Male Hormones Destroyed the Economy

What are we in this economic mess? Male hormones, of course. See Washington Post, Study: Testosterone Correlated to Successful Financial Trading.

According to the article, "[t]he bubble preceding the current crash may have been due to euphoria related to high levels of testosterone, or high sensitivity to it." It seems that "[t]estosterone is the hormone of irrational exuberance."

Any woman could have told you that.

Tickle Me Elmo Joke

From an email:

There is a factory in Northern Minnesota which makes the Tickle Me Elmo toys. The toy laughs when you tickle it under the arms.

Well, Lena is hired at The Tickle Me Elmo factory and she reports for her first day promptly at 8:00 am.

The next day at 8:45 am there is a knock at the Personnel Manager's door. The Foreman throws open the door and begins to rant about the new employee..

He complains that she is incredibly slow and the whole line is backing up, putting the entire production line behind schedule.

The Personnel Manager decides he should see this for himself, so the 2 men march down to the factory floor. When they get there the line is so backed up that there are Tickle Me Elmo's all over the factory floor and they're really beginning to pile up. At the end of the line stands Lena surrounded by mountains of Tickle Me Elmo's.

She has a roll of plush red fabric and a huge bag of small marbles.

The 2 men watch in amazement as she cuts a little piece of fabric, wraps it around two marbles and begins to carefully sew the little package between Elmo's legs.

The Personnel Manager bursts into laughter. After several minutes of hysterics he pulls himself together and approaches Lena .

"I'm sorry," he says to her, barely able to keep a straight face, "but I think you misunderstood the instructions I gave you yesterday..."

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"Your job is to give Elmo two test tickles."

Now didn't that make you smile.

Bush's Madoff Like Legacy of Malfeasance

Comparing Bush's eight year in office to Madoff's ponzi scheme, read The New York Times, Eight Years of Madoffs.

Bush's record as a student, military man, businessman and leader of the free world is one of constant failure. No wonder:

Lee Iacocca is no fan of President Bush. 'I campaigned for him because I knew his mother and dad for 30 years, and I figured he was from pretty good stock,' the auto-industry legend tells Details magazine. 'But Jeb was being groomed, too. They got the wrong kid. There's something wrong philosophically with how Bush's brain works. I feel sorry for him.'

In an appearance on CNN's Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, Donald Trump called U.S. President George W. Bush "probably the worst president in the history of the United States."

Even "Cheney is now putting the blame for all the messes squarely on W. shows once more how the bureaucratic master outmaneuvers his younger partner." Read The New York Times, An Extremist Makeover?

Don't forget to vote in the poll.

Class Today at NoBullU on WEBY

UPDATE: nothing tentative about it now, it is a go for launch at 4:05 PM CST. Barring any unexpected last minute developments, you can:

Listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- No political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- Just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!

NoBullU will be on air Friday from 4:05 to 6 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line, courtesy of Cyber Smart Computers.

Topics: Mostly local (the PD office melodrama, media intimidation or cowardice, snotty breezers (or not if you are a breezer fan of mine), is it bad, just count the restaurant closings, will Milton arise from the ashes like a phoenix, and does it add up: 28 year old female + 16 year old male = 366 days in jail) and state (Republi-con corruption (<- a tautology?) and those insufferable Gator fans), but I'll discuss anything. (Disclaimer: the host reserves the right to end any discussion and hang up on you.)

So tune-in, call-in, but only if you can handle the truth!

Are Republi-cons Just Racist Whiners?

The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics Sciences is widely regarded as the most prestigious award one can receive in the field of economics. The prize is often awarded to a person who has analyzed data and identified previously unrecognized patterns.

So it is worth noting that the newest winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences thinks that Republi-cons are just a bunch of racist whiner who can't acknowledge that they got what they wanted and can't accept responsibility for what they have done. Read The New York Times, Bigger Than Bush.

Who can argue with a man of his credentials? Especially after Chip Saltsman, currently a candidate for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee, sent committee members a CD including a song titled 'Barack the Magic Negro,' which Rusty Limpballs has promoted on his radio show.

Happy New Year

If you like to reminisce, read Time, The Top 10 Everything of 2008.

The Year in Review

Uncle Jay Explains: Year-end!



Maybe this year will be better. What do you think?

Happy 2009!

Soldiers Need Arrest Warrant to Fight War

Where is the Republi-con outrage? Beginning tomorrow, American soldiers will be required to secure arrest warrants in order to detain Iraqi citizens. That's right, soldier will need arrest warrants. Read The New York Times, New Rules in Iraq Add Police Work to Troops’ Jobs.

We are long past time to turn over day-to-day security to the Iraqis. Bush is just kicking the can down the road til he is out of office.

What do you think, should soldier to required to get arrest warrant?

Robin Williams on Politics After the 2008 Election

He spares no one:




What part did you like best?

Who is Responsible for the Economic Mess, Part Deux

As the economic mess drags on, the blame games continue as the political parties spin. And there is plenty of blame to go around. Read these two series:

• Washington Post, The Crash: What Went Wrong?
• The New York Times, The Reckoning.

I say impeach or fire them all.

Holiday Lights

Happy Holidays!


Amazing Grace Techno.



Music Box Dancer 2008.


Double click to see the video in full screen mode. Watch other videos at Holdman Christmas.

Holiday Class Schedule at No Bull U on WEBY

Listen to the voice of wisdom and reason in a wilderness of partisan rhetoric -- No political insanity, no conservative hypocrisy, no liberal foolishness -- Just straight talk, straight at you, and that’s no bull!!

NoBullU will be on air Friday (12/19/08), and Tuesday (12/23/08) from 4:05 to 6 p.m. at 1330 AM WEBY and on line, courtesy of Cyber Smart Computers.

Friday's topic: The bailouts, with guest Dr. Dennis F. Paulaha, Ph.D., to discuss his suggestion to remortgage America. See my previous post.

Tuesday's topics: Local, state, national and international events TBD.

Tune in, call in, but only if you can handle the truth!

Truth and BS

As you know, a favorite article of mine is The New York Times, Between Truth and Lies, An Unprintable Ubiquity.

Here is another interesting article on truth, The New York Times, A Highly Evolved Propensity for Deceit.

Santa Claus Bailout Hearings

A little holiday humor:

Downsize Congress

The government is running huge deficits so it is time to cut government spending. Here is a plan someone suggested in an email:

"When a company falls on difficult times, one of the things that seems to happen are they reduce their staff and workers. The remaining workers need to find ways to continue to do a good job or risk that their job would be eliminated as well. Wall street, and the media normally congratulate the CEO for making this type of "tough decision", and his board of directors gives him a big bonus. I feel our government should not be immune from similar risks. I therefore am recommending the following cuts to be implemented by the next president elect.

Reduce the House of Representatives from the current 435 members to 218 members and Senate members from 100 to 50. Also reduce remaining staff by 25%. Accomplish this over the next 8 years. (two steps / two elections)

Some yearly monetary gains include:

$44,108,400 for elimination of base pay for congress. (267 members X $165,200 pay / member / yr.)

$97,175,000 for elimination of the above people's staff. (estimate $1.3 Mil in staff per each member of the House, and $3 Mil in staff per each member of the Senate every year)

$24,294 for the reduction in remaining staff by 25%.

$7,500,000 reduction in pork barrel ear-marks each year. (those members who's jobs are gone. Current estimates for total government pork earmarks are at $15 Billion / yr)

The remaining representatives would need to work smarter and would need to improve efficiencies. It might even be in their best interests to work together for the good of our country?

We may also expect that smaller committees might lead to a more efficient resolution of issues as well. It might even be easier to keep track of what your representative is doing. Congress has more tools available to do their jobs than it had back in 1911 when the current number of representatives was established. (telephone, computers, cell phones to name a few)

Note: Congress did not hesitate to jump on a train for home this week when it was a holiday, when the nation needed a real fix to the economic problems. Also, we have 3 senators that have not been doing their jobs for the past 18+ months (on the campaign trail) and still they all have been accepting full pay. These facts alone support a reduction in senators & congress. Summary of opportunity:

$44,108,400 reduction of congress members

$282,100,000 for elimination of the reduced house member staff

$150,000,000 for elimination of reduced senate member staff

$59,675,000 for 25% reduction of staff for remaining house members

$37,500,000 for 25% reduction of staff for remaining senate members

$7,500,000,000 reduction in pork added to bills by the reduction of congress members.

$8,073,383,400 per year, estimated total savings.

Big business does these types of cuts all the time.

IF you are happy with how our government is right now, just delete this message. IF you are not happy, I assume you know what to do"

I've suggested cutting all government payments and benefits, including social security and retirement payments. But Congress would be a good place to start.

WEBY is Crushing the Competition

If you haven't heard, the other local talk radio stations are giving up afternoon call-in shows. WEBY is crushing the competition.

So let's have a little competition at WEBY and see who you would choose as the last host talking. I challenge the other afternoon hosts to a host-off. Who do you like best:

Renee Giacino
Mike Bates (the owner/manager of WEBY)
Terry Gross
Ken Lamb
Your truly, No Bull Bert

Take the preliminary poll as I work with the others to develop the judging criteria.

Then, get ready for the Host-Off.

Told Ya So

It seems that the government will adopt my idea to preemptively reorganize the auto industry. An Washington Post has reported:

The troubled U.S. auto industry will receive emergency loans of up to $17.4 billion from the federal government in return for an extensive restructuring of its outstanding debt and labor costs over the coming year, President Bush said today.

I first proposed the idea on November 12.

I should be paid for this, gold preferred until further notice.

First Palin, Now Kennedy, Who Next Mickey!

I was critical of the Republi-cons for nominating Palin. (See previous posts, including those under the label 2008 Election.) Caroline Kennedy has not proven she is, you know, qualified to be a U.S. Senator. She should not, you know, be appointed to replace Hillary Clinton.

Politics has become a popularity contest, you know. No wonder the country is having problems.

UPDATE: Read this great article, Washington Post, The U.S. House Of Lords, that discusses some of the problems with nepotism in U.S. politics today.

See also, Washington Post, Caroline Kennedy Is No Sarah Palin, where Kathleen Parker (you remember her don't ya) says that the "real rub is that she hasn't earned it. The sense of entitlement implicit in Kennedy's plea for appointment mocks our national narrative."

Was Wall Street Just a Ponzi Scheme?

Bernard Madoff has admitted that his so-called hedge fund was just a $50 billion Ponzi scheme. But was what occurred on Wall Street over the last decade or two any different? One influential columnist, Thomas Friedman, thinks not and wrote:

"I have no sympathy for Madoff. But the fact is, his alleged Ponzi scheme was only slightly more outrageous than the “legal” scheme that Wall Street was running, fueled by cheap credit, low standards and high greed. What do you call giving a worker who makes only $14,000 a year a nothing-down and nothing-to-pay-for-two-years mortgage to buy a $750,000 home, and then bundling that mortgage with 100 others into bonds — which Moody’s or Standard & Poors rate AAA — and then selling them to banks and pension funds the world over? That is what our financial industry was doing. If that isn’t a pyramid scheme, what is?

Far from being built on best practices, this legal Ponzi scheme was built on the mortgage brokers, bond bundlers, rating agencies, bond sellers and homeowners all working on the I.B.G. principle: “I’ll be gone” when the payments come due or the mortgage has to be renegotiated."

Read The New York Times, The Great Unraveling. (If you want details, read The New York Times series titled The Reckoning.)

You might remember that I said more than a week before the Madoff scandal was made public that financial institutions might have been an elaborate Ponzi scheme.

So why does the government keep trying to prop up the scheme?

UPDATE: Another New York Times columnist, and the newest winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, compares Wall Street and the financial services industry to Madoff and Ponzi schemes, and calls it "America’s Ponzi era." Read The New York Times, The Madoff Economy.

Icing on the cake for Bush's legacy.

The Bush Dodge

The Best of Late Nite Jokes Edited by Newsmax.com:

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Looks like we’ve finally found something President Bush is good at — dodge ball.

As you know, yesterday in Iraq, President Bush was attacked by a shoe-icide bomber.

President Bush was speaking at a news conference in Iraq when a journalist threw two shoes at him. Here’s what he did to keep from being hit — something he’s never done before — he leaned to the left.

Even Bill Clinton was impressed. He is an expert at ducking shoes . . . and ashtrays . . . and lamps . . .

Late Show with David Letterman

Bush was in Baghdad at a press conference, and a reporter jumped up and started heaving shoes at him. He was screaming, “Here’s your farewell kiss, you dog.” That’s the same goodbye I got from NBC.

They arrested the guy — they’re trying to find out if he is shoenni or shoe’itte.

The guy bought the shoes at a Payless, and they didn’t even do a background check. . .

You've got to give Bush credit. I mean, the guy moved pretty quickly. ... Too bad he didn't react that way with bin Laden or Katrina, bin Laden or the mortgage crisis, bin Laden or Afghanistan, bin Laden or the Lehman Brothers.

I don't think Bush really has dodged anything like that, well, since the Vietnam War. [From another website.]

Late Night with Conan O'Brien

Yesterday at a press conference in Baghdad, an angry Iraqi threw his shoes at President Bush’s head. When he saw the shoes, President Bush said, “See? I knew you guys had weapons of mass destruction.”

The man who threw his shoes at President Bush is being hailed as a hero in Iraq. In fact, when he dies, he’ll be greeted in heaven by 72 podiatrists.

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Bush has been accused of dodging issues in the past, but who knew he could actually dodge shoes?

He’s 62 years old, but he still has the reflexes of a cat. Mind you, I think his head has been on a swivel ever since Cheney shot his lawyer.

The irony of this shoe-throwing incident is, it’s as close as we’ll ever get to finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.