The Little Thread Which Grew - the Apollo '73 to Everything But

[afaceinthecrowd]

I have absolutely no idea who Ty Cobb is or was so I couldn't possibly be offended by it. Mind you that means I couldn't be complimented with it either. Could one of you yankee gringos explain to me who he was? And all those others too.

Ty Cobb was an American outfielder in baseball and spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the last six as the team's player-manager, and finished his career with the Philadelphia Athletics. Cobb is widely regarded as one of the best players of all time. In 1936, Cobb received the most votes of any player on the inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, receiving 222 out of a possible 226 votes. Cobb was also famous for his surly temperament and aggressive playing style.

Cobb is widely credited with setting 90 Major League Baseball records during his career. He still holds several records as of 2010, including the highest career batting average (.366 or .367, depending on source) and most career batting titles with 11 (or 12, depending on source). He retained many other records for almost a half century or more, including most career hits until 1985 (4,189 or 4,191, depending on source), most career runs (2,245 or 2,246 depending on source) until 2001, most career games played (3,035) and at bats (11,429 or 11,434 depending on source) until 1974, and the modern record for most career stolen bases (892) until 1977.

 

[Ted]

Story Songs

I just love a good story song. Guy Clark is right at the top when considering best-of-the-best in that category.

This song was obviously born of the Superman TV series on '50s TV, and much earlier the comic books that go back to 1938. It was the TV series that concerned my parents. TV reached as many if not many more people than comics. That was a time when the news of the day would include some kid who had hurt or killed himself after jumping off a roof emulating that fictional character, Superman.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAuI0q6bqLU&feature=related

 

[Ted]

Story Songs

Here's another gem from Guy Clark:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY5MOUO464Q

 

[Ted]

Story Songs

Finally, for today , a broken-heart song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQGjkBuMGAU

 

[Ted]

Story Songs

I just love John Prine's irreverent points of view and sense of humor.

Here's "In Spite of Ourselves."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5axlwCBXC8

 

[Leon]

Ty Cobb was an American outfielder in baseball and spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the last six as the team's player-manager, and finished his career with the Philadelphia Athletics. Cobb is widely regarded as one of the best players of all time. In 1936, Cobb received the most votes of any player on the inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, receiving 222 out of a possible 226 votes. Cobb was also famous for his surly temperament and aggressive playing style.

Cobb is widely credited with setting 90 Major League Baseball records during his career. He still holds several records as of 2010, including the highest career batting average (.366 or .367, depending on source) and most career batting titles with 11 (or 12, depending on source). He retained many other records for almost a half century or more, including most career hits until 1985 (4,189 or 4,191, depending on source), most career runs (2,245 or 2,246 depending on source) until 2001, most career games played (3,035) and at bats (11,429 or 11,434 depending on source) until 1974, and the modern record for most career stolen bases (892) until 1977.

Hmmm Thanks for this. I reckon I can be Ty Cobb. He sounds OK to me.

 

[FoTi]

Per the NY Times:

The top 1 percent of taxpayers paid 40.42 percent of total federal income taxes in 2007, according to the most recent data from the Internal Revenue Service.

​

If the people who run all the small businesses, the executives, doctors (and other professionals) who put in 60+ hour weeks, get fed up with working long hours just to get most of their income taxed away, then the federal government is in trouble.

Visualize a whole bunch of high-income people deciding that they would rather have half the income in exchange for a lot more leisure time to enjoy the money. Now visualize the impact of that decision on federal revenues.

Yesterday, in my travels, I noticed a lot of empty store fronts where there were businesses a year ago. It's depressing.

I was talking to a nurse a couple of weeks ago who works in a local hospital. She said the doctors are having trouble surviving financially and are leaving the medical profession because it's not worth the effort to continue. She also told me that the hospital is cutting corners on cleanliness (like not changing the sheets as often as they should) to try to save money in order to stay in business. She's really bothered by the unethical practices that are going on because of the financial problems and she's scared for her own profession and wants to get out of it and is getting training to do something else for a living.

 

[lkwdblds]

The election in November should send a message to Obama

Yesterday, in my travels, I noticed a lot of empty store fronts where there were businesses a year ago. It's depressing.

I was talking to a nurse a couple of weeks ago who works in a local hospital. She said the doctors are having trouble surviving financially and are leaving the medical profession because it's not worth the effort to continue. She also told me that the hospital is cutting corners on cleanliness (like not changing the sheets as often as they should) to try to save money in order to stay in business. She's really bothered by the unethical practices that are going on because of the financial problems and she's scared for her own profession and wants to get out of it and is getting training to do something else for a living.

The election coming up in about 25 days should send a message to President Obama that he won't ever forget. From all the polls, it seems the Obama administration is going to be heavily repudiated, in a historically significant manner. Aparently the USA is not ready for becomming a Euro type socialist state at this time.

Here is an opinion of mine unbacked by facts. The far left, personified by Obama, feels that they "know best" and that the voters are just emotional and do not really understand the issues. If Obama is heavily repudiated next month and comes to believe that he may be a only one term president, instead of being contrite, he will go into crisis mode and attempt to steam roller as much of his agenda as possible throught Congress and/or the court system before he is voted out of office in 2012.

In my view, it is the voters who collective know best while people such as President Obama are the ones who do not really understand the issues and are operating off of emotions and reusage of policies which have never succeeded anywhere at any time in history.
Lakey

 

[Mark A. Baker]

I am of the opinion that only people who pay taxes should have the right to vote in national elections. .

Taxation is simply an economic tool used to finance the needs of government (i.e. the community as a whole). Since the actual purpose of government is to establish the societal rules for peaceful coexistence and development among the entire population, citizens & non-citizens alike, your opinion is that those who do not directly finance government should have no say whatsoever in what the rules of the overall society are to be no matter how their lives may be affected by those rules.

Would you choose to go so far in this direction as to apportion voting rights based solely on taxes paid?


Mark A. Baker

 

[Enthetan]

That information is revealed by Enthetan's graph but you have to use your noodle a bit to see it. How could taxes by cut for 70% to 28% and not cause revenues to the government to drop as well. If someone else has a good explanation other than what I have said, I would like to hear it.
Lakey

You also have to take into account that the really wealthy were NOT paying 70% tax rates. They were using various loopholes and tax avoidance strategies in order to escape the worst. With the lowering of tax rates, the incentive to go through contortions to minimize tax exposure was greatly reduced.

For example, when tax rates are high, the wealthy can invest in tax-exempt municipal bonds and pay no federal or state tax on the income. They can work to defer lump-sum payments (for example, on the sale of their business), spreading them out over a period of years. They can park assets offshore. They can put their assets into trusts. Lots of ways to get around it. The high tax rates are a scam by the politicians upon the envious electorate -- the well-connected ultra-rich don't really pay.

 

[Ted]

Taxation is simply an economic tool used to finance the needs of government (i.e. the community as a whole). Since the actual purpose of government is to establish the societal rules for peaceful coexistence and development among the entire population, citizens & non-citizens alike, your opinion is that those who do not directly finance government should have no say whatsoever in what the rules of the overall society are to be no matter how their lives may be affected by those rules.

Would you choose to go so far in this direction as to apportion voting rights based solely on taxes paid?


Mark A. Baker

Stupid question.

I go so far as my statement with no inferences beyond that.

 

[Enthetan]

Taxation is simply an economic tool used to finance the needs of government (i.e. the community as a whole). Since the actual purpose of government is to establish the societal rules for peaceful coexistence and development among the entire population, citizens & non-citizens alike, your opinion is that those who do not directly finance government should have no say whatsoever in what the rules of the overall society are to be no matter how their lives may be affected by those rules.

Would you choose to go so far in this direction as to apportion voting rights based solely on taxes paid?


Mark A. Baker

You're fine with a situation where 5% of the population pays 60% of the taxes, while being completely and totally out-voted by the 95%?

Over 50% of the population pays little or no federal income tax, yet exercises effective voting control over how the tax money is spent, and how much tax rates are raised for the people who actually pay.

I would be fine with gutting most of the federal government, abolishing the entirety of Education, HUD, HEW, and a bunch of other depts, and have them replaced by voluntary charitable organizations. People could then donate their own money to whatever area they wanted.

 

[afaceinthecrowd]

You also have to take into account that the really wealthy were NOT paying 70% tax rates. They were using various loopholes and tax avoidance strategies in order to escape the worst. With the lowering of tax rates, the incentive to go through contortions to minimize tax exposure was greatly reduced.

For example, when tax rates are high, the wealthy can invest in tax-exempt municipal bonds and pay no federal or state tax on the income. They can work to defer lump-sum payments (for example, on the sale of their business), spreading them out over a period of years. They can park assets offshore. They can put their assets into trusts. Lots of ways to get around it. The high tax rates are a scam by the politicians upon the envious electorate -- the well-connected ultra-rich don't really pay.

Yes, Enthetan!!

When there was a near 70% Income Tax during the time that Lakey is referencing no one was paying the 70% or even close. Those folks were heavily invested in leveraged REIT's and Investment Partnerships that took advantage of loopholes, such as accelerated depreciation. The Tax Code changes in ’86 changed the game over night and pulled the rug out from underneath the existing Tax Sheltering System that had been functioning for over 30 years and that system had been created by the earlier Tax Code "adjustments".

Markets are heavily dictated and structured by Tax Codes and when Uncle Sam "sneezes” and makes another one of its’ ill conceived “adjustments” the Markets go through everything from a cold to a heart attack until they adjust to and figure out how to exploit the new "rules of the game". The S&L meltdown and the collapse of the Commercial Real Estate Market in the later '80's and early '90's is an example. The Tax Payers footed the bill to cover Uncle Sams stupidity.

Investment, private, commercial and retail Bankers are like a pack of dogs. They'll whine, beg, bark and roll over for their master to throw them any scrap of food and if you throw them a Kobe prime rib their gonna wolf it down. That's why the Tax Payers are on the hook for the sub-prime mortgage backed credit default swap meltdown that was a result of Uncle Sam's "adjustments".

IMO, the problem is the "Two Party System" which is not provided for anywhere other than the self-preserving legislation created by the Dems and the Repubs. A pox on their houses says I!

Face

 

[RogerB]

Yesterday, in my travels, I noticed a lot of empty store fronts where there were businesses a year ago. It's depressing.

I was talking to a nurse a couple of weeks ago who works in a local hospital. She said the doctors are having trouble surviving financially and are leaving the medical profession because it's not worth the effort to continue. She also told me that the hospital is cutting corners on cleanliness (like not changing the sheets as often as they should) to try to save money in order to stay in business. She's really bothered by the unethical practices that are going on because of the financial problems and she's scared for her own profession and wants to get out of it and is getting training to do something else for a living.

OK, FoTi,

Much to say on this . . . . .

We recently lost a charitable hospital here in Manhattan: St. Vincent's Hospital. It was a non-profit charity operation, and it went bankrupt!!!

It was one of New York City's premiere trauma centers, and the only hospital on the lower west side (West Village, 7th Avenue @ 12th street).

What pisses me off is that the politicians allowed this . . . this due to the passage of and the allowing of for profit insurance companies to strangle and dictate to such organizations what they can do, how much they will be paid (minimum amounts) etc., all the while the medical insurance industry is gouging colossal profits out of the system.

It's often been said, he who pays the piper calls what tune will be played . . . and the med insurance companies call the tune to make their profits at the expense of both the insured and the provider!

Now, in my view, you have to be either bent or stupid as a politician to allow this . . . or both!

This is not an isolated case . . . from memory this is the third hospital to go bankrupt in the NYC area in the last year or so, and I know of others around the country!

R

 

[RogerB]

Also on FoTi's comment, this on the economy and what is in store for us in the US and other areas similarly affected.
______________________

King World News conducted an interview today that included comments from Jim Sinclair and Dan Norcini regarding incredibly important events that are unfolding in both the financial system and the gold and silver markets. This interview describes what may very well bring the financial system to its knees.

October 6, 2010

Dan Norcini:
“Where we are at on the charts with regards to the precious metals is that they are blowing through resistance levels like they are not even there. If we can clear $23 on silver, there isn’t much resistance until $25 and if silver plows through $25, then you have a realistic possibility of it running up to $35.”

Because we are at new highs in nominal terms on gold, we can’t go back and reference charts so we are projecting levels. The next technical resistance is at $1,380 with light selling possible at $1,350.

The primary drivers in gold and silver today had to do with concerns over currency devaluation as well as securitized debt problems and the implications associated with it. Here is what Jim Sinclair had to say:

Jim Sinclair: “Each time that happens an item of collateral on the securitized debt publicly dies. That is why this is dynamite that people will realize very soon. This is one reason gold is up hard today.”

Norcini continues:

“That collateralized debt obligation is now effectively worthless because the collateral behind the debt can no longer be collected. The banks cannot go and get it.

Let’s say you have 10 mortgages at $1 million a piece, the sum total of those mortgages are $10 million. So, the banks took the 10 mortgages and bundled them together into a collateralized debt obligation or CDO with a face value of $10 million.

They then sold that new entity that they created to an investment group of some sort, a pension fund, hedge fund, etc. promising them a yield of let’s say 7%. The sales pitch would emphasize the fact that this CDO was backed by real collateral. In the event of loan defaults by the borrowers, the banks would tell the buyer of the CDO that the collateral behind the loan could be sold to recapture any potential losses on the part of the purchaser.

Everything seemed to work fine until the defaults began and the foreclosure process kicked into high gear. The foreclosure process has exposed fatal flaws in the system and the flaw is that the banks cannot prove clear ownership of the mortgage.

Consequently, they are then barred from foreclosing on the property. Because they can no longer foreclose on the properties, the CDO is now effectively worthless.

The hedge funds and the pension funds cannot now sell these CDO’s on the open market, so how are they going to recover their original investment? Perhaps you may say that won’t be a problem because these instruments were insured. The problem is now the credit default swap or the insurance policy that was purchased to protect against default assumes that the insurer has the financial wherewithal or resources to make good on the claim.

If there were only a small number of these problem CDO’s this would not be an issue. But as the number of the foreclosures continue to skyrocket, and more and more banks are prohibited from seizing the collateral behind the property, the sheer magnitude of the number of claims presented to the insurer will overwhelm their balance sheet.

In effect what you have is an insurance company which doesn’t have enough money to pay off the claims. Compounding the problem is the fact that the CDO’s and credit default swaps related to these claims form a mass network of interdependence. This then ripples through the entire system and creates a domino effect which can cause the failure of entities creating the next financial crisis.

Ultimately the Federal Reserve will be asked to step in and buy up the now worthless CDO’s and put those on its balance sheet. In order to do this the Federal Reserve will have to engage in massive quantitative easing, taking onto its balance sheet the worthless CDO’s in exchange for newly issued treasuries.

This of course will have a horrific effect on the US Dollar which is why gold and silver are heading much higher.

This interview with Dan Norcini turned out to be an incredibly concise explanation of a financial hurricane that threatens the entire system. Make sure you are insured by owning physical gold and silver.

Eric King
KingWorldNews.com

And this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruEeuskrAE0&feature=player_embedded

I tried to embed the above, but it would not take . . . the video is really worth seeing . . . it is a US congressman exposing the fraud that in current regarding foreclosures on real estate. This scenario, which has just blown up to everyone's attention, and caused the banking industry to cease trying to reclaim property to which they believe they have (even spuriously) to a right to do. This speaks to the scenario above, wherein the "assets" these banks hold are now shown to truly be without any value.

Next stop??? Think in terms of Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citi, et al being declared insolvent . . . this really could now be the end of these financial manipulation monsters as we have known them.

WOW! on preview, I see the bloody thing embedded . . . so I'll shut up!

R

 

[Enthetan]

OK, FoTi,

Much to say on this . . . . .

We recently lost a charitable hospital here in Manhattan: St. Vincent's Hospital. It was a non-profit charity operation, and it went bankrupt!!!

It was one of New York City's premiere trauma centers, and the only hospital on the lower west side (West Village, 7th Avenue @ 12th street).

What pisses me off is that the politicians allowed this . . . this due to the passage of and the allowing of for profit insurance companies to strangle and dictate to such organizations what they can do, how much they will be paid (minimum amounts) etc., all the while the medical insurance industry is gouging colossal profits out of the system.

It's often been said, he who pays the piper calls what tune will be played . . . and the med insurance companies call the tune to make their profits at the expense of both the insured and the provider!

Now, in my view, you have to be either bent or stupid as a politician to allow this . . . or both!

This is not an isolated case . . . from memory this is the third hospital to go bankrupt in the NYC area in the last year or so, and I know of others around the country!

R

Where this comes from is a combination of politics and the US tax system.

The tax system makes buying health insurance a tax-free business expense if you're a company buying for an employee, but not if you're an individual buying for yourself. It used to be that medical expenses were fully deductible (I remember this was so 40 years ago or so), but now they're only deductible if they exceed a threshold based upon income. Back then, insurance would only cover serious events -- routine stuff you would pay out of pocket, save the receipt, and deduct from taxes.

Politics comes from states mandating what insurance companies must cover, and prohibitions from buying an insurance policy from a company in another state. This reduces the ability to shop around.

The big problem, particularly in places like New York, comes from hospitals being required to treat everybody who walks into the Emergency Room, without regard to the patient's ability to pay. So if an illegal immigrant with no insurance walks in cut up from a bar fight, the hospital has to treat him and eat the cost.

Also, government health insurance (Medicaid and Medicare) is notorious for not paying anywhere near the real cost of treatment. Hospitals have to accept what the government pays.

In that neighborhood, I'm going to guess that the bulk of people the hospital treated were insurance-less, Medicare, or Medicaid, and that's why it folded.

 

[RogerB]

Where this comes from is a combination of politics and the US tax system.

Snipped . . . .

In that neighborhood, I'm going to guess that the bulk of people the hospital treated were insurance-less, Medicare, or Medicaid, and that's why it folded.

Yes, well, realized the US is the only country of the advanced economies without government coverage of healthcare. It is the only country in the world with a for-profit "insurance" system that rips money out of the system.

Virginia is a Certified Benefits Analyst . . . that is, one who deals with corporate America's healthcare insurance purchases and management (as pensions programs etc.) and I can assure you that there is plenty of "competition" in the tri-state area between health insurers. Indeed your largest insurers operate inter-state.

The point I am making is, why the hell should a critical issue like societal healthcare be allowed to be ripped off for profits by by a money making machine at the expense of bankrupting healthcare providers like hospitals.

Now that is a corrupt order of priorities. And yes, I know I'll hear answers like "it is the American way" . . . . well America, you are getting both what you allow and what you create

And of course, a government that passes laws dictating the provision of service you cite without providing the where-with-all to provide it is demonstrably insane and corrupt. But then, "America" has failed in its duty and responsibility as citizens to deal with its "government" . . . they have forgotten that those dogs in Washington are their paid servants as representatives of the electorate's "will," who should, if the electorate were smart enough and responsible enough to instruct and demand of their paid servants what they want representation on!

But, nooooo . . . the electorate thinks it's electing "leadership"!!

And as to the last line: the type of people visiting St. Vincent's? Not what I saw, and I used its emergency center on at least four occasions in the last 12 years when I had situations to deal with. I live one block . . . one short block . . . north of the hospital. This area is one of the most affluent in NYC.

R

 

[Mark A. Baker]

Stupid question.

I go so far as my statement with no inferences beyond that.

No, not a "stupid question", but yes a leading one.


Mark A. Baker

 

[CarmeloOrchards]

a dumb little “heads up"

what with the suicide of the student after others web cammed / broadcast his sexual act, and the lady, on facebook, that drove some girl to suicide

combined with a rotten economy, many people out of work, facing foreclosure causing huge wedges in marriages

and baby boomers getting older and having morbid illnesses

combine this with OT 7s like Fowler in Denver, who have nothing to lose

be careful before entering into a flame war with someone you don’t know

there may be someone who chooses you to make an unlikely statement, when * in reality * they have nothing to lose, and feel like they have already lost everything

 

[Mark A. Baker]

You're fine with a situation where 5% of the population pays 60% of the taxes, while being completely and totally out-voted by the 95%?

For the record I would be "fine" with even the logically extreme case of one person paying 100% of all taxes while societal rules are set through some general mechanism of consensus.

[Something like this was actually the case in traditional Hawaiian tribal culture, as the tribal chieftains were regarded as holding all "communal property" for the benefit of the group. Hence, "sole proprietorship". When Kamehameha I established the kingdom he became Chief of Chiefs and custodian of all communal resources throughout the islands. This characteristic of Hawaiian culture formed the basis for the establishment of the Queen Lili'uokalani Trust which the non-hawaiian residents in the islands have been trying to bust almost since its inception.]

Ultimately the concept of "property" is simply another arbitrary postulate. Historically it has been used as a "tool" to facilitate physical resource allocation & distribution in human SOCIETIES. To that end it has "pluses" and "minuses". Apart from some sort of a social setting "property" has no meaning. Ultimately and for "good" or "ill", societies set the limits of property.

[Try sitting on a rock in deep space with absolutely NO OTHER LIFEFORMS with which to interract. ]

Obsession with the concept of "mine" is also one of the most common exemplars of aberration which humans routinely possess. This has been repeatedly recognized in most genuinely spiritual human traditions in recorded history. Right up there with sex.

What is more, in itself it has little to do with "greatest good across ALL the dynamics".

Best not to get too hung up about it. Afterall, you can't take it with you.


Mark A. Baker