Nice day yesterday for the portfolio. How long will it continue? I'm just hoping long enough to get my money back. I'm not optimistic in the long run. From Ron Paul yesterday in Slate:
In order for the economy to return to normal, the Federal Reserve must cease the creation of new credit, overvalued assets must be allowed to fall in price, and malinvested resources must be allowed to liquidate and be put to use in more productive sectors. The government's reaction to the credit crisis is based on the erroneous belief that the rate of economic growth over the past 10 to 15 years was the result of natural free-market processes, which is not the case. Rates of economic growth during the dot-com and real estate booms were clearly indicative of an overheated economy, and any attempt to try to stimulate the economy to return to such rapid growth will fail. Rather than allowing asset bubbles to pop and malinvested resources to liquidate, Federal Reserve monetary policy has attempted to pump more and more new money and credit into the system to try, in vain, to sustain the economic boom.
I agree with everything Ron Paul says, but what I find heartening: Everyone seems optimistic. When I talked to people over the weekend, no one was panicking. No one really even seemed upset. I mostly encountered shoulder shrugs, light-hearted joking about all their money being gone and living off welfare, and a general feeling that everything will be fine with their portfolios. Surely that confidence means something good for the stock market.
We'll see.
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I don't like politics, but I think people like me better get alert real fast. Fred Barnes on the coming liberal deluge: "Republicans are in extremely poor shape with the election three weeks away. This means the worst case scenario is now a distinct possibility: a Democrat in the White House, a Democratic Senate with a filibuster-proof majority, and a Democratic House with a bolstered majority." He then goes on to outline the effects. Even though he presents it in an even-handed manner, it's scary stuff, and he didn't even touch on social issues like abortion, gay marriage, and gay civil rights legislation that would make it unlawful to decline to associate with a homosexual.
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Interesting observation from England (this link isn't worth following, but I feel obligated to give my source):
More and more, "confirmed bachelor" is not a euphemism for "homosexual", but a description of slightly sad blokes who won't give up the game. They think that Guyland is not a state you pass through in your twenties, but somewhere you aspire to live for ever. Women, perhaps rightly, are starting to clock that an unmarried man over 40 is not a playboy, but more likely a loner with serious commitment issues and a huge collection of porn.
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Received in an email: Questions:
Can you cry under water?
How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?
Why do you have to 'put your two cents in' ... but it's only a 'penny for your thoughts'? Where's that extra penny going to?
Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?
Why does a round pizza come in a square box?
What disease did cured ham actually have?
How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?
Why is it that people say they 'slept like a baby' when babies wake up like every two hours?
If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?
Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?
If you have sex with a prostitute against her will, is it considered rape or shoplifting?
Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?
Why do doctors leave the room while you change?
They're going to see you naked anyway.
Why is 'bra' singular and 'panties' plural?
Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?
If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him?
Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane?
If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat?
Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both dogs.
If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME crap, why didn't he just buy dinner?
If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from?
If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?
Does the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?
Why did you just try singing the two songs above?
Why do they call it an asteroid when it's outside the hemisphere, but call it a hemorrhoid when it's in your butt?
Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?
