For a more detailed read on out-of-control greed, also see what our bail-out money is being used for at Red Rocks/Liberty on the Rocks

BANK             TOTAL DERIVATIVES     PCT OF DERIVATIVES
                  OUTSTANDING ($ MLN)   THAT ARE OTC
JPMorgan         $87,362,672           97.0
Bank of America  $38,304,564           94.3
Citi             $31,887,869           98.0
Goldman Sachs    $30,229,614           98.4
All banks total $200,381,607           96.6 ($193,597,433 mln)

$200 trillion is 200 million, millions…according to Wikepedia summation of IMF’s world GDP estimate, the total world GDP is $60 trillion USD, and that was for 2008!  How messed up is this?

An economics professor at Texas Tech said he had never failed a single
student before but had, once, failed an entire class. That class had
insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one
would be rich, a great equalizer. The professor then said ok, we will
have an experiment in this class on socialism.

All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade
so no one would fail and no one would receive an A. After the first test
the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard
were upset and the students who studied little were happy.

But, as the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied
even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too;
so they studied little.. The second test average was a D! No one was
happy.

When the 3rd test rolled around the average was an F.

The scores never increased as bickering, blame, name calling all
resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.
All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that
socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort
to succeed is great; but when government takes all the reward away; no one
will try or want to succeed.

Could not be any simpler than that…

I pulled and wanted to post this Chicago Tribune political cartoon from 1934 — looks like deja vu all over again…

…did we go to sleep, or we were terrifically naive about the intentions and audacity of money and power?  I’ve come to realize I’m a staunch believer in individualism, which has practically defined what is America in years past.

But, we, nationally and globally, are clearly on the path of collectivism, which is just unfathomable to me.  We know it doesn’t work, we know it merely creates a have/have not economic and cultural stratification and yet we blithely applaud the political happy talk we were taught to be wary of — it’s Orwellian, it’s unthinkable, and yet it’s happening.

At the root, government continues to separate itself from the will of the people, by rule and by guise.  What is an individualist to do, give up or speak up?

I don’t even think they’re bothering to project how these trillions in wealth transfers will be paid off, just ignore that man behind the curtain, I am the great and mighty…Fed.

“The Canadian’s” Mike Finch “North American Union (NAU) watch” reports that US and Canadian organizations want to end free flow Internet information. He cites an “net-neutrality activist group” discovery of “plans for the demise of the free Internet by 2010 in Canada,” and by 2012 globally.

Canada’s two largest ISPs, Bell Canada and TELUS, are behind a scheme to limit browsing, block out sites, and charge fees on most others as part of a 2012 “planned full (NAU) launching.” Web host I Power’s Reese Leysen called it “beyond censorship: it is killing the biggest (ever) ‘ecosystem’ of free expression and freedom of speech.” He cited big company inside sources providing information on “exclusivity deals between ISPs and big content providers (like TV studios and video game publishers) “to decide which sites will be in the standard package offered customers, leaving the rest of the Internet unreachable except for fees.”

Leysen called his source “100% reliable” and cited similar information from a Dylan Pattyn Time magazine article, based on Bell Canada and TELUS sources. Plans are for “only the top 100 – 200 sites making the cut in the initial subscription package,” likely to include major news outlets at the expense of smaller, alternative ones. “The Internet would become a playground for billion-dollar content providers,” like cable TV providers, unless efforts are made to stop it.

Leysen thinks US and global ISPs have similar plans that include free speech restrictions and privacy invasions. The stakes are high if he’s right. Yet the profit potential is huge and friendly governments may oblige. Also involved are “deceptive marketing and fear tactics” (like citing child pornography threats) to gain public approval for subscription services masquerading as online safety. The time to stop it is now.

His blogsite is http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/

The research I’ve begun on the Fed, the economy, the $60 trillion in “commercial debt obligations” that are likely worthless, the $10 trillion in US debt alone is disturbing.  I haven’t walked it all through yet, but I believe we’re being set up for a transfer of wealth not seen since the Great Depression.

Here’s the fundamental part, the Fed, a PRIVATELY HELD entity, has the congressionally-authorized right to create money.  By a journal entry alone, the Fed creates US Treasury IOU’s (our nation’s debt) and adds this asset to its member banks, which can then lend it out multiplied by ten “increasing money supply”…

I’m sorry, but is that not just insane?  We, the taxpayers, are put in debt by a privately-held entity for the purpose of making money available for banks to lend and profit upon?  Banks not only get paid interest by us on this “gift,” they then get to lend it out, at a ten times multiplier, and make a higher rate on ten times more money!

Everybody’s happy until no more money can be created.  From it’s 1913 inception to 1931, the Fed’s ability to create money was tied to the amount of gold it held.  In 1929, the Fed had leveraged out all it’s gold, and suddenly there were no more buyers to be brought into the game (and as we all probably remember, fuzzily, by 1931, by presidential decree the Fed’s money creation limitations were removed, we went off the gold standard, and private ownership of gold generally became illegal).

What happened to all those assets that had been manufactured and purchased by all that money the Fed created?  Well, when there was no one left to buy, the price fells, and anybody with money left bought these assets for pennies on the dollar…

…so the assets and goods manufactured and purchased during credit expansion all got swept into the coffers of the proverbial “last men standing” in the poker game after the “house credit” got cut off for the rest.

That was the Great Depression and the aftermath which lasted a decade.  What does history tell us about today?

1.    Stay Positive. You can listen to the cynics and doubters and believe that success is impossible or you can know that with faith and an optimistic attitude all things are possible.
2.     When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement: “My purpose is_______________________.”
3.    Take a morning walk of gratitude. It will create a fertile mind ready for success.
4.   Instead of being disappointed about where you are, think optimistically about where you are going.
5.   Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
6.    Transform adversity into success by deciding that change is not your enemy but your friend. In the challenge discover the opportunity.
7.    Make a difference in the lives of others.
8.    Believe that everything happens for a reason and expect good things to come out of challenging experiences.
9.    Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
10.   Mentor someone and be mentored by someone.
11.    Live with the 3 E’s. Energy, Enthusiasm, Empathy.
12.    Remember there’s no substitute for hard work.
13.    Be in Zoom Focus. Each day when you wake up in the morning ask: “What are the three most important things I need to do today that will help me create the success I desire?”  Then tune out all the distractions and focus on these actions.
14.    Instead of complaining focus on solutions.  It’s the key to innovation.
15.    Read more books this year than you did last year.
16.    Learn from mistakes and let them teach you to make positive changes.
17.    Focus on “Get to” versus “Have to.”  Each day focus on what you get to do, not what you have to do.  Life is a gift not an obligation.
18.    Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements
1.     “I am thankful for __________.
2.     “Today I accomplished____________.”
19.   Smile and laugh more. They are natural anti-depressants.
20.   Enjoy the ride. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy it.