St. Louis Federal Reserve - A Depressing Graph

Accounting 101 - In a fiscally-sensitive entity such as a business or government, you should be frightened by any graph that look like this: [source]


In case the image is too blurry, this graph represents the amount of money (Billions) available at the St. Louis Federal Reserve as of July 1, 2008. Thank you Mr. Bush.

Kayak.com

Hello all! I'm back from John Alexander's wedding in Minneapolis, Minnesota. What a great city and great trip. Congrats to John & Emily.

Alright, back to business....

Kayak.com isn't exactly in the paddle boat business. It's actually an amazing site for cheap airline tickets (props to my friend Brent Lowen for pointing it out). Simple and easy to use, the site allows you to search 140+ travel sites for the cheapest flight. Filter by time and date....boom...done.

RIAA Kills Muxtape

Muxtape is currently down. The unique and pleasantly simplistic, mixtape-based music streaming service is down to sort out a few legal issues with the Recording Industry Association of America. I've written about Muxtape in the past and applauded their ideal user interface and the deceptively simple basis for their service. Let's hope they're back up soon.

Pulling The Plug On Television

Yes, I am one of those pretentious bastards who loves to tell you they don't watch TV. My apologies. But seriously, it is the greatest decision I've made in a long time and I would challenge you to think outside of the box with me for a minute.

I have been glued to that thing for years - almost hypnotized really. The Hills, Full House, 24, freaking Antique Road Show...didn't matter as long as I was watching SOMETHING. However, I've broken free and things are sunny and beautiful on the other side.

Here are 5 reasons I love my TV free life:

1. No Commercials

I haven't seen the stats, but you've got to admit that commercials are out of control. It seems like 50% of your time is just being manipulated into buying something.

2. More Time

My days seem longer.

3. More Social

Life without TV to entertain me started off pretty boring. Then I started hanging out with friends that I normally wouldn't be in touch with for a glass of wine or whatever came up. Hanging out with people is much more entertaining.

4. Guitar

I play 50 million times more guitar than I did as a TV addict. My latest jams have been the Traveling Wilburys "Handle with Care", other Tom Petty songs, a little Beatles, Zeppelin, etc.

5. No Fear

Honestly, I think the news and other media were just freaking me out. Bombs going off, fires, death...it looks like the whole world is falling apart when in actuality we are living in the safest time in history. Of course I still here about these things online, but it's nice to feel like everything is pretty good again.

Give it a shot!

Would Robin Hood Give Money To Drug Dealers?

Here is a post from an anonymous blogger asking the question "How much is enough?" Hollywood has used child films to advance this socialist agenda of redistributing wealth. Should I subsidize health care for murderers, sex offenders, & drug dealers? Should these people not pay one penny for the roads & bridges they drive on? Or should they contribute at least SOMETHING? Read on...

"If Senator Obama becomes President Obama, my taxes will go up... way up. But I know neither Argentina nor anyone else will cry for me, because I am the rich guy Al Gore warned you about—the one that got all those tax cuts from the evil Bush administration.

Yes, I am part of the one percent of Americans that paid an astounding 40% of all federal income tax in 2006. According to recently released IRS figures, about 50% of my fellow Americans paid no federal income tax at all that year. My fellow one-percenters and I covered for them. But, for some, it is still not enough.

Senator Obama believes in "income redistribution," a concept practiced by Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest. Like Robin, Obama wants to take from the rich and give to the not-so-rich. He wants to raise taxes big time on those making $250,000 or more.

That means that if you live in New York and earn a quarter of a million bucks, you could be paying close to half of your income in taxes. Even Robin Hood might find that somewhat extreme.

And then there's the accountability factor. Without being forced by the federal government, I give plenty of cash to folks who need a hand. But I check out the charities before the check goes in the mail. I make sure my donations go directly to people who, through no fault of their own, find themselves in difficult circumstances.

Will Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid do that when the massive income redistribution train gets ready to roll? No, they will not.

President Obama and a Democratic congress will likely dole out entitlements like free health care, child care and cash payments to anyone who falls under a certain income level, no matter what their circumstance. That means that people who drink gin all day long will be getting some of my hard-earned money. Folks who dropped out of school, who are too lazy to hold a job, and who smoke reefer 24/7 will all get some goodies in the mail from Uncle Barack and Aunt Nancy, funded by me and other rich folks.

There will be no drug testing, no background checks, no accountability for those receiving the government's largesse. If you're an American citizen (or even an illegal alien) who doesn't make much money, you'll get stuff.

There is something unsettling about that. Under the Republican Bush administration, tax money presently pays for abortions, Viagra, condoms, sugar-laden food, dangerous housing in blighted neighborhoods and prescription drugs that will send you to the land of Oz.

But if you complain about any of this, you're an uncharitable greedhead.

Well, I am complaining. I don't want my money supporting some layabout who wants to get high all day long. Robin Hood wouldn't give those people money. The feds shouldn't either."

Couer D'Alene

Well, I'm finally back from a much needed vaca to Coure D'Alene, ID (who would've thought Idaho could be so amazing??). If you enjoy boating, wake boarding, hiking, and generally being outdoors, this is a great spot to hit up. Oprah, John Elway, Lance Armstrong and many other high profile types have 2nd, 3rd, or in Oprah's case, 50th homes there. It's about an hours drive from Spokane Washington's airport so it's fairly easy access.

Chris did his usual stellar job of objectively pointing out the flaws in each of our political parties....make sure to check out his blogs below!

I had completely forgotten the power of removing myself from society with limited access to the outside world. No cell phone, no work calls, no traffic. I'm recharged and ready to rock & roll once again! Obviously, I'm aware that our readers are looking forward to the return of my right wing politics, general bitterness, & investment analysis. Rest assured, the goods are on the way!