tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-337023702011-12-22T10:19:16.069-06:00Commentary on current events, politics and law. <br><br> Copyright © Fred Roper 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.comBlogger6201100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-38549040316911752292011-03-06T11:39:00.002-06:002011-03-06T12:00:59.679-06:00

First, a satirical take on the disparity between how wealthy people (business and financial executives) see their compensation versus what their employees and public service employees should receive: The Daily Show Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook Back in 2007, I proposed that Social Security should become a full pension system.

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-35179943181942556222010-10-14T19:35:00.000-05:002010-10-14T19:35:28.873-05:00

A recent news story, Catching Waves, details how a new green energy source seeks to capture untapped energy sources in oceans and rivers. The potential for harnessing ocean waves, currents and tides to produce electricity is vast. The technical potential for ocean wave power in the U.S. is 90,000 MW, according to estimates by the Electric Power Research Institute. If the U.S. adopted a national

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-18633301760161693622010-10-12T19:39:00.007-05:002010-10-12T20:14:48.916-05:00

Here is a great video for discussion:OK, some thoughts on this video:At about the 6:00 mark, the speaker talks about the system as a "Ponzi scheme." I think this is inaccurate. I think it is more accurate to describe it as "parasitical." I think this is a more accurate way of thinking about it as those who loan money live off of the production of others. Granted, a Ponzi finance system is a

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-54429887231707526592010-09-26T10:02:00.002-05:002010-09-26T10:04:54.313-05:00

It's the beginning of autumn here in the United States, and it looks like someone posted one of Mark Heard's early songs on YouTube. Enjoy.Appalachian Melody

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-23573413523978393292008-04-13T09:16:00.003-05:002008-04-13T09:59:20.312-05:00

Even though Earth Day 2008 is still more than a week away (technically it is April 22, 2008), I wanted to get a jump on a post about it. There are many events planned around the world next weekend. The zoo in Houston, Texas will be holding an event this coming Saturday, April 19. Anyway, last year, when I was searching for a song that had an environmental theme to it, Charles Hugh Smith of Of

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-68249232181974110902008-02-20T18:38:00.003-06:002008-02-20T18:50:07.285-06:00

60 Minutes: HappinessWe could learn a lot from the Danes (and all Scandinavians for that matter). A new study shows that they are the happiest people in the world.I consider myself a Utilitarian in this sense: we should strive to create the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. I am not a purist, mind you. There obviously are values that would more important (where it would

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-62773181074072237292008-02-10T19:13:00.000-06:002008-02-10T19:26:34.816-06:00

There are a few reasons why this video seems appropos right now:1. I recently visited the Houston Space Center. I'll get around to posting the pics eventually. I promise.2. Hellasious yesterday wrote a post on his blog, Sudden Debt, called "Space Oddity" where he referred to David Bowie's Major Tom lyrics. Why am I not using David Bowie's song, then? Because I like this song more.3. There

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-87518211812831353082008-01-31T06:56:00.000-06:002008-01-31T06:59:02.053-06:00

I haven't been posting much over here lately. Most of my recent posts have been over at DailyKos. Click here if you want to see some of my more recent writings.

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-10607354229855522052008-01-31T06:51:00.000-06:002008-01-31T06:56:18.163-06:00

Take a look at this:A Beautiful Model for Fraud and here is the accompanying article:The great credit unwind of '08.

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-49364949306399594042008-01-19T22:11:00.000-06:002008-01-19T22:27:01.667-06:00

In this Kansas video, a chess game between white and dark-hooded creatures seemingly representing the forces of Life and Death (playing the white and black chess pieces accordingly) is the backdrop to this rock hit video.Kansas -- Play the Game Tonight

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-74831947593302338582008-01-19T21:32:00.000-06:002008-01-19T21:50:58.428-06:00

Prior to Mark Heard's final three CDs, Dancing At the Policeman's Ball was Mark's biggest "hit." It was featured in the movie Dakota starring Lou Diamond Phillips. Although not a dance song, it was featured in the scene of a policeman's dance.As I posted recently, Mark said that:"Policeman's Ball" is speaking about the isolationism to which I've referred earlier - how we as Christians can get

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-30270026690810110462008-01-19T11:33:00.000-06:002008-01-19T11:42:20.714-06:00

This is the way the scam works:A person claiming to be a potential roommate sends a check for an amount far above the amount owed (this is a HUGE red flag). They then request that the balance be sent back to them so that they can buy an airline ticket or some other expense (which is bogus). The check they send is fake.Check the links and instructions I provide in this post.Also, go to

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-83706317752398187592008-01-18T06:22:00.000-06:002008-01-18T06:56:23.460-06:00

In late breaking news this morning, American World Chess Champion, Bobby Fischer, has died in a Reykjavik hospital, announced by his spokesman Gardar Sverrisson. According to the latest news reports at the time I am writing this, he died of an unspecified illness.I never met Bobby Fischer, but his 60 Memorable Games was one of the two first chess books I ever owned and studied.In later years,

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-54107759129510694852008-01-11T12:59:00.000-06:002008-01-11T13:05:32.672-06:00

Here is a satirical Mark Heard song with a serious message. Mark explained what he meant in the liner notes of his Victims of the Age album:On this album, "Nothing is Bothering Me," "Dancing at the Policeman's Ball," and "Everybody Loves a Holy War" are all satires touching on problems. The first one is about the lie we can live as people by not seeing what's happening in the world around us. We

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-58067084973190690312008-01-11T06:02:00.000-06:002008-01-11T06:11:39.923-06:00

There is a new phishing e-mail scam going around involving tax "refunds."The letter says this:Internal Revenue ServiceUnited States Department of the TreasuryAfter the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we havedetermined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of $496.23.Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 3-9 days in order toprocess it.A refund can be delayed

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-31076461598016442472008-01-09T05:53:00.000-06:002008-01-09T06:30:43.887-06:00

Bankrate.com has a list of the "dirty dozen" tax scams and how to spot them. Here are the list of tax scams covered:1. Telephone tax refund abuses 2. Abusive Roth IRAs 3. Tax-related identity theft phishing 4. Disguised corporate ownership 5. Zero wage claims 6. Return preparer fraud 7. American Indian employment credit8. Illegitimate trusts9. Structured entity credits10. Improper charitable

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-27511693208638759182008-01-05T20:40:00.000-06:002008-01-05T21:08:30.440-06:00

Talk about environmentally friendly! It only goes 200 kilometers on a tank (about 125 miles), but it is filled up with air. The first video is a BBC news report.And here is an Australian report:

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-47457474490450952922008-01-03T23:30:00.000-06:002008-01-03T23:34:47.582-06:00

Foreclosure Fraud Scam PSADon't fall prey to scam artists to promise to "save" your home from foreclosure. The answer they promise will be worse than the disease. If you are having a problem, call your lender or talk to a bankruptcy attorney.Hat tip: Tanta at Calculated Risk

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-83177162400039740502007-12-22T10:00:00.000-06:002007-12-22T10:09:22.005-06:00

The Christian pop singer Cliff Richard (also known as the "Elvis of Great Britain") came out with a new Christmas song last year. I hope you like it.I am back home in Oklahoma for the Christmas weekend and I stayed in my home that I am selling for the last time last night (with no heat except for the fireplace as the pilot light went out on the central heating and air while I was gone -- brrr!).

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-83599235491607935452007-12-16T19:58:00.000-06:002007-12-16T20:27:58.891-06:00

Shirov and Kamsky discuss the final game post-mortem.From ChessBase.com: American GM Gata Kamsky has won the FIDE World Cup.Normally, the winner of the FIDE World Cup would be crowned the FIDE World Champion, but ChessBase.com reports that last year FIDE changed the rules so that the winner of the World Cup would have to play the previous winner -- Bulgaria's Veselin Topalov -- to become FIDE's

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-88886465072628719422007-12-16T08:41:00.000-06:002007-12-16T08:48:16.394-06:00

How about some Christmas Wrapping from The Waitresses to with those Amazon.com Gift Certificates?

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-85410270179934225002007-12-16T08:21:00.000-06:002007-12-16T08:33:33.090-06:00

Amazon.com has sent me an e-mail with a special announcement: I get a whopping 6% return if you buy a Gift Certificate through my site (this month only). So, if you are one of those people who have trouble thinking of what to buy for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or any other special occasion, would you consider a Amazon.com Gift Certificate?

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-76998723349757648402007-12-14T19:25:00.001-06:002007-12-14T19:41:57.164-06:00

American Gata Kamsky won the second game of the finals match over Spain's Alexei Shirov for the FIDE World Cup Chess Championship. The first game was drawn. With two regular games yet to be played, Kamsky is in a very strong position as Shirov will have to win one of them to send it to a playoff. Kamsky started out with the black pieces and won his game today while playing the white pieces.You

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-17059550043175220832007-12-14T19:17:00.000-06:002007-12-14T19:19:35.951-06:00

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-64619401823334524452007-12-13T19:14:00.000-06:002007-12-13T20:14:31.404-06:00

After reading this short article today, Employees Raiding 401(k)s, CFOs Say (hat tip Calculated Risk), all I could do was shake my head. From the short article:The survey finds that nearly 20 percent of companies have seen increased hardship withdrawals from 401(k) accounts, often to cover mortgage payments or to avoid personal bankruptcy."In the last four or five months we have seen an absolute

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-33262226945071441362007-12-10T17:53:00.000-06:002007-12-10T18:55:50.504-06:00

ChessBase.com reports that Gata Kamsky, who took a long sabbatical from competitive chess to obtain a law degree, has knocked out Norwegian wunderkind Magnus Carlsen to reach the finals of the FIDE World Chess Championship.I have little doubt that the talented Norwegian will become World Champion himself someday. Having just turned 17 years old, he still has plenty of time to hone his

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-64474641509854583532007-12-09T13:47:00.000-06:002007-12-09T13:51:45.551-06:00

My Grown Up Christmas List

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-75133442065200240812007-12-09T13:13:00.000-06:002007-12-09T13:40:58.315-06:00

Being a logical, rational person comes naturally for me. From my expertise as a chess player to my legal training, my mind is geared toward acceptance of scientific truths. I am probably unique in that I see no conflict between evolutionary theories of science and a faith that accepts the likelihood of a supernatural creation. Science can answer the question of how we got here; but it is up to

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-22512097112308771472007-12-07T22:10:00.000-06:002007-12-07T22:13:16.999-06:00

This video will just make you shake your head in disgust or make you angry at the stupidity of unnecessary armed conflict.

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-12884743456639572082007-12-05T17:51:00.000-06:002007-12-06T22:34:30.673-06:00

Today at work, my co-workers threw me a "surprise" birthday party. (I kind of halfway expected it.)Going to Answers.com today, I found out that I share a birthday with: * Martin Van Buren (1782-1862): 8th President of the U.S. * Walt Disney (1901-1966): of Mickey Mouse fame * Frankie Muniz (22): actor, Malcolm in the MiddleAnd at ChessBase.com, I discovered I share the birthday with

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-14523816113097824542007-11-30T07:15:00.000-06:002007-11-30T07:27:31.792-06:00

Back in February, I posted on of Mark Heard's songs One of the Dominoes. From the song:Heaven help a seeker of truthIn an age of liesGonna make himself believeThat the truth is whatever he buysGonna buy what the world says to buyIn a monotoneGonna cry when the whole world criesAnd the truth is knownHeaven heaven help meI'm one of the dominoesChain reaction comingBlow by blowSome economic blog

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-22813828052829139422007-11-30T06:37:00.000-06:002007-11-30T07:06:59.695-06:00

Despair.com has come out with some new demotivators. Here are my favorite two:You know, if I were smarter, I'd convince Dr. E. L. Kersten that I should get a percentage of the sales from the references from my blog like I do from Amazon.com. But I guess I'm just too big a sucker for that. From his latest e-mail to me (edited for grammar):Why shouldn't you get suckered again? You're great at it

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-57275435023957273722007-11-20T21:04:00.000-06:002007-11-20T21:20:54.601-06:00

I originally entitled this post "Outrage of the Decade." I have since thought that the current title is more appropriate for the story.Wounded Soldier: Military Wants Part Of Bonus Back: PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―The U.S. Military is demanding that thousands of wounded service personnel give back signing bonuses because they are unable to serve out their commitments.To get people to sign up, the

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-86123547635167216212007-11-19T23:14:00.000-06:002007-11-19T23:28:06.579-06:00

This song, from the Dry Bones Dance CD, sure sounds like an anti-war song. How Many Tears Gunmetal grey for golden rules White hot steel for the comfort of fools Molten wills in iron hands Forge new sons for the Motherland How many tears will fall down How many tears must fall How many tears will stain this ground

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-22308519446782720732007-11-19T22:11:00.000-06:002007-11-19T23:06:08.798-06:00

From Business Week:Petrobras announced Nov. 8 it has found between 5 billion and 8 billion barrels of light oil and gas at the Tupi field, 155 miles offshore southern Brazil in an area it shares with Britain's BG Group and Portugal's Galp Energy. Tupi is the world's biggest oil find since a 12 billion-barrel Kazakh field was discovered in 2000, and the largest ever in deep waters. Perhaps more

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-87993134033991856802007-11-13T18:40:00.000-06:002007-11-13T18:47:41.406-06:00

From Yahoo News: New technique creates cheap, abundant hydrogen: report:CHICAGO (AFP) - US researchers have developed a method of producing hydrogen gas from biodegradable organic material, potentially providing an abundant source of this clean-burning fuel, according to a study released Monday.The technology offers a way to cheaply and efficiently generate hydrogen gas from readily available and

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-9341757734793327782007-11-13T18:30:00.000-06:002007-11-13T19:11:52.049-06:00

From CNN Money: Buffett: Tax my kin, please:"Without the estate tax, you in effect will have an aristocracy of wealth, which means you pass down the ability to command the resources of the nation based on heredity rather than merit," Buffett told the New York Times in 2001. "[Repeal would be like] choosing the 2020 Olympic team by picking the eldest sons of the gold-medal winners in the 2000

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-6027510665061639002007-11-06T18:52:00.001-06:002007-11-06T19:36:00.333-06:00

A report in today's New York Times, Dubious Fees Hit Borrowers in Foreclosures, shows how mortgage servicers can profit from the foreclosure process to the detriment of not only the borrower, but the economy as a whole.Because there is little oversight of foreclosure practices and the fees that are charged, bankruptcy specialists fear that some consumers may be losing their homes unnecessarily or

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-40150417606057889722007-11-06T17:46:00.000-06:002007-11-06T18:39:19.219-06:00

With the advent of global warming, potable water will become an increasingly scarce commodity. As the arctic and antarctic ice caps begin to melt in summer, sea levels will begin to rise. Couple this with poor urban planning (much like what is happening in Atlanta right now) and you have the makings of a potential crisis for millions of people.There is one thing America is known for: ingenuity.

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-86133933834112714432007-10-31T20:15:00.000-05:002007-10-31T20:26:55.990-05:00

As a follow-up to my post on How To Spot A Scam, here is a link to a website dedicated to helping potential victims spot fake checks: FakeChecks.org.Here is a PSA advertising the site:There are more videos here.

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-85559295624187353812007-10-30T21:56:00.000-05:002007-10-30T22:06:06.434-05:00

One of the things I have been thinking about is the reason for the inflating of the money supply. Conservatives have been arguing that cutting taxes increases tax revenues using the Laffer Curve argument. How could this sleight-of-hand be accomplished? Inflate the money supply. With the combination of nominally more money in the economy and the effect of the AMT tax hitting the middle class,

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-21682257837419396752007-10-30T17:50:00.000-05:002007-10-30T17:51:22.936-05:00

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-19789402845378414612007-10-30T17:23:00.000-05:002007-10-30T17:44:02.308-05:00

From CNN Money's The $915B bomb in consumers' wallets:(Fortune Magazine) -- This past summer's subprime meltdown involved about $900 billion in now-suspect securitized debt, reckless lending, and consumers who buckled under the weight of loans they couldn't afford. Now another link in the consumer debt chain - credit cards - is starting to show signs of strain. And the fear that the $915 billion

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-91183686588605329032007-10-29T18:24:00.000-05:002007-10-29T18:38:21.307-05:00

I apologize for not posting. If it's not one thing, it's another. My computer was having problems with random access memory this time. I think it's fixed now. I think.I've also been doing a lot of reading and thinking; and spending my weekends traveling and cleaning.I am back to posting about one of the issues that got me to start this blog: health care. Michael Moore has started a new web

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-43747438819304416672007-10-23T07:11:00.000-05:002007-10-23T07:14:39.584-05:00

Read The Long, Dark Night for a sad story of financial disaster due to medical debt.He reeled off a long list of charges that are coming at him like machine-gun fire, bills that he cannot afford to pay.“So we’re selling the house,” he said. He sat quiet for a moment, then added in a soft voice, “You shouldn’t have to go live in a tent somewhere just because you don’t have insurance.”

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-81050649821220129732007-10-21T02:50:00.000-05:002007-10-21T02:58:43.826-05:00

This one has real substance discussed. Maher's comment about needing the KGB at the beginning referred to a group of protester's at his show disrupting the program. They were conspiracy theorists who allege that the World Trade Center's tower #7 had to have been brought down by demolition explosives and Maher had called these people crazy on a previous program. Maher had to have security

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-80281146980358287972007-10-19T20:37:00.000-05:002007-10-19T20:45:52.428-05:00

Not much of substance was discussed.Best line:Kasprov: "In chess there are rules. In Russian politics there are no rules."Both Stephen Colbert and Garry Kasparov have new books on the market.

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-43798302877897913612007-10-16T07:00:00.000-05:002007-10-16T07:05:38.226-05:00

Here is a Mark Heard song that seems to have some relevance to our times. From Stop the Dominoes:You Could Lie To Me You could lie to me with a ring of truth And I would not understand You could lead me on to the pits of Hell I'm a less-than-perfect man Oh - Who's gonna warn me Oh - How can I tell Oh - It's so easy

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-15915968361634272852007-10-14T21:43:00.000-05:002007-10-16T07:00:16.111-05:00

Taken from Mark Heard: Orphan of God:Mark Heard: Orphan of Godby Michael James McGonigalWhen one of my editors asked me to write a column on the talented singer, producer and songwriter Mark Heard, I was elated to learn that so much of his discography had recently been added to eMusic’s catalogue. Frequently compared to the likes of Townes Van Zandt, Tom Petty, Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan, Heard’

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-25393914002158753102007-10-11T20:56:00.000-05:002007-10-11T22:19:22.946-05:00

Today, blogger Tanta, who writes for Calculated Risk, today wrote about predatory practices in the mortgage industry in HMDA Data on High Priced Loans. A clip:This whole dynamic may be hard for the WSJ and its fellows in the Big Paid Media, so let me explain this very clearly. In 1975, some folks accused lenders of redlining, which means not granting credit at all to some people. The lenders

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-46207347612160278112007-10-09T20:23:00.000-05:002007-10-09T21:16:22.849-05:00

From a link over at Sudden Debt, I found this quote today at TheStreet.com:While many pros have been spending their time telling us why this market can't possibly continue to be so strong, the foolish bulls who harbor no doubts have been racking up some great profits. With the credit problems, slowing economy, real estate meltdown, high oil and weak dollar, it has been very easy to make a strong

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-14966243274798567712007-10-08T22:40:00.000-05:002007-10-08T22:41:29.536-05:00

Sometime today I received my 10,000th hit. Thank you to all my readers who have supported my blog over the last year.

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-38947150763515995802007-10-07T21:26:00.000-05:002007-10-07T22:17:04.026-05:00

An anonymous commenter over at Sudden Debt has alerted me to an article in The American Prospect entitled The Alarming Parallels between 1929 and 2007.Testimony of Robert KuttnerBefore the Committee on Financial ServicesRep. Barney Frank, ChairmanU.S. House of RepresentativesWashington, D.C.October 2, 2007Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee:Thank you for this opportunity. My name is Robert

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-90859696863065670732007-10-07T07:18:00.000-05:002007-10-07T07:30:42.384-05:00

From the story U.S. Prosecutors Say New Limits May Help Future Enrons Go Free: Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. businesses, with the help of civil libertarians, are on the verge of outmaneuvering federal prosecutors and persuading Congress to limit the government's power to pursue corporate fraud.Lawmakers are considering a measure that would, among other things, bar the government from demanding that

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-31307883087308988192007-10-06T20:38:00.000-05:002007-10-06T21:12:42.907-05:00

Kevin Max is another one of the members of DC Talk besides Toby Mac and Michael Tait. (He is also a Mark Heard fan, by the way.) His major solo hit, Existence, got regular airplay on the Christian stations. Here is the video:Kevin Max -- ExistenceA fan of his created a video featuring his song Fade To Red to Lord of the Rings clips.Kevin Max -- Fade To Red

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-1110202007646960812007-10-06T20:24:00.000-05:002007-10-06T20:31:11.741-05:00

This song is another one by Mark Heard that has a kind of Cajun style to it. It appears on his Second Hand CD and again on the High Noon compilation CD released after his death. You can listen to the song at Rhapsody.com. It is song number 8 on the Second Hand CD. I Just Wanna Get Warm The mouths of the best poets Speak but a few words And then

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-1985206689949470372007-10-06T20:13:00.000-05:002007-10-06T20:21:05.094-05:00

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure to be taken on a guided tour of the swamps along the Texas-Louisiana border. The tours cost is reasonable (about $25) and lasts about two hours. This pictorial post will take you through the tour in the order that I remember it.Here is a flower that our guide showed us just before the tour began:Here is an example of the kind of trees that grow in the

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-17688216558383826172007-10-06T19:25:00.000-05:002007-10-06T19:32:00.741-05:00

Congratulations to Two Headed Blog for winning the Best Commentary Award at the Okie Blog Awards. The runner-up was Bounded Rationality.Congratulations to all the other winners and nominees.

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-11574827479649909852007-10-06T18:51:00.000-05:002007-10-06T19:11:10.117-05:00

You all have heard of Debtor's Prison, but how many of you were aware of the fact that many convicts come out of prison with more financial debt than they can repay (and rarely is it dischargeable in bankruptcy).The New York Times today brings light to this rarely discussed topic in an editorial today.The scope of the ex-offender debt problem is outlined in a new study commissioned by the Justice

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-53632559833972314282007-10-05T17:45:00.000-05:002007-10-05T17:49:53.957-05:00

Relief Bill for Homeowners Advance WASHINGTON (AP) -- Financial relief for homeowners facing foreclosure or in bankruptcy advanced in the House Thursday when the House approved legislation to help financially strapped homeowners.The bill, passed by a 386-to-27 vote, would give a tax break to homeowners who have mortgage debt forgiven as part of a foreclosure or renegotiation of a loan. No taxes

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-46227215866308371642007-10-04T22:13:00.000-05:002007-10-04T22:21:42.520-05:00

I found a statement made by Alan Greenspan recently quite disturbing. Greenspan Book Criticizes Bush And Republicans: Greenspan worries that rising income inequality could undo “the cultural ties that bind our society” and even lead to “large-scale violence.” His solution to remedy this situation is “not higher taxes on the rich but improved education”, which, he claims, “can be helped by

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-25667095850930235542007-10-04T21:51:00.000-05:002007-10-04T22:11:50.407-05:00

Today, over at Sudden Debt, an anonymous commenter named Bernard left a comment on the post A Tale of Two Recessions:Under the Basel Accord for every $100 of AAA securitized assets, a bank need only hold $0.60 of equity, to back up that debt. The theory is AAA assets are among the highest rated and thus the risk of default is virtually nil. However, for every BBB securitized asset, a bank would

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-20827435233867429622007-10-04T20:55:00.000-05:002007-10-04T21:51:15.656-05:00

Today, Alex Taylor III wrote an article posted at CNN Money wherein he criticized Thomas Friedman of the New York Times in his article Debunking auto industry myths. That all fine and good; but in the process he made (I feel) an unfair statement:It has been argued here before that if the government wants to be serious about improving fuel economy, all it has to do is boost the tax on gasoline.

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-30670707454122817262007-10-03T21:18:00.000-05:002007-10-03T21:33:25.141-05:00

Back in February, I wrote about human rights abuses against the Christian minority in Myanmar in my post Myanmar: The Other Killing Field. Now, according to reports on CNN, it appears that abuses are happening even to Buddhist monks. Thankfully, Anderson Cooper with his 360° program has been bringing these activities to light (and CNN in general). He also has been reporting about abuses in

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-82855865293611943372007-10-02T21:18:00.000-05:002007-10-02T21:33:34.288-05:00

John Dean has written the third part in his three part series on Authoritarian Conservatism. Here is a snippet:Nixon created the "imperial presidency." After the public rejected that concentration of power, in the aftermath of Watergate, Reagan restored the imperial presidency in another guise. Now, Bush and Cheney have created the post-imperial presidency. Using the threat of terrorism as their

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-29215064961439864242007-10-01T19:25:00.000-05:002007-10-30T22:07:33.863-05:00

David Brooks in his column last Friday in the New York Times, wrote a column entitled The Entitlements People. I am going to respond to some of his statements (and the general underlying presumptions of his argument). Let's start with an alarmist statement:The U.S. government has $43 trillion in unfunded liabilities, or $350,000 for every taxpayer. Standard & Poor’s projects that in 2012, the

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-13547038866565926692007-10-01T18:05:00.000-05:002007-10-01T18:56:53.925-05:00

Sorry about the lack of posts, but the internet here is rather persnickety. It doesn't work half the time; and when it does work, it seems that I can't post for one reason or another. I also have the problem that sometimes I can only read one e-mail, and then it just locks up.Anyway, back to reality...In the news today, Bankruptcy Change Could Save 600,000 Homes:NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- One

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-31936625476981193262007-09-26T07:00:00.000-05:002007-09-26T07:18:16.607-05:00

Thanks to Charles Smith at Of Two Minds for bringing this to my attention. The Shock Doctrine is a new short film by Alfonso Cuarón (the Director of Children of Men) based on the new book by Naomi Klein regarding how leaders in power use shock techniques to control entire populations."Only a crisis -- real or perceived -- produces real change." -- Milton FriedmanAs the short film says: "

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-31220703856080104302007-09-25T19:48:00.000-05:002007-09-25T19:51:04.738-05:00

The Kasparov Revolution.World chess champion Garry Kasparov is leading the political opposition against Vladimir Putin's government. It may be his hardest match ever. Steve Kroft reports. Click on the link above to watch the video.

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-82548933947489294202007-09-25T18:14:00.000-05:002007-09-25T19:10:06.970-05:00

You would think that in our day and age that such a statement would not have to be made.The simplest explanation to understanding the Brotherhood of Mankind as a seminal Christian concept would be found in the most quoted verse in the Gospels:John 3:16For God loved the world so much that He gave his only Son so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. The Living

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-26826301252187578552007-09-25T17:43:00.000-05:002007-09-25T17:48:08.687-05:00

Monetary Policy Simulation GameHat Tip: Sudden Debt

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-50408318651062208992007-09-24T22:17:00.000-05:002007-09-24T23:02:17.100-05:00

John Dean is in the process of writing a three part series explaining part of his new book Conservatives Without Conscience. Something he wrote struck me:The Followers: Right-Wing AuthoritariansIn addition to being especially submissive to established authority, Altemeyer's research revealed that those he calls right-wing authoritarians also show "general aggressiveness" towards others, when

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-87160009003888264042007-09-24T21:55:00.000-05:002007-09-24T22:02:31.616-05:00

As reported by CNN Money, many middle class taxpayers might get hit with an unexpected tax bill next year.David Lifson, president of the New York State Society of CPAs, tells clients who could be candidates to sock away 1 percent to 2 percent of their gross income, so that if it turns out they do have to pay AMT in April, they'll have the extra cash on hand. If they don't, he said, then they'll

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-17238408791926096192007-09-24T21:41:00.000-05:002007-09-24T21:55:24.135-05:00

Most of the sites I explored to explain an inflationary depression turned out to be right-wing conspiratorial sites or Christian "the end is near" kind of sites (that often were also right-wing in their rhetoric). But I found a site written by David Petch that didn't come across as extremist or conspiratorial. Here is a some of what he wrote: The US was the world’s power when it was the world’s

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-81643824119825834292007-09-24T21:15:00.000-05:002007-09-24T21:40:59.831-05:00

The blog Sudden Debt has a good explanation of our current macroeconomic problems in the post Rocks, Hard Places and Pricing Models. One great aspect of this post is that it defines commonly used acronyms and abbreviations on economic blogs and in news reports. Sadly, these abbreviations are rarely spelled out for ordinary readers and are thrown around by news reports, bloggers and commenters

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-46649519330034986192007-09-23T07:50:00.000-05:002007-09-23T08:03:54.312-05:00

Since I am on the western edge of Cajun Country, I guess it is only fitting that I use a Mark Heard song that uses a Cajun style. Rise from the Ruins Nobody asks to be born Nobody wishes to die Everybody whiles away the interim time Sworn to rise from the ruins by and by The engines are droning with progress The pistons are

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-9949244325376088232007-09-22T21:09:00.000-05:002007-12-13T20:57:40.915-06:00

Brandon Heath is a new Christian artist whose songs are starting to fill the airwaves of contemporary Christian stations. His soft-pop songs have broad appeal among the Christian audiences that listen to such stations. The featured song today is from his first release Don't Get Comfortable. This song could apply to any number of us as we get older. It could certainly apply to me.Brandon Heath

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-63921578596900895362007-09-22T18:56:00.000-05:002007-09-22T20:48:35.568-05:00

There are several museums packed into a very small area in downtown Houston. The Houston Museum District has something for everyone, it seems.This sculpture and another one just like it greets you at the entrance the the Museum of Fine Arts.One of the entrances to the Museum of Natural ScienceOutside this entrance you can spin a large 5000 pound granite globe suspended on a thin film of water.At

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-657067810284100582007-09-21T21:00:00.000-05:002007-09-22T08:50:17.890-05:00

Here is a quote from Paul Krugman's commentary today in the New York Times entitled Health Care HopesAs Ezra Klein of The American Prospect cruelly but accurately puts it: “The Republican vision is for a world in which the sick and dying get to deduct some of the cost of health insurance that they don’t have — and can’t get — on their taxes.”This is actually a less funny version of Stephen

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-78690002006832841722007-09-21T18:37:00.000-05:002007-09-21T18:41:10.577-05:00

You can see the ranking here.Okay, I'm only #16, but at least I'm on the list!

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-27986512075165297192007-09-20T22:23:00.000-05:002007-09-20T22:36:07.364-05:00

The 1930s Great Depression was a deflationary depression. I have heard talk that the next Great Depression will be an inflationary depression. I heard this (and discussed it) many months before the Federal Reserve dropped interest rates (with the subsequent market movement toward protection against inflation).Now I am once again trying to get my mind around this idea and trying to understand

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-9253709915951806372007-09-20T19:36:00.000-05:002007-09-20T19:50:34.122-05:00

Fellow Okie Blogger Redstater posted a comment to my post from February 1st Robin Meyers: He just doesn't get it.In it, I agreed with Robin Meyers' statement:We must remember, he said, "that the best health-care decisions are made not by government and insurance companies, but by patients and their doctors." The only trouble with this standard applause line is that the only way to get insurance

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-7426411246847800332007-09-19T17:51:00.000-05:002007-09-19T19:15:21.116-05:00

I don't normally like to make comments about celebrity tabloid news, but one news item I heard on the radio this morning caught my attention. The interview that Thomas Riccio gave to the LA Times doesn't help O.J. Simpson's case:He told the Los Angeles Times he arranged the meeting after receiving a phone call about a month ago from a person who claimed to have personal items -- including

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-27509141209780471512007-09-19T17:30:00.000-05:002007-09-19T17:51:10.299-05:00

Paulson Asks Congress to Lift Debt LimitWASHINGTON (AP) -- Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told Congress on Wednesday the government will hit the current debt ceiling on Oct. 1.He sought quick action to increase the limit, saying it was essential to protect the "full faith and credit" of the country, especially at a time of financial market turmoil.The limit is $8.965 trillion. Unless Congress

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-85886560346560286852007-09-19T07:33:00.000-05:002007-09-19T07:48:21.759-05:00

From Answers.com: Moral Hazard: The risk that a party to a transaction. . .has an incentive to take unusual risks in a desperate attempt to earn a profit before the contract settles.I think that is very risk that the Federal Reserve took yesterday when it decided to lower its rate on a key short-term interest rate by half of a percentage point Tuesday to 4.75%. A bubble was created in the

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-65821847091955194212007-09-17T00:14:00.004-05:002007-09-17T00:33:39.625-05:00

It wasn't that long ago that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad held a conference suggesting that the Holocaust never happened. How things have apparently changed in Iran so quickly.From Iranian TV shows Holocaust movie at Talking Points Memo:Yet the series titled "Zero Degree Turn" is clearly sympathetic to the Jews' plight during World War II. It shows men, women and children with yellow

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-47444140027517778682007-09-16T23:51:00.000-05:002007-09-17T00:13:57.603-05:00

This song was originally written as a memorial anthem about lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong's father, a jazz musician and minor league baseball catcher, who died of lung cancer when Billie Joe was only ten years old. The song -- as all great songs are -- are written with many interpretations. The song has expanded its meaning beyond the death of Billie Joe's father to represent feelings about

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-79145391210611735002007-09-15T12:42:00.001-05:002007-09-15T13:08:42.314-05:00

Here is my first installment of photos I took while sightseeing around the Gulf Coast of Texas. I took these pictures during my Labor Day weekend travels to Kemah, Texas.This is the Captain Kidd "pirate ship" sailboat.This is the first scene I saw when we got out near the open water: a sunken sailboat. Yeah, that made me feel safer!This a helicopter that flew over our vessel. It was a lot

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-67088230322267537102007-09-13T19:17:00.000-05:002007-09-13T19:24:33.363-05:00

I started this blog September 1, 2006. Now it is over one year old and I am up for another award -- this one probably more prestigious -- and I am curious as to what my readers think were my best posts over the last year. I would like to showcase my best posts for voters in the upcoming Okie Blog Awards. I can think of a few (Seven Years of Bad Luck, Social Security as a National Pension

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-88517195795411405102007-09-13T18:45:00.000-05:002007-09-13T19:10:57.716-05:00

Last night I survived my first hurricane. Hurricane Humberto was only supposed to be a tropical storm, but it picked up power very quickly and strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane. I don't want to find out what a Category 2 will do. The eye of the hurricane passed right by here. The good news is that I ended up on the left side of the eye, which is less damaging than the right side. My

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-15720135093831534532007-09-13T18:33:00.000-05:002007-09-13T18:45:04.631-05:00

From the article Housing seer says there's worse to come:So, with subprime mortgage losses and credit woes now the No. 1 topic in the markets, what does the former Goldman Sachs investment banker see next for the housing market and the U.S. economy?Well, if you thought things were bad now, just wait. Think bank failures, recession, soaring default rates, home prices plunging by at least one-third

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-79960675833863610612007-09-12T21:29:00.000-05:002007-09-13T19:15:29.341-05:00

From Jonathan Chait at the TPM Book Club:Class War and the Big ConSome of the debate in the blogs last week focused on whether, or to what degree, leading Republicans actually believe the arguments they make on behalf of tax cuts, such as the common claim (made by leading Republicans everywhere, starting with President Bush) that tax cuts have caused revenues to grow. I think many of them do

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-71570724243633252222007-09-12T20:34:00.000-05:002007-09-12T20:36:48.206-05:00

In The Know: Are America's Rich Falling Behind The Super-Rich?

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-31516617471245281442007-09-11T18:25:00.000-05:002007-09-11T18:29:55.109-05:00

Thank you to whoever it was that nominated me for Best Commentary in the 2007 Okie Blogger Awards. I am humbled by your kindness. I have been visiting some of the other nominees blogs, and I am quite impressed with the quality of the commentary I am finding.Whoever wins the award will be quite deserving, I'm sure.

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-75099369458698629782007-09-09T08:24:00.000-05:002007-09-09T09:29:22.119-05:00

Back on April 15, I did a Sunday Music for DC Talk. Today's Sunday Music I bring you one of the three members of DC Talk after they all embarked on successful solo careers. Toby McKeehan (aka TobyMac) is probably the most successful of the three, but they have all produced good music on their own. In future installments, I will bring you videos from Kevin Max and Michael Tait.I couldn't find

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-50312271816616015452007-09-07T21:43:00.000-05:002007-09-07T21:59:57.590-05:00

Conservatives love to argue against national healthcare on moral hazard grounds; but somehow we taxpayers and the Federal Reserve are supposed supposed to bail out educated, smart, wealthy and powerful people when they take they know -- or should know -- are excessively risky financial instruments.Here is a snippet from Robert Reich's excellent post:When it comes to risky behavior in the market,

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-33706322104843083732007-09-06T19:19:00.001-05:002007-09-06T19:40:12.204-05:00

Back in April, I posted a video by Bill Maher arguing that we should celebrate Earth Day every day. In his monologue, he recounted the news story at the time that honeybee colonies were disappearing for some unknown cause. Well, it appears that the cause has been discovered:(Fortune) -- Scientists investigating the recent disappearance of U.S. honeybees have linked a little-known virus to the

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-90185305925479292622007-09-06T07:14:00.000-05:002007-09-06T07:26:29.099-05:00

Hat tip to Calculated Risk Read this story from the Chicago Tribune and see if you don't agree that that there is some serious need of judicial and congressional intervention to prevent these types of abuses. Here is part of it:PITTSBURGH - For Donna and Steve Love, the plan seemed perfect.Priced out of the Boston-area housing market, where 2-bedroom homes can cost about $500,000, the

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-65143590547751904282007-09-05T20:45:00.000-05:002007-09-05T21:14:12.619-05:00

Image taken from Despair.com.More problems. My electricity went out on my RV. It turned out that it was just a shorted wire that was easily fixed once I took the RV to the shop. The internet connection here is still inconsistent, so posting has been difficult. OK, these are minor problems, considering all I have been through.I took a sailing trip (I Kidd you not) and then took a speedboat

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33702370.post-54997463549745807422007-08-31T07:03:00.000-05:002007-08-31T07:10:07.572-05:00

I am adding a link to the blog Sudden Debt to the the Blogs I Read links on the right side of the page. The writer seems to have a good insight to the financial markets and I agree with his general idea stated on the top of his blog:How Much Debt is There? Too Much. Way Too Much.So check out his blog; I think you will find a lot of good information there.

OkieLawyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17071917464425173379noreply@blogger.com0