Thursday Morning Ramblings -- Looking for the Bakken? Skip This Post -- Scroll Down

Wow, wow, I apologize. Normally I hold this in draft for awhile before posting so that newbies coming to the site aren't surprised to find stories unrelated to the Bakken, but the first story is too good to delay posting. For those coming here on a Google search looking for the Bakken, skip this post, and scroll down.

1. The other day in my ramblings I commented on how much I enjoyed watching the San Antonio Spurs in the playoffs. I wasn't alone. The WSJ has a great story on exactly that topic in today's edition (and this is why I subscribe to the WSJ -- for the writing, not the business).

The best 10 minutes of the entire NBA Season? -- WSJ.

Midway through the third, four Spurs drove the length of the court on three Thunder players. Tony Parker, the Spurs' point guard, threw an underhanded pass to Manu Ginobili on the right wing. Ginobili could have taken the shot but with the Thunder's James Harden closing fast, he took one dribble to his left and drew Harden away. The result: Parker was alone in the far-right corner. After taking a behind-the-back pass from Ginobili, Parker sized up his three-point shot like a free throw -- he had that much timer. Swish, 78 - 58 Spurs, timeout Thunder.

The Spurs aren't revolutionizing basketball. They're just playing it better than anyone.

2. I was a great fan of Erin Burnett on CNBC -- a great fan. I will leave it at that. She left about a year ago to host her own show at CNN, which I have never seen. I think I may have caught a few minutes of it some months ago, but I honestly don't remember, and if I did catch it, I was not impressed. Her resume up to and including her morning CNBC co-anchor job was very impressive. I have no idea why she left unless she was using the CNN evening slot as a stepping stone.

It looks like her timing could not have been worse.

The news just went from bad to worse at CNN. After the cable news network delivered its lowest-rated month in total viewers in over a decade in April, May became CNN's worse month in primetime among total viewers over 20 years of age. 

At 7 p.m., Erin Burnett, another relative CNN newcomer, had the lowest 25 - 54 demo numbers in 20 years in the time slot for the network and the second lowest after June, 2001, in two decades in terms of total viewership.

I think my blog has better numbers. Certainly better "viewers." Smile.

3. I remember vividly the day/night the Berlin Wall came down. We were stationed at Bitburg AB, Germany, at the time. The plan was for the gates to be opened only for a short period of time to allow relatives on either side of the wall to freely visit each other. The excitement was palpable, and I remember saying to myself that once the gates were opened, there was no way they would be able to close them again. The rest is history. Pandemonium erupted and East German guards left their posts. Within 24 hours the Berlin Wall was down. It was incredible to watch history in the making.

I say all this because I get the distinct feeling we may be seeing history being made again, this time in the EU as it starts to implode. No one "wants" to see Greece leave the EU because of the symbolism it would represent, but Germany is not going to send "the laziest, most incompetent country" [The Atlantic] any more money. Euro bonds are still being talked about but will be just another opportunity to kick the can down the road. It's hard to believe Greece will exit the EU, but one gets the feeling that train has already left the station. Spain is on the ropes; we may see a run on the banks this week, next week. And then Italy. Even if bureaucrats come up with a way to "save" Greece and the EU, Spaniards and Italians are "voting" with their feet, with a visit to their banks.

This may all be hyperbole; the crisis may be resolved, but a lot of folks had the same feeling about the Berlin Wall. Until 24 hours later.

[June 1, 2012: this article expresses my feelings exactly. I have no opinion on what the options are, but I think there has already been a silent run on the banks in Greece, Italy, and Spain. The big question is: to what other countries has the bank run begun, and has it begun in Germany or France?]

4. Speaking of an implosion. This is incredible.

“On the specifics, I have regularly criticized an agenda that would punish businesses and job creators with more taxes just as they are trying to thrive again,” he said. “I have taken issue with an administration that has lapsed into a bloc by bloc appeal to group grievances when the country is already too fractured: frankly, the symbolism of Barack Obama winning has not given us the substance of a united country.”  -- The first member of congress outside of Illinois to endorse then-Senator Obama's 2008 presidential bid. And it was Davis who seconded the official nomination of Obama at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. 

I wonder what the straw was that "broke the camel's back"?

5. Without Drudge, would anyone see these nuggets buried by the mainstream media?

Despite Mr Obama's longtime disdain for corporate jets and corporate jet owners, the bill includes $1 billion in subsidies for corporate jet manufacturers, which have experienced a steep decline in demand for the jets [ever since the president stomped on Big Business for using corporate jets to get around the country].

The president enthusiastically signed this bill. It's very possible Michelle will need a private corporate jet after January 20, 2013.

But government subsidies for corporate jet manufacturers! I must be missing something.

6. The tea leaves suggest oil will not have to be released from the strategic petroleum reserve this summer. Bad news for the Iranians. Worse news for the president who was hoping for a deus ex machina ending to this Greek tragedy.

7. For North Dakota Bakken oil millionaires, here's the website for the President's "Runway to Win" high-end fashion design on-line catalogue. A re-usable grocery store bag goes for $85.