Elvis Renaissance Helps Graceland Make Up Its Debt Payments

Above, Elvis Presley's Graceland mansion in 2016. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Elvis Presley's Graceland complex has had a shortfall in visitors during the pandemic years and missed a few debt payments.

The revamp of the complex also put Graceland in the red. But things have turned around and the operators have caught up and made all debt payments.

From Yahoo! Finance:

(Bloomberg) -- Elvis Presley’s fans are breathing life back into Graceland, the singer’s 120-acre Memphis estate that’s been preserved in his honor. The uptick in attendance has allowed its operators to make up some missed debt payments.

Borrowers now have enough funds to make a full payment of July interest after an earlier shortfall, according to a regulatory filing by the trustee on Friday. The bonds were issued to help fund an overhaul of the complex, which its owner says is the second-most-visited private home in the US, after the White House.

The Graceland complex got a revamp a few years ago, adding a hotel and new museum complex featuring the singer’s jumpsuits and private jets. But like other attractions, Graceland suffered a plunge in visitors as the pandemic halted tourism, leaving a shortfall in funds needed to make bond payments. Things seemed to turn around as attendance rose to 133,627 in the third quarter of 2022, up from 68,961 in the last part of 2021, according to bond documents. Hotel occupancy and room rates climbed during the period as well. But numbers from the third quarter of this year dipped a bit, with 130,497 visitors.

I last visited Graceland in November 2016, before the complex across the street opened.

To read more, go here. 

Americans Report Financial Suffering In Record Numbers

Forty-three years ago, during his debate with then-President Jimmy Carter, Gov. Ronald Reagan famously asked the American people, "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" We can now ask the same thing and, unfortunately, get the same answer.

The American people are suffering financially thanks to the mishandling of the economy, rampant spending and inflation.

Peter Reagan (no relation), a financial market strategist at Birch Gold Group, has an opinion piece on the current situation at Newsmax and finds Americans are reporting financial suffering in record numbers.

It begins with:

Two years ago, we referenced various reports about Americans’ savings (consumer and retirement), reporting that they had dropped to the lowest point in years.

Unfortunately, things haven’t improved much since then.

We just discussed the state of consumer debt, and it isn’t very good at all, reaching a record $17 trillion.

Since the economy is primarily driven by consumer spending (currently 68% of GDP), if American households are tapped out and buried in debt, the stage is set for an economic disaster.

So today we’re going to explore the current state of the typical American household’s finances, and extrapolate the future consequences for the entire economy.

To read the full article, go here.

Silver At $23.11/toz

The precious metals markets are in a "wait and see" mode on whether or not His Fraudulency Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy can come to a deal on raising the debt ceiling.

If they can't, there is a potential for the federal government defaulting on its debts.

Silver has dropped a bit in today's trading according to COMEX.

This is, as I always say, a good opportunity to buy silver coins and bullion before the price goes up. Sooner or later, it will. 

Remember: Buy low, sell high!

Bearish Outside Metals Gang Up On Gold, Silver

Since the spot price for silver has gone down, I have taken the opportunity to buy more of it. My latest purchase arrived on Monday.

Much of what is happening in the commodity markets is contingent on what deal, if any, is reached on the debt limit talks between His Fraudulency Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

According to Kitco News:

(Kitco News) - Gold and silver prices are solidly lower in midday U.S. dealings Thursday, with both hitting multi-week lows. The three key outside markets are all bearish for the precious metals today. The U.S. dollar index is solidly up and hit a seven-week high. Rising U.S. Treasury yields and lower crude oil prices on this day complete the bearish trifecta. June gold was last down $26.00 at $1,959.00 and July silver was down $0.262 at $23.635.

Trader and investor risk appetite has also up-ticked late this week, which is also a negative for the safe-haven metals. The U.S. debt-limit extension talks are reportedly going better. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have both made upbeat comments on getting a deal done before June 1. Reads a Barrons headline today: "Debt ceiling optimism brings markets back to life. It's not without risks." The story details that while the debt matter getting fixed is a positive, the potential negatives are still lingering, including a still-hawkish Federal Reserve, recession concerns, and U.S. and European banking jitters. The marketplace is by no means robustly risk-on at present.

To read more, go here. 

Court Temporarily Blocks Biden's Student Loan Forgiveness

Thanks to a federal appeals court, His Fraudulency Joe Biden's student loan debt forgiveness plan has been stopped in its tracks, at least temporarily.

According to the Star Tribune:

ST. LOUIS — A federal appeals court late Friday issued an administrative stay temporarily blocking President Joe Biden's plan to cancel billions of dollars in federal student loans, throwing the program into limbo just days after people began applying for loan forgiveness.

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issued the stay while it considers a motion from six Republican-led states to block the program. The stay ordered the Biden administration not to act on the program while it considers the appeal.

It's unclear what the decision means for the 22 million borrowers who already applied for the relief. The Biden administration had promised not to clear any debt before Oct. 23 as it battled the legal challenges, but the soonest it was expected to begin erasing debt was mid-November.

 To read more, go here.

Re: Student Loans

A bit of a firestorm has hit after His Fraudulency Joe Biden announced his student loan forgiveness action.

Is it legal? Some say it is, but one can bet that this action will be challenged in court.

From the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is tying its authority to cancel student debt to the coronavirus pandemic and to a 2003 law aimed at providing help to members of the military. Legal challenges are expected.

Skeptics of the administration’s ability to act on its own, without new legislation, had once included President Joe Biden himself and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

But in a legal opinion released Wednesday, the Justice Department said that the HEROES Act of 2003 gives the administration “sweeping authority” to reduce or eliminate student debt during a national emergency, ”when significant actions with potentially far-reaching consequences are often required.”

The law was adopted with overwhelming bipartisan support at a time when U.S. forces were fighting two wars, in Afghanistan and Iraq. It gives the Education secretary authority to waive rules relating to student financial aid programs in times or war or national emergency.

Where's the "national emergency"? Hmmm?

To read more, go here.

Some opposing reactions from Twitter:

Democrats Saddled California With a $1.3 Trillion Debt

The Looney Left Report

The loony California one-party state government (of, by and for the Democrat Party) has saddled the state's taxpayers with an enormous debt.

Much of this is from the giveaways the Democrats handed the public employee unions (their buddies) with over-the-top pensions and other benefits.

The California Policy Center reported:\

We estimate that California state and local governments owe $1.3 trillion as of June 30, 2015. Our analysis is based on a review of federal, state and local financial disclosures. The total includes bonds, loans and other debt instruments as well as unfunded pension and other post-employment benefits promised to public sector employees. Our estimate of California government debt represents about 52% of California’s Gross State Product of $2.48 trillion. When added to the state’s share of the national debt, we find that California taxpayers are shouldering debt burdens on a par with residents of peripheral Eurozone states. 

Not included are billions of dollars in deferred maintenance and upgrades to California’s infrastructure. To the extent California’s government has not maintained investment in infrastructure maintenance and upgrades to keep up with normal wear and to keep pace with an expanding population, it has passed this cost on to future generations who will have to issue additional debt to pay for this expense. 

This is an update of a 2013 California Policy Center study entitled “Calculating California’s Total State and Local Government Debt.” That study reported total debt between $848 billion and $1.1 trillion. While we retain confidence in the findings of this earlier analysis, our new estimate incorporates a more comprehensive array of data sources and updated methodologies.

I am so glad that I left Commiefornia. If a state official claims there's a budget surplus, they're lying through their teeth. California voters stupidly keep re-electing these crooks.

To read more, go here.

Lincoln Library May Have To Sell Artifacts To Pay Debt

Above, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum may have to sell some artifacts in order to pay off a loan.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported:

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The foundation that supports the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum says it might have to sell artifacts if it can't pay off a decade-old loan that financed items related to the 16th president. 

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation has revealed it owes $10 million on a 2007 loan it used to buy the Barry and Louise Taper Collection, which includes a stovepipe hat Lincoln purportedly wore, bloodstained gloves he wore the night he was assassinated and an 1824 book containing the first known example of his handwriting. 

The foundation paid $25 million and borrowed $23 million. The note comes due in October 2019.

Above, the Lincoln family stands in the main lobby of the museum. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To read more, go here. 

Lisa Marie Presley $16.7 Million In Debt

Above, the Lisa Marie jet of Elvis Presley. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Lisa Marie is in debt. The daughter of Elvis Presley, not the jet Lisa Marie.

Ouch! It is hard for me to get around the thought that someone could get themselves into a financial hole of $16.7 million. Apparently, Lisa Marie Presley is in that financial hole.

According to E! Online:

Lisa Marie Presley states in court documents filed amid her divorce battle that she is $16 million in debt. 

In 2016, the 50-year-old daughter of the late Elvis Presley and fellow singer, who is also famous for her short-lived marriage to the late Michael Jackson, filed for divorce from current husband Michael Lockwood, with whom she shares twin daughters. Amid their court battle, legal documents have revealed glimpses of Lisa Marie's finances. 

Newly submitted documents show that she is more than $16.7 million in debt. She said she has yet to pay more than $10 million in tax bills from several years past, that she has defaulted on a $6 million mortgage she took out for a home she owns in the United Kingdom and that she also has more than $47,800 in credit card bills and also has tens of thousands of dollars owed to attorneys.

To read more, go here. 

Judgment Final Today!

Above, yours truly and Scott aboard the Blue Hawaiian Helicopters tour.

The Small Claims Court judgment against Jacquese Scott is final today.

Legally, she now has to pay up or collection action(s) would commence.

The total due now is $878.25.

Scott has elected to pay me though the court (which is an option she is allowed to do).

According to the online Case Summary:

Histories (Dates listed in descending order)
09/26/2016 Request to Pay Judgment to Court; Filed by: Jacquese Antoinette Scott (Defendant) 

09/26/2016 Invoice: Small Claims Pay Jdgmt to Court Fee-Pmt of jdgmt to ct-CCP 116.860; Fee: $20.00; Payment: 20.00 Receipt: VE-2016-0004421 (Check); Balance: $0.00; 

09/26/2016 Trust Deposit: Civil Trust Account; Amount: $885.49 Receipt: VE-2016-0004421 (Check); Party: Jacquese Antoinette Scott (Defendant)

The court will be sending the judgment amount notice:  "Judgment Creditor's Request for Funds" (a portion of Form SC-145, the Request to Pay Judgment to Court).

I am actually pleasantly surprised that she took care of this right away. I have to give her kudos for that.

Judgment Becomes Final Friday

Above, Scott in Hawaii. Photo by Armand Vaquer

The Small Claims Court judgment against Jacquese Scott becomes final Friday (September 30). That means I can begin collecting the judgment amount of $878.25.

According to the Court:

You are the judgment creditor (plaintiff or defendant) if you won the claim. The judgment becomes final 30 days after you receive the Notice of Entry of Judgment in court (SC-130) or the date it is mailed. If the defendant has not filed a Notice of Appeal (SC-140) or a Notice of Motion to Vacate Judgment and Declaration (SC-135) you may collect the judgment.

As Denise Santos (her "star witness") (and her "flying monkeys") and Scott do peruse this blog, notice is hereby given that the only acceptable methods of payment are by cash, a certified bank check or by a postal money order. No personal checks will be accepted.

The Court also says:

You should pay the judgment against you as soon as it becomes final. If you do not pay, the creditor can start collecting the judgment right away as long as: 

1. The judgment has been entered. You can go to the court clerk’s office and check the court’s records to confirm that the judgment has been entered; and 
2. There is no stay (suspension or postponement) on enforcement of the order because of an appeal, a stay from a bankruptcy, or other legal action.

Keep in mind that if you do not pay the judgment: 

• The amount you owe will increase daily, since the judgment accumulates interest at the rate of 10 percent per year.
• The creditor can get an order telling you to reimburse him or her for any reasonable and necessary costs of collection.
• Your credit may be damaged because credit reporting agencies will know you have not paid the judgment when your name appears on the court's "Judgment Roll." This can make it difficult for you to get a loan, get a credit card, or even rent an apartment.

Since both Scott and her "star witness" chose to lie like rugs in court, I am not inclined to be lenient on this matter. Period. End of story.

The Small Claims Court action was for the front money for Scott's portion of the May Hawaii trip, of which she paid $600 of the total amount of $1,408.25. The additional $70.00 is for court costs.

Done!

Above, Scott in Hawaii. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Well, it has been done.

I filed in Small Claims Court today for the money Jacquese Scott owes for the Hawaii trip in May. It is so incredibly stupid and illogical of her to not fulfill her obligation to me and repay the debt. Then again, I haven't been dealing with logical people recently. Some who are familiar with this "saga" feel that both Denise Santos and Jackie are worse than stupid, they're dishonest.

Even though she is the best friend of Denise, despite whatever issues Denise and I may have (which has nothing to do with Jackie), she still has the obligation to repay me. Pure and simple.

Now, she can add to the $808.25 she owes the costs I incurred in filing the lawsuit.

Maybe somebody will finally get the message that I do mean business!

"Ever notice how you come across somebody once in a while you shouldn't have fucked with? That's me." - Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino.

Reactions to this blog post:

You go Armand!!!! 

 Knuckleheads usually don't learn and continue in life as knuckleheads.

Hawaii Blowback: Debt Unpaid

Above, at Hilo Airport after a helicopter tour of Hawaiian Volcanoes National Park.

bilk (bɪlk)

v.t. 

1. to defraud; cheat.
2. to evade payment of or to: to bilk a creditor.
3. to frustrate: a career bilked by poor health.
4. to escape from; elude. 

n. 

5. a cheat; swindler.
6. a trick; fraud; deceit.

Back in Febuary, Denise Santos and I began planning the trip to Hawaii to celebrate Denise's birthday. Denise wanted her best friend Jacquese "Jackie" Scott to join us on the trip.

The three of us went to the Northridge office of the Automobile Club of Southern California to talk to Nicki, one of the travel agents.

Fortunately for us, the Auto Club had a sale on Hawaii trips. She provided us with an itinerary and the cost amounts. We then headed to the nearby Coco's restaurant for breakfast and to discuss the trip further.

While at Coco's, Denise asked that I front the cash to lock in the trip for Jackie and she would repay me. Jackie concurred. I agreed to it. As a birthday present to Denise, I paid for her and her son.

I don't mind helping someone out, but I bristled at being put on the spot at that moment.

Later, I told Denise that I was not happy being put on the spot and that she should have discussed it with me first in private. She apologized and promised that things would be discussed first between us.

The cost per person was $1,408.25 for seven days in Hawaii, which included all flights, transfers, taxes, fees and accommodations. It was a very good deal. Our scheduled departure date was May 4.

On March 4, Jackie paid me $300 in cash. Things were looking good.

Then there was a "lull" in payments as Jackie wanted to pay for her activities (para sailing, helicopter tour, luau, etc.). I was annoyed with this as she decided this on her own without asking me if I were okay with it. I really wasn't, but what could I do?

She made another $300 cash payment on April 17. After this, her balance due was $808.25. That is where we stand today.

On May 15, following a blow-up with Denise (which ultimately lead to our break-up), I sent Jackie a friendly text message asking, "How do you want to handle the remaining $808 that you still owe for the Hawaii trip?" I received no response. Her debt to me has nothing to do with the current status of Denise and I.

On June 7, during which time Denise and I were still friendly (hoping that she would light a fire under Jackie's butt to pay me in full), I decided that I've waited enough and sent Jackie this text:

Jackie, since you have not made any good faith effort to repay me the remaining $808 for the Hawaii trip, I am giving you until June 30th to pay me back in full, or we're going to small claims court.

Again, no response.

Additionally, Denise has never mentioned the subject of Jackie's debt to me since we got back. That says a lot.

All Jackie had to do is to pop a check for $808.25 in the mail (she could get my address from Denise).

She has four more days to pay the balance owed or I will go to Small Claims Court to file on June 30. Besides failing morally to fulfill a debt obligation, it is also stupid. Once I win the judgment, this will be included in her future credit reports. I have never lost in Small Claims Court, personally or professionally.

I think I have been fair and nice about this, but one can only take so much in being taken advantage of. I thought that Jackie had more class than what she has displayed so far.

Let justice be done if need be.

UPDATE (6/27/16):  No response yet. She's got two days to pay up or I'm filing on June 30.

UPDATE (6/29/16): No response and no payment. So, unless she brings me the cash tomorrow morning before I go file, we're going to Small Claims Court. How stupid! Classy gal!

Reactions to this post:

You were robbed! 

Did you ever get the ring back? That must have been quite a rock given the price you mentioned. I'm sorry you were treated that way, Armand. 

Ouch I'm so sorry to hear that. damn. 

tawdry
: having a cheap and ugly appearance
: morally low or bad 

truly feel your PAIN bro...!

Eurozone and Greece Reach Bailout Deal

It looks like Greece dodged a bullet (at least temporarily) this morning as the debt-ridden country reached a bailout deal.

According to Japan Today:

BRUSSELS —Greece reached a desperately-needed bailout deal with the eurozone on Monday after marathon overnight talks, in a historic agreement to prevent the country crashing out of the European single currency. 

The country’s leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras agreed to tough reforms after 17 hours of gruelling negotiations in return for a three-year bailout worth up to 86 billion euros ($96 billion), Greece’s third rescue program in five years. 

EU President Donald Tusk announced the deal for debt-stricken Greece on Twitter, ending a bitter six-month struggle between Tsipras’s anti-austerity government in Athens and the rest of the eurozone. 

“EuroSummit has unanimously reached agreement,” former Polish premier Tusk said. “All ready to go for ESM program for Greece with serious reforms and financial support.”

To read more, go here.