Dead Cat Bounce or Main Street Applause; what happened to Armageddon?

So I guess we will be treated to more fun and games in Washington this week. Word has it that one way or another, the White House will have its bailout/rescue bill passed by the end of the week. However giddy this makes Wall Street, there will a price to pay by especially House Representative who end up giving in to the relentless pressure being put on them to vote correctly the next time.

Despite gaining back almost one half of what was lost yesterday, the experts are still saying that today’s upswing in the stock market is nothing but a “dead cat bounce”. Of course if the market just keeps rising after yesterday’s disaster, these same experts would say it was that the market hit rock bottom and is on the way up.

What if the upswing not only in United States markets but also those in Hong Kong and Europe was NOT due to any bouncing dead cats but a reflection of the confidence people have in the correct vote made by the majority of Representatives yesterday? What if the steep climb in the market today was due to Main Street letting Wall Street know how it really feels?

The American public does not want a bailout/rescue plan. The only ones who want it are the politicians and finance people. Most of us in these United States feel like this bill, in whatever form it takes, is being crammed down our throats by sanctimonious and arrogant officials looking down their noses at us peons saying “we know what is best for you”.

When is America going to rise up and vote these clowns out of office instead of just griping about them not doing their job? When is America going to threaten them with loss of their job if they don’t quit going against their wishes and promoting whatever advances their career instead? We the People have brought this scourge upon ourselves by re-electing the same people over and over again to supposedly represent us in Washington and then telling pollsters we only give Congress a 10% approval rating.

Where is the anger and venom directed at Senators and Representatives not doing their jobs that is directed at the President? Why is George Bush the most hated and despised President in modern history but the Congressmen and women who are even more despised never subjected to the same “throw the bum out” tantrums Mr. Bush is subjected to daily?

I am no fan of Mr. Bush and I am most certainly no fan of the United States Senate or House of Representatives; that is until yesterday. What took place yesterday was nothing short of incredible. Men and women from both parties decided to stand on what they were told the will of the people was and did not cave into the pressure of politics to vote as their leaders demanded. Yesterday’s vote proved there are still true patriots serving in Washington.

Whatever takes place this week will most certainly bring forth the desires of those who dictate who gets what in this country. Ultimately those who so boldly stood their ground yesterday will crumble under threats of defeat or death. I honestly pity the future for some of those who refuse to compromise even under direct orders to do so.

Those in the Illuminati or Bilderberg or Council of Rome or CFR or perhaps just the old New World Order will most certainly get their way by the end of the day. Whatever is passed in Washington is guaranteed to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. Whatever is ultimately passed will be what those who really control the decision making process in this country want passed. But at least we got to enjoy for a day the blessed glow of seeing men and women for once take a stand. God help many of them.

Let me entertain you (for a king’s ransom)

The amount of money Americans spend to be entertained is staggering, to say the least. Tonight my wife and I watched a recorded episode of one of our favorite television shows; “Are you smarter than a 5^th Grader”. In this episode, a gentleman won $500,000 for answering correctly 10 elementary school questions. I am genuinely glad to see a “certified genius” win half a million dollars answering questions asked of kids in first through fifth grade. The problem I have is that $500,000 represents more money than my father and mother made in their entire working lives, combined.

I like Jeff Foxworthy, who is the host of the Fifth Graders show. His “salary” for each episode is $150,000. William Peterson makes $500,000 for each CSI episode. Are these people really so good that they should make these sums of money for the sole purpose of entertainment? Is it right that Jeff Foxworthy makes more in two episodes of a game show than the President of United States makes in a year?

Judge Judy makes 30 million dollars a year to pass judgment on cases no different than heard every day in small claims court. Simon Cowell makes 45 million dollars a year to be a judge and critic on “American Idol”. Poor Katie Couric makes “only” 15 million dollars a year to give the news a few nights per week. Oprah Winfrey makes around 260 million dollars per year from her broadcasting and publishing empires.

The average salary for an NFL player is 1.4 million dollars per year. That is quite a bit of money to pay a 300 pound guy to wear a funny uniform and hit other guys. The average salary for an NHL (hockey) player is 1.8 million dollars per year. That is a huge amount of money to pay a guy to “skate”. The average salary for a Major League Baseball player is 2.7 million dollars. At least these guys have to work every day for over 8 months to earn their money. The average salary for an NBA (basketball) player is 4.9 million dollars. That is an incredible amount of money to pay a guy to “dribble”.

Tiger Woods won 10 million dollars for winning a golf tournament. That’s right, 10 million dollars to hit a little white ball into a hole. Since when did hitting balls and people become so lucrative? It became lucrative when Americans with far too much money to spend on good causes started wasting it on worthless entertainment. These athletes make this money because Americans are willing to pay their salary to watch them “play”.

Let us assume Brad Pitt makes 20 million dollars per year (he probably makes far more than that). For the average American, a $275,000 house would be a huge investment that would entail obtaining a 30 year mortgage at over $2,000 per month. For Brad, that same house would seem to cost only $412.50. The new car that costs all of us $20,000 would seem to cost $30 to Brad. That new $2,000 computer would seem like $3 to Brad. A nice meal at a decent restaurant that costs us $40 would seem like 6 cents to Brad and the average $10 meal like 2 cents.

Entertainers are allowed to make what they make because we pay their “salaries”. America’s love affair with celebrity status along with its unquenchable thirst for sports of all kinds has led to a leak of monumental proportions when it comes to reality and honesty of compensation. Those who contribute the least are paid the most and vice a versa.

There are a little over 2 million nurses in America. The base salary for a new nurse is $39,000 per year on average. After 3 years it “climbs” to $47,000. How important are nurses compared to basketball players? Should basketball players really make over 100 times what nurses make per year? How many lives have basketball players saved or helped make comfortable?

The average pay for a police officer is $45,000 per year. A detective may make up to $54,000 per year on average. Should a game show host make 3 times more for an hour show than a police officer makes in a year putting his life on line daily? Should a television judge make 700 times more per year than the average police officer on the street? Something is terribly wrong with this picture.

The average pay for a school teacher is $47,600 per year. Granted, a teacher works only 9 months per year, but their job is perhaps the toughest one on earth. Is it right that the teacher who slaves away in a rundown inner city “hellhole” school should make only 1/ 5460^th what Oprah pulls in per year?

Is Oprah 5460 times more important than your average teacher? Is Judge Judy 700 times more important than your average police officer? Is the average NBA player 100 times more important than your average nurse? Isn’t it interesting that the vast majority of teachers, police officers and nurses rarely complain about their salaries? They do what they do for the love of what they are doing and knowing they are “making a difference” in our world. Athletes and entertainers are notorious for complaining about not making enough for what they do

The next time you turn on your television, go to the movies or attend a professional sporting event; think about how much money is being thrown away to provide you with a few minutes or hours of entertainment. While numerous small charities dry up on the vine for lack of funding, people seem to have no shortage of extra money to throw in the trash can of “Entertainment Tonight”.

Transfer of wealth nearly complete; Soon the government will own your family as well as your house and job

I have just about taken all I can handle concerning what has transpired in Washington the past few weeks. Never before, in the history of this great country has so many of its resources been transferred from the public sector to the government so quickly. The citizens of this country have been fed a constant diet of Grade A manure regarding the severity of economic problems and the real reasons for the sudden bailout plan.

If anyone believes more than 33% of what anyone associated with the government says, they are believing exactly what they hope everyone believes. When the United States Treasury Secretary is a former CEO of one of the five big investment banks that are now zero, where does one think his emphasis will be? No other Treasury Secretary would have ever tried the maneuver done by the Treasury Secretary and the head of the Federal Reserve when they showed up at the Capitol and insisted the Congress had to give them 700 billion dollars within a week “or else”.

If not for the gloomy picture of American finances being painted by the media in other countries more concerned about the real issues of the day rather than getting a certain person elected President; I don’t know if I would believe there even is crisis. But, since it is common knowledge that the economy stinks and was going to melt down if not bailed out, there really was no other option than the one chosen.

So, we somehow have 700 billion dollars to keep the banks from going belly up. We somehow have another 25 billion to keep the automakers from declaring bankruptcy. We have billions more that will surely be given to the airline industry within the next few months. Where does the government get this money to “loan” to these industries? From the tax dollars we all “give” the government. Even so, there is a huge shortfall of tax revenue so where in reality does the government come up with these billions of dollars? They borrow them, just like everyone else.

The national debt is now been raised to around 11 trillion dollars. Everybody and anybody knows good and well it will never be paid off. Unlike us, the government can just keep adding more and more debt and never have to worry about repaying it. Unlike us, huge corporations can borrow what seems to be an endless amount of money from the United States Treasury with little expectation of it ever being paid back.

Banks are getting ready to be bailed out for making atrocious loans to people who never deserved them and then buying and selling those loans all over the world allowing more banks to profit. Now these loans have gone bad and we must loan the banks the money to pay off the bad loans they made to illegal aliens, poverty stricken people with no jobs and thousands upon thousands of people who lied about their income.

My question in all this is very simple; when are all of us who are struggling to pay bills, make our mortgage payment and pay more and more of our income to medical expenses going to be helped? If these professional politicians really wanted to stimulate the economy and turn things around, they would have given every family in America a voucher for $20,000 that could only be used to pay off debt, catch up on or pay ahead on mortgages or buy a new car or truck. But, since politicians don’t think in terms of what would benefit the citizens; they don’t think about helping them.

Can you imagine the impact on the banks, as millions of people suddenly got current or actually ahead on their mortgages? Can you imagine the impact of billions of dollars of new revenue (not loans) could have had on Banks? Can you imagine the impact on General Motors, Ford and Chrysler to have billions of revenue instead of new loans?

Of course no one even considered giving every American family one penny in this whole thing. We already got our “economic stimulus” back in May and June. For many of us it was only a few hundred dollars.

I sit here in absolute awe at what has been allowed to happen in this country over the past month. One of these days, Americans will wake up one morning and be hit with the stark realization that their elected officials sold them out to the high and mighty power brokers intent on owning every asset and every person they can get their devilish hands on.

There is nothing to vote for in November. Both candidates are equally a part of the scheme to transfer this nation’s wealth into the hands of the government under the pretense of an economic collapse greater than that of 1929. If one really read the fine print of the other provisions of this bailout package NOT specifically tied to the money, one would quickly see that the ultimate agenda is more government control and interference in everyone’s life.

Its Not Just the Wall Street Bleeding to Death Financially–Me Too

I am not a fan of big government. I do not believe the government should be intruding upon people’s lives, but rather working to make our lives better and to protect our country from those wanting to destroy it. Government should work for the citizens of this country and not the other way around.

If the American people knew the details of why the 700 billion plan to take the “toxic” bad mortgages and loans off the books of banks, perhaps there would be more support for the plan on Main Street. But, the only thing told the masses is that there is a huge problem that is threatening to cause a depression. Such vague language is not conducive to universal support of a huge outlay of resources.

In 1928, President Herbert Hoover had this to say about the state of the American economy and what to look forward to: “We in America are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before in the history of any land. The poorhouse is vanishing from among us.” A year after making this statement, the Stock Market crashed and the country entered 15 years of economic depression with more poverty than at any time in the country’s history.

Even after the Stock Market crash, people such as J.D. Rockefeller said: “These are days when many are discouraged. In the 93 years of my life, depressions have come and gone. Prosperity has always returned and will again.” Although he was right in the sense that prosperity did return, by the time it did, he would have been 108 years old.

Many years ago my wife and I invested what little money we had in a very conservative mutual fund account. We later each opened a Roth IRA. In the year 2008, we have seen the mutual fund drop so much that we have succeeded in losing almost 10% of the money initially invested. Not only have we lost all the money market made over the “good years”, our “investment” is now losing money. Our Roth IRA’s which were designed to grow and give us money later in life hover at 5% over the initial amount invested.

An investment is supposed to grow. When money is invested, especially in retirement accounts, the entire purpose was to see growth over an extended period of time so as to be able to provide security upon retirement. When that money does not grow, it produces a problem. When the investment shrinks; that produces a major problem.

A gentleman I have known for many years loves to gamble. He and his wife go to the riverboat casino every week. He takes pride in winning more than he loses (or so he says). Last week I was at his business and he was bragging about how he made $11,500 the previous Friday when the Market went up almost 500 points. He loves to buy and sell stocks all day. When leaving I congratulated his wife on their windfall, with a sour expression she asked, “did he tell you how much he lost the day before?” As it turned out, he had lost $15,000.

Our home, which is in the country in what used to be a rapidly growing county west of St. Louis, was appraised at a certain value in September of 2007. By June of 2008 when we were trying to see if we could even think of selling the house to move, the appraised value of the house had dropped almost 30% since the previous September. In fact, the value of the home was less than what we paid for it in 2004. Oh, by the way, we did $50,000 of improvements to the home before we moved in.

We, like so many other Americans, have lost all our financial leverage. We cannot re-finance our mortgage due to its supposed drop in value. To sell our investments would be pure folly, for we would be selling at a loss. Where does that leave us when emergencies come up?

Recently our well went out, our roof sprung a leak we had to replace one of our vehicles and we had to pay to get our hay cut, baled and stored in the barn to sell all winter. Out of desperation we had no choice but to charge our normal expenses to use the cash to pay for these emergencies. We were good stewards, in that we had invested our money wisely (we were told). But, when the cards were laid on the table, we lost.

The politicians in Washington need to quit playing games with us and just come out and spill the details of how bad things are and how bad they are going to get. There is no profit in speaking in vague generalities about the situation. Tell us what is happening and what to expect. Then we can decide what to do with whatever we have left that hasn’t already been flushed down the toilet of this ongoing economic downturn.

You know, if I knew today the value of my mutual fund investment was going to drop another 20% in the next six months, I would probably call my broker today and sell. Why keep it and take more losses. That is the very reason nobody is telling us the truth about how bad things really are. They don’t want everyone to sell all their assets and cause the economy to crash and burn. The way it looks, it is going to do that anyway, so why not sit us as a nation down and tell us the truth. I would much rather “the truth be told” than to find out later all that was told was a lie.

Time for the ghost of Ron Paul to ride in and save us

This is not a typical political post. This is a brutally honest discussion of the boondoggle getting ready to be trumpeted as the salvation of the American economy either today or tomorrow. Let me say at the outset, I am staunchly independent in my politics and highly distrust both of the major political parties. I believe they long ago sold out to special interests and to those intent on usurping the wealth and resources of this country. The following is a non-partisan discussion of the economic bail out plan.

God help the United States of America. Whatever the details of the massive bail out measure that will be worked on today end up being, there is no way it is anything but the final coup d’état of a process which has been going on for well over a year. Those intent on the destruction of the United States as it has been known for hundreds of years have finally succeeded in their mission.

The “full court press” that is usurping all other news is quickly gaining momentum and will surely end up creating more governmental control in more areas of our lives than ever thought possible only a few years ago. Those who have tirelessly worked to turn the United States into a socialistic state are finally seeing the fruit of their labors. The transfer of wealth from private to government is nearing its duly appointed completion.

In quick succession, the entire landscape of the financial world has gone from A to Z with no stops in between. One huge financial institution after another has been gobbled up by the United States government and will soon be under the direct supervision of people who only care about the consolidation of governmental wealth and power and not the welfare of the people.

How much does anyone really think Medicare “cares” about the needs of the elderly or disabled? How much does anyone really think Social Security cares about the “security” of those who receive its benefits? How much does anyone really think the Veterans Affairs Department cares about the “affairs” of those who have served in the Armed Forces?

The government, as most everyone knows, is woefully inefficient and wasteful when it comes to overseeing what it does. By the time the smoke clears and details of what will get hammered out regarding the bailout package become public, one thing will be perfectly clear; the United States government will own just about every mortgage in the country. When this realization finally hits Americans; perhaps only then will they wake up to what has happened.

Those people and groups whose only desire is the full and total domination of this country and its resources are preparing the ballrooms for their grand celebration even as I write this. Whether these people are the Rothschild’s, the Bilderberg Group, the Illuminati, the Russians, the Chinese, the Jews or whoever one’s conspiracy theory demands they be; they will soon win the war they have been waging for generations to gain control of the bountiful assets of this country.

Daily our freedoms are being stripped from off our backs. Every day we enjoy less and less liberty both individually and collectively. Governmental interference has made many very simple tasks become week long adventures in frustration. Government regulations on everything imaginable do little good except to bind up transactions and business dealings in never ending quagmires.

A revolution in American politics almost took hold this presidential cycle with the likes of Ron Paul. But, the powers that be would not allow his campaign to ever get off the ground. Despite great enthusiasm for his Libertarian leaning politics and tremendous fundraising abilities; his campaign was sunk before it started. The last thing those who control American politics will allow is someone as truly independent as Ron Paul to ever lead this country.

Instead, we are stuck with the choice of two people who are sure to be nothing more than puppets carrying out the orders of those with far bigger agendas than the hollow campaign promises made to get votes. Just as our current President, whoever wins the election in November will be only a figurehead dutifully obeying the marching orders of his superiors. Those orders are, and always will be designed for the maximum benefit of the few at the expense of the many.

I honestly never thought I would live to see the day the people of the United States of America would willingly lay down and allow their government to take control of their homes, bank accounts and soon their jobs. Yet, I know that there is nothing that motivates Americans faster to relinquish their freedoms than fear of losing all they hold dear.

America, be not deceived. What is taking place in Washington today and tomorrow is nothing but a huge smokescreen designed to hide a much greater and devious agenda. What will be announced with great fanfare as the salvation of the American economy is nothing more than the beginning of the end of American economics as we have come to know it. Before popping the corks on the champagne bottles in great celebration, pause and consider not only the monetary cost of this plan ($10,000 per family) but more importantly the cost to our individual freedoms.

Anyone so naïve as to think Sen. Obama or Sen. McCain is going to solve all the country’s problems is sadly mistaken. It makes little or no difference which of these two men get elected. By the time they take office in January, the entire landscape of this country will be far different than it is now. Even if by some stretch of the imagination one of these men is truly independent and not sold out to whoever pays them, there is little a president can do by himself to change America. God help us endure what lies ahead and God help us survive as the land of the free.

“The Big Deal” is nothing but the Biggest Loser shoved on America in Years

Anyone celebrating the looming “deal” in Washington must either be a stock broker or a banker. Sure everybody who is anybody in American politics was there sitting around the big table to supposedly hash out deal that would pass both houses of Congress. Nice looking picture (with Barak front and center as usual), trouble is; the deal solves nothing.

Do these pampered phonies really think the masses in the country; number one—give a hoot about what they are doing, and number two—believe what they are doing will help anyone but the rich? The vast majority of Americans will continue going about their business paying little attention to what President Bush, Sen. Obama, Sen. McCain, Speaker Pelosi, Sen. Reid, Sen. Todd, Rep. Frank or anyone else in attendance says or thinks.

Nothing is going to interfere with Billy’s soccer game this evening or the premiere of everyone’s favorite shows on television. Nothing anyone says or does in Washington is going to make a bit of difference to most people on Main Street in America. The prevailing opinion is this is all for Wall Street firms and those in the process of being foreclosed on their mortgage. Why should I pay $10,000 to bail out some Wall Street business that was run by crooks and thieves?

I am sure that by this evening or at the latest tomorrow, there will be countless picture ops with President Bush squarely in the middle as the savior of the nation’s economy. I am also sure that he will be flanked by Sens. McCain and Obama since one or the other of them will take over this mess in January. Smiles will abound as Rep. “Barney” Frank will claim credit for finding a few billion dollars to bail out all the gays in America losing their homes. Sen. Todd will arrogantly look down on the world and proclaim that he alone was responsible for saving the country.

Both Presidential candidates will scurry to the nearest camera to smile into it while proclaiming that somehow their presence at the meeting brought about its success. Through it all, the real power players, the Secretary of the Treasury and the head of the Federal Reserve will sit joking in the corner watching as the kids have their day. Rome will continue to burn just has it has been for years. Nothing in this ridiculous intrusion into our freedoms will change a thing. In fact, it looks like a brilliant ploy to enhance the credibility of the status quo.

Fools; that is what those stupid enough to buy into this propaganda trick are. This great bail out of 2008 is not going to do anything but allow the scumbags who live in and control Washington to keep ruining this country for another few years. This whole spectacle is utterly and completely disgusting.

Adventures in Sleep Apnea, CPAP and Sleep Doctors

So I go to the Sleep Doctor today to go over the results of a sleep study done earlier in the month. He proceeds to tell me it is the worst case of sleep apnea he has ever seen. In the three hours of deep sleep I had that night, I quit breathing 167 times. He said I had all the different kinds of apnea known to medical science.

This is nothing new to me. I had sleep studies done in 1997 and 2000 which both showed the same results. Both times attempts were made to fit me with a CPAP mask and I “freaked out” due to longstanding claustrophobia. Both of the previous times I was told I had to overcome the phobia or face certain premature death.

Due to a dramatic increase in physical problems over the past year, my cardiologist suggested I have another sleep study done. Thus the reason for the current test. If you have never endured a sleep study, consider yourself blessed. Electrical leads are placed all over your head and jaws and forehead and EKG leads are on the chest. Somehow you are supposed to sleep with enough wires attached to your head to cause Frankenstein to run in fear.

My main problem is that periodically when I sleep, my brain forgets to tell the lungs to breath. This is extremely troubling since breathing is supposed to be an involuntary activity. We do not sit around all day telling ourselves to breath. We just do it and never think about it unless we have a cold or other disease. It is very disconcerting to think that while sleeping, my brain ‘forgets” to send a message to the lungs to breath.

When we stop breathing, the body goes into panic state. Hormones are released which cause the heart to beat rapidly so the body saves itself. This is what shocks the lungs into breathing. The problem is the damage to the whole body repeated episodes of apnea have when repeated night after night. It is no wonder that I fight edema (fluid retention), loss of kidney function and inability to lose weight even on a very restricted diet. These, along with various heart problems, are classic symptoms of bad sleep apnea.

Now that I know how bad my situation is, I must wait a month until the next available opening in the sleep lab to repeat the study as the techs there try to fit me with various masks. To combat panic, I will have to take a heavy dose of a nerve relaxing medication. Oh boy, I look forward to that night with great anticipation.

I understand that I must do what needs to be done to compensate for this problem in my body. As much as I don’t want to endure the night of fittings and the hassle of sleeping with a machine helping me breath each night; I understand the consequences and accept that I must at least try to do what has been suggested. It is a bitter pill to swallow, but sometimes that is just the way life goes.

I sat with my elderly mother in a sleep doctor’s office a few years ago. She had had a sleep study done and it evidently was as bad as mine. She too could not handle the CPAP mask. The sleep doctor told her in no uncertain terms that either she figured out a way to handle the CPAP or she would die within a year or two. She did try the CPAP as much as she could handle. She died a little under two years from the time she saw the sleep doctor.

Since I don ‘t want to go through what my mom did, I must resign myself to doing what I have no desire to do and that is learn to sleep using the CPAP. Due to sinus problems I cannot handle the nice new nasal CPAP devices. This is too bad for they are much easier to deal with. Oh well, there are worse things to deal with in life.