Did You Think I Was Gone?

Well, as a matter of fact, I was gone. I forgot to mention that I had to give a talk to the Louisville Civil War Round Table. I did that on Saturday evening, but we went over there on Friday and did not come back till Sunday. Add to those days, last Wednesday and Thursday, when I should have done blog entries and that will get you to right here.

I've got a lot on my mind. Here are some of the things, in no particular order: This whole Occupy Wall Street movement. Listen I'm all for these people on the streets. I am not naive enough or starry-eyed enough to think these freelance, free form demonstrations against the perfidious forces of greed that are eating the middle class up and have already pretty well destroyed the others is going to alter any of these forces. But I think the course of events is trending inevitably to more people on the streets, but I think it increasingly likely that they are going to be really pissed off people, not like the green tea and crumpet types who are politely trying to alert the country to a substantial body of opinion out here in the hinterlands that hates the banks and are doing a slow burn the more Wall Street flips them the bird.

In this regard, a recent entry from The Reformed Broker's blog is instructive:

You want to know why everyone in this country hates you and wants you dead, you big stupid fucking bank?

Here's why, pay attention:

(Reuters) – Bank of America Corp will pay $11 million to ousted executives Joe Price and Sallie Krawcheck, a large payout at a time when banks face protests over pay but smaller than the eight-figure packages some executives received before the financial crisis.

Krawcheck -- a former Citigroup Inc executive who came to Bank of America in 2009 and was one of the top-ranking women on Wall Street -- will receive a one-time payment of $5.15 million, according to separation agreements filed by the bank on Friday.

Price, a Bank of America veteran, gets $4.15 million. Each will also receive $850,000 over a one-year period.

Price was head of consumer banking and Krawcheck led wealth and investment operations.

Don't know how long the suffering people of United States are going to put up with this kind of idiocy.

Actually there's too much on my mind to talk about it all here. But I cannot close without observing that the Texas Rangers are up on Detroit 2 games to none in the American League Championship series. Today's game was made in heaven. A really tense eleven innings with Texas winning on a walk-off grand slam home run by Nellie Cruz. Awesome! Recap, box score, video, pix: all right here. Go Rangers!