the Gulf and seemingly headed for New Orleans once again. Depending on the water temps in the Gulf this will either be something significant or relegated to the back pages near the comic section. As this is happening so late in the season I vote for the latter. 

Lastly while not one bankster has seen the inside of a jail cell here, the Swiss have set out at least to investigate exchange rate rigging. Maybe we could borrow their investigators and uncover the home mortgage fraud that transpired before the statute of limitations runs out. And on that note...

Bank fails later.

Shut up and get off my lawn er, health care!

How stupid can people be?

The Affordable Care Act is law. That is a fact. Nothing the republicans can do now will stop it. And why should they? Not to sound like an ad but we are the last industrialized nation on the planet to have health care for all its' citizens. While it may not be a perfect program it is a start. A beginning of something good when you stop to consider life expectancy in this country has actually gone down over the past years. It reached a peak of 76 for men  and 81 for women or so I'm told. Have to check the exact number later. After further review as they say in football I find that the U.S. ranks 33rd in life expectancy behind such countries as Chile and Kuwait. I suspect those numbers to slid with the recession here in the U.S.

While it will be somewhat expensive at first the costs will go down once more sign up and many are. There were 3 million inquiries the first day. So many that the site crashed. Once the bugs are worked out you can sign up on line or go to an information center where people are there to answer questions. You can even sign up for the exchange here and compare rates based on age and amount of coverage you desire. Maximum they can charge is a bit over 9% of your gross income. If you're low income you get a subsidy. This should solve many problems we now have with the system. Those at the lower end tend to use the emergency rooms as their primary care which is very expensive for minor illnesses. It will also help fund those with more serious illnesses. The younger people may not think this is fair but they too will be old some day and need some type of care and of course accidents and illnesses do happen even to young people. There was a time believe it or not when most health care was non profit in this country, that is until Nixon got his grubby hands on it and started the HMOs (for profit group plans).

The lies. The government does not determine what is covered and who get what treatments. That is determined by the policy you pick. There are no "death panels" where some government agency decides who lives and who dies. What that referred to was life directives, that's you leaving instructions to the doctor or hospital in the event you become so disabled that you could not express you medical wishes. Lie number three is it will make health care more expensive. Maybe somewhat at first as all the bugs get worked out but from what I'm seeing costs are going down. If you happen to have a COBRA plan (extended coverage after getting laid off) you will see that prices in the exchange are less and yes you can switch to the exchange. So while the chicken Littles kept screaming the sky is falling those with half a brain knew that in the long run this would be a good thing. 

But if all this doesn't get your hackles up stop to consider that we the American tax payer are paying for some blob in congress not only a salary to do basically nothing to benefit mankind but for his cushy health care plan while he sits there trying to prevent us from having any.