QUOTE from eulogy on George Washington, December, 1799, by Colonel Henry Lee, father of Robert E. Lee: "To the memory of the man, first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen."
ELECTION #2, 1792. George Washington is reelected President of the U.S. The NASTY-METER is a 2.
In 1792, things got just a little worse. In his first term, Washington, as Father of the Nation, had to deal with quarrelsome kids. The kids is this case were cabinet members Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, and their dispute helped create something the framers of the Constitution hadn't quite bargained for; the first American political parties.
Hamilton had no trust in the common people. He believed in a strong central government. People who shared Hamilton's views came to be called Federalists.
Secretary of State Jefferson believed in the power of the people - the people preferably being farmers in an idealized agrarian society. He thought that Hamilton's form of government meant too much power vested in too few hands. Those who agreed with Jefferson called themselves
Republicans.
Washington did not want to run for a second term. He wanted to go back to Mount Vernon and spend his remaining years on his farm with his wife, Martha.
But with the country starting to split, he decided to run one more time, as a unifying figure.
Fifteen states participated in the 1792 electoral college. In 1789 there were only ten. North Carolina and Vermont had not yet ratified the constitution in 1789 so they couldn't vote. New York had failed to appoint its allotted eight electors in time so they didn't vote either.
Washington was considered a shoo-in to win the 1792 election. So the only question was whether Federalist Vice President John Adams would get the second most electoral votes and become VP again. Adams had said some things that made the Republicans members of Congress pretty mad. He had written that the U.S. would be a better place if it was ruled by "the rich and well born."
Needless to say the Republicans took offense. So Republican congressmen from five states decided to give Adams some competition. They proposed that New York Governor George Clinton be their candidate for VP.
When the electoral college voted all 132 electors made Washington their first choice. VP Adams received 77 and Governor Clinton got 50. Adams considered the vote a sign of disrespect and thus the stage was set for 1796 and the first truly contested presidential election in American history.
P.S. The new political parties begin to attack.
Hamilton and Jefferson did not like each other.In fact they started attacking each other in newspapers. Hamilton and his friend, John Fenno, editor of the "Gazette of the U.S." took swipes at Jefferson calling him "Generalissimo" and saying he was a man of "profound ambition and violent passion."
Jefferson and James Madison fired back in the "National Gazette" saying Hamilton's followers
were "monied men of influence" and if Hamilton''s plan was followed the citizens "should think of nothing but obedience, leaving the care of their liberties to their wiser rulers.
From here on in the political parties play a major role in American campaigns and the NASTY-METER moves to higher numbers.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
I'm starting a new project on my blog.
QUOTE from Abigail Adams on President Washington, 1789:
"He is polite with dignity, affable without familiarity, distant without haughtiness, grave without austerity, modest, wise, and good."
MY NEW BLOG PROJECT IS:
With a presidential election coming in 2012 I've decided to get myself educated about all the other presidential election campaigns in the history of the U.S. This campaign in 2012 is predicted to be one of the dirtiest, nastiest, and most expensive campaigns in our history. My curiosity got me thinking about what all the previous PRESIDENTIAL campaigns were like. I know in my lifetime there have been some pretty dirty and nasty presidential campaigns. But what about the campaigns in the 1790s, the 1800s, and the first half of the 1900s? How dirty and nasty were they? So with the help of several books I bought at Barnes and Noble and the help of Google I'm going to find out. So this is my new project on my blog for probably the next year. So enjoy the ride through all 44 campaigns and hope you LEARN as much as I plan on LEARNING.
Each campaign will have a NASTY-METER ranking from 1-10. With 1 being the least nasty to 10 being the most nasty.
ELECTION #1, 1789. George Washington became our first president in 1789. The NASTY-METER ranking for our first presidential election is a 1.
George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, in Pope's Creek, Virginia and died on December 14, 1799. He was 67 years and 205 days old. George's father (Augustine) was married twice, producing four kids with wife number one and six kids with wife number two. George was the oldest of the second batch of six.
George's election to the Presidency was the CLEANEST one in our history. In 1789, America was like a newborn babe, and since the birth pains included a bloody and divisive war, a calming fatherly figure was needed. Washington was the only one to fit the bill.
Washington was not happy about being the anointed one. He was a reluctant leader who, at age 56, thought he was too far past his prime to undertake such a challenge. But his friends Alexander Hamilton and James Madison convinced him that America needed his presence to make sure that the gains of the Revolution did not disappear in factional infighting between state's rights advocates and those who favored a strong central government.
The first presidential election was also the quickest. There was NO POPULAR VOTE and there would NOT BE A POPULAR VOTE UNTIL 1824. Instead, following rules set down in the newly ratified Constitution, each state appointed presidential electors in January 1789. Each state got the number of electoral votes based on this formula; the number of representatives that state had in the U.S. House of Resentatives plus the two senators each state was entitled to. The electors in each state were selected by the legislatures in each state. Of course, all the electors appointed were white men. With the first Electoral College thus established, the electors cast two votes for two different people - a point that would soon become very controversial. The man who received the most votes would become president; the man coming in second would be vice president. It was a total landslide for George Washington as all 69 electors made Washington their number one pick and John Adams, with 34 electoral votes, was their number two pick so he became vice-president.
Washington then made his triumphal entry into New York City, the nation's temporary capital, on April 30, 1789. Thousands of spectators thronged the road that led from Mount Vernon, cheering and tossing flowers. The first president was ferried across the Hudson River on an enormous barge manned by 13 sailors (representing the 13 states); the barge was surrounded by a veritable flotilla of ships, filled with celebrants who sang Washington's praises to the spring skies.
In more ways than one, the election of 1789 was the smoothest sailing an American presidential candidate would ever have. (But the sailing wasn't completely smooth as the bitter John Adams did claim that the only reason Washington was chosen for everything was that he was taller than anyone else in the room).
George Washington is known as the FATHER OF OUR COUNTRY. He was the right man at the right time.
I can assure you that things will get more interesting as I journey through each campaign.
"He is polite with dignity, affable without familiarity, distant without haughtiness, grave without austerity, modest, wise, and good."
MY NEW BLOG PROJECT IS:
With a presidential election coming in 2012 I've decided to get myself educated about all the other presidential election campaigns in the history of the U.S. This campaign in 2012 is predicted to be one of the dirtiest, nastiest, and most expensive campaigns in our history. My curiosity got me thinking about what all the previous PRESIDENTIAL campaigns were like. I know in my lifetime there have been some pretty dirty and nasty presidential campaigns. But what about the campaigns in the 1790s, the 1800s, and the first half of the 1900s? How dirty and nasty were they? So with the help of several books I bought at Barnes and Noble and the help of Google I'm going to find out. So this is my new project on my blog for probably the next year. So enjoy the ride through all 44 campaigns and hope you LEARN as much as I plan on LEARNING.
Each campaign will have a NASTY-METER ranking from 1-10. With 1 being the least nasty to 10 being the most nasty.
ELECTION #1, 1789. George Washington became our first president in 1789. The NASTY-METER ranking for our first presidential election is a 1.
George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, in Pope's Creek, Virginia and died on December 14, 1799. He was 67 years and 205 days old. George's father (Augustine) was married twice, producing four kids with wife number one and six kids with wife number two. George was the oldest of the second batch of six.
George's election to the Presidency was the CLEANEST one in our history. In 1789, America was like a newborn babe, and since the birth pains included a bloody and divisive war, a calming fatherly figure was needed. Washington was the only one to fit the bill.
Washington was not happy about being the anointed one. He was a reluctant leader who, at age 56, thought he was too far past his prime to undertake such a challenge. But his friends Alexander Hamilton and James Madison convinced him that America needed his presence to make sure that the gains of the Revolution did not disappear in factional infighting between state's rights advocates and those who favored a strong central government.
The first presidential election was also the quickest. There was NO POPULAR VOTE and there would NOT BE A POPULAR VOTE UNTIL 1824. Instead, following rules set down in the newly ratified Constitution, each state appointed presidential electors in January 1789. Each state got the number of electoral votes based on this formula; the number of representatives that state had in the U.S. House of Resentatives plus the two senators each state was entitled to. The electors in each state were selected by the legislatures in each state. Of course, all the electors appointed were white men. With the first Electoral College thus established, the electors cast two votes for two different people - a point that would soon become very controversial. The man who received the most votes would become president; the man coming in second would be vice president. It was a total landslide for George Washington as all 69 electors made Washington their number one pick and John Adams, with 34 electoral votes, was their number two pick so he became vice-president.
Washington then made his triumphal entry into New York City, the nation's temporary capital, on April 30, 1789. Thousands of spectators thronged the road that led from Mount Vernon, cheering and tossing flowers. The first president was ferried across the Hudson River on an enormous barge manned by 13 sailors (representing the 13 states); the barge was surrounded by a veritable flotilla of ships, filled with celebrants who sang Washington's praises to the spring skies.
In more ways than one, the election of 1789 was the smoothest sailing an American presidential candidate would ever have. (But the sailing wasn't completely smooth as the bitter John Adams did claim that the only reason Washington was chosen for everything was that he was taller than anyone else in the room).
George Washington is known as the FATHER OF OUR COUNTRY. He was the right man at the right time.
I can assure you that things will get more interesting as I journey through each campaign.
Monday, October 17, 2011
My curiosity made me do some research today.
QUOTE from Dorothy: "The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity."
My QUOTE today is one I firmly believe in. There have been few times in my life when I've really been bored. The main reason is I've always been curious about the who, what, when, where, why and how of people and things. So after reading and laughing at the comic strip "Hagar the Horrible" for many years my curiosity made me want to know more about the person who could create something so funny like this everyday. To GOOGLE I went and I found the answer.
The cartoonist is a guy named Chris Browne. He is the son of the very famous cartoonist Dik Browne. In the 1940s Dik was a magazine and advertising illustrator. He broke into the comics field when he teamed up with Mort Walker on his then-new creation, HI AND LOIS. In 1973, he launched his own strip, HAGAR THE HORRIBLE, which skyrocketed in popularity in a few short years and is now one of the top comics in the nation. HAGAR has been continued by Dik's son, Chris, while his other son, Chance, draws HI AND LOIS.
Chris was born in New Jersey in 1952 and grew up in Wilton, Connecticut. Chris assisted his father on the comic strips HI AND LOIS and HAGAR THE HORRIBLE. When his dad started HAGAR THE HORRIBLE in 1872 Chris, as a twenty year-old, was contributing gag writing to it. When his father, Dik, retired in 1988, Chris took over complete control of HAGAR and has continued since that time. In addition to HAGAR Chris Browne has contributed cartoons to National Lampoon, Playboy, Esquire, Heavy Metal, The New Yorker, The Funny Papers and Sarasota Magazine.
I've always been amazed at people who are so creative everyday. I wonder if they sleep well at night or are they thinking about their next cartoon idea when they should be sleeping? When I wrote my GRATITUDE JOURNAL in 2009 I did a lot of thinking while in bed, when I was walking, or driving, or people watching, or watching TV, etc. It was almost a 24/7 deal for me to keep thinking about the people and things I should be grateful to or for. But it was also one of the best years of my life because I had to keep thinking positive every day for 365 days. I imagine cartoonists have a similar mindset, only their's would have to be about thinking of something humorous/funny. I never felt better, physically or mentally, than I did the year of 2009.
If cartoonists feel like I did then they are some happy people.
HUMOR for today. One of my two fvorite comics is Hagar the Horrible. Hagar is this tough beer drinking Viking who travels to different parts of Europe and pillages the castles of the rich Kings and Queens and brings the booty back to Norway He is married to Helga who is a tough hard working Viking woman. But Hagar doesn't appreciate how hard she works as you will see from last Saturday's comic.
Hagar is reclining in his recliner with a mug of beer in his hand.
Helga is screaming at him as she mops the floor: "I WORK MY FINGERS TO THE BONE ALL DAY LONG AND YOU JUST SIT THERE EXPECTING A BIG DINNER IMMEDIATELY."
Hagar responds: "That's not true. I'm willing to just have another beer and wait."
My QUOTE today is one I firmly believe in. There have been few times in my life when I've really been bored. The main reason is I've always been curious about the who, what, when, where, why and how of people and things. So after reading and laughing at the comic strip "Hagar the Horrible" for many years my curiosity made me want to know more about the person who could create something so funny like this everyday. To GOOGLE I went and I found the answer.
The cartoonist is a guy named Chris Browne. He is the son of the very famous cartoonist Dik Browne. In the 1940s Dik was a magazine and advertising illustrator. He broke into the comics field when he teamed up with Mort Walker on his then-new creation, HI AND LOIS. In 1973, he launched his own strip, HAGAR THE HORRIBLE, which skyrocketed in popularity in a few short years and is now one of the top comics in the nation. HAGAR has been continued by Dik's son, Chris, while his other son, Chance, draws HI AND LOIS.
Chris was born in New Jersey in 1952 and grew up in Wilton, Connecticut. Chris assisted his father on the comic strips HI AND LOIS and HAGAR THE HORRIBLE. When his dad started HAGAR THE HORRIBLE in 1872 Chris, as a twenty year-old, was contributing gag writing to it. When his father, Dik, retired in 1988, Chris took over complete control of HAGAR and has continued since that time. In addition to HAGAR Chris Browne has contributed cartoons to National Lampoon, Playboy, Esquire, Heavy Metal, The New Yorker, The Funny Papers and Sarasota Magazine.
I've always been amazed at people who are so creative everyday. I wonder if they sleep well at night or are they thinking about their next cartoon idea when they should be sleeping? When I wrote my GRATITUDE JOURNAL in 2009 I did a lot of thinking while in bed, when I was walking, or driving, or people watching, or watching TV, etc. It was almost a 24/7 deal for me to keep thinking about the people and things I should be grateful to or for. But it was also one of the best years of my life because I had to keep thinking positive every day for 365 days. I imagine cartoonists have a similar mindset, only their's would have to be about thinking of something humorous/funny. I never felt better, physically or mentally, than I did the year of 2009.
If cartoonists feel like I did then they are some happy people.
HUMOR for today. One of my two fvorite comics is Hagar the Horrible. Hagar is this tough beer drinking Viking who travels to different parts of Europe and pillages the castles of the rich Kings and Queens and brings the booty back to Norway He is married to Helga who is a tough hard working Viking woman. But Hagar doesn't appreciate how hard she works as you will see from last Saturday's comic.
Hagar is reclining in his recliner with a mug of beer in his hand.
Helga is screaming at him as she mops the floor: "I WORK MY FINGERS TO THE BONE ALL DAY LONG AND YOU JUST SIT THERE EXPECTING A BIG DINNER IMMEDIATELY."
Hagar responds: "That's not true. I'm willing to just have another beer and wait."
Friday, October 14, 2011
Fiive steps to follow when writing to your elected officials..
QUOTE from Albert Einstein: "I've learned that pleasing everyone is impossible, But pissing evryone off is a piece of cake."
The other day I got a letter from the LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS. I respect that organization as they are non-partisan and simply want the American people to get involved and participate in our American democracy by becoming educated about the issues and voting. I want to share the part of the letter that caught my attention. It read as follows:
THE STENGTH OF OUR DEMOCRACY DEPENDS ON CITIZENS GETTING INVOLVED AND ENGAGING OUR GOVERNMENT. KEEP THESE 5 TIPS HANDY WHEN CONTACTING ELECTED
OFFICIALS.
1. Politicians aren't interested in the opinions of people who can't vote for them. Identify yourself as a constituent of the legislator you're contacting.
2. Whether writing or calling your legislators, focus on a SINGLE topic. You'll be more effective and receive a faster response.
3. Ask the legislator to take specific action, like supporting a piece of legislation. Ask for a written response that gives your legislator's position on the issue.
4, Make your points quickly and concisely to have a greater impact. And make sure it is confined to one page. They do not like to read 2-5 pages from any constituent.
5. When talking about an issue, it's best to use your own words.
The U.S. Capitol Switchboard is: (202) 224-3121
I've written to my legislators many times in the last 40 years. I always followed these five tips and they do work much better than being long and rambling. lEGISLATORS DO NOT HAVE TIME TO READ LONG ONES.
HUMOR for today: Ever wanted to insult someone in terms wittier than "He's a jerk"? Then feel free to try these classic examples. (From the Reader's Digest)
1.While he was not dumber than an ox, he was not any smarter either. (James Thurber)
2. He had a mind to fine that no idea could violate it. (T.S. Eliot on Henry James)
3. Some folks seem to have descended from the chimpanzee later than others. (Kin Hubbard)
4. He is the only genius with an IQ of 60. (Gore Vidal on Andy Warhol)
5. The problem with her is that she lacks the power of conversation but not the power of speech. (George Bernard Shaw)
The other day I got a letter from the LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS. I respect that organization as they are non-partisan and simply want the American people to get involved and participate in our American democracy by becoming educated about the issues and voting. I want to share the part of the letter that caught my attention. It read as follows:
THE STENGTH OF OUR DEMOCRACY DEPENDS ON CITIZENS GETTING INVOLVED AND ENGAGING OUR GOVERNMENT. KEEP THESE 5 TIPS HANDY WHEN CONTACTING ELECTED
OFFICIALS.
1. Politicians aren't interested in the opinions of people who can't vote for them. Identify yourself as a constituent of the legislator you're contacting.
2. Whether writing or calling your legislators, focus on a SINGLE topic. You'll be more effective and receive a faster response.
3. Ask the legislator to take specific action, like supporting a piece of legislation. Ask for a written response that gives your legislator's position on the issue.
4, Make your points quickly and concisely to have a greater impact. And make sure it is confined to one page. They do not like to read 2-5 pages from any constituent.
5. When talking about an issue, it's best to use your own words.
The U.S. Capitol Switchboard is: (202) 224-3121
I've written to my legislators many times in the last 40 years. I always followed these five tips and they do work much better than being long and rambling. lEGISLATORS DO NOT HAVE TIME TO READ LONG ONES.
HUMOR for today: Ever wanted to insult someone in terms wittier than "He's a jerk"? Then feel free to try these classic examples. (From the Reader's Digest)
1.While he was not dumber than an ox, he was not any smarter either. (James Thurber)
2. He had a mind to fine that no idea could violate it. (T.S. Eliot on Henry James)
3. Some folks seem to have descended from the chimpanzee later than others. (Kin Hubbard)
4. He is the only genius with an IQ of 60. (Gore Vidal on Andy Warhol)
5. The problem with her is that she lacks the power of conversation but not the power of speech. (George Bernard Shaw)
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
How Stupid Can People Be?
QUOTE from Arne Garborg: " It is said that for money you can have everything, but you cannot. You can buy food, but not appetite; medicine, but not health; knowledge, but not wisdom; glitter, but not beauty; fun, but not joy; acquaintances, but not friends; servants, but not faithfulness; leisure, but not peace. You can have the husk of everything for money, but not the kernel."
Yesterday I wrote about a man named Carlos (Charles) Ponzi. He is the 1920s man whose legacy was to give his name to what we call today, The Ponzi Scheme. As I was perusing the latest AARP Magazine I read an article entitled, Fraud Alert - Our Own Worst Enemies. It was the story of 21st century Americans who have been defrauded of their life's savings by investing in Ponzi Schemes.
The one couple in the article that caught my attention was a North Carolina couple who turned over all the money they had saved for retirement to a Ponzi Schemer. The amount of money was $700,000. They are the reason I entitled my post today as, "How Stupid Can People Be?"
Their names are Gail and Gary Kepley and the Ponzi guy's name is Sidney Hanson of Charlotte, North Carolina. Here's how the story goes.
The Kepeys had saved $700,000 for their retirement nestegg. They were looking for a safe place to make some good interest. They had gone to a Chamber of Commerce meeting and learned about a financial planner named Sidney Hanson. When the Kepleys met Hanson they saw a balding, heavyset 60-year-old who wore wire-rimmed glasses and a business suit. As they walked into his impressive office in Charlotte he was flipping a silver dollar. Hanson told the Kepleys he came from humble beginnings in West Virginia but had found riches for his clients by investing in precious metals and foreign currency. He also gave them a sheet of references, a list of names that included local pastors. Then he handed them the silver dollar.
"He said he was a devout Christian whose joy in life was to return those blessings that poured out on him to others," said Mrs Kepley.
The churchgoing Kepleys were hooked. Four months later, the Salibury, NC, couple turned over their entire nestegg - the contents of their IRAs, their daughter's college fund, and their savings - to Hanson's company, Queen Shoals, LLC. All $700,000 of it.
Several months later, in May, 2009, the Kepleys were stunned to discover that agents from the securities division of the NC Secretaty of State had raided Hanson's office. They discovered his investment business was actually a Ponzi Scheme, one that had scanned more than 300 people out of $33 million. Hanson pled guilty and is serving 22 years in federal prison.
Gary Kepley died last year from a stroke. His wife, Gail, said he was a totally destroyed man from losing everything they had worked for all their life.
I have several thoughts about this story. I think my title is appropriate for the Kepleys. How can you be so stupid as to put your entire life's savings into one pot at the age they were. Why didn't they do some more investigating and diversify their nestegg or leave it where it was. Not only were they stupid but they were naive and greedy. Like I said yesterday, "If it looks too good to be true, then it probably is." Like Sidney Hanson mankind has always had and will always have people who are greedy, love money above everything else and have no conscious.
HUMOR for today: Any woman can have the body of a 21-year-old as long as she buys him a few drinks first.
Yesterday I wrote about a man named Carlos (Charles) Ponzi. He is the 1920s man whose legacy was to give his name to what we call today, The Ponzi Scheme. As I was perusing the latest AARP Magazine I read an article entitled, Fraud Alert - Our Own Worst Enemies. It was the story of 21st century Americans who have been defrauded of their life's savings by investing in Ponzi Schemes.
The one couple in the article that caught my attention was a North Carolina couple who turned over all the money they had saved for retirement to a Ponzi Schemer. The amount of money was $700,000. They are the reason I entitled my post today as, "How Stupid Can People Be?"
Their names are Gail and Gary Kepley and the Ponzi guy's name is Sidney Hanson of Charlotte, North Carolina. Here's how the story goes.
The Kepeys had saved $700,000 for their retirement nestegg. They were looking for a safe place to make some good interest. They had gone to a Chamber of Commerce meeting and learned about a financial planner named Sidney Hanson. When the Kepleys met Hanson they saw a balding, heavyset 60-year-old who wore wire-rimmed glasses and a business suit. As they walked into his impressive office in Charlotte he was flipping a silver dollar. Hanson told the Kepleys he came from humble beginnings in West Virginia but had found riches for his clients by investing in precious metals and foreign currency. He also gave them a sheet of references, a list of names that included local pastors. Then he handed them the silver dollar.
"He said he was a devout Christian whose joy in life was to return those blessings that poured out on him to others," said Mrs Kepley.
The churchgoing Kepleys were hooked. Four months later, the Salibury, NC, couple turned over their entire nestegg - the contents of their IRAs, their daughter's college fund, and their savings - to Hanson's company, Queen Shoals, LLC. All $700,000 of it.
Several months later, in May, 2009, the Kepleys were stunned to discover that agents from the securities division of the NC Secretaty of State had raided Hanson's office. They discovered his investment business was actually a Ponzi Scheme, one that had scanned more than 300 people out of $33 million. Hanson pled guilty and is serving 22 years in federal prison.
Gary Kepley died last year from a stroke. His wife, Gail, said he was a totally destroyed man from losing everything they had worked for all their life.
I have several thoughts about this story. I think my title is appropriate for the Kepleys. How can you be so stupid as to put your entire life's savings into one pot at the age they were. Why didn't they do some more investigating and diversify their nestegg or leave it where it was. Not only were they stupid but they were naive and greedy. Like I said yesterday, "If it looks too good to be true, then it probably is." Like Sidney Hanson mankind has always had and will always have people who are greedy, love money above everything else and have no conscious.
HUMOR for today: Any woman can have the body of a 21-year-old as long as she buys him a few drinks first.
Monday, October 10, 2011
I got CURIOUS about the Ponzi Scheme founder.
QUOTE from Josh Billings: "It ain't so much trouble to get rich as it is to tell when we have got rich."
I got CURIOUS. When I heard Rick Perry say that Social Security was nothing but a Ponzi Scheme I got curious. I knew what a Ponzi Scheme was but I didn't know anything about a guy named Ponzi. So I Googled and found a few things about a guy named Ponzi.
Carlo )Charles) Ponzi was born in Lugo, Italy in 1882 and died in Brazil in 1949. Ponzi was an Italian immigrant who bilked millions of dollars out of thousands of hopeful investors in the 1920s, in what has since become known as a Ponzi Scheme. Ponzi arrived in the U.S. in 1903, then made his way to Montreal, Canada by 1908. After a jail term for forgery, Ponzi was arrested for smuggling aliens into the U.S. and ended up in a federal prison in Atlanta, GA. After prison he settled in Boston and worked as a dishwasher for years before coming up with a plan to get rich. In 1919 he formed the Securities Exchange Company promising financial success by converting postage coupons into U.S. currency. Ponzi promised returns too good to be true. And they were: early investors were paid off with money from new investors; there was no real investment going on, just cash distribution. (The approach is also known as a "pyramid scheme.") Beginning in late 1919 and early 1920, Ponzi moved as much as $15 million from thousands of investors; eventually using 35 branch offices. The scheme fell apart eight months later and Ponzi was convicted of embezzlement and sent to prison for five years. His legal troubles dragged on for more than a decade and he was in and out of jail in the U.S. until 1934, when he was deported to Italy. He worked briefly for Benito Mussolini and then landed a job running asn airline in Brazil, where he died destitute in 1949.
I did some more research on Ponzi Schemes and found out the early investors were rewarded as promised but the later investors were the ones who never had a chance to make money as their money was being used to pay the early investors. Another thing I learned is that the early investors were so happy with the interest they were getting paid that most all of them would reinvest the earnings and end up losing it all anyway when the company collapsed. Their have been many of these Ponzi Schemes,the most recent and famous is the Bernie Madoff rip-off. Their were several of Madoff's investors who committed suicide after losing millions.
There is a whole lot of truth in the words, "If it looks too good to be true, it most likely is." MONEY and GREED have screwed up the lives of a lot of people throughout the history of this world.
HUMOR for today: Some people because smile they don't know the heck is going on.
I got CURIOUS. When I heard Rick Perry say that Social Security was nothing but a Ponzi Scheme I got curious. I knew what a Ponzi Scheme was but I didn't know anything about a guy named Ponzi. So I Googled and found a few things about a guy named Ponzi.
Carlo )Charles) Ponzi was born in Lugo, Italy in 1882 and died in Brazil in 1949. Ponzi was an Italian immigrant who bilked millions of dollars out of thousands of hopeful investors in the 1920s, in what has since become known as a Ponzi Scheme. Ponzi arrived in the U.S. in 1903, then made his way to Montreal, Canada by 1908. After a jail term for forgery, Ponzi was arrested for smuggling aliens into the U.S. and ended up in a federal prison in Atlanta, GA. After prison he settled in Boston and worked as a dishwasher for years before coming up with a plan to get rich. In 1919 he formed the Securities Exchange Company promising financial success by converting postage coupons into U.S. currency. Ponzi promised returns too good to be true. And they were: early investors were paid off with money from new investors; there was no real investment going on, just cash distribution. (The approach is also known as a "pyramid scheme.") Beginning in late 1919 and early 1920, Ponzi moved as much as $15 million from thousands of investors; eventually using 35 branch offices. The scheme fell apart eight months later and Ponzi was convicted of embezzlement and sent to prison for five years. His legal troubles dragged on for more than a decade and he was in and out of jail in the U.S. until 1934, when he was deported to Italy. He worked briefly for Benito Mussolini and then landed a job running asn airline in Brazil, where he died destitute in 1949.
I did some more research on Ponzi Schemes and found out the early investors were rewarded as promised but the later investors were the ones who never had a chance to make money as their money was being used to pay the early investors. Another thing I learned is that the early investors were so happy with the interest they were getting paid that most all of them would reinvest the earnings and end up losing it all anyway when the company collapsed. Their have been many of these Ponzi Schemes,the most recent and famous is the Bernie Madoff rip-off. Their were several of Madoff's investors who committed suicide after losing millions.
There is a whole lot of truth in the words, "If it looks too good to be true, it most likely is." MONEY and GREED have screwed up the lives of a lot of people throughout the history of this world.
HUMOR for today: Some people because smile they don't know the heck is going on.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
How the Marine's view the Army.
QUOTE from fro Albert Einstein: "As long as there are sovereign nations possessing grear power, war is inevitable."
Yesterday I had the privilege of talking to a real gung-ho U.S. Marine. He had served two deployments to Iraq from 2005 to 2007. He was in the thick of things in the battle for Ramadi.
I asked him what the Marine's had to say about the Army guys. His answers made me have a good laugh. He had two answers:
1. To a Marine the word Army means, "Ain't Ready (for) Marines Yet.
2. And #2 is, "Ain't Real Men Yet."
He told us that his HumVee hit an IED and the vehicle flew in the air and tipped over. He was the only one to be wounded. He said, "As we were driving down the highway I had a feeling we were going to hit an IED. So instead of sitting upright in my seat I slipped down in my seat as I had this knot in my stomach telling me we were going hit one. Sure enough, in a few seconds our HumVee was flying in the air."
He was knocked unconscious by the noise of the exploding IED and he got some scrapnel wounds. He felt that the thing that saved his life was his slipping down in his seat at the last second. Most of the scrapnel went over his head. He said his battalian lost 14 men in his two tours.
He also said his Mother was watching FOX news one night and they were showing Marines sweeping through this town and the Marines were busting doors down to make entry to the homes of suspected terrorists. The guy busting down the door was him, Brandon Yeisley, of Springville, Iowa. His Mom recognized him right away. What a shocker for Mom.
He was fun to talk to and very open about what he did over there. He got out of the Marines and then decided he liked the USMC so much that he volunteered to go back in. They wouldn't take him back because they had their limit. I'd say the Marines made a mistake by not taking back a dedicated gung-ho man like this.
HUMOR for today: Being 'over the hill' is much better than being under it.
Yesterday I had the privilege of talking to a real gung-ho U.S. Marine. He had served two deployments to Iraq from 2005 to 2007. He was in the thick of things in the battle for Ramadi.
I asked him what the Marine's had to say about the Army guys. His answers made me have a good laugh. He had two answers:
1. To a Marine the word Army means, "Ain't Ready (for) Marines Yet.
2. And #2 is, "Ain't Real Men Yet."
He told us that his HumVee hit an IED and the vehicle flew in the air and tipped over. He was the only one to be wounded. He said, "As we were driving down the highway I had a feeling we were going to hit an IED. So instead of sitting upright in my seat I slipped down in my seat as I had this knot in my stomach telling me we were going hit one. Sure enough, in a few seconds our HumVee was flying in the air."
He was knocked unconscious by the noise of the exploding IED and he got some scrapnel wounds. He felt that the thing that saved his life was his slipping down in his seat at the last second. Most of the scrapnel went over his head. He said his battalian lost 14 men in his two tours.
He also said his Mother was watching FOX news one night and they were showing Marines sweeping through this town and the Marines were busting doors down to make entry to the homes of suspected terrorists. The guy busting down the door was him, Brandon Yeisley, of Springville, Iowa. His Mom recognized him right away. What a shocker for Mom.
He was fun to talk to and very open about what he did over there. He got out of the Marines and then decided he liked the USMC so much that he volunteered to go back in. They wouldn't take him back because they had their limit. I'd say the Marines made a mistake by not taking back a dedicated gung-ho man like this.
HUMOR for today: Being 'over the hill' is much better than being under it.
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