Top January Posts

We are going to do our monthly top tens a bit different this year. Instead of the top ten previous month's posts, we will highlight the top ten most viewed posts during the last month, regardless of when they were posted.  Most months, recent posts will dominate the list. But we will also see perennial favorites creep into the mix and an occasional blast from the past that suddenly becomes relevant due to current events. So let's go! 

1. Last May we wrote a post entitled Margin Accounts Are Back which explained that margin account lending (borrowing to buy stocks) had grown back to pre-crisis levels, giving the stock market a boost to new record highs -- a classic sign of a debt induced bubble. No one paid attention to the post -- until January that is. January was the worst January for stocks in the last five years. February is off to its worst start since 1933. It's gonna be a wild ride. As the Fed backs off from its money printing and debt monetization binge, as it inevitably must, this monetary-based economic recovery is going to falter, big time. When will we ever get a president who understands the real economy?
2. If you read the New York Times, follow Al Gore's tweets, or pay heed to the propaganda churned out by the Obama administration, you would think we are ready to fry. But early 

   

   Great Lakes ice cover, February 4, 2014.

   in January we said Epic Freeze Coming for the Great Lakes: Water Levels Already Back. The epic icing remains on track. If the winds die down we will likely see this winter season one of the top two or three greatest ice covers ever recorded on the Great Lakes.
3. We invited blog readers and Facebook friends this January to reprise last year's Martin Luther King, Jr. day post, The Caddies Thank You Dr. King!  Boy, they did.  If you haven't before, take a few minutes to read about perhaps the most successful three and one-half hour strike in labor relations history.
4. It has been a particularly dangerous avalanche season in southwest Montana, so we posted Beware the Avalanche where we gathered together and republished warnings and avoidance advice, and recounted the story and mourned the passing of the father of one of our daughter's classmates in an avalanche on New Year's Day.
5. We live in Montana, so we know How to Dress in Arctic Air. When the polar vortex overran the country early in the month we shared our experience and advice.

   

   Great Lakes ice cover is more than twice normal for this time of year.

6. One of our few forays into pop culture is the post On the Road to Bathgate Act 1: "Fargo" the Movie from February last. Our entire Bathgate series has been most interesting and enjoyable to write.  It is pleasing that many find it entertaining.
7. Niagra Falls Frozen in January?  Well not exactly, but close enough to get a mention as such.
8. We blogged last March on Growing Up in Morton Grove. When the King Day crowd got a dose of the saga at the caddie shack, they became interested in other of our youthful recollections.
   
9. On the Road to Bathgate Act 4d: I. J. Foster -- They Came to Make Sure He Was Dead.  That was my grandfather.  He was a sheriff, a land man, an auctioneer, a farmer and a rancher.  They came in record numbers. Why? You be the judge.
10. Lawyer of the Year.  There is no doubt here. It's my sister. Congratulations Joanne!

Thank you to our readership. God bless you all.