Welcome Back, Brent.

Well, the big game is forthcoming. Packers/Vikings next Sunday. Brent's return. Hopefully, not a triumphant one. However you weigh in on this, I think it would be classy of Packer fans to give him a nice ovation if possible. Since they don't introduce visiting players anymore, but do it as a team, he won't be introduced individually. But based on the "boos" I heard when he was featured on the jumbotron at Lambeau recently, I doubt if the classy fans will be heard.

Hope I'm wrong.

Blog

I was wondering whether to keep my blog. So I asked our iBank manager to see how many click throughs occur to my blog. And lo and behold, the number was greater than I expected. So I guess I'll keep posting to it for a while anyway.

If anyone knows of a real good source with an objective analysis of the healthcare bill recently passed by the Senate subcommittee, please e-mail it to me at rgorsuch@oakbankonline.com.

Brent Favre

I have a nice painting of Brent Favre on my office wall that is for sale.

Minnesota

I'm kind of glad I don't live along the Wisconsin - Minnesota border. Sure, it would be fine if UW and Green Bay both win this weekend. Worse case scenario? A sweep by UM and Vikings! By the way, those who have been in my office know I have a Brent Favre painting hanging on one of the walls. I have the painting up for sale and I think I have a buyer.

Go Badgers and Packers!

Federal Deposit Insurance

I was watching an early morning news show on TV this morning. A law professor was being interviewed and being asked questions relative to the FDIC insurance fund. There were a few times when the newsman referred to the fund as the "bailout fund." He also mentioned the funds were taxpayer funds. All the money in the fund is generated by assessments levied on the insured banks. None of the money is taxpayer money.

With that being said, the fund does need to be shored up. In no way is any depositor's money at risk. But banks will be asked to ante up funds to build the reserve back to appropriate levels. There have been about 100 bank failures which have caused the fund outflow to exceed the inflow.

Remember, all checking accounts and any other account where the interest yield is less than 1/2% has unlimited insurance protection. For accounts paying over 1/2% the limit is $250,000 per account. But the definition of an account is not as clear as we'd like. So if you have over $250,000 on deposit and you are in doubt, have your personal banker explain to you exactly what your coverage level is.

On Vacation

I'm on vacation. Will catch up on some things around the house and visit the north country.

Health Care Reform

I agree there is a need for reform in some aspects of our healthcare system. But I just hope we don't rely on the federal government to run it. Let the free enterprise system function! Again, I do believe some reform is needed.

Bike Ride

Wow, what a bike ride in Vermont last Saturday. Hurricane Danny and the weather front moving in from the Midwest merged early Saturday a.m. in Vermont. The 100 mile ride begain with 30 mph winds; driving rain and bad roads. Rained all day. Soaked we were 7 hours later.

But what a beautiful state! Perhaps the most beautiful I have seen.

On Vacation

I'm off to Boston in the a.m. and then to Vermont next week for my annual ride (100 miles) for Juvenile Diabetes Research. I greatly appreciate all the donations to JDRF for my ride.

See you in Sept.

Town Hall Meetings

If given the opportunity to attend a town hall meeting on the much-talked-about health care proposal from Washington, will you? Hopefully you will, if given that opp. I'm still wondering who has really read the proposal; who understands it; and who can we trust?

Jets for Congress

Can you believe Congress has approved $550 million for new jets to transport them and other government officials around? And these were the same people criticizing corporate execs for using private aircraft. Wow!

Healthcare

Does anyone really understand the proposed federal healthcare overhaul? Has anyone read the detail? Who do we believe in this debate?

What We Are Seeing

For the first 8 years of our bank's life, we had no delinquent home mortgage loans. Now we have a few and even one foreclosure! But these concerns pale in comparison to other parts of the country. But I do sense we are at or near the bottom of this recession. I only hope some horrific event does not set us back.

Radio Talk Show Hosts

I like to listen to various radio talk shows. The hosts vary in creditability. And when someone disagrees with them, they often get down right disrespectful. Recent talk show hosts Henck and McKenna of WIBA AM are two I often listen to. When Henck is disagreed with, he is respectful and thanks you for listening and calling in or e-mailing him. On the other hand, Ms. McKenna lacks the class that Henck shows. I feel people like her that seem to represent the opposite ends of the political spectrum cause more problems than they'll ever solve. But one must be careful not to pick fights with people who buy their ink by the barrell.

Don't Be A Victim of Vishing

By now most of us have become programmed to ignore the e-mail messages we receive from foreign princes promising to send us thousands of dollars in return for doing a simple favor. These types of scams have been around for years and are a form of "phishing"; criminals trick people into handing over their bank account number, credit card info, social security number or other valuable data using malicious e-mails or Web sites pretending to belong to banks or online auction services.

But a similar, though less well-known type of scam - "vishing" - is becoming more prevalent.

Voice phISHING, also called "VoIP phishing" is the telephone equivalent to phishing. Vishing is a scam using voice over IP to gain access to a victim's personal information.

Typically, victims receive a call from a recorded voice informing them that their bank account is frozen and also provides a toll-free number to utilize to reinstate the account. When you call that number, you will be asked to verify your personal information. Once you do that, you have provided the criminals with the data they need to steal money from your bank account, or steal your identity. And in the last couple of years vishing attacks have seemed to occur most often over a holiday when the bank is closed and there is no easy way to confirm the validity of the call.

Consumers need to be wary of such calls. If you receive such a call, you should:

.... STOP. Do not respond immediately. It is always best to be cautious and slow to respond.

.... THINK about why your bank would be asking for this information. Remember, no legitimate business would request a customer to verify personal information such as PINs, bank account numbers or SSNs over the phone unless you initiated the contact with the institution using a phone number obtained from the phone book or a bank statement.

.... CALL your bank directly the next business day they are open, and call local law enforcement to report the scam.

Criminals are constantly inventing new techniques or variations on old ones to steal personal information. If you are ever in doubt about a request, immediately contact the police and your financial institution. Both are well equipped to determine the legitimacy of the request and will be happy to offer assistance.

A Day for Remembering

Here we are on the eve of another one of those days that most Americans only see as a day to play. It is too bad all cannot tour the historic battlefields along our east coast; or walk the freedom trail in Boston. Such reminders of the sacrifices so many made for our freedom! The freedom we take for granted.

God bless America! Travel safely.

Hyper-Inflation

I listened to an interview with Governor Tommy Thompson this a.m. on WIBA. During the interview he expressed concern about the unbelievable spending going on right now at the federal level. He predicts inflation levels that might surpass what we saw during the Carter administration in the late 70's - early 80's. I concur. Those who feel this massive spending was necessary to turn the economy around are likely to regret that we didn't take our lumps now and reap the benefits later. As it is, Katy bar the door in a few years, I'm afraid.

Financial Reform

The proposed financial regulatory reform offered by the Obama administration is, as might be expected, good and bad.

The good: requires greater capital requirements for the very large banks that pose systemic risk to our financial system. There are about 19 banks that fit into this category. Also good are some other aspects that put some of the same requirements on the large banks as currently being enforced on smaller banks.

The bad: Creation of new agencies which will do exactly what current agencies should be doing. Why not clean out the management of those existing agencies and require them to do what they should have been doing all along?

Wisconsin Budget

I get the feeling that when all is said and done, the actions of our federal, state and local governments as relates to the current economic environment will take years and years to undo.

Brewers Still In First!

I have high hopes for our Brewers this year. I still think they will pick up another starting pitcher before the end of July. Jake Peavey in San Diego must be high on their list.

Occasionally I have extra Brewer tickets. So if you have an interest, let me know. Good seats - four of them and parking.