… So fatfingers has set up a poll for Catallaxy’s best commenter. The software restricts him to 30, so he’s left a few people off the list and gone for a goodly sprinkling of our regulars. ‘Best’ is probably best left to you, but for me it means manners, avoiding ad-homs and trying to present your arguments coherently and briefly.
(PS - there’ll be more Oxford goodies this weekend; I’m building up another decent collection. I’m also in a rowing regatta next week and am both praying for good weather and trying to get a few mates to share the photography duties).
123 Comments
I vote Andrew Reynolds. - Have to do it here since he’s not on the list.
Plus no fair voting for yourself.
I should have swapped out GMBclone (who, after all, is by definition redundant) and put in Reynolds. What say we count votes for Clone as votes for Reynolds?
Can you change it, or does it mean rejigging the whole shebang? If it can’t be changed, let me know and I’ll update the post.
Real nice of you to include me, Helen. Being rooly polite I won’t vote for myself!
“So fatfingers has set up a poll for Catallaxy’s best commenter”
Turn it off, SL. It was actually your idea and your house boy ran with it. This is fats after all and I’ve never seen an original or good idea for the time he’s been posting here.
No credit when credit is not due.
Who voted for Homer?
This isn’t funny.
Don’t blame me, I voted for Boris.
why am I on that?
It was me, I voted for homer. But what really surprises me is that someone else did too.
‘
Homer, Did you vote for Homer.
“why am I on that?”
What do you expect. Fats made up the list.
I think JC deserves kudos for successfully renaming … i.e. “Metromick”
How come I don’t get listed to be the worst or the best commentator?
For the worst I would have to nominate Jason:)
And for the best, JC.
Rafe:
You wouldn’t get anywhere near the most irritating as your too smart and polite to be even considered.
As for the best: well Sl gave the job to a brainless nimcompoop so what do you expect. My motto is that you always try to hire people smarter than youself as it it will make you look good. Sl screwed up with this one.
I think it’s because you’re a contributor Rafe.
Although I’m with Jason on the quality of your recent contributions.
“My motto is that you always try to hire people smarter than youself as it it will make you look good.”
So how do you decide, JC? That hardly narrows the field.
Re: # 6 - to be fair, JC, I can’t see anywhere where FF is claiming credit for SL’s idea. All he said is that he set up the poll.
# 17 - good one, FDB. I have to admit JC set himself up with that comment.
It’s hard, FDB. I found it really hard on that score thankyou for being so sympathetic.
CFQ
I never said he was claiming credit. But he never corrrected SL obvious omission and generous spirit. he simply remained silent thinking he could put this one over people: that we would somehow have a higher opinion of him (as if).
How come there wasn’t an All of the Above option?
But I don’t think SL did credit FF for the idea, JC. Just with the actual set-up of the poll.
Wow!
Here’s Skeptic’s idea of what qualifies as best:
‘Best’ is probably best left to you, but for me it means manners, avoiding ad-homs and trying to present your arguments coherently and briefly.
Whis I guess doesn’t count seeing as how Graeme’s winning this poll.
It’s his day off and he’s been driving around all the Internet cafes in NSW, Adrien.
N’uck, n’uck.
Hey who voted for Metromick? It musta been him. Hey Mickey where are you? Lurking about somewhere?
Good gracious, a late run on me.
Are people getting the polls mixed up?
JC, could you get any more bitter? When SL came up with the idea, I said “Good idea. Here you go” or words to that effect. So swallow your bile, preferably with a chill pill.
Hey, FF.
Just wondering - does the poll site track usernames following the link from here? Because I tried to vote JC as most annoying again when I got home from work and was most annoyed to find I’d “voted already”.
I haven’t the foggiest, FDB. It’s all automated at their end. Perhaps someone at your house has been voting?
Nah, the missus is away and the cat doesn’t know the logon password.
Oh well, looks like I can’t help you ol’ Joe. You’ll have to win most irritating commenter on your considerable merits.
I voted for someone whose comments I enjoy reading most. Actually it is not a person I most frequently agree with.
Exclusion of contributors has narrowed the field and made the choice somewhat easier.
One disturbing observation is that we have very few openly female commenters.
There were a few birds here for a while but the turkey chased them away.
What an incredible commie-gyp.
Adrien winning.
Fuck its just unbelievable the lengths your hard-leftists will go to not to change your worldview.
Usually when I’m winning a vote Lambert steps in with a program that generates 70 votes for everyone else but me.
Graeme, Adrien is FUNNY. Funny ain’t everything, but it goes a LONG WAY.
No he’s weak and pathetic. He’s not the least bit funny. Sometimes he writes well on his own blog but here he’s just a waste of space. I don’t think for one minute its all catallaxy people voting for him. Such a dim bulb.
Bird tells a lie: “Usually when I’m winning a vote Lambert steps in with a program that generates 70 votes for everyone else but me.”
What sort of political party endorses a compulsive liar like Bird as a candidate?
On this occasion I think I may abstain;
What an incredible commie-gyp
Commies and gypsies were targeted by Hitler’s Holocaust too, Graeme.
Go Adrien… pity we couldn’t have preferencial voting.
Tim, I’m glad you asked. Graeme is a candidate for the Liberty & Democracy Party… which is a party that you should all be out there supporting at the moment.
With the latest poll numbers it now seems that Terje could get elected with as little as 0.22% of the vote. That’s only about 10,000 votes. So go and spread the word. Pay your neighbours. Bribe your mailman. Tell your cousins that their next birthday present is dependent on their vote.
http://ldpblog.wordpress.com/2007/11/13/nsw-senate-poll/
Yeah, whatever people think of Graeme, Terje is a good guy who would represent the LDP well.
Graeme is the Wilson Tuckey of the LDP.
Jason - how about a frontpage story about Terje’s chances in the senate?
Let’s rally the libertarian base!
“That’s only about 10,000 votes. So go and spread the word. Pay your neighbours. Bribe your mailman. Tell your cousins that their next birthday present is dependent on their vote.”
That’s good. But I hope he doesn’t go off the rails over this gold bug he has.
So the objective to make sure you vote and vote often.
37 Lambert you were bragging about it. However you blamed it on someone else.
Still this cannot be proven. But I’ll assume that you are innocent if you can come up with some evidence for this global warming fraud.
You lie about one thing Lambert, why we going to believe you about anything else.
Lets see that evidence.
evidence for what Graeme? that your butt exists? how do you think you’re doing your thinking?
The Birdian epistemological breakthrough:
I think, therefore my butt exists
Cogito ergo gluteus maximus
Don’t be daft SOON. Do I have to write it out everytime?
Evidence for the likelihood of catastrophic warming. Evidence that industrial CO2 release is BAD for the environment as opposed to all actual scientific evidence which shows that it is GOOD for the environment.
Evidence that a little bit of human-induced warming is A BAD THING during a brutal and pulverising ice age.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
If Lambert is going to bullshit people the world over around the clock about stuff like this he ought not get up in arms when he’s accused of stuff.
Its par for the course for the committed attempted-Malaria-spreader.
Lets see that evidence Lambert.
Gawd. Surely we’re not going to have yet another thread derailed by a “civilised discussion” on global warming…?
Bird: I was not bragging about it, you liar. I campaigned for you over at LP and reckoned that you were cheated out of your victory.
Since the LDP has endorsed you as a candidate, I’ll be preferencing them last in the senate.
I’m afraid I’m with Tim on this. Endorsing the Bird and to a lesser extent Whatsername Milat are serious errors of judgement no matter how desperate for personnel they are.
Tim,
Really, you campaigned for bird? Can I see the link? I believe you, i just want to see it.
And really again, you’re preferencing the LDP?
Has the world gone mad?
Birdie, are you going to be friends with tim now?
Don’t you just feel the love.
I’m campaigning for Bird.
JC, here. And I think you misunderstood my comment. I’m putting the LDP last.
I did sorry, I was excited that you may have also morphed into a libertarian under our very nose.
So if Bird wasn’t running how would you preference the LDP?
I have to agree, allowing Bird to run was simply insane.
It’s lucky that a bored journalist hasn’t run a story where they cut and paste a few choice sentences from his rants.
That said Tim, you shouldn’t put the LDP last. Every party has its share of ratbags.
The Greens are running Kerry Nettle for example, who signed a letter expressing admiration for Hugo Chavez. Hugo fucking Chavez.
As far as I can tell, the Turkey has made no effort whatsoever on his campaign so he’s LDP in name only.
I agree JohnZ, well put
(The Greens are running Kerry Nettle for example, who signed a letter expressing admiration for Hugo Chavez. Hugo fucking Chavez.
Really. And thought I was the resident scholar on he Green party. In never Kerry Kettle signed the letter.
Oops I did too. But not for the same reason as I was representing the Global Warming and Fair Pay Institute
“Get you rosary off my ovaries”… As if.
Munnster:
Did you know your party’s senior member signed the letter? Get out from under that native bush&flora: stop hiding and answer the friggen question. Did you?
What an incredible commie-gyp.
Adrien winning.
Gee shucks. Didn’t realize. I’d like to thank the Academy…
Can’t believe I’m still up for a podium finish. Heterodox perspective indeed, when a quasi-comedian philosopher, muso academic and fulminating arse-clown* share the honours.
No libertarians in contention?
*can y’all guess which is which?
“can y’all guess which is which?”
I was going to ask.
Maybe philosopher is a stretch for you, and academic for me, but I reckon I nailed the Turkey.
Shit, GMB should curse JohnZ to his dying breath, that nickname is really catching on.
Goyim Montgomery Turkey: the Fulminating Arse-Clown?
No. He is a classic liberal and a philosopher, you are lying.
Well, with 97 votes (what, did everyone vote twice?), I think the poll has run its course. And the winners are….
1. Adrienswords
2. GMB
3. FDB
With an honourable mention for John H.
Acceptance speeches are encouraged, but there is no prize but a warm inner glow. GMB might not perceive his due to the white-hot core of rage that sustains him.
Oh my God. I’d like to thank all the people who voted for me. I know there’s a few of you, I was waylaid yesterday and only managed to vote for myself three times.:)
I’d like to thank Graeme Bird for all the inspiration. And I’d like to thank Jason for wearing all the lawsuits and not complaining once.
Ah, sweet sweet bronze. Congratulations to the deserved winner and…
…
…
…something about Graeme also.
Bird actually won this, because Adrien has never anything to say other than innocuous blather.
But congrats Adrien anyway. Although you are the resident Seinfeld.
“Bird actually won this”
Says it all about your grasp of reality, that does. A lapdog to the bitter end.
Fats:
You going to answer those questions I left you? Or you’re avoiding them?
They’re not questions - they’re demonstrations of your inability to realise people don’t fit into your simplistic categories. They’re proof that you don’t pay attention to what people say at all, only to who you think they are. They’re examples of your lack of intelligence and social skills.
If anyone else asks them, I’m happy to reply. So the only way you’ll get an answer is if you can convince any of the many Catallaxy contributors or commentators that unlike you have a brain and a civil tongue in their head to ask the questions for you.
Good luck.
lol
“They’re not questions - they’re demonstrations of your inability to realise people don’t fit into your simplistic categories.”
(Now that’s usually a dead giveaway in leftie speak)
.
They’re questions alright, Fats. You just wanna answer them because you can’t.
Let me ask you a very simple question then.
Which LDP policies do you agree with and disagree with in the economic sphere? Not a trick question and an honest answer would be great.
“Now that’s usually a dead giveaway in leftie speak”
It’s a simple statement of the truth. You were “blown away” by what you perceived as a conversion to libertarianism. That could only happen if you simplistically and erroneously pigeon-holed me, since I have always been extremely socially liberal, and have been becoming more economically liberal for about a decade.
It also shows up a key difference between you and me. You are here because you like to abuse those with whom you disagree to make yourself feel big. I’m here because I’m genuinely interested in discussion and debate (alright - occasionally I like to let rip into some moron, but I can’t help it if you provide such a tempting target). And also because I like to test my beliefs and ideas against intelligent opposition (which you sure don’t provide) to hone and improve them and make sure I don’t become a self-satisfied ideologue. Since I do come here with an open mind, I have been convinced on certain issues over the years. John H and Jason and Mark have been quite influential in that (thanks, guys!)
Gratifyingly, plenty of my original positions have not been overturned by this process, but strengthened and refined. I have even managed to sway a few people a little bit towards my way of thinking on some things.
So despite myself I’ve sort of answered one of your questions. That’s all your getting.
Come on fats. That’s not fair . Don’t run away from a perfectly reasonable and polite question. You’re a poltical candidate now and all I’m asking you is what parts of the party economic platform do you agree with and disagree with.
I know you agree with all the pertinent parts of the socails program.
I can’t be more reasonable than that.
Dude I could be in your electorate. And as a potential big time pol you ought to answer the question from a lowly voter like me.
Come on.
Now we know you may agree with free trade. Now that’s a start. So give us the oil….. on the rest.
I know you’re a complex and nuanced person and a model candidate in all respects.
Assisted suicide (Voluntary euthanasia) Fats Yes
Civil liberties and individual freedom Fats Yes
Competitive federalism Fats Yes
Democracy Fats ?
Deregulate and Privatise Fats ?
Energy Fats yes
Environment Fats ?
Firearms Fats?
Free trade Fats Yes
Global warming Fats ?
Health Fats ?
Immigration Fats Yes
Labour market regulation Fats ?
Lifestyle choices Fats Yes
Nuclear power Fats ?
Property rights Fats ?
School education Fats ?
Smoking Fats ?
Taxation Fats ?
Traffic laws Fats Yes
Victimless crimes Fats Yes.
Here I helped. Please indicate how you feel on the ones with a question mark. I tried to help you here and marked the ones I thought you would agree with. So be grateful.
Sorry
Energy, I should have marked with a ?
See #71.
Fats there are 21 policy subjects.
I have marked 9 yes and 12?
It wouldn’t take you long to even at the very least correct which ones I have marked wrong.
Give us something to wrok with here Fats. You wanting to hit the big time of policy wonkery yet you won’t disclose what your position is. Are you some kind of Kevin Rudd?
“yet you won’t disclose what your position is”
Wrong. Anyone else can ask and I will answer. I just don’t like you, so forget this obsession about my political positions. It makes you look like a stalker
” I just don’t like you, so forget this obsession about my political positions. It makes you look like a stalker”
That’s funny, because I thought pols were supposed to openly disclose their position.
So i take it that if someone esle asks you will oblige. Is that correct?
Can I “imply” that’s correct?
Birdie, would you mind asking fatrs what his positions are on the aboive issues because he doesn’t like me and won’t answer but will respond to others. Lol.
RE #75 etc – No-one expects the Spanish Inquisition.
FF – Are you running for election?
JC – Bird actually won this, because Adrien has never anything to say other than innocuous blather.
But congrats Adrien anyway. Although you are the resident Seinfeld.
I thought I was the Cosmo Kramer. And what’s so inocuous about my blather?
PS Congrats to you as well, irritating bastard.
“FF – Are you running for election?”
Yes. For the LDP. What a turn-up for the books, hey?
If Adrien is Jerry Seinfeld, who are…
George Costanza
Cosmo Kramer
Elaine Benes
Newman
Frank & Estelle Costanza
Susan Ross
I’m Art Vanderlay.
Graeme is Newman. No contest.
GMB has got to be “the Soup Nazi”
What a turn-up for the books, hey?
I’ll say.
I think his dyslexia confused LDP as ALP and consequently bumbled his way into the wrong party. But I could be wrong if he tells us what policies he believes in and disagrees with. He won’t tell me. Perhaps you could ask him to elaborate, Adrien as he said he wouldn’t tell people he dislikes which of course excludes me. Maybe he’s the Kevin Rudd of the LDP as we’ll only know his polices once he gets in.
George Costanza- Homer
Cosmo Kramer- birdie
Elaine Benes- Sl
Newman- Fatfingers
Frank & Estelle Costanza- Metromick and his partner Pee Pee ( it’s ok to be gay in this day and age)
Susan Ross ?
I’m Gerry of course
Soon is George Steinbrenner - owner of the wonderful- most beautiful team in the world- the NYYankees.
I’m Gerry of course
Who is Gerry?
And Bird is not Kramer. No way. The Soup Nazi however, has possibilities.
I still think he’s Newman.
“I think his dyslexia…”
LOL!
Pot. Kettle. Non-whiteness.
Yea birdie could be the soup Nazi.
Naaa Fatfingers is Newman as he’s sneaky and scheming like Newman.
GMB in action…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFIVNwiq8ls&feature=related
“’m Art Vanderlay.”
Naaaa I think your Jerry’s uncle Marty, FDB. Let’s not get ahead of oursleves here. He’s one who steals books from the book store and was on the fringe of the Jewish mafia as small time crook.
Adrien is J. Peterman that dreaming dill who puts a story to a stupid winter coat.
Actually there was a JPeterman catalogue that really did put stories to silly pieces of clothes. Seinfeld didn’t do it justice as to how rank it was. You get it in the post each month and wanna read the rank stories they sided with the item such as a cocktail dress for a giggle The show single handedly sent them outta business.
Adrien… yep. You’re J Peterman.
Nanu
The soup nazi really did exist. He’d throw people out of his shop for the slightest infraction.
It was on the west side of midtown.
there were lines at his store after that show. He was such a miserable bastard that when the NyTimes interviewed him he was bitterly unhappy. Not with the show’s portrayal of him but the fact that so many people were turning up to buy his soup. He was angry about the higher business turnover accusing Seinfled of ruining his life because it brought in more customers.
You can’t make this shit.
JC
You were voted most irritating so you’ve got to be Uncle Leo
JPeterman is actually still around. I only recall when they went into bankrupcty.
Here:
http://jpeterman.com/product.asp?cat=100204&sku=MVS%201769
JC -
Just goggled the real “Soup Nazi”…he’s done alright out of it franchising the business etc.
http://www.originalsoupman.com/c_rules.aspx
MichaelF is that guy Elaine met on the train who was into collecting TV guides
Homer is Uncle Leo
the Soup Nazi was born with a silver spoon in his mouth!!
JC-
Bit of trivia…
After the company went bust , J Peterman was able to buy the rights to his name back with the help of funding from the actor that played him in Seinfield
by golly his company was in the soup
Jason …
Good point …. I get that same feeling, the one you get when someone stands to close when talking to you!
Hey, Adrien seriously are you doing stuff for JPeterman now.
This shit sounds awfully like you.
a country jacket.
A golden autumn day, perfect for the Organic Gardening fair in Little Whipping.
All the judges agree that Lord Randolph’s vegetable marrow, while technically perhaps not the largest, is by far the most handsome.
Lady Margaret beams as she presents the trophy to her husband for the third year in a row.
Cameras flash, Lord R. smiles dutifully; his thoughts have already
turned to insulating the worm bins.
Gentlemen’s Moleskin Jacket (No. 1963). Strong, soft, shaved cotton, velvet for the outdoors; will develop a rich patina over time. Relaxed construction. Satin lining. 3-button front. Patch pockets, inside zip pocket. Thoroughly at ease on the cover of Gourd and Squash Gazette.
JC -
LOL …good call on Adrien!
… actually it sounds like Melaleuca more than Adrien!
101
Really? no shit. Only in America folks, only in america. Ya just gotta love that place. you can’t ever say a story is preposterous over there.
Come to think of it. I’d be a better uncle leo.
That’s makes Jason as Jerry.
Who’s george Steinbrenner the Yankees owner?
JC –
Really!…
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/investing/20030606a1.asp
Mark Hill as George Steinbrenner. Everyone’s scared of Steinbrenner becasue he knows stuff and he’s the owner.
That’s kinda like mark. He knows so much stuff about economics we all back away scared of possible defeat.
What about Mel?
Could mel be Bannerman. the stand-up comic that isn’t funny and is always in Jerry’s face with ridiculous stuff?
JC – Can I tell you about the time I made camp in Edessa with Kerbogha of Mosul and Radulph of Caen. We drank the finest fermented Yak’s water together and spoke of our time on the trail to Antioch in search of the best quality goatskin athletic supporters.
Yes. Radulph and Kerbogha. The most courageous of companions. It is such a tragedy that they were captured by the Ommayads in Iftikhar and roasted on a spit.
Goatskin Athletic Supporters $19.99 plus tax.
Fuck me , you really are J Peterman!
I knew I had heard that voice before.
“That’s kinda like mark. He knows so much stuff about economics we all back away scared of possible defeat.”
Don’t stop the lovefest. Do you trust me with your capital to increase your returns? Sure you can. I know so damned much!
JC,
If I have soemthing insightful to say about economics or finance, it probably isn’t me.
Time to give these guys a plug,
http://www.dailywealth.com/
If only I could get Rivkin and The Intelligent Investor for free.
See? #66
Adrien was waylaid three times yesterday and he did it all himself, three times he laid himself. By the way, its hard work.
No wonder he is hard of hearing.(I said *shouting* , are you frigging blind or what?)
He is a numero uno handyman and should be an asset to any home renevator, gardener or general tittivator. Very good at fixing blinds, collecting the male, cultivating root crops and spreading the jam. Broad beans have just finished but if you ask nicely he will lettuce on top.
Rog - that’s a baffling piece of prose. Will the real Homer Paxton please stand up?
#114 Well I think there’s a lot in that for everyone.
Mark
You never know with this stuff, as t could be a scam. I tried searching for it in a few large brokers analysis websites and couldn’t find anything about it. May be true. Who knows?
You never know with this stuff. It could end up costing saying 60 bucks a barrel to get outta the ground as it could be deeper than BHP oil find in the Gulf of Mex which cost them 200 mill to explore with groundbreaking technology.
Who knows?
I never really trade is small caps except for smallish amounts as I don’t like the liquidity to get out if something goes wrong. That shit can 1/2 on the opening bell.
I’m trading google these days. Man that stuff flies around. There are so many day traders involved it’s frightening. Lots of liquidity to get out.
Had a really shittty week trading as I was too fucking slow as I’m spending/wasting time arguing with lefties on blogs and hade my eye off the ball.
Really sucks. Fucking stupid thing to do. You could say fatfngers, adrien, mel, Homer, particularly homer lost me a lot of money this week.
Got focus more and just not more of this arguing shit.
Like Bhp down here but the gold market sagged so it could get hit tonight in NY and London if commodities don’t get bid up. But they have a great upside and really bullish for them long terms once this rio thing gets out of the way.
If they don’t buy Rio that puts a bid under them as they would be perceived as having unlocked value. If the buy Rio buy them at a decent price they have greater pricing power and can streamline operations to save between 3 to 10 bill a year.
That stock is gonno touch 70 bucks before it all over.
I’m starting to load up here with the fed having to cut rates again as the market sees that as a reflation story.
There is a real dichotomy in this market. I think the Fed will have to cut faster and go further than what the rest of the players think, which is hugely bullish for US denominated commodities.
But bit fly in the ointment is china unlocking the Yuan. If the do that, all reflation bets are off because that could be a big hurricane hitting everything.
By the way this sub prime is about 200 billion and counting in losses so far.
Once the resets come in and the fall in real estate values are marked to market with forced sales, the problem could be 1 trillion bucks spread around. That becomes real money. So I think the US will have to cut more than what is factored into the market at the moment.
If we can hold out commodity stocks will do fine.
Congratulations, Adrien. Although I am not sure the company on the podium is so sweet:)
JC is this subrime thing heading to big slump Japanese style? Banks are already showing serious losses…
I think JC should be banned for 12 months for stalking fatfingers. This will give JC ample time to book himself into the Betty Ford Clinic For Chronic Glue Sniffers and hopefully get his miserable and pointless life back on track.
mel #120. I think both sides showed pretty rough manners. You should condemn both, not take sides.
Considered opinion on subprime is that it wont hurt too much, relative to bonds global equities are very cheap, steel, oil refiners, commodities, airlines, shipping all good if large cap growth, lay off financials and technology.
“JC is this sub-prime thing heading to big slump Japanese style? Banks are already showing serious losses…”
Funnily enough, Boris the banks provisioning for this is actually a good thing as it means they’re cleaning out their balance sheets of the shitty stuff. I do think though the auditors may have been a little overzealous in forcing the size of the hits incurred, which is expected after Enron. It’s a $200 billion problem in terms of provision. I’d love to be the CEO who takes over now as he has a clear balance sheet and can claim big profits as they slowly work themselves out of the whole with this debt. So no I don’t think this is big problem in itself.
However what is rather worrying is that the US real estate market is down nationwide. Now this is a pretty big story and this where the real worry should be focused. Subprime could be just the early symptoms of serious issues in the regular lending portfolios. This would be a huge issue actually and something we need to watch and fear. The reason is that if the regular loan market starts to go into default it will spell serious trouble.
I think this whole thing rests with the fed. The Fed doesn’t have an easy choice here. It either reflates quickly and lets the value of he dollar sink into the never never or it lets the recession take its course. However it would be a deep recession. The problem is that letting the dollar go may cause the parties that fund the US trade deficit to refuse taking Dollars as payment or rather not recycle them back to the US. This would be a massive problem. We are already seeing some OPEC countries talking about diversifying away from the buck and using the Euro or a basket of currencies as payment for oil. China has made noises at the highest level that it may not hold dollars forever.
My guess is that the US will let the US dollar go rather than risk a deep recession and sees where the cards will fall. I think the Fed will reflate to a level that will support the real estate market especially into next year when there is about 1.5 trillion dollars of mortgage rate resets occurring. This is where the rubber meets the road.
I also think that Europe will soon begin lowering rates as well. So we just my get out of the woods.
But keep fingers very firmly crossed.