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Defense spending as a percent of personal income tax 1994 – 2010

2011-08-07T13:05:36Z

There are two data sets which form the basis of this graph showing U. S. Defense spending as a percent of Federal individual income tax receipts for the years 1994 through 2010, and they both come from the Financial Management Service of the U. S. Treasury. The information consists of hard numbers. The numbers are not statistical estimates, but rather they are simple bookkeeping entries of how many dollars were received and how many dollars were spent.

The significant detail is that in 2009 and 2010, U. S. Defense spending was at a level that consumed more than 77 cents of every dollar received through personal income tax payments. Looked at in a different light, it means that U. S. Defense spending was borrowed money added to the Federal debt at a rate of 77¢ for every $1 of personal income tax collected.

Make of it what you wish.

How much gold is in Ft. Knox?

2011-08-03T10:42:14Z

The United States Treasury issues monthly reports on the amount of gold held in U. S. Mint deep storage vaults, in Federal Reserve bank vaults, and on display at Federal Reserve banks. Going back to January, 2009, these monthly Treasury reports are available online, and are called the Gold Report. These are the only government reports I’ve seen where, except for the date, the numbers don’t change.

The United States government holds 261,498,899.316 Troy ounces of fine gold in the form of bullion (fine gold) or coin (alloyed gold). The terminology can be confusing. The word ‘bullion gold’ does not mean gold bars or ingots, it means gold in its pure form. Likewise, ‘coin gold’ does not mean gold in the form of circular disks. Coin gold refers to a mixture of gold and other metals, usually silver or copper, that is harder and more durable than pure gold. Coin gold is the name of the alloy used to make gold coins intended for circulation, where it is passed from hand to hand and needs to withstand wear. Gold coins can also be made of pure gold and are called bullion coins.

The form of gold held by the U. S. Treasury is 258,641,851.485 Troy ounces of bullion gold and 2,857,047.831 Troy ounces of fine gold in coin gold alloy.

Although the majority of U. S. owned gold is held at the Mint operated Ft. Knox, Kentucky, depository (147,341,858.382 Troy ounces), there are also deep vault storage locations in Denver, Colorado, (43,853,707.279 Troy ounces) and West Point, New York, (54,067,331.379 Troy ounces). The U. S. Mint holds an additional 2,783,218.656 Troy ounces of fine gold in the form of coins, blanks and working stock at various other locations. The Federal Reserve holds 13,452,783.620 Troy ounces of gold in its New York City vault, with a small amount used for display.

At today’s market price of $1,666 per Troy once of fine gold, the United State’s gold reserve is worth $435,657,166,260.46.

The half-life of a 10 year Federal budget plan

2011-08-04T11:21:39Z

By my rough estimate, the half-life of the recently extracted budget reduction deal is one week. This means that by the end of September, 2011, the plan will have evaporated into insignificance. I say this for the simple reason that nobody wants it, and the majority who voted for it did so only to prevent National suicide.

The Budget Control Act of 2011 will last that long because it is the approximate amount of time necessary for shell shock to abate and the realization of what just happened to sink in. The process begins with the understanding that the Republicans aim to reduce fiscal year 2012 non-defense discretionary spending by a full one-forth from the FY 2011 levels, while increasing defense spending. [ Note: I wrote this before I really understood what Congress had done.]

Deal or no-deal? An agreement extorted by threat of unimaginable harm is not an agreement at all, and it’s not going to happen. No deal.

The major impediment to this lurch to economically destructive austerity is the necessity of Congress to actually pass budget appropriations implementing the proposed budget cuts, and there is no way that occurs. All that’s required to stop it is for Senate Democrats to dig in their heels.

So, what’s next?

The fight continues, except the Republicans’ ability to play the nuclear option of debt limit default has been removed. They shot their wad already. The Republicans will be back to stomping their feet and pouting. I predict that it will take at least one government shutdown before the end of the year, and possibly a second shutdown in the spring of 2012. It will be Déjà vu – government shutdown fifteen years later.

Robert Reich is honorable but mistaken

2011-08-03T15:04:53Z

Robert Reich writes in The Hostage Crisis Continues: Why Obama Can’t Pivot to Jobs and Growth:

But what precisely will [President Obama] fight for now that the debt deal has tied his hands?

He says he wants to extend tax cuts for middle class families and make sure the jobless get unemployment benefits.

Fine, but the new deal won’t let him. He’ll have to go back to Congress after the recess (five weeks from now) and round up enough votes to override the budget caps that now restrict spending. What are the odds? Maybe a little higher than zero.

As an honorable man, Reich’s natural way of thinking is that a deal is a deal, but by my way of thinking any deal that was agreed to under duress is no deal at all, and it should be reneged upon at the first opportunity. The recently enacted Budget Control Act of 2011 is misnamed. The only substantive part of the Bill is the part relating to the debt ceiling. The remainder of the Act is a collection of unenforceable suggestions, a Republican wish list, that can and ought to be short-circuited any way possible. The Act should have been named the Debt Ceiling Act of 2011.

The meaningful parts of the Federal budget process are the actual appropriations, mostly contained in the annual budget Bill. The way I understand it, the Congressional appropriations for fiscal year 2011 terminate at midnight on September 30, 2011. The so-called Budget Control Act of 2011 does not contain any appropriations. Congress still needs to enact a fiscal year 2012 budget for the government to continue normal operations starting on October 1.

If the actual FY 2012 Federal budget appropriations bill, as enacted and signed into law, exceed the caps contained within the recent debt ceiling legislation, then so be it. Any law enacted by Congress can be amended or repealed by a subsequent law, and it is nearly impossible to prevent this. It has been tried before. The Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (The Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) imposed deficit caps for fiscal years 1986 through 1991 which were totally ignored by the actual budgets for those years. The Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act attempted to require a zero Federal budget deficit for FY 1991, and we know that it did not happen that way.

Except for the provisions relating to raising the debt ceiling, essentially the plan proposed by Sen. McConnell, the Budget Control Act of 2011 is political theater. Warfare in Washington over budget matters will resume shortly, but no later than October 1, 2011 when the government shuts down if Congress does not appropriate anew. Congress can totally ignore the budget caps contained in the Budget Control Act of 2011, if it wishes.

Nobody’s hands have been tied, Mr. Reich.

Obama’s rope-a-dope political strategy

2011-08-02T16:47:01Z

The rope-a-dope is a boxing fighting style commonly associated with Muhammad Ali in his 1974 Rumble in the Jungle match against George Foreman. In competitive situations other than boxing, rope-a-dope is used to describe strategies in which one party purposely puts itself in what appears to be a losing position, attempting thereby to become the eventual victor. (Source: Wikipedia) One possible narrative description of President Obama’s ongoing political strategy employs the rope-a-dope metaphor. It goes like this:

December, 2010: President Obama goes along with a deal with Republicans to extend unemployment benefits in exchange for extending the Bush tax cuts to December 2012, after the election. Both moves were bad for balancing the budget, but both were good for the economy. Obama didn’t give anything up from a Keynesian point of view, even if it looked like he took a hit. The general Keynesian rule is to not raise taxes during a recession.

In April, 2011, when faced with the threat of government shutdown over budget disagreements, President Obama agreed to a $38 billion budget cut in exchange for a $1,365 billion spending agreement. That represents only a 2.7% spending cut, even if the cuts all fell in the last half of the fiscal year. It’s hard to imagine a 2.7% cut as giving away the store, yet Obama was pummeled for being an appeaser and caving in to Republican demands, but it was the Republicans who blinked. The radical right fumed and vowed to take the fight to the upcoming debt limit increase.

In August, 2011, when faced with a government default over raising the debt ceiling, the professional Republican politicians compromised, even as the freshman Tea Party members of Congress raged. President Obama took a verbal thrashing, mostly from his friends and allies on the left. Obama was described as weak or incompetent, but a monumental disaster was averted.

This sets the stage for the next big Congressional brawl at the end of September when the 2011 Federal budget expires. President Obama has clearly established himself in the public eye as reasonable and accommodating by all accounts. Is that a character flaw as the left wing argues, or is it merely part of Obama’s long term strategy to encourage division on the right?

My theory . . . and it’s just a theory . . . is that President Obama will take a hard stand against the inevitably unreasonable Republican demands to cut the 2012 Federal budget this September. He will force the right to take ownership of a government shutdown like that of 1995 – 1996 during the Clinton administration, and the political results will be the same. Déjà vu – government shutdown fifteen years later. Only then will Obama relent, somewhat, and save the day.

If fate will be so kind as to provide a viable right wing third party Presidential candidate next year, like Ross Perot in 1996, then history will do a near perfect repeat. Like President Clinton, Obama will win election to a second term as President.

How will Obama solve the debt limit problem?

2011-07-29T13:41:06Z

It’s not the President’s job to solve the debt limit problem, it is the job of Congress to do that. There is no Constitutional ambiguity on this point. The Constitution clearly divides power between the three branches of government and it gives the responsibility for these powers to the legislative branch:

To raise revenue;
to impose and collect taxes;
to pay debts, and;
to borrow money.

It couldn’t possibly be more clear.

Obama’s Constitutional duty as President is to manage and execute the laws enacted by Congress. In the event Congress behaves irresponsibly and refuses to provide the funds necessary to honor prior legislative expenditures and appropriations, then the President must do the best he can with what funds he has available. The President must prioritize government expenditures and pay the more essential functions or obligations before the less essential ones. Where have we heard this language before? Where does a discussion of essential and non-essential government functions crop up?

Essential and non-essential government functions is the language of government shutdown when Congress fails to authorize budget appropriations. Failure of the Congressional appropriation process is the closest analogy to the current failure of Congressional fundraising process. In this circumstance Congress has already enacted the budget appropriations , as solemn acts of law, but it has failed to provide the necessary funds through taxation or borrowing. In either scenario, government shutdown is the inevitable result. With significantly less than the full amount needed to pay all the bills and expenses of prior Congressional appropriations, President Obama has few options other than stopping all non-essential government activity and paying for as many of the essential functions that available funds and creative accounting allow.

If the Congressional impasse continues unresolved, the result will be exactly like a government shutdown for non-appropriation, except the long term consequences will be much worse.

Individual income tax as a percent of GDP 1994 – 2010

2011-07-27T15:13:46Z

The following chart is based upon numbers obtained from the U. S. Dept. of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis (GDP) and the Financial Management Service of the U. S. Treasury (tax receipts). The claim of a Federal budget surplus for 1999 and 2000 comes from Factcheck.org, The budget and deficit under Clinton.

Facts are facts, but interpretation and analysis is something else. That the amounts of individual Federal income tax receipts for 2009 and 2010, as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), are at seventeen year lows counts as a fact. The possible beneficial effects of increasing individual income tax receipts is just a suggestion. See: Top Federal income tax brackets 1950 – 2011

Hard numbers – Federal revenue 2007 – 2010

2011-07-24T16:04:25Z

According to the Financial Management Service of the U. S. Treasury, the revenue received by the Federal government from all sources was 2.6 trillion dollars in fiscal year 2007. This amount is used as a baseline for comparison of Federal revenues in subsequent years.

Federal Revenue

2007 – $2,568 billion

2008 – $2,524 billion (- $44 billion)

2009 – $2,104 billion (- $464 billion)

2010 – $2,162 billion (- $406 billion)

Despite what anyone else might say about the Federal budget deficit, the numbers suggest a large part is a revenue problem. The financial meltdown of 2008 has reduced the amount of revenue the Federal government might otherwise have expected to receive by nearly a Trillion Dollars.

Political pocket pool with the debt limit

2011-07-19T13:47:50Z

Update July 26 – The published Congressional calendar shows the annual August recess beginning on Monday, August 8. If Congress keeps to this schedule, any legislation passed after today will be subject to a Presidential pocket veto during the recess.
———————
Political pocket pool is a pun based on the similarity of the phrases ‘pocket pool‘ and ‘pocket veto,’ and it relates to the current impasse in Washington regarding the debt ceiling. It’s not a good pun, but it’s the best I can do in these extremely distressing times. The ultimate joke, I believe, is on the Republicans.

Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 (Pub.L. 91-510) requires Congress to adjourn, “no later than July 31 of each year.” This aspect of the law is commonly known as the August recess, and it is more than just a tradition. It is the law and part of Congress’s own Rules.

A pocket veto is a legislative maneuver in United States federal lawmaking that allows the President to indirectly veto a bill. Article I, Section 7 provides, in part, “If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.”

This year, July 31 is a Sunday, which means any Bill enacted by Congress in the next few weeks will be subject to a Presidential pocket veto just because of the timing. This also means that if the Congress enacts any law relating to the debt ceiling that the President doesn’t like, the President may be able to effectively veto that Act of Congress by doing nothing.

Former President Bill Clinton recently stated in an interview that he would invoke the 14th Amendment to allow the President to unilaterally raise the debt limit in order to prevent a default, should Congress and the President fail to achieve agreement. I have previously opined that President Obama cannot use the 14th Amendment because it would spook the bond market, but things have changed. Now, here is how this incredibly stupid game might play out:

Congress passes some variation of Senator McConnell’s plan to delegate to the President Congress’s Article I power to borrow, with additional provisions the President does not approve. Simultaneously, President Obama issues an Executive Order claiming extraordinary powers to borrow under the 14th Amendment. Then the Senate, at least, adjourns for the summer recess as required by law. The President neither signs nor vetoes Congress’s debt limit bill within the time required by the Constitution, but the Senate is in recess, so the pocket veto is in effect. The Treasury Department proceeds to borrow the necessary funds with the express authorization of both the President and the Congress.

It seems to me that Congressional Republicans have again inadvertently painted themselves into another corner.

U. S. Constitution, Article II, Section 3, the President, “ may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper.”

Who is driving the bus?

2011-05-22T16:20:55Z

There are times when you might wake up in the morning and wonder who is going to show up. Is the person who knows ”God is in you” going to show up? Are you going to perceive yourself as being in the flow of life--loving, strong, and gentle; or is this self-centered little ego, who thinks everything is about himself/herself, going to take center stage. Some days, you might not know.

This dilemma of knowing what to do, wanting to do it, and yet going against your own positive desires is beautifully expressed by Paul in Romans: “I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I can’t. I do what I don’t want to; I do what I hate.” Romans 7:15 Living Bible

How do these dynamics happen to unfold? It is important to understand the process of “forgetting,” then you can “remember.” You can get back to the belief “God is in me,” and allow your actions to flow from that belief.

from: Christ In Training

The eternal guest

2011-05-21T13:38:42Z

Be like a child. Look at your two feet and say, Lord, walk these for me. Talk to him as to your friend and nurse. Be in sweet common friendship with him. Call him in your bath, in your daily tasks, in your going from one room to another. Say, “No, I will not go alone. Come, be with me, you lead the way.” Behold, he will answer then, and come running like laughter and golden hope into your heart, and with understanding love he will walk with you from room to room. And, too, will he stand beside you when you face your friends and visitors, and he will place a hand in yours and will watch your heart and the issues held there so that you can talk in perfect safety knowing that your word will be food and drink and life to all in your presence.

For you have him all to yourself. He is yours - forever. Do not puzzle how he can see your two feet when there are millions of feet, that is too much for your understanding. Enough that it is the truth that he has never failed to come when called and that he will come as you want him. He is to be sought through the refinements of the heart. Go, then, and ask him for rest, to heal your complaints, and to fill you with the strong virtue required. He will manifest, he never fails. He is your Savior and sweet comforter. So go into your immediate and personal life with him for your very own, with your hand in his. Let him smooth your pillow, smooth your blanket; and in deep, loosened sleep let him teach you that the Life immortal, perfect divine Sonship with him, can be known in all its fullness by such a simple way as this childlike invitation to him — the eternal Guest.

from Letters of the Scattered Brotherhood

Responsibility to the inner voice

2011-05-20T13:45:49Z

Sometimes in moments of temptation when one is enveloped in the fog of doubt and disbelief, there is a lowering of the bars which guard you from fear so that meditation is difficult. That is understood. It is as if a noisy crowd had entered the room and your spirit of communion had been pushed to the uttermost edge and then lost. But these things happen during the pilgrimage and your safety is in knowing that underneath all temporary confusion lies your intent. Even if you sit with mind racing and you scold yourselves for being ensnared by nonessentials, let me assure you that by sitting obediently, even though your mind is concerned with trifles, the act is a prayer in itself and you are given the privilege of holding to your direction until you come through the fears or perplexities. In this way you go on your everlasting journey in eternal life and glory immortal. Be more aware of the transcendental loveliness in simple acts; here you are, two or three people sitting together in quiet with a desire to place themselves in the way of learning - to be at one with immortality, but I tell you that though your minds wander and at times the experience seems meaningless, you have lifted banners against the power of darkness. This is turning toward the Light of the world.

Let us speak for a moment about discipline, but discipline as a beneficent force, which is ultimately revealed as involuntary strength in time of need. You have been told many things to which you have responded with loyal belief, but you have not acted upon them with all your might and main. The endeavor to apply these promises to your insistent daily lives has been spasmodic. But surely you have seen already that the good to be received or extracted from this adventure is obedience to the law. You have seen the power and the force created by the power of the sword; there is a certain perfection, however misguided, in the application of the laws of Caesar in the body politic. Let us examine the antithesis of that law; first, deep centralization and individual responsibility to the inner voice. You know the results of unorganized living. You know, too, that the organized disciplined forces of Caesar are gained through self-sacrifice and discipline, ruthless though they may be. To overcome the world /the power of Caesar) one must organize and discipline oneself, but where he has seeds of defeat sown in healthy ground, you have victory inherent in your enterprise. Your work is to be strong and clean enough within through self-discipline to bring to completion the work that has been given to you.

You ask how? Again we tell you, control appetites. Appetites that rise from personal desires that are unworthy of the spirit, as well as the appetites of the body. A problem presents itself; nothing is trifling, therefore bring the serene clarity of intelligence, that high spiritual intelligence, to bear on it. Shall I do this or that? And you will be told the way to face because your intent is to obey righteousness rather than to drift in the lassitude of unrealized potentialities.

The time has come to break into light, and to keep this light illumined calls for self-restraint, sacrifice and self-examination.

from Letters of the Scattered Brotherhood

Steven Pressfield's new book

2011-03-29T15:47:00Z

There is an enemy. There is an intelligent, active, malign force working against us.

Step one is to recognize this.

"Today [March 28] we [The Domino Project]are announcing a significant breakthrough in book publishing, and it may be a first: the digital edition of a bestselling author’s next book is available for free, thanks to a generous sponsor [General Electric - GE]."

Bestselling author Steven Pressfield is the author of The Legend of Bagger Vance, the upcoming thriller The Profession, and most important, the classic The War of Art.

Pressfield's new manifesto Do the Work (Available April 20)forcefully presses the idea that it’s not about better ideas, it’s about actually doing the work.

You can get a free copy of the Kindle edition for free, click here.

http://amzn.to/do_the_work

You don't need a Kindle device to read Kindle books. Amazon has free Kindle software for your PC or smartphone.

Japan - Cause and Effect

2011-03-13T17:45:00Z

Images and thoughts of Japan are in my family's mind. We love alot of Japanese people, but it is not just that, we are a brotherhood of every nation. All Souls joined in the great Fatherhood of God.
Over and over Jesus asks us in ACIM to look to the cause of everything. He says that if we choose to listen to the wrong voice (cause) we will suffer. Not because we are being punished, because we have chosen to listen to the voice of punishment.
Why do I do everything that I do? Each and every thing needs to be looked at. Anything that is of selfish interest, will surely come back to bite me in the ass. Why? Because we were created to love, not to pursue self interest. It's that simple. I can rail against this simple truth until I have been brought to my bloodied knees AGAIN and finally surrender my way.
SO that said, how do I look upon Japan? The cause of all the Japanese tragedies is false. God would not have us suffer. All of the pain and punishment is a reflection of the mind of pain and suffering in ALL of us. On a small scale it's gambling away the rent money, on a large scale it's a tsunami.
Is this some kind of reflection of guilt? Not having the money for the rent? Having an earthquake bare down on us? Certainly NOT.
We are taught to deny the denial of truth. The Son of God is forever innocent. We deny the denial of truth AND reach out our hand to our brother. We look at earth quakes with horror,but in the mean time we are still listening to the cause of earth quakes in our own minds. Talking bad about the neighbors or excluding anyone from anything is to keep the earth quake quaking in our own minds and keeping the false cause alive and well.
It brings us back full circle to accepting the atonement (worthiness and equality in God) for oneself. From this view we automatically reach out to our brother, ALL brothers. Time collapses and tragedies literally disappear says Jesus.

Praise be to God and may I may I quiet the temptation to quakes in my own mind today. Amen.

February 2011 issue of Old Louisville

2011-02-27T19:46:00Z

This collection of photos and stylized photo renderings were captured since the first issue of Old Louisville magazine. Printed in full color using Hewlett-Packard's most advanced digital color printing technology, 8.25 x 10.5 in., perfect bound, and available below. The snow pictures were taken during the last week of January, but the rest date from February, 2011.

www.magcloud.com/browse/Issue/166424.

Old Louisville Issue 2: February 2011

New snapshots since the last issue. Includes the one snow that was worth a hoot.

The Egyptian miracle

2011-02-13T16:37:00Z

In the Western esoteric tradition, ancient Egypt has frequently been used as a symbol for the world of flesh, or as it is named in A Course In Miracles,the world of the ego. The power of the Pharaoh was pervasive, capricious, indifferent, and seemingly absolute. The working out of history on a grand scale has been the story, repeated again and again, of escape from the conditions of slavery epitomized by the story of Exodus and the early Hebrews as captives of a cruel and despotic regime.

The United States of America, as a nation, can be rightfully proud of its role in history as a leader of evolving civilization by incorporating the principles of liberty and freedom as keystones in the structure of our self-government. Seventy years ago, on January 6, 1941, when the country was on the verge of confronting the dictatorial war machines in Germany, Italy and Japan, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his eighth State of the Union Address, best remembered for his enunciation of the Four Freedoms.

In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.

The first is freedom of speech and expression — everywhere in the world.

The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way — everywhere in the world.

The third is freedom from want — which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants — everywhere in the world.

The fourth is freedom from fear — which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor — anywhere in the world.

This famous speech was referenced in the ACIM urtext.

You have heard many arguments on behalf of “the freedoms,” which would indeed have been freedom if man had not chosen to fight for them. That is why they perceive “the freedoms” as many instead of one.

In recent days the good people of Egypt have risen up peacefully and fearlessly to protest their enslavement and to demand what is rightly theirs. As citizens of the United States, we cannot but in good conscious stand up along with our Egyptian brothers and sisters, and affirm with them the core beliefs of our own heritage:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

As the Course reminds us, "You must still choose freely to devote your heritage to the greater Restoration. As long as a single slave remains to walk the earth, your release is not complete. Complete restoration of the Sonship is the only true goal of the miracle-minded."

Still, there are many voices of fear yet yammering for attention in this country. There are those who look to the future with dread, and hope to bargain with the devil for a few more years of "stability" at the expense of our brothers and sisters in Egypt. The lunatic prognosticators are spinning their assorted scenarios of doom to come because of this recent upheaval, but the black vision of the frightened separated ones shall not prevail. Not this time.

The argument that underlies the defense of freedom is perfectly valid. Because it is true, it should not be fought for, but it should be sided with. Those who are against freedom believe that its outcome will hurt them, which cannot be true. But those who are for freedom, even if they are misguided in how they defend it, are siding with the one thing in this world which IS true.

Returning to Roosevelt's speech, he stated:

No realistic American can expect from a dictator's peace international generosity, or return of true independence, or world disarmament, or freedom of expression, or freedom of religion — or even good business. Such a peace would bring no security for us or for our neighbors. "Those, who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

Be glad for the developments in Egypt and look to the future with a bright hope. Be at peace. As the Egyptian youth have declared, "Fear has been defeated."

- oOo -

Tom Fox
Louisville, Kentucky

Postcards of Old Louisville today

2011-02-03T15:18:00Z

These recent photographs of Old Louisville are available for purchase as postcards from Zazzle, in small quantities (as few as one single postcard. Please click the links below.). For larger quantities (250 and up) please contact me directly for prices.

Old Louisville postcard	Old Louisville postcard	Old Louisville postcard
Old Louisville postcard	Old Louisville postcard	Old Louisville postcard
Old Louisville postcard	Old Louisville postcard	Old Louisville postcard

plz hep me B a wiener - vote 4 my foto

2011-02-01T14:07:00Z

I entered one of my recent photos of Old Louisville in the monthly Panoramio.com contest. First prize is a Casio EX-H20G digital camera.

I want to win this contest to get this camera. It would be an equipment upgrade for me, and better equipment means better and more diverse photos.

The contest is a popularity contest. The photo that gets the most votes wins, and it is as simple as that. Voting is a simple two-step process:

Sign up for a free Panoramio.com log-on account, and;
Vote for my photograph contest entry.

That's it.

Here is the link.
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/46882644

Below is a screen-shot of this page.

The upper left shows the link to register. Do that first. Then return to the linked pages and find the "vote" button on the lower right.

Thank you all angels of mercy.

People and pigs - Kentucky State Fair

2008-08-25T16:56:00Z

People and pigs Kentucky State Fair Wednesday, August 20, 2008 Click for larger image

View on Panoramio map

The total sensual impact of walking into the State Fair hog barn on a hot August day cannot be described. It is not the least bit offensive, but it is overwhelmingly earthy and powerful. I walked ten paces into the barn and had to stop. I was surrounded by hundreds of huge pigs everywhere. This panorama photo is the best I can do to share the experience.

2520 S.3rd Street | Reynolds Lofts

2010-12-16T16:38:00Z

Historic converted factory | Reynolds Lofts,
2520 S.3rd Street,
Old Louisville

place

2520 S.3rd Street

2520 S.3rd Street | Reynolds Lofts
Louisville, KY 40208

Original use: Ford Model-T factory.

The site at 2520 South Third Street was developed by Henry Ford as the fourth of approximatelt twenty-nine factories built to assemble Model-T Ford automobiles. The building on that site was constructed in 1915 for the sole purpose of service as a factory on land that was then on the outskirts of Louisville. The quality of the design and construction, as shown in a close look at the elaborate brickwork facade, reflects a different mindset from a different time. You'd never know it had been a factory just by looking at it today. It was designed by the great Albert Kahn who built all of Ford's factories and is regarded as the leading industrial architect in American history.

Ford ceased operations at this location in 1925, but kept the building until 1940 when it was sold to the Reynolds Metals Company. Reynolds Metals used it as a production factory while manufacturing supplies for WWII. It was later remodeled into their corporate headquarters until they moved in 1958 and donated it to the University of Louisville. U of L, in turn, used it for classroom space until 2000 when it was decommissioned.

More recently, the building has been wholly renovated and converted into a collection of seventy loft-style condominiums, known as Reynolds Lofts. It is conveniently located near the University's main campus, across the street. This site is south of and outside the Historic Old Louisville Preservation District, but it is from about the same period.

Built: 1915
Style: designed by Albert Kahn
Original owner: Ford Motor Company
Current use: Residential condominiums

Added: December 10, 2010

by Tom Fox
Louisville, Kentucky

Email: old.louisville.ky@gmail.com

All photography and graphic renderings by Tom Fox
Original content copyrighted by Tom Fox