Two Hospitals - Two Visitors

Just thought I would let you know about the experience of two hospitals recently. One is in a brand new hospital in Derby, England. The other is in a hospital in North Carolina. Each reports of several hospital personnel seeing spiritual visitors. But that is where the similarity ends.

Here is a link. Sources at the hospital in Derby report this:

"I don't want to scare anyone any more than necessary, but felt it was best I made you all aware of the situation and what we are doing about it.
"I've spoken to the Trust's chaplain and she is going to arrange for someone from the cathedral to exorcise the department."
One source told The Sun: "There have been dozens of sightings over recent weeks and people are scared witless.
"Several have seen a male figure cloaked from head to toe in black darting between rooms and through walls - especially in departments near the morgue.
"It's affected morale so much that bosses decided they had to act."

Oooooh man! That is worse than worrying about catching a staff infection. That’s a brand new hospital, too. Talk about ruining the grand opening!


But then there is the hospital in North Carolina. This is a Christmas day story. There are several You Tube stories on it. This is the most complete.



Let the video encourage you. The little girl was pulled off of life support. The death angel was probably lurking that hallway as well. But its purpose was trumped by the this being that was so bright that the light reflected off the floor.

Now is this something new? I think the new thing is the Internet. We are able to share and learn of these things instantaneously. I think these phenomena have always been with us. Don't you?

Time to Realize What Just Happened

Well now I am impressed. They did it. President Obama signs it today. He flies Air Force 1 into Denver and with as much fanfare as they can create, President Obama ratifies the largest tax increase that citizens of this planet have ever seen. With it, we in America have come full circle.

Remember your history? Remember, prior to this nation being founded a small incident in Boston Harbor? It was quite frankly insignificant. But it stood for a principle that turned out to be the start of a whole new standard that changed the world. Men stormed on board an English freighter, grabbed the shipment of English tea and threw it into the harbor. The famous cry of “No taxation without representation!” resounded and was forever remembered.

Think about what happened with the Stimulus Bill. “Stimulus?” It was the largest taking of citizen’s income in the history of the planet. It diverts more of our future income, directing it to the U.S. Treasury for its purposes. I remember, prior to the election that so many people were concerned that Obama was in favor of that socialist belief of redistribution of wealth. “That’s ridiculous!” was the reply. This spending package is the greatest redistribution of wealth that has ever happened in the earth’s entire history. And it was done by a Congress and Senate voting on a document that they did not even read. No taxation without representation! The Democratic leadership had no interest in anyone being able to read ahead of time what they were voting on. Our representatives did not have an opportunity to represent us. The casting of their votes was meaningless.

I believe that arrogance of power is the only reason a leader would do what Obama and King George did. Why did they impose their absolute power over their people? Because they could. I believe it fooled King George into thinking that his actions would have no consequences; that the people he was imposing his will on were powerless to stand up for themselves. They did stand up for themselves. Let us hope that this generation still has some of the principles and courage that our ancestors had.

A Marriage in Trouble

I have heard of some marriages like this. The courting was great. The romance was great. The wedding plans were great. The wedding was spectacular. Wedding album showed all the right photos.The plans they made for their marriage are wonderful. Now that they have come home from the honeymoon things just don't seem right. Then over the next few weeks, you get clues that things are not right. In your head you start hearing "Doo doo doo doo" (twilight zone music).

I'm getting the same clues regarding the Obama Presidency. On the surface this thing looks ideal. Great inaugural photos. Supporters are in denial. But the signals lately are not good. Obama's brain trust fails to answer the call because they don't pass the simple test of paying taxes. (Don't even go there about the "high bar". Paying your taxes is the lowest step these people couldn't get over.) Obama farms out the authorship of the Stimulus Package bill to big spending liberal Nancy Pelosi and it comes in looking like a San Francisco shopping spree. He then sends Geithner, his money guru to Capital Hill and the poor guy literally gets laughed out of the room.

In Whist or Bridge if the person in the lead has an Ace -10 and he suspects his partner has the King then he leads his 10 first. The opposition puts his Jack on the 10 and it looks good for him until the partner hits it with his King. With the King comes the inevitable taunt "You sent a boy to do a man's job!" It's beginning to look like that in Washington.

Democrats can respond that they were successful in getting the Stimulus Bill passed and things are going their way. But when you look harder, the reality of America isn't just summed up in the 61-37 vote in the Senate. America also consists of its people, and polls of people show a different percentage mix. And just as importantly, America consists of its GNP - of the collective businesses and production capacity. That isn't measured in polls, unless you call the stock market a poll. And it just gave a huge thumbs down. Doo-doo-doo-doo . . . .

Obama had to go back into campaign mode to try to muster up poll support for the stimulus package. He gave the microphone to a woman who pleaded for a kitchen and a bathroom. He gave it to a McDonald's employee who wanted better benefits. It apparently worked well enough to get the Senators to approve the Bill. But I predict that this form of extreme (and extremely dishonest) media manipulation will become ineffective if he tries it again. I think he just spent a very big portion of his political capital on this. Three weeks into his term of office. Things are not like we were lead to believe. They can posture and grandstand all they want. This marriage is in trouble.

Understanding Matthew and the TARP Funds

Wow - read the comments from my last few posts!

The Bible gives a great parable in Matthew 25:14-30. Jesus told this parable right after his triumphal entry. Given some assets of different sizes, three people were told to put it to work. It tells of two who invested and got returns and the third one who simply hid his money for fear of losing it. When the Master returned he took the money from the one who could do nothing with it and gave it to the one who knew how to use it.

Congress passed the TARP Fund Bill in record time. The original premise was that the bank regulators would buy bad loans (assets) from hemorrhaging banks to get them off the banks' books. But very soon into this plan the Regulators (FDIC) had to admit that they were not prepared to take on these assets. You see, we are not talking about notes and mortgages here, we are talking about houses and their owners, buildings, land, and stores, etc. Real physical properties that all needed real hands-on property management, people management teams. The FDIC consists of accountant types in expensive suits. What to do?

Perhaps FDIC should come up with a remedy like the Master did in the parable. Perhaps the FDIC should simply give the TARP money to the working banks and tell them to go buy out the unhealthy ones with all their bad loans. After all, we know how to manage the physical assets that their bad loans represent. My Bank did get TARP money. Please understand why we got it and take a big hint from me as to what we are to do with it. (I cannot discuss this beyond what I have said here).

PS

I like to gripe about the frustration of the times and I will likely continue to do so. It helps to give you an inside look at what I see. Anonymous knows me and so does OrangRecneps. We still have a picture of his 3 wonderful children on our refrigerator. Perhaps Kevin understands best. He once informed a commenter that posting an opposing argument to me was like peeling a banana for a gorilla.

It's all good and I love the interaction.

Let's Talk About Greed Some More

My last few posts have generated some replies that have shown the volatility of the issues at hand. I titled my last post "Greed". I was incensed that a preacher told his congregation that we were in this situation because of banker greed. I guess some agreed with that. My unstated point was that we bankers have been easy targets for that disingenuous remark.

My point in previous posts has been that we do not need government to fix these problems, especially by such heavy-handed interference.

Who comes to my rescue but Milton Friedman in a great 1979 Phil Donahue interview. The name of the video is "Greed"



Friedman's last questions for Donahue are the question for Obama supporters. I believe dim-wit Donahue even understood for a moment.

Greed

The other night on TV I saw a preacher giving a highly emotional sermon about the financial troubles of today. If I heard it correctly, he said he asked God about the reasons for the financial crisis and then was reminded that greedy bankers had taken advantage of poor people by making them home loans. They had no ability to pay them back, causing the disaster. I of course had heard that version many times but I had not heard anyone claim that he got that information from God. At the same time that I asked God if he really told the man that, the camera panned the congregation and I saw that it was obviously a group that was hearing exactly what they wanted to hear. They were all nodding their approval as he shouted out his revelation.

I have been immersed in this specific issue for my entire career. Much of my younger career was spent defending my profession against the charge that these greedy bankers simply would not lend money to poor people who needed houses. I never understood that charge because lending is all about income and credit, not about politics and race.

But now we are being blamed for just the opposite and yes, our motivation is that we are still greedy.

Now I am not going to defend all banks and all their decisions on how they lent. But I am a firm believer in things coming full circle when it comes to real estate lending. Real estate is technically a commodity. It is what they call a "hard asset". When you lend to a business, you are lending based on many intangibles (the business's reputation, its management philosophy, its brand recognition, etc). But hard assets are always about simply supply and demand. Politics can mess with supply and demand for a while, but the value of hard assets tends to self-correct over time. It is now in the self-correcting mode.

What happened between the time that greedy bankers shamefully refused to lend to poor people and the time when greedy bankers shamefully lent to poor people? A lot of politics happened. Gaining votes happened. Votes used to be worth a chiken in every pot. Then the value went up to a car in every driveway. Finally it became the driveway, itself.

How that equates to banker greed, I have no idea.

No Stimulus!!!

Thursday night, President Obama reminded Democrats in Congress in a speech that he won the election and that fact gives him a mandate to solve our financial crisis. He urged Congress to listen to him rather than listen to his constituency and pass the Stimulus Package.

Friday, it appears that three liberal Republicans caved based on a few adjustments in the bill and promised to vote for the bill giving the Democrats enough votes. However, I do not think this is over. According to Senators they are being besieged by calls, emails, and petitions against the stimulus.

I know that the best cure for our current situation is simply to allow our businesses the time to climb out, themselves. I also know that the Democrats cannot ignore the opportunity to bring European type socialism to the United States. I believe we need to resist this at all costs.

What to do:

At the very least, go to this website and sign the petition. There is even a place to add your comment if you wish. NO STIMULUS !!!

What a Honeymoon

There is just too much coming at us too fast. Here is the Administration that was supposed to bring real intelligence, skill, and ethics in to run the country. Like the smartest Captain ever, with great fanfare, Obama finally got to sit at the controls and expertly pilot our ship into the air. But with this take off, it looks more like another plane headed for the Hudson River.

Remember just prior to the election Joe Biden wagging his finger while making the absurd announcement that paying more taxes was more patriotic than paying less taxes? Well, the new Administration and its fawning press want you to forget that one.

Remember Obama saying he would not hire lobbyists into his administration? Uh - forget that, too.

When asked in a private moment by Chris Wallace what his biggest realization about Presidency was, Obama replied that at this level, all decisions are big ones. Ksnorghph! (sorry, I just snorted coffee up my nose). Oh really? Ya think?

Here is a run-down of some issue that were recognizable prior to the election and are now rearing their ugly heads.

1. In his short career in the Illinois State Legislature and the U.S. Senate Obama's favorite decision was to refrain from voting. He would vote "present" when roll call votes took place. It was an obvious cop-out strategy. That way he actually kept himself from having to defend a stand or position. Not the best training for his current job.

2. During his campaign Obama simply surrounded himself with people who would not provide cogent opposing arguments to his positions. Well . . . POOF!! That umbrella of protection is gone! It's the real world now. Over the last eight years, many Democrat positions were merely based on being anti-President. Many of their arguments were petty and political. The only reason they had traction was because the media loved to publish anything that was anti-President. Now Obama has to come up with real solutions, not just anti-Bush rhetoric. He admits, that is really hard to do.

3. Part of Obama's big sell was the promise that he would create a team measured by a "high ethical bar". Does anyone remember that Blago ran a campaign that promised a "high bar" based on the fact that the previous Illinois Governor was being prosecuted for corruption? Let's face reality here. Democrats, especially Chicago Democrats have rendered the "high bar" rhetoric meaningless. So far, all we have seen is shameless liars and tax cheats who seem oblivious to what the term means.

4. Obama's idea of International Relations with hostile countries is based on his collaborative nature. He wants to use the force of his personality to have a chance to present reasonable common ground. I work for a pretty large company with over a thousand employees. In a situation like this, a collaborative way of operating is good. But as Dick Cheney warned just today, there are people (leaders of very dangerous countries) who have no interest being collaborative with us. They oppose us with every breath they take. One of the horrors of WWII was the Kamikaze pilots; people who would do the unthinkable just to destroy as many of us as they could. We are now faced with regimes that use that tactic as their standard offensive weapon. They believe that blowing themselves up in the middle of a grade school classroom full of our children would be an ideal fulfillment of their life. Obama needs to get it through his thick skull that they view his collaborative overtures as stupidly naive. They chortle at the recognition of reality that our new leader is clueless about their intent and purpose.

5. His lack of respect for our military is just catastrophic. Obama is the first President since the tradition started to shun a banquet on Inauguration night honoring our Congressional Medal of Honor recipients. Not only that, but during his campaign, Obama shunned our wounded soldiers when he could have visited them in Germany, choosing to get a good workout instead. One of the things that Obama and his supporters couldn't comprehend is the fact that under Bush, many military personnel would simply re-up at the end of their tour of duty. To the Lefts way of thinking, we should have run out of military personnel at the middle of the campaign because no one in their right mind would waste their time, much less risk their lives fighting for democracy in the Middle East. But not only did we not run out of military personnel, they got better and better because the experience level became very high under the Bush Presidency. That is about to change. Look for a real crisis to happen now regarding maintaining numbers. The military is now Obama's military. It's an all volunteer military. Obama can switch things around and make sure that the Generals who think like him take over. But with no one to lead, they will be in big trouble. . . BIG . . . TROUBLE !!

6. Lastly, the bail-out fiasco. I believe this has the makings of a disaster for all Democrats in Washington. The huge Bail-out Bill has so many pages of pet Democratic projects that it will become the document that supplies everything needed by their opponents in the upcoming elections. Every Democratic Congressman and 1/3 of the Democratic Senators are very vulnerable here. Republicans have two years to find objectionable spending sprees that have been hidden in this bill. If Obama can convince the people that the Republicans are obstructionist and get the bill passed, it will become an albatross around Obama's neck.

7. OK - this is lastly. I have detected a theme from Obama. He wants Republicans and the conservative media to give him a chance. His message to them all is for all to be fair. The stakes are too high. Go easy on him. Go easy on his Administration. You mean like he did on Bush? The stakes were just as high. Did you detect a desire from the Democrats or their press to give Bush a chance? They were fully intent on taking him down. They opposed him every way they could, putting party politics ahead American soldiers lives and our Country's success. Now they want fair play?

8. Here is the last: This one is a longer term mistake, but it is real, nonetheless. Global Warming. Obama was quick to establish that his Administration is made up of true believers. It's a loser. He will have to eat his words on that, too. He had a real chance here to just say, "lets take one more look at the science." But no! He just trots along with the other lemmings on this one. That will prove to be a humongous mistake. The science supporting man-made Global Warming has been refuted. The issue of Global Warming ranks dead last among all issues by the public. The remedies for Global Warming are needless and expensive.

This is Barrack Obama's honeymoon. It will not get any better than this for him.