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Shuts and Failures

by Michael Maiello

History

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2 years 35 weeks

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Whiner Jamie Dimon gets a summons.

by Oxy Mora 2/3/2012 - 5:28 pm

News: JPM sued by AG Schneiderman, New York [Read more]

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Romneyville and the confederation of financiocrats.

by Oxy Mora 1/30/2012 - 12:45 pm

Before the process of deconstructing Willard Romney began in earnest a month ago it was difficult to objectify that special world of Finance which exists as a form of supra-capitalism I choose to call Financiocracy---a Confederation of institutions and individuals who in a multi-national context make money with money. 

The Confederation exists in an ethos which is literally not anchored to our traditional form of locale-specific capitalism. One of the most vivid examples of such un-connectedness is when, in the invention of Mortgage Backed Securities, sold and traded world wide, home mortgages in the U.S.were severed from the established grounding of actual paperwork and signatures, and the physical recording of mortgages in the municipalities where the asset resides, a centuries-old practice, was violated. 

Romneyville crystalizes one aspect of this brave new world of finance so discreetly and clearly that it is likely to remain as Exhibit A of a practice known as Private Equity for a generation to come. Romneyville rests on several important privileges extracted from the government and populace of the U.S (see below). [Read more]

Ronnie Whitelaw's Utopia

by Oxy Mora 1/17/2012 - 6:02 am

A SHORT ESSAY ON UTOPIANISM.

 

Ruby was standing outside the trailer yelling at Ronnie. They had been having lots of fights over Ronnie not getting a regular job and Ruby finally told him to pack up and get out. It was Ruby's trailer that she'd bought for $1500 and moved into a park where, in Paris, Texas, the rate was $50 a week.

Ruby shouted at Ronnie as he threw his life possessions into the back of his multi-colored ten year old Chevy pickup truck with the maroon camper shell.  [Read more]

Romneyville and Financial Capitalism.

by Oxy Mora 1/16/2012 - 1:44 pm

It is almost impossible to understate the achievements of Bain Capital and Mitt Romney, but I'll try.

Bain capital financed a new Mall store retail chain called Staples. The idea came from two veteran Retailers. Home Depot, for example, had been in existence for over 15 years before Staples and served as a model of how a bunch of Mom and Pop building supply stores could be put out of business, products bought from China and prices reduced for the benefit of consumers. Staples is one of about fifty retail segments so reorganized and financed in the U.S. Its total sales are a fraction of Walmart, for example, and about one one thousandth of the retail sector as a whole. [Read more]

The accidental book scout.

by Oxy Mora 1/15/2012 - 1:08 pm

A blog about preserving our heritage of books. Treasures found this weekend: 

The Cyberiad by Stanislaw Lem. Fables for the Cybernetic Age. Seabury Press, 1974. Translated from the Polish by Michael Kandel. Illustrations by Daniel Mroz. Book is Near Fine, dust jacket Very Good +. (Cost $15). The superb dust jacket illustration in yellow and black and the book illustrations are of cyber machines rendered in what appears as dry-point engraving.  [Read more]

Wall street greed is illuminated.

by Oxy Mora 1/12/2012 - 12:47 am

In an improbable sequence of events we are reaching a time when everything is illuminated about Wall Street greed.  The improbable messenger is Newt Gingrich. The foil is Mitt Romney. The audience in this sudden drama is a combination of Americans of every political stripe who understand that financial industry excesses nearly brought this country to its knees. The stage crew is Occupy Wall St. The on-lookers are the power brokers in Washington. [Read more]

Todd Palin is your new Mr. Republican

by Oxy Mora 1/10/2012 - 2:16 pm

During the news coverage of today's Republican primary I gagged at comments by John Sununu and Judd Gregg, Northern Republican Establishment stalwarts, aimed at defining Romney as an acceptable choice across the broad Republican party electorate. While a majority of Republicans will ultimately accept Romney if he is the nominee, he is as out of place with the rank and file Republican base as a Volvo in Gun Barrel City, Texas. [Read more]

Romney hands Gingrich a populist platform.

by Oxy Mora 1/3/2012 - 12:35 pm

Most likely Gingrich will come in about fourth in the Iowa caucus which might seem like a big success for the Romney Super PACS who tried to bomb Gingrich out of the race, but for that strategy to work against a personality like Gingrich you have to make sure you kill him (speaking metaphorically) not just wound him. A wounded or threatened animal is sometimes more dangerous than one which can run away from you. [Read more]

Sell Mother's 57 Ford.

by Oxy Mora 12/31/2011 - 11:33 am

 

At Mother's house in late October

We parceled out all the mementos;

I found the Stevenson banner I had 

Removed from the '56 convention hall.

 

Al Lowenstein helped me grab

the banner---he, a dangerous radical.

surreptitiously telephoned E. Roosevelt

from a stranger's suite we had commandeered. [Read more]

Santorum and Ambrosia both surge in Iowa.

by Oxy Mora 12/30/2011 - 2:41 pm

As caucus feeding frenzy comes to a gluttonous end in the inland state of Iowa there are likely more coastal journalists, consultants, and other out of state lookie-loos there than native caucus-goers. Last night from several states away I watched Chris Matthews and other television hosts broadcast their shows from local restaurants and cafes across Iowa. I was reminded of my many gourmet dinner outings with my mother who retired back to her native state of Iowa. [Read more]

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