Think you're a patriot?

If you really give a damn about this country I think this gentleman deserves 24 minutes out of your life to explain what patriotism is and is not.

Ron Paul in this address to the House of Representatives has managed to vocalize my thoughts perfectly. This politician speaks with the sense and truth that is more rare than flying elephants.

www.youtube.com/v/GLn0tMdXd_Q

Does anyone have a commodity account? I was thinking about setting up a managed commodity accout with Lind Waldock, just talked with them today.

in honor of the current meeting felt obliged to start some kinda discussion:

i know with the dow over 12, oil under 60, all yields under 5, and people upping earnings estimates for the future, Bernanke looks like a genius. not patting myself too hard on the back, i was well positioned for when the Fed did pause- a contrarian view at the time. and so now i am compelled to post that the Fed will raise rates not at this current meeting, but by 2Q2007 (more likely much sooner.) just as when i saw the pause coming, i have little other than a "goldbug conspiracy hunch" to push me down this road- i will be keeping a sharp look out for confirmation data. very difficult to get "first source" data regarding the monetary policy of our contry.

perhaps this is a bit esoteric for this board- what the heck does a quarter point have to do with this GOOG rocket im riding?!? kinda thing, but i do look forward to debate and discussions from other posters. please do your own DD, and remember only a sucker would bet with me that rates are going to rise.

some relevant vocabulary building from investopedia:

inflation: The rate at which the general level of prices for goods and services is rising, and, subsequently, purchasing power is falling. As inflation rises, every dollar will buy a smaller percentage of a good. For example, if the inflation rate is 2%, then a $1 pack of gum will cost $1.02 in a year. Most countries' central banks will try to sustain an inflation rate of 2-3%.

deflation: A general decline in prices, often caused by a reduction in the supply of money or credit. Deflation can be caused also by a decrease in government, personal or investment spending. The opposite of inflation, deflation has the side effect of increased unemployment since there is a lower level of demand in the economy, which can lead to an economic depression. Declining prices, if they persist, generally create a vicious spiral of negatives such as falling profits, closing factories, shrinking employment and incomes, and increasing defaults on loans by companies and individuals. To counter deflation, the Federal Reserve (the Fed) can use monetary policy to increase the money supply and deliberately induce rising prices, causing inflation. Rising prices provide an essential lubricant for any sustained recovery because businesses increase profits and take some of the depressive pressures off wages and debtors of every kind.

Nice work on the site, I like they way you have re-organized the site and added some small changes. Its making for a more efficient site for me to use.
Thanks!

A long read, but it really lays it all out.

I especially like, "What the country desperately needs is a popular movement to rebuild the Constitutional system and subject the government once again to the discipline of checks and balances."

http://alternet.org/story/51975/

Good Digital Camera -- Any Good SLR's -- looking to upgrade my nv10 --- any one suggest a good SLR - that takes jaw dropping good pictures ---looking for ones under $1000 ---

Thanks to my friend Andrea for the below piece:

The tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians, passed on from generation to
generation, says that: "When you discover that you are riding a dead
horse, the best strategy is to dismount."

However, in government more advanced strategies are often employed,
such as:

1. Buying a stronger whip.
2. Changing riders.
3. Appointing a committee to study the horse.
4. Arranging to visit other countries to see how other cultures ride
horses.
5. Lowering the standards so that dead horses can be included.
6. Reclassifying the dead horse as living-impaired.
7. Hiring outside contractors to ride the dead horse.
8. Harnessing several dead horses together to increase speed.
9. Providing additional funding and/or training to increase dead horse's
performance.
10. Doing a productivity study to see if lighter riders would improve the
dead horse's performance.
11. Declaring that as the dead horse does not have to be fed, it is less
costly, carries lower overhead and therefore contributes substantially more
to the bottom line of the economy than do some other horses.
12. Rewriting the expected performance requirements for all horses.
13. Promoting the dead horse to a supervisory position.

Master Cramer is always screaming for us to listen to Conference Calls, but I scan mostly the transcripts

Here is a nice study of Yin/Yang of 2 Conference Calls...

(1) Scan the beginning till you get bogged down
(2) Jump down to the Analysists' Q&A
(3) Cf what a good CC reads like and then a bad one

http://retail.seekingalpha.com/artic...39?source=feed

http://retail.seekingalpha.com/artic...97?source=feed

http://www.webware.com/8301-1_109-97...ml?tag=nl.e501

Note: most can be Rss'd

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-y5nbLrrnk

I don't know if this guy could deliver, but I like his platform, especially following the Constitution.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18984143/

Now how dumb and greedy do you have to be to give someone $58k because it sounds like a good deal and you heard the ads on the radio? Sure, the guy's a scumbag, but his 'investors' were victims of their own greed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z66kmPRl5Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3H6uEyR66M

for sale on Amazon....read the first review, funny stuff.

http://www.amazon.com/JL421-Badonkad...207885&sr=1-10

I found this quite moving - after a short introduction, documentary photographer Ted Natchwey narrates a collection of his photographs taken in various war zones. Worth the time to watch.

http://ted.streamguys.net/ted_nachtwey_j_2007_480.mov

On with chris Matthews after the commercial, MSNBC

A married Irishman went into the confessional and said to his priest, "I Almost had an affair with another woman." The priest said, "What do you Mean, almost?" The Irishman said, "Well, we got undressed and rubbed Together, but then I stopped." The priest said, "Rubbing together is the same as putting it in. You're not To see that woman again. For your penance, say five Hail Mary's and put $50 in the poor box."
The Irishman left the confessional, said his prayers, and then walked over to the poor box. He paused for a moment and then started to leave. The priest, who was watching, quickly ran over to him saying, "I saw that.You didn't put any money in the poor box!" The Irishman replied, "Yeah, but I rubbed the $50 on the box, and according to you, that's the same as putting it in!"

Hey everyone,
I am planning to move to St. Louis in the next few months and would like to find a job in the financial services industry. Do you have any suggestions on what type of company to look into or positions that are not well known to the public?

I don't think I want to be an advisor and have to cold call, also they mostly seem to push insurance. I am looking for something that will allow me to use my passion for investing and get me out of my boring job.

Any advice or experiences will help.

thanks

?Why does everybody hate me?? The Wall Street maniac explains his critics, the market, and himself.

* By James J. Cramer

http://nymag.com/news/features/32382/

Wazzzzzuuuuuuuupppppppp? AVNR for sure.

Getting rich is simpler than you think
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...nYouThink.aspx