Stay Tuned for More Information

If all works out like I believe it will, you can hear me here on Thursday nights at 8 pm est.

Dazed at Night...brilliant insanity with a dash of confusion. Playing Classic Rock from the 70's 80's 90's and today! Also a weekly spotlight of todays best Indie rock artists.

Yea...I can't keep a secret. heh

I'll still be broadcasting Quiet on the Set Tuesday nights. Tonight I welcome Deanna Mitchell to the show! Check out the guest line-up here. Missed a show or just curious who my previous guests are? Check it all out here.

A Two Year Anniversary, kinda

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

- Dylan Thomas,
Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night

Although my near-death experience was two years ago today, there is virtually not a day that goes by that I am not aware of making decisions based on that experience.

By no means was this a near death experience. Not by the recounts of near death survivors. I somehow cheated death, the Grim Reaper was on a coffee break at 8:25 pm September 25, 2006. The feeling of calm and not panic, reflecting back now, kept the Grim Reaper at bay. No sign of weakness yet signs of strength and enlightenment. I was not scared during my 4 hours of emergency room, trauma room, ambulance ride and angioplasty procedure. Yes I felt tension and apprehension of actually surviving the heart attack. See, I am the youngest of men on my mothers side to actually have a heart attack let alone survive one. Most of the men have died between ages 50-60 of coronary heart disease. I felt calmness that I've never experienced during a personal emergency. As if I knew that if I panicked, my life would cease to exist.

I had a blockage in two of my heart arteries. Most of this is for my medical type readers. lol The most severe blockage (100%) was in the junction of right coronary artery and the posterior descending artery. This required 2 stents to allow proper blood flow. The second artery is the circumflex artery. This is blocked approximately 70-90% and will be reopened on October 12th. Yes, I asked why not both at once? Plain and simple explanation, it woulda killed me. Who am I to question that answer? Originally posted here.

The moment they opened the arteries, I felt a warm rush of life cursing through my body. The warmth of extended life and a sense of being reborn. I have a second chance in life to accomplish the tasks set before me. What that purpose and meaning for a second chance is still elusive, although I will know my task when its completed. But when its completed, then what is planned for me? That is a question I'd rather not have answered and remain one of the mysteries of life.

There are some regrets of that night, and those that are curious can cruise the archives to find it. I've moved past that portion of my life and have actually accepted that mistakes happen, and nothing I had control over. I have often thought of death, and I find it the least of all evils.

I think somehow this blog is just a gathering place on my journey. It is interesting how we wash back and forth across each other's lives here. Seemingly like the waves of the sea washing upon the beach. The sea leaving little gifts of magic and life. All things relying on one another, one without the other becomes a non-existent force. Sometimes the veil becomes lifted and I see you in me and me in you. Souls intertwined amongst all souls until when the last soul looks into the face of love and doesn't turn their back, all souls are one. This intertwining of souls and love is the purest form of friendship. A friendship void of the senses we typically base a friendship. This friendship is based upon our abilities to portray ourselves in a virtual world, of who we are based upon what moralities and beliefs we practice. And our abilities to encounter the gems glittering with the same moralities and beliefs. And nurturing this friendship through the trials and tribulations we call life.

Eskimo Prayer

I think over again my small adventures.
My fears.
Those small ones that seemed so big.

For all the vital things
I had to get and to reach.

And yet there is only one great thing.
The only thing.

To live to see the great day that dawns
And the light that fulfills the world.

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Editors Note:
I tried to equal the post from last year, reflecting upon a one year anniversary. And truthfully, nothing has changed the last year except I've learned to accept reality a bit more. So the only editing done to the original post was changing one year to two years.
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Life may have no meaning or possibly its a mixed blessing. Life is purely a matter of deciding what's important to you. You succeed in life based upon what you judge a success. The real loser in life is one who believes he's lost when he hasn't. There is no winner or loser in life. There is no finish line or throngs of fans to rejoice. To fear life is to spread a cancerous disease among those that view life as a win. I invite any person who wishes to cower in the corner to join me for a minute and howl at the moon.

And each post I create and you faithful friends consume, I realize that we all howl in a synchronized harmonious chorus. You returning faithfully is a blessing for me. A world where a virtual friend can transcend the daily horrors we must endure to prove again that my doubts of a seemingly reckless human nature is completely unsubstantiated, even if for a fleeting moment. It shows me the world is still filled with sheep in wolves clothing.

I can explain life in six words...Reality sucks and life goes on.

LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL FOR TREASURY AUTHORITY

Read How This Mess Got Started

Long Post...Scroll Down for previous posts.

The proposal could be the largest authority transfer from the Legislative branch to the Executive branch. The New Deal and the War Powers Act would pale in comparison.

LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL FOR TREASURY AUTHORITY

TO PURCHASE MORTGAGE-RELATED ASSETS

Section 1. Short Title.

This Act may be cited as ____________________.

Sec. 2. Purchases of Mortgage-Related Assets.

(a) Authority to Purchase.--The Secretary is authorized to purchase, and to make and fund commitments to purchase, on such terms and conditions as determined by the Secretary, mortgage-related assets from any financial institution having its headquarters in the United States.

(b) Necessary Actions.--The Secretary is authorized to take such actions as the Secretary deems necessary to carry out the authorities in this Act, including, without limitation:

(1) appointing such employees as may be required to carry out the authorities in this Act and defining their duties;

(2) entering into contracts, including contracts for services authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, without regard to any other provision of law regarding public contracts;

(3) designating financial institutions as financial agents of the Government, and they shall perform all such reasonable duties related to this Act as financial agents of the Government as may be required of them;

(4) establishing vehicles that are authorized, subject to supervision by the Secretary, to purchase mortgage-related assets and issue obligations; and

(5) issuing such regulations and other guidance as may be necessary or appropriate to define terms or carry out the authorities of this Act.

Sec. 3. Considerations.

In exercising the authorities granted in this Act, the Secretary shall take into consideration means for--

(1) providing stability or preventing disruption to the financial markets or banking system; and

(2) protecting the taxpayer.

Sec. 4. Reports to Congress.

Within three months of the first exercise of the authority granted in section 2(a), and semiannually thereafter, the Secretary shall report to the Committees on the Budget, Financial Services, and Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committees on the Budget, Finance, and Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate with respect to the authorities exercised under this Act and the considerations required by section 3.

Sec. 5. Rights; Management; Sale of Mortgage-Related Assets.

(a) Exercise of Rights.--The Secretary may, at any time, exercise any rights received in connection with mortgage-related assets purchased under this Act.

(b) Management of Mortgage-Related Assets.--The Secretary shall have authority to manage mortgage-related assets purchased under this Act, including revenues and portfolio risks therefrom.

(c) Sale of Mortgage-Related Assets.--The Secretary may, at any time, upon terms and conditions and at prices determined by the Secretary, sell, or enter into securities loans, repurchase transactions or other financial transactions in regard to, any mortgage-related asset purchased under this Act.

(d) Application of Sunset to Mortgage-Related Assets.--The authority of the Secretary to hold any mortgage-related asset purchased under this Act before the termination date in section 9, or to purchase or fund the purchase of a mortgage-related asset under a commitment entered into before the termination date in section 9, is not subject to the provisions of section 9.

Sec. 6. Maximum Amount of Authorized Purchases.

The Secretary’s authority to purchase mortgage-related assets under this Act shall be limited to $700,000,000,000 outstanding at any one time

Sec. 7. Funding.

For the purpose of the authorities granted in this Act, and for the costs of administering those authorities, the Secretary may use the proceeds of the sale of any securities issued under chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, and the purposes for which securities may be issued under chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, are extended to include actions authorized by this Act, including the payment of administrative expenses. Any funds expended for actions authorized by this Act, including the payment of administrative expenses, shall be deemed appropriated at the time of such expenditure.

Sec. 8. Review.

Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

Sec. 9. Termination of Authority.

The authorities under this Act, with the exception of authorities granted in sections 2(b)(5), 5 and 7, shall terminate two years from the date of enactment of this Act.

Sec. 10. Increase in Statutory Limit on the Public Debt.

Subsection (b) of section 3101 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking out the dollar limitation contained in such subsection and inserting in lieu thereof $11,315,000,000,000.

Sec. 11. Credit Reform.

The costs of purchases of mortgage-related assets made under section 2(a) of this Act shall be determined as provided under the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990, as applicable.

Sec. 12. Definitions.

For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) Mortgage-Related Assets.--The term “mortgage-related assets” means residential or commercial mortgages and any securities, obligations, or other instruments that are based on or related to such mortgages, that in each case was originated or issued on or before September 17, 2008.

(2) Secretary.--The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Treasury.

(3) United States.--The term “United States” means the States, territories, and possessions of the United States and the District of Columbia.

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I wonder how those who looked to gain from our economical failure view this bailout. I mean afterall, they intended to force the U.S. to stand down as the world's leading nation. In 2002, after accounting scandals forced Enron Corp. and WorldCom Inc. into bankruptcy, Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley law, setting new corporate-governance rules. While the measure passed unanimously in the Senate and overwhelmingly in the House, it has since become a target of criticism from many in the business and financial worlds. Creating a separate agency to take on bad debt, akin to the Resolution Trust Corp. set up in 1989 to absorb losses from savings-and-loan associations, would take about a year. Instead, the Feds should use its own authority to act. Last week's events made the 1987 stock market crash look like child's play.

Paulson said last week, "I am convinced that this bold approach will cost American families far less than the alternative: a continuing series of financial institution failures and frozen credit markets unable to fund economic expansion."
Read more Here

So we pay Uncle Sam $700 billion now or face the fact the Great Depression will become the 1987 Stock Market Crash in comparison. We must realize we'll eventually need Uncle Sam one way or another. Those who've heard stories, or even lived during the Great Depression, will fully understand the implications if something isn't accomplished on a global scale.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)
"The number of unemployed persons rose by 592,000 to 9.4 million in August,
and the unemployment rate increased by 0.4 percentage point to 6.1 percent.
Over the past 12 months, the number of unemployed persons has increased by
2.2 million and the unemployment rate has risen by 1.4 percentage points,
with most of the increase occurring over the past 4 months." The civilian labor force, at 154.9 million.
Can you imagine 18+ million people unemployed within two years of a financial market downward spiral? (Based upon twice the unemployment rate of August 2008)

Who would provide health care, food, utilities, etc...if you are unemployed? Why of course Uncle Sam!

So pay Uncle Sam now or be supported by him later?

Who's to blame? Don't really care at this point. Let's fix the flucking mess and point fingers later, please. Right now, my dreams of retirement have faded into the far horizons, barely emitting a ray of light. All I have left is my house, 3 years from being paid off. I don't want to lose all I've worked for, very hard I might add. I'm not a materialistic person but my house is MY castle. To lose my castle would be utterly devastating.

Bailout...Agree or Disagree?

Thomas Jefferson, Letter to the Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin
"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs."

Well, I agree with the bailout as long as the restrictions are being enforced and that we're not padding the pockets of the extremely wealthy with taxpayer dollars. We can't just sit by and let the economy collapse...that would be catastrophic. But, this next President is going to have some work to do getting our National Debt down. Goods and Services are going to increase and the dollar will be worth less and less. That's not a solution...the credit card companies are licking their chops. People will be forced to go that route just to survive...thinking it's short term. I personally will have to get a second job soon if things get much worse then they are now. I'm not creating more debt for myself.

I have no problem with a bail out, so long as investors loose their shirts, execs loose their parachutes and fined large for their part. I also think that all assets associated with that lost be sold with proceeds going back in to offset the bail out.
However, in order for this to work, those that lost their homes due to this ruthless lending practice need forgiven this one event so that they maybe able to finance a new beginning. The Great depression saw foreclosed property being rented back to the defaulters until they could again buy back the asset. Maybe that program could work again.

Great Depression Synopsis

In the 1920s, American consumers and businesses relied on cheap credit, the former to purchase consumer goods such as automobiles and furniture, and the latter for capital investment to increase production. Bank failures snowballed as desperate bankers called in loans which the borrowers did not have time or money to repay. With future profits looking poor, capital investment and construction slowed or completely ceased. In the face of bad loans and worsening future prospects, the surviving banks became even more conservative in their lending. Banks built up their capital reserves and made fewer loans, which intensified deflationary pressures. A vicious cycle developed and the downward spiral accelerated. This kind of self-aggravating process may have turned a 1930 recession into a 1933 great depression.

At least in part, the Great Depression was caused by underlying weaknesses and imbalances within the U.S. economy that had been obscured by the boom psychology and speculative euphoria of the 1920s. The Depression exposed those weaknesses, as it did the inability of the nation's political and financial institutions to cope with the vicious downward economic cycle that had set in by 1930. Prior to the Great Depression, governments traditionally took little or no action in times of business downturn, relying instead on impersonal market forces to achieve the necessary economic correction. But market forces alone proved unable to achieve the desired recovery in the early years of the Great Depression, and this painful discovery eventually inspired some fundamental changes in the United States' economic structure. After the Great Depression, government action, whether in the form of taxation, industrial regulation, public works, social insurance, social-welfare services, or deficit spending, came to assume a principal role in ensuring economic stability in most industrial nations with market economies.

Do you see any correlation with todays crisis and that of the Great Depression? If not, tune in later for my observance and commentary.

Avast... Shiver Me Timbers!!!

I almost forgot "National Talk Like A Pirate Day"!!!

Ahoy der matey...Capt'n Dazd, the meanest swashbucklin' buccaneer on the High Seas here. Where's me buccaneers....under me buckin' hat of course ya scallywags! Don't make me get the cat o' nine tails now! Laugh heartily mateys! Yo ho ho

Me plan to be loaded to the gunwales by sunrise and chasing a fair lass about me ship. No winches around this furner lest ye wanna walk da plank! Lookin' for booty one might say! Yo ho ho Me have plenty o' doubloons and pieces o' eight for the festivities. Plenty of grog for all lest ye drink to much and dance on the fiddlers green!

Raise the jolly roger and set sail mateys! Davey Jones Locker not be takin' any jacks tonight! Only land lubbers and lily livered scrogs will he see tonight!

And You Thought I Wasn't Eco-Friendly

1. Ever heard of the Bakken Formation?

The U. S. Geological Service issued a report in April (’08) that only scientists and oilmen/women knew was coming, but man was it big. It was a revised report (hadn’t been updated since ‘95) on how much oil was in this area of the western 2/3 of North Dakota; western South Dakota; and extreme eastern Montana … check THIS out:

The Bakken is the largest domestic oil discovery since Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay, and has the potential to eliminate all American dependence on foreign oil. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates it at 503 billion barrels. Even if just 10% of the oil is recoverable… at $107 a barrel, we’re looking at a resource base worth more than $5.3 trillion.

‘When I first briefed legislators on this, you could practically see their jaws hit the floor. They had no idea.’ says Terry Johnson, the Montana Legislature’s financial analyst.

‘This sizable find is now the highest-producing onshore oil field found in the past 56 years,’ reports The Pittsburgh Post Gazette. It’s a formation known as the Williston Basin , but is more commonly referred to as the ‘Bakken.’ And it stretches from Northern Montana, through North Dakota and into Canada . For years, U. S. oil exploration has been considered a dead end. Even the ‘Big Oil’ companies gave up searching for major oil wells decades ago. However, a recent technological breakthrough has opened up the Bakken’s massive reserves… and we now have access of up to 500 billion barrels. And because this is light, sweet oil, those billions of barrels will cost Americans just $16 PER BARREL!

That’s enough crude to fully fuel the American economy for 41 years straight.

2. [And if THAT didn't throw you on the floor, then this next one should - because it's from TWO YEARS AGO, people!]

U.S. Oil Discovery- Largest Reserve in the World! Stansberry Report Online - 4 /20/2006 Hidden 1,000 feet beneath the surface of the Rocky Mountains lies the largest untapped oil reserve in the world is more than 2 TRILLION barrels. On August 8, 2005 President Bush mandated its extraction.

They reported this stunning news: We have more oil inside our borders, than all the other proven reserves on earth. Here are the official estimates:

-8-times as much oil as Saudi Arabia
-18-times as much oil as Iraq
-21-times as much oil as Kuwait
-22-times as much oil as Iran
-500-times as much oil as Yemen - and it’s all right here in the Western United States.

HOW can this BE!? HOW can we NOT BE extracting this!? Because the democrats and leftwing republicans have blocked all efforts to help America become independent of foreign oil.

James Bartis, lead researcher with the study says we’ve got more oil in this very compact area than the entire Middle East -more than 2 TRILLION barrels. Untapped. That’s more than all the proven oil reserves of crude oil in the world today, reports The Denver Post

Don’t think ‘OPEC’ will drop its price - even with this find? Think again! It’s all about the competitive marketplace, - it has to.
—-
Got your attention/ire up yet? Hope so!

Source

Source

Source

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Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service in Wall, N.J., said supply shortages caused by Ike and Hurricane Gustav should last at least another two weeks.

"That means we're looking at close to $4 a gallon for the rest of September," Kloza said. "People are going to observe more of this disconnect where retail prices move higher even though crude oil is trading below $100 a barrel."

Source


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I bought one today. economical in the following sense:
-Able to keep yard effectively mowed (saves gas and mower maintenance)
-Effectively fertilizes yard to maintain adequate food source
-Cheaper insurance as high speed collisions with other horse and buggies virtually non-existent (No data was found)
-Can double as a hauler (one less vehicle i.e. truck)
-Can travel where most vehicles can't (tow bills)
-Will help the crazed global warming issue (That is until the decide it's flatulence causes global warming)
-And if a famine hits, one can have enough meat for a month

(You'd expect something less from me on the last point?)

If you have sex with a prostitute against her will, is it considered rape or shoplifting?

Can you cry under water?

How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?

Why do you have to ‘put your two cents in’… but it’s only a ‘penny for your thoughts’? Where’s that extra penny going to?

Once you’re in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?

Why does a round pizza come in a square box?

What disease did cured ham actually have?

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

Why is it that people say they ‘slept like a baby’ when babies wake up like every two hours?

If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?

Why are you IN a movie, but you’re ON TV?

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?

Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They’re going to see you naked anyway.

Why is ‘bra’ singular and ‘panties’ plural?

Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?

If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him?

Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane?

If the professor on Gilligan’s Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can’t he fix a hole in a boat?

Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They’re both dogs!

If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME crap, why didn’t he just buy dinner?

If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from?

If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?

Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?

Why did you just try singing the two songs above?

Why do they call it an asteroid when it’s outside the hemisphere, but call it a hemorrhoid when it’s in your butt?

Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog’s face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?