It's not a Ponzi scheme but....

Food - The Christmas count down is well on its way; there are 6 days, counting today, until Christmas Eve. I can hardly wait! Do you have your favorite Christmas cookies made? Part of the fun in this holiday's preparation is the baking of cookies (this includes the right for me to eat raw cookie dough,) the cookie exchanges, and recipe exchanges.

It's fun to see the different kinds of cookies people make as a part of their holiday baking tradition. Some people never stray to far from the cookie cutter, they always make the same exact kind(s) year after year. While some people like to mix the dough up and make different kinds each year. But most of us usually have that one favorite cookie (or bar) that we just cannot go through Christmas without.

What kind of cookies or bars do you have to make every year?

In case you missed it the St. Paul Pioneer Press provided readers with FREE Holiday Cookie Recipes via email. I'm told it's not too late, sign up. (there's still 6 days, counting today.)
http://www.twincities.com/jenkins/ci_10916870?nclick_check=1


Dish - Obama defends choice of pastor for invocation.
Many people are angry because Rick Warren backed the Proposition 8, banning gay marriage. But it should come as no surprise that while Barack may not have backed the Proposition 8, he has repeatedly stated his opposition to gay marriage, believing marriage should be between a women and a man. However, Barack does believe in Civil Unions.

Most of the people that voted for Obama fell in love with him because of his adeptness to readily embark upon change. He wants to show that he has no boundaries. That we can all work together even if we don't agree on everything. Who knows maybe Warren and Obama will learn something from one another, and provide the rest of us with a way for us to view others as well.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gzvGCkk8NrhRtloI63tpl5ps1jRQD955BJ400

Mark Felt, who felt deeply about Nixon, dies at the age of 95.
"People will debate for a long time whether I did the right thing by helping Woodward," Felt wrote in his 2006 memoir, "A G-Man's Life: The FBI, `Deep Throat' and the Struggle for Honor in Washington." "The bottom line is that we did get the whole truth out, and isn't that what the FBI is supposed to do?"

My condolences go out to his family members and his friends in their time of loss.
https://www.guardiananytime.com/app3/wps/myportal

It's not a Ponzi scheme, but....Gas prices are up just in time for the Christmas Holiday travel time - hmmmm.
Is this the gas companies way of wishing us Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year? I don't like their gassy sense of humor - it stinks! After all, it's not supposed to be the gassiest time of the year; but the happiest. Momma isn't gonna be happy with this, and we all know what that means.

Speaking of Ponzi schemes ~
I was listening to a one of the Minneapolis radio stations this morning, they interviewed a lawyer who is representing a number of the people from Minneapolis area who invested with Bernard Madoff and have lost millions, maybe even as much as 1 billion.

One thing we can be pretty certain of is: Bernard was well versed in marketing 101. Here's how he used his wealth of marketing knowledge to build his wealth. There was an investment firm in Minneapolis who represented many of the well-to-do in Minneapolis. Unfortunately the owner of this firm developed brain cancer and was forced to close his business. Just about that time, he had heard about Bernard Madoff who had built quite a reputation for himself, so he referred some of his clients to him.

Bernard's return on investment was pretty good, in some cases it was 10-12%. It wasn't long before people were lining up to invest with him. (Fortunately the early investors received the return on their investments and took it home.) Bernard's marketing 101 soon kicked in and he started turing people away, thus creating a demand. Now it became something of notch in the old belt to say you were associated with Bernard. He had a product (himself) and he created a demand. The SEC whose job it was/is to provide regulation had inquires into this, but failed to regulate...unfortunately the rest is history in the making.

Up until Bernard Madoff, Tom Petters was known as the highest Ponzi scheme at 3 billion dollars. Madoff has now topped that with 50 Billion + counting. Unlike Petters, who has some assets (companies), Madoff does not.

Bottom line ~ don't put all your eggs in one basket and don't invest your life savings.

Embellish -The rainbow is more beautiful than the pot at the end of it.