No More GNB Fundraising Till January

The $400 Question

When last we saw our heroes, they were struggling to raise one grand in 72 hours.

Y'all saved our asses.

I promised to explain what said $1,000.00 was for.

Let us review.

$400 -- embargoed till last Tuesday, to be explained in this post. Finally!
$350 -- OTR (off the record) then, OTR today, OTR tomorrow.
$250 -- shit we intended to pay for anyway in the final 3 days of fundraising.
---------------
$1,000 total emergency fundraising

That handles the last two, leaving only the story of the $400 to be told, which, I'm happy to explain very fast.

Only a few blogs were credentialed to report from inside the Democratic Convention this coming August. Some leading bloggers came up with The Big Tent -- a 9,000 sq foot tw0-story media center sponsored by the leading progressive blogs and liberal think tanks. Problem is, we didn't hear about the details till they let us know we'd been approved for four credentialed seats inside The Big Tent.

These seats solve a HUGE logistical problem for us during the convention. See, when we received our DNCC credential for the actual convention, that only lets one person inside the Pepsi center at a time. Plus, the actual "convention" only happens for a few hours a night. The question is, where do we work?

The Big Tent with its multiple large-screen television feeds and closed circuit is perfect. Perfect at $100 a seat...which I discovered when I logged in to their site late at night Saturday to register our core writers to write at the convention. When is why we turned to y'all Sunday morning for help.

Which you provided.

And we deeply thank you.

There's more...

Tax Day

Tax filing is due by midnight tonight.
(In almost all cases.)

If you're not filing your taxes today, file an automatic extension.

The tax burden in the United States is one of the lowest of any first world nation.

PAY YOUR TAXES.

The "rebate" you are getting -- the so-called economic stimulus package -- is coming off of your next year's (2008's) tax refund. Seriously. It is not a gift, unless you are so poor you don't normally pay taxes. It is an advance.

Thank you, Bush Administration. Yes, they are screwing you over yet again, on their way out the door. Why are you even slightly surprised?

There's more...

Borders in Cash Crunch

Wrong Size To Thrive

Borders needs cash.

Guardian UK

The US high-street chain Borders is facing a cash crunch that may force it to put itself up for sale as music sales migrate to the internet and discount retailers muscle in on the books market.

Borders said yesterday that it was suffering a funding crisis as credit became "prohibitively expensive or entirely unavailable". It has borrowed $42.5m (£21.5m) from its biggest shareholder, Pershing Square Capital Management.

Operating profits at Borders' 515 superstores in the US dived from $111m to $56.9m last year. After taking into account exceptional items, the company made a $157m loss.

The firm has called in JP Morgan and Merrill Lynch to advise on strategic options, including the sale of the entire company or of individual divisions. Its shares dived by 25% to $5.34.

Borders' chief executive, George Jones, said: "The company determined that additional capital was required to execute our operating plan, and as a result we began to explore various financing options. The current credit crisis has made many of these alternatives prohibitively expensive or entirely unavailable."

In common with other US retailers, booksellers are struggling with a tough economic environment, which has prompted many shoppers to cut back on their discretionary spending.

The biggest US books chain, Barnes & Noble, revealed a 10% fall in annual profits yesterday to $135m. Its like-for-like sales fell by 0.5% in the final quarter and it warned that sales for the coming quarter were likely to be "slightly negative" - partly because of tough comparisons with last year's release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Borders ranks second in book sales to Barnes & Noble. It was founded in 1971 by two brothers, Tom and Louis Borders, who opened a second-hand bookshop in the university town of Ann Arbor, west of Detroit.

The company has traditionally stocked a mixture of books, CDs and DVDs. But it has been reassigning space in reaction to a steep fall in music sales, which were down by 14.2% on a like-for-like basis in the fourth quarter.

In an interview last year, Borders' chief executive blamed competition from cut-price megastores such as Wal-Mart and CostCo for eating into book sales.

I don't have a problem with this.

I hate to see any bookstore in trouble. I have shopped at Borders when I was in a hurry, however I avoid shopping there routinely. Their prices are ALWAYS too high. I can get stuff cheaper via Amazon, or at damn near any physical bookstore. The books Borders stocks, shows me they don't know what they're doing.

From their Science Fiction section to Buddhism, from Humor to Unix and Messaging (and DNS and NTP), from Biology to Screenwriting, Borders consistently fails -- I say three times, fails, Fails, FAILS -- to carry the authors and books I consider the best in their field.

They carry someone whom the whole world has known for 30-40 years is the best. But they fail to carry the person who actually leads the field. Barnes and Noble carries the best, because they carry everyone. And the small bookstore carries the best, because that's how the small bookstores survive, by specializing in only the best in particular fields, or by carrying everything in one or two fields.

Boarders tries to be a little bit of everything to everyone. MEGA-FAIL.

People want to know who you are. Take a position, dammit. Be a professional.

Stand for something.

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The Great Depression (v2.0) Starts Now

Brown Bear. photo San Diego Zoo. Click for LARGE.

Neo-Cons Cause Current Exploding Depression

Let me start, by saying clearly that I am speaking for myself. This is my assessment. You should make your own assessment and act as you see fit. I am not a lawyer, stockbroker, or financial adviser. What actions you take, are your own, including any tax consequences. I am not responsible for what you do in any way.


The next year will continue the U.S. slide into the worst depression since the Great Depression of 1929.

The Neo-Cons caused this.

Bush, Cheney, Karl Rove's political boys, Rumsfeld's war in Iraq, and the Administration's failure to adequately regulate the markets let Wall Street run wild, bubbles inflate, and the greatest wealth transfer in history happen. Money flew from people like you and I into the pockets of the richest 1% in the world.

Now the real-estate bubble, built on lies (the homes and land were never worth what they were said to be worth; had the Bush/Cheney regulators done the job they are sworn to do, this could not have happened) is collapsing, indeed, imploding and the financial markets world-wide are imploding with the collapsing real-estate bubble.

At the bottom of the real-estate markets are the stock-markets. After the stock-markets are the banks. After the banks is the United States Government and the Federal Reserve Bank, determined not to let the banks fail, determined to not let the stock-markets fail. If for no other reason than to --literally -- prevent armed revolution in the streets and neo-cons hanging from lamp-posts, which would no doubt happen were the banks and the stock-markets to fail. Even Bush/Cheney, living in bubbles, know that.

Which is why Chairman Ben Bernanke has stepped in and saved Bear Stearns. That is, allowed someone else to purchase its assets at a fire sale, while guarantying its liabilities through the government.

What matters to us is that the Great Depression I have been speaking of in these pages since the start of Group News Blog, has arrived.

The Agonist

by Numerian

Bear Stearns collapsed because it was as highly leveraged as any hedge fund – roughly $30 in assets for every $1 of capital. It only takes a 5% loss on the assets to wipe out all of the capital of the firm. Bear Stearns succumbed because its assets were especially prone to losses since they consisted of mortgage related securities. But losses are now occurring on much safer assets, and since all Wall Street firms have leverage to the degree Bear Stearns did, all of them are exposed to failure.

There are hundreds of companies in the same position. In the past 15 years the credit worthiness of corporate America has deteriorated to the point that 70% of all corporate bonds are now junk debt, meaning these companies have excessive amounts of debt. Less than 10 companies in the U.S. carry a Aaa rating. As those companies with excessive debt are unable to roll over or replace their debt, and as the economy slows, they are going to have a hard time surviving.

This problem is already going global, hitting the U.K., Australia, and other countries that experienced housing booms. Ultimately the credit implosion will fell China and India, two countries that have built their economic engines on highly shaky debt pyramids. Already the stock market in China has begun a collapse that looks remarkably similar to the fall of the NASDAQ in 2000.

Deleveraging is a term economists are using for this process of shedding assets to avoid more serious market losses eroding one’s capital. As hedge funds, banks, corporations, and individuals increasingly rush to deleverage, the losses are exacerbated, and many just won’t make it. This is how systemic risk is bred and how it destroys credit creation. Without credit, a modern economy starves.

Ben Bernanke certainly knows this and has put Bear Stearns on life support in order to stop the contagion from spreading. Bear Stearns – which isn’t even a commercial bank and is not under the Fed’s jurisdiction – is too big to fail in the view of the Fed. It has too many relationships with all the rest of the market to be allowed to go into receivership.

But is this a losing battle? History certainly suggests that systemic crises have a way of rumbling on until all the excess debt is wrung from the system, resulting in enormous economic pain. One of the characteristics of a systemic crisis is the loss of confidence in the financial system, and we saw this on display in the Bear Stearns collapse. Early in the week executives at the bank were saying their liquidity situation was sound despite all the market rumors. Suddenly on Friday it was announced by these same executives that their liquidity situation had deteriorated markedly “within the past 24 hours.”

Perhaps this is true – executives face severe personal penalties for lying publicly about their company’s situation. But the market was understandably skeptical, which means that the next bank which says publicly it is highly liquid will have to overcome widespread suspicion and doubt. Already rumors are cropping up about other Wall Street firms and large global commercial banks. This is the real battle Bernanke is facing – the confidence battle. All banks exist only to the extent the public is confident the banks can meet their obligations – this is the Achilles heel of leverage. Once confidence is lost, many banks can fail not because their balance sheets are riddled with bad loans, but because of a bank run.

Bear Stearns failed because it hadn’t the resources to survive a bank run. The odds are reasonably high that it will be joined by other Wall Street banks, whatever Ben Bernanke does. He can keep these firms on life support to protect the market, but in doing so he is transferring the risk and the losses to the federal government, thereby nationalizing these banks. It is not difficult to imagine that when all the excess leverage and all the bad debts are eliminated from the system, the federal government will own most of the Wall Street banks, many large commercial banks, and also Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. As this becomes evident to the markets, the dollar will not survive on the international exchanges, and U.S. Treasury rates for long term debt such as bonds will rise sharply. The U.S. will almost certainly lose its Aaa rating for its debt.

Which brings us back to the question of a Depression. As the banking system is nationalized, and credit dries up, growth in the economy will cease. Already the U.S. is in a recession, but the decline in GDP is about to accelerate significantly to Depression levels of 10% or higher. Unemployment will soar. The true unemployment rate in the economy, counting all the workers who want jobs but are currently being left out of the statistics because they haven’t sought work for awhile, is probably around 8% to 9%. This rate will easily double. The asset deflation that is now ravaging home values will spread not only to other physical assets, but to services and commodities. Nothing will be safe from the pressure to reduce prices and costs. As this process unfolds, the stock market will finally come to terms with the economic reality, and a stock market crash will ensue. This Depression could last somewhat over a year, or be much more prolonged if the Fed keeps too many firms on life support. The Japanese did that in the 1990s during their bout with deflation, and it took at least ten years before the economy started to grow again.

There's more...

The Bonddad Blog

Bear Stearns had a stock-market value of about $3.5 billion as of Friday -- and was worth $20 billion in January 2007. But the crisis of confidence that swept the firm and fueled a customer exodus in recent days left Bear Stearns with a horrible choice: sell the firm -- at any price -- to a big bank willing to assume its trading obligations or file for bankruptcy.

"At the end of the day, what Bear Stearns was looking at was either taking $2 a share or going bust," said one person involved in the negotiations. "Those were the only options."

I was listening to Bloomberg this morning and someone commented that Bernanke is a student of the great depression and that knowledge was serving him well. I agree with that sentiment. I have made a great deal of fun at Bernanke's expense over the past few months. Frankly, I feel a great deal of empathy for him because he is between a rock and hard place.

However, I understand his reasoning for taking these moves. Simply put, Bernanke is trying to prevent a financial sector meltdown.

The central problem the Fed faces right now is their tools are not designed for the problems we face. What we have right now is a collateral and counter-party crisis. That means two things.

1.) The collateral crisis means that collateral on bank's balance sheets isn't performing as well as advertised. Basically, any bond backed by mortgages is in trouble because homeowners aren't paying their mortgages. That means banks who hold mortgages aren't getting the payments they should be getting. As a result, banks balance sheets -- which serve as the basis for their ability to extend credit -- are in serious trouble. That means...

2.) Anyone who might take out a loan might not pay it back. This is called counter-party risk. It simply means that everyone is at risk of defaulting on a loan right now. That means loans aren't getting made. In an economy like the US economy where credit is a prerequisite to everything, that is the kiss of death.

The Fed can provide plenty of money. Over the last 9 months they have flooded the market with cash. But that does not good if people aren't willing to use it. And right now, no one wants to loan anybody any money. That's the central problem -- and so long as that exists there will be a mis-match between the Fed's policy tools and the market's problems.

The Agonist

by Stirling Newberry

The Neo-Conservative Plutocracy

For years economists in the US thought that US policy makers had learned from Japan and we would not repeat the results of their "Bright Depression." However, this view was excessively optimistic, and rooted in a time when there was a bipartisan liberal consensus in Washington that the good of the public came first. When the right wing came to believe that it could have a military machine without mass mobilization, but instead with a high tech smaller force, it also did not see the need to keep most Americans happy. Instead, their new vision was of a small, permanent and highly mobilized base, which included a core of military-industrial contracting, supported by a security apparatus and getting votes from a combination of resource extraction, disorganized labor, the wealthy, franchise owners, and theocrats. Their idea was expressed in the Project for A New American Century, and in Karl Rove's political apparatus. People who were a danger to this thesis were removed by whatever means necessary. While being a heavily socialist enterprise, in the right wing sense of being a national socialism, it relied on a propaganda of libertarianism. This propaganda relied on creating the meme of the late 19th century as the legendary golden age, where laissez-faire economics combined with piety, plutocracy, and military empire, in that times case the conquest of the West to create a rising America. In truth America during the late 19th century was far from its peak, and much of the gleaming apparatus of capitalism came much later. People were made to, by means of framing, impose the gleaming rise of the City skyline, with a time when there was no building taller than 12 stories in the US other than a few church spires and the Brooklyn Bridge.

This neo-conservative plutocracy was intended to take the place of the Liberal Democracy. It had a war without end as its mandate, a Christianist ethnocentrism as its meaning to create context, and a monetary system which would, after the invasion of the Middle East, be based on a direct imperial control over oil. The oil would be sent back to the US, indirectly in the sense that it would be sold to other nations, thus freeing up supplies closer to the US for our consumption, along with the enormous free cash flow that the oil business creates. Iraq was to be annex of Texas.

The Adventures of Captain Carnage

In 2001, as soon as he was made the economic advisor to Bush, I stated repeatedly that Ben Bernanke would be made the Federal Reserve Chairman after Greenspan, and that he would be a disaster. This was based on a reading of his academic work, which was, essentially, a series of attempts to prove that such a neo-conservative system could avoid the collapse that lead to the Great Depression. No Great Depression, no FDR. No FDR, no situation where the rich would have to accept regulation and restriction in return for bailing out. In essence the first problem is the "Great Contraction." The United States and other nations, to attempt to re-impose the Gold Standard after allowing it to lapse for the First World War, had to at a certain point accept prices at the new levels, or had to dramatically reduce the money supply. They chose the later, creating a massive contraction of the money supply. This was done in the face of a downturn, because it was feared that a downturn would lead to easy money, and this to hyper-inflation of the kind witnessed in Germany, or very high inflation, as seen after the First World War. For them, coming after a two generation period where deflation was the norm during the classical gold standard and the consolidation of the first Conservative Era, globally, inflation was a horror.

Bernanke and others, argued that the Great Depression was not in any way a structural event, but strictly a macroeconomic monetary event. That strictly macroëconomic policy measures could have been used to effect the bailout. There were two major intellectual problems. One of them is the point where monetary policy is "pushing on a string." Or what Bernanke called "the zero point". The "bold" steps turn out to be the same sort of maneuvers used in the first decade of this century: finding deep pockets and hiding the losses.

Bernanke's failures begin as economic advisor to the President and continue in his time on the Federal Reserve. The culminate with his failure to either deal with the liquidity crisis, or to face inflation head on. By allowing the housing bubble, and the financial bubble built on it, to explode he set up the very circumstances. By dragging his feet on raising interest rates, and then by ignoring the expanding monetary crisis, Bernanke has set the stage where neither he, nor anyone else, is in a position to act. With a President who is content to give imaginary orders to imaginary armies, there is no center of power that can move. It also indicates that the opposition party has made a series of gross miscalculations about the situation, believing the rhetoric that things were going well, and that they were getting the best deal they could. They were facing people who were bluffing all the way, and are now realizing that there is no rush to give way on anything.

The "slow" rate raising campaign was a double disaster, it neither headed off inflation nor did it keep credit easy enough. This is because the problem was not the level of interest rates, per se, but what we were spending the money on. As many, many, many commentators, many, many times have pointed out, the US was consuming too much, and exporting too little. The Neo-Conservative happy monsters said that this could go on for ever, giving other people our paper for their oil and goods.

While it is possible that we will emerge from this functional, the likelihood is that we are going to see a continued fall for the next 9 months, as the crisis deepens, a die hard illegitimate executive burns his last brands on our skin, and a feckless opposition folds its cards over and over and over again, allowing ordinary people to bear the brunt of the continued contraction.

We are riding this bucket down a ways farther, because there is nothing to right the equilibrium, and without the stimulus from war spending, on which we are so dependent, there will be no pick up in business activity soon. There will be some increased exports, but not sufficient to take the place of the cratering of housing.

What needs to be done? Regregulation is obvious. Making the Fed serve elected policy makers is a no brainer. Restating numbers to prevent the white washing of bubbles is essential, a public sense of ownership of the financial system as part of the "high ground of the economy" seems essential. Firing Ben Bernanke is a pink do this to day post it note.

But most essentially there needs to be a change in the basis of money, simply because the obvious stability of real estate assets in the United States will no longer be enough.

There's more...

We've told you before, the feces are hitting the oscillating rotator. Stock up on food, water (a good water filter with extra filters), medicines, fuel, essential clothing. At least a six-month supply of everything, and a year's supply would be smart.

If your home is underwater, sell now. A year from now will be too late. Slash your debt to the bone.

I expect in one year, including everyone who has given up looking for work, one in six to one in five Americans will be out of work.

If you can legitimately and legally leave the U.S. for the next five years, move.

The Great Depression of our life, is here.

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Money, Money, Money.

Check this out...

Who's Donating to Whom?

http://fundrace.huffingtonpost.com/

This is the COOLEST mash-up EVAH.

Marries the FEC donor-list with your next-door neighbors.

Hours of fun and games. Plus check out your in-laws, friends and work buds.

Oh, the joy you'll have calling people on their hypocrisies and picking fights at the Memorial Day picnic instead of, well, honoring Memorial Day. But heck -- that's what family is for.

Have fun!

There's more...

Jefferson-Jackson Dinner | Clinton Replaces Campaign Manager

Crooks and Liars

Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton both spoke at last night’s Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Richmond, Virginia. Senator Obama had a HUGE night last night, sweeping the primary in Louisiana and the caucuses in Washington, Nebraska and also won in the U.S. Virgin Islands, by a margin of 3 to 1 on average. While there’s no doubt he’s gained momentum, Senator Hillary Clinton looked confident, railing against President Bush which got a big reaction from the crowd. Clinton says she’s ready to take on John McCain in November.

Clinton replaces Campaign Manger

TPM ElectionCentral

Breaking: Hillary Top Staff Being Reshuffled; Solis Doyle Replaced As Campaign Manager

've just obtained an internal Hillary email from campaign manager Patty Solis Doyle to Hillary's staff announcing that in a reshuffling of the campaign's inner circle, she's leaving the post of campaign manager, and is being replaced by longtime trusted aide Maggie Williams:

Over a year ago Hillary launched her campaign for President.

Her announcement began a historic effort that has inspired millions and brought hundreds of thousands to their feet all across this nation.

I have been proud to manage this campaign, and prouder still to call Hillary my friend for more than sixteen years. I know that she will make a great President.

This has already been the longest Presidential campaign in the history of our nation, and one that has required enormous sacrifices from all of us and our families.

During the last month I have been working closely with my longtime friend, Maggie Williams.

This week Maggie will begin to assume the duties of campaign manager. I will serve as a senior adviser to Hillary and the campaign and travel with Hillary from time to time on the road. Maggie is a remarkable person and I am confident that she will do a fabulous job.

Although I will continue to see you all at headquarters, I would be remiss if I didn’t thank each of you for your dedication, excellence, and passion over the last year.

You are the best campaign staff in the history of Presidential politics and I am grateful to each of you for your hard work and friendship.

The replacement of Doyle was first rumored after Hillary's loss in Iowa, but the chatter of her impending departure vanished with her subsequent victories. Now Dolye, who's been with Hillary for many years, is out at a moment where the campaign faces a dark February, during which she may not win a single contest.

Campaign Clinton has to get through the next month which as TPM points out, is pretty much all bad news.

By reshuffling their campaign manager, they get new energy, blame the failure on someone, and are able to assure the big donors "it was all Solis Doyle's fault but we're on the right track now." This is what had to be done in order to keep the money flowing.

At least one reporter doesn't think Obama's home state of Hawaii will be an Obama walk-over. He reports the Democratic establishment and Clinton are building a firewall against Obama.

In the meanwhile, February looks full of brick walls for Team Clinton, and filled with momentum for Team Obama.

NOTE: Nothing in this post should be construed as an endorsement of either Democratic candidate for president. It is an article with facts and opinions about politics. I have not made up my mind, and GNB is not endorsing any candidate until there is a clear nominee. I intend to add this to all my political posts from now till we have a nominee.

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Stocks Continue Fall; Bonds Rise.

Dow Down 200 Points At Opening
Broader Market Also Declined

Yesterday's Fed rate cute cut of 3/4 points held off the bears for one day, and then the selling resumed.

In Europe, the Central Banks refused to join the Fed in cutting rates, and markets continue to fall.

AP News via MyWay

NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks fell in another rocky opening Wednesday, with investors uneasy about the health of the economy and corporate earnings after disappointing reports from big names like Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Motorola Inc. (MOT) In the first minutes of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 261.10, or 2.18 percent, to 11,710.09.

Broader stock indicators also declined. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 28.97, or 2.21 percent, to 1,281.53, and the Nasdaq composite index slid 53.19, or 2.32 percent, to 2,239.08.

Bond prices rose sharply as investors sought the safety of government-backed debt.

Wall Street also fell in tandem with markets in Europe, which pulled back after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet indicated that the ECB would not follow the Federal Reserve's lead and cut interest rates, according to Dow Jones Newswires. The Fed's decision Tuesday to cut its federal funds rate by 0.75 basis points to 3.5 percent eventually helped calm U.S. markets, but it was already clear that investors had doubts about the potency of the Fed action. Rate cuts typically take months to work their way into the economy.

Bond prices rose sharply, the beneficiary of investors' search for safer places for their moeny. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.32 percent from 3.41 percent late Tuesday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies.

In afternoon trading in Europe, stocks dropped sharply. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 3.44 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 4.76 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 4.02 percent.

Reuters

TREASURIES-Bonds rise as stocks fall on recession fears

NEW YORK, Jan 23 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasuries rose on Wednesday, with the benchmark yield briefly touching its lowest since June 2003, as fears of a global slowdown and more write-downs at European banks spurred a flight into bonds from stocks.

Global equity markets resumed their sell-off, adding to the appeal of ultra-safe Treasuries, as the positive jolt from the Federal Reserve's surprisingly bold 75-basis-point rate cut on Tuesday faded. Attention again turned to worries about a U.S. recession and its global repercussions, plus banks' exposure to subprime mortgages, traders said.

"When the Fed cuts 75 basis points, stocks are supposed to go up. That's not happening. There's a lot of dread out there," said T.J. Marta, fixed income strategist at RBC Capital Markets in New York.

The stock market pared its losses because financial shares rose after their initial plunge, in which the Nasdaq .IXIC opened down 2.4 percent into bear market territory.

"Any support stocks show, long-end (yields) will come back off their lows," said Mary Beth Fisher, director of interest rate strategy at UBS Securities in Stamford, Connecticut.

The price on the benchmark 10-year note was up 19/32 at 107-22/32 after an earlier high of 108-1/32. The 10-year yield, which moves inversely with its price, was last at 3.35 percent, down 7 basis points from late Tuesday.

There's more...

I'm fully out of the market, as of the end of trading yesterday.

Everything is liquid, cash, money-market accounts, certificates of deposit. All backed up with the full faith and force of the U.S. Government. Could I get hurt? Yeah. Inflation could hurt. I might move 10-15% to physical gold, but I should have done that two years ago. I knew it then too, when I saw this coming. I just didn't have the cash then to buy gold in any real volume. I still don't, actually.

Here's what I predict. TAKE THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK. I am not a broker or a licensed professional of any kind. It's your money, not mine.

Oh... and if you are going to read one person, read this guy, The Bonddad Blog, who not only has his own blog but publishes at Huffington Post as well. Bonddad isn't saying what I am saying. (I am responsible for my analysis.) But I like his thinking.

I believe China is way over-extended. They have been keeping their economy over-heated and will try to keep it up and looking good through the Olympics. At some point, for sure after the Summer 2008 Olympic games, possibly before, China's economy is going to melt down. When that happens, they won't be positioned to keep loaning the United States $2 billion dollars a day in the bond market.

China will go into their equivalent of the U.S. Great Depression, and take the rest of the world with it, including the U.S. I believe this will happen about mid-2009, roughly 18 months from now. Lots of people will be out of work, everywhere. Could it happen sooner? Sure. Later? Yep. Could I be wrong? You bet.

Do I think I'm wrong? No. And I'm putting my money and actions behind what I'm telling you. But take my analysis at YOUR OWN RISK. I don't back anything I'm telling you up with a damn thing. It's all on you to check this out for yourself, and make up your own mind what to do.

The most important thing will be to have a six-month supply of food and clean water (or better, a good water filter) stocked up. I'm not kidding. Then have gold and silver, which have real value which will hold, even as paper money inflates away. Physical tools of good value. A good bicycle you can get to work on. An adequate supply of medicines. If your home mortgage is underwater, make sure you've sold it before spring a year from now. Hard times are a-coming. Prepare for them. If you're going to ride things out where you're currently living, a wood stove to heat the place wouldn't be a bad idea, and make sure it had enough room on top for you to cook, maybe even including an oven.

Do I know this is going to happen. Of course not. No one knows the future to a certainty. But just as we can be sure that earthquakes will happen along known fault-lines at some point in the future, I look at what the Fed is doing, the over-heated economy in China, the defaulting mortgages all across the land, and even someone as ignorant about money as I am, can say, hard times they are a coming. We've been living in a bubble for a while, and it's going to burst in a big way.

If I'm wrong, well, you'll miss out on some upside appreciation in the market. Oh well. If I'm right, you just saved yourself possibly losing a third or more of your life savings which you have in the market, plus made sure your family has enough to eat, tools to make a living with, and a warm house during the cold months, a year or two from now when it gets tough.

That's what I'm doing. And that's what I'm advising those close to me to do.

Historical note of interest: Three years ago I got pretty crazy for about six weeks. This is back when I wasn't myself due to the pain meds. During that time, I predicted we'd have $100 oil by the end of 2006. Turns out "I" was wrong. It was two days into 2008. I was off by a year and 2 days.

Historical note #2. About two-three years ago, I purchased gold for the first time in my life. It was around $220, 230 bucks an ounce. I took home one ounce, all I could afford. Stuck it in a glass jar. I predicted -- just as I'm predicting now about the future world economy -- that gold was going to go up. Some months later, I was broke one month, so I marched right back down to the same store, and sold it off. Made a $30 dollar profit, even with the spread. Gold now is something like $800+ an ounce. And going up. I think it will top well over $1k, maybe as high as $1.5k if China goes into a full-blown depression as big as what the U.S. had in the 1930s.

Finally, here is this to think about. In the 1930s, the United States had FDR. He led us through the Great Depression, and brought us into the Great Society, and then took us through World War II. At the end of which the United States was the undisputed leader of the world, the USSR not withstanding. We did that with much less than our current 300 million people. We did that with our brains and our technology and our vast natural resources.

China has 1 Billion people. They have brains, they are rapidly gaining technology to knock everyone's socks off, and they have vast, vast natural resources. If they do indeed go through a great depression, look for them to emerge after 10-15 years, as the leader of the world, while the United States sinks back after 10-15 years of being in a serious depression and the U.S. dollar no longer being the reserve currency, as being a respected leader, but no longer the leader. Like Great Britain before World War II.

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Reese Witherspoon Tops Highest-Paid List

Reese Witherspoon. Sep 2006. Christopher Bailey's Burberry lunch.
photo source unknown. Click for LARGE image.

The highest-paid actress in Hollywood

The consummate pro on and off set, Reese Witherspoon is officially #1.

IMDB (Dec 3, 2007)

Walk The Line star Reese Witherspoon is officially the highest-paid actress in Hollywood.

The 31-year-old Oscar winner has beaten the likes of Angelina Jolie, Cameron Diaz and Nicole Kidman to claim the number one spot in the Hollywood Reporter's annual female rich list - receiving a staggering $15-$20 million paycheck per picture. Tomb Raider star Jolie, 32, comes in second, though her salary for the current Beowulf picture was said to be a "mere" $8 million. Diaz, 35, is placed third, with a $15 million-per-movie salary demand, though her take-home earnings from the recent Shrek The Third are pegged at a very healthy $30 million.

The full list is:
1. Reese Witherspoon - $15 million-$20 million;
2. Angelina Jolie - $15 million-$20 million;
3. Cameron Diaz - $15+ million;
4. Nicole Kidman - $10 million-$15 million;
5. Renee Zellweger - $10 million-$15 million;
6. Sandra Bullock - $10 million-$15 million;
7. Julia Roberts - $10 million-$15 million;
8. Drew Barrymore - $10 million-$12 million;
9. Jodie Foster - $10 million-$12 million;
10. Halle Berry - $10 million.

Once again, everyone not a comedian, is an Academy Award winner.

As has been the case for the last three years.

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RudyCo's Dot-Bomb Candidacy

Money's Too Tight To Mention...But We're Mentioning It Anyway, Ruuudeeee!

It was a time of wild exuberance, twinkling eyes and lottery-hit dreams, those halcyon days of the late-90's / early 2000's “Dot-Com” era. Sock-puppet dogs promoted vapor-venture pet food businesses to sudden multi-million dollar status. A multitude of napkin-scrawled business plans burst to ballyhooed life and then flamed out as if alcohol-dipped and match lit. The snarky name of the “Dot-Com” era's death-spiral phenomenon?

“Dot-Bomb”.

I remember bars all over town filled for months on end with embittered, stunned people spending their small severances and railing about the “obvious” idiocy of the bosses and the “lameness” of the master plans. What a time it was—sudden, pseudo-success followed by crushing, soul-sapping failure. But even now, the memories of it have faded somewhat. In some cases intentionally because of the pain memories it conjures up, but in other cases simply because folks weren't in close enough proximity to feel it.

“What was it like?”, those people will ask one day. “What does a Dot-Bomb sound like when it detonates?”

And the answer is, “It's not a detonation really”. That would indicate a spark of some sort and a radiating outward of energy. No, a Dot-Bomb's end is much more of an im-plosion rather than an ex-plosion.

It starts with a quivering of doubt, and then hiss of deception, high and almost beyond the frequency to hear, but the way it unnerves the atmosphere jangles the senses on an almost unconscious level. You feel it more than hear it. Then, it cracks a bit under the weight of scrutiny and the hiss becomes a whine of panic, as common sense, trust, dreams and the investment of time come rushing inward with a giant sucking sound.

The Christmas ornament-fragile shell gives next, collapsing under a sparkly, but thin veneer of confidence, and then...then, it's on. It's a pocket “black hole” taking everything nearby into it's entropic core. Big things that wouldn't seem able to fit are sucked in effortlessly and at light speed. Grand, stupid ideas. Reputations. And money....lord God, the money, it whooshes down and away like grains of rice against an ocean whirlpool's pull. It's rushing now, this macabre reverse of the “big bang”, a faux universe coming to a sad, diminutive end. There's a final howl as there's little else to consume but air—nothing tangible. A vacuum consuming itself now. And a then, final “pop”. All gone save for memories, hype and bruised feelings.

“Pop!”

But a “Dot-Bomb” has a toll beyond the mere torching of dreams and ideas. The truest sign of a “fucked company's” final days is when the money gets tight and paychecks either start bouncing, or are deferred. People working for said company stop getting paid.

Which brings us...oh, right about here

CNN has learned that top staff members of Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign were asked to work without pay for the month of January, and perhaps longer, so that campaign resources could be focused on the Florida Republican presidential primary.

Two sources in the campaign, speaking on condition of anonymity, insisted the campaign was not in dire financial straits. A third campaign source, however, said "things are starting to get tight" and that "it was more telling than asking" the senior staff to forgo paychecks beginning the first of the year.

Another source disagreed, saying it was a "voluntary" move by senior staff members "so all of our resources could be targeted toward Florida...Our campaign is not living hand to mouth right now..."

The officials did not immediately provide a number of staffers who were subject to the new policy. Nor would campaign officials disclose the amount of money the campaign had in the bank.

“And in the end...the Post-Its and office supplies you take, aren't e-e-e-e-equal tooooo the dough....you'd make...”

I suppose it's kind of ironic that the imploding Giuliani candidacy at it's death-rattle moment so devastatingly mirrors the “Dot-Bomb” era that kicked countless New Yorkers in the teeth and out of the up-chucking Silicon Alley that Rudy presided over during his second, bed-shit term as Mayor.

But irony may not be the correct term here. Poetic Justice is I think a better one. Giuliani presided here in New York during the “Dot-Com” inflation and subsequent “Dot-Com” bust and during his time as Mayor rode those waves tighter than Swayze in “Point Break”. It just stands to reason that he would in effect pattern his presidential campaign on the snake-oil selling so prevalent during in his tenure in town.

Point A: Overhype a so-called need or demand for the public. (the need for an abusive “daddy” figure in a push-marketed 9-11 bogeyman-crazed country.)

Point B: Offer a bogus magic bullet that only you can provide that will meet this alleged desperate need of the people.

Point C: Garner buzz for said magic bullet via wild claims and over-the-top testimonials of shills and cronies.

Point D: Value of bullet soars to stratospheric levels thanks to “buzz”. Heat is generated. You become “the next big thing”.

Point E: Soon thereafter, people want to see just what the magic bullet is. They want details. Proof. All that is offered is more and more hype and selling of the “need”, which wears on the consumer.

Point F.: (as in fucked) With no “product” people's scrutiny increases and it is revealed that the person behind the hype is a shady charlatan with little more to him than bluster. The “company” is exposed as a scam, funding disappears and the low men on the totem pole who threw in their lot and busted their asses end up not getting paid.

Of course, as per the “Dot-Bomb” construct, the big boss plays the whole venture like a gambler, banking to the last on “that one big sale”, or “that one big presentation” he's spending every remaining dollar on to save the company's ass with all the futility of a Sin City loser madly chucking his last quarters from the cheap paper bucket, down into the slots' maw,...“because man..he just knows he's gonna hit now!” He's GOTTA hit now!

That “one big presentation”? Mmmmm...something tells me the ol' PowerPoint show better be in 3-D and have Industrial Light and Magic-grade effects in it. And an army of slick-handed “spokesmodels” administering special...“favors” to anyone he's trying to sell on this, 'cause well...damn...

Giuliani Sinks To Fourth In Florida

A new Datamar poll in Florida finds Mike Huckabee leading the Republican presidential primary race with 24% support, followed by Mitt Romney at 20%, Sen. John McCain at 18% and Rudy Giuliani now back in fourth place at 16%.

Two months ago, Giuliani led the GOP race. With little chance of winning the other early states, he has been campaigning nearly non-stop in Florida for several weeks.

---------------------

The Florida primary is on January 29.

Oooh! We'll give out personalized “crank” radios!—that only get AM! Really cool 128 MB WMA-only music players with a glow-in-the-dark “RudyCo” printed on the side! Magenta fleece tops with “RudyCo” embroidered on 'em. In acid green! We'll give those out as “gifts” and swing people back to looking at RudyCo as...deep breath now—“The market driver in supra-incremental governance at the macro and micro interest points, filling the post mega-saster, adrena-critical, leadership void in the 21st Century marketplace. LLC” Gasp!

Or um...not.

The Post has done a poll with a likely voter screen the last three times, this month, early last month and in early November. In early November Rudy was at 34%. A month later he was at 25%. Today he's at 15%. The Times meanwhile has Rudy dropping from 22% to 10% over the last month among Republican primary voters.

Every hallmark of a ”Dot-Bomb” implosion is present as we watch, many of us with popcorn—the “Pets.com-ming of the Giuliani campaign. Steve, God rest him, made his first mark writing about the idiocies of that painted-ballon-meets-diamond-needle era, and in going back through his writings, his words on companies doing the shitter-swirl ring so Goddamned true about these final chapters of RudyCo that it's just plain scary. Particularly when you think of Giuliani's staffers “voluntarily foregoing” (Shit! I just be-spittled my monitor again) their salaries. On that kind of worker “dedication”, Steve was terse and blunt.

“Loyalty is fine. But it has its limits, usually at the loss of your paycheck.”


-------------------------------------

Loyalty is a two-way street and always has been. Self-sacrifice is for the desperate and the dumb. No one should demand more of you than they are willing to ask of themselves.

Any boss which uses his position to play God and screw with you is not worthy of your labor.

So, let's get down and dirty with it, shall we? Rudy's people are not the “True Believers” of the fervent variety that man say...the Huckabee and Obama campaigns. A charismatic leader draws a different sort of worker. Rudy ain't charismatic. In fact, if you put him in a glass tank full of vipers and scorpions you'd still have trouble picking out which creature therein was “the charismatic one”. No, Rudy's people are pragmatic, misanthropic number-cruncher types directly reflecting their master. These people didn't fucking volunteer to eat Ramen and Fla-vor-aid for a month because of Giuliani's inspirational message. Dollars to donuts (something those staffers could use a bit of now) he dictated the terms and let it be known with the usual Giuliani blunt-force-trauma threat of career destruction that anyone mouthing off on the down-low about campaign troubles would be trashed forever. Remember what Rudy's company Giuliani Partners is into—Corporate Security Consulting. Do you think for so much as a second that his right-hand people—the ones still getting paid—aren't monitoring the calls and e-mails from the staffers reduced to Snickers™-bar lunches? Please.

But human nature is something you can't stop. As with any failing venture, be reasonably certain that there is talk amongst the rank-and-file about the upper-level's fuck-ups. They'll sit around and discuss it after hours over a couple of sixes of Pabst Blue Ribbon—as the Coronas and Stellas are now locked in a file cabinet in the campaign manager's office.

The talk will turn to “what bullshit this all was”. Suds'll flow and somebody'll interrupt the din of grousing with a “Hol' up, hol' up, hol' up, hol'...UP!”

“I just thought a' something. How the fuck can we be broke if we really didn't campaign anywhere yet? Huh? If we didn't compete in Iowa, and-and in New-fucking-Hampshire...and we're not gonna fuck with South Carolina...How the fuck can we possibly be broke?”

There will be knowing looks, a couple of “Yeahs” and then, someone else will bust the whole thing wide open.

“It's one of two things! We either never really had the money, which means the boss is a fuggin' liar...or...or, you're gonna love this—he spent it all on expensive, unnecessary BULLSHIT! Which would make him...”

“A fucking thief!”, someone else will finish.

Thoughts will turn to those expensive hotel stays:

Rudy Giuliani likes to travel in style.

That's what can be deduced by looking through Giuliani's campaign spending report, which shows the former New York mayor has routinely stayed in posh hotels while on the road, and seems to lack confidence in the quality of commercial air carriers.

Whether it was $2,010 at the Greenbrier Hotel in West Virginia, $4,034 at La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., or $5,370 at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, the former mayor found himself top-notch lodging.
-----------------------------------------

Water views seem to be a prized asset for Giuliani -- during an early trip to New Hampshire, the former new york mayor stayed at the Wentworth by the Sea resort, a AAA Four-diamond resort that advertises "postcard-perfect views of the waterfront" in Portsmouth.

He also spent more than $565,000 reimbursing various corporate supporters for private jet travel. The biggest chunk of those flights came via Elliott Asset Management, a New York hedge fund known by some as a "vulture fund," so-named because they buy debt cheaply from cash-starved countries, and then sue them for the full repayment. The head of the firm, Paul Singer, is in charge of Northeastern fundraising for Giuliani.

Giuliani spent another $800,000 on charter jet travel.

And there are the odd over-the-top perks extended to the boss's peeps when they travel...

Around the office of Giuliani Partners, it is said, Sunny Mindel, Giuliani's communications director, spoke of the need for providing an entire plane seat for Judith's "Baby Louis"—a reference to her Louis Vuitton handbag, which sits in solitary splendor on her travels.

People know that ain't a fucking coach seat.

And I'm fairly certain Rudy's people can read the papers too, so they're well aware of the reports of his shady-assed profligacy at the expense of others during his mayoralty.

“At the expense of others.”

Oh, I don't think I'm terribly off the mark in laying out that late-night bull session of Rudy staffers. I've seen it a million times myself. Experienced it, too. And if you haven't, you know someone who has.

A chair'll be kicked around. Someone will start to cry and have to be consoled. The IT guy present will offer to burn copies of Vista for anyone who needs it as a stick-it-to-the-man gift to everyone. They'll ask for XP instead—thanks. That which cannot be nailed down and traced will be “liberated”. Someone'll invariably jam the printer with a resumé after hours and damage the Goddamned machine trying to remove the incriminating paper. Fun, fun-fuckety-fun-fun-fun.

Now, some have in recent weeks suggested that I stop knee-dropping Rudy in the ribs while he's down. I will not. Years ago as a kid I studied self defense for three years. The one thing our instructor kept telling us about being caught up in a confrontation was that “there are no rules, no ring and no bell”. The object when in a fight is to disable your opponent to where he is no longer a threat. If he's still moving, you knee-drop him in the ribs. You take a fall ending with an elbow smash to his jaw.

“You don't knock him down. You knock him out.”

I think of my old instructor's words when dealing with the barely-twitching Rudy Giuliani campaign circa-January '08.

No twitching. No mercy. Only sweet, crumpled unconsciousness will do. We're going after all of the creepy wingnut candidates here...but Giuliani doesn't get a mercy breather...ever. We will chronicle and aid every nudge towards the end for his campaign because based on the evil he's already done—he richly deserves it, and for the sake of this country, we deserve to be spared from him.

So, dancing on his difficulties—you're damned right I will. Celebrate his slide into the sewer? Absolutely! Mercilessly mock his money woes? Hell yes—with every media mention it gets.

'Cause in spite of what the song says, “Money Ain't Too Tight To Mention”.

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Steve Gilliard: "How To Read a 10Q” series

Gilly's Famous Financial Series is Now Available

After the Colonial Warfare series, the biggest request people have had is, "where can we get a copy of the 'How To Read a 10Q' series?"

I am thrilled to report that Steve Baldwin, formerly of Netslaves, now of Ghost Sites of the Web, has done an enormous amount of work, and restored Steve Gilliard's 10Q series, making them available for everyone:

"How to Read a 10Q" Financial Reporting Series.

All of Gilly's writings that we know of (including the 10Q series) are easily accessible through our web page The Writings of Steve Gilliard -- 101.

To make it easy to find, we have linked the Writings page over to the right, directly under the MEMORIAM header. The Writings page is also linked from Gilly's Wikipedia page.

We will continue to update the Writings page. Just drop an email and we'll make the change.

Everyone else -- want to read Gilly? Hit the link on the sidebar.

And right now, don't miss out on the 10Q series. It will teach you which of your stocks are great, and which are junk. In this economy, that's something you need to know.

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Peter Jackson Returns to the Shire

Peter Jackson directs Sean Astin in LOTR: Return of the King (2003)
photo Pierre Vinét/New Line Productions

Jackson to Executive Produce “The Hobbit” in Two Film Deal

After a bitter feud with New Line over payment for their share of the work of the $3 billion taken in so far of all three Lord of the Rings movies, Peter Jackson and New Line have kissed and made up.

Jackson and partner Fran Walsh will now Executive Produce -- Jackson will not write, direct & produce as done previously -- The Hobbit, to be filmed in two movies, lensed, as has become his trademark with the Lord of the Rings, simultaneously.

Hollywood Reporter

Preproduction will begin in January, and principal photography for the films, which will be shot simultaneously, is tentatively set for 2009. The production budget is estimated at $150 million per film. The release of the first film is slated for 2010 and the sequel in 2011.

"I think that we all realized that we were getting nowhere, and in some ways it's possible that the lawyers and the accountants and everyone that got in the middle of this were not serving the objective," Shaye said. "We had to start listening to our own conscience and our own objectives, which was to make this happen."

Lynne said the dispute was about "very complicated documents, in same cases documents that were created many years ago, and differences of opinions that people could have about those documents. It was having that disagreement over financial situations that was of historical financial proportions that created a polarization."

The parties involved singled out MGM's Sloan for helping find common ground.

MGM got involved in the past six months, managing to get the parties to talk to one another. The deal for the new films was signed only in the past few days, after a settlement had been reached.

"You're talking about powerful men who had strong differences of opinion," Sloan said. "When you start with no one talking to anyone, someone has to come in to talk to both sides. We encouraged them to see the great possibility to create what could be in my opinion another masterpiece. We wanted them to see the possibility and not let that slip away."

I'm incredibly pleased at this news.

It demonstrates -- right in the midst of the WGA strike -- that talent and the studios can work out complicated issues of profit sharing, in the midst of deep distrust. (As always, for up to the moment news, check UnitedHollywood.com.)

Second, Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh are to the cinematic version of these works, what Tolkien was to the written version -- its creator. To have anyone else helming the project would have risked... everything.

Finally, given I'm taking delivery in January of RED Camera #346 -- *smiles deeply* -- I'm wondering if Peter Jackson who has already directed the short film Crossing the Line on RED and who sings its praises at every turn will use RED? There's an entire thread at the REDUser board, asking the same question.

My children absolutely adore the Lord of the Rings (and Harry Potter.) This is going to make them very, very happy.

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Yippee-Ki-Yay-Motherfucker.

What's that old Tom Petty song again? Oh yeah—Free-fallin'!

Too many lead weights in a fella's pockets makes it awfully hard for him to not fall the hell down.

And our dear friend Rudolph's got more lead weights on him than anybody we know. Thus...a yippee-ki-yay-motherfucker moment—via TPM:

In a sign that his campaign in New Hampshire could be flagging, Rudy Giuliani has been significantly scaling back his ad buys in the state. Records show that numerous ad buys in the Boston TV stations have either been cut by more than half, or cancelled entirely.

The campaign has kept up its buys in the much cheaper WMUR in Manchester, where Rudy has a strong base of support thanks in part to the mayor's endorsement — so Rudy might be going trying for a decent second or third through a strong, concentrated showing there. And the campaign is shifting its resources to Florida, where Rudy is also sinking fast.

As Giuliani plummets to the ghetto of single digit-ville support in Iowa, backslides to third place in South Carolina (where he led until a week or so ago) and now has fallen behind in Florida, in spite of heavily-touted northeastern “snowbird” support, there are many out there who seem surprised at his seemingly sudden “Man Who Fell To Earth” routine.

If you read this blog, you shouldn't be amongst that group. Giuliani's over-stuffed American Touristers full of campaign-killing dirty-dealing were going to be a huge problem for him the moment the press' equivalent of airport X-rays got through looking at him even a little bit. And a mere hard week's worth of digging on their parts was that little bit—albeit way too much for Rudy's glass Xmas ornament-tough campaign to handle.

He is merely the most morally and ethically compromised candidate of ALL of the GOP's choices—and that's one hell of a thing when you consider how damaaged they all are. Giuliani was living on borrowed time to begin with. In choosing between the lessers, Beelzebub, Mephistopheles, Lucifer, and The Anti-Christ, Giuliani's P.R. savvy Satan got a bit of a free ride for a while. But as the saying goes, “The devil is in the details.“. Rudy's details, oozing from within, and showing on his very skin like sweat are slimy and putrid indeed.

And no matter how tough, or how hardcore you may appear , no one wants to be around you when you sweat and smell.

Even the odious-himself Bill Kristol can't stand Rudy's ammonia-strong funk:

“What's the agenda for the Giuliani presidency? So I think he made it all about himself, about his record, but when you make it about yourself, it's also about other aspects of your past—and that stuff's emerged that much more, and I think a lot of Republicans look up and say 'Look he's a good mayor, he did well on 9-11, but why should we make him President?”

When FOX News'—“The Official Network of Rudy 'Razor-Lips' Giuliani”—main Sunday pundit puts pennies on Rudy's eyes...kiddies...he's a free-fallin' in a major way.

Is there any lead left in his pencil at all?

Doesn't look very good right now, does it?

Yippee-Ki-Yay-Motherfucker.

There's more...

The New York City Treasury = Rudy Giuliani's Wingman—UPDATE #2:

Where to, Miz Rudeeeeeh?

(So as to not over-lengthen the previous main post, I'm posting this tasty addition here)

It would appear that they're starting to wear the handles off all of those heavy, old Transfile boxes in the city's musty back offices. The digging has begun in earnest—and lo and behold...truffles!

Via Atrios:

Well before it was publicly known he was seeing her, then-married New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani provided a police driver and city car for his mistress Judith Nathan, former senior city officials tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com.

"She used the PD as her personal taxi service," said one former city official who worked for Giuliani.

I'm working on a long-form post about the culture that spawned Rudy and his slimy New York compatriots Kerik and Regan, but this tidbit breaking today ties in nicely with what I'm putting together. Rudy was part of the outcast class, with nary a drop of cool or slickness. And when he ascended to power in the faux-competency crazed 80's, his social ineptitude left him ill-able to deal with simple deceits like this one. “To the man with only a hammer, everything is a nail” Giuliani's way has always been to swing the hammer of power, with little subtlety.

He wanted to impress his new goumada, but instead of considering something that down the road a piece wouldn't draw bean-counter scrutiny, he went sloppy and obvious.

“I'll getcha a city car and a cop! The city's your oyster, baby! Speaking of oysters...”

What makes this revelation hurt is the exposé of more abuse of the NYPD as his personal ass-coverers/chickie impressers.

And that abuse of police and government cars really sets New Yorkers off.

The state's comptroller was forced to resign over a near exact scandal a year ago:

Chauffeurgate/Driving Mrs. Hevesi Scandal

On September 21, 2006, Alan Hevesi admitted that he used Nicholas Acquafredda as a state employee to drive around his wife. In 2003, Hevesi claims that the State Ethics Commission decided that he would pay back the entire cost of driving around his wife unless it is for specific safety purposes. A spokesperson from the State Ethics Commission denies such a decision was made.

On September 26, 2006, Hevesi said he will pay the state more than $82,000 for having a public employee chauffeur his wife, after his Republican challenger, Christopher Callaghan, asked the Albany County District Attorney's office to investigate. Callaghan first phoned in the complaint to the State Comptroller's own State funds-abuse/fraud hotline. Hevesi had admitted the previous week that he had not reimbursed the state. Callaghan and the Republican gubernatorial nominee ,John Faso, also called for Hevesi's resignation. The Attorney General (and at that time Democratic gubernatorial nominee), Eliot Spitzer, withdrew his endorsement of Hevesi.

-----------------------------

On December 12, 2006, Hevesi agreed to a deal that calls for the $90,000 in escrow money to be turned over to the state and for him to pay an additional $33,605 within 10 days, making his payback total $206,000. It was revealed that Hevesi had actually hired four, not the two employees initially thought for his wife's 'security detail' and said employees were running personal errands according to the report from the Attorney General Office.

-----------------------------

On December 14, 2006, the Albany County District Attorney acknowledged that he had a strong enough case to indict Hevesi (see beginning of page for judicial resolution).

-----------------------------

On December 22, 2006, CNN reported that "[N]ew York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi entered into a plea agreement which included his immediate resignation Friday to avoid a felony indictment by a New York State grand jury charging him with defrauding the government by having staffers drive his wife and assist her in with personal matters from 2003-2006. Hevesi pleaded guilty to Superior Court Filing of defrauding the government, a Class E felony, and will pay a $5,000 fine. Hevesi admitted the wrongdoing when allegations surfaced in November, and has repaid the state more than $200,000."

See, we just got through that stuff with a statewide official—elected in November, resigned in December. The difference is that Hevesi had sympathy from the citizens because of his wife's condition. She was a survivor of three suicide attempts as well a sufferer of debilitating mental illness. It was generally admitted that Hevesi did what he did to have someone keep a constaant eye on her. (He arrived home one day and had to break down a bathroom door to save her after sh'ed slit her wrists)

Judith Nathan is in no such shape. And Rudy's assigning her not just a city driver—BUT A POLICE DRIVER, well...what was it the ABC article's former city official sources said?

“She used the PD as her personal taxi service," said one former city official who worked for Giuliani.”

While she flitted to Bendel's for fittings and Nobu for a light sup? While you were married, Rudy? On the city's dime?

Oh, my.

Someone really oughtta get those fellas in those dusty downtown backrooms some trusses. There's a ton of records boxes being dug through down there these days, and I'd really, really hate to see anyone get hurt.

Well...almost anyone, that is. :)

There's more...