'Twas the night before Christmas in Washington, D.C.

The Night Before Christmas in Washington D.C.





'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the House

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

The TARPs were all hung by the speaker's chair

In hopes that St. Bernanke soon would be there.



The reps and lobbyists were snugly in bed,

While visions of bailouts danced in their heads.

Hank Paulson and friends of Goldman Sachs

Just about to settle in for a new 4 year nap



When from the White House lawn arose such a clatter

Paulson sprang from his bed to see what was the matter

Away to the window he ran in a dash

Tore open the blinds and saw mountains of cash



Paulson jumped up and loosed joyful hollers

There was St. Ben dropping brand new dollars

The cash piling high smelling of fresh ink

Caused Paulson a double-take and a wide eyed blink



So overjoyed was Hank, the Secretary elect woke up

Tim Geithner arose and took a sip from his cup

Paulson asked him if the cash he could see

Geithner glibly said, "Ben ordered it, from me."



"You see Hank, I'm a Fed Bank President

From New York City where I am a resident

I roam board rooms from D.C. to Manhattan

By FOMC vote, interest rates will flatten"



"We'll get them low, right down to zero

To nearly all in D.C. the Fed is a hero

Printing money for all the spending

Previous, current, and projects yet pending



"Bernanke and I will take to the skies

Dropping cash and singing greenback lullabies

To the donors and cronies who matter the most

Forget moral hazard, let's have us a toast



The celebrating masters took to the sky

The chopper so weighed down could barely fly

Pallets of cash hanging in the night

The engines churning with all their might



On Frank, on Schumer, on Dodd, and Reid

Both sides of the aisle all, from the money trough to feed

To Detroit and Manhattan they'll send a fleet

Liquidity for all and the price is so cheap!



While people are mulling cider in holiday spices

The Fed is busy propping up toxic asset prices

Just as gravity, economic law cannot be repealed

And the mistakes of these policies will be revealed



The Keynesian policies of debt spending and inflation

Destroys savings and wealth all across the nation

Redistribution from the prudent to the reckless

By those whose policies are naught but feckless



Remember the first solution of central banking

Is to do their best to keep the presses cranking

For when industry cuts back and takes the pain

The government does nothing but more of the same



Expand programs, augment the spending

Open the money spigot and increase the lending

Consolidating control over more and more markets

Nationalizing the economy, in hopes to spark it



Backing up the money truck with a line of trailers

They keep spending like drunken sailors

So implore them, ask nice and say please

Get them to study Rothbard, Hayek and Mises



The best economy in the world it could be

But how long will it take for these blind masters to see

If printing money was the true road to wealth

Then Zimbabwe would have the most economic health



As the reserve currency, the dollar's days are numbered

By many tens of trillions in debt 'tis encumbered

Entitlement programs, endless wars and subsidy

Heading in the direction of Weimar Germany



To inquire for what cures a recession

Savings for investment answers that question

Capital does not just drop from the sky

From Fed bank masters who know how to fly



As the fleets spread out and presses run non stop

The Fed and the Treasury continue the money drop

Meanwhile Hank heard them exclaim as they flew out of sight

"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

International Talk LIke a Pirate Day, Sept. 19

www.talklikeapirate.com/

September 19th (every year)
is International Talk Like A Pirate Day

disclosure

disclosure to another
disclosure to self
discovering
one's own safety level
finding that it meets requirements
to absolve oneself of guilt
of not saying what
one burns to say
my yearning bubble has popped
and let my need escape
and rise up above my fearful ego
thank you
thank you
for hearing me

I thank me for being brave
and though I don't know
how this unfolds
I know that it is not lack of knowledge
that brings me to tears
but a heart overflowing,
that will not be contained
by a story of self-doubt,
protection and chains
that shorten the distance
between what is felt and
expressed.

Every moment to unfold
perfectly, precisely
leading to the next
as it is, as it will
who knows what the future means,
what it brings,
so I stop now.

substitute Cascadia for Idaho in this piece..... =)

(www.lewrockwell.com/buppert/...t11.html)

"Good Morning, Governor, how might we…"

"Mr. President, I realize you are a busy man so let’s get down to brass tacks…we are calling the ball and withdrawing our support of your Administration and the Federal government in DC. Effective immediately, we have coordinated to place all outgoing receipts to the IRS in a caged account here in Boise…"

"Governor, you can’t do that…"

"Please don’t interrupt while I am speaking as we are from this point onward peers in the family of nations. I hope you have reviewed the diplomatic instruments we sent by courier last night to Department of State which delineates the terms of our divorce."

"I did receive those and you have no earthly idea the can of whoop-…"

"Please, sir, maintain the decorum of these proceedings so we can move forward to an amicable separation. I give you my personal assurance on the safety and well-being of all Federal personnel we have detained for immediate repatriation to the remainder of these United States. Any non-law enforcement Federal personnel who wish to remain behind will be permitted to do so."

"I hope you have thought through the consequences of what you are embarking on."

"Mr. President, we have had over two hundred years to give the rulers on the Potomac a chance but that time has expired. Effective immediately, all so-called Federal lands now belong to the nation of Idaho and we will dispose of these lands at our leisure. In the interest of burying the hatchet, we will not seek compensation for the seizure, abuse and tenure of Federal practices on the aforementioned land and call the balance even."

"Those are my lands, Governor…"

"In actuality, they belong to neither of us, sir. On to other business, I have alerted my National Guard forces to establish checkpoints at all the main arterials in and out of Idaho. All National Guard forces deployed overseas will return home in the next 48 hours. I would also caution you on the use of military force to convince Idaho and its citizens to forcibly return to the yoke of the Union. Idaho has a well-deserved reputation as a rather well-equipped state in firearms possession and use. As Yamamoto said, you may find a rifle behind every blade of grass."

"Are you threatening the president of the United States?"

"No, sir, I am simply making an observation about the hazards of one country invading another."

"You are land-locked, Governor and wholly dependent on federal subsidy for a great deal of employment and infrastructure in Idaho."

"No longer, the tremendous tax burden across the spectrum formally imposed in our nation as a subject State in your country is now effectively terminated and we are going to unleash the free market to address all of our former shortcomings as a result of the overarching government supremacism practiced here before. In telephone conversations with my neighboring governors, we are on the verge of Confederation negotiations that will pave the way for Idaho embassies in British Columbia, Montana, Utah and Wyoming. We do intend on opening a consular office in DC as soon as we can ensure the diplomatic baggage containing sufficient weapons assures our safety in the greater DC metropolitan area for our diplomatic personnel."

"Governor, what Constitutional right do you have to secede from the US?"

"Mr. President, the behavior you have exhibited toward the Constitution has been at best characterized by active neglect and abhorrence for the restraint on governance in the Bill of Rights. I am rather surprised you would resort to assuming the document in any way has weight in Washington, DC. I would suggest my rights extend as far as our ability to throw off what has become a government of occupation instead of cooperation. We resign, sir and wish to go in peace."

"I will use every measure in my arsenal to force you back into the fold."

"Mr. President, thank you for the heads-up but we have taken certain precautions to ensure that any rash measures on your part have a disproportionate impact in the DC/Virginia corridor. Please don’t press us on the issue. I would like to offer one more rather moderate important proposal to our future business. These United States as administered by DC are now essentially bankrupt. War on the world, out of control spending and borrowing, debt and deficit, non-funded future liabilities in the tens of trillions and a banking infrastructure rotten at every level has pushed the US to an economic abyss from which it cannot shrink. We will provide you a demonstration project of tiny government, free banking and a formerly enslaved citizenry unleashed to realize their potential with no government interference. We simply wish to go our own way untethered from the Remora Nation DC came to symbolize."

"Governor, this conversation is over."

"Good day, Mr. President."

today's show and tell...

In my community
we are superstars
we know we are
brothers, sisters, thrivers
none other than life's
vibrant disciples
discerning beauty
discovering the superheroes in
us all

In my community
we radiate to the sun
to stars since deceased
who light still shines
pointedly, aligned
to the point of Wow!
Our skies, Our endless
combusting novas
blazing galactic trails

In my community
we find our way in the dark
transdimensionally multimodal art
supplies tales and stories alight
bursting at the seems to be
birthing within spiral arms

Four Minutes and Twenty-Nine Seconds of World-

www.youtube.com/watch

The Internet has been the capitalist's best friend, where virtual unknowns can quickly rise to the top of the pack if they have the right idea and a good plan. You mainly hear from the big winners such as the founders of Google and the like. However, there are many people who may not have become billionaires, but nevertheless they benefit in their own right by leveraging the ingenuity of the web.

In just under a month, over six million viewers have seen the YouTube video, Dancing, a low-tech, yet colorful video of Matt Harding traveling around the world doing a jig in dozens of locations with hundreds of people, many of them children. The producers took a simple, campy premise, filmed it in front of vivid backgrounds and synched it to music. Any one of us could have been Matt, that is, if you're able to grin and flap your elbows and knees in front of a camera, but the difference is that Matt took the initiative to make it happen and created it in such a way so that people would enjoy it and tell their friends. After the success of his first self-financed video in 2005, the popularity compelled Matt to envision and plan loftier videos, and after finding a sponsor he has been able to create two more, each one bigger and better than the one before it.

For me, the most relevant aspect of the video is the sheer number of people whose lives were improved in the process. Naturally there was Matt, a man who loved to travel, and thus became a wealthier person by being able to fulfill that dream. If he's lucky, he'll leverage his success into a travel show or book. Another beneficiary of the trade was Stride gum. Unlike other corporations that subsidize these types of ventures, Stride did not ask that Matt wear a logo t-shirt or pass out Stride gum to people he met. Instead, there was a moment at the end of the video where the producers thanked Stride for making it possible. Will that improve sales? Yes. While at Sam's Club today, I purchased a box of Stride gum since in a world of parity products, what have the other chewing gums done for me lately?

There were many other parties that benefited from this trade other than of course YouTube. Amazon MP3, an online music store and a much-needed competitor of iTunes, got a boost in sales and clout by becoming the exclusive distributor of the song used in the video, Praan, which is now one of their bestsellers. Thanks to the publicity that six-million viewers can give you, the singer, Palbasha Siddique, will surely get several more contractual offers to sing.

Then there are the six million viewers who didn't benefit financially from the venture, but nonetheless became a little bit richer after watching the video. It might have been a lesson in geography and anthropology for some. For others it might have been a heartwarming experience to realize that children from far-flung places like Bhutan and Zambia act just as silly as American children when allowed to let loose. For me it meant that all around the world there are people who are willing to express themselves in motion with an American they just met. To me that says a lot about the human race: that despite our differences in language, appearance and customs, when given an opportunity we will dance together.

July 16, 2008

Todd Steinberg [send him mail] works with his family at a wholesale teddy bear company in Dallas. In his spare time he is furiously working on his cartoon, "Don’t Tell My Wife I’m a Cult Leader," which he plans to unleash on the Internet and beyond in 2008.

Futures trading isn't driving prices up

by Michael Rozeff
(posted at lewrockwell.com/blog)

Fallacies about oil futures prices abound. One is that the Arabians bought the futures and sent the prices up so they could sell more oil at higher prices. Which is it? Are they buying or selling? Another is that oil speculators buy and sell from each other in rounds of trading while lifting the price.

The fact of the matter is that the futures price is connected to the current spot price for immediate delivery. It is impossible for the futures price to get too far above spot. It cannot get above it by more than the cost of carry. Otherwise traders will buy spot and carry the commodity while selling the futures contract. This will lock in an arbitrage profit. Oil contracts out to March 2009 are showing this cost of carry situation. On the other hand, the spot price can get higher than the futures price if the existing supply is limited or if the future supply is expected to be large. Oil futures prices start to decline after March 2009.

No sensible speculator will pay prices so high for future delivery that they could have gotten oil cheaper by buying it now and storing it for a few months. The Saudis can't make any money by bidding the futures price up beyond the cost of carry. Otherwise they will end up taking delivery of high-priced oil, far from being able to sell it t high prices.

Unlike stock prices, which can vary within large bounds because their maturity is infinite and there is nothing necessary to tie down the price (apart from a liquidation or a buyout), futures prices cannot depart from the reality of the spot price very far. That is because in a few months time, the contract matures. And when it does, the futures price converges to the spot price at that date. Hence, the futures price is tied strongly to spot prices.

If oil futures prices are rising, the essential thing is that the spot prices are rising. If oil is expected to be short in the future, then as futures prices rise, it will cause traders to buy in the spot market and store oil. If inventories are not rising, then the latter is not occurring. Reports are that inventories are not rising. This means that futures are rising because the spot prices are rising. It means that demand NOW is meeting lower supply NOW, and that is the proximate cause of the oil price rise.

Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous Presidency

www.theonion.com/content/v..._to_survey

LuvTheOnion!

random thoughtburst

okay all,
this one's been brewing for a while, time to let the bubble pop.
thanks

How about removing the "CAN" from lines like "we can change the world", or "this can change the world" or whatever line comes out like that that refers to something of potency. There is no ambiguity about it, whatever it is IS changing the world. So, please whatever hesitance one finds associated with it, give it up, release it, as it is only a fiction. The fact is that change is the nature of nature. And all of your being is nature.


(editor's note-a bit more longwinded than initially expected-that's okay though, it was due to change)

Julia Ward Howe, great 1870 proclamation:

Arise, then, women of this day! Arise, all women who have hearts, Whether our baptism be of water or of tears!

Say firmly:
"We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."

From the bosom of the devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own.
It says: "Disarm! Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of justice."
Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel.

Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace,
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
But of God.

In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And at the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.

Thanks so much to Lewis Ballard for reminding me