Hey, I took a little break, but am back with more lame commentary about current events. Don't forget to keep all Stryker soldiers, cavalrymen, and patrons of St George the Dragonslayer in your nightly prayers!
1. "Don't Tase me Bro" (HT Drudge): This is about the aggressive student at UF that got hit with a stun gun while trying to make an ass out of himself at a John Kerry Q&A session. I love stories about hippies getting the smack down. Really they're not so much hippies, but really the weird assortment of anarchist/activists that predominate the progressive movement. To keep things short, I find it very amusing that the same people that say violence is never the answer, are the ones that seem to use coersion, disruption, and force to make their points. How completely hypocritical. Anyway, said student will not relinquich microphone after being asked to. He uses force to continue the debate on his own terms. Local law enforcement asserts applied voltage, bringing the balance of force back into equilibrium. Check out the picture on the link. The look on his face says it all. I think the fiesty female cop was the one that took him out too, sweet! I love lady's that know how to dish out pain.
2. Fired Boeing engineer says 787 Dreamliner unsafe (HT Drudge): No shit buddy? I guess you didn't get that severance package you were looking for. Don't worry, now that they replaced you with somebody a little better, I'm sure they'll get all your mistakes ironed out. What I find funny, is that CBS seems to be all over this story, with Dan Rather (my hero) getting involved. What I can't figure out is how they beat NBC to the scoop on this. Oh, nevermind, GE owns NBC and also happens to be one of two prime suppliers of aircraft engines to the Dreamliner program (GENX is the engine for those interested).
3. 50 Basis Points: Big Ben surprised everybody it seems. I actually made a little money in my investments, if for only a day. I am dying on NTAP and CRDN. I am pondering maybe getting a little bit back into financials. We'll see.
4. Barry Manilow and the View (HT Drudge): OMG!! Barry Manilow is not going to be on the View for his third ineterview. It's like so draconian and stuff. The show has like so gone down hill since Rosie left. Nevermid that Israel just bombed Syria last week, President I'mNeedofJihad is going to be speaking at the UN next week, and oil is at over $81 a barrel. This is big stuff. Next thing you know, Danny Devito might actually start having to show up sober when he does The View.
5. Quiet Agression: For those that missed it (and almost everybody did), Israel launched a major air operation in Syria last week. Strangely, nobody is talking much about it. Word among defense analysts are that they took out some kind of nuclear facility. The Isrealli's are keeping mum because they don't want the bad press and operational details to come out, while the Syrians are just plain embarrassed. Of course, a few days later, Iran's most eloquent President, Mr I'mInNeedofJihad made a very blustery comment that if Iran or Syria was attacked, then 600 missile would be launched at Israel and a few dozen at US targets in Iraq. What a little bitch. Your ally just did get attacked, dumbass. Threatening everybody two days after the incident only says one thing, "punk bitch." Good job IDF!!
6. World Could Live with a Nuclear Iran (HT Drudge): Of course it could, I mean, scientists showed that at least cock roaches will survive a major nuclear war. Whatever Gen Abizaid has to say about the issue though, my hat goes off to the French on this one. I am starting to like Mr Sarkozy more and more, and I see the French having are backs (and us theirs) much more in the future.
7. OJ: Had to mention it. Pathetic. That's all I have to say.
8. California Greenhouse Gas Lawsuit Dismissed (HT Drudge): My favorite quote from the presiding judge, "The Court finds that injecting itself into the global warming thicket at this juncture would require an initial policy determination of the type reserved for the political branches of government." What, a federal judge that refuses to legistlate from the bench? Maybe the governator will learn a little bit about the judicial system from this. Then again, maybe he new the case was DOA anyway, pushing it forward to appease CA liberals while knowing full well it was useless. Quite Macheavellian.
9. State Senator Suing God (HT Drudge): I guess this is a stunt to make a point. Senator Ernie Chambers is from Nebraska, so maybe he can get re-elected. Still, I don't see him doing too well in the South Carolina primaries if he ever makes it big time.
10. Another Annapolis Scandal! (HT OPFOR): Part 1 of 4 of an investigative report from the Columbia Spectator, where a female reporter comes to the startling revelation that the US Service Academies actually are military institiutions that train young men and women to be combat leaders. Her personal account of her brother's brainwashing during plebe summer is gripping in its implications. My prediction is that she will come to accept her brother, graduate with her journalism degree, go to work at a Chile's after graduation, go out visit her brother at the Academy, fall in love with one of his dashing friends (suave aviator, gruff marine, or dour nuclear engineer, she'll have a lot to chose from), get married, and end up pushing a baby carriage with her LT in tow to Navy formal parades and football at Navy-Marine Corps stadium within the next ten years.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Thursday, July 19, 2007
My Iraq Strategy
I really wish things would move along faster in our current struggle against the insurgents and Al Qaeda thugs in Iraq. Based on that, I have a few humble suggestions that should be considered.
1. Body Armor: As our valiant Democratic leadership has pointed out, the current administration just doesn't care how well protected our troops are. The current Interceptor Body Armor with ESAPI plates only covers about 30% of the vital areas of our soldiers. Luckily, the current armor does have back plates, which helps with the Democratic leadership because it ensures our forces stay safe while retreating. We really need a new body armor solution that provides plate coverage over 100% of their bodies. That way, Nancy Pelosi can rest assured that our forces are 100% protected, even when kneeling and groveling while apologizing for our unnecessary war of aggression. In addition, recent Al Qaeda terrorist attacks have included the use of chlorine gas, so a fully encapsulated helmet with a built in gas mask would be ideal. To save money on procurement, we should not produce this armor in sizes for short troopers.
2. Camouflage: The Army has moved to the ACU pattern, which seems to be only effective if our soldiers try to hide inside discount fabric stores or retail furniture outlets. In all honesty though, fratricide is often as big a killer as anything else, so we should just give up on camouflage altogether, and ensure our new battle armor comes with a glossy white finish. That way, it will be obvious where our guys are at, so we don’t accidentally drop some JDAMS on them. This will also help the press and Iraqi stringers working for Rueters/Al Qaeda more easily identify our troops so we can get maximum press coverage for the rest of the war.
3. Weapons: Our current force uses M-4's and M-16/A4's. While moderately decent, they are not near bad ass enough to inspire instant fear in our foes. Many want to move back to a 7.62mm round, but that makes for much higher ammo bulk (much better stopping power though). What is really needed is a rifle capable of hurling bolts of plasma thousands of times (say the length of 3-6 full cinema length movies) without ever needing to be reloaded. These weapons should also be small, in case our special forces ever need to establish a counter insurgency in an area populated by boreal 3 foot tall teddy bear looking critters. For max shock and awe, their beams should be either red or blue, depending on which side they are being used by (we should establish a Geneva convention process for determining who gets each color in any conflict). Finally, these "blaster" rifles should be fully capable of being "set for stun," so that National Guard units will be capable of state mobilizations to slap down hippies in any major future protests.
4. Vehicles: Our vehicles are simply too close to the ground, which makes IED's and EFP's much too effective. We need to develop a method to eliminate this threat, by creating armored transports that actually use giant mechanical legs to walk above the ground. We could have little two legged ones for the cavalry scouts and big huge four legged ones to replace the bradleys in our heavy mechanized units. We should set up a test range in Antarctica for these new systems, so we can ensure they can be tested in the toughest conditions on Earth, someplace where the odds of survival for a lone human at night is like 260,000:1, depending on which R2 unit you ask.
5. Respect: Like or not, our front line commanders in Iraq are looked at as sheiks by the local community. Unfortunately, fear is a very important motivator in the Arab world, and to be honest, when a battalion commander goes to a meeting with the locals, he needs to be feared and respected. "Lieutenant Colonel" or "Red Devil-6" just don't cut it folks. From now on, the US Army needs to replace the name of the rank 0-5, "Lieutenant Colonel," with the new rank "Darth."
6. Naval Power Projection: While most would agree that the Nimitz class aircraft carrier is 90,000 tons of American diplomacy, nobody in Iran or Pakistan seems to be listening to our F/A-18 laced entendre. What is really needed is a fully functional battle station, capable of destroying worlds. Say, something that would look like a small moon to a burned out cultist in brown robes. In addition, the contracts to produce this "Death Star" should be an exclusive non-foreign bid, with extra care to make sure that Boskans are NEVER allowed work on the contract, PERIOD.
7. National Command Authority: Unlike most, I don't have a lot of beef with President Bush. However, I am getting tired of him get beat to a pulp by his "loyal" opposition and the way, way, way too conservative National Press. He keeps getting roughed up bad, and simply shrugs with that "golly gee, shucks, I still ain't gonna leave Iraq" look on his face. Once more, I'm down with that, but the chummy, down home Mr Nice Guy shit needs to end. Our president needs to embrace the dark side, become a Sith Lord, and be able to hurl blue lightning bolts while choking out Senator Harry Reed from across the room. When some French diplomat or Palestinian envoy tries talking some crap about the Middle East Peace process, he can always retort, "you don't realize the power of the dark side. Now release your anger!" If he could replace the Vice President with an acrobatic, dual sword wielding demon with an 8th dan in Tae Kwon Do, then that would be an added bonus.
… or we could buck up and decide to win, realizing that soldiers win wars, not gadgets, and our soldiers are true warriors that WILL win.
1. Body Armor: As our valiant Democratic leadership has pointed out, the current administration just doesn't care how well protected our troops are. The current Interceptor Body Armor with ESAPI plates only covers about 30% of the vital areas of our soldiers. Luckily, the current armor does have back plates, which helps with the Democratic leadership because it ensures our forces stay safe while retreating. We really need a new body armor solution that provides plate coverage over 100% of their bodies. That way, Nancy Pelosi can rest assured that our forces are 100% protected, even when kneeling and groveling while apologizing for our unnecessary war of aggression. In addition, recent Al Qaeda terrorist attacks have included the use of chlorine gas, so a fully encapsulated helmet with a built in gas mask would be ideal. To save money on procurement, we should not produce this armor in sizes for short troopers.
2. Camouflage: The Army has moved to the ACU pattern, which seems to be only effective if our soldiers try to hide inside discount fabric stores or retail furniture outlets. In all honesty though, fratricide is often as big a killer as anything else, so we should just give up on camouflage altogether, and ensure our new battle armor comes with a glossy white finish. That way, it will be obvious where our guys are at, so we don’t accidentally drop some JDAMS on them. This will also help the press and Iraqi stringers working for Rueters/Al Qaeda more easily identify our troops so we can get maximum press coverage for the rest of the war.
3. Weapons: Our current force uses M-4's and M-16/A4's. While moderately decent, they are not near bad ass enough to inspire instant fear in our foes. Many want to move back to a 7.62mm round, but that makes for much higher ammo bulk (much better stopping power though). What is really needed is a rifle capable of hurling bolts of plasma thousands of times (say the length of 3-6 full cinema length movies) without ever needing to be reloaded. These weapons should also be small, in case our special forces ever need to establish a counter insurgency in an area populated by boreal 3 foot tall teddy bear looking critters. For max shock and awe, their beams should be either red or blue, depending on which side they are being used by (we should establish a Geneva convention process for determining who gets each color in any conflict). Finally, these "blaster" rifles should be fully capable of being "set for stun," so that National Guard units will be capable of state mobilizations to slap down hippies in any major future protests.
4. Vehicles: Our vehicles are simply too close to the ground, which makes IED's and EFP's much too effective. We need to develop a method to eliminate this threat, by creating armored transports that actually use giant mechanical legs to walk above the ground. We could have little two legged ones for the cavalry scouts and big huge four legged ones to replace the bradleys in our heavy mechanized units. We should set up a test range in Antarctica for these new systems, so we can ensure they can be tested in the toughest conditions on Earth, someplace where the odds of survival for a lone human at night is like 260,000:1, depending on which R2 unit you ask.
5. Respect: Like or not, our front line commanders in Iraq are looked at as sheiks by the local community. Unfortunately, fear is a very important motivator in the Arab world, and to be honest, when a battalion commander goes to a meeting with the locals, he needs to be feared and respected. "Lieutenant Colonel" or "Red Devil-6" just don't cut it folks. From now on, the US Army needs to replace the name of the rank 0-5, "Lieutenant Colonel," with the new rank "Darth."
6. Naval Power Projection: While most would agree that the Nimitz class aircraft carrier is 90,000 tons of American diplomacy, nobody in Iran or Pakistan seems to be listening to our F/A-18 laced entendre. What is really needed is a fully functional battle station, capable of destroying worlds. Say, something that would look like a small moon to a burned out cultist in brown robes. In addition, the contracts to produce this "Death Star" should be an exclusive non-foreign bid, with extra care to make sure that Boskans are NEVER allowed work on the contract, PERIOD.
7. National Command Authority: Unlike most, I don't have a lot of beef with President Bush. However, I am getting tired of him get beat to a pulp by his "loyal" opposition and the way, way, way too conservative National Press. He keeps getting roughed up bad, and simply shrugs with that "golly gee, shucks, I still ain't gonna leave Iraq" look on his face. Once more, I'm down with that, but the chummy, down home Mr Nice Guy shit needs to end. Our president needs to embrace the dark side, become a Sith Lord, and be able to hurl blue lightning bolts while choking out Senator Harry Reed from across the room. When some French diplomat or Palestinian envoy tries talking some crap about the Middle East Peace process, he can always retort, "you don't realize the power of the dark side. Now release your anger!" If he could replace the Vice President with an acrobatic, dual sword wielding demon with an 8th dan in Tae Kwon Do, then that would be an added bonus.
… or we could buck up and decide to win, realizing that soldiers win wars, not gadgets, and our soldiers are true warriors that WILL win.
Current Events, July 2007
1) I guess you learn something every day. I always knew Dennis Kucinich was not exactly my favorite politician. Reading through Drudge today, I find out not only is he a vegan (not a science fiction alien, actually a person who won't eat any animal related product, ie meat, cheese, milk, baby seal pudding, etc), but he just got checked into the hospital for food poisoning. The rich irony here, is that if one was to visit PETA's website, it is full of great reading material that insists how superior a vegan diet is. Yummy, pass me the 100% organic tofu faux bologna. Not. Sorry guys, I'll stick to my totally macked out on steroids and antibiotics chicken breasts and genetically engineered grains. It's more nutricious, actually has less chance of leading to food poisoning, and is more efficient on land use. I am green, but only where it counts, the bottom line.
2) On a related note, I am glad the Al Gore has done so well for mother Earth that he has earned the right to serve a threatened species at his daughter's wedding (that's Chilean Sea Bass). I got in a fight with wifey when I said most of the people at the live aid concert were hyprocrits and charlatans. I wonder what would make me think that way. I give up. I have three wonderful daughters though, so I am already making my plans. The oldest shall have sea turtle stew, the middlest shall have a delicious baked manatee florentine with basil and red wine sauce, and the youngest shall have rosticery bald eagle topped with a wonderful truffle and white wine reduction.
3) Sub-Prime: The market is still getting very scared about the sub-prime mortgage issue. It has definately put a crimp on the major investment banks, and my Goldman Sachs position is suffering. Funny thing is, they are still making boatloads of money. Still, perception is reality on the street.
4) My boy Hugo Chavez is using his fat petro bucks to double down on even more Russian military equipment. In this case, Kilo class subs and maybe some better air defense systems. My odd prediction for the future is a post Castro revolution that will be opposed by Chavez and we will have a nice little miniature conflict in the Carribean in five years. Don't worry though, it won't last real long.
5) Big hands for our men and women overseas. The surge is going very well militarily. You never hear that on the news. I actually read one account of Jarheads in Ramadi getting bored becuase its so quiet. The progress in Al Anbar (my old stomping grounds) is astounding. The rat lines in from Syria are now a much less important threat. Arrowhead Ripper is winding down too. Mike Yon has had some excellent coverage and predicts the next hotspot will be Mosul, as the only major area where the bad guys might regroup. Keep an eye on the Balad to Mosul corridor. Keep an eye on the Strykers too, our modern day street-fighters.
1) I guess you learn something every day. I always knew Dennis Kucinich was not exactly my favorite politician. Reading through Drudge today, I find out not only is he a vegan (not a science fiction alien, actually a person who won't eat any animal related product, ie meat, cheese, milk, baby seal pudding, etc), but he just got checked into the hospital for food poisoning. The rich irony here, is that if one was to visit PETA's website, it is full of great reading material that insists how superior a vegan diet is. Yummy, pass me the 100% organic tofu faux bologna. Not. Sorry guys, I'll stick to my totally macked out on steroids and antibiotics chicken breasts and genetically engineered grains. It's more nutricious, actually has less chance of leading to food poisoning, and is more efficient on land use. I am green, but only where it counts, the bottom line.
2) On a related note, I am glad the Al Gore has done so well for mother Earth that he has earned the right to serve a threatened species at his daughter's wedding (that's Chilean Sea Bass). I got in a fight with wifey when I said most of the people at the live aid concert were hyprocrits and charlatans. I wonder what would make me think that way. I give up. I have three wonderful daughters though, so I am already making my plans. The oldest shall have sea turtle stew, the middlest shall have a delicious baked manatee florentine with basil and red wine sauce, and the youngest shall have rosticery bald eagle topped with a wonderful truffle and white wine reduction.
3) Sub-Prime: The market is still getting very scared about the sub-prime mortgage issue. It has definately put a crimp on the major investment banks, and my Goldman Sachs position is suffering. Funny thing is, they are still making boatloads of money. Still, perception is reality on the street.
4) My boy Hugo Chavez is using his fat petro bucks to double down on even more Russian military equipment. In this case, Kilo class subs and maybe some better air defense systems. My odd prediction for the future is a post Castro revolution that will be opposed by Chavez and we will have a nice little miniature conflict in the Carribean in five years. Don't worry though, it won't last real long.
5) Big hands for our men and women overseas. The surge is going very well militarily. You never hear that on the news. I actually read one account of Jarheads in Ramadi getting bored becuase its so quiet. The progress in Al Anbar (my old stomping grounds) is astounding. The rat lines in from Syria are now a much less important threat. Arrowhead Ripper is winding down too. Mike Yon has had some excellent coverage and predicts the next hotspot will be Mosul, as the only major area where the bad guys might regroup. Keep an eye on the Balad to Mosul corridor. Keep an eye on the Strykers too, our modern day street-fighters.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Investment Update
OK, due to the requests of my vast readership, I am recommitting to posting quality opinion, analysis, and bullshit. I have been busy of late, mostly concentrating on work, military duties, and investing. Based on that, I shall take this time to give you an update on my opinion of the economy and investing.
Outlook: Wow, a lot of things are turning around. We are seemingly in a bit of a Bull Market. I am a little more in cash than I wish (about 25%), mostly because I have taken some profit and was a little slow putting money back to work. I took advantage of this week's fast bear raid on the big boards was a good chance to do some quick buying. I think we are generally in a growth cycle, however, I am very wary of discretionary spending businesses right now. It looks like the consumer is getting beat down a little, but business are using strong balance sheets and relatively low interest to start buying and there is a lot of growth overseas. I think oil will peak out in a few weeks and then sell off, unless WWIII breaks out in the Persian Gulf.
Sectors Snap: I like Oil and Gas Services, Technology (Devices, Software and Storage), Some Staples, Industrials, Investment Banking. I like defense and energy as well, but think a little caution should be shown, as they could turn pretty fast. I don't like healthcare, discretionary spending (resturants, retailers, etc), autos, or airlines.
How I have fared: First off, GSK was my big loser, getting popped with the Advnadia scare. I have lost some here and am using current strength of the broad market to get out gracefully. Big winners: UL (who woulda thunk), VZ, SLB, and CBAK. I am looking to move out of GD because of limited up side and move into CRDN. I am still trying to figure out how much I want to keep my GE stock. It's good as healthcare diagnostics, aircraft engines, and oil/gas infrastructure are big plays with a very global GE, but CAT and some other players are looking nice too and I can't lose diversification. I have recently picked up some NTAP to help ride the tech rally a bit and am also trying to start building a position with ADM, which should be very profitable with lower corn prices and higer gas prices. I am still building a position in Goldman Sachs. I am a little embarrased by my current MSFT position, and I have played around with HPT (a Hotel REIT), but have decided I don't want to do the effort to keep my analysis up on that stock so I will be selling it off. I might start a position in CVS or RAD to take over GSK funds. I am selling my oil (USO) off slowl as it rallies, having not made my mind up what to do with that cash as yet.
Overall Strategy: "Foot half in the grave" I want some strong growth by getting behind some serious momentum picks (SLB, ADM, VLO, CRDN, NTAP, GS), while keeping some of my defensive plays on the table because I still think things can turn (UL, CVS or RAD, VZ, GE). I'll keep you posted.
Outlook: Wow, a lot of things are turning around. We are seemingly in a bit of a Bull Market. I am a little more in cash than I wish (about 25%), mostly because I have taken some profit and was a little slow putting money back to work. I took advantage of this week's fast bear raid on the big boards was a good chance to do some quick buying. I think we are generally in a growth cycle, however, I am very wary of discretionary spending businesses right now. It looks like the consumer is getting beat down a little, but business are using strong balance sheets and relatively low interest to start buying and there is a lot of growth overseas. I think oil will peak out in a few weeks and then sell off, unless WWIII breaks out in the Persian Gulf.
Sectors Snap: I like Oil and Gas Services, Technology (Devices, Software and Storage), Some Staples, Industrials, Investment Banking. I like defense and energy as well, but think a little caution should be shown, as they could turn pretty fast. I don't like healthcare, discretionary spending (resturants, retailers, etc), autos, or airlines.
How I have fared: First off, GSK was my big loser, getting popped with the Advnadia scare. I have lost some here and am using current strength of the broad market to get out gracefully. Big winners: UL (who woulda thunk), VZ, SLB, and CBAK. I am looking to move out of GD because of limited up side and move into CRDN. I am still trying to figure out how much I want to keep my GE stock. It's good as healthcare diagnostics, aircraft engines, and oil/gas infrastructure are big plays with a very global GE, but CAT and some other players are looking nice too and I can't lose diversification. I have recently picked up some NTAP to help ride the tech rally a bit and am also trying to start building a position with ADM, which should be very profitable with lower corn prices and higer gas prices. I am still building a position in Goldman Sachs. I am a little embarrased by my current MSFT position, and I have played around with HPT (a Hotel REIT), but have decided I don't want to do the effort to keep my analysis up on that stock so I will be selling it off. I might start a position in CVS or RAD to take over GSK funds. I am selling my oil (USO) off slowl as it rallies, having not made my mind up what to do with that cash as yet.
Overall Strategy: "Foot half in the grave" I want some strong growth by getting behind some serious momentum picks (SLB, ADM, VLO, CRDN, NTAP, GS), while keeping some of my defensive plays on the table because I still think things can turn (UL, CVS or RAD, VZ, GE). I'll keep you posted.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Show Me the Money, Biatchh!!
It seems like Senator Clinton is on the campaign trail, and her new mantra is indeed a bit interesting. To quote the headline from Drudge, “Shared Prosperity Should Replace ‘On Your Own’ Society.” It seems we need to empower government to help improve everybody’s life. The big issues are wage disparity and wealth re-distribution. Somebody needs to look out for the little guys, and I'm hear to spread the word.
Personally, I get really pissed off every time I see some know-it-all jerk driving a fancy car. His hot wife is always hanging out at my favorite coffee shop, you know, the one I work at. I have always hated jerks like that, always all successful and stuff.
It started even back in school. While I was trying to score some buds, malt liquor, or a way to shop-lift new trucks for my mega rad skate-board of death, these bozo’s where actually studying, playing sports, or otherwise improve themselves. Their friends were all faddish and cliquish and stuff, while my boyze were just trying to pimp it out in style, old school you know, word. They was always tyring to front their wordy ass shit and be all teacher’s pet on us. We ruled them chumps. They wuz hittin’ them books and we wuz knockin’ back 40’s and getting’ funky with the Brass Monkey.
Then graduation set in. They all left off to college, to get learned up on basket weaving and stuff, while us reality playa’s had to go get them skills to pay the bills. Hard core shit like custom paint jobs, sheet rock hangin’, welding, and field expedient pharmaceutical distribution operations. It’s hard enough to get money for booze, tatts, smokes, and strip clubs and still actually buy a sweet ride, but we pulled it off. Not only that, but most of us scrounged up enough cash to actually get that sweet ride dropped down, low rider style, no shit. Of course, we was playin’ at life while our antagoniasizes waz still in school, still studyin’, punks. They might think their Daddy or ROTC waz payin their way, but come on, we all know that at least 3% of the $20 a month I waz payin’ in taxes was going towards their advanced gender studies and classics deconstructivism classes.
Then those cats graduated. Now look at ‘em. Now they’re all managers, project leaders, business analysts, systems engineers, and account executives. All those little freak cheerleaders that liked our chopped rides, 4 chambered bongs, and body piercing’s are settling down with them chumps, pumping out babies and moving off to suburbia. Old BushchimpHitler hooked them up with some tax breaks too. I still pay my $20 a month in taxes, while some of those cats are saving like $20,000 a month. Uncle Sam needs to start throwin’ those C Bills my way. Jim Cramer is all like "Booyah this crap, shoulda buyed some CAT at 34 you low class retard!!" Everybody seems to be doin' better, except for me and my chopped down 1976 El Camino. When is prosperity going to knock on my door (not vice doing a 'hard knock' on my door)? The bottom line, it’s not really my fault I’m such a playa. Hillary’s got it right. Uncle Sam needs to stop being a playa hater. Show me the money!!
Personally, I get really pissed off every time I see some know-it-all jerk driving a fancy car. His hot wife is always hanging out at my favorite coffee shop, you know, the one I work at. I have always hated jerks like that, always all successful and stuff.
It started even back in school. While I was trying to score some buds, malt liquor, or a way to shop-lift new trucks for my mega rad skate-board of death, these bozo’s where actually studying, playing sports, or otherwise improve themselves. Their friends were all faddish and cliquish and stuff, while my boyze were just trying to pimp it out in style, old school you know, word. They was always tyring to front their wordy ass shit and be all teacher’s pet on us. We ruled them chumps. They wuz hittin’ them books and we wuz knockin’ back 40’s and getting’ funky with the Brass Monkey.
Then graduation set in. They all left off to college, to get learned up on basket weaving and stuff, while us reality playa’s had to go get them skills to pay the bills. Hard core shit like custom paint jobs, sheet rock hangin’, welding, and field expedient pharmaceutical distribution operations. It’s hard enough to get money for booze, tatts, smokes, and strip clubs and still actually buy a sweet ride, but we pulled it off. Not only that, but most of us scrounged up enough cash to actually get that sweet ride dropped down, low rider style, no shit. Of course, we was playin’ at life while our antagoniasizes waz still in school, still studyin’, punks. They might think their Daddy or ROTC waz payin their way, but come on, we all know that at least 3% of the $20 a month I waz payin’ in taxes was going towards their advanced gender studies and classics deconstructivism classes.
Then those cats graduated. Now look at ‘em. Now they’re all managers, project leaders, business analysts, systems engineers, and account executives. All those little freak cheerleaders that liked our chopped rides, 4 chambered bongs, and body piercing’s are settling down with them chumps, pumping out babies and moving off to suburbia. Old BushchimpHitler hooked them up with some tax breaks too. I still pay my $20 a month in taxes, while some of those cats are saving like $20,000 a month. Uncle Sam needs to start throwin’ those C Bills my way. Jim Cramer is all like "Booyah this crap, shoulda buyed some CAT at 34 you low class retard!!" Everybody seems to be doin' better, except for me and my chopped down 1976 El Camino. When is prosperity going to knock on my door (not vice doing a 'hard knock' on my door)? The bottom line, it’s not really my fault I’m such a playa. Hillary’s got it right. Uncle Sam needs to stop being a playa hater. Show me the money!!
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Current Events, May 2007….
1) The economy/investing: I seem to vacillate here, but I did mention we are seemingly at an inflection point. Our economy is slowing while the housing and auto industries are getting their asses handed to them. Still, commodities, while up, are not going through the roof and unemployment is at historical lows. The dollar continues to weaken vs. the Euro, but its holding its own vs. Asian currencies. It’s a mixed bag. In the short term, I have taken some profits and am back to about 10-20% cash. I decided I had to do this, because the market has been up over 20 straight days and I was in 100% the entire time. Currently, I am about 75% in equities with 5% Bonds and will likely take some more profits in the next few weeks. I am looking for another sell off in the next few months to put some of my freed up profit back to work. I am focusing on high quality, large cap stocks that have the ability to generate cash in a weak American economy or can substantially benefit through exports as the dollar stays relatively weak. I am staying away from anything related to discretionary spending and have bought quite a bit of oil (via USO) to hedge against what I see as major geo-political risk in the Middle East. All my assets are under non-taxable accounts, so I don’t have the ability to short anything. I am considering opening up another account to change this. My current favorites are Unilever (UL/UN), Verizon (VZ), Microsoft (MSFT), General Electric (GE), General Dynamics (GD), Goldman-Sachs (GS), Slumberger (SLB), and Glaxo-Smith-Kline (GSK). I have another small cap growth play going, but am very wary, because I’m not sure if this is the right kind of asset for the current market. I may take all my small cap profits. I also have made major $$’s investing in China via FXI. Already, I have taken a ton of profits off of FXI, and am considering closing out my position in China entirely in the near future.
2) Viva Le France: Segolene Royal was a strikingly beautiful socialist candidate (sorry to sound like a chauvinist, but come on, she was pretty hot for a fifty something year old – not as hot as wordybitch, but I digress). She managed to lose her bid to become France’s first female president. My young daughters are distraught, because they wanted “the girl to win,” and were too young to grasp the concept of the European welfare state and growing immigration problems when I tried to explain French politics. Still, I am very optimistic about Nicolas Sarkozy. He seems to have a capitalist mentality and no moral hang-ups about turning out riot police, tear gas, and fire hoses on the “youths” (ie Muslim immigrant radicals) that have taken to burning, on average, 100 cars a night. He also wants to work more with America, and unlike Jaques Chirac, Sarkozy was not involved in selling a nuclear reactor to the Iraqis’ only to have it blown up by the Israelis. With that being said, France is still France. Having Sarkozy as president (backed up by Angela Merkel in Germany) will help US/European relationships, but there will still be issues. At least the disagreements will hopefully be more civil and constructive now. The bad news is that if Sarkozy can get some traction on the labor and welfare issues that plague his country, France will be much more competitive with the US economically. Almost forgot, Sarkozy looks like Rocky Balboa too, kick ass!!
3) Fuel Standards: Obama went and got all tough in a recent speech about foreign policy, stating that he wants to grow the US Military and while keeping on the offensive against terrorists. It was good stuff, enough to make me even reconsider him as a candidate, but then he had to open up his mouth about fuel standards. His speech implied that both car manufacturers and oil companies have chosen to keep America depenedent on high priced gas being guzzled by poor fuel efficiency cars. I will leave off the oil companies for now, and focus only on the auto industry. What really pisses me off, is that currently, Americans love frame science and technology debates in a legalistic rhetoric. The argument is that if required by government, auto manufacturers will simply magically build more fuel efficient cars. That is correct, but any engineer will point out that any design is a trade off of options. The biggest trade off with fuel efficiency is weight, which drives the amount of structural steel in a design. Many would say less steel is better. That works until you get into a wreck. I see absolutely nothing wrong with somebody who drives less than 100 miles a week wanting to own a big, fuel inefficient, safer vehicle to put their families in if they are willing to pay for their gas. It’s their choice, not Congress’s. Make no bones about it, higher CAFÉ standards mean poorer safety and protection for motorists. In addition, the market seems to be working out pretty well in this area. Has anybody noticed that Ford and GM are getting their asses kicked, while Honda and Toyota are running the table, mostly because they offer more fuel efficient products? Still, it’s not the real issue, because union benefits and health care are crushing the American auto industry. Obama’s big speech about getting tough with automakers is merely a pretext to create higher fuel standards in tandem with a Federal bail-out of the US automakers on pensions and health care, a crafty mix of popular environmentalist rhetoric that’s really all about union special interests. He just lost my potential vote. Anyway, all Ford needs to do is design a completely riot and fireproof car to sell in France and they can get back to profitability. At the rate the French are going, they’re on track to have about 30-40,000 cars burned by rioting “youths” a year.
4) Decision 2008: I am torn between the president I want, vs. the president I think the nation needs. I WANT Rudy Gulianni to be my next president. He has my conservative bent on many things, without the social platform that turns me off about so many GOP candidates. In my opinion, Karl Rove and the ideal of big government, “compassionate,” conservatism have seriously sundered the alliance between traditional conservatives and libertarians within the GOP. As a libertarian, I feel like the GOP no longer takes my support seriously. With that being said, I can honestly say I hate everything about the current Democratic party. That brings me to the president I think America needs, which is most likely Senator Hillary Clinton. That’s a tough choice to make, and on most of the issues, I strongly disagree with the senator. I think I will post an essay some time in future about my current thinking.
5) Tick-Tock: Hey, douschbags!! That's you Congress. My brothers and sisters at arms are still taking hostile fire while you hold hearings on Alberto Gonzales and the sub-prime mortgage industry. I want the troops home to. The easiest way to do that is win. Let's go!! And yes Hillary, even though I consider you ruthless and underhanded enough to be suberp president, I still expect you to actually work a little in the senate before your campaign gets seriously underway! Let's see some funding, folks!!
Also, I have been working on a big, mega essay about anti-Americanism. I want to finish that up in the near future. We’ll see how it goes.
2) Viva Le France: Segolene Royal was a strikingly beautiful socialist candidate (sorry to sound like a chauvinist, but come on, she was pretty hot for a fifty something year old – not as hot as wordybitch, but I digress). She managed to lose her bid to become France’s first female president. My young daughters are distraught, because they wanted “the girl to win,” and were too young to grasp the concept of the European welfare state and growing immigration problems when I tried to explain French politics. Still, I am very optimistic about Nicolas Sarkozy. He seems to have a capitalist mentality and no moral hang-ups about turning out riot police, tear gas, and fire hoses on the “youths” (ie Muslim immigrant radicals) that have taken to burning, on average, 100 cars a night. He also wants to work more with America, and unlike Jaques Chirac, Sarkozy was not involved in selling a nuclear reactor to the Iraqis’ only to have it blown up by the Israelis. With that being said, France is still France. Having Sarkozy as president (backed up by Angela Merkel in Germany) will help US/European relationships, but there will still be issues. At least the disagreements will hopefully be more civil and constructive now. The bad news is that if Sarkozy can get some traction on the labor and welfare issues that plague his country, France will be much more competitive with the US economically. Almost forgot, Sarkozy looks like Rocky Balboa too, kick ass!!
3) Fuel Standards: Obama went and got all tough in a recent speech about foreign policy, stating that he wants to grow the US Military and while keeping on the offensive against terrorists. It was good stuff, enough to make me even reconsider him as a candidate, but then he had to open up his mouth about fuel standards. His speech implied that both car manufacturers and oil companies have chosen to keep America depenedent on high priced gas being guzzled by poor fuel efficiency cars. I will leave off the oil companies for now, and focus only on the auto industry. What really pisses me off, is that currently, Americans love frame science and technology debates in a legalistic rhetoric. The argument is that if required by government, auto manufacturers will simply magically build more fuel efficient cars. That is correct, but any engineer will point out that any design is a trade off of options. The biggest trade off with fuel efficiency is weight, which drives the amount of structural steel in a design. Many would say less steel is better. That works until you get into a wreck. I see absolutely nothing wrong with somebody who drives less than 100 miles a week wanting to own a big, fuel inefficient, safer vehicle to put their families in if they are willing to pay for their gas. It’s their choice, not Congress’s. Make no bones about it, higher CAFÉ standards mean poorer safety and protection for motorists. In addition, the market seems to be working out pretty well in this area. Has anybody noticed that Ford and GM are getting their asses kicked, while Honda and Toyota are running the table, mostly because they offer more fuel efficient products? Still, it’s not the real issue, because union benefits and health care are crushing the American auto industry. Obama’s big speech about getting tough with automakers is merely a pretext to create higher fuel standards in tandem with a Federal bail-out of the US automakers on pensions and health care, a crafty mix of popular environmentalist rhetoric that’s really all about union special interests. He just lost my potential vote. Anyway, all Ford needs to do is design a completely riot and fireproof car to sell in France and they can get back to profitability. At the rate the French are going, they’re on track to have about 30-40,000 cars burned by rioting “youths” a year.
4) Decision 2008: I am torn between the president I want, vs. the president I think the nation needs. I WANT Rudy Gulianni to be my next president. He has my conservative bent on many things, without the social platform that turns me off about so many GOP candidates. In my opinion, Karl Rove and the ideal of big government, “compassionate,” conservatism have seriously sundered the alliance between traditional conservatives and libertarians within the GOP. As a libertarian, I feel like the GOP no longer takes my support seriously. With that being said, I can honestly say I hate everything about the current Democratic party. That brings me to the president I think America needs, which is most likely Senator Hillary Clinton. That’s a tough choice to make, and on most of the issues, I strongly disagree with the senator. I think I will post an essay some time in future about my current thinking.
5) Tick-Tock: Hey, douschbags!! That's you Congress. My brothers and sisters at arms are still taking hostile fire while you hold hearings on Alberto Gonzales and the sub-prime mortgage industry. I want the troops home to. The easiest way to do that is win. Let's go!! And yes Hillary, even though I consider you ruthless and underhanded enough to be suberp president, I still expect you to actually work a little in the senate before your campaign gets seriously underway! Let's see some funding, folks!!
Also, I have been working on a big, mega essay about anti-Americanism. I want to finish that up in the near future. We’ll see how it goes.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Random Thoughts
The human mind works in mysterious ways:
1) Had to hear it to believe it: On my way home, I was listening to Kudlow and Company on CNBC ("... where we still believe free market capitalism is the best path towards prosperity") and after listening to Larry and Art Laffer dish out some economic smack-down on a few perma-bears, John Kerry came on. During the interview, Senator Kerry said two things that I found truly suprising. The first, was his support for a modifiying the current Sarbanes-Oxly regulations, which of itself, was quite surprising. Even more suprising though, he pretty flatly stated that gun control is not effective and new gun control law is not prudent in the wake of the VT Massacre. I was quite surprised.
2) New Product Idea: Somebody needs to package beans in little fruit cups like they do apple-sauce and fruit cocktail. Personally, I like making quick home-made burritos as a snack, but hate opening up a whole can of beans. Even better, it would be a very healthy side item to pack in a lunch. With the same maufacturing line, you could probably package black beans, refried beans, and even humus, all of which could find a niche market. On top of that, it would be very helpful for people on vegetarian diets (not me).
3) Bad Product Idea: Single Malt Scotch Roll-Ups. The savory taste of 18 year old single malt scotch from the highlands, in the lovable form of a fruit roll-up. Perfect for the on-the-go snacker who can't take time for an eye opener to calm the morning jitters before starting the daily commute. Also great for teaching kids to enjoy the taste of anything.
4) Tick-Tock: Our troops still remain un-funded. President Bush called congressional leaders in for a conference about the issue. Speaker Pelosi sat to hist right and looked like a pissed off little school girl after being put in time-out during the photo session that was on the news. I think the strategy is, that if Speaker Pelosi can get enough camera time looking like a completely deranged bitch, then Hillary will seem amiable enough to elect. Well, at least the first part of the plan is working.
5) Supreme Court: I am not too sad to hear that the practice of ripping fetus that would have a good chance of surviving on its own out of a womans body and then crushing its skull is now illegal. Of course, there is another procedure available for late term abortion where the fetus is dismembered inside to womb.
6) The bombing continues: Almost 200 Iraqi's perished yesterday in the worst string of bombings in a long time. Based on what I read, it seems that the current terrorists are almost completely focused on attacking civilians now. They are ghouls. The press was quick to point out that some Iraqi's blame the Americans. Thanks guys, nothing gladens a soldiers heart more, than risking your very life and sanity to try to save somebody, and then actually get told you are responsible. People that supply, plan, and execute these killings are to blame. They must be stopped.
7) Economy looking better: We seem to be at a possible inflection point. Inflation indicators have eased up a bit and economic growth seems down but positive. Our exports are up and employment figures and wages improve, but housing and planned capital spending by US Companies is down. In essence, it seems a mixed bag. My advice, concentrate on megacap multi-national corportations that can profit from a weak dollar (GE, UT, CAT, XLI etc) and have good exposure to foreign markets. Hedge your holdings with energy or energy commodities (XLE or USO), and smartly get some money into foreign markets (EFA). Be careful of tech and extremely careful with any business that profits mostly from discretionary spending.
1) Had to hear it to believe it: On my way home, I was listening to Kudlow and Company on CNBC ("... where we still believe free market capitalism is the best path towards prosperity") and after listening to Larry and Art Laffer dish out some economic smack-down on a few perma-bears, John Kerry came on. During the interview, Senator Kerry said two things that I found truly suprising. The first, was his support for a modifiying the current Sarbanes-Oxly regulations, which of itself, was quite surprising. Even more suprising though, he pretty flatly stated that gun control is not effective and new gun control law is not prudent in the wake of the VT Massacre. I was quite surprised.
2) New Product Idea: Somebody needs to package beans in little fruit cups like they do apple-sauce and fruit cocktail. Personally, I like making quick home-made burritos as a snack, but hate opening up a whole can of beans. Even better, it would be a very healthy side item to pack in a lunch. With the same maufacturing line, you could probably package black beans, refried beans, and even humus, all of which could find a niche market. On top of that, it would be very helpful for people on vegetarian diets (not me).
3) Bad Product Idea: Single Malt Scotch Roll-Ups. The savory taste of 18 year old single malt scotch from the highlands, in the lovable form of a fruit roll-up. Perfect for the on-the-go snacker who can't take time for an eye opener to calm the morning jitters before starting the daily commute. Also great for teaching kids to enjoy the taste of anything.
4) Tick-Tock: Our troops still remain un-funded. President Bush called congressional leaders in for a conference about the issue. Speaker Pelosi sat to hist right and looked like a pissed off little school girl after being put in time-out during the photo session that was on the news. I think the strategy is, that if Speaker Pelosi can get enough camera time looking like a completely deranged bitch, then Hillary will seem amiable enough to elect. Well, at least the first part of the plan is working.
5) Supreme Court: I am not too sad to hear that the practice of ripping fetus that would have a good chance of surviving on its own out of a womans body and then crushing its skull is now illegal. Of course, there is another procedure available for late term abortion where the fetus is dismembered inside to womb.
6) The bombing continues: Almost 200 Iraqi's perished yesterday in the worst string of bombings in a long time. Based on what I read, it seems that the current terrorists are almost completely focused on attacking civilians now. They are ghouls. The press was quick to point out that some Iraqi's blame the Americans. Thanks guys, nothing gladens a soldiers heart more, than risking your very life and sanity to try to save somebody, and then actually get told you are responsible. People that supply, plan, and execute these killings are to blame. They must be stopped.
7) Economy looking better: We seem to be at a possible inflection point. Inflation indicators have eased up a bit and economic growth seems down but positive. Our exports are up and employment figures and wages improve, but housing and planned capital spending by US Companies is down. In essence, it seems a mixed bag. My advice, concentrate on megacap multi-national corportations that can profit from a weak dollar (GE, UT, CAT, XLI etc) and have good exposure to foreign markets. Hedge your holdings with energy or energy commodities (XLE or USO), and smartly get some money into foreign markets (EFA). Be careful of tech and extremely careful with any business that profits mostly from discretionary spending.
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