I am always amazed and humbled when I check Google Analytics to see how many people visited the site, from where they came, how long they stayed on the site, how many pages they viewed and what pages they viewed.
There's some troubling news emerging about former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke about the roles the played in Bank of America's purchase of Merrill Lynch. The Wall Street Journal writes about an offer BoA CEO Ken Lewis could not refuse.In the name of containing "systemic risk," our regulators spread it. In order to keep Mr. Lewis quiet, they all but ordered him to deceive his own shareholders. And in the name of restoring financial confidence, they have so mistreated Bank of America that bank executives everywhere have concluded that neither Treasury nor the Federal Reserve can be trusted.President Bush said he abandoned free market principles to save the free market. Talk about a toxic asset.
This blog has been quiet the past few days, and for good reason: Wendi and I were on our bikes Friday, Saturday and Sunday (and I shot video a baseball game Saturday for friends).
Jean Baird, former director of administration for the city of Wooster, died Sunday, April 19, 2009, after a two-year battle with lung cancer.
What you see here is U.S. President Barack Obama talking with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Do you think, based on their postures and facial expressions, this is a good meeting? a tense encounter? an uneasy experience? an uncomfortable setting?
President Barack Obama's Presidential Approval Index, as tracked by RasmussenReports.com shows him back at his lowest rating, +2.
By now, you have likely heard of Susan Boyle, a 47-year-old woman from Great Britain, who is a living, breathing and singing example of how you cannot judge a book by its cover.
We cannot rebuild this economy on the same pile of sand. We must build our house upon a rock. We must lay a new foundation for growth and prosperity -- a foundation that will move us from an era of borrow and spend to one where we save and invest; where we consume less at home and send more exports abroad.Now, I am sure people a lot smarter than me wrote these words for the president, so I realize, the text might be above my pay grade, however, earlier in the president's speech he said part of the problem with the economy was that people could not get loans and were, therefore, spending less.
It's a foundation built upon five pillars that will grow our economy and make this new century another American century: Number one, new rules for Wall Street that will reward drive and innovation, not reckless risk-taking -- (applause); number two, new investments in education that will make our workforce more skilled and competitive -- (applause); number three, new investments in renewable energy and technology that will create new jobs and new industries -- (applause); number four, new investments in health care that will cut costs for families and businesses; and number five, new savings in our federal budget that will bring down the debt for future generations. (Applause.)
That's the new foundation we must build. That's our house built upon a rock. That must be our future -- and my administration's policies are designed to achieve that future.
It's not sustainable to have an economy where the incomes of the top 1 percent has skyrocketed while the typical working household has seen their incomes decline by nearly $2,000. That's just not a sustainable model for long-term prosperity.You want prosperity, get out and bust your tail like others do. How is it immigrants can come to this country without knowing the language and having no money in their pockets, but they can be successful?
The Department of Homeland Security is warning law enforcement officials about a rise in "rightwing extremist activity," saying the economic recession, the election of America's first black president and the return of a few disgruntled war veterans could swell the ranks of white-power militias.
A footnote attached to the report by the Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis defines "rightwing extremism in the United States" as including not just racist or hate groups, but also groups that reject federal authority in favor of state or local authority.
"It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single-issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration," the warning says. ...
The nine-page document was sent to police and sheriff's departments across the United States on April 7 under the headline, "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment."
John 1
worth with God, word was God;
in Him life;
light shines in darkness
dark not understand
John came as a witness to the light
all might believe
John not the light, a witness, the true light
Jesus in world, world with him, but workd did not recognized, his own did not recongize/receive
children not born of natural descent, born of god
word became flesh, dwelled among us, saw his glory
gcame from father
john testifies about him
from fulness of Jesus grace we received one blessing after another
grace and truth came from Jesus
he was at God's side
John not the one, who is he? Voice of one calling in the desert
Phariseesw questioned him. Why baptize?
Baptizes with water.
John saw Jesus: Look, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one.
Saw Spirit come down from heaven ... else would not have known
Seen and testify this is the son of God.
Two John disciples saw “Lamb of God” and followed him
Jesus said why are you following me?
Andrew one of the two who heard what John said.
Andrew found Simon and said we found Messiah.
Broguht him to Jesus.
Jesus gives him a new name, Cephas Peter
Jesus leaves for Galilea, Saw Phillip says follow me.
Phillips tells National found the one Moses wrote about in the Law
National: Can anything good from Nazareth
Jesus saw Natationaiel: Here is a true Isrealite
How do you know me?
Jesus: I saw you under the fig tree.
Each week, our friends at WhiteHouse.gov bring us a photo of President Barack Obama sitting amid a makeshift stage in order to shoot the president's weekly video message. I believe this photo, more than the others, serves as a metaphor for the Obama presidency.
Checked my 401k, only down 3.2 %, this is in very aggressive funds. So, like Obama's administration sez: Fundamentals are strong.9:16 AM Mar 21st from twhirlOn April 11, I was up more than 13 percent compared to what I (and my employee) contributed to my 401(k). These are in aggressive and high-risk mutual funds. I am not very well diversified, but I am aggressive with my investments.
These aggressive funds have outperformed Dow, S&P and NASDAQ since December. Don't feel like a fool for remaining aggressive w/mutual funds.9:20 AM Mar 21st from twhirl
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
The Warren Report has now been viewed in more than 20 countries. While the USA is still the top spot (and Ohio the top state), it was interesting to see readers of the blog coming in from places like Malaysia, Indonesia and India.
Thank you, Mr. President, for visiting the troops in Iraq.
Here is what the CBO director has to say.Monthly Budget Review
April 6th, 2009 by Douglas Elmendorf
Today CBO released the latest Monthly Budget Review, reflecting an analysis of budget data through the end of March 2009. CBO estimates that the Treasury Department will report a deficit of about $953 billion for the first six months of fiscal year 2009, $640 billion more than the deficit recorded through March 2008.
Budget accounting issues are clouding the deficit forecasts for this year. The above estimate of this year’s deficit to date includes outlays of about $290 billion for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Although the Treasury has been recording most spending for the TARP on a cash basis, CBO believes that the budget should record the program’s activities on a net present-value basis adjusted for market risk. Using that approach, CBO estimates that outlays of $140 billion should be recorded for the TARP through March. That approach would yield an estimated deficit of $803 billion for the first half of the year.
March receipts were estimated to be about 30 percent lower than receipts in March 2008. More than half of the decline reflects a drop in net corporate income tax receipts, which fell by 90 percent from March of last year, in part because firms may be applying current-year losses to obtain refunds of taxes paid in previous years.
(Jospeh) Schumpeter and capitalism's demise
Schumpeter's most popular book in English is probably Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. This book opens with a treatment of Karl Marx. While he is sympathetic to Marx's theory that capitalism will collapse and will be replaced by socialism, Schumpeter concludes that this will not come about in the way Marx predicted. To describe it he borrowed the phrase "creative destruction," and made it famous by using it to describe a process in which the old ways of doing things are endogenously destroyed and replaced by new ways.
Schumpeter's theory is that the success of capitalism will lead to a form of corporatism and a fostering of values hostile to capitalism, especially among intellectuals. The intellectual and social climate needed to allow entrepreneurship to thrive will not exist in advanced capitalism; it will be replaced by socialism in some form. There will not be a revolution, but merely a trend in parliaments to elect social democratic parties of one stripe or another. He argued that capitalism's collapse from within will come about as democratic majorities vote for the creation of a welfare state and place restrictions upon entrepreneurship that will burden and destroy the capitalist structure. Schumpeter emphasizes throughout this book that he is analyzing trends, not engaging in political advocacy. In his vision, the intellectual class will play an important role in capitalism's demise. The term "intellectuals" denotes a class of persons in a position to develop critiques of societal matters for which they are not directly responsible and able to stand up for the interests of strata to which they themselves do not belong. One of the great advantages of capitalism, he argues, is that as compared with pre-capitalist periods, when education was a privilege of the few, more and more people acquire (higher) education. The availability of fulfilling work is however limited and this, coupled with the experience of unemployment, produces discontent. The intellectual class is then able to organise protest and develop critical ideas.
In Schumpeter's view, socialism will ensure that the production of goods and services is directed towards meeting the authentic needs of people and will overcome some innate tendencies of capitalism such as conjecture fluctuation, unemployment and waning acceptance of the system.
President Barack Obama's approval numbers are falling, based on the RasmussenReports.com index. Now, they have been up and down (just like the daily gyrations of the stock market), and I wonder if this factors in the firing of GM CEO Rick Wagoner and Obama's comments about America being an arrogant country in France.
We might be in a down economy, but The Warren Report continues its expansion across the country and across the globe.
I found the news that President Barack Obama, or someone in his administration, ousted GM CEO Rick Wagoner from his post to be somewhat shocking.
Senior presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett and her chief of staff, Michael Strautmanis, are in regular contact with MoveOn.Org, Americans United for Change and other liberal interest groups. Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina has collaborated with Americans United for Change on strategy and even ad copy. Ms. Jarrett invited leaders of the liberal interest groups to a White House social event with the president and first lady to kick off the lobbying campaign.What I find intriguing is this: If people want to lobby the administration, that is not a good thing. However, if Obama wants to lobby (and intimidate) others, then that is a good thing.
Its targets were initially Republicans, as team Obama ran ads depicting the GOP as the "party of no." But now the fire is being trained on Democrats worried about runaway spending.
President Barack Obama's Presidential Approval Index, as tracked by RasmussenReports.com, shows a double-digit figure. He had been as low as 4-5 and had been moving up.
