Post
by lenny » March 30th, 2006, 1:33 pm
Hello there, brother. You know, the more I read of your posts the more I like you. You seem down to earth yet sensitive to others and speak with a willing openness that rings of ego-less truthfulness. I admire that combination in a human very much. Anyway, before you think I am trying to kiss butt here I will quickly change the subject!
As to the overcorrecting, directly above the curve where my accident happened was an old train track built atop a concrete overpass. It was not that great a distance from the base of the rapidly approaching abuttment of the bridge to where my truck was forced onto the gravel shoulder and I had a very real fear of hitting it.
In retrospect I think there was probably a bit more room than there appeared to be at that particular nano second, but getting away from it as quickly as possible seemed like the right idea at the time, hence the over correction. Since there was no oncoming traffic it seemed safe enough. I really never expected that I would lose control the way I did and though I knew the swerve would probably be somewhat severe, the option of potentially hitting the concrete wall seemed a lot more ominous at the moment.
It's interesting what you wrote about the old Weimer Republic. My ex-wife is from Germany and her father delighted back in those days - 1976 - in taking me around to his various friends houses and 'showing off his daughter's American husband'. In one of the house's basements where the fellow had his little bar set up was a wall completely covered in the old Reisemarks that someone had evidently used as a form of wallpaper.
I believe the dollar is not too far from that same fate. The ONLY thing propping up the FRN today is foreign nations purchase of American bond securities and this is, in fact, the real reason behind the continually rising interest rates - to keep foreigners investing here. When the interest rate (or their rate of return on their investments) declines, they will stop investing and the dollar will quickly go under.
The catch-22 here though is that the continuing interest rate hikes are one of the main reasons for what is now killing off the housing market. For the last five years, I read somewhere - I don't remember now where and I hate quoting things I cannot back up, but will do so here in this one instance anyway - housing has comprised up to 50% of the American GDP (Gross Domestic Product, for any who may not be familiar with the term.) So as it appears we are stuck between the proverbial 'rock and a hard place'. We cannot win either way. We are damned if we do and damned if we don't. Personally, I believe this is just 'natures' way of equalizing the massive global problem of the inequity in wealth distribution.
I wonder how many people even realize that the Federal Reserve - the agency that actually issues the FRN (dollar) is not in the least bit Federal except in the name, and that is by design. Baron Von Rothschild once said, "Permit me to control the currency of a nation and I will show you how to control the population of that nation."
In 1912 there was a secret meeting held on an Island off the coast of Georgia known as Jekyll Island. (Before anyone starts thinking I am just another one of those 'conspiracy fanatics' punch in 'History of the Federal Reserve.' Be prepared to be astounded though.) At this meeting - comprised of ten of the world's wealthiest families - amongst them the Rothschilds - and a few congressmen, the Federal Reserve had its inception. Up until that point it was the U.S. Treasury who issued (and backed) American currency. The new legislation proposed was to create a private entity (the 'Federal Reserve') that would print and sell to the American Treasury Dept. banknotes of the various denominations known today. These would be sold at a fixed price per amount printed, and not according to demoninations of the bills at all! It would also in effect render control of American monetary policy to the Federal Reserves board of directors, the founding ten families.
As the idea become known to the general public - or at least the politicians of the time - it was regarded with great skepticism and met with substantial opposition. So just before Christmas in 1912, while most of congress was already out for the holidays, a vote was held on the proposed legislation of the bill. Since the majority of the congressmen in attendance were the same ones present at the meeting on Jekyll Island the bill was passed and became law in early 1913 creating what is now known as the Federal Reserve. The simple truth, however, is that it is completely private. To simplify, you have a bunch of crooks that have been granted the power to print, sell, distribute to the various central banks who in turn 'lend' at the 'prime rate' to lesser banks and so on down the line to us. Why should such an extremely important agency be private and not public, or governmental? For one reason only. To ensure the power of control and desired distribution of wealth.
Mao once said, "Political power comes out of the barrel of a gun." But in America political power comes from control of the financial system. Were the markets allowed to adjust themselves according to prevailing times and circumstances they would be more or less like the ocean - self leveling. But the constant cycles of inflation, depression, recession, stagflation, etc., although natural to a certain level, are greatly exacerbated by our current system and its tributary tentacles of the World Bank, IMF and the like. They serve only one purpose and that is not to help needy nations, but rather to keep them in poverty by indenture and under control.
Like everything created though, the Federal Reserve has had a birth, lived a life, and will die a death. That is certain and the time is drawing near as the world awakens to the reality of the global economic inequities that are the real cause of war, terrorism and unrest. Like Pink Floyd once said, "With...without...and who'd deny, it's what the fighting's all about?"
Anyone who thinks the status quo will remain so is in for a rude awakening, and that awakening is rapidly approaching. Russia, S. Korea, China, Japan, India, Argentina, Venezuela, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and several other nations have recently all announced that they are going to start diversifying out of the U.S. dollar and all its related instruments - bonds, treasury notes, stocks, etc. and back into gold, silver and other things of historical intrinsic value. Iran has announced its opening of a brand new oil trading bourse that will not honor U.S. dollars for purchases of oil. This is also one of the main reasons we have targeted Iran as our next target. The atomic reason, while having some validity, is far from the main reason.
Anyway, enough socio/economic/political 101 for now. You may want to take note however that both gold and silver have increased in value over the last several years by over 30% - the highest yielding investments of any available today, along with oil and gas. In fact, gold has risen to new twenty-six years highs this month, (today in fact) as has silver, while the FRN today has slipped another 40 basis points so far - equalling losses for the Chinese and Japanese who hold fairly equal amounts of American FRN's in their vaults - of roughly $4,000,000,000.00 each. (China has now passed Japan as the world's biggest holder of U.S. debt instruments but I'm not sure by how much.)
Take care - I'm off to do my...ugh...taxes!
lenny
None of us ever gets anything we don't either need or deserve. Dry those liquid emotions and move on.
I don't know what to say about you liking me 
about you blowing my cover