Miscellaneous Debris: Thom Hartmann: Proof that Rich people aren't the j...

   Okay morons. Watch the video. Click the link, read his resume, do your own  research into 'his' numbers..they come from actual sources...like the government offices that keep statistics. Don't argue with me about-argue with the guy that invented math. And facts. And remember that poor people make your food, care for your loved ones, fix your cars, and are nice to your idiotic asses because you are people just like them and deserve respect just like everyone else. Even  though they think you are greedy, selfish, assholes.


Miscellaneous Debris: Thom Hartmann: Proof that Rich people aren't the j...: " Just so if any of you  don't know who Thom Hartmann is, or why he is qualified to make statements like this read this-the Wikipedia..."

The next, worse financial crisis Brett Arends' ROI - MarketWatch

The next, worse financial crisis Brett Arends' ROI - MarketWatch: "By Brett Arends, MarketWatch
BOSTON (MarketWatch) — The last financial crisis isn’t over, but we might as well start getting ready for the next one.

Sorry to be gloomy, but there it is.

Why? Here are 10 reasons."

I agree with all those points. Totally. There are (as far as I can tell) no inaccuracies in this article.
The glaring omission is this: This time when the big boys take a bath? Americans are just gonna walk away and say, "Meh?".
All of the things in this article are the same that were said leading up to the giant commercial real estate bubble burst of 2010.
The 'What?' many will say.
'Exactly', I say.
While you and Sarah and many other people may be aware of this-almost nobody else cares and those guys aren't getting a bailout.-Instead, they are having to be creative and generous to potential clients or they lose, fold their corporations and walk away. And trust me, the IRS will punish them, they will be paying taxes on the peak value of their now defunct investments...

One of my friends just got done paying them off for the Tech-Bubble Crash. Even though his company tanked, they made him pay for peak valuation.

The reason I bring this up is that the Doomsayers used EXACTLY the same arguments laid out in this article a year ago predicting the end of the World when the commercial RE bubble burst....yet the economy has steadily grown at a rate nearly matching the same yearly average it has from 1980 to 2008.
Why?
Americans have gotten wise.

Many people on both sides see what is going on, and there is a growing realization that the economic crash was largely due to panic.
I talk to people every day about it-alot of people get that WE paniced and crashed the economy.
The panic was bad because a much higher percentage of the population has some stake in the Stock Market-but they see how it has rebounded and fears of a new Tech Bubble have been largely subdued by reality. Some IPOs are great, some not, and alot of startup VC is coming from folks who got killed in Tech Bubble v.1.0, so there is more sober thought going into this round of Venture Capitalism.

I look at Warren Buffet's, and the White House's projections at2012.
Buffet projects unemployment @ %8 and the White House advisors say they don't expect unemployment to be the issue it is now.
My thoughts on that are twofold:
1. The abysmal job numbers this week were due to uncertainty about:



a. Fuel prices



1. fuel price spikes have been acknowledged by the CEOs of



EXXON and Valero to be %30-40 speculation



2. the concerns about yet ANOTHER war



b. The budget ceiling and the retarded game of chicken being



played in Washington.
Obama has been too nice about many things. He didn't drop the regulatory hammer on speculation-he did, however, haul out the giant threat of 'flooding the market with cheap government crude oil' stick and waved it in the faces of the oil companies-which caused an immediate plunge in gas prices....
To put THAT into perspective: every cab driver in America that still drives an old police car for work (like me) just gained $1,000/yr in disposable income-imagine what trucking companies gained.
Just in time for summer driving season-and vacation time.
That extra cash will not be going to the Koch Brothers-it will be going to hotel rooms, ice cream cones, campsites and beaches (private AND public).
AND, as a result of the commercial RE crash:
There are so many new, local businesses that have sprung up just in Phoenix as a result that it is impossible to count. Entrepreneurs are putting commercial rentals in a vice to get their terms right so they can open new places. It is a renaissance in PHX right now...and estimates are we have lost $800million in economic activity because of SB1070.

I am NOT saying that the worst-case scenario won't happen, but I think many Americans over the age of 30 are starting to remember grandma's garden and the corner store. You could probably break the U.S. into 5 or 6 separate countries right now and it would all work its self out pretty quickly.....
Look at Detroit. It is supposed to be a dying city, but if I were 20 again, I would go there in a heartbeat to make my fortune.
I am not saying you shouldn't stockpile canned goods and maybe buy some silver coins, but I don't think Americans will tolerate a double dip recession. We could drop Iraq and Afghanistan like hot rocks right now, save half a trillion, and not have too much to worry about. Look at Vietnam: we 'lost' that war and 40 years later they are trying to be like us-Henry Rollins even broadcast his radio show from a street corner in Saigon last year.
And we have essentially 'won' if Iraq and Afghanistan.
It will be okay. It might get rough, but it will be okay.

Lisa Bloom: Angelina Jolie and the Media Cult of the Absurd

   The article below is both really well written, and quite impressive. I knew Jolie was an activist, but I am now  officially amazed...the Council on Foreign Relations? Really? Wow.

Team? Angie.

   Audry Hepbern and Princes Diana (among others) are dancing in their graves at this article. The sad thing is, the Media doesn't think people are interested.

In the era of declining magazine sales and fragmented TV viewership, don't you think that some established media outlet-or perhaps a new one, would 'capitalize' on this? Think of all of the beautiful celebs out there that NOBODY really knows the cool stuff about. People love to know that the people they admire are worthy of their admiration.

   There is nothing wrong with enjoying being entertained and having outside interests..example:  One of the most constantly engaged and involved people I know, someone who travels the World learning and teaching non-violent strategies was flattered and impressed when Alyssa Milano directly responded to one of her questions about a tweet about beauty secrets...there is nothing wrong with that. It is part of having a well-balanced life...which is IMPERATIVE if you want to stay healthy long enough to make a positive difference in the World.

   As an example of the opposite, I recall an interview with Donald Rumsfield in '04 or '05 where he admitted he hadn't seen more than one or two movies in a decade-how did that career turn out?

     Hugh Heffner made an empire because he not only showed beautiful naked women, but he PAID great writers and and journalists to publish their work in his magazine. My mom was an active feminist. She was a member of NOW, NARAL, and helped establish the first rape-crisis center in our part of my home state. She even got death threats for her involvement and SHE owned a hardback-bound copy of Playboy's Best Fiction and the hands-down best thing I have ever read about PTSD was in GQ.

The Sheep just need to be pointed in a better direction.
Click the link below:

Lisa Bloom: Angelina Jolie and the Media Cult of the Absurd: "While the public laps up this mind-numbing drivel, the real Angelina Jolie forges on. Perhaps you are vaguely aware that she is somehow involved with helping poor people in faraway places. The truth is that she has devoted a huge portion of the last eight years of her life to educating herself and then doing everything within her power to raise consciousness about and directly aid those who Franz Fanon called 'the wretched of the earth.'"