I spent a good part of my day on meez.com making an avatar for twitter. *Sigh* This is going to be longest week of my life. =/

Here are the classes I’m volunteering for:

11/8 Asian Inspired Hors D’oeuvre for the Holidays
11/11 Elegant Holiday Appetizers
11/18 Holiday Hors D’oeuvre
11/21 Alaska King Crab Feast
11/23 Rebecca’s Holiday Table
12/3 Holiday dinner from Jeffrey’s
12/9 Fisherman’s Holiday Table
12/11 The Central Market Challenge
12/18 Happy Holidays from the Cooking School

Here are the classes that I’m taking:

11/16 Tuscan Homestyle Holiday
12/1 Italian Winter Feast
12/6 Spanish Tapas for Holiday Entertaining
12/16 McCormick & Schmick’s Holiday Dinner

This show is hilarious!!! =D

Initially, I really wanted our government to do nothing and let capitalism stand true to itself - why should Americans pool our money together to cover a bet that we, as a country, didn’t make?? The market has enjoyed a very nice bull run, a recession - almost like a cleansing of the system - is healthy (if not necessary).

But there were events that unfolded last week that made me think twice about my decision to let things run. Things were starting to spill over into the board economy and it really started to look like we were starting to gain momentum towards a downward spiral. At the end, I do think that action by the government is necessary. But there are a few things of concern I should point out about this package.

1. I’m afraid that this won’t change the ways Americans live (more importantly, spend).
Even though we’re a good solid year in this mess, I still think that the media is portraying this as “greedy wall street took a gamble and got burned” scenario (which, to an extent, is true) and not as much as a “this is what happens when you spend $1.05 for every $1.00 you earn” situation (which is the other half of the story). For years, Americans have had a negative savings rate, we spend more than we save, import more than we export, consume more than we produce… because that’s the American way. This is indicative in the way household live, this is indicative in the way corporations leverage their business, and this is indicative in the way our government spends its money. So much of our economy is based on credit, if we continue down this path, it’ll only be a few years before we’re right here again.

2. I’m terribly afraid that the government will overpay for the toxic crap they’re about to buy.
Let’s face it, our financial system (if not our country) is run by Goldman Sachs. I can easily see a how a few people of influence can sway the government to pay a little extra to get this crap. I would really like to see some sort of mechanism where they can use the market to find a fair price for these things.

3. I think there’s a notion that this is getting marketed as an “investment opportunity” for the US.
Sure, the government can make money off of these debts - and sure, no one wants to lose their house. But the bottom line is, when you’ve bought a house that you can’t afford, you are going to lose your house. So just like any investment, there is a chance that this won’t work. Hank Paulson asked congress for the bazooka with the logic that if they know you have a bazooka in your pocket you won’t have to take it out. A few weeks later, not only did Paulson take it out and fired it - it didn’t work. We should also be prepared that this may not solve the issue (especially in the long run).

4. If the government does end up making money on this plan, I doubt you and I will see the pay off.
Let’s say that this whole thing works out, the government make money off of this. I am almost certain that the people won’t see much of the profit with the track record of the way our government spends our money. This is really a moot point now, but I’d really like to see a Presidential candidate who is going to make a priority to cut spending (as opposed to simply promising to cut taxes). I’m afraid that this is just going to give uncle sam a bigger bat to swing and we’ll be right back here again a few years later.

Hopefully this thing will get passed this weekend. Since it’s the end of the quarter coming up, it’s going to be NASTY if this thing don’t get passed by then.

During this week, we saw a 158 year old investment bank file for Ch. 11, another ended it’s 94 years of independence, America’s biggest insurer getting bailed out and entering the federal conservatorship, gold making it’s biggest 1 day move in history, the credit crisis spread outside the financial industry and a huge panic in the short term lending money market fund. And the Dow only ended down 34 points for the week?!?!?

While the headlines above would suggest a shear nightmare-ish bloodbath in the global equities market this week. That was not the case at all thanks to our government. While everyone holding equities in their portfolio or 401k is rejoicing, I should point out that the price we all paid is far too great - capitalism is dead.

Without even getting into the constitutionality of AIG bailout, the SEC decided Thursday evening that they should temporarily ban short selling in 799 financial stocks to “regain” the market’s confidence. The role of short selling has always been a self-correcting mechanism for the free market. Without this self-correcting mechanism, the price of a security (as you can clearly see at the open on Friday) will become very inflated.

While many recent accusations blamed the shorts for the tremulous run on the market (especially in the financial sector), one cannot ignore the fundamentals. It is INSANE to see how much leveraging some of these firms are using. If a firm is going to, in the name of greed, participate in predatory lending practices and lend out money to people who cannot afford to repay it or run their business on this leveraging on steroids model, they (and eventually their shareholders) ought to be the ones paying for it - not the taxpayers. Granted, I have no doubt that manipulative shorting does go on in the market (there was an analogy of someone being able to buy his neighbor’s life insurance policy and then running them over with a car by buying a firm’s CDS and then shorting their stock, creating a nasty spiraling cycle of events) but banning short selling is not the solution.

By banning short selling, the government not only create a window for inflation and mispricing of securities, they also create a build up of short side demand. When this ban is lifted, the market is going to take a kick in the face. And guess what the headlines are going to read that evening?? “Shorts take over the market again.” This is just going to be nasty.

What the government should do instead is to regulate the CDS market better and reimplementing the uptick rule. By providing more transparency in the CDS market taking down manipulative short selling, we can still keep our free capitalistic market. A stock is not guaranteed to appreciate in value, I don’t understand what’s so awful about a long overdue correction.

A “free market” without the self-correcting mechanism of short selling is almost like Christianity without hell.

Appetizer
Bacon-Wrapped Trio
Asparagus, Shrimp with Mango-Chili Glaze, Chicken Lollipops with Satay Glaze

Entree
Grilled Fillet of Beef Tenderloin
with Cherry-Mustard Sauce, Horseradish Mashed Yukon Potatoes, and Fire-Roasted Corn Salad

Dessert
Angel’s Food Cake
with Macerated Mixed Berries

Shopping for the food 4 hours before service is NOT recommended when cooking for 17. But you play the cards you’re dealt. Here’s a time lapse of me prepping while I was still at home (this was about 1.5 hours beginning to end).