Has it occurred to you yet that things will never, EVER go back to "normal"? That life as you knew it in 2006 will never, ever be the same again?

It really does feel like September 12, 2001.

It feels like it probably felt on December 8, 1941.

Things aren't going back to normal folks.

There will never again be a 'normal'. Just an adjustment to the new way.

Have you realized this yet?

Have you figured out a way to deal with it, and survive?

Is this new normal a bad thing?

Suck $63 million out of a company as you run it into the ground... check. Take $20 million more on the way out... check... GM's Wagoner got paid.

But...

Oh, wait..

There's a but...

IF GM goes bankrupt, which it will, then ONLY $1 million of Wagoner's $20 million parachute is guaranteed. So he gets in line with the other screwed GM pension bagholders.

Gee, you think that's why he was fighting against bankruptcy so hard?

Gee, ya think?

Give it back Wagoner. You f*cked your company, you f*cked America. Give it back, because you'll lose it anyway. Or like RBS's Fred the Shred, they'll come for you too.

S&A would like to congratulate Greg Swann's Phoenix Arizona - the worst housing market in the nation, down ANOTHER 35% in today's Case-Shiller

How 'bout them 21 reasons! Year round golf! Oh, crap, you mean home prices have fallen 50%?

Moral of the story - NEVER, EVER listen to a realtor on commission.





Home Prices, by Metro Area

Metro Area	January 2009	Change from December	Year-over-year change
Atlanta	109.44	-3.20%	-14.30%
Boston	150.73	-1.50%	-7.30%
Charlotte	120.91	-1.20%	-8.20%
Chicago	130.8	-4.60%	-16.40%
Cleveland	102.89	-2.20%	-5.20%
Dallas	112.75	-2.40%	-4.90%
Denver	122.33	-2.70%	-5.10%
Detroit	77.56	-4.20%	-22.60%
Las Vegas	125.64	-4.40%	-32.50%
Los Angeles	166.54	-2.80%	-25.80%
Miami	159.04	-3.60%	-29.40%
Minneapolis	120.18	-4.70%	-20.40%
New York	181.28	-1.20%	-9.60%
Phoenix	117.11	-5.50%	-35.00%
Portland	153.8	-3.00%	-14.00%
San Diego	148.25	-2.60%	-24.90%
San Francisco	124.33	-4.40%	-32.40%
Seattle	154.37	-3.60%	-15.00%
Tampa	149.21	-4.40%	-23.30%
Washington	171.97	-2.00%	-19.30%

Whiplash Alert: "Global stocks set for best month in over 6 years"

What goes down must come up???

Or not?

World stocks looked set on Tuesday to achieve their best monthly performance in more than six years in March, while commodity prices also rose and the Japanese yen fell.

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp is likely going bust. Why? Because this monkey from Lehman Brothers got a hold of it, and made a bad bet on stocks

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation was set up by the government as a conservative insurer of company pension plans. They took in insurance premiums, held them safe, and then would pay out if the company went bankrupt and couldn't pay their pensions.

Cool. Good idea. No problem with that. That's what government should do.

[Oh, wait. What's that? No. You're kidding me. From Lehman? Via Rudy's office? You've got to be kidding me. No, seriously, you have to be f*cking with me. No? Oh, crap.]

So, this just in. What happens when a gambling monkey from Lehman Brothers gets a hold of the PBGC, and decides in Fall of 2007 to move half of their $64 billion in holdings from rock-solid government bonds into risky stocks AT THE VERY PEAK OF THE STOCK MARKET BUBBLE?

Disaster. Total economic disaster.

And the next big story that will be heading your way, as the pension plans of GM and Chrysler and so many other dying companies go bust, at the same time the PBGC, because of the stupid and likely illegal or corrupt decisions of its now-former-monkey, Charles E.F. Millard, with the blessing of the Bush Administration (yes, Hank Paulson) and a clueless and corrupt Congress (yes, Chris Dodd and Barney Frank) goes bust too.

And the taxpayer is left (again) to pick up the tab.

CAN WE GET A FREAKING INDEPENDENT SPECIAL PROSECUTOR OVER HERE OBAMA? HOW MUCH MORE DO YOU NEED?

Pension insurer shifted to stocks - Concern increases as losses mount; Failing plans could overwhelm agency

Just months before the start of last year's stock market collapse, the federal agency that insures the retirement funds of 44 million Americans departed from its conservative investment strategy and decided to put much of its $64 billion insurance fund into stocks.

Switching from a heavy reliance on bonds, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation decided to pour billions of dollars into speculative investments such as stocks in emerging foreign markets, real estate, and private equity funds.

"The truth is, this could be huge," said Zvi Bodie, a Boston University finance professor who in 2002 advised the agency to rely almost entirely on bonds. "This has the potential to be another several hundred billion dollars. If the auto companies go under, they have huge unfunded liabilities" in pension plans that would be passed on to the agency.

The UAW: An incompetent organization that negotiated its way out of existence, while the parasite killed the host

So much destruction in their wake.

When will some of you get it?

What will it take?

Here's Ron Gettelfinger, President of the UAW. The man who is about to cost hundreds of thousands more their jobs and their futures.

This whole meltdown is just one big tragedy, but one that for the most part could have been avoided.

And one of the most evil forces at work, this year and for the past fifty years, has been the United Auto Workers.

The UAW is a profoundly corrupt and incompetent organization. One that has cost America millions and millions of jobs. One that promotes incompetence and inefficiency over all else. One that sucked the life out of its host. An organization that exists solely to destroy industries and destroy jobs.

The UAW is evil. About as evil as the NAR or the NAMB.

And it must now die.

Now.

The UAW must die.

And then, and only then, can we move on.

Thanks for playing Ron. Good luck defending what you did. In hell. And when you get there, say hi to your buddy Chris Dodd, OK?

Meanwhile, good luck to former UAW members, after the collapse. I think Toyota and Honda will be hiring. And making good cars in America that people actually want.

If the activities of Chris Cox, Chris Dodd, Angelo Mozilo and Hank Paulson aren't fully investigated, will the mob go get them where they live?

Independent Special Prosecutor.

Or mob rule.

Independent Special Prosecutor.

Or violence against the guilty where they live (and unfortunately maybe even the not-so-guilty).

Your choice Obama.

Legal and orderly justice.

Or street justice.

We will have one or the other.

So which will it be?

I don't favor violence, or illegal activity, but I'm just calling it like I see it. And I see the next stage getting ugly, unless the guilty are investigated and brought to justice, now.

It hath been foretold.

"You mean people didn't want sh*tty cars with sh*tty design and sh*tty mileage? Who knew!"

How deep did Angelo Mozilo's fraud and corruption extend? He bought off the f*cking Postmaster. And still Obama does nothing. Did he get him too?

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD OBAMA HOW MUCH F*CKING TIME DO YOU NEED?

APPOINT AN INDEPENDENT SPECIAL PROSECUTOR AND ARREST ANGELO MOZILO. FROG MARCH THE ORANGE CROOK IN FRONT OF THE CAMERAS FOR THE WHOLE WORLD TO SEE. AND LAUNCH AN INVESTIGATION TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS MESS AND IMPRISON THE GUILTY.

Or are you corrupt too, Obama? Did Angelo get to you too? Via your good buddy Jim Johnson perhaps? Or maybe Tony Rezko?

It's your choice Obama. Riots or recovery. Street justice or courtroom justice.

Arrest Angelo Mozilo and give us a Special Prosecutor. Now. Today.

Your choice.

Postmaster General John E. Potter on Wednesday defended his receipt of $135,000 in bonuses while asking a House subcommittee for approval to refinance employee health care benefits to prevent having to cut mail services.

"Given today's environment, the whole situation with AIG bonuses ... these difficult financial times, can we justify, can the Postal Service justify, your compensation package?" asked Rep. Stephen F. Lynch, Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the House subcommittee on the federal work force, the postal service and the District of Columbia.

Last month, The Washington Times reported that Mr. Potter received $135,000 in bonuses as part of a $800,000 compensation package, much of it in deferred compensation.

Mr. Potter also promised Wednesday to participate in an investigation into his Countrywide Financial home loan. Former Countrywide Chief Executive Officer Angelo Mozilo instructed his company in 2003 to "take 1 point off" Mr. Potter's interest rate as part of the company's "Friends of Angelo" program that gave high-profile people discounted loans, according to a report issued by Republicans on the committee.

Mr. Potter said he was referred to Countrywide by former Fannie Mae CEO Jim Johnson but didn't realize he received a discounted loan.

HERE'S THE RAGE I WANT! "Wake up America - while you were playing with the toys of your consumer wealth, you lost your representative democracy!"

If one good thing comes out of the Iraq Debacle and Housing Scam, it will be RAGE.

RAGE demanding change. RAGE to tackle immigration, taxes, entitlements, global warming, education, health care and infrastructure.

RAGE to investigate and remove Dodd and Frank and Pelosi and Reid.

RAGE to see Mozilo and Fuld and Cox and Gonzales and Bush and Cheney imprisoned.

The time for RAGE is here. Because fat and lazy and could-care-less has led America to the brink of ruin.

And no, I don't expect anyone to do a f*cking thing. Idol is on, and McDonald's is still open.

Dylan Ratigan quits abruptly at CNBC

Ratigan was giving it to Hank Paulson, The Mastermind, and getting pretty close.

And now he's gone, in an instant. Hopefully he'll be back.

For any reporter reading this blog - follow the money. And start with Hank Paulson.

This one is bigger than Watergate. This will be the story of your careers. If you do your jobs.

The truth is BIG, if you can find it.

Damn, these grifters were good.


Outspoken CNBC Anchor Dylan Ratigan Quits

Dylan Ratigan, who hosted the nightly "Fast Money" roundtable and co-hosted the afternoon show "Closing Bell" with Maria Bartiromo on CNBC, has abruptly quit the business network.

CNBC gave no reason for the exit, and Melissa Lee is hosting "Fast Money," which is airing right now on CNBC. Lee will be Ratigan's replacement at least temporarily, the network said.

"Dylan has told us he is leaving effective today," CNBC spokesman Brian Steel said in an e-mail. "We thank him for all his quality work."

In September 2006, Nicholas Retsinas, Harvard's REIC poodle, said that "Cassandra can stop wailing" and "Chicken Little, the sky is not falling"

And now, we all know how that turned out.

You wonder if REIC shills like Nicholas Retsinas were corrupt, or if they were just stupid and incompetent.

With Retsinas, I think it's a bit of both.

His salary is paid by the REIC, through their bribes to the JCHS. And then you combine that with my sense that the dude is just simply stupid, had never read "Manias, Panics and Crashes" and didn't have the intellectual curiosity to dig into what was going on in the mortgage market and with his REIC masters.

So Nicholas Retsinas, we salute you. You screwed your nation. You embarrassed yourself and your institution. And you were horrifically, historically wrong, for the whole world to see.

Nicely done. Nicely done indeed.

September 24, 2006

"HOUSING BUST AHEAD." The headline hints of catastrophe: a dot-com repeat, a bubble bursting, an economic apocalypse.

Cassandra, though, can stop wailing: the expected price corrections mark a slowing in the rate of increase -- not a precipitous decline.

This will not spark a chain reaction that will devastate home owners, builders, and communities. Contradicting another gloomy seer, Chicken Little, the sky is not falling.

Cassandra can stop wailing, and Pollyanna can stop cheering. Home prices in some regions are moderating, but for a nation inured to CNN's headline-of-the-moment, this moderation does not rate high on the Richter scale of cataclysm.

Nicolas P. Retsinas is director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies, at Harvard University.

"Former realtors, mortgage brokers, other business professionals"

From screwing clients to, well, screwing clients.

Some things don't change. Just the job title.

Watch this video from Phoenix.

It hath been foretold.

In 2007, realtor on commission Greg Swann had 21 reasons to buy Phoenix real estate. Right before it crashed predictably and horrifically.

Here you go.

Like the Suzanne commercial, this one just gets better with age. And to think, Swanndive has never apologized to you brownshirts and flying monkeys, and has evidently never bawled balefully in private about how terribly, tragically wrong he was.

And remember folks, when you find yourself listening to the expert advice of an uneducated realtor on commission who doesn't understand Econ 101, you may as well take your wallet and burn it. I wonder if you can sue your realtor for false and misleading statements, or fraud? They should at least give the commissions back. If they had the money to do that.

In any case, here do I compile my list of 21 really good reasons to bank on the future of the Phoenix area real estate market:

1. The migration from the Snow Belt states to Metropolitan Phoenix has been unabated for 60 years.
2. A similar extended migration is now occurring from the Northwestern states and Western Canada.
3. The “installed base” of all those migrants brings a steady stream of extended family members.
4. Proposition 13 makes moving up difficult in California; many Golden State sellers buy in the Phoenix area.
5. Californians in pursuit of other objectives — e.g., a friendlier business climate — migrate to the Valley of the Sun.
6. Baby Boomers will retire in droves to warmer climes — the Atlantic coast, the Gulf states and the Southwest.
7. Among those locales, Phoenix is by far the least prone to natural disasters.
8. Because of this, people from disaster-afflicted regions have formed a new stream of in-migration.
9. There is a steady migration of new residents from Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries south of the border.
10. Phoenix is a destination of choice or the second-landing city for immigrants from all over the world.
11. While higher oil prices will put a strain on our far-flung suburbs, the greatest pain will be felt in Northern states where fuel oil or natural gas are used as heat sources; even people who don’t hate the winter will move to the Phoenix area to escape high heating bills.
12. The Phoenix Metropolitan area is a dynamic jobs creation machine, adding tens of thousand of new jobs every year.
13. People who have or hope to have children move here as soon as they can manage it.
14. Compared to the areas from which many of our in-migrants are drawn, our homes are still very affordable.
15. We build thousands more new homes every year.
16. The Greater Phoenix area has 60 years of sustained practice at managing extreme growth — this in contrast to thrashing cities like Las Vegas.
17. Snowbirds, politely known as Our Winter Visitors, eventually move here year-around.
18. Our first waves of massive migration occurred after WW II; mustered out soldiers who had been stationed here came back with their families; this pattern continues among people who are posted here temporarily for various reasons.
19. People who stay at our resorts often fall in love with the Valley of the Sun and return as soon as they are able.
20. A significant number of active and retired professional athletes maintain homes here, in no small part because the Phoenix/Scottsdale area has…
21. Year-around golf.

Barack Obama, a pot smoker himself, talks about legalizing pot

Silly humans.

Silly humans who once were so silly they tried to criminalize alcohol.

Silly humans who currently criminalize smoking a plant. And put hundreds of thousands in prison and cause their neighboring country to fail, all so they can stop people from smoking a plant. Because if people smoke that plant they'll giggle and eat too much Taco Bell.

Silly humans.

If it's gonna go down, it's gonna go down starting today, in London. Ready for the G-20 Meltdown?

I think Dancing with the Stars is on, so probably gonna be much of nothing.

But... after the magnitude of what they have done, maybe it will be more like this:

Ron Paul, Mr. Irrelevant, blabs on and on to Geithner in an empty room. WHERE IS SOME F*CKING OUTRAGE RON PAUL? WHEN WILL YOU LEAD?

Lead or step aside.

Ron Paul has good ideas.

But he is a horribly ineffective and passionless leader. He whines, when he should scream. He pontificates, when he should question. He lectures, when he should demand answers. He rambles, when he should sting. He sits, when he should stand and throw things and SHOUT FROM THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS THAT WE'RE FED UP AND WE AREN'T GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE.

IT'S TIME FOR RAISED VOICES. IT'S TIME FOR A SHARP TONGUE. IT'S TIME TO NOT SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER, BUT TO SCREAM AT POWER.

ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO NAMING AN INDEPENDENT SPECIAL PROSECUTOR. NOW.

Who in DC will lead? Because it sure as hell ain't gonna be Ron Paul.

Anyone?

Anyone?

AIG is now pretty much AIDS, wouldn't you say?

Here's an AIG commercial with a five year old worrying about safety and insurance.

Too bad AIG didn't have auditors or regulators with the intelligence or moral clarity of a five year old to save the world from the biggest ponzi scheme in the history of man.

Goodbye AIG.

Your brand is now AIDS.

And your toxic employees are unhireable.

Tell me about chicken wings. Tell me about America.

I miss chicken wings.

True story.

NOBODY does chicken wings like America. And sports bars. And ESPN.

And yet for some reason, you all keep Buffalo Wings all to yourselves. As if people over here wouldn't like to die to enjoy a plate of hot and spicy wings? Maybe wash it down with a crisp and cool light beer?

America f*cked the world, they're no denying that now. Our bankers and politicians did some very, very, very bad things. And now the entire world is paying the price.

But damn, America has great chicken wings. We have Angelo Mozilo, but damn, we have good wings.

Tell me about America.

What do we still do best?

Home prices in the UK are crashing, falling for 18 straight months and off 30% plus. Yet idiots over here are still calling it the "property ladder"

Enough with that f*cking term.

"Housing Ponzi Scheme"

"Housing Scam"

"Realtor Pump and Dump"

Should I go on?

Property Ladder. Gotta get on the Property Ladder.

Man, that term, from the first time I heard it, makes me furious. A term promoted by housing porn TV, the estate agent cabal, and the monkey at the top, Gordon Brown.

Here's a message for would-be UK homebuyers, feeling pressured by the MSM and their peers to 'get on the housing ladder", or they'll "be priced out forever" with this "can't lose investment"

ARE YOU F*CKING INSANE?

DON'T EVEN THINK OF BUYING ONE OF THESE OVERPRICED DEBT-TRAPS. YOU'LL LOSE SIGNIFICANT MONEY EVERY MONTH IF YOU EVER TRIED TO RENT IT OUT. YOU'LL BE TRAPPED TO THAT LOCATION, WHEN YOU'LL HAVE TO LIKELY MOVE FOR YOUR NEXT JOB. AND PAYING £400,000 FOR A 1-BEDROOM FLAT IS ONLY FOR THE FOOLS.

It was all one big, glorious scam.

It wasn't a Property Ladder.

It was just a scam. Pure and simple.

And now it's over.

And check out this classic 2006 scam enablement housing porn video

Here's 10 ways to balance the budget while eliminating much of our $60 trillion in debt and entitlements

Here's ten for starters. Have at it:

1) Cut military spending by 50% by 2020

2) Raise Social Security retirement age to 68 in 2015, 72 in 2025 and 75 in 2035, then reset every ten years based on life expectancy data

3) Limit medical malpractice settlements to $250,000 per person maximum

4) Balanced budget amendment (except in time of declared war against a state)

5) Legally require the President and Budget Director to submit audited financial statements that meet GAAP and the Sarbanes-Oxley criteria, under penalty of prosecution if falsified or misleading

6) Presidential line item veto

7) $1 / gallon gas tax and $1 / pack cigarette tax, plus all cigarette packaging required to be 90% harsh 'this product will kill you' graphic warning labels

8) Sell and lease-back all government buildings (except military, intelligence and legislative)

9) Eliminate the income tax and replace with a national sales tax (so that everyone pays, including realtors and strippers), and eliminate the corporate sales tax

10) Open the borders to massive legal immigration, with English language and high school degree requirement (while actively removing all illegal immigrants from the country and sealing the borders)

So who do you believe today - Cramer or Roubini?

Roubini's been spot-on so far.

Cramer's been pretty wrong.

So who's right today? The ultra-bear, or the ultra-bull?

Or maybe neither?

Chris Dodd - "The Best Senator Money Can Buy". The CEOs at Citi, AIG, RBS, SAC and United Tech got what they paid for, as they enriched themselves.

Chris Dodd should be investigated, and yes, eventually jailed.

He is corrupt. He is a scoundrel. He is the cause of much of what has gone wrong in this world.

Friend of AIG. Friend of Citibank. Friend of RBS. Friend of Angelo.

But rest assured he is no friend of America.

No, he is simply a traitor. A scoundrel. And scum.

And either he's investigated, by an Independent Special Prosecutor, or I believe the enraged mob will come looking his way next.

Sen. Chris Dodd: Top 5 Contributors, 2003-2008

Citigroup Inc	$316,494
United Technologies	$264,400
SAC Capital Partners	$248,500
American International Group	$223,478
Royal Bank of Scotland	$218,500

U.S. expands AIG bailout to whopping $153 billion

RBS posts Britain's biggest-ever loss

U.S. Agrees to Rescue Struggling Citigroup

United Tech's Pratt chief sees more layoffs

SAC Slashes Staff After Losses

Daniel Hannan, the hero who destroyed Gordon Brown, on Glenn Beck. Getting kind of weird now, eh?

And remember, Gordon Brown is hosting the G20 riots meetings next week.

Let's get it on.

Gordon Brown is destroyed by his fellow countryman at the European Parliament - "You have run out of our money"

Well, at least he didn't call him an ignorant slut.

Or a monkey.

During the dot-com bubble, experts pumped stocks they owned without disclosing. And during the housing bubble, hucksters like Gary Watts did it too

Gary Watts is the shamed and disgraced chief forecast hack for the Orange County Association of REALTORS on Commission, who was of course a house flipper on the side, making rosy predictions like his buddy David Lereah not because he believed his BS, but in a lame and failed attempt to pump the market to a willing REIC-supported press so he could cash in.

And no, at the time, this was not illegal. But in the future it DAMN WELL BETTER BE.

All reporters and analysts should be legally required to disclose their real estate holdings whenever reporting on anything to do with real estate in a public forum. Just as stock analysts must do today.

To recap Watts' attempted pump-and-dump (hat-tip Lasner at OC):

* In 2006, Watts forecast a 15% price jump. Instead, sales dropped 28% and prices rose a meager 2.4%.
* In 2007, Watts predicted that local house prices would increase 7%. Following the subprime mortgage meltdown, and prices ended the year down 10%.
* In 2008, he thought gains of 3-5% were conceivable for houses. By year’s end, the whole economy had tanked, and Watts had issued an apology. Home prices fell 30%.

And now? Watts is defaulting on one of the homes he evidently thought he could flip. Not because he can't make the payments (supposedly). No, he's defaulting because it's crashed in value, and hey, nobody has to honor contracts in America anymore. Especially not REIC hacks and failed housing gamblers.

Rage folks. It will build. Pure, unadulterated rage.

O.C. prognosticator defaults on rental house

In July 2005, while predicting a 15% gain in Orange County home prices, real estate prognosticator Gary Watts put about $77,000 down and bought a $765,000 rental home in Rancho Santa Margarita.

At first, he was pleased with the deal. A year later, the home’s value had jumped at least 8% to around $825,000 or more.

Today, however, Watts has defaulted on the home’s loan after the price dropped 22% from that original sale price. He’s currently in escrow, seeking his lender’s approval to sell it for nearly $93,000 less than he owes on it.

“I can make the payments. That’s not the issue. It’s a business decision,” Watts said. “I tried to work with the lender. The lender didn’t help. They said, go ahead, do a short sale. It’s strictly business.”

And then, after the governments wouldn't investigate the crimes or imprison the guilty, the people took matters into their own hands

And the outraged and impoverished people predictably went to where the bankers lived. And they did bad things.



It doesn't have to be this way.

BARACK OBAMA, NAME AN INDEPENDENT SPECIAL PROSECUTOR TO INVESTIGATE THE BANKERS, REIC AND CONGRESS. DO IT NOW. OR THE PEOPLE WILL RISE UP AND THEY'LL RISE UP SOON. AS IN WITHIN DAYS.

In 2002, Bernanke told us what was to come, and exactly what he would do. Read the "Helicopter Speech" again. Especially this part:

"Although a policy of intervening to affect the exchange value of the dollar is nowhere on the horizon today, it's worth noting that there have been times when exchange rate policy has been an effective weapon against deflation.

A striking example from U.S. history is Franklin Roosevelt's 40 percent devaluation of the dollar against gold in 1933-34, enforced by a program of gold purchases and domestic money creation. The devaluation and the rapid increase in money supply it permitted ended the U.S. deflation remarkably quickly. Indeed, consumer price inflation in the United States, year on year, went from -10.3 percent in 1932 to -5.1 percent in 1933 to 3.4 percent in 1934.¹⁷

The economy grew strongly, and by the way, 1934 was one of the best years of the century for the stock market. If nothing else, the episode illustrates that monetary actions can have powerful effects on the economy, even when the nominal interest rate is at or near zero, as was the case at the time of Roosevelt's devaluation."

- Ben Bernanke, Master of the Universe, November 2002

China and Russia want a one-world currency, and the end of the dominance of the US dollar. Hmmm... Hmmmm....

What's going on here?

Smokescreen? Or serious proposal?

And could the dollar be destroyed in a day, or will it be a long, slow death?

Game it out.

More Bill Hicks. Enjoy.

I F*CKED YOU, YOUR FAMILY, MY COUNTRY, AND THE WORLD!!! BWA HA HA HA!! BWA HA HA HA!!

Anyone seen John Edwards? How about Mark Foley? Or Ted Stevens? Or Ted Haggard? Or Larry Craig? Or Bill Clinton?

We were run by scum.

Scum.

Scum with no morals.

Scum that shamed themselves, and destroyed their country.

Scum that should be rounded up and imprisoned.

Scum that should serve as an example to future generations.

It didn't matter what the definition of is is.

It didn't matter who was in the next stall.

What mattered is that scum took control of the greatest country on earth, enabled other scum, and led America and the world to destruction.

And the people, many of them scum themselves, let them do it.

Scum.

We were led by scum.

Can Chris Dodd and Barney Frank be recalled? Anyone in CT or MA want to organize that effort?

It's funny to see the country up in arms about AIG's $150 million in bonuses. Folks, Angelo Mozilo HIMSELF took us for over $300 million

Angelo Mozilo, the world's biggest mortgage fraudster ever, stole over $300 million from Americans via his Countrywide scam, and we are now paying for his fraud to the tune of trillions. Trillions and trillions and trillions and trillions.

So while Congress is busy writing 90% tax plans on AIG bonuses, maybe the corrupted pigs could do an Angelo Mozilo Tax Act of 2009, clawing back 100% of his ill-gotten gains. While also urging Obama to throw Mozilo's orange ass in jail.

But no, that won't happen. After all, the people in charge of our laws are Friends of Angelo. They were paid to look the other way during his heist, and they still are.

I don't know where Mozilo is these days. Probably growing a long beard, hiding out on a beach in Mexico or Nicaragua or Ooompa Loompa land, you know, somewhere where orange people blend in, outside the reach of the feds.

But we need people to refocus their anger and outrage, away from the chump change of AIG. And we need people around the world to focus on the REAL enemy. The REAL scum of the earth. The real force behind this epic and historic financial collapse.

Angelo Mozilo.

The World's Biggest Mortgage Fraudster™.

Glenn Beck is exposing to a mass audience what we've been talking about for years.

I think he and Fox News are doing it to try to tear down the Dems. Kinda hard to do, because the GOP controlled all government 2000 - 2006.

But OK, that's cool. Please tear down the Dems.

But beware the unintendended consequences.

When the mobs come, they'll come for the GOP too. And the Fox News headquarters and Rupert Murdoch's home as well.

All Aboard?

Jim Cramer (finally) calls for an investigation, arrests and show trials. A "Warren Commission" for the housing panic. Nice. A bit late, but nice.

Man, we've been beating this drum since 2005.

2006 went by. Then 2007. Then 2008. And now 2009. Mozilo runs free. Mortgage fraud isn't a crime. Dodd and Frank still serve. Trillions and trillions have been lost. Lives have been ruined. Crooks have cashed in. Nobody of import has gone to jail.

And they'll wonder why people are rioting this summer?

INDEPENDENT SPECIAL PROSECUTOR OR AMERICA WILL BURN.

See a trend?

When the product is bad and defective, go for sex. It always sells.

I love the GOP. Who ever thought you could sell incompetence, corruption, fear and intollerance with sex.

Bravo.

Let's see if they can find us a stripper in 2012.

And then as predicted here for years, we finally get RTC2. Now called PIC or the "Public Investment Corp". Hey, someone had to buy up Mozilo's trash

$1 trillion to get it off the ground.

Hey, that's chump change these days.

Remember, it hath been foretold.

Obammmmy Gimme Cheese!!!

Treasury's toxic asset plan could cost $1 trillion

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration's latest attempt to tackle the banking crisis and get loans flowing to families and businesses rely on a new government entity, the Public Investment Corp. to help purchase as much as $1 trillion in toxic assets on banks' books.

The plan that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner intends to announce Monday aims to use the resources of the $700 billion bank bailout fund, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The initiative will seek to entice private investors, including big hedge funds, to participate by offering billions of dollars in low-interest loans to finance the purchases and also sharing risks if the assets fall further in value.

And then the realtors went out and got real jobs: "Women needing cash go from jobless to topless"

Oh, so many stories in the naked city.

One fascinating one is the stripper who got her real estate license, and then right back to the pole.

World's oldest profession, tied to the world's scummiest profession. You've gotta wonder, what percent of realtors have been or are now strippers, porn stars and hookers?

From jobless to topless: As economy worsens, more women give strip clubs, adult films a try

CHICAGO (AP) -- As a bartender and trainer at a national restaurant chain, Rebecca Brown earned a couple thousand dollars in a really good week. Now, as a dancer at Chicago's Pink Monkey gentleman's club, she makes almost that much in one good night.

The tough job market is prompting a growing number of women across the country to dance in strip clubs, appear in adult movies or pose for magazines like Hustler.

Employers across the adult entertainment industry say they're seeing an influx of applications from women who, like Brown, are attracted by the promise of flexible schedules and fast cash. Many have college degrees and held white-collar jobs until the economy soured.

I'm feeling a sense of returning confidence. That the worst has passed. That we're done with nuclear surprises. That the recovery is starting.

There will still be terrible news to come, especially on the jobs front. Our corrupt monkeys will still be f*cking things up. And companies will be releasing horrific Q1 reports.

But this downfall can't last forever. It's already gone on for more than two years. $40 to $50 trillion has been lost. Half of the wealth of the world has been washed away. GM still needs to go Chapter 11. Banks still need to fail. And the criminals still aren't in jail.

But at one point, we level off, and the recovery begins. And it is always darkest before dawn.

After Bernanke's $1.2 trillion money bomb, Geithner's new toxic asset plan that will be announced this week, the revision of mark-to-market and restoration of the uptick rule that comes the first week of April, and even the start of spring, and I see the recovery beginning soon, if it hasn't already.

And after two massive bubbles, I think there's a risk we'll see a third. 0% interest rates and trillions being pumped into the system is a dangerous game. Unless Volker comes back and takes control (again).

Yes, I have an optimism problem, that's well documented. But something feels different right now. And when all the sheeple are negative and hopeless, that makes me look the other way.

So what do you think? Are we on the road to recovery? Or do we keep dropping into the depths of financial hell?

I see green shoots. Even if that seems nuts.

If you own or invest in gold, this should make you very, VERY nervous

Gold may go parabolic, as Bernanke debases the currency and the sheeple in this report rush in.

Or it may simply collapse, as the sheeple rush in, and the insiders, hedge funds and serious money gets out.

Check out this story. The fact that former mortgage brokers are now into gold should tell you everything you need to know.

The gold rush is on at a party near you

Neighbors gather for food, conversation and a little buying and selling - Forget the Tupperware party. Today’s social/business craze is the gold party.

Beth Maynard started Gold Rush at Home a little more than a year ago after a 20-year career in mortgage lending, joining dozens of similar entrepreneurs across the country. As gold prices have skyrocketed to more than $900 an ounce while paychecks and job prospects have been shrinking, gold parties have tapped into a powerful market.

“They need money, and they’re very excited,” Maynard said. “I’m writing checks to people, and they love it. They come to a party, they don’t have to spend any money. ... They think a little tiny bit of gold is $25, and I give them $100.”

Here's a nifty way to get back at AIG

Brilliant.

Just google "AIG insurance" and go to town.

Just think if all the bubble blogs put this up today.

A little immature anarchy and disruption can be fun sometimes.

Here's another one - call AIG for a quote, and tell 'em your name is Chris Dodd. Say you want the works.

Anyone up for defacing realtor "Open House" signs this morning?

Enjoy the video. I love the you tube and the googles. Hey, is this one of you?

Calvin is ready to work for Goldman Sachs

Click the image for a big view.

Should be given to every MBA student, realtor, politician, stock broker and SEC employee in America.

Over two months ago, our idiots in Congress announced their hip new youtube channel. So, guess how much new content has been put up?

One video.

One.

Monkeys, I tell ya.

Idiots.

Corrupt monkey idiots.

I hope some of you dig Bill Hicks.

Back.

And to the left.

Back.

And to the left.

In an era of Hank Paulson, Angleo Mozilo, Dick Fuld, George Bush and realtors on commission, I give you Jorge Munoz, school bus driver and saint

The scum inhabiting our earth these days makes you question Western culture, and humanity in general.

We're surrounded by law-breaking, lying, greedy, thieving, cheating, immoral scum.

And then we see someone like Jorge Munoz. And we hopefully remember that even though man is sometimes flawed and evil, at our very core is kindness, humanity and love.

I hope some of you are inspired by Jorge Munoz, and consider how you can help out, starting tomorrow.

Life's too short to be a realtor. Life's too short to be a banker. Life's too short to do a job you hate. Life's too short to screw people for a living. Life's too short to be lying, cheating scum. Life's too short to sit around playing video games and watching Idol.

I give you Jorge Munoz.

If you have an epiphany, let us know. And you can donate to his effort here.

Bus driver delivers free home-cooked meals - He spends $450 of $700 paycheck feeding hungry

Every day, unemployed men gather under the elevated 7 train in Jackson Heights, Queens. Many of them are homeless. All of them are hungry.

Jorge Munoz estimates he has served more than 70,000 free meals since 2004.

At around 9:30 each night, relief comes in the form of Jorge Munoz's white pickup truck, filled with hot food, coffee and hot chocolate.

The men eagerly accept containers of chicken and rice from Munoz, devouring the food on the spot. Quiet gratitude radiates from the crowd.

For many, this is their only hot meal of the day; for some, it's the first food they've eaten since last night.

"I thank God for touching that man's heart," says Eduardo, one of the regulars.

Watching Munoz, 44, distribute meals and offer extra cups of coffee, it's clear he's passionate about bringing food to hungry people. For more than four years, Munoz and his family have been feeding those in need seven nights a week, 365 days a year. To date, he estimates he's served more than 70,000 meals.

Here's an hour of Schiff - "Why the Meltdown Should Have Surprised No One"

Great hour with Schiff. A tour-de-force, and extremely entertaining too.

We need Schiff in government. But of course, he's way too bright for that.

And he's right, the meltdown shouldn't have surprised anyone.

But the dollar rallying (for awhile) and foreign stocks being completely destroyed, now THAT was surprising. And even Schiff will probably admit that now.

Meanwhile, back at the casino...

IMPEACH CHRIS DODD. AND NAME AN INDEPENDENT SPECIAL PROSECUTOR TO GO AFTER THE REIC CORRUPTION ON CAPITOL HILL.

Friend of Angelo.

Friend of AIG.

Enabler of Fannie and Freddie.

Buddy of the banks.

Criminal.

I don't want Chris Dodd simply impeached. I want him investigated, arrested and jailed.

IF WE DON'T SEE AN INDEPENDENT SPECIAL PROSECUTOR SOON, THIS WHOLE COUNTRY IS GONNA BLOW. OBAMA, YOU HAVE NO CHOICE. YOU WILL NAME AN INDEPENDENT SPECIAL PROSECUTOR. IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME.

What can you say about a nation that cannot or will not enforce its laws?

Rule of law. Or anarchy. America under George Bush and Alberto Gonzalez chose anarchy. Barack Obama and Eric Holder so far have done sh*t.

We'll know in the next few weeks how it's gonna be.

Anarchy?

Or recovery?

Which will it be?



FBI saw mortgage fraud early

The FBI was aware for years of "pervasive and growing" fraud in the mortgage industry that eventually contributed to America's financial meltdown, but did not take definitive action to stop it.

"It is clear that we had good intelligence on the mortgage-fraud schemes, the corrupt attorneys, the corrupt appraisers, the insider schemes," said a recently retired, high FBI official. Another retired top FBI official confirmed that such intelligence went back to 2002.

The problem, according to the two FBI retirees and several other current and former bureau colleagues, is that the bureau was stretched so thin that no one noticed when those lenders began packaging bad mortgages into bad securities.

"We knew that the mortgage-brokerage industry was corrupt," the first of the retired FBI officials told the Seattle P-I. "Where we would have gotten a sense of what was really going on was the point where the mortgage was sold knowing that it was a piece of dung and it would be turned into a security. But the agents with the expertise had been diverted to counterterrorism."

Monkeys. Floating on a rock. With credit cards.

Soot and Ashes Serious Question of the Day

Can Ben Bernanke and his magic printing press destroy the US dollar?

Or will the world, bizarrely desperate for dollars versus their debased local currencies, not let him?

Empires over-extend. Over-reach. Ring up too much debt. Lose their way. And they fall.

Today is (supposedly) a day of protests in America and France. Let's see how the people do. I don't expect much. Idol is on. But we'll see...

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Stephen's Angry Mob Will Crush AIG

Colbert Report Full Episodes
Political Humor

Mark Sanford
NASA Name Contest

Do you want riots and civil disobedience?

Do you want mobs outside the bank HQ's?

Do you want torch and pitchfork crowds gathering at Mozilo's home, calling for his head?

Do you want the smell of tear gas in the air?

I hope some of you get out there and protest. And hell, go ahead and have some fun.

PS - G20 is in London next week. Anyone going? It's gonna be.. well.. how they say.. interesting..

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

The Notorious AIG

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Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

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Jim Cramer

It's time for an Independent Special Prosecutor. And the first thing he should look at is Senator Chris Dodd. Friend of Angelo. Friend of AIG.

Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.):

Billed by Gawker.com as "the senator from AIG," Dodd inserted language into the stimulus package that allowed for the AIG bonuses, weakening an earlier provision by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore) that limited bailout recipients' ability to dole out bonuses.

His provision included this line: "There is an exception for contractually obligated bonuses agreed on before Feb. 11, 2009."

[UPDATE]

Sen. Dodd Admits Adding Bonus Provision to Stimulus Package

In a dramatic reversal Wednesday, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., confessed to adding language to the stimulus bill last month that exempted all bonuses that bailed-out companies had promised to employees before Feb. 11, 2009.

Dodd told FOX News that Treasury officials forced him to make the change.

"As many know, the administration was, among others, not happy with the language. They wanted some modifications to it," he said. "They came to us, our staff, and asked for changes, and the changes at the time did not seem that obnoxious or onerous."