Happy Hour

1. Protecting You From Being Protected 2. Size Matters 3. SpokeUp.com Message of the Day 1. A spokesperson for JPMorgan Chase says that the reason the company pulled its own money from Madoff last year was because they got suspicious about the Ponzi scheme the dude was putting on. But she says, “we did not have the right to disclose those our concerns” to their own clients who had ... read more

1. Corporations OWN our Government 2. GE’s Welfare Dividend 3. Help Fight the Welfare at SpokeUp.com 1. Chrysler, Cerberus, Citi, Goldman...can you remember which guys are working at those places right now and which ones are in the government getting lobbyist money to regulate Chrysler, Cerberus, Citi and Goldman? I can't either. Chrysler, Cerberus, Citi and Goldman ARE the ... read more

1. All Housing Policies Destroy Housing 2. Confidence Comes from Confusion 3. Help By NOT HELPING! 1. Why is it that the Republicans/Democrats all want to figure out ways to "stabilize housing"…HOUSING'S TOO EXPENSIVE. Shouldn't the Democrats want to be fighting for cheaper, lower housing prices? Shouldn't Republicans want personal and corporate accountability? NOTHING the government ... read more

1. Screw Bank Shareholders…Please! 2. iBank Powerhouse…Sandander?! 3. TARP Is a Tool of…the Illuminati! 1. I’m gonna ask once again, why we don’t wash out all the people who took risks on equity when a company gets welfare to stave off insolvency/bankruptcy. Fact is, the stocks of Citigroup, MS, GM, GE and every other welfare company are evaporating anyway, so why give these ... read more

1. SpokeUp.com bookmark of the day 2. Welfare Banks Are Pure Evil 3. You Don't Deserve Welfare Either, OK?! 1. "We are giving a gigantic monopoly that binds together all the banks in the country, issues to them unlimited paper money from the Treasury on their assets, creates 12 great central banks, and puts a Government board in charge of the whole combination." That was Representative ... read more

1. Peter Meet Paul 2. Headline of the Day 3. Traders Should Stay Sidelined 1. The Independent Bank of Michigan has gotten $72 million in TARP welfare so far, but they’re not able to lend much out yet because as they tell the NYTimes today – they’re using all of it to shore up its balance sheet and pay back loans to the Federal Reserve. Take from Treasury, give to the FED? This makes ... read more

As I've been so vocal and adamant against all the forms of corporate welfare (you can call it "bailouts" if you want), I've gotten one question over and over as these two real quotes from my blog comments asked: "What should we do about it?" "What are you, we, going to do about all this?" So many people write to me saying they feel that, now more than ever, they don't have a voice as ... read more

Some thoughts that are kicking off the playoffs in my own head this weekend: * I'll introduce this more formally in an upcoming post this weekend, but I want to let readers know now that after two years of blood, sweat and tears, we're proud to beta-launch SpokeUp.com - The social network for individuals who speak up. You can visit my profile page at http://spokeup.com/pg/profile/cody and ... read more

1. Stocks vs. Bonds 2. Medicare vs. TARP 3. Big City vs. Ruidoso 1. Stocks have been hanging pretty tough. Corporate bonds have been crushed because investors don’t think they’ll get paid back the money they lend from company cash flows. Treasuries are still paying about zero percent as investors flee to the only place that has a printing press of dollars that can pay them back – ... read more

1. It Takes A Billion 2. 50 Cents Gets You a Dollar 3. Read up on Darfur 1. Real headline of the day: “Obama Led First Billion-Dollar Race This Year as Spending on Vote Doubled”. These guys needed a billion dollars to get elected this year and you really think they’re out for anybody but the richest companies and people who gave them the money to get elected? Where do you think ... read more