subprime

The Alberton Papers Vol VII, #VI
By Dick Darne 10-13-08
"Quite a crowd, this frosty morning" said Johnny, as he poured a cup of think-tank elixir. "What’s happening?"
"Professor Sven is back, to enlighten us on the financial crisis" said Bill.
"Bank heist is a more apt description" added Todd. "Let’s get a seat and get started."
"Ah, wunnerful morning to you all. You all are wondering why I called this meeting, eh. Well we’re going to explain the sub-prime situation first," said the Professor. "Then if we have time we’ll properly assign the blame."
"But we have heard the blame put on people at the bottom, at least that’s what some of the ‘experts’ say," said Johnny.
"Ah yes, that’s what we are conditioned to believe from an early age, whereas a long memory and a study of history tells us otherwise, the blame usually belongs up, not down. But let me tell you a little story I gleaned from reading a little stick-figure cartoon called ‘the sub-prime primer’.( http://www.businesspundit.com/sub-prime/ if you want to read it directly.) Let’s follow a loan that never should have been made, as it is greased along by greed and deregulation, to today’s mess."
"A man walks into the mortgage brokers office and is quite up front about not having any down payment or ability to make the payment, but wants to buy a house. The broker, apparently only concerned with his commission, ignores all the principles of good banking and grants the loan, which will raise the interest rate later. After a whole bunch of crappy loans pile up, the broker sells them to the ‘smart guys on Wall Street’ where after they pile up there, they rename them and sell them to really smart investors who work their financial wizardry on them, with a lot of lubrication from lax rules and lackadaisical enforcement. The whole pile of crap is now renamed and ownership transferred to an offshore ‘shell company’. The story now goes to one of the buyers, the Norwegian Village Retirement Fund, who finds it’s investments going sour and a $^%**&@~ you attitude from these really smart wall street guys. Most of their actions, while morally rotten, are mostly legal thanks to de-regulation and repeal of the Glass-Steagal act."
"But I heard that was repealed by Clinton, a Democrat" said Bill.
"Signed by, and a party to, but let’s not forget who has effectively controlled Congress for many years now and even longer figuring in the ‘blue dogs’. Any attempt to lay all the blame at the feet of the least of us is laughable, except so many people get their news from extremely biased and inaccurate sources that they actually believe it." added the good Professor. "A big chunk of our Government is up to their eyeballs in this mess, let’s take a break and when we return, we’ll properly assign blame."
Who will they be? Your friends and neighbors, your own dear mother? Your elected officials? Maybe us? Stay tuned for the next thrilling episode of the Alberton Papers. Sharpen your pitchforks! Save your rotten fruits and veggies!. Be sure you are registered to vote! Exercise your cognitive powers! dd

good people

The Alberton Papers Vol. VII, #V
By Dick Darne 10-5-08
We are just back Friday from a 3 day bike trip, from 9 mile falls out past Spokane to Higgins Point, this side of C’oeur D’Alene. While resting at the end, I reflected on the events "on the trail" and some of the kindness and assistance offered us, ranging from a simple "good morning!" to a gentleman in a car who stopped while we were fixing a flat to offer his tire pump, who actually knew where Alberton was. I guess one could say that good people are not only the salt of the earth but are where you find them. I was born in the southland, 68 years ago and raised as a product of the mores of the time and place, which is to say a Right Wing Whacko, Bigoted, Prejudiced Redneck, even at one time professing to be a "Hard-hat for Nixon", yet I was learning more than I realized. At the beginning of the Sixties, I went to work for the Gas Co. In Wash, D.C., where I found myself working in places I had only read about; "the Ghetto", or as we called it, "the Jungle". "Stay away from there, those people are animals, they’ll eat you alive!" I was told. Although it took a few years to assimilate it, I learned a few things about Good People. It doesn’t matter if they are rich or poor, but I had many, many more experiences with poor Good People than among the affluent. The poor would almost always: 1)Offer me something to eat, if it wasn’t mealtime they would offer to make it for me. 2)If no food was offered, then the "brown paper bag that holds the bottle" was proffered for the pause that refreshes. 3) Offer me a seat, to "rest a spell". Never in the Ghetto was I told : "The Servant’s and Tradesman’s entrance is in the rear." I think that anyone who went there to help was treated well, point being, we are blessed to have here in Alberton, more than our share of Good People.
I am sad to say that we have lost one of Alberton’s finest Good People today, one of our Town Fathers and Musician Extraordinaire, George Roat. George was among the first and finest persons I met 29 years ago and he was always ready to lend a helping hand. He did his share and much more to help keep the town running, served as Fire Chief quite a few years, built a few bridges, picked and sang a lot of tunes. I can’t say that he never sang his song but I can close my eyes and see it clearly........ Hank, Rudy, Clancy Tim and George are tuning up now.
Good People are where you find them, I wish we could keep them in Alberton forever. At least the memories will remain. dd

gno rant

The Alberton Papers Vol. VII, # IV By Dick Darne 9-21-08"What the heck are you doing here this early in the morning, Gno?" asked a voice from the tank"Oh, just thought I’d try a cup of your much touted ‘thinking-brew’", replied Gno. "What’s happening around Alberton these days?""Well, nothing much until a few weeks ago, when we had a barfight escalate into assorted assaults, insults and donnybrooks, some arrested, some cited, some still on the loose, people on both sides alarmed, not possessing all the facts and rumors running rampant." answered Bill."Where’s the law and courts on all this?" asked Gno."Funny you asked," said Bill. "At times it looks like a re-run of an old ‘Keystone Cops’ episode""Or Barney Fife on steroids." someone hollered from the back."I remember when I was a young buck, even when you were locked up for your ‘wild and wooly shenanigans’ you still respected the sheriff, not to mention that he knew you, your folks, their folks and all your friends." said Bill."Kinda like ‘community-based law enforcement’ way before the phrase was coined," added Johnny."I blame the barfight that spread into the streets and homes of Alberton on the President," Gno said as he poured a cup of hot coffee."Gratuitous acclamation at this point," said Todd, "Why not offer us your argument?"Gno sat down with a sigh, sipped his coffee, made a face of mild disbelief as he looked at the dark liquid, then began, "It must be obvious to people now how the corporate mindset of "hostile takeover" spread with the CEO's to government. And although we all know that the behavior of some people leads to a certain kind of leadership, it will soon be obvious that certain masses of people imitate the leadership."Consider the attitude of King George the Bush toward law."If we ever get him to the Hague, I believe his argument may go something like this: 'Under the auspices of the quaint legal instrument historically referred to as the Geneva Convention -- specifically articles concerned with war crimes -- our actions do not fall under the terms of crimes against humanity, insofar as terrorists have no legal standing as citizens of any country; therefore they are not citizens of the global community. It is regrettable, but they therefore cede any claim to treatment as human beings. We can torture them with impunity." 'As far as crimes against the Constitution, let me ask you this. If a law is changed by my pet congress to permit the actions of my administration after I have allegedly broken the former law, how can I be guilty of breaking it? Besides, who gives a damn about the Fourth Amendment?' "Gno took another sip of the coffee, then resumed, "I conclude: the danger of this sort of thinking is the danger of non-fallibility. In 1765 Sir William Blackstone wrote, 'That the King can do no wrong is a necessary and fundamental principle of the English constitution.' King George the Bush and his administration are in effect saying they are above the law. And I believe that if the leadership has no respect for the law, how in the world can the leadership expect us to respect the law?"Gno shook his empty cup over the hot stove. The few remaining drips sizzled. "Are you reusing your grounds?""We compost the heck out of ‘em! No wusses shall drink our elixir before it’s time."