Bank wonders why they're losing $$

Defiant Mapua artist Roger Griffiths today made a stand against Westpac by withdrawing his $190,000 savings. Having decided to withdraw his money, he then decided to make it hard for the bank by requesting payment in $20 bills.

Mr Griffiths, a loyal Westpac customer for 25 years, decided to withdraw his money after the bank rejected his application for an $80,000 mortgage. "It's about time normal people took a stand."

He said the bank turned down his application because he did not have a regular income as an artist. However, he was a successful artist, exhibiting his paintings at the World of Wearable Art complex, in Christchurch and New York, he said.

Westpac media relations manager Craig Dowling said today that when the bank lent money it required certain information to be provided to enable that lending to be done prudently.

"It's about providing evidence of an ability to meet regular repayments."

In Mr Griffiths' case that information was not provided for it to be assessed, he said. Mr Griffiths' withdrawal was disappointing.

"We would like to welcome Mr Griffiths back. We just need the confidence regular repayments can be met." More here:

Well, I guess you made a fool out of HIM Mr Dowling. Way to stand your ground. I guess Mr Dowling just doesn't "get it." Meanwhile they lost $110 million on one of their "prudent" loans. Maybe he should write his next loan application in language they can understand. Just fill in all the blanks with "Hee Haw - Hee Haw."

What are these numbers?

I put the answer in the comments.

Blog experiment

I have widened the blog due to popular requests for it to better accommodate certain images and videos. We'll see how it goes.

Common Sense by Thomas Paine

UPDATE - AUDIO LINK FIXED

Common Sense was a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine. It was first published anonymously on January 10, 1776, during the American Revolution. Common Sense presented the American colonists with an argument for independence from British rule at a time when the question of independence was still undecided. Paine wrote and reasoned in a style that common people understood; forgoing the philosophy and Latin references used by Enlightenment era writers.

Published in January, 1776, Common Sense became the best-selling work of 18th century America. It helped to foment the American Revolution. George Washington ordered it to be read to all his troops on December 25, 1776, prior to his crossing of the Delaware.

I often hear this mentioned/referenced in discussions of the founding of America so I decided to download it from here and listen to it on my mp3 player while I was working today. It's broken up into seven small mp3 files. FREE download. It was about 1.5 hours of audio total.

Thanks to the anonymous commenter who pointed out the broken link.

BUY A TRUCK, get a free AK-47

Click in link to view

Democrats - Crushing America and Liberty

"U6." No, it isn't a new version of an Irish rock group. It is the more complete look at the victims of unemployment. These are the people who would most benefit from the expanded use of E-Verify to open up jobs held by illegal aliens. Let's make sure that Pelosi, Reid and Obama look at the 25 million American victims before they choose to once again favor illegal aliens for U.S. jobs.

The unemployment figures you usually hear are about Americans who are looking for a full-time job right now and who can't find any kind of work.

But more and more commentators are using the federal government's U-6 Unemployment Rate. It also counts what it calls "Discouraged Workers," "Other Marginally Attached" and people who are forced to work part-time but who are looking for full-time work.

About 25 million Americans were counted as U-6 unemployed at the beginning of the summer -- 15.9%.

House Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid are said to be planning this month to continue to put 8 million illegal foreign workers ahead of those U-6 unemployed Americans.

The Senate-passed Homeland Security spending bill includes several provisions that would drive hundreds of thousands -- if not a few million -- illegal aliens out of U.S. jobs over the next year and make them available to Americans.

Pelosi and Reid stripped those provisions from the Stimulus Bill in February and are expected to try to do it again with this bill.

25 million U-6 unemployed Americans deserve better.

I beg all of you to help us continue to obtain signatures on the petition to Pelosi and Reid to demand that this time they switch their allegiance from the illegal workers and the employers who hire them and think instead of the 25 million unemployed Americans. More here:

Folks, I don't think our economy is anywhere NEAR finished tanking. They're going to raise taxes on the people who provide jobs and pay salaries. They're going to continue blocking our energy industry while our energy prices are skyrocketing. In fact, they seem to try to hamper/increase regulation on ALL of our industries while unemployment is skyrocketing. They're going to impose cap and trade (global warming.) They're going to impose government health care. They're not going to fix social security or medicare. They continue to make our income taxes more complex. They continue to allow illegal aliens to benefit from breaking our laws. They continue to allow "environmental groups" standing in court to sue on "your behalf." They continue to borrow and squander our money like drunken Democrats. They continue to grow government into the most massive, lumbering , inefficient behemoth on earth.

They slowly started this crap 80 years ago but now, with the Dipshitocrats in control, they are in a full sprint. They are crushing liberty and crushing America ... and telling us it's for our own good.

It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. - - C. S. Lewis

Why is Social Security in trouble?

PHOENIX -- A Social Security Administration motivational management conference held at a high-end Valley resort last week cost $700,000, the SSA told the ABC15 Investigators.

Costs for the conference at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa included airfare, hotel entertainment, dancers, motivational speakers, and food, an administration official said.

A spokesperson outside the SSA's Phoenix office declined to comment. More here:

Stuff to think about

"There are those who still think they are holding the pass against a revolution that may be coming up the road. But they are gazing in the wrong direction. The revolution is behind them. It went by in the Night of [the] Depression, singing songs to freedom."

While outwardly America appeared the same, a revolution within had taken place that was now irreversible. One need only glance at where we were before the New Deal, where we are and where we are headed to see how far we are off the course the Founding Fathers set for our republic.

Taxes drove the American Revolution, for we were a taxaphobic, liberty-loving people. That government is best that governs least is an Americanism. When "Silent Cal" Coolidge went home in 1929, the U.S. government was spending 3 percent of gross domestic product.

And today? Obama's first budget will consume 28 percent of the entire GDP; state and local governments another 15 percent. While there is some overlap, in 2009, government will consume 40 percent of GDP, approaching the peak of World War II. More at wnd.com

Yes -- from 3% to 28% and it's still not enough for the communists. All you have to do to achieve utopia is to give up a little bit more of your private property and just a little bit more of your liberty. (Paraphrasing Mark Levin.)

Well, we've given up more and more and more ... and it's never enough ... and where are we?

The Congressional Budget Office

Douglas W. Elmendorf - Director CBO

From the Director of The Congressional Budget Office's blog.

Today I had the opportunity to testify before the Senate Budget Committee about CBO’s most recent analysis of the long-term budget outlook.

Under current law, the federal budget is on an unsustainable path, because federal debt will continue to grow much faster than the economy over the long run.

Large budget deficits would reduce national saving, leading to more borrowing from abroad and less domestic investment, which in turn would depress economic growth in the United States. Over time, accumulating debt would cause substantial harm to the economy.

CBO estimates that in fiscal years 2009 and 2010, the federal government will record its largest budget deficits as a share of GDP since shortly after World War II. As a result of those deficits, federal debt held by the public will soar from 41 percent of GDP at the end of fiscal year 2008 to 60 percent at the end of fiscal year 2010. This higher debt results in permanently higher spending to pay interest on that debt.

So ... what to do, what to do. VP Biden has the answer. Is it to slash taxes? Is it tort reform? Is it converting to the fair tax? Is it reducing the size and scope of government? Is it eliminating ridiculous environmental rules? No.

Pay close attention and try to follow the liberal logic. Ok, prepared? Here you go.

“We’re going to go bankrupt as a nation,” Biden said.

“Now, people when I say that look at me and say, ‘What are you talking about, Joe? You’re telling me we have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt?’” Biden said. “The answer is yes, that's what I’m telling you.” More at CNS News:

Yes, in order to fix our debt problem, we have to borrow more money. The only good news is that the Dipshitocrats are going to screw America up so bad they'll never have a majority again.

Before you sell your house...

And Pink Floyd too!

For the One Guy Who Hasn't Seen This...

eTrade Super Bowl Commercial: Talking Baby Rents a Clown

Big shocker to all - Klown Predictions

Click image to biggify

WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve expects the economy this year will sink at a slower pace than it previously thought, but that unemployment will top 10 percent, according to a forecast released Wednesday. More here:

Yes, I know what to do.

1 - Let's raise the minimum wage ... oh, wait we did that last year ... no way to know that was going to have an effect on unemployment rates ... took us by complete surprise.


2 - Let's block oil drilling and refining and transporting ... oh, wait. we've been doing that for 30 years ... no way to tell that was going to cause dislocations in the market and skyrocketing/unpredictable prices. No way to predict that skyrocketing energy prices would cause an almost complete collapse in the economy.


3 - Let's have government-run enterprises like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac run the housing/loan industry by fiat. Yes ... we'll have them dictate terms to the free market. No way that will cause dislocations in the market and crush the economy.


4 - Let's "tax the rich" to pay for health care. No way will "the rich" pass along their increased costs to the poor ... no way in hell ... it just wouldn't be right.


5 - Let's try to tax and spend our way out of a recession. Just because it can never work doesn't mean we shouldn't try it. No way can we make it worse. No way will it cause inflation. No way will we bankrupt the nation. No way will we ever have to pay it back. No way will it make the recession worse.


Hey, the Klown has some predictions:

1 - Unemployment will top 15% before these idiots are finished.

2 - Gas will top $6 per gallon before they "drill here/drill now." And it will go over $7 per gallon before they stop letting "environmentalists" sue energy companies over every little thing.

3 - Inflation will top 10% before these idiots are finished.

Unk author


This is written by a young soldier serving his third tour of duty in Iraq.. Thought you might find his take on the Michael Jackson news interesting and he's right.
Okay, I need to rant.
I was just watching the news, and I caught part of a report on Michael Jackson. As we all know, Jackson died the other day. He was an entertainer who performed for decades. He made millions, he spent millions, and he did a lot of things that make him a villian to many people. I understand that his death would affect a lot of people, and I respect those people who mourn his death, but that isn't the point of my rant.
Why is it that when ONE man dies, the whole of America loses their minds with grief. When a man dies whose only contribution to the country was to ENTERTAIN people, the Amercian people find the need to flock to a memorial in Hollywood, and even Congress sees the need to hold a "moment of silence" for his passing?
Am I missing something here? ONE man dies, and all of a sudden he's a freaking martyr because he entertained us for a few decades? What about all those SOLDIERS who have died to give us freedom ? All those Soldiers who, knowing that they would be asked to fight in a war, still raised their hands and swore to defend the Constitution and the United States of America. Where is their moment of silence? Where are the people flocking to their graves or memorials and mourning over them because they made the ultimate sacrifice? Why is it when a Soldier dies, there are more people saying "good riddence," and "thank God for IEDs?" When did this country become so calloused to the sacrifice of GOOD MEN and WOMEN, that they can arbitrarily blow off their deaths, and instead, throw themselves into mourning for a "Pop Icon?" I think that if they are going to hold a moment of silence IN CONGRESS for Michael Jackson, they need to hold a moment of silence for every service member killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. They need to PUBLICLY recognize every life that has been lost so that the American people can live their callous little lives in the luxury and freedom that WE, those that are living and those that have gone on, have provided for them. But, wait, that would take too much time, because there have been so many willing to make that sacrifice. After all, we will never make millions of dollars. We will never star in movies, or write hit songs that the world will listen too. We only shed our blood, sweat and tears so that people can enjoy what they have.
Sorry if I have offended, but I needed to say it. Remember these five words the next time you think of someone who is serving in the military;
"So that others may live..."

PSA messages from the future

California Senator is a genius

WASHINGTON — If the Senate doesn't pass a bill to cut global warming, Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer says, there will be dire results: droughts, floods, fires, loss of species, damage to agriculture, worsening air pollution and more. More here:

Yes, Barbara Boxer ... she's like a really dumb person ... with brain damage ... and ENORMOUS POWER.

I'm still waiting for the idiots who screamed about global cooling in the 70's to come forward and apologize. Oh, wait -- those are the same peeps screaming about global warming (climate change) now. That's the thing about libs/environmental statists, they don't learn.

Evil Corporations make break

McDonalds is to leave London for Geneva, joining the growing ranks of US companies moving their European headquarters to take advantage of preferential intellectual property tax laws.

McDonald’s said its decision was not prompted by changes in the UK taxation of foreign profits from intellectual property rights made by Alastair Darling, the finance minister, this year. No, of course not.

Under the UK tax rules that came into force at the start of the month, McDonald’s would be paying tax on foreign profits relating to intellectual property twice over. More here:

Ha ha - "Bye bye, now." It looks like the socialists will be running out of other people's money faster that they thought.

I wonder if the socialists in the US will wake up. I wonder if they'll increase taxes or decrease them. Yes, I wonder ... NOT. That's the thing about liberals, they don't learn.

Kraft, Procter & Gamble, Google, Electronic Arts and Yahoo have switched from the UK to Switzerland in recent years, while Informa, the UK publisher, is changing its tax domicile to the country.

Hey libs ... don't worry ... you can fix this easy. Just lower your tax rates. Those evil job-providing companies will come back ... just tell them to trust you that you won't raise them again ... they'll understand. Bye bye, jobs -- bye bye, millions in revenue ... bye bye, now!

White-assed mayor gets ousted

Tommie 'Tomaso' Brown: 'Obama was a major influence on everybody...he inspired me.'
Photo: JULIAN SIMMONDS

In a shock result in Alligator (population 220), Tommie “Tomaso” Brown, 38, defeated Robert Fava, the mayor since 1979, owner of the general store and once his opponent’s boss, by 37 votes to 27.

Some youngsters ran into Mr Fava’s store to taunt him. “They was pulling down their pants, shouting, ’Kiss my black ass, because we got a black mayor’, swinging their things around and throwing stuff,” said Jennifer Green, 31, a black mother of 10. More here:

Whew, they finally got rid of that white mayor. The oppression is over.

Evian Roller Babes