I was fascinated by a friend’s fountain pen in high school and got one of my own. I loved it. I discovered a rather obnoxious peacock blue ink that I loved. No one else I knew used it, so I never signed anything- everyone knew it was me.

I’d probably still be using a fountain pen if I could get one and keep it. I worry what would happen to one in the hands of my seven year old though.

In fourth grade it was time to learn to write in cursive. She insisted on the old fountain pens, but my parents could not understand the requirement and kept getting me in trouble with ball points and felt tip pens. I was one of two kids who never got the right kind of pen.

It was a blessing though, because there was a paper shortage in the early 70′s, and we had to use recycled paper, which in those days was like writing on newsprint. Anytime I borrowed a fountain pen, my paper ended up in shreds. If you used a pencil on that grey paper, you could not read what you had written because the pencil lead and the paper were the same color.

Meanwhile my coworker is set on his flat screen and like all the rest of them he won’t even wait for the check. It’s in the mail.

Sadly, feckless and harmful are not mutually exclusive. Otherwise, we all could have had a good laugh today instead of feeling ill.

[That reminds me- I wonder who makes Pepto? Maybe there’s a stock I’d be willing to go long on with many more days like this!

What can I say- I’m a relic from a former time. I’m old fashioned when it comes to language and finances, and prefer movies that were produced before I was born. You have no idea how funny my kids think it is that I spend most of my time on a computer- they figure a quill pen would be more my style.

Destroy America Now

The Judge

spam word: titanic

Igor says “nutcase”. I guess he agrees.

I’m listening to Paulson live on CNBC [Probably a mistake, I haven't had lunch yet.] He’s trying very hard to spread the credit/blame equally among Republicans and Dems, Senate and House and the President. It will be hard to blame any one group when it fails.

You can catch him live online at CNBC.com if your TV isn’t handy.

But with the Soviet bloc in tatters we’re spending multiples of what we used to spend on “defense” (although the only ones to attack us in the last umpteen years have been some rag tag Arab dissidents with home made bombs, boxcutters, and the occassional recreational watercraft). And we’ve got an angry empire of Iraqis and Afghans, the cost of which is spiraling out of control too. We don’t dare touch those budget items, because it would be a moral victory for the rag tags.

And now a cyclical event like a recession needs unprecedented handouts to builders, banks and mortgage lenders on a scale that really COULD make us insolvent.

One day Asia, OPEC and those former basket cases in Latin America are going to stop throwing good money after bad and cut off our credit. And it seems like the approach of that day is accelerating with every confidence crippling action our leaders take.

The most depressing part is that even leaders I normally admire (somewhat), like Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, appear to on the wrong side of this too. I hope they have just momentarily lost their senses, but I’m afraid they’ve been bought off too. The only other explanation is that they know that the situation is much much much more dangerous than anybody is letting on. I take it back. I can’t decide what the most depressing part of all this is.

As for the rest, some will go to charity, and the rest will go to purchase a couple of items I need for my business.

& I agree with Admin. I think we’ll see interest rates start rising by the end of the year when the FED can’t ignore the inflation part of stagflation anymore & pretty soon we’ll be in the teens.

at the least, 70′s & 80′s are here again.

Venezuela’s revamped and renamed currency, the bolivar fuerte (strong bolivar), made its debut with the New Year, in a move designed not only to simplify transactions but also to tame high inflation. The former objective will be met, as the redenominated currency will have three fewer zeroes. The latter goal will not be achievable unless the government of President Hugo Chavez makes significant fiscal and other policy adjustments to address strengthening inflationary pressures. The chances of it doing so over the next year are poor.

These factors are among those that have also fuelled soaring inflation, which reached 22.5% year on year in December 2007 the fastest pace in five years according to newly released Central Bank figures. This rate compares with 17% inflation in full-year 2006, and was substantially above the government?s target of 12%. It was the highest rate of inflation for any Latin American country last year.

am I displaying my stupidity? if I am, at least no one can tell me that face-to-face!

why is my word “bolivar”? (I know Simone de Bolivar from history class.) what does it mean?

I should have written down the numbers, but last night my son divided the price of the bailout by the number of taxpayers. I think he figured it would cost us all around $538 a piece to give us each $300.

What a deal.

“Tax rebate deal: How much will you get?”

should read….”Tax rebate deal: Where the h*** are they getting the money for this?”

[Slight edit- t.]

No way am I buying any plastic junk from Walmart.

We’re just going to have to pay for this giveaway later. Why not just let the economy play out? All this garbage is just election year tapdancing.

I dont get why the dems are going along with it though. If the economy tanks, they look better. Maybe they are more afraid of looking like they are doing nothing. Oh wait, they already have that part covered with the Iraq pullout.

That was my thought. The best advice we could be given as individuals is to reduce our expenses and save more- rough times are ahead. Instead the government wants to write us blank checks and tell us to go spend them, quick. We don’t need more “confidence”, we need more “prudence”.

I wish our government would consider what they are doing for and to families and individuals, rather than the “Economy.”

[Igor says "stupid"- he's on a roll this morning.]