WHAT COULD POSSIBLE GO WRONG?

In 2008 we blew a big Commercial Real Estate bubble today we are blowing and even bigger bubble.

Fortunately a large part of this market has been bought by foreign investors as they did last time so I guess we shouldn't feel to sorry for them..  It will crash and it will be a big deal, perhaps the prices might actually fall to prices that common folk will be able to afford.  

FUNDAMENTALIST YES -CHRISTIAN I DON'T THINK SO!

Another fundamentalist preacher has gone off the deep end.  I don't know how much longer we can continue to allow these whack jobs to run around saying anything they damn well feel like saying.

The latest event a preacher says it would be better to drown you kid rather than let them read Harry Potter because of the gay influences in the books.  Pastor Kevin Swanson started this church in 2001 so it can be considered a new take on  an old religion.  Fundamentalists of all persuasions go off deep end on many subjects but going so far as to suggest that it would be better to drown your kid rather than let them read Harry Potter because his friend Dumbledore is gay.  Oh WOW he's gay and so will you  be if you read the books.

I often think you have flushed all the crazies out of the woodwork but there is always some new kook that surfaces proclaiming he speaks for Jesus.  Freedom of speech is one thing but shooting your mouth off proclaiming bad things will happen if you don't follow his words.

There are about 300 members of this church and I suggest we send them to Mars to establish their own country, of course they will die in the attempt making our world a better place.

Three nut job republican presidential candidates attended this forum and answered questions and answers from the crowd.  For my money these guys should not be allowed to run if this is the way they think their God wants them to be.  sick, sick. sick.

INFLATION - THE SNEAKY KIND

Everybody worries about inflation so the government is very careful to hide the real cost of doing business and of course the corporations never cease in finding ways to stick it to us.

This little gimmick has been around for a few years mostly unnoticed.  Till you pick up something with a known weight memory (like 5# of sugar) that now seems suspiciously lite, perhaps because it is only 4# now at the same ole price 20% inflation at best.  Bacon use to be 1  pound now it's twelve ounces.  Many other items have been reduced in size and have went mostly unnoticed.  

On top of that if you take a peak at commodity charts what you will find is damn near every commodity it at or approaching low  points on their graphs.  Then you might ask yourself why the hell the price you pay at the store for damn near everything is at all time highs.  The only exception in the stores I shop are the price of chicken..

While the producers are paying low bucks for their ingredients they are charging us at all time highs on most things,  while downsizing their containers and maintaining the prices where they were when you got a pound of thing.  I would guess that for food stuffs inflation is running somewhere in the neighborhood of 30%.  The two of us today spend more money for food while eating less.  That might be the one advantage of growing old , as you get older your appetite gets smaller.

One can only wonder how a young family with kids gets buy on the 30K half of the nation makes.  When we were a young family everything was made from scratch and a lot of hamburger was served, milk was purchased directly from the farm at a buck a gallon.

Today's corporations will not be happy till we all are reduced to peasant status with some already there.  Some corporation the other day actually said "We Americans have to share the pain of everybody else's suffering"  While their pocketbooks overflow with cash.  It will end some day soon and it will not be pretty.

When the farmers growing our food cannot meet the cost of production down she'll come.

MY TAKE ON THE DEMOCRATIC FORUM ON MSNBC.

One thing the forum run by Rachel Maddow demonstrated that a forum is a much better way to learn about the candidates.  Instead of the 3 ring circus the republicans call debates which in fact are nothing more than gotcha sessions where we learn next to nothing of what the contestants have to offer us.

As  with all things political winners and losers must be chosen and I have come to the conclusion you just can't leave that up to the  political talking heads as they can't seem to get past choosing the one they have predetermined the winner.

Such is the case weighing this forum.  I was surprised how few folks commented on the event.  Those that did say Hillary was the clear winner with O'Malley second and Bernie last .  I can only think they watched a different event than I.   Sanders was the clear winner (wait dammit , sure Bernie is my man) but I tried hard to not let that influence my pick.

O'Malley did well and does have a decent track record as Mayor of Baltimore and Governor of Maryland. He showed he knows we are heading down the wrong track but didn't present a full package of how to fix it.

Hillary, I thought , didn't do a good job in outlining her programs and didn't come across as strong.  She did little to dispel the doubts of her honesty or trustworthiness.  In an answer to her Wall Street ties all she could offer was she went down to Wall Street and told them to square away, well we know how much good that did.  With all the big money flowing her way  from the street folk one can easily guess who she will take care of.

Sanders on the other hand answered question after question with a well though out solution to the problems presented to him.  In depth programs that have left most  talking heads simply ignoring his offerings.  Overall at the end of the day only Sanders laid out his plans to right America.  To a man the talking heads have come to the conclusion that Bernie cannot be elected.  Perhaps they should look at and listen to the crowds the man is drawing at every event.

To justify my pick of Sanders as the winner I simply ask you to listen to the forum and listen to the response from the audience.  Hillary and O'Malley got applause some luke warm others somewhat better.  Sanders on the other hand turned the crowd on and they responded enthusiastically to the programs he outlined.  If audience reaction is any indicator of who was the winner , clearly it was Bernie.  He has a long hard pull to win the South and he knows that and will work hard to win them over.  The early primaries in the South will probably end up telling the tale on his candidacy .  The problem with that is the South and the middle of the country have shown many times in recent elections they will vote against their own self interests.  Perhaps this time will be different.

  

I LOVE BEING LIED TOO!

Let me get this straight unemployment rate is 5% indicating full employment.   In the same news cycle labor force participation rate is at an all time high.  Now I admit to being pretty dumb , but I will not claim to be stupid.

Here is one story they sing the praises of full employment when a quick look at Shadow Stats  shows you the real unemployment rate is 22.5% so obviously the number you should believe is the  Labor Participation Rate.

The MSM just isn't doing the public justice they blatantly publish this shit that is obviously false.  They even have the balls to publish the two links above on the same news cycle.  I have to assume that they believe we can't even add two + two.

Of course there  are many stories that are patently false and yet the masses gobble it down like bacon and cheese hamburgers.  One can only assume that the public is just buying into the propaganda when they should know in their hearts the news is just untrue.

Meantime we are fed the fight with Ben Carson over his padding of his resume and flat out lying about parts of his life.  Once you get caught in a lie the public should run you off the stage.

TELL ME SOMETHING I DON'T KNOW-TESTING IN SCHOOLS IS NOT THE ANSWER

President Obama and his Sec. of Education Arnie Duncan have decided that the testing  programs they foisted on our kids as been a total failure.. Gee and it only took them 8 years to figure this out.  Their answer might surprise you  They now want to limit testing taking to 2% of school time.

Couple that with their Common Core nationwide program has shown to be a hindrance to education.  Not only have test scores fallen in recent years they thoroughly complicate a teachers job.

The truth of the matter is that their programs have nothing to do with the knowledge departed to our kids but to the destruction of the public school system.  Replacing public schools with Charter that was supposed to solve all our school problems.  It was evident from the inception of this program during Duncan's reign of the Chicago school system..I clearly remember the first act in Chicago was the firing of the entire staff at an under performing school .  They rehired a few of the old teachers and lots of the labor crew  cooks , janitors and other blue collar workers as they could find no one to do the job with the wages they were offering.

The proof is in the pudding , Charter schools didn't solve a thing except to aid in the destruction of teacher unions.  Testing has proven to be ineffective in raising scores (no surprise to me) so their answer is to limit the time spent on testing. Why can't these folks admit they don't have a clue as to what they are doing.  Their stand on education hasn't worked why not just give it up and put control back to the teacher in the classroom.  They know how to do their jobs and they have enough to contend with classroom of kids many of whom don't give a ship about learning.

The many changes in education over the years has turned out a generation of kids who are not well trained. The basic skills of reading and math have seemed to disappear from their abilities .  That generation is now a lost cause but we can sure bring the system back to usefulness with a few simple changes. Ask any teacher and they will tell you what has to be done..http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/10/28/test-o28.html

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH UNION LEADSHIP

Story after story of late has shown union leadership betraying their membership by pushing the ratification of contracts distasteful to the membership.  In most cases the contracts commit the workers to less benefits and lower  wages for all in the end.

On top of that you have union leadership endorsing political candidates that are not the choice of the membership.  While a large number of the members favor Bernie Sanders because of his stand on labor issues the leadership goes with Hillary (just another part of the corporate takeover of our country) causing an uneasy membership..One wonders just how long the troops are going to put up with this nonsense.

In case after case union leadership has sold out to management and their membership gets shafted.  Teachers unions are a prime example many of them have destroyed the teachers in contracts that ripped benefits from the troops.

Another show of just how corrupt our current system is Trumpka head of the AFL/CIO warnp;uuyed local leaders they have no right to endorse a presidential candidate , and they call this democracy?

Many locals have ignored the leadership and are endorsing Bernie and a large majority of the membership are backing Bernie do to a simple analysis of Hillary's labor policy.  Turmoil of this sort along with bargaining contracts that are detrimental to the membership cannot go on much longer till the membership revolts and throws the bums out.  None to soon for my money..