The Revolution

I'd like to draw attention to a quote I've had at the bottom of the blog for a bit:

"But what do we mean by the American Revolution? Do we mean the American war? The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments, of their duties and obligations...This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people was the real American Revolution."

- John Adams (emphasis mine)

While I have to agree with Vanderboegh that events have progressed to what will very likely result in bloodshed, my thoughts have returned repeatedly to the quote above.

At what point did the Colonists, many of them "good" British subjects, suddenly realize that the Crown was truly no longer (if it ever had been) operating in their interests. How many years did it take for the reality to sink in that they truly were on their own. Their "betters" didn't give a shit about them, and in fact saw them only as pawns to be moved about the board and, in fact, sacrificed as the whim struck.

The recent marches show that the Revolution, as President Adams defined it, has already begun. It certainly has not progressed to an open shooting war....yet....however, the continued demonization and minimization of the complaints of MILLIONS of Americans is only pushing the country farther towards the abattoir. With each Democrat that screams RACISM!, and each Republican that chooses to pretend that their constituency will shut up and go away, those citizens that are taking to the streets to SCREAM their displeasure and defiance at the RANK TYRANNY of an out of control group of elitists are pushed further and further towards actions that go far beyond words. Actions that are completely irreversable.

And Ladies and Gentlemen (such as you are), there isn't much civility left past our current attempts at discourse. In the previous entry I have posted a video by a man who began blogging a couple of years ago when he saw the economy being fraudulently manipulated by the elite. Day after day, Karl Denninger has called for prosecution and reform to bring the economy to an honest and sustainable state. He has sent countless faxes to his representatives, he has sent countless signed petitions demanding redress of grievances. He has exhausted EVERY peaceful means available at his disposal to be heard. And yet, here we still sit. In the past, I've heard him get loud when truly evil acts were being perpetrated against investors and the American people, but I've never actually seen him lose it to this degree (and absolutely RIGHTFULLY so!). And frankly, he's not even apparently interested in flat out politics.

What does that tell you about other fellow Citizens who are beginning to awake from their slumber?

To those in our so-called Government who believe themselves to be in control of this flaming train wreck, proceed at your own risk. You serve, and even uttering that word with respect to your actions makes me nauseous, US. WE are the reason you sit in that cushy seat with your cushy pension on the way. WE allow YOU to be there. YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN THAT! The time for "polite" (you'd call it "racist", or "manufactured") gatherings in public squares across the Nation may be coming to a close. And I warn you, the end of discourse brings the rise of only one thing, and it will mean blood.

Fed Up

Absolutely nothing I can add to this.



Backup for most of his assertions at: http://market-ticker.denninger.net
The rest of it is available on Fox News.

Wake up.

Guns on Amtrak?

You know, I've always liked the thought of Amtrak, except when I travel I just about always do so with my concealed handgun (stowed as needed per Federal Regs). Amtrak has never been an option for me since they have a significant anti-gun rule....that would be no guns whatsoever.

Imagine my surprise when this gem from My Way News caught my eye:

The Senate voted Wednesday to permit passengers on the Amtrak passenger railroad to transport handguns in their checked baggage.

The proposal, approved by a 68-30 vote, seeks to give Amtrak riders rights comparable to those enjoyed by airline passengers, who are permitted to transport firearms provided that they declare they are doing so and that the arms are unloaded and in a securely locked container.

"Americans should not have their Second Amendment rights restricted for any reason, particularly if they choose to travel on America's federally subsidized rail line," said Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who made the proposal.

Wicker's amendment would deny the railroad its $1.6 billion taxpayer subsidy unless it changes the gun policy.

It still has to be included when they combine the House and Senate bills, but if it's not a worthless "hey House, we're gonna put this in to look pro-Gun but we'll just strike it when we combine the bills" then Amtrak may become an option again.

Idiots at Work

Homeless use of motels still on rise

So, the State is paying for motel rooms for families. Here is what got me:

Tina Brooks, undersecretary of the department, said 1,010 families - including more than 1,400 children - are now living in motels, at a monthly cost of about $2.8 million for taxpayers.

Ok boys and girls, lets do the math:
$2.8mil per month, divided by 1,010 families equals....

$2772...PER MONTH

Lets see, I have a 3 bedroom home, in a state with low cost of living (I...shock...actually moved here because of low taxes, a good job market, and low cost of living...amazing I know). I pay around $1000 a month all-in without utilities.

Are you seriously saying that the state of Mass. can't find lodgings for these people that aren't three times as expensive as an average home loan? I know real estate might be more expensive there, but holy crap.

That's ok though, because they're expecting $44mil in stimulus funds (that would be OUR MONEY by the way) to continue to blow on their mess.

Pent Up Consumer Demand???

Remember, if we can just free up the credit markets, the consumers will start spending, rainbows will appear, and, as Karl Denninger so aptly put it, Unicorns that shit Skittles will appear and shower us with "gifts".

Little problem though (other than the Unicorn)...

Americans say they plan to maintain their spending patterns as they are uncertain about the direction of the economy over the next six months.

Only 8 percent of U.S. adults plan to increase household spending, almost one-third will spend less, and 58 percent expect to “stay the course,” according to a Bloomberg News poll. More than 3 in 4 said they cut spending in the past year.

Bloomberg had an article on current consumer behavior today, which went on to say

Underscoring consumers’ austere attitudes, 77 percent of respondents say they have cut back on spending during the past year, 59 percent say they have made a bigger effort to pay off debts and 48 percent have put more money aside as savings.

Because consumer spending accounted for 70 percent of the economy since 2001, the speed and strength of a recovery may depend on how quickly Americans loosen their purse strings.

People aren't going to start spending again until they de-leverage themselves. They can't get a loan or a new credit card because they already are carrying too much debt, and have wrecked their credit scores. This is compounded by banks knowing that the crap they have on their books isn't worth what they say it is (hint: it's worth 30% or more less than they claim). This means they aren't solvent, and are doing everything they can to bank capital to reduce their leverage themselves.

Winter is coming, and it's looking colder by the second.

Stop "Recording Artist Caused" Global Warming!

World celebrities sing to stop global warming

Hey guys, didn't anyone tell you that, apparently, CO2 causes Global Warming? If you really cared, you wouldn't all have started exhaling all that greenhouse gas while you were singing! Not to mention all the energy you were consuming getting to/from the recording studio and whilest recording!

Try a plastic bag over the head and cinch it tight...stop Global Warming today! No fair cheating and taking the bag off now!

Winter is Coming

Karl Denninger continues his treatise on the current Economy, and I have a hint for you, it's not "Green Shoots".

We have been given a gift - a six month (up to now) to couple-of-year (maybe) time frame in which to recognize the truth, break up these behemoth organizations, force the bad debt into the open, default it, make depositors whole and in doing so shrink place our economy on a trajectory where debt-to-gdp will shrink to a sustainable level.

If we fail to do so before the rope runs out - and it will - our economy will collapse. The Federal Government will be forced to contract spending to what it can raise via taxes in the current economic climate - about half of what it spends now. Given our budget and where we spend money, this means a near-complete repudiation of Social Security and Medicare, a 50% or more cut to the military budget, and an elimination of all other federal programs. Unemployment will rocket to north of 25%. Our "just in time" economy will break down and there will be widespread, perhaps even critical, shortages of necessities - food and fuel.

Read the rest here, and while you're at it, take a look at what else he has to say.

Don't believe Karl? How about a Nobel Prize winning Economist.

Stiglitz, former chief economist at the World Bank and member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said the world economy is “far from being out of the woods” even if it has pulled back from the precipice it teetered on after the collapse of Lehman.

“We’re going into an extended period of weak economy, of economic malaise,” Stiglitz said. The U.S. will “grow but not enough to offset the increase in the population,” he said, adding that “if workers do not have income, it’s very hard to see how the U.S. will generate the demand that the world economy needs.”

The Federal Reserve faces a “quandary” in ending its monetary stimulus programs because doing so may drive up the cost of borrowing for the U.S. government, he said.

“The question then is who is going to finance the U.S. government,” Stiglitz said.

The Pump is On

Denninger is continuing his crusade against "the pump", that is, the constant hyping of "green shoots" and "economic recovery" by the main stream media, while job losses keep climbing, companies continue to post 30% declines, and the Government continues to spend us into oblivion.

Listen at this link (sorry, things are loading really slow at the moment, it's worth the wait):
Denninger Lays Down the Law

When you're done with that, it's certainly worth reading his recent posts as well.
http://market-ticker.denninger.net

I know, it's heavily financial, and a little dry at times, but really take a look at what is going on in the markets - what is really going on.

The fix is on. Are you in or out?