Wednesday, May 13, 2009

The Health Industry Capitulation - This Sure Ain't No Pythagorean Theorem



This week Obama announced that members of the doctors, pharmaceutical, hospital and insurance industry involved in health care have agreed to give up 1 1/2% of their future price increases. Man would I like to be a hero for giving up 1 1/2% of what I don't even have and may never get.

That is a slick math move like many we have already witnessed from these clever craftsmen of New World economics. We are going to save $2 trillion over the next ten years in health care costs, $2 trillion in price increases that haven't even been approved. Is that a negative attitude or what. If you buy the language we already have the 7% a year in price increases guaranteed for the next ten years.


Obama isn't even going to be president for ten years unless that is another law they intend to disregard. Anyway, the problem with health care is that we already have the most expensive system in the world and still 46 million Americans don't have health care and we are far from the healthiest people on Earth. I guess money not only can't buy you love but it can't buy you quality health care either.


Now 12 million of the 46 million uninsured are illegal aliens. Most already have insurance so we really should not count them as uninsured. Of course the liberals still think our social programs are inadequate but they don't understand how many people have already figured out how to take advantage of the programs.

Another 10 million uninsured are college students but they could be covered by family or school insurance programs. That leaves 20 million Americans really uninsured, not 46 million. In spite of the generous cut in future increases by the health industry, it means health care costs will still increase by billions of dollars a year in the most expensive but not the best health care program in the world.

If the program is already too expensive then cut the budget, don't let it increase. Believe it or not that is how you get budgets into balance. Obama has got a 1 1/2% reduction in future costs leaving a 5.5% annual cost increase that he says is acceptable. He has asked for $750 billion more in health care spending next year alone.

So why is it costing us billions more to reduce the cost of health care? I say a 7% annual increase on top of the astounding increase in health care costs the past two decades is ridiculous. Just eliminate the 7% we don't even have and cut the fraud, corruption and waste in what is here right now. We should be able to cut the budget and still expand coverage to everyone. Does that sound too American and not enough socialist, I mean liberal?





If you really want to cut health care costs stop prescribing prescription drugs to our children and seniors and we can save billions. Do you know the average senior in America has 6-8 drug prescriptions? Then there are estimates that up to 6 million kids are taking Ritalin prescriptions for attention deficit disorder though less than half that number have been diagnosed with the problem.

Prescribing unnecessary drugs does have a multiplying effect in terms of a stimulus program however. The excessive payment to the pharmaceutical company that makes it, the payment and/or kick back to the doctor who prescribes it, the insurance company for processing fees for the claim, why even the patient who is transformed into a Zombie by the tranquil illusion from the drug.
You could eliminate half the cost of prescription drugs and have no effect on the health of the patients. Better still go to a Medicine Man or Woman and actually get healed. What a concept!



Monday, May 11, 2009

Preakness Week in Maryland



Leg two of the triple crown of horse racing moves to Pimlico in Maryland for the Preakness this Saturday. If the Kentucky Derby is the pride of the southern aristocrats and the Belmont in New York is the pride of New York, the Hamptons, Cape Cod and New England Eastern society then the Preakness is surely the pride of the beer drinking college party crowd.

Very strange things are happening, however, that may forever doom the Animal House image like the State of Maryland said no one can bring their own cooler full of beer this year. Last year 126 people were thrown out of the infield for disorderly conduct while six were arrested. Kids may not want to spend the big bucks for Preakness beer so they might not show up.

There is the theme, "the People's Race - the People's Party." That sounds like words out of the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx. Then again a state like Maryland might want to impress the new liberal Democrats in control of our nation's capitol. We may find out soon if they are the people's party.




You see there is a filly named Rachel Alexandra who has won 5 straight stakes races. The owners kept her out of the Kentucky Derby and ran her in the Kentucky Oaks for fillies instead. She won by 20+ lengths. The only way she can race in the Preakness is if other eligible horses do not run.

Twenty horses ran in the Derby. Only 14 are allowed to run in the Preakness. There were 13 triple crown horses committed to run leaving one opening if no other eligible horses filed to run. Along comes Rachael whose new owner wants her in with the big boys.

Suddenly the owners of horses eligible but not running are being called by owners in the race and asked to enter their horse in the Preakness, even if they didn't intend to run, so Rachael would not get in the field of fourteen. It seems the filly has some of the money people scared she may distort the odds and blow away any chance Derby winner Mind that Bird has for a triple crown.



Television ratings are everything. It has been 31 years since we had a triple crown winner, the longest stretch in history. During those years eleven horses won the first two, (Derby and Preakness) but lost in the Belmont. Big money wants to keep Rachael out while the People want her in.

If Rachael gets denied the chance to race it will be a result of skullduggery and collusion on the part of owners in the race. That would be a big blow to the liberal Democrats, media and Obama backers who are the self-proclaimed protectors of the "people's party". I say give the filly a chance to prove herself.

On the other hand this could all be a contrived media act to manipulate the odds as if Rachael gets in the race she will be a 1-1 favorite over all the guys. The odds on all the rest of the field will go up meaning more money will be made if any beat Rachael. The TV Ratings will increase, they are already sliding, if there is some new drama in the plot.


To top it all off, there will be a show in the infield to distract the college kids from realizing they are paying a fortune for beers. There will be man's favorite Olympic competition, Women's Beach Volleyball with the bikini clad bronzed babes like Misty May Treanor and Kerri Walsh, USA Olympic champions.




Add to that a concert by ZZ Top and a couple of other rock groups, all on the infield with the volleyball babes and thousands of drunk kids and you might think you just dropped acid, I mean, you were supposed to be at a horse race in Maryland and wound up in a flashback at Woodstock.

I'm for Rachael.



Friday, May 08, 2009

Coltons Point Times Financial Articles



Because of interest in the financial articles previously posted and the fact they are running on dozens of other web sites including Ron Paul's home page the following is a listing of all the previously released stories from the Coltons Point Times on Wall Street, Capitol Hill, the White House, the Rothschilds, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, the trillionaires, oil price conspiracy, credit crisis, bank bailout, sub-prime mortgages and related actions causing our economic meltdown and recovery.
A painting of prayers with the Rothschilds.

Click on the link and enjoy the articles that tens of thousands of people have been reading.

The Obama Goldman Rothschild Update - The Trillionaire Puppet Masters at Work


The deeper we dig into the world economic chaos the clearer the picture becomes that what has happened the past two years in the international economic meltdown could be a strategic move to solidify control of the US and world economies. For three years this paper has projected market manipulations underway that resulted in the near collapse of world economies. From the sub-prime mortgages to oil and commodity price manipulations, swaps and derivatives to a credit crash, a cascading series of unlikely events sent the world to the brink of economic disaster.


In the process regulatory agencies were proven to be toothless when it came to enforcement, Congress was inept in identifying problems or solutions, hundreds of millions of dollars were poured into political campaigns from Obama to our congressional leaders while behind the scenes the puppet masters were busy carrying out the script. This week the long awaited bank stress test results were released and surprise, surprise, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs continue to separate themselves from the rest of the world.


The world economy may have been on the precipice of disaster but these two companies benefited in ways it will take years to assess and one has to wonder why? If you followed the series of articles in the Coltons Point Times you would have known. You can see the index of the Economic articles in the recent past at the Coltons Point Times http://coltonspointtimes.blogspot.com/ .
House of Rothschild Family Crest


Let's examine where we are today. First, the Rothschilds control JP Morgan as they have for most of the past century along with an astounding number of major banks, brokers and corporations around the world. Then it is no surprise that in terms of the Market Cap on investment banking institutions in America JP Morgan stands alone with over $130 billion. They along with Goldman also had the highest ratings in the bank stress test and do not need any additional capital.


Behind Morgan comes Wells Fargo $99.16 billion (Warren Buffett is a substantial investor), Bank of America $69.39 billion but dropping, and Goldman Sachs at $64.37 billion (Warren Buffett is also a savior of that bank). Bank of America was the worst of all banks but not bad all the same and Wells does need to raise some capital.


How about the stock prices the past year. JP Morgan lost 27.8% of value, Goldman Sachs lost 31.6% of value and Wells Fargo lost 22.5% of value. All outperformed the markets which are still down about 40-42%. In the banking sector Bank of America lost 73.6% of value and Citigroup lost 87.3% of value. Most important, since Obama got elected our golden boys JP Morgan and Goldman both more than doubled in value to lead the economic rebound.


During the past year virtually all the competition to the golden buys disappeared, Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers were wiped out, companies that were founded in 1923, 1914 and 1850. All other major competitors were left broken like Bank of America and Citigroup.


Goldman probably owes it's survival to the fact it has long served as a front or partner with JP Morgan, meaning the Rothschild empire, just as the JP Morgan company survived by being a front for the Rothschild family. While Morgan has a market cap of over $130 billion, the Rothschild fortune is estimated to be as high as $200 trillion, not billion. That is more than the annual budgets of every nation on earth, actually more than every nation's budget on earth combined. The largest budget by far is the USA at $3.44 trillion with $11.2 trillion in debt, pocket change to the Rothschild family.


If the Rothschilds are the puppet masters of the world Goldman is their star puppet being in the forefront of every major financial catastrophe in recent history and benefiting each time. They secretly backed Obama well before he was a candidate for President and have been getting dividends on their investment ever since.

Both Morgan and Goldman got billions in bank bail out money from the last Administration, approved by Congress and approved by Senator Obama. Neither needed or ever used it. Since becoming President Obama gave billions to bail out AIG and AIG turned around and paid off billions in debt owed to Morgan and Goldman. How do these things happen under the very nose of Congress and federal regulators?


Look at the record of where former Goldman executives have settled. Here is just a partial list and it makes you wonder if Goldman Sachs is controlling Wall Street and Washington?

Henry H. Fowler - 58th United States Treasury Secretary (1965-1969)
Robert Rubin - Former United States Treasury Secretary, ex-Chairman of Citigroup.
Henry Paulson - Former United States Treasury Secretary.
Edward Lampert- Hedge Fund Manager of ESL Investments. Brought K-Mart out of Bankruptcy in 2003
Joshua Bolten - former White House Chief of Staff
Erin Burnett - CNBC Host
Jon Corzine - Governor of the State of New Jersey.
Michael Cohrs - Head of Global Banking at Deutsche Bank
Emanuel Derman - Author of My Life as a Quant and co-developer of the Black-Derman-Toy
model
Jim Cramer - founder of TheStreet.com, best selling author, and host of Mad Money on CNBC
Ashwin Navin - President and co-founder of BitTorrent, Inc.
Abby Joseph Cohen - Perma-bull market forecaster formerly of Drexel Burnham Lambert
George Herbert Walker IV - member of the Bush family and current managing director at Neuberger Berman
Robert Zoellick - Uniteed States Trade Representative (2001-2005), Deputy Secretary of State (2005-2006), World Bank President.
Mark Carney - Current Governor of the Bank of Canada
Michael D. Fascitelli - President & Trustee of Vornado Realty Trust
Neel Kashkari - Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability
Charlie Haas - Wrestler, who is working for World Wreestling Entertainment
Malcolm Turnbull - Australian politician, currently the federal leader of the Liberal Party of Australia
John Thain - former Chairman and CEO, Merrill Lynch, and former chairman of the NYSE.
Thain was replaced at the NYSE by Goldman veteran Duncan Niederauer.
Robert Steel - Chairman and President, Wachovia Bank.
Reuben Jeffery III, Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs (2007-)
Romano Prodi, Prime Minister of Italy twice (1996-1998 and 2006-2008) and President of the European Commission (1999-2004)
Mario Draghi, governor of the Bank of Italy (2006- )
Massimo Tononi, Italian deputy treasury chief (2006-2008)

Goldman just hired former Barney Frank staffer Michael Paese to be top Washington lobbyist.
This position was formerly held by Mark Patterson, the current chief of staff at the Treasury.
Tim Geithner, Obama Secretary of Treasury was mentored by Gerald Corrigan, a former New York Fed president and current partner and managing director of the Office of the Chairman of Goldman Sachs. Geithner’s replacement as president of the New York Fed, William C. Dudley, is also a former Goldman executive

Ed Liddy, who the government appointed as CEO of AIG was Goldman’s vice chairman

Akshaya Prasad has left Goldman's and joined investment company Greater Pacific Capital as co-head of their Indian business.

Of course these high-level appointments are probably just coincidental. Just as it was probably coincidental that on September 15, 2008, then New York Fed president Tim Geithner pressed for AIG’s biggest counterparty, Goldman Sachs, to help the insurer raise capital after it became clear that AIG was at risk of going bankrupt. And that on the same day Goldman’s current CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, was at the New York Fed. And that Goldman ended up in receipt of about $12 billion in tax dollars thanks to AIG’s wholesale credit-default swap and after the government bail out.

Just today we learned that the chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Stephen J. Friedman, abruptly resigned on Thursday, days after the Wall Street Journal raised questions about his ties to his former employer, Goldman Sachs.
Mr. Friedman, who led or co-led Goldman from 1990 until 1994 and remains a director, was chairman of the New York Fed at the same time. He also held a substantial stake in the firm as the Federal Reserve drew up plans to keep Wall Street’s banks afloat.


Because the New York Fed approved a request by Goldman to become a bank holding company, the chairman’s involvement in Goldman was a violation of Fed policy, The Wall Street Journal reported. The New York Fed had asked for a waiver, which, after about two and a half months, the Fed granted, the newspaper said. During that time, Mr. Friedman bought 37,300 more Goldman shares, which have since risen $1.7 million in value.

In fact the control of the Rothschilds and Goldman are so complex the following is a chart tracking some of the Goldman connections.



As the world economy improves which it must for the golden boys to benefit maybe you should look carefully at our politicians and Wall Street executives and look closely for the puppet strings from the real Master.




Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Derby Day at the Point



The gang at Coltons Point gathered for the 135th Kentucky Derby with a bevy of hats and a flurry of long shots making it a most interesting ride. After the morning favorite scratched from the race it was wide open and the Pointer faithful managed to bet in a manner that had eight winners of the various pools.
Even Mary Poppins showed up...


Only in the Point could the results come out like they did as I, for one, picked a long shot West Side Bernie who finished ninth and I still won the pool for third place. It seems the handicapping of the crowd was lacking as no one picked 6 of the top 8 horses.


Then again even the pros had a tough day since the favorite at the time of the race finished 18 out of 19. The jaw-dropping winner, Mine That Bird, broke all the odds and almost all the records with the second highest payout in Derby history at 50-1 odds, paying $103.20 on a $2.00 bet.


A horse that sold for $9,500 racing against multi-million dollar horses. A trainer who broke his leg and hobbled around on crutches had to tow the Derby champion in a trailer on a 21 hour drive from New Mexico to get to Churchill Downs. Most horses come by chartered jet. A jockey not given a chance but who won the Derby two years ago on Street Sense simply could not believe the horse he was riding.

The high rollers were in town...

Back at the Point the hats were all the buzz and the participants were pretty buzzed themselves. Mint Juleps were everywhere as we learned more about the strange little horse. The trainer, Bennie "Chip" Woolley was an ex-rodeo cowboy who broke his leg in a motorcycle accident two months ago.



The owners were two New Mexico buddies, Mark Allen and Dr. Leonard Blach who purchased him in Canada of all places. You could not miss the cowboys with their bolo ties and cowboy hats. The jockey, Calvin Borel burst into tears as he crossed the finish line but had never seen the horse until the Monday before the race.

Winners of the hottest hat contest...


The owners didn't believe the little horse had a chance and the trainer almost left the grandstand halfway through the race when his horse was far behind the leaders and trailing the entire field of horses. And then the Gods of Churchill Downs stepped in and the horse was on fire blazing to a 6 3/4 length victory.


The Price of Being President

I guess it is too much to expect the new royalty of American politics to get it all right but at least we know they do make mistakes.

Like Michelle Obama addressing workers at a food program for the poor in $546 sneakers.



Or maybe what happens to our President when the teleprompter fails to work. Without the script he is just another clumsy speaker.



Of course there is also the next in line for the presidency, just plain Joe Biden.



Even the late night rulers have found fun with Obama on occasion.



Finally there was the top secret challenge between Obama and McCain to decide who would win the election, the Dance Off for President.



Have a good day.

A Video You Must Watch

Rarely does the internet provide us with something that can really influence your day in a positive way what with the politicians, media analysts and games but this is it. Check it out.



From the award-winning documentary, "Playing For Change: Peace Through Music", comes this version of Stand By Me recorded with various artists throughout the world. The Virtual Studio is a breath of fresh air.

Monday, May 04, 2009

Polar Pam Conquers South Pole


Here at Coltons Point we have some pretty famous people like Polar Pam who has been to the deep freeze of the South Pole a couple of times and we have the proof. The South Pole, in the heart of Antarctica, is the coldest, driest, windiest place on earth and Antarctica has the highest average elevation of any continent in the world. Winter temperatures can range from 90 to 130 below zero and that is pretty darn cold.




This is Polar Pam and her Sherpa guide preparing for the flight to the South Pole to visit the National Science Foundation research ice boxes down there. They made their way to the deep freeze through New Zealand and other exotic locales.

Here they are getting close to the Pole walking along a sidewalk that had just been shoveled as you can see from the pile of snow along the road. We estimate the snow is about 50 feet over her head at this point.



In the two shots above she is preparing for the final part of the journey after traveling by airplane with skiis and helicopter. The snow machine is needed to make it through the final part of the adventure. In the second photo she is hanging from the tail of a wrecked plane in the tundra demonstrating Antarktarobics, a strange form of physical workout when you spend too much time at a lonely research outpost. Below you see the adoring crowd of Penguins she is entertaining with her high flying act. It was a sell out crowd for her performance.


Above you see her welcomed to the South Pole and standing by the South Pole and now you know why it is the last place on earth you would ever want to go. No one is there. You can't even get a McDonalds. The Antarctic is the fifth largest continent on earth and maybe 5,000 people live there, mostly in steel huts buried in the snow. There is over 5.4 million square miles, 98% covered by ice.



In the upper photo she is in the Ice Box Bar and Grill where you make your own booze on those long lonely nights and endless days. As you can see in the next photo, it helps to speak a little Penguinese if you want to have any friends down there.

And finally, since she is at the very bottom of the world you can see her hanging off the bottom of the earth holding on for dear life in the last photo. Check out the feet flailing at the air. I doubt you will ever again see someone hanging off the bottom of the world like that and we thank her and her courage for undertaking such a death defying stunt.





Now don't you agree that Coltons Point has some most unusual natives of our own that have gone out and conquered some major places around the world. Polar Pam is now back in our nation's capitol and spends weekends in rehab here at the point. While she may occasionally break into a Penguin Break Dance you need not worry, no one notices here at the Point.

Friday, May 01, 2009

Secret Dance Ritual being Performed on Porch of St. Clements Lighthouse



There are certainly some odd things that happen in Coltons Point. If you have read any of the previous articles about Coltons Point you will understand. Like the time Stevie Van Zany took me on his sail boat to St. Clements Island, just 10-15 minutes away according to Zany.

We set sail, the wind pushed us back into the deck where the flag got stuck in the pier and when we finally really set sail I knew we were doomed. After the first hour of tacking, which means zig zagging across the wind, we were farther away from the island than we started on shore. We were making serious progress the opposite direction on a straight course for the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean.

Stevie assured me this was how a proven sail boat captain would swing out wide and then ride the tide or some such nonsense into the back side of the island. Remember, this island was not more than a quarter mile from the shore. I figured Zany decided he needed to swing out past the Florida peninsula far south to get to the island. I was wrong.


Two hours later we were staring at the island far in the distance only now we were on the other side up river. We stopped and tried to flag anyone down to tow us back to reality. Stationary buoys in the river kept floating past us, the same buoys over and over. Exhausted we collapsed on the deck of the sail boat with ice cold beers pouring down our throat and waited for the Potomac River to decide what to do with us. Finally a wind came and blew us back to shore a little over four hours from when the 10-15 minute adventure began.

Well last weekend I ran into Stevie Van Zany and he again offered me a boat ride to St. Clements Island. Sure thing. Only this time it would be in a motor boat. So we bounced across the smooth waters and reached the St. Clements Lighthouse in record time.


If you have not been there it is a real treat. In the summer guides are in the lighthouse to tell the visitors all kinds of stories about the history of St. Clements, Coltons Point and the Lighthouse. Most folks around here have no idea of the astounding events around the world that led to the landing of the English colonists on St. Clements Island 375 years ago.


That little island was the birthplace of religious freedom not just in America but throughout the world. A fort was built on it and the Island and Coltons Point are most likely the oldest continuously lived in settlement in colonial America.

So as we neared the island just before sun down when strange shadows are dancing all over it as we approached, we heard odd noises coming from the direction of the lighthouse. We left the boat and made our way to the lighthouse for a closer look and shot the following photo of some ancient ritual dance being performed by a modern day Messiah.



This secret society secret ritual was being performed on the porch of our beloved lighthouse by this nearly naked warrior or medicine man of old. If this is what goes on just after dark just think of what happens out here late in the midnight hours.


Anybody reading this really should pack your wallet and get down here to Coltons Point and experience life in the land of Oz right here in the Southern Maryland tidewater region. See if you can find the incredible missing history of St. Clements Island and Manor for yourself. If you do come check the expiration dates of the food in our only general store before you buy it. Sometimes it seems the store is a historic preservation site already.


In 1883 Coltons Point was one of the most popular summer resorts in the Eastern United States with four hotels including one on the island, a beer garden on the island, and dancing on the huge pavilion under the night sky overlooking the 7 mile wide Potomac River. Every week steamboats from Baltimore and our nation's capitol brought hoards of city folk looking to escape the world. Maybe the magic can be recaptured once again?




Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Kentucky Derby Time!!!


Pictured Derby Longshot Desert Party

My favorite time of the year, the first Saturday in May and the annual running of the Fastest Two Minutes in Sports, the Kentucky Derby. This is the 135th year of the Derby making it the oldest major sporting event in America and this year promises even more as there may be a favorite, but it is not overwhelming. That means anything can happen which is normal for the Derby anyway as the horse least likely to win is the pre-race favorite.

This year I Want Revenge is the favorite but he is not an overwhelming favorite. So I am going to take the approach that tradition will dominate and the favorite won't win. Horses like Dunkirk, Pioneer of the Nile and Friesan Fire all could win and will all have low odds. But I think this year will be different so I am going with the long shots.

I think the race will be between two such long shots, Desert Party and West Side Bernie and if I am right it will be a sizzling finish. West Side Bernie will probably push the lead throughout the race and Desert Party will remain in the pack. If Desert Party (15-1) is patient and remembers his roots, he could be the winner. Though from Dubai and having lost his last race against another horse from Dubai, Regal Ransom, both were bred in Kentucky.

Pictured Derby Longshot West Side Bernie

However, if West Side Bernie, a much longer shot in the early odds (30-1) does not get pinned between horses while challenging for the lead he could grab the trophy and Bed of Roses right out from under all the favorites. If Bernie gets an outside pole position it will make him even stronger. Now those of you who believe one long shot is crazy, two long shots are downright insane, well you may be right.

But I happen to think the Derby is always capable of a surprise. Winner - West Side Bernie, and Runner up Desert Party.