Karen Hudes

Holy moly, this lady is the mother of all smoking guns. If half of what she says is true - and from what I heard from her on the radio, she gives every indication of being legit - the mother of all cats is about to come out of the bag.

She really is unbelievable.  She is hopelessly naive, moralistic, and somehow got past the gatekeepers and landed herself right in the middle of the international banking system.   She's been in the middle of 20 years worth of scandals at the highest levels and decided to blow the whistle.

Maybe I'm late to the game on this one, but this is the first I've heard of her.  And she basically confirms all the worst things you might have guessed about places like the IMF,  the World Bank,  the national governments,  etc.

For some reason, she's naive enough to think it's a matter of rooting out corruption,  and she still has faith in state governments,  but anyway, 100% worth listening to if you are into that kind of thing.

Coffee...

...is not actually a substitute for food. Or sleep.  All rumors to the contrary.

It looks like it should work, but it doesn't.  And I never thought I'd become one of 'these people.'

Kids

It is incredible how difficult it is to raise kids.

I have slogged through 4+ years of blogging, through living at 4-5 different addresses, through two different jobs -- one of them (my current) 24-hour rotating shift -- 60 to 80 hour weeks, and about a year and a half of that time with my in-laws living with me in my own house.

Yet 'settled' as I am, I have never found it so difficult to get blog posts up.  Or to get just about anything else done, for that matter.

Part of the reason for the 80 hour weeks is, basically, what the hell?  I'm not going to get anything done anyway.  Or any sleep.  Might as well get paid while I'm (not) doing it and feeling like crap.

I hope and pray that all of this is worth it someday, because right now, it's all on faith.  God only knows why I want another one...

Anyway, this is not one of those 'screw it all, I'm quitting blogging' sorts of posts.  Because that would be a lie.  Writers are compelled to write.  If they're not, they aren't writers.  If you ever hear me utter such nonsense -- or any other once-prolific writer, for that matter -- you can know it for what it is.  Writers are like crackheads.  If they aren't posting their crap publicly, they are scribbling it on napkins and paper towels with crayons and stuffing it away somewhere. 

But I won't be writing much (as if I were already, anyway), and even of what I do, unfortunately you won't be seeing much of it.  I actually have something of a backlog of (very) lengthy posts which will likely never see the light of day.  The demands on me are much too high right now.

For the life of me, I will never understand the apparently near-universal compulsion to demand the attention of others for the purpose of completely wasting it.  In general, I tend to avoid the attention of others, even when I probably should speak up.  But that is the way it is.  And no, I'm not really talking that much about my kids at the moment.  'The job' has ratcheted itself up along these lines as well.  But I'm afraid that until I can achieve some modicum of isolation, I'm just not going to be able to get anything done.

My hope is that someday I'll be able to arrange some sort of life-hibernation, so that if I can erect enough barriers between myself and these people, I might actually be able to get something done.  In the meantime, I have finally entered into the 21st century and gotten myself a shiny new smartphone.  I hope that I can at least get up those little 'blurby' type posts ever now and then.

Just to remind people that I'm alive.

Healthcare, If Any?

According to a report issued by a House committee bssed on data provided by a consortium of insurers, healthcare costs will increase dramatically under Obamacare -- by 100 to 400%:

Internal cost estimates from 17 of the nation's largest insurance companies indicate that health insurance premiums will grow an average of 100 percent under Obamacare, and that some will soar more than 400 percent, crushing the administration's goal of affordability.

I...don't believe this.   Oil from a turnip, anyone?

People won't spend money they don't have.  They can't.  It's one of those quirky aspects of accounting.  Costs imposed on insurers are certainly relevant, but this analysis seems crude to me.

Quality will probably fall, waiting times will probably increase, etc.  But I do not think prices can rise much.

And wouldn't it surprise everyone if they fell?

Open Letter From Texas

Dear Wealthy Californians --

On behalf of those people of Texas who still retain a modicum of common sense, by which I mean all of us except for Governor Perry, I would like to rescind the offer which he has so graciously but injudiciously extended to you. You see, the whole thing is a really, really bad idea. I'm not sure what my governor is thinking, or even if he is even capable of actual thought in light of his horrendously bad suggestion.

Over the years, I have met many Californians who have moved here to Texas, usually for a job, which they were apparently incapable of finding in their home state. Invariably, they have taken it upon themselves to inform me just how awful Texas is, and how much better it would be if Texas were more like California. In that respect, they have a great deal in common with the Mexicans I meet here. The irony of their position does not seem to dawn on them, but never mind, that is another subject for another time.

Much as it pains me to say this, their complaints are largely correct. Texas is full of very ignorant people. For example, there are still people here who think homosex is wrong, even when done in public, and wouldn't have the slightest clue how to properly accessorize S&M apparel.

We don't, in general, embrace the enlightened ideals of government which you favor, such as enormous tax burdens and deficit spending to fund important public initiatives like sex change operations and massive welfare spending. People here tend to think that spending more than you take in is generally a bad idea anyway, but worse if you happen to be a government. I may know as well as you that, although your present difficulty centers around a few accounting quirks in making this particular strategy work for you, nevertheless I'm confident you'll figure them out at some point. But here in our backwards state, that kind of thing is looked down on, and it is not generally believed that you can get around things like arithmetic.

In general, I'm not a big government kind of guy, either, but in this case I do think I could get behind what I see as the only real solution to the 'California conundrum.' I propose that the Army Corps of Engineers dig a large moat around California, and fill it with radioactive waste. And pirannhas. And maybe land-mine the western half of Nevada.

Because, you see, the problem with California as it seems to me is that there is just not enough commitment to its ideals. People embrace these kinds of innovative ideas, but then as soon as things start getting exciting, and the results of all these great plans start coming to fruition, they get all weak-kneed and want to bail out. How can anybody really accomplish anything great if he loses his nerve just when things start to get a little sketchy? No -- California and her people need to ride this train clear to the station, and I and I believe other Texans, and probably people from many other states, are fully committed to helping motivate Californians and steel their jittery nerves at this time of indecision to see things through to the end.

But coming to Texas is just a stupid idea. What, really, does Texas have to offer? It won't accomplish anything. You won't like it here, and we won't like you being here.

Seriously, don't come.



Truly and Sincerely Yours,

Texas

P.S.  OK, you're right.  The real reason I don't want you here is that I'm not so keen on the idea of bringing into my state a whole bunch of people who have managed to utterly ruin what otherwise sounds like a really wonderful place.  Texas isn't perfect, it has its own problems certainly, even some major ones, but one thing we sure don't need is a massive influx of foolishness.

And we don't really need your money, either.  Have you considered Florida?  Or maybe Virginia or New Hampshire?  They sound pretty nice.