Investing in a “Get Over It” World
Being an obvious hate-monger seeking whom I might rend on this beautiful spring day I was pleased–well, as pleased as my sour, twisted, racist, homophobic, xenophobic, mean-spirited psyche allows–with the following letter to savage. While the puppy worries my sheepskin slipper beneath my desk I shall answer the reader’s questions (real and implied.) He–the puppy–and I like to start our days being destructive.
Gary,
I used to enjoy W&G when it was about investing. Sadly it seems to have morphed into Fox and Whiskey News. The health care bill gives back to people who need it a tiny bit of our tax dollars. It passed. Please get over it.
Really, I keep wanting to renew the several newsletters I have paid for and used to enjoy but I (sic) every time I start to write a check I ask myself “do I really want to support an organization that hates American government, hates the fed, hates that minorities may actually get something for their taxes?” and put it away.
Please tell me this is just a phase!
Sorry, Writer, political forces have always had profound socioeconomic effects, which means that only a genuine free market in the absence of governmental pressures would allow us to analyze investment possibilities without considering what King John and the Sheriff of Nottingham are doing and whether Richard would be any better if he returned. If you want to reduce investment to sheer statistics and luck, divorced from what goes on in the real world, I suggest you play the slots, buy lottery tickets, or frequent Bingo parlors.
This “phase” will last as long as market forces are skewed by “I won!” and the politics of envy and robbing us, Chiun, and Matsumi to pay Pablo, Abdullah, those who are “entitled” to eat without working, the unions, the Greenies, lawyers, and other voting blocks. This is not racism or prejudice, it is a grasp of budgeting, cause and effect, and how we choose profitable investments.
Gary, does this person really subscribe to any of our newsletters? How could anyone who read Morning Whiskey conclude that we regard ourselves as entertainers or followers of others, that we “hate” the government and the Fed (in the sense the Writer meant that) or that we regard the health “care” bill as intended to give “minority taxpayers” something in return for their tax dollars? I read every word I don’t write published on W&G and during a year of articles and comments on what is wrong with the legislation we have never phrased them in any way other than the deleterious financial effects which will ensue, Constitutional issues, and mention of hardships which will accrue to “ordinary families” and businesses which have to make profits of some sort or cut jobs or go belly up, as all too many have already, including Circuit City, Linens ‘n’ Things, Block Buster, and just a bank or two. Recent disclosures, per regulations, reveal precisely how “little” corporate wealth will be redistributed to the government for the poor dears who don’t know about many ways to get health care for free, including just clogging emergency rooms, citizens or not.
Actions have consequences. If I employed 53 workers at present I would fire at least four of them immediately and decide whether it made more sense to automate or move my operation overseas. The Laws of Thermodynamics do not work precisely in the financial arena. Expect not “an equal and opposite reaction” but an expanded reaction to the massive tax hikes and increase in costs, bureaucracies, and regulations which will cause harm to family budgets, small firms, and even large corporations out of all proportion to the putative good expanded insurance coverage could produce. Those, in turn, will avalanche across the financial landscape resulting in more businesses closing, higher prices, and fewer goods and services purchased, which leads to fewer taxes collected, and higher and more taxes levied. What an odd world when trillions of dollars that must come out of working capital and widespread misery are touted as “giving back a tiny bit of our tax dollars,” even if we will all be covered for sex change operations. It would be interesting to know how much Obamacare will end up costing the Writer, along with the whack coming from Cap and Trade, the Food “Safety” Bill, and the drive towards “amnesty” for tens of millions of illegal aliens–in direct increases, that is, not in the ultimate causation. My personal concern stops well short of tripling my mandatory insurance costs for less adequate care.
The challenge is “to get over it” and return to analyzing business and financial, economic, sociological, resource, and foreign issues in the pragmatic lights of “this is now” and “this is what is coming from the folks who brought us Obamacare,” so I shall try. We can start with what Hank Reardon said, wearily: “We’ll just have to work a little harder.” Okay, a lot harder and smarter.
In order to choose good investments we must attempt to foresee future needs, desires, trends, and actions and the effects of behavior and legislation. Our bets must factor in the probability of inflation, the effects of taxation and proposed new legislation, and what is going on in BRIC, OPEC, and the EU, along with how much further it is “safe” to attempt to back Israel into dangerous corners and topple Netanyahu’s government. Writer, this is a process that deserves one of those warnings, “Closed course, professional driver, do not attempt this at home.” As the wise old gunslinger said to the wannabe, “Go to pitchin’ hay, son. You’ve got the hands for it.”
The goal is to increase our working capital/provide for our old ages in inflation-adjusted terms, to put it very simply, indeed. W&G experts specialize in gold, energy, emerging technologies, and commodities because the first necessity is to lock in current worth by investing in items with intrinsic value, which are also the ones we expect to hold and increase in value. We do not roll the dice casually and hope for the best. One method–which I sure wouldn’t try–is to “just get over it” and go with the political flow. You want investment advice, Writer? Short coal and go long LNG because the big money is behind destroying the coal industry in favor of LNG. Mercury is probably a good long term hold, against the fast-approaching day when it will be forbidden to manufacture or import far superior and safer incandescent light bulbs. That might be a method much to the Writer’s taste, because he appears to understand the politics of economics. Darn those profiteers selling the gullible wheel chairs and prosthetic devices…but consider buying a chair before the big tax hits.
When divorced from the politics of governmental greed and envy there can be excellent reasons for investments such as our own Byron King’s recommendation of uranium to fuel the vast number of nuclear power plants in China and elsewhere, although not, of course, in the USA.
The best courses for the foreseeable future are seeking cover or getting out from under before more of the Statists’ legislation and regulation are implemented, and analyzing which resources will be more in demand and/or in lessening supply. Concern over the growing insolvency of virtually every country on earth and the likelihood of more bubbles bursting in the coming eighteen months and placing additional stresses on other factors of the economy require that we protect our assets from what is, what we know will come to be, what we infer to be probable, and various combinations and permutations of those. Two lengthy, excellent articles I read this week covered the coming restrictions prognosticated to be placed on capital- and even human flight from the USA. A small blurb mentioned legislation being talked up in Congress at present concerning those, and Reality Check weighed in on this issue today. (Yes, Adam, I’m sure!) Most of my life there have been limits on how much physical cash could be taken out of countries. My conclusion is that anyone considering a move to Argentina, Belize, Panama, or a nation ending in -guay should decide one way or the other fairly soon, since there are reasons to suppose that such immigration will be subject to as much as a forty per cent. penalty in times to come. Some potential host nations are considering the possibility that potential immigrants may find their pension funds cease or will be withheld, rendering new citizens unable to support themselves. We are very close to proscriptions against overseas banking accounts.
More and more one factor needing our most scrupulous attention is taxes, particularly with reference to rising costs which will be the inevitable result of Obamacare, Cap and Trade, bailing out states and more bankers, and frantic attempts to deal with the sharp fall of tax revenue which results from raising rates and in part from giveaways to those who are jobless and not paying taxes. (Los Angeles will be out of money on 5 May and asked for a mere ninety million to tide itself over.) Another is the increasing conflict fomented deliberately by the “post-racial” president and his group. There are things which are far better left unsaid, such as referring to anyone who isn’t an Obamamaniac as a fascist, racist, homophobic, mean-spirited, rednecked, Bible-thumping potential terrorist, thereby raising the suspicions and hatreds of a great many groups against those of us who think we’re kind, hard-working, sensible, good Americans living the principles we were taught sixty and seventy years ago.
The author of the letter above expressed himself as politely as can be done when accusing us of being hate-filled, irrational, immature, elitist scum, but the fact remains that he insulted Gary, W&G, and even me directly and deliberately. It is my opinion, formed over many decades, that we just think the Statists are wrong and frequently very funny, but that they genuinely hate us and seek the destruction of the middle class, in particular that portion of it which creates jobs and enjoys fruits formerly reserved to the ruling, priestly, and warrior classes. They do it for a variety of reasons, but they all work together towards that common goal. The current legislation being pushed has nothing to do with bettering the lot of “the little people” or saving an “endangered” planet. All of it is concerned with increasing the scope and power of government at the cost of intellectual, economic, and uniquely American ideas of freedom. Wry laughter; I suppose that is sour grapes; “it’s immoral, it’s illegal, and I ain’t gettin’ any.”
“Please get over it.” One might as easily expect results from talking to Nancy Pelosi or attempting to explain corporate income tax to a grapefruit as to show this writer why it is irrational to endeavor to “get over it.” Wipe it out of our minds, do not consider the consequences, accept that we have no power to stop the destruction of our nation and a way of life that lead to increasing prosperity for all who worked for a hundred and seventy-five years? Discard our principles and stop being poor sports?`
The ways of the market are ineluctable, Writer, and the reactions of humans predictable. The “compassion” of Roosevelt, Marshall, LBJ, and Obama cost more than any nation can pay, something Cyrus of Persia demonstrated a couple of thousand years ago and King Saud is learning. A very expensive ruling class and bread and circuses plus fiat currency are always a recipe for disaster. The mortgage the House ran up is so far under water it cannot be paid off, period. Ours is the story of Detroit, writ large. During its heyday Detroit was the fourth largest city in the USA, the pride of American manufacturing. Today the population is 400,000 Hispanics, 300,000 Muslims, and a couple of hundred thousand who are also on the dole or running Mom & Pop stores. There is not one single chain grocery store left, and even WalMart has given up, there. Those who created jobs and had jobs left, driven away by unbearable rates of taxation and over-regulation and rising crime. The streets belong to gangs while City Hall yaps for higher taxes and demands even more aid from the state Capitol and the Feds. Sorry; they’re tapped out, too. Pampered union workers discovered that running a fork lift doesn’t pay $85K in the real world but commands little more than minimum wage elsewhere.
The best–for at least the short term–job in America isn’t being a doctor or a lawyer; it is any sort of government position. Higher wages, much better benefits, and great job security…for perhaps another five years.
The facts are all too clear. We aren’t going to get over this “bump in the road.” Those who can will relocate in Latin America or Greek islands, and some of us will continue our efforts to become as self-sufficient as possible. Those with great fortunes and/or political clout are making similar preparations. The bulk of the population is in for times that will make 2010 seem like “the good old days.”
If there is Internet and you can pay your enormous power, telephone, tax, grocery, gasoline, and server bills Christmas of 2012, Writer, tell us then how successful you and the country are in your national socialistic paradise. I will reply, “Get over it.”
Regards,
Linda Brady Traynham
Whiskey & Gunpowder
April 8, 2010
Linda Brady Traynham
Linda Brady Traynham is a former editor and analytical project report writer and is now a Whiskey & Gunpowder field correspondent on a ranch in the Republic of Texas. She studied Counseling at Boston University and got her Masters degree in Philosophy from the University of Hawaii.
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“The health care bill gives back to people who need it a tiny bit of our tax dollars.”
Aye, there’s the rub. “Tiny bit”. A gazillion tax dollars in costs, a tiny bit in benefits to the needy. Unfortunately, compassion is only affordable for a wealthy nation–which for us is a case of “Used to be”. And I don’t see that getting better with age, either.
I guess that as with the poor, the mathematically-challenged will always be with us.
‘Rat
I was not there, and have no way of knowing if the words of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel were accurately recorded, translated and preserved for us today. What we need now, however, is a modern Prophet to rise in America and shout the truth from the rooftops (or on TV).
We are not immortal; we are not omniscient; we are not invulnerable; and change is the only constant. Why, then, are we taxing as if it does not matter, warring as if peace is an obscenity, spending as if tomorrow will never come, and refusing to observe the signs of decay all around?
Nice writing, Ms. Traynham; call out in the wilderness, and say, “There is nothing new under the sun; I looked about me, and all was vanity and vexation of spirit, for none would listen, but each went their own way like sheep.”
We need Prophets, and all we see and hear are politicians.
Linda,
Great article! People are slowly coming to the realization that wisdom is a not the same as intelligence. That giving someone free healthcare doesn’t make them any more healthy. Having the respect of the image in the mirror is far richer than the praise of millions. The time will come again when getting your hands dirty and taking pride in a job well done arises. Until then we suffer the fools.
Mr. Bean
Great article, Ms. Traynham!!! (other than misspelling Rearden) Too bad it is totally lost on “Writer”. If (s)he doesn’t “get” W&G, (s)he certainly won’t understand 99% of what you wrote.
Once again, Linda,you tell the truth and state the facts to another american with his head in the sand. People in this country are as children when it comes to WHY things are comming apart. Cause and effect are unknown to a vast number of our people, but they dont teach that in our goverment schools do they? My God, we can’t have the sheep REASON for themselves. Lets just pretend all is okay. Just as our goverment tells us, Our Great Leader is so wise!
In the 60s they had a saying: Americans are like mushrooms, fed S#%! and kept in the dark. This writer proves that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Take care Linda.
Dear James:
I’ll model myself after Isaiah on a bad day (with wonderful promises if the stubborn will only listen and turn from their wicked ways), and you can be Elijah and sic bears on little kids who laugh at your bald head if you ever get bald.
Dear TN James: Y’all spoil me so. I’d been feeling “mean-spirited,” wicked, outrageous, and incendiary, although right, and the most wonderful readers in the world agree with my strictures and would probably approve if I kicked Writer in the other leg. I’ve been muttering for four or five days because I am fed up with being called names by the “the best and the brightest of the best and the brightest” and their minions. Today the mantra is “trailer trash.” TRAILER TRASH, if you please. If we must have a Nanny state can’t we at least have Mary Poppins? Hugs to both the “James boys.” Linda
Dear Sentinelle_1: Thanks for the nice compliment, and sorry about the spelling. Hank would forgive me. I never could see what Dagny saw in John Galt other than his philosophy, which is a necessary but not sufficient condition for choosing a mate. The heart of THIS bit of “trailer trash” always belonged to Francisco D’Anconia because we’re so alike. “What we mean by ‘I can do it’ is ‘I can do it well!’” His mind, his gaiety for life… I do not believe in sloppy, sentimental “love” based on trifles, and it was very poorly done of Dagny to cast away dear, admirable Hank casually. Hah! In this enlightened post-modern age I can probably keep both Hank and Francisco and we’ll invite John over for dinner if he ever has another idea. Did you get the feeling that he wasn’t much of a conversationalist?
Dear Sentinelle_1: Sorry, I got sidetracked on one of my pet theories, which is that if a man can’t tell me WHY he loves me, to my mind, he doesn’t. My darling Charles loves me for the things I want to be loved for and finds my foibles amusing–and I adore him and treat his with the same gentleness, and here I go again. What I really wanted to say is that Writer would do well to reread my article until he/she DOES understand it. About three times through should do it. Thanks for writing, and do it again, please. Linda
Dear Mr. Bean: Thank you for a very nice compliment and for expressing great truths well. I write about our life on the ranch partially to inspire, in part because our happiness just bubbles up out of us, and also because one of our joys IS diagnosing and fixing problems. My best male friend other than MDC is also an engineer, and the two of them had a whale of a time this morning determining what was wrong with one of the tractors, particularly when they discovered a toggle switch wasn’t faulty but a wire had come loose. They were dirty, greasy, sweaty, beaming, and totally successful. “Pita” (He’s Brit, so that’s BBC for “Peter”) tootled off to get parts, and tomorrow they will twiddle joyously with ball bearings and replacing filters, as happy as a pair of ten-year-olds with a giant new Erector set. I get the same pleasure out of making things, and a big reason why we collect vintage cars is because we CAN fix them ourselves. We regard it as failure to have to “call the man.” I don’t have room to quote Robert Heinlein on what a competent human should be able to do, but it encompasses everything from diapering a baby to solving differential equations to arranging flowers to shooting faster than a drygulcher. The real secret of life is that the more you can do and know the more fun it is, and if you can’t respect yourself who cares what the world thinks? Poor Obama and his entirely political “Peace Prize.” Honors we haven’t earned are very bitter. Regards, Linda
Dear Mr. Bean: My first response was too long and the filter ate it. Thank you for a very nice compliment and expressing great truths well. The more we know and the more we can do the more joyous life is, and if you can’t respect yourself it doesn’t matter what the rest of the world thinks. Thanks for inspiring an article. Linda
My take on “writer” is that he/she is spreading the talking points of the Obozo gov’t.
“health care is good. if you do not support it, you must be racist.”
Great writing.
I’m becoming a fan of Lindy Brady.
Hugs back at ya Linda. Keep up the good work.
I always think God and the Jews were the 1st Libertarians. Here are some laws that will make you live and prosper. Just be descent to yourselves and others and it’ll all be good. Many folks forget that the Jews asked GOD 1st for Judges and then Kings. God gave them the worst punishment in the world. He gave them what they wanted.
We are again getting what we asked for from our government. “Any government that can give you anything can take from you everything.”
Hey, Linda! Thanks for responding. And you can call me Val. It’s easier to type than Sentinelle_1.
I so totally agree with your “pet theory”! I can think of at least a half dozen statements Rand may have been
trying to make with that conclusion, and some of them I could agree with. But, you’re right… she just didn’t
convey what it was about Galt that made not only Dagny, but all the men as well fall so readily in love with him
and so willing to accept him as a romantic rival. All philosophy and no charisma doesn’t do it for me either.
But, maybe that was deliberate so as not the detract attention from the philosophy. Or, maybe it was just that
Rand was that much in love with her own philosophy.
And besides, where does that leave Francisco and Hank? If it’s about the triumph of pure reason and honesty
over human nature, and they are to be so purely honest with themselves, then Dagny is the only woman on
Earth who can live up to them, and therefore the only woman either of them should ever be with. That’s not just
a sacrifice on their part for the sake of a “philosophy”. It’s a sacrifice for all human kind. What an insufferable
waste of genes!
I like and admire Francisco, but I lean a little more toward Hank. I’m not sure why. Maybe because Rand let
us get to know him better but left Francisco’s thoughts a mystery.
I have to totally disagree with you about one thing, though. I’m re-reading Atlas Shrugged now, and it alarms
me (to put it mildly) how closely what we see going on right now parallels the book. People like “Writer” aren’t
going to “get it” no matter how many times they re-read your response to that email. I don’t know what it is
about their thinking process, but it seems like a type of dyslexia. For instance, that puerile comment about
“hates that minorities may actually get something for their taxes” – never mind the fact that the people
ObamaCare is alleged to help don’t pay much if anything in taxes, so that should actually read “…get something for YOUR taxes”. But seriously, when they listened to arguments against the bill, that’s the
translation their brains registered?
I guess I’m revealing my own character flaws here. I have a very low tolerance for irrationality, injustice and
hypocracy. It galls me no end that people like this can b***h and moan about “social justice” at the same time
they’re committing the injustice of demonizing rational and practical arguments with baseless accusation of
racism. But, what I’m trying to say is that there’s something completely irrational about the “progressive”
thinking process. It’s as though they are brain-washed, and somehow in their minds reason is associated with
the basest and most evil motivations. So, no matter how rational your argument may be, they are going to
twist it into something malignant… just like James Taggert.
Am I an arrogant monster for feeling superior to such as these? I think Rand would say “no”.
Keep the wisdom coming! -Val
Linda, a lovely piece of writing as usual. Suprised that you didn’t mention the coming VAT, but then I’m sure you’ll have plenty of ammo on that as a seperate essay. Krauthammer mentioned it two weeks ahead of Volcker’s trial balloon from yesterday. When the political class attempts to pass it here it will be a 20% national sales tax on top of the income tax. And “Writer” thinks he/she is not taxed enough already…
You know the story, when Joseph interpreted Pharoh’s dream concerning the 7 fat years followed by the 7 lean years, he advised Pharoh to tax the culture at only 20% of the crop and store the grain in preparation for the famine years. This amounted to an across the board tax cut and the farmers responded by putting more land to the plow. Pharoh had to build more graineries to store the 20% of the increasing yield. Eygypt survived the famine years. Would that our culture could re-discover the ancient wisdom instead of doing the reverse.
Good thing you couldn’t kick “Writer” in the other shin–waste of time. The gunslinger quote was apt and polite, however as a sailor I will be blunt. “Writer” and his or her ilk wouldn’t have sense enough to pour piss out of a boot if the instructions were on the heel.
Shalom,
Walt
Dear Linda, I’ve been patiently quiet, but now must comment. The Obamaites would like us to go quietly into the night and succumb to their tender mercies. The next 2 tax seeking measures are the Vat and nationalizing IRAs and 401ks. They need the money to pay for the wonderful programs that will make life better for everyone. Especially the underprivileged. Lenin advised that to achieve the goals of economic control, collecting and dispersing the wealth, first the currency must be denigrated, then taxes must be raised.
Seems as though we are well on our way.
I have written a detailed paper on addressing the health needs and Medicare, Medicaid problems we face. I hesitate to submit it as a commentary. I will send it to a designated E-Mail address if desired. Herach.
Hi, Linda! Thanks for replying. And you can call me Val. It’s a lot easier to type than Sentinelle_1 (that’s my
old Vast Right Wing Conspiracy handle). I tried to reply earlier, but my post was too long.
I TOTALLY agree with you regarding the way Rand wrapped up that whole love triangle thing. All philosophy
and no charisma didn’t work for me either. I tend to lean towards Henry, though. I could cite at least a dozen
reasons, but I think that’s why my earlier response got eaten.
I have to disagree with you, though regarding “Writer”. I think Walt is correct – kicking “Writer” in the shin
wouldn’t do a bit of good. Nor would it mattter how many times someone like that re-read your article. It’s as
though people like that have some form of dyslexia that causes their brains to translate reason into base and
evil motivations. Or, their “compassion”, their self-righteous sense of so-called “social justice” is a membrane
that only allows feel-good rhetoric and slick political sales jobs to pass though, but logic, REAL justice and the
lessons of history throw their immune systems into overdrive. The “Writers” of the world will never understand
what you wrote no matter how many times they re-read it. They’re all just like James Taggert and Henry’s
mother. They exhalt “compassion” so highly they believe it can exist in the absense of self-interest and actual
justice. Therefore, no amount of reason can make them see that what they call compassion has evolved into a
parasite and it’s killing the host.
I’m not saying it’s pointless to post replies to people like “Writer”. Those of us who do get it enjoy reading it!
It’s just that the total hypocricy of their concept of “social justice” galls the c**p out of me and I needed to vent.
Keep the wisdom coming! Regards! -Val
I have to disagree with you, though regarding “Writer”. I think Walt is correct – kicking “Writer” in the shin wouldn’t do a bit of good. Nor would it mattter how many times someone like that re-read your article. It’s as though people like that have some form of dyslexia that causes their brains to translate reason into base and evil motivations. Or, their “compassion”, their self-righteous sense of so-called “social justice” is a membrane that only allows feel-good rhetoric and slick political sales jobs to pass though, but logic, REAL justice and the lessons of history throw their immune systems into overdrive. The “Writers” of the world will never understand what you wrote no matter how many times they re-read it. They’re all just like James Taggert and Henry’s mother. They exhalt “compassion” so highly they believe it can exist in the absense of self-interest and actual justice. Therefore, no amount of reason can make them see that what they call compassion has evolved into a parasite and it’s killing the host.
I’m not saying it’s pointless to post replies to people like “Writer”. Those of us who do get it enjoy reading it!
It’s just that the total hypocricy of their concept of “social justice” galls the c**p out of me and I needed to vent.
Keep the wisdom coming! Regards! -Val
Oops. Apologies for the “repeat posts”. I didn’t see that the first one went through.
-Val
dum ta dum dum dummmm, drum roll, cymbal crash, What she said, ” get over it” Wonderful.
Dear Texas Lady,
“Dear James:
I’ll model myself after Isaiah on a bad day (with wonderful promises if the stubborn will only listen and turn from their wicked ways), and you can be Elijah and sic bears on little kids who laugh at your bald head if you ever get bald.”
Forgive me, but didn’t the Lord send the bears? Did Elijah ask for them? I can’t remember; have to dig out my OT tonight. Maternal Grandpappy had a fair head of hair in his seventies, so I probably won’t have that problem.
We still need a few prophets – otherwise, the people wander in darkness. And although I am James the Wanderer, I prefer to wander where I can see, and not bark my shins in the night. Our current crop of thieves, however, wouldn’t know a prophet from a loss – and lately, losses is all Washington seems to give us. Bears may poop in the woods, but our political “leaders” are pooping on US – and it’s time we told them so, and told them to quit.
Stupak has had enough, and is resigning – one down, 400+ to go!
Cheers!
james
Dear Desert Rat: The problem–as Colonel and Congressman Davy Crockett pointed out–is that compassion is something individuals either have or they don’t, but it is NOT a privilege or duty under the Constitution. “Doing good” with other people’s money is neither effecient nor is it permitted under our political “rules of engagement.” We sympathize with those devastated by hurricanes, and as individuals we are certainly at liberty to donate time, food, clothing, and money, but words such as “disaster area” and “disaster relief” are not permitted on the federal level. Such may or may not be under individual state constitutions. I rather doubt it, but we could all go look. Thanks for writing again. The responses I get here are a shining reward I neither sought nor expected. Thank all of you very much. Linda
Dear Val: Chuckle…you are absolutely right. Francisco is brilliant and fireworks, but only Hank is shown to us in enough detail to reveal that he is the one who would win and keep our allegiance. I have never thought him “dull,” something John Galt definitely is. Hank is a man of enormous character and courage, and he has great taste in gifts, too! Val and I are having a philosophical discussion, guys, not a groupie session. After I was widowed I composed a list of twenty qualities I wanted in the man I hope to share the rest of my life with, and nowhere on it are how much hair or money he should have or what sort of car he drives. My darling Charles is everything I think a man should be, including odd enough to think I’m wonderful too! A very great truth is that the older we get the easier it is to find someone who has grown in the same ways we have, whose interests, character, and behavior match ours, whose core beliefs are the same…may all of you find the happiness I have. Delighted laughter! I am certain you have noticed, Val, that a lot of very bright, very attractive men comment on my articles, as well as some terrific ladies. However, the truth has always been that there are a lot more spectacular men than there are women. Mock sigh. What a pity we’re only allowed to keep one at a time!
Dear Dr. H: I look forward eagerly to reading your paper. You won a hunk of my heart with the first comment you ever wrote, telling us a little about your life, your views on the future, and the way you were coping with the snow storm. I have been hoping you would write an article. Fond regards, Linda
Walt, dear, you are always a delight, and you’re right all down the line, of course. My grand old sailor offers comments that make me laugh (since there are just the two of us) that I cannot bring myself to commit to print, because they are pungent as well as witty. He doesn’t write, himself, being perhaps the worst typist I have ever known, but he takes great interest in my work, finds articles and facts for me, and almost invariably has the information I need in his head. If he doesn’t, he Googles it for me. Since I seem to be on a marital bliss kick, today…ladies, if you come across a man who is both an engineer and a sailor, take time to give him a chance (if you’re free, of course.) He may be weird, but he will never bore you!
” The health care bill gives back to people who need it a tiny bit of our tax dollars. It passed. Please get over it. ”
In other words, it successfully takes from the rich (that is, the non-poor) and gives to the poor. Desertrat is right – “a tiny bit” is little more than an insult. The greater insult is that it forces those who are perfectly happy without insurance. If you’re in good shape, you can go years without seeing a doctor. Yearly dental checkups are an affordable out-of-pocket expense. What people need is catastrophic coverage. What doctors need is for evil lawyers like John Edwards was, to go away, to step up in the world and become dog-catchers.
“If I employed 53 workers at present I would fire at least four of them immediately and decide whether it made more sense to automate or move my operation overseas.”
You would not be the first. That is happening now.
I certainly have trouble with a 2700-page law about which Speaker Pelosi said, “we’ll just have to pass it to find out what’s in it”. A sane Congress would find out first. (But then, I’ve always been a bit idealistic.)
I’m a newcomer here, but I’ll put this place on my “A-list”. Somebody mentioned the VAT. Europe has it, ans well as Australia and New Zealand. It’s an all-encompassing tax. Buy a pencil or a house – fork over 17.5% (in Formerly Great Britain). None of these silly “these things are taxed, these aren’t”. Somebody should have thrown a pie at him – or hit him with a rubber chicken. If they float an idea like that, and the peasants don’t revolt right away, they’ll think they’ve got us.
I’m still trying to figure out how to buy Swiss gold ingots without having to pass either paper or electronic funds through the Federal Money Transit Detector. But I’ll read on, here. Maybe there are some ideas.
The downside of gold: have you ever tried to buy a loaf of bread (or a Big Mac) with a gold coin? A few weeks ago I worked out that a coin the size and shape of a dime would be worth somewhere around $400.
Still, if the economy gets any worse, that’s how much a loaf of bread or a Big Mac will cost.
That Linda always a “Southern Belle” might be fun to see her cut loose with a colorful metaphor or 2. I like her though cause I do love her cutting remarks and they would be weakened by anything so crass as cursing. She’s like Kate Hepburn in the “African Queen” “Human nature, Mr. Olnutt is what we were put on earth to rise above.” This was the propaganda that kept me from buying the liberal line.
Momma raise a little constitutional republican. I don’t know if she knows what to do with me.
I’m still against slavery that’s why I have such a problem with illegal immigration. Slave holders use that same line we pay them, just not as much as a white man. Or a “Real American” Democrats are still playing the same game.
Dear Linda:
It was Elisha who sicced the bears on the rude children, not Elijah– II Kings ch.3, v. 23-24. Elijah’s violence tended towards the verbal. When teaching my high school freshman world history class I always manage to work Elisha in their somewhere; not that it does a whole lot of good.
jay
Dear Jay: How right you are. Elijah was the one the ravens fed and who didn’t run out of oil until the widow ran out of jars, huh? I have always been partial to Isaiah’s blood-curdling line of threats and the things he promised would come to be if the wicked turned from their ways. We don’t really discuss religion around here, but it would be fascinating to hear a modern Isaiah hold forth on the Statists and current actions towards Israel, wouldn’t it? The Psalms can get a bit gory, too, as I recall…Linda
Dear ZZMike: Welcome to the crew! We have lots of fun and you’ll fit right in. Start by rooting around in the W&G archives. Goodness, no, not with me! Adrian Ashe and Doug Casey are experts on gold. One slight clarification: when bread costs $400/loaf, a third of an ounce of gold won’t be the “$400″ in question, any more than you can buy 1/4 ounce now for the $50 it cost about ten years ago. A scandal broke recently that confirmed what I have intuited several times, that the PM market was being manipulated. I could “read” it in the charts, I just didn’t know who or how. There are already a few grocers and others who have money changers in house. Gold is where you put your “big” money; silver and commodities are for sustenance and barter during hard times. Thanks for writing, please do it again, and you can reach my personal e-mail by leaving a question/comment at http://www.thetexasring.com. You’ll like it, too. Linda
Dear Joe: The SPAM filter ate my reply, wretched thing that it is. Thank you very much, but it would be better to be a friend of Linda Brady Traynham than a fan of Linda Brady. I’m much more interesting and nicer now than I was when I was (as Queen Hatshepsut said) young and really quite good looking. She added that there was no harm in telling people such things. How frequently I recall Dr. Peter Haynes, of the Philosophy Department at the U of Hawaii. In this instance, he smiled at me one day and told me that I was a brilliant child but I would be a great deal nicer when I had been snubbed thoroughly several times! (He did an excellent job of it.) He didn’t teach me humility, exactly, but he taught me that true happiness is not possible until we learn to compete against ourselves, not others. Here’s to Bliss Wilson, too. She told me quietly that if I wanted to grow up to be a sweet little old lady I needed to start practicing THEN being a sweet little YOUNG lady. I blinked, realized that was what I wanted, and changed my ways. I’m glad I did!
Laughter, dear Lynne. The only time my mother ever heard me say something crass she looked at me like Queen Victoria on a particularly bad day and said disdainfully, “You have an excellent vocabulary. I expect you to use it to express yourself.” Very true. One of my frustrations currently is how difficult it can be to decipher what others are attempting to convey. Specific examples and even “etc.” have been replaced by (forgive me for penning unseemly terms) “all that crap” and “shit like that.” Those are sloppy, nonspecific, unenlightening, vulgar, and a bad habit. Repeated questioning frequently elicits the information the speakers thought they had made clear. I am even amused when I get disapproving mail because I don’t know what the terms used mean! They are clearly derogatory, but they have no power to wound. Hug, and it’s time to go sit outside with my darling Charles and watch cattle, goats, and chickens!
People are funny creatures: presented with the proof, they still make the choice to believe what they WANT to be the truth, which is frequently not the same thing.
Mean spirited? Twisted? Racist? Nah, unless you don’t fit what it is they choose to believe is the truth. You should hear some of the things I’ve been overheard saying……. Like “push the button, lets start over”.
In a few years from now though, they will. Then how they’ll wish they had not destroyed this country
Dear Brendgard on Barstool 61: I was working off a little steam because I am tiring quickly of being called ugly, unfair, increasingly dangerous names. The intent is not just to demean and belittle, but to do actual harm. We have always thought “political correctness” was funny, but THEY don’t, and they are the ones passing legislation against “hate crimes” and “hate speech.” Other than their own, that is. It would take a whole article to respond to your last sentence, so I’ll go write one. Thanks for the comment. Linda
Dear Brendgard: Thanks for the comment. The SPAM filter ate my reply again, but with luck it will be up tomorrow. Maybe we should use the childish taunt of “Takes one to know one!” Linda
” The health care bill gives back to people who need it a tiny bit of our tax dollars. It passed. Please get over it. ”
In other words, it successfully takes from the rich (that is, the non-poor) and gives to the poor. Desertrat is right – “a tiny bit” is little more than an insult. The greater insult is that it forces those who are perfectly happy without insurance. If you’re in good shape, you can go years without seeing a doctor. Yearly dental checkups are an affordable out-of-pocket expense. What people need is catastrophic coverage. What doctors need is for evil lawyers like John Edwards was, to go away, to step up in the world and become dog-catchers.
“If I employed 53 workers at present I would fire at least four of them immediately and decide whether it made more sense to automate or move my operation overseas.”
You would not be the first. That is happening now.
I certainly have trouble with a 2700-page law about which Speaker Pelosi said, “we’ll just have to pass it to find out what’s in it”. A sane Congress would find out first. (But then, I’ve always been a bit idealistic.)
I’m a newcomer here, but I’ll put this place on my “A-list”. Somebody mentioned the VAT. Europe has it, ans well as Australia and New Zealand. It’s an all-encompassing tax. Buy a pencil or a house – fork over 17.5% (in Formerly Great Britain). None of these silly “these things are taxed, these aren’t”. Somebody should have thrown a pie at him – or hit him with a rubber chicken. If they float an idea like that, and the peasants don’t revolt right away, they’ll think they’ve got us.
I’m still trying to figure out how to buy Swiss gold ingots without having to pass either paper or electronic funds through the Federal Money Transit Detector. But I’ll read on, here. Maybe there are some ideas.
The downside of gold: have you ever tried to buy a loaf of bread (or a Big Mac) with a gold coin? A few weeks ago I worked out that a coin the size and shape of a dime would be worth somewhere around $400.
Still, if the economy gets any worse, that’s how much a loaf of bread or a Big Mac will cost.
Goldman and the volcano are great excuses for this market to finally give up. It has been floating on hot air for months. The sad thing is, we can see it coming but can’t do anything about it AND the “greedy capitalists” will get the blame, even though our governments were the main cause or at the very least, the main enablers. This drop will be the big one and the impact at the bottom may very well kill freedom in this country, or at least cripple it for a very long time. Of course, the “get over it” types will be the ones crying the loudest about how unfair it is that they have to suffer from not being prepared and demanding that the government take from the “haves” to give to them. If I put in print how I REALLY feel, I’d end up on some government watch list for sure.
The letter writer and all the Obamazombies just do not have the ability to understand us. They are products of our dumbed down educational system and have never been taught critical thinking skills. When things get worse as a result of current political policies the Ocommies will blame anyone who does not agree with them. I’m taking steps to keep my income and assets out of reach of government controls. You can’t tax a man who has no income or bank accounts. It’s time for as many that can to “go Galt” and stymie the efforts of the lefties. When they finally can’t pay on their promises their former supporters will call for their heads.
It will be a great show.