November 17, 2008

So, HousingPANIC has been dead for a couple of weeks. Soot & Ashes, albeit a work in progress, has started up. What's on your mind?


I still am happy that I shut HP down. No doubt it was too soon, but like an NFL quarterback knowing when to walk away, I think you should go out before it feels 'right'. And shutting HP down on its 3rd year anniversary, the day after the as-predicted Obama win, seemed very apropos.

So, two weeks into Soot & Ashes, what do you all think? From HP'ers to Sashers, many of you made the switch no problema.

I do want this blog to be a blog about positive change. About issues way beyond housing. And about reinventing America.

We can all do our part, even if it's just something tiny like this. I believe in a collective consciousness, and I felt it change when it came to the Housing Ponzi Scheme, no doubt in part to blogs like HP. So I hope to see the collective consciousness change when it comes to a whole host of issues that affect America and the world. And if S&A can have a tiny, tiny, tiny impact on that thinking, then my efforts here will be worth it.

So, what do you think?

69 comments:

Anonymous said...

The name's not important. If it's HP or this, no big stress.

I've learned a lot about what people thing from these blogs, had some good laughs, and found out about breaking out of the box stories before the were mainstream. I've also gotten a lot of good links to the even more intense blogs out there by reading this and HP.

Anonymous said...

It feels like a sequel to HP. Some fans are longing for the good ol days of Capt. Casey Serin and Connie DeGoot and the snapper turtle guy

But the sequel has just started, it's like the first three minutes of a three hour movie. We're at the stage where we have just been presented the main "hero" of the film if you will and we are wondering where he's headed.

He's hooded and climing up a mountain in Nepal right now, trying to find the deed to a million mortgages which, if he can bring them to the bald headed master in the monestary on the top of the mountain, the master will reward him with magic powers that allow him to use his own strength to tolerate the smell of living in a bat infested cave.

That would about sum up the "hero" at this point and the "hero" is the American tax payer.

He/She has to learn to live in a bat cave with the stench, the excrement, the squirming worms and darkness.

Anonymous said...

I miss the old Keith. I'm pretty sure somebody has done the old switcheroo on the old Kweeferoni.

Or maybe Keith was a card carrying Commie all along...

Anonymous said...

Give it time Keith......we have only just started......your new blog will be as useful as HP was to all of us.

ApleAnee said...

I love this blog. I looked around several years ago and realized there was a big problem brewing. There were people here that knew what was wrong and I started to look around and I saw it too.

The truth is what it is. It is not happy or sad, it is just the truth. Nick is correct from his point of view. He is the average Joe6 who has taken advantage of everything and contributed nothing. This used to be called the Welfare Mentality. Now it is just mainstream America. Instead of the check from the gubment you get the VISA from Citi. Free money. No effort. Debtor Welfare. This pisses off those who want fairness, but it doesn't change the fact that what Nick says is true.

I wish things were positive. They aren't. Pretending like there is a magic bullet that is going to fix everything if we just throw money at it is fantasy. They have already done that and it hasn't worked.

It is the attitude that has to change. Then the other things will fall into place. (Like making our own shoes and toothpicks). If we choose to keep pretending that there is an easy fix, then we will all go down into abject poverty together. I guess it depends on how delusional we are.

Fessing up to what we have done to ourselves is the only thing that will stop this, and then we need to go after the bankers that we have allowed to steal from us our savings and retirements and get our money back. (and screw GM)

blogger said...

yeah, the guy calling for the bankruptcy of GM, Ford and Chrysler and the destruction of their corrupt unions is a commie.

yeah, they guy calling for the forced deportation of all illegal immigrants is a commie.

yeah, the guy calling for the elimination of the income tax is a commie.

yeah, the guy calling for a 100% withdrawal of all US troops and foreign bases is a commie.

Good point. Yup. You got me pegged.

Anonymous said...

Your comment count is down considerably compare to HP. Seems like you pissed of many users by bailing out during the great unwinding! You did it Much to soon dude, you had waited to march of next year! Housing hasn't even bottom, and housing will cause a Great Depression.

Not sure why you killed the site, you should bring it back
as an experiment to see what you hit count is and comment count!

Anonymous said...

Am adjusting a little slow, still having trouble sleeping, but my eating habits seem to have normalized, I think I’ll be ready to walk outside with sunglasses probably next week.

Visualizing myself as a lively young Sasher running in an open field really helps

blogger said...

Quality, not quantity

If I was interested in being a traffic whore, I'd be Greg Swann.

HP when it ended was the #1 real estate blog in the US. I think it's cool to pull the plug with that slot. Realtwhores blog for their own personal gains. Bubble bloggers blog for their fellow man.

And I like being little, and underground. When everyone went housing panic, I started thinking it's time to go a new direction.

And yes, I'm getting more and more bullish every day. Eventually this will turn. Be prepared.

Anonymous said...

Great choice and perfect timing shutting down HP! The issues there are repetitive and the arguments were dragging on. The predictions all true are here.

The negativity and pessimism from HP needed to be turned around and the new blog is perfect to do so. I would much rather read ideas on where the World can head to bring the economy back.

Anonymous said...

Now is a great time to buy, rates are low.

Anonymous said...

Quality, not quantity

If I was interested in being a traffic whore, I'd be Greg Swann.

HP when it ended was the #1 real estate blog in the US. I think it's cool to pull the plug with that slot. Realtwhores blog for their own personal gains. Bubble bloggers blog for their fellow man.

And I like being little, and underground. When everyone went housing panic, I started thinking it's time to go a new direction.

And yes, I'm getting more and more bullish every day. Eventually this will turn. Be prepared.
----------
I hope it does turn, I am sure it will, but you did kill the HP site in the middle of the great unwinding. That's like watching the Super Ball and it is the fourth quarter and the power goes off, you will piss of many folks when you do something like that!

HP had a Sopranos ending!

Anonymous said...

I agree with you, Keith, that there is a collective consciousness and it is that consciousness that creates our reality.

We are shifting changing, there is not doubt about that.

We have an opportunity now to shift our consciousness into a higher vibration and create a more loving reality for all.

Paul E. Math said...

Nothing can replace the hour of splendor in the grass.

SA isn't the same as HP. But then again, I'm not the same either. I've grown. I really have. I can see that now.

HP was a lot angrier. And I feel like we were united by a common enemy, a common hatred of the housing bubble and its chief proponents. Now that the beast has been slain, some of us want to go kill the wizards that created this beast, some of us want to go fight in other lands and some of us want to go home to our farms and villages.

Anonymous said...

This is a great blog.

As we ease into the inevitable depression, more and more people will be reading and posting here. It's just starting.

As for trying to remain positive, that will be near impossible. We are out numbered by those who are going to milk the system to the end, or who are too ignorant to know when they are being taken. But what the hell, I'll give it a shot even if it means downing a shot or two or three.

But one last, long bitch before I go positive: Making life worse for me, I live in a state where 1 out of 6 workers are employed by the state or local govt. If these govt workers can get a spouse or relative to vote with them, then the non-govt worker is screwed in regard to any reform-- the non-govt worker is just outvoted. Add in those who are not working for the govt, but who are dependent on its programs for their living, then the non-govt worker is totally screwed about any reform whatsoever. Thus, govt workers here feel free to brazingly warn the govt about doing "anything stupid" such as pension reform or ending free lifetime medical care for govt workers. Hell, here some of our firefighters get 9-11 off as a paid annual holiday even though NYC firefighters don't. And so, all we can do is await the increased taxes, tolls, fees, surcharges, and assessments.

But enough with the bitching....

Anonymous said...

I appreciate your blog, one of the best on the internet. Why? Honesty.

blogger said...

Paul E. - I agree, HP was ANGRY. There was RAGE. And I think people now understand why that was. And that rage was fun. It was needed. And some days I miss it too.

But now we see, even after the rage, we got robbed. The world economy was destroyed. Corrupt and evil men did horrible, evil things. Lives were destroyed. And yet nobody has gone to jail.

I'm still pissed. But what's happened has happened, even though we tried to warn people. But to see some Senators and Congressmen and MSM stand up to the corruption like we've seen today makes me more hopeful. And also knowing that these corrupt crooks in the Bush administration are just weeks away from going away is hopeful. I also hope that they'll be prosecuted for their crimes, and that serious investigations will be launched.

We'll see.

But I think our efforts here will be best spent talking about ideas to solve the situation. To revive the victim. To create a better planet.

There aren't many of us here, probably just a couple thousand at best. But it's a spark. You know 100 people. And they know 100 people. And they know 100 people. And that's how 1000 people can have a great impact. Just like HP.

I do sense a turn. Ignorance has faded. Denial has ended. Panic too. We're in despondency and depression. We may stay here for months, or for years. We'll see.

But one day will come hope. And this community will again be ahead of the sheep when it comes.

Get ready.

Anonymous said...

Keith,

I'd like to see thoughtful discussion about how we're going to rebuild the US education system (based on investment in math & science teachers ) and how we are going reinvest in technology (a la Friedman, & Hot, Flat & Crowded)

FCJ

Anonymous said...

Great Stuff from the Onion.

http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/bush_tumbles_wildly_down

Basd on past performance, I thought it was true for a second...

Happy Days are here again.

1-20-09: The END of an ERROR...

David said...

I do sense a turn. Ignorance has faded. Denial has ended. Panic too. We're in despondency and depression. We may stay here for months, or for years. We'll see.

Oh, if only. I think we're in a bit of a breather on the panic downslope - back to denial for a lot of people. When the US Dollar crashes (the next bubble - hey, you should remember - you predicted it), then we'll be back into full-fledged Panic again.

I'd like to think that when the Bushies are finally in orange jumpsuits and/or toe-tagged, the consumer optimism mood will lift, and we'll start a useful cycle again. But this economic downturn is the result of 25 years of shitty decision-making. Gonna take more than just a couple of months for that to all unwind & settle down.

Bullish? You're a bit premature on that one. Probably be about 2011, at the earliest, before the economy hits rock bottom.

Anonymous said...

I'm trying very hard to like it very hard but it might be a lost date so what can I say you're doing the work not me so for now Happy Trails To You

Anonymous said...

I think you should call the site, Housing Panic Aftermath ...Soot and Ashes :Reinventing America After the Crash .

Anonymous said...

Love you. HATE the title of the blog. This sucker is going down and we are not in the post holocaust rebuild stage. I like that your doing more than housing. How bout changing it to something fun. We have Mish Economic Analysis how about Keith's Economic Panic?

Anonymous said...

What's the problem? You can still hit on all the housing news as it comes up here on S&A. You already have. HP was already getting bloated with other issues and needed to expand.
But I also loved the humor and anger of HP. The Mozillo arrest watch was a classic. Everytime I saw that I got a smirk on my face. It never got old. Even Nick and Dopes cracked me up! I hope you don't completely lose that edge and get gray and dull.
Having S&A is like having the band playing as the Titanic went down.

Dr. Huxtable said...

Good stuff here. Same blog topics, but different URL.

Probably a good change. No one wants to beat a dead horse, you got the HPanic call right from 05-08, and you went out on top.

The destruction is still in full swing in the economy but I trully do believe we are at or very near a bottom in housing. Really.

But let's keep uncovering the turth about the economy, government, corp execs and other monkeys.

If I took my finaincial advise and worldly view from CNBC or other MSM then I would not be in the healthy position I now find myself.

Anonymous said...

Keith,
Instead of "Soot & Ashes" I would have named this blog something like America Implodes.com
We are in the stage where the house is burning down.
The Soot & Ashes is a few years hence I believe.

Ross said...

I like the idea of Soot and Ashes, but it's hard to be too positive about solutions when most Americans are now just starting to understand the problems.

Housing Panic has now turned in to full blown Financial Panic, so the concept of HP may have been a little outdated. S&A is noble in its intent, but I still see a lot of venom and anger here and rightfully so. All of my friends and family are in denial mode and think I'm too cynical. I try to get them to open their eyes, but it's a tough task.

Guberville Smack said...

How will we build our environment in the future? That should be a serious consideration in "rebuilding America". We have destroyed our natural landscape and resources with mindless sprawl and ignorant housing design. Want to correct the housing bubble? Bulldoze the entire mess and dump it into the Grand Canyon. Look at the New Urbanism movements. We need infill projects designed for pedestrian lifestyles, charge for parking in Shopping Malls. Instead of cookie cutter houses mindlessly flung across the landscape, lets design energy efficient houses that take advantage of solar heat, shading and light. Each house must be individually designed to meet maximum efficiency. Tighten up energy codes even more. Although LEED construction is slowly catching on, correctable development is needlessly costing us up to 40% of our energy use. Accountability is called for here. Everything is designed around the automobile, that is another 40% of the problem.

Anonymous said...

If Andrew Hac is gone, the transition was not worth the price.

Anonymous said...

I think you did the right thing. The purely housing blog was getting a little too narrow. Our problems have gotten much larger and therefore needed a larger forum. This truly is a new country in a new world, hopefully rising from the ashes of the old one. This blog has a pure, optimistic tone that is needed as we forge ahead.

Anonymous said...

Love the new blog. I don't know what I would have done without my fix. It's a great venue to hash out both sides of the issues. Clearly no one in charge knows what to do either and it's a frightening thought.

Anonymous said...

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/well-great-depession-2-2011/story.aspx?guid={B28B49B5-EFD1-4941-B57E-A2BA1545BA09}&siteid=yahoomy

Sorry Keif, I don't know how to do a tiny URL.
What's your take on this.
Things very scary slow at little shop in Birmingham. Need a bailout, but will only get raucously taxed in the near future.
Am mad and scared.

Anonymous said...

I'm with you, K.

Good every few years to haul the old girl up into dry dock, and scrape off the barnacles.

"The truth is what it is. It is not happy or sad, it is just the truth." says Janez above. yep. And if you've been better than average at predicting what's going to happen, it's because you can see pretty clearly, without preconceptions, what things are like now. This is the Blog of Now.

And your viewpoint is still needed, since way too many people aren't seeing what's happening. Take the distribution of the bailout funds, for example.

Go, you Now-ster.

Anonymous said...

Hi again, from someone who can't even figure out how to do an ID.
What was I going to say even, I forgot. Feel like Butters on South Park. But, but, but..KEIF..ah, ah, ah just don't know, just don't know about this now. Hey, hey..I'm,I'm just really nervous.

Trillions that WE have to pay back?

Thinking more about youth in asia.


I really can't remember what I was going to say and it was so important.

Oh, I know, maybe Osama Bin Laden should bomb wallstreet on a saturday.
Terrible suffering and I mean no disrespect to the innocent people who died on 911, but isn't there some kind of cosmic justice that was playing out there?
What would Jesus think of Wallstreet?
God, I'm sounding crazy.
Just scared and getting weirder by the minute.

Anonymous said...

HP had and angry tone, watch SA have to cope with a sad America. Keith opened HP before it was known and closed it before it was done, but we can still have some comments and watch housing. Although Keith has posted that there will be a turn, alas, it can be long in coming. SA is opened before the general public thinks the house has burned down, I will be the Pessimist here, SA will have to run as long as HP did for Keith’s prophecy in naming his blog to unfold, the SA part. The Re-inventing America After the Crash (RAAC) part of the name will likely have to become the name of the blog before that process takes place.

They let the cost of a house become too many big macs. They must reduce the cost of the house as calculated by big macs. They cannot let the price of the house fall in dollars while the price of big macs in dollars remains the same because the payment system implodes, the division of labor collapses and there are riots in the streets. So the price of big macs must rise no matter what. If they must push money into the economy by printing it, “Quantitative Easing” that is what they will do. If they slightly deflate the housing components of the inflations index they can inflate the other components and not show high inflation stats. But if they must allow higher ‘inflation’ they will, inflation will make people work so they do not have much time to riot.

The international situation complicates the above simple closed domestic system. It will likely complicate it by making the inflation and the fall in the standard of living of the average person in the US greater. That is pessimistic for the US person, but the average standard of living for the non-US person may improve.

There will come a time when there is new green growth showing above the Soot and Ashes.

Currently PessimUS

Roccman said...

Keith - you should talk about the real issue...

The only issue that matters...

Overshoot of the human species...

But no...you are hooked - like most- on a business as usual mind-set in a world of rapidly declining resources and energy sources...you believe in the free energy fairy.

I promise you keith that one day you will get it.

You will have no choice but to get it.

Too bad it will all come as a surprise to you.

Dr. Huxtable said...

Dow closed around 8,200; not just an intraday low. BAC closed around $15. Is it a short term oportunity to buy and sell BAC at $18????

Anonymous said...

It is either going to be social pressure for the good, or Lord of the Flies.

Anonymous said...

Still wondering when someone, anyone, is going to quit spinning this financial crisis and give us the honest, or at least semi-honest truth. Because it seems to me that the country needs to make a fundamental shift.
I am amazed at how many people still want to get back to the "normal" of the last decade, amazed because first, duh, it wasn't normal, and second, because even though a lot of people made money, there were many who were (and are) struggling in the shadows. Maybe Obama will finally be the one to sit down and have the big boy talk with this country about its behavior?

Anonymous said...

Man, it's getting ugly.

Anonymous said...

No, Keith, you were right to go with your gut. Plus, you were right, period. It doesn't get much better than that!

Now all we need is a "Suzanne" for our entire imploding economy...something that perfectly encapsulates the burlesque version of how the world is now.

Now that Realtor(R) commercials have mostly gone away, I'll be looking out for the new icon.

Anonymous said...

All of my baby boomer friends have been taught not to sell when the market goes down. So they are trying to hold on, hoping that it will come back up. I wonder what the players that be, will do with that. They are obviously trying to figure it out right now, trying to find a way to take advantage. Do you teach your kids to take advantage? Is that the new American way?
I am sure the baby boomers will be screwed one way or another. They have "saved" a lot of money. (That is in quotes because it is all electronic and not real.)
(Just FYI, 50,000 baby boomers died in Viet Nam, inducted into a war not of their choosing.)
So what will be the upshot of all this? I just get the feeling that this "economy" has a long way to fall.

Anonymous said...

Democracy Now- Klein: Bailout is a Multi-trillion dollar CRIME SCENE!!-1/3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SyxyPpDqn8

Anonymous said...

Loved you HP, love you SASH, still loving you Keith.

You have saved/made me $100k's

When I told my family 18 months ago that it was 1929 again they thought I was mad.

Now they listen!

Keith for Prez!

Anonymous said...

Keith,
You are a commie, a COMMON SENSER.

You see the facts that are out there for all of us to see. Most people choose to ignore because Dancing with the Stars is on or Dale Jr. is racing at Talledega this SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY!!!! Most of the old HPers chose reality over fantasy. We all knew something was wrong and that's how we found Housing Panic.

The housing bubble has burst. To switch metaphors the tidal wave has crashed on the shore. This unwinding is not over by a long stretch. The wave is just starting to head back out to sea and a lot of people are going to get pulled under. Soot and Ashes is an online community of people who refuse to go under and want to work to build a better future on the ashes of the American Empire.

Thanks. Keep up the good work.

Anonymous said...

I am getting the feeling that the comment thing is over with. Because really your comments don't mean anything. It is really just venting lately. So nothing happens. No change.
OOPs wait a minute - that change thing. YES you CAN. But you CAN do what? Let's have some ideas.
If there are no ideas, you will be glad to have no change, believe me.

Paige Turner said...

RE: Soot & Ashes, albeit a work in progress, has started up. What's on your mind?

It's as easy as 1, 2, 3:

1. The judicial and legislative branches of government have turned their authority over the executive branch. The executive branch has destroyed the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and has handed its authority over to an international banking syndicate that is run by thieves.

2. The elitist criminal bankers have completed their economic coup and now exercise complete control over the United States government and most other world governments.

3. The dollar and all other fiat currencies are being destroyed and a global depression is inevitable.

I spend most of my time worrying about these realities even though Barack Obama has promised to set things right with "Change We Can Believe In."

I find it impossible to trust anyone who would end a sentence with a preposition.

V.L.

Anonymous said...

America is standing at a crossroad,
and America has got to make the right decisions .The wrong decision are be made because of who is really in control .

People selling products to each other is the nature of existence .
We live in a spend economy and that creates jobs ,providing one can afford the item they are purchasing . Wages must be enough to afford products and Corporations must make enough money to make a profit .It's really very simple .

Why did our Leaders think the answer to the American problem was for Corporations to dump American workers and go global with slave labor wages? Why did our Leaders think that the development of a debt economy based on fake values was going to be sustaining for Americans . These Politicians are suppose to promote the general welfare of this Country ,but they committed treason instead .

Anonymous said...

Keith,

S&A is turning into a great blog, I often find myself thinking about some of the post during the day. And for that I commend your efforts and look forward to your next posts on a daily basis. HP was my favorite and I still tell people to check out the archives for a sense of what happened and what's happening. Keep up the good work man and thanks for everything. I also suggest that you make the posts e-mailable on an individual basis just like HP. I am still looking forward to the meetup that we talked about putting together in Vegas maybe that can still happen.

Keith, I used to think you were racist against African Americans when I first started reading HP a couple of years ago because of certain comments that were made but I continued to read anyway because I knew that there was a problem with housing and you were providing some good info and most importantly you were telling the truth about what was going on. I was a little suprised when you endorsed Obama but that let me know that you were really about the truth.

Keep it going man the world needs you!

RayNLA

Anonymous said...

Love the content of this blog.
Glad you moved away from housing to broader topics. There's always boring Ben's blog if people just want to hear about housing. Yawn.

Soot and ashes? - Yes, probably a bit optimistic given the spirally down stage we are in, but then again you strike me as someone who is always a few steps ahead of the game.

Anonymous said...

where is ANdrew Hac????
we NEED him!

Anonymous said...

at the end of this whole episode..
soot and ashes will all that'll be left...we're still in the burning stage

Anonymous said...

It won't be a place for positive discourse as long as bitter republicans and conservatives show up. They have no hope for the future and relish the economy getting worse to improve their chances of winning in 2012. And Obama hasn't even taken office yet! They oppose him blindly and immediately.

Go check out the conservative blogs and see what they're saying. it's truly pathetic. And they have no clue why they lost. They can't fathom that their guys screwed up so badly they were replaced.

Anonymous said...

The "Big 3" will unfortunately fail anyways - regardless of how much (continually devaluating) money is thrown at them.

Get a hefty bag of popcorn folks, the real show is about to begin ... and, here, we, go!

Mitchell said...

house.people.com.cn

Mitchell said...

And http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-11/14/content_7203478.htm

cabbiesouth said...

Keith, I think you got this one right. I Have A burn pile area out on my back lot, I manage it well during summer and fall with a burn here and there and the a big one in the winter. Come spring there is always grass there and you would never know that it was a burn site.

Mark said...

You were right to let HP go, and start S&A. However, it feels like you have merely changed the name and widened the focus a bit. HP documented beautifully the collapse and the reasons for it, criminals responsible, etc Beautifully and clearly--and thank you again for years of enjoyable reading.

Now, it seems to me, the real issue is not to wallow around in the soot and ashes, but to point the way (again) and document what will rise out of them. What's new and emerging from the ruins, where are competent humans (as opposed to the incompetent monkeys) doing amazing work to create the next paradigm.
It is being created. Something always rises from the ashes. Destruction of an old world is always the prelude to the birth of a new one.

I don't think that making the switch from 'knocking down the old' to 'building up the new' will be that easy for you, Keith, because you're so good at the former. But it will be a great journey for you, and you'll do a great job in the end.

Anonymous said...

I suppose I'm like other hardened realists that HP appealed to.
I don't think there's any cause for optimism.
You can only start pronouncing on what needs to be done when we see what doesn't get wiped out by the unavoidable crash.

ApleAnee said...

Happy snapper said...

Am adjusting a little slow, still having trouble sleeping, but my eating habits seem to have normalized, I think I’ll be ready to walk outside with sunglasses probably next week.

Visualizing myself as a lively young Sasher running in an open field really helps

Naked with a light spring breeze? ROFL

Anonymous said...

PANIC is perfect. This title is 99% of your traffic.

You should name the the new blog

SurvivalPANIC or as someone slse said EconomicPANCI

Anonymous said...

I will remember HP fondly as it saved me a fortune and gave me something to laugh about every day. I'm trying to get used to "Soot and Ashes" but as a title it feels a little awkward. I really like Reinventing America After the Crash though(RAACers?)

These issues are so complicated and interconnected that this the only way to take them on. Good luck.

Anonymous said...

I'm not sorry you shut down HP. I was worried that I'd have no place to turn. It's healthy to move on and to be forward thinking.

That said, I wonder whether America should be reinvented? I think that first it needs to be restored. We still have the blueprint in Washington, DC. They show it to tourists. It's encased in glass like some old mummy. We need to dust it off and read it every once and a while. Congressmen/women should have to take a Constitution exam before taking office to make sure they know what it says.

What's on my mind? I am very worried about the final victory in the battle between good and evil. I'm serious. It seems that when faced with decisions that clearly have a right or wrong answer, the wrong answer is the one selected. I'm talking about Iraq, bailouts, the Fed, the Treasury, sprawl, pollution, developers, HELOC, pervasive selfishness, lack of morals and lack of shame. The temple is a den of theves.

There are so many issues in my town: corruption, sprawl, annexation, building a cement plant on 300 acres of pristine wetlands, giving riverfront to developers for a Cenvention Center, underperforming schools, etc.

So, I was thinking...you should franchise Soot & Ashes. Every town should have a blog dedicated to the issues facing them. We need to identify issues and corruption locally. The people need a local forum so that change can begin at the grass roots level. No more local newspapers. "Did you read Soot & Ashes today?"
Than we can have a National Soot & Ashes Convention...but please, not in Vegas.

Anonymous said...

I don't get it. It's the same damn blog. You blame everything on realtors, call everyone monkeys, make crap up and present it as fact, then say everyone needs to adopt a positive frame of mind.

Why don't you just admit you have anger issues and your blog clearly carries that tone? Anger is addictive - it's time to kick your addiction.

blogger said...

Anger? ANGER? WHAT THE F*CK DO YOU MEAN ANGER YOU SLIMY BA*TARD!

Seriously though, if what happened to America over the past few years didn't tee you off, then you're part of the problem and not the solution. The problem was there wasn't enough OUTRAGE at what was going on. Too bad. It could have made the difference. The people should have risen up, and they didn't. They thought they were getting rich, rich, rich.

Now, however, my problem is keeping my optimism in check. I want to go out and buy every stock there is. But patience... patience.. patience...

I do think this is going to turn around (eventually). You'll see incredibly stimulative, overly stimulative policy on the behalf of the governments of the world. And yes, you may see that inflationary tsunami after the deflation ends.

Buckle up. AND AGAIN F*CK YOU REALTOR TROLL

He he he

Anonymous said...

"too much rope said...
Still wondering when someone, anyone, is going to quit spinning this financial crisis and give us the honest, or at least semi-honest truth."

Here let me help you stop 'wondering' and get you started THINKING. Stand Back:

1. Bushco-Cheneyburton have sold you and your descendants out with their incompetence and corruption.
1a. The rest of the government is no better and in many cases, worse.

2. America is bankrupt. Kaput. Finished.

3. America has no industry left. Soon not to have any automakers (US) standing. We don't even make plastic salad shooters very well. (we are hell with websites and financial instruments that are phony and toxic.

4.The world HATES Bush and America.

5. Your city has been raped by Fire and Police pension-retirements and is on the verge of insolvency (wherever you live).

6. American food production is just about in the same condition as GM. Have you ever been hungry?

7. The something-for-nothing yuppie generation (which I am ashamedly a member) still believes they are owed a better standard of living than thier parents as a birthright. Not.

8. Americans are still eating their way to early expensive health prblems with a double-cheeseburger and super size fries poison suicide diet. Obesity is rampant. Cheese doodles taste good NOW though...

9. Americans still driving enormous gas guzzlers and have no plans to change that. Happy Motoring is OVER.

10. Unemployment is out-of-control and getting worse by the second.

11. Crime is rampant and a fast growing industry.

12. Wall Steet getting their massive multi-million dollar bonuses this Christmas. Are you? YOU are paying for them. Like it?

I could go on but I have to go and game the system some more and frankly, if you have to 'wonder' you must be stupid or a 48%er.

Vote McCain-Palin in '08!

In so many other words, you and your family are Fucked and so is your future.

Enjoy the bargain underwear at Wal-Mart. Try the large size fried dough and make sure to dip it in some chocalate spread and cover with confectionary sugar. mmmm. Do'nt forget the leaded toys for the kids, oops I mean toys for the kids and UNleaded gas for your giant SUV to take you back out to the foreclosed $ 0% down McMansion in the burbs after shopping...

AMERICA IS DEAD. You're Welcome.

DIE U PIGS

Anonymous said...

Anon 01:43 said..

"They let the cost of a house become too many big macs. They must reduce the cost of the house as calculated by big macs......"

This dude is my HERO.

The new world monetary system......big macs. What a great store of value.

Deflation takes down all assets, real estate, gold, oil, pork bellies.......

But not big macs! Low volatility, steady as she goes, price is always constant.

Where do people go when the economy is bad? Are they putting money in gold or treasuries? NO they are buying big macs!

I'm converting my entire net worth into the two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun.........

Anonymous said...

pigs:
"America has no industry left. Soon not to have any automakers (US) standing."

America is the largest manufacturer in the world.

"American food production is just about in the same condition as GM. Have you ever been hungry?"

The USA is a net exporter of food. We make more than we eat.

"Unemployment is out-of-control and getting worse by the second."

It's under 7%.

When you actually go look up things, you find out things aren't as bad as people say. The thing is to stop listening to people. I find it surprising that someone your age still relies on others for information. You are letting others mold your thoughts and attitudes!

It's too bad - as a 52%'er, people like you are now in the majority.

Anonymous said...

From another discipline, but still apropos:

From "Three examples of great blogging"
Sunday, November 16, 2008 by Dave Winer
http://www.scripting.com/stories/2008/11/16/threeExamplesOfGreatBloggi.html

There's not enough great blogging, so when it happens, it's worth pointing out. Permalink to this paragraph
First what do I mean by great blogging? Permalink to this paragraph
1. People talking about things they know about, not just expressing opinions about things they are not experts in (nothing wrong with that, of course).

2. Asking hard questions that powerful people might not want to be asked.

3. Saying things that few people have the courage to say.

....

We owe these people more than the gratitude for having the courage to say what's obvious. So many others would rather look away from because powerful people don't want their secrets revealed and have ways of punishing people they don't like. Once one person sticks their neck out, it's easier for the second person to. To me, that's what blogging is about. Saying what needs to be said.

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