Bush Gives The Democrats The Monkey's Paw by Elaine Meinel Supkis

[Joanne98]

September 25, 2008

Elaine Meinel Supkis


The Democrats knew that their constituents didn't want the Banking Gnome Bail-out Bill. I told them! No, they wanted to earnestly fix the messes the neo cons and the gnome cons concocted over the last 25 years. So the Democrats spun their wheels for three days trying to force Bush to admit something was wrong. But the minute the Democrats offered their compromise bill, it was, as I fully expected, tossed into their faces. Will they ever learn? I WARNED THEM THIS WOULD HAPPEN!


McCain's poll numbers collapsed yesterday. Despite having his VP viper wiggle her behind around the UN lounge, causing the men to make crude comments about her Whore of Babylon abilities, in the real world, things supposedly were falling apart. For example, while I was trying to weave my pathetic spells around the Capitol Building, Goldman Sachs flipped over and ceased being a famous, rich 'investment bank' and instead, became a turtle rather than a hare. Now they are ordinary bankers.


CAN'T FOOL ME! I know they are still pirates. Pirates know when to scuttle the ship and vanish onshore! They will lurk in some saloon somewhere in the Caribbean and dream of sharpening their cutlasses. They will, of course, spin off their pirate ships and reset the sails when the hurricanes blow over.


Talking about that, I left DC in rather high anger and note that a storm swiftly gathered strength and hit the city hard! Ha. Take that!

Anyway, I found the scorpion story:


A scorpion came out of the desert to the banks of the Nile, whereupon he accosted a crocodile. "My dear chap," he said to the crocodile, "could we form an alliance to get to the other side of the Nile?"

The crocodile answered, "Do you think I am stupid? I would be at your complete mercy. You could sting me and kill me at any time during the crossing."

"Of course not," said the scorpion. "I promise not to sting you, because if I did sting you, I would drown."

The crocodile thought for a second and then agreed this made sense and took the scorpion on his back. About midstream, the scorpion became agitated and stung the crocodile.

As the two were about to go under, the crocodile turned to the scorpion and said, "Now we will both die. What possible explanation or logic is there for such an act?"

'It is my nature.'


How in heaven's name are the Democrats and GOP going to cooperate on ANYTHING when we are in the middle of an election??? They cannot! Of course! The GOP wants to regain power so they can drop taxes to 0%. The Democrats want to drop interest rates to 0%. BOTH ARE TOTALLY INSANE AT THIS POINT!!!!


This is what is wrong: when I chatted with officials and people connected with various organizations, ALL of them wanted...hold onto your wallets: MORE MONEY. Nearly all were clueless about how to get money in the real world. I spent my life working my fingers to the bone, doing 'value added labor'. This is the golden key. Asia knows this. They know that commodity countries always end up poor. Manufacturing countries with wise leaders get powerful.


This is because manufacturers can produce things for wars! But if a country goes too deep in debt doing this, they collapse! This lesson should be engraved on all those gigantic monuments in DC. DC was mostly built after the Civil War. The South lost because it had a very tiny manufacturing base. It was a commodity confederation and therefore, doomed. The North had this huge crash at the end of the war and destroyed its currency. Can we learn from this, please????


White House Meeting Fails to Yield Bailout Deal
Republicans Resist Agreement Met By House, Senate Negotiators

Top congressional leaders from both parties, including Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Republican nominee John McCain, met with President Bush and key Cabinet officers at the White House today to try to close a deal on a massive rescue package for the U.S. financial system, but the meeting broke up without any sign of agreement.

The late-afternoon gathering came hours after House and Senate negotiators emerged from a closed-door meeting and said they had reached an accord on basic principles governing a plan that they hoped to pass soon but that was running into stiff resistance from some congressional Republicans.

In opening the White House meeting, Bush expressed hope that an agreement on the overall plan could be reached "very shortly."

"We are in a serious economic crisis in the country if we don't pass" the financial rescue legislation, Bush said.



Bush is in his glory. I warned everyone, he bankrupted his family businesses and his brothers bankrupted banks and McCain's son is the same, they are all never-do-well white trailer trash who live in multiple trailers. Hooray! Why couldn't the GOP support a real conservative like Ron Paul? What was wrong with him?


Ah, he wanted everyone to work hard and save! But the GOP prefers teen sex and throwing beer bottles around the front yard of the trailer park. Fast cars and somewhat slower women! This is their ideal, I guess.


When I was in DC, I noticed the halls of Congress teemed with goddesses. They all wore similar pencil skirts with the rear split, tight sweaters and very high heels. Hey, guys, go to DC if you want to get a neck kink looking! I finally found a way to persuade people to lobby! The old geezers in the Senate can't keep up with these leggy aides!


The foetid atmosphere of DC is very suffocating. I even felt a very slight urge to get along with everyone. Too bad I have arthritis or I would have ended up dressed the same as these lovely women. Instead, I am dumpy and wrinkled. Like our Senators. Except for Obama. Heh. HAHAHA. No wonder McCain paired him with Paris Hilton, the goddess icon of her generation.


I suppose McCain sits at his desk, chewing on his pencil as he looks with envy at Obama sitting there while these beauties all flit past his desk, casting him innocent looks while shying away from McCain's desk. The previous inhabitant of that desk was the OLDEST geezer in the Senate, by the way. Lived to be 100. Wasn't aware it was the 20th century for most of his last 30 years doddering about the Senate.


Well, bring in Caesar! Time for the Senators to draw knives. Or plastic forks. They must do battle. McCain and his crew want to please Wall Street but to do this, everyone has to plunge their plastic forks into Obama. So this is why there will be no debates. Why talk when one is mashing a fork into someone? If Obama wants to hire an insulting person who ADORES arguing very loudly, he can hire me. I will keep his opponents tied in knots as they end up screaming at me and saying, I am a liar.


HAHAHA. I can answer with storms and lightning. OK: no one wants me. Back to the news:




Obama said that "something happened in the intervening hours" between the Capitol and White House meetings that effectively threw a wrench into the works. He said Bush, Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. and congressional Republicans need to figure out what they want in the package "to make this thing work." Obama cautioned that "when you start injecting presidential politics into delicate negotiations, then you can actually create more problems rather than less."

A visibly irritated Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, summarized the impasse in more pointed terms. He told CNN that the meeting was thrown off when Republicans brought up "some new core agreement" that supposedly had been floated by McCain and was being considered by the Treasury Department.

"What this looked like to me was a rescue plan for John McCain," Dodd fumed. "This is a sad day for the country." He said he still hopes that a deal can be struck but that the Republicans "need to get their act together and decide what they're for."



Wednesday afternoon, we all discussed the possibility that the GOP would haul in the semi-senile old coot to DC to throw monkey wrenches. Chairman Franks even talked very explicitly about this, warning the GOP not to play games. I then saw all but three of these guys leave the room early. I even remarked, 'They are not supporting Bernanke or Paulson!' This meant, they were going to throw them under the Straight Jacket McCain bus.


Bernanke's tailored suit is ruined. There is a crisis but it is NOT a banking crisis. Bank collapses are merely a symptom. The real problem is, the US itself is bankrupt. Below is a sketch I made of him yesterday:

ABC News' George Stephanopoulos Reports: Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson fears the Wall Street bailout deal is falling apart after a chaotic White House meeting, sources say.

Paulson walked into the room where Democrats were caucusing after today's meeting at the White House and pleaded with them, "Please don't blow this up."

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chair of the House Financial Services Committee was livid saying, "Don't say that to us after all we've been through!"

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "We're not the ones trying to blow this up; it's the House Republicans."

"I know, I know," Paulson replied.


Another, closer look at Bernanke:

I said in my previous story, Franks demanded that Paulson warn Bush to not play scorpion and bring in McCain to 'politicize' the mess. Then Bush did exactly that. DUH. I warned the Democrats yesterday to demand Paulson's resignation because he was head of Goldman Sachs and thus, is the creator of this mess, as well as the guy who presided over this mess till today! No one listened to me.

(Bloomberg) -- Senate Democrats proposed a $56 billion economic stimulus package that would increase government spending on unemployment benefits, food stamps, infrastructure projects, aid to state governments and heating aid to the poor.

Senate Majority leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said today that the legislation is needed to help millions of Americans struggling with the slow economy.

``We must not forget Main Street as we work to address the crisis on Wall Street,'' he said, adding that the plan would ``create hundreds of thousands of good-paying American jobs and prevent cuts in critical services for millions of Americans.''



ARRRGH!!!! Hey, why not print up a quadrillion dollars and this will take care of the Derivatives Beast, the wars with angry Muslim peasants and even fix Amtrak! Wow.


This is on top of the Santa Claus boost Congress and Bush passed just 9 months ago. Wait! Xmas is coming. Everyone wants a billion dollars in their stockings.


Calculated Risk:

We've been tracking the TED spread as a measure of distress in the credit markets (the difference between the LIBOR interest rate and the three month T-bill). Usually the TED spread is less than 0.5%. The higher the spread, the greater the perceived credit risks (compared to "risk free" treasuries).

The TED spread has increased to 3.27% this morning. Completely off the charts!
*snip*
"But right now this shows the credit markets are essentially locked up waiting for The Mother of All Bailouts."

This is because the Fed is conducting a Reverse Repo...On THURSDAY! for chrissakes!




I put up photos of headlines in newspapers that shows that all the pirates, crocodiles, gnomes and assorted retrograde characters are ALL putting their money 'under the mattress' until the Fed is fooled and hands over all the wealth in the Cave of Death to them! And the Fed WILL DO THIS. As soon as they dare print up the new Reichsmarks. I can't wait until I can spend my share of stimulus on a loaf of bread.


Regulators Said to Broker Rescue of WaMu

Washington Mutual, the nation’s largest savings and loan, agreed Thursday to sell assets and some branches to JPMorgan Chase in a government-brokered deal to rescue the troubled bank, according to people briefed on the deal.

The deal is expected to be discussed at 9:15 p.m. on a conference call for investors held by JPMorgan.

The sale will give JPMorgan branches in California and other markets where it does not have a footprint. But JPMorgan Chase will also inherit a big loan portfolio of troubled mortgages and commercial real estate. The government needed to find a buyer for WaMu because a takeover by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation would have dealt a crushing blow to the government’s deposit insurance fund.



JP Pirate Morgan is eating another major institution? GADS! When I was talking about the place in DC, people solemnly said, 'AIG and Fannie Mae got too big to fail.' So what the hell are they doing with JP Morgan? It is growing gargantuan. At this rate, it will match the Derivatives Beast in growth rates!


THE MONKEY'S PAW (1902)

"To look at," said the sergeant-major, fumbling in his pocket, "it's just an ordinary little paw, dried to a mummy."

He took something out of his pocket and proffered it. Mrs. White drew back with a grimace, but her son, taking it, examined it curiously.

"And what is there special about it?" inquired Mr. White, as he took it from his son and, having examined it, placed it upon the table.

"It had a spell put on it by an old fakir," said the sergeant-major, "a very holy man. He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow. He put a spell on it so that three separate men could each have three wishes from it."

His manner was so impressive that his hearers were conscious that their light laughter jarred somewhat.

"Well, why don't you have three, sir?" said Herbert White cleverly.

The soldier regarded him in the way that middle age is wont to regard presumptuous youth. "I have," he said quietly, and his blotchy face whitened.

"And did you really have the three wishes granted?" asked Mrs. White.

"I did," said the sergeant-major, and his glass tapped against his strong teeth.

"And has anybody else wished?" inquired the old lady.

"The first man had his three wishes, yes," was the reply. "I don't know what the first two were, but the third was for death. That's how I got the paw."



This is the ultimate story of the goddesses of the Cave of Death and Wealth. Everyone who gets this cursed paw wishes for the same things: money, sex and eternal life. And get this in spades. It is quickly the definition of total hell. If people wish for balance and for the wishes to cease because they are content, the curse isn't activated.


A Bailout We Don't Need By James K. Galbraith

The point of the bailout is to buy assets that are illiquid but not worthless. But regular banks hold assets like that all the time. They're called "loans."

With banks, runs occur only when depositors panic, because they fear the loan book is bad. Deposit insurance takes care of that. So why not eliminate the pointless $100,000 cap on federal deposit insurance and go take inventory? If a bank is solvent, money market funds would flow in, eliminating the need to insure those separately. If it isn't, the FDIC has the bridge bank facility to take care of that.

Next, put half a trillion dollars into the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. fund -- a cosmetic gesture -- and as much money into that agency and the FBI as is needed for examiners, auditors and investigators. Keep $200 billion or more in reserve, so the Treasury can recapitalize banks by buying preferred shares if necessary -- as Warren Buffett did this week with Goldman Sachs. Review the situation in three months, when Congress comes back. Hedge funds should be left on their own. You can't save everyone, and those investors aren't poor.



The point is, we CAN'T BAIL OUT ANYONE. For we are in the same debt prison. Only someone who is solvent can do this. Tomorrow, I will talk about Japan yet again for many newspapers are noticing that Japanese banks are buying up US banks. Well...DUH! What a no-shock to me! Japan has tons of loot and we are broke. So much for the infamous 'Japanese depression.'


FBI Began Investigating AIG in March


Federal investigators have been scrutinizing American International Group since March, focusing on whether the insurance giant knowingly concealed mammoth losses that helped lead to the company's $85 billion federal bailout this month.


Arrest them all. As one Congressman said, 'We want them in steel bracelets, not golden parachutes.'


Australian Banks Hold Record A$7.4 Billion at RBA

(Bloomberg) -- Australian banks were holding a record A$7.4 billion ($6.2 billion) on deposit at the central bank yesterday as financial institutions hoard cash worldwide amid concerns the U.S. bailout plan will be delayed.

Banks added A$462 million to their exchange settlement accounts, the Reserve Bank of Australia said on its Web site. The RBA added A$876 million to the financial system today after estimating money markets would have a deficit of A$658 million.



The collapse is very strong in ALL the lands colonized or run by the British royals. This is so depressing since my family fought them for years and then started a new game here in the US. Well, it is ending badly, isn't it?


French hold out against credit crunch

If I had to use one word to describe France's financial system, the word I would choose would be "cautious".

French banks are immensely careful about whom they lend money to and, to limit risks, they spread their investments much more widely than those in the US or UK.

Only about a quarter of banking activity is related to investment banking and dealer-broker activity - the rest is all to do with retail banking.



This reminds me that in the Great Depression, France decided to haul out lots of gold from Fort Knox. This caused the US and Britain to drop the gold standard, totally for Britain and temporarily for America.-


December 14, 1933: RIST FEARS 'CHAOS' IF ALL DROP GOLD;

Troubles Since War Laid by French Economist to Errors in Re-establishing Standard. MANAGED' CURRENCY HIT Increases in Money Have Often Failed to Affect Prices, He Says in Magazine.

The monetary difficulties of the post-war period were not due to any intrinsic imperfection in gold as a standard, but rather to the mistakes that were made in re-establishing the gold standard after the war, according to Charles Rist, a leading French economist associated with the Bank of France, who discusses "Gold and the End of the Depression" in the current issue of Foreign Affairs.



Why is history so stubborn? Must we repeat all our mistakes? Alas for the answer is obvious. Now, we must look back one year to my own blog to see that I called the future correctly!


September 22, 2007: The USA Refuses To Understand Bankruptcy

My astronomer grandfather used to tell me, 'We are always living in the past because it takes time for light to travel so we see only things that already happened. And the further away something is, the further back in time it is and the stars are far back in time, to Creation.' The news stream we get is always the past, the most difficult thing to do is projecting forwards into the future. The more accurate the predictions, the more one can make money anticipating future events. But one can't see into the future unless one is an astronomer and can see into the past. The further one sees into the past, the more one can predict the future. And this is how I try to set up my articles here: watching the trajectory of events. And America is in grave danger. It is obvious.


Here is a second story from back then:


September 25, 2007: VIPER Funds Bite Investors

The media imagines all the Bears are dead and gone. This is a lie. But of course, we are to be super-happy slappy over lower interest rates, right? I also visit VIPER funds again to see what the poisonous snakes are up to this week. And Canada is suffering from the effects of the liquidity drought in many ways that are of interest to all of us since Canada isn't a goofy economy deep in the red. Yet the problems caused by the wild US red ink system is affecting Canada quite directly.


From Bloomberg:

The Federal Reserve has driven most stock-market bears into hibernation.
From UBS AG to Deutsche Bank AG and Citigroup Inc., Wall Street strategists are the most bullish they've been since 2000 after the U.S. housing slump erased $5.6 trillion from global equity markets and prompted the Fed to cut interest rates.

Wells Capital Management and MFS Investment Management, which together oversee $375 billion in assets, are adding or looking to buy shares of banks, retailers, and technology companies on expectations lower borrowing costs and expanding economies across Europe and Asia will spur profit growth.

``You couldn't mix a better drink for the stock market,'' said James Paulsen, who helps oversee $175 billion as chief investment strategist at Wells Capital in Minneapolis.



So, Paulson and his sphinx buddy, Bernanke, saved Wall Street exactly one year ago! And it SHOT THROUGH THE DAMN ROOF. Broke records as I recall. Everyone was certain, those pesky bears were dead! HAHAHA. We were going to PARTY. Then they all threw off their clothes and ran after the Congressional beauties who were all hobbled by their pencil skirts and high, high heels.

http://elainemeinelsupkis.typepad.com/money_matters/2008/09/elaine-meinel-7.html