This'n'That; May 29th[Fluffy-Auto;Maryland;

Didn't Fluffy Fix'em? Fluffy obama has poured billion$ after billion$ into two segments of the auto industry-to what end? Both Gov't Motors and Chrysler are either in bankruptcy or comtemplating entering into it. Without the porkulus payments, they both would have arrived at the same place-only sooner and cheeeeeeeper!! The taxpayers would have "saved" those many billion$!! So, where did the billion$ and billion$ go? They went primarily to shore up the United Auto Workers' retirement and benefits funds-secondarily, 10% of the Gov't Motors' share went to the public bond holders for their 29% share of the company. In any other society, the Fluffy administration would be either guilty of first degree felony theft or first degree fraud!! Tell me the Fluffy plan to control the auto industry ain't 99% political bu!!$hit....!! Increasing numbers of Chrysler dealers are disputing the bankrupt automaker’s claim that it selected dealerships for closure on purely economic grounds, and they have filed a suit against the automaker in U.S. bankruptcy court. "My business is being stolen from me under the guise of the bankruptcy laws [and] given to another dealer down the street," Jim Anderer, owner of Island Jeep in Lindenhurst, N.Y., told Reuters. Like many of the 789 Chrysler dealerships slated for closure, Anderer claims his retail outlet was profitable. Many of the closed dealers were also major donors to Republican candidates and political action committees, a review of campaign finance data from the Federal Election Commission shows. This has led to accusations that Fluffy obama's auto task force has been playing political favorites, first by forcing Chrysler into bankruptcy, and then by targeting dealerships for closure that funded Der Fluffmeister's political enemies. On The GM Side: The bankruptcy of General Motors now appears inevitable, after a majority of bondholders refused to convert their loans to shares and the Government pledged up to $30 billion more to the company to help it survive the months it will take to restructure. GM is expected to file within days for a Chapter 11 "surgical bankruptcy", which will lead to it being restructured, perhaps within months. Under the proposed rapid bankruptcy plan, parts of the company deemed viable would be transferred to a new company that would be majority owned by the US Government. The Center for Automotive Research warned last week that once the GM bankruptcy reached the courts, it could take unexpected turns, with unexpected impacts for overseas operations. In a study released this week, the center warned that a protracted and disorderly bankruptcy of GM and Chrysler could have dire consequences, including immediate loss of 90 per cent of jobs in two car companies, bankruptcy of several parts manufacturers, a gradual gain of market share by Ford, but 70 per cent of former GM production being taken up by imports. The result would be the loss of nearly 2 million jobs in the US economy by the end of next year, compared with about 240,000 direct and indirect jobs if the GM bankruptcy was handled swiftly and smoothly within 90 days. Once the latest funds are provided, Fluffy will have up to 70 per cent of the new company, taking his total investment to more than $45 billion, one of the biggest bail-outs in history. The Canadian Government will also provide funds and have a small equity stake. As this outright fraud continues to unfold, the United Auto Workers will emerge with just under 20 per cent — roughly half the holding originally proposed after days of negotiations over cutting benefits, closing plants and the union taking over health fund obligations for retired GM workers. Bondholders will have less than 10 per cent and current common stock shareholders less than 1 per cent—if anything. GM shares fell 29¢ to $1.15. The stock has lost 64 per cent this year. TheFluffy government is bracing for political fallout from the bankruptcy. Not only will it have to deal with job losses in the car industry and throughout the country, as more than 3000 dealerships close, but many state and private pension funds were holders of GM bonds.

Hear The Latest? [Have ya heard the latest in the various states' quest to "soak-the-rich, Fluffy Style?" So much for the socialist "Fluffy-isms!!" Social engineering and class warfare don't work; Taxcuts do!! If Maryland had cut their state rate to say 4%... those high earners would be scrambling to find a worthwhile industry, enterprise to invest in, increasing their taxable income while the rates would remain low and would have still paid more dollars into the state treasury!!] Maryland couldn't balance its budget last year, so the state tried to close the shortfall by fleecing the wealthy-raising the top marginal income-tax rate to 6.25%. Because cities such as Baltimore and Bethesda also impose income taxes, the state-local tax rate can go as high as 9.45%!! Governor Martin O'Malley, a dedicated class warrior, declared that these richest 0.3% of filers were "willing and able to pay their fair share." The Baltimore Sun predicted the rich would "grin and bear it." One year later, nobody's grinning. Maryland's "million-dollar filers" are down by 33 percent [1,000]. On those missing returns, the government collects 6.25% of nothing. So far, Millionaires have paid $100 million less in taxes than they did last year-even at higher rates!! However, this is one reason that depending on the rich to finance government is so ill-advised: Progressive tax rates create mountains of cash during good times that vanish during recessions. For evidence, consult California, New York and New Jersey. It's easier than the redistributionists think for the high earners to leave the state. Christopher Summers, president of the Maryland Public Policy Institute, notes: "Marylanders with high incomes typically own second homes in tax friendlier states like Florida, Delaware, South Carolina and Virginia. So it's easy for them to change their residency." All of this means that the burden of paying for bloated government in Annapolis will fall on the middle class. Thanks to the futility of soaking the rich, these working families will now pay Mr. O'Malley's "fair share."

Til Nex'Time....

This'n'That; May 28th[Fluffy;Sotomayor]

ACORN CHOOSES....

Well, ACORN has finally come to a decision and instructed Fluffy obama to announce that Sonya Sotomayor will be the choice to replace Justice David Souter. Justice Souter has announced plans to retire from the bench when the current session ends. As for Ms Sotomayor, everyone knows the hardscrabble upbringing she endoured in the Bronx; but the media mushmouths won't tell you any of the important or derogatory aspects of her rise in status or her less-than-stellar job performance. Please recall the period of her positive and negative accomplishments; the mid-eighties to the current-under two republican and one democRAT president.

That being said, one has to consider Sotomayor's grasp of the law and the successes and failures with that law. Her opinions, although competent, are viewed by former prosecutors as not especially clean or tight, and sometimes miss the forest for the trees.

It's customary, for example, for Second Circuit judges to circulate their draft opinions to invite a robust exchange of views. Sotomayor rankled her colleagues by sending long memos that didn't distinguish between substantive and trivial points, with petty editing suggestions--fixing typos and the like--rather than focusing on the core analytical issues.

In 2001, for example, a conservative colleague, Ralph Winter, included an unusual footnote in a case suggesting that an earlier opinion by Sotomayor might have inadvertently misstated the law in a way that misled litigants. The most controversial case in which Sotomayor participated is Ricci v. DeStefano, the explosive case involving affirmative action in the New Haven fire department, which is now being reviewed by the Supreme Court. A panel including Sotomayor ruled against the firefighters in a perfunctory unpublished opinion. This provoked Judge Cabranes, a fellow Clinton appointee, to object to the panel's opinion that contained "no reference whatsoever to the constitutional issues at the core of this case." The Ricci case is likely to increase that percentage of reversals as most court watchers expect the Supreme Court to right the terrible wrong Sotomayor did the firefighters.

The case is just one more indication that Sotomayor is not fit to sit on the court where many of her opinions have been tossed aside.

Stephen Dinan, writing in the Washington Times, thinks that the reversal rate may be potent for the opposition: With Judge Sonia Sotomayor already facing questions over her 60 percent reversal rate, the Supreme Court could dump another problem into her lap next month if, as many legal analysts predict, the court overturns one of her rulings upholding a race-based employment decision. Three of the five majority opinions written by Judge Sotomayor for the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals and reviewed by the Supreme Court were reversed, providing a potent line of attack. "Her high reversal rate alone should be enough for us to pause and take a good look at her record. Frankly, it is the Senates duty to do so," said Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America. The American people should be shown just what our president thinks of the Supreme Court to nominate such a candidate to sit in judgment on the most vital cases involving our principles and rights.

....and Der Fluffmeister REALLY thinks....[an excerpt of a TV interview with a Chicago FM radio station in 2001]: FLUFFY OBAMA: "If you look at the victories and failures of the civil rights movement and its litigation strategy in the court, I think where it succeeded was to vest formal rights in previously dispossessed peoples so that I would now have the right to vote, I would now be able to sit at a lunch counter and order and as long as I could pay for it I'd be okay. But the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth and sort of more basic issues of political and economic justice in this society."

....and MORE socialist views....: FLUFFY OBAMA: "As radical as I think people try to characterize the Warren Court, it wasn't that radical. It didn't break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution at least as its been interpreted and the Warren Court interpreted it in the same way, that generally the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties, says what the states can't do to you, says what the federal government can't do to you, but it doesn't say what the federal government or the state government must do on your behalf, and that hasn't shifted. I think that there was a tendency to lose track of the political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalitions of power through which you bring about redistributive change. And in some ways we still suffer from that."

....and STILL more Fluffy [socialist] views....: FLUFFY OBAMA: I think we can say that the Constitution reflected an enormous blind spot in this culture that carries on until this day and -- and -- and that the framers had that same blind spot. I -- I don't think the two views are contradictory to say that it was a remarkable political document that paved the way for where we are now and to say that it also reflected the fundamental flaw of this country that continues to this day [he is of course, referring to slavery].

....a Limbaugh comment on the interview.... : The Constitution proscribes government on a lot of things that are for the benefit of the American people. But what this means to Obama is, when he says that the Constitution doesn't say what the federal government can do on your behalf, means it doesn't say that it can tax the rich at a higher rate and give the money to the poor. It doesn't say that he can redistribute -- in fact, the Constitution does not have Marxism in it. The Constitution doesn't have socialism in it. And as such, Obama is constrained. The civil rights movement did not get as far as it shoulda gotten because it was so focused on the court rather than community organizing. Well, okay. Now the community organizer's in the Oval Office and the community organizer is going to see to it that the court does his bidding. Hello, Sonia Sotomayor. This isn't worth opposing simply 'cause she's guaranteed? There's going to be other Supreme Court nominations. There are going to be future elections. Are we going to just throw in the towel on those, too? Are we just going to assume that opposing anything Obama does because he's a minority is going to anger voters and we're cooked? Final sound bite. Obama and the Constitution as reflecting America's fundamental flaw.

....and a "Justin Case-ism....": Here is NOT the cool, calm and collected politician the media portrays, but an cold, angry, calculating guy with a chip on his shoulder!! He DID HEAR what Jeremiah Wright said for 20 years while "churching" in Chicago. He did hear what Bill Ayers says about America. So now it's time to change all that, and Fluffy'll be changing it by desecrating the very Constitution he swore to "preserve, protect and defend!!" The Sotomayer assension to "the Supremes" will further advance the socialist, Marxist and statist views of the "Era of Fluff!!"

Til Nex'Time....

This'n'That;May 26th[ACORN;HomeDepot;EmpireCollege]

ACORN-Thorough Teacher

[Fluffy obama, as a community agitator for ACORN, learned their lessons well. As does ACORN-reducing the electorate's Constitutionally guaranteed choices of representation, Der Fluffmeister put pressure on Steve Israel not to oppose Senator Gillibrand of New York in her upcoming primary. Apparently "Chuckie-Cheese" Schumer wasn't successful in his pressure of Israel. Being a DINO, I don't give a crap who the democRATs run-or if they run any opposition to Gillibrand, but the Constitution guarantees the voting public the RIGHT TO CHOOSE!! Gillibrand has already proven she's suffering from a depletion of calcium-SHE HAS NO SPINAL COLUMN!! In the House of Representatives, she was infavor of lawful gun possession. About twenty minutes after she was chosen to fill the {very wide} senatorial seat held by Hillary Rob'em Clinton, she mysteriously converted to "Chuckie-Cheese's" way of thinking!!]

If a strongly-worded recommendation from Chuck Schumer wasn't enough to discourage Congressman Steve Israel from challenging Kirsten Gillibrand in next year's Democratic primary for Senate, party brass brought in the big boss to make sure he knew how serious the sentiment was. Israel announced that he had decided not to run yesterday shortly after receiving a call from Fluffy obama. Israel said, "When (the president) asked me to take a leadership role in fighting for his agenda, I wasn't about to say no. He believes that at this critical time...that party unity is important." Carolyn Maloney may be next potential challenger pushed to the side, but it doesn't appear that there is any sign of retreat from Gillibrand's most visible foe since entering the Senate, Carolyn McCarthy. She may also have to face labor activist Jonathan Tasini, who told Politico, "Had the party leadership sought to “clear the field” in 2008 and control a vigorous debate about the direction of our party and our country, Fluffy obama would not be president today."

Home Depot Sucks!

[Long before I had my run-in with Home Depot's version of "customer service," I held that opinion! I was an over-the-road truck driver for years; for several of those years, I was an owner-operator {Owner-operators own their own tractors, many pull the company's trailers}. During that time, I needed some steel to make repairs on my battery box. I {sadly} chose Home Depot, primarily cuz they were the closest. As I approached SEVERAL EMPLOYEES, they all either turned their backs on me or gave me incorrect directions, OR BOTH!! After nearly an hour searching, I found what I needed, paid, and left Home Depot-FOREVER!! Since then I've become a delivery driver for their main competition-Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse. Lowe's is unique to the entire retail industry in their interpretation of "customer service!!" Lowe's policy is to "never point" but to walk the customer to their desired item. As a delivery driver, I spend very little time in the store, hence I know very little about the placement of the various products in the store-but even so, I walk the customer to the item they're searching for {and bless 'em, they follow me around the store while I'm attempting to help them with my limited knowledge}.]

Home Depot Inc., the largest home-improvement chain in the U.S., is waiting to see if its latest attempt to improve customer service pays off. All 300,000 employees took a mandatory crash course in helping customers earlier this year. The company is also on a two-year push to improve merchandising and modernize distribution. In the University of Michigan’s customer satisfaction survey, Home Depot comes in last place among specialty retailers. Any plan to improve will have to overcome economic challenges, said Laura Champine, an analyst with Cowen & Co. in New York. The recession is in its 17th month and the U.S. housing market is in its worst slump since the Great Depression. Home Depot forecasts a 9 percent sales drop in 2009. Lowe’s reported first-quarter earnings today that topped analysts’ estimates as it curbed discounts and boosted sales of more profitable plants and flowers. Home Depot reports first- quarter results tomorrow.

Empire College-Proposed Move

Empire State College's Genesee Valley Center is planning to move from North Winton Road in Irondequoit to a new, 30,000-square-foot building on the edge of the Monroe Community College campus in Brighton. Two committees of the Monroe County Legislature will review the lease agreement for the two-acre parcel where the new building will be located. Empire State College would build and own the facility; the county holds the land in trust for MCC. The full legislature is expected to vote on the lease at a June meeting. If approved, construction of the $9.5 million, three-story building could start in the spring of 2010 and the new center could be open in the fall of 2011, said Empire State College spokesman Kirk Starczewski. The Genesee Valley Center opened in 1972 on Prince Street in Rochester and relocated to 1475 N. Winton Road in 1999. The State University of New York's Empire State College has 35 locations across the state, including seven regional centers. It was founded in 1971 and focuses on academic programs for working adults.

Til Nex'Time....

This'n'That; May 21st[OneWorld;Orman]

Does It Matter? The KoolAid Media is all giddy about the recently proposed stringent auto standards! This seems to replace or is in conjunction with the "global warming" hoax. Both of these can be added to the housing crisis, banking crisis, economic crisis, credit card crisis, cap-and-trade crisis and whatever other crises the Fluffy obama handlers can invent to keep the public on "the edge of their seats" awaiting a government fix to all their problems. BUT, What Does It Matter?? All this consternation is for naught unless the rest of the industrialized world inacts similar legislation, policies and practices. Socialist America can force legislation and policies to eradicate greenhouse gases, give every resident a house, nationalize the banking system, use statist policies to control the economy and personal credit, blah, blah, blah; IT WILL DO NO GOOD unless the rest of the planet acts in concert!! Industrialized Europe has had many of these policies for years.... to what end? The pollution from the rest of the world just drifts around, allegedly causing havoc while the Europeans have altered their lifestyles to not one jot of good!! I can not believe that Fluffy obama thinks he can control the political or social actions of the Chinese or the Indians!! China, India and countries of the former Soviet Union have the largest populations on the planet and they'll continue doing what they've always done-NOTHING with regard to the planet itself! As an example-Ya know all those "high-fallutin' " teas the "high-brows" buy from China? Ya got any idea of how they're dried and crushed? The tea leaves are picked by peasants for slave wages; they're dumped on a warehouse concrete floor; they're DRIVEN OVER by lead and carbon spewing crappy cars-the same cars driven that morning over dirt roads, through cowshit on their way to work!! Makes for some healthy tea, aye? Until the socialist democRATs and the "do-nothing" republicans are driven from the Congress and statehouses nationwide, we'll just have to play along as "Fluffy-America" joins the European Union in their lock-step over the horizon into one-world government!!

Investors Be Concerned!!

[Many know Suze Orman as the TV financial guru, following her investment advice over the years. I found this interview at http://www.findadvice.com/ . I've cut it severely-just the basics:] Among her fans is Merriman financial advisor Cheryl Curran, who nevertheless believes Orman’s investment advice should not be followed. In the still heavily-male-dominated financial industry, I have been especially pleased to see a woman’s advice accepted and taken seriously by people of all ages and in all stages of life, regardless of whether they have a lot of wealth or only a little. However, I think investors need to be wary of the information and advice she dispenses – and the example she sets. A plus; when markets are down, Suze encourages people to continue adding to their retirement funds, even when it doesn’t feel comfortable. In easy-to-follow language, she shows how to make a written plan to pay off debts. As virtually everybody in the financial services business knows, people who follow written plans are much more likely to be successful than those who don’t.

Suze has made some bad investment calls, especially in the past 18 months, and I don’t know why. Perhaps she is under pressure to become a guru. Or it’s possible that, like many people, she isn’t always able to muster the wisdom, courage and discipline to stick to her own stated beliefs. Suze used to advocate buying and holding only index funds. Then in June 2008, she was interviewed by Eric Schurenberg, who was then a “Money” magazine editor.

Suze told Schurenberg that even though all the evidence indicated index funds outperform 80 percent of managed funds, “Today I think you have to be more active.” She recommended exchange-traded funds specializing in emerging markets, U.S. oil and metals & mining. And what happened to investors who took those recommendations? From the time of her interview in June 2008, these sectors went down 44 percent, 71 percent and 71 percent respectively, through the end of the year. Vanguard 500 Index and Total Stock Market Index, dropped 28 percent and 29 percent, respectively, in that same time frame.

In the same interview, Suze said: “You should invest in bonds only when interest rates are going down.” Now that is a very interesting piece of advice, on a par with “Invest only in stocks that are making money.” I am surprised that a journalist as supposedly savvy as Schurenberg let that comment slip by without any follow-up, as if it were the most natural point of view in the world. She must mean that the only valid reason to own bonds is to buy them at a low price and sell them at a higher price. (As you probably know, bond prices generally rise when interest rates fall.) Investing this way is legitimate if that’s what you are after and if (this is a very big if) you have some system for knowing when to buy and when to sell. Millions of investors own bonds with an entirely different objective: to stabilize a portfolio that also contains equities. By allocating a portion of your portfolio to short and intermediate term bonds, you have a built-in brake system designed to offset some of the losses experienced in a typical bear market. In fact, with periodic rebalancing, investors should buy more bonds when their prices are relatively low. Suze is way off the mark in her recommended allocations between equities and fixed income (including bonds). Her recommendations are so conservative that I fear they could lead many investors to fall far short of their goals or even run out of money after they retire. Suze has stated publicly that less than 4 percent of her liquid net worth is in the stock market.

Suze has a huge income from being a successful author and entertainer. She can easily obtain plenty of spending money for the rest of her life by investing heavily in zero-coupon municipal bonds. But I have to wonder how closely she is in touch with the needs of real-world investors who have limited resources.

Suze’s investment advice has not been good. It does not seem to be based on a good grasp of some important and fundamental concepts. My advice to her viewers, listeners and readers is twofold. Appreciate and learn from her “plain English” explanations of financial products and subjects. But don’t follow her investment recommendations and advice.

Til Nex'Time....

This'n'That; May 20th[Housing;LostDecade;SDCC]

Housing Crisis

[The current housing crisis is still on a downward trend, as indicated by the April, 2009 statistics below. The current housing dilemma was precipitated by members of Congress and the Clinton administration and was several years in the making. The individuals involved insisted that qualifications standards be lowered in order to qualify more individuals and families for mortgages they couldn't possibly afford. It took several years to get here; it'll take several years to get back to normal. With the Fluffy obama handlers now in the mix-mucking up the works-"normal" won't look like it used to.]

NEW RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION IN APRIL 2009 BUILDING PERMITS Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 494,000. This is 3.3 percent (±2.3%) below the revised March rate of 511,000 and is 50.2 percent (±1.4%) below the revised April 2008 estimate of 991,000. Single-family authorizations in April were at a rate of 373,000; this is 3.6 percent (±2.2%) above the revised March figure of 360,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 103,000 in April. HOUSING STARTS Privately-owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 458,000. This is 12.8 percent (±13.0%)* below the revised March estimate of 525,000 and is 54.2 percent (±6.0%) below the revised April 2008 rate of 1,001,000. Single-family housing starts in April were at a rate of 368,000; this is 2.8 percent (±16.3%)* above the revised March figure of 358,000. The April rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 78,000. HOUSING COMPLETIONS Privately-owned housing completions in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 874,000. This is 4.9 percent (±16.6%)* above the revised March estimate of 833,000, but is 15.0 percent (±13.6%) below the revised April 2008 rate of 1,028,000.

America-A Lost Decade? [America might well have a "lost decade!" The Japanese population came out of their lost decade relatively unscathed. Americans on the other hand, may well be financially damaged. While American similarities with Japan include relatively easy credit and previously high real estate values, there is no likeness what-so-ever with savings rates! Saving is a habit with the Japanese-with Americans it seems to be a "lost art!" Most Americans are similar to one of my sons-he saved his money only until ticket and transportation expenses were met for the next concert. While alot of Americans have changed their saving and spending habits, it won't last. They will suffer far more than the rest in this recession. With the socialist bent of the current presidential handlers, this country has a foe that the Japanese didn't have-the government going off on unnecessary tangents under the guise of aiding economic recovery. Why save your money? Fluffy obama will just find a way to take it from you-increased taxes and fees; added taxes and fees. As with Japan, America's economic development and expansion has or will soon, come to a screeching halt!]

The Lost Decade - Japan's Economic Crisis The economic miracle ended in Japan abruptly at the very start of the 1990s. A combination of incredibly high land values and incredibly low interest rates led to a position in which credit was both easily available and extremely cheap. This led to massive borrowing, the proceeds of which were invested mostly in domestic and foreign stocks and securities. Recognizing that this bubble was unsustainable, the Finance Ministry sharply raised interest rates, which popped the bubble in spectacular fashion, leading to a massive crash in the stock market. It also led to a debt crisis; a large proportion of the huge debts that had been run up turned bad, which in turn led to a crisis in the banking sector, with many banks having to be bailed out by the government. Eventually many banks become unsustainable, and a wave of consolidation took place leaving only four national banks in Japan. Critically for the long-term economic situation, it meant many Japanese firms were lumbered with massive debts, affecting their ability for capital investment. It also meant credit became very difficult to obtain, due to the beleaguered situation of the banks; even now the official interest rate is at 0% and have been for several years and despite this, credit is still difficult to obtain. Overall it led to the phenomenon known as the "lost decade"; economic expansion came to a total halt in Japan during the 1990s. The impact on everyday life has been rather muted, however. Unemployment runs reasonably high, but not at crisis levels (the official figure is a little under 5%, but this is a considerable underestimate - the real level is probably around twice that). This has combined with the traditional Japanese emphasis on frugality and saving (saving money is a cultural habit in Japan) to produce a quite limited impact on the average Japanese family, which continues much as it did in the period of the miracle.

Don't Forget Those Who Do Good Things Remember, most charities have the same financial needs no matter what the economy looks like; many have increased needs in a down economy. Our personal favorite-"Slam" Duncan's Children's Charities-does most of it's work in the summer and at Christmastime. I confess, I'm a bit behind the eight-ball this year; I haven't sent my contribution to aid the summer's activities. Our checks ["The Young Miss Lovely" and I donate separately] will go out with the morning's mail. If you don't have a favorite, consider Mister Duncan's efforts-his organization does many great things on a shoe-string budget [over 99% of donations benefit the kids]!!

Til Nex'Time....