One of my theories is that vegetarianism has gotten more popular because of the lean meat fad. Lean meats are dull and bland unless well marinaded and seasoned. Most people don't realize this. They just grill that beast up and tell each other how good it is. Fact is, they aren't really enjoying it because their steak actually tastes worse than the sweet corn and lightly oiled and then grilled concoction of mushroom, zucchini, and tomatoes.

I truly enjoy feeding people nicely marbled chunks-o-beast. The way their eyes light up when they experience meat in all its juicy drippy glory.

The point is that if you're going to concentrate on lean cuts of farm raised critter, then you should eat fruits, vegetables, tofu, or other non-meats instead. Domestic critters can and should be fattened. Preferably on grass and some grain. That way the meat can be enjoyed in all its fatty splendor.

Super lean meats such as elk, deer, quail, antelope, etc. can be excellently prepared, but take some care. The easiest prep is to grind it into hamburger whilst adding lard. Wrapping quail in bacon is cheating. Steaks and roasts need marinade and/or seasoning. Otherwise, they are rather bland - like lean beef.

What are the democrats doing? Are they in favor of the current bailout plan? What are they pushing for? Enough about the republicans for now. We get it - leonard hates 'em. Please MoveOn and cover the other side of the aisle.

You wonder why the dems are rolling over for the bailout. Look at a recent electoral map. The wealthiest parts of the nation are color coded blue. They're protecting the democratic base. They may even be looking out for their constituents which is what they are supposed to do.

I'm glad you wrote your reps.

This well-to-do purple stater did the same thing as you for the same reasons.

I also asked them to, if they do enter the market, to enter at the point main street needs help instead of where wall street needs help. They should directly make or underwrite loans for things and activities that are easy to appraise.

As long as the fields are green and the factories hum, we'll get through this just fine. Wall street isn't necessary to get the credit to the places we depend on. The next corporate mega-merger might not get financed. I can live with that.

Main Street and Wall Street are linked, but Main Street does not need Wall Street IF there is another credit market to go to. That is where all that government money needs to go. It should go towards the creation of another credit market. Hopefully one that gets phased out as other credit markets appear.

Please also note that Main Street still has a lot to offer and I would not be surprised to see foreign banks and sovereign wealth funds step in with credit offers. They have the cash but are wise enough to not hand it out on Wall Street.

Wall Street, on the other hand, can still do OK doing what they were doing before. Trading around worthless paper and rewarding each other for such bold deal making.

"The credit crunch gets worse" ???

Bull!!

I know guys that just got a commercial real estate loan.

I know a woman (not a great credit risk either) who just got a car loan.

Main St. - the creators of value - still has access to credit.

The only credit crunch is for the guys trying to cover the payments on their worthless CDOs and similar crap. They didn't know the derivative's value when they bought it, now they can't defend the book value when people say it's just bad paper.

Your job is jeopardy, eh? Funny that. Consumer spending was unexpectedly high in Sept. I wonder where all that cash went.

The retailers claim they can't get short term loans implying that your company will have to sit on inventory or just ship it with a promise. There will be a deal worked out, the two companies are just trying to cut themselves a better deal.

The retailer sees a higher rate than they feel like paying. The cost of capital is cutting into profits. That is a direct threat to the CEO's bonus. He's negotiating hard. This is what happens when you fritter away retained earning on the assumption that credit will stay cheap. He doesn't want to personally suffer for that decision. Suffering, to him, means forgoing a new yacht.

So, the retailer CEO calls up and says he doesn't want anything because of interest rates (wink, wink). The hint is to drop prices or extend credit by extending the payment terms. Obviously, your company doesn't want to extend cheap credit.

So, they'll bristle and bluff then make a deal.

They'll still meet payroll. Meanwhile, the CFO, if he's any good, will announce a new "optimal debt ratio".

Oh yeah, a hint: If your job's really in danger then quit trolling the web and get to work.

Don't believe 'em.

They want to hand you a crap sandwich today, tomorrow, and the next day. As long as you can palette it. They have lots of crap to feed you now and they intend to keep crapping down your throat. They'll always be smilingly handing you another turd-on-rye.