Sep

26

Honesty Is Sanity

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Great message from Harun I., a frequent contributor to Charles Hugh Smith’s website, OfTwoMinds.com I include his quote and then provide my thoughts at the bottom.

It is not under-education or an inability to think critically which part people from their money, it is their uncontrolled emotions. Faced with purchasing a house which they know is unaffordable or choosing to rent they will not bother to run the comparison as long as it is their dream and “someone” told them they could. Had grumpy old Mr. Critical Thought been allowed to show up and run a spread sheet or put the numbers into Quicken they (the cold, emotionless reality of the numbers) would have irrefutably deprived them of their “dream”.

This drama plays out everyday at different levels across the spectrum of human psychology, the food you should not eat because you are morbidly obese, the years-old but never used exercise equipment in the garage, the spouse or partner who is abusive but you can’t leave, the dress, shoes, house, boat, car you have to buy but cannot afford, the candidates we vote for because we like the way they part their hair. The inconsistencies, contradictions and convolutions are endless and mind-boggling to the point of madness to the observer.

Facing your inconsistencies and contradictions is a never-ending battle.  To avoid succumbing to negativity and false senses of happiness (mindless consumerism, distractions, addictions/vices), I’ve found the following help:

  • Surrounding yourself with friends, family that support and encourage your growth as a human.
  • Feeding your brain positive information (listening to and engaging your mind in positive thoughts).
  • Being introspective (journaling, silent thought) and determining your own value system, not one that your parents/your society gives you.
  • Being consciously aware of your own strengths, weaknesses and limitations.  Actively working to tilt the playing field in your favor.
  • Being honest with yourself, your lifestyle and those around you.  Honesty is sanity.

Takeaway:  Life is too short to waste time with distractions.  Since your mind can be your best friend or worst enemy, it makes sense to work on your attitude/worldview/values to have more peace of mind.

Sep

22

SEC, Where Art Thou?

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It should boggle everyone’s mind how easily bloggers are able to catch obvious fraud in the financial markets while the SEC and other regulatory bodies are looking the other way.

Here are some gems just from the last week alone:

  1. Perot Systems FrontRunning – ZeroHedge.
  2. Blatant reinflation of housing bubble – Denninger.
  3. Corruption at HUD – Karl Denninger.

The SEC was not able to catch a ponzi scheme even after Harry Markopolos delivered it to them on a silver platter. 

Paulson and Bernanke have been incredibly incorrect on their assessment of the health of the US economy.

Choose your sources of information/facts/news very carefully.  Stick with those that are honest enough to state their opinions openly and publish their predictions.

Read what you disagree with before drawing your conclusions.

There is a difference between loyalty and blind loyalty.  Blind loyalty to anything (religion, government, ideology, spouse) is deadly.

Takeaway:  Perpetual reliance on someone else’s seal of approval will rot your brain.  Complacency kills.

Sep

7

Obama’s School Speech

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Even though I think Obama is leading our country down the wrong path (like those that preceded him), I have no problem admitting when he does something right.

I was delighted last night to read his speech to schoolchildren and see what a thoughtful, intelligent speech it was.  I encourage you to read it, no matter what your political leanings.

Highlights:

  • Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.
  • Maybe you’ll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn.
  • Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, “I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
  • Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new.
  • I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do.

It’s rare for a politician to speak of personal responsibility and any effort to broadcast this message, however diluted, should be welcomed.

Obama is a disaster with his economic advisers, but a masterful speech giver and motivator.  He understands the power of making a positive impression.

Neatness and presentation count in all aspects of life.  Be Prepared.

Takeaway:  Successful men aren’t symbols of your inferiority, they’re examples worth engaging.  Learn from everyone around you; even those you hate.

“Every man I meet is my superior in some way. In that, I learn of him.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Aug

30

Austan Goolsbee, Liar

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The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
Austan Goolsbee
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show
Full Episodes		 Political Humor Healthcare Protests

Two “answers” which speak volumes of our leaders:

  • At 1:12, Jon Stewart asks “Are we broke?”, Goolsbee replies “No”.

Bizarre.  It seems that a country running trillion dollar deficits and unable to function without borrowing money could be classified as “broke”, but not to our leaders.

  • At 4:20, Goolsbee says:  “When you’re looking in the face of the next Great Depression that’s not the time to tighten the belt”

Indeed, when has there *ever* been a time when either party thought it would be a good idea to tighten the belt and stop borrowing?  Heaven forbid we curtail spending on military/”the children”/retirees/politically connected segments of the population.

Takeaway:  Leaders will do what it takes (lie, obfuscate, deceive) to accrue political capital.  It is not in their interest to be honest with us, especially when our borrowing/spending based economy relies on confidence that “everything will be ok”.  A system heading over a cliff due to instability cannot be solved with more of the same pathetic ideas (reliance on debt, policy tweaks) that got us here.

Aug

25

Obama Reappoints Bernanke

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Obama reappointed Bernanke as Fed Chairman earlier today, effectively sealing their fates as men that will take us from a recession into the Greater Depression.

For those “economists” who’ve lately been singing his praises on CNBC, all I have to say is this…

It takes a special kind of system (government) to screw up this badly and still be resoundingly supported by its leader.

In his reappointment speech Obama also pledged support for the continued secrecy independence of the Federal Reserve.

How foolish of citizens to inquire where trillions of dollars are being spent… clearly we should trust the former bankers running the Federal Reserve that regulate the banking system. After all, they obviously know what they’re doing.

Instead of perpetuating the broken system financed by politically embedded financial organizations, Obama could have attempted any of the following:

Would that severely correct the housing and stock markets? Yes, probably. Can we continue on our current path? No. Will we eventually face unbearable consequences for our decisions? Yes.

Ironically, neither Bernanke nor Obama nor either political party seem to care about the following message:

It is not the responsibility of the Federal Reserve–nor would it be appropriate–to protect lenders and investors from the consequences of their financial decisions. – Ben Bernanke

So, Obama reappointing the guy who didn’t see any of this coming, who bailed out the irresponsible, who continues to provide cover for banks in the hopes that things will return to normal still makes Obama the “man of the people”? Why aren’t those who voted for Obama clamoring that this Bush appointee is more of the same? Why do horrible decisions not matter when *their* party is in charge?

The reappointment of Bernanke does have a silver lining. All the people that bought into the hope proffered in eloquent speeches that government can provide jobs, clean energy, healthcare, education and other goodies will eventually learn a valuable lesson. The love affair Americans have with celebrity, good looks and good speeches and a lack of discourse/intellectual honesty will finally meet its match against a tidal wave of financial reality.

We are witnessing firsthand government selling Hope while funding Grift.

A generation will learn that our government system, like all systems which redistribute power and wealth, is one that is relentlessly gamed and manipulated for the benefit of those in charge.

Takeaway: Strip away the external validation that media/family/friends give to people and institutions and think for yourself.

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