Will We Hold It Wednesday: S&P 1,360 Edition [View article]
We're bullish at the moment.
Yesterday's post never got submitted as I was in Vegas and having a busy day. Of course it was up at http://bit.ly/uOBG0H - along with many other fine posts from our great contributors!
In fact, if you ever want to check out what non-SA authors have to say, Phil's Favorites is a free section of our site where we try to pick the people who are making the most sense each day.
Thank GDP It's Friday: Reality Check? [View article]
My note to Members on the currency action this afternoon:
78.73! Yen down to 80.39 and EUR/CHF still $1.201. It's amazing. All a fund has to do is keep dumping Francs, which is not very expensive as they already told you they'd support $1.20 so you can sell them in bulk and won't lose more than a penny. That then keep the SNB buying Euros – which no single fund could afford to support on their own and the Euros cause the Dollar to fall and that's how you can lose maybe $10M dumping $1Bn worth of Swiss Francs and cause the World's 2nd largest currency to move up 1% in a day while the World's largest currency drops 1% where either move can turn another Billion into $1.2Bn easy.
Switzerland sparked fears of a new currency war on Tuesday after it pegged the Swiss franc against the euro in an attempt to protect its economy from the European debt crisis.
The Swiss National Bank in effect devalued the franc, pledging to buy "unlimited quantities" of foreign currencies to force down its value. The SNB warned that it would no longer allow one Swiss franc to be worth more than €0.83 – equivalent to SFr1.20 to the euro – having watched the two currencies move closer to parity as Switzerland became a "safe haven" from the ravages of the eurozone crisis.
Friday Follies: Come And See The Show [View article]
Very good Johann - you are almost there. I see you were able to find the link and read! Reading is, as they say, fundamental.
Now, if you can get back to all the parts you skipped you'll see... You know, I realize this is hard stuff for you so here's the story in a nutshell from that same Wiki link:
On September 13, 2005, a memo was leaked that indicated that Chertoff issued 36 hours after the hurricane's landfall which read, in part, "As you know, the President has established the `White House Task Force on Hurricane Katrina Response.' He will meet with us tomorrow to launch this effort. The Department of Homeland Security, along with other Departments, will be part of the task force and will assist the Administration with its response to Hurricane Katrina."[28] The memo activated the National Response Plan and made Michael D. Brown responsible for federal action. The article found:
“ White House and homeland security officials wouldn't explain why Chertoff waited some 36 hours to declare Katrina an incident of national significance and why he didn't immediately begin to direct the federal response from the moment on Aug. 27 when the National Hurricane Center predicted that Katrina would strike the Gulf Coast with catastrophic force in 48 hours. Nor would they explain why Bush felt the need to appoint a separate task force.
Chertoff's hesitation and Bush's creation of a task force both appear to contradict the National Response Plan and previous presidential directives that specify what the secretary of homeland security is assigned to do without further presidential orders. The goal of the National Response Plan is to provide a streamlined framework for swiftly delivering federal assistance when a disaster – caused by terrorists or Mother Nature – is too big for local officials to handle.[28]
FEMA Director, Michael Brown, was criticized when he stated that he was not aware there were refugees in the Convention Center until September 1, three days after Hurricane Katrina hit, when Brian Williams, of NBC Nightly News, asked Mr. Brown a question about them live on the Nightly News.[39]
On September 2, CNN's Soledad O'Brien asked FEMA Director Mike Brown, "How is it possible that we're getting better info than you were getting... we were showing live pictures of the people outside the Convention Center... also we'd been reporting that officials had been telling people to go to the Convention Center... I don't understand how FEMA cannot have this information."
When pressed, Brown reluctantly admitted he had learned about the starving crowds at the Convention Center from news media reports. O'Brien then said to Brown, "FEMA's been on the ground four days, going into the fifth day, why no massive air drop of food and water... in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, they got food drops two days after the tsunami."[40]
Once officials became aware of the conditions at the Convention Center a small amount of basic food supplies were diverted there by helicopter, but there were no large-scale deliveries until a truck convoy arrived at midday—the damage to infrastructure by the still present floodwaters and mob attacks delayed relief workers.
Federal officials also underestimated the number of people converging on the convention center. Even as refugees were evacuated, more kept arriving every hour.[41]
Later, Michael Brown admitted that he had virtually no experience in emergency management when he was appointed to the position by President Bush two years prior to Katrina.[42] And, in fact he had limited authority to order federal agencies into action until about 36 hours after the storm hit, when Chertoff designated him as the "principal federal official" in charge of the storm. Chertoff was the one with the authority. "[4]"
President Bush recognized this and commended Michael Brown and gave him credit for the good work he had done, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job. The FEMA Director is working 24 – they're working 24 hours a day."[42]
On September 9, Chertoff recalled Brown to Washington and removed him from the immediate supervision of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, and replaced him with Vice Admiral Thad W. Allen, chief of staff of the United States Coast Guard.[43] Three days later, on September 12, Brown resigned his position, stating, "As I told the president, it is important that I leave now to avoid further distraction from the ongoing mission of FEMA."[43]
When FEMA called for firefighters for "community service and outreach," 2000 highly-trained firefighters showed up in a staging area in an Atlanta hotel, believing that their skills would be used, or would better be used, for search and rescue operations.[49]
The firefighters, who were all paid by FEMA for their time, found themselves undergoing training on community relations, watching videos, and attending seminars on sexual harassment in a hotel, waiting days, in some cases, to be deployed in a secretarial or public relations position.[50]
Some firefighters called it a misallocation of resources, others were simply frustrated at the delay.[citation needed] FEMA defended itself by saying that there was no urgency for the firefighters to arrive because they were primarily going to be involved in community relations work, not search and rescue, and their call for help stated this.
Chertoff... FEMA was 'overwhelmed'
Testifying before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Chertoff said that FEMA was, "overwhelmed," by the scope of the disaster, and acknowledged, "many lapses," in his agency’s response to Katrina.[51] Chertoff also disagreed with Michael Brown's earlier testimony that state and local officials were responsible for the slow response to the hurricane, saying that he had experienced no problems in dealing with state and local officials and that Brown had never informed him of any problems.[52]
Perhaps now you can understand why the people who were suffering in New Orleans during this entire time might have gotten the impression that the Commander in Chief was an idiot.
Friday Follies: Come And See The Show [View article]
I didn't claim it to be anything other than a quote from one person - there are many, many more just like it but I thought that one summed things up quite nicely.
The whole thing is well-documented in Wikipedia but the funny thing about Galt is that the buck never stops at his guys - not very Randian, is it?
Friday Follies: Come And See The Show [View article]
Actually, here's a classic quote written to the Washington Post by a Katrina victim/responder that sums it up very nicely:
"I'm with you on hating Bush. As someone who survived Katrina, lost everything to Katrina, was a first responder during Katrina and has struggled to restablish myself in the town my family has called home for five generations, let me tell you... I HATE BUSH. The only thing that got me through Katrina was the grace of God and the overwhelming empathy of the American people.
Bush didn't want to respond to fellow Americans on their knees? Fine. I didn't expect anything less than having to take care of my own. That's the way I was raised. But his administration didn't just fail to respond, they got in the way at every turn. Sending our ice to Idaho? Ordering our boats to stand down? Diverting our boats so that the refineries could be staffed while people literally steamed to death in their attics, waiting, praying? It was really simple, Mr. Bush: you just had to let us bring ice and water in/people out/ice and water in/people out... all day long. How hard is that?
And the only time I ever saw FEMA was when they were sneering down at a dying woman, telling me that we were in the way of their operations. WHAT OPERATIONS? Your let-these-people-die operations? Every time I see the chemical burns scars on my feet, I seethe with hate for you, and they're never going away, Mr. Bush. Never. That water receded, but we're all damaged in some way from it.
You gave all your Iraq War buddies fat no bid contracts in the early days of our recovery, and then we got blamed for wasting money. 175 bucks a square to tarp a roof? What is that? It's disgusting. You let contractors stuff our flood walls full of newspaper and called it fixed. I still can't believe it. But it's true.
There's your money, America... the federal contractors stuffed our storm defenses full of newspaper. Look it up. It's true. You stood in the way every chance you got, Mr. Bush. And I can never forgive you for that. Here in New Orleans, we will dance the day your sorry ass dies."
Friday Follies: Come And See The Show [View article]
What was it that Bush did for the Indonesian People exactly? I want to make sure he gets full credit.
For that matter - what did Bush do for Katrina victims? Anything? Anything at all?
"As we know now, Bush said he didn't get the weather report and there's video of him getting the weather report, whether it sunk in or not. And that was a symbol." — Bob Woodward
A 379-page House committee report (PDF) on Hurricane Katrina, dubbed "A Failure of Initiative," laid blame on both New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, but also on the Federal Emergency Management Agency's "mishandling" of its rescue and recovery operations.
We are left scratching our heads at the range of inefficiency and ineffectivness that characterized government behavior right before and after this storm. But passivity did the most damage. The failure of initiative cost lives, prolonged suffering, and left all Americans justifiably concerned our government is no better prepared to protect its people than it was before 9/11, even if we are. Bush eventually acknowledged that the federal government "made mistakes."
Friday Follies: Come And See The Show [View article]
Trying to blame Obama for running a deficit is like blaming a doctor in a hospital for using 3 pints of blood to treat an accident victim that was brought in on a stretcher. "Well the last doctor didn't use 3 pints!" Really??? That's the limit of your ability to understand these complex issues? It's not possible for the Conservative brain to grasp the context of the situation?
It's OK if you want to fool other people with your nonsense but please - try not to fool yourselves or, as Bush himself said - you can't get fooled again...
Friday Follies: Come And See The Show [View article]
How does this refute the other study? It says right in the one you link to "The federal government also has cut jobs in certain sectors, such as the Postal Service, and faces the looming prospect of more cuts in areas such as defense. Overall, however, federal government employment is about the same as in mid-2009." I'm pretty sure that roughly flat (could be up, could be down per your "proof") is less than 12% under Reagan.
Friday Follies: Come And See The Show [View article]
That's why you need to vote Democrat Mr. Ed! Notice Obama has SHRUNK government by 1% since he took office while, Reagan, for example, in his first term, GREW it by 12%.
If you stop drinking the Kool Aid they pass out at your tea party meetings and get some actual facts, you would learn that the Reps talk a very good game but play a completely different one once you elect them while the Dems do exactly what they say they will do - make Government smarter instead of bigger.
The problem is that tends to make the Government smart enough to stand up to Corporate bullies and criminals and that's something the Reps just will not stand for. That's why they shrink regulators while handing out tax breaks to polluters and why they fund endless wars and declare unwinnable wars on drugs and wars on terror (can you really defeat terror?) but then defund the war on poverty.
See - it sounds completely ridiculous just to say it out loud but THAT'S THE POLICY!
Friday Follies: Come And See The Show [View article]
If I start a company and give myself 1M shares and pay a .50 dividend per share - in what way has that income already been taxed?
If I work for a company and I am granted 1M shares that pay a .50 dividend - in what way has that income already been taxed?
If I start a company and get investors to put money in and eventually sell the company and take $100M out - all as capital gains - where have I already been taxed?
That's one of the great right-wing propaganda fantasies - rich people have tax planners and we MAKE the situations where we're only taxed 15%. If you were in the top 1% you'd know it so either you're misleading others or you're being misled.
If you make loopholes in the system, then people who can afford to will simply arrange their affairs to take advantage of them - that should be pretty obvious to anyone. The poor schlubs who work for a living and have to collect salaries - they are the sucker who pay "income" taxes.
I favor more of a VAT in lieu of income taxes - a tax on all goods and services produced in this country. Then you don't have to pay income taxes at all - just a 20% surcharge (less than most pay in taxes) on whatever you buy with a $25,000 annual exemption. Even if all 140M working people took the full 25% deduction - that would exempt just $3.5Tn of our $16Tn GDP leaving the government with $2.5Tn in collections (more than they get now) plus uncap SS and Medicare and that's another $1Tn for $3.5Tn and all the Government has to do is keep spending under $2.5Tn and we pay off our debt in 15 years.
Well, that was a tough first day in office - can't wait for tomorrow!
Friday Follies: Come And See The Show [View article]
Sometimes I think life is just a rodeo, The trick is to ride and make it to the bell. But there is a place, sweet as you will ever know, In music and love, and things you never tell. If I had my way, I'd shuffle off to Buffalo; Sit by the lake, and watch the world go by.
Will We Hold It Wednesday: S&P 1,360 Edition [View article]
Yesterday's post never got submitted as I was in Vegas and having a busy day. Of course it was up at http://bit.ly/uOBG0H - along with many other fine posts from our great contributors!
In fact, if you ever want to check out what non-SA authors have to say, Phil's Favorites is a free section of our site where we try to pick the people who are making the most sense each day.
http://bit.ly/LevzxN
8-)
Thank GDP It's Friday: Reality Check? [View article]
78.73! Yen down to 80.39 and EUR/CHF still $1.201. It's amazing. All a fund has to do is keep dumping Francs, which is not very expensive as they already told you they'd support $1.20 so you can sell them in bulk and won't lose more than a penny. That then keep the SNB buying Euros – which no single fund could afford to support on their own and the Euros cause the Dollar to fall and that's how you can lose maybe $10M dumping $1Bn worth of Swiss Francs and cause the World's 2nd largest currency to move up 1% in a day while the World's largest currency drops 1% where either move can turn another Billion into $1.2Bn easy.
Thank GDP It's Friday: Reality Check? [View article]
http://bit.ly/IhifLx
Switzerland sparked fears of a new currency war on Tuesday after it pegged the Swiss franc against the euro in an attempt to protect its economy from the European debt crisis.
The Swiss National Bank in effect devalued the franc, pledging to buy "unlimited quantities" of foreign currencies to force down its value. The SNB warned that it would no longer allow one Swiss franc to be worth more than €0.83 – equivalent to SFr1.20 to the euro – having watched the two currencies move closer to parity as Switzerland became a "safe haven" from the ravages of the eurozone crisis.
Friday Follies: Come And See The Show [View article]
http://bit.ly/IcYBzs
Voters have to grow up enough not to pick whoever offers the a chicken in every pot first.
Friday Follies: Come And See The Show [View article]
Now, if you can get back to all the parts you skipped you'll see... You know, I realize this is hard stuff for you so here's the story in a nutshell from that same Wiki link:
On September 13, 2005, a memo was leaked that indicated that Chertoff issued 36 hours after the hurricane's landfall which read, in part, "As you know, the President has established the `White House Task Force on Hurricane Katrina Response.' He will meet with us tomorrow to launch this effort. The Department of Homeland Security, along with other Departments, will be part of the task force and will assist the Administration with its response to Hurricane Katrina."[28] The memo activated the National Response Plan and made Michael D. Brown responsible for federal action. The article found:
“ White House and homeland security officials wouldn't explain why Chertoff waited some 36 hours to declare Katrina an incident of national significance and why he didn't immediately begin to direct the federal response from the moment on Aug. 27 when the National Hurricane Center predicted that Katrina would strike the Gulf Coast with catastrophic force in 48 hours. Nor would they explain why Bush felt the need to appoint a separate task force.
Chertoff's hesitation and Bush's creation of a task force both appear to contradict the National Response Plan and previous presidential directives that specify what the secretary of homeland security is assigned to do without further presidential orders. The goal of the National Response Plan is to provide a streamlined framework for swiftly delivering federal assistance when a disaster – caused by terrorists or Mother Nature – is too big for local officials to handle.[28]
FEMA Director, Michael Brown, was criticized when he stated that he was not aware there were refugees in the Convention Center until September 1, three days after Hurricane Katrina hit, when Brian Williams, of NBC Nightly News, asked Mr. Brown a question about them live on the Nightly News.[39]
On September 2, CNN's Soledad O'Brien asked FEMA Director Mike Brown, "How is it possible that we're getting better info than you were getting... we were showing live pictures of the people outside the Convention Center... also we'd been reporting that officials had been telling people to go to the Convention Center... I don't understand how FEMA cannot have this information."
When pressed, Brown reluctantly admitted he had learned about the starving crowds at the Convention Center from news media reports. O'Brien then said to Brown, "FEMA's been on the ground four days, going into the fifth day, why no massive air drop of food and water... in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, they got food drops two days after the tsunami."[40]
Once officials became aware of the conditions at the Convention Center a small amount of basic food supplies were diverted there by helicopter, but there were no large-scale deliveries until a truck convoy arrived at midday—the damage to infrastructure by the still present floodwaters and mob attacks delayed relief workers.
Federal officials also underestimated the number of people converging on the convention center. Even as refugees were evacuated, more kept arriving every hour.[41]
Later, Michael Brown admitted that he had virtually no experience in emergency management when he was appointed to the position by President Bush two years prior to Katrina.[42] And, in fact he had limited authority to order federal agencies into action until about 36 hours after the storm hit, when Chertoff designated him as the "principal federal official" in charge of the storm. Chertoff was the one with the authority. "[4]"
President Bush recognized this and commended Michael Brown and gave him credit for the good work he had done, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job. The FEMA Director is working 24 – they're working 24 hours a day."[42]
On September 9, Chertoff recalled Brown to Washington and removed him from the immediate supervision of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, and replaced him with Vice Admiral Thad W. Allen, chief of staff of the United States Coast Guard.[43] Three days later, on September 12, Brown resigned his position, stating, "As I told the president, it is important that I leave now to avoid further distraction from the ongoing mission of FEMA."[43]
When FEMA called for firefighters for "community service and outreach," 2000 highly-trained firefighters showed up in a staging area in an Atlanta hotel, believing that their skills would be used, or would better be used, for search and rescue operations.[49]
The firefighters, who were all paid by FEMA for their time, found themselves undergoing training on community relations, watching videos, and attending seminars on sexual harassment in a hotel, waiting days, in some cases, to be deployed in a secretarial or public relations position.[50]
Some firefighters called it a misallocation of resources, others were simply frustrated at the delay.[citation needed] FEMA defended itself by saying that there was no urgency for the firefighters to arrive because they were primarily going to be involved in community relations work, not search and rescue, and their call for help stated this.
Chertoff... FEMA was 'overwhelmed'
Testifying before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Chertoff said that FEMA was, "overwhelmed," by the scope of the disaster, and acknowledged, "many lapses," in his agency’s response to Katrina.[51] Chertoff also disagreed with Michael Brown's earlier testimony that state and local officials were responsible for the slow response to the hurricane, saying that he had experienced no problems in dealing with state and local officials and that Brown had never informed him of any problems.[52]
Perhaps now you can understand why the people who were suffering in New Orleans during this entire time might have gotten the impression that the Commander in Chief was an idiot.
Friday Follies: Come And See The Show [View article]
The whole thing is well-documented in Wikipedia but the funny thing about Galt is that the buck never stops at his guys - not very Randian, is it?
http://bit.ly/IlCN2S
Friday Follies: Come And See The Show [View article]
"I'm with you on hating Bush. As someone who survived Katrina, lost everything to Katrina, was a first responder during Katrina and has struggled to restablish myself in the town my family has called home for five generations, let me tell you... I HATE BUSH. The only thing that got me through Katrina was the grace of God and the overwhelming empathy of the American people.
Bush didn't want to respond to fellow Americans on their knees? Fine. I didn't expect anything less than having to take care of my own. That's the way I was raised. But his administration didn't just fail to respond, they got in the way at every turn. Sending our ice to Idaho? Ordering our boats to stand down? Diverting our boats so that the refineries could be staffed while people literally steamed to death in their attics, waiting, praying? It was really simple, Mr. Bush: you just had to let us bring ice and water in/people out/ice and water in/people out... all day long. How hard is that?
And the only time I ever saw FEMA was when they were sneering down at a dying woman, telling me that we were in the way of their operations. WHAT OPERATIONS? Your let-these-people-die operations? Every time I see the chemical burns scars on my feet, I seethe with hate for you, and they're never going away, Mr. Bush. Never. That water receded, but we're all damaged in some way from it.
You gave all your Iraq War buddies fat no bid contracts in the early days of our recovery, and then we got blamed for wasting money. 175 bucks a square to tarp a roof? What is that? It's disgusting. You let contractors stuff our flood walls full of newspaper and called it fixed. I still can't believe it. But it's true.
There's your money, America... the federal contractors stuffed our storm defenses full of newspaper. Look it up. It's true. You stood in the way every chance you got, Mr. Bush. And I can never forgive you for that. Here in New Orleans, we will dance the day your sorry ass dies."
http://wapo.st/Jr6suk
Yeah, let's elect Romney and relive those good old days!
Friday Follies: Come And See The Show [View article]
For that matter - what did Bush do for Katrina victims? Anything? Anything at all?
"As we know now, Bush said he didn't get the weather report and there's video of him getting the weather report, whether it sunk in or not. And that was a symbol." — Bob Woodward
A 379-page House committee report (PDF) on Hurricane Katrina, dubbed "A Failure of Initiative," laid blame on both New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, but also on the Federal Emergency Management Agency's "mishandling" of its rescue and recovery operations.
http://1.usa.gov/IbevG6
We are left scratching our heads at the range of inefficiency and ineffectivness that characterized government behavior right before and after this storm. But passivity did the most damage. The failure of initiative cost lives, prolonged suffering, and left all Americans justifiably concerned our government is no better prepared to protect its people than it was before 9/11, even if we are.
Bush eventually acknowledged that the federal government "made mistakes."
Monday Market Meltdown: Global Wheeee Edition [View article]
Friday Follies: Come And See The Show [View article]
Friday Follies: Come And See The Show [View article]
It's OK if you want to fool other people with your nonsense but please - try not to fool yourselves or, as Bush himself said - you can't get fooled again...
http://bit.ly/I5aacK
Friday Follies: Come And See The Show [View article]
Friday Follies: Come And See The Show [View article]
http://bit.ly/JdBQeA
If you stop drinking the Kool Aid they pass out at your tea party meetings and get some actual facts, you would learn that the Reps talk a very good game but play a completely different one once you elect them while the Dems do exactly what they say they will do - make Government smarter instead of bigger.
The problem is that tends to make the Government smart enough to stand up to Corporate bullies and criminals and that's something the Reps just will not stand for. That's why they shrink regulators while handing out tax breaks to polluters and why they fund endless wars and declare unwinnable wars on drugs and wars on terror (can you really defeat terror?) but then defund the war on poverty.
See - it sounds completely ridiculous just to say it out loud but THAT'S THE POLICY!
Friday Follies: Come And See The Show [View article]
If I work for a company and I am granted 1M shares that pay a .50 dividend - in what way has that income already been taxed?
If I start a company and get investors to put money in and eventually sell the company and take $100M out - all as capital gains - where have I already been taxed?
That's one of the great right-wing propaganda fantasies - rich people have tax planners and we MAKE the situations where we're only taxed 15%. If you were in the top 1% you'd know it so either you're misleading others or you're being misled.
If you make loopholes in the system, then people who can afford to will simply arrange their affairs to take advantage of them - that should be pretty obvious to anyone. The poor schlubs who work for a living and have to collect salaries - they are the sucker who pay "income" taxes.
I favor more of a VAT in lieu of income taxes - a tax on all goods and services produced in this country. Then you don't have to pay income taxes at all - just a 20% surcharge (less than most pay in taxes) on whatever you buy with a $25,000 annual exemption. Even if all 140M working people took the full 25% deduction - that would exempt just $3.5Tn of our $16Tn GDP leaving the government with $2.5Tn in collections (more than they get now) plus uncap SS and Medicare and that's another $1Tn for $3.5Tn and all the Government has to do is keep spending under $2.5Tn and we pay off our debt in 15 years.
Well, that was a tough first day in office - can't wait for tomorrow!
Friday Follies: Come And See The Show [View article]
The trick is to ride and make it to the bell.
But there is a place, sweet as you will ever know,
In music and love, and things you never tell.
If I had my way, I'd shuffle off to Buffalo;
Sit by the lake, and watch the world go by.