COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Tuesday, April 05, 2011

Debit Cards: Can the Government Do Anything Right?



Let's just go back to regional local banks with state regulation and keep the federal government out of consumer banking.

______________________________



NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Declined! Your debit card may soon be denied for purchases greater than $100 -- or even as little as $50.

JPMorgan Chase, one of the nation's largest banks, is considering capping debit card transactions at either $50 or $100, according to a source with knowledge of the proposal. And the cap would apply even if you run your debit card as credit.

Why? Because of a tricky thing called interchange fees.

Right now, every time you swipe your debit card your bank charges the retailer an average fee of 44 cents, which it shares with its partners. Those little fees, however, add up to about $16 billion per year, according to 2009 data from the Federal Reserve.

But as part of the Wall Street reform legislation that was passed last year, these fees are being slashed. The Fed is currently proposing rules that would go into effect in July and would cap interchange fees at 12 cents.

That's a big enough cut to cost Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) more than $1 billion a year. And Chase may not be alone. Other major issuers are also projecting huge losses from the interchange fee cap.

Joe Price, president of consumer banking for Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), said in an e-mailed statement that the lower fee wouldn't fairly compensate the bank for the infrastructure and services it provides to retailers.

And consumers would end up feeling the pain when Bank of America is forced to recoup costs "by increasing the cost of their everyday debit card transactions, limiting their payment choices, and impacting industry innovation," according to the email.

Credit cards from hell

Aside from mulling over a limit on transaction amounts, Chase is already testing $3 monthly fees on debit cards and $15 fees on checking accounts in certain states. Additionally, the bank announced in November that it has stopped issuing debit rewards cards.

A Chase spokesman declined comment on this story.

The revenue banks get from interchange fees helps to offset money lost from fraudulent transactions. So with the Fed's proposed cap in place, banks argue they won't have the money to protect themselves against fraud. And, of course, the bigger the purchase the bigger the risk, so banks are considering limiting consumers' ability to pay by debit card.

"If banks cannot recapture their fraud-prevention costs, it is likely that a lower percentage of transactions at the point of sale would be approved," Price said. "If the final rules that are issued in April look like the draft, there's no question that it will impact how we and other issuers price deposit and payment services and what features and benefits are included."

But a Bank of America spokesman declined to comment on whether the bank would cap debit card purchases at $50 or $100.

The 8 least evil banks

Representatives from Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500) and HSBC (HBC) declined to comment on their plans, while a spokeswoman from Citi (C, Fortune 500) said the bank isn't making any changes at this time.

If a cap like this does make its way into accounts across the board, consumers would be forced to write checks, withdraw cash from ATMs, or put their spending on credit cards.

"The whole model on the debit card side is in flux because of Dodd-Frank," said Brian Riley, senior research director at financial services consulting firm TowerGroup. "The unfortunate thing is that the people who will really get hurt on this are the people who need the most help."

Many consumers with bad credit aren't able to qualify for credit cards -- and when they do, it's often with hefty rates and fees. Additionally, ATMs typically only dole out a limited amount of money at a time and checking accounts are being loaded with fees.

At the same time, even the customers who do qualify for credit cards are being punished for having tarnished credit. Bank of America, for example, announced a $59 annual fee last month for its riskiest customers -- making up about 5% of consumer credit card accounts.

60 comments:

  1. The Law of Unintended Consequences (also known as the Tao) strikes again. Dodd-Frank wanted to "get" the greedy bankers, but they're only making life harder for everyday folks. A cap at $50? That's not even a tank of gas these days.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Why is Israel always intruding into the news? Ask our good friend and ally ElBaradei. Sorry, correct that to the late Saddam's good friend and enabler.

    “if Israel attacked Gaza we would declare war against the Zionist regime."

    This would-be president (?) of Egypt, the signatory to a treaty, will not even call Israel by its name.

    If Israel attacks Gaza, again in self-defense, it should keep on going to the canal.

    Re: gas: $3.44/gal in parts of Atlanta or about $75.00/per fill-up.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yesterday Q asks a question that deserves an answer:

    "You accuse T of being anti-semetic because she attacks Israeli policy, you ignore the fact that she makes as many statements attacking the Islamist."

    Q, with all due respect, what does T's constant anti-israel, anti-judaic & anti zionist position have to do with her dislikes about Islam?

    My accusation of MsT's irrational Jew/Zionist/Israel hatred still stands.

    Her hatred of Islamists? not the issue at hand, she also has no love for male genitalia, however that does not affect her irrational Jew disgust either....

    ReplyDelete
  4. As for unnamed monsters that lurk and troll in this cyber bar and their constant nonsense about the Israeli war crimes in gaza dubbed "operation cast lead"

    US State Department Spokesman Mark Toner laid to rest any idea that Israel committed any war crimes, including targeting civilians. Commenting on a Washington Post Op-ed by The author of the "Goldstone" report, he has now withdrawn any and all chrages against Israel and in fact has reaffirmed Hamas's war crimes of shelling innocent Israeli's for years (10,000 rockets, 10,000 mortars over 5 years)

    Goldstone went on to say, that the LACK of Israeli deaths DOES NOT DIMINISH THE WAR CRIMES OF HAMAS.

    SO I guess the USA Government has spoken and laid this puppy to rest.

    Israel Honorable Nation, who fight to defend it's citizens

    Hamas? War Crime committing Terror Group.

    So I guess we will not tolerate at the Bar any more slander and lies by those who shall remain un-named accusing Israel of war crimes and murder.

    ReplyDelete
  5. “if Israel attacked Gaza we would declare war against the Zionist regime."

    This would-be president (?) of Egypt, the signatory to a treaty, will not even call Israel by its name.

    ????


    What's all this got to do with credit cards?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Q, with all due respect, what does T's constant anti-israel, anti-judaic & anti zionist position have to do with her dislikes about Islam?

    Good point. I worded it poorly.

    However, where I see T's comments as being anti-Israeli policy you see them as being anti-semitic.

    I'll have to pay more attention to her posts in the future. To be honest, I don't pay an awful lot of attention to most of the posts on Israel, not that the subject isn't interesting but because we have seen most of them many times before. I usually only get involved when a post doesn't meet the smell test such as the posts on Israeli abortions.

    Although T uses irony and sarcasm in her posts and can come off as a bit of a smart ass at times, who here doesn't do the same thing?

    .

    ReplyDelete
  7. Tornado came through here, yesterday. Tore down about 15, or 20 telephone poles. Knocked out electricity, and cable for miles (including, moi.)

    They put those damned things up, and restored services, Overnight. Amazing.

    This country does have it strong points. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I look at T as being an "equal opportunity gorer."

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wholesale, unleaded front month: $3.19

    That translates out to $3.89 at the pump in a couple of weeks.

    Despite very high corn prices E85 is selling for $2.64 in Iowa.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Louisiana Sweet is selling for a $16.00 Premium over WTI. They're, eventually, going to figure out how to break that bottleneck at Cushing; and, then, watch out.


    Nigerian Bonny Light is selling on the Spot Market (day to day buying, and selling between actual producers, and refiners) for $127.00/bbl.

    Brent, which is used as a benchmark in 66% of global sales closed at $123.00. Higher than the futures price.

    ReplyDelete
  11. “Gadhafi's forces had changed tactics in the besieged western city of Misrata by moving tanks and other heavy equipment to civilian areas to prevent pilots from targeting them.

    A doctor in Misrata corroborated that, saying Gadhafi's forces have been placing heavy weapons near civilians there for the past two weeks.

    ‘They snuck their anti-aircraft weapons and tanks into the city. They are between the apartment buildings and the trees,’ said the doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. ‘They disguise their equipment on the big agricultural trucks that the farmers use outside of town. They bring in mortars with civilian cars.’”

    None of this has to do with credit cards. It assuredly has much to say about Gaza and the coming conflict. That conflict will impact credit cards.

    Think “networking”.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I want an Islamic credit card. I want an interest free, no fee, no penalty, extremely high credit limit House of Saud Premium Ummah First credit card. Not a member of the ummah, you say. No problemo, I'll taqqiyah, even claim to be Al-Qaeda if I must. After all my fraudulent screen name used to be bobalharb. Then I'll invite Quirk to an all expenses paid forgive me tour of Las Vegas and we'll hit the Circus Circus first, ride the rides, shack hands with the ape, knock back a few and head for the roulette tables, red and even. Pay the credit card bill? Not a chance, it's all on the King.

    That's what I want.

    a/bakadwr

    ReplyDelete
  13. It could be a thread about mood rings, and certain people would start the Israel shit again. Let's do something different for once.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Q: However, where I see T's comments as being anti-Israeli policy you see them as being anti-semitic.


    Her comments are not limited to discussing Israeli policies.. Her comments are about what genocidal murderers the Jews of the Old Testament were, How the historic claims to the area were all based on false myths, how Jews deserved genocide for not following Jesus and many other types of comments.

    Her comments about Jews building across the Green Line not with standing, one one has a pattern of such comments about what I call "anti-semitism" her opinion on "israeli issues" are hardly unbiased.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Teresita said...
    It could be a thread about mood rings, and certain people would start the Israel shit again. Let's do something different for once.


    Israel "shit"????

    Is that like a tread about Lesbian SHIT?

    Like your nonsense about sexual positions?

    What not control that acid tongue and say "Israel stuff"????

    Well we all know why...

    You hate Israel.

    So to bad Princess T, I shall say whatever I want because last time I check you are not ruler of the universe....

    Israel is a great place....

    Israel has wonderful people....

    Israel even allows lesbians to practice the scissor position between consenting women....

    Israel has a thriving lesbian population, in fact Israel even has GAYS!

    They live free...

    Not bad for a shitty little country....

    ReplyDelete
  16. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) rights in Israel are considered the most developed in the Middle East.[1] In November 2005, a groundbreaking court decision in Israel ruled that a lesbian spouse could officially adopt a child born to her current partner by artificial insemination from an anonymous sperm donor; this ruling came despite protests by the minority Orthodox Jewish parliamentary parties. Common law marriage which grants most of the official marriage rights to the spouse has been achieved, but full official same-sex marriage has not yet been sanctioned. However, same-sex marriages performed elsewhere are recognized.
    Israel also has one of the highest percentages of support for same-sex marriage in the world, with 61% of Israelis supporting civil marriage for same-sex couples.[2]

    Out Magazine has named Tel Aviv "the gay capital of the Middle East."[5]

    That's why I LOVE Haifa......

    ReplyDelete
  17. I don't know; when T writes about the Bible she "sources" it with the Bible.

    I can't think of any of her comments that haven't been sourced (by the primary document, usually.)

    ReplyDelete
  18. I notice that T tends to take up for the underdog, but that doesn't seem to surprising for an ethnicly Filipino girl with Lesbo preferences.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Rufus II said...
    I don't know; when T writes about the Bible she "sources" it with the Bible.

    I can't think of any of her comments that haven't been sourced (by the primary document, usually.)



    What version?

    What translation?

    Does she read Hebrew and Aramaic?

    Does she read the Old Testament and call that the Bible?

    Does she quote Torah out of context and doesnt quote the commentary by Rashi?

    Her "proof texting" of the bible to take comments out of context and place them as "proof" of her position is so 1500's....

    She is hardly a biblical scholar.

    ReplyDelete
  20. "Too" surprising


    Before the "To" police show up.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Rufus II said...
    I notice that T tends to take up for the underdog, but that doesn't seem to surprising for an ethnicly Filipino girl with Lesbo preferences.


    She should stick to Flipino Lesbians....

    They need her more than anyone else....

    ReplyDelete
  22. I've found that with credit cards the best you can do is with some up and coming local bank with whom you have done a lot of business and have some accounts there. I've got 8% I think it is on both cash and purchases. The best way to handle credit cards is obviously to never use them except in a real emergency.

    a/bakadwr

    ReplyDelete
  23. And don't give one to your daughter.

    a/bakadwr

    ReplyDelete
  24. http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/we-will-not-allow-another-khomeini-to-take-control-of-egypt-army-says-1.354215

    Egytian Army says they won't allow extremists to govern the country.

    Let's hope they mean it.

    a/bakadwr

    ReplyDelete
  25. Rufus: I notice that T tends to take up for the underdog, but that doesn't seem to surprising for an ethnicly Filipino girl with Lesbo preferences.

    I'm going to try something, and see if it makes things better around here. From now on, the State of Israel doesn't exist to me. It's like Atlantis or Never Never Land to me now. And since WiO conflates an anti-Zionist position with an anti-Jewish position, Jews do not exist to me anymore as well. They are like the Easter bunny or Loch Ness Monster to me now.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Bob: The best way to handle credit cards is obviously to never use them except in a real emergency.

    I cut up all my cards and paid them down to zero. Fely still has one, and we use that only when we absolutely need them, like when we rent a car or need a tow. Other than that, it's cash on the barrel head.

    ReplyDelete
  27. But, I've seen pictures of Nessy, though dad tried to find him/her once and failed.

    Is there a moderate Muslim nation?

    Maybe

    April 05, 2011 Bibles and Moderate Muslims
    Posted by Benjamin Domenech at 2:24 AM

    The continued protests in Afghanistan over the burning of the Quran reminded me of a minor flareup over religious tension that was getting coverage in Kuala Lumpur when I was traveling there recently, where the pleasant resolution of Christian-Muslim tension provides another illustration of how a truly moderate Muslim nation behaves.

    The spark, in this case, was the confiscation of roughly 35,000 copies of Bibles in Port Klang and Kuching Port, all meant to be used by local Christians to proselytize to the population. Last week, the Malaysian government decided to release the Bibles back to the missionary groups involved and widely published a 10-point list detailing the rights protecting the missionaries and their books, including an olive branch to allow Christians to print the Bibles within Malaysia - something they were not previously able to do.

    There is a small but significant Christian population in Malaysia (concentrated particularly in the state of Sarawak, where they are actually the majority of the population, followed closely by Sabah where they account for roughly 1/3rd) but the Muslim hierarchy is still the dominant force. Local tension has sometimes risen up thanks to government policies - in 2003, then Prime Minister Badawi revoked a ban on the Iban language Bible, used by missionaries to minister to Borneo's former headhunter tribes, after a backlash from the local Christian population.

    In this case, the government seems to have responded in a thoroughly civilized manner, opening the door wider for the missionaries to go about their business. Now if only other Muslim countries would have such an attitude toward religious freedom - in Saudi Arabia, of course, this sort of thing remains very illegal.

    a/bakadwr

    ReplyDelete
  28. .

    She is hardly a biblical scholar.

    Who here is?

    Who cares if she was?

    When T quotes from the Bible, she offers her weakest arguments.

    The same applies to anyone else here who offers up quotes from the Bible, The Book of Mormon, or any other scriptures as proof for their arguments.

    Leo Pfeffer was probably kidding around when he said "...if you believe in it, it is a religion or perhaps 'the' religion;
    and if you do not care one way or another about it, it is a sect;
    but if you fear and hate it, it is a cult."

    Using Pfeffer's definitions, I would fall into the group that calls the formal bureaucracies behind all religions (major and minor) as sects.

    Arguments based on morality or better ethics are imo legitimate. Arguments based on scripture not so much.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  29. T states: I'm going to try something, and see if it makes things better around here. From now on, the State of Israel doesn't exist to me. It's like Atlantis or Never Never Land to me now. And since WiO conflates an anti-Zionist position with an anti-Jewish position, Jews do not exist to me anymore as well. They are like the Easter bunny or Loch Ness Monster to me now.


    From Her Bumper Kissing mouth to the ear of any god of her choice....

    ReplyDelete
  30. That's kind of what I've attempted to do, T. Life is just too short. :)

    ReplyDelete
  31. In a key statement on Monday night the White House spokesman, Jay Carney, gave the threat of al-Qaeda as a reason for Mr Saleh to step down. Mr Saleh has always presented himself as America's bulwark against terrorism in Yemen.

    ...

    At least 20 people died in clashes in the cities of Taiz, Hudeida and Sana'a, the capital, on Monday, and at least another three in Sana'a yesterday.

    That incident was a particularly worrying sign of how close Yemen is slipping into a multi-sided civil war. The men shot were pro-Saleh tribesmen who were attempting to talk to the country's long-time security chief, a relative and former close ally of the president, Brigadier-General Ali Mohsen, who has recently sided with the demonstrators.


    Town Falls to al-Qaeda

    ReplyDelete
  32. Former CIA Middle East analyst Paul Pillar said the rumored appointments took him by surprise and struck him as somewhat odd or implausible --but expressed admiration for both officials.

    ...

    Petraeus' spokesman did not respond to queries on the general's plans. Pentagon, CIA and White House officials won't publicly discuss personnel decisions before they are announced.

    But a spokeswoman for the International Security Assistance Forces in Afghanistan e-mailed Politico's Charles Hoskinson Monday to say: "We're aware of the rumors, and while obviously General Petraeus will rotate out at some point, there have not been any announcements or to the best of my knowledge any decisions on any future job. General Petraeus is honored to be the commander of and lead ISAF and USFOR-A troopers and is focused on ISAF's mission."


    Buzz Intensifies

    ReplyDelete
  33. The shootings came as rioting, which has claimed over 20 lives and left 150 injured, continued across Afghanistan.

    In the eastern city of Jalalabad, up to a thousand protesters blocked the main highway to Kabul and set alight effigies of Terry Jones, the evangelical preacher who supervised the burning of a copy of the Koran in Florda last month.

    Protesters in Lashkar Gah, in the southern province of Helmand, dispersed after shots were fired by police, killing two suicide bombers who were attempting to infiltrate the demonstration.


    Across Afghanistan

    ReplyDelete
  34. 21.05 Laurent Gbagbo has claimed the Ivorian army has called for a ceasefire but he denied reports he was ready to surrender and reiterated that he considered himself the winner of last November's elections in a telephone interview with France's LCI television:

    Quote The army has called for the suspension of hostilities ... and it is currently discussing the conditions of a ceasefire with the other forces on the ground, but on a political level no decision has yet been taken.

    22.05 The EU's chief diplomat and the head of the African Union Commission have said "recovery and reconciliation" in the Ivory Coast is only possible if Laurent Gbagbo accepts Alassane Ouattara as the legitimate president. Catherine Ashton and Jean Ping said in a statement:

    Quote We agreed that Laurent Gbagbo had to step down as the only way out of the current crisis, and that work should now start to promote recovery and reconciliation, under the leadership of the democratically elected President Alassane Ouattara

    ReplyDelete
  35. T - "From now on, the State of Israel doesn't exist to me."

    Something has changed?

    Messrs. ElBaradei and Gaddafi are counting on it, too.

    ReplyDelete
  36. What El Baradei is now proposing as the new declaratory policy of the Egyptian government (even if they don’t act on it) could fundamentally change Egypt’s role in the region and dramatically increase tensions in an already brittle situation. The only reason Israel would attack Gaza is if Hamas attacks Israeli civilians in large numbers, as occurred before Operation Cast Lead at the end of 2008.

    ...

    Violent crises such as what we see in Libya have major consequences, but changes in declaratory policy can be just as devastating. The posture that El Baradei promises to assume if elected would be highly destabilizing to the balance of the power in the Middle East, and threatens to tilt the ground under the U.S. position there.

    The Obama administration should reach out to the Egyptian military and make it clear to them that threatening to declare war on Israel in case of conflict with Gaza is incompatible with Egypt’s obligations under the Camp David Accords, is deeply damaging to the vital U.S. interest in maintaining peace and stability, and will have unavoidably painful consequences for everybody involved — including them. Maybe someone in Egypt’s military can prevail on El Baradei to think a little more before the next time he opens his mouth.


    War On Israel

    ReplyDelete
  37. I'm not liking the Paul Ryan budget. Getting rid of the mortgage tax deduction is a tax increase by any other name.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Meanwhile fighting has stopped in Abidjan after strongman Gbagbo's camp called for a ceasefire as he negotiates an exit, but sporadic fire continued from groups of youths, the UN mission in the city said on Tuesday.

    'Fighting has stopped but there is sporadic shooting by groups of youths who are not members of the FDS (Pro-Gbagbo army) or the Republican forces (of Alassane Ouattara),' UN mission spokesman Hamadoun Toure told AFP.

    He said this was in relation to 'housebreaking, vehicle theft or aggression against people. Very soon we will be confronted with the problem of keeping order.'


    Rival Leader

    ReplyDelete
  39. Whit that was a nice story. I've never heard of him before.

    ReplyDelete
  40. That Skidboot's got soul.

    It's the worst of Christian teaching to tell the kids the pets won't met them in heaven.

    All things are made new.

    a/bakadwr

    ReplyDelete
  41. Quirk should incorporate that Feng Shui into his Products and Services line.

    a/bakadwr

    ReplyDelete
  42. Going easy on the muslims today, I've been reading The Garden of Truth - The Vision and Promise of Sufism, Islam's Mystical Tradition by one Seyyed Hossein Nasr, a follower of the masters.

    What it is is the old perennial philosophy in koranic garb, dang near word for word, image for image. If they were all Sufis we might be able to get somewhere, alas about 95% aren't.

    They see an image of some pastor burning a koran on tv and they riot and kill all the place.

    It's really bizarre.

    It's like in Iran there for awhile. "Death to the Mullahs! Death to Israel! Death to the USA! Death to England! Death to France!"

    When one generation earlier it was "Death to the Shah! Death to Israel! Death to the USA! Death to England! Death to France!"

    Really really bizarre.


    a/bakadwr

    ReplyDelete
  43. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/world/asia/06nuclear.html?_r=2&hp

    What a hell of a mess. Our guys say the Japanese can't pump seawater in there indefinitely, too many problems. Few solutions.

    Sleep tight.

    a/bakadwr

    ReplyDelete
  44. Just read that whole thing. That is a mess.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Should just nuke it and be done with it.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Some people were undaunted. At Sushizanmai, a sushi bar just outside Tokyo's famed Tsukiji fish market, customers were still eating Japan's famed raw fish delicacies Tuesday night.

    But chef Seiichiro Ogawa said the fuss over radiation could hurt business. His restaurant is trying to get more fish from the western part of Japan, which has not been affected by the nuclear crisis.

    "Japanese customers are especially sensitive to this kind of thing, so I'm worried they'll stop eating sushi," said Ogawa, who has already seen his business drop 50 percent after foreigners stopped visiting the city after the quake. "We need this nuclear problem to be resolved."


    Radioactive Leak

    ReplyDelete
  47. :) heh

    Just nuke it and call it a day. If the winds are right all the radioactivity would land on Hawaii and the Japanese would finally have gotten their revenge.

    a/bakadwr

    ReplyDelete
  48. When Stefan and Erika Svanstrom of Stockholm set out on their four-month-long honeymoon with their baby daughter on December 6, they said they got more than they bargained for - immediately they were stranded in Munich, Germany, due to one of Europe's worst snowstorms.

    ...

    "I know marriages have to endure some trials, but I think we have been through most of them," Mr Svanstrom said.

    For newlyweds "we've certainly experienced more than our fair share of catastrophes in a marriage, but the most important thing is that we're still going strong", he added.


    Honeymoon From Hell

    ReplyDelete
  49. Bob: It's the worst of Christian teaching to tell the kids the pets won't met them in heaven.

    No, this is the worst of Christian teaching:

    "As for heretics their sin deserves banishment, not only from the Church by excommunication, but also from this world by death. To corrupt the faith, whereby the soul lives, is much graver than to counterfeit money, which supports temporal life. Since forgers and other malefactors are summarily condemned to death by the civil authorities, with much more reason may heretics as soon as they are convicted of heresy be not only excommunicated, but also justly be put to death." (St. Thomas Aquinas)

    ReplyDelete
  50. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  51. .

    No, this is the worst of Christian teaching:

    If you confine it to Christian teaching, I'll admit it is right up there. But probably not the worst.

    Not when you compare it to the nonsense spouted by most religions (Christian or not)in "defense of the faith". There are examples throughout history as you've pointed out or you can just look around today.

    No, the worst of Christian teaching as with that of most religions is the arrogance to believe that they are sole repository of "The Truth", in Pfeffer's words, that they are "The Religion".

    Every other abuse follows and is justified (rationalized?) to the true believer.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  52. Since I'm not only a heretic but also have always been intrigued by the idea of counterfeiting, though never done it, I guess I've had it. I'm also intrigued by the idea of ripping off a casino somehow. Never figured out how to do that either. Same with the credit card companies. Any good ideas? :)

    Still raining, talked to a farmer from Genesee, the ducks are having a great time of it.

    a/bakadwr

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  53. Ernie's third wife was Martha Gellhorn, part Jewish I think, made a reputation for herself as a war correspondent, even covered the Vietnam war in her elder years. She wrote an article about the Muslims once that I read long ago, that I'm trying to find. Good article, about how damned hateful they are; it seems things don't change much in that regard.

    After four years she up and left Ernie, not wanting to live any longer under the shade of the great man, and not being able to stand all the wine bottles and general confusion in which he was living down there in Cuba, partying all night with the locals.
    She liked to write, and was a good writer, winning some prizes and stuff, and said once of herself, "I'm the worst lay on five continents."

    ReplyDelete
  54. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Gellhorn

    Martha Gellhorn, an interesting life

    free wampum day

    a/bakadwr

    ReplyDelete
  55. http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/04/no_exit.html

    No Exit

    good article and comments

    ReplyDelete