If the S.F. Giants were the Congress of the U.S., perhaps they could get something done. At least they played as a team not as individuals. That is why they won, not because they were better than the Tigers! Don’t forget to go to Taco Bell today between 2-6pm to get your FREE taco courtesy of Angel Pagan! A great advertising gimmick…oops, should it be banned as it can go to the poor? Nah, the government is paying for it…except in lost tax revenues…1 million x 99 cents. TB
TB’s Quote of the Day: “ For a long time I have not said what I believed nor do I ever believe what I say, and if indeed sometimes I do happen to tell the truth, I hit it among so many lies that it is hard to find.” – Niccolo Machiavelli (1469*1527). An honest man!
Bloomberg Quote of the Day: “Everyone rises to their level of incompetence.” – Laurence J. Peter…yes, even to Congress or the presidency, right folks?
Bloomberg Top Stories:
*New York Stock Trading Halt Is Longest Weather-Related Shutdown in Century
*UBS Increases Profit Target With 10,000 Job Cuts After $2.32 Billlion loss – but buy?
*Home Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Climb Most in Two Years, Case-Schiller Says
*Stocks Advance on Earnings as S&P 500 Futures Erase Decline- had been WEAK!!!
*Deutsche Bank Profit Rises After Markets Rally Sparks Trading Revenue Gain
*Sandy’s Toll Poised to Exceed $20 Billion as Damage Mounts to Public Works
*France Shares Determination With Germany to Keep Greece in Single Currency
*Turkish Banks Go for Gold to lure $302 Billion Hoard Surpassing Irish GDP – !!!
*Sandy Crashes Across Pennsylvania as Flooding Causes Manhattan Blackouts
*Ohio Wavers to Obama Along Mahoning river as Lost Wages Vie With New Steel
*Sandy-Related Damage Cuts electricity to More Than 1.9 Million New Yorkers
Stocks markets were closed yesterday (except for some electronic trading which was meaningless). Bond market was open due to Treasury Bill auctions, but closed little changed and are closed today.
Gold and especially Crude were mixed and little changed and up slightly overnight.
Overnight markets: European stocks strong and up about 1% while Asia is weak. Foreign bonds little changed while Greece remains above 17%.
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…remember that slogan from Chicago’s days of organized crime? The GOP seems intent on convincing us that the elections are still rife with fraud. This despite the fact that on election day there will be at least 10,000 lawyers out there monitoring for both sides. TB lauds the GOP for this…sure everyone should have a photo ID but once again the devil is in the details. Also, why are they so concerned about this? Voter ID is a proposed amendment to the Minnesota state constitution and what is incredible is that it only takes a 50% vote to carry…for an amendment? Worse, no problem exists!
The courts are ruling that the purpose of voter ID laws is not truth but discrimination against certain classes. As if that is not enough, despite their cries of widespread voter fraud there is little evidence to support it and they, then have the brashness to be trying to illegally register non-residents in Florida as reported by the L.A. Times!
The latest argument in MN is that with elections so close even a few illegal votes could make the difference. This assumes of course that ALL of those votes went for the same candidate or proposition. This too is highly unlikely.
The big argument however, and the greatest threat is that of voters names remaining on the polls who are deceased or have moved. There is some merit to this…especially in the case of deceased voters where another resident of the household could vote their ballot – presumably. In cases where they have moved, the USPS doesn’t forward ballots to those who have moved. Sure they might miss a few but it is not likely to be significant.
The point is that it is only the two political parties that stand to gain from this so how can they make it work on a small scale? It is most effective in local elections where there is a high likelihood, however, that someone might know the real voter. Would you risk a felony conviction on this. Which brings us to another fear of theirs: convicted felons voting illegally. Again this is a felony and if you were a convicted felon do you truly believe your right to vote would be a priority? Pullease…how many drug dealers care to vote? Get real people and save your state money by not imposing costly regulations. By the way in MN, in a rare moment of solidarity both a prominent GOP leader and the DFL governor are together in an ad asking that you vote NO to voter ID. Listen to them!
TB’s biggest fear is that the election will not be decided next Tuesday…that follows closely by the lies being promulgated by the SuperPacs AND the two national committees. The parties have no control over the SuperPacs (at least visibly), but they do have control over their ads. The DNCC in an ad said a GOP candidate accepted money from Chinese prostitutes. Here is the logic according to politifact: Sheldon Adelson owns casinos in Macao and reportedly has prostitutes working in them. Ergo, accepting funds from Adelson is the same as from prostitutes. Not only was this a lie but the DNCC had to retract it and apologize. Both parties are doing this as the state campaigns heat up. Frankly, TB is sick of ALL the ads…get them off the air…they teach us nothing and in fact are mostly lies. Great job Supreme Court justices…protecting those corporations …er, individuals! Individuals that you can’t send to prison! Lest you forgot.
OK, took a shot at the Dems, now the GOP. We already covered illegal voter registration but how can a party that tossed out the phrase “they’re going to throw grandma under the bus” or “bureaucrats are going to pull the plug on grandma’ continue to tell us the Dems want to control your life. Gay marriage (on ballot here as an amendment), abortion rights. Here is the argument: the scriptures say this…it is all well and good that one believes this. It is another thing to violate the sanctity of separation of church and state. Here, one of the Catholic archdiocese spent $60,000 of parishioners funds fighting gay marriage. This despite the needy people in the church and fact that a good percentage of Catholics disagree with the dogma on right to life and homosexuality. This is particularly odd in light of all of the sexual abuse attributed to priests of late…don’t you think? The GOP needs to learn exactly what separation of church and state means and honor it, instead of pandering for votes from the Christian right.
Next, the silent of late Tom Friedman wrote a great column on right to life…hope you will read it and think about what it means: Friedman/pro life?
Lastly, JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon has done all he can to demean and neutralize Elizabeth Warren and Sheila Bair. Take a look at this short list comprised by Bair on how to ‘fix’ the banks and you can see exactly why he loathes them. But that doesn’t mean that you should…in fact, we, the people, should embrace these ideas. How to fix the banks
Have a great day!
TB
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