WELCOME TO OPINIONS BASED ON FACTS (OBOF)
&
THINGS YOU
MAY HAVE MISSED (TYMHM)
YEAR THREE
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Name
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Published
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OVERVIEW
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 14
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Dec 18, 2012
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 15
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Jan. 02, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 16
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Jan. 08, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 16
EXTRA
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Jan. 11, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 17
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Jan. 15, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 18
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Jan. 22, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 19
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Jan. 29, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 20
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Feb. 05, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 21
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Feb. 14, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 22
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Feb. 20, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 23
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Feb. 27, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 23 SPECIAL
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Mar. 06, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 24
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Mar. 07, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 25
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Mar. 12, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 25-EXTRA
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Mar. 14, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 26
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Mar. 19, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 27
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Mar. 26, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 28
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Apr. 02, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 29
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Apr. 08, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 30
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Apr. 17, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 31
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Apr. 23, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 32
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Apr. 30, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 33
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May 07, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 34
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May 18, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 35
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May 21, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 36
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May 30, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 37
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June
05, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 38
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June
11, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 39
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June
18, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 40
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June
25, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 41
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July
02, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 42
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July
09, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 43
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July
16, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 44
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July
23, 2013
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OBOF & TYMHM PART 45
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July 30, 2013
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IN THIS ISSUE
1. President Obama & the Economy. Really important.
2. The Frog who crushed the Planet.
3. Spikes life with a happy ending.
President
Obama
and the
Case for the Economy
Rebecca Theodore
NationofChange
/ Op-Ed
Published: Monday 29 July 2013
NOTE FROM FLOYD:
Of all the articles I have
read the past three years, the one that follows, to me, is the most
illuminating, truthful, and pointed of any.
I have opened
my note in red only to show you that this article is very important and one
that we all should read and re-read and realize, that whether you are a
Republican or a Democrat, these fact can not be
denied. Rebecca Theodore has done
a superb job in telling it as it is.
Sometime ago, I called you attention to the writings of Ayn Rand. At that time, I bought three of her
books. I have been a-miss in not
getting these read. I can tell you
though, her teachings are a cancelling of Democracy and is based on
"selfishness." Dictatorship is
the closest description, in one word, of her teaching.
All the Republican leadership in Congress, are students
of Ayn Rand. The Koch Bros. are
fostering her teachings in the Universities that the Koch Bros. control,
and there are many.
While I have been disappointed, recently, in President Obama, I must say
that he showed some, back bone, this past week in his speech on the
Economy. I hope he continues. Even you Republicans, that may be reading
this, surely must realize that your leaders in Congress are "crucifying," Democracy.
~~
It seems the theory that ‘justifies the privilege of the
wealthy and demonizes the poor and the middleclass’ is still very much alive
among Congressional and House Republicans. In the wake of President
Obama’s economic vision for a new American prosperity, they have again advanced
for the “rhetoric kill.” Even in the
face of economic gloom, ‘repeal’ is the match that illumines their gleam. Accordingly, the stage is now set for the
battle between House Republicans and the White House on the debt ceiling and
the budget.
At a time when the President stands between the
important economic decision of naming a new individual to chair the
federal reserve and just two months before the government reaches the end
of its fiscal year, his refrain on decisions to grow the economy and the
middleclass couldn’t come at a more opportune time.
But Republicans are not regaled.
Indeed! “Washington has taken its eye off the ball
with an endless parade of distractions, political posturing and phony scandals
and it is time to stop,” is the President’s strong affirmation, but this too is
greeted in denial by his opponents.
“Manufacturing jobs, investments in research, science and
education and transportation and information are the cornerstone of the
middleclass,” he further asserts, but in a distressing contradictory tone,
Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) labels it as “preheated
rhetoric.”
Moreover, in an attempt to
deny economic reality and fostering a “dictatorship from the extreme right,”
House speaker Boehner further exalts his allegorical version of the Presidents
idea as “an Easter egg with no candy inside” and lauds his
claims of ‘delaying elements of the 2010 health care
law and approval of the Keystone XL pipeline as’ instant antidotes for the
economy.
According to the President, “none of this adds up to an
economic plan” and while he seeks to paint the economic portrait of rebuilding
the middleclass, affordable healthcare, inexpensive higher and early education,
the housing market and retirement security, Congressional and House Republicans
are choosing to create their own economic myths and adopting their ‘Randian’
premise of objectivism as a foundation for promotion of their own self-
interest on the economy.
It may be true that “speeches do not unclog the
system,” but the Republicans denial of economic reality and their resort to
objectivism not only places them on a murky depth of ‘22 percent among public
approval,’ according to McClatchy-Marist polls, but also shows that objectivism
is a philosophy that glorifies elitism. In a society dominated by religious and
political scruples, it is difficult to see how objectivism provides any form of
intellectual foundation for balanced standards of truth and value where the economy
is concerned.
Yet they remain immune to logical reasoning.
Although critics emphasize that “the President has
focused too much on reducing equality rather than increasing growth, it must also be mentioned
that policies such as the ‘American Job Act’ and increased infrastructure
that the President proposes to increase growth only continues to meet
with sharp opposition from House Republicans. And so, it is time that Republicans realize
that we cannot live in an Ayn Rand ‘fictional world. Instead of adopting Orwellian euphemisms like
‘new normal’ cavorting fear, delaying progress and focusing on
controversies that offer distractions from the real issues, engage in
bipartisan debates on how to grow the economy and the middle class.
“If Washington
Thus is the array of
economic policies as they unfold in Washington
~~~
The
Frog Who Crushed the Planet.
Greg Palast
Greg Palast / Op-Ed
Published: Wednesday 24 July 2013
NOTE
FROM FLOYD:
This is really interesting and appears
to be factual.
You just knew it had to be one of those brie-biting,
Sartre-spewing, overly-garlicked Frenchmen who pushed the Earth's finance
system over a cliff.
This week, US
prosecutors finally began the
trial of the only person on the entire planet whom they have
charged with the financial crimes that sank worldwide stock markets by
trillions in 2008 and left millions homeless and jobless, from Detroit
to Manchester
Amazingly, say prosecutors, it all came down to a single
Frenchman, Fabrice "Fabulous Fab" Tourre, only 29 years old at the
time. Even Julius Caesar waited until he turned 51 to bring the known world to
its knees.
Here's the story which his defense team does not dispute:
In August 2007, hot-shot hedge fund manager John Paulson
walked into Goldman Sachs with a brilliant plan to cash in on the US
He paid Goldman to announce that Paulson would invest a
big hunk of his fund's wealth, $200 million, in securities tied to the US
It was a con. Secretly,
Paulson would bet against the
mortgage market, hoping it would collapse –making
sure it would collapse. All he needed was Goldman to line up
the suckers to put up billions to be his "partners."
It was Goldman's and
Paulson's financial version of Mel Brooks'. The Producers, in which a couple of
corrupt theatre producers schemed to suck investors into a deliberate flop.
Throughout 2007 and 2008, Paulson & Co. worked with
Goldman to create the financial equivalent of Springtime for Hitler.
Paulson personally chose the group of mortgages for the
fund. Rather than pick the least risky, he deliberately loaded the fund with
sub-prime losers. To polish this turd,
Goldman and Paulson paid a highly respected risk analysis firm, ACA, to endorse
the selection. Paulson and his vice
president met with ACA to assure them of the value of the crappola – never
telling ACA that, in fact, Paulson would profit if the securities failed.
Based on Paulson's pitch, ACA endorsed the value of these
"synthetic derivatives" securities. This led rating agencies Moody's
and S&P – recipients of fat fees from Goldman – to give the package an AAA
rating – that is, marking them as safer than US Treasury notes.
In just a few weeks, by
August 8, 2008, the securities lost 99 percent of their value.
The dupes paid up. One, Royal Bank of Scotland
The payout busted RBS. But don't shed tears. The Bank of England
The collapse of RBS and the billions lost by others in
the scheme fuelled a panic which caused banks in the US
Paulson was thrilled. Each default and eviction just made Paulson
& Co. richer, altogether pulling in a profit for his hedge fund of over
$3.5 billion on the Springtime-for-Hitler game. Paulson's personal earnings on
this economic tragedy exceeded one billion dollars.
I happened to be in Detroit USA
Government watchdogs hunted for the financial crimes
perpetrators, and, discovering the Goldman/Paulson fraud, brought charges
against... the French kid. Goldman had
leant Fabrice Tourre to Paulson to take on flunky tasks, including putting
together a 28-page "flip book" to lure European banks into the scam.
In a text message discovered by investigators, Fabrice
admitted to a friend that he couldn't understand the insanely complex
derivatives Paulson had crafted with Tourre's bosses at Goldman. He did, though, grasp that the strange
securities were, he wrote, "monstrosities." A collapse was
coming that would "bring down the whole house," leaving Fabrice
standing in a ruined planet – with a fat bonus.
What did the Feds do to Paulson? He received... a special tax break.
Am I defending the Fabulous Fabrice, the French-fried
scapegoat? After all, he was just along
for the ride. But he was deeply thrilled
to carry water for the Bad Boys. And the
charges against him are merely "civil", meaning he won't get jail
time even if found guilty.
And what about Goldman, whose top brass knew of the
entire game? The Securities and Exchange
Commission did fine Goldman for its duplicity – a sum equal to 5 percent of the
cash Goldman got from the US
After Goldman's con became public, its CEO Lloyd
Blankfein was hailed as a visionary for offloading mortgage-backed securities
before the shit hit the finance fan. Blankfein hailed himself for, he said,
"doing God's work". God did well. Blankfein's bonus in 2007 brought
his pay package to $69 million for the year, a Wall Street record.
Rather than prison or penury, Blankfein was appointed
advisor to both the business and the law school at Harvard University
So here's the lesson all Harvard students are taught: If
you can't do the time, don't do the crime... unless your booty exceeds a
billion.
Check Out Spike’s Photo Shoot…Then Help Us Write His Happy
Ending
Tuesday, July 16, 2013 - 12:00pm
Who We Are.
The American Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)
"We fight for animals. Will you join the fight?
NOTE FROM FLOYD:
The photos referred to are not included, as my blog will not print
pictures. While they certainly add a lot
to the story, it doesn't cancel out the wonderful story of Spikes future life.
Goofy
ASPCA adoptable Spike is sweet,
playful, and very affectionate. He’d love nothing more than a long game of
fetch followed by a cuddle session with his special people, and he’s available right now. Recently, our photographer snapped Spike at
play at our Adoption
Center
Can’t adopt Spike? He still really needs your help. He’s a great dog who deserves a family, and
we’d love it if you’d spread the word about him. Here’s why:
At the
ASPCA, Spike is a staff favorite.
Everyone’s had a chance to fall in love
with him because he’s been with us for nearly
two years—longer than any other dog currently in our care.
Spike came to us through our Humane Law Enforcement department in 2011. Back then, Spike was emaciated and undersocialized,
afraid of most new people and things.
Naturally,
as soon as he was medically ready, our behavior counselors set to work
socializing this special guy. They took
him to new places, like the park and on busy streets. They introduced him to
many volunteers so he could learn how great people can be. Before long, Spike blossomed into a dog who couldn’t wait to shower
his favorite staffers with kisses.
Behavior
counselors also taught Spike basic manners, and he eagerly showed us how smart he is, learning Sit and
Drop It very quickly. Due to chronic
lung disease, Spike needed an inhaler for a time, and he shocked behavior
counselors with how fast he learned to use it. (Today, Spike no longer requires an inhaler.) Late last year, Spike became eligible for adoption. He’s been waiting for his family ever since.
So what
gives? Why hasn’t Spike found a home? (We ask ourselves these questions all the
time.) He’s shy with new people, and
sometimes when Spike sees adopters through the glass of his habitat, he barks
his unique, hoarse-sounding bark at them. Understandably, that can make some people feel
unwelcome and move along to other dogs.
It’s a
shame those folks miss out on Spike, though. He’d so like to get to know them better—just
slowly. That’s why we’re asking you to share Spike with all your social networks.
Together we have the power to write Spike’s happy ending. What are you waiting
for?
Spike
would love a teens-and-up home. He loves to play with other dogs, but
can play a bit rough, so a resident dog would need to be up for that. To learn more about adopting Spike, check out his page.
Tags:
Permalink Submitted by Tracey Allyn
Hess on Tue, 2013-07-16 19:32
Tracey Allyn Hess
I would like to adopt
Spike!
Permyalink Submitted by angie on
Tue, 2013-07-16 21:21
angie
you are awesome
Permalink Submitted by Juliana
on Tue, 2013-07-16 22:14
Juliana
So Lovely! God bless him. I will pray for his new loving home soon, very
soon.
Permalink Submitted by Robb Trott
on Fri, 2013-07-19 10:07
Robb Trott
Happy day!
Permalink Submitted by Sherri on
Fri, 2013-07-19 11:08
Sherri
YAAAA Tracey!!! I hope
you can give Spike the great home that he deserves.
Permalink Submitted by Lisalou
on Fri, 2013-07-19 12:55
Lisalou
God Bless you. May you have a blessed life with Spike.
Permalink Submitted by Mabel Taylor
on Fri, 2013-07-19 13:04
Mabel Taylor
You have to click on
the link that takes you to his page and all of the adoption information is
there.
Permalink Submitted by Lin on
Fri, 2013-07-19 14:26
Lin
Bless you, TRacey.
Permalink Submitted by Stephanie
on Fri, 2013-07-19 14:33
Stephanie
yeah tracy
~~~
If the good Lord is
willing and the creek don't rise, I'll talk with you again next Tuesday Aug. 6,
2013.
God Bless You All
&
God Bless the United States of America
Floyd
