Crescent Moon II

Crescent Moon

Blue Beetle

We had a blue VW Beetle when I was growing up.

Seeing the Blue Beetle today (photos I took), it occurred to me that the creator of the Blue Beetle comic book character was inspired by that little car with the hood in the front and the engine in the back.

And now, the old Blue Beetle - both car and character - have been replaced. Talk about irony. You have to wonder if the redesigned VW subconsciously inspired the killing of Ted Kord in the comics. I' m just sayin'.

I invite CBG to comment on this pressing issue.

Things I Learned Today from 3 Widows

I make no judgments on what follows. I'm merely passing on what I learned today from three widows (all from the same family) I interviewed:

- If you don't act fast when a spouse passes, you lose your rights to life insurance and union benefits.

- Social Security will ask for a month of retirement benefits BACK when your spouse dies, and then pay you survivor benefits the next month. They literally want old widows to return that month's social security check even if it's the last day of the month and the money was spent. If the widow has Direct Deposit, the bank will dutifully take the money out of the widow's checking account automatically and return it to the proper authorities.

- When Salvation Army comes to pick up stuff your donating, they can be insensitive jerks and very demanding.

- When your spouse passes, your house turns into a museum.

- Life means nothing.

- There's no point in stressing out and rushing around ... In the end, we all die. Might as well laugh a little, try to have some fun, enjoy life.

- They'll never forget the night their little grandson/grandnephew beat the adults at dominoes.

What I learned watching the news today

Mumbai terrorist attack=death of news anchor woman="Happy black Friday!"

I learned on NPR that shoppers in Alexandria, Virginia are buying gifts for themselves (not others) at 5:00am, and only buying stuff that is on sale. Damian is right: these people must be depressed. The reporter at the store said people were there just because it's something to do!

I learned that there are military commandos in India who can defeat terrorists.

"Childhood Obesity is an epidemic."

The following statement just flashed on my TV screen: "Childhood Obesity is an epidemic."

Let me embrace the shark: are you kidding me?!? Is this sentence for real?!?

People are starving ... Oh, hell, just throw a dart at a map and you'll hit a country that is worse off than the U.S. They WISH they had a childhood obesity epidemic!

That's like King Henry VIII announcing, "Gouter is an epidemic." The serfs would burn those announcements.

America is a wealthy nation. In the old world, being overweight is a sign of WEALTH. Why are we shy about it? Why is the MSM and portions of the public obsessed with anorexic Hollywood stars?

I welcome comments on the topic of childhood obesity. Shark-jumping comments preferred. Godzilla's atomic breath awaits!

Obnoxious Ad Message; embrace the shark

Since Western Civilization has jumped the shark this decade, I've decided to get in the water and embrace that shark as Richie Cunningham hops by.

Be warned: the Skew is officially embracing the shark in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1....

While Mumbai burns ... While pirates terrorize hard-working sailors off the coast of Somalia ... While Russia and Venezuela make their plans ... While China becomes the world's dominant player ... While Obama tries to save the day while lowering expectations ... While Americans eat dry turkey b/c it's "tradition" ... Here's Pepsi's stunning message to us:

"You're alive! You're in the Pepsi generation."

American MSM loves to embrace iconic images from the past without taking the time learn lessons from that same past.

... 0. Zero. Earth-Zero. We have liftoff. Hugging the shark now....

I don't know about you, but I'm rooting for the guy in the rubber suit with the atomic breath to come and take care of business.

We need Godzilla to, uh, humble the Middle East, so they can produce great cars 40 years from now.

All we need is for the big O to press the button, and release Godzilla on the world. Our friends in Iraq, Israel, and Afghanistan need it.

Since you, western civilization, have jumped the shark, I am merely following this to it's logical conclusion. Truman=Obama. It's true. It's true.

We know deep down, all you sick CL jerks want to wake up one morning and see Tehran laid waste by a giant man in a rubber Godzilla suit, with atomic spray paint blasting out of his mouth.

I am merely voicing what you want. Godzilla will keep you comfortable and perverted. You won't be stuck in a hotel Rwanda or hotel Mumbai, hiding in a shower or under your bed as bullets fly by and explosions are heard in the hallway.

I, like Damian, am here to serve you.

We know you desire a military budget of one nuke in Tehran. We know you want Godzilla, in the worst way possible, to happen in real life.

Consequences? You ignore geopolitical consequences the same way you ignore the consequences of unprotected sex with an imperfect stranger. You believe in rolling the dice and getting a well-built car in 40 years from a subjugated ally.

"You're alive! You're in the Pepsi generation."

King Turkey Addresses the Turkey Nation

My fellow turkeys, we have made great progress this year towards ending the practice of humans slaughtering our brethren every Thanksgiving. As you know, the President and the 50 Governors of these United States, along with some local Mayors, have spared many lives this holiday season. Also, the makers of Tofurkey have expanded to places like Wal*Mart and Target, giving the humans another viable choice for their Thanksgiving meal.

In the coming year, we will do more. My administration will continue to reach out to President-Elect Obama and his transition team as we seek more turkey pardons in the coming year. We hope to double the number of pardons for next year, and eventually have two turkeys pardoned per month by the President and each Governor.

Through constant diplomacy and rigorous negotiation, I believe we can succeed in sparing more turkeys over the next few years. My dream, if a turkey is allowed such a thing, is that a turkey family can sit down and eat Thanksgiving dinner together without having to mourn the passing of a relative. It is hard to imagine now, but I believe we can make that dream a reality someday.

Thank you for attention, my fellow turkeys, and may God bless our Turkey nation!

$1.75 and the common man speaks

Heck, yeah.

The common Tashman employee embraces deflation! Forget the egghead economist named Bernanke! Forget King Paulson! Take your fear and shove it! Leave us alone! Let those who screwed up financially suffer the consequences and learn from their mistakes! Put the brakes on the slippery slope NOW.

Let CitiGMFordChryslerWachoviaidiotinvestorsBearStearnsPensionFundsCaliforniacreditcardjunkiesPhiladelphia and all the rest FAIL.

LET THEM FAIL! LET THEM FAIL!

YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN!

O: "The New Way of Doing Business"

Obama, when asked today about "friends" in state government who want to know what they're going to get out of a stimulus, he made it clear that politicians helping out friends was the old way of doing business. He stated that what was the best for the nation would be the deciding factor on economic proposals, and would be part of "The new way of doing business."

Unfortunately, I missed the actual announcement related to budget cuts. WBBM stated afterwards that O's plan was "two-pronged": first, spend tax dollars via stimulus package to boost the economy; second, cut the deficit after the economy recovers. O proposes giving money to states for infrastructure projects. I'm sure the city of Miami and the Florida Marlins cheered at the news, as did Fort Myers and the Red Sox.

We all know how useful baseball stadiums are in Florida. Think about that next time your stuck in traffic on I-595.

Anyway ... what a shock - Federal spending cuts have been pushed off to the future ... you know, the future that never seems to arrive? That future.

Well, I guess we can all hope that stimulus package will help out the lower-middle class working man in a big way. That's the change we need, and a new way of doing business.

Crist wants banks to pause foreclosures

The Skew would like to give a message to Charlie Crist, Governor of Florida who announced today that he would look into asking banks to pause foreclosures:

TOO LATE!

That's like closing the barn door after the horses escaped.

Crist is a TYPICAL me-too-moderate Republican, and, therefore, the weakest form of politician and a fool.

Obama Speaks, Part II

More Random Thoughts:

- Obama will support a Big Three bailout when they come up with a plan that involves using green energy. He doesn't want to "Kick the can" (Twilight Zone reference?) down the road.
- Obama states that he and P.M. Bush spoke today, and they're on the same page. The big O also spoke with Bernanke. The big O supports using TARP (bailout) money aggressively over the next few weeks.
- He acknowledged the deficit would be huge in 2009; bigger than ever. He stated the main concern was getting the economy jump-started, and then worrying about the deficit.

Obama Speaks; New Economic Team

Just some random thoughts:
- Obama seemed most prepared to talk about Larry Sumter. He stuttered at least five times when talking about the other members of his new team.
- He used the word "cuts" when talking about the Fed budget, and said he will announce tomorrow the cuts he will recommend! I look forward to hearing him go on the record.
- He promised tax cuts for middle class, and boosting the middle class.
- Wants a significant stimulus package.
- Said the economy will get worse before it gets better.
- Wants to create 2.5 million jobs. I hope that includes Tashman.

The Future of Movie Sales

The three disc release of Wall-E includes a downloadable digital copy compatible with Windows Media and iTunes.

The price for the set is $34.99.

Eventually, they'll just sell the downloadable version ... glad we're on the right track.

AFM: standing in line

Well, after a two hour wait, I was able to place my first order of food through Angel Food Ministries. I got $100 worth of food for $51.

Here's what I witnessed:
- Volunteer-led disorganization
- An argument between two middle aged ladies wearing sweatsuit-type clothing.
- People carrying boxes, giant coolers, and laundry baskets to pick up their food.
- Cash only. No checks.
- A volunteer handwriting numbers on slips of paper in order to organize people picking up their food.

Once I got over my initial shock, the experience was okay - certainly far better than being on the E-train while a homeless vet sings out of tune for money, for example. Most of the people waiting were pleasant LME practitioners, and the volunteers were doing their best.

I'd say there were 150 families picking up food, and another 20 like me placing orders for next month.

If you are struggling and looking to save money somewhere, give this AFM a try. Look at me: don't feel embarrassed or shy. It's okay to get cheap food, even if you have a job.

Of course, if you watch justin.tv hoping to catch a suicide before watching XXX, you are not allowed to use the AFM. You've already purchased your one way ticket to hell, and if you starve before you get there, so much the better.

Have a nice day.

Being seeing you.

LDOTR: Rush Jumps the Somali Shark

Rush led his show saying things like, "Moody's now rates the Somali Pirates AAA ... Somali Pirates are becoming a bank to get bailout money from Paulson ... Bloomberg News is reporting that the Somali Pirates have put in an offer to buy Citibank."

And that's why Rush SUCKS. I'm surprised he didn't have a rimshot play as he did his stand-up routine at the expense of those who have been kidnapped or killed by these scum..

He proceeded to explain that the stock market is down because of fear that Obama will raise taxes ... CNBC talking heads have talked for years about how the market tends to react negatively when Democrats are elected to President.

Anyway, because Rush just HAD to push the envelope, his real point got lost. What a fool. Splish-splish.

One more headline

A Burmese comedian was sentenced to 45 YEARS in jail for criticizing Burma's military gov't for their poor response to the deadly typhoon you've probably forgotten about.

BBC headlines

These stories may appear on Drudge and Yahoo someday:

- Sadr protests Iraqi timetable for U.S. withdrawal by 2011: Not soon enough for him! Majority of Iraqis disagree and support 2011 timetable.
- U.N. Troops crippled by Political Correctness in the Congo: Have to shoot in the air to announce presence before attacking rebels
- Indian Navy given green light to chase down Somali pirates

LDOTR: Francessa swayed towards Mussina

Several callers have mentioned that every pitcher with 100 or more wins over losses is in the Hall of Fame, and Mussina has over 100 wins over losses. That and his winning percentage have been big selling points to sway Francessa.

The people against Moose say he wasn't dominant enough. After a few of those calls, Francessa found ten of Moose's seasons that he deemed Hall of Fame caliber.

At one point, Francessa tried to compare Moose to Guidry as a way of showing that Moose didn't belong ... But that blew up in his face. Guidry only has approximately 170 wins! Silly comparison.

We'll see if the baseball writers are convinced by these arguments to let Moose in the Hall of Fame in five years....

What I learned today from GMA and NPR

- GMA talking heads like Sorkin have zero sympathy for Union workers, and applaud the Senate cancelling a vote on a automaker bailout. GMA also reported that auto execs use expensive private jets to fly around.
- GMA had a computer graphic presentation showing how one pirate can cause a ship's captain to surrender a ship merely by capturing one crewman at gunpoint.
- NPR's Steve Innskeep interviewed a Navy Admiral who called for shipping companies to hire "Security details" for their boats. That was followed by a typically frustrating Innskeep interview with the head of security company. Innskeep kept trying to find out when would security on a boat shoot a pirate (trying to pitch the security guy as evil?), then turned around and actually asked why they don't just put a cannon on the ship and blow the pirates out of the water. The security head kept saying they would prevent pirates from boarding, and blowing pirates out of the water would make a security detail as bad as pirates.

I'm glad the MSM is against the auto bailout, and I'm glad the Pirates of Aden are being talked about. I guess the MSM waited for the election to end before covering that story.

Therockradio.com

I just heard G n' R (doing Welcome to the Jungle live), Foo Fighters, Dio, Ramones, Motley Crue, and the Clash on therockradio.com. Glad I found this internet station!

If you're tired of the 4,000 songs on your i-Pod, check it out.

Now they're playing some Aerosmith that never got any terrestrial airplay. Rock and roll!

Whoa -- they're playing terra obscura Coverdale/Page! Wow! YHWH bless this station.

Breaking News: Mussina Retires

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports is reporting that Mike Mussina has decided to retire. No official announcement has been made by the Yanks or Moose.

Thanks to WFAN for reporting this historic news.

See you in five years at Cooperstown, Moose. If there is any shred of justice in the baseball world, Mussina will be voted into the Hall of Fame.

Below $2.00

LDOTR: Rush talks SecState Hillary

I've been wondering what is up with Hillary being considered for Secretary of State? The election is over - he doesn't owe her anything.

Rush just espoused the following theory: Obama wants to get rid of the Clintons. We all know that the Clintons can't answer all the questions on the 62-page questionnaire honestly - Bill Clinton has too many connections to the Sauds, donors from other countries, etc. So, Obama ends up announcing that because of Bill's post-Presidential connections, Hillary can't be SecState.

It is a logical explanation for all this - that this is a set-up to get rid of the Clintons once and for all.

It will certainly tell us a lot about the big O if Rush is right!

BBC Reports on Pirates of Aden

John Burnett, Author of Dangerous Waters and former pirate kidnap victim, basically said there is no military solution for the Somali pirates. It's more cost-effective to just pay the ransom.

I say that if the international community is not willing to pay the cost to end anarchy and piracy now, this will only embolden pirates.

Already they've hijacked an oil tanker that is the size of a skyscraper and, according to Burnett, takes MILES to come to a stop. What started with bitter idiot fishermen has now expanded to any young men in Somalia looking to make a fast buck.

I detect a pattern here, where the international community is unwilling to rebuild a nation after war. Look at Afghanistan after the Soviets were defeated (see Charlie Wilson's War for a quick intro): the U.S. failed to rebuild the infrastructure in the late 80's.

Look at Iraq: the U.S. is highly criticized for the rebuilding process, even though historical precedent teaches us that if we don't rebuild, the results are disastrous.

Somalia, according to Burnett, has had no government for 18 years. Government is a necessary evil; the U.N. must get over the events that led to Blackhawk Down and do whatever it takes to rebuild that nation.

Either that, or ex-punk rockers who espoused anarchy can move to Somalia and live that life. After they step off the plane and get kidnapped, maybe then the U.N. will consider my call to action.

***

BBC news also reported that kidnapped Filipinos don't like Somali food. The pirates, flush with money, have set up kitchens that cook Filipino meals for the captives. They want to keep their captives healthy so they can collect the ransom.

Issue #250: Vahl makes the switch ...

... to GEICO. Believe it or not, they really did save me a ton of money on car insurance.

My father used to carry GEICO, years ago. I was on the policy when I first got my license. We had a major falling out with the company back in the early 1990's over denial of coverage on a fender bender. Only after years of perspective have I accepted that GEICO should not cover damage to a hood caused because I lent the car to someone in the dorm and they accidentally reared ended it into a Semi!

Ah, the insanity of being a freshman at college....

Anyway, all is forgiven, and I'm back. I'm sure dear old dad would be proud.

I hate to say it, but it was real easy. It was so easy....

Somali Pirates Strike Again

BBC radio is reporting that the Pirates of Aden have captured a Saudi oil freighter.

It's time for decisive world action.

Vista: First Impressions

Before I get started, I'd like to thank Best Buy for hooking us up with that line of credit! Big props!

As some of you may know, my boy is back in the hospital. This is an ongoing saga ... I won't get into the details here. If you want, you contact me offline for a synopsis.

Anyway, G. has homework due and an exam. Between death in the family and his hospital stays, it's a miracle she's gotten through this semester. Her professors have been kind, offering extensions when needed.

Unfortunately, there was no way to get extensions this time ... and she needed a computer to do online quizzes and an outline.

During our last hospital stay in September, I managed to lug over her old Sony Vaio desktop over ... in a suitcase! That's what I call an out-of-the-box and into-the-luggage solution!

This time ... I decided it was time to get a laptop.

We went with a new Compaq that's on sale for $399 at Best Buy (no rebates. Just one low price of $399. 160GB hard drive. 2GB memory. DVD read/write. 15.4 " screen). The only thing I was worried about was that it runs Vista Home Premium addition.

I'd heard the horror stories from last year, when Vista was introduced, of not being able to save to certain directories, not being able to install free linux-based programs, etc.

I am pleased to report that, in the past year, Vista was easier to work with than expected.

To make a long story short:

• The computer detected the hospital's wi-fi immediately. I figured it would, based on an experience I had last year with Damian's laptop during another hospital stay, but I was still relieved.
• A new version of Java installed, that included an installer for Openoffice.org! I think God must be giving me some sort of free pass or cheat code today, between the line of credit and this!
• I was able to successfully install Openoffice!
• When downloading the .exe file, I was not able to change the folder to save the file. It asked me to contact my administrator ... even thought I was logged in as administrator. However, during the actual install, I was able to select the Program Files and create and OpenOffice folder.

So, overall, I think G. will enjoy the laptop ... and I'm grateful I didn't have to stress too much installing OpenOffice.

Fleeced ... or do you take a corporation at their word?

I was talking to a couple of people yesterday at work about this whole FINANCIAL CRISIS. One older lady who we'll call Ana Benson said, "We have to bail GM out. What choice do we have? We have to bail these people out."

Another guy we'll call Obi-Wan said, "In theory, it's a bad idea, but practically speaking, we have no choice."

I understand the practical side of it.

Afterwards, a question occurred to me: "Do you take a corporation at their word?"

For example, execs from GM are saying they're going to run out of money in January.

If I was in charge, like King Paulson, I would look at them and say, "Well, we'll talk to you in January and we might help you. We'll probably help you liquidate your assets to Toyota, but we'll talk to you then."

Why(tm) would I say that?

Well, let me answer that question with another question: Why would you trust a corporation to begin with?

Has everyone forgotten Enron? Has everyone forgotten Worldcom? Those are companies that lied on their financial statements! How do we know we can trust GM's quarterly statements? How do we know we can trust the auditors who say those statements are good?

We don't know. We are taking banks at their word, corporations at their word, cities and states at their word ... meanwhile, we the taxpayer are getting fleeced.

PSA: Angel Food Ministries

Struggling to put food on the table?

Angelfoodministries.com is offering food packages to ANYONE for $30. These packages can feed a family of four for a week.

So, if your a family of one ... well, you get the picture.

Contact them today for December orders.

LDOTR: Glenn Beck watches....

... The Office.

I think this is huge news. I was happy to hear he watches that show.

More Swisher Deal Details

From WFAN:

Swisher will be starting at 1st. They are out of the Texiera sweepstakes. "Saving money."

Betemit and a couple of other players might be part of the deal.

Ozzie Guillen wants young, fast team - everyone is available.

Yanks will start going after C.C. Sabathia tomorrow. It's either the Yanks or a NL team for less money.

Mets: they will be talking K-Rod (if contract is less than 5 years), and Fuentes.

Marlins with another LaME trade: Kevin Gregg to the Cubs.

Carlos Silva deal from last year skewing numbers?

Check out Damian's Baseball blog for more great Hot Stove coverage!

Yankees Breaking News

Francessa's WFAN is reporting that the Yanks have acquired Nick Swisher for minor league pitcher Jeff Marquez.

LDOTR: Francessa Talks Mets

Just tuned in to WFAN and heard Francessa say the Mets are looking for pitching, mainly A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe. Apparently he spoke with Minaya and was relaying the info.

C.C. Sabathia is out of their price range.

They're not looking for Orlando Hudson. They're sticking with Brian Schneider at catcher.

The Mets believe Murphy can be a Pedroia/Youkalis type of gritty player.

I think Burnett would be a great addition to the pantheon of failed Mets free agents. Good luck with that aging line-up. Glad I burned my Mets cap after Kenny Rogers was brought in out of the bullpen by the idiot Valentine back in '98.

LDOTR: Mark Davis Talks Increasing Wages

During a call, Mark Davis claimed wages have outpaced inflation for years.

Is he insane? Is this a time warp of Rush talking points from the 1990's? Is this a parody?

And now, a special message to R.A.W.:

We all have our crosses to bear. "Hi. I'm Tony Vahl, and I'm a talk radio addict. I have been for twenty years. News talk, Sports talk, NPR ... Bring it all on...."

LDOTR: Mark Davis Filling In

Today's fill-in host predicts we'll be hit with Bush nostalgia.

The reason? There have been no attacks on the U.S. since 9/11.

Uh ... Maybe within the next twenty years ... And that's a big maybe.

The damage Bush did signing that bailout bill might be cursed for years to come, too.

Can't believe this guy is talking nostalgia. What a joke. This guy deserves a muzzle in the name of fairness.

Response to AmEx/Auto Industry Bailout

I have sat quietly watching things unfold since PM Bush and King Paulson railroaded Congress with that $700 billion bailout bill. At the time, I lost faith in both candidates and all the politicians that voted yes for that travesty of a bill.

I have sat quietly by since, not only because I disagreed with the way that issue turned out, not only because I disagreed that we were in a Financial CRISIS, not only because I disagreed that we needed a $700 billion bailout ... I have said nothing because, quite frankly, I did not predict the government's response in Mid-September.

There was a loud SPLISH sound when George Bush finally signed that bailout bill into law. The whole CRISIS and society had jumped the shark in such a way that I had not anticipated. I anticipated the dominoes falling ... I did not anticipate the reaction.

I was wrong about the bankers, who I thought would do the right thing early on. To think that Citibank announced YESTERDAY was FINALLY going to work with homeowners in danger of losing their homes! Citibank - a huge bank that my father had a checking account with when I was a boy ... they have near infinite resources and, I had supposed, near infinite financial intelligence and wisdom ... they waited until NOW, November of 2008, to start restructuring bad home loans and working with people who are losing their homes.

IT'S A LITTLE TOO LATE FOR THAT. There have been sooooooo many foreclosures over the PAST TWO YEARS!

Insanity. It's like trying to plug the whole in the Titanic after the boat is sticking up in the air, about to plunge in the water.

So, I have sat quietly by, trying to figure this out. This is just insane, and, quite frankly, I did not want to sim it in my mind.

Well, I saw a post yesterday morning from Damian where he apparently read my thoughts and called me out on it.

So, here goes:

It's really quite simple. When you've got a Fed Reserve bank that is creating money out of thin air, like crazy, out of control ... that is going to cause the value of the currency to drop!

There's no doubt about that. My parents are from Brazil. I remember in the 1980's, Brazil had a currency called the Cruziero. Their Fed Reserve kept printing money in response to hyper-inflation -- which is insanity -- and kept moving over the decimal point to keep up. They went from the Cruziero to the Cruzado to the Cruzado Novo ... it wasn't until someone must have gotten their head out of their butts and created the Real that the currency finally stabilized. They stopped printing money and moving the decimal point over to deal with hyper-inflation.

The same thing has happened in Argentina and other countries. And now we're doing that here.

I never thought we would see the day that the U.S. would repeat the same mistakes as our South American counterparts. Ben Bernanke, a PROFESSOR by trade, should have more sense than this.

Sure, he claims that the treasury bonds we issue balances out the increase of currency.

It's still a gigantic gamble.

As far as I'm concerned, the only reason we're not seeing the effects of creating currency is because we're in a global recession. Economic activity has gone down.

R.A.W., in a comment, asked how is it that I knew gas prices would go down to $2.00 a gallon. Simple: we're in a recession. Economic activity has gone down due to the price going up to $4.00 a gallon. There would be fewer deliveries by UPS and Fed Ex, fewer delivery trucks sending products to Wal-Mart and Target and all these other places, fewer people driving because they lost their jobs ... so, fewer people and companies buying gasoline. That is what has helped cause gas to go down.

In addition, speculators who had gambled on high oil prices saw that the recession was hitting. Once they realized this, I knew they were going to bail out on oil and cash out their gains ... just the way investors bailed out of the stock market after the tech bubble burst ... just the way people bailed out of housing after the housing bubble burst.

I knew there was an oil bubble. Prices don't go up 200% over the course of three years in a normal economy. It was a bubble. Pension funds and speculators were looking for high rates of return and they ended up buying oil. The recession hit, people sold, and the bubble burst.

That's how I knew.

It's not going to stay at $2.00 forever ... I won't even get into that issue.

The low price of fuel would have helped the economy ... but because King Paulson and company have stepped in and declared a FINANCIAL CRISIS and that the end of the world is nigh and that they need $700 billion dollars to save us ... they have delayed the recovery.

The currency is weakened by this ... and we could see crazy inflation in the near future.

The only other saving grace, other than Bernanke's faith in treasury bonds, is that this is a worldwide phenomenon and everyone's currency is getting hit.

However, if you look at history, you know how this is going to play out for our currency. I just hope that this is some new precadent.

Unfortunately, I suspect that gas prices will double ... and prices for groceries will go up....

Three years ago, I wrote about how the dominoes were falling. Well, they've fallen.

The government is trying to pick the dominoes back up. Instead, they have made the dominoes heavier. They are weighing down the dominoes. It will be harder to pick up those dominoes, thanks to their ineptitude and fear-driven policies.

PM Bush is the most inept economic President since Jimmy Carter, at least. He was led by the nose by this King Paulson, who is a Democrat! It's just absolutely stunning.

And NOW we have a new President who made it clear that he's not cutting Federal spending. Hello -- there isn't going to be any money to implement those lovely social programs, the way we're going.

I suppose, if you're a fiscal conservative, this is a good thing? Talk about throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Five more cents....

Five more cents...

Another prediction from Vahl coming true. We're post-election now, so that conspiracy theory no longer applies!

Iraq War, Homeland Cacophony

On the 11th hour of the 11th month ofthe 11th day, the "War to end all wars" came to an end, 90 years ago today.

In honor of this milestone, I thought I'd post a juxtapositon of words and images about Iraq War II, from the run-up to war to now.

I am glad, someday, historians will recall that disposing a murderous dictator was a good and noble cause. Thank you, Damian, for that silver lining.

Anyway, here's the good, the bad, and the ugly. "It is what it is." Quotes are from BrainyQuote; images from Google:

Saddam's goal is to achieve the lifting of U.N. sanctions while retaining and enhancing Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs. We cannot, we must not and we will not let him succeed.
Madeleine Albright