Merry Christmas taxpayers, the ghosts of Franklin Raines are alive and well!
U.S. Uncaps Support for Fannie, Freddie
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Treasury said it would provide capital as needed to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the next three years, effectively opening its checkbook to the government-controlled companies in a bid to reassure investors in their debt....
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126168307200704747.html?mod=rss
_______________
from the Washington Post
U.S. promises unlimited financial assistance to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
Friday, December 25, 2009
The Obama administration pledged Thursday to provide unlimited financial assistance to mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, an eleventh-hour move that allows the government to exceed the current $400 billion cap on emergency aid without seeking permission from a bailout-weary Congress.
The Christmas Eve announcement by the Treasury Department means that it can continue to run the companies, which were seized last year, as arms of the government for the rest of President Obama's current term.
But even as the administration was making this open-ended financial commitment, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac disclosed that they had received approval from their federal regulator to pay $42 million in Wall Street-style compensation packages to 12 top executives for 2009.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/24/AR200912...
Friday, December 25, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Christmas 2009 Came Early
Christmas came early this year. Shoulder to shoulder with my youngest son watching him down his first deer was another memorable moment in 2009. Jordan made a great one-shot kill on a beautiful animal this morning and the Parisian family will eat venison all year long. We love all the animals we harvest, from antelope to deer to elk!
We are thankful for the bounty the Creator provides and I am a blessed man to hunt in the company of my sons. When a man can hunt WITH his sons, he usually never has to hunt FOR his sons down the road!
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Monday, December 21, 2009
Change, Lies and an America without a Clue
When B.H. Obama was on the campaign trail he promised a new era of transparency. An era of good government, accountability, a new day in Washington. What a laugh!
On Saturday morning, Mr. Harry Reid threw out the 2,100 page bill that the worlds greatest deliberative body spent just 17 days debating and replaced it with a new "managers amendment" that was stapled together in covert partisian negotiations. Democrats are barely even bothering to pretend to care what's in it, not that any Senator had the chance to digest it in the 38 hours before the first cloture vote at 1 a.m. this morning!
The rushed secretive way that a bill this destructive and unpopular is being forced on the country shows that "reform" has devolved into the raw exercise of political power for the single purpose of permanently expanding the American entitlement state.
A huge number of "leaders" are looking at this bill as being so large and convoluted than no one can truly understand it. It is scary, it is wrong, it is a lie.
Americans sit and stand idly by hoping their health improves. It won't. Great health is a personal matter and it is up to America to take care of their health. America will get what they voted in. One big lie.
On Saturday morning, Mr. Harry Reid threw out the 2,100 page bill that the worlds greatest deliberative body spent just 17 days debating and replaced it with a new "managers amendment" that was stapled together in covert partisian negotiations. Democrats are barely even bothering to pretend to care what's in it, not that any Senator had the chance to digest it in the 38 hours before the first cloture vote at 1 a.m. this morning!
The rushed secretive way that a bill this destructive and unpopular is being forced on the country shows that "reform" has devolved into the raw exercise of political power for the single purpose of permanently expanding the American entitlement state.
A huge number of "leaders" are looking at this bill as being so large and convoluted than no one can truly understand it. It is scary, it is wrong, it is a lie.
Americans sit and stand idly by hoping their health improves. It won't. Great health is a personal matter and it is up to America to take care of their health. America will get what they voted in. One big lie.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Friday night, December 20, 2013
It promises to be a kick-ass party!!! If you get an invitation you won't want to miss it. Plans are being made now.
For my birthday this year we hit this show!! I loved it.
http://www.cavalia.net/pages/upComingShows/atlanta1.aspx?lang=EN-CA
For my birthday this year we hit this show!! I loved it.
http://www.cavalia.net/pages/upComingShows/atlanta1.aspx?lang=EN-CA
Bend over the Christmas Tree
The term “Christmas tree” has its own special meaning on Capitol Hill. It usually refers to a bill that has been decorated with “ornaments,” loaded up with special goodies for the folks back home.
But with the Senate health legislation, the term is particularly apt, as the majority leader, Harry Reid, aims to have a vote by Christmas Eve on a bill festooned with decorations.
They include these:
The “Louisiana Purchase,” as it is being called, a provision for Senator Mary L. Landrieu, Democrat of Louisiana, who obtained an extra $300 million in Medicaid funds for her state.
The Hawaii exemption, a measure that allows the state to keep its own health care system.
A break on the excise tax on so-called Cadillac health insurance plans for people in the 17 states where premiums are the highest. (The measure was initially intended to apply to the 10 states with the highest premiums, a Senate aide said, but some other senators wanted in and the number was bumped to 17.)
An increase in federal money to cover a Medicaid expansion in Nebraska, home to Senator Ben Nelson, a Democrat. Massachusetts and Vermont also won more money to expand Medicaid, but at much lower levels.
While Mr. Nelson held up the bill for an anti-abortion provision, he won various other items for his state, including an exemption from the insurance tax for Mutual of Omaha. But the abortion language to which he agreed infuriated some abortion opponents when it was made public on Saturday, threatening the entire bill all over again.
Supporters of the bill say these sugar plums are a small price to pay for the votes to pass landmark legislation that will result in most Americans having health insurance, many with subsidies, and will end some of the insurance industry’s most discriminatory practices.
Lavish Lobbying
But these ornaments are mere baubles compared with some of the neon measures that some lawmakers and lobbyists have fought to keep out of the bill.
Most prominent was the demand by Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, that leaders drop two provisions that the insurance industry and big business had been lobbying vociferously against.
One, of course, was a government-run insurance plan, or public option, which would have competed with private insurance companies. The other was an expansion of Medicare to include some people ages 55 to 64, a change hospitals and doctors fought because it would have meant taking care of more patients at lower Medicare rates.
Insurers also beat back an attempt to strip the industry of a partial antitrust exemption that it has long enjoyed.
To achieve these goals, the lobbying campaign has been lavish, even by Capitol Hill’s inflated standards.
Spending totals for the year will not be known until mid-January. But in the first nine months, health care lobbyists spent at least $396 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks the influence of money on elections and policy.
Because the lobbying intensified in the fourth quarter as both the House and Senate prepared their final bills, the year-end total is likely to shatter the previous record for money spent on a single issue in a single year.
Perhaps not surprisingly, that record was set just last year, when health care lobbyists spent $486 million in anticipation of the legislative action this year.
“If spending this quarter remains on pace with the first three quarters — just on pace — lobbying in the health care sector will obliterate the high-water mark that it set last year,” said Dave Levinthal, a spokesman for the center.
But even those figures do not give the full picture of the cash funneled into lobbying on health care in 2009.
For example, the center’s health care figures do not include lobbying by the insurance industry. Mr. Levinthal said the center could not isolate the amount the industry spent only on health insurance, as opposed to other forms of insurance.
Nor do the figures include spending by groups like the United States Chamber of Commerce, which has multiple issues pending before Congress but led the effort to kill the public option.
And they do not include the $170 million that all sides have spent so far this year on television advertising.
Some of the lobbying, especially in the early days, was done on behalf of remaking the health care system. But over all, more has been spent against it. Because Democrats control both houses, they have received more money than Republicans.
Corporate Glee
The insurance companies were probably among the merriest of industries last week. Because the legislation mandates that everyone buy insurance, those companies stand to gain 30 million new customers — and there will be no government plan to compete with.
But the drug companies were certainly joyful, too. So far, they have kept intact a deal with the White House to bar the importation of cheaper drugs from Canada and elsewhere. In exchange, the they agreed to give up $80 billion over 10 years through discounts and rebates.
Some Senators fought the pharmaceutical deal, noting that $80 billion represents only about 2 percent of the $3.6 trillion that Americans are expected to spend on drugs in the next 10 years. But the Senate effectively voted last week to keep the drug pact in place.
The pharmaceutical industry has spent more money by far than any other on lobbying in the first nine months of the year, laying out $199 million. That is also the single highest figure that any industry has ever spent on lobbying in a nine-month period, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Citizens who do not normally pay attention to Congressional gift exchanges may have been galled at the process, particularly with the health care of the nation’s citizens and one-sixth of its economy at stake.
But they will see more maneuvering in the weeks ahead, as lobbyists seek to ensure that the measures they kept out of the Senate bill will also be excluded from the final bill that the Senate produces in conference with the House.
On Capitol Hill, decorating the Christmas tree is always in season.
But with the Senate health legislation, the term is particularly apt, as the majority leader, Harry Reid, aims to have a vote by Christmas Eve on a bill festooned with decorations.
They include these:
The “Louisiana Purchase,” as it is being called, a provision for Senator Mary L. Landrieu, Democrat of Louisiana, who obtained an extra $300 million in Medicaid funds for her state.
The Hawaii exemption, a measure that allows the state to keep its own health care system.
A break on the excise tax on so-called Cadillac health insurance plans for people in the 17 states where premiums are the highest. (The measure was initially intended to apply to the 10 states with the highest premiums, a Senate aide said, but some other senators wanted in and the number was bumped to 17.)
An increase in federal money to cover a Medicaid expansion in Nebraska, home to Senator Ben Nelson, a Democrat. Massachusetts and Vermont also won more money to expand Medicaid, but at much lower levels.
While Mr. Nelson held up the bill for an anti-abortion provision, he won various other items for his state, including an exemption from the insurance tax for Mutual of Omaha. But the abortion language to which he agreed infuriated some abortion opponents when it was made public on Saturday, threatening the entire bill all over again.
Supporters of the bill say these sugar plums are a small price to pay for the votes to pass landmark legislation that will result in most Americans having health insurance, many with subsidies, and will end some of the insurance industry’s most discriminatory practices.
Lavish Lobbying
But these ornaments are mere baubles compared with some of the neon measures that some lawmakers and lobbyists have fought to keep out of the bill.
Most prominent was the demand by Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, that leaders drop two provisions that the insurance industry and big business had been lobbying vociferously against.
One, of course, was a government-run insurance plan, or public option, which would have competed with private insurance companies. The other was an expansion of Medicare to include some people ages 55 to 64, a change hospitals and doctors fought because it would have meant taking care of more patients at lower Medicare rates.
Insurers also beat back an attempt to strip the industry of a partial antitrust exemption that it has long enjoyed.
To achieve these goals, the lobbying campaign has been lavish, even by Capitol Hill’s inflated standards.
Spending totals for the year will not be known until mid-January. But in the first nine months, health care lobbyists spent at least $396 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks the influence of money on elections and policy.
Because the lobbying intensified in the fourth quarter as both the House and Senate prepared their final bills, the year-end total is likely to shatter the previous record for money spent on a single issue in a single year.
Perhaps not surprisingly, that record was set just last year, when health care lobbyists spent $486 million in anticipation of the legislative action this year.
“If spending this quarter remains on pace with the first three quarters — just on pace — lobbying in the health care sector will obliterate the high-water mark that it set last year,” said Dave Levinthal, a spokesman for the center.
But even those figures do not give the full picture of the cash funneled into lobbying on health care in 2009.
For example, the center’s health care figures do not include lobbying by the insurance industry. Mr. Levinthal said the center could not isolate the amount the industry spent only on health insurance, as opposed to other forms of insurance.
Nor do the figures include spending by groups like the United States Chamber of Commerce, which has multiple issues pending before Congress but led the effort to kill the public option.
And they do not include the $170 million that all sides have spent so far this year on television advertising.
Some of the lobbying, especially in the early days, was done on behalf of remaking the health care system. But over all, more has been spent against it. Because Democrats control both houses, they have received more money than Republicans.
Corporate Glee
The insurance companies were probably among the merriest of industries last week. Because the legislation mandates that everyone buy insurance, those companies stand to gain 30 million new customers — and there will be no government plan to compete with.
But the drug companies were certainly joyful, too. So far, they have kept intact a deal with the White House to bar the importation of cheaper drugs from Canada and elsewhere. In exchange, the they agreed to give up $80 billion over 10 years through discounts and rebates.
Some Senators fought the pharmaceutical deal, noting that $80 billion represents only about 2 percent of the $3.6 trillion that Americans are expected to spend on drugs in the next 10 years. But the Senate effectively voted last week to keep the drug pact in place.
The pharmaceutical industry has spent more money by far than any other on lobbying in the first nine months of the year, laying out $199 million. That is also the single highest figure that any industry has ever spent on lobbying in a nine-month period, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Citizens who do not normally pay attention to Congressional gift exchanges may have been galled at the process, particularly with the health care of the nation’s citizens and one-sixth of its economy at stake.
But they will see more maneuvering in the weeks ahead, as lobbyists seek to ensure that the measures they kept out of the Senate bill will also be excluded from the final bill that the Senate produces in conference with the House.
On Capitol Hill, decorating the Christmas tree is always in season.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Top 10 Ways.......
The Top 10 WAYS YOU CAN TELL ITS A BAD BILL
10. They want it passed yesterday before you find out what is in it.
9. They hide the truth about the bill instead of bragging about it.
8. The voters have read the bill, the representatives have not, but they vote for it anyway.
7. Congress doesn't want any part of the legislative master plan they have for our lives.
6. They threaten any business or politician that opposes the bill.
5. It is too big to read, has words that are too big to understand, and creates 111 new bureaucracies that are too big to succeed or get rid of.
4. It punishes, taxes, penalizes, or potentially bankrupts everyone it was meant to serve: patients, elderly, doctors, hospitals, taxpayers, employers, and state governments, but by all means protects trial lawyers.
3. The community organizer- in-chief gets upset when communities organize to protest his bill.
2. They call anyone opposed to their bill - even grandmothers-Astroturf, Nazis, racists, or mobsters.
1. Compulsory enrollment, or else $250,000 in fines, and up to 5 yrs in jail. That proves they know you wont like the bill.
10. They want it passed yesterday before you find out what is in it.
9. They hide the truth about the bill instead of bragging about it.
8. The voters have read the bill, the representatives have not, but they vote for it anyway.
7. Congress doesn't want any part of the legislative master plan they have for our lives.
6. They threaten any business or politician that opposes the bill.
5. It is too big to read, has words that are too big to understand, and creates 111 new bureaucracies that are too big to succeed or get rid of.
4. It punishes, taxes, penalizes, or potentially bankrupts everyone it was meant to serve: patients, elderly, doctors, hospitals, taxpayers, employers, and state governments, but by all means protects trial lawyers.
3. The community organizer- in-chief gets upset when communities organize to protest his bill.
2. They call anyone opposed to their bill - even grandmothers-Astroturf, Nazis, racists, or mobsters.
1. Compulsory enrollment, or else $250,000 in fines, and up to 5 yrs in jail. That proves they know you wont like the bill.
Friday, December 18, 2009
The aerial orator.........
The President of hope and change is spending more time in the air than most domestic flight attendants. This guy's thirst for PR and media spin is unlimited. The asinine trip to Hopenchangem, excuse me, Copenhagen is just another example of his liberal agenda for America. Talk about stinking up the Office of the President.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
ANYBODY HOME?
Does anybody remember the reason given for the establishment of the DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY during the Carter Administration?
Anybody?
Anything?
No? Didn't think so!
Bottom line. We've spent several hundred billion dollars in support of an agency...the reason for which not one person who reads this can remember!
Ready??
It was very simple...and at the time, everybody thought it very appropriate.
The Department of Energy was instituted on 8-04-1977.
TO LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL.
Hey, pretty efficient, huh???
AND NOW IT'S 2009 -- 32 YEARS LATER -- AND THE BUDGET FOR THIS "NECESSARY" DEPARTMENT IS AT $24.2 BILLION A YEAR. THEY HAVE 16,000 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND APPROXIMATELY 100,000 CONTRACT EMPLOYEES; AND LOOK AT THE JOB THEY HAVE DONE!
THIS IS WHERE YOU SLAP YOUR FOREHEAD AND SAY,
"WHAT WAS I THINKING?"
Ah, yes -- good ole bureaucracy.
AND, NOW, WE ARE GOING TO TURN THE BANKING SYSTEM, HEALTH CARE, AND THE AUTO INDUSTRY OVER TO THE SAME GOVERNMENT?
HELLOOO! Anybody Home?
Anybody?
Anything?
No? Didn't think so!
Bottom line. We've spent several hundred billion dollars in support of an agency...the reason for which not one person who reads this can remember!
Ready??
It was very simple...and at the time, everybody thought it very appropriate.
The Department of Energy was instituted on 8-04-1977.
TO LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL.
Hey, pretty efficient, huh???
AND NOW IT'S 2009 -- 32 YEARS LATER -- AND THE BUDGET FOR THIS "NECESSARY" DEPARTMENT IS AT $24.2 BILLION A YEAR. THEY HAVE 16,000 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND APPROXIMATELY 100,000 CONTRACT EMPLOYEES; AND LOOK AT THE JOB THEY HAVE DONE!
THIS IS WHERE YOU SLAP YOUR FOREHEAD AND SAY,
"WHAT WAS I THINKING?"
Ah, yes -- good ole bureaucracy.
AND, NOW, WE ARE GOING TO TURN THE BANKING SYSTEM, HEALTH CARE, AND THE AUTO INDUSTRY OVER TO THE SAME GOVERNMENT?
HELLOOO! Anybody Home?
And speaking of stockbrokers and BS.........
You may be as tired with the financial shenanigans as we are. You may think no one cares about your financial well-being, from the SEC to FINRA to Wall Street to Congress. You are correct. It is obvious no one cares at the top. Wall Street’s incentives are aligned with themselves; not aligned to the financial outcome of clients or the welfare of our country, there’s too much money involved for them.
In 2010, if you are going to find a partner you can trust to help you get on track, you’re going to have to find a firm that doesn’t have a hidden agenda, someone whose only business is managing wealth, not selling insurance or financial products.
Our approach is a million miles from what Wall Street has become. We are privately held. We are not investment bankers or brokers. We don’t answer to a parent company or a government mandate.
Chippewa Partners is a privately owned fiduciary firm, founded in 1995 that is controlled by the professionals who are actively involved in all facets of the firm.
For us it all begins with our clients. When our clients win, we win. You need a firm who puts their clients’ needs first and understands that success is measured by meeting long-term performance objectives. Our business is not one of commissions and churning. We think that investors who still use stockbrokers to manage their retirement assets should reexamine their conflicted advice and hire a fiduciary investment manager instead of a salesperson.
Ask yourself, how do you know if you can trust the advice from your current financial advisor? Do stockbrokers work for you or against you? The answer might surprise you.
Under what's called "the Merrill Lynch rule," stockbrokers are allowed to work against the best interest of their customers. By contrast, an independent fee-only investment manager who does not work for a brokerage firm has what's called "fiduciary duty." That simply means they must do what's best for you. Surprisingly, most investors are very misinformed on this point. Today, your stockbroker is only required to recommend buys and sells that are suitable for you, not necessarily in your best interest.
A study by the Wall Street Journal found that roughly two-thirds of investors thought stockbrokers had to work for them. If you do business with a stockbroker, you do so at your own risk. As a common example, if a broker puts your money into a bond fund, that broker can legally look for the most expensive option available in the many bond funds in the market.
So be sure you know what most investors don't -- that stockbrokers help themselves first and you second. Brokers are far more concerned about their income than your outcome.
We know that financial advice should be objective, personal and unbiased. As a Registered Investment Advisor we are fiduciaries. We are an exclusive Fee-Only advisor and will always avoid the conflicts that are inherent with brokers. Our investment counsel is objective and we have no potential for conflict-of-interest with commissions. This allows us to serve as a trusted fiduciary firm.
Listening to the firms founder, Dean Parisian speak about Wall Street is like Henry Markopoulos talking about Bernard Madoff to the SEC. As a veteran arbitrator for the NYSE and NASD for over a decade he knows Wall Street chicanery inside and out. He knows what’s deeply wrong with the sales culture and utterly rejects that part that stands in perpetual conflict with the needs of investors. Few areas of the securities world exhibit as clearly the relationship between a broker and a customer. Brokers succeed by extracting the highest possible fees. Customers of brokerage firms succeed by paying the lowest possible fees. Brokers succeed with short-term churning of positions. Sensible investors evaluate every statement from their broker with unabashed skepticism.
Never forget, the economic role of a client for a brokerage firm is to enrich the broker. Stockbrokers are trained to sell investments that generate huge fees and commissions and typically have an agenda other than your financial welfare. The full service offered by full-service brokers generally impairs a customers odds of investment success. Full service includes demonstrably worthless research. Full service encompasses clearly irrelevant broker advice. Full service costs materially more and the bottom line is this, investors who employ full-service brokers pay a very real something for an extremely costly nothing! When a sophisticated provider of financial services who runs a bull across the flat-screen every weekend stands toe-to-toe with a naïve consumer, the all-too-predictable conclusion resembles the results between a heavyweight champion and a ninety-eight pound weakling. The brokerage firm customer loses in a first-round knockout.
The interests of Wall Street are not aligned with those of investors. The SEC makes it very clear; investors should never let their guard down with brokers who have a sales agenda. Do you really want to trust your retirement to a broker-salesman? As an arbitrator Mr. Parisian censured many stockbrokers and knows that investors often confuse a sales pitch with impartial investment advice.
Do you think Harvard University, Bill Gates or Warren Buffett use stockbrokers to increase their net worth and protect their assets? Not a chance. The simple answer is they engage unbiased investment managers. They engage Registered Investment Advisor fiduciary firms to manage their assets. So should you.
In 2010, if you are going to find a partner you can trust to help you get on track, you’re going to have to find a firm that doesn’t have a hidden agenda, someone whose only business is managing wealth, not selling insurance or financial products.
Our approach is a million miles from what Wall Street has become. We are privately held. We are not investment bankers or brokers. We don’t answer to a parent company or a government mandate.
Chippewa Partners is a privately owned fiduciary firm, founded in 1995 that is controlled by the professionals who are actively involved in all facets of the firm.
For us it all begins with our clients. When our clients win, we win. You need a firm who puts their clients’ needs first and understands that success is measured by meeting long-term performance objectives. Our business is not one of commissions and churning. We think that investors who still use stockbrokers to manage their retirement assets should reexamine their conflicted advice and hire a fiduciary investment manager instead of a salesperson.
Ask yourself, how do you know if you can trust the advice from your current financial advisor? Do stockbrokers work for you or against you? The answer might surprise you.
Under what's called "the Merrill Lynch rule," stockbrokers are allowed to work against the best interest of their customers. By contrast, an independent fee-only investment manager who does not work for a brokerage firm has what's called "fiduciary duty." That simply means they must do what's best for you. Surprisingly, most investors are very misinformed on this point. Today, your stockbroker is only required to recommend buys and sells that are suitable for you, not necessarily in your best interest.
A study by the Wall Street Journal found that roughly two-thirds of investors thought stockbrokers had to work for them. If you do business with a stockbroker, you do so at your own risk. As a common example, if a broker puts your money into a bond fund, that broker can legally look for the most expensive option available in the many bond funds in the market.
So be sure you know what most investors don't -- that stockbrokers help themselves first and you second. Brokers are far more concerned about their income than your outcome.
We know that financial advice should be objective, personal and unbiased. As a Registered Investment Advisor we are fiduciaries. We are an exclusive Fee-Only advisor and will always avoid the conflicts that are inherent with brokers. Our investment counsel is objective and we have no potential for conflict-of-interest with commissions. This allows us to serve as a trusted fiduciary firm.
Listening to the firms founder, Dean Parisian speak about Wall Street is like Henry Markopoulos talking about Bernard Madoff to the SEC. As a veteran arbitrator for the NYSE and NASD for over a decade he knows Wall Street chicanery inside and out. He knows what’s deeply wrong with the sales culture and utterly rejects that part that stands in perpetual conflict with the needs of investors. Few areas of the securities world exhibit as clearly the relationship between a broker and a customer. Brokers succeed by extracting the highest possible fees. Customers of brokerage firms succeed by paying the lowest possible fees. Brokers succeed with short-term churning of positions. Sensible investors evaluate every statement from their broker with unabashed skepticism.
Never forget, the economic role of a client for a brokerage firm is to enrich the broker. Stockbrokers are trained to sell investments that generate huge fees and commissions and typically have an agenda other than your financial welfare. The full service offered by full-service brokers generally impairs a customers odds of investment success. Full service includes demonstrably worthless research. Full service encompasses clearly irrelevant broker advice. Full service costs materially more and the bottom line is this, investors who employ full-service brokers pay a very real something for an extremely costly nothing! When a sophisticated provider of financial services who runs a bull across the flat-screen every weekend stands toe-to-toe with a naïve consumer, the all-too-predictable conclusion resembles the results between a heavyweight champion and a ninety-eight pound weakling. The brokerage firm customer loses in a first-round knockout.
The interests of Wall Street are not aligned with those of investors. The SEC makes it very clear; investors should never let their guard down with brokers who have a sales agenda. Do you really want to trust your retirement to a broker-salesman? As an arbitrator Mr. Parisian censured many stockbrokers and knows that investors often confuse a sales pitch with impartial investment advice.
Do you think Harvard University, Bill Gates or Warren Buffett use stockbrokers to increase their net worth and protect their assets? Not a chance. The simple answer is they engage unbiased investment managers. They engage Registered Investment Advisor fiduciary firms to manage their assets. So should you.
Dentists..............
I consider myself lucky. I have a good dentist. She doesn't lie and tell me I need upteen procedures done, she doesn't lie and tell me I have a cavity when I have nothing more than a light stain, she doesn't lie and tell me that tooth number 12 needs a special crown. All in all, she doesn't even mind that I continually tell her that X-rays are unnecessary and do nothing for me and everything for her bottom line. I would think that dentists, due to the fact they have so little scale in their incomes outside of hygienists fabricating stories for them are on the same level as stockbrokers and used-car salesmen as far as integrity goes.
Maybe lower.
Always, always question your dentist. I would think 90% of the time it isn't about your dental health, it is about their income. Put that in your mouth and grind on it!
Maybe lower.
Always, always question your dentist. I would think 90% of the time it isn't about your dental health, it is about their income. Put that in your mouth and grind on it!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
American Debt
In a poll on Fox News, with over 163,000 people voting, the vast majority, or 99% of poll respondents are against raising the debt ceiling, claiming "This out-of-control spending is outrageous and irresponsible." (at least Obama will get time to sneak in another 50-60 stimulus bills before China says "no mas"). We are not sure just how scientific this sampling is, but we would give it the benefit of the doubt with these kinds of numbers. Remember - the Senate is about to raise the debt ceiling from $12.1 trillion to something like $14 trillion. This means that the Senate is about to go against the wishes of 99% of America. How the Administration hopes to moderate the unprecedented political fallout that is sure to follow such an action is far beyond my comprehension.
Thank you.......
December 16th is the 65th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. Many historians consider this to be turning point of the war.
There aren't many of these warriors left. They, and all veterans of American wars, deserve our utmost respect and, if you're lucky enough to know one, maybe a handshake, a warm smile, and a thank you.
I for one am very grateful to those that have served and would like to extent my personal warm wishes and a thank you to those who were there in the Ardennes 65 year ago.
There aren't many of these warriors left. They, and all veterans of American wars, deserve our utmost respect and, if you're lucky enough to know one, maybe a handshake, a warm smile, and a thank you.
I for one am very grateful to those that have served and would like to extent my personal warm wishes and a thank you to those who were there in the Ardennes 65 year ago.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Health care deformity...........
The sell-outs crafting this health-care deformity are working overtime.
It has nothing to do with helping the average American only a massive power grab by the Democrats. This fiasco will be the largest tax laid at the feet of the average American taxpayer.
Clueless.
It has nothing to do with helping the average American only a massive power grab by the Democrats. This fiasco will be the largest tax laid at the feet of the average American taxpayer.
Clueless.
Al Gore talking it up ............
AP - New computer modeling suggests the Arctic Ocean may be nearly ice-free in the summertime as early as 2014, Al Gore said Monday at the U.N. climate conference. This new projection, following several years of dramatic retreat by polar sea ice, suggests that the ice cap may nearly vanish in the summer much sooner than the year 2030, as was forecast by a U.S. government agency eight months ago.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
America Wake Up....................
The Senate today passed an ominous spending bill that increased last years by 12% and contained 5000 earmarks. The House had all of 24 hours to read the 100 page bill before they passed it.
Every last one of these bums should be voted out.
Every last one of these bums should be voted out.
Goldy Locks
Former TNA interviewer Goldy Locks is a contestant on an upcoming episode of Ted Nugent’s new reality-competition series, Running Wild with Nugent. She broke two ribs while filming the episode which airs soon on CMT.
CMT has ordered eight episodes of “Runnin’ Wild … From Ted Nugent,” which premieres in 2010. Each episode will feature Nugent instructing competitors on one of what he calls the “Big Five of Survival,” including the psychology of survival, shelter, water, fire and food. Competitors face an obstacle centered on that skill and then try to survive while Nugent and his son Rocco hunt them down.
Needless to say, Goldy survived … just as she always does.
CMT has ordered eight episodes of “Runnin’ Wild … From Ted Nugent,” which premieres in 2010. Each episode will feature Nugent instructing competitors on one of what he calls the “Big Five of Survival,” including the psychology of survival, shelter, water, fire and food. Competitors face an obstacle centered on that skill and then try to survive while Nugent and his son Rocco hunt them down.
Needless to say, Goldy survived … just as she always does.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Oglala Leadership
During this week in 2004, Cecilia Fire Thunder took the oath of office as the first woman president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. She was later impeached for her stand on women's right to choose. The tribe currently has a female leader, President Theresa Two Bulls.
Winners all the way........
This may be the finest ticket America should muster in 2012
West/Palin 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP2p91dvm6M
West/Palin 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP2p91dvm6M
Calling Bullshit on Jim Cramer
On one hand you have Jim Cramer, saying "As painful as it might seem to those who wanted to use Dubai as still one more pillar to the bear edifice, the story just doesn't have legs. It was sexy -- Middle Eastern bubble blown up. It has global intrigue. Will the UAE bail them out? Will fundamentalist politics play a role? The sizzle, though, didn't have a lot of steak to it. Another borrower blows up; yawn. Another bad loan by RBS; those guys should have been nationalized. Another black hole that Citigroup walked into. But that's about it. "
On the other hand you have Moody's set to destroy Dubai's rating, even as Nakheel bonds take out all time bottoms, and as Dubai CDS surging once again to 605bps, 58 wider from yesterday. Just released note from Moody's pointing out it is about to kneecap Dubai government-related issuers.
DIFC, December 09, 2009 -- Moody's Investors Service has placed the ratings of government-related issuers (GRIs) in the UAE on review for possible downgrade. This includes all GRI's that are owned by either the federal UAE government, or the government of Abu Dhabi. The review was prompted by a need to re-validate, and possibly reconsider our support assumptions following Dubai's recent decision to explicitly segregate its direct obligations from those of its GRIs, following which a decision was subsequently made to pursue a debt restructuring at Dubai World.
The ratings under review currently benefit from very high implicit government support assumptions and assume that even in most potential stress scenarios the government will not make a distinction between servicing its direct obligations and those of its state-owned companies.
Issuers whose ratings were placed on review for downgrade include the following:
- Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) issuer and debt ratings: Aa2 / on review for downgrade. The Prime-1 short term ratings were affirmed.
- Mubadala Development Company (Mubadala) issuer and debt ratings: Aa2 / on review for downgrade. The Prime-1 short term ratings were affirmed.
- Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) issuer and debt ratings: Aa2 / on review for downgrade
- International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) issuer and debt ratings: Aa2 / on review for downgrade. The Prime-1 short term ratings were affirmed.
- Emirates Telecommunications Company (Etisalat) issuer ratings: Aa2 / on review for downgrade
- Dolphin Energy (Dolphin) long term debt rating: Aa3 / on review for downgrade
- Aldar Properties (Aldar) issuer and debt ratings: A3 / on review for downgrade
As part of the review process, we will continue to engage in discussions with the respective government officials and issuers regarding their policies and positions on each of the issuers to assess whether these ratings continue to be positioned appropriately. Assuming that we conclude that support assumptions should remain high, we would only expect moderate adjustments to ratings, though it could be multi-notch in particular where baseline credit assessments are low. Moody's will also be publishing a Special Comment in the coming days outlining the criteria we are applying in determining the support assumptions as part of the review and to provide broader guidance to the market on the key areas of focus. We expect to conclude the review over the next three months.
Moody's last rating actions on each of the names placed under review was on 17 October 2007 (TAQA, assignment of provisional guaranteed bond ratings), 27 April 2009 (Mubadala, assignment of bond ratings), 1 October 2009 (TDIC, assignment of bond ratings), 27 April 2009 (IPIC, initial rating assignment), 22 July 2008 (Etisalat, initial rating assignment), 29 July 2009 (Dolphin, assignment of bond and bank debt ratings), and 19 May 2009 (Aldar, assignment of bond ratings).
In the battle of the two worst predictors of anything, the question who ends up right may have well become moot.
On the other hand you have Moody's set to destroy Dubai's rating, even as Nakheel bonds take out all time bottoms, and as Dubai CDS surging once again to 605bps, 58 wider from yesterday. Just released note from Moody's pointing out it is about to kneecap Dubai government-related issuers.
DIFC, December 09, 2009 -- Moody's Investors Service has placed the ratings of government-related issuers (GRIs) in the UAE on review for possible downgrade. This includes all GRI's that are owned by either the federal UAE government, or the government of Abu Dhabi. The review was prompted by a need to re-validate, and possibly reconsider our support assumptions following Dubai's recent decision to explicitly segregate its direct obligations from those of its GRIs, following which a decision was subsequently made to pursue a debt restructuring at Dubai World.
The ratings under review currently benefit from very high implicit government support assumptions and assume that even in most potential stress scenarios the government will not make a distinction between servicing its direct obligations and those of its state-owned companies.
Issuers whose ratings were placed on review for downgrade include the following:
- Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) issuer and debt ratings: Aa2 / on review for downgrade. The Prime-1 short term ratings were affirmed.
- Mubadala Development Company (Mubadala) issuer and debt ratings: Aa2 / on review for downgrade. The Prime-1 short term ratings were affirmed.
- Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) issuer and debt ratings: Aa2 / on review for downgrade
- International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) issuer and debt ratings: Aa2 / on review for downgrade. The Prime-1 short term ratings were affirmed.
- Emirates Telecommunications Company (Etisalat) issuer ratings: Aa2 / on review for downgrade
- Dolphin Energy (Dolphin) long term debt rating: Aa3 / on review for downgrade
- Aldar Properties (Aldar) issuer and debt ratings: A3 / on review for downgrade
As part of the review process, we will continue to engage in discussions with the respective government officials and issuers regarding their policies and positions on each of the issuers to assess whether these ratings continue to be positioned appropriately. Assuming that we conclude that support assumptions should remain high, we would only expect moderate adjustments to ratings, though it could be multi-notch in particular where baseline credit assessments are low. Moody's will also be publishing a Special Comment in the coming days outlining the criteria we are applying in determining the support assumptions as part of the review and to provide broader guidance to the market on the key areas of focus. We expect to conclude the review over the next three months.
Moody's last rating actions on each of the names placed under review was on 17 October 2007 (TAQA, assignment of provisional guaranteed bond ratings), 27 April 2009 (Mubadala, assignment of bond ratings), 1 October 2009 (TDIC, assignment of bond ratings), 27 April 2009 (IPIC, initial rating assignment), 22 July 2008 (Etisalat, initial rating assignment), 29 July 2009 (Dolphin, assignment of bond and bank debt ratings), and 19 May 2009 (Aldar, assignment of bond ratings).
In the battle of the two worst predictors of anything, the question who ends up right may have well become moot.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Canadian Cowboy Love...........
Three strangers strike up a conversation in the airport passenger lounge in Calgary , Alberta , while awaiting their respective flights.
One is a native Indian from the Sarcee Reserve; another is a cowboy on his way to Lethbridge for a livestock auction. The third passenger is a fundamentalist Arab student, newly arrived at the University of Calgary from the Middle East .
Their discussion drifts to their diverse cultures. Soon, the two Albertans learn that the Arab is a devout, radical Muslim and the conversation falls into an uneasy lull.
The cowboy leans back in his chair, crosses his boots on a magazine table and tips his big sweat-stained hat forward over his face.
The wind outside is blowing tumbleweeds around, and the old windsock is flapping, but still no plane comes.
To break the silence, the Indian clears his throat and softly speaks:"At one time here, my people were many, but sadly, now we are few."
The Muslim student raises an eyebrow and leans forward: "Once my people were few, he sneers, "and now we are many. Why do you suppose that is?"
The Alberta cowboy shifts his toothpick to one side of his mouth and from the darkness beneath his Stetson says in a smooth drawl,
"That's 'cause we ain't played Cowboys and Muslims yet . . . but I do believe it's a-comin'.."
One is a native Indian from the Sarcee Reserve; another is a cowboy on his way to Lethbridge for a livestock auction. The third passenger is a fundamentalist Arab student, newly arrived at the University of Calgary from the Middle East .
Their discussion drifts to their diverse cultures. Soon, the two Albertans learn that the Arab is a devout, radical Muslim and the conversation falls into an uneasy lull.
The cowboy leans back in his chair, crosses his boots on a magazine table and tips his big sweat-stained hat forward over his face.
The wind outside is blowing tumbleweeds around, and the old windsock is flapping, but still no plane comes.
To break the silence, the Indian clears his throat and softly speaks:"At one time here, my people were many, but sadly, now we are few."
The Muslim student raises an eyebrow and leans forward: "Once my people were few, he sneers, "and now we are many. Why do you suppose that is?"
The Alberta cowboy shifts his toothpick to one side of his mouth and from the darkness beneath his Stetson says in a smooth drawl,
"That's 'cause we ain't played Cowboys and Muslims yet . . . but I do believe it's a-comin'.."
Geithner Nonsense
Listening to Timothy Geithner make the case for spending all of this TARP money on government nonsense is like listening to a carnival barker.
The banks were all broke. The car makers were all broke. The government budget is broke.
Dr. Elizabeth Warren needs to get on top of this but the MSM won't give her 10 seconds of air time.
The banks were all broke. The car makers were all broke. The government budget is broke.
Dr. Elizabeth Warren needs to get on top of this but the MSM won't give her 10 seconds of air time.
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Monday, December 07, 2009
Thought for the day......
Right now I am thinking that Reich Chancellor Obama has his hands clasped and is bowing to the Japanese Ambassador in solemn apology that the United States military decided to save at least another 1 million American lives with a couple of mushroom clouds, instead of invading.
Michael Vick
I have commented previously on this blog about the stupidity of Michael Vick.
The kid may have turned the corner. I was impressed with his interview on 60 Minutes.
I was also impressed with his play yesterday down at the Georgia Dome where the Eagles kicked the living devil out of the Atlanta Falcons.
You know, there are alot of great athletes in prison. Some mighty men who had massive athletic skill, talent and ability.
They just didn't think.
Let's hope Michael Vick is thinking. And Tiger too.
The kid may have turned the corner. I was impressed with his interview on 60 Minutes.
I was also impressed with his play yesterday down at the Georgia Dome where the Eagles kicked the living devil out of the Atlanta Falcons.
You know, there are alot of great athletes in prison. Some mighty men who had massive athletic skill, talent and ability.
They just didn't think.
Let's hope Michael Vick is thinking. And Tiger too.
Friday, December 04, 2009
Friday follies............
Watching the Obama rant and audience choreography (I only watch, I never listen due to the simple fact he seldom says anything pertinent to growing jobs, promoting fair taxation or moving on the three things important to my sons, taxes, immigration, social security) reminds me of a politician pulling out all the stops to get reelected.
This guy is on TV more than The Weather Channel.
And I get more information from The Weather Channel that helps me.
This guy is on TV more than The Weather Channel.
And I get more information from The Weather Channel that helps me.
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Big $$$$ Defeated........
PIERRE, S.D. – A proposal to increase the daily bag limit of pheasants from 3 to 5 was defeated at the monthly GFP Commission meeting in Pierre on Thursday.
A proposal needs five votes from the eight member Commission to become rule, but there were only four supporting the measure so the proposal failed to pass.
The bag limit for pheasants will remain at 3 daily and 15 in possession.
A proposal needs five votes from the eight member Commission to become rule, but there were only four supporting the measure so the proposal failed to pass.
The bag limit for pheasants will remain at 3 daily and 15 in possession.
the JOB SUMMIT today
Todays JOB SUMMIT was a farce. The US Chamber of Commerce wasn't even invited.
Plenty of UNION hacks though. Go figure.
Plenty of UNION hacks though. Go figure.
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
More Dilution.......
Bank of America's capital raise is nothing more than dilution.
They may try to put 50 shades of lipstick on this pig but in the end it is still a pig.
They may try to put 50 shades of lipstick on this pig but in the end it is still a pig.
A factually challenged President
Last nights OBAMA address from my old stomping grounds at USMA, West Point were typical Obama oration. In the delivery of his speech, President Obama used the word "I" 43 times. He used the words "victory" and "win" zero times. I guess the political ego trumps victory and winning.
The Nobel 'Peace' Prize winner is going to escalate the war and has only guaranteed the eventual loss of this war against savage and mindless forces in Afghanistan. It is a prescription for a slow hemorrhaging loss. Giving the Taliban an end-date further complicates matters by ensuring that the enemy will simply wait us out then take over in fierce fighting. You can never tell an enemy when you're going home--how would that help your team now on the ground, or the opponent knowing you have no skin in the game for the long haul. Study your history and you will see that Russia at one time had about 180,000 decent fighters in Afghanistan and they got their ass kicked.
No one has asked me but leave the rocks and mountains and opium afields alone. If you want some results use air power and save the VA hospitals from further occupancy.
If Obama wants to establish order in a drug-ridden, illiterate part of the world he would do well to start with Detroit.
The Nobel 'Peace' Prize winner is going to escalate the war and has only guaranteed the eventual loss of this war against savage and mindless forces in Afghanistan. It is a prescription for a slow hemorrhaging loss. Giving the Taliban an end-date further complicates matters by ensuring that the enemy will simply wait us out then take over in fierce fighting. You can never tell an enemy when you're going home--how would that help your team now on the ground, or the opponent knowing you have no skin in the game for the long haul. Study your history and you will see that Russia at one time had about 180,000 decent fighters in Afghanistan and they got their ass kicked.
No one has asked me but leave the rocks and mountains and opium afields alone. If you want some results use air power and save the VA hospitals from further occupancy.
If Obama wants to establish order in a drug-ridden, illiterate part of the world he would do well to start with Detroit.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Quotes to ponder..............
"Life's tough...it's even tougher if you're stupid." -- John Wayne
"We live in the greatest nation in the history of the world.
I hope you'll join with me as we try to change it." -- Barack Obama
Unfortunately, we are now beginning to understand what the second one means and what the first says about us.
"We live in the greatest nation in the history of the world.
I hope you'll join with me as we try to change it." -- Barack Obama
Unfortunately, we are now beginning to understand what the second one means and what the first says about us.
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