Ever since I was pointed to Keith Brand’s blog I was puzzled and the more I looked into things the more puzzled I became.
He sold his condo in AZ near the peak of the market there, apparently to an investor from Chicago. It appears he still rents his old digs from that new owner. Ok, I am jumping to a conclusion there because his consulting company has the same address as the condo he sold. Then through all of this it looks like he took great delight in pointing out all of the bad about the worst isolated markets and trying to somehow extrapolate that to the country (even world) as a whole. In passing, on another site, I said it almost looks like he wishes the entire world economy to collapse.
Then someone sent me a link and it all began to make sense. Keith Brand has a Manifesto. Now aside from the silly comparisons to the Unibomber, what kind of rational, well adjusted individual has a manifesto?
A HousingPanic Manifesto: Change
Change.
This may disturb some of you. This may surprise some of you. This may disappoint some of you. But it has to be said.
After denying it for sometime, to you dear reader and even to myself, the truth is now clear. And you should now read this blog in the context of what I am about to say.
I am rooting for an epic housing collapse, a disastrous recession, the collapse of the stock market, a complete replacement of our current partisian leadership, a questioning of our country’s current economic model, and a severe and historic financial meltdown.
Period.
Before, I thought just a correction would do the trick. A cleansing of the debt-and-greed-fueled housing balloon we as a society created.
But I’ve come to the conclusion that will not be enough to right the wrongs and fix the problem, so that future generations will not be burdened with the current generation’s misguided and self-centered ways.
Pure and simple, I want Change (with a Capital C), and I now feel that only an historic financial meltdown will create the environment where Americans wake up from their current slumber, and call for new leadership, new thinking, and above all, change.
Something went awry in the US over the past decade. Something changed, with our government, our system, and our collective conscious. And this change was not for the better.
Greed overcame and infected so many of us – the idea of getting rich without working, and an overwhelming need to consume, consume, consume. We no longer worked for the benefit of our common man – we worked only for ourselves. We said “screw the next generation – I want mine, and I want it now!”. And we went on a debt-fueled orgy of spending, never stopping to look at the bills coming due, and never stopping to think about the repercussions.Now, dear reader, it’s time to stop. It’s time to pause, and consider where we went wrong, and above all, how we can fix it.
So, in conclusion, the fate that awaits us, this cleansing of our ways and of our system, in the form of an epic real estate market and financial collapse, in my simple opinion is a fate of necessity, and will serve as a catalyst for needed Change.
And away we go. Good luck to all of you, and know that I believe that we will come out of this stronger, wiser and determined to Change.
Okay, apparently he does wish the collapse of the entire economy.
Let me ask again, what kind of rational person would wish this?
Tags: HousingPanic Lunacy
May 21st, 2007 at 9:09 pm
I can hardly speak. This is very very funny to me. I am amazed at the following…Many comments on his blog are for it.
Humans…They can do whatever the heck they want to. No matter how irrational it may be.
May 23rd, 2007 at 2:39 pm
Answer: no rational , well-adjusted person has a manifesto. Maybe this guy is just the economic unibomber. Besides, rampant greed and consumerism didn’t suddenly happen in the decade. It’s been institutionalized into our culture. From Disney movies as extended commercials for Disney products to Sesame Street commercials, we get ‘em young and convince everybody we can to spend money they don’t have and stuff they don’t need and to feel bad when they can’t.
Something happened to Keith during that time. But his cure is worse than the illness. I’m for taking our medicine, but let’s not kill the patient.
May 23rd, 2007 at 4:11 pm
I do not know where Keith was educated but he needs to ask for a refund.
He is an idiot!
He has the following comment on a recent post…
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=18675105&postID=9215232064471551742
Keith is nothing more than a failed liberal politician. He ran for the Presidential nomination in AZ in 2004 and was thoroughly spanked. He is bitter over others success. Wait, that is redundant with saying he is a failed liberal politician.
May 25th, 2007 at 9:43 am
Kieth is absolutely right in what he says and it is a pity you are too slow to understand his wisdom.
His manifesto is the last best hope we have to save this country from the radial consumerism plaging it now.
Only after the total collapse can we rebuild because it is too far gone to fix.
May 27th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
Jennifer,
I fear for you….
I’m sure you’ll disregard my comments but someone has got to say this to you.
It appears that you are seriously following a cult.
There is no harm whatsoever if you would ignore Keith, even us, just so that you preserve your mind and sanity. Create a different interest or hobby.
I hope you’ll listen to your angel and not the devil on your shoulder.
May 28th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
I normally just lurk but this post dumbfounded me – more specifically Kieth’s “manifesto”.
How can one man be so clueless AND have the power to suck others into his line of thinking?? UGH
May 29th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
He also predicted a collapse in US stock markets back in early 2006. Since that prediction S&P500 is up about 20%.
He supports Ron “we deserved 9/11″ Paul for president.
Keith is a fool, but an entertaining one nonetheless.
May 30th, 2007 at 9:59 am
He has predicted much that never came to pass.
Jennifer, if he is so bloody right why hasn’t anything he predicted happened?
When I read the posts at HP I feel like I am reading a kid who got hold of his daddy’s password. He writes like a child and his childish rants make him look like a spoiled brat of maybe 10 or 11 years of age.
June 22nd, 2007 at 12:46 pm
I used to know this lunatic, Keith Brand. I knew his wife too. She split PRONTO. He is KA-Razy. Some of his political views would horify you if you knew them (way beyond Left-wing).
He has a LOT in common with the unibomber. Very bitter, feels victimized by the success of others. Shallow and materialistic, but claims the opposite. Wants to BE “scottsdale Keith” but could never quite fit in. Resented me only because I lived in Paradise Valley. An absolute fraud in every sense of the word. Without that blog, he is a nobody. A used car salesman. Nothing more.