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Originally posted by QuietSpeech
Definitely late to this thread, but glad to have had the chance to go through it. I've gone through my own research through the past year and come up with many of the same answers I've seen in this thread which makes it a positive to see real information posted. I just say that because a lot of the things I've seen have really helped, although I haven't seen anything mentioning B6 and it's ability to improve the experiences. B6 is supposedly needed for the production of melatonin which helps with the vivid dreams.
Originally posted by Unvarnished
reply to post by TiM3LoRd
As a medical student, I can definitely tell you that our pineal gland releases small amounts of '___' (dimethyl tryptamine) and this is the chemical that we think might be responsible for our dreaming and even the near death experiences.
The pineal gland is centered right in the middle of the brain, and according to Descartes, its location has a significance to its function, majority of the functions of the pineal gland are still not known. It's one of the greatest mysteries of neuroanatomy.
Originally posted by tetsuoatxBefore y'all try to go pumping your brain full of this supposed Iodine brain power.Beware: Too much iodine can be bad for you. Over consumption of iodine can be toxic and just as damaging as a deficiency. As little as 1000 micrograms of Iodine in a day causes irritations like burning of the mouth and throat, nausea, vomiting, stomach ache, and even coma. Like under-consumption, too much iodine prevents proper production of thyroid hormones leading to goiter.
I salt everything I eat. EVERYTHING. I don't know why, it just tastes better. I've done it this way for years. According to people here, my Pineal Gland should be just dandy. So what exactly am I supposed to see? If I'm supposed to see "quantum things" I can assure you, I don't.
The only thing remotely weird is the fact that I tend to notice repeat numbers on clocks all the time. You know, things like: 2:22, 11:11, 5:55, etc. Happens multiple times each day. It's a cute little gimmick I live with. Every once in a while I'll just get this urge to look at a clock.
In fact, while typing this I looked over and my computer clock said, "3:33."
I enjoyed reading this original post.
Very thought provoking, I very much gained some insight into a new point of view with this. I would have to say I agree with the theory, in that; I have the idea as well that the crystallization of the pineal ( and various other parts of the body ) could relate to higher functioning in some way and be in resonance with a lot of spiritual and occult knowledge.


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Suns draft gets mixed reviews
It is really early but the national pundits are divided on what the Suns' haul was Thursday night.
The Suns talked up their draft picks Thursday night -- and will do so again Friday afternoon when T.J. Warren and Tyler Ennis are introduced -- but that's what they're supposed to do.
Not to mention they probably really like the players; otherwise they wouldn't have drafted them.
But what do the pundits think of the haul the Suns came away with from their three first-round picks and a second rounder?
Not surprisingly, the reviews are mixed.
It should be noted the Spurs' grades were mixed in 2011, when they came away with Kawhi Leonard. That seemed to work out.
But in the age of immediacy, here is a sampling of what national NBA writers think of the Suns' efforts on Thursday.
"They had three picks in the first round, so they had no shortage of opportunities to pick up something useful. T.J. Warren and Tyler Ennis are accomplished college players who can be factors right away, important for a bunch that is ready to become a playoff team. But the guy who stole the show was Bogdan Bogdanovic, a player so nice they named him twice. And added, '-ovic.'"
"This was the serviceable draft Suns fans should have been expecting if not exactly hoping for. Warren is a very good scorer, one of the draft's best, who should fit in well whether or not the Suns bring back P.J. Tucker. Ennis is the backup point guard they so desperately needed last year. Bogdanovic could contribute right away or stay hidden in Europe for a year or two but seems destined to be a very solid rotation wing. And Brown is a shot-blocker who could gain toughness in the NBA Development League. None of the picks were mistakes. None were reaches. All fit needs."
"The Suns addressed three big needs in the draft. They needed a small forward who can score the ball. Warren can do that. He's an incredible scorer who just has a nose for the hoop. They needed a back-up point guard and Ennis is as steady as they come. They also needed another 2-guard, and while I doubt Bogdanovic comes over right now, he's a terrific scorer who could play in the NBA someday. What the Suns didn't add, and what I think they could use more of, is athleticism. Neither Warren, Ennis nor Bogdanovic are great athletes. All three of these players have the potential to be solid rotation players. Ennis has starter potential someday and Warren's ceiling may be even higher than that. But I'm not sure what they got here puts them into true contention in the West any time soon."
"I'll admit that I don't totally understand the draft the Suns just had but I'm fairly intrigued by it. Three times they had a chance to draft Kyle Anderson and they passed on him. Perhaps that was because they felt T.J. Warren was the necessary wing depth they require. He's a fantastic scorer inside the arc but they'll need to develop his 3-point shot to fit in with the roster. Tyler Ennis gives them some Eric Bledsoe insurance just in case they change their mind on his restricted free agency. Bogdan Bogdanovic is a great guard option for them to stash away. I'm not big on Alec Brown, but he's a big body with a chance to make the team or develop in the D-League."
I guess Warren and the Suns are a match made in heaven. Score a lot, don't play much defense. I just don't think that's a winning formula. And Ennis feels like a big reach here, especially when my favorite sleeper point guard -- Shabazz Napier -- was still on the board.
Those were the marks Spears gave the Suns for each of their first-round picks. He did not expound on the reasoning for each grade.

subset: commoncrawl


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Italian Open: Rafael Nadal captures title in dominating fashion
Nadal controlled the final against Roger Federer from start to finish to win 6-1, 6-3 for his seventh Italian Open title.
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ROME—After all these years, Rafael Nadal still knows how to dominate Roger Federer.
In the 30th meeting between the two tennis greats, Nadal controlled the final from start to finish to win 6-1, 6-3 Sunday for his seventh Italian Open title.
"Rafa was just too good today," Federer said.
It tied for the second-most lopsided win in the series since Nadal also lost just four games, but over three sets, in the 2008 French Open final against Federer. At the tour finals in London in 2011, Nadal allowed Federer just three games.
"For that to happen between two players with not that much difference, it has to be because one player plays very well and the other is having more mistakes than usual," Nadal said. "That's all."
Nadal improved to 20-10 in his career against Federer, and showed once again he'll be the player to beat when the French Open at Roland Garros starts next Sunday. It was the fifth-ranked Spaniard's sixth title since returning earlier this year from a seven-month layoff due to a left knee injury.
"I'm playing much better than I dreamed of a few months ago," Nadal said.
Federer complimented Nadal for the way he took his time before returning to the circuit.
"It goes to show that's what every player should do," Federer said. "Now he's as strong as ever and is going to be the favourite for Roland Garros."
It was 20th meeting between Nadal and Federer in a final, tying the Ivan Lendl-John McEnroe rivalry for most championship matchups in the Open era.
In the women's final, Serena Williams won her fourth consecutive title of the year in impressive fashion, defeating third-seeded Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 6-3. The top-ranked American will go to Paris on a career-best 24-match winning run.
Williams was coming off consecutive titles in Miami, Charleston, S.C., and Madrid last week.
She didn't drop a set while winning this title.
"I moved better than I did all week," Williams said. "Hopefully I can stay like this. I feel really good."
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Best 3 Yielding Sell-Rated Stocks: PAAS, TROX, ARCP
American Realty Capital PropertiesDividend Yield: 7.20% American Realty Capital Properties (NASDAQ: ARCP) shares currently have a dividend yield of 7.20%. American Realty Capital Properties, Inc. owns and acquires single tenant, freestanding commercial real estate that is net leased on a medium-term basis, primarily to investment grade credit rated and other creditworthy tenants. The company principally invests in retail and office properties. The average volume for American Realty Capital Properties has been 3,502,400 shares per day over the past 30 days. American Realty Capital Properties has a market cap of $2.3 billion and is part of the real estate industry. Shares are down 4.3% year to date as of the close of trading on Friday. TheStreet Ratings rates American Realty Capital Properties as a sell. The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its feeble growth in its earnings per share and deteriorating net income. Highlights from the ratings report include:
- AMERICAN RLTY CAP PPTY INC has exprienced a steep decline in earnings per share in the most recent quarter in comparison to its performance from the same quarter a year ago. The company has suffered a declining pattern earnings per share over the past two years. During the past fiscal year, AMERICAN RLTY CAP PPTY INC reported poor results of -$0.72 versus -$0.24 in the prior year.
- The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and the Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry. The net income has significantly decreased by 632.4% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, falling from -$7.06 million to -$51.68 million.
- The return on equity has improved slightly when compared to the same quarter one year prior. This can be construed as a modest strength in the organization. Compared to other companies in the Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry and the overall market, AMERICAN RLTY CAP PPTY INC's return on equity significantly trails that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.
- Compared to where it was 12 months ago, the stock is up, but it has so far lagged the appreciation in the S&P 500. Turning our attention to the future direction of the stock, we do not believe this stock offers ample reward opportunity to compensate for the risks, despite the fact that it rose over the past year.
- Net operating cash flow has significantly increased by 4781.56% to $12.45 million when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, AMERICAN RLTY CAP PPTY INC has also vastly surpassed the industry average cash flow growth rate of 5.35%.
- You can view the full American Realty Capital Properties Ratings Report.
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E-commerce in India has lately been buzzing. The biggies of the field are constantly ideating and innovating to win the race or simply to stay ahead. Quite like what Red Queen tells Alice in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland: Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the […]
06 May 2014


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Why Housing Will Crash Again - But For Different Reasons Than Last Time
Submitted by Chalres Hugh-Smith of OfTwoMinds blog,
Institutionalizing the speculative excesses that inflated the previous housing bubble has fed magical thinking and fostered illusions of phantom wealth and security.
The global housing market has been dominated by magical thinking for the past 15 years. The magical thinking can be boiled down to this:
A person who buys a house for $50,000 will be able to sell the same house for $150,000 a few years later without adding any real-world value. The buyer will be able to sell the house for $300,000 a few years later without adding any real-world value. The buyer will be able to sell the house for $600,000 a few years later without adding any real-world value.
And so on, decade after decade and generation after generation: a house should magically accumulate enormous capital (home equity) without the owner having to do anything but pay the mortgage for a few years.
The capital isn't created by magic, of course: it's created by a greater fool paying a fortune for the house on the speculative confidence that an even greater fool will magically appear to pay an even greater fortune for the same house a few years hence.
This is the result of housing transmogrifying from shelter purchased to slowly build equity over a lifetime of labor into a speculative bet that credit bubbles will never pop. This transmogrification is the final stage of the larger dynamic of financialization, which turns every asset into a speculative commodity that can leveraged via debt and derivatives and sold into global markets.
The magic of something for nothing is especially compelling to a populace whose earnings have stagnated for decades. The housing bubble fed the fantasy that a household could set aside next to nothing for retirement and then cash out their "winnings" in the housing casino when they reached retirement age.
What believers in the sustainability of the housing casino conveniently ignore is the enormous risk (and debt) being taken on by the last greater fool: if the buyer pays cash, they are gambling on rents continuing to skyrocket along with home valuations, though these two are not as correlated as many assume.
Younger buyers have less disposable income than their elders due to deteriorating wages, higher student loan debt and higher taxes on earned income. As a result, the risk of their defaulting or being impoverished by the collapse of housing valuations is much higher than the risks faced by the buyers who rode the first bubble up to (ephemeral/phantom) riches.
The only way a young household can buy a $150,000 house for $600,000 is if interest rates are low enough to enable a modest income to leverage a huge mortgage. This is the basis of the Federal Reserve's campaign to buy Treasury bonds and mortgages: by driving interest rates to unprecedented lows, the Fed enables marginal buyers to become the last greater fool.
The first housing bubble circa 2001-2008 inflated as a result of financialization. The second, current echo-bubble has inflated on the socialization of financialization: the FHA and other government agencies have essentially taken over the entire mortgage market, guaranteeing or backing 95% of all mortgages, while the Fed has pushed rates down to historic lows to enable marginal buyers to make bets in the housing casino.
The current echo-bubble has another speculative source: cash buyers of homes to rent. About a third of all home sales in many markets are cash buyers, speculators hoping to cash in on the bubble by selling to a greater fool, or investors seeking the safe returns of rental housing.
Unbeknownst to the majority of these investors, there is no guaranteed return in rental housing when you overpay for the property and a recession guts demand for rentals. This is another form of magical thinking: nothing ever goes down.
The stock market goes higher forever, housing goes higher forever, and the Fed has banished recessions forever. If this isn't magical thinking, then what is it? Faith in the New Normal? Based on what?
Let's quantify the magical thinking and the echo bubble with a few charts. Home prices are still 130% above pre-bubble valuations.
Declining mortgage rates (courtesy of the Fed) fueled the first housing bubble and the current echo-bubble.
Measured by houshold earned income, mortgage debt is more than double the historic average of wages-to-mortgage-debt.
Take a look at the Fed's purchases of mortgages: from zero to $1.2 trillion, and then another $800 billion for good measure. The Fed has intervened in the Treasury market to the tune of almost $2 trillion to suppress interest rates.
The Fed's pause in mortgage purchases caused the housing market "recovery" to nosedive. This should make us wonder what will happen when the Fed's mortgage purchases finally end.
Relying on greater fools and expecting the rental housing market to magically ignore the ravages of recession for the first time in history is not a formula for financial or speculative success. The current echo-bubble in housing will pop, just like every other leverage/credit-fueled speculative bubble in history.
Institutionalizing the speculative excesses that inflated the previous housing bubble has fed magical thinking and fostered illusions of phantom wealth and security. The damage that will be unleashed by the echo-bubble deflating will be substantial, and in line with the The Smith Uncertainty Principle, not as predictable as many imagine:
The Smith Uncertainty Principle: Every sustained action has more than one consequence. Some consequences will appear positive for a time before revealing their destructive nature. Some consequences will be intended, some will not. Some will be foreseeable, some will not. Some will be controllable, some will not. Those that are unforeseen and uncontrollable will trigger waves of other unforeseen and uncontrollable consequences.
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Edit: Real capital is the product of savings and real work. - fixed.
These morons still think "capital" can be created out of thin air.
Exactly right. "Economists" think debt is benign as a factor affecting economic performance. They are wrong.
Capital is wealth. Debt is a liability.
IN the abscence of inflation adjusted numbers this study is a complete was of reading time.
thus the push to raise the minimum wage
The author lost me at "The global housing market has been dominated by magical thinking for the past 15 years."
While capital may be "globally mobile," real property is not.
All real estate is local and subject to the laws (or lack thereof) of the sovereign jurisdiction in which it is located. In the absence of law, real property value is based on the power of one's army to defend it or to acquire more. For example, an American with capital cannot buy land in China or land along the beach in Mexico. Local law prohibits such.
"an American with capital cannot buy land in China or land along the beach in Mexico. Local law prohibits such."
Thank god for that!
Not when it comes to financing. You are confusing price elasticity, (local) with mortgage funding, ( national for the most part). Since most mortgages have been forced into conforming configurations for several decades, the local influence is minimal, and concentrated in smaller, local banks and coops. But many of them have been bought in recent years, so my point remains...funding is national. funding controls pricing in the end, local valuations notwithstanding.
The author lost me at "The global housing market has been dominated by magical thinking for the past 15 years."
While capital may be "globally mobile," real property is not.
All real estate is local and subject to the laws (or lack thereof) of the sovereign jurisdiction in which it is located. In the absence of law, real property value is based on the power of one's army to defend it or to acquire more. For example, an American with capital cannot buy land in China or land along the beach in Mexico. Local law prohibits such.
The author lost me at "The global housing market has been dominated by magical thinking for the past 15 years."
While capital may be "globally mobile," real property is not.
All real estate is local and subject to the laws (or lack thereof) of the sovereign jurisdiction in which it is located. In the absence of law, real property value is based on the power of one's army to defend it or to acquire more. For example, an American with capital cannot buy land in China or land along the beach in Mexico. Local law prohibits such.
If your Capital wealth is in USD (or any fiat curreny for that matter) the Int'l "bankers" will turn cash into a liability via inflation (printing of more fiat).
Ergo, bubbles in hard assets real estate, land, stawks, etc... and those who cannot meet the debt payment , you are out of the greater fool game.
YOu mean today´s economists. Before we had practioners of banking, talking about the currency principles. Those guys were smart enough to survive banking crisis without bailouts and under the threat of unlimited personal liability against depositors, and also jail time in case they could not cover. So... those guys never ignored credit in relation to currency. The neo-classical ignoring money, credit, interest and banking are just RETARDED. Money or credit is on the other side of each transaction, while teh other side is good or services or financial assets. It is like talking about procreation without talking about sex.
property taxes will destroy it. just like it did in rome
Just like Rome, "taxes" that cannot be collected are fucking meaningless.
This is correct. See laffer curve
See Detroit....
All taxation should be based on land taxes. Land is the commons from which all productive labor springs. A tax system derived solely from land encourages productive use of land. Tax derived from labor encourages non-productive land usage and speculation on holding land for ransom from a disenfranchised labor class. (Neo-Feudalism)
except for the little fact that if you tax land, you never own it. you just rent it from the Gubmint. Don't pay your tax, off to tax sale it goes. What if I want not to produce anything on my land, just crickets and weeds?
I'm sure you have a gun - just shoot anyone who trespasses.
That's real ownership, BTW.
Unfortunately, the gubmint has way more and way bigger guns than you, and all your friends combined. They own you and your property right now, sorry to say.
@Spacista "Just shoot anyone who tresspasses"
You are obviosly a liberal troll who wants to make gun owners look unreasonable and dangerous.
Anyone who supports gun rights would take a more reasoned approach to border violations on private property.
Non-productive land use should be punished. Don't get me wrong, I like tumble weeds and crickets all the same, but why do you feel compelled to own them? Would they cease to exist if you didn't privately own that land?
Also, when I support a tax system solely based on land use, I am talking about a limited Fed Gov that supplies vital infrastructure..roads, power lines..etc. things that local communities would not be able to collaborate on a large scale across so many borders. Your concept of "Gumbint" is based upon the bohemoth we have before us..not the one I propose that would be supported solely on land taxes.
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon....father of Mutualism
In the posthumously published Theory of Property, he argued that "property is the only power that can act as a counterweight to the State." Hence, "Proudhon could retain the idea of property as theft, and at the same time offer a new definition of it as liberty. There is the constant possibility of abuse, exploitation, which spells theft. At the same time property is a spontaneous creation of society and a bulwark against the ever-encroaching power of the State."[36]
He continued to oppose both capitalist and state property. In Theory of Property he maintains: "Now in 1840, I categorically rejected the notion of property...for both the group and the individual", but then states his new theory of property: "property is the greatest revolutionary force which exists, with an unequaled capacity for setting itself against authority..." and the "principal function of private property within the political system will be to act as a counterweight to the power of the State, and by so doing to insure the liberty of the individual." However, he continued to oppose concentrations of wealth and property, arguing for small-scale property ownership associated with peasants and artisans. He still opposed private property in land: "What I cannot accept, regarding land, is that the work put in gives a right to ownership of what has been worked on." In addition, he still believed that that "property" should be more equally distributed and limited in size to that actually used by individuals, families and workers associations.[37] He supported the right of inheritance, and defended "as one of the foundations of the family and society."[38] However, he refused to extend this beyond personal possessions arguing that "[u]nder the law of association, transmission of wealth does not apply to the instruments of labour."[39]
As a consequence of his opposition to profit, wage labour, worker exploitation, ownership of land and capital, as well as to state property, Proudhon rejected both capitalism and communism. He adopted the term mutualism for his brand of anarchism, which involved control of the means of production by the workers. In his vision, self-employed artisans, peasants, and cooperatives would trade their products on the market. For Proudhon, factories and other large workplaces would be run by "labor associations" operating on directly democratic principles. The state would be abolished; instead, society would be organized by a federation of "free communes" (a commune is a local municipality in French). In 1863 Proudhon said: "All my economic ideas as developed over twenty-five years can be summed up in the words: agricultural-industrial federation. All my political ideas boil down to a similar formula: political federation or decentralization."[40]
Proudhon opposed the charging of interest and rent, but did not seek to abolish them by law: "I protest that when I criticized... the complex of institutions of which property is the foundation stone, I never meant to forbid or suppress, by sovereign decree, ground rent and interest on capital. I think that all these manifestations of human activity should remain free and voluntary for all: I ask for them no modifications, restrictions or suppressions, other than those which result naturally and of necessity from the universalization of the principle of reciprocity which I propose."[41]
Interesting, I was going for Geolibertarianism. John Payne, Henry George (Georgism), John Locke.
The "commons" has become such a Red Herring. The brian washing is so complete that people think you must be a socialist or communist to suggest that humans could equally lay claim to the earth and that they would be born with inalienable rights.
You have a lot to learn about the concept of private property. In your world, everyone rents their land from .gov and will pay or be shoved off at bayonet point.
BM. Rent is one thing and tax is another. I think your confused.
Re: force to remove people from land...the current system is an abomination. In Albequerqe NM police shot a homeless man in the back the other day (claimed he presented an imminent threat and then said it felt awesome to kill the man) because they were enforcing a claim of the federal governemnt to the land he wanted to camp on to get rest. That government felt it was more effective to kill the man than to relocate him to a shelter by force. If your defending that concept of private property, god help you.
The limited federal government I envision would not enforce such a land claim with violence. For example Yellowstone (Currently a national park paid for with tax dollars extracted from your labor) could be privately owned and run like a business, a business that understands it is selling the natural environment (product) to patrons for their enjoyment. Hence the motivation to protect it, it is their product.
Your double red herrings won't work here my man. Stay on point: what you call a "tax" I call "rent". In your method there is no difference.
"Non-productive land use should be punished."
Uh, how about you just mind your own damn business and leave me and my life, liberty, and just property alone? Friggin authoritarians. I could give a rats arse whether or not you think my use of my own property fits your subjective evaluation of "productive."
Land best represents the commons. People are born with rights, do you agree? The earth, all land, is shared collectively among all humanity. Could you agree that it is our responsibility to protect the Earth and all land. I could reference Genesis but this isn't about religion it's a matter of respecting humanity and human rights. Labor applied to the land brings a yield. If you choose to privately hold land (which I agree you can and should do productively) you are hopefully not parking junk cars on it and letting the weeds grow because you won't develop much yield. Are you following so far? You can both privatly own land and pay land taxes owed to the commons in such a system. Labor is a more corrupt way to tax a laboring class which benefits non-productive land holders. Hence holding land for ransom. There is great info out there about Geolibertarianism. Before you chest thump about me being an authoritarian, maybe you want to not jump to conclusions about me infringing upon your "life, liberty or property". I don't, I am simply asking you to evaluate a more just tax system for a limited federal government. Because a Fed Gov does do productive things, it's easy to with this current fed gov to miss that pont and focus on the negativity and squndered resources.
My proposed tax system does not apply a subjective interpretation, it's on you to figure out if your land use is productive enough to cover the tax costs. It's motivational and doesn't entitle a non-productive class to sqaunder resources.
Peace and god bless.
Tragedy of the Commons, Einstein. LOL
And exactly where can you go now in America where you don't pay property tax now?
You also believe in the fallacy that there can be true ownership of ANYTHING. That has never happened in history and it has never happened in America. And it CERTAINLY is not happening now.
I can't tell if your talking to me. I never said there weren't property taxes. I said a limited fed gov should derive their sole tax revenue from land taxes.
I never said you can own title to land without being responsilbe for your tax liabilities, or any asset for that matter.
On a sailboat in Key West?
"A tax system derived solely from land encourages productive use of land. "
Except, of course, when you have: EPA, DNR, BLM, Local Zoning, etc., etc. -- all of which exist to either forbid outright or at the least extract some sort of graft to use "your" property.
Using your land is contingent on favorable politics, nowadays.
If building codes were in the interest of cost efficiency all our homes would be cast in place concrete, being strong enough to sustain hurricane force winds and tornadoes at 1/4 the cost. Such a building is classified as a "military bunker" and expressly forbidden. As for the EPA and BLM under a land use tax system, the federal government would need to relinquish it's claim to all "federal" lands. They are rightfully the peoples, and so it is with mineral rights under such a system, shared collectively and responsibly maintained in the peoples interest.
Cast-in-place would be a cost premium over a traditional wood frame house. I am not aware of a building code that forbids this type of construction.
I'm sure that's why they are all the rage in the third world, because they cost more. You really think framing all those 2x6 is easier than pouring concrete into a form? Look at some photos of tornado damage and find the commercial buildings that are still there. Think the building code is there for your protection?
Artificially low interest rates are allowing corporate landlords to snatch up the housing at a discount. That's my definition of serfdom. The property taxes are a side show in the big tent, IMO. Once corporations own enough property, the taxes will get lowered at their insistence and bribery(which will amount to nearly as much as the taxes that they were paying). The difference will come out of income taxes and inflation(savers). The Fed gov. survived mostly on import tariffs for a century. That protected US businesses and workers, at the same time.
"Collection Problem"? No problem. When you can't pay the ever-rising property taxes (property rent) to your Neo-Feudal Lords, their henchmen (courts and LEAs) will take it from you. As was intended and planned, per intro of Central Banking (The Fed) and fiat currency and Neo-Slavery to fiat debt.
Same as it ever was. Until you start hanging said Lords.
property taxes will destroy it. just like it did in rome
Repeat after me.
Home owners are sophisticated renters. Your landlords are the bankers who demand property taxes meaning that you NEVER WILL HAVE SECURE SHELTER. They like to have us always stressed.
By driving up real estate it keeps the 2nd tier renters paying more and thus increasing their stress levels. They like people stressed and unfocused BECAUSE...
IT ALLOWS THEM TO CONTINUE FUCKING US WITH MONETARY POLICY. Can't make rent... argue with your wife, girlfriend, partner etc. Using credit to buy food andpay electricity bills repeat step 1. Whatever you do, DO NOT FOCUS ON THE PARASITIC CENTRAL BANKERS AND THEIR PROGENY!!!
I will add that they want us to have a drug habit (legal or not) and a criminal record too. This of course, is a consequence to the above mentioned stress factor.
1) The drug habit is analogous to the usage of fiat currency, which is mandated by the collection of property taxes. Taxes payable only in Fed-issued notes ensure demand of said Fed-issued notes.
2) Taxes paid annually amount to huge sums over the life of a mortgage, probably balancing the calculation of financing the mortgage in the first place. Thus having a mortgage which rolls in taxes is encouraged, another insurance policy for currency demand.
Inflating the price of homes to falsely create home equity works great for the black hats.
A lot of people are broke so they are encouraged to borrow against that home equity. Remember, the easiest way to steal money from people who dont have any is...
Just give it to them!
Presto! Debt slaves! Why the fuck not? The money the black hats give out is printed out of thin air anyways. And then? Rehypothecate the living shit out of that debt until they're blue in the face and call it an awesome "financial innovation".
Bankers are now discriminating against their student loan 'debt slaves'. I heard, today, about a couple where the guy had $20K+ in SL's. He and his wife couldn't get a home loan, but his wife could without him on the title! That bankruptcy law change is now biting them in the ass. Hah!
To add...."Investors find Value in Slum-Housing as Best US Investment".
Lowest risk - highest return. Profiting from economic degeneration built in by the bankster tax system.
Depreciated construction value + depreciated improvement + multiple return on rental (withdrawn from maintenance cycle).
By squeezing higher rental and lower maintenance cycle, slumlords yield highest return on investment as housing decays.
Meanwhile while trying to stay afloat RENTERS forget there is someone pulling down on their ankles.
...slumlords yield highest return on investment as housing decays.
And this is why i get such great schadenfreude from Donald Sterling's public humiliation. Karma got his old decrepit ass. And all his rentier class wealth and power can't bring back his dead drug addict son.
Fuck the rentiers and all they represent. They could not survive anarchy.


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Olympic Motivations- I just can't stop
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Wednesday, August 01, 2012
I have been feeling very off lately. I feel as if my motivation balloon has been some what deflated. I work 3 -12hour days a week (which are M,W,F) and they are the only days I workout. I do 30min cardio training before I go to work and I feel like that's just not enough. I have been doing good regarding my caloric intact but I just feel that I should be stricter on myself in order to meet the weight loss goal I desire.
Watching the Olympics have motivated me. These individuals are in the peak physical fitness. they work everyday at there craft with 100% dedication and motivation. They have a natural willpower that keeps them focus even if they have the desire to give up. They just keep going!!! When others are sleeping they are working. working, working, working;doing what ever it take to get the gold. They don't give in to the temptations of life, the stay focus. That's what separates us from them. In order to get to that place physically, you must first get there mentally. It is simply mind over matter. They know what they want and what it takes to get it. So, they simple do what it takes to get it. NO IF, AND or, BUTS about it. And if they try and fail they just go on to the next event just that much more motivated then the last because they know that they have worked hard at their goal and they refuse to let 1 failure destroy there whole journey.
This describes my weight loss goals even though yesterday I may not have reached the goal I desired, but I refuse to give up. I'll just wake up tomorrow and try again. I will keep trying til I over come the hurtle and prepare to move on to the next event.
I have to look in the mirror every morning and remind myself why I am dedicated to my weight loss goals; for my health, my self-esteem, to be an example for my girls, and to be able to live a long health life. I am going for the GOLD : )
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What a great blog! you have to stay committed each day and PUSH further than you thought.... you can do it!
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That is awesome! I am so proud of you!
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A Beef over Obesity Bias
Byline: Herman Cain and Dan Gainor, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
The holidays are over and millions have resolved to lose the weight we just gained. Now that we're in the new year, the major media will make you think twice about the whole concept of holiday stuffing. How do we know? Our analysis shows this is the media's pattern.
We've analyzed how the major media treated the issue of obesity for the last 1 1/2 years. The result? The major media are likelier to turn the holiday season into open season on the food industry than into a time to eat, drink and be merry.
It's the new battle of the bulge. Anticorporate activists have seized upon America's worries about weight to launch a campaign against companies that produce the food we all eat. They blame U.S. businesses for the "obesity epidemic" and say it can best be cured by a diet of new taxes, more regulations and lawyer-enriching lawsuits. One well-known activist even complained healthier versions of traditional snack foods were bad because they were foods we "shouldn't be eating at all."
These "activists" got their agenda out because the major media have covered the issue poorly.
The Media Research Center's Free Market Project analyzed all news stories about obesity published in the New York Times and USA Today or aired on the three broadcast network evening news shows for 11/2 years. The first analysis was from May 1, 2003, through April 30, 2004. The second covered the next six months and, unfortunately, shows the media haven't changed their tune much.
In the first study, about half of the 205 stories debated the causes of obesity. Of these, a large majority (64 percent) blamed our nation's weight problems on food companies rather than personal behavior. While this has improved in our second study, it's still a problem. The concept of personal responsibility still hasn't taken hold in U.S. newsrooms.
For example, on the March 9, 2004, World News Tonight, ABC reporter Lisa Stark linked the food industry's behavior with poor health: "It's estimated 64 percent of Americans weigh too much. That increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease and some form of cancer. Those who help people lose weight say they're not surprised by the new numbers. The food industry spends $34 billion a year to market its products." The notion food industry advertising causes obesity is a key argument of the anticorporate activists. …


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Pellegrini wants Sterling to finish debut season on a high
SOUTHAMPTON: Manuel Pellegrini has challenged Raheem Sterling to end his first season with Manchester City on a high as the Champions League semi-finalists travel to Southampton on Sunday.
Khairy won't interfere, trusts Frost' evaluation
KUALA LUMPUR: Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin does not want to interfere in the selection of players for the Malaysian Thomas Cup squad and has confidence in the evaluation by the technical director of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM), Morten Frost Hansen.
Massaro, Sherbini to contest World Championship final
KUALA LUMPUR: Laura Massaro and Nour El Sherbini set up a repeat of the 2013 world title match after both reached the Naza Women's World Squash Championship final in Bukit Jalil on Friday.
Michel Platini arrives at CAS to fight 6-year ban by FIFA
LAUSANNE: Michel Platini has begun his appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport against a six-year ban by FIFA over a US$2 million payment approved by Sepp Blatter.
Dortmund's Hummels wants a move to rivals Bayern Munich
BERLIN: Borussia Dortmund centre back Mats Hummels has told his club that he wants to join Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich after the season ends.
Vardy absence won't stop Leicester title coronation, says Simpson
LONDON: Leicester City defender Danny Simpson insists the prolonged absence of star striker Jamie Vardy won't stop the Premier League leaders clinching the most incredible title triumph in English football history at Manchester United on Sunday.
Bayern poised to make history despite Atletico distraction
BERLIN: Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich can become the first club to win a fourth consecutive Bundesliga title by beating Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday, amidst the distraction of their Champions League semi-final.
Tottenham's Alli banned for rest of the season
LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli will miss the rest of the season after he was give a three-match ban for violent conduct by the Football Association on Thursday.
Liverpool told to pay Burnley £6.5m for Ings
LONDON: Liverpool have been ordered to pay English second-tier club Burnley £6.5 million (US$9.5 million) for striker Danny Ings following a tribunal on Thursday.
Gameiro penalty gives Sevilla edge against Shakhtar
LVIV: Holders Sevilla remain on course to reach yet another Europa League final after escaping from Ukraine with a 2-2 draw against Shakhtar Donetsk in their semi-final first leg on Thursday.
Villarreal strike late to dent Liverpool Europa hopes
VILAREAL: Adrian Lopez's stoppage-time winner put Villarreal on the verge of reaching their first ever Cup final with a 1-0 win over Liverpool in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final on Thursday.
Nicol David makes early exit from World Championship
KUALA LUMPUR: Nour El Sherbini interrupted Nicol David's quest for a ninth world crown after winning their quarter-final tie 11-7, 10-12, 11-7, 11-5 at the Naza Women's World Squash Championship in Bukit Jalil today.
Drunk Liverpool fans force emergency flight landing
LIMOGES: A flight from Liverpool to Alicante was forced to land in France on Thursday after two drunken British nationals began fighting on board.
Chong Wei checks into Badminton Asia Championships q-finals
LEE Chong Wei checked into the quarter-finals of the Badminton Asia Championships today following a 23-21, 21-12 win over Hong Kong's Vincent Wong in the second round.
World's press flock to cover Leicester fairytale
LONDON: A sweep of the press room before Leicester City's recent victory over Swansea City confirmed the extent to which their pursuit of Premier League glory has captivated global audiences.
Klopp seeks brave Liverpool against Villarreal
VILLARREAL: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp called for bravery from his players if they are to overcome Villarreal to reach the Europa League final and maintain their hopes of Champions League football next season.
Alibaba on verge of leading Chinese takeover of AC Milan
ROME: Online retail giant Alibaba is on the verge of leading a Chinese takeover of AC Milan from disgraced former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, Italian media reported Wednesday.
Atletico hero Saul delights in 'most beautiful goal'
MADRID: Saul Niguez announced himself as one of Europe's most promising midfielders by scoring a stunning individual goal to edge Atletico Madrid a step closer to their second Champions League final in three years.
Chong Wei clears Badminton Asia Championships first round
LEE Chong Wei got off to a great start at the Badminton Asia Championships today with a convincing 21-16, 21-14 win over China's Wang Zhengming.
(Squash) Nicol David edges a step closer to ninth world title
KUALA LUMPUR: Nicol David took a step closer to a ninth world title after advancing to the quarter-finals of the Naza Women's World Squash Championship in Bukit Jalil today.
South Korea reveals long-sleeved athlete clothing for Rio
SEOUL: South Korea's Olympic committee on Wednesday unveiled long-sleeved shirts and pants it says will help protect the country's Olympic athletes from the mosquito-borne Zika virus at this year's games in Rio de Janeiro.
Indonesian officials meet FIFA chief over crisis
JAKARTA: Indonesian officials have met with FIFA president Gianni Infantino in Zurich in a bid to end the crisis engulfing football in the Southeast Asian nation.
Olympic forecast: US to top medal table; China, Russia next
RIO DE JANEIRO: If the Rio de Janeiro Olympics were held today, the United States would win the most medals — and the most golds. And American swimmer Michael Phelps would collect five more gold medals and a bronze, bringing his overall total to 28 with a career gold-medal haul of 23.
Liverpool unites for Hillsborough tribute
LONDON: Thousands of sympathisers were expected to pay an emotional tribute to the Hillsborough disaster victims on Wednesday after a landmark inquest found that 96 Liverpool football fans were unlawfully killed.
No Ronaldo, no goals as Man City, Real Madrid draw
MANCHESTER: Champions League top-scorer Cristiano Ronaldo was a frustrated spectator as his Real Madrid side played out a slow-burning 0-0 draw at Manchester City in Tuesday's semi-final first leg.
(Motorsports) Malaysia's Adam Khalid chases F1 dream
THE inaugural F4 Southeast Asia championship (F4SEA) will help aspiring drivers make it to Formula One.
(Motorsports) Jazeman makes history as first Asian to finish on podium at Blancpain Endurance Series
KUALA LUMPUR: Jazeman Jaafar made a historic debut in the Blancpain Endurance Series as he became the first Asian to stand on the podium in the competition after coming in second at the Monza Circuit in Italy recently.
(Squash) Nicol survives Grinham scare in Women's World Championship defence
KUALA LUMPUR: Nicol David survived a scare against former world champion Rachael Grinham to get her title defence at the Naza Women's World Championship underway in Bukit Jalil on Tuesday.
ICC blasts Windies for World T20 outburst over pay
MELBOURNE: The International Cricket Council has criticised West Indies for using their victory speech at the World Twenty20 tournament to complain about their cricket board after a long drawn-out pay dispute.
Atletico get chance for revenge against Bayern 42 years on
BARCELONA: Bayern Munich destroyed Atletico Madrid's dreams of winning the European Cup in 1974 and are out to wreck their hopes of reaching a second Champions League final in three years when they visit the Spanish capital for the semi-final first leg.
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Bundle up and pack those bags! For a trip to the windy city, Chicago, is on cards! Those of you who have booked cheap flights to Chicago are on for a wonderful winter extravaganza at Chicago. The largest city in the state of Illinois in United States of America, Chicago is a wonderful city to be in. One of the most populous cities of America, the city of Big shoulders as it is also called is a thriving financial hub of the country. Around fifty million people visit Chicago every year, turning it into a great vacationer's paradise. Though flights to Chicago are many but it is better advised to get flight tickets for cheap by booking in advance.
February in Chicago is cold and you can make the most of this chilly weather by choosing to skate and exhibiting your skills at Chicago Beans! For auto enthusiasts, the world over, it is the best time to pay homage to this bustling cityscape as Chicago primes up to bring for you the Chicago Auto Show! To be held at McCormick place, this auto event is the largest show of its kind in the entire country and promises to bring some really exclusive hot wheels for die-hard fans and car connoisseurs!
Next up in February is the President's day. Held on February 20th, this federal holiday gives a great reason to the locals to step out of their homes and ring the city with their vivacity. If you are in town during this season, this is a great time to mingle with the local population and strike up conversations as you nurse a warm drink or two. February is also when Chicago opens up its restaurants for the food lovers of the world. The Chicago Restaurant Week to be started from February 17 till February 26th is a great excuse for you to book cheap tickets to Chicago and to forget those calories and dig in some scrumptious three-course meal at very affordable rates! Indeed a good way of keeping your stomach and wallet happy!
If you have availed cheap international flights and are flying in to Chicago in March or April then coordinating your stay with the local events will surely make your trip more memorable.
If music is what enthralls you then there is an impressive line-up of shows that you can attend. March brings forth the talent of Million Dollar Quartet, Chicago Symphony Orchestra: Mahler Das Lied Von Der Erde and Gypsy- a risqué show about a well-known stripper!
Sports enthusiasts and in that, those who follow basketball as their religion, have much reason to cheer in April. April 2nd to April 8th is the time when the host city team, Chicago Bulls gets its game going with other teams!
Book cheap tickets to Chicago through Fare Buzz and partake in these events and celebrations at most affordable costs. Book online or call our travel agents at 888-808-4123 to save up to 60% on airfares!
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- Seasonal Catalog > Tailgaiting > Coolers > Chest Coolers
Igloo Sportsman 100 Quart Cooler(1195663)
4.6 out of 5
Read Reviews (3) | Post a Review
Read Reviews (3) | Post a Review
Igloo Sportsman 100 Quart Cooler - This cooler is designed with the sportsman in mind. The 100 quart size is enough for any hunting, camping or fishing trip. It has a 5 day ice retention at 90 degrees Fahrenheit for those extended outings.
Igloo Sportsman 100 Quart Cooler - Reach inside the quick-access hatch without letting the cold air escape. Holds ice up to 5 days at 90 degrees outside temperature. The reinforced swing up handles stay down and out of the way when not in use while staying comfortable during transport. A tie down loop has been added to each side of the cooler allowing you to better secure your load during travel. Dual snap fit lid latches keep everything closed.
- Weight: 17.5 lbs
- Exterior Dimensions: 35.25in x 17.38in x 16.75in
- Interior Dimensions: 31.31in x 14.88in x 12.19in
- Internal Dimensions Bottom: 3.19in x 13.31in x 12.19in
Joal of Lancaster, CA - February, 11 2013:
I needed a big cooler for longer hunting trips and big family camp outs. This one has plenty of space and keeps ice as long as I need it. The only down side is that it takes up so much room I had to get a hitch hauler to bring it along.Nastassi of West Valley City, UT - September, 01 2014:
I love this cooler, keeps ice for a long time, has tons of room for when you go on weekend camping or hunting trips. The only down fall is the latches, the plastic ones break easy, I replaced mine with metal ones and It made this cooler great!Gary H of Salt Lake City, UT - April, 06 2015:
I needed a large cooler and this one fit the bill, not only in size, but budget. I like the reach-in access door in the lid. It's much better than opening the entire top when wanting to grab something out of the cooler, but, it does take some planning when you pack it. My first test of this cooler was last month (March) on a 5-day trip along the White Rim Trail in Moab. Granted, it was spring, and the high temp was around 70�F, but when I got home, I still had about 75% of the two ice blocks I started out with. Can't wait to see how it performs in the heat of summer! It's not a Yeti, but for what I paid for it, it fits my needs just fine!
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text: 1000 KXRB - Classic Country Events Categories Art Shows Concerts Festivals Fundraising Party Sioux Empire Events Cost ($) 0-0 Day Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Distance 5 miles 10 miles 25 miles 50 miles 100 miles 250 miles Map Cal List View Showing 1 of 1 Events Show all occurrences of recurring events Free May 4 JazzFest July 19, 2013 | 4:00 pm - 11:45 pm Yankton Trail Park After a record crowd last year, JazzFest is back for more in 2013. Three big days July 18-20th in Yankton Trail Park. North Mississippi Allstars are headlining on Friday night. Events loops navigation


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|Very likely
|Somewhat likely
|527 total votes
We have enough problems with the electric grid now. Adding plug in vehicles will only stress the grid further besides having the electric rates increasing all the time.
Although I voted "unlikely," I am considering a Volt.
Paulydel, as for the electric rates increasing, there is the expectation that the excess power created by the auxilliary car generator, could add electricity to the grid. If you go solar, there is a good chance that you can sell excess power to the power company through net metering. Moreover, if you combine domestically built solar roofs with domestic built solar cars, a lot of your unemplloyed friends and neighbors may be able to work bringing it about.
Israel has done a deal with Renault to completely go to electric cars starting in 2012.
Actually, the Chevy Cruze is the car they'll be making at Lordstown; it's not an electric car, or even a hybrid.
Also, GM paid back its government loans. Its leaner, meaner, and coming back in style.
Who can afford a new car with all the taxes we have to pay these days?
I am fine with what I have. I also prefer to wait until a new vehicle is time tested. After last winter, I would like to see Lordstown make a 4 passenger vehicle with 4 wheel drive, 4 feet of road clearance and get 40 miles to the gallon!


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Cypress Hill has shared the stage with many performers over the years.
But this was different, for a couple of reasons.
First, frontmen B-Real and Sen Dog were joined by Rusko, a 27-year-old English dubstep DJ and Cypress Hill collaborator. Second, they were being interviewed by Lakers forward Metta World Peace at the Lakers practice gym.
B-Real, a Los Angeles fixture and a Lakers season-ticket holder since the team moved into Staples Center in 1999, has sold millions of albums and traveled all over the world. He's counted former Lakers Shaquille O'Neal and Lamar Odom as friends. But this was a new experience.
"It's the first time I've been at the practice facility," B-Real said. "It was a cool experience to see these guys warm it up and shoot it around."
World Peace and B-Real have worked together in the past, on World Peace's song, "Go Loco." So when the time came for Cypress Hill to discuss the new project, an EP called "Cypress X Rusko," World Peace suggested he do the interview.
B-Real said experimenting with dubstep follows the path the band has blazed (pun intended) for the past 20 years.
"During the course of our career, we've always managed to go outside of even our own box," he said. "We started experimenting with the heavier sound, with live instruments and rock. We like to challenge ourselves."
• Click here to read the rest of the story on ESPN Music.


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PRE-INSPECTED HOME! Location, Location, Location! Extra large lot, great view, quiet neighborhood, close in location, arroyo behind house, Ortiz dog park within 2 min walk. Nice wonderful back portal, mature landscaping, garage conversion into a huge office with storage, archways throughout home, beams in ceiling, all around great home full of extras.
# of Bedrooms: 3 *
First Floor Master
# of Full Bathrooms: 2
Fireplace(s): 1
Home Office
Air Conditioning
Single Family Home
Deck / Patio
Pitched-Roof Style
City/Skyline View


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Omnibus: No Financial Reg Relief, Dangerous GSE Provision, But a Little CFPB SunshineDecember 16, 2015 1:31 PM
My Competitive Enterprise Institute colleagues and I have made the case for members of Congress to use the omnibus spending bill as an exercise of its "power of the purse" to hold the Obama administration accountable. Unfortunately, negotiators in Congressional leadership opened that purse way too soon and way too wide to give President Obama nearly everything in terms of the spending he wanted while inexplicably leaving out regulatory relief measures that members of both parties were clamoring for in the thousand-plus page omnibus bill (read it here) to be voted on later this week.
While there were a couple good measures like lifting the oil export ban and repealing the expensive and confusing country-of origin-labeling mandate for beef and pork (see this post from CEI Adjunct Scholar Fran Smith about the retaliatory tariffs the U.S. faced if this mandate was not repealed), negotiators left out even modest bipartisan deregulatory measures that would have lessened the burden of Dodd-Frank on community banks and credit unions and frozen the Department of Labor's draconian "fiduciary rule" that attracted criticism from 96 House Democrats for the devastating consequences the proposed rule would have on savers. As I have written, the "fiduciary rule" may even silence financial commentators such as Dave Ramsey.
Freddie Mac's Loss Shows Need to Protect Taxpayers from GSE RaidsNovember 4, 2015 8:34 AM
I wish baseball great Yogi Berra were still here—upon the release of Freddie Mac's new quarterly report showing a sudden Q3 loss—so he could offer his famous Yogism "it's déjà vu all over again." After seemingly smooth sailing under which Freddie and its sister Fannie Mae turned profits over the last couple years, this net loss of $475 million raises the specter of yet another government bailout.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) that many observers—from American Enterprise Institute scholar Peter Wallison to New York Times business columnist Gretchen Morgenson—say were the main cause of the financial crisis still face no requirement for any type of capital cushion. A coalition letter CEI helped put together just weeks ago warned that this lack of capital leave Fannie and Freddie vulnerable to sudden changes in the housing market.
Fannie and Freddie were chartered by Congress around 45 years ago as companies with private shareholders but lines of credit with the government. In 2008, Fannie and Freddie were taken into conservatorship by the federal government to prevent them from collapsing. Pursuant to the Obama administration's 2012 "Third Amendment" to the conservatorship, all of Fannie and Freddie's net profits have been swept back into government coffers, leaving them with virtually no capital.
CEI's Coalition Letter to Prevent New Bailouts of Fannie and FreddieAugust 28, 2015 8:01 AM
As the Dodd-Frank "financial reform" celebrated its fifth anniversary this summer, just about every financial business—as well as many nonfinancial firms—have come under its thumb. This is true whether or not these companies had anything to do with the financial crisis.
Community banks and credit unions that had nothing to do with the subprime mortgage meltdown suddenly found that they couldn't issue mortgages to creditworthy borrowers, thanks to provisions such as "qualified mortgage" and "qualified residential mortgage" mandates enforced by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the unaccountable new agency created by Dodd-Frank. Stable insurance companies such as MetLife that never faltered during the crisis and served policy holders for decades suddenly found themselves subject to bank-like capital requirements that even liberal Democrats like Sherrod Brown said was inappropriate.
(MetLife is currently challenging the authority of Dodd-Frank's Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) in a lawsuit. The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) has a separate lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of both FSOC and the CFPB that garnered a partial victory recently in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.)
Yet Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-sponsored enterprises that many observers—from American Enterprise Institute scholar Peter Wallison to New York Times business columnist Gretchen Morgenson—say were the proximate cause of the crisis still face no requirement for any type of capital cushion.
Federal Financial Aid Drives Up Tuition and College Costs, Study FindsJuly 9, 2015 11:49 AM
The federal government is now admitting that its own financial aid is partly to blame for rising tuition, reports Blake Neff in The Daily Caller:
A new report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has found that the massive investment in grants and student loans by the federal government is a major contributor to the unbridled growth in the cost of attending college.
College tuition rates have consistently risen faster than inflation for some 25 years. One theory for the rise, dubbed the "Bennett hypothesis," was put forward by Ronald Reagan secretary of education William Bennett, who argued that hikes in government student aid simply gave colleges a free pass to hike tuition.
Now, the New York Fed's research suggests there's some merit to the idea, and that it means the government could be spending billions on education to no effect.
"While one would expect a student aid expansion to benefit recipients, the subsidized loan expansion could have been to their detriment, on net, because of the sizable and offsetting tuition effect," the paper concludes.
On average, the report finds, each additional dollar in government financial aid translated to a tuition hike of about 65 cents. That indicates that the biggest direct beneficiaries of federal aid are schools, rather than the students hoping to attend them.
As Neff notes, this finding is consistent with some earlier studies on the subject, such as a 2012 paper by Harvard and George Washington University economists, and a 2007 paper that found that higher Pell Grants drove up tuition at private schools as well as out-of-state tuition for public schools.
Earlier, Andrew Gillen, research director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, also reached the conclusion that federal financial aid fuels college tuition increases. In a colloquy on Gillen's research, I concurred in this conclusion, while also noting that increased federal regulation has also fueled tuition increases—as have rules and red tape imposed by states and accreditation agencies. (A recent report by college presidents notes that under the Obama administration, the Education Department has flooded the nation's schools with new rules that have never been properly vetted or codified, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.)
Education analyst Neal McCluskey of the Cato Institute cited four additional studies showing that increased government spending on student aid results in large tuition increases.
In 2011, Virginia Postrel wrote at Bloomberg News about how federal subsidies intended to make college more affordable have instead encouraged rapidly rising tuitions.
Johnson-Crapo's Reemergence Ruins Reg Relief BillMay 18, 2015 5:05 PM
Last year, an overhaul of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac called Johnson-Crapo—named after then Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho)—went down in flames after observers found that the bill was not reform, but a massive expansion of the government's role in housing.
One of the most vocal opponents of Johnson-Crapo was Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), who voted against the bill in the Senate Banking Committee and blasted it in his statement in committee and it media interviews. "Shelby Opposes Massive New Regulator and Taxpayer Exposure in Housing Regulation Bill," exclaims the headline of a press release from Shelby's office on the date of the Senate Committee vote on May 15, 2014.
Though the bill narrowly passed the committee, support for the bill died on the vine and it was never even brought to the Senate floor for a vote. The bill was torpedoed after vocal opposition from Shelby as well as that from 26 leaders of conservative and free-market groups who signed a letter blasting Johnson-Crapo that was coordinated by the Competitive Enterprise Institute. In addition to CEI, signatories included the Club for Growth, Americans for Tax Reform, Freedom Works, and the American Family Association.
Least Transparent Administration Closes Records on Fannie and FreddieMarch 19, 2015 10:30 AM
This Sunshine Week, the administration that swept into office promising to be the "most transparent" in history was just judged by a major news service as least transparent of modern presidencies.
An analysis by the Associated Pres found that "the Obama administration set a record again for censoring government files or outright denying access to them last year under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act." The AP adds that the administration "also acknowledged in nearly 1 in 3 cases that its initial decisions to withhold or censor records were improper under the law - but only when it was challenged."
But FOIA requests are just the tip of the iceberg for this administration's secrecy, much of which has nothing to do with the legitimate exception of national security. In Dodd-Frank, the administration set up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Financial Stability Oversight Council—the constitutionality of both of which are now subject to a lawsuit from the Competitive Enterprise Institute and other parties—to be exempt from many open meetings and (especially with FSOC) open records requests.
But probably the most egregious example of this administration's practicing of secrecy concerns its management of the government-sponsored housing enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In August 2012, then–Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner issued the "Third Amendment" to the GSE conservatorship. The Third Amendment would require all of the GSEs' profits to be siphoned off to the U.S. Treasury Department in perpetuity—even after the GSEs paid back what they owed to taxpayers.
This arbitrary action has spawned more than 20 lawsuits from Fannie and Freddie's private shareholders. The suits charge the administration with everything from violating the Administrative Procedure Act to unconstitutionally taking property without just compensation.
The Third Amendment has also raised concerns that the profit sweep is leaving Fannie and Freddie with very little capital reserves, furthering the chance for more taxpayer bailouts should something go awry with the housing market again. See this excellent paper by Cato Institute Director of Financial Regulation Studies Mark Calabria and former FDIC General Counsel Michael Krimminger on this point.
Obama Administration Learned Nothing from 2008 Financial Crisis, Mortgage Expert SaysFebruary 3, 2015 2:26 PM
Ed Pinto had a depressing and revealing op-ed in The Wall Street Journal Friday about how the Obama administration is artificially creating markets for risky mortgages, using the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the government-controlled mortgage giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Not only will this put taxpayers at risk, but it will burden prudent homebuyers through "cross-subsidies" for risky borrowers "subsidized by less-risky loans."
Long ago, Pinto worked as an executive and credit manager at Fannie Mae before it began buying up massive amounts of risky mortgages to pursue short-run profits and meet federal affordable-housing mandates.
As Pinto notes in "Building Toward Another Mortgage Meltdown," Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt has pushed for a resurgence in risky mortgage loans, and hinted at more mischief to come in his January 27 testimony to the House Financial Services Committee, in which he "told the committee" that he expects to release by "March new guidance on the 'guarantee fee' charged by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to cover the credit risk" on the loans they acquire.
As Pinto points out,
In the Obama administration, new guidance on housing policy invariably means lowering standards to get mortgages into the hands of people who may not be able to afford them. Earlier this month, President Obama announced that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will begin lowering annual mortgage-insurance premiums 'to make mortgages more affordable and accessible.'
Government programs to make mortgages more widely available to low- and moderate-income families have consistently offered overleveraged, high-risk loans that set up too many homeowners to fail. In the long run-up to the 2008 financial crisis, for example, federal mortgage agencies and their regulators cajoled and wheedled private lenders to loosen credit standards. They have been doing so again. When the next housing crash arrives . . . homeowners and taxpayers will once again pay dearly.
Even progressive media like the Village Voice have reported on how the Department of Housing & Urban Development—especially Clinton's HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo—spawned the mortgage crisis by pressuring lenders and the mortgage giants to promote affordable housing, helping "plunge Fannie and Freddie into the subprime markets without putting in place the means to monitor their increasingly risky investments." A 2011 book by The New York Times' Gretchen Morgenson also chronicles how "it was Fannie Mae and the government housing policies it supported, pursued, and exploited that brought the financial system to a halt in 2008."
But the Obama administration learned nothing from this, and has expanded this risky, "affordable-housing" push. Pinto notes, lowering mortgage-insurance premiums for risky borrowers is the centerpiece of a "new affordable-lending effort by the Obama administration," which led to the "the latest salvo in a price war between two government mortgage giants to meet government mandates":
Fannie Mae fired the first shot in December when it relaunched the 30-year, 97% loan-to-value, or LTV, mortgage (a type of loan that was suspended in 2013). Fannie revived these 3% down-payment mortgages at the behest of its federal regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)—which has run Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac since 2008, when both government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) went belly up and were put into conservatorship. . . .
As Pinto notes,
Mortgage price wars between government agencies are particularly dangerous, since access to low-cost capital and minimal capital requirements gives them the ability to continue for many years—all at great risk to the taxpayers. Government agencies also charge low-risk consumers more than necessary to cover the risk of default, using the overage to lower fees on loans to high-risk consumers. Starting in 2009 the FHFA released annual studies documenting the widespread nature of these cross-subsidies. The reports showed that low down payment, 30-year loans to individuals with low FICO scores were consistently subsidized by less-risky loans."
But HUD consistently prodded the government-sponsored mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to loosen safeguards against risky loans:
In 1997, for example, HUD commissioned the Urban Institute to study Fannie and Freddie's single-family underwriting standards. The Urban Institute's 1999 report found that "the GSEs' guidelines, designed to identify creditworthy applicants, are more likely to disqualify borrowers with low incomes, limited wealth, and poor credit histories; applicants with these characteristics are disproportionately minorities." By 2000 Fannie and Freddie did away with down payments and raised debt-to-income ratios. HUD encouraged them to more aggressively enter the subprime market, and the GSEs decided to re-enter the "liar loan" (low doc or no doc) market, partly in a desire to meet higher HUD low- and moderate-income lending mandates.
Main Street Fights Dodd-Frank's Chipping Away at the ConstitutionJanuary 30, 2015 3:31 PM
"Wall Street Chips Away at Dodd-Frank," blared a recent front-page headline in The New York Times about bipartisan measures that have passed the U.S. House of Representatives and/or been signed into law that ever-so-slightly lighten the burden of the so-called financial reform rammed through Congress in 2010. "GOP Pushes More Perks For Wall Street..." reads the home page of The Huffington Post under the picture of establishment pillar, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase.
Yet, what these articles don't say is that the firms putting their resources on the line to challenge Dodd-Frank in court are the furthest thing from Wall Street high rollers. They are decades-old firms selling stable, time-tested financial products to everyday consumers.
At first glance, the national insurance firm MetLife and the Texas community bank State National Bank of Big Spring might seem to have little in common. But they both are solid financial firms that never took a bailout and never had their hand in the toxic mortgages—spurred on by the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and mandates of the Community Reinvestment Act—that caused the financial crisis.
And now, the firms are both doing their customers and all Americans a favor by bringing suit against Dodd-Frank's Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), one of the many opaque entities in Dodd-Frank that lack accountability to Congress and the public.
In its lawsuit brought this month, MetLife raised many of the same constitutional issues as did State National Bank in its pending legal challenge brought in 2012 in collaboration with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, at which I work. CEI and the conservative seniors group 60 Plus Association are co-plaintiffs with the bank, and CEI attorneys are working with the esteemed C. Boyden Gray—the former White House Counsel—in providing representation to the parties.
In an open letter to its customers that ran in full-page ads in The New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal, MetLife CEO Steven Kandarian explained his objections to the firm being designated as a "systemically important financial institution," or SIFI, by FSOC. "We do not believe MetLife poses systemic risk, and we are concerned that our designation will harm competition among life insurers and lead to higher prices and less choice for consumers." In that sense, a court victory for MetLife would greatly benefit the public as well.
To its credit, MetLife is rejecting not only the burdens of being designated a SIFI but also the benefits—benefits that seem to eagerly embraced by both MetLife's competitors (such as the infamous AIG) as well as the biggest banks. Being designated a SIFI means the federal government considers MetLife to be "too big to fail," making it subject to the same Dodd-Frank bailout regime set up for big Wall Street banks like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase.
As CEI, 60 Plus Association, and the State National Bank argue in our legal challenge to the Dodd-Frank Act, the SIFI designation confers on a firm a strong competitive advantage, as investors and creditors know the government won't let it fail.
We argue that the tiny State National Bank "is injured by the FSOC's official designation of systemically important nonbank financial companies, because each additional designation will require the Bank to compete with yet another financial company—i.e., a newly designated nonbank financial company—that is able to attract scarce, fungible investment capital at artificially low cost."
Obama Should Help Borrowers by Shedding Dodd-Frank, Not Pumping FHAJanuary 8, 2015 12:24 PM
"If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." So said Ronald Reagan in 1986.
Reagan was describing the unintended effects of government policy. But for the Obama administration, this formula seems to be the modus operandi of its policy making.
Take mortgages, for instance. After the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul was rammed through the Democrat-controlled Congress in 2010, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau—a bureaucracy created by the Dodd-Frank to be unaccountable almost by design—implemented the law's "qualified mortgage" (QM) provisions.
The QM provisions were so costly and complex that community banks and credit unions—as far away as one could get from the causes of financial crises—sharply decreased or even abandoned altogether the creation of new mortgages. The U.S. House of Representative responded last year by passing overwhelmingly bipartisan legislation to scale back Dodd-Frank's QM, but the bill became one of over 400 that never moved from then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's desk.
Yet today, in a much-heralded speech on housing in Phoenix, President Obama is expected not to join the bipartisan effort to take on the Dodd-Frank regulations keeping mortgages from moving, but to create new subsidies that not only may be ineffective at moving the housing market but would be harmful to the nation's fiscal health, as they bulk up the government-backed housing agencies that fueled the housing crisis.
According to press reports, the administration's plan consists of cutting premiums borrowers pay for mortgage insurance for mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) by 50 basis points. This move comes despite the FHA's insurance reserves being already below required levels.
Not only did the FHA have to get a direct $1.7 billion public bailout from the Treasury last year, it has received—according to a new Politico investigation—an estimated $73 billion in hidden bailouts through budget "reestimates" that don't require official action. In the Politico expose of the FHA and other government credit program, reporter Michael Grunwald explains that "reestimates don't require a public announcement or a congressional appropriation; agencies just use what's known as their 'permanent indefinite authority' to stick the shortfalls on the government's tab."
Liberals and Conservatives Challenge Overreach of Dodd-Frank's FSOC on MetLifeNovember 18, 2014 2:18 PM
As CEI brings suit before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals tomorrow challenging the constitutionality of unaccountable bureaucracies created by the Dodd-Frank "financial reform" law of 2010, it looks like we may have some high-profile company in litigation against Dodd-Frank's Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC).
The FSOC is a secretive, unaccountable task force of financial bureaucrats of various agencies created to designate banks and other financial firms "systemically important," or too-big-to-fail. In September, the FSOC preliminarily decreed insurer MetLife a "systemically important financial institution," or SIFI.
As CEI argues in our legal challenge to the Dodd-Frank Act (including the FSOC's role of identifying risk), the SIFI designation confers on a firm a strong competitive advantage, as investors and creditors know the government won't let it fail. That's why big banks and MetLife competitor American International Group (AIG), which have already received billions in taxpayer bailouts, have eagerly embraced their SIFI status.
But MetLife, to its credit, has publicly stated that it is not too big to fail and does not want the special privileges that come with SIFI status, nor the regulatory costs. MetLife chairman and CEO Steven A. Kandarian declared last year, "I do not believe that MetLife is a systemically important financial institution."
Now, The Wall Street Journal reports that "MetLife Inc. doesn't want to be tagged as "systemically important" and is preparing to possibly take the U.S. government to court to avoid it, people familiar with the matter said." The insurance firm has hired Eugene Scalia, attorney with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, who has put forth successful suits against other provisions of Dodd-Frank.


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- 21Promote
iPad Tablet Skins
Deerby Doug McRae
Skins are thin, easy-to-remove, vinyl decals for customizing your laptop . Skins are made from a patented material that eliminates air bubbles and wrinkles for easy application.
The word "deer" was originally broad in meaning, but became more specific over time. In Middle English der (Old English dēor) meant a wild animal of any kind. This was as opposed to cattle, which then meant any sort of domestic livestock that was easy to collect and remove from the land,


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EarthScope Resources for Educators
Below are a few links to excellent Earth Science educational animations, video lectures, and other electronic resources for Educators.
Additional Resources
- Lessons and Resources about Earthquakes and Plate Tectonics – Lessons and resources from IRIS for standalone and integrated instruction, and other educational activities.
- Lessons and Resources about Geodesy and Plate Tectonics - Lessons and resources from UNAVCO for standalone and integrated instruction, and other educational activities.
Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) provides earthquake public education and preparedness and teacher resources.
Great Shake Out earthquake drills – participate in this earthquake drill held yearly! Everyone, everywhere, should know how to protect themselves in an earthquake. Even if earthquakes are rare where you live, they may happen where you or your family travel.
The SERC website offers a variety of science resources for teachers, including many EarthScope-related activities and lessons.


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I used to hit trails pretty regularly, nothing too hardcore,just fun riding around my house and the occasional trip out of state. I now live in downtown chicago and don't have as easy access to trails. My questions are:
A. does anybody also live in chicago and know where the closest trails are?
B. I have a specialized hardrock. I put road tires on it, but it is uncomfortable to ride on the paved paths around here for long distance. Does anyone have a recomendation for a bike that will function on the paved paths and then also be able to take some trails too? My current living situation won't allow for two bikes. Like I said, I never do any hardcore trail riding.


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- A growing number of bookstores: There are now more than 640 BNC bookstores nationwide, including 41 top NCAA Division I FBS schools, such as LSU, The Ohio State University, Penn State and University of Michigan, just to name a few. BNCM's on-campus and community presence at top athletic universities provides its brand partners the opportunity to reach students and alumni on game day weekends.
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Tom Arnold's 89-pound weight loss was inspired by one little guy by the name of Jax. The actor, seen here in late November looking remarkably slimmer than we've grown accustomed to seeing him, has opened up about the many ways becoming a father has transformed his life.
"Something inside of me changed," Tom Arnold told People about becoming a dad in April 2013 after decades of heartbreaking infertility struggles. "I knew I needed to live as long as I could."
"The moment I saw [Jax] I realized he deserves the best," the once 287-pound actor added. The best part? He boasted, "I have tons more energy to play with my son."
Additionally, the 54 year old told TMZ, "My son is already cursed with an old dad, so he doesn't deserve to have a fat dad too."
Check out more famous fathers who welcomed children later in life:
It's interesting to me to hear Tom Arnold speak so frankly about his age and weight, which are both notoriously touchy subjects.
Though I'm inclined to initially agree with him there are some downsides of having an older parent, and want to applaud the new dad for making remarkable progress on his health, I can't ignore the notion Jax is also blessed to have been born to parents who wanted him so very badly. Every time I hear Tom Arnold speak about parenthood it's with an enthusiasm that's enviable.
Maybe my kids are 'cursed' to have been born to parents in their early 20s who really had no idea what they were getting into and have, every now and again, wished this world had a redo button? I'm overweight (ever so slowly making progress towards not being so) too, so does that mean my two boys are double screwed? I get the feeling the answer is yes, but perhaps not having everything be ideal is just life.
Do you think a kid can be 'cursed' by their parent's age? Weight?
Photo: INF


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Why join Adler University?
- Subsidized group health insurance
- Employer-paid group life, long-term disability and accidental death & dismemberment insurance
- Employee-paid dental, vision, and transportation benefits
- 403(b) savings/retirement plan benefit, with a fully-vested employer matching contribution of up to 5% in the first year. After two years of participation, matching grows by 1% per year, to a limit of 10% employer match.
- $1,500 professional development allowance per fiscal year
- Tuition reimbursement of 50% for coursework related to Adler University employment
- Paid time off for holidays, vacation and sick days
Human Resources Benefits Administrator
- Job Title
- Human Resources Benefits Administrator
- Job ID
- 779300
- Location
- Chicago, IL 60602
- Other Location
- Description
The Adler School of Professional Psychology, founded in 1952, is the oldest independent school of psychology in North America. The School provides graduate education in psychology and health service delivery with campuses in the heart of downtown Chicago and downtown Vancouver. Program offerings include an APA-accredited clinical psychology program and five Master's Degree programs at its Chicago location and a Master of Arts in Counseling at its Vancouver location. The Adler School is committed to continuing the pioneering work of its namesake, Alfred Adler. As part of that commitment, the School graduates socially responsible practitioners, engages in communities, and advances social justice.
To perform and provide Human Resources designated HR services responsibly and satisfactorily. These requirements are representative, but not all-inclusive, of the knowledge, skill, and ability required of th HR Benefits Administrator.
- Administer all benefit programs, including recommending and implementing changes
- Lead the annual Open Enrollment process including proactive communication roll out plans
- Implement benefit benchmarking process to ensure competitive standing
- Coordinate New Hire process from offer letter to onboarding
- Produce Ultipro reports, both periodically and on a special request basis
- Perform nondiscrimination testing for retirement plans and health and welfare benefit plans
- Assist employees with Retirement plan questions and track eligibility for the two plans (403b and 457b)
- Track and process vendor invoices for benefit plans
- Monitor Education reimbursement process and costs
- Identify opportunities for process improvement
- Develop workflow documentation
- Other duties as assigned
- Required Skills
• Three to five years of progressive experience in administration of benefits and other HR programs
• Excellent computer skills including expertise in Excel, database management, report configuration and generation
• Experience in Ultipro
• Effective interpersonal and communication skills with solid writing ability
• College degree preferred
• Experience working within both profit and not for profit industries preferred
Equal Opportunity Employer
It is the policy of Adler School of Professional Psychology that all persons are entitled to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) protection. The School does not discriminate against any individual for employment because of age, religion, race, color, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, marital status, physical or mental disability, military status (including unfavorable discharge from the military), or any other category protected by federal, state, or local law.