The jokes just keep coming

[Jorgen Sigvardsson]

Better be friends than foes.

[Oakman]

Jörgen Sigvardsson wrote:

Better be friends than foes.

Yep. You get great rates on your mortgage that way.

Jon Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface

[Jorgen Sigvardsson]

And in return, your money will lose value. Preferably at a steady state of 2%/year. Amazing system... Why didn't I become a banker??

[Oakman]

Jörgen Sigvardsson wrote:

Preferably at a steady state of 2%/year

But inflation will insure that your tax rate goes up every year :-D

Jon Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface

[Stan Shannon]

Jörgen Sigvardsson wrote:

Banks and governments are usually good buddies.

ANother good reason to get rid of government I suppose.

Chaining ourselves to the moral high ground does not make us good guys. Aside from making us easy targets, it merely makes us idiotic prisoners of our own self loathing.

[Stan Shannon]

Oakman wrote:

"Banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies." - Thomas Jefferson

SO which should we be rid of? Banks or standing armies? "A wise and frugal government ... shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government." -- Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1801 Notice, this is a comment made while actually in a policy making position, not some letter dashed off to one of his white trash buddies.

Chaining ourselves to the moral high ground does not make us good guys. Aside from making us easy targets, it merely makes us idiotic prisoners of our own self loathing.

[Oakman]

Sorry, Stanley, I 'm just not in the mood for a food fight - and you seem incapable of anything else. Guess it's time to zap you with Diego's script. Bye.

Jon Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface

[Vikram A Punathambekar]

A couple of points:

1

snapping up Merril Lynch at bargain-basement prices

I thought pretty much everybody was of the opinion that BOA paid too much for ML. ML was, in fact, happy that it had got such a 'good' deal.

2

due diligence

The deal was stitched together over a weekend, at the urging of the Fed. It would have been impossible for BOA to assess ML's books completely. I know they are required to, by law, but it simply wasn't possible in the available time.

3

for the first time since 1991, Bank of America lost money for the year

BOA lost money for Q4, not all of 2008.

Cheers, Vıkram.

---

I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every moment of it.

[73Zeppelin]

Detected early, chances of long-term survival are very high. It depends on the staging, histology, metastases or not... I hope everything goes well for him. When young (like he is and I am) this problem usually due to a genetic disorder (like a mutation in the APC tumour suppressor gene). It's been suggested that I undergo genetic testing, but I'm a little leary of privacy issues, etc...

[Jorgen Sigvardsson]

I'd rather be ruled by people I get to vote for/against. That's just me. :shrug:

-- Kein Mitleid Für Die Mehrheit

[Oakman]

Vikram A Punathambekar wrote:

everybody was of the opinion that BOA paid too much for ML

You're right. I should've made it clear that Ken Lewis was saying he didn't.

Vikram A Punathambekar wrote:

It would have been impossible for BOA to assess ML's books completely. I know they are required to, by law, but it simply wasn't possible in the available time.

Nor did they have to worry about it since we are around to give them any money they need.

Vikram A Punathambekar wrote:

BOA lost money for Q4, not all of 2008.

Dead right. I was remembering rather than re-reading. They say your memory is the second thing to go. . .:confused: I forget what the first is.

Jon Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface

modified on Sunday, January 18, 2009 9:47 AM

[Oakman]

73Zeppelin wrote:

Detected early, chances of long-term survival are very high.

Good! And it's a good thing your health care isn't dependent on your employer. Oh wait, does that mean I am a socialist? :~

Jon Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface

[73Zeppelin]

Everyone's a socialist - or so Stan says. The worst part, besides the drinking 4 litres part, is the freaking waiting. Gah. I just want to get it over with. I hate sitting here twiddling my thumbs not knowing one way or the other. I suppose I should be thankful for modern medicine. If this was the early 20th century, I'd probably be dead already. Maybe I'll take up religion, or something. Heh.

[Oakman]

73Zeppelin wrote:

Everyone's a socialist - or so Stan says.

Even Thomas Jefferson and "his white trash friends." I'm assuming that includes George Washington, "Father of his Country," and James Madison, "Father of the Constitution." And that means I can assume I am in good company.

73Zeppelin wrote:

I hate sitting here twiddling my thumbs not knowing one way or the other.

When do you get to have a decent meal?

73Zeppelin wrote:

Maybe I'll take up religion, or something. Heh

Start one of your own. That was advice L. Ron Hubbard got from Robert Heinlein and it worked out pretty well for him.

Jon Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface

[73Zeppelin]

Oakman wrote:

Even Thomas Jefferson and "his white trash friends." I'm assuming that includes George Washington, "Father of his Country," and James Madison, "Father of the Constitution." And that means I can assume I am in good company.

If one looks hard enough, one finds socialism in everything. You are definitely in good company.

Oakman wrote:

When do you get to have a decent meal?

Thursday, sometime after 12 pm. Until then I'm on a regimen. At any rate, it looks like I'm a teetotaler from here on out.

Oakman wrote:

Start one of your own. That was advice L. Ron Hubbard got from Robert Heinlein and it worked out pretty well for him.

I should think up something wacky that appeals to celebrities. That way the money is sure to flow. I just need something that can be left-field, trendy and expensive all simultaneously.

[Oakman]

73Zeppelin wrote:

At any rate, it looks like I'm a teetotaler from here on out

Well, that's not fun, but it's probably good for you generally as well as specifically.

73Zeppelin wrote:

I just need something that can be left-field, trendy and expensive all simultaneously.

We need a Dionysian religion - maybe something with temple prostitutes.

Jon Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface