Thanks, SD. Derivatives assume value where there is none; recently I looked into the actual price of a house being repossessed, turns out that there were a half million dollars in mortgage loans based on the property, which was not worth a half of that.

Good morning SouthernDragon, Ruth, and all Diners yet to arrive.

Thank you for the post SouthernDragon.

With the wildfires in S. California, has anyone heard from demi?

Mornin’, freedom fighters

Where’s Om? Hugs and congratulations..What great news….

Grandbaby yesterday?

Good morning all and thanks for the post and host SoDrag.

Good morning, everyone. AC, I don’t think demi was here yesterday (at least not to comment), but I don’t recall that she mentioned being in any danger from the fires.

Yes, I think she said her DIL was going to be induced yesterday.

Yes, last night. News at end of yesterday thread. What a great thing….

Ford is cutting jobs due to lack of demand. Governments are responding by depressing demand even further.

Onthe subject of LIBOR, there were YEARS of warning. Obviously, LIBOR needs to change. But what about the people who misused it? They hurt the 1%, surely there will be charges!

Derivatives as currently implemented should only be legal to buy and sell at registered casinos. And you should be allowed to over bets with them. But much like the chip you took home as a souviner, they shouldn’t be considered cash outside the casino.

Congrats, Utah! You will have someone as batshit crazy as Michelle. Enjoy!

Ohio is slipping away from Mitt. Good. Though the story I read on CNN implies a ground game on both sides that I sure haven’t seen. I get at least two robocalls a day and local TV is almost unwatchable, but I’m seeing nothing in the way of yard signs for either candidate. Or Bumper stickers, for that matter. I see more McCain stickers than I do Mitt. And I see more Obama 2008 than I do 2012. I’ve seen one walker so far, suspect a GOPer but don’t know. He polled the muddy Husky’s and went on to the next house. :-)

Boxturtle (Only human call I’ve had so far is for Brown and OhByTheWay Obama)

Congrats to Om and extended family.

Come out, come out where ever you are demi.

Just went and looked. I wasn’t online late, so I missed it. W00T!!

morning everyone

I came here to make apologies for any harsh and unjustified statements I’ve made to anyone…please forgive

Happy high holy to everyone else who atones today!

i give big WOOT with you!

You are hereby forgiven for any such you’ve pointed at me. I don’t remember any, but just in case.

Boxturtle (Anyone who carries a grudge about a blog post won’t survive on the ‘net long)

I can’t imagine you making harsh statements, Perris. Glad to see you here this morning.

msmolly,
Thank you. It sounded on TV like the wildfires were ravaging homes in SC and nothing they could do about it except flee without many belongings.
I have watched more TV lately than in a long time. Only thing on in a hospital waiting room except for the books I bring with me.

I looked at a CA fire site and don’t see anything. Not that I’m an expert.

California Fires

Morning SD & Pupses:

Ian Masters interviews David Cay Johnston.

Hi, demi was around Sunday but haven’t seen her since or heard from her, but she often takes time off. I’ll email and ask if she’s okay.

Sorry, friend, I haven’t been around here much in the last couple of weeks, so I’ve probably missed it. Is the hospital stay for your wife or someone else? Hope it’s all going OK. Hospital waiting rooms are the pits, no matter how hard they try to make them pleasant.

Same back at you. We all have strong feelings, but also are usually not rude to anyone about them.

thanks!

morning pups.

many blessings for the new granbaby, om!

off to read/wtch at the links.

back soon.

thanx!

Joy of the baby, Om. Fun beckons.

thanks ms m!

msmolly,
My brother-in-law. A stent was put in about a month ago, last week a double by-pass, and next month repair of an Aneurism. He has been through a lot but I have to say a LOT of good things about the Madison VA hospital.
They are very special people from the guard at the parking gate,staff,doctors,even the cafeteria staff they all treat you like family.
He came home last night.

So glad to hear of the staff being good people. The strain can get to everyone, they need to be aware of the effects on the patients and family.

Amusing quote from the Mother Jones article: “the second coming of Michelle Bachmann.” LOL.

No mention of her midnight ride? which was really epic.

Oh yes, I do remember you mentioning that. Glad he’s home, and I hope that’s all of the procedures for quite awhile. Also nice to hear about the good VA hospital. Apparently that “socialized” medicine is a good thing (but we knew that). I have a retired neighbor who volunteers to drive veterans to the VA hospital in Ft. Wayne a couple of times a week.

EDIT: I haven’t discussed politics with him, but from a couple of things he’s said, I gather that he’s pretty conservative. I wonder if he thinks of the VA hospital as “socialized” medicine?

G’Morning, All
No fires. Everything’s safe and I’m fine.
We’ve had several cooler days and evenings and it’s resulted in me sleeping in a bit. That’s all.
Thanks for caring. :)
And, Big Big Hugs to Om. Babies!
((Mr. Canyon, Oldnslow, Molly, Ruth…and all y’all))

Ruth,
All my experiences were very good for a first time visitor there.
UW hospital is right next door and I have spent a good deal of time there with my wife and they are excellent too.

That heat knocks you out, especially if you aren’t used to it. Glad to know you’re safe.

Morning People,

No Mitt/Mutt signs around but a lot of Defeat O signs next to an empty chair sitting out along the roadsides.

Regulate banks as public utilities (I’m not a breath holder) is a wonderful concept. I need a place to park my little bit of cash and have certifiable verification of my financial transactions. I don’t need a savings account that would require me to open another checking account with penalties if I don’t use that checking account twice a month year round.

Autumn urgency has kicked in here and I keep finding things that seemingly need attention and addressing things that I have deliberately delayed until fall.

Do you have access to a credit union, nonquixote? I don’t think they usually have those requirements.

nice to hear you are well

{{{demi}}} (just because)

Glad to hear from you. Have you considered credit unions? I’m about to take that step myself, they are membership owned, as I understand it.

Hugs backatcha.

Just wandered over to Krugman’s blog and saw this pretty amusing piece:

Death by PowerPoint, continued

Apparently Ryan has bailed on Romney and calls him “Stench” on the campaign bus. Tsk.

Defeat O without mentioning Mitt? Wow, he’s really not catching on. I haven’t seen any of those empty chair displays here. I suppose I’d classify that as mildly creative.

Autumn urgency doesn’t hit me until the weather turns foul. We’re still good here.

Boxturtle (Which is nice, because one of the tasks is scrubbing the basement floor)

Good morning everyone.

I watched the first half of the first Marxian Class Analysis Theory and Practice course last night. Thanks for that, SD. 2nd half will be on my lunch break today.

Ford isn’t laying people off because of lack of demand. They’re laying people off because there are folks in China who can do the job cheaper.

Comcast is cutting 1,000 people in Northern California. All call center employees. Wonder why? Because they’re opening a call center overseas. That’s why.

I imagine Ford is doing the same thing. The whole ‘weak demand’ bullshit is a jab at the Europeans on their way out the door.

‘If you just bought more Fords, you’d still have a job. This is all your fault!’ – Ford Execs.

One of us owes the other a morning beverage.

I have a credit union account that I use mostly so I have a local place for small deposits, since most of my funds are in an investment account that has online bill pay and check writing features. In the credit union I have had $5 parked in the savings account for 9 years, and rarely more than $100 in the checking account, which I use mostly for small PayPal transactions. And I get the very occasional cashier’s check when I need one at no charge.

I would like to add my congratulations to Om too. Grandbabies are wonderful.

demi, glad you are safe.

Seems like that’s what all the fellow debaters thought of Rmoney back when they were in the running. What Chuckie’s they all are, even visually.

I would never have “scrub the basement floor” autumn urgency. But then, I don’t have dogs. LOL. I do have a storage area in the basement that badly needs a good clean-out, though.

That’s a good way to keep your banking covered. I might go further, since I have my main card-related account at a major offender. It began back in my youth, and has been bought out by one after another of the ‘majors’, from being ‘Farmers and Merchants’. Sad.

Off to swim in the great capitalist cesspool.

US KIA Afghanistan: 2,123

Afghan, Iraki, Yemeni and Pakistani casualties: estimates vary to over 2M

US MBS 2012: 33,356 and counting

No war but class war

Go On Ahead and Go Home

Be good to yourselves, and all other living things

Namaste

Never. Give. Up.

Thanks Ruth and Molly,

Same requirements and one of two locally, wants you to first agree to take their debit cards.

The larger point of the article illustrating the house of financial house of cards with the derivatives is simply astonishing.

OK, “you people” (*G*), I have to get moving. If I’m not around much for the next couple of days, don’t send out a rescue party. I am going up to Grand Rapids to spend the rest of the week with old friends and touring ArtPrize, a wonderful city-wide art exhibition. Winners of the $560,000 in cash awards are based mostly on the votes of those who attend, and it’s great (some very unusual) art and brings thousands and thousands of people into downtown Grand Rapids, which is a wonderful thing for the city.

I will have my iPad, but not sure I’ll be online much. So have a great rest of the week and weekend.

BAwHaHA! If Stench calls, take a message! And the campaign refers to Ryan as Gilligan.

This is about the time that the McBush/Palin campaign started to peal apart last election.

Given that the VP is typically picked to help the presidential candidate where he’s weakest, I wonder if the GOP P and the VP will ever be able to get along again. If you’re seen as middle of the road, you have to pick a wingnut. If you’re a wingnut, you have to pick middle of the road.

Boxturtle (I look at Ryan, and I think of Larry from Animal House)

Brought a smile to me:

John Nichols on Madison radio live, just stated from reliable sources that Romney’s nickname at his own election headquarters is, “Stench,” and Ryan has earned the nickname, “Gilligan.”

Edit: re-read thread before I post a comment. Sorry for the repeat of info.

Well, the credit union offers a debit card too, but not sure it is required. It is an ATM card, too.

The only requirement at this one is the $5 in the savings portion of the account. Since it’s been there for 9 years it probably has earned the credit union a small chunk of change.

Gotta run for realz. *poof*

Oh, that’s not the way I thought they operated. But I have to check here and see if I can find one I like.

Derivatives is just another word for misrepresented value. Gutting our financial houses, by over-valuing their actual assets, iow.

Ouch, that’s an insult to Gilligan, who was basically decent from the little I know about his show.

Matt Taibbi has some questions about the campaign.

With 300 million possible entrants in the race, how did we end up with two guys who would both refuse to bring a single case against a Wall Street bank during a period of epic corruption? How did we end up with two guys who refuse to repeal the carried-interest tax break? How did we end with two guys who supported a vast program of bailouts with virtually no conditions attached to them? Citigroup has had so many people running policy in the Obama White House, they should open a branch in the Roosevelt Room.

Have a blast, Molly. See you when you return home.

Got to do some things now, thanks for good company, and have a good day, pups.

Dammit, I hate to admit it. But this is funny.

He did a PowerPoint presentation for the crowd. According to the National Journal, be began thusly: “ ‘I’m kind of a PowerPoint guy, so I hope you’ll bear with me,’ Ryan told the audience as he began clicking through four slides…”

A word about PowerPoint. PowerPoint was released by Microsoft in 1990 as a way to euthanize cattle using a method less cruel than hitting them over the head with iron mallets. After PETA successfully argued in court that PowerPoint actually was more cruel than iron mallets, the program was adopted by corporations for slide show presentations.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0912/81618_Page2.html#ixzz27aCMHcCx

Portman, who has been playing Obama in weekend debate preparations with Romney, has been filling the role well, the White House hopeful said.

LINKY

Portman?!?

Oh, my. That’s like having your punter coached by Charlie Brown.

Boxturtle (Obama would look okay in Lucy’s dress)

I remember seeing figures of $421T valued derivative, “paper,” somewhere in the last year, and estimates of total worldwide actual capital and hard physical assets somewhere around $125T.

Thanks for the links SD, I am reading even when I am not getting here in the morning.

Seed propagation and saving for next year’s gardening is the latest project. Hard assets.

Namaste SD !

Namaste Petro!!

Republican loyalty. Took his cue from David Brooks and company. You can’t be a Me Firster and not do me me first.

Morning, all. I haven’t seen this here yet (I could have missed it), but there is a joint study (NYU & Stanford) on drone attacks by us in Pakistan. The study shows that the “precision” missles aren’t so precise and many more civilians have been killed than reported by our govt. They are not hating us for our freedoms. The tactic of waiting until emergency aid comes to those already killed or wounded has resulted in aid being forgone to them. As we know, the rationale for delayed strikes is that the original targets were people who would attack the us immediately, so medical aid people would be more of the same. After all, any male is an “insurgent.” How long before this use of drones comes home.

(((To all who are sick or just had little ones and their families))). We support you or are joyous for you.

BTW, it is getting so that being in bear country is replacing EPUland in these threads.

Holy buckets does Rmoney have the cognitive dissonance corner. Talking right now about China taking unfair advantage, saying he’d label them a currency manipulator.

Does he think we do not know how Rmoney has manipulated Romney money thanks to his overseas investments and money shuffles around the globe? Jon Stewart says Romney’s getting dumber the closer the election comes. Obviously Rmoney thinks we are, too.

The polls say: NOT.