Its time to slap up another open thread. Several people had a couple of remarks up. I will leave the pin in until around noon in case people want to cut and past remarks to the new post.
Every time I turn on the TV I heard about terror alerts in various countries. What is causing this? (I know, terrorists.) Is all the problem in Europe or is it here too? Who knows what or who thinks what?
The Unknowns behind the Terror Alerts:
David Ignatius
Continuing from the prior open thread about spending cuts, here’s a guy, David Cameron of Britain, who’s actually making hard choices about spending. He doesn’t just talk the talk.
Cameron sets out his vision for Britain under his leadership
On his first speech to a Conservative Party conference as Prime Minister, David Cameron set out his vision for Britain under his leadership.
FAIRNESS
The better-off will suffer more cuts as part of the Government’s austerity package, Mr Cameron signalled.
The cuts will be implemented with “fairness”, he said, indicating this means the middle classes will pay more.
The Prime Minister said: “As we work to balance the budget, fairness includes asking those on higher incomes to shoulder more of the burden than those on lower incomes. It’s fair that those with broader shoulders should bear a greater load.”
He made only a passing mention of this week’s controversial cut in child benefit: “I’m not saying this is going to be easy, as we’ve seen with child benefit this week.”
OPTIMISTIC FUTURE
Britain will become a happier, richer country after the Coalition’s cuts and reforms are implemented, Mr Cameron claimed. He said: “I promise you that if we pull together to deal with these debts today, then just a few years down the line the rewards will be felt by everyone in our country.
Hinting at possible tax cuts before the next election, he pledged “more money in your pocket” as well as “more investment in your businesses. Growing industries, better jobs, stronger prospects for our young people.”
He said Britain would feel better about itself, promising to give people “the sense that our country is moving forwards once again”.
CUTS
There was no responsible alternative to the Coalition’s plans to clear much of Britain’s debt over five years, Mr Cameron insisted. Labour, backed by some economists, has said that the Coalition’s plans for more than £120 billion of cuts and tax rises over four years went too far and could hit economic growth.
The Prime Minister said urgent moves to cut the deficit were necessary to reduce the sums Britain paid in interest on its debts, and to retain international market confidence in the economy. “There is no other responsible way,” he said.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/8047443/Conservative-Party-Conference-David-Cameron-sets-out-his-vision-for-Britain-under-his-leadership.html
I don’t agree with all of his policies, but I give Cameron points for pragmatism and honesty.
Howler – aren’t you glad you didn’t sell that Ford? 🙂
Might want to lighten up on the position a bit as it approaches 13.5. Looks like we could have a fairly decent pop on the open today which should propel F into that range.
Free local screening of Michael Nash’s Climate Refugees, Tues., Oct. 19 at 6:30 pm, GMU-Prince William, Verizon Auditorium. Panel discussion after film with Tom Land, Manager of International Stratospheric Protection Programs, US EPA and the Rev. Vinnie C. Lainson, a certified Climate Project Presenter trained by Vice President Al Gore. Part of the Immigration & Human Rights Cinema sponsored by Unity in the Community and GMU.
Cato, I haven’t even had time to check my newly acquired wealth. Thanks for the heads up. I don’t own enough to make it that critical…just sweet when it does well.
Ford stock has looked good for a long time, but Cato might be right that it is topping out now. It’s down a little in early trading today.
One of the signs I watch is the bond market. Ratings agencies are incredibly slow to revise their ratings. Ford debt is still rated as junk but started yielding comparably to some investment-grade bonds a long time ago. Bond analysts are usually more conservative than stock analysts and need to trade the bonds in advance of ratings revisions to avoid unpleasant surprises. The bond market was clearly pointing toward strength in Ford and its stock.
When bonds yield lower than their rating should indicate, the company is likely stronger financially than the rating would indicate, and vice-versa.
Last January, Fitch raised Ford’s rating from CCC to B-. B- is still junk. Investment-grade goes as low as BBB. The stock price hit bottom in early 2009 and yields on its debt fell (indicating increasing financial strength in the minds of bond analysts) as well.
Here’s another example. The ratings agencies were rating AIG bonds strong investment grade before the financial market collapse of 2008. Their yields started to rise in advance of the collapse for what appeared to be no good reason. What was going on was the bond analysts were catching wind of the problems and selling their positions in AIG debt in advance of expected downgrades. Then the bottom fell out. AIG crashed from strong investment-grade to bankrupt (but bailed out by the Feds). The bonds and stock became virtually worthless. The bond market again was a good canary in the cage.
“There’s class warfare, all right. But it’s my class, the rich class,
that’s making war, and we’re winning.”
Warren Buffett
Big Dog, in what context did he say that? he = Buffet
I have some sort of recessive gene that makes bonds just not intuitive to me.
M-H, picked up that specific quote from a Nicholas Kristof NYT op/ed
(10-6-2010). I think highly of Warren Buffett – a man who has made
a fortune, but apparently not lost his soul in the process.
“They (House Republicans) fear, not without reason, that voters
are ideaologically conservative but operationally liberal – that
voters’ cognitive dissonance makes them ardently in favor of
shrinking the deficit and as ardently opposed to any measures
commensurate with the problem.”
George Will WaPo op/ed (10-7-2010)
“We have met the enemy and he is us.”
Pogo
Yea, I totally agree with you about Buffet, Big Dog. He really seems like a man of integrity despite his massive fortune.
Totally agree with other statement too.
Hope springs eternal:
“We in America today are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before in the history of any land. The poor house is vanishing from among us. We have not yet reached the goal but, given a chance to go forward with the policies of the last eight years, we shall soon with the help of God be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from this nation.”
Herbert Hoover, upon accepting the Republican nomination for presiden in 1928. Less than a year later the stock market crashed and the nation was plunged into the darkness of the Great Depression.
– Quote from “White House: confidential”
While I’m at it – Here are a couple of Hoover quotes:
“This job is nothing but a twenty-ring circus – with a whole lot of bad actors.”
“All the money in the world could not induce me to live over the last nine months. The conditions we have experienced make this office a compound hell.”
Wonder whether Obama his similar thoughts once in a while?
Me thinks the dark screen is having bandwidth issues… It only takes one bullying sexist attack on a woman with a good hacker friends to show how free your free speech can be, so they say.
Whoever is launching the DOS, I salute you.
“We kept making the wrong mistakes.”
Yogi Berra
snicker @ Rod.
Is THAT what the problem is. I thought it was either a bad spell or bad karma.
I noted that yesterdays soiled toilet wipe of a report has gotten the most hits ever on BVBL, 29k and growing!
And I don’t think it’s because Greg is the new “double rainbow guy” 😉
Poor Greg, everyone should show their support and all attempt to access his site at once! >}
While I’m not a fan of posting the pictures of Ms. Ball and don’t think it really should have any effect on her ability or inability to hold office – I don’t really care for people cheering a malicious attack on a website. It’s like cheering because someone tagged a wall with graffiti or tossed a brick through someone’s window.
I guess next time we’ll see cheering for someone knocking elderly women down.. ugh.
Marin, I feel certain no one was advocating anything illegal or cheering a malicious attack. I know of no malicious attacks other than the ones done to this blog.
However, I think many people here recognize bad karma when they see it. If you do something vile and then something bad happens to you…where is the pity?
Not like if you were out helping old ladies across the street.
I find it odd one would protest something so vociferously and then allow foul, vulgar language to be used about females. Go figure.
Rumor around Manassas has it someone cast a spell. Too funny.
A little eye of Newt, tongue of …let see, how does that go??
Hmmmm…the howlet just left and he wasn’t going to share any of his wings.
A denial of service is a malicious attack. The virtual equivilant of covering the entrance of a store with trash thus not allowing that business to conduct it’s affairs.
Quoted from #14.. “Whoever is launching the DOS, I salute you.”
I guess I just expected better. It’s not directed at anyone in paticular – just a let down really.
Marin, don’t take the high road. Last time I did, I had to answer 53 posts about how bad I am. You really shouldn’t do that.
Well, here’s the problem…..after what I heard said about Sarah Palin over the last two years by the left everywhere (not specifically here on this blog), I have ZERO sympathy for any Democrat female. The left made all of this OK with their attacks on Palin. And no, it didn’t start with Palin, there were attacks against Hillary and Ferraro before her, but Palin is fresh in my (and everyone else’s) mind as to how women and liberals treat their own, so no woman running for office as a liberal or a Democrat should expect any better.
to those who are calling for privatizing Social Security – in your plan, how do you account for the SSDI (Social Security Disability Income) – say, I am 40 years old, and become disabled, am I to live off of my privatized SS account – or is there a safety net, in your plan, like there is now? How do you kids live when you are disabled?
Also, what about some handicapped people who cannot work (if you had a child with Down’s Syndrome, or Cerebral Palsy) – how are they taken care of after you can no longer support them (due to your own death, and your funds running out)?
Just spouting the sound bites, without getting into the details is just not enough. I still do not know what the Republicans really mean when they shout Tort Reform.
Moon, can I be as nasty to Pat Herve as George Harris is to me? Or Starry is to everyone else?
Just checking about the ground rules here.
Why would you want to be nasty to Pat? @ Rez
Has he/she done something to you I am not aware of.
marin, I cannot monitor this blog 24/7. I probably monitor more than most blogmeisters.
Secondly, DOS means nothing to me other than DOS as in MS-DOS. Frankly, I didn’t even see it. I snickered at what he wrote above it. There is no reason for you to be disappointed. I often hear things that disappoint me regarding my career life’s work. Life goes on, despite that.
I did not cheer for anything. I laughed at something Rod said and now, without apology.
@Slow
And I might very well say the same thing about the things I heard about Hillary Clinton when she was running for president. Where does it end?
Sarah Palin got no worse than Hillary did really. Hillary isn’t a republican woman so perhaps you didn’t notice. However, I noticed.
And Christine O’Donnell is not a Democratic woman. I don’t care if anyone takes issue with her politics, I will be first in line. But the BJ remark made by Leno was uncalled for.
Pat you are very right. And if people count on something being there, you don’t pull the rug out from under them.
No one answers the questions you ask. They just keep sound byting. But those are real questions to many people.
Pat, while thats under the SS umbrella I personally see it as different. I personally would not cut the program but I would look to make sure the program is working as intended.
Where systemic changes are needed; I’d want those changes to happen.
I’m really concerned with abusers of the program and not those that really need the assistance.
There needs to be a reward for turning in those who abuse the system.
Another suicide linked to Brentsville 🙁 Check out InsideNova.
MH, special place in hell for those people and anyone who parks in Handicapped parking slots…
@Moon-howler
I acknowledged the whole Hillary thing (and BTW, who’s sitting pretty now?)
Does that include people who are handicapped, marin?
Millions are wasted yearly because of scamming the system. People need to be rewarded for reporting violations.
Pinko, yes, I read that. I feel anything I say will be taken wrong. So I will not say anything.
@Slow,
Did you? Sorry I didn’t give you full kudos. I thought I was the lone voice. I am still angry over it. I don’t mean disagreeing with her proposed policies…that is fair game. I mean the hateful, vulgar things that were said about her…and also Palin. It is like taking a step back in time….where the little woman is supposed to obey her husband. 🙄
Did any of you watch Rachel Maddow’s show tonight? Her guest was Art Robinson who is running against del. DeFazio in Oregon. Robinson is one for the books. It got almost hilarious with Rachel banging her head against her desk.
MH, oh wow. Talk about a typo! 😉 Good catch. Handicapped in handicapped parking is OK in my book.
Pat, I think that the whole system needs to be revamped and if Congress can justify a fund to help disabled people, fine. If we can find the money.
It needs to be removed from the Soc. Sec. system, then, because SS wasn’t supposed to be a disability payment.
Helping people is nice. Great. Where to we find the money? What do we cut? What are the priorities that we as a nation have? Congress was elected to determine this, not just throw money around willy nilly.
And it has to have a Constitutional basis. Even in the Founder’s day, funds for widows, etc, were denied since the Constitution did not authorize payment from Congress.
I think you all have hit upon a very critical problem here. It exists at the local, state, and federal levels. We pass laws and ordinances which may have the best of intentions and which may, in principle, aid those who really need it. But we often seem unable to follow up those intentions with the tools needed to administer those laws and ordinances effectively and especially with the tools to prevent abuse. In this country the abusers always seem to be one step ahead. SSDI is in that category. Over the years, I have seen many, many reports of individuals finding ways to get coverage under SSDI by faking out the administrators and the investigators. Unfortunately, when such cases do see the light of day, it is often the program itself which takes a serious hit in the public eye. The public focus seems to go automatically toward those who are scamming the taxpayers, not toward those who truly merit the assistance.
All of us, regardless of party loyalty or ideology, have got to strive to do better. Every bureaucracy has its elements of corruption and misfeasance; but, when I saw what had happened to the efficiency and honesty of the appointed federal watchdogs in both the recent West Virginia coal mine disaster and the BP oil spill, I got a distinct sense that we are seriously missing the boat far too much these days, especially in an era with so many technological tools at our disposal. Politicians of every stripe always talk about finding the waste in government and getting rid of it; but, in my opinion, it seems far too often that it is all just talk.
Lou Dobbs, American Hypocrite
But with his relentless diatribes against “illegals” and their employers, Dobbs is casting stones from a house—make that an estate—of glass. Based on a yearlong investigation, including interviews with five immigrants who worked without papers on his properties, The Nation and the Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute have found that Dobbs has relied for years on undocumented labor for the upkeep of his multimillion-dollar estates and the horses he keeps for his 22-year-old daughter, Hillary, a champion show jumper.
http://www.thenation.com/article/155209/lou-dobbs-american-hypocrite?page=full
What an utter hypocrite Mr. Dobbs is.
Thanks for posting the Lou Dobbs piece, Starry. A friend called it to my attention and what with one thing and another here tonight, I never got that far.
@wolverine,
I think you are right. How do things that are enacted with the best of intentions end up being a source for such wastefulness. Katrina popped up in my mind. Yet people are still bitching about this and that from Katrina and what has and has not been done.
I keep thinking of the people buying prostitutes and gambling on the credit cards that were issued.
Cargo, I think you are right about removing the disabililty pay from social security. Nothing should be on SS but SS, and that includes the money for children with a dead parent. Why are these things still riding on SS? I am not even saying they aren’t legitimate claiims. I am saying that they don’t belong as part of SS. The dead parent claim is now up to 800-900 a child. Maybe even more now. That is per month.
As for SSI (poor and old) I can’t remember the call letters–why is this part of social security? The being old part is fine. 🙂 The being poor part needs to come from another source. Everyone who applies for SS gets asked about the poor part also. Why? That just plants a seed in some people’s heads…how can I scam the system.
I thought your readers would get a kick out of this story released yesterday: http://www.thenation.com/article/155209/lou-dobbs-american-hypocrite.
It’s a great piece of investigative journalism that points out the hypocrisy of Lou Dobbs and his stance on illegal immigration. He has a substantial number of undocumented people in his employ.
For people are informed on this issue, this is not a surprise. The very wealthy more directly rely on undocumented workers to cut their grass and in this case, care for their horses. I hope that more journalists will continue with this type of investigative reporting. Lou Dobbs is the tip of the iceberg. -SC
Wolverine – yes, that is part of the problem – it is all just talk – and candidate talk – once we elect these people, they do not want to offend there constituents and do the hard thing (make decisions). When the rubber hits the road, and the sound bites are done, they do not want to what needs to be done.
If our Government did not raid the SS trust fund, there would be plenty of money in it, it is just that we (the US) fund our day to day expenses with our retirement money. SSDI was attached to SS because it was the funding vehicle – and mostly all working people paid into it – you pay in for money later in life, and if you need it early, you can get it. And, Medicare is attached to SS also.
Abuse – yes, that is human nature (for some) – but the program helps more people than the abusers – and we need to go after these abusers (same for tax cheats). The issue is that when we catch someone cheating the system, the punishment is too light, and all the bleeding hearts come out and want to stand up for the person. Start making the punishment more harsh, and people will think twice before they scam the system. And, it is not just the poor or minorities that scam the system.
And also, take a look at the double dippers – people who have earned a public pension in one jurisdiction, and then take on another public job (sometimes in another jurisdiction), while collecting the pension and getting a salary. Look at this for an example, in daylight, they are maneuvering around the statutes, and getting away with it – http://www.northjersey.com/news/092710_Teaneck_plan_to_replace_chiefs_with_public_safety_director_draws_fire.html . Now, I am not saying that if you earn a pension, you should not collect it, what I am saying is that if you earned a publicly funded pension, you should not be collecting on it, and be in a publicly funded position earning a salary.
Rez – you can be as nasty to me as you like.
Two articles I recommend for anyone who has 30 minutes and an interest in people who are helping to shape national political discourse.
The first is a profile of VP Joe Biden by Mark Bowden (author of Back Hawk Down) in the new edition of the Atlantic. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/10/the-salesman/8226/
The second is a profile of Glenn Beck by NY Times reporter Mark Leibovich in last week’s NY Times Magazine. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/03/magazine/03beck-t.html
The Biden article is great. I am still reading.
I see where Kindle is now being sold in Staples. That is a good idea to have Kindle in a store where people can actually touch it and look at it. When I got mine, I bought it blind.
The Barnes and Noble Nook you can see before buying. Being able to see and touch Kindle should help sales.
@Pat.Herve
I apologize, Pat. You are not really the cause and I included you wrongly. I recently went through an experience on here where I didn’t say anything nasty but was harangued pretty badly. Yours was a similar post, so I was making an ill-conceived point.
Anyway, the reason I see tort reform as necessary is really based on economics. Insurance companies assess risk and likely exposure to payouts in setting insurance premiums. In the malpractice arena, there are very high awards but most of the money doesn’t go to the victim but to trial lawyers. Now the lawyers will tell you that they take a risk in getting paid so they accept a percentage of the total and it is high because sometimes they don’t win and get paid. Well, I have never met a poor malpractice attorney.
At any rate, insurance companies will also settle many cases out of court because of high costs of the litigation if they lose. All of these add to the risk that they take into account. They then set their rates based on the risk. Well, the higher costs of these rates are what doctors pass on to patients which is all of us. This also snowballs with hospitals, prescription drug companies, etc. And we all get socked with the costs. Also, since rates are higher across the board, health insurance costs go up because health insurers are paying higher rates to doctors, hospitals and the rest.
The point is not to limit awards per se to victims, they should be justly compensated. It is to at least cap payments to lawyers to what would be standard for similar work. We shouldn’t look to demonize the lawyers, they are also entitled to make a living. If they are good at it, they should reap some good benefits for their good work.
And the most irritating thing about this is, as one may recall, people said around the State of the Union, that they weren’t tackling tort reform because they didn’t want to have pushback from malpractice attorneys.
Pat, again I should have just replied to you. I try not to be nasty anyway.
Lou Dobbs is scheduled to speak at a Tea Party event this weekend. It will be interesting to see how they react to his hiring illegal aliens.
God bless Lou Dobbs for hiring illegal aliens. As long as folks like he continue to provide them jobs, they will continue coming to the United States illegally. Mr. Dobbs makes their efforts worthwhile. I think we should make them legal and give them a better opportunity.
Ya know…I’ve seen a lot of ideas put forth by conservatives on this blog, in this and other comment streams, on what might be needed to fix our deficit and debt problem.
What are the solutions from the other side, to bring down the debt/deficit and improve the economy?
Starry, what would have have to rail about if they weren’t hre.
Cargo, what other side? I don’t really think of centrists as ‘the other side.’ We have darn few liberals here. They are as disgusted with us as you guys. Centrists get to be hated by everyone.
Rez, I don’t think we will ever get tort reform. No one ever votes to give themselves less pay and that is a huge lobby.
Cargo, getting out of the wars in the middle east would reduce spending.
I don’t think macro well but in Prince William County, the taxes are not just a single issue. The taxes are based on rate and assessment. Frankly, the rate needs to go up some to make up for the difference in what we lost in assessment.
The whole situation in PWC is a game and a gimmick so the supervisors can go back and tell the sheeple that they didn’t vote to raise taxes. Well, yes they did if you look at tax RATE. So get over trying to win an election and just do what is needed for the county. We need more cops. We need to have school resource cops. We don’t need to have fund drives for the libraries. We don’t need fire and rescue out there with a change boot in all the intersections.
We don’t need to be sinking three quarters of a million dollars into a war museum of old tanks when we don’t have enough cops to adequately cover a heavily suburban area with suburban problems. War museums with fields of old tanks are great when they aren’t being up on top of people’s existing homes and when times are good and there is surplus money.
We also don’t need to be adding to new developments, in an area that has been designated rural, so someone can get campaign funds. That kind of housing requires new schools and new roads. Who is going to pay for those.
Set a responsible tax rate. If people don’t like paying taxes, don’t live in an area where most of us want decent services and are willing to pay for them.
All politics is local.
Where is Cato this morning?
Ford is still hanging in there. That did you predict was its ceiling?