What's that coming down the chimney?

On the eve of Obama's health care reform bill and also the eve of Christmas (literally), there is something coming down my chimney and it certainly doesn't look like Santa. The claim of saving tax payers $1.3 trillion in the near future sounds like someone is blowing a lot of smoke and the last I looked, my fireplace is not even lit.

Did Obama really compare his bill to Social Security passed in the 1930's? Social Security as far as I knew has been a stranglehold on taxpayers for the past two decades. This should act as foresight to what this 'historic' health care reform bill will mean to our future. Thanks Mr. President, but why not look into the fat within our government. The amount of waste, inefficient tendencies and cavalier attitude toward spending our money the government basks in should be addressed before they start pointing their fingers on anyone else's shortcomings.

Now a $1.3 trillion savings does sound appealing to me as a taxpayer, but the more I think about it someone will be picking up the tab for the difference. Something tells me it will be the, wait for it, wait, oh yeah, the TAXPAYER. Yes, just not in the form of taxes. It will now be in the form of higher fees for your coverage, fines for no coverage and the net result will be people with money will be paying the way for people with no or very little cash. Sounds remarkably like socialism to me.

Santa, all I want for Christmas is my country's soul back. I know we sold it out for a bag of magic beans and the dream of a golden harp, but we were desperate. And to all a good night.

Houston, We Have Lift Off

Does anyone remember the dot com bubble? Huge moves up despite no underlying fundamental reason, violent swings back down and everyone got rich until they became poor again. Man that was fun. Welcome back. Despite the Fed artificially keeping rates low, record number of foreclosures is the reality. Despite equities having their largest bull market run in history over the past 8 months, unemployment topped 10% and is poised to head higher.

Crude? Just over a decade ago, crude was about $15. It has since run to $146, back down to $46 and then back up to $82 in less than 16 months. You can compare the most widely used commodity on the planet with most tech stocks during the dot com bubble. The Dollar? The almighty U.S. dollar has been battered down like a third world nation's during a revolution. The weak dollar strategy by the U.S. is a good strategy if they can get China to de-peg the yuan. China is beating the U.S. at it's own dirty little scheme and in the end we will pay dearly for this game of Russian roulette we started.

If it's one thing I've learned, it's to be aware of violent swings and big moves. Something smells funny and although I don't know exactly what, I know it's not a Haggas on my neighbor's cooktop.

Rampant government corruption enriches Traders

At 10 am this morning US economic numbers (ISM, construction spending & pending home sales) rolled across news services as per usual. What was very unusual is that on a very quiet Monday morning the S&P's rallied over 6 points, roughly 50 DOW points, 10 minutes before the numbers were published. Guess what? The numbers were better than forecast on each front.

Maybe these traders had valuable insight, but more than likely they have valuable friends in the right places. Money makes people do funny things and the larger the stakes, the more unscrupulous one becomes. I'm not sure what's worse, the 'Greed is Good' mentality of Wall St. or the 'lie to your face' approach of government.

The only thing that helps me sleep at night is that I truly believe the US government has the very best interest of this nation at heart in all it's decisions, despite the few bad apples who sit in Congress, the Senate and the Treasury. Lie, cheat and steal followed by see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil seems to be the current policy. It has been said that nice guys finish last. Well, I'm here to dispell that saying.

First class often means no class

I recently payed a bit more for a first class ticket to relax a little more comfortably enroute to my destination. The seat was great, the service delightful, but my neighbor in the adjacent seat chewed a piece of gum the entire flight. Although I detest gum chewing, I can get over it if you chew quietly and with your mouth closed. Not this gentleman (and I use that term loosely), no, he chewed with his mouth wide open the entire time making annoying sounds continually.

Why is it people only want the perks of first class without the actual responsibility? Don't act the part, be the part. Show some manners, consideration and some class. Our society embraces rude behavior as if it's 'the norm'. Maybe Emily Post should be required reading in this nations schools. Perhaps there should be a class dedicated to proper manners in school. One thing is for sure, chewing gum should not have to be tolerated in tight public quarters; ie an airplane, bus, train or elevator.

Wake up America and stop embracing an unrefined, impudent existence.

Do you really need those chips?

The last statistic I heard was that two thirds of Americans are overweight and one third are obese. That's obscene! As the politicians struggle to lower medical costs in this country, America goes on stuffing junk food down their throats creating higher premiums for the people who keep themselves fit. Why should I absorb some of your medical premiums for your diabetes? For your hip & knee arthritis? For your poor breathing condition? For your need for junk food?

I went to lunch today and sat next to a woman who was more than two times the weight she should be. After her Sandwich, the 12 inch of course, she devoured a bag of potato chips. OK, is the 240 calories in a bag of chips going to kill you? No, but would not eating them kill you? Really lady, you are overweight by a good 150 pounds, do you really need to eat the chips too?

There is no need to give up and there is no need to go on some crazy diet or workout routine, just start by not eating processed food, junk food and anything other than the essential food groups for a while. You can still sit on your big fat butt in front of the television, but drink a glass of water (or a red wine if your not an alcoholic) and just say no to the junk food. I love America, but sometimes I get disappointed by the people who take this great country for granted.

Waiter, check please

Walmart, the largest reatailer in the US, said that the economic recovery will be lethargic at best and yet politicians continue to see things through their rose colored glasses. Where can I pick up some of these happy pills? Unemployement continues to climb and the only money being spent is by the government. Let me remind you, they are spending our money. They are spending money they collected and anticipate collecting for a very long time going forward. Pass the wine, I need to be sedated.

The FDIC proposed Banks prepay fees out 3 years to 2012. Are the banks going to pay these fees with the money they borrowed from one branch the government to pay a different branch of the government? I'm confused. What the heck is going on. I feel like I'm standing in front of a 3 card monty scam in Times Square and although I don't know how, I'm $300 poorer and still scratching my head. Hey, where'd they go? This government is scaring me.

This whole thing is very reminiscent of 1929. Let me remind you, after the market crashed in 1929, it rallied roughly 45% in the next 6 months before falling 86% from that point in the next 2 years. I understand Bernanke and his brain trust know this and have calculated for it, but still I have this feeling of uneasiness. Paulson hightailed it out of Washington first chance he could without looking back. Bush is thanking his lucky stars he made it out when he did. Do you think the Republican party actually thought Sarah Palin was a good running mate? No way!!! They foresaw what will unwind in the very near future. Sorry Obama, but we're going to need you to touch your toes. I hope I don't run out of Spaghetti-O's and Twinkies.

That's ok, you're black

Where is Al Sharpton when we need him. Al has done a magnificent job pointing out racism in this country albeit sometimes incorrectly and without apology. Al, do you have anything to say about the blatant racism Kanye West has toward white recording artists? Taylor Swift had a day ruined by a drunk racist and the black leadership of this country have nothing to say.

Do black people in this country realize that they are a "minority"? They make up a very small portion of the population. Do black performers in this country realize that whites, latins, asians and just about every other type of person buys their CD's, DVD's, posters and other miscellaneous goods?

Racism is racism. If the tables were turned, there would be a white artist being persecuted by the black leadership in this country. Do we remember what happened to Michael Richards? He deserved it, no doubt, but what about Kanye? Al Sharpton, I think you are a hypocrite and a racist and I believe you create more animosity than good. Take a good hard look in the mirror. Maybe that's a bad idea. You are one ugly person, inside and out.

With all the bigger issues in this country and in the world I am amazed that racism is still so prevalent. Unfortunately I believe it's here to stay for a while longer especially when the leadership on both sides are racist themselves.

Oh the Hypocrisy

Michael Moore has done a fantastic job bashing Capitalism in his new movie while blindly defending Obama. Michael, we understand your plight against Capitalism, but did you forget that we got where we are as a result of Capitalism? Wake up!!! Where were you when hints of things going awry started? Why are you here now to look backwards? Obama nor his administration have passed one regulation as of yet. Why do you defend him? His biggest contributor is the Goldman Sachs clan as a whole. WHERE IS THE CHANGE?

Now that this country has eveloved into the leading superpower with the highest standard of living in the world Michael Moore suggests quitting here. Let us stop evolving. Without a competitive spirit we will stop growing, taxes will increase and we will all be the same. Sorry Michael, I do not aspire to be mediocre. I welcome competition and I believe hard, honest work should be rewarded. Is Capitalism perfect? No. There should be better systems in place to monitor what's going on. The SEC failed miserably with Madoff. Spitzer did a great job policing until he thought too much with his manhood. Cuomo continues to fight the good fight. As a whole, government is not efficient, so I would love to see some of that Obama magic turn his 'change' slogan into fruition. Appoint less people whom are more competent and pay them competitively compared to the private sector.

Michael Moore will do a very good job to shake the hornets nest, but has no viable solution or direction on where to focus this anger. Good job Michael, you have accomplished nothing but lining your own pockets with more cash, ironically, from a capitalist venue. In your world these freedoms will become less of a right and more of a privilege to a select few.

I'm not dead yet

Thank goodness the market has rallied over 60% from the lows earlier this year. Although I still can't pay my bills or find a job I feel much better about how well the economy is doing (according to the press).

I think the delusional media and the crooked government is making our eventual fall even worse. Why tease us with temporary inflated stock prices? Why tell me things are getting better when in reality they are just getting worse at a slower pace. Why did the Fed spend $14 trillion of tax payer money to reward Goldman Sachs? Last time I looked, Goldman was a giant hedgefund contributing absolutely nothing to this economy.

The good news is we are now a socialist country and the government will help us all or at least convince others they are while muzzling the real victims. I do feel much better about the dream team leading this country right now. Let's see, we have Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank, Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama. Where do I start? Oh man, I just became very depressed and can not write any more right now. Sorry.

New York City traffic & the Obama effect

Is it really that important for Obama to have a meeting at the Sheraton on 7th Ave and 53rd Street in the middle of rush hour? There was no access to the subway right there. There was no access to the parking garages. You could not cross the avenue. Forget about the 8.5 million people that live in NYC, there are multiples of that number whom commute each morning and evening in and out of the city. It is absolutely ridiculous to shut the city down for this nonsense. FDR was close to moving the UN to a small island in Hawaii and how I wish he did.

As far as Obama goes, the man certainly has a lot to say without saying much at all. Is it me or has there ben no change on a platform that was based on change? The man is great at giving speeches with no substance or follow through. Thank goodness the population in our fair country is generally ignorant or we would all see through his shallowness.