What is $4 Trillion Between Friends?

Reuters is reporting that it may cost up to $4 trillion (four thousand billion) to "fix" the US financial system. Yeah, right. Does this include the failure of commercial real estate loans that are expected later this year? Last I heard, we didn't know how big the residential mortgage problem is.

The British Banks alone are facing $4 trillion in losses. I thought we were the biggest, the best, and the brightest. We should be able to fail better than the British. N'est pas?


Note: I am reminded of a statement by David Eisenberg that "the tip of the iceberg" is an endangered metaphor.

The Cosmic Battle

There are two forums going on right now, and they couldn't be more different. Here is what they both are saying:

The World Economic Forum
Our Organization
World-Class Governance
The World Economic Forum is an independent, international organization incorporated as a Swiss not-for-profit foundation. We are striving towards a world-class corporate governance system where values are as important a basis as rules. Our motto is ‘entrepreneurship in the global public interest’. We believe that economic progress without social development is not sustainable, while social development without economic progress is not feasible.

Our vision for the World Economic Forum is threefold. It aims to be: the foremost organization which builds and energizes leading global communities; the creative force shaping global, regional and industry strategies; the catalyst of choice for its communities when undertaking global initiatives to improve the state the world.

We enjoy a unique global standing by recognizing and responding to two new developments:

The world’s key challenges cannot be met by governments, business or civil society alone. In a world characterized by complexity, fragility and ever greater synchronicity, strategic insights cannot be passively acquired. They are best developed through continuous interaction with peers and with the most knowledgeable people in the field.

To carry out its mission, the World Economic Forum has developed an integrated value chain by involving world leaders in communities, inspiring them with strategic insights and enabling them through initiatives.

The World Social Forum
The World Social Forum (WSF) is an opened space – plural, diverse, non-governmental and non-partisan – that stimulates the decentralized debate, reflection, proposals building, experiences exchange and alliances among movements and organizations engaged in concrete actions towards a more solidary, democratic and fair world.

The three first editions of WSF, as well as the fifth, happened in Porto Alegre (state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil), in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005. In 2004, the global event happened for the first time outside Brasil, in India. In 2006, in a constant expansion movement, the WSF was decentralized and happened in three countries on different continents: Mali (Africa), Paquistan (Asia) and Venezuela (Americas). In 2007, it returned to a centralized format and happened in Kenya (Africa).

The World Social Forum shown the civil society mobilization capacity when organized in new ways of political action, based on diversity and co-responsibility. The success of the first edition resulted in the formation of the International Council, and it's first meeting a Charter of Principles was approved in order to guarantee the World Social Forum as a permanent space and process to build alternatives to neoliberalism. In the present time, there are local, regional and thematic Foruns all over the World following this Charter of Principles. In the year of 2008, to highlight this process, a Global Day of Action and Mobilization happened in January 26th.

They are different realities discussing the same events and future. Milton Friedman versus Lord Shiva. Cowboy and Indian stuff. Slavery and Freedom. Life and Death. To Be or Not To Be.

Apocolypse Now

This is how you do it.

You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet

The following charts are from the St Louis Federal Reserve Bank. The analysis is from East Coast Economics. For now, these guys get to stay on the island and they have immunity for the next round because they know how to say "Oh Shit" in public.

This chart depicts total borrowing from the Federal Reserve Bank up through 2007.



This is the same chart extended through 2008, with the scale adjusted to fit the data...


For an better description click here. I am afraid there is no way out except forward. Terrence McKenna was right about the great leap forward.

On January 6, 1954, Meishu-sama wrote:

The most important step to take toward making this a full reality is to discard all Shojo attitudes and become totally Daijo in spirit. In other words, there should appear a movement which includes religion, science, government, economy, art and every other area of material life, yet transcends them all. It should be led by a spiritual giant who is endowed with superhuman power and wisdom, one who can lead everyone toward that goal.

We sure seem to need a superhero. Besides Rush Limbaugh, does anyone else wish for failure?

Something's Happening Here

Obama Celebrated with Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr.

I took this photo on La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles, California on Saturday January 24th.


Obama as Lincoln

I took this photo on Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles, California on Sunday January 25th.


No one ever did this to celebrate Bush. Except from the corporate level.

On Le Show Sunday, Harry Shearer did a goof on "What Would Lincoln Do?"

History is Written By The Victors

History is written by the winners. It is a maxim.

#1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
#2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
#3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
#4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
#5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
#6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
#7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
#8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

Cain made a "blemished" economic offering. Abel made an "unblemished" offering. Cain defeated Abel. Who wrote that history? What am I missing?

What does Obama mean when he says were ARE our brothers and sisters' keepers?

Bounded Rationality

Today, I voted the first economist off the island. Mark Zandi of Economy.com, owned by Moody's (as if they are one to judge the health of the economy).

In an NPR interview on today's weekend edition, Mark Zandi said several fascinating things. All of them were logical, easy to follow, but still digestible contorted linguistics, intellectually palatable for the managing class to feel serious about.

Here is what he said, in essence:

1) Obama's $850 billion bailout is not big enough.
2) It is too focused on construction and job building and infrastructure.
3) The congressional research service says that stimulation through jobs takes too long to work its way up to solve the financial problems.
4) Tax reduction works faster, unless people choose to save.
5) If we don't save the financial system first, we are going to lose millions and millions of jobs.

So we can't give people jobs, because they will lose jobs if the financial system isn't fixed. I thought the market was broken and no one knew exactly where the break was, so we have to dig the whole thing up and replace it. But in the meantime we are supposed to be patient. They are asking the masses to allow a temporary suspension of "the rules" of how freedom works, so they can patch the economic side of freedom that is taking on water.

We know from world war II and Rosie the Riveter that the free will never again accept oppression imposed by others. The women didn't go home, they went to work. This genie is not going back in the bottle. Let's accept that fact. If the market is broken, the best job is a job.

This is where economics gets tricky. Yes, an economist can say with statistical rationality that a job will produce seven wazzu thousand dollars per thousand spent, spread out over 13.2 years. Really!!? Absolutely, they have PhDs. I went to graduate school with these guys. They are not that accurate. They are not that good. It is outside their confidence interval.

Two examples: Nobel Laureate Gary Becker was once asked by a graduate student what economists really "know". His response was that we are pretty sure that demand curves slope downward. A second comes from Lars Hansen, in dealing with general equilibrium models under uncertainty, would get excited over models with R-squareds of 30% (because other trends were being teased out of very complex data). But, none the less, this as good as economics gets -- at least in the majors.

What don't they see? Well, someone has a job, their life has meaning. Economists can't measure that. they can only measure prices and all that other feel-good gain goes to the masters. They can't measure how a society evolves and a community pulls together rather than pulling apart. It is not in the dataset they start with so it can't be in the outcome. Every magician knows that.

They can't measure the disappointment a father feels when he looks his kids the eyes and tells them he has failed them. It is called a cramdown. Ask a bankruptcy expert how it works. The benefit goes somewhere, or at least a fraction of it.

So let's fix the financial system first. What about this. Which came first, finance or society? Even I know debt swaps, collateralized debt obligations, and mortgaged back alt-A subprime securities came about since the place we have to get back to on an infrastructure basis. So to me, that means jobs first. But take the financial system to that same place. We may have to nationalize, or even globalize. But right now we need democratic communities, not oppressed communities.

The other thing is that with people working, a new economy can emerge. It is in the air. People working with hope invent alternative communication networks and social structures. If everyone is in pain, wallowing in fear about next month or tomorrow, those links don't form. All the time is spent crying instead of laughing even sometimes. That is power. That is what they don't want. I am concerned that some economists "Don't Get It".

BTW, bounded rationality is the concept that the data shows behavior in a certain way that is consistent with "rational" actions over the small events being measured. The "bounded" part just means that the data follows certain mathematical rules -- rules that if were violated would cause the predictibility of the models to fall thorugh the floor. In otherwords, it is like having a map of Route 66, and making decisions about speed limits in Hawaii. Locally, the map and info works but you are on your own if you try to extrapolate. So lets take $3 trillion and do what Mark Zandi of Moodys says is right? Show us the models and give us the data! FOI!

Role Models

Got Rope?

"The capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them."

This has been attributed to which of the following:

a) Lennon
b) Marx
c) Stalin
d) Mao
e) Groucho
f) McCartney

If capitalism is in the last throws, what was the rope? And who was the buyer? and what are they going to do next?

To whomever can best answer that, you will recieve a front and center seat to the big celebration known as "The Party At The End of The World" on 12/21/2011. Stay tuned for details.

What's That I Hear?

What's that I hear now ringing in my ear
I've heard that sound before
What's that I hear now ringing in my ear
I hear it more and more
It's the sound of freedom calling
Ringing up to the sky
It's the sound of the old ways falling
You can hear it if you try
You can hear it if you try

What's that I see now shining in my eyes
I've seen that light before
What's that I see now shining in my eyes
I see it more and more
It's the light of freedom shining
Shining up to the sky
It's the light of the old ways a dying
You can see it if you try

What's that I feel now beating in my heart
I've felt that beat before
What's that I feel now beating in my heart
I feel it more and more
It's the rumble of freedom calling
Climbing up to the sky
It's the rumble of the old ways a falling
You can feel it if you try

-- Phil Ochs

Another Crack in the Iceberg

Documentary filmmaker Yoruba Richen traveled to Washington for the inauguration with her mother Aishah Rahman, a playwright and professor at Brown University. From the March on Washington to the inauguration of Barack Obama. Rahman, in her work and politics, has followed the arc of American history. Richen talks to her mother about the significance of this inauguration and the Martin Luther King holiday, the March on Washington, and the power of protest politics. She says the feeling in America today is like that of South Africa after apartheid. People are breathing collectively and there is hope.

Can you feel it? Rahman talks about the breathing and hope in South Africa when apartheid fell. I was in East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary in March 1990. When the power goes out in the middle of the night, you can see the candles of hope. Can you see the lights?

If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em

One way to nullify something bad is to dilute it. In Southern California, some water departments continue the use of natural underground aquifers that have relatively been "depleted", meaning the remaining water is somewhat or even a lot brackish. Then they take the relatively clean Colorado River water brought in by aqueducts and "recharge" these aquifers. In other instances, they take the brackish water and "blend" living and dying water into a cocktail that the EPA says won't kill you or genetically modify your children -- from a statistical perspective anyway.

What would happen if an organization like Al Quaida was diluted? I am not recommending this except as a thought experiment, what if everyone in the world joined al kaida (or whatever the transliteration is of the day)? Could the bad be so diluted that it wasn't bad anymore? Would it weaken it? Would it neutralize it? Or would the bad metastasize and bring down the good?

Jesus said love your enemies. WWJD?

Note: Kurt Vonnegut visited this subject in the book (turned into a movie) called Mother Night. Vonnegut resolves the conflict from an absolutest position from an individualist perspective.

This post is an exercise in thought. Terrance McKenna and David Eisenberg both suggested that if we are going to come up with viable solutions to the "human condition" (and I think they both believe that to be in a "Daijo" way), we need to think, dance, sing, and do things that have never been thought, danced, sung, or done before. It is impossible to argue with the idea that the physical contortions you do in yoga somehow change your consciousness and awareness.

UPDATE (2/11/09): The Republicans have reportedly embraced the Taliban's tactics in their defense of the "Culture Wars".

White Men Can't Jump

Tip o' ol' hat to SamRat.

We are All Afganistan - Democracy 4.0

On September 11, 2001 we were attacked by evildoers. Conspiracy or not, the citizens and peaceful of Afganistan had been oppressed by the Taliban, Russians, and others. A veritable Switzerland of the middle east overrun by Nazis. When we Americans came in and drove the Taliban out, the locals were actually happy. This is the one good thing Americans can be proud of. They loved us. They "greeted us with flowers in the street."

And we promised to help rebuild. We didn't. Didn't do much of anything. Gave them a copy of Democracy 3.7, propped up a figure head, and moved on to bigger and more rewarding things.

We failed in our promises. Now the gangs and the thugs have moved back in. The Taliban are in charge and the only flowers the locals are greeting us with are poppies.

The United States has been overrun and looted by pirates. Real skull and bones stuff, absent the Jolly Roger. We have to rebuild here, or so we hear. This country first. If the royal GW Bush flush is to be undone, we not only have to rebuild New Orleans as Bush promised, we have to also, and maybe first, rebuild Afganistan. It is a small country. They don't have oil. They are landlocked. Ask Switzerland, Paraguay, and Tibet how easy it is to survive if your people don't have effective sea access. Unless we do as we said, Afganistan will always be a backwoods mafia pirate roost.
So we promised the full freedom of democracy (which means a couple of generations of leting them make thier own decsions even if counter to us), and monetary and security support. Help them help themselves rebuild. And the 40% to 50% of US aid fund that stay in the US...no they get it all and they get to use it how they see fit, as long as it is for peaceful purposes, that being our only prerequisit.

Then we can rebuild America on the same democratic model. Democracy 4.0

Maybe Jefferson was right. Each generation must fight its own revolution. This is our generation's revolution. It is best if people don't have to die.

Because Fridays are Supposed to Be F.U.N.!!!

...aus den E-Briefen...

The Purina Diet

Yesterday I was at my local Target buying a large bag of Purina dog chow
for my loyal pet, Sheriff, the Wonder Dog and was in the checkout line
when woman behind me asked if I had a dog.

What did she think I had, an elephant? So since I'm retired and have
little to do, on impulse I told her that no, I didn't have a dog, I was
starting the Purina Diet again. I added that I probably shouldn't, because
I ended up in the hospital last time, but that I'd lost 50 pounds before I
awakened in an intensive care ward with tubes coming out of most of my
orifices and IVs in both arms.

I told her that it was essentially a perfect diet and that the way that it
works is to load your pants pockets with Purina nuggets and simply eat one
or two every time you feel hungry. The food is nutritionally complete so
it works well and I was going to try it again.

(I have to mention here that practically everyone in line was now
enthralled with my story.)

Horrified, she asked if I ended up in intensive care because the dog food
poisoned me. I told her no, I stepped off a curb to sniff an Irish
Setter's ass, and a car hit us both.

I thought the guy behind her was going to have a heart attack he was
laughing so hard.

Target won't let me shop there anymore.

Better watch what you ask old retired people. They have all the time in
the world to think of crazy things to say.

Now for a free internet art project in full internet glory:

Remember this is being created by you, for you. So you can interpret it however you want to. there are no restrictions.

Okay, here are the rules:
1) go to google images (http://images.google.com) and type in the phrase "I Will Die".
2) look at the images presented. and
3) find something there, anything, and share back here in the comment section.

Must See TV!!!

The Cat is Out of the BAG!!!

These are two very important news videos as to the law and order of the United States of America. It is not just kabuki. It is about what our anscestors died for.

Please watch them.

Let The Economists Economize

We're in a right bloody mess. Yesterday, Paul Volker said in the Geiger-hearings that we need to spend several more trillion dollars to prop up the economy. As things are looking dismal, lets play a game to cheer us up. A reality game! Show it on Tee-Vee even!

Let's tell the economists (aka dismal scientists) that they have 1,000 days to solve everything. Since it is a game, let's take away their data. Let's take away their computers. Then they have 1,000 days to solve everything, knowing of course one will be voted off the island each week. . . or until all the problems are solved. Basic rule: they have to do it with out computers and it has to work.

How would they do it?
Top down?
Bottom up?
Side to side?

I bet if they actually had to think like their life depended on it, they could find a solution. Certainly harder and with more outside the box thinking than they are currently able to muster. Everything would be on the table. We would have to not be afraid. I am so confident, I believe they could solve the problem without even using a slide rule (but if they feel really strong about it, they can use them in the competition -- I mean Bush really set back the concept of being influenced by instincts by over a generation).

As you can tell, I am thinking of that famous poem:

Let the economists economize.
Let the dead bury the dead.
Let the dead baptize the dead.
Let it be.
Amen.

From the mail:

Posted by D. Daniel Sokol
Below is the list of top 15 antitrust law professors (defined as a professor who has written at least two antitrust papers posted in the past two years) as measured by downloads on SSRN.

1. Damien Geradin (Tilburg University and College of Europe) 5953
2. David Evans (University College London and University of Chicago) 4860
3. Herb Hovenkamp (University of Iowa) 3420
4. Keith Hylton (Boston University) 2515
5. Spencer Waller (Chicago Loyola) 2294
6. Josh Wright (George Mason) 2253
7. Jon Baker (American University) 2176
8. Bob Lande (University of Baltimore) 2032
9. Randy Picker (University of Chicago) 1961
10. Steve Semeraro (Thomas Jefferson) 1327
11. Barak Richman (Duke) 1054
12. Daniel Sokol (University of Florida) 1048
13. Bill Page (University of Florida) 985
14. Tom Cotter (University of Minnesota) 923
15. Maurice Stucke (University of Tennessee) 899

Update: There are a lot of economists who have dropped out and done other things. The movie "The Visitor" is about an economist at the tipping point of becoming human -- you know, breakdowns that occur when the linear systems break down. We should study the lives and reasons they dropped out. What could we learn? I'll revisit this topic.

The Hidden Imam

The hidden imam is the last degree of freedom. It is what keeps the Islamic matrix from crystallizing into a steady state. Many are waiting for this event so all of the world can take a collective sigh of relief. There may in fact be two degrees of freedom left.

The Velvet Underground brought down the Czechoslovak SSR. Not by themselves, but their message was a hidden code for Vaclav Havel and friends, who were the principal actors in that dharma.

There is always room for one more degree of freedom.

I'll be your mirror
Reflect what you are, in case you don't know
I'll be the wind, the rain and the sunset
The light on your door to show that you're home

When you think the night has seen your mind
That inside you're twisted and unkind
Let me stand to show that you are blind
Please put down your hands
'Cause I see you

I find it hard to believe you don't know
The beauty you are
But if you don't let me be your eyes
A hand in your darkness, so you won't be afraid

When you think the night has seen your mind
That inside you're twisted and unkind
Let me stand to show that you are blind
Please put down your hands
'Cause I see you

I'll be your mirror
(reflect what you are)

Obama is Not the Messiah -- Redux

he is not the messiah.
rather he is the akamba peacemaker.
returned.

the only goal is to make people human before the gates of hell slam shut.

Akamba History Lesson

By Muli wa Kyendo

I promised to make this blog a place to discuss, among other things, life in Africa. Let’s talk about life.



History Lies Under Our Feet

The Akamba, the fourth largest community in Kenya, belief that Mulungu, or God, is a spirit. In the beginning, Mulungu created Mundu, Man and his wife, Kiveti. Mundu and Kiveti, like Mulungu, were spirits. When God had finished creating them, he dropped them from heaven to earth with their cattle and a stool for the Mundu. They landed on a rock on small mountain called Nzaui, a place which exists up to now. And the Akamba will tell you that, if you doubt, the story, you can visit Nzaui and you will see for yourself, the footprints of Mundu and Kiveti and their animals.



The First Prayer on Earth

Nzaui was a beautiful place, teeming with wildlife and all kinds of plants just like the Garden of Eden of the Bible. Mundu and his wife got very handsome boys, but they didn’t have girls. This problem made them decide to talk to Mulungu. And Mundu told God that He, God, had given them a beautiful, rich land and handsome boys, but He had not given them girls for their sons to marry. This was the first prayer that humans made to God.



God heard Mundu. He brought rain which was so heavy that it produced anthills. Then God came down from heaven, took clay from the anthills and created another man and woman. The Man of Clay and his wife produced beautiful girls whom the sons of Mundu and Kiveti married. Mundu paid the dowry with the cattle that he had brought from heaven. And thus the Man of Clay and the Man of Spirit mixed. Man therefore became part spirit and part clay, when he is today.



The story goes ahead to show the increase of human population, dispersal and growth of languages away from Kikamba (which was the language that Mulungu gave Mundu and Kiveti), the fall of Man and human Redemption by Mulungu.



Genesis of Genesis?

This story is intriguing in many ways. One, it points out why Man is both spirit and clay in a very believable man. In Genesis, the Bible confirms the existence of the two clans—the Clan of Spirit and Clan of Clay. It says that the children of the gods (Clan of Spirits) saw that the daughters of men (Clan of Clay) where beautiful and married them.



Secondly, archaeologists say that the Garden of Eden was most probably located in Kenya. In deed, Kenya is today, the official “birth place” of human beings.



Third, it was this same place that so fascinated the explorer missionaries that they returned to the US of America determined to come back to set up a church at Nzaui in a hinterland country they called Ukamba Province. It was also the place where the Akamba traditional religion was—and still, is—strongest.



This is, of course the life we live, upon history that we don’t talk about. I may add that only a few kilometers away, going by the current political boundaries, is the place where the Ethiopian eunuch was reading the Bible as he travelled on a mule. His story is told in the Bible. To the north is Mt. Kenya, the world famous spiritual mountain known by the Akamba as Kinyaa. The mountain’s pyramid-like peaks are said to have inspired the Pharaohs of Egypt to build their inimitable pyramids when they tired of coming down to worship at the mountain. Its forests of rare trees are said to have provided the timber for King Solomon’s temples.

And its upon our soil that the workers of King Solomon travelled to famous Sofala - The City of Gold – to the South.

It’s unfortunate that many people don’t know our country’s great contribution to history. May be Barack Obama would be happy to know what his Father Land has given to the world.

Word

Use the Holy Hand-Grenade

I can't decide if I like Monte Python's Holy Grail or Kung Fu Panda better. They are both the same movie, actually. Its just that one tries to be funny.

But back to the Holy Hand Grenade. If the scene were part of the bible and we were all sitting around trying to base a religion on it, what would be our takeaway?

It reads scripturally, so it has that going for it.

But are there ever times that you just need to blow something up? I mean it is stuck right there in your mind, right behind your third eye, and the only way to get it out of the way is by using the holy hand grenade. By any means necessary. My mind gets blocked all the time -- trying to contort this way and that just not to be discovered in my god-given humanity. And the only way out is to blow the fucker up with the holy hand grenade.

The kids are learning the same lesson in Kung Fu Panda. Chapter. Verse. Word.

The Final Message from the Bush White House

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Final Message From the White House

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Moment of Zen - Credits for the Last Eight Years

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Make Me Do It!

Harry Belafonte recalled in an interview with Tavis Smiley recently a story he was told by Eleanor Roosevelt. She related a public event when her husband, FDR, introduced A. Philip Randolph and asked him, Belafonte recalled, “what he thought of the nation, what he thought of the plight of the Negro people and what did he think ... where the nation was headed.” Continuing the story, Belafonte recounted what FDR replied upon hearing Randolph’s remarks: “You know, Mr. Randolph, I’ve heard everything you’ve said tonight, and I couldn’t agree with you more. I agree with everything that you’ve said, including my capacity to be able to right many of these wrongs and to use my power and the bully pulpit. ... But I would ask one thing of you, Mr. Randolph, and that is go out and make me do it.”

This story was retold by Barack Obama at a campaign fundraiser in Montclair, N.J., more than a year ago. It was in response to a person asking Obama about finding a just solution to the Israel/Palestine conflict. After recounting the Randolph story, Obama said he was just one person, that he couldn’t do it alone. Obama’s final answer: “Make me do it.”

That’s the challenge.

As reported by Amy Goodman

We Are Ba(ra)ck!

"I think it has really, really been an remarkable event in terms of getting everybody to stand back and say, look at what we have seen here in America. The America we remember is back again."
-- Colin Powell

From My Guru

It is us. We, We did it. We started to create a vision of a new future. Our total asleepness created the last 8 years and now.... We have awakened. Awakened in prayer and power to manifest this hopeful future that we are staring at face to face. Barack and Michelle Obama are great. They are models of what can be but we are the ones who have created the frequency that allowed this to be possible. Take responsibility for this miraculous awakening. Pressure does create diamonds.

Hope is staring at us. Fear is at our side keeping us awake. Connection is the new currency. What we do right now is so priceless for we are right this minute building our future. What does this phoenix look like? What can it do? We, yes we are creating what that will be now. What do you want the future to look like? What are you contributing to make it so? What are you expecting of the Government? Of yourself?

Can you feel the shift? Is it giving you renewed energy? We have it now how do we build with this amazing reality? What are you doing to sustain you and support the world? Can you tell I feel the juice at the center of the Universe? Tell me who will you support? Who is your community? We can't sleep through this one. Please join hands with me and let us truly open the doors of the universe by our sheer power of projection and gratitude that we are allowed to live NOW!

Grace: That state that can be experienced, summoned, danced with. Invite it in. Let it expand you. Chant, pray, meditate, do your practice. Give these 1,000 day to weave together the fibers of our souls so we may truly move from the lead age to platinum. This transition is so extreme. We are not going through each stage of metals the tin, the copper, brass, steel, silver, gold no straight from leads dense dark domain to the subtlety and grace of Platinum.

Blessings: Come create the relationships and support here at the Blessings Center. See who is here use the greatness of each soul and see how your bonds can serve each other and the world.

I encompass you in blessings and prayers. Rejoice and walk into the grace and greatness of these times.

All Love in the Divine
Gurutej

www.theenergygurus.com
www.gurutej.com
follow me http://theenergyguru.blogger.com
"Diamonds or Dust the choice is yours
both are created by pressure".
What do you do with yours?

So Gurutej, I am building my community, brick by person. This weekend, a cantor at a temple invited me over to listen to the song "Hallelujah" by the performer of my choice. I am bringing John Cale's version. I met a woman from the Bahai temple at the National Day of Service, and invited her to speak to the kids at the Unitarian Church in Santa Monica. I invited Dan to be a "Shirt-Wearer" in my vision of the Lakota tradition -- modeled after Crazy Horse was. And I am trying to overcome my fear of expectations. I am also going to work with my family, both close and distant. I am also going to undertake a sustainability project that scares me to death -- even though I am completely capable, I am just scared by something deep down, something I have to let go of because it is not doing any good. Be gone dispair, fear, and loathing.

whew. thats better.

Obama The Great

According to the Chicago Tribune and NPR, in Kenya, they are referring to Barack Obama as Obama The Great.

What's Up With the Episcopalians??

Who owns the President's soul?


President Service Attended
George W. Bush * Private service at St. John's Episcopal Church
William J. Clinton * Private prayer service at Metropolitan AME Church
George H. W. Bush * Private service at St. John's Episcopal Church
Ronald Reagan * Private service at St. John's Episcopal Church
James E. Carter * Interfaith prayer service at the Lincoln Memorial
Richard M. Nixon * Breakfast in West Auditorium of the State Department
Lyndon B. Johnson * Private service at National City Christian Church
John F. Kennedy * Mass at Holy Trinity Church
Dwight Eisenhower * Service National Presbyterian Church
Harry S Truman * St. John's Episcopal Church
F D. Roosevelt * Service at St. John's Episcopal Church

Where did Obama go? He went Episco. Maybe the English still hold the mortgage on the U.S. Government.

So Marc, why St. John's?

You Can't Do That!!!

Tell them they can't.................................


.........they won't believe you.

And Now For A Completely Different Inauguration

In case you missed it, here is the replay...

OBAMA-WOW

Like the Native American gatherings pow-wows, Obama brought a bunch of people together today, and said things that I didn't think could be said. And I believed it.

Obama proved himself a better "player" than Michael Jordan. Jordan could do things on the court with a ball and a hoop and a team that made my head swim. It was a thing of beauty.

Obama did the same thing today on the podium -- right in front of god and everyone. Rick Warren gave an amazing prayer that put Jesus back in Christianity. Obama made him do it. Obama lifted Justice Roberts after Roberts' stumble. Obama was one cool cucumber walking down that hallway. Obama reminded us of all those who emigrated, fought, and died for this and future generations and our common values. Put us in our place.

Some may say it is just stagecraft, others wishful thinking. I want him to keep it real. Do you feel me?


UPDATE: From around the world--- "Blacks face so much discrimination here," he said, standing outside the Cantagalo slum, where ramshackle shacks line steep hills in Rio de Janeiro. "Now with a black man in charge of such an important country, it might help decrease the racism in Brazil."

UP-UPDATE: (That didn't take long)
From www.whitehouse.gov .>.>.>.>.>.>

Katrina
President Obama will keep the broken promises made by President Bush to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. He and Vice President Biden will take steps to ensure that the federal government will never again allow such catastrophic failures in emergency planning and response to occur.

President Obama swiftly responded to Hurricane Katrina. Citing the Bush Administration's "unconscionable ineptitude" in responding to Hurricane Katrina, then-Senator Obama introduced legislation requiring disaster planners to take into account the specific needs of low-income hurricane victims. Obama visited thousands of Hurricane survivors in the Houston Convention Center and later took three more trips to the region. He worked with members of the Congressional Black Caucus to introduce legislation to address the immediate income, employment, business, and housing needs of Gulf Coast communities.

President Barack Obama will partner with the people of the Gulf Coast to rebuild now, stronger than ever

Obama Nation

BEFORE




Now



After?

Party @ The End of the World

Time goes on forever, without end.

Or so it is generally believed. And me, I don't know at all. I am just along for the ride.

But we have a big party to pull off. Seven continents. One moment.

Here is the skinny: the party will be spread out on 12/20&21/2012.

We are going to celebrate the Mayan end of an eon. Their calendar ends. How cool is that? What other culture has ever designed a calendar to end? Most are forced to embrace the unknown of the infinite. With the end of the Mesoamerican Calendar, we get to redefine the world as we inhabit a new eon. What do we want to do with it? What do we want to keep from this old eon and take into the new culture of our own creation?

Now you see why we need to have a party. A possible eon is ending, and as far as I know, it is the only eon ending in my lifetime, so I want to be there front and center.



I figure we will need Michael Stypes and R.E.M. to perform (you guys have to stay alive til then) the song EOTW(AWKI). Oliveri, it is your job to get them to agree to do it. I think they should perform as part of a globally televised concert, with performers all over the world from every continent. Maybe have members of the band on each continent, linked digitally. Net performances in every city and village. A cosmic song. We are the world. It is the end of the world and I feel fine.

I can imagine a stage at the base of Kilimanjaro. One on the Yangtze River. Athens. Stonehenge. Woodstock. Wherever.

I propose that this is not just another Bacchanalian ecstasy rave, but a celebration of human achievement and human failures. What did we get right, what did we get wrong. A day of judgement. A day of forgiveness. A day forward. Start drawing up lists of accomplishments and failures. I am not sure we have to worry about full documentation, truth stands on its own.

There are a lot of examples of how to do this. Bob Geldorf has pulled a few big, rudimentary events off. The Chinese did the 2008 Olympics Opening Ceremony. Obama is doing a stay-at-home-and-celebrate inauguration complete with a day of service (and he is probably going to pull it off with a 0.5% participation rate).

We need volunteers. I hope Dan offers. And Flo (you out there Flo?)

Baa Baa Black Sheep

While we have taken several significant steps to adjust our cost structure during the year, including reducing department budgets and suspending salary increases for 2009, the acceleration of the economic downturn forced us to take additional measures to align our operations with our expected revenues.

Are the economists admitting defeat? Are they embracing socialism? Do they believe in unilateral price controls? Did Atlas just shrug? Did the holy grail of market efficeincy just lose credibility in the courtroom?

Have you any wool?
Yes sir, Yes sir, three bags full.

If Thine Eye Offends Thee...

While you were praying for peace in the world, let the truth (**cough**) be told:

Contact: Dr. Gary Cass, Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, 866-508-2232

VISTA Calif., Jan. 5 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Christian Anti-Defamation Commission (CADC) has prepared a Top Ten list of the most egregious acts of Christian Bashing in American in 2008. Every day in America serious Christians face increasing hostility at work, school, and in the culture because they stand for their faith and values.

"It is time for the Christian bashing to stop and for Christians to no longer be treated like second-class citizens," said Dr. Gary Cass, Chairman and CEO of CADC. "Anti-Christian bigotry is real and growing. Those who engage in it should be exposed and called to account."

INSTANCE #10: Jack Black Musical Video

In a short video posted on FunnyorDie.com entitled, "Prop 8 The Musical," an all star cast of Hollywood celebrities perform a low budget musical farce that defames Christ, mocks Christians and distorts the teaching of the Bible. Jack Black played the lead role of Jesus.

INSTANCE #9: Bill Maher Gratuitously Attacks Pope

Bill Maher, host of the HBO program Real Time, made light of the Pope during his recent visit and the tragic sexual abuse scandal. Maher said, "Now I know what you're thinking, Bill. You can't be saying that the Catholic Church is no better than this creepy (radical Mormon polygamist) Texas cult. For one thing, alter boys can't even get pregnant. But really, what tripped up the little cult on the prairie was that they only abused hundreds of kids, not thousands all over the world. Cults get raided; religions get parades... If you have a few hundred followers and you let some of them molest children, they call you a cult leader. If you have a billion, they call you Pope."

INSTANCE #8: ESPN Anchor Dana Jacobson's "F--- Jesus" Remark

Speaking at an ESPN corporate event in Atlantic City, N.J., to honor ESPN Radio personalities Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic, Dana Jacobson let go with a steam of vulgar remarks; "F--- Notre Dame," "F--- Touchdown Jesus" and finally "F--- Jesus." Jacobson was suspended for a few days for the incident.

INSTANCE #7: Minnesota University Professor Desecrates Communion

A Biology Professor from the University of Minnesota, Paul Zachary Myers, recently desecrated a consecrated communion wafer from a Catholic Mass. Meyer's has also asked people to steal the Eucharist for him in order that he might desecrate it and display it on his blog.

INSTANCE #6: Religulous the Movie

Bill Maher released a very shallow, pseudo-intellectual documentary entitled Religulous. The movie did not cover any new intellectual ground. It simply raised the old attacks on the faith. Maher studiously avoided being fair and did not allow for legitimate Christian answers from any leading Christian intellectuals.

INSTANCE #5: Chaplains Fired for Praying in Jesus' Name

Chaplains for the State of Virginia are being denied their right to pray in Jesus' name. Six chaplains were fired for continuing to pray in Jesus' name. Earlier this year in Virginia, Rev. Hashmel Turner, a city councilman in Fredericksburg, was told by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that his prayers during city council meetings that ended in Jesus' name will continue to be banned.

INSTANCE #4: Colorado Law Criminalizes the Bible

SB200, a Colorado state bill recently signed into law, criminalizes the Bible. Section 8 of the bill entitled "Publishing of discriminative matter forbidden" makes publishing the Bible illegal because it contains anti-homosexual passages. This is part of a larger effort to criminalize the expression of certain opinions and beliefs.

INSTANCE #3: Barack Obama Defames Christianity

According to research into President Elect Obama's own statements about faith, and an examination of Obama's position on moral issues, CADC has determined that by any biblical and historic Christian standard, Barack Obama is not a Christian, although he claims he is a "devout Christian."

INSTANCE #2: Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin Is Attacked

Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin, came under sharp attack by some in the mainstream media because she self-identifies as a Christian. The Washington Post published a cartoon by Pat Oliphant mocking Palin because she has a background as a Pentecostal/Charismatic Christian. A suspicious arson fire at Sarah Palin's home church recently caused over $1,000,000 in damage.

And finally, the #1 Christian Bashing Instance in America for 2008...

INSTANCE #1: Radical Homosexuals Assault Prop 8 Marriage Supporters in California

During and after the November campaign stories flooded in of pro-Prop 8 signs being taken, people verbally and physically assaulted, church property and private automobiles vandalized, and person's jobs and pastor's lives threatened simply for exercising their right to campaign and vote in support of traditional marriage.



BONUS INSTANCE: Senator Grassley's Abuse of Power

US Senator Grassley, a member of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, has demanded the financial records of a number of very prominent conservative, evangelical broadcast ministries. The demand was based on Grassley's concern that these ministries are not spending their contributions properly. Grassley has admitted his concerns were in part driven by media accounts.

At least now we know die Wahrheit.

A New Day

First, Michelle Obama invites us to join in a day of service this coming Monday. Now Colin Powell says that is not enough, rather we need to make a commitment to continual community service. What ever happened to democracy by the rich for the rich?



Here is their plan...

Another Day, Another Police Shooting

When are we Americans going to tire of police officers beating, tasering or shooting people they don't like? In a democracy, we are the police. Bad apples are our bad apples.

Whether it is Josh Brolin and Jeffrey Wright in Louisiana during the filming of "W":



Or Oscar Grant in Oakland laying on the ground with restraints:



Brolin, Wright and crew got their case thrown out. Oscar Grant got to meet his heavenly father. Bang Bang. Happy New Year!

$4,000 per Man, Woman and Child

The Federal Reserve Bank recently increased its balance sheet (read debt) from $800 billion to $2 trillion, an increase of $1.2 trillion. This translates into $4,000 for every resident of the United States.

When asked what happened to the money, Fed Vice Chair Donald Kohn said it has been lent out to various financial institutions. When asked who got the $1.2 billion, he REFUSED to say who got the money. Not only that, he said if he told, then those banks would not be willing to borrow.

So my family just borrowed $16 thousand via the Fed to loan to Wall Street (this is on top of the $10 to $20 thousand in TARP money from the bailout spent on behalf of my family), and they can't tell us who gets the money or what we received in return?

I am beginning to see that the "full faith and credibility" of the U.S. Government upon which our monetary system is fairly empty. The Fed is acting like that Jack Nicholson character who yells "You want the truth?! ... You can't handle the Truth!!!"


UPDATE: Is this what were are to expect from our investment? I smell fraud charges and lawsuits from now until the end of doom.

What's in Your Bible?

The word "bible" has many definitions, but its root comes from a collection of books, usually assembled together in a tome. These "books" are often seen as being authoritarian, legitimizing, or some grouping of coherent ideas along some meme. They are often religious in nature, with this definition being repeated most often due to the big collection of historical stories, divinations, genealogies, poetry, and dreams of those who kept records in the Judeo-Christian tradition -- subjugated to a heavy dose of political editing. The editing was often accepted as a condition for the keepers of the biblia to keep their livelihoods.

In 2009, the definition of books has been expanded greatly. Think of Excel Workbooks. Could a workbook be of such great beauty or profundity that it should be included in a bible? Me thinks yes. Is there a matrix in linear algebra that approaches perfection? A sudoku puzzle so minimal that it is considered elegant? A poem so full of truth, that for you you could not live without? The famous Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdos beleived in an unwritten book holding an elegant collection of mathematical formulas he regularly refered to as "The Book".

If you were to build a cannon of personal scripture (whether religious, profane, mathematical or else), what would you put in it?

For me, right now, there is one song that kicks my ass every time. It is in mine:

Magic & Loss

When you pass through the fire
you pass through humble
You pass through a maze of self doubt
When you pass through humble
the lights can blind you
Some people never figure that out
You pass through arrogance you pass through hurt
You pass through an ever present past
and it's best not to wait for luck to save you
Pass through the fire to the light

As you pass through the fire
your right hand waving
there are things you have to throw out
That caustic dread inside your head
will never help you out
You have to be very strong
'cause you'll start from zero
over and over again
And as the smoke clears
there's an all consuming fire
lying straight ahead

They say no one person can do it all
but you want to in your head
But you can't be Shakespeare and you can't be Joyce
so what is left instead
You're stuck with yourself
and a rage that can hurt you
You have to start at the beginning again
And just this moment
This wonderful fire started up again

When you pass through humble
when you pass through sickly
When you pass through
I'm better than you all
When you pass through
anger and self deprecation
and have the strength to acknowledge it all
When the past makes you laugh
and you can savor the magic
that let you survive your own war
You find that that fire is passion
and there's a door up ahead not a wall

As you pass through fire as you pass through fire
try to remember its name
When you pass through fire licking at your lips
you cannot remain the same
And if the building's burning
move towards that door
but don't put the flames out
There's a bit of magic in everything
and then some loss to even things out

There's a bit of magic in everything
and then some loss to even things out

There's a bit of magic in everything
and then some loss to even things out

I wonder if Lou Reed's intent was to give us guidance on how do do it,,, or is he making a songline for himself so he can get back when he gets lost?

Mary Mary Quite Contrary

From Huffington Post:

Catholics who claim they have seen the Virgin Mary will be forced to remain silent about the apparitions until a team of psychologists, theologians, priests and exorcists [along someone bearing the title of the Devil's Advocate] have fully investigated their claims under new Vatican guidelines aimed at stamping out false claims of miracles.

The Pope has instructed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, formerly the Holy Office of the Inquisition, to draw up a new handbook to help bishops snuff out an explosion of bogus heavenly apparitions.

Benedict XVI plans to update the Vatican's current rules on investigating apparitions to help distinguish between true and false claims of visions of Jesus and the Virgin Mary, messages, stigmata (the appearances of the five wounds of Christ), weeping and bleeding statues and Eucharistic miracles.

Parenthetical inserted by Still Life Living

My guess is that during economic downturns, more and more people are prone to have their own visions rather than relying on mediated intercession. Secular vigilantieism. This is always a challenge to power structures in general. Plus, given all the lawsuits, settlements and so on, the Church may not have the funds to buy up all the new holy sites. Its funny, because either way, the Pentecostals and Agnostics win.

I wonder if the Catholic Church will excommunicate those who sell the unsanctioned relics on Eay?

What Are You Going to Do?

Faith without works is dead.
James 2:20

If you have faith Obama is going to turn this thing around, where are you going to be on January 19th? If you don't know what I am talking about, you had better watch the following video:

The Year of the Ox

2009 is the year of the fire OX (and I don't mean hugs and kisses). Many cultures venerate the ox. The Greeks praised Bacchus, the Spaniards have el Toro, the pre-French would lure the Camargues into ravines in the primal mano-al-mano test of survival. The children of Israel were led astray by the Golden Calf of certainty. The armageddenoists have been breeding a red heifer seen necessary to usher in the cleansing of the kingdom (sound like a fire ox?).

The buffalo is the ox of the North American continent. As a resident of that continent, I prefer the legend of the White Buffalo. White Buffalo are sacred anima.

The legend of the White Buffalo Calf Woman tells how the People had lost the ability to communicate with the Creator. The Creator sent the sacred White Buffalo Calf Woman to teach the People how to pray with the Pipe. With that Pipe, seven sacred ceremonies were given for the people to abide in order to ensure a future with harmony, peace, and balance. The native Americans are waiting for the White Buffalo to return to signal the healing of the earth and the people.

The common element of these legends, myths and prophecies is an animal spirit capable of righting the course though strength and stability. Salvation is not guaranteed, but it is an omen of the best chance for realignment after the cycles of pigs, rats, and monkeys.

As 2009 is the year of the fire ox in Chinese astrology, here is a primer on the Ox.

The Ox is the sign of prosperity through fortitude and hard work. This powerful sign is a born leader, being quite dependable and possessing an innate ability to achieve great things. As one might guess, such people are dependable, calm, and modest. Like their animal namesake, the Ox is unswervingly patient, tireless in their work, and capable of enduring any amount of hardship without complaint.

Ox people need peace and quiet to work through their ideas, and when they have set their mind on something it is hard for them to be convinced otherwise. An Ox person has a very logical mind and is extremely systematic in whatever they do, even without imagination. These people speak little but are extremely intelligent. When necessary, they are articulate and eloquent.

People born under the influence of the Ox are kind, caring souls, logical, positive, filled with common sense and with their feet firmly planted on the ground. Security is their main preoccupation in life, and they are prepared to toil long and hard in order to provide a warm, comfortable and stable nest for themselves and their families. Strong-minded, stubborn, individualistic, the majority are highly intelligent individuals who don't take kindly to being told what to do.

The Ox works hard, patiently, and methodically, with original intelligence and reflective thought. These people enjoy helping others. Behind this tenacious, laboring, and self-sacrificing exterior lies an active mind.

The Ox is not extravagant, and the thought of living off credit cards or being in debt makes them nervous. The possibility of taking a serious risk could cause the Ox sleepless nights.

Ox people are truthful and sincere, and the idea of wheeling and dealing in a competitive world is distasteful to them. They are rarely driven by the prospect of financial gain. These people are always welcome because of their honesty and patience. They have many friends, who appreciate the fact that the Ox people are wary of new trends, although every now and then they can be encouraged to try something new.

It is important to remember that the Ox people are sociable and relaxed when they feel secure, but occasionally a dark cloud looms over such people and they engage all the trials of the whole world and seek solutions for them. Also the Ox people are all caring and loving but at times when you mess with them they will tear out in anger.

Barack Hussein Obama was born August 4, 1961 - a year of the steel Ox . Obama has steel ox energy. This is good energy – very stable, plodding, deliberate, conservative, strong, focused, determined, and a seeker of the sacred truth.

In numerology, 2009 has the value of eleven (2+0+0+9). This is a master number in numerology. It is a year of illuminations. Much is to be revealed in such a year. And there are a few things we are all dying (literally) to know. Such a year is a humanitarian year, a year of undoing and redoing. It is not a year of “success” in the tangible, rather it is successful in the realm of the unseen but experienced.

The 11 is the most intuitive of all numbers. It represents illumination, a channel to the subconscious, insight without rational thought, and sensitivity, nervous energy, shyness and impracticality. It is a dreamer. The 11 has all aspects of the 2, enhanced and charged with charisma, leadership and inspiration. It is a number with inborn duality, which creates dynamism, and inner conflict with its mere presence. It is a number that, when not focused on a goal beyond itself, can sometimes create inner fears or phobias. The 11 walks the edge between greatness and self-destruction. Its potential for growth, stability and personal power lies in its acceptance of intuitive understanding and of spiritual truths. For the 11, such peace is not found so much in logic, but in faith. It is automatically attuned to the unconscious realms and is known as the psychic’s number. Once it becomes comfortable with its special gifts, it will serve as the spiritual channel between the physical and spiritual worlds. The 11 can also have nervous tension due to the high energy frequency of its number.

Obama’s life number (from his birthday) is also 11 (8+4+1+9+6+1=29; 2+9=11). Another powerful divination – doubly powerful. A person with an 11 life year in an 11 astrologically year is very powerful. Add to that the power of the steel ox, and you have a harmonic convergence - a perfect storm: it is said that Obama is strong enough to carry the United States (born in the year of the Monkey – a childish friend of the ox).

I hope so.

With the legend of the white buffalo (read ox), the master numbers of 11, and the friendship between the loyal ox and the monkey, we as a country and world can wear the yoke of hope! Let the year of the fire ox be one of cleansing by fire -- the success of realignment by truth.

BTW, if you have not seen the following video, it will envision you about the strength of the ox/buffalo. Watch the baby torn by lions and crocodiles, only to feel the redemptive love of the herd.



Credits: The source materials come from wikipedia, permanentcosmeticsdermacentre.com, and sacredwhitebuffalo.org, and voiceofmitra.com

Too Big To FAIL?

If you are too big to fail, maybe you are too big?

Here is a novel idea: How about making a law or something that is kind of the opposite of Glass Steagal. If a business is too big to fail, it is determined to be fundamentally necessary for the operation of society. At that point, a company has to open itself to extraordinary public scrutiny, since the public has been proven its "on the hook" for these companies' screw-ups.

In order to enforce this program, any company with a certain market share, revenue levels, or employment base would have to submit annual reports from an economic consulting firm that indicated that the company was "not to big to fail", and the corporate officers would have to sign the report a la Sarbanes-Oxley requirements for audits (brought about by the Bush-term accounting failures in 2002). Then, if the company claiming to be small did fail, it would subject its leaders to fraud investigations should they require some type of bailout.

This would also go a long way toward preserving the competitive model that we Americans believe in: along with our other pillars of faith in God, Guns, and Flags.


UPDATE: The NYT is reporting that all the big banks we just bailed out are still going to suffer, suffer, suffer once all the commercial real estate purchased/overvalued during the past decade implodes.

Stock analysts say commercial real estate is the next ticking time bomb for banks, which have already received hundreds of billions of dollars in capital and other assistance from the federal government. Big banks — like Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley — each hold tens of billions of dollars in commercial real estate securities. The banks also invested directly in properties.

Regional banks may be an even bigger concern. In the last decade, they barreled their way into commercial real estate lending after being elbowed out of the credit card and consumer mortgage business by national players. The proportion of their lending that is in commercial real estate has nearly doubled in the last six years, according to government data.

Just as home loans were pooled, then carved up and sold to investors as securities over the last two decades, commercial property loans were repackaged for the financial markets. In 2006 and 2007, nearly 60 percent of commercial property loans were turned into securities, according to Trepp, a research firm that tracks mortgage-backed securities.

Now that the market for those securities has dried up, borrowers cannot easily roll over the loans that are coming due.

Did I mention the number of "zero-interest" credit card offers I have received in the past few weeks? Some banks never learn....