The Fed is never out of bullets - but can they shoot straight?

They are lining up the stars in the sky and sending out the trial balloons so they can do what they want to do, continue the same "solutions" that have not worked in the past.

From Eric De Groot's blog:
Eric De Groot: "Bullard: Fed will act if economy weakens further

QE to ∞ (infinity) = QE(1)+QE(2)+QE(3)...QE(n) as the economy weakness and social unrest organizes across the globe.

Headline: Bullard: Fed will act if economy weakens further

(Reuters) - The Federal Reserve will act if the economy weakens further and has the tools to do so, a top Fed official said on Friday.

St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said he expects the economy to grow modestly over the next year -- though the sluggish pace leaves it vulnerable to shocks.

"Should economic performance deteriorate, monetary policy will respond," Bullard said, according to slides of a presentation he was scheduled to make . "The Fed is not now, or ever, 'out of ammunition'."

With interest rates near zero, Bullard said, the Fed can support the economy through inflation and inflation expectations and asset purchases are a "potent tool".

More ignoring the "Rule of Holes".
More repetition of the "Definition of Insanity".

And they wonder why folks are rioting in streets. It's if these knuckle-heads want rioting in the streets and hints of Revolution.



Oh BTW. OWS is simply the leftist version of the Tea Party.

And they have the wrong address, they should occupy K Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in DC.
And wherever the Fed Building is. Put the fear of God into those idiots.
And bathe once in a while, perhaps.

And stop acting as if they speak for the ENTIRE 99%. THEY DO NOT!!!

Somewhere in the talking points, they missed the part about the 99% is made up of the approximately 50% that actually pay for all the goodies (which includes the 1% they despise) these idiots pine for and the "other 49%" percent -- the Free-Shit Army or FSA for short -- that benefits from others efforts.

So immediately, the movement needs to be re-named for accuracy.

Lets' refer to them as "The 49% - or the 49-ers" for short.

They effectively don't pay FEDERAL TAXES, but they want to put their grubby hands all over everybody else's wallets and tell THEM how THEIR money ought to be spent.

You want to complain about sales taxes you pay, march on your local government.

You want to complain about payroll taxes that allegedly fund Social Security and Medicare / Medicaid, wait until the conversation turns to how they stole the money from these supposedly dedicated funds to create illusion of the Clinton budget surplus. I've been waiting for that national conversation for a long time.

But don't complain about how FEDERAL TAXES are spent, when you don't provide any of the elbow grease or work product or income taxes to pay for the largess. Somehow, I feel like your voices shouldn't be heard from as much.

We spend too much time "greasing" the "squeaky wheels" in this country when they don't provide any of the "elbow grease" needed to keep the machine running.

Almost makes me want to provide a linkage between paying taxes and voting. Don't laugh, this is the type of "vote-buying" on the lower end of the income scale that we ignore choosing instead to focus campaign finance reform on the high-income / corporate side of the scale.

VOTE BUYING IS VOTE BUYING. I get that the corporations and the rich simply but the politician outright and leave the dirty work of buying the voter to their chosen puppet, but both ends of the problem need to be ripped out of the process.

That should be at or near both of side "To-Do List for Revolutionaries".

So step aside OWS. Shut up and let the adults handle this. And stop pretending that you have anything in common with the Tea Party. YOU DON'T!! They are the 51% that pay the bills.

You are the 49% that "dine and dash".

from the Associated Press:
Richmond tea party: Charge Occupy protesters or refund $10,000 we spent to rally in Virginia

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/850c772fd9004fc5ac0585aef836fefb/VA--Tea-Party-Occupy-Protests/

Get cleaned up and get a job. Accomplish something. Then speak.

Stop relying so much on the largess and generosity of others.

That well is going to run dry every now and again.

And if you need bail money because your peaceful "demonstrations" are so like those of the Tea Party demonstrations, I hope you have George Soros' number.

Maybe Janet Napolitano will add you to her "list". HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

To know what is wrong with the Federal Reserve, one must first understand the
nature of money. Money is like any other good in our economy that emerges from
the market to satisfy the needs and wants of consumers. Its particular
usefulness is that it helps facilitate indirect exchange, making it easier for
us to buy and sell goods because there is a common way of measuring their value.
Money is not a government phenomenon, and it need not and should not be managed
by government. When central banks like the Fed manage money they are engaging in
price fixing, which leads not to prosperity but to disaster. -- Ron Paul

How to Memorize Anything You Want: A Quick Primer on Mental Mapping | The Art of Manliness

I meant to post this article when it first hit my e-mail some time ago and I forgot, so obviously I need some work in this area. I'll have to remember (somehow) to get back to it and dig into the details.

This all seems so easy when somebody like this expert or former basketball great Jerry Lucas describes how he memorized the Manhattan phone book.

But to me it always seemed as if you had more stuff to remember when the initial problem you have is remembering stuff. I already feel as if I have a bad case of information overload at times.

Nevertheless, this is good stuff.


How to Memorize Anything You Want: A Quick Primer on Mental Mapping | The Art of Manliness:

"Editor’s note: This is a guest post from two-time USA Memory Champion, Ron White.

What if you could play a game of cards with your buddies and recall every card that had been played? You can.

What if you could meet a client today and six months later see him at a football game and recall his name along with his wife’s and kids’ names? You can.

What if you could look at a 50 digit number for 90 seconds and then repeat the number forwards and backwards from memory? You can.

So how do you master your memory to this level? By utilizing a simple system of mental maps, you will be amazed at the amount of knowledge you will be able to store."

He says it's fun, but I found it to be frustrating. Especially since I could more easily remember trivial, historical sports stuff, but forget important things like peoples names.

So how do you master your memory to this level? By utilizing a simple system of mental maps, you will be amazed at the amount of knowledge you will be able to store.

Here’s how to begin:

Select 5 rooms in your home or office.
In each room, number 5 large items. Number these items 1-25. The first item in the first room is #1, the first item in the second room is #6, the first item in the third room is #11, and so on. For example: Bedroom–1. desk, 2. bed, 3. tv, 4. dresser, 5. computer…Bathroom-6. toilet 7. window, 8. shower, 9. sink, 10. towel rack…etc. Remember, this is just an example.You want to select the pieces of furniture in the way they flow around your particular room.
Practice saying these pieces of furniture and their corresponding numbers over and over until it becomes second nature to say them forwards or backwards. We will refer to these pieces of furniture as “files.”

Now whenever you wish you to recall something, turn it into a picture and imagine it interacting with this piece of furniture.

Let’s say that you want to memorize all the Super Bowl winners. Once you have your files (the pieces of furniture) memorized, the next item of business is to turn whatever you wish to recall into a picture.

So you would be looking at a list that looks like this:

Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
New York Jets
Kansas City Chiefs
Baltimore Colts
Dallas Cowboys
Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers

In order to remember anything, it must be an image that you can imagine. For example, if you wanted to recall the number 593787, it might be tough to recall. But a photo album with a coffee cup in it would be easy to remember. That is my picture for 593787. For now, lets address turning the football teams into pictures, a much simpler task that turning 593787 into an image.

What could you picture for the Green Bay Packers? Perhaps packaging. Coming up with an image for the Jets is easy–just picture an airplane jet. For the Chiefs, you would picture an Indian chief. The Colts would be a horse and the Cowboys a cowboy. This is pretty simple actually when you’re dealing with teams.

The Conservative Manifesto -- In great victories, expect attacks.: Is this the greatest response to Occupy Wall Street... ever?

The Occupy Wall Street protesters are complaining about everything from corporations to having to repay student loans. Is America the victim of its own success? Have we created a generation of self-entitled cry babies? Is it time to make these people spend three and half days in the woods so that they can appreciate what capitalism has given them? Find out.

Hat Tip to The Conservative Manifesto Blog:

The Conservative Manifesto -- In great victories, expect attacks.: Is this the greatest response to Occupy Wall Street... ever?:

"THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2011
Is this the greatest response to Occupy Wall Street... ever?

If not, I'd love to see better."

How to Plan a MLB Road Trip: 30 Parks, One Summer | The Art of Manliness

This kind of an adventure has always had a place on my Bucket List. Now with some excellent pointers provided by these two blog entries from The Art of Manliness blog and azsportstalk.com, I may have to move this more towards the top of the list.

I wonder if the wife would want to go? We'll see. If she reads my blog, I may have to duck.

How to Plan a MLB Road Trip: 30 Parks, One Summer | The Art of Manliness:

"Logistically speaking, arranging a trip to consecutively watch a game at all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums in one summer is pretty tough.  But, adding 22 National Parks, raising over $6,000 for charity, securing free tickets from over half of the teams, arranging interviews with television shows, radio talk shows, and newspapers–and still allowing time for trying out various “Man vs. Food” eateries, harder still.  Taking over 9,000 photographs and writing over 50 blog entries–pretty damn time consuming."


And so, with extensive and meticulous planning, my friend and I drove 20,500 miles over 81 days, and took score during 30 Major League Baseball games–missing not ONE pitch, at every MLB stadium in North America.

How to Contact Teams

Go to the official team website, and under the “roster” section, go to “Front Office.” Usually, there will be a phone number here. All teams have a Community Relations or Public Relations department. For example, looking at the Pittsburgh Pirates website, you can find the team telephone number on the top of the website (Tel: (412) 321-BUCS), and then find names of the people you want to call (Vice President, Community & Public Affairs, Patty Paytas …OR… Director, Community Relations, Michelle Mejia). You get the point. Sometimes, you can google their names and find their e-mail addresses. The more forms of communication you use to contact them, the less chance of them ignoring you or “forgetting to call you back.”

So, be bold, pick up the phone, and ask the secretary to connect you to that specific person. Half of the time, you will get a voicemail message, but sometimes, they will pick up. Then, just introduce yourself, explain what you are doing, and directly ask if there is anything the team can offer you to 1) offset your costs or 2) give you a special experience when you are at their ballpark. You would be surprised, as I was, to find that most of these people are very accommodating.

Make It All About Sports

The Field of Dreams

The road trip, as I alluded to before, was surely about seeing baseball games. But as avid sports fans, there were some stops that Neal and I couldn’t pass up. First of all, we went to many other baseball related venues: The Baseball Hall of Fame (we called in advance, explained what we were doing, and were treated to a spectacularly fascinating behind-the-scenes tour; i.e., we got to see the counter check that sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees); the Field of Dreams (I can say without hesitation that this was my favorite day of the trip. The weather was perfect, the surrounding atmosphere was so beautiful, and you could tell that you were at a special place. Neal and I had a catch on the field and ran the bases. It was well worth the 4 hour trip, one way, from Chicago); the Louisville Slugger Factory (This is a cool place–you get to see the process from raw material to bat. Neal and I both bought our dads a customized bat with an engraving for Father’s Day).

We also hit up other famous sports venues: Lambeau Field (Luckily, I had a friend who lived close by, and she was nice enough to make us lunch that day, so the drive from Milwaukee was well worth it. Getting a tour of the ultimate football stadium was really fun); Churchill Downs (I love horse racing; in fact, I often go to the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes, but I never had a chance to get to Churchill Downs. This place is a mecca of horseracing lore, and it was just a perfect way to spend an afternoon); Pauley Pavilion (The venue of the UCLA Bruins basketball team); The Los Angeles Lakers practice facility (We had met a guy who went on a road trip a few years before us, and he happened to be an employee for the Lakers. He was nice enough to show us around the Lakers practice facility, and also show us their championship trophies, it was great!).

You get the point. Seek out places that interest you–this will likely be one of the only opportunities to visit places like this in your life, so plan ahead.

See America

Since we took it slow, we had a lot of time to explore America. Actually, we made sure that any downtime we had in-between games was well planned. For example, we went to Disney World, Universal Studios in Los Angeles, toured Bourbon Street in New Orleans, toured San Francisco, spent a few days with friends in Texas, and more.
Most importantly, we were able to visit 22 National Parks across the USA and Canada. Besides baseball, our experiences in these pristine and beautiful gems scattered throughout North America were absolutely the most meaningful and interesting. In my opinion, most National Parks are must-see parts of any trip across our country. I cannot begin to describe in words, or pictorially, just how spectacular these places are.
Below are two of my favorite scenes.

Where to Stay

We had a pretty tight budget for the trip–in all, we spent about $5,500 each. One way that we were able to save money was by staying with many friends, camping, and finding cheap motels. Of the 81 nights, we spent about 40 in friends’ houses (we were lucky, as we both had friends from college scattered all over the country). But, we also were not bashful about inviting ourselves over either. When embarking on such a trip, you have to be willing to be outgoing–and this certainly includes asking people for a bed or couch to crash on, even if you don’t know them too well. We also bought this cool tent, the brand was Quechua, that literally built itself when you threw it in the air. So, we’d stop at these KOA campgrounds (which, by the way, are all over the country, and about $15 a night, and have showers, electricity, etc.), threw our tent in the air, and we were good to go. In the morning, we would literally fold the tent up in a few minutes, toss it in the car, and be on the road. Otherwise, we wouldn’t spend more than $60 on a motel, and this happened only a few times. You probably don’t need to pre-book any hotel rooms or campgrounds. Furthermore, you never will know exactly where you will be during any given night. For example, when driving from San Diego to Bryce National Park, we had no idea when we would get tired and would want to crash for the night. So, we would program our GPS when we got tired, to see where the nearest highway motel or KOA campground was, and then just go to that one. So, in short, be forceful with friends, be flexible and be frugal!

---

Roc’s Dream Road Trip! – Guide To All 30 MLB Ballparks

http://azsportstalk.com/2011/04/rocs-road-trip-guide-to-all-30-mlb-ballparks/

Total mileage: 12,434.5 x 20 mpg=622 gallons x $3.75 avg per gallon=$2,331.47



Costs:

Tickets: 30 stadiums, average is $25 a ticket x 2 tickets= $1,500.
Passport: $100 each. $200
Total mileage: 12,434.5 x 20 mpg=622 gallons
Gas: Average gas price $3.75 per gallon=$2,331.47
Lodging: Motels and Hotels $50 a night X 60 nights= $3,000. – Motel6.com has over 1000 motels in the US…Coupons online have tons of deals. Found rooms ranging from $35 to $75 bucks, went with $50
Food: $35 per day x 60 days: $2100 – think is high. Grocery store
Miscellaneous – Game program from every ballpark or some type of item $10 x each game $300

Grand Total: $8,993.75 $4496.87 minimum.



However, I would make some adjustments if I had a healthy budget (include some flights):
1. I wouldn’t drive from San Francisco to Seattle –over 800 miles. I would try flying there from Phoenix. Average cost of a flight in advance $350. It’s $300 in just gas to get there.
2. Denver – fly from Phoenix. It’s over 850 miles so it’s similar to Seattle. Flights to Denver are less than $300.
3. KC and St. Louis parks are tough, however, there’s some inexpensive flights on Southwest Airlines. Right now in June you can go Phoenix to KC and return to Phoenix from St. Louis -$219. Rent a car is about $100.
4. Minnesota is a tough one and expensive - $300 flight. It’s a new ballpark so you need to get in the mix some how.
5. Best scenario for Chicago – SWA flight one way to Chicago $129. Rent a car go Cubs, White Sox, Brewers, Tigers, Indians, Reds, Pirates, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Mets, Yankees, Phillies, Orioles, Nationals. One way back from Baltimore or DC -$175. Renting car will be expensive.
6. Fly to Atlanta one way $134 from Phoenix. Rent a car and drive to Tampa and Florida. One way back to Phoenix from Miami non-stop $169.
7. Fly to Houston on SWA $139 one way. Rent a car and drive to Arlington, fly back from Dallas $155.

How cool with this all be!!!

“The five basic reasons for the decline and fall of the Roman Empire:

1) The undermining of the sanctity and dignity of the home, which is the basis of human society.
2) Rising taxes, the spending of public money for bread and circuses for the masses.
3) The mad craze for pleasure becoming each year more exciting, more brutal, more immoral.
4) The building of great armaments when the real enemy was within, the decay of individual responsibility.
5) The decline of religion, fading into mere form, losing touch with life, losing power to
guide the people.” -- Edward Gibbon (The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire).

The Return of Angel Villalona: San Francisco Giants Baseball (SF Giants Rumors)

So, Angel Villalona returns? Amazing what the justice system cranks out. Cleared of homicide, eh? Bet that looks good on ones resume. Probably doesn't help clubhouse unity and chemistry one bit either.

Everyone deserves a second chance, sure. But I can hope that Angel plies his trade elsewhere, can't I?

San Francisco Giants Baseball (SF Giants Rumors):

"If you haven’t already heard… Angel Villalona said Tuesday that he’s dropping his $5 million dollar lawsuit against the San Francisco Giants. Villalona has been cleared of the homicide charges, and the Giants have decided to reinstate Villalona to their farm system.
 
Villalona Scouting Report
 
The scouting report on Villalona prior to his time away from the baseball field. He has a chance to be an above average hitter with flat out raw power! He’s projected to be a middle of the order type hitter. Villalona has made the transition from third to first base."

Household Debt Ratios Are Lowest Since 1990s - Seeking Alpha

Maybe some hope for America. And yes, Congress should take notice. It appears that states like Ohio, Florida, Indiana, Wisconsin and New Jersey (all led by Republican governors) are demonstrating that running government more efficiently and on a sounder fiscal footing leads to an increase in employment from the private sector.

Someone alert the bozos in DC.

Maybe in 2012, we the people can send another message.

Household Debt Ratios Are Lowest Since 1990s - Seeking Alpha:

"The chart above is an update of previous CD posts (most recent one here), showing the ongoing de-leveraging of U.S. households based on new data released yesterday by the Federal Reserve.

In the second quarter of 2011, household debt service for required payments on outstanding mortgage and consumer debt as a share of disposable personal income fell to 11.09%, the lowest ratio since the fourth quarter of 1994; and the ratio for all household financial obligations (adds automobile lease payments, rental payments on tenant-occupied property, homeowners' insurance and property tax payments to the debt service ratio) fell to 16.09%, the lowest ratio since the fourth quarter of 1993.

Let that be a lesson for Congress....."

---

"Solving a debt problem with more debt has not solved the underlying problem. In the U.S., Treasury debt growth financed the U.S. consumer but has not had enough of an impact on job growth. Can the U.S. continue to depreciate the world’s base currency?" --- Goldman Sachs Report

So the Fed creates the money and cheapens the value of every other dollar in circulation.

And the money sits on banks balance sheets instead of being lent out to businesses on Main Street.

http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/BOGNONBR

Because the banks are being PAID NOT TO LEND out the money via Interest on Excess Reserves.

By definition, nonborrowed reserves are equal to total reserves minus borrowed reserves. Borrowed reserves are equal to the sum of credit extended through the Federal Reserve's regular discount window programs and credit extended through certain Federal Reserve liquidity facilities. Total borrowings from the Federal Reserve are presented in table 1a of the release. Over much of 2008, in order to maintain a level of total reserves consistent with the Federal Open Market Committee's objective for the federal funds rate, increases in borrowed reserves were offset through a nearly commensurate decrease in nonborrowed reserves, which was accomplished through a reduction in the Federal Reserve's holdings of securities and other assets. The negative level of nonborrowed reserves was an arithmetic result of the fact that borrowings from the Federal Reserve liquidity facilities were larger than total reserves.

Therefore we get these dismal economic job charts. The economy gets worse and worse, due to the law of diminishing returns of deficit, debt-based spending.

And that is why normal, blue-collar folks feel like they are on a treadmill to nowhere.

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of 'liberalism' they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without knowing how it happened. -- Norman Mattoon Thomas, 6 time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America