Lowbar

Lowbar.com INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION

noreply@blogger.com (Bil Klinton) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:07:00 +0000

Lowbar invented blogging in its present common form.

That's it.

Look Out! Glenn Beck

noreply@blogger.com (Howie Hardcore) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 23:52:00 +0000

You can't make this shit up.

noreply@blogger.com (Howie Hardcore) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 09:07:00 +0000

Is lowbar.com the longest running unproductive .com site in America? That's really saying something. We suck harder than anyone.

East vs. West Coasts

noreply@blogger.com (Howie Hardcore) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:00:00 +0000

Having lived for many years on both coasts I feel I am qualified to make certain distinctions between the two. Specifically, on the East Coast, I've lived in Washington DC, North Carolina and I've spent good amounts of time in Boston. On the West Coast I've lived in San Diego, Orange County and San Francisco.

Bathroom etiquette:
On the East Coast if there is a bank of urinals and a person is urinating at one of them, an east coaster will go into one of the stalls to urinate rather than stand next to another gentleman. West coasters have no qualms about peeing in stereo.

Bars:
East coast bars are loud. The people yell at each other to communicate. West coast bars may have loud music but loud conversation can be construed as you've had too much to drink and unless you want to get the stink eye from the bartender you may want to tone it down.

Beer, wine and other drugs:
People from the West Coast are veritable connoisseurs in comparison to their East Coast counterparts in this arena. There are infinite styles of beer, wine and weed to choose from. On the East Coast you'd be lucky to find a bar that features any taps of beer that are not made within a 100 mile radius of the bar. As a result West Coasters have come to expect freedom of choice and are disappointed when travelling East. Conversely it is easy to spot the West Coast visiting East coaster who goes with the default Bud or Bud Light.

Architecture:
Here the East kicks the West squarely in the teeth, with the exception of Washington DC. The West Coast is just too young and has suffered through many years of horrendous architecture styles. The East Coast in comparison can have an 18th century church next to a Mies Van Der Roh-esque skyscraper offering a feast for the eyes.

Government:
They both suck in slightly different ways but the fringes, outside of the major metropolitan areas have the right idea. New Hampshire has arguably the freest state in the nation. Northern California/Southern Oregon has been a hot bed of liberty and secession for years. California will probably implode faster than New York but they're all based on the same failed economics (but I digress).

Mating:
There are more women to men on the East Coast and vice-versa. This makes getting a date much easier on the East Coast as the women are slightly more aggressive. Dating in California is more of a communal thing, i.e., groups intra-dating between members. Because of this, picking up women in bars in California is almost non-existent. I have only seen this occur a few times whereas on the East Coast it is commonplace. Women have the luxury of pre-qualifying their suitors through friend references, which they do not enjoy to such an extent in the East.

Dress:
No surprise here, Californians are still more laid back in dress than they are in the East. The difference is subtle however. In the East men will wear checked dress shirts whereas in the West a t-shirt will do. In the East men will wear dress shoes with jeans, the West: sandals. Women seem to wear more high heels and hose in the East.

Attitude:
In the East men like to be "johnny on the spot", what can I do for you? etc. In the West the attitude is more wait for the person to tell you what they want and then give an informed answer if and only if you know what you are talking about. There is much less B.S. in the West.

Service:
East Coast generally beats the West on this one, probably due to the attitude reasons mentioned above although when service is bad on the East Coast it's really bad.

Cops:
Believe it or not, West Coast cops are much more intrusive into the lives of citizens than East Coast ones, although both are pretty bad. West Coast cops are a bit more militant and there is a more palpable police society there.

Beauty:
It's hard to argue that the sun setting under the Golden Gate Bridge is more beautiful than the vast sandy beaches at Ipswitch, Mass but I'll go ahead and give my preference. The West is stunning, almost too much so. It's hard to take it all in. The East Coast is beautiful but it seems that one has to seek it out a little harder.

Why I Hate the Pledge of Allegiance

noreply@blogger.com (Howie Hardcore) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:22:00 +0000

Yesterday I asked my five year old son what he did in school. He replied that all of the kids from all of the classes got together in the auditorium and recited the Pledge of Allegiance. And then he repeated it to me: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America" "Yeah I know it." I said. "And to the republic for which it stands..." me: "ugh" "One nation under god, indivisible (he actually pronounced this word pretty well), with liberty and justice for all."

I tried to think of something to say. I hate that they make little kids recite a pledge to a flag of a country and that pledge has a lot of misinformation in it. My son, or any five year old, doesn't know an better and in fact doesn't know what most of those words mean. It might as well be a fun song that he's just singing along to with the group. So I said to my son, "I don't like that." "Well, Mrs. So-and-so told us to say it." He said.

I'm sure for those of you indoctrinated in our public school system, my exception to reciting the pledge may seem like a disconnection. Here then is my reasoning for why I hate the Pledge of Allegiance.

First a little history: The pledge was written, mostly, by a Baptist/socialst minister named Francis Bellamy in 1892. In the pledge he is expressing the ideals of his first cousin, Edward Bellamy, who wrote utopian socialst novels in which the government runs the economy.

In 1954, Congress, after being solicited by the the Knights of Columbus added the words "under god" and therefore made the oath a pledge to the State and a public prayer.

Bellamy, in his own words:

"The true reason for allegiance to the Flag is the 'republic for which it stands.' ...And what does that vast thing, the Republic mean? It is the concise political word for the Nation - the One Nation which the Civil War was fought to prove. To make that One Nation idea clear, we must specify that it is indivisible, as Lincoln used to repeat in his great speeches."

This is the #1 reason I hate the pledge. The nation isn't "indivisible". It is very divisible. The Constitution is an agreement between the states. Inherent in any agreement is the ability to break the agreement or to nullify certain actions undertaken by the whole which the contractees deem outside the bounds of the original agreement. This has been tried a couple of times in the history of the U.S. The most famous time came during the War Between the States. Lincoln (a despotic tyrant in my book) violated the Constitution repeatedly in order to keep the Southern States against their will in the union. The reason the nation became "indivisible" was by force, violence and bloodshed. This is not an ideal I believe five year olds should be chanting.

Secondly I hate that this is a pledge of allegiance to the State. And by State here I mean not the country, which is the place where we physically live, but the government. The government is not us. The opposite of this pledge would read: "I pledge allegiance to myself, to my inherent rights and I dedicate myself to knowing what those rights are and I will defend them against all who try to take them away."

Thirdly, yes, I hate that this pledge mentions god. "God" is not mentioned in my house because I do not believe in telling my son lies that promote errors. Santa Claus is a benign (and fun) lie but god is not. Some people dedicate their entire lives and money to that lie. I hate that my son is being forced to chant the word.

So what can I do about it? Sadly, not a lot. They've got me by the short and curlies. School is free and the private option is too expensive. I could homeschool him but my son needs interaction with other kids. I could complain to the school but I am realistic about their potential reactions. I could file a complaint and let them know how I feel which would give me about a 2% chance of having an effect but at least they'd know and they'd be a little more aware, more so than if I don't say anything. I'm sure they don't hear this complaint too often and they probably don't even think about what they are doing so maybe, just maybe they'll think twice about it as they force the little ones to chant it. I'm not holding my breath though.

DOWn Doobie Doo Down Down

noreply@blogger.com (Howie Hardcore) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:49:00 +0000

Today CNBC.com asked in an online poll when we think the Dow will reach 10,000. The available answers were this week, next week, this month and this year. Notice there wasn't a "not in my lifetime". Why CNBC is perpetually bullish is beyond me. I suppose they wouldn't have any viewers if the stock market truly tanked.

Here's how I would have posed the question: "Will the stock market stay in the 10,000 range or will it continue the downward slope it started last year?" Answer: It'll continue the tank-a-thon.

Here's what's going to happen. This current upward shoot is nearing its apex. The year will end below 9,000. By the middle of next year, say July, the Dow will be at 5,500.

Flu Roundup

noreply@blogger.com (Howie Hardcore) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:31:00 +0000

After all of the fear mongering that I did a few years ago about H5N1 Avian Flu it is appropriate that I provide a postscript and update given our current swine flu (H1N1) pandemic. It appears that I currently have the swine flu. Those in the know tell us that this year's seasonal flu is indeed the swine flu but that it is mild (so far). I concur. The illness that I am currently enduring is fairly mild, irritating but mild. My entire office has been infected however and about a third have gone home ill with complaints of headaches, sore throats, coughing and malaise. I found it interesting (ironic?) that as our government started ramping up the hype to get injections for the flu that I found myself completly opposed to said action. I counseled my wife not to get our son vaccinated even if it meant having to pull him out of school should vaccinations become mandatory. The government does not have a good track record with rushed flu vaccinations and they historically have done more harm than good. And as this particular flu has not posed a more serious threat than the normal seasonal flu, I wasn't about to buy into the hype to get shots. I was willing to take the risk. And like I said it appears I have it and it's no big deal. Yawn.

Little Timmy Geithner

noreply@blogger.com (Howie Hardcore) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:08:00 +0000

Little Timmy Geithner, Obama's 48 year old Secretary of Treasury, wants to "give the Federal Reserve new powers to oversee systemic risk in the banking system and grapple with companies �too big to fail." This is akin to giving a drug pusher control of your morphine drip. Just for review: The Federal Reserve is The Big Banks. Think OPEC but for banking, not oil. OPEC sets the price of oil. The Fed sets the interest rate (or the cost of money). They can do this because they are a cartel. Wikipedia tells us that a cartel is

"A formal agreement among firms that agree to coordinate prices and production. Cartel members may agree on such matters as price fixing, total industry output, market shares, allocation of customers, allocation of territories, bid rigging, establishment of common sales agencies, and the division of profits or combination of these. The aim of such collusion is to increase individual members' profits by reducing competition."

Americans have been duped into thinking that the Fed is something other than what it is. They hear the word "federal" and think it must be part of the government (it isn't). They see the chairman appointed by the President and they think that government controls the Fed (it doesn't). They hear economist tout the benefits of the Fed but what they don't understand is that those same economists are on the Fed payroll (see the enlightening article about this at Huffington Post). The only thing "federal" about the Federal Reserve is that Congress uses the Fed to bankroll all of the crazy schemes it can come up with (think war, ICBMs, new federal buildings, stimulus packages, health care, insert boondoggle here).

The Fed works in secrecy, unlike government. The Fed, up until now, has successfully staved off requests to open its books. Although recently Bloomberg News has sued and won a ruling to have the Fed name the financial firms it lent to or disclose the amounts or the assets put up as collateral under 11 programs. This is great news for those of us that want to see the Fed's true colors but I'm not holding my breath. The Fed is a wily animal with friends in the highest places. They won't go quietly. Also of note is the House of Representative bill, HR 1207, to Audit the Fed, which would allow the GAO the ability for the first time to actually look at the books of the Fed. This is nirvana. It gets even better in that Democrat Barney Frank, who heads the Financial Services Committee has finally agreed to allow hearings on HR 1207 this Friday. The fact that this bill has gotten so far is amazing. I hope it goes further, but again I'm not holding my breath. This is a cartel of bankers. Most congressmen would be out of a job if it were not for the Fed's funding of their emergency spending du jour and many Fortune 500 companies would not exist if it were not for the Fed's intervention, price-fixing, propping up or its Plunge Protection Scheme (I mean Team).

So who is this young man who wants to expand the reaches of the banking cartel? Timmy Geithner is the Federal Reserve. In 2002 he worked for the Council on Foreign Relations (don't get me started on this New World Order organization, we'll be here all day). Then he goes to the IMF. Then he becomes President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York where he also become Vice-President of the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee. Then, as we all know, in 2008 he orchestrates the bail-out of Bear Stearns and AIG. I'll say it again, Timmy Geithner is the Federal Reserve. Of course he wants more power for himself and his cronies and of course he wants the Federal Reserve machine to keep churning, to keep funding bail-outs, unecessary wars, make-work projects, "stimulus" packages and socialized medicine.

As long as Americans fail to notice what is going on, as long as Americans allow thier pockets to be picked through loss of purchase power, higher taxes and increased indebtedness and as long as Americans allow this pseudo-government cabal to operate in secrecy, little Timmy Geithner and his irksome ilk will continue to suck blood from the viens of the rapidly emaciating American consumer.

It Aint Over

noreply@blogger.com (Howie Hardcore) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:13:00 +0000

It�s been an interesting couple of weeks. Official Washington has been on display in all its finery and regalia. Obama addressed Congress live on every major network, Tim Geithner, our boyish Treasury Secretary had a town hall meeting and multiple online �chats�. The Fed�s Beige Book report on the state of the economy came out and proclaimed that the economy is now healthy. Obama addressed our children. Most of the kiddies were forced to sit in front of a t.v. and be spoon-fed a healthy dose of Statist American Pie from the supreme commander. Here are what I perceive these messages to have entailed:

Obama to the children: Stay in your government-run institution (school). Obey your teachers. You cannot make it in this world on your own. Don't even try.

The Fed to Wall Street: We fixed it. Aren�t we great? Nothing to see here, move along.

Geithner to whoever bothered to listen: I�m relevant and I want credit for fixing stuff and I want to leave the door open for helping out my buddies back at Goldman a little bit more so I�ll just say not everything is hunky-dorey yet.

Obama to Congress and the U.S.: I really, really, really want this huge, massive boondoggle called health care to pass. It�ll work, trust me. Everyone�s gonna be happy. I swear. And please don�t bother to do any math here because I am an economic genius and I�ve figured out how to squeeze water out of a stone that�s been in the desert for 10 million years. Pay no attention to the $900 billion price tag (which will probably triple in price just like every other government program).

U.S. to U.S.: Can you believe that asshole shouted �You lie� at the President?

The statists are making it very hard to carefully analyze the true state of affairs in this country. Wall Street thinks everything is fine and is undergoing a rally. The public has seen the deficit balloon in just a year to unmanageable levels but couldn�t care less. Politicians are spending our money like they�ve been given daddy�s credit card with no limit. Democrats think they�re on a roll because the Republicans are in a truly sad state and out of touch. Homeowners think they�re home values will keep rising. Businesses think that everything is ok.

Here�s the truth: The U.S. is in the midst of a major downturn. Housing will continue to crater, in fact we�ve only seen the beginning of what will probably be known as a housing led depression. Unemployment will continue its steady rise. The dollar is in serious trouble and runs the risk of serious devaluation, a travesty that will affect every single one of us. The anger that is brewing in America is the object of late-night jokes but there is a serious undertone there and they will get more organized and violent. The statists will assume more power and we�ll see a further erosion of civil liberties.

What�s my point in saying all of this? It aint over. It�s not even close.

Best License Plate Ever

noreply@blogger.com (Howie Hardcore) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:09:00 +0000

Shock the Economy

noreply@blogger.com (Howie Hardcore) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 21:47:00 +0000

Mirror Mirror on the Wall, Who is buying my next Highball?

NatsDC@gmail.com (Captain Heinous) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 02:37:00 +0000

Well all I know about the FCC is that like many other agencies out there now, they are clamoring for a success story. Essentially, any agency that has received American Revitalization and Recovery Act (ARRA) money is fucked. Just like Cedric the Entertainer said in the "Kings of Comedy" movie, "What am I gonna do with a 1 trillion dollar deficit? I can put somethin' on it..." This is the state of our economic "bail out." Basically, the recipients of these exhorbitant amounts of cash influx have to figure out a way to spend it. So, our taxpayer money is literally being shoveled out of the back of Ryder trucks for con artists and extortionists alike. The documented corruption is almost laughable. For example, most programs at one international development agency, which hapens to be in the U.S., are going to Booz Allen Hamilton, Devis, and AINS, the three contractors working on an over-rated, over-budgeted acquisition/procurement system that has been behind schedule since its inception 5 years ago. So, more money? Great! We will excelerate our stupidity and give more to the contractors who are bringing us a failing project. Brilliant! In another example, I could set up a card table at three rec centers in shithole Detroit and call them "Transition Information Kiosks," garnering over 1 million dollars per annum to help ghetto idiots figure out how to hook up DTV. And the DTV transition postponement? Pure payoff from Obama to his past socialist colleagues to fill their coffers with outreach funds. That's what you get when you elect a novice.

OK, sorry for the rant but I am really pissed that we lost our softball game tonight. At least I got free margaritas out of the deal.

The FCC's Power Grab

noreply@blogger.com (Howie Hardcore) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 22:35:00 +0000

According to the Washington Post, the reason the FCC sent letters to AT&T and Apple demanding to know why they sometimes reject applications for inclusion on the iPhone is because it's the "FCC's way of putting a stake in the ground for making the wireless networks controlled by cell phone carriers as open as the Internet."

Somebody please strangle me now. The only reason the Internet is free is because government can't control it. If they could it would have been done by them long ago. Phone platforms are another matter. They can be controlled because they are managed from a central source. The feds want more control and therefore they are strong-arming AT&T and Apple to get that control. Why the Washington Post wants to confuse us and tell us lies is anyone's guess but don't be fooled. Our government wants increasing power and inroads into every aspect of our previously free lives and does not have "openness" and "freedom" in its vocabulary.

Get Ready for the Economy to Drop (further)

noreply@blogger.com (Howie Hardcore) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:47:00 +0000

The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a low point back in March of this year after which it bounced back up sharply. The trajectory that the trend is on is now arcing down. From my experience this new downtrend will come close to sending the Dow back to the neighborhood of that previous low. I'm not sure if it will come close and not surpass it or actually blow past it but the result will be traumatic either way. For me the Dow is a barometer of the overall health of the American psyche. When the Dow is soaring, American confidence is as well. When the Dow is spiking down, Americans are in a state of panic. So as I talk about the Dow losing 1,500 points in the near term, one could expect the same kind of atmosphere that we had back when things looked more dire. It is conceivable that sentiment could get much worse as it will appear as though the magic of Fed Chairman Bernanke's injections and Obama's stimulating are not working. And speaking of not working, Americans enduring the highest unemployment since the Depression will become a much bigger story. How can the economy turn around when American spending is non-existent? Expect further deflation of prices as retailers slash prices in effort to attract any existing buyers rather than suffer rotting inventories or inabilities to pay their leases. This is good news if you've got cash. As a Jamaican co-worker of mine used to say "cash is king in chaos." Cash will be the only asset which will hold its value during this deflationary time. This view of mine, that deflation will occur vs. inflation goes contrary to most of the libertarians, economists and most of the people that I know. They think that because the Federal Reserve has inflated the monetary base (the true definition of inflation) that rising consumer prices will be the result. Ordinarily they would be correct however this is no ordinary time. We have had a serious prick to the credit bubble. Credit acts just like money as long as everyone believes in it. As soon as it is called into question it works in reverse. The United States was operating on mountains of credit which has, for the most part, dried up considerably. This is akin to sucking out from the total money supply half of what existed. The efforts of the Fed to re-inflate this liquidity have been largely for naught since they can't replace credit. They can't replace confidence in credit. The phrase "pushing on a string" aptly illustrates what is going on now as it did during the Depression when in an exchange between then Fed Chairman Eccles and a Congressman Goldsborough, Eccels pointed out that nothing coud be done, from a central planning standpoint to remedy this situation:

Governor Eccles: Under present circumstances, there is very little, if any, that can be done.
Congressman Goldsborough: You mean you cannot push on a string.

Governor Eccles: That is a very good way to put it, one cannot push on a string. We are in the depths of a depression and... beyond creating an easy money situation through reduction of discount rates, there is very little, if anything, that the reserve organization can do to bring about recovery.

The reason we don't have consumer inflation is because the banks, who received the lion's share of the injections are not lending out their reserves. Instead they are holding their money in the safe haven of the Federal Reserve and only receiving a paltry .5% for it. They're scared to lend this money out to consumers and businesses because they are afraid it won't come back and they are afraid that they themselves may face insolvency (if they're not there already) so it's best to keep that money on hand in case they need it.

So the Dow's going to drop now and consumer sentiment is going to get worse and more layoffs are going to occur and people won't be hired and prices are going to go down and shops will shutter (I've seen a lot of this already in my neighborhood). Oil, gold, and all other commodities will drop.

If you can sell non-productive assets, now is the time to do it. If you can get rid of some inventory, do it now. Hold on to your cash. March was not the bottom. This next go-round may prove to be more painful. And to those who say inflation is coming I ask, "how's that working out for you?" The trend is deflationary. The trend will be down for a bit more. I'll let you know when I've changed my mind about inflation but for now I'm sticking with the trend.

Happy Independence

noreply@blogger.com (Howie Hardcore) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:25:00 +0000

Tomorrow, the Fourth of July, is my favorite holiday. It is not because I like fireworks (I don't) or because I am patriotic (I'm not). When I think of the Fourth of July I don't think of BBQ's and sparklers. I think of the Declaration of Independence, which is, in my opinion, the single most important writing ever committed to paper. The Declaration of Independence served the purpose of the colonists formally separating ties with England. And as Thomas Jefferson crafted those words he mentions that all people have the right and the duty to cast off government when it becomes despotic. The Fourth of July has become a celebration of the United States, which is ironic, because the United States has become the very thing that we hated in Mother England all those years ago: a despotic government. As Thomas Jefferson listed out the grievances against England, we too could easily list out the ways in which the current empire has raped us. But there is hope. Mr. Jefferson lights the way and informs us that it is our duty to get rid of this parasite. The first step is opening our eyes to what "the state" really is. I am loving that California is bankrupt and issuing I.O.U.'s. My hope is that Californias will realize that the 10% they pay in income taxes and the steep sales taxes are for nothing, that they get no real service for their payments and if there is a shortfall in things like education then they'll be amazed at how quickly the free market comes up with answers to needs. If only the Federal government couldn't print up money out of thin air then they would be bankrupt too and we'd be able to see clearly that the Emporer is naked. My greeting to everyone is not "have a happy Fourth" it is "happy Independence Day." and I don't mean celebrate our independence from England. I mean celebrate your inherant right to show the bums the door.

Boy My Arms Are Tired

NatsDC@gmail.com (Captain Heinous) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:58:00 +0000

Just got back from the Bay and had a pretty rough weekend. Man was it hot! Anyway, it is nice to see Howie posted his artwork again. I still want a "Double Barrell" painting but I guess I will have to wait.

Well, tonight I am going to meet the former First Lady Nancy Reagan. We are going to kick it in DC old school. What I really wanted to do is find a 45 RPM I thought I had by the Blue Riddim Band entitled, "Nancy Reagan," which hailed up the First Lady. As you recall, Blue Riddim was the first all-white band to play the Reggae Sunsplash in Jamaica, back in the 80s. I was going to try to get her to sign the reggae single which might have been interesting, but I couldn't find it. Oh well.

Wheel out!

Dow Predictions for 2009/2010

noreply@blogger.com (Howie Hardcore) — Sun, 24 May 2009 19:31:00 +0000

The Dow will drop down to 7,200 in July 2009. The Dow will then surge up to 9,600 by Mid August/September 2009.

After dipping 600+ points (8,900) in late October/early November the Dow will then surge up to 10,800 by Christmas 2009.

The Dow will then drop to 8,200 in April of 2010, after which it will rise back up to 10,800 by August 2010.

After that the Dow will turn sharply lower, eventually arriving at the 4,000 level.

Chuck?

noreply@blogger.com (Howie Hardcore) — Tue, 19 May 2009 03:03:00 +0000

CrazyChuck spotted at Bay to Breakers?

Some art

noreply@blogger.com (Howie Hardcore) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:12:00 +0000

Some new Howie art: http://lowbar.com/howie

I smell

noreply@blogger.com (Howie Hardcore) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:15:00 +0000

I smell like a zoo
I smell like a zoo
I'm basically a monkey
and I smell like a zoo

The Low Bar 1-29-09

noreply@blogger.com (Howie Hardcore) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 03:10:00 +0000

As readers of Lowbar know, I've been prognosticating a major downturn in the economy for years now. And as events have unfolded since September even I have been shocked by just how bad it has gotten. No doubt as our leaders in Washington try to stop the hemorrhaging the markets will buck up and down. But I feel that this time it truly is different. I think that we've gone past the event horizon and are being sucked inevitably into the black hole of insolvency. As this happens confidence, sentiment and statistics will gives us the proverbial writing on the wall. However I find that the media is often reluctant to print this news. Maybe they realize they won't sell as many whatever it is they sell if they are too pessimistic. These stories glare out at me like headlights on a dark, lonely mountain road. So I will take it upon myself to start sharing these lights in the dark and I'll be adding some comments as to why I find them illuminating.

So here goes....

Start with this article that gives a very compelling metaphor of the challenge that is facing our central bank. In it the author, Gary North, says that the ship (raft) of state is headed uncontrollably down a river and either it'll go down Deflation Falls, Inflation Falls or end up in the calm waters of Convention Creek. I personally think we're headed for the dreaded Deflation Falls and are in fact in them already. But time will tell.

Here's some other general indicators today about just how bad the economy is. Sales of new homes fell hard in December, a record was set for unemployment and Japan's production is at historic lows.

We also know that the "economic stimulus" is winding its way through the bowels of Congress and that soon they'll excrete a "package" that'll stink to high heaven. Today we read that some economists are saying this plus the "bad bank" bad idea�will cost us $4 trillion. Yowza!

I also enjoyed reading the drumming that Putin and Chinese Chairman Wen gave us at the Davos conference. He calls us irresponsible (he's right). It's a good read.

More later...

Bullet Vibe (again)

noreply@blogger.com (Howie Hardcore) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 17:33:00 +0000

I recommend doing two shots of tequila and playing the following really loudly on a good stereo:

These are revised BulletVibe songs which have a lead guitar part added.

Bank of America Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Howie Hardcore) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 18:49:00 +0000

I requested from the bank the actual letter that the State of California had sent to them ordering the seizure of my property. The bank kept insisting that it was a court order. They told me this three times even though all of the people from the levy department had not actually seen the court order. They told me that they always get court orders. They also agreed with me that if what was in their possession was not a court order then the seizure would not be lawful and that I should get my money back. I knew it wasn't a court order because the guy who wrote the letter, a low life scum who is just an employee of the state and nothing more, admitted to me that it was not a court order. So I was not surprised (relieved a little though) that what I got in the mail from Bank of America was not legal in any way. There is no court order. What the letter was was a "request" from this employee and the only thing official about it was that it was on State of California letterhead. I called the levy department at the bank again and told them that what they had in their possession was not a court order. This time I got someone on the line who actually threw off the facade that the letter was a legal document. "You're right" he said, "It's not a court order but if you read your depositor's statement, which you agreed to when you opened an account, it clearly states that we can seize your funds." I told him that I had read my depositor's agreement and I know what it says but that it didn't make what they had done legal: to take my property without due process and without a court order. Seeing that my efforts to get my money back through this bank representative were pointless, I mentioned that they might want to stop telling their customers, who suffer a similar fate, that they have court orders because that's a lie, they rarely, if ever, do.

So what's next? Well I've petitioned the Tax Board, through their only venue for grievances about my tax return but I've been told that will take another two months. I'm confident that the balance due in question will be resolved and that ultimately I will get the money back. Both the bank and the State have me over a barrel and there isn't much I can do as long as they both are operating outside of the law.

Fuck California and Bank of America

noreply@blogger.com (Howie Hardcore) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:57:00 +0000

At the risk of opening up myself to scorn and ridicule (what else is new) I've decided to chronicle my dealings with the California Franchise Tax Board and Bank of America because it is an interesting story and might come in handy to some poor soul who will have to deal with them in the future. This will be an ongoing report. I'll start in the middle, flashback to the past and reveal the latest developments as they occur.

Last Wednesday I went to use my Bank of America debit card to buy food for my family's dinner. The card was declined. I knew I had over $2,000 in my account so something was up. I went home, asked my wife if she'd run up any large bills lately, she hadn't and then, because I've been recently dealing with the California Tax Board I thought they might be the culprit. I scoured my house for any unopened letters from Bank of America or the Tax Board, nothing. I then looked at my online statement and saw that both of my accounts had been depleted of funds of around $2,000 plus a $100 fee that the Bank had tacked on for their inconvenience (can you believe those fuckers?).

I then called the bank to try and get some information. The guy on the line told me it was the FTB (Franchise Tax Board) that took it and that I owed them money (I don't... long story, I'll get there) and it was a "court order". I decided to close both of those accounts, no use keeping them open if they are just going to steal from me out of them also I didn't want to accrue any overdraft fees at $35 a pop for any miscellaneous charges that would continue to hit my account.

The next day I called the number of the Franchise Tax Board and I got "Eric" on the line. I have talked with this guy before, he's a complete tool. I asked him what was going on with my account. He said the Tax Board issued a letter to my bank to resolve my outstanding balance. I asked if that was a court order. He said no. I then asked who issued it. He said he did. I asked if he was an officer with any kind of enforcement authority (called a pocket commission with enforcement). He said no. I then proceeded to call him every name in the book and demanded that I get my money back. He hung up on me. Why would I call him names? Because he had no authority to take my money. He just issued a letter with no court backing it. That is unlawful. Tax collectors must follow procedures for seizing funds including getting what is called a Warrant of Distraint, a court order. A mere "notice" of a levy is not an actual levy and is not a legal document but it is an administrative one only.

"Taxpayers cannot be compelled to convey property to tax collectors absent a court order."
-US Court of Appeals Jan 25, 2005

"Notice of levy is insufficient."
United States vs. O'Dell

"Any person who mistakenly surrenders to the United States property or rights to property not properly subject to levy is not relieved from liability to a third party who owns the property."
26 CFR part 301.63332-1 (c)

So now my beef is with the bank and getting information out of these guys has been like pulling teeth so far. They swear up and down that they got a court order although I can't get anyone on the phone who has actually seen it. They all agree that if there is no court order then I should get my money back. Banks have a fiduciary responsibility to guard my property. If they give it over to someone without a court order they, the bank, can be held responsible and liable for damages. I have requested that the actual letter that the Tax Board sent to the bank be sent to me. So far the only thing I have gotten from the bank is a letter that reads: "On November 17th we received a State of California Franchise Tax Board in the amount of $2000..." Notice anything wrong with that sentence? It's incomplete. You received a what? They don't say because they can't. They just received a god dammed letter from a god dam pencil pusher from the state and that's it.

I know they don't have a court order. Eric would not have admitted it if he did, that used tampon would love to wipe my nose in it. "Well maybe he didn't know of this other court order" the helpful lady at Bank of America guessed. "Or how about all of your "Notices' of Levy are not actually court orders" I said. "You never know." she admitted.

In our next episode: The bank sends me the letter (maybe they'll get around to it, maybe they'll stall) that the Tax Board sent them and lo and behold there is no court order. I then contact the bank to get my money back. The bank stalls some more, can't get anyone on the line, have to fill out a form, etc.). My money is sent to the Tax Board and the bank claims they can't do anything about it. I prepare to sue the bank and get the idiot who attests to receiving a court order when there was none brought up on charges of perjury. And later in my tale I'll tell you how I got myself into this here briar patch.

I Told You So

noreply@blogger.com (Howie Hardcore) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:02:00 +0000

It has occurred to me, on more than one occasion, as the economy has fallen off a cliff, as the housing boom has turned into a housing bust, as consumer credit now appears ready to fall apart and as the Dow has cratered that I've foretold all of this within this blog and I've also been annoyingly telling my friends to sell their houses while the getting was good, sell their stocks, etc. Did they listen? No. One of my friends now has three houses, one of which is the one she lives in and has a very expensive mortgage. The other two houses sit empty alongside other houses on their block which are also empty and for sale. Her husband is also out of work and probably won't find a job that will come close to his former salary. She had also invested in REIT's, real estate investment trusts, which at the time, 2002-ish, we're probably a good speculative investment. I told her to get out of them, she didn't listen and I'm sure those REITs, if not worthless are probably not returning any money. I have other friends that bought houses and saw incredible returns. I told them to get out at the peak. They didn't listen. They waited too long and now they're hanging by their fingernails hoping the economy turns around. I work with people who say that their 401k's are in the tank but that "it's only a paper loss." Well if it is just a paper loss then the previous gain was only a paper gain and any euphoria you felt back then concerning the increase was ill-founded. Problem is that there was euphoria and people felt free to spend and run up the price of assets. Now there is no euphoria and the price of everything is falling. Government can try to prop up prices but they can't change sentiment. They can't convince people to be euphoric again. They can't convince banks that it's ok to lend again. And if banks are not lending then the supply of money goes down (because our fiat money is really an instrument of debt, as debt is created through loans then money is created, basically out of thin air) then if the supply of money goes down then we have the opposite of inflation which is deflation. We are definitely experiencing deflation right now across all asset classes: stock market, oil, gold, everything. Deflation is a nightmare scenario, it is the cause of a Depression.

There's a chance the stock market will rebound. If it does then it's a sucker's rally because the trend is down from here on out. This economy has systemic flaws. Cancer has permeated throughout the body of the US and world economy. If there is a rally upward in the stock market, it won't last. If it does happen, thank your lucky stars and get out of any investments you have, except cash, gold (for exchange not as an investment)and guns and build a bunker. Payback will truly be a bitch.