patrick.net

simchaland says

China is very different than the former USSR.

Right on.

Another Major difference: The Chinese economy revolves around making consumer goods for import using a great deal of imported raw materials; Russia was the opposite - exporting raw materials for hard currency and finished goods.

When Oil prices plummeted in the 80s, Russia's means of generating hard cash evaporated.

Scanning the thousands of hopped-up faces in the crowd, I am immediately struck by two things. One is that there isn't a single black person here. The other is the truly awesome quantity of medical hardware: Seemingly every third person in the place is sucking oxygen from a tank or propping their giant atrophied glutes on motorized wheelchair-scooters. As Palin launches into her Ronald Reagan impression — "Government's not the solution! Government's the problem!" — the person sitting next to me leans over and explains.

"The scooters are because of Medicare," he whispers helpfully. "They have these commercials down here: 'You won't even have to pay for your scooter! Medicare will pay!' Practically everyone in Kentucky has one."

A hall full of elderly white people in Medicare-paid scooters, railing against government spending and imagining themselves revolutionaries as they cheer on the vice-presidential puppet hand-picked by the GOP establishment. If there exists a better snapshot of everything the Tea Party represents, I can't imagine it.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/17390/210904

If you ever go to a Tea Party, do NOT smoke. If there is a spark, BOOM, there goes half the Republican base.

Yeah, HW.

Here's more Taibbi Greatness, this time addressing what Troy said above about millionaires.

To most people, the undeserving rich guy is the ex-police lieutenant down the street who's been collecting a six-figure pension for years after spending two decades writing traffic tickets before retiring at 43. Seeing that guy lounging in the dugout pool you paid for with your constantly rising property taxes is enough to piss anyone off, which is why it's not hard to understand where a lot of that Tea Party anger is coming from.

But if you want to see a real asshole, you have to somehow get invited to things like the $5 million birthday party of another guy on Sirota's list, private equity creep Steven Schwarzman. After throwing his elaborate fete for himself, Schwarzman -- who is said to make $400 million a year, and made $600 million when his company went public -- compared Barack Obama to Hitler for even considering rolling back his carried-interest exemption, which, again, allows him to pay 15% taxes while some of the rest of us pay twice that or more. "It's a war," he said. "It's like when Hitler invaded Poland."

If you think your local Andy Griffith is a greedy pig because he retired in his forties and built an addition to his garage with your tax money, try hanging out with a guy who eats $400 crabs, throws himself $5 million parties where he is serenaded by Rod Stewart and Patti Labelle (who sang "Happy Birthday"), and then compares the president to Hitler when word leaks out that he might have to pay taxes at the same rate as a firefighter or a kindergarten teacher.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/the-new-let-them-eat-cake-20110713

The Antoinette Class. I'm definitely using that one.

thunderlips11 says

"The scooters are because of Medicare," he whispers helpfully. "They have these commercials down here: 'You won't even have to pay for your scooter! Medicare will pay!' Practically everyone in Kentucky has one."

"GET YUR GUMMINT HANDS OFF MAH MEDICARE!"

Seriously, the Republicans are good at marketing. How else do you take a bunch of people who aren't well off, convince them that a bunch of lib'ruls and commies want to take their jobs (not really, because those people want skilled jobs), that a bunch of tax hikes to millionaires and deregulation for big corporations will make their lives better, etc. and then f**k them in the a** while doing so? They are so much better than the Democrats at getting people to vote against their own economic interests.

Just read all the ignorant comments by Teabaggers on that link the OP sent. Then look at the HuffPo link HousingWatcher said.

Troy, don't forget the Iran-Contra Affair. Where's Ollie North these days?

simchaland says

Troy, don't forget the Iran-Contra Affair. Where's Ollie North these days?

I'm a proud Gemorran

On Fox News. Where else?

i'm too old to be a porn star, don't have connections to be a drug dealer and not black so can't do hip hop. I'm a bit SOL here.

SoCal Renter says

Follow my investment advice: Sex, Drugs, and Hip Hop. These are paths to great wealth.

This is going to blow big time. Do not touch metals.

Troy says

Reagan sucked. Over-committed us to military spending, which we had to cut back on in the 1990s, and none of that was a good investment, except for the part that was necessary to boot Saddam out of Kuwait with minimal casualties.

Reagan was great; I might use that name for my next born son. I am sure anybody on here could just tear down any president they wanted to.

I''ll admit that Reagan had a personality that was very good for a figure head.

He was the don't worry, Daddy will make everything okay president.

He was the "don't worry, just consume and be happy" president who was ideal for our self centered narcissistic populace. He helped us to put off facing up to making necessary improvements in our government and our culture.

Aside from that, and making possible the terrible debt situation we have today, he was great.

hmm, Reagan did in fact elevate Bullshit over Governance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Bullshit

after it quadruples maybe

That's funny Troy.

I think we should start a movement to get Regean to replace Franklin on the one hundred dollar bill. Also, it is time to expand Mount Rushmore. Regean would fit just next to Lincoln.

If they ever build the asses of the presidents on the back side, that would be a fitting tribute to GW Bush.

leoj707 says

Troy says

One would like to think folks like Shrek are getting paid to post their BS

I have often suspected this. Or hoped rather, because yeah the alternative is worse.

If someone is paying 'em to write this crap, they're not getting their money's worth. They could at least hire someone with the ability to formulate thoughts into coherent sentences.

ppexx says

This is going to blow big time. Do not touch metals.

1600

Where can it stop? I am watching the price since it was on $1400 something and stopped investigating in it thinking it will come down.

Behold,...Shreks logic skills.

shrekgrinch says

Really? Tell us: Did you ever get a job from a poor man?

That is among the dumbest things you have ever said. So every restaurant owner is rich? Bill Gates was rich when he started Microsoft?

Even if being rich was a requirement to be an employer, it says nothing about whether being rich makes someone an employer. As someone else suggested recently, maybe to Shrek, learn about biconditional statements, ie if and only if, ie "necessary and sufficient" conditions.

How did short plays go?

I have been on vacation almost a month not watching stocks.

But pleased to see my AAPL doing fine.

Vicente says

How did short plays go?

I'm guessing that's a rhetorical question? Or just a poke with a sharp stick?

Murdoch getting grilled today in London...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/blog/2011/jul/19/phone-hacking-rupert-murdoch-rebekah-brooks-mps

... and he got pie in the face - literally!

marcus says

Even if being rich was a requirement to be an employer, it says nothing about whether being rich makes someone an employer. As someone else suggested recently, maybe to Shrek, learn about biconditional statements, ie if and only if, ie "necessary and sufficient" conditions.

You should be asheamed of yourself marcus. Didn't you get the memo? Your not supposed to say "rich." Your supposed to say "job creator."

People don't want to come to grips with that fact that prices obtained in bull markets far exceed what anyone truly expects. Still stand by my thesis. Gold to $2000, Silver to $50. Silver came within 50 cents of my target about 3 years early. I won't be surprised if we are there next year.

clambo says

Having seen human nature in other situations, people who have had less in life are MORE brand conscious than you or I are.
I for example can own a virginmobile android phone and do not care, but my friends in China all want Apple. My father and my neice and nephew are also unsatisfied with anything less than Apple.

This is true in many foreign countries, particularly developing countries. The reason is that they are used to such crap quality products from local manufacturers. When they see a brand name on something, it can be a proxy for quality, and once people figure out a brand, they stick with it. It's similar for Sony products. You can't just get someone a Panasonic walkman (they still make those overseas, I believe, although I believe they don't sell them in the US any more) or discman, or they'll say, "my dumbass cousin got me a cheap piece of crap"; you have to get them the Sony brand, even if you get them the cheapest base model Sony vs. a fully loaded other brand. I've noticed similar things about iPhones, although a lot of foreigners don't realize that you can't get iPhones here without a contract without a much higher price.

Meh. The data point is a moveon.org commissioned poll. The President is quoting from his base that can't help him win policy debates.

Apple was my first stock I ever bought in 1996 for my Roth IRA. 2k was my initial investment. Unfortunately I've sold about 1/3 of my shares throughout the years. Still I'm not complaining about my 1300% return over 15 years. Not bad for my 2nd best investment.

SoCal Renter says

I fail to see the endless fascination with gold. I'm glad idiots are buying and hoarding it though because it is buffing my mining stocks.

I imagine there is some Scrooge McDuck sitting in a cave somewhere on top of his pile of gold like a leathery dragon thinking to himself, "I'm rich my precious, rich!"

Where is your daughter, old man? Oh yeah, she's smoking a J and banging the Mexican pool boy. Follow my investment advice: Sex, Drugs, and Hip Hop. These are paths to great wealth.

Your wondeful message is bought and paid for by the infinite fiat money of central bankers who have a vested interest in seeing middle class wealth be destroyed. Historically, it's always the middle class that overthrows corrupt govt, afterall. Destroy middle class wealth and you destroy their political power. And the central bankers then get locked in as leaders of our new world communitarian/collectivist bullshit government, for the next 100 years.

Patrick loves that kind of thing. He's not on the people's side. Bought and paid for, right Pat? You paid-for sell-out. Lying sack of excrement. Actor.

Dan8267 says

Gold is clearly in a bubble. Unfortunately, as we have learned from real estate, it's impossible to tell how long a bubble will last. As John Maynard Keynes said, "Markets can remain irrational longer than you or I can remain solvent."

When gold falls, it probably will fall quickly because it is much more liquid and much smaller of a market than real estate. But timing that event is very risky.

I plan to stay away from the gold bubble just like I stayed away from the real estate bubble and the .com bubble. I figure, there are so many sharks in that pool that have insider info and watch the market 24/7. Those of us with day jobs can't afford the time needed to compete with the sharks.

Clearly. In. A. Bubble.

You are clearly. A. JACKASS!!!!

masayako2456 says

Long on Apple & Google.

Good luck with your Google...

http://www.wordstream.com/articles/most-expensive-keywords

I always learn something new here. The #20th highest CPC on El Goog is 'Cord Blood'.

Chinamobile has 600 million subscribers, and Apple is making a phone to sell to them. Oh boy.

zzyzzx, maybe I missed something. What "High crimes and misdemeanors" did President Obama commit? A recommendation to raise taxes to balance the budget isn't a crime. Committing war crimes, instituting torture, and spying on private citizens with no cause or warrant are crimes. I'm not exactly surprised that you can't see the difference.

Sane Americans understand that we need to cut military spending, stop using Social Security in accounting to magically reduce the debt on paper, and raise government revenue in order to balance the budget without destroying our economy and society. Sane Americans understand that we simply cannot afford tax breaks for the rich. As one conservative pointed out, "We're broke."

Obama says: 80% of Americans support being taxed more

Might be true if it were reworded more like:
80% of Americans support being taxed more, as long as it's somebody else taxes being raised.

Pawlenty's star seems to have faded.

What happend to Ron Paul? He was probably the only real conservative out of the bunch.

I do know that he is not running for his House seat next year and is retiring. :(

Looks like Rick the Hair Perry is going to run:
http://www.khou.com/news/texas-news/Anita-Perry-encourages-husband-to-run-for-president-125893574.html