Ahhh, Richard ...

Thy nickname is illuminating.

Fred

Which Tracy is that?

Dick???

Fred

Thank you very much, Sludge, that's what I was looking for.

It's a shame we let the politicians divide us. The basic rule of conquest is divide and conquer and they're very good at it. (see the politics boards)

Incidentally, Rex Nutting got the words wrong in his closing. That song was popular when I was a kid:

The rich get richer and the poor get children.
In the meantime,
In between time,
Ain't we got fun

Fred Gohlke

Bill Gross is quoted in the January 16th, 2012 issue of Barron's as saying:

"Profits now account for a larger percentage of GDP than wages."

Can anyone confirm that?

Fred Gohlke

Bill Gross is Founder and Co-Chief Investment Officer of PIMCO in Newport Beach, California

I really don't know what to say
For fear you might have your way
With little old me
He said jocularly
As he briefly came out to play

Fred

Betcha cain't ketch me.

Fred

I'll bet that gave our jailbirds a rush, more than you'd guess.

Fred

Thanks for pointing that out, sunspotter.

Fred

Thanks, very much, Red

The quantity of things I don't know is incredible (and I may even have opinions about some of them).

Fred

What's a Reverse Merger --- a spin-off???

Fred

Ahhhh, the tribulations of old age: You can't even remember you hate someone for 15 minutes, so you can ignore him/her/it.

Alas,

Fred

Look at that!!!

A hokie endorsement.

Who could ask for more?

Fred




Uhhh.

No offense, Hokie.

But, with a pseudonym like that, whadjaspect?

F.

Personally, I think it would more effective to display a count of ignores. That would be a quicker and more reliable way of finding culprits:

No ignores = possibly readable
1 ignore = could be personal antagonism

Anything more, fugeddaboutit

Fred

On the off chance that someone might not recognize this little jewel as a dangerous scam, I suggest, when you receive your copy, you not click on the embedded link.

It was addressed to 90-odd people whose email address started with "fred".

I waited until after I was off-line to open it, and here's what I found:

Better Business Bureau

Start With Trust

RE: Case # 00381674

2011/12/20

Dear Sirs,

The Better Business Bureau has been filed the above mentioned complaint from one of your associates concerning their business relations with you.

The details of the consumer's concern are presented in attached file.

Please examine this issue and inform us about your position. We kindly ask you to open the ATTACHED REPORT to answer this complaint.

We look forward to your prompt reply.

Yours faithfully,

Stacie Nieves

Dispute Counselor
Better Business Bureau

Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Trademarks | Find a BBB | BBB Directory

c 2011 Council of Better Business Bureaus


My guess is that the "ATTACHED REPORT" is the bearer of very bad news - for your computer.

Fred Gohlke

I trust you've copyrighted that little jewel.

Fred

It's a shame so few people understand that Big Money is completely non-partisan. It buys the laws it wants by funding both parties - and watches the people consume themselves with partisan name-calling.

Fred Gohlke

Hey, Churak, you just shook my belly
And that ain't no bowlful of jelly
I do like your joke
It gave me a poke
But I'd rather have it from Shelly

Fred

That's been my bet, BW.

(Which should be a warning to all. I have an unerring instinct - for being wrong.)

Fred

It seems you were right. There is a difference in our views.

Even so, I agree on the need for a new paradigm. One is suggested at:

http://participedia.net/wiki/Practical_Democracy

I'd be interested in your view of it.

Fred Gohlke

Personally, I can't imagine anything worse than party politics. It guarantees the winner a free rein to plunder the people. Did you know that Teddy Roosevelt warned against the "unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics" more than 100 years ago?

Someone was complaining that the people keep sending 'incompetents, con men and charlatans' back to Washington. What that person failed to say was what, exactly, the people can do about it. What choices do they have. The parties select the nominees. The only choice the people have is to vote for one of them, or none of them. They have no way to select and elect people with integrity.

It would be hard to imagine a worse way to implement 'democracy'.

The concept of capitalism is sound. Corrupt governments are not.

Fred Gohlke

You are, of course, entitled to your opinion, just like all the rest of us.

I think that particular opinion is dangerous because it is inflammatory; it inspires an emotional reaction without providing a rational basis for the assertion that capitalism is rapacious.

There is no question (at least in my mind) that the operations of the gigantic financial institutions are rapacious, but it is a mistake to think of them as manifestations of 'capitalism'. In a capitalistic society, they could never achieve such size. They've grown precisely because they have been able to influence our legislatures. It could not have happened without the collusion of our elected officials.

In the United States, our (so-called) representatives gutted, and then repealed, the law that prevented the growth of the entities that are now plundering the world's economies. Until we change the way we select and elect our representatives, these circumstances are not going to change.

For what its worth (and I doubt it's worth much), all the hoopla that's disturbing our markets is nothing but those same over sized financial institutions exercising their power to force the governments to make the public bail them out of their greedy excesses.

Actually, correcting the problem of excessive size is straightforward. If you'd like to peek at one possible way to doing so, you can check out #msg-54994279

Best Wishes,

Fred Gohlke

That's probably right ... but our financial system will not collapse as long as the financial establishment owns our pseudo-democratic government.

Our government will make the people bail out the financiers by inflating our currency. The financiers will pay their debts with money worth much less than the money they 'loaned', and the people will (unwittingly) foot the bill. (I have insurance purchased with 1940's dollars. What the insurance company will pay out is a pittance - a joke. Do you think your experience will be different? Don't be silly.)

That's not going to change until we change the way we select the people who represent us in our government.

Fred Gohlke

Of course, they'd have to be mighty big circles.

Because Chu, you see, is sedentary
He don't get out like you and me
You'll find him on iHub all day
Thinking up cute things to say

Of course, he has a real quick wit
That's something even I admit
But he better get off that chair
At this rate, it'll soon grow hair

Fred

Dammit, Paulie has lashed into me
Laid me bare for everyone to see
I've got nowhere to hide
From the laughter outside
Even Shelly is rolling in glee

Fred

Whaddayamean
I'm just plain mean
There's more to me than that

Though I must admit
I lack the wit
To joust with your gifted chat

I may look dumb
Compared to you, chum
'Cause I can't give tit-for-tat

But if your wife, in need,
picked up a weed
She's surely got you down pat

Fred

Who ya got?

COMCAST???

Nah, I guess not.

Even their ads tell you how great they are.

Fred Gohlke

I know what's wrong. Management lacks a handbook that differentiates between weeds and flowers, between good posters (like me) and bad posters (like those you object to).

Perhaps you could write one for them. It doesn't have to be a doctoral thesis ... just a few guidelines that help distinguish between the good and the bad.

Post them on this board for peer review.

Fred

Gotcha!!!

And that's rare.

Fred

re: "I have no idea who you are."

Of course not!

That was the point of the comment. Even Churak could detect the humor (since he pm'd me about it.)

re: "That's learned behavior that IHUB instills very efficiently."

Ohhhh, dear me! Please don't attribute that distinction to iHub alone. It is a lesson taught by the internet. I learned it on sites I used before I had the privilege of joining iHub ten years ago.

Don't let my flippancy put you off, though. I'm just doing my best to lighten what is obviously a matter that concerns us all --- but is inherent in the media we're using.

Fred

It may not be my place to say so, but ...

It's unwise to approach iHub stock boards the same way we approach real-life associates.

In real life, we assume our associates are honest ... and weed out the few who are not.

On iHub stock boards, it's better to assume all posters are liars ... and weed out the few who are not.

It's a shame we have to do that, but it shouldn't surprise us.

Why trust people who need ... the cloak of anonymity.

Of course, you can say that about me, can't you?

But everyone knows who I am.

Fred

Focus, focus, focus ...

If complaining about problems pleases you, you have a fertile field in which to act.

If you'd like to find solutions, the first step is to identify the source of the problems.

Fred Gohlke

Of course 'the government' needs to reduce spending, but there's not much chance the people can enforce that in a country where political parties control the government and spend public money to gain advantages for themselves.

I was not suggesting a progressive tax on gross receipts will solve all the nation's ills - That can only be done by letting the people select their representatives in government - but it will have a couple of important effects ...

1) it will make a dent in the deficit.

2) it will encourage the growth of small businesses, which will provide opportunities and employment for the humans among us.

Fred Gohlke

Thanks.

I agree with your description of our tax code, but suggested this tax as an addition to our present taxes - as a way to reduce our horrendous deficit.

There is no question but that our tax code is 'sick'. It is the direct result of party politics. Every distinction placed in the code gives some group an advantage that is denied to the public. In a pseudo-democracy like ours, the biggest groups get the greatest advantage.

We need to change the way we select our legislators, but in the meantime, the Economic Equilibrium Tax would serve several useful purposes - reducing the deficit and allowing small business to grow and give people jobs that are being eliminated by the thousands by the behemoths that control our existence.

Incidentally, don't you think the concept of taxing 'profits' is a bit bizarre? Where do you suppose that idea came from? Humans, of course, don't have profits.

Fred Gohlke

And Thank You!!!

That's very helpful information.

Fred

Thank you, very much

Fred

I've seen other folks have a bad day
When all of their posts went away
I'm here to tell you
Admins know what do do
To help balky folks learn how to play

Fred

Please see the previous post.

Fred Gohlke

If you and Skono4 recognize this, wouldn't it be a good idea to press for something like this (#msg-54994279) to squeeze the parasites that are sucking our blood - and allow the re-birth of real competition?

Fred Gohlke