BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Oct 08 - 12:23 PM

I think the British method is more sound than the U.S. one. Using government dollars to buy preferred shares sounds like it has a better chance at success than the U.S. buying "toxic investments" and letting the banks move blithely forward without that nasty baggage that the government will spend a lot of money managing and probably not get a lot of value back from it. It's the stinking waste left behind by mortgage brokers and bond bundlers. The British are letting the banks sort out their own mess this way, and they have a vested interest in making those mortgage (or whatever) transactions work, even if they have to be modified. The U.S. banks will have no such motivation if their mess is just magicked away.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: Donuel
Date: 08 Oct 08 - 11:26 AM

SHUT ! and I tried so hard not to use a bad word.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: Donuel
Date: 08 Oct 08 - 11:25 AM

Ralph had been trying to get a loan every way he knew how because he was life and death desperate. Every system that he trusted unremorsefully took more than half of his pension. He felt betrayed by Congress, accountants, Banks and a political system that passed out millions of dollars for 10 minutes of a billionaires time.
By God if they take from me electronically with out so much as a how do you do or a reach around, he was going to get some of what they took from him back.

Ralph suffered every fee and penalty the banks ever devised but put everything he had into one shaky bank account.

Ralph went to the bank armed with a cell phone. He was about to close out his account. The bank warned him that whenever his account dipped below 1,200 dollars he would be subject to Bank fees.
But he had a plan that played out like a dream the night before right before he fell into the first sound sleep he had had for months.

Standing in an absurd line to close his account he squeezed his cell phone when it vibrated and startled him so much some people were startled in return. Ralph turned off all incoming calls. He needed the line open for split second timing when he got to the teller window.

The teller looked exhausted when he snaked his withdraw slip under the bullet proof window. He was nervous but not so much as to alarm anyone. He had to wait for the moment right before he pressed the send button on his cell phone. Not too early, not too late. He was going to get that loan for the price of a returned check if only his timing was just right.

He eyed the teller as she was entering his account number in the telex and then pushed the send button that made his whole body jerk with a jolt but was virtually unnoticed to others. His heart was beating fast. The send message was racing electrons to a buy now web address to purchase gold at the exact same amount of his closed bank account. The transaction went to his pay pal account linked to his current account that was being closed as signals were being sent back and forth across the country.

The teller handed him his money and he cautiously left the bank. The drive home was nerve wracking since he did not know if he had just stolen a #### load of gold or not. He got home shit the blinds and looked on his computer to see he had the Pay Pal receipt for enough gold to make a solid 7 inch cube of gold. That's enough gold to weigh just under 1000 pounds.

If and when the bank sorted out the identical withdrawal amounts he could be hit with a returned check fee, but Ralph was feeling he had his 1000 pounds of flesh. Gold went up that day about 25 dollars.

It turns out Ralph's bank did get swallowed up and the newly hired bank examiners, all from the hoards of unemployed investment brokers from Wall Street, never did make sense of Ralph's account that day.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 08 Oct 08 - 03:29 AM

From: michaelr
Date: 08 Oct 08 - 01:08 AM

GfS, look again. It's not socialism but fascism we're heading for.

You look again!..I agree with you! what we have here is the LEFT wing(of socialism), and the Right wing (of socialism), moving their agenda upon us. When its all said and done, of course, it will take a police state, to enforce it. This charade we are in, is the movement of getting us either to 'vote' it in, or be forced upon us. Either way, the outcome is the same! Hey, God bless, and stay safe..plan ahead..., and if you are voting for one of these bozos, don't be fooled as to what they are!

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: akenaton
Date: 08 Oct 08 - 03:18 AM

"The money will be returned to UK taxpayers some time in the future"

Ha fuckin' ha...IF there is ever any return from this bailout, the money will not be in the hands of taxpayers, but in the hands of the politicians.
It is basically robbery just like America.

If we want nationalisation it has to be the complete UK banking system, anything else simply cant work.

This robbery has also been perpetrated against all the small shareholders and pension funds who will see their investments dwindlke away to nothing.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: GUEST,LSM
Date: 08 Oct 08 - 02:53 AM

The UK government has announced details of a rescue package for the banking system worth at least £50bn.

It will initially make the extra capital available to eight of the UK's largest banks and building societies.

In return for the funding, the government will receive preference shares in those institutions.

The money will be used to prop up the banking system that has seen share prices plunging in recent weeks as banks have struggled to access funding.

As part of the package, a further £200bn will be made available by the Bank of England for short-term borrowing to provide liquidity to banks and building societies.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: GUEST,heric
Date: 08 Oct 08 - 01:34 AM

Yeah well there's something strange. The Democrats adamantly say that decoupling insurance from employment would be a disaster. I thik it's the best thing that could happen. Chances are that the insurance and possibly other lobbyists have bought them out.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: michaelr
Date: 08 Oct 08 - 01:08 AM

GfS, look again. It's not socialism but fascism we're heading for.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: CarolC
Date: 08 Oct 08 - 01:06 AM

Some of us make our living using the computer, so if we need eye care because of it, that's a very legitimate need.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Oct 08 - 01:01 AM

I will never understand why Americans haven't invested in universal single payer health care a long time ago.

Hillary was studying it, back when Bill was in office and she was "just the first lady." The insurance companies got wind of it and ran lots of negative issue ads and scared people so badly that the Clinton administration backed off.

The wind is still blowing from that direction--the insurance companies make so much money out of this system that they will exert any level of painful pressure necessary to scare Americans into backing off of such an idea.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 08 Oct 08 - 12:45 AM

From: CarolC
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 11:41 PM

Yeah, eating vegetables is all anyone needs if they get hurt accidentally or become ill with a genetic disease.

..or even need eye care, from spending too much time on the computer...

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: Bee
Date: 08 Oct 08 - 12:22 AM

Carol, I will never understand why Americans haven't invested in universal single payer health care a long time ago. The American system puts terrible burdens on many and enriches insurance companies, and yet the US government spends more per capita on health care than countries with universal systems. Makes no sense. Our system needs a few fixes, but damn, if I'm sick, I get looked after, same day if it's serious.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: CarolC
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 11:41 PM

Yeah, eating vegetables is all anyone needs if they get hurt accidentally or become ill with a genetic disease.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 11:29 PM

Vegetables to the right of me, Vegetables to the left of me...vegetables all around me......Maybe I'll be so healthy, from responsible eating that I won't need medicaid/medicare or a health plan...Good idea!!!

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: Bee
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 10:10 PM

True, Carol. I've just never liked sprouts much, except in one form - sprouted wheat bread, or Essene bread. That stuff is so delicious it's dangerous.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/1984-01-01/Essene-Bread.aspx

I try to buy this whenever I'm in town, and someday I'd like to try making it myself.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 08:09 PM

Thanks, Joe!,,I'll try to be more..ummm..conscientious, about remembering everything..next time!

---

You did exactly the right thing - post a complete message, completely corrected, under the incorrect one. We volunteer editors are supposed to delete the earlier messages and save the most recent one. That's much easier than asking me to delete the third word from the end of the second sentence of the third paragraph.
But do you have a name of the songwriter for the song?
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: CarolC
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 07:54 PM

Sprouts are a good way to get vegetable nutrients in the winter in the absence of a garden, too.

Subject: ADD: IT'S A SANTA CLAUS WORLD
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 07:31 PM

IT'S A SANTA CLAUS WORLD
In 3/4 (Waltz Time)

Its a Santa Claus world,
If you will,
Of ice cream and candy bars..
Eat your fill,
And all kinds of fatness,
That's bound to kill...
But we love it that way-y-y-y-y....
We love it that way, everyday,
And we hope that the bad times are here to stay....

In a Santa Claus world
Lets go for a ride
With cars shaped like bullets,
With people inside..
On concrete that covers our whole countryside..
But we love it that way..
We love it that way, everyday,
And we hope that the bad times are here to stay.....
Fal-la-la la-la, la la la la la-a-a-

In a Santa Claus world,
Where everyone dines..
On gluttonous steaks, champagnes, and wines,
With all virgin waitresses,
High in the skies,
On United Airlines.....
But we love it that way, everyday,
And we hope that the bad times are here to stay..
Fal-la-la-la-la, la la la la la-a-a-a

In a Santa Claus world,
The decorations appear,
For Christmas, in April...
The Savior appears..
With massed produced love and peace, everywhere...
Ten Dollars a pair......
Yeah, its the spirit of giving,
Through selling and buying.....
Fal la la la la.............Its the spirit of dying.....
Fal-la-la-la, la la la la la-a-a-........

We all love to sing our American waltz,
Fa la la la la...
It's our dream....
Come False..
Fal la-la-la la, la la la la, la-a-a-a-a

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: Bee
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 06:15 PM

Something I would recommend if one wants to try to really supplement one's food with a garden is to keep in mind things that store well without power, and for those with little time for canning and preserving; consider growing root vegetables as staple foods. Potatos have big yields for the space they occupy, and only need a cool dark place to store. Around here, anybody who grows a few rows of potatos ends up with more than enough for the winter. We seldom buy potatos because we're usually gifted with enough to last the winter.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 06:04 PM

There are quite a few veggies that can grow in shade, according to my organic guru. Herbs, Swiss chard and various sorts of peppers, he says (someone called and asked about growing plants indoors over the winter, with the assistance of fluorescent bulbs). I'd certainly want to give it a try.

Do you have someplace "non-traditional," like out by the front sidewalk, where there is more sun for the broccoli and tomatoes? I find that no one seems to even notice or care hat I grow vegetables in my front yard amongst the flowers and shrubs.

As for the rest of the argument, those two sour-pusses are not contributing anything useful, and they don't know any more than the rest of us, even if they like to say so.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: Bee
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 05:24 PM

Janie, if you figure out where the most sun hits during growing season, you may be able to do a little judicious pruning of tree branches to get yourself another hour or so of sun on your garden patches. I did that here, without destroying the tree or ruining its shape.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: akenaton
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 05:08 PM

Do you really, seriously think, that if the Dems were running the country this situation would not have occurred?

I think maybe it's you who is a little confused.
This little cracker won't be fixed by Party Politics.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: akenaton
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 04:58 PM

Electing a "turd" IS an option....in fact it's the only option!

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: Janie
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 04:53 PM

You know, Susan, I'm trying to figure out if there might not be a few patches that get a combined 4 1/2 to 5 hours of light between the morning and the late afternoon sun. If so, I could do some container gardening of a few summer veggies that will straggle along with that little light. I know I can do a cool weather garden under coldframes after the leaves are off the trees. But no major food production is possible. If I'm out of work, or have my hours reduced due to the economy, I could participate in a community garden. Otherwise, I don't have time.

On the otherhand, I notice a large, sufficiently sunny lot across the street that belongs with one of the two houses that bracket it. I haven't met any of neighbors over there, but they clearly are not gardeners. If hard-times came, I could approach them about letting me garden there in exchange for produce (or even propose a neighborhood community garden!)

The biggest issue with my family is that we are scattered out. Mom and Dad have the biggest house that could accomodate us, but they live in West Virginia, where the economy has been in the pits a long time. As with Sinsull's family, my Mom's family consolidated households during the Depression. No one person usually could work more than a day or two per week, but among 6 adults working what they could, they scraped by. It would be pretty tough for Annie or I to find any part-time work there if we lost our jobs down here, or had our hours drastically cut.

But we are pretty resourceful people, and we would come up with some kind of plan and move that would see to it we were all taken care of.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 04:36 PM

We're talking Wall Street "white knights" here, Ake, not fairy tales. In case you're confused. With the cash on hand in that bill last week, the govt. just got into the white knight business.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 04:32 PM

Electing a turd isn't an option either.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: akenaton
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 04:22 PM

SRS...No one can do anything personally about this!
This requires action by a large section of the community, especially taxpayers.


Waiting for your "White Knight" to appear is not an option.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 04:06 PM

The only thing we as individuals can do right now is pay attention, get informed, not go bonkers drawing money out of otherwise sound funds and conversely not going nuts hoarding, and elect a president who wasn't an engineer of the problem at hand (Reagan was the architect). The rest of the world will have to work it out on its own. I'm not a big spender, but I'm sure my pocketbook will be impacted by all of this.

Just what do GfS and Ake think they personally are going to do about this to fix things?












I thought so.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 03:59 PM

Guest from Sanity, get over yourself.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: John on the Sunset Coast
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 03:56 PM

On October 9, 2002, the Dow bottomed out just below 7300. As I write this it is below 9500, off from a high this time last year of over 14000. How the mighty have fallen! Will the Dow turn around before 7300?

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: akenaton
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 03:30 PM

Good man yourself Rap!!

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: Rapparee
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 03:22 PM

And it will take more that the current crop of gutless wonders in the US Congress, too.

It's time to stop playing silly, stupid, name-calling games; time to stop dodging the hard actions, buckle down and get to work.

Time's a-wastin'. And as the guy said, "The first thing to do when you're in a hole is to stop digging."

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: akenaton
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 03:03 PM

Yes you're right guest, UK banking system is in the process of collapse. Royal Bank and HBOS both lost almost 40% of their share value on today's trading.

In the US, the Federal Reserve is by-passing the banks and propping up the real ecomomy. This is serious shit and everyone talks about "White Knights".

The solution to this will be harder to uncover than the location of the Holy Grail, but the solution is in our hands.

Not just SRS but all of us need to waken up to what is actually happening. This is time for REAL change and that won't come from Obama or McCain..Ake

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 02:37 PM

Wake up SRS...it's a bit bigger than you think....

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: wysiwyg
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 10:36 AM

Janie, container gardening or a community garden?

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 08:38 AM

Obama wants to 'give' us all these entitlement programs, which no one can pay for!

A typical GfS post.

This Bush mess has put "paid" to a lot of initial plans any candidate may have formed. This crisis calls for staying the course the clean up the mess Bush has set in place, but the smart candidate will keep his eye on the middle-distance at the very least, and not just the immediate problem at his feet.

If you want to struggle along as before, with one of the engineers of this mess, then go with McCain. If you want someone who will try to find rational solutions that move beyond hiring the heads of corrupt banks and institutions and is able to look at the larger picture, I think you have to choose someone who can think on his feet and keep a cool head while consulting experts from at least two parties. Obama fits the "white knight" role a lot better than McCain.

The debates tonight will be interesting. Let's see if McCain can get an answer out of his mouth that suggests solutions to the problems and not simply unsubstantiated attaks on his opponent.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 02:21 AM

Sorry, forgot to post name...

From: GUEST,Jack the Sailor
Date: 04 Oct 08 - 03:20 PM

If Obama is elected things will turn around quickly.

This is complete nonsense!!!
I've told you a dozen or more times, that regardless who 'wins' the election, that the dollar was going to be de-valuated, after the election(if it can wait that long). I've said a lot of 'right on' things in here, and all I get is arguments from starry eyed 'kumbaya-ers'....even when what I've said comes true in front of your very eyes! Not to mention shpeels on responsibility, in regards to reliance on the government for a number of things.

Obama wants to 'give' us all these entitlement programs, which no one can pay for! The government CAN NOT continue to print fiat money, to pay for any of it. Obama promises to cut capital gain taxes for small businesses..only problem is..small businesses don't pay captial gains taxes..they pay business income taxes..but you just keep lapping up this crap, like the good little media fed robots that this nation has become!

McCain is not much better! What you have here, is the two wings of a SOCIALIST party pushing through their agenda. I believe that this is the reason that so many people are undecided about who to vote for...nobody, in their gut feels 'right' about either one! Now we have had, for years, a capitalist/socialist system, but that, dear boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, is about to change!! We are headed for a socialist republic...like the last 'SR' in USSR..which was (and is) an abysmal way of life. Gone will be all the perks of entitlements that we've grown so accustomed to. Fuel is going to go through the roof, credit, gone..inflation rising faster than a woody in the morning! Retirement pensions will be meaningless, if even around...social security, a memory....Jobs?..forget it!..even those ones that American citizens 'wouldn't take, so the illegal aliens had them!..All those lame-ass propaganda nonsense talking points will make you sick, when before you embraced them. We've been had, by a corrupt(remember me mentioning that??) political agenda for decades!!..which I've been pointing out to you, and NOW THE MEDIA IS FINALLY 'BRINGING IT UP' occasionally. I've implored you, as writers, and musicians to sing, write and speak against it...what have I gotten??..zilch(except for a few)!!

Now is the time(maybe) to retrieve your heads from your posteriors, get off the bullshit party lines of idiocy, and get right...and confront it..ask the right questions..and in the meantime buckle your seat belts and and hang on...this is going to be a lot tougher that you've even imagined!

God Bless, and stay safe!
GfS

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: Janie
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 01:52 AM

I just moved, am not finding the neighborhood very welcoming thus far, and have no sun. I hate to think about cutting down oak trees to have a garden spot, but am seriously considering it.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: Ebbie
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 01:10 AM

Some years back, during the Silicon bust, my retirement funds lost more than a third of their value. Of course, it was all just on paper.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: GUEST,heric
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 01:06 AM

Did I say 40% gone? Oh, yeah, well that was yesterday. Today it's 47.56%

(And I bought very conservative stuff.)

Can only laugh I guess.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: GUEST,Jack the Sailor
Date: 04 Oct 08 - 03:20 PM

The markets are all about confidence.

Our biggest problem now is that no one has confidence in the Bush administration. If Obama is elected things will turn around quickly. If McCain is elected and he appoints Gramm or any of his ilk to a cabinet position, God help us!!

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: Bee
Date: 04 Oct 08 - 03:14 PM

That would depend on the cemetery. The graveyard my family lie in had graves over 150 years old. The older coffins were of plain wood, and the land is bedrock with soil not so deep. Many coffins only had a couple feet of soil over them to begin with.

I had the un-nerving experience as a teen of stepping too close to one of the older graves, which are often identified by their sunken appearance. My leg went into the grave halfway up my shin, and I don't know (nor care to) how much of what I felt and heard by way of crunchings and squashings was down to roots and earth or rotted wood and brittle bones. (Again, I am so sorry, Great-great-great-aunt Margaret!)

The moral of that story is: even at your standard six feet, soil erodes, wood rots, empty spaces fill in eventually. It's best to take care walking near (and especially on) old graves, and gardening atop them, especially if using a plough or tiller, ought to be approached with delicacy.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: Donuel
Date: 04 Oct 08 - 03:05 PM

GOOD NEWS

maybe the kind of good that being in the eye of a hurricaine without wind but good none the less.

Someone, no one knows who! , stuck the best possible option for us all into the bail out bill that George Bush unwittingly signed.

It is the option for the Treasury Secretary to opt to implement stock share buy ins (like what Warren Buffet does)
instead of only buying traxh with tax payer money.

You see banks don't want the government moving into their house with the authority to throw out the freeloader crook. They just want cash via the free for all Paulson program.

The option clause was worded very wisely but and its a big BUT
Henry Paulson will have 60 days to dispose of as much of the 800 billion dollars as possible.

A new Treasury secretary will then be able to use the stock clause to truely let taxpayers invest instead of giving cash to the compulsive gamblers to supposeldy pay off their gambling debt.

So Good news if we use the inserted option and if Paulson doesn;t blow all the money in two months..

Finally someone overnight snuck in something good into a bill for a change.
My blessing goes out to the annonymous savior.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: Ebbie
Date: 04 Oct 08 - 02:20 PM

Speaking of cemeteries- if not for the squeamish about us, wouldn't they be good spaces for community gardens? Coffins are lowered well below gardening depth.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: CarolC
Date: 04 Oct 08 - 01:52 PM

In this neighborhood we have the advantage of being surrounded by a meandering creek and cyprus swamps on three sides and a cemetary on the other. There's a lot of empty land surrounding this neighborhood, and if necessary, people could plant gardens in the empty parts of the cemetary. The people in this part of town had a history of self-reliance. They're mostly African Americans, and because of the history of African Americans in the US South, they know a hell of a lot about surviving under adverse conditions. And most of them have served at some point in their lives in the US military, so they know how to protect themselves with a gun.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: Bee
Date: 04 Oct 08 - 01:34 PM

Community solidarity is really important.

I worry most about people (the vast majority) living in cities, should things go bad. They have the advantage that as long as government functions at all, I think the cities will be fed and people kept warm in some manner. But in many ways, they are much more vulnerable because of their sheer numbers. Planting city veg gardens is a great idea when times are pretty good, but they are theft magnets for hungry people when times are bad. So someone gets fed, but often not the labourer.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: CarolC
Date: 04 Oct 08 - 01:06 PM

We took our big hit about six years ago as a result of outsourcing. We ended up living in a travel trailer on savings for a couple of years, and now our ability to make a living (and our banking) is not so dependent on the US economy. We aren't particularly secure by US standards, but we're managing to continue to move forward. I hope that will continue to be the case even during these insane times. And I have planted a garden in the side yard, and I plan to put one in the power cut behind the house soon.

We hope to have enough money to drill a well soon (even though we live in a small city, there is a clean underground river flowing under our house), and I will insist that a hand pump be installed along with the electric one. Two of our neighbors already have wells, and one has a hand pump, so even if we don't drill one ourselves, if the water goes out, we will still have access to water.

Our neighborhood is a pretty tightly knit community, so if things get really bad, the people here will all pull together and help each other out.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: wysiwyg
Date: 04 Oct 08 - 12:06 PM

We can always start a MudBank.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: GUEST,heric
Date: 04 Oct 08 - 12:00 PM

"[Personal finance talking head] Jennifer Openshaw advises investors to keep saving in their 401(k)s and keep a year's worth of cash stashed away in a CD."

Okay, fine. Oops now where did I put that year's worth of cash?

----------------------------

Rapaire I'm glad you fessed up to taking a hit - I was beginning to think I was all alone on this board. My retirement stash (which isn't enough to keep me in premium cat food) is down 40% (while the S&P 500 went down 21%) and my house is down 40% (while nationwide statistics are down 16%.) Plus I have only a single income, in a job that is nowhere near secure.

Maybe I should invest in a year's worth of ammunition. (It's still less than gold I hope.)

I think I'd better head in to work.

Subject: RE: BS: If the Bottom DOES fall out
From: GUEST,heric
Date: 04 Oct 08 - 11:10 AM

The senators were already sensitive to that one, Donuel. Maybe they do understand what we face:

"In April 1996, Sen. Pete Domenici stood on the floor of the Senate and told colleagues "now is the time" to pass legislation requiring insurance companies to cover mental illnesses just like other medical conditions.

More than 12 years and numerous setbacks later, that legislation is finally becoming law, tucked into the administration's $700 billion rescue package."