Mullings An American Cyber Column By Rich Galen

�

Click here for the Secret Decoder Ring to this issue!

Nothing Much

Rich Galen

Friday April 30, 2010

Click here for an Easy Print Version

NOTE: Nothing of import today, no great (or even not-so-great) insights. Just random things, so press the "delete" key and get to work.

First of all I have an iPad 3G due to arrive today. I am not an Apple person. I ordered an iPad for The Lad on April 3 for his birthday, knowing it wouldn't arrive until the end of the month. I thought I'd wait until he used his for a while then, if he liked it, I might buy one for myself.

Someone in the office got the version which was available earlier this month. I saw it, tinkered with it, ordered it, and have been drumming my fingers on my desk waiting for it to arrive.

I got the "your order has shipped" notice from Apple at about 4:30 yesterday afternoon. I have been checking the FedEx tracking page ever since. As of 10 pm last night my iPad had been sitting in Newark, NJ since 4:27 yesterday.

What could they possibly be doing that would take more than six hours to put my iPad on a truck, put the truck on the New Jersey Turnpike, and get it spinning on its way to me so I can have it this morning?

Speaking of which, assuming it shows up about mid-morning, don't expect any work out of me after about 10:30.

The Goldman Sachs/U.S. Senate showdown the other day was distressing. The Goldman Sachs guys obviously don't understand why the American people are so tired of their ignoring basic decency in their business practices, and the U.S. Senators don't understand why we think they are a bunch of ignorant, showboating jerks.

If you don't think the thugs who run these financial houses need oversight, consider this inside-the-paper story from the Wall Street Journal.

In 2008, a guy in Chicago, Evan Brent Dooley, had a trading account with the brokerage firm of MF Global Holdings, Ltd. Mr. Dooley traded in wheat futures. Like Wonder Bread wheat.

Traders in commodity futures bet on whether they believe the price of that commodity will go up (going "long") or it will go down (going "short").

According to the WSJ, on the night of Feb. 26, 2008 Dooley "allegedly bought and sold 31,964 wheat contracts." Note the number of contracts.

He began his trading binge "with a negative balance of about $3,000 in his account and, by the next morning, held a short position valued at $872 million."

The financial system was operating so out of any known realm of reality that a legitimate brokerage house allowed a guy who was three grand in the hole to make so many trades that in one night he was holding nearly a BILLION DOLLARS worth of contracts.

Nah. They don't need any oversight.

We dummies whose heavy involvement in financial instruments is limited to making payments on the house, the car, and the college loans can't possibly understand the nuances of the kinds of complex over-under-counter-default-oy-gevault financial instruments that Goldman Sachs and Even Brent "Hang-Down-Your-Head-Tom" Dooley deal with on a regular basis.

The geniuses who do understand all that let a guy who can't buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks run up a bill of - need we repeat - nearly a BILLION DOLLARS!

Of course, the price of wheat went up and Dooley went broke very nearly taking the whole firm with him. You'll be pleased to know he has been arrested for, charged with, and indicted on, a number of felonies based upon his one night with the big boys.

You will not be happy to know that he is being represented by a public defender in Chicago.

Gov. Charlie Christ (I-Fl), who, until yesterday afternoon, was Gov. Charlie Christ (R-Fl) has decided, that because he can't win the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, he will run for the Senate in November as an independent.

I hope every person who, and every PAC which, donated money to Christ's race for the REPUBLICAN nomination sues to get his or her money back.

Last item: According to RealClearPolitics, of the seven polls taken over the past 10 days, six have President Obama's approval rating under 50 percent.

We are a nation adrift. We are rudderless.

(A) When's the next flight to the Bahamas, and (B) will my iPad work from there?

On a the Secret Decoder Ring page today: A link to the polling page at RealClearPolitics, a pretty cool Mullfoto and a Catchy Caption of the Day which will make you scratch your head.

Become a
Paid Mullings Subscriber!

(To join the FREE mailing list or to unsubscribe Click Here)

Current Issue | Secret Decoder Ring | Past Issues | Email Rich | Rich Who?