Read this blog post from Roger Ebert. Wow. In part, discussing the hateful manipulation of segments of the public by so-called ‘moral leaders’ Ebert refers to the billionaire who said closing tax loopholes was like invading Poland. Hyperbole and exaggeration are good indicators of a ‘con’. Seriously, read it here. One of the best lines: [...]

Last week in my post about Tall Poppy syndrome being the last refuge of the scoundrel I mentioned property spruiker Dean Letfus’s apparent reluctance to answer criticism … What I DO find interesting, however, is that the spruiker in question, Dean Letfus, doesn’t actually answer my criticism — of (a) his marketing methods, (b) his [...]

That’s what I’m talking about. Enough with the pious BS from the religious right and those looking for a smokescreen or trying to earn brownie points with their one-eyed supporters. WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Friday forcefully endorsed allowing a mosque near ground zero, saying the country’s founding principles demanded no less. “As a [...]

Funny, I’ve got one of those MacBook Pro laptops like the one President Obama used to demo the new healthcare.gov website … but mine doesn’t have the Presidential seal plastered over the Apple logo. Jeez, those of us using Macs used to be ‘oddballs’, ‘outlaws’ and renegades (‘the elite’ I always used to say, which [...]

http://www.slate.com/id/2258126 Very funny.

Frankly, I’d worry if he said he was 100% certain. (Good on him for admitting it.) There are two aspects of this job that I think are relevant to this discussion. One is that if the problem has a clear solution, then it doesn’t land on my desk. Somebody else has solved it. So the [...]

Petulance and the Prize By Garrison Keillor New York Times October 14, 2009 – NYTimes.com Evidently some people were disappointed that Dick Cheney didn’t receive the Nobel Peace Prize, and believe me, I sympathize — I thought Philip Roth should’ve gotten the literature prize instead of that grumpy Romanian lady with the severe hair — [...]

…some thoughts on the news media, and a lesson from Barack Obama Following on from an earlier discussion about market cycles being driven by alternating waves of pessimism and optimism, I’d like to examine another angle of this ‘social mood’ aspect of the market, warn you about those who would exploit it… and pick up [...]