Daily news sites

Whitey Bulger

America:  The Divided
By: J.D. Longstreet
**************************

It has been said: “Freedom stands on five boxes: The Soap Box, The Ballot Box, the Jury Box, the Witness Box, and… the Cartridge Box."

Just as so many of us predicted, gun sales and ammo sales went through the roof in America when Obama was elected (the first time) in 2008. It did not take the use of my crystal ball to foretell this still  on-going event.  All it took was a wee bit of common sense and paying attention to the world around me.

Back in November of 2008, Americans forsook much of what The Founders of this great country taught us and much of what The Founders, themselves, had interwoven into the fabric of this great republic.  Americans elected a president whose political philosophy can only be described as socialist. And then… the American voters bolstered the strength of the already very large socialist element in our Congress with even more socialists who continue to refer to themselves as democrats even though their façade is crystal clear allowing the truth of what, and whom, they are to come shining through   (“You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all the people all the time!”) Now America, for (NEARLY) all intents and purposes, has a socialist government in place.

If you take the time to read up on socialism you find, almost immediately… in every definition, that socialism is defined as the first step a nation takes towards communism. 
As of this hour, America stands divided --- right down the middle.  Half the country has expressed a desire to go socialist/communist, and the other half has expressed a desire to remain a free, constitutional republic.  Even an idiot knows “a nation divided cannot stand.” 

As much as I despise saying this, it does appear a fight is brewing.  Those Americans who wish to preserve America as a free nation are “gearing up” with the intention of “manning the barricades” to defend liberty in this country.  Somehow, and this is really depressing, somehow, the socialists in America cannot get their minds wrapped around the fact that “liberty loving Americans” are prepared to take up arms to defend their country.  Indeed, those “liberty loving Americans” are rushing to procure arms and ammunition for what they fear might, at some point, become more than a verbal fight… more than a battle fought with rhetoric.

Those who say there is no way "American freedom fighters" can win against the socialist government now in power should lend an ear to what one of our founding fathers had to say when the exact same objection was offered as a reason colonists should not go against Great Britain.

It was March 23rd, 1775, in Virginia.  Virginian Patrick Henry was addressing the Virginia legislature.  He explained:  " ... the British plainly meant to subjugate America by force. Because every attempt by the Americans at peaceful reconciliation had been rebuffed, the only remaining alternatives for the Americans were to accept slavery or to take up arms. If the Americans did not act soon, the British would soon disarm them, and all hope would be lost."  SOURCE:  http://www.davekopel.org/2A/LawRev/american-revolution-against-british-gun-control.html

Then Henry attempted to strengthen the spines of the doubters among that august body by saying the following:  “The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us,” he promised.   SOURCE:  http://www.davekopel.org/2A/LawRev/american-revolution-against-british-gun-control.html

A single event, totally unexpected, could easily be the spark that ignites the next American revolution.  

I don't think most of America understands just how close we came, earlier this year, to armed conflict on our shores.  The national argument over gun control came very close to providing that spark. 

Students of history will recall that it was confiscation of guns and gun powder by the British that provided the spark that ignited the First American Revolutionary War and eventually led to a rag-tag bunch of farmers and tradesmen whipping the world's superpower on the field of battle and wining independence for the American colonies, which would soon become the United States of America.

Yes, even wars can be initiated by people who do not know their history and are, therefore, doomed to repeat it.     

Other nations of the world are looking at Americans and they see it, as well.  The  Chinese Communists, who have been underwriting America’s debt for many years now, are concerned that if America begins to break apart, they, the Chinese, stand an exceedingly good chance of losing all the money they have lent us over the years.  They are worried.  China’s Premier, Wen Jiabao, has said: "We have made a huge amount of loans to the United States. Of course we are concerned about the safety of our assets. To be honest, I'm a little bit worried, I would like to call on the United States to honor its words, stay a credible nation and ensure the safety of Chinese assets."  Wen made those comments at a news conference at the close of China's annual legislative session March 13th, 2009.

Just how serious is it?  It is far more serious than the average American knows, at the moment.  I don’t expect the MSM will cover this story any more than they absolutely must. 

To get a true feel for what is happening in America today you have to go to the regional news outlets, such as regional newspapers, and small town papers and even, as we said above,  “off-shore” news organizations. The Mainstream Media, especially the US branch, is not going to report anything that might bring into question the great Socialist Utopia they supported by diving headlong into the tank for Obama.  Even as their great journalistic empires crash down around their shoulders, as is happening today, they simply cannot let loose of their leftist agenda and report the news that accurately reflects what is happening in American society today.  To learn the truth you have to look elsewhere.  I have learned that to acquire timely knowledge about current events in America today a visit to off-shore press publications is an absolute necessity.        
There is an excellent article at the “Tulsa World” site.  It was posted in 2009 just a few short months after Obama;'s election. It is entitled: “Sales of guns, ammo still high” with a subtitle of: “One shop says the "hoarding" of ammunition since Obama's election has created a shortage.”  You’ll find it at:  http://www.tulsaworld.com/article.aspx/Sales_of_guns_ammo_still_high/20090313_11_a1_aruger442781

If you have been laboring under the mistaken impression that an Obama presidency would “unite” the nation this article might shed some light on the just how wrong you are.  It is entitled: “Liberals told to leave.  An instructor for a hunter safety course orders Obama voters to get out of his class.”  You’ll find it at:  http://www.tulsaworld.com/article.aspx/Liberals_told_to_leave/20090307_16_a1_thirte498540   

If nothing else, this story demonstrates the depth of the distrust and the degree of repugnance of, and for, the socialists now in charge of our country, by a huge cross section of the American population.

The fact is that public confidence in the government, by Americans, is low and getting even lower…and it is doing so rapidly! 

The socialists and the neo-socialists, who populate Congress today, have done exactly as we expected and even predicted they would do.  They have over-reached.  That was not tough to predict.  As someone recently said, betting that democrats will over reach is like betting that democrats will commit voter fraud.  It is a sure thing!
Allow me to rephrase my statement above reference over reaching:  "They have overreached in so far as freedom, and liberty loving American are concerned."  One must remember that today, as difficult as it is to believe, nearly one half of the American electorate is happy with socialism -- and Obama's socialist government -- and would blissfully make a present of their allegiance to a communist government in America -- in the blink of an eye.
Those Americans who still cherish freedom and liberty must take, in my opinion, a realistic view of the situation as it exists at this moment in America.   And realistically -- we are NEVER going to win those lost souls back.  They are gone. They have willingly accepted slavery in exchange for security, or what they THINK is security.  In fact, it is voluntary servitude to the state. They climbed into their cells, closed and locked the door, and tossed the key to their caretakers.

Again, realistically, maybe it is a good thing we can now identify the socialists and communists among us.  (Historically they are the least informed among us: the least educated, the least sophisticated, the most insecure, and quite often the neediest, and the laziest among any society.) For when the divide of America moves from rhetorical to physical, it is THOSE PEOPLE we do not want on our side of the border.      
When the backlash has begins, I am afraid  tar, feathers, and rails will no longer suffice as they once did in the days of yore.  Pity.

© J. D. Longstreet

Andrea Barringer

Click to enlarge.

Real estate tops the list at #1. I'm sure we'll bounce back someday. Just need to keep pushing this asset higher and higher so that people can finally sell the darned things again (the mortgage liability is not included in the asset chart for somewhat obvious reasons). And as an added bonus, the higher we can push this asset price the higher we can get those property taxes. Everybody wins!

Pension fund reserves come in at #2. Other than record pension underfunding even as the stock market has risen 160% from the bottom in 2009, what could possibly go wrong with that asset class?

Corporate equities come in at #3. It's nice to see them doing so well lately. It does make me wonder though. The people who warn me about the treasury bond bubble also tend to be the ones who tell me that the retail investor hasn't gotten back into the stock market yet. It's very confusing to me because it looks like about 60% of the stock market value is sitting right there in the hands of the retail investor. Very odd.

Deposits come in at #4. Don't forget to load up on the 0.5% 5-year CDs. They might not yield nearly as much as their treasury equivalents, but they are still a bargain at any price. Has anyone ever warned of a certificate of deposit bubble? I think not. Perhaps it is because CDs are held to maturity by default but it takes maturity to hold a treasury to maturity. Just a theory. Of course, if you aren't much of a risk taker then you can pick something with a shorter maturity. You'll have to sacrifice some of that juicy yield though! Mwuhahaha! Sorry, there I go being immature again.

Equity in noncorporate business comes in at #5. I've got to tell you. That takes guts. It's a tough world out there. Could strike it rich. Could be stomped by big business. At least the Great Recession II can't happen. The Fed has permanently put a stop to recessions. I can't personally prove it, but if everyone believes it then it must be true. Only rising rates can cause a recession. Therefore, ZIRP makes recessions impossible. Just because we're very deep into uncharted territory, doesn't mean that investors don't understand exactly how the future will play out. It's self-evident, especially when CNBC repeatedly tells us just how self-evident it is.

Mutual funds come in at #6. There are some bonds in there, but my guess is that the majority is stocks. That would be even more exposure to the equity markets for the retail investor (who I am continually told is missing out on the rally). Mutual funds are the safer way to go of course, because nobody wants to risk a 20% loss all at once when that same 20% loss can be locked in and guaranteed over 20 years (assuming 1% per year in fees). Whatever you do, do not underestimate the power of a "professional" active fund manager to add value just because 76% fail miserably when trying to outperform the market index.

Durable goods come in at #7. That's my favorite! As I've mentioned in the comments recently, the United States dominates the self-storage industry with "almost 90% of the global market". Don't let that deter you from buying even more durable goods to protect your wealth though. One place near me only charges $696 per year for a 5'x5' unit. That's a screaming bargain for someone with too many plastic coat hangars. Paying someone to store them for you is money well spent. Somebody needs to fund the CEO's $3.23 million salary. Do you have any idea how hard it is to manage other people's money stuff? Not just anyone can point a person towards their stuff without actually wanting to do inappropriate things with that stuff when they aren't around. It takes serious discipline. If only the banking system could do the same!

At #8 we've got corporate bonds. They can't ever seem to offer enough to satiate our appetites. I'm especially interested in chasing the yields of the non-investment grade bonds. What's the worst that could happen again?

We're to #9. Finally some safety! Yes, sir. As long as each municipality has its own working monetary printing press (in sharp contrast to Detroit's broken one) and we can work through the serious injuries of the dotcom and housing bubbles, then you'll no doubt sleep very well holding tax-free municipal bonds to maturity and/or racing towards the sell button on your trading platform of choice someday.

And lastly, we've reached #10. It's funny that so much time is spent warning us about a treasury bubble when individually purchased treasury bonds make up such a tiny amount of our personal assets (less than 2%). In my experience, very few people even know how to buy them directly from the government. I'm not judging. I've seen many hours of financial TV in my life and I've never seen anyone offer advice on how to buy a treasury bond. I don't recall the term I-Bond ever coming up either. It's almost like there's no money in it for them if bonds are purchased directly from the government.

This is not investment advice!

Source Data:
FRB: Z.1 Release

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny

Perhaps this was just a bit over the top. But kinda funny nonetheless. Beside, political caricatures and comedy have been around a very long time. But this is President Obama and therefore requires a greater degree of sensitivity.

(AP Photo/Jameson Hsieh)

AP - A clown wearing a President Barack Obama mask appeared at a Missouri State Fair rodeo this weekend and the announcer asked the enthusiastic spectators if they wanted to see "Obama run down by a bull."

The antics led the state's second highest-ranking official, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, to denounce the performance in a tweet Sunday. He said it was "disrespectful" to the president.

"We are better than this," the Republican tweeted.

State Fair officials said the show in Sedalia was "inappropriate" and "does not reflect the opinions or standards" of the fair. "We strive to be a family friendly event and regret that Saturday's rodeo badly missed that mark," they said in a statement Sunday.

It wasn't clear if any action will be taken against the performers. {Read More}

Wondering what the reaction would have been from the left had it been a Bush mask. Just sayin given the enunciated and immense hatred the left has for GWB.

Via: Memeorandum

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny

RALEIGH — Gov. Pat McCrory Monday signed into law a bill requiring voters to produce a photo ID when they go to the polls, a measure that was hailed by Republicans as a means for heightening ballot security but which was criticized by Democrats as a thinly disguised effort at voter suppression.

The measure signed by McCrory also reduces the early voting period by a week, ends early voting on Sunday, ends same-day voter registration, and does away with pre-registration of 16 and 17-year olds.

“North Carolinians overwhelmingly support a common sense law that requires voters to present photo identification in order to cast a ballot,” McCrory said in a statement. “I am proud to sign this legislation into law. Common practices like boarding an airplane and purchasing Sudafed require photo ID and we should expect nothing less for the protection of our right to vote.” {Read More}

Only the far left, those with a political agenda beyond reasoned thought oppose this common sense law.

Via: Memeorandum

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny

Brought to you from the Santorum universe. A special place were you learn alternative reality.



Via: Memeorandum

Miguel A. Colón

Harry Reid, the Democrat Senator from Nevada who is the Majority Leader of the US Senate said this about Congressional Republicans opposition to President Obama in an interview yesterday:

“It’s been obvious that they’re doing everything they can to make him fail. And I hope, I hope — and I say this seriously — I hope that’s based on substance and not the fact that he’s African-American.”

Republicans are the ones who appointed the first two African-Americans to serve as Secretary of State (Colon Powell and Condoleezza Rice), elected the first African-American to the US Senate (Tim Scott), and appointed an African-American as US Ambassador to the UN (Alan Keyes) and the US Supreme Court (Clarence Thomas), to name a few African-Americans who have served their country as Republicans.

So I say to Harry – and I say this seriously – I hope your idiotic statement is based upon your being severely addled when you said that and not the fact that you are a complete and utter idiot.

Alex Lopez

The following chart shows the year over year change in inflation adjusted retail sales per retail trade employee (excluding nonstore retailers). I've used semiannual data to smooth out the trends.


Click to enlarge.

Should the value on the chart drop to zero (we're just barely above it now), retailers will no longer need to hire new workers. Any value below zero means retailers will need to start letting workers go. They will probably be slow to do it at first on the hopes of a rebound. Good luck on that. In any event, a recession probably wouldn't start to hit until they figure it out.

August 6, 2013
Siegel: Keep buying—you 'can’t lose'


Professor Siegel, you never cease to amaze me. Stocks are up 160% from the bottom in 2009. Can't lose on stocks? What hubris! No wonder Robert Shiller thinks the stock market bubble is back.

It is my opinion that the market is "totally spooked" because the retail trade data comes out tomorrow and this ballgame is in its 13th inning (still tied ZIRP to ZIRP). As seen in the chart above, the downward trend in growth is even more horrendous (steeper slope) than it was heading into the Great Recession. I see it. Supercomputers using advanced trading algorithms at investment banks no doubt see it too. Meanwhile, Siegel's taking his cues from Ben "There Is No Housing Bubble to Go Bust" Bernanke? Swing for the fences! Can't lose! Forehead. Desk. Whack. Whack. Whack.

That's not to say that the retail trade data will be awful of course. I'm just saying that the trend looks awful and I have no great desire to bet against that trend.

You may be wondering why I excluded nonstore retailers from the chart. They don't create jobs; they automate them. I'm more concerned about the 14.6 million jobs that are left. JC Penney employees are too no doubt. I can tell you first hand what lousy morale can do to a struggling company.

Once again, just opinions! I cannot accurately predict the future. Nobody can. At best, all I can do is offer a somewhat educated guess. This is definitely not investment advice. Alan Greenspan had some good advice back in 1966 though. It did not include "can't lose" in it. That's for sure.

"There is no safe store of value." - Alan Greenspan (1966)

See Also:
Trend Line Disclaimer

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Happy Monday y'all. Raise your hand if you could have used an extra day this weekend. Me too. And thanks to everyone for your ideas on the battle of the dying hydrangeas. I think I've found a solution which I'll share as soon as I get around to fixing it.

But for today, let's talk pretty bathrooms. I've had bathrooms on the brain lately, must be all of that potty training madness, so I thought we could ease into the week with some eye candy.


I like the idea of a his and her sink but with each side having a bit of its own personality. Especially since right now all we have is one his/her/her/her sink.


A large shower would be fun because this is a dream and why not have a large shower.


And of course a soaking tub with a view so I can look out at the ocean just beyond my pool.


In a master bath I like the idea of keeping everything white




and then adding some amazing fixtures




and marble. Some sort of marble.



The room will be bathed in natural light thanks to a skylight or two. (C'mon, that was a good Monday morning pun.)




And the cherry on top, some wonderful scones

Yes, it might be a lot of space for CoCo to clean. but he loves to stay busy. And since he makes his own organic cleaning solution, the whole place is left smelling like lavender. That CoCo, he's the best.

How about you? What does your dream bathroom look like?
And don't forget to come back on Wednesday to see how the bench turned out.

Find more great bathroom idea on my Pinterest board.

Farid Fata

Conflict Between The Christian Church And The State
America Needs The Church Militant!
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
***************
I am personally aware of a minister who will not marry a couple if either of them have been divorced.  His religious denomination is one of the largest protestant denominations in America. 

As a lad, I grew up in a protestant church that required a female member to stand in church and be dressed-down from the pulpit by the minister for her dalliance with other men not her husband.  She was publicly stripped of all her offices in that church and told she could remain as a member but would never hold a leadership position in the congregation again. (I was sitting just feet away from the weeping, humiliated,  lady as I witnessed the entire event.)

As I recall, the married couple remained married until the husband's death, some years later, and the humiliated wife remained a member of that church, at least, until his demise.

That was in the 1940's.  I am still conflicted by it.

I have no doubt the church did the right thing.  It was the manner in which they did it that bothered me then, as a child, and today as a man.  If it were to happen today there would be a chain of laws suits as far as the eye could see!

As a society, we have managed to tame the church.  And , frankly, I'm not so sure that's a good thing.

See, the church USED to set the standards for morality in the US.  Now the US Supreme Court and Hollywood set those standards.

The First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees religious freedom in the US, right?  Sure it does.  Uh-huh.   Tell that to the government -- especially the Internal Revenue Service.

I can remember when preachers stepped into the pulpit with nothing but a bible tucked under their arms.  When asked about their notes or their sermon script, they would reply that they spoke that which the Spirit "laid upon their hearts" to speak.  See, they made themselves available as a conduit for the  "Holy Spirit" to speak directly to the congregants there gathered.  Believe me, there were some powerful sermons delivered back in those days.  On occasion, one would affirm, one could smell the stench of sulfur.

But, by and large, those days are gone.  So is the church militant. 

The Church Militant (Ecclesia Militans), is supposed to be comprised of Christians who struggle against sin, the devil and "..the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12).

In the letter by Paul to the Christians at the church in Ephesus, written around 60 AD,  Paul was careful to point out that the battle was  "against spiritual wickedness in high places."  Seems to me Paul could write that same letter to the Christian Church in America today -- and be spot on!

It is my contention that America needs the church militant today. 

We hear often of the War on Christianity in America.  I submit to you that there is NO WAR ON CHRISTIANITY because -- ONLY ONE SIDE IS FIGHTING! 

The church has gotten fat, lazy, and quite comfortable with the government doing the work it was assigned by the Almighty.

The hammer is about to come down on the Christian faith in America.

How long do you suppose it will be before a pastor is dragged into court for preaching that homosexuality is a sin? Not long, I warrant.

At the moment pastors across the land are avoiding any reference to the Christian belief that homosexuality is a sin because they fear for their job -- or even their freedom -- if they do preach that which their faith, their bible and most importantly, their God says is so.

Look at America today.  Observe how she has shrunken in on herself. Today she resembles more the evil city depicted in the scriptures in this manner:  "And another angel, a second one, followed, saying,  "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality."  (Revelation 14:8)  America has gone from the "shining city on a hill" to a fallen heap of shame.

Look. Many of us have been calling for a movement to take our country back, to restore America, to save our beloved country. WE NEED THE CHURCH TO DO IT.  We need the Church Militant to get off its backside and get in the fight, IF we are to have any chance -- at all -- of saving America.

I'm so old that I actually remember when Ezra Taft Benson, served as both the Secretary of Agriculture under President Dwight Eisenhower -- AND -- the 13th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Benson once said something that explained why it is so important for America that the church maintain a leadership role in this nation. Benson said:  “The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ would take the slums out of people, and then they would take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.” 

I do not agree with some that recognizing the will of the majority regarding gay marriage while also protecting churches, clergy, and the laity from governmental bullying is the proper stance for the church to take today.

While I DO agree that protecting churches, clergy, and the laity from governmental bullying is rightfully a stance the church should take, I do not feel it is right for the church to sell out a tenet of the faith that is well over 2,000 years old existing even BEFORE the birth of the Christian church.
THIS is how the church lost so much of its moral authority.  This is how the church handed over it's leadership role to the government -- just in case you were wondering.

In my opinion, the church should be working -- non-stop -- to move legislative protection through the Congress and the 50 state legislatures that would prevent churches ever being forced to provide gay marriages under the cover of equal treatment or anti-discrimination laws. 

Whatever happened to freedom of religion?  Whatever happened to separation of church and state?  

One must understand that there is a double standard in America for the political left. The two issues above, freedom of religion and separation between state and church, are only raised when the leftist agenda is threatened by either or both.  Therefore the religious community in America need not expect to be allowed to maintain their stance, you know the one they have had for thousands of years, a tenet of their faith, that homosexuality is a sin, and NOT have the political left -- using the power of the government --come down on them much as a ton of bricks!  It WILL happen.

America will soon learn the churches with true devotion for, and to, the scriptures -- the very foundation of the faith they claim -- and those churches which are no more that civic clubs with no interest in furthering the cause of Christ on this earth.

As I look around me, assessing the condition of the church in America today, it has become clear (at least to me) that the church of true believers is fast approaching that remaining "remnant" of believers predicted by the scriptures in the so-called "end-times."

You can see them for yourself.  These are the Christians who feel they are called to repentance, obedience, prayer, proclamation, steadfast courage -- and sacrifice.  Their voices can be heard in our church pews, in Godly homes, in schools and in the public square. They are found in every denomination and among every community of faith. A fellowship of saints among saints, the grassroots voice of the Remnant is growing louder and stronger as the day approaches. SOURCE:  http://voiceoftheremnant.webs.com/

In the months and years ahead, as America continues its downward spiral, that remnant will be the only group standing between the church and those determined to destroy the church.  The remainder of the church, sad to say, will not be in the battle. 

Yes, the church militant is badly needed today.  But, I don't expect much from a clutch of Nervous Nellie's who won't even allow the old hymn "Onward Christian Soldiers" to be published in their hymnals.

© J. D. Longstreet