Open Thread (10/9/2008)

Posted October 9th, 2008 at 08:27 AM by IlliniPundit
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Thursday, October 9, 2008.

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On October 9th, 2008 at 10:20 AM, Ralph Langenheim (not verified) said:

"He that  that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else."  Benjamin Franklin  --- Ralph Langenheim

On October 9th, 2008 at 10:36 AM, Bruce Byrd said:

I am againest letting a management firm take over the Champaign County Nursing Home,,,Board Member Langenheim, how do you vote on letting this firm take over? Yeah or Nay?   Yeah,,,,in a hushed voice. "He that is good at making excuses is seldom good for anything else." Ralph Langenheim.

nattering.nabob's picture
On October 9th, 2008 at 02:38 PM, nattering.nabob said:

Just another day on the Dow -- down almost 4 percent at the moment.

Just a reminder: one year ago today, the Dow was at 14,164, two days before its all-time high. Now it's fighting to get back up to 9000.

Why does Wall Street hate America?

On October 9th, 2008 at 02:39 PM, Bruce Byrd said:

I dont check for an hour and the stock market drops from minus 109 to minus 345! I dont know what the heck Paulson thinks he can do,,,,but he better do something fast.

IlliniPundit's picture
On October 9th, 2008 at 02:45 PM, IlliniPundit said:

That's funny - I remember being told the bailout needed to be passed immediately so that the markets would quickly stabilize.

When the government tells you that something is an emergency, experience says be skeptical, and check to make sure you still have your wallet.

On October 9th, 2008 at 02:47 PM, Bruce Byrd said:

If that is the case,,,,,I want in on a future spa trip:)

On October 9th, 2008 at 02:51 PM, Bruce Byrd said:

As I write it is heading for -500! it may be there now,,,this thing could go under 8000 today. No kidding,,somoeone better have a suicide watch for some of those in New York. Goodby 401K.

redstatewannabe's picture
On October 9th, 2008 at 03:04 PM, redstatewannabe said:

so much for the market going down because everyone wanted to get their capital gains in before Pres. Obama raised the tax rate - there aren't many gains left in portfolios now.

nabob, you seem happy at this downturn.  Is this another one of those cases - what is bad for America is good for the Democratic party?

On October 9th, 2008 at 03:05 PM, Bruce Byrd said:

Buddy.....can you spare a dime?

redstatewannabe's picture
On October 9th, 2008 at 03:07 PM, redstatewannabe said:

the market is getting a bit ridiculous now.  we have got to be way oversold, with fire sales pushing the spiral downward.  the economy is not going into depression, but the markets are acting like it.  this is getting really weird.

nattering.nabob's picture
On October 9th, 2008 at 03:11 PM, nattering.nabob said:

Did I say four percent? I meant seven.

And this is horrific for America, including my retired dad who's in his early eighties and living off investments he's made his entire life.

I'm sorry that the country's economy had to get so completely shattered before the American people woke up to what Reaganomic snake oil really does to an economy. (Some of you will never see it, of course. You'll be too busy going -- hey! Bill Ayres!) They're going to remember the lesson a long, long time. If there's anything at all in this horrendous, GOP-created, and inevitable mess, I'm glad that the reckoning didn't happen in February 2009 with the people unable to vote the GOP out of the White House for another four years.

On October 9th, 2008 at 03:16 PM, Bruce Byrd said:

If it keeps dropping like this,,,,depression is gonna seem mild, this thing could drop below 8000 by tommorrow's close, credit is tight,,personally I like getting a paycheck every two weeks, retail is going down the tubes, if you know how to can food,,,,,I would suggest you do so,,,,,or learn quick, there is no great western frontier and fruit trees to go out too this time and be exploited, "Reds?, everybody keeps talkin about these reds!, Whats a red?" Tom Joad (Henry Fonda), The Grapes of Wrath.

redstatewannabe's picture
On October 9th, 2008 at 03:19 PM, redstatewannabe said:

great time to add a new sales tax, huh?

On October 9th, 2008 at 03:32 PM, Bruce Byrd said:

It will never pass not now,,,besides, all the schools need to do now is wait for another WPA,,or RFC, or any New, New Deal program next year, and we can get our new schools built by Fed money,,,,,maybe,,,,,if they have not had to pay off their China Debt,,,,,or try to bail out Europe that got screwed into buying a bunch of those junk mortgages and they are mad as hell at us,

Keith_Hays's picture
On October 9th, 2008 at 03:50 PM, Keith_Hays said:

How is your 201K? Last time we saw this there was another Bush packing up to leave the White House!

3 Score + 10

Keith Hays

On October 9th, 2008 at 04:05 PM, Ralph Langenheim (not verified) said:

Mr. Byrd:  Look at the record, we appear to be in substantial, if, perhaps, not total, agreement regarding present arrangements for the Nursing Home.

On October 9th, 2008 at 04:19 PM, Jay Rosenstein (not verified) said:

You know, I spent yesterday evening watching the Bill Ayers telethon on Fox News. There was nothing, absolutely nothing about the presidential election except criticism of Obama. Not one single positive word about McCain. Even McCain and Palin in their "interview" (I prefer to call it more accurately, a bj) with Hannity could say anything positive about themselves. is there a reason to vote for McCain, other than he doesn't seem to know Bill Ayers?

On October 9th, 2008 at 04:31 PM, Anonymous (not verified) said:

There isn't going to be any kind of "New Deal" this time.  The way things are going we're going to be totally unable to pay out the obligations made by the last "New Deal".

Sorry, Baby Boomers.  The demographics just aren't there this time.  In the 30's-40's we had something like 12 workers for every 1 retiree.

Now it is like 3 workers for every 1 retiree.  If you want to garnish 60-75% of your children's and grandchildren's wages, then maybe you can have yourself another New Deal.  Of course, the economy of this country won't be able to support that level of taxation.

The last Great Depression led to New Deal government obligations and entitlements, bourne on the backs of a laborer working economy that had the demographics to support it.

This one will lead to the obliteration of those things.  This is a nation of retirees and people who are about to retire--there aren't enough workers.  Europe and Japan have it worse with even older populations.  The only ones who will be able to lead themselves out of this New Deal style are India and China.  People underestimate those countries.  They are the superpowers of this century.

Oh, and stocks at this level still aren't cheap, especially when measured against forward earnings that will be horrifying.  We might have a nice little bear market rally here sometime soon but there is still a lot of meat on this bone.

nattering.nabob's picture
On October 9th, 2008 at 04:39 PM, nattering.nabob said:

Did you see the thing a few days back when Hannity gave an entire hour to an anti-Obama "expert" who tied to "prove" Obama was se-e-ecretly Muslim?

If Hannity was trying to exemplify the truth-be-damned race-based attacks on Obama the Republicans have devolved to, he couldn't have done it better. The "expert" turned out to be none other than our old Champaign-Urbana pal Anthony Martin-Trigona, lunatic nutbar and Jew-hater, under a new name.

Martin-Trigona and Matt Hale are the only two people I know to get a law degree in Illinois only to have the bar association refuse them a license to practice for character issues.

So, if Hannity is picking crazy can't-get-a-license lawyers who also hate the Jews, then expect Matt Hale to be his next guest. Oh, wait, Hale's kinda locked up at the moment.

On October 9th, 2008 at 04:38 PM, Bruce Byrd said:

Anon you could be right about there still being alot of meat on this bone,,,,but it sure is getting clsoe to being marrow.

On October 9th, 2008 at 04:41 PM, Bruce Byrd said:

Hannity has been turning into even more of mad, mean old dog,,,,,,,,but Trigona??  I missed that, he had that clown on there??  Doe's he not have a staff that vets these kind of people? or is he so full of hatred for Obama,,and decency any more he does'nt care,,,my god! Trigona!

akibare's picture
On October 9th, 2008 at 05:28 PM, akibare said:

Jay Rosenstein - I listened to the debates on the NPR feed carried on WILL. After it was over NPR ran an hour-long call in show for people to give impressions.  In order to balance out the calls there were three numbers, one for Democrats, one for Republicans, and one for Other/Undecided.  Well, there were some Republican callers who would only go negative on Obama, to the point where the host had to gently cut them off and ask them to say something, anything, about McCain. The one really memorable guy couldn't do it, even given three chances. 

 

Not all the callers were that way by any means, but that guy was sort of amusing.

 

nattering.nabob's picture
On October 9th, 2008 at 11:11 PM, nattering.nabob said:

Trigona?? I missed that, he had that clown on there??

Yep.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/10/08/fox_news/

For years, Martin-Trigona ran around continuously suing so many random people on a pro se basis — and when he would lose, he would then sue the lawyers who represented the parties he sued and the judges who ruled against him — that the Second Circuit Court of Appeals actually barred him from commencing any further judicial process without prior authorization, an unprecedented and truly extraordinary order. ... . Martin-Trigona would file so many new, rambling lawsuits and motions on a virtually daily basis that, as the Second Circuit pointed out, it actually became impossible for courts even to process: “Martin-Trigona’s voluminous filings have ‘inundated’ the District of Connecticut and his activities have burdened judicial operations to the point of impairing the administration of justice.”

Sounds like a Republican "expert" to me. So what if he's a foul cracked bigot? Hey, let's give him an hour on the Hannity show, he'll fit right in!

Regnad Kcin's picture
On October 10th, 2008 at 12:13 AM, Regnad Kcin said:

Heh.