MARTIN'S DAY IN

The sun shines, reminding me that it’s another morning that I have over slept. Of late I have been suffering from insomnia (lack of sleep).  I am plagued by a condition that I have never had before. You see, I am the type of person who sleeps through a Taliban invasion never mind that the last time I was in a chaotic situation was when I visited my friend living next to a railway line and I slept through the whole ordeal! And by the way I have no problem with my ears; I can hear the whispers of the spirits at night!

I awake to another reality; my eyes are swollen and bloodshot. I take some paracetamol to ease the throb in my head.

"What happened?” I asked myself.

I stretched myself and lazily got out of bed. I noticed the blinking of the phone on my bedside table. I had a number of missed calls. They were all from her. Yes, her. What was the connection of the two? I had not gone drinking so why was my memory failing me?

I got out of bed and drew the curtains, turning the slice of light that was breaking though into a beam of light. As I opened the window, the soft breeze hit my temple and the warmth so caressing that all I could do was sigh.

I turned to go and clean up. Then I heard the shower running. Someone was in the house with me. I could not recall having company the previous night; instinctively I reached for the Maasai sword under my pillow, still in my briefs I tiptoed towards my bathroom. But with all these horror movies being sold around you have to admit its a bit scary hearing strange sounds in a house you live alone in. Really, I don’t want to die young. What the hell!

In my state of mind, the strappy sandals on my path were invisible, the result was that I tripped and fell, hitting my head on the tiled floor; So much for the guy who could have killed an elephant with a sword. I hit my head so hard I could have sworn the floor cracked or was it my skull. I can’t tell I didn’t go to the doctor (I don’t trust them). That alone, made me recall what had happened the previous night.

I lay on the floor writhing in pain. Blurred vision made worse by direct sunlight straight from the bathroom window, I made out a dark image approaching. My horror movie might as well begin now….

DELICATE THINGS

The delicate things, the special people, the ones who are unaware of your affection, don’t let them find out, tell them.

I know of a man, Tom is his name whose heart is so fragile that upon the mention of good news he loses breathe, and further mention of better news makes him collapse. No one ever tells him sad or bad news upfront, we wouldn’t want his death on our conscience now would we. So in most cases, the bad stuff was let to be passive as he perceived it better when he found out on his own.

The point is that we at times are like the friends of Tom. We live under the fear of saying what we mean to those whom we care for. We prefer to let them find out the affection that we have for them.

I will let you in on a secret, “the mistakes committed by lovers are not punished by the gods”, (An African saying). Would you rather be a person that pours sanctimonious platitudes on noble souls already dead or one who takes each day in awe appreciating the delicate things that our lives are blessed with?

I have counted my blessings these recent days, and among them are Martin and Kevansweli. I am grateful and to you my reader, you are the inspiration for REAL the time you spend reading this is appreciated.

I know that Mother in Law (A Kenyan TV sitcom) lead actress wanted to poison her neighbour’s dogs for trespassing into her garden but may be like her, you ought to seal the hole in the fence and keep out the bad elements.

Share some love today, won’t you!

 signed; Kevin

CAUSES OF INFLATION

Inflation is when prices keep rising. (For more about inflation, see Inflation FAQS)The most common cause of inflation is when demand outstrips supply. This happened in housing in 2005-2006. There were so many investors looking to buy houses, it drove housing prices up to record-high levels. This is known as demand-pull inflation. By the way, when inflation only hits one asset category, it is known as asset inflation. The Fed didn't take steps to stop inflation because it was restricted to housing, and hadn't spread into other areas of the economy.
Another cause of inflation is when there is a shortage of supply, such as the 1970s oil embargo. OPEC restricted oil in 1973, quadrupling prices. This is called cost-push inflation.
A third cause of inflation is an over-expansion of the money supply. The money supply is not just cash, but also credit, loans and mortgages. When loans are cheap, then there will be too much money chasing too few goods, creating inflation. This is what really created the inflation in housing prices in 2005-2006. Deregulation allowed banks to push mortgages onto everyone. When people could borrow for virtually nothing, and needed no money down, it made no sense to rent. With low interest rates, homeowners used their homes as an ATM machine, spending their equity on TVs, cars...and more houses. However, inflation was restricted to housing prices. The price of everything else was subdued, since China kept its currency, the yuan, pegged below the dollar. This artificially made prices of their exports to the U.S. low.
In addition, China's lower wages meant wages couldn't rise in the U.S. This also kept wage inflation low. This is when wage earners have the power to force through wage increases, which companies then pass through to consumers in higher prices. Thanks to China and the decline of union power in the U.S., this has not been a driver of inflation for many years.
A fifth cause of inflation is expectation of inflation. This was pointed out by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. He said that, once people expect inflation, they will buy things now before prices go up further in the future. This increases demand, which then created demand-pull inflation. Once expectation of inflation sets in, it is very difficult to eradicate. That's why the Fed's most important mandate is to fight inflation. Bernanke is the first U.S. Fed chairman to set an inflation target to make sure the market knows he won't let inflation rise. The inflation target is based on the core inflation rate, which eliminates volatile food and energy costs. A healthy economy can sustain a core inflation rate of 2%, which is Bernanke's target.
A sixth cause of inflation is the declining value of the dollar. When the dollar declines relative to the value of foreign currencies, the prices of imports rise. That's why the Chinese peg their currency to always be lower than the dollar, which has been declining since 2002. (Article updated January 26, 2011)

ADOPTED FROM ABOUT.COM

MEMORIES- HIGH SCHOOL AS I RECALL IT.

Martin, Kevin and I is a statement Kevansweli has used to describe us, in previous blogs, but today he has taken a French leave away from his blog, I being an ardent friend and reader, have done  my best to tweet him him @kevansweli or call him on his social line but to no avail. I haven’t tried his business line though; you know what they say about friends and business!

Methinks that like all deserving persons, he has taken a vacation. Good for him. I do say that because I received another SMS trailing off with a password to REAL. Being the last of our latest communication, I decided to be noble and take over as this was a silent go ahead from him.

Wherever he is one thing is for sure, he has a new found mteja status (the mobile subscriber cannot be reached). I hope that he has not ended up in a romance that will jeopardize our bromance.

The sight of high school teenagers, strutting from the school administration block, foolscap in hand and looking conspicuously neat, is a sight any Kenyan parent and teacher will enjoy. The details fore mentioned are a phenomenon to me simply because of the assumption one was wont to make when they saw us in our former high school under the same uniform and foolscap in hand scenario. It simply meant that there was more going on than what met the eye.

Back in the day, I was a magnet for problems. I was so immersed that all I contemplated was turning me into Aristotle in the hope that the transformation would assist me in the powers of reasoning. If you have never reached such extreme, then you are doing well don’t change a thing.

I am talking about this past because I can’t understand why my short memory of late has suddenly become that of an elephant. (Yes elephants can recall what went on 20 years ago!). I have no memory of good times, not out of disease but blessing. You see I am blessed with the ability to forget. That means I can forget my sorry state without having to chemically induce myself.

I am haunted however by my high past one incidence to be exact. It seems the world has decided to con me. The system pulled a fast one on me because half the things that are permissible now were illegal back then. I think that my perpetual brush with the law was not because I am among the strange people that occupy this world. The rule book was the problem; most teachers seemed to disagree with my interpretation. The director of prosecution aka the deputy was there to ensure that every minute of my faltering was well exorcised out of me.

Whereas other students spent their time in prep reading, I spent mine in the san (the caning was brutal) or in the deputy’s office being whipped away. Those great days, were apparently not great for my sitting tools, ask my sitting tools they are scarred for life. And by the way I was innocent, so what about those that were truly guilty, they are maimed!

You see I was a bright fellow, so bright that ready kilowatt identified my potential as a source of green energy. I would have gotten an A but like you guessed my injuries impaired my concentration in class, but that did not stop my admission through JAB, I tricked the system.

The deputy was the shadow that preceded death. The bloke hardly slept, else how do you explain a man rushing the whole school out of slumber at 4am yet by 1 am he was still caning students at his office. If it was his hobby, that is, tearing the students’ ass up, I am glad I am not him. He was the type of man who when asked to bring down the cat from the roof would burn the whole house down just for the kicks of it!

So his vocation of exorcising demons of ingenuity from the students has a weapon of choice, a whip. Sticks could not work as our backsides had metamorphosed to hardened elements that broke any stick that came into contact.

He had an office assistant called Solo who summoned students from class either for attending to their visiting parents of for caning, but mostly it was caning. When he called you and you later returned with foolscap in hand, your lady class teacher would die with guilt for reporting you and well your friends laughed at you.

When the deputy summoned you for caning, you turned up in your cleanest uniform lest you get extra caning for being untidy. After the daylights were beaten out of you, you tidied yourself and walked out with foolscap to write that apology letter.

The next time you see a high-schooler neatly dressed in the uniform with foolscap in hand, there’s probably a deputy nearby sweating in their suit on a cold July morning in a quest to build the nation. Believe me, that child or teenager if you like is innocent.

 yours Martin

Was President Obama a subprime borrower?

Not quite. But it seems that during his pre-Senator years, he and Michelle spent substantially more than their income and made up the difference by repeatedly taking out loans against the rising value of their home during the home-price bubble. At least according to this story...

In April 1999, they purchased a Chicago condo and obtained a mortgage for $159,250. In May 1999, they took out a line of credit for $20,750. Then, in 2002, they refinanced the condo with a $210,000 mortgage, which means they took out about $50,000 in equity. Finally, in 2004, they took out another line of credit for $100,000 on top of the mortgage.

Tax returns for 2004 reveal $14,395 in mortgage deductions. If we assume an effective interest rate of 6%, then they owed about $240,000 on a home they purchased for about $159,250....

And they weren't exactly "poor" during this time. They were what they now call "the rich". Apparently they were just free with their money, not rich enough, spending more than they had coming in ...

During the presidential primary campaign, Michelle Obama complained how tough it was to make ends meet ... "I know we're spending - I added it up for the first time - we spend between the two kids, on extracurriculars outside the classroom, we're spending about $10,000 a year on piano and dance and sports supplements and so on and so forth."...
The Obamas' adjusted gross income averaged $257,000 from 2000 to 2004. This is above the threshold of $250,000 which Obama initially used as the definition of being "rich" for taxation purposes during last year's election campaign.

The Obama family apparently had little or no savings during this period since there was virtually no taxable interest shown on their tax returns.

... until he got elected to the Senate in 2005 ...

the Obamas were living off lines of credit along with other income for several years until 2005, when Obama's book royalties came through and Michelle received her 260% pay raise at the University of Chicago.
This was also the year Obama started serving in the U.S. Senate ... Michelle explained, "It was like Jack and his magic beans."

Wasn't it lucky that they found their magic beans just as he got locked into a limited-salary government job for six years? Anyhow, for them things easily could have been much different.

Barack might well have lost his Senate run, but for his respected and well-financed Republican opponent being done in by allegations that he had wanted to take his wife to a sex club ... that were contained in four-year-old sealed legal documents, which a Chicago judge decided to release to the press during the campaign, that had been filed against him by his wife in a divorce proceeding ... which she'd initiated after pursuing an on-the-job dalliance with a man who was the near co-destroyer of the Star Trek franchise. But I digress (though in case you are interested).

If Barack hadn't been elected...

Without those magic beans, the Obama family would have eventually suffered the consequences of too much debt ... and they might have suffered financially during the decline in housing prices had they relied on taking ever larger amounts of equity from their home to pay the bills...

Here's a counterfactual: Let's imagine a world in which long-sealed court documents remained sealed during elections, and Star Trek producers didn't hit on married actresses.

Suppose in that world Barack had lost his Senate run, and he and Michelle had thereafter continued to live their lives as previously, beanless. Then the housing bubble burst, leaving them as short of income as ever before but now with no way to cover the income gap, and also tens of thousands of dollars "underwater" on their home, owing that much more than it was worth.

Today, in response to the mortgage crisis and masses of foreclosures everywhere, the new Clinton Administration is putting together its Innocent Overstretched Homeowner Bailout and Mortgage Relief Plan.

Should the plan be written so that that Barack Obama -- a virtuous, hard-working citizen, state legislator, respected professor (indeed a person fully qualified to be President of the United States!) -- should have tens of thousands of dollars knocked off his loan balance and his interest rate reduced, dropping yet another loss on the staggering banking system and endangering its creditors, because he and the wife always liked to spend more money than they had? Can he say greedy bankers exploited him into over-extending himself like that?

Or should the Obamas be told: stick it, move to an apartment, forget all the fancy private lessons for the kids, wear the same clothes for a while, and cut your spending until it is less than your income and you finally are saving something.

Discuss.

In the meantime, it is nice to know that as President Obama leads our nation into by far its biggest spending-over-income deficits in peacetime history, he has ample experience in dealing with such situations in his personal life and a solution that's worked for him before: magic beans.

Scrivener.net:"Who said Social Security is a Ponzi game?"

WELIMO EVANS has sent you a link to a blog:



Blog: Scrivener.net
Post: "Who said Social Security is a Ponzi game?"
Link: http://blog.scrivener.net/2008/06/who-said-social-security-is-ponzi-game.html

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MISTAKE

I loved you as a son should
But despise your actions as a foe would.
Yet admonish you as an elder should,
holding you accountable for your actions.
You and your factions,
Will in future face sanctions.

I don't sting like a bee,
But am more of a man than you'll ever be
The tick of the clock
The chime of time
A proof, am not a chip of the old block

What an example of a legacy!
You've abandoned reason
and committed marital treason.
What do you stand for
If the home you had is now a fall!

You have a beautiful wife,
She gave you the best of her life;
the fruit of her womb.
You need no other
Yet you repay her devotion
and loyal servitude
with betrayal!

Do the math,
Are her years not much?
Aren't they worth!
Is that Other Woman worth it?
You hurt me
When the woman who bore me,
Is in tears.

your Alien behavior,
Your inability to be your marriages savior,
Reveals our worth to you
You have traded us
In exchange for a whore
I thought you loved us,
When you picked her over us,
It was clear there was room for only one,
And it was not us!