Must I Kiss The Hand That Beats Me?

In the classic WWII film Sahara, J. Carrol Naish plays an Italian prisoner of war who, in one great scene, argues against Adolf Hitler with a fellow German prisoner & ardent NAZI. Naish, pointing out the differences between Mussolini & Hitler says: "Mussolini is not so clever like Hitler....He can only dress his soldiers up to look like thieves, cheats & murderers. He cannot, like Hitler, make them feel that way." The German asks how dare he defy the Fuhrer to which Naish responds: "Must I kiss the hand that beats me.......Lick the boot that kicks me?"
I guess we Americans should kiss the hand of George Bush for deciding to join an Economic Stimulus Package that will give us more money to go into the coffers of the major oil companies. He even recommends that we use this gracious gift to help pay for our gasoline & heating oil.
Why not just send this rebate money directly to his friends in Big Oil? (He knows it'll be going there anyway)
I guess we are as stupid as they think!

Yes is the short answer, they all think we are that dumb and the sad truth is most Americans are that dumb. Politicians count on it. But go the Drudge report and look at the picture with the story about the stimulus package. There's George...but wait...who's that on either side of him making the package announcement. It's Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. Those two are so far left they make you look like a moderate.

This plan is just so much bull *censored*, that they all had to agree on it. They know the average Amercian is going to say,"Gee that's great, they're going to send me a check." They also know that in terms of doing anything about the underlying problems that have caused this recession, it won't do a damn thing.
BEWARE anytime republican and democrat leaders get together and agree on anything so quickly. There's polictical mischief going on my liberal friend.
I think on the whole you and I are in agreement on this issue. Let's have a beer and celebrate.
(Let's see, how much coal can I buy with my gov'ment check)

Bush, Pelosi and Reid agreeing on something within a matter of days does more than raise my eyebrow. I have this gut feeling that we're in deeper *censored* than any of the politicians are letting on. Anyway I'm taking our cash and filling up the coal bin (once I get it built)

coalkirk wrote:Yes is the short answer, they all think we are that dumb and the sad truth is most Americans are that dumb. Politicians count on it. But go the Drudge report and look at the picture with the story about the stimulus package. There's George...but wait...who's that on either side of him making the package announcement. It's Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. Those two are so far left they make you look like a moderate.

This plan is just so much bull *censored*, that they all had to agree on it. They know the average Amercian is going to say,"Gee that's great, they're going to send me a check." They also know that in terms of doing anything about the underlying problems that have caused this recession, it won't do a damn thing.
BEWARE anytime republican and democrat leaders get together and agree on anything so quickly. There's polictical mischief going on my liberal friend.
I think on the whole you and I are in agreement on this issue. Let's have a beer and celebrate.
(Let's see, how much coal can I buy with my gov'ment check)

You don't suppose the fact that it's an election year had anything to do with the speed & the bi-partisan nature of this do you?..........Nah.....I'm ashamed to have even thought of that.

I was wondering if anybody knows how much money it would take to make a one point move on the Dow Jones Industrials, let alone a 500 point spread? Is there really that much money out there that one guy can screw a bank out of 7 billion? Also since people lost money when the Dow went down, where did all the money come from to make it go back up. Most of the time I'm glad my brain is the size of nut coal

I doubt that, "One Guy" acted alone he probably had some inside help truth be known.

On to your Dow Jones question, I think the benchmark is $250 Billion on Quarter anum. It really depends on market totals, these pecentages can change by the minute. Most of the time when you hear people "Lost" money, it is only on paper. They only loose if they sell for less than they buy, most of us are smart enough not to do that. Although it is unavoidable in say the junk bond market or when purchasing stock options.

Guy's at work cry when the 401k or 457 plans lost money, I told them not to worry about it, you are purchasing shares at a cheaper market rate, don't sell, just be patient.Now the market is in a high point, not a real good time to buy. They still cry!

When investing, keep it simple, don't ever invest in anything you do not understand! PERIOD!

For the average guy get the track record on a mutual fund, say 20years and if it have a 10-20 return of say 12% or better, it's probably a good bet.

DON'T count on Social insecurity to be there for us, the math don't work boy's, it's as simple as that.

Do what I plan to do Marry a Rich Woman!,,Next time....

Now it's all clear as mud.

Cold here tonight 4*

BK

The amount of $ currently going to oil companies via consumers won't change just because we get a tax rebate unless you crank-up your thermostat or drive more miles because you have more $. Those gas and oil bills we paid last month and will pay next month will/would be paid by us with or without a rebate so rebates don't mean more $ for oil companies. So...you don't have to kiss any hands because no ones beating you.

castiron wrote:The amount of $ currently going to oil companies via consumers won't change just because we get a tax rebate unless you crank-up your thermostat or drive more miles because you have more $. Those gas and oil bills we paid last month and will pay next month will/would be paid by us with or without a rebate so rebates don't mean more $ for oil companies. So...you don't have to kiss any hands because no ones beating you.

Not all American are as fortunate as you or Mr. Bush. Believe it or not there are actualy some people in this country that are living in the cold this winter because they cannot afford to buy heating oil & will therefore use their rebates to buy fuel.
As far as no one is beating me.........You haven't seen me driving out of the filling station after gassing up....I'm a bloody mess!!! (I& my wallet was stolen too)

To avoid internet politics all I will say is that you should spend or invest that free money wisely, because it isn't free at all in any sense of the word. The feds print out that money and mail it to everyone, that creates instant inflation. If you haven't been paying attention everything that is essential to survive: heat, food, clothing, shelter, fuel, etc... all went up in price. It's because the dollar is worth less. People from Canada are coming to America to buy things, when is the last time that happened? The federal gift won't arrive until July anyway so it isn't going to help people that are cold now.