Forsooth!

This guy was DEAD ON. I love how he gets ridiculed, but maintains his convictions. I wonder who is laughing now.

Fall in New England

I just got back from Connecticut. I went to Hartford to provide training to our web application. I have heard about Fall in New England. I have heard that it is beautiful and there is nothing like it. I figured people were "overselling" and exaggerating. After all, we have the same trees in Alabama. They turn colors. I've lived in Wisconsin. Same kinds of trees and very similar weather. Both Alabama and Wisconsin have pretty trees in the Fall.

Let me tell you. There is a difference. The leaves in New England are brighter. They are more vibrant. There are more shades of the colors. We don't have the golds and yellows and reds and oranges that I saw there.

There was nothing more stunning than flying in over the city and seeing the landscape. Pictures can't capture it. Words can't describe it. You have to go see it for yourself.

Dow takes Nose Dive

Thank goodness Congress approved that bailout. Otherwise, the economy might be tanking.

WHOA!!!! Wait a minute...it is tanking...

SO...the bailout isn't working? How can that possibly be? Our government is on top of this!!! If they can't fix it...then nobody can...after all, no other entity is more dependable and competent than the government, right?

NYT predicts Sub-Prime Failure in 1999

So many pundits are currently blaming the policies of the failed Bush administration for the current economic crisis.

The internet, however is a wonderful thing. On Sept. 1999 (who was President then?) reported that Fannie Mae was "encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify."

The article goes on to prophesy,

"Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980's."

How can they be so two-faced?

Nationalizing Failure

I am not so sure that "financial crisis" is as real or as bad the media and the government wants us to believe. Sure, there is a problem. But, let's just consider the fact that yesterday's Dow dropped 778 points. That sounds just terrible, doesn't it? But wait! When it comes to a PERCENTAGE drop in the Dow yesterday isn't even in the top ten! I don't remember Katie Couric mentioning that fact last night!

I don't know about you, but with every day that passes I'm starting to doubt that this crisis is as dire as they say it is.

The proper answer here is to let private institutions that make bad decisions fail. No government bailout. The only one mitigating factor in favor of intervention might be the Congress' involvement in the Community Reinvestment Act and support for various community groups who used those laws to browbeat private institutions into making bad loans.

The plain fact of the matter is that the Federal Government is in the process of nationalizing failure. Under the ideals being tossed around on Capitol Hill profits would belong to private businesses and losses would belong to the taxpayers.