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."

Sunday, November 06, 2011

Sunday Morning Infomercials on the Contour Core Sculpting System

Did you ever wonder if any of these things work? We investigate:





Here is how they are supposed to work:




There will be a follow-up on this as I am tired of doing 2500 sit-ups each morning at 5:00 AM.

85 comments:

  1. During my early investigation phase and having an enquiring mind, I wondered how low did the countour belt go?

    There seems to be some evidence that it may have some additional desirable side effects. That being the case...

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  2. Okay :) Let us know how that works out. :)

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  3. I've been listening to that Keely Smith Mix all morning. Nice relaxing way to start a Sunday morning.

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  4. Enjoy your extra hour. We do change the closkc today?

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  5. Deuce There will be a follow-up on this as I am tired of doing 2500 sit-ups each morning at 5:00 AM

    You lack the proper inducement. They seem to work okay for Olivia Wilde.

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  6. closkc? Focus Deuce!

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  7. He's just stunned by the lawless nature of the athletic department at Penn State.

    The disregard for "Western" civilization, there.

    The focusing upon the resemblance, Penn State to Afghanistan and the "Dancing Boys", there, pales the Christian mind.

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  8. The Conspiracy of Silence

    The one that protects sexual predators, everywhere, it seems.

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  9. Pontiac may be gone, but the General Motors division isn't forgotten -- at least when it come so recalls. GM is recalling 38400 Pontiac G8 sedan models, all of which were imported from GM's Holden division in Australia, ...


    We just had to save those Australian jobs, along with those in Mexico.

    The "White Man's Burden", you know.

    Thankfully the Chinese are suckers for debt.

    Money for nothin', the chicks are free.

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  10. 50. stoicheion: If I had been there, I would have picked up a chair and brained the closest chanter

    I suppose that's better than Pork Rinds for Allah wanting to nuke Mecca because fifteen Saudis got lucky with box cutters, but not much.

    In the United States of America we live under the rule of law. The first Amendment allows citizens to assembly peaceably and petition for a redress of grievances. If the chanters are on private property they are trespassing. If the chanters are blocking a road or going into all hours of the night they are disturbing the peace. Pick up a phone and call 9-11. But don't advocate assault with a chair or pepper spray or any other weapon because incitement to violence is an aggravating factor and it won't be a quick matter of "catch and release" in the can as you seem to imply.

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  11. "Real" Americans, Ms T, they do not call the police when the law is broken.

    Not at Penn State, not in the Catholic Church and not in Idaho.

    One would have to delve deep into the psyche of the miscreants, to discover "Why".

    The essence, though, is the spreading of criminal activity, not the motive for it.

    The miscreant can always find cause for rationalization, of their anti-social and criminal behavior.

    Truth being ...

    Silence is not "Golden"

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  12. Criminal activity, in the pursuit of politics, is an America tradition.

    Protecting sexual predators from detection and prosecution, a crime itself.

    One that is not a "real" American tradition.

    Nor a part of our "National Heritage".

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  13. R u educating on the Jews or Christians this thread?
    Get some new material, the perpetual groundhog day at the Elephant

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  14. No, anon, this thread is dedicated to those that protect sexual predators from detection, prosecution and persecution.

    The institutions and individuals that speak a "good game" but fail to perform their civic duties.

    Those that allow viscous criminals to walk amongst us, while bemoaning the degradation of our culture, by "others".

    The log in their own eye, blinding.

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  15. That a Bishop of the Catholic Church has been indicted, for failing to report his knowledge of sexual crimes to legal authorities, well, Church and State have long been competitors in prescribing justice.

    But the Penn State debacle ...

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  16. desert rat said... "Real" Americans, Ms T, they do not call the police when the law is broken.

    There is a diabolical influence here (and at the Belmont Club) that I will never fail to oppose.

    It contains at its heart a complete lack of empathy that is rooted in the evolutionary transformation of plum-eating, tree-dwelling primates into the most fearsome predator the savannah has ever known. When those instincts are turned against one's own species in a zero-sum, "I win you lose; you win I lose" mentality, it serves to diminish the species as a whole, and disfigures the human soul.

    When someone talks about assaulting chanters in downtown Seattle, or nuking the black rock in downtown Mecca, that is only possible if they do not see the other person as another "I". It can only happen if one does not love one's neighbor as one loves one's self.

    "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn." -- Hillel

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  17. No, This thread is headlined "Sunday Morning Infomercials on the Contour Core Sculpting System."

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  18. Actually, from what little I know about "religion," it seems the whole meme is "do the hateful stuff to the other guys, but not to our guys."

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  19. So... It's not about punishing your enemies or getting that 1% who constitutes the other. Thank u for the clarification T.

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  20. Cultural Contour Sculpting, rufus.

    We're right on target.
    On time, too.

    Cultural Contour Core Sculpting, that's what we're talkin'. Metaphorically, of course.


    How it is that we're going to "shape up".

    Seeing as how no one is volunteering to "ship out".

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  21. :) I don' know How I'm gonna "shape up," Rat.

    It's looking like a pretty big job.

    Mebbe I'll get "Two" belts. :)

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  22. Enlightenment, anon.

    All men are created equal.
    Endowed, by THEIR Creator ...

    They were not, necessarily, endowed by your Creator, don't you know.

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  23. Conversion of "Enemies" to Customers, that is the "Real" American Way.

    The United States, it has no long term enemies, only Interests.

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  24. The reality, rufus ...

    There is not much anyone can do about ...

    The Military Industrial Complex
    The Banking Boners
    The Religious Wars


    Stuff to talk about, create some thought, provoke some incremental change, or retard the same.

    Much ado about nothin' much.

    But sexual predators in our midst.
    That is not a "Given".

    Not something we need to accept.
    Not something to walk away from, because its convenient.

    This We Defend.


    Or become lost in a tempest of cultural calamity.

    As has befallen the Catholic Church and Penn State athletics.

    To name but two of our cultural cores where attempts at contour sculpting have seemingly failed to provide "real" success.

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  25. Hey scumbag. Here is a list of sexual offenders in Arizona. Entertain yourself.

    http://www.azdps.gov/Services/Sex_Offender/

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  26. I haven't read any of the articles about the Penn St. deal, Rat; so, I'm really not qualified to comment.

    All I know is, "power corrupts."

    I never paid much attention to Jon Corzine until I read about him driving down the interstate at 90 mph, putting countless lives at risk. I would have, never, invested a dime with him after that. Character does count.

    Carelessness gets you killed, or "broke."

    I was aghast to read about John Thain's "Golden Toilet Seat." Too late on that one, I'm afraid.

    When you start reading about "Masters of the Universe" it's time to Run, as fast as you can, for the exits.

    "Fan" is short for "fanatic." When the football coach earns more than the President of the Country, not to mention the University, you know bad things will, eventually, start to happen.

    People will start to think they can "defeat Islam," or make Afghanistan "safe for democracy."

    Or that Home Prices will go up 10%/yr, forever, etc, etc.

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  27. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  28. The interests, of even the most righteous among us, go something like this:

    1) Myself

    2) The Other 6,999,999,999

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  29. Those fellas, anon, all caught and prosecuted.

    Because "real" citizens stood up and were counted, by the civil authorities.

    It is those sexual predators that escaped prosecution, because of the Conspiracy of Silence that are the worry.

    Along with those that compounded the sex crime, with their failure to report to authorities, those folks are real dangers to our society.

    As much as those on the lists.

    Those listed are known dangers, prosecuted and adjudicated.

    Those that escaped, through the criminal failures of those knowledgeable of the crimes, those folk are the real threats.

    Roaming the streets because of a ...


    Conspiracy of Silence

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  30. This gal's still the best, though. Norah Jones channels Billy Holiday

    Lover Man

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  31. Interestingly, Massachusetts, while insuring 99% of its citizens, had a budget surplus this year.

    Texas, while insuring 74%, not so much.

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  32. 11. Nichevo: Could somebody remind me why we (ideally, via NGOs or NGIs) shouldn’t just kill them all?

    Because they are created in the likeness and image of God.

    Rufus II said… Actually, from what little I know about “religion,” it seems the whole meme is “do the hateful stuff to the other guys, but not to our guys.”

    It is pure primitive tribalism no more advanced than the ancient conflict between Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons. Mankind turning away from his conceptual potential to operate on the perceptual level of animals: “Get them before they get us!”

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  33. It's probably a competition for resources (food, and survival) more than anything, I'd think.

    Some huge percentage of wolf, and Chimpanzee Deaths occur on the border of neighboring packs/groups.

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  34. As to those forty manly man sayings, rufus ...

    Japanese is still spoken, despite the promise of Fleet Admiral William Frederick Halsey, Jr. to obliterate it ...

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  35. Nuking a rock is far more humane than advocating genocide

    Ms t misquotes for effect not discussion

    The islamic attacks on the west did not start on 911 but rather centuries ago.

    From the crusades to the attacks on the American colonies islam has been clear in it's dehumanizing message which it now states as Jihad and death to America and death to israel

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  36. There were certainly fewer Japanese, than there are Muslims, in the whirled.

    And we fell short of the the Admiral's goal, even so.

    Fire bombing their cities and two nuclear warheads, not enough.

    Not to obliterate the Japanese.
    Not their culture nor their language and not their religion.

    Over a billion Muslims, we can't kill 'em all.

    We couldn't "do" the Japanese, not to the standard set by Fleet Admiral William Frederick Halsey, Jr. at the start of the war.

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  37. Islam never attacked the colonies, in the Americas, anon.

    There were Muslims that raided US shipping in the Med. Taking hostages and holding them for ransom.

    When the US Marines attacked "The Shores of Tripoli", in recompense, it was with a squad of Marines and a battalion of Muslim mercenaries.
    Based out of Egypt.

    It was not a religious war, but one in pursuit of free and fair trade, on the Mediterranean.

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  38. We were, though, able to convert the Japanese from combatants to consumers.

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  39. Anonymous Coward said... Nuking a rock is far more humane than advocating genocide

    Hey, while we're at it, let's nuke the Eiffel Tower too. Destroying a metal structure is far more humane than genocide of the French.

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  40. Anonymous Idiot said: From the crusades to the attacks on the American colonies islam has been clear in it's dehumanizing message which it now states as Jihad and death to America and death to israel

    I know I'm just a stupid girl, but I know for sure the Muslims didn't do the crusades.

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  41. The attacks by Islam on Europe and the Americas were Jidahi from the point of view of the protagonist. Whether the Moslems of N Africa attacked the colonies in the Americas ain't the point. Islam called for jihad on America

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  42. The crusades were Reaction to the Islamic invasion of europe

    And yes you are a stupid person as your vagina is not the issue

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  43. 24. YBR: I no longer think ideology is running the show – except as window dressing to distract from the serious negotiations being conducted in anonymous venues between capital and labor. The two forces have not yet been brought into balance.

    In a free market the two forces automatically seek balance unless a human agency intervenes. Labor is a commodity as surely as energy or minerals. Immigration laws intervene to keep labor prices artificially high by creating a scarcity of cheap labor. These rules are circumvented by corporations picking up and moving to places where the labor prices are lower, but even this must be balanced against transportation costs and the lower sale value of shoddier work. What is interesting is that the OWS side of the house favors open immigration at the same time they want to prevent corporations from outsourcing. The net result of that position would still be lower wages. And the Tea Party side of the house favors closed borders at the same time removing pressure from corporations to outsource, again with the same result. So after doing all the algebra and canceling all the redundant terms in the equation, what we have left is nothing but Boo Hooray Theory. "Boo for the Cowboys, hooray for the Seahawks."

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  44. Anonymous Moron said... The crusades were Reaction to the Islamic invasion of europe

    Not even the European Union considers Turkey part of Europe. And the reaction to the Islamic invasion of Turkey was the "Battleship Maine" or "Gulf of Tonkin Incident" or "Yellowcake Uranium" of it's day, a bullshit casus belli so the Pope could effect regime change in Israel.

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  45. .

    Saw an add for the 'Flex Belt' on TV. Unlike the video on this post, the commercial stressed the colored photos (MRI?) that is only shown briefly here. They showed the before, the abs after a typical series of crunches sans Flex-Belt and the after, the abs after a workout with the belt.

    The before was as shown, merely the normal look of the abs. The 'Flex-Belt' scan was deep red as shown. The implication was that the 'red' reflected a more intensive workout. My first impression was that it was a scam and that the 'red' was prpbably from the normal heat buildup of having any kind of belt around your waste for 1/2 hour.

    However, since they seem to have gone away from that claim and I am always looking for an easy fix, I second Rufus' suggestion that Deuce purchase the belt and let us know how it works.

    Anticipating that Deuce is up to this challenge, I will try to remember to ask how this worked out on December 30, 2011 (about seven weeks from now).


    (An alternative would be to wait until Consumers Report comes out with a report on the Flex-Belt.)

    .

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  46. Anonymous Imbecile said...

    Whether the Moslems of N Africa attacked the colonies in the Americas ain't the point. Islam called for jihad on America

    Since the Pope was the universal pastor of the Western Christian Church until the Reformation, and the Patriarch of Constantinople still is the universal pastor of the Eastern Christian church, it is safe to say their joint declaration of the First Crusade in the 1090s was "Christianity calling for crusade on Islam".

    However, Islam has no such thing as a Pope or Patriarch, only a shitload of individual Imans all issuing conflicting fatwas. So it is not possible to anthropromorphize "Islam" and say that "Islam called for Jihad on America", particularly since America didn't exist in 620 when the final edition of the Qu'ran hit the street and Allah clammed the fuck up.

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  47. i am probably one out a thousand that watched the Gingrich - Cain debate. It was a love fest. Gingrich determined that he had nothing to gain by going after Cain and pulled all his love taps, figuring that Cain would punch himself out and not be considered after a few more rounds.

    Cain did ok. I have great hopes for him becoming Secretary of Commerce.

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  48. I may take the plunge on the belt, strictly for journalistic reasons.

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  49. .

    Sweet.

    Hope it works out. I could use it.

    .

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  50. .

    Federal employees make average 26 percent less than private workers, Labor agency reports



    This is a surprising survey given all the other surveys that claim the complete opposite. What is not surprising is that it came out of a government agency.

    It would be interesting to see the hard data behind it and how it was developed.

    .

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  51. Federal employees make average 26 percent less than private workers, Labor agency reports

    And it's only getting worse. No COLA this year, no COLA next year. No burger or fries either. Then again, I'm not collecting unemployment, that's worth something.

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  52. Ms t you state that euro's don't consider turkey part of Europe....


    Guess you never heard of Constantinople ?


    You really are an ingnorant person.

    Might I politely suggest you speak less and listen more as you just show what a fool you are....

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  53. .

    So let's recap:

    1. Obama commits American forces -- as part of NATO -- to supporting a rebel faction in Libya whose goal is to overthrow Gadhafi. Obama does this while having absolutely no clue about what kind of people make up this rebel faction.

    2. The rebel forces prevail, primarily through NATO airstrikes. It was a NATO airstrike that took out a Gadhafi convoy fleeing Sirte that allowed rebel forces to capture the deposed Libyan leader.

    3. Gadhafi ends up in the hands of what can only be considered a mob. He is beaten, tortured, possibly sodomized, and fatally shot in what has been oxymoronically described as "mob justice." His body is then put on public display in a meat store.

    4. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton flies into Libya and announces, with the smug arrogance we might expect from an official from Obama's administration, "We came, we saw, he [Gadhafi] died."

    5. Leaders of Libya's National Transition Council announce that Shariah law will prevail in Libya.

    6. Obama is mum on No. 5.

    He hasn't said one word about the blatantly false account of Gadhafi's death that interim Libyan Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril initially gave reporters...



    On Libya, Hillary Channels Julius Ceasar While Obama Channels Silent Cal Coolidge

    .

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  54. .

    I suspect that Obama realizes the rationale he offered for Libya was pure fantasy otherwise he would be crowing about the end result more than he has.

    Or, perhaps he is just not sure about 'the end result' and how it will play out.

    Probably smarter to keep his mouth shut.

    .

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  55. the videos in your post are two different products.

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  56. Anonymous Jackass: Anonymous said...Ms t you state that euro's don't consider turkey part of Europe....Guess you never heard of Constantinople ?

    Well, lets see what the Europeans say. I'm just a dumb American chick.

    "I want to say that Europe must give itself borders, that not all countries have a vocation to become members of Europe, beginning with Turkey which has no place inside the European Union." -- Nicolas Sarkozy, 2007

    You really are an ingnorant person.

    That's spelled ignorant.

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  57. I asked a professional and she said don't waste your money.

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  58. .

    I asked a professional and she said don't waste your money.

    A professional what?

    Besides, we want an independant analysis by someone we can trust.

    The Deuce, not some stinkin professional. This is what the OWS movement is really all about.

    .

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  59. my source is pretty trustworthy.

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  60. It might work if you continue to eat healthy and use an exercise program to burn calories.

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  61. Ritholtz sounds like as assholtz.

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  62. Puss in Boots put one up the rear end of Tower Heist.

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  63. .

    Ritholz probably would sound like an asshole to an officionado of 'Puss in Boots'.

    .

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  64. That big lie article was good Quirk!

    Doug, read it!!!

    We can then watch your head explode as you experience cognitive dissonance.

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  65. in 620 when the final edition of the Qu'ran hit the street and Allah clammed the fuck up.


    You gotta admit, the girl can "turn a phrase." :)

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  66. Charles Martel

    He is remembered for winning the Battle of Tours (also known as the Battle of Poitiers) in 732, in which he defeated an invading Muslim army and halted northward Islamic expansion in western Europe.[7]

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  67. Rufus II said... You gotta admit, the girl can "turn a phrase." :)

    Leave no sleeping dogs unturned. That's the "trick" of it.

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  68. .

    That big lie article was good Quirk!


    It was good in that it's hard to argue with the various causes Ritholz listed for the financial meltdown. The problem is he doesn't go far enough.

    He seems to downplay the role of government (while at the same time citing instances where it contributed to the problem) and throws most of the blame on big business and the banks. While the banks are major players in the fiasco, IMO boys in OZ, a 'live for today' US public, and others can be cited for their share of the blame also.

    But he does a good job giving one side of the equation.

    With regard to those who regard Ritholz as an asshole (at least as regards this article) I suspect it has more to do with him citing evolution as the best thesis we have for the development of man than anything he had to say about the financial crisis.

    .

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  69. "Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise. I know, I've tried to deal with them." -Barry Goldwater

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  70. Ritholz is an expert, and very much to be taken seriously when expounding on his area of expertise.

    However, like many other asshole experts, he feels that his expertise is from natural genius, and not study. This leads him to consider himself an Expert Authority on Everything upon which he has done the slightest pondering.

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  71. Re: natural genius

    There is no such thing. While he may be stupid, is not a genius, natural or otherwise - no offense intended.

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  72. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  73. It was a two internet page article in a newspaper so I would hardly expect it to be the definitive work on The Great Recession' yet it still a pretty good summary with strong enough arguments to, hopefully, give our buddy Doug some cognitive dissonce. Will he actually read it? I doubt it.

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  74. .

    Would anyone like to dispute what he had to say in the article?

    I guess that is the question.

    .

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  75. Barry Ritholz is extremely good within his area of expertise, and the subject of this article is right in his "wheelhouse."

    Other than when he wandered outside of his area of knowledge, his only errors, as Q pointed out, were "errors of omission."

    One other thing that No One, even Ritholtz, wants to address is the rank fraud, and Misrepresentation that ran rampant in the Mortgage Loan Offices.

    Too many Big Crooks to be mad at, the little guys will have to "walk" on this one.

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  76. No, Q, he was pretty much right on. We all know that.

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  77. .

    President Obama has called people who work on Wall Street “fat-cat bankers,” and his reelection campaign has sought to harness public frustration with Wall Street. Financial executives retort that the president’s pursuit of financial regulations is punitive and that new rules may be “holding us back.”

    But both sides face an inconvenient fact: During Obama’s tenure, Wall Street has roared back, even as the broader economy has struggled.

    The largest banks are larger than they were when Obama took office and are nearing the level of profits they were making before the depths of the financial crisis in 2008, according to government data.

    Wall Street firms — independent companies and the securities-trading arms of banks — are doing even better. They earned more in the first 21 / 2 years of the Obama administration than they did during the eight years of the George W. Bush administration, industry data show...


    Obama OutBushes Bush When it Comes the Banks

    .

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  78. .

    Banks have also benefited from the massive increase during the recession in unemployment insurance, which is a joint federal and state program. Increasingly, banks offer debit cards to the unemployed to collect their benefits. These debit cards carry a range of fees that bolster bank bottom lines.

    .

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  79. The Bitch Teresita said...
    Anonymous Jackass: Anonymous said...Ms t you state that euro's don't consider turkey part of Europe....Guess you never heard of Constantinople ?

    Well, lets see what the Europeans say. I'm just a dumb American chick.

    "I want to say that Europe must give itself borders, that not all countries have a vocation to become members of Europe, beginning with Turkey which has no place inside the European Union." -- Nicolas Sarkozy, 2007

    You really are an ingnorant person.

    That's spelled ignorant





    You lie, distort and change the subject and don't answer the point that was made.

    Maybe that's why you are such a cunt.

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