Baltimore — (TFN): With a sick, pregnant wife, it is tough to get a good night’s sleep. Between the coughing, the sneezing, the nose blowing and the five-times-a-night bathroom visits, there’s not a lot of time for rapid eye movement.

That’s okay. It gives me plenty of time to stare at the ceiling and think.

Last night, on the heels of Obama’s speech, I had a lot on my mind. While talking about the military struggles in Afghanistan, the 11-month president looked very “Bushish.” Whether you find that a good quality or not, is up to you.

Baltimore — (TFN): Another drop in the dollar and another big day for the equities markets. And yes, gold is on the rise as well, precariously perched at the psychologically pertinent $1,200 an ounce mark.

Enough alliteration. Let’s talk business.

Baltimore — (TFN): It’s like pulling off a Band-Aid. We can do it quick and get the pain over with, or we can torture ourselves with slow, steady, hair-ripping pulls that make us want to gouge our eyes out in pain.

Since I first scraped my knee chasing the neighbor’s cat across the street dozens of years ago, I have been a fan of the get-it-over-fast strategy. Rip the stitches, dry the tears and move on. Dilly-dallying is for sissies and I’m no sissy.

Baltimore — (TFN): It looks like we found out what President Obama was actually doing in China last week. When he wasn’t bowing to foreign leaders or taking tours of historic China, our leader was giving the Chinese some financial advice.

Isn’t that a scary thought?

Just a couple of days after Obama touched down in Washington, China makes a very American decree. It’s telling its banks it had better shore up their capital situations or face strong sanctions from the government.

Baltimore — (TFN): Some good friends of mine recently took their TV out to their front yard, put two high-brass shells in their 12 gauge and pulled the trigger.  They rendered the hunk of glass and plastic useless. Called it Alaskan waste disposal.

After last night, I’m ready to get out the 00 buckshot, myself.

I’ve got my eye out for good intentions, gone bad after spending the last three editions of Notes discussing the idea of financial regulatory reform.

Baltimore — (TFN): If politicians would get their heads out of their re-election campaigns, they would not have to make hasty, thoughtless decisions that cost you and I money.

In the days following Obama’s inauguration, Washington quickly passed a wide set of tax reforms. Part of the legislation included a $400 tax break for the country’s working class and increased healthcare funding for the country’s poor, unhealthy children thanks to increased taxes on the tobacco industry.

Baltimore — (TFN): It’s confirmation! On Friday I wrote how I may have a touch of the flu or some other mind-altering ailment because my thoughts were far more liberal than I am comfortable with admitting.

Well, it turns out my ultra-liberal, straight-ticket voting, French-guy marrying sister has a verifiable case of the pig flu. And guess who I had dinner with on Thursday night? You betcha, big sis.

Baltimore – (TFN): The dollar is a dangerous entity these days. Never has there been such a globally important currency with as much political and financial manipulation.

The distortions from reality are mind-boggling, yet all of us depend on the status of the simple fiat for our financial wellbeing.

Baltimore — (TFN): How efficient are the markets? It is like asking how smart is the human race We all know the answer, but few of us are willing to suck in our pride and admit there are a few dim bulbs among us.

Judging by the sudden rise in fame of Levi Johnson or Balloon Boy’s antics, the human brain is far feebler than we give credit.

And so are the markets.