Congressman Barney Frank appeared today on the Kudlow & Co. Show on CNBC, after passage of his FHA Reform Bill. Unfortunately, I can't embed the video, so here's the link:
Basically, the House of Representatives passed an FHA reform plan that involved the banks refinancing loans at 85% of the appraised value at the time the home was purchased, and then he Federal Housing Administration buying those loans. The White House has gone on record that they will veto the bill.
Damian Hospital, who previously turned in his honorary membership to the Enneagram Council of Sixes, has officially resigned from caring about the Enneagram Council of Twos.
"Just blowing off steam now in this rant, but I'm done with Twos. I ran out of patience, and believe me, I have been dealing with Type Twos for over 30 glorious years," Hospital said via telescreen.
"How much do I loathe thee? Allow me to list the ways: Twos are possessive, forgetful, overbearing, predictable, spurned, demand justice for helping, and refuse to be held accountable like everyone else."
"Nothing happened to spark this rant of mine. It just built up."
"Type 3's may be evil manipulators, but Type 2's just control differently to fill their self-esteem. They are excellent underdogs, too. They refuse to be "judged", and will lie, lie, lie to achieve their means."
"I've just had enough. I've had enough with their meaningless chatter when I'm trying to work, and I'm tired of female relatives automatically being stereotypical 2's. They all hate pain, but they all love pain killers."
"Most Two's I know must be liked and loved. It's like they are stuck being kids, and that's why they don't age as rapidly as others. Two's want to be Fours, so they act like Free Spirits. What winds us happening is that their karma and irresponsible actions ("it sounded good at the time") cause more misery and stress in their lives."
"Now, I just nod my head when they ramble about something that is truly insignificant, but seems like a major catastrophe to them. Nag, nag, nag. All card carrying members of the TDA* too. "
"I mean, they aren't productive with real things. They think they're productive in relationships, but after the break up, that guy or institution or family member is DEAD."
"I nod my head. Agree. Try to block out what they are saying or are attempting to e-mail me, and move on. I mean, heaven help me if I actually respond with the truth or point out a logical flaw in their predicament. And if I ever- EVER- once expressed a feeling how THEY acting in a selfish and not-helpful way, forget about it- I'm the New Public Enemy #1. They don't listen to me anyway- bunch of freakin' Drama Queens- the lot of them. They *always* have problems in relationships and money? I WONDER WHY."
Click here and here for info about the Enneagram that DailySkew wrote.
Here's a clip about a Type Two. Believe me, this has to be the most CALM Two I've ever seen (of course the interview is an advertisement, but you get the idea.)
*TDA: Time Displacement Authority. Ever have someone who "makes" you be late? Don't you ever just want to do your own daily routine without being sidetracked? Did you ever wish you could throw your cell-phone in a river? Well, if you find your time-line getting screwed up by someone over and over, there's a great chance they are members of the TDA. They exist solely to ruin your original time-line. They are the people that call you up and cause you to forget something or kill an hour of your productivity. They are the ones who force you to watch Star Wars marathons when you really need to be going to sleep. They are the ones that keep saying "goodbye" when you try to leave their house, and wind up causing you to be late or get into an accident. Sometimes it's perfectly harmless; other times your time-line can be ruined.
I really get a kick out of the Domino's commercial where the medieval guy yells, "Rubbish!" and blows up the delivery car. So, I figured I'd post the video for anyone who hasn't seen it.
Little did I know the controversy about this commercial:
Or, to paraphrase from the book 1984: "He who controls the present controls the past."
Here's a quote from a CNN Money news article I read this morning on my cellphone (a.k.a. my modern morning newspaper):
In September 2007, the most recent month for which data is available, more than 20% of subprime mortgage borrowers with scores of between 840 and 900 were 60 days or more delinquent, according to First American LoanPerformance. That default rate was roughly equal to that of borrowers with much lower scores, in the 540 to 599 range.
Oh, you didn't know? Que Road Dogg and Mr. Ass:
Thank you.
Anyway ... did I miss something? All I've heard these past few months are that subprime borrowers are people with BAD CREDIT who received mortgages they couldn't afford from incompetent lenders. Since when did people with excellent credit scores become considered subprime borrowers?
I love how this article jumps straight into the notion of "20% of subprime borrowers with scores between 840 and 900" WITHOUT EXPLAINING THE NOTION.
Sorry. I'm not buying that people with scores between 840 and 900 are subprime. Excuse me if I don't pull out my wallet and believe that the office manager of a Fort Lauderdale radio station is a subprime borrower. I refuse to invest in doublespeak.
By labeling someone with excellent credit as a subprime borrower, this potentially sets us all up for higher interest rates and costs associated with credit cards and loans in the future ... as well as ever-insidious bank fees, charges, and penalties. I can see it now:
"Why has my interest gone up ten points?"
"Well, sir, you are a subprime borrower."
"Excuse me? I have an excellent credit rating!"
"AND you own a home that you may not be able to afford. So, of course you are subprime."
I'm sorry, but to paraphrase 1984 again, We were not at war with Eurasia last week, no matter how many times you tell me otherwise. I remember, Gosh darn it!
Sigh. Since half the population is doped up on pot or prescription psychotropic medication, I know these words are a complete waste of time. Since the other half of the population is watching pornhub or whatever, I should just give up. After all, I'm no better. I, too, am "Only human."
Label me subprime, even if my score is 900. I'll take 20% interest on my next car loan, Alex. Really, I don't mind. I know paying my bills on time is not enough. I need to earn more money, and since my company only has enough profit to build a golden parachute, I won't be getting any raise this year.
***
Meanwhile, people are dying in Darfur. Who cares about fat Americans who over-leveraged themselves? Well, after they come after the people with good credit, they'll come after whoever is left. There will be fewer people able to assist the poorer parts of the world financially, and the few with money may not care to do so.
I'm just sayin'. Think about that when you wire money to loved ones somewhere in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Brazil, Nigeria, Haiti, and other far-flung places. Your family is counting on your help. The people who are benefiting from this crisis want your money, too ... and THEY don't care who starves in order to get it.
Write your congressman. Encourage them to pass a bill that forces banks to refinance these loans so that value of the home represents today's prices, not the bubble prices of three years ago.
Oh, wait. I forgot. You're all overmedicating and watching porn. Never mind.
PSA -- B.B. has an eye on your cellphone, you fool
Two weeks ago, my wife was in a car accident. It turned out to be a minor fender bender on the highway, but at the time I didn't know that.
She called me. I was out of town on business. She asked me to call 911 (her phone had gotten wet recently, and the number 1 on her keypad wasn't working -- is this shaping up to be a plot out of Final Destination or what?).
I called. I tell them my wife's been in an accident on Turnpike.
"Where on Turnpike?"
"Just north of Atlantic Blvd."
"Atlantic ... sir, this is the Lakeland 9-1-1."
The gentleman proceeded to tell me that even though my phone is a 954 Broward County area code, my cell phone company automatically connects me with the local 9-1-1 for the area I'm in.
So ... OF COURSE, the guy didn't have the number for Broward 9-1-1 (LME). He told me to call 4-1-1 ... after having to yell at two different phone operators ("You wanna be the news? My wife's been in a CAR ACCIDENT ON THE HIGHWAY and you're not connecting me!") I finally got through to a nice lady at BSO (Gracie, I think was her name) who took charge of the situation and got assistance out to my wife. The roadside assistance people even changed a damaged tire for her. I'm thankful for their help.
At any rate, I told Damian about this, and he insisted that I write about my 9-1-1 cell phone experience. I'm sure the technical types are already aware of this -- this is a PSA for the common man who, like myself, gets the cheapest Nokia phone possible when renewing his or her family plan with AT&T or Verizon or whoever.
You see, my little Nokia is a GSM phone. It has three bands -- 850, 1800, and 1900. If you're in Europe, switch the 850 for 900.
My phone is a 2G phone, even though I have a 3G chip. 2G is apparently Tri-Band, and 3G is Quad-Band. Quad-Band offers more coverage.
Well, even though I have the phone with the older technology, the cell-phone company, via the cell towers, can locate me and know instantly that I'm in Lakeland when dialing 9-1-1, even though I have Broward County number.
***
Since the vast majority of people now use cellphones, I think it's pretty safe to declare the era of privacy is now over.
Here goes: the era of privacy is now officially over. It's been over for quite some time now -- several years, at least.
There, I said it. Whether you embrace the new age of everything being public (I saw an author once on C-Span pitching that privacy is overrated and this new era is better for everybody), or not, it's here.
***
On a side-note: I am currently rereading 1984, and making a list of modern things that remind me of the phrases and symbolism from that book. Clearly, the cell phone tracking will be under Big Brother is Watching You.
You can see the pattern everywhere. For example: Real Estate. Home prices have dropped. People owe more than their homes are worth ... so, they want to walk away from their mortgages because rent is cheap.
Well, guess what? Since so many people want to do that, the price of renting has started to creep up again.
How about this biofuel thing? The Corn Growers appeared on C-Span, talking about how cost-effective it is to grow corn and convert it into fuel, and how the waste products can be used to feed farm animals ... and how cheap the process is ... how cheap grain is, this and that.
Well, now that we're actually following their ideas, the demand for the crops went up, b/c now you have biofuel users competing with people who eat ... and the prices have gone up corn, rice, wheat.
And all this b/c we have this pseudoparodox ... this sick pattern. "Oh, Item X cheap! Let's use it!"
"Oh, now everyone wants it! The price has gone up!"
There you go.
Why not dig for shale in Canada, and turn into oil. It's cheap! Once we, as a society, actually commit to that course of action, we'll hear "Oh! It's so expensive."
It's a sick pattern.
***
I heard the golf bag (tm Michael Savage) on the other day, saying that capitalists are realists. They don't believe perfection is possible. Therefore ... caveat emptor. Fend for yourself. Rugged Individualism.
Perhaps he's right. Perhaps all that sci-fi Star Trek utopian stuff is a bunch of crap, and you can't have perfection when people are imperfect.
So ... there's no way to govern things perfectly, or maintain a good thing perfectly. Consumers are irrational. Leaders can be corrupted, can be become greedy, or can make mistakes even if they have the best of intentions. No one can truly predict the future on a consistent basis.
So ... perhaps he's right, and we all need a dose of realism (tm). Keep it real.
It's a pattern, one we have live with. There isn't any better way of running a society at the moment than what we have here.
The answer doesn't seem to be a better system ... the answer s within ourselves, the group, and community ... accepting (tm) what the situation is and holding leaders accountable for their actions.
It's a battle. It's a constant, everyday slog. It's a war on ignorance, greed, corruption. That's the pattern we need to strive for.
The master and his pupil sat in a cave, deep within the Himalayas ... far from civilization.
"Master, what is the ultimate truth?"
"Truth? Ha!"
"Master, please. I searched you out. I have studied with you for years ... soaking in your wisdom ... and yet, the answer to the question of ultimate truth ... it eludes me. What am I missing?"
"What you're missing is the question."
"What do you mean?"
"Asking if there is an ultimate truth is like asking if there is one ultimate version of, say, Spiderman."
"What?"
"What was the first version of Spiderman? Do you know?"
"Uh...."
"The comic book. Early 1960's. Before you time. The second version? It was a cartoon in the late 60's. The third version was a failed television show. The fourth was the Amazing Spiderman and Friends cartoon. There was another cartoon in the late 90's ... a comic book reboot ... and, of course, the movies. Tell me -- which one is the truth about Spiderman?"
"Uh ... the first one?"
"No. They all have elements of the truth -- which is that Peter Parker was bitten by a spider and he got great powers, learned great responsibility, and became a superhero. There are different versions of the truth, all with those similar elements. The first version does not make it the truest version."
"Okay ... so the legend of Spiderman has something to do with ultimate truth...."
"No -- ha ha! The point is this -- there are multiple truths, each sharing the same elements."
"Oh."
"Actually, there are nine truths to be exact."
"Really."
"And forty variations of each truth."
"Huh."
"The ultimate truth for you may not be the ultimate truth for me ... but they do have the same core elements."
It is with a sorrow-filled heart that I must state here on the WWW to all five of our readers that, in fact, BANKING EXECUTIVES ARE CLUELESS. They are completely out of touch with the reality out here, where the houses are ... where mortgages are more than just a blip on a balance sheet.
It's like watching Peter Sellers negotiate with the Russian Premier while a lone bomber journeys into the heart of the Soviet Union, about to set off the Apocalypse.
***
Let me take you back to two weeks ago. I was speaking with a friend named Arnie who owns two homes. He lives in one, and rents out the other to a cousin. The cousin has decided to take advantage of the plethora of foreclosures on the market, and buy a steeply-discounted home -- nothing wrong with that, even though Arnie felt Betrayed (tm) that the cousin didn't offer to buy the home he was renting ... you know, the one that Arnie spent tens of thousands of dollars fixing up.
"That's fine."
So, Arnie was considering letting go of both homes. "What am I gonna do? I can't find a trustworthy renter, and my other mortgage is killing me."
Now, Arnie is in better shape than most. He's CURRENT on both mortgages. He owes approximately $300,000 on both. I told him that if he were in San Fransisco, he would be sitting pretty -- they WISH they could have a cheap $300,000 mortgage over there! He and his wife both have stable jobs. They earn enough money to hold on to both properties. It would be tough, but doable.
That dose of Perspective (tm) was not enough. Arnie still questioned the wisdom of paying close to $3,000 a month on two properties -- $36,000 in a year ... $360,000 in TEN YEARS -- when he could rent the same home nearby for only $800 a month. He reasoned that he could put the money he'd be saving on the mortgages into savings, and buy a home with CASH in three to five years. Meanwhile, there's absolutely ZERO guarantee his homes will be worth the money he puts in one decade from now.
I tried more Perspective (tm). I explained that his credit is valuable, and should not be tossed away so easily. I explained that just b/c other home buyers are jumping off the proverbial Brooklyn Bridge, it doesn't mean he should join them. I stated that the market remains unpredictable -- the experts didn't see the crash in prices. Why would they see a recovery?
I finally stated the following:
Have you contacted the bank? You're current with your mortgages. I'm sure they will help you. The banks can't POSSIBLY be as arrogant as they have been recently. In the past, they would've held firm and forced you to pay or walk away, but now? Come on! They would be STUPID not to negotiate with you!
Go to their website. I'm sure they have programs available for honest customers like yourself. Surely they're willing to work with someone who is CURRENT on their mortgage.
Right.
I looked up his bank's website. The best they could do was convert his current mortgage to one with a longer term, and possibly lower interest rates. Thanks, and have a nice day.
Offering a lower monthly payment is not what guys like Arnie, who feel like they're being SCREWED every time they pay their mortgage ... who feel like "The Man" is benefiting from his timely payments, and is deaf to his pleas for help ... offering a lower monthly payment to a person with A+ credit is a slap in the face.
***
But that's not all, folks ... enter: The SHORT SALE.
Ah, yes, the short sale. The balm that cures an indebted buyer's ills.
Well, guess what? Realtors (ahaha) don't want to do Short Sales. Why, you ask?
Their official pitch is that:
It takes 4-6 weeks for the bank to sort through all the bids.
If there are a lot of bids on a home, the bank will assume there's demand and jack up the price.
The seller sets the price low to draw in potential buyers ... yet the price is not officially approved by the bank.
The DailySkew translation of the Realtor's (tm) pitch is as follows:
I needs to get paid. I got my own mortgage to pay, biootch.
I can get a sweet foreclosure with less hassle for you.
The bank don't give a damn about the seller, and neither do I!
So, the "Bottom line" is that the banks and Realtors (tms) have "Two wooorrrds for ya!"
One final thought: it occurs to me that the banks are waiting for Washington D.C. to come up with a solution. They're waiting for our Congressmen and women to FORCE them to lower the principal owed by people like Arnold, and ENCOURAGE honest buyers to stick with the current system.
So, not only are the bank executives STUPID, but they're GUTLESS.
They're AFRAID to take a course of action that will LOSE MONEY IN THE SHORT RUN IN ORDER TO SAVE THE MORTGAGE SYSTEM AS WE KNOW IT! WHAT A BUNCH OF GUTLESS, SHORT-SIGHTED FOOLS!
Look, our economic system is based on FAITH. The greenback requires FAITH from the masses. It requires BELIEF in order to have VALUE. HELLO.
By holding firm ... by continuing to be ARROGANT, the banks are eroding faith and belief amongst the people.
And, we, the people, are going to eat, eat, eat what they sow ... and weep.
No wonder they're arrogant, gutless, and stupid. There's no motivation to be any other way.
Maybe the anti-matter cloud that is hitting our banking system is a good thing, after all.
Well, along those lines, I'd like to share with our six readers that I am HAPPY that the Matrix Trilogy has NOT stood the test of the time. I don't have to run across constant message boards or blogs that rip Matrix: Revolutions, how the last two movies should have explored the Buddhist feel of the first movie, when the prequels will be released (let alone sequels!), are the comic books in continuity, or whatever.
It's not that I disagree with the notion that the last two movies had some missed opportunities, in terms of inspiring movie goers towards being more Buddhist with their perspective and mindfulness ... it's just that I really enjoyed the last two movies for what they were -- great action flicks with comic book sensibility.
The car chase scene in the second movie is absolutely amazing, for example. From the music to the motorcycles to the Tomaz/Zamot clones chasing our heroes, and drivers turning into agents ... when Link yells "Yes!" at the end of it, I relate to his relief!
And for all the people that didn't enjoy the third movie -- I guess seeing Agent Smith take over the Oracle and enter the human world to kill Neo wasn't interesting enough? "That's fine."
You know what that means for me? I'll have plenty of years where I can occasionally plop that movie on my screen and see something I never noticed before ... there aren't legions of obsessive/compulsive fans that I'm aware of, like Agent Smith clones, out there to ruin the movie experience the way they've ruined Star Wars for Damian.
So, thank God for small blessings.
***
In related news -- The Lord of the Rings trilogy is better than all six Star Wars movies. I'd like to agree with Damian's comments on that -- the fact that those movies had a solid literary foundation and were filmed by people who loved the story and characters really shows. It's a brilliant, deep, meaningful tale. The Force is a snot rag compared to the magic in Lord of the Rings.
Clewiston, Florida -- From a sugar plantation, Tony Vahl -- co-founder of the DailySkew series of websites -- made a shocking announcement.
"Yes, I currently use performance enhancers," he stated at a press conference today during lunch break at U.S. Sugar.
"I am outraged," stated Arturo Sundvold, a former contributor to the DailySkew. "I trusted him. I looked up to him. He was an icon of nobility. Now? He's nothing in my book.
"He's just as bad as Canseco."
"I've been saying for years, he's the weak sister of the Vahl-Hospital team," stated Angel Jimenez, frequent contributor and occasional critic of the website. "He's Garfunkel to Simon. He's Richards to Jagger. He's a hanger on, and now we find out he needs enhancers to keep up with the mighty Hospital? What a loser.
"I vow to keep the pressure up until he quits or Damian comes to his senses and dumps him."
"I conducted experiments on myself -- one month on, then one month off. First with the Super-B Multi Vitamins and then the Ginkgo. I noted the results, and proved to myself that the doses of B vitamins and Ginkgo I was taking helped boost my mental stamina and physical energy.
"While I know that taking vitamins and herbs is a controversial subject, I just wanted to let everyone know what I'm doing. Also, if there is anyone else who is suffering as I was, I just want them to know -- you are not alone, and there is a reasonable, cost-effective solution out there."
Vahl also announced that he has undertaken an exercise regiment, in conjunction with the vitamins, herbs, and smaller portions of his vegetarian diet.
"These vitamins are not a magic pill!" stated Vahl. "you have to do everything -- cardio, balanced diet. You have to do it all. And, of course, you should consult your doctor before doing anything, as I have."
Not everyone in the MEDIA was buying Vahl's pious approach.
"This is a blow to the credibility of the DailySkew website," stated Dan Patrick of LMESPN fame. "It's the scarlet letter of our day. Good luck getting published with that on your record."
Vahl, while being peppered with tough questions, was unapologetic. "Look -- I need this to perform well at my job. That's the bottom line. And the exercise makes me healthy. I need this balanced approach! I'm always striving to improve myself, and I feel I'm doing it in a legal, healthy way."
The following is a narrative poem, like the classics epics of the past:
Are you kidding me? I'm out of space C drive filled Can't upload photos for wife Can't listen to MLB Websites won't load Microsoft error messages
Welcome to 21st century hell
Is it Silverlight? Automatically blaming Gates Read about a weakness on MLB.com Have I been sabatoged by a nameless faceless hacker?
Is my computer infected?
I find some way to free up 50 megs to finish helping my wife and moments later... ... it's gone! Good-bye! I watched 50 megs DISappe.... As I hit F5 on Explorer
Damn
I must be infected. I scan. I AVG. I Spybot. I Ad-Aware. Nothing. I delete more crud Space restored to 60 megabytes, Captain
Running on Impulse power
I turn it off Shut DOWN After staying up an hour more than I planned
The next evening after work I reboot, hoping praying Nah. 60 megs still
I do a search *.* Date Modified? The past week I pull up the results And what do I see?
4.65GB
Five files like rpm.cb1 taking up a total of 4 . 6 5 G B
Here, I've been cursing Microsoft Cursing Thorbjorn for telling me 10GB would be enough for my partitioned C drive
Cursing my Charlie Brown Misfortune
And it was Google E tu, Brute?
I LOVE Google I love Google Desktop It's made my life easier but at what cost?
4.65 GB?
Too much Too much Es Mucho
I have to uninstall walk away give it up
I had just uninstalled Photoshop I've uninstalled SO MANY THINGS OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS
E tu, Google.
Ceasar's hitting the delete button on that knife to the back
He's going to Control Panel He's taking back What's his
4.65
Uninstall The prompt DIRE WARNING Am I sure? Google won't be able to protect me from malware from phishing from evil
F*** YOU, BRUTE
GIVE ME BACK MY 4.65 GB YOU DAMN DIRTY DESKTOP!
4.65 GB I am relieved
A triumph
I won't have to buy a new computer reinstall Windows Install Linux buy a new hard drive
A triumph
Now Where's that Photoshop disk?
Suddenly I feel like that guy planting the flag While Heston laughs
Finally, I'd like to reprint a satirical-yet-serious piece from a few years back. We here at the Skew officially endorse this message:
Earth-Never: President Heston Speaks on September 12, 2001
The following is an official Earth-Never transcript of a speech delivered by President Charlton Heston the day after the 9-11 tragedies:
The bombing has began. In response to the COWARDLY acts that occurred yesterday in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania, we are destroying all-known terrorists in the Middle East.
We know who the terrorists are. The hijackers were members of Al-Quaida. Al-Quaida's leader Osama bin Laden is currently located in Afghanistan. His organization trains there. Now, his organization is being wiped from the face of the earth.
As with any war, innocent victims will die. Many innocents died yesterday, while trying to go to work. Today, many more will die. Any person living within 100 miles of a known terrorist is likely to be dead after tonight. Please pray for these souls -- that God will help them understand and give them peace.
We are the world's superpower. We do not tolerate these GUTLESS attacks. And we are responding in kind.
As the world's superpower, we have a responsibility -- to stand for freedom and democracy, and to crush tyranny when it exists.
Yesterday, we were attacked by a new kind of tyranny. As a superpower, we have the ability to counter-attack and wipe this new kind of tyranny off the face of the earth. And we are.
It is unfortunate that the Middle East governments were unwilling to fight the terrorists head-on. Their lack of diligence has lead to this day, and makes them equally accountable for the thousands of deaths on American soil.
After the bombing, the Middle East will be largely inhabitable for years to come. This will obviously have an affect on our economy, as well as the world's economy. We believe that this is a NECESSARY hardship that we MUST endure in order to insure that terrorism will CEASE to exist.
One nation has been spared: Israel. Israel has been the only partner in that area to stand by us 100%. We have assurances from Prime Minister Sharon that the Palestinian terrorist problem will also be taken care of over the next 24 hours. We trust Israel, and we applaud their actions.
We understand that the actions being taken today will be upsetting to certain members of the Islamic community here in America. In order to assure that no retaliatory attacks take place within our borders, all mosques will be asked to close until the terrorist problem is solved, and all Muslims will be asked to voluntarily hand themselves over to local military or police officials. We need to get to the bottom of this, and root out terrorism in all forms from our country. If your Muslim, I say to you now: your cooperation will be greatly appreciated.
Finally, my fellow Americans, we must look to the future. The men and women who died yesterday will not die in vain. We will insure that terrorism will cease to exist in our country, and in the world. By doing so, we offer a peaceful planet to our children, and their children.
If (Or what the Bear Stearns deal reveals about our nation)
If a middle-class person files for bankruptcy, his credit is wrecked ... no credit cards, living paycheck to paycheck.
If a small company runs out of work, they close their doors. They sell off their equipment at pennies on the dollar.
If a large institutional bank makes risky investments, and the market collapses, that company is sold at pennies on the dollar to the next biggest bank. The economic food chain continues.
The geniuses on Wall Street have played the system like a fiddle. Their MBA served them well. The ethics training they received at school was nodded and winked at.
The business schools will take the lessons learned and indoctrinate future MBAs with the political wisdom imparted by Henry Paulson and J.P. Morgan ... they will learn that the former head of Goldman Sachs can drive the Treasury to give taxpayer dollars to risk-taking banks in exchange for worthless paper ... they will learn that the link between government and Wall Street will protect them when they make mistakes ... "So, go ahead," the professor will say. "Take a risk. You won't pay if you fail."
Such a corrupt system, where ethics is replaced by a mix of laziness and fortune at all costs, leaves our nation open to outside influence.
Walk the Line: Angel Jimenez Review and Spoiler-filled Commentary
And now, Angel Jimenez, with yet another offensive-yet-thought-provoking satirical rendition:
Perched here, high atop the world below ... with my know-it-all thoughts to guide me ... self-aware ... willing to boast in my human frailties ... the perfect modern amalgam honest hypocrite ... once again, DailySkew readers, allow me to pass judgment on a movie and the characters within.
Walk the Line brought a tear to my eye at the end. I found the personal trials that Johnny overcame, and his relationship with June Carter, to be inspiring and humbling. It was an incredible life he lived. Really.
But, then my bulls*** meter started chirping....
The first reading I got on the meter had to do with the length of the movie -- this is a problem with any autobiographical movie ... decades of ups and downs are summed up in two hours, and due to this limitation in modern filmmaking, we, the viewer, get the sense that struggles in our lives can be overcome instantly.
This is a falsehood, and a disservice to the memory of Johnny Cash.
Not that his estate cares. I don't blame them ... they need to "Eat, eat, eat, for lunch, breakfast, and dinner." We all have to make a buck, and have to sacrifice some integrity in that pursuit.
No exceptions.
Then, with the carnal knowledge of what REALLY goes on behind closed doors, thanks to myspace and CL, I started considering some of the scenes that were left out of the movie (and Johnny Cash's book that the movie was based on).
Like the scene where Johnny serviced the in-the-closet record label owner to get Fulsom County Blues recorded. Or how bad a husband the pill-poppin' Cash was to Vivian. Or how June Carter was a more-than-willing accomplice to Cash's lifestyle.
So much for romance and happily ever afters. One could hypothesize that he replaced one addiction (pills) for another (June). After she passed away, he died of withdrawal.
But that really is simplistic, isn't it? Who knows? Maybe he started popping pills again after her death.
Hell, maybe they were both poppin' pills, all along. Maybe Trent Reznor was hookin' him up. I'm just sayin'.
Who knows what to believe these days? In my opinion, believe the worst, and you're probably 50% closer to the truth!
And don't tell me he suddenly, instantly gets along with his father after years and years. His father blamed Johnny for the death of Jack ... and we are led to believe that this wedge existed betweeen them for decades ... and then, by the end, the father is wearing some tropical shirt, talking on a tin can phone with his grandkids, while Johnny slaps him on the back and encourages him to tell the story about the flood? Happily ever after?
Bulls***. Not buyin' the Man in Black fairytale.
And finally -- why do we waste our time worshiping Johnny Cash, anyway? Cause he was a Christian? Cause he overcame a drug addiction?
Give me a break -- most of us don't have the opportunity to live the lifestyle he lived. We don't fall into those traps BECAAAUUUSE we're not DANCING ON THE DAMN TRAP DOOR!
For example -- early on, he's singing at a concert, and there's a groupie in the front, showing off her boobs with an overly tight sweater. When the set is over, the stage manager lets her in to see Johnny ... and you know the rest (CL, MySpace, etc).
Johnny Cash pursued a career that is fraught with pitfalls and traps for a man seeking to "Walk the Line." He DELIBERATELY chose a career, AFTER GETTING MARRIED, that would mean playing for hot-blooded teenagers, night, after night, after night!
Give me a break! His suffering was SELF-INFLICTED. Nobody made him choose that path. Nobody made him take those pills to begin with. Nobody!
I will say this: the scene where he smashes his guitar to pieces and tears the sink from the wall was one of the most realistic depictions of a violent outburst born of frustration that I have ever witnessed. I got chills.
Anyway -- great movie. I highly recommend it. Just take it with a grain of salt, okay?
We here at the DailySkew disagree with Angel Jimenez's verbal attacks on Johnny Cash and his family, and have the utmost respect for the work of the Man in Black. We, too, shed some tears while watching Walk the Line. I know that's not a guy thing to do....
Anyway, we here at the DailySkew do support the right to free speech, and we encourage comments and submitted articles.
A year ago, I wrote a follow-up that explained the need for Acceptance (tm) ... in other words, we needed to accept the coming fall in housing, and plan accordingly.
Again, I wrote that in March of 2007.
That was plenty of time for the geniuses at Bears Stearns to divest themselves of some of their sub-prime mortgage investments at a loss ... a small loss, compared to the full-blown Ebola virus eating away at their company's existence!
But, hey, what do I know? I'm just a writer on the web. I'm nobody, as far as the GENIUSES are concerned.
For some reason, I actually believed the folks on Wall Street would take the proper action....
A couple of days ago, I read this article thanks to Drudge, where 82-year-old famed economist Anna Schwartz basically said what I said a year ago.
God bless her ... but if she's the smartest economist whom people respect ... then we are clearly doomed. It is clear that the younger "Wise" men and women on Wall Street, who should be rising to to fill Anna's, and Milton Friedman's, shoes aren't worth the paper their MBAs are printed on, or their salaries.
My friend Damian asked me, "Now what do we do? What's the solution?"
The solution that I prescribed a year ago remains the same ... unfortunately, the treatment will be more painful.
As I've explained in the past, the actions of the Fed to lower rates to 1% Post 9-11 merely moved our economic troubles from that time into the future ... AND, it increased the nature of the problem.
So, what does the Fed do now, knowing what's happening? They lower rates to below 3%!
Whatever happened to historic lows? Don't they understand that 4% is a perfectly reasonable interest rate?
Do they really think that putting the rate below 3% will bring confidence back into the economy? Sorry, Mr. Bernanke, but that was a one-trick pony, and Mr. Greenspan already rode it.
I was okay with lowering the rate to 4% ... but Bernanke needs to stop listening to the braying on Wall Street. It's time to stand firm, and let the dominoes fall where they may. Instead, Mr. Bernanke seems determined to add more dominoes to the cascading stack, toppling over more citizens and financial institutions in its wake.
The longer the Federal Reserve, along with Treasury Secretary Paulson and the politicians on Capital Hill, continue to delay the inevitable, the harder the economy will crash when they finally run out of tricks.
I pray the Fed stops lowering rates. I pray that certain financial institutions are allowed to die in peace -- Bears Stearns is starting to look like Weekend at Bernie's, for goodness sakes!
The economy will survive. The dollar will recover ... eventually. We'll get through it.
We must take our economic castor oil. The credit binge, individually and collectively, must stop. And it will stop, whether we like it, or not.
What is it with people turning their cars into rolling tombstones, with epitaphs scrawled or pasted on their car windows?
I'm sorry for your loss, but I DON'T KNOW THE PERSON! What do you want me to do, send a prayer to God, asking to let your friend through the Pearly Gates?
I don't get it. I thought a cemetery was a place where a family could go quietly to mourn and remember a loved one who passed away. I thought an urn filled with ashes sitting above the hearth was a way to keep a loved one close in your thoughts. I thought sprinkling ashes on the ocean, or in space, or WHERE EVER you're legally allowed to do so, was a way to commemorate that life with quiet dignity.
Whatever happened to quiet dignity? To reverence?
Putting an epitaph on your car DISRESPECTS THE PERSON WHO DIED. It's a MOCKERY.
People driving by, seeing that sign ... they could be cursing your friend ... or they might feel uncomfortable knowing someone died so young.
What if someone didn't like the deceased? They might video tape your epitaph as it rolls by, and mock you on Youtube.
Oh, wait -- I forgot. We live in an era where we all have to give a SHOUT OUT! We all have to PUBLICIZE OURSELVES. WE DON'T EXIST IF WE'RE NOT ON TV. We don't matter if we don't put our names out there.
Whatever happened to discretion ... to shame?
I guess discrete or shameful matters are posted on people's windows ... on your car and the Internet.
Let's look at this from the perspective of LME (Lazy Man's Ethics). LME morality says, "Prostitution is okay ... as long as you don't get caught!"
Clearly, Elliot Spitzer was an LME practitioner.
Does prostitution affect the family?
Again, LME morality says, "Prostitution is okay ... as long as you don't get caught!"
What about other forms of sexual immorality?
You mean like porn, strip clubs, and craigslist encounters? Here comes Pete and Repeat: LME morality says, "Prostitution is okay ... as long as you don't get caught!"
REAL morality says, "Families are destroyed by a spouse's infidelity. Children are given the wrong message and a poor example when a parent commits sexual sin."
I know ... I'm going against what I learned in public school by allowing the word "Sin" to appear in this blog in a moral context. I'll be sure to confess my allegiance to the party and denounce Goldstein real soon.
***
Let me go into a related tangent -- there's no need to reinvent the wheel here. Family structures do not need to change in order to allow sexual immorality into the home.
The family structure needs integrity, and parents of integrity.
In case some of you have forgotten, here is the definition of integrity, from freedictionary.com:
in·teg·ri·ty 1. Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code.
2. The state of being unimpaired; soundness.
3. The quality or condition of being whole or undivided; completeness.
[Middle English integrite, from Old French, from Latin integrits, soundness, from integer, whole, complete;]
***
I guess politicians like Spitzer forgot that word after graduating Law School.
Can you smell what Barack is cooking?
Can you smell what Barack is cooking?
s, soundness, from integer, whole, complete;]