Conferring of the Holy See, sort of…….

We’re on our way to a Minister’s conference in Columbus Ohio. This is the first of two in July. The other is in Oklahoma City.

These are both mandatory to maintain credentials in our denomination. a sister denomination to the Assemblies of God, IPHC.

Even though I’m not currently working as a pastor or teaching in a regular gig I believe I will be and need to maintain this level of credential. If I weren’t certain I would bail out of this affiliation.

I am looking forward to both conferences however. It helps me keep my finger on the pulse of what’s going on. I will see some people I care about.

Peggy and I will also be seeing a gentleman we know who is in his final days who lives along the route we will be taking. Ministry.

I’ll fill you in on what I see and hear after this meeting. Check back Sunday.

If you got the Guts, they got the Money

I ended up moving from North Dakota to Illinois nearly 20 years ago because of the Futures Market. You know, pork bellies, orange juice and Trading Places.

The whole catastrophe.

I have made and lost more money than I want to talk about.

I have gone out on a limb a few times to soothe my nervous friends about the price of oil. So, one more time, here goes:

• There is no GLOBAL shortage of oil
• There is an occasional political shortfall of production
• Refining capacity is a little short of the mark
• All the market is looking to squeeze every dime out they can

What that means is crude is near it’s high. From here ($45-65 bucks) the price of oil will fluctuate. The odds of it going higher are much less than the odds of it going lower. There are zero fundamentals pushing it.

Every weather pattern (hurricane), every political unrest (Nigeria), every pipeline bombing (Iraq) will cause ripples. But in the big picture, there is not much pressure on the upside for this market.

Gasoline at the pump will fluctuate but pressure keeps it down. I’m still paying $2.20 in high-priced St. Charles. I will pay under $2 this week as I travel to Columbus. I’ll give you a report.

Here’s where speculators are so wonderful. Every day on the trading floor and on computers worldwide traders read about everything in the market, production, war, refineries, OPEC, et al. And the best they can do in this very uncertain time is $65. Let a few things settle down a little and watch the free fall.

If you really believe the market is going to $100 and we’re running out of oil then empty your piggy bank, and buy as much futures contract as far out as you can. You’ll get rich/poor. I’ll bet poor. On the other hand, when it gets to $45, buy.

Isn’t capitalism wonderful?

It was all an Illusion

You might believe you saw a negative comment in this space posted yesterday. It was all an illusion.

I had a marvelous time with scintillating conversation, beautiful verbal imagery in conversation deep and rich on July 4.

I can't believe how fortunate I am to have such a good time at so little expense.

If you thought you read something different you need to get your eyes checked.

I learned this from you Eric. Thanks!

Now back to my usual rant and rave.

Bloggers are all Idiots - They Said

Today's news as exemplified by the Fargo paper regarding sex offender DUNCAN contains the appellation that he was, ready for this? A BLOGGER! See all bloggers are evil.

Is it coincidental that Doonesbury in his "comic" strip today makes fun of bloggers, or that today's Sunday Parade magazine talks of blogging as something less than meaningful, or that today's Chicago tribune has a perjoritive column about the blog and it's pitiful participants. I have another view.

There was an old cops and robbers show named Cannon. Frank Cannon. A big detective (Played by Robert Conrad) drove a huge Lincoln Town Car.

This was a Typical Plot Every Week:

1. Cannon gets phone call - My Husband died. I think he was killed.
2. Cannon goes to another town to investigate his death.
3. After his investigation Cannon tells the widow, looks like he died of just an accident.
4. Goes to get in his Lincoln
5. A bullet comes thru the windshield.
6. Someone doesn't like his poking around.

Maybe her husband's death wasn't accidental. Then the plot thickens.

One other part. The Cops in the town Cannon goes to always resent his investigation. They arrest him. Hassle him. Keep information away from him. Cannon is disrespected. In spite of all the pressure from the establishment he gets the job done.

That's exactly what's going on right now. The establishment press hates us. They wish we would go away. These frontal attacks are a symptom. No one ever kicks a dead dog.

Consider all the negative blogger comments in the press a bullet thru the windshield. We must be poking around where people don't want us to.

Keep it up.