The Games People Play Part 4 - Voodoo Economics - Who Loses?

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Oh the Games People Play Now

Every night and every day now

Never meaning what they say now

Never saying what they mean now

Where is Dr. Who when you need him?  We gotta get out of this place...

There are a few things they forgot to teach us in Economics 101 and they have nothing to do with algorithms, exchange rates, return on investment or earned income.  You see, basic economics is a mathematical function but the underlying factor in American Capitalism has nothing to do with mathematics.

Our system of capitalism has fallen into the age old trap of being controlled by ethics and morality rather than math tables and the masters of capitalism are those who manipulate the system for only one purpose, the accumulation of wealth and the power that comes with it.

Once upon a time in America there was such a thing as a fair and relatively honest system but it has long been banished to the land of fairy tales and mythology as if it never really existed in the first place.

Now we eat, sleep and dream the lies that have been implanted in us as if we never knew better in the first place.  Economics must be derived from the word control because that is what it is all about and because control is what the 1% of the population have over all the money earned by the 99% .

In my studies and experience over the years there are a handful of guiding principles I found in all those who make their fortunes on the backs of the middle class.

1. OPM -  Always use "Other People's Money" to make money.

2. DOY -  Always make the little people "Dependent On You".

3. DTBS - Always "Dazzle Them with Bull Shit" to keep them confused.

4. WCF -  Always "Work to Create Fear" to keep people in line.

   

As a result, if we have any disposable income, money we don't need to survive, we invest it in the stock markets based on the promise to grow your portfolio.  Then, as a card-carrying member of what I call the Raggedy People, we are denied the right to buy new stock issues at the offering price.

Nor are we allowed to have our money invested by the massive computer generated strategies of the super rich (high frequency trading) in which they intercept your pension fund strategy and beat you to the punch.

We are drowning in financial news, analysis and misinformation.  What we need is a little truth.  Here is some.

On October 9, 2007 the Dow Jones hit 14,164.  By March 6, 2009 it collapsed to 6,443, a loss of 54% of it's value.  That is what happened to your investments and pension funds other than your home equity which was also crashing.

As of today, May 13, 2014 it has risen to 16,715, an astonishing increase of 259% in just shy of 4 years.  Ask yourself, do you now have almost 3 times as much money from investments, or in your pension or 401k as you did just 4 years ago?

As far as stocks, the wealthiest 10% of Americans own 80% of all stock.

Just this year it was reported that the wealthiest 1% of Americans possess 40% of the nation's wealth while the bottom 80% possess 7% of the wealth.  The other 19% just below the super rich possess 50.5% of the nation's wealth.  As a result, the top 20% control 90% of all the nation's wealth.

Of course these are the people sucking the stock market profits up.

So why invest in the market - don't.  You are only padding the pockets of those who could care less about you.  And while you are at it demand that Congress protect the pension and 401k funds managed by the rich as these funds seem to make a lot less money than the stocks owned by the people doing the managing.

It is too easy to use your money to manipulate the market so the high frequency boys can steal a few hundred million or billion dollars a day at your expense.

What can we do?  Be aware of how you are being used.  Keep abreast of the market fluctuations and demand to know from your broker or pension manager why you aren't benefiting just like the rich.

Pay attention to all the things they say are right like inflation, are you really not seeing massive increases in health care and food, and wild changes in gasoline?  How could we be at a 1-2% inflation when the price of meat can double?

The unemployment rate is down but not because of economic recovery but because millions of  people have dropped out of the labor force because they can't find jobs.

In America all people are entitled to equal opportunity but when it comes to capitalism that is far from the truth.  Demand answers to how your money is being manipulated.  Demand now before it is too late.

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The Games People Play Part 3 - Can Hillary Clinton run on Bill Clinton's Legacy?

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Oh the Games People Play Now

Every night and every day now

Never meaning what they say now

Never saying what they mean now

Seems the trial balloons are flying through the air as Hillary Clinton continues to toy with the idea of a presidential run yet the news media continues to push her possible candidacy while making no effort to qualify or quantify the results of her record.

No doubt Hillary would make a formidable candidate as the Clinton machine long ago mastered the art of fund raising and aren't presidential politics in America all about MONEY regardless of qualification?

But her campaign strategy seems to be dependent on the news media not doing their job when it comes to due diligence regarding candidates.  Now clearly the media love affair with the Clinton's predates the media love affair with Obama but now that Obama has demonstrated the media was wrong they have had to shift their love to Hillary as the last hope for liberal reform.

Yet the media is living a lie based on the record, as it seems history, and even recent history, runs contrary to the media depiction of Hillary.  For one she is not liberal.

For another, the media is prepared to blame Obama for all the foreign relations disasters of this Administration when as Secretary of State Hillary was the Administration person most responsible for policy development and implementation.

Here is just a partial record:

• Iraq and Afghanistan are drifting farther and farther from US influence in spite of the billions and billions of dollars this Administration spent.

• The Arab spring has resulted in new governments from Egypt to Libya and the Arab states distrust the US more than ever.

• The Israeli and Palestine peace talks have once again broken down leaving tension higher than ever.

• The Administration attempts to stop nuclear proliferation in Iran have failed and nothing is being done.

• The Administration threats to dump the President of Syria and liberate the people because Assad "crossed the line in the sand" is an international joke and policy disaster.

• The Administration response to the Benghazi fiasco has demonstrated a serious neglect of State Department security, and failure to make any effort to save our four diplomats who were murdered.

• The Administration failed to recognize any threat to the Ukraine from Russia until the Russians had already annexed Crimea and the eastern Ukraine was totally destabilized.

 

• We have done nothing to help Mexico in their drug wars on the American border as more than 120,000 Mexicans were killed and another 27,000 are missing since 2006.

• The Administration failure to approve the Keystone Pipeline to ship Canadian crude oil to American refineries has alienated our best ally and neighbor to the north.

All of this has happened while Hillary was Secretary of State.  Yet the news media acts as if she had nothing to do with it, it was just Obama's fault.

Still the Clinton people are carefully working to transfer media focus from the litany of policy disasters she was responsible for under Obama to what they consider to be President Bill Clinton's economic achievements while she was First Lady, even though she was not responsible for them.

So let's play the game.  If she had no official standing in economics as First Lady then her influence came from her intimacy with her husband and the media would try to convince us she influenced him through such intimacy.

When one thinks of the proliferation of the president as a ladies man and looks at the record of conquests admitted and reported we come up with the following list of ladies in Bill Clinton's life from the time he was governor of Arkansas through his presidency.

Paula Jones - Gennifer Flowers - Kathleen Willey - Monica Lewinsky - Juanita Broaddrick - Elizabeth Ward Gracen

One wonders how Bill Clinton had any time to be intimate with his wife Hillary and who knows if this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the presidential prowess.  It seems pretty doubtful such intimacy could have occurred and clearly defining economic policy was not the president's goal in intimacy.

Still we are expected to believe she was a major force in his economic policy.  If you really look at the record the major economic policies that led to accelerated growth generated by Clinton came from co-opting the Republican platform, not through bedside manners.

Clinton's Budget Reduction Act cut spending and cut taxes for over 12 million Americans.  He passed a Balanced Budget bill and reduced the deficit, again cutting taxes for millions of Americans.  He championed the NAFTA free trade treaty with Canada and Mexico.  All of these policies were approved on bi-partisan votes and all came from the Republican platform including his new Federalism initiatives to reduce central government control and transfer powers to the states.

The whole concept that they were a result of Hillary's efforts is laughable at best, sheer lunacy at worst.  More important, to expect the American public to credit Hillary with Bill Clinton's economic achievements indicates a rather dark and foreboding cloud has descended over our news media as truth, facts and history have been distorted, twisted and mutilated in an effort to get her elected.

If they continue to promote Hillary through such tactics then America needs to find a new source of news and truth.  One day American voters, progressives and moderates, liberals and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans, and yes, even the one third of the vote totally ignored by the media and our two party system, the Independents, will wake up and realize they have been victims of an unethical political system that simply takes their vote for granted because the so called "experts" think Americans are too dumb to think for themselves.

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CPT Names Kansas City Chiefs John Dorsey NFL General Manager of the Year

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Earns Prestigious "Golden Crab" Honor

for Survival & Exceptionalism

In a rare move for the Coltons Point Times, so rare it never happened before, we have initiated the first "Golden Crab" honor and bestowed it upon John Michael Dorsey for the incredible success he had his first year as General Manager of the Kansas City Chiefs NFL team.

There are many parts of John's story, the stuff legends are made of, that the world needs to hear because this is not just a story of success in football, nor about landing a critical position in one of the best franchises in professional football after two decades at the most legendary franchise in professional football history, the Green Bay Packers.

I mean how many professional jock stories can say the subject has direct ties to the 1634 landing of English settlers in Maryland?  How many can say his family is one of a handful of original pioneers, get this sports fans, from the oldest continuously occupied chartered community in the original 13 colonies?

It gets better.  Not only can John's ancestry be traced back to the landing at St. Clement's Island in 1634, that was 380 years ago for those of you short on math, but his family has lived there the entire time since.  Since St. Clements was just the 3rd settlement in America (only Jamestown and Plymouth Rock preceded it and both of them disappeared by the late 1600's) this apparently qualifies John Michael as a true Colonial Blue Blood.

Fast forward to the 20th century.

Phil, Helen, Walt & John Dorsey 

John was born in 1960 in Leonardtown, Maryland into a family headed by patriarch Walter B. Dorsey.  When his father died in 2009 it was the end of a tumultuous yet golden era in Southern Maryland and statewide politics as this third generation public servant put his indelible stamp on history and left a rich legacy of service, a shrewd record of political survival and a mosaic of interwoven personal experiences that made Walter bigger than life.

Then again, it was only appropriate that Walter, the son of a son of a son of an Irishman would use his Irish wit, his Leprechaun mischief, his command of language and gift of storytelling to mesmerize juries, outwit the opposition and more likely than not aggravate the judges while amassing a stunning record of victory in court and politics.

Walter was first and foremost a people person with a love of knowledge, a hunger for defending the little people and a panache for competition and controversy.  He came from two generations of political activists, a heritage in Southern Maryland transcending centuries and a desire to fight for what was right.

Before that the ancestral family came from Ireland by way of England, France and Nordic countries with the name changing from D'Arcy in France to Dorsey in Ireland.  It was Ireland where John Dorsey, NFL football star met the Mayor of Dublin, John Dorsey, on a trip.

Fate put him in a family where politics ran in the blood.  His great, great grandfather was Philip Dorsey, born in Calvert County but an adventurer who was part of the 1849 gold rush in California.  Walter once told me family lore says his great grandfather Philip found gold and once owned a claim to what became San Francisco.  Then he caught a ship for home that sailed around South America

Family legend has it the ship wrecked rounding Cape Horn off Chile and Philip was lost at sea and given up for dead.  More than two years later he showed up in Maryland saying he walked all the way up the Amazon through South, Central and North America to St. Mary's County, Maryland.  As for his claim for San Francisco, he probably lost it in a poker game.

John's great grandfather, Walter B. Dorsey, was first elected to the Maryland House of delegates in 1911 while his grandfather, Judge Philip H. Dorsey was a Circuit Court Judge who was elected Senator in 1926 and to the House of Delegates in 1930 and 1934.  His father Walter was first elected State Attorney in 1954, then elected to the State Senate in 1958, the third generation Dorsey to serve in the state legislature.  He was then elected State Attorney again in 1982, 1986, 1990 and 1994.  From 1962-66 he served as Assistant Attorney General for the state and in the 1970's he served as the Deputy Maryland Public Defender.

During the three generations of Dorsey politicians Southern Maryland became a hotbed for statewide politics and many a weekend was spent at the Dorsey home with whoever the presiding governor of Maryland might be.  You see, in those days the Democrats controlled the Baltimore area and the Republicans controlled the Washington suburbs.  To win you often needed St. Mary's County and that meant the Dorsey family.

Needless to say the Dorsey DNA from the swashbuckling colonial pioneers to the rough and tumble world of Maryland and national politics was well suited for young John Michael Dorsey as he excelled in football in high school then was off to the University of Connecticut.

At U Conn he was a four year starter at linebacker while he earned a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and Economics.  Twice John was named Yankee Conference Player of the Year and capped his collegiate career by being named NCAA Division 1AA All American.

As if there was any doubt as to his talent, he was drafted in the 4th round of the NFL draft by the storied Green Bay Packers and played five years before knee injuries ended his playing days.  His thirty-five special teams tackles for the Packers in 1984 is still a team record. Dorsey totaled 130 tackles and two fumble recoveries during his five-year career.

After his playing career ended, Dorsey chose to remain in football, taking a job as a college scout for the Packers in May 1991. He was later promoted to Director of College Scouting for the team in February 1997.  In January of 1999, Dorsey followed former Packers coach Mike Holmgren to the Seattle Seahawks assuming the role of the team's Director of Player Personnel but after just over a year in the Pacific Northwest, Dorsey resigned and returned to the Packers.

He served as Director of College Scouting and remained in that position through 2011 when he was named Director of Football Operations for Green Bay. Dorsey is credited with making the Packers one of the best drafting teams in the NFL, helping choose star players like Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews and Greg Jennings.

John left behind an amazing history with the Green Bay Packers where he was part of a group that made 15 playoff appearances and won two Super Bowls in 21 years.

On January 13, 2013, news broke that Dorsey had agreed to become the new general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs.  The move reunited Dorsey with new Chiefs head coach Andy Reid.

Talk about challenges.  The year before John arrived the Chiefs were 2-14 and that was the team the new GM inherited.  In his first year Kansas City partisans were stunned when the Chiefs won their first three games, more wins than the entire previous season.  They were the only team in NFL history to win 2 or fewer games the previous season and then win the first four games the next season.

On October 13, 2013 Chiefs fans broke the Guinness World Record for loudest crowd roar at an outdoor stadium with 137.5 decibels, a record later reclaimed by the Seattle Seahawks, but the Chiefs record was a precursor of good things to come.  When the Indianapolis Colts defeated the Payton Manning led Denver Broncos in week 7 of the season, the Kansas City Chiefs were the final undefeated team in the NFL.  As if that was not enough, the Chiefs clinched a playoff berth but lost to the Indianapolis Colts in one of the wildest Wild Card shootouts in playoff history 45-44.

When the dust finally settled the Chiefs had a season record of 11-5, finished 2nd in the AFC and made the playoffs.  All in all it was an amazing first year as General Manager after inheriting a team that was 2-14 the previous year.

John has another connection to Kansas City besides being GM.  He first met his wife Patricia in Kansas City while on a scouting trip for the Packers and married her after a couple of years of dating.  Patricia Sexton-Dorsey already had ties to the Kansas City area prior to her husband's hiring as the Chiefs General Manager. She is an attorney and partner in a large Kansas City-based law firm who worked from her Wisconsin home while they were in Green Bay.  She is a native of Abilene, Kansas and attended both the University of Kansas and Washburn University in Topeka were she earned her law degree.

As for living in middle America, John had this response to a reporter's question if there were similarities between Green Bay and Kansas City.

“Absolutely. In the people. It’s the Midwest. Work ethic is huge. Principle is big. Those traditional Midwest values that I have grown to love and respect.”

For a lifetime of professional football experience at the highest levels of the sport, a stunning first year as General Manager of the Chiefs, for returning to Kansas City so his wife didn't have to commute from Wisconsin and for recognizing the value of living in the Midwest (the CPT publisher is from neighboring state Iowa), John Michael Dorsey is awarded the CPT "Golden Crab" honor and is forever a member of the Secret Society of Golden Crabs but please don't tell anyone.

What's the story on the Golden Crab?

Since hardly any of my readers are from Southern Maryland you should know Maryland is the Mecca for Atlantic crabs along with oysters, clams, eels, and all that other stuff you find in the Atlantic, the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay where John was also big in swimming, fishing, boating and water skiing.

The crab, or crustacean as it is known to the local Watermen, is the most valuable species harvested from the Chesapeake Bay.  As a result it is the state "Species" whatever that means since I never got past state mottos, songs, flowers and animals.  Technically the Blue Crab or Callinectes sapidus Rathbun is the official Maryland State Species.

By the way, John did leave behind on the East Coast a brother, Phil and sister, Helen to preserve the family ties to the Colonial Blue Bloods.

Congratulations John Michael Dorsey for giving hope to the Chief's fans and don't forget to drop by your family roots on the banks of the Potomac when you can where you can still catch your own blue crabs.  Hummm...  Blue crabs and Blue Bloods...

John, your "Golden Crab" will be delivered as soon as we can get it back in the truck.  

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