A staggering 22 percent of all mortgages in the state of Florida are non-current, according to a new report from Lender Processing Services.
By non-current, they mean loans that are either delinquent or in some stage of foreclosure; perhaps more troubling is the fact that 10.4 percent of home loans in Florida are in foreclosure.
The LPS October Mortgage Monitor also revealed that the nation’s foreclosure rate was 3.12 percent as of September 30, up 2.6 percent from a month earlier and 88.9 percent year-over-year.
And remember that’s with all the government intervention, foreclosure moratoria, loan modifications, and the like; the national mortgage delinquency rate was 9.37 percent as of September 30.
The report also highlights the large shadow inventory of foreclosed properties that could wreak havoc on home prices and a possible housing recovery.
“The number of loans deteriorating further into delinquent status is now more than twice the number of foreclosure starts, indicating another major wave of troubled loans in an already clogged loan pipeline,” the company said. link
There is no recovery! Period.
I want you to imagine what Florida is going through. As you drive around the City pretend every 5th house you see will soon be the property of The Bank. Every 5th house you see will not be generating income for The Bank or for our Local Government. The Banks are insolvent and Local Governments are next from lack of tax revenue.
2010 will be disastrous. Buckle Up because the failure of Commercial Real Estate is next. Do you think broke people go to shopping malls?
Friday, November 13, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Heaviest Element Yet Known to Science
Heaviest Element Yet Known to Science: (Gv)
Lawrence Livermore Laboratories has discovered the heaviest element yet known to science.
The new element, Governmentium (Gv), has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.
These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.
Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert; however, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A tiny amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally take less than a second, to take from 4 days to 4 years to complete.
Governmentium has a normal half-life of 2 – 6 years. It does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places.
In fact, Governmentium’s mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes.
This characteristic of morons promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as critical morass.
When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium, an element that radiates just as much energy as Governmentium since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons. link
Lawrence Livermore Laboratories has discovered the heaviest element yet known to science.
The new element, Governmentium (Gv), has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.
These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.
Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert; however, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A tiny amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally take less than a second, to take from 4 days to 4 years to complete.
Governmentium has a normal half-life of 2 – 6 years. It does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places.
In fact, Governmentium’s mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes.
This characteristic of morons promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as critical morass.
When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium, an element that radiates just as much energy as Governmentium since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons. link
Saturday, November 07, 2009
If It Looks Like A Depression And Smells Like A Depression
All hysteria regarding the supposed "Gold Bubble" aside, please allow me to take this opportunity to present a sober, rational (and lengthy) case for why central bankers and other prudent people are piling into PMs.
Firstly, it has been approximately two full years since the "Ponzi Pyramid of Debt and Derivatives Death" began to implode. It started with the the marginal homedebtor defaults in the fall of 2007, and has subsequently cascaded through the entire financial system, collapsing the following gigantic entities:
1. Countrywide Financial
2. Bear Stearns
3. Fannie, Freddie, FHLBs
4. Merrill Lynch
5. Goldman, Morgan Stanley (who had to be converted to "commercial banks" in a rush 24-hour period)
6. Citi and BofA
7. AIG
8. GM, Chrysler
9. Other banks, pension funds, the entire money market space and additional financial gamblers too numerous to list here.
10. Actual states, with California being the poster child.
In the interim time since the collapse of Bear Stearns in March of 2008, the Fed and Uncle Sugar have jumped in with both feet and have gone on the most massive fiatsco-flinging campaign in the history of mankind. Monetizations, nationalizations, backstops, loans, direct buy-ins, "stress tests", stimulus packages, extensions of unemployment benefits, "Cash for Clunkers", $8,000 fiatsco-bribes-for-homedebtors...you name it, they've done it.
And Europe and Asia have gone on similar campaigns to fight the worldwide economic collapse, with the central banks and governments of the world flinging a total of:
TWENTY TRILLION FIATSCOS
...at the failed financial gamblers.
And an extremely important issue of the Fed's efforts has been their gargantuan implementation of the "Alphabet Soup" programs, which include:
1. AMLF
2. CPFF
3. Interest on Reserves
4. MMIFF
5. PDCF
6. TAF
7. TALF
8. TARP
9. TSLF
...and of course the creation of various "Maiden Lanes" to literally take over Bear Stearns and AIG, paying off counterparties to these failed financial gamblers at 100%.
As part of the myriad programs outlined above, the Fed is now the "proud owner" of the following "collateral" now "backing" the U.S. Nightcrawler:
Cabela’s Credit Card Master Note Trust
CarMax Auto Owner Trust 2009-1
Chase Issuance Trust
Citibank Credit Card Issuance Trust
CNH Equipment Trust 2009-B
Ford Credit Auto Owner Trust
GE Capital Credit Card Master Note Trust
Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Trust 2009-1
Honda Auto Receivables 2009-2 Owner Trust
Huntington Auto Trust 2009-1
MMCA Auto Owner Trust 2009-A
Nissan Auto Receivables 2009-A Owner Trust
SLM Private Education Loan Trust 2009-B
Small Business Administration Participation Certificates
Volkswagen Auto Lease Trust 2009-A
World Financial Network Credit Card Master Note Trust
World Omni Auto Receivables Trust 2009-A
In addition to the above list of trash, the Fed has also taken in unknown quantities of EVEN MORE useless gunk in the from of Wall Street-supplied MBS, CDOs/Squareds/Cubeds.
RobotTrader addition: Don't forget the next round of trash to be heaped upon the Fed Balance Sheet in the coming months:
Allergan Botox Injections Receivables Trust
Lap-Band Financing Master Note Trust
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery 2009 Owner Trust (Series C and D)
Invisalign Grille Straightener Receivables Master Trust
Best Buy Plasma Entertainment Certificates Trust
Medicare Scooter Receivables Trust
And let us not forget that the Fed is also sopping up Agencies like there is no tomorrow, having purchased approximately $700 billion fiatscos worth so far, of a promised $1.5 trillion or so.
Then there is the $300 billion fiatscos of Uncle Sugar's debt outright that the Fed has swallowed.
Finally, there is the dropping of "Free Market Fed Funds Overnight Rates" to near-zero and keeping them there.
Whew! That's a lot of action in such a short time.
And the result of all of this flinging on the part of Uncle Sugar and the Fed?
Well, the banking system is STILL crippled. The banks are lending very little to the lambs, instead preferring to simply sit on their reserves and collect the .25% annual interest from the Fed.
The residential McMansion market is still in collapse mode, with Fannie and Freddie still showing losses one year after Uncle Sugar took them over and seven months after the Fed started sucking up their MBS and debt. In fact, the McMortgage market is so horrid that BOTH Fannie and Freddie have resorted to converting McLoans to McRental agreements in a desperate attempt to keep the deadbeat, dirtball homedebtors in the rotting McBoxes.
Commercial real estate is no better, with thousands of unfinished strip malls and "see-through" office buildings dragging down the regional banks that piled into these speculative endeavors because the developers are failing and defaulting left and right.
Referring back to the above-listed toxic, horrid trash that the Fed has taken on its balance sheet, the deadbeats that owe these credit card, Harley Hog, student loans and other debts are defaulting in record numbers, as unemployment has now reached:
Sixteen million people
...and rising.
Which means they won't be making the payments on the "assets" that back the U.S. nightcrawler. It's as simple as that.
But that's not even the worst part. The junk that the Fed took on its balance sheet from the failed financial gamblers is in even MORE pathetic shape and there is NO CHANCE that a good portion of the ABS/MBS/CDO/CDO-Squareds/Cubeds that the now owns (and won't disclose, even to Congress nor under FOIA suits) will ever cash flow.
(Ras Conclusion): Despite two full years of unprecedented action by The Fed, Uncle Sugar, and other central banks and governments, the financial system is still crippled. This is why we have witnessed the CONTINUED monetizations and ZIRP action on the part of the major CBs, worldwide.
And with world trade having collapsed approximately thirty-percent in the last year, the situation isn't getting better, but rather worse.
Finally, the single most important stastic--U.S. Consumer Debt--is actually FALLING, not rising, which means that our economy, which is seventy-percent consumer-based, is actually shrinking.
Which means that the "Ponzi Pyramid of Debt and Derivatives Death" continues to implode.
So, it is little wonder that China, India, and now Sri Lanka--as well as other central banks and prudent people looking to preserve their wealth--are scrambling into buggy whips.
Because these central banks and governments aren't going to stop their fiatsco-flinging campaigns, despite the fact that, so far, their efforts have only mitigated the "Great Disintegration I" that has been ongoing for over two years now.
And the Fed will NEVER be able to unwind the majority of the trash they have taken on their balance sheet--unless they can somehow pass it on to either Uncle Sugar (translation: the taxpayer) or foist it off on the money market funds (as they have been floating trial balloons to that effect lately).
So, at this point I have concluded that useless, barbarous, relics are not in a "bubble", but rather the fiat prices are merely reflecting the growing loss of faith in the fiat system.
And this trend looks to continue for some time, until either "Great Disintegration I" finishes playing out, or the governments and central banks manage to pull off "Weimar Meets Zimbabwe", which is what they are now undertaking. link
Firstly, it has been approximately two full years since the "Ponzi Pyramid of Debt and Derivatives Death" began to implode. It started with the the marginal homedebtor defaults in the fall of 2007, and has subsequently cascaded through the entire financial system, collapsing the following gigantic entities:
1. Countrywide Financial
2. Bear Stearns
3. Fannie, Freddie, FHLBs
4. Merrill Lynch
5. Goldman, Morgan Stanley (who had to be converted to "commercial banks" in a rush 24-hour period)
6. Citi and BofA
7. AIG
8. GM, Chrysler
9. Other banks, pension funds, the entire money market space and additional financial gamblers too numerous to list here.
10. Actual states, with California being the poster child.
In the interim time since the collapse of Bear Stearns in March of 2008, the Fed and Uncle Sugar have jumped in with both feet and have gone on the most massive fiatsco-flinging campaign in the history of mankind. Monetizations, nationalizations, backstops, loans, direct buy-ins, "stress tests", stimulus packages, extensions of unemployment benefits, "Cash for Clunkers", $8,000 fiatsco-bribes-for-homedebtors...you name it, they've done it.
And Europe and Asia have gone on similar campaigns to fight the worldwide economic collapse, with the central banks and governments of the world flinging a total of:
TWENTY TRILLION FIATSCOS
...at the failed financial gamblers.
And an extremely important issue of the Fed's efforts has been their gargantuan implementation of the "Alphabet Soup" programs, which include:
1. AMLF
2. CPFF
3. Interest on Reserves
4. MMIFF
5. PDCF
6. TAF
7. TALF
8. TARP
9. TSLF
...and of course the creation of various "Maiden Lanes" to literally take over Bear Stearns and AIG, paying off counterparties to these failed financial gamblers at 100%.
As part of the myriad programs outlined above, the Fed is now the "proud owner" of the following "collateral" now "backing" the U.S. Nightcrawler:
Cabela’s Credit Card Master Note Trust
CarMax Auto Owner Trust 2009-1
Chase Issuance Trust
Citibank Credit Card Issuance Trust
CNH Equipment Trust 2009-B
Ford Credit Auto Owner Trust
GE Capital Credit Card Master Note Trust
Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Trust 2009-1
Honda Auto Receivables 2009-2 Owner Trust
Huntington Auto Trust 2009-1
MMCA Auto Owner Trust 2009-A
Nissan Auto Receivables 2009-A Owner Trust
SLM Private Education Loan Trust 2009-B
Small Business Administration Participation Certificates
Volkswagen Auto Lease Trust 2009-A
World Financial Network Credit Card Master Note Trust
World Omni Auto Receivables Trust 2009-A
In addition to the above list of trash, the Fed has also taken in unknown quantities of EVEN MORE useless gunk in the from of Wall Street-supplied MBS, CDOs/Squareds/Cubeds.
RobotTrader addition: Don't forget the next round of trash to be heaped upon the Fed Balance Sheet in the coming months:
Allergan Botox Injections Receivables Trust
Lap-Band Financing Master Note Trust
Beverly Hills Plastic Surgery 2009 Owner Trust (Series C and D)
Invisalign Grille Straightener Receivables Master Trust
Best Buy Plasma Entertainment Certificates Trust
Medicare Scooter Receivables Trust
And let us not forget that the Fed is also sopping up Agencies like there is no tomorrow, having purchased approximately $700 billion fiatscos worth so far, of a promised $1.5 trillion or so.
Then there is the $300 billion fiatscos of Uncle Sugar's debt outright that the Fed has swallowed.
Finally, there is the dropping of "Free Market Fed Funds Overnight Rates" to near-zero and keeping them there.
Whew! That's a lot of action in such a short time.
And the result of all of this flinging on the part of Uncle Sugar and the Fed?
Well, the banking system is STILL crippled. The banks are lending very little to the lambs, instead preferring to simply sit on their reserves and collect the .25% annual interest from the Fed.
The residential McMansion market is still in collapse mode, with Fannie and Freddie still showing losses one year after Uncle Sugar took them over and seven months after the Fed started sucking up their MBS and debt. In fact, the McMortgage market is so horrid that BOTH Fannie and Freddie have resorted to converting McLoans to McRental agreements in a desperate attempt to keep the deadbeat, dirtball homedebtors in the rotting McBoxes.
Commercial real estate is no better, with thousands of unfinished strip malls and "see-through" office buildings dragging down the regional banks that piled into these speculative endeavors because the developers are failing and defaulting left and right.
Referring back to the above-listed toxic, horrid trash that the Fed has taken on its balance sheet, the deadbeats that owe these credit card, Harley Hog, student loans and other debts are defaulting in record numbers, as unemployment has now reached:
Sixteen million people
...and rising.
Which means they won't be making the payments on the "assets" that back the U.S. nightcrawler. It's as simple as that.
But that's not even the worst part. The junk that the Fed took on its balance sheet from the failed financial gamblers is in even MORE pathetic shape and there is NO CHANCE that a good portion of the ABS/MBS/CDO/CDO-Squareds/Cubeds that the now owns (and won't disclose, even to Congress nor under FOIA suits) will ever cash flow.
(Ras Conclusion): Despite two full years of unprecedented action by The Fed, Uncle Sugar, and other central banks and governments, the financial system is still crippled. This is why we have witnessed the CONTINUED monetizations and ZIRP action on the part of the major CBs, worldwide.
And with world trade having collapsed approximately thirty-percent in the last year, the situation isn't getting better, but rather worse.
Finally, the single most important stastic--U.S. Consumer Debt--is actually FALLING, not rising, which means that our economy, which is seventy-percent consumer-based, is actually shrinking.
Which means that the "Ponzi Pyramid of Debt and Derivatives Death" continues to implode.
So, it is little wonder that China, India, and now Sri Lanka--as well as other central banks and prudent people looking to preserve their wealth--are scrambling into buggy whips.
Because these central banks and governments aren't going to stop their fiatsco-flinging campaigns, despite the fact that, so far, their efforts have only mitigated the "Great Disintegration I" that has been ongoing for over two years now.
And the Fed will NEVER be able to unwind the majority of the trash they have taken on their balance sheet--unless they can somehow pass it on to either Uncle Sugar (translation: the taxpayer) or foist it off on the money market funds (as they have been floating trial balloons to that effect lately).
So, at this point I have concluded that useless, barbarous, relics are not in a "bubble", but rather the fiat prices are merely reflecting the growing loss of faith in the fiat system.
And this trend looks to continue for some time, until either "Great Disintegration I" finishes playing out, or the governments and central banks manage to pull off "Weimar Meets Zimbabwe", which is what they are now undertaking. link
Friday, November 06, 2009
We Are Failing Our Children
The Washington, D.C., school budget is about the nation's costliest, spending about $15,000 per pupil. Its student/teacher ratio, at 15.2 to 1, is lower than the nation's average. Yet student achievement is just about the lowest in the nation.
Solution:
Spend more money on education? No!
Hire more teachers? No!
Destroy most of the televisions in The United States and somehow pray that men and women who have children are married and will remain married?
That sounds like a good place to start!
Solution:
Spend more money on education? No!
Hire more teachers? No!
Destroy most of the televisions in The United States and somehow pray that men and women who have children are married and will remain married?
That sounds like a good place to start!
Saturday, October 31, 2009
It's Just A Couple Billion Dollars
A brief recap of The Fed's moves are as follows:
* The Federal Reserve cuts interest rates from 5.25-0.25% (Sept ’07-today)
* The Bear Stearns deal/ Fed buys $30 billion in junk mortgages (March ’08)
* The Fed opens various lending windows to investment banks (March ’08)
* The SEC proposes banning short-selling on financial stocks (July ’08)
* The Treasury buys Fannie/Freddie for $400 billion (Sept ’08)
* The Fed takes over AIG for $85 billion (Sept ’08)
* The Fed doles out $25 billion for the auto makers (Sept ’08)
* The Feds’ $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) (Oct ’08)
* The Fed buys commercial paper (non-bank debt) from non-financial firms (Oct ’08)
* The Fed offers $540 billion to backstop money market funds (Oct ’08)
* The Feds backs up to $280 billion of Citigroup’s liabilities (Oct ’08).
* $40 billion more to AIG (Nov ’08)
* Feds agree to back up $140 billion of Bank of America’s liabilities (Jan ’09)
* Obama’s $787 Billion Stimulus (Jan ’09)
* The Fed’s $300 billion Quantitative Easing Program (Mar ’09)
* The Fed buying $1.25 trillion in agency mortgage backed securities (Mar ’09-’10)
* The Fed buying $200 billion in agency debt (Mar ’09-’10)
* Cash for Clunkers I & II (July-August ’09)
When you look at it like this it's just a few Billion here and a few Billion there.
But considering our total debt for Fiscal 2006 was $574.3 Billion I would say things have gotten WAY OUT OF CONTROL!
He have lost our grasp on the immense nature of these numbers!
Middle America Is Toast
The next time you hear someone say the Recession is over, the Economy is getting better, or any form of Good Times Are Right Around The Corner remember this:
"The so called quick surgical bankruptcy of CIT will result in a company that will only be able to provide 20% of its previous level of financial services to Middle America according to Friday’s Wall Street Journal.
Any institutions replacing these services will have:
1. Higher levels of credit worthiness to be met by small business.
2. Less funds committed to these loans.
Further, the assets of CIT in bankruptcy are the middle American loans outstanding that will be brutally attacked by the bankruptcy process.
That is going to result in a flood of middle American businesses declaring bankruptcy." link
Only the United States Government can step in and replace what CIT offered Middle America. Another piece of our Free Market System will be gobbled up by the fictitious unlimited pockets of Government. I can guarantee you that multiple companies in The Roanoke Valley who've relied on CIT for funds in the past will close their doors from lack of loans and if they do get a loan from The Federal Government it will be you and I backing this loan. It will be our fictitious money and our promise to pay a debt we can no longer sustain.
At some point the bottom of this charade will drop away and the only people capable of sustaining our flawed system will finally say, "That's it. We've had enough." With Middle America Broke and Middle Class Businesses Bankrupt there will be very few buyers remaining to purchase the item Wal Mart sells.
There will be no reason for the Chinese to support us. They will be done.
"The so called quick surgical bankruptcy of CIT will result in a company that will only be able to provide 20% of its previous level of financial services to Middle America according to Friday’s Wall Street Journal.
Any institutions replacing these services will have:
1. Higher levels of credit worthiness to be met by small business.
2. Less funds committed to these loans.
Further, the assets of CIT in bankruptcy are the middle American loans outstanding that will be brutally attacked by the bankruptcy process.
That is going to result in a flood of middle American businesses declaring bankruptcy." link
Only the United States Government can step in and replace what CIT offered Middle America. Another piece of our Free Market System will be gobbled up by the fictitious unlimited pockets of Government. I can guarantee you that multiple companies in The Roanoke Valley who've relied on CIT for funds in the past will close their doors from lack of loans and if they do get a loan from The Federal Government it will be you and I backing this loan. It will be our fictitious money and our promise to pay a debt we can no longer sustain.
At some point the bottom of this charade will drop away and the only people capable of sustaining our flawed system will finally say, "That's it. We've had enough." With Middle America Broke and Middle Class Businesses Bankrupt there will be very few buyers remaining to purchase the item Wal Mart sells.
There will be no reason for the Chinese to support us. They will be done.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Repair It By Cutting It Open
Say hello to my Pump Organ that doesn't work. When we lived in a 120 year old Purple Victorian House this organ was in the Foyer and greeted people when they walked in our front door. It fit. It looked in place.
When we moved I couldn't leave it behind and I told myself that one day I would fix it. Today was that day. Now in case you don't know Pump Organs have a 'bladder' or a compression chamber that is filled with air and the air is forced through the pipes of the organ as you pump the pedals. 120 years ago this made sense but now we have something called electric motors that can move air in a much more efficient manner.
There was only one thing I could do and I felt bad doing it but if I am going to have a working 'Old Organ' it had to be done. I broke out the reciprocating saw and cut the back panel of the bladder off. I cut a large hole in the back of this beautiful old Organ. And just as I suspected, inside the bladder, there are air intake holes.
Tomorrow I will go to Lowe's, pick up a quiet blower and some flexible hose and send air through this Old Organ for the first time in decades. I can't wait to see what kind of sounds come out of this piece of history.It will probably squeal like a wounded duck but then I have an excuse to perform some more surgery on my new patient.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
My Son Will Read This Book
Legendary investor Jim Rogers co-founded the Quantum Fund with George Soros in 1970, retired at the age of 37 in 1980, and spent a number of years traveling through China and six continents by motorcycle. He has written a book for younger readers titled “A Gift to My Children”.
Jim Rogers' Keys to Success:
1. Do not let others do your thinking for you
2. Focus on what you like
3. Good habits for life & investing
4. Common sense? not so common
5. Attention to details is what separates success from failure
6. Let the world be a part of your perspective
7. Learn philosophy & learn to think
8. Learn history
9. Learn languages (make sure Mandarin is one of them)
10. Understand your weaknesses & acknowledge your mistakes
11. Recognize change & embrace it
12. Look to the future
13. “Lady Luck smiles on those who continue their efforts”
14. Remember that nothing is really new
15. Know when not to do anything
16. Pay attention to what everybody else neglects
17. If anybody laughs at your idea view it as a sign of potential success
Most powerful exercise from the book:
“Reflect on situations where conventional wisdom and custom turned out to be wrong. Take the time to find out what actually happened.”
Favorite Quotes:
“Anything that is a must see, must try, must read, should almost certainly be avoided, especially if it is popular.”
“Never act upon wishful thinking. Act without checking the facts, and chances are that you will be swept away along with the mob.”
“Learn to stay calm especially in times of pressure or turmoil. You will make much better decisions.”
“Do not get married until you are at least 28 and know a bit more about yourself and the world.”
“Learn to do as much arithmetic and figures as possible in your head.”
Jim Rogers' Keys to Success:
1. Do not let others do your thinking for you
2. Focus on what you like
3. Good habits for life & investing
4. Common sense? not so common
5. Attention to details is what separates success from failure
6. Let the world be a part of your perspective
7. Learn philosophy & learn to think
8. Learn history
9. Learn languages (make sure Mandarin is one of them)
10. Understand your weaknesses & acknowledge your mistakes
11. Recognize change & embrace it
12. Look to the future
13. “Lady Luck smiles on those who continue their efforts”
14. Remember that nothing is really new
15. Know when not to do anything
16. Pay attention to what everybody else neglects
17. If anybody laughs at your idea view it as a sign of potential success
Most powerful exercise from the book:
“Reflect on situations where conventional wisdom and custom turned out to be wrong. Take the time to find out what actually happened.”
Favorite Quotes:
“Anything that is a must see, must try, must read, should almost certainly be avoided, especially if it is popular.”
“Never act upon wishful thinking. Act without checking the facts, and chances are that you will be swept away along with the mob.”
“Learn to stay calm especially in times of pressure or turmoil. You will make much better decisions.”
“Do not get married until you are at least 28 and know a bit more about yourself and the world.”
“Learn to do as much arithmetic and figures as possible in your head.”
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Remembering An American Hero
We're hearing a lot these days about big splashy memorial services.
I want a nationwide memorial service for Darrell "Shifty" Powers.
Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy
Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry. If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel , you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them.
I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't
know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was at the right gate, and noticed the "Screaming Eagle," the symbol of the 101st Airborne, on his hat.
Making conversation, I asked him if he'd been in the 101st Airborne
or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the
101st. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many jumps he made.
Quietly and humbly, he said "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945 .. . . " at which point my heart
skipped. At that point, again, very humbly, he said "I made the 5 training jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . . do you know where Normandy is?" At this point my heart stopped.
I told him "yes, I know exactly where Normandy is, and I know what D-Day was." At that point he said "I also made a second jump into Holland , into Arnhem ." I was standing with a genuine war hero . . . . and then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of D-Day..
I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France , and he said
"Yes. And it's real sad because, these days, so few of the guys are
left, and those that are, lots of them can't make the trip." My heart
was in my throat and I didn't know what to say.
I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in
Coach while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to
get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came
forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have
it, that I'd take his in coach.
He said "No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are
still some who remember what we did and who still care is enough to make an old man very happy." His eyes were filling up as he said it. And mine are brimming up now as I write this.
Shifty died on June 17, 2009 after fighting cancer.
There was no parade.
No big event in Staples Center .
No wall to wall back to back 24x7 news coverage.
No weeping fans on television.
And that's not right.
Let's give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet
way.. Please forward this email to everyone you know.
Especially to the veterans.
Rest in peace, Shifty.
Chuck Yeager, Maj Gen. [ret.]
I want a nationwide memorial service for Darrell "Shifty" Powers.
Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy
Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry. If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel , you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them.
I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't
know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was at the right gate, and noticed the "Screaming Eagle," the symbol of the 101st Airborne, on his hat.
Making conversation, I asked him if he'd been in the 101st Airborne
or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the
101st. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many jumps he made.
Quietly and humbly, he said "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945 .. . . " at which point my heart
skipped. At that point, again, very humbly, he said "I made the 5 training jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . . do you know where Normandy is?" At this point my heart stopped.
I told him "yes, I know exactly where Normandy is, and I know what D-Day was." At that point he said "I also made a second jump into Holland , into Arnhem ." I was standing with a genuine war hero . . . . and then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of D-Day..
I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France , and he said
"Yes. And it's real sad because, these days, so few of the guys are
left, and those that are, lots of them can't make the trip." My heart
was in my throat and I didn't know what to say.
I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in
Coach while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to
get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came
forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have
it, that I'd take his in coach.
He said "No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are
still some who remember what we did and who still care is enough to make an old man very happy." His eyes were filling up as he said it. And mine are brimming up now as I write this.
Shifty died on June 17, 2009 after fighting cancer.
There was no parade.
No big event in Staples Center .
No wall to wall back to back 24x7 news coverage.
No weeping fans on television.
And that's not right.
Let's give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet
way.. Please forward this email to everyone you know.
Especially to the veterans.
Rest in peace, Shifty.
Chuck Yeager, Maj Gen. [ret.]
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Buy Art To Save Our Society
I don't know how long the Fed can continue to print dollars but I do know the rest of the world is growing increasing tired of our false economy.
I like what Celente says about 'Art'.
Everything else is increasingly depressing but if this is what it takes to create a new Renaissance then so be it.
I like what Celente says about 'Art'.
Everything else is increasingly depressing but if this is what it takes to create a new Renaissance then so be it.
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