Passings

We had a number of people pass away this weekend. Lou Reed passed away. He is best known for this song.

YouTube - Lou Reed - Walk On The Wild Side.

We also lost Hal Needham, one of the greatest stuntmen in history and he also directed Smokey and the Bandit.

Finally, we lost Marcia Wallace. Yahoo - Marcia Wallace dies, voice of 'Simpsons' Krabappel.

Too Many Pills and JP Morgan

My ex-wife was really interested in medicine and after our divorce she even became a nurse. Personally, I don't like being around sick people or dealing with medical issues. After having dodged doctors for the past few years I have submitted myself to their care. The result is that now am taking pills, lots and lots of pills. I have become a science experiment of sorts. The deal with pills is that you sort of see which work and which don't, you also see what side effects you can deal with. I am having an odd reaction to the new ones. I think part of the problem is that they dehydrate me; but, they have lowered my blood pressure to almost acceptable limits.

The pills I take are bitter pills; but, sometimes we all have to take the bitter pills. They have told me that if I get off the pills I will have another heart attack or a stroke or maybe both. We seem unwilling to fix our financial system and take our medicine. Our financial system is sick, it is corrupt beyond all belief and it is headed into even worse territory and it is intentional. Some claim that we did not learn from the 2008 collapse; but, I disagree. People learned how to make even more money by having the system fail.

It is estimated that the world has about 700 Trillion in debt, the world GDP is estimated at 70 Trillion. At the heart of the system is ten year bonds. Ten years is the payback time. This is interesting because it would take all of the GDP from all the nations to pay off the debt in ten years. This is what you are constantly being told, that there is not enough money in the world to pay off all the debt; but, whose debt is it? I didn't borrow a trillion dollars, yet, the plan is for us all to pay it off. There is a market called the credit default swap market, turns out it was fixed. Just a few banks managed to game the whole system. It is believed that the rigging has impacted 300 trillion. Rate rigging is very popular in London and New York and you can make more money from a rigged system then from an honest one.

A reasonable society would reform our financial system. We have not done that. As a consequence, the rest of the world is going to leave the dollar standard and create a new currency of some type. They are also going to take the regulation of the financial industries away from the west and internationalize it. They will no doubt insist upon this after the next big, catastrophic financial collapse.

When the crash comes, there are only so many ways to deal with it. The IMF had proposed hyperinflating all the currencies at once and eliminating the debt, that is the Chicago Plan. An alternative is to default on the debt, just not pay it. Regardless of the approach, it is all still nonsense. The plan for changing the financial system has been in the works for some time, the question is what will the new system work like. I only know a little of that.

The next financial system will be international in scope and control. It will usher in new currencies all pegged to the same thing. In order to support this, there will be a change in the way we are taxed. My personal guess is that it will be a consumption tax of some sort, perhaps a VAT. The purpose of not fixing the system was so that a new international system could be brought in and in order for people to accept that, the current system has to be hated by the countries that own the system. They are not looking to fix the system, they are looking to replace it.

Things will begin with the end of JP Morgan. It's CEO knows this and has prepared for it personally. He has recently positioned himself to be in charge of the break up of JP Morgan.

Bang, bang, bang - Retirement

I now have officially one year before I can retire. The Pimpernel can retire in one year. That does not mean I will, it means I can. It means that I need to start considering how I wish to spend my future. Shall I be alone or with someone? Shall I continue working for anyone or just fade away? Life is a series of offers and threats. What do you offer a man who wants nothing and what do you threaten a man with with who has already died once?

We cannot create wants and can only threaten so much. A society based on threats must fail because motivation at it's base is based on hope. And there is always hope because we exist. You matter, we matter, everyone matters. The Truth is Inside You and the truth is that you matter. This is my birthday wish, that you know that you matter. This is my wish on the anniversary of the love of my life dying, you matter. This is my wish on the last required year of my working, you matter. YOU MATTER.

The Blame Game and the Anti Tea Party

For anyone who has regularly read me, it should be clear over time that I am neither a Democrat or a Republican. I sympathize with both the Tea Party and the Occupy Movement in many ways; but, agree with neither. My Bachelor's is in Political Science with multiple national honors for the same. I don't like Ayn Rand, I agree that people should not be held back and she be evaluated on their merits while maintaining that we have a responsibility to one another. I believe the terms liberal and conservative are nonsense because nobody uses them correctly. Most people associate them with particular positions on specific issues, in fact a liberal is for changing how things are and a conservative is for keeping things as they are, that is what the words mean. Using that definition, the correct one, a liberal would be against abortion being legal and a conservative would be for keeping it legal.

For the past few weeks there has been an argument in congress over whether or not they would fund the government enough to meet it's promised obligations. Theoretically, major parts of the federal government were "shutdown". While this has been blamed on the Republicans, the real culprit, we are now told it is the Tea Party Republicans. That seems to please the Democrats and the Republicans because the Tea Party Republicans were being set up to take the blame all along.

What we have been watching is the Republican party use the help of the Democratic party to purge themselves of people who want to reform their party. What neither party wants is a popular political uprising where their party actually takes a position contrary to the interests of their friends and backers. While the Occupy Movement was beaten into submission, or at least for the moment, the Tea Party was quickly and easily co-opted. They sought to work within the system and were effortlessly destroyed by their party. The biggest mistake the Tea Party made was in not joining with the Occupy Movement and working on what they had in common, ending the Federal Reserve, ending the wars and forcing Wall Street and the banks to abide by the law.

Now, here is an interesting fact. It is legal for members of congress to trade in stocks even if they are voting on a matter that may effect the stock market. Consider this, the stock market has risen the last two days even though the funding bill was only passed to day, it went right to the wire. The smart money should have seen the market go down due to the uncertainty. Wouldn't it be interesting to know how many options were placed by congress people betting that the bill would go through in time and that the market would go up? Oh, and what it their reason for messing up the smooth running of government, their hatred of Obamacare.

This is all fairly simple. Less than 20% of the people support the people in congress, yet, the vast majority were re-elected. Historically what we should have seen was the rise of a new party based on the biggest issues; but, instead the real issues were ignored over less meaningful issues.

Watching the Economy, Pensions and Resting

The Telegraph - US banks no longer 'too big to fail', says Tucker. We read and hear a lot about "too big to fail" and how this was a bad thing. We are told that the government decided which companies were too big to fail and bailed them out and theoretically have now paid back their loans.

There are some interesting things said in the article. "Paul Tucker claimed that America's biggest banks are now in a position to go bust without state intervention." What does that mean? What it means is that when the banks fail, the state will not bail them out and we will see bail ins. The article also says that over the past 5 years laws have been put into place to allow for their failure in a bail in situation. One of the people in the article says that they will be perfectly prepared in a year; but, if they had to are ready now. It is like saying that you have filled the lifeboats and are ready to hit the iceberg now.

Yahoo - Reuters - Two years after bankruptcy, California city again mired in pension debt. This is pure nonsense. The author also talks about San Bernadino and fails to mention that Calpers caught them lying and hiding the funds that would have meant the pensions were current.

The article claims that the biggest cost to the city of Stockton is it's pension obligation. Think about it and you see how silly it is. The biggest cost to any organization is personnel costs, straight up salary. Stockton does not pay more in pension than they do in salary and most of that is already covered from deposits in their pension fund that have been made by the government and it's employees for decades.

The problem is not pensions, the problem is that people are living longer and we want them to work longer. We don't have anyone to replace the aging baby boomers. We have an aging population and fewer and fewer people having children. In the article it states that the pension obligation is 14% of the general fund budget. The general fund is money that can be used for anything. Special Funds are limited to people doing specific work. The people who work in Sanitation may be special funded and the payments to the City from that fund also go to pension obligations for the people doing that work not from the general fund.

Just some news and thoughts for Columbus day

CNBC - What traders have in common with baboons. I disagree with the conclusions; but, the examples are wonderful. Traders are arrogant and people who steal from their clients really believe they are better than the rest of us.

CNBC - Some big investors take breather in rental market. The real story here is that the financial people are taking over the housing market and renting will be on the increase.

Reuters - Analysis: U.S. banks get ready for the day when deposits shrink. This is definitely worth a read, I like where the banker says that they don't need deposits, think about that.

Yahoo - Daily Ticker - The Road to Prosperity: How to Fix the Stubborn Slump in Advanced Economies. The video and article are about how we have an over supply of labor compared to our needs and that the government should hire people to fix our infrastructure.

Reuters - U.S. Treasury, Fed planning for possible default - source.

Yahoo - The Telegraph - Bond investors face 'untold damage' when interest rates rise. Could this be why JP Morgan was selling off it's bonds?

zero hedge - JP Morgan Money Market Funds Join Fidelity, Sell Bills "In Light Of Possible U.S. Government Default"

Why The Military Must Report to Civilians

Be careful what you wish for. LOL. A secret if you will. Under the Constitution the military can be deputized by one group. LOL. The United States Marshals have the authority to deputize people, to put them under their authority. The Posse Comitatus Act said that the military had certain rights of their own, that they could avoid being deputized; but, in exchange had to be of a certain level to be free of civilian control by the marshals. LOL. What fools these mortals be, after Bush eliminated the Posse Comitatus Act, it meant that Constitutionally, the United States Marshals could legally deputize anyone, including the President. Isn't that funny? Having said that, the congress is immune from arrest except by US Marshall's.

A few comments and some news and maybe some music.

Slate - What Undercover Boss and The Jetsons Tell Us About the Future of Jobs. Two researchers are claiming that in the next 20 years, the United States may lose 47% of our jobs.

That was the news. I had some other articles; but, as I went and looked back at them just felt they were redundant to what is all over the news now. The Affordable Health act (Obamacare) is in effect and the world has not ended, the federal government has closed certain offices because congress refuses to pass a budget and has decided to put on a blame game show to pander to their perceived audiences.

Yahoo - Reuters - JPMorgan's Dimon gives up chairman role at bank subsidiary. There has been a lot of changes at JP Morgan in the last two months. Now, Mr. Dimon stepped down as the chairman of one of it's subsidiaries; but, has moved over to another spot which becomes relevant if the bank becomes insolvent and needs to be broken up. Mr. Dimon knows the bank is insolvent and about to pay another 11 Billion in fines for their role in the mortgage mess.

Here is something you can count on. The people with the most inside information know when everything is going to come apart. The standard play is to get out just before things come apart, the rats are always the first to leave a sinking ship. The Board of Directors and the shareholders of JP Morgan will be pummeled when things come apart; but, they voted to keep Mr. Dimon on even after the LIBOR and other scandals. They kept him because he made money and they didn't care how he did it. They deserve to lose everything and they will; but, I bet Mr. Dimon does just fine and will claim that everything was good when he was in charge.

I was talking to the President of a company that I deal with today. I have known him for a number of years and have always enjoyed his company. We talked some business and then about the world in general. His company works within the state and has no overseas or interests outside of the area. They have a fairly traditional American business model and as far as I know they have no debt. It is a well run, conservative business model. They supply a product and seek to be well run and operated. They have not sought to convert people to part time employment in order to avoid paying health insurance and have always been involved in their community. JP Morgan does not consider itself part of this nation, they see themselves as multinational and don't really care what happens here. That is a dangerous situation for this nation; but, there are alternative banking models.

RT - Keiser Report: JP Morgan's Financial Herpes (E505). In the second part of this video Mr. Keiser talks to someone about state run banks, The state of North Dakota and foreign countries have banks that are owned by the government and are focused on investing in their communities. This is an idea that needs to be explored. When the private banks fail, governments and pensions will lose lots of their money, this will not happen in North Dakota as their bank is where all of their taxes are kept.

When the crash comes, I hope that my readers are not disturbed or surprised. Whether you know it or not, I actually care about you. This blog has been quite an experience and not what I had intended. It has in fact lasted much longer than I intended. For one thing, I never intended for this blog to be so personal, it began discussing philosophy and metaphysics. It was rather dispassionate as I recall. Somewhere along the way it became personal. I think because it is a minor bump on the internet I feel free to be personal. It is pretty much the same as the things that I tell friends face to face.

The thing that globalists forget is that the world is a series of families and communities, not just consumers. A world of people who are not connected to others is a world of sorrow. Now for some music. Hope you like it.

YouTube - Kacey Musgraves - "The Trailer Song" Live at the Grand Ole Opry.

YouTube - Shiane Hawke - Mercy - Auditions - The X Factor Australia 2012