The WEB really grows up as Matt and Trey announce a series for ShockWave. Go HERE for stuff. Lots of material from lots of people are headed this way. The New Era has arrived.

Overall the best pollster I've found is Rasmussen. He shows the great divide between Republicans and Dems, with the Democrats being so negative that they refuse to see prosperity and Republicans so optimistic they just see blue sky. His Consumer Confidence Index is the only one that institutional investors watch, they pay no attention to the U of M fake poll. Bookmark his site and refer to it once in a while. He's really good.

Gotten more angry email as a result of my comments on USC not being in New Awlins than anything I've posted in months. Fight On. Oklahoma by four TDs over LSU. USC by three TDs over Michigan. I don't know much about Minnesota football but I sure know something about Oregon. I can't believe Oregon was in a bowl game at all because they haven't had a defense since Germany last won a war; Trivial Pursuit question would be to name one war Germany ever won. I guess you Big 10 guys can say the same about Minnesota. Dam good game though. Kansas State-Ohio State could be a hell of a game too. The NFL Playoffs look like dynamite. Football is great this time of year.

Marin County psychiatrists rally to save beef industry. Correctly treating Mad Cow victims reduces disease to "Angry Cow". Humans contracting Angry Cow disease can be treated with Marijuanna. HAPPY NEW YEAR.

BCS and strength of sked If you noticed, the PAC 10 has won three bowl games, one of them over the fake #6 Texas of the super powerful (ho ho) Big 12. So much for "strength of sked". USC should be #2 or #1 and be in New Awlins. The Rose Bowl is THE BIG game of the Holiday. The perfectly awful UCLA Bruins upheld the pathetic part of the PAC 10 by losing to _{Fresno State.}

Market note: Things look so good I am scared. Market could go to 13,000 in '04, jobs will be near 4.9% by election. Terror attack is always a possibility. But the numbers are so good it is scary.

Sullivan is very good today, perhaps because he isn't writing it. All news, data, and opinion. And no gay agenda.

MODERATE IRAN QUAKE KILLS 50,000

To understand why a quake slightly weaker than the one that hit Paso Robles in California that killed only two people killed 50,000, it's important to understand the criminality of the government and business in Iran. Below is a reprint of an essay on their government from months ago. Inferior construction, bad concrete and cement, corrupt business. It wasn't that the very old buildings failed, it's that ALL the new ones collapsed too. I think only one old warehouse in Paso Robles collapsed.

Iran is The Godfather, Part IV

Here's the deal. Think Soviet Union in the last days dissolving to Yeltsen. Think crony capitalism, think criminals in charge of every business, police, a force of Hells Angels type motorcycle thugs called the Hezbollah militia working for them, the Revolutionary Guards who also work for them, and a secret police. The real power is a handful of clerics and their associates who call the shots behind the curtain and have gotten very rich in the process. Think mullahs getting rich running businesses given to them by Rafsanjani, who run things through murder and intimidation.

After the 1979 revolution the mullahs seized virtually everything of value--banks, hotels, car and chemical companies, makers of drugs and consumer goods. What distinguishes Iran is that many of these assets were given to Islamic charitable foundations, controlled by the clerics. According to businessmen and former foundation executives, the charities now serve as slush funds for the mullahs and their supporters.

What exists there now is a dictatorship run by a shadow government that--the U.S. State Department suspects--finances terrorist groups abroad through a shadow foreign policy. Its economy is dominated by shadow business empires and its power is protected by a shadow army of enforcers.

Ostensibly, the country has been run by Rafsanjani for the past 24 years. He's an opportunist and very smart. He has "privatized" the economy by divvying up the spoils to loyalists, and like a Mafia Godfather, he takes pieces of everything. He has gotten very rich in the process.

It is the youth that is taking to the streets. Here is the raw data, an estimate from U.S. Census Bureau; U.S. Department of Labor.

Population IRAN 67 million; USA 283 million

Percent under 25: IRAN 65% USA 35%

GDP per capita: IRAN $1,800 USA $37,000

Inflation: IRAN 25% USA 2%

Unemployment: IRAN: 18% USA 6%


Now Iran is pretty rich, only nobody but family is getting the money. The country's largest copper mine; the state-owned TV network; a governor of Kerman province; an outfit that dominates Iran's $400 million pistachio export business; key positions in the Ministry of Oil; the Tehran Metro construction project (an estimated $700 million spent so far) are all Rafsinjani family members. Today, operating through various foundations (more later) and front companies the family is also believed to control one of Iran's biggest oil engineering companies, a plant assembling Daewoo automobiles, and Iran's best private airline. Remember, all these better paid workers will be loyal to the government., the ones getting paid crap are ripe.

So guess why people are pissed? They earn $1,800 per year and the Rafsanjani family and their mullah buddies are multi millionaires and billionaires with wealth in real property all over the world. Anybody who reports this in the press is killed.

The balance of the economy is controlled by the Islamic foundations, which now sack the country and pocket the money too. They are just organized crime. If you get successful you are supposed to donate 20% of what you make to charity. The mullahs stop by and extort the money. Failure to "donate" will result in somebody saying you're a bad Muslim and you are tossed in jail. Don't think these "foundations" or "charities" are small time. One, The Mostazafan Foundation, employs up to 400,000 workers and has assets that in all probability exceed $10 billion. Among its holdings: the former Hyatt and Hilton hotels in Tehran; the highly successful Zam-Zam soft drink company (once Pepsi); an international shipping line; companies producing oil products and cement; swaths of farmland and urban real estate.

Keep in mind that all these "employees" of all these criminal enterprises will be loyal to the government. Think the Baath loyalists in Iraq. These "foundations" hire the thugs too.

So what you have is a mullahocracy of thugs with billions in business deals, and more billions in cash. They stand ready to spend what is necessary to stay in power. When push comes to shove they have always murdered to stay around.

The blog community would have you believe that a bunch of directionless kids marching in the streets without guns can throw these guys out. Like the people in power care about what anybody thinks. The EU thugs? Africa which they bribe? China? They only fear the United States and until we really rattle the cage nothing will change.

Running stupid ads or doing websites is a fucking joke. More feel good crap. The USA is going to have to figure a way to topple these billionaires and I think and hope we are working on it. Keep in mind we cut off Alqeada money and funding. We can do some real financial damage to these guys.

A bunch of kids won't cut it.

LINK HERE for long story. Requires long registration.

Behind Dean's "whining" about rough play is internal polling data showing a shocking slide in support. While he is bullet proof within his hard Left support group the "add on" is of the band wagon type. The band wagon is losing interest. Even so, his lead is still huge. NYT Safire thinks he will actually lose in Iowa. Keep in mind that while the main media is all liberal Democrat, none of them want to lose and they see Dean as a loser. The Main Media is anti-Dean and they are largely responsible for highlighting Dean's mis-steps. Dean is not electable say the Media Left. So they get him.

FOX: A BUNCH OF CHICKENSHITS, NOT RIGHT WING

Fox is going soft from Fox and Friends to their Brit Hume news they are sounding more and more like just another main stream liberal network. Today on the commentary they had two liberals, Jill Zuckman from the Chicago Trib, and Jeff Birnbaum who works for Fortune but might be just as much at home at The Nation. I don't know why but they certainly ain't a right wing network any more. They are afraid. Afraid of going out New Years Eve, afraid of eating meat, just plain afraid. Right Wing Network my ass.

MarketsTHE LAST JOB CREATED IN FRANCE WAS WHEN HITLER HIRED A GARDENER

Mad cow and sad dollar are helping the market. Cattle prices at all time highs were not a good thing and feeders leveled out today at $.78 per lb. Almost all economists are saying that the falling dollar will fall more and it is not a problem at all. The questions they all ask include, what nut will invest in "old Europe" with stagnating economies and unemployment approaching double digits? The dollar will turn late in the first quarter or early in the second when the Fed nudges rates. Then look for an explosive move up, and I mean explosive, as Europeans do everything they can to buy U.S. equities. William O'Niel of IBD thinks the market is still undervalued, and O'Niel is the sharpest of the sharp. Look for 2004 to be strong, not as strong as the huge 2003 move of nearly 42% but it will be strong. Select good companies and you'll do fine. 11,000? Yup. 13,000? Yep. How about 15,000? Pushing it, but almost possible.

Without a doubt the Most Creative Site on the Web is TerpsBoy right HERE. Using funny pics to make his commentary he is light years ahead of me and everyone else. Go there to laugh AND think. Bill Quick is also updating his site to include all kinds of things; he is a long time blogger and keep checking him out. It may be that Blogspot, the service I and many others use, will now have to use Moveable Type or a similar system or become a part of history. This Terp guy is very clever.

Media paying attention to Pakistan AT LAST. Saw a few features that mirrored what I said here. This is more serious than anything out there TODAY.

Understanding Dean and why the attacks on Dean mean zippo Just go back to Watergate and Nixon. There was a time in the process where it became obvious that Republican "operatives" broke into Democratic HQ and tried to steal their campaign plans; in other words Nixon's guys were hired to change the election results. There was not a shadow of a doubt. Yes, the hate toward Nixon was motivated by revenge over his exposure of Alger Hiss, a darling of the Democratic Left. Hiss's guilt was denied by everyone on the Left til the book by Tannenhaus exposed the fact that Hiss was not just a Communist, but a Russian spy too. In fact that at least six "Left" warriors were in the Roosevelt administration and sending secrets to Moscow. Yet Nixon was guilty of Watergate. Around 30% of the country refused to believe it. They were die hard somethings firmly convinced that Nixon was good and everyone else was either wrong or evil. This 30% on Right or Left is unyielding. No "proof" can sway them. Their guy or cause can never ever be wrong. The other guy is a criminal, a traitor, and whatever other bad things you can think of. That is the way it is. 30% of our population supported the British in the Revolutionary War; I don't know the number of draft dodgers in the North during the Civil War but it was huge. Same in WWI. Only during WWII did the country rally toward one goal, and that is due in large part to the Communist Party endorsing the war against Hitler and the exposure of the German-American "Bund" as a foreign agent. Even during WWII the Communists regarded the war as a "warm up" for the real thing, the Communist Revolution that would take place after the war. Dean's support is 30% of the Democratic party which means that only 20% of the electorate are buying into his campaign. This is normal. What isn't normal is that if Dean is denied the nomination he may run as an independent and pull his entire support with him. That support is far larger than Ross Perot enjoyed when he wrecked Bush I in 1992. Dean running against a single Democrat might mean he'd lose, running against seven means he wins. This design is the work of Clinton lap dog Terry McCaulliff who will be ousted the second Dean gets the nomination. Dean is "hit proof" to his followers. Period.

A really interesting look at the Dean phenomenon from a NYU journalism school piece. Link courtesy of Terpsboy. One of the things discussed is the "up from the bottom" issues being brought forth via the internet. It's "up from the bottom" anti-Semitism from the Academic Left, the socialism from the socialists, the naked hate, and so on that is scaring the shit out of everybody. Also a sharp look at the journalistic hit men shooting at a target that isn't there any more. Anyway a long but very interesting piece.

Response to a ton of emails regarding my "review" of Cold Mountain as a Hollywood Left agitprop piece of Democratic Party bullshit. Ask yourself one question: would this picture have been made about a Northern Army deserter? No way Jose. That is because some wars are just wars according to the Left and the Northern cause was "just". If you oppose a war that the Left considers "unjust" then you are a hero for leaving your friends to die while you run away. That's it. And Nicole Kidman? She is shitty in this particular role, not shitty as an actress. Every performer can be mis-cast. In re-reading my observations I confess to bad writing regarding her ability.

High School pom pom girls hire thugs to protect them from senior boys, a former wrestler enters ex-gf's house, stabs her, and then tells her he wants to leave her on the bed and watch her bleed to death, fake penis on soccer star, all this and more goodies at badjocks dot com. Oh yes, "Soccer Mom Hookers" is worth looking into. What can I do? It's a slow news day.

Oh My God, it's Porno Spam A piece on FOX about the menace of porn spam in the workplace is what most of us already know it is: the chance of a lifetime for these fucking bitches to sue their employers. The extension of the suits is even more hostility toward women in the workplace. A large corporation I used to work for was plagued by two things: (1) Guys dialing around the system to porn sites and getting the email and (2) guys forwarding same to others including women they didn't like, especially pics from a site called fotm rotten dot com (do your own search because they are really bad). Screams and suits. So the company blocked every site they could. Women would deliberately patrol the office seeking "offending" images so they could sue. All sites were blocked except at certain "closed" office computers. Then all email was banned and had to go through a central computer. This caused a revolution, men were spitting on women and women were nasty as hell. Of course some guys got so pissed off they were sending graphic porno and vaginal images to the women from internet cafe's or anonymized ISPs. Total war. The solution was to close off all cubicles, put doors on them, and forbid entry without knocking. I left the company but have heard of others in other companies saying much the same thing. Many women are looking to sue over sexual harassment, hostile work environment, or discrimination and all corporations are defensive about it. While porn sounds funny, the sluttiest women you can imagine will claim insult and sue. Life in the Big City.

I've mentioned several times that Dean is actually a Socialist. If you haven't dropped by this itemized piece on World Net Daily, I suggest you go there. Dean IS a socialist and the top of the Party is also. A couple of bytes:

the Socialists' web site says: "We are not a separate party ... Many of us have been active in the Democratic Party ... to strengthen the party's left wing, represented by the Congressional Progressive Caucus."

Reynolds doesn't like the fact that Editor and Publisher has called bloggers "self important". I agree with Editor and Pub. I mean who the fuck are we to have an opinion?

If you haven't ever dropped by this site you are missing some good stuff. Lots of cool pix.

DEAN TAKES GUTTY STANDS

Is against Mad Cow disease (a shocker), wants bin Ladin to die (a brave statement), and is also against Al Qaeda. Details HERE Is ready to take positions on smallpox, motherhood, and Harley Davidson bikers not flying a Confederate flag next week. Stay tuned.

Parmalat may be even worse than Enron. Reports that a public prosecutor charged with investigating them has been on the take. How does this affect us? It doesn't unless there are more new "wrinkles" to this mammoth fraud that our guys corporate thugs are sure to have done too.

Tole ja, Mad cow came from Canada as you knew on Tuesday and everyone else knows today. I further clarified the opinion on Friday. Will Reynolds and the gang give me credit? Are bears Catholic? Does the Pope shit in the woods? Main quote:

Dr. Ron DeHaven, chief veterinarian for the Agriculture Department, said Canadian officials have provided records that indicate the animal was one of a herd of 74 cattle that were shipped from Alberta, Canada, into this country in August 2001 at Eastport, Idaho. It joined the Washington state herd in October 2001.

So it wasn't smuggled in.

"RETURN OF THE CHICKENSHIT", THE HOLLYWOOD LEFT OSCAR CONTENDER

Hollywood slobbers over "Cold Mountain", a story about a "hero" deserter who leaves his buddies to die while he runs off to his girl friend, a woman he doesn't even know. You may find this disgustingly politically correct movie just plain boring. Nothing in the movie is believable, particularly the fact that not one white southerner in the South supports the South, other than some vicious deserter searchers called The Home Guard who are brutal as hell and I felt the repetition of their name was an attempt to link them with "Homeland Security". Sympathy for deserters in time of war is the typical view from the Hollywood Left in Beverly Hills. Combine a gutless deserter with a super feminist (Renee Zellweger doing everything but bench pressing twice her weight) and you have the Democratic Left in full flower. So we are supposed to "side" with this deserter; a guy who is just like the chickenshits who dodged the draft in Viet Nam leaving others to die in their places; the pricks who now populate the Hollywood Left. A more apt title would be, "Return of the Chickenshit". As an added PC bit, Renee Zellweger plays the feminist icon who can do every physical task on the planet (except fuck), a lie just by looking at her. Lots of people loved the book and maybe they will like the movie, which is being "sold" as a modern Odyssey (classical Greek) and not a story about a gutless deserter who only cares about what he wants and the hell with everyone else. BTW Nicole Kidman stinks BTW Nocole Kidman stinks in this part. Anybody who would desert his friends for the woman as she plays her is an asshole.

Over a billion dollars in sales taxes were not collected by local governments because $13 billion was spent over the web this Christmas Season. This cannot continue. Tax strapped states and cities will now fight like hell. We will be taxed at the local rate, somehow.

I'm going to stick with my Mad Cow observation that the cow came from Canada. Although it seems now that it would have been imported long before Canada had a "Mad Cow" case. Banning all meat from huge countries like Canada and the U.S. makes no sense at all anyway unless it can be shown that the disease is widely spread.

AAA and other "help in SoCal today. We cannot get to the airport by car. Is there anybody out there to call? Hell no. The AAA which costs us $45 per year to join for their "help" has nothing. All their "directions" are dated 4/2/03. So we are all blind around here. No help on local channel news, radio, etc. What shit.

SoCal "disaster" mud slides amount to child neglect. This storm was advertised for four days. Everybody knew the hillsides had been stripped of greenery during the fires. This happens all the time. The people who took those kids up there should be charged with a crime.

Taliban with atomic weapons is as close as the death of President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan. This will be a disaster of unmeasured proportions. Pakistan is a nuclear power. We would have to go to war, along with India, almost immediately. Nobody in Media seems to be paying the slightest attention. Think President for Life binLadin. The dream of most on the Left.

A lesson for those of us who engage in schadenfreude is the Parmalat scandal in Italy; another is here. It's Enron, something EU trash said couldn't happen there. Difference is that Italy wants governments to bail them out to keep company in "Italian hands". This means it will happen again there. There is nothing that happens "there" that can't happen "here". Makes not difference where the "here" and "there" are located.

Rush and addiction having been in this area I can comment, I hope those of you who have not been there can understand this. Addicts job one is to supply their addiction, Rush included while he was using. Now he has stopped but the pressure on him to cop to criminal activity continues. The question arises, is he trying to avoid the consequences?

Part of the Twelve Steps is to " Make direct amends to such people (we had harmed) wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them (selves) or others.." Why in hell should he send himself to prison? What good would it do him? How he works on his addiction is his business, but in so far as his integrity goes with fixing himself he is in tact. Copping to doctor shopping would harm himself AND others. That's the way it is. He isn't going to lie about it but he's going to fight. BTW I fear the cops ever invading my medical records on a fishing expedition just to get me. Don't you?

Sullivan takes a momentary snooze from his usual "gay is the way" agenda to publish this extraordinary email. Read it. Although if the writer hadn't included a sentence promoting gay marriage this letter probably would have remained in byteville.

Kobe Bryant is a signal to all young women who even say "hello" to any of these athletes. Put out and shut up or I'll ruin you. Any woman that takes any other message out of this "trial" is nuts. I tell my daughters, "Don't even say hello." These guys see what they want and they take it. Period.

Mad cow disease in western Washington state. My bet from years trading commodities is that some farmers are sneaking diseased cattle across the border from Canada. With Feeders going at $1 a pound smuggling cattle is better than cocaine.

Kim duToit has a great rant today In fact two, the first being about taxing us fat guys unless we eat right; the second about stupid women, perfect wives as defined by girly men who publish so-called "men's magazines", and..... Well you just have to go there. MY idea of the good Men's Mag would be titled "Tits and Ammo", "Pussy and Cars", or "Cigars and Sluts". Oh well......

Sales taxes in the age of instant information are a joke. I have received three sales pieces in the past week advertising products that are super taxed in almost every state: tobacco and alcoholic beverages. The prices for brand name products here in CA are half because they are being sold over the web (mail order) with no tax. The country of origin appears to be many. I have no idea if the products are as advertised since I don't know much about expensive wines and liquor, but I do know the tobacco products are name brand. This is happening "ahead of the curve" of the tax man trying to tax internet purchases. While liquor may be too heavy and fragile to make much of an impact, tobacco products are light and easy to disguise. What will our government do? Search every package that comes from overseas in order to collect taxes? Of course. The tobacco police, the CD police, the drug cops, the anything you can tax cops will try. They will search your credit card charges, ATM charges, and any transaction other than a money order. Let us see how this plays out.

The refusal of the SEC to do its job of protecting investors now means that every state's AG is going after Mutual Funds. This nightmare can be laid directly at the feet of GW Bush and his horrible appointments at the SEC. This could kill the Mutual Fund business and it will be the fault of Washington D.C. doing nothing to protect investors.

Front Page has a searing analysis of "dead peasants insurance" and Dean's probable participation in it. This policy is so badly thought of that only six states, including Vermont, permit it. This scam allows a corporation to take out huge life insurance policies on employees without their knowledge and profit hugely upon their death. So your employer might insure you for a million without your knowledge and collect when you die and pocket the money tax free. Read the piece, I used to be in the insurance business in CA and there a beneficiary has to have "an insurable interest" in order to be named. Interesting stuff.

Getting the word out to the Barney Fife sheriff types and other small town law enforcement is why the government publicly raises the Terror threat so "everybody" knows. Those of you from smaller towns know exactly how "out of it" small town cops can be. The "word" in LA talk radio yesterday was filled with "red herrings", assholes in government, and similar praise for the public elevation of the risk. Compounding the threat is the view that if al Qaeda has their people working as airline pilots for foreign airlines, once they seal themselves behind steel cockpit doors they can't be stopped. The Left has nothing to talk about. Oh yes, since I am home for the next few days I get a chance to see some TV and the Left was rationalizing the 8% GDP this AM the same way they trashed the Reagan job gains as "burger flippers"; it isn't really happening and if it is happening nobody will benefit.

Markets

A terrific article by James Flannigan on the dollar is here.

......don't let all this chatter about a low dollar spook you. Ignore the scare talk. The greenback's fall speaks to America's strengths as much as its weaknesses.

MARKET: Seems that everyone is on vacation and has established "hedges" in futures and options til January. This could mean 11,000 by Jan 31. Big moves with no volume don't mean anything, in fact if move is too big between now and 12/31 market could cave or "correct".

Merry Christmas, nearly everybody......

Get ready for a dollar turn. Take a look at the chart on the Swiss HERE and you will see we are very close to the 96 turn chart which was the beginning of the Clinton boom. As the dollar makes news in the popular press it means it is over. I once took a course from a famous trader who said, "whenever you see a picture of a sack of sugar on the cover of Time magazine it is time to get out of sugar." You are now seeing the "falling dollar" on the cover of too many popular media. Combine this with the near bottom on the Swiss and you know it's over. Now, suppose it isn't over? That will be a serious problem, but only if we drop through those 96 lows. One of the best economic writers in the country, James Flannigan whose pieces appear in the LA Times, has a terrific analysis HERE. Read it before Dec 27th or you'll have to pay for it.

Why Hillary is a hawk it's all here if you haven't read it. It explains the Clintonista silence on the war and why some are now coming out in support. It could also be a deliberate leak to the Weekly Standard in an effort to isolate Dean. Interesting reading.

National Review on Line has a revolting apologia for Islamic girls and women wearing head scarves in school. Nobody there checked this clown out. Head scarves on women are NOT harmless. Think gang "colors". The wearing of the head scarf is a Wahabi war cry. Anti-Semitism is OK, attacks on Jews are coming, support radical Islam, or else. These head scarves have been banned in schools in Turkey (also banned in public buildings), Singapore, Australia, Germany, most places in this country, and now France; China is banning them on a case by case basis. There is a big reason. It's called war. Read that piece of propaganda and write them.

Cigar notes from a long time cigar guy Bought some Cubans about six weeks ago; Upman #2 $10.90 ea, and Montecristo #2 $8 each. I then purchased the much cheaper Romeo y Julieta Rothchild En Tubo Natural (rated 91 by CA) $3.40 each; and Henry Clay H2000 Corona Gorda Natural (91 by CA) $2.40 each. Both of these cigars are the equal or better than the much more expensive Cubans. Everybody has been saying for years that Nicaragua was about to catch up with Cuba and they have. The Clay is Dominican. Both are really good cigars.

QUIZ of the day Q: Gaddafi of Lybia has agreed to disarm because:
A. He wants publicity
B. He wants to borrow money
C. He wants to join NAFTA
D. He knows WMDs contribute to Global Warming and he doesn't want to destroy the planet.

VDH sums up The EuroTrash over at NRO

Are we to assume that you would extend $100 billion in military and trade credits to a mass-murdering fascist, but almost nothing to his victims, who got very little from your lucrative trade deals?

A few other zingers: "Are Jews safer in Paris than Arabs are in Detroit?" and...."was the death rate this August higher in the Sunni Triangle or Paris?" Worth reading.

TWENTY MILLION DOLLARS PER YEAR IN TAX MONEY

That is what it costs the people in SoCal to pay for the health care of WalMart employees. Their pay package doesn't include health care and the cost of the "company plan" is so high that only 40% of the employees can afford it. When WalMart employees or their families get sick they go to county hospitals. Worse, managers get paid for cutting costs EACH AND EVERY year. The approved method is to fire somebody who is getting health care each year so the company contribution to the plan is reduced and goes to the "bottom line". Think about that when you're saving a couple of bucks on X'mas shopping.

Goody goody, the Pope likes Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion" which asserts that it was Santa Claus who killed Jesus. Jews can relax.

DEAN ANOTHER HUEY LONG?

Additions made since original posting due to emails I have received. Many thanks. I rarely think or say things like this but I have come to the conclusion that Howard Dean is actually a menace to this country. Not because of his lies, although they are becoming legion, but because he is becoming a modern day Huey Long. "A chicken in every pot" is now "tax everyone to equality and share the wealth". His pitch is to the angriest element of our society, as was Long's. The unemployed and homeless of the 30's blamed the banks. It was the banks that stole their homes. It was the banks that stole their savings leaving them penniless, there were no insured bank accounts before 1933 so when banks failed they failed with people's money. Long exploited this hatred. He was brilliant. Passed the bar with no education, educated himself, was governor and senator at the same time. His reign was amazing. The Left today is as incendiary with hatred as were the unemployed and farmless in the 30's and they will follow anybody who will promise to walk away from Iraq and leave the country hanging. The Left wants that money for more and more entitlements. They will follow the loudest guy promising to get rid of George Bush and every policy passed during his administration (good or bad). They want to surrender our sovereignty and turn all policy over to the "multilateralism" of the U.N.; he will destroy the CIA and the military thus preventing us from defending ourselves. Time to stand up and fight because this guy is a menace. And he isn't lying. There are threads on various blogs indicating that Dean is stupid, majored in Marxism, and has nothing. Fact: he is an MD, finished near or at the top of his class, is a graduate of Albert Einstein University as well as Yale and is typical of "the smartest guy in the room" a guy so smart he thinks he can always land on his feet no matter what. If we haven't learned from the "Bush is a Moron" campaign we are all toast. None of these guys are anything short of 1500 SATs. Dean was Governor and Lt. Gov of Vermont, Minority Leader during 1985-1986 and was in the Vermont House of Representatives from 1983-1986. He knows how to game the system. He's served on a ton of Governors and national issue committees including health. Bush is smart as hell. Dean is smart as hell. Get ready for a fight.

The psycho babble about the "unconscious" motives regarding the anti-Bush protestors being hustled by Reynolds and others is total crap; and Reynolds seems more and more to be a referral center to Tech Station, a site he either owns or writes for in exchange for money. The shit Reynolds is touting is the same that lets killers run loose because they need "understanding". We are adults. Our conscious reasons are what count. Our stated reasons need to be held up for analysis and picked apart. Nobody knows the unconscious links to Saddam, China, and all the rest of the bullshit. The Brits who tore down Bush's statue were Left Wing anti-Capitalist anti-America people. Period. Tarring them with other motives is stupid. These asshole pseudo-psychiatrists who float the bullshit are just filling up space so they can get paid. Like I'm for Bush because my dick is too small or I hated my mother and need a kindly AA member as a father figure. Give me a break. Look at reality. That's enough.

My only favorite economist Larry Kudlow has a good piece up today. I like him, not just because he's right most of the time, but because when he's wrong he cops to it right away. He's been calling this market almost correctly since the tax cuts passed and his remarks today include:

The potential for a major expansion of tax-free savings accounts, privately invested Social Security choices, across-the-board corporate tax reform, an end to frivolous anti-business lawsuits, and free-trade agreements in Central and South America will all be possible in a second Bush term. And the Iraqi beachhead for representative government, human rights, and market economics will transform Middle Eastern politics and spread to other dark corners of the world.

Read the whole piece HERE. He's bullish, but this market is running up at a killer pace. I sold my calls too soon. Oh well, it's better than losing.

An interesting marketing note regarding the youth market. Mitsubishi has lost half a billion dollars this year because they targeted their ads to the 18-34 market.....and got stiffed by people who couldn't pay. Interesting piece here on the "youth market".

Noted while having to watch cable news while waiting around for someone.
1. Would any of us be paying any attention to the absurdities being uttered by Dean and other Democrats if there weren't 24 hour news cycles?
2. Some Democratic heavyweights are flat distancing themselves from Dean. I think they are afraid of being caught up in his wake.
3. Hillary is clearly in the Dean category as she hysterically characterizes the Bush administration. Undo everything since Teddy Roosevelt? She's as whacked out as Dean.
4. It is clear that Dean is running as a Socialist. He will "level" the rich, tax the shit out of all of us so we are equal, and take control of the economy. People think he's lying. I don't. He's saying exactly what he intends to do. Plays real good to the sophomore class at Berkeley.

Add to yesterday's market comment regarding the Swiss Franc. Go HERE for a long term look.

HEAD SCARVES, THE WAHABI BATTLE FLAG

France doing a 180?? Anybody notice that after the Saddam "thing" France has not only come around on Iraq debt but that they are moving at long last to put the brand of Frenchness on the Muslim population? The banning of head scarves on women attending schools is a major thing to Muslims. The Turks were faced with the same thing years ago and banned them at their universities too, realizing the "statement" the scarves were sending. Not much is written about the role of women in Islam, we prefer to think of them as unwillingly subservient to a culture they don't like. Not true. Most Muslim women willingly submit, and they are just as fanatic in their faith as the men. This head scarf thing is huge, in France and in our country too. Watch this develop. France is developing some balls. The purpose of Islam is to dominate all cultures. France has gotten wise. The head scarf is a battle flag.

Ohio State investigates itself and finds itself innocent. The continuing Maurice Claret saga in which a semi-literate baboon has been enrolled in school only to cheat on tests, sleep in class, take money and cars is all a figment of the liberal media. Plays in Ohio like a Strad.

SADDAM IS GONE AND PEOPLE FEEL SAD---IT IS THE MOST NATURAL THING IN THE WORLD

Lots of people in Iraq have certain feelings about Saddam that they cannot understand. Many of them actually feel "sad". There is nothing wrong with this feeling. I understand it and I know what to do about it. The solution is spiritual and if you are an atheist don't bother reading this. You will think this is bullshit.

Many Iraqis feel bad because in losing Saddam you have lost something that has "worked" for you for a long period of time. Saddam was a part of your life. A part of you. You adjusted your life and lived your life by the rules, no matter how much you complained. Your happiness during that time was also a result of Saddam. You had happy moments as well as other moments. Most of you married and had children and they were cared for.

Now he is gone. A tool that you used throughout your life has been taken from you. This tool took care of you in bad times and helped you in good times. It is the most natural thing in the world to feel bad when you have to give it up. In fact it would be unnatural if you did not feel some sadness. Even sadness over losing a maniacal figure. When a bad parent dies the children still feel bad.

How to handle this "unexplainable" sadness?

Here's what you do. When you are praying, say good bye to Saddam. Thank him for the good things and thank him for allowing you to use him. Mourn him. Then, say good bye. Tell him that both of you have to move on. Give him to Allah (God). This is a spiritual process and if you believe in God (Allah) ask Him to take Saddam and replace him with something else. It might be a good idea to have something in mind for a replacement.

This works. All of us have to get rid of old tools and habits that no longer work. We are always sad when we do it. You are not a bad person for feeling sad over the loss of a monster. You are only guilty of being a normal human being.

MarketsMORONS WATCH THE EURO CURRENCY

Pay no attention to the bullshit experts pissing about the Euro vs the U.S. dollar. Watch the spread between the Swiss Franc and the dollar. The EC has only been trading for seven years and the Swiss has been around like forever. The dollar is nowhere near a low against the Swiss, a currency that mirrors the EC. The "weakness" they are all talking about is a bunch of Left Wing jerkoffs with degrees in communication, English, and other crap trying to bash this country. All currencies trend for years, and there are times when it looks like a turning point in these trends that fake us out. The current trend began in 2000 (Clinton was prez) and became obvious in 2001. I'd say June would be the normal period of time before the trend changes. I can't reproduce charts on this site but go HERE and you will see the Swiss vs Dollar relationship; HERE for a long term chart. Remember when viewing that the dollar is always quoted against a "basket" of currencies. Take a look at just the Swiss and you will see. The dollar is NOT near all time lows.

WHEN YOU LEND MONEY TO DICTATORS

Nobody who loaned money to Iraq under Saddam deserves a penny in repayment . There is no other way to look at it. Everybody knew they were financing one of the worst criminals on the planet. They were making money on the worst of human misery imaginable. Everybody deserves absolutely nothing. The Iraqi people did not borrow the money. Not that anybody will come around to this POV.

MEDIA WATCH THIS AM Up early with nothing to do. With the exception of FOX, all networks led with American casualties in Iraq, bombing, and then as a last item mentioned that we killed 18 Iraqis who tried to ambush us. FOX led with the ambush story and included the rest. Refer to the WSJ editorial today by Mr. Card as he points to an unambiguous media bias in the coverage. Stay awake. The real war is the Left vs the Truth. BTW, as I pointed out yesterday the media is now a chorus of "Internationalizing" the trial of Saddam as if Iraq has no right to try the mother fucker.

RETURN OF THE KING: I'm sorry but I just can't get excited by phony cartoonish computer graphics. This stuff should be called "Triumph of the Computer Geeks". I swear I've tried to like this stuff (the trilogy) but I can't. Fake people, fake scenery, and fake battles just don't grab me at all. Can't get into it. Must be some kind of predisposition to accept the patently false in order to like a movie about fakery. At any rate, not for me. Dwarfs, Hobbits, and computers rule.

SADDAM AS A HOMELESS BUM; ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL

Why Saddam Matters He matters because he was held in the minds of every Iraqi as private personal super figure. While he existed he was a subjective metaphor in the imaginations of millions, a rallying cry, a threat to return. This made him as dangerous as ever. Before capture he lived in the mind. A Hero or Devil figure larger than life possessed with super powers. Every killing could be attributed to him. Every bomb blast. He had become an icon. Now he's a homeless bum with nothing. It's as if Jesus or Lenin had been shown to be total fakes. It is devastating to the Baath partisans. Pulling down the statue doesn't come close to pulling down the man. His capture is not "another plastic turkey" as the Left is now saying. His capture reveals a democratic truth: All Men are Created Equal, and every once in a while we get to see that when the mighty are felled.

FOR VETERANS ONLY: I am running a daily log about my effort to get the VA to treat me. . My only purpose is to force a change in the way we are treated there. Still refused care as of 12/9 HERE TODAY 12/15 Received a call from the VA and they will begin treating me this week. This came after I wrote at least 100 people in Congress, the VA, and two Senators.

MarketsReady to Soar? Why?

Capture of Saddam have anything to do with profits, comapany debt levels, or empoloyment? Hell no. Just another example of investor idiocy. I look for a big move up followed by all the smart guys already in to sell out. This is truly the majority being always wrong. Be careful. Add at 3PM PST Soared plus 97 points, closed down 22. Same with other indexes. Market still looks technically weak.

DEFENDING SADDAM: CHANCE OF A LIFETIME TO ATTACK AMERICA

Left Wing Lawyers Salivate at Chance to use a "trial" as a platform to attack this country, Republicans, and Bush. Don't believe for a second that moving the trial to any "Western" venue is not Job One for these slime balls. The National Lawyers Guild (an outright Communist org formed by Stalin), the ACLU, and other Left legal "brains" have the chance of a century. They will blame all of the atrocities on America, American "oil companies", family ties with U.S. families involved in oil, and so on. As early as yesterday morning the Left wanted the trial in Europe. The U.S. Army, the same bunch that allowed spies into Guantanamo for two years, the same bunch that have allowed propagandists to spout "news", and so on will not be hip enough to stop this. The last thing we want is to have a bunch of Left lawyers giving Saddam "instructions" on how to defend himself. The Left Wing legal teams in the U.S. and Europe are as bad as the terrorists; some are outright terrorists. "Gaming the System" has begun. Watch Big Media clamor for a "Western Trial". Too bad he didn't put up a fight, we'd be better off if he was dead.

The real story is not the endless blah blah blah about the obvious, the already known, and the useless trivia linked to infinity by Reynolds, Sullivan etc., but what the Left intends to do. They never stop. We better watch our backs. Watch media carefully. The Left is a Fifth Column in our midst.

SADDAM CAUGHT---LEFT OUTRAGED

NEEDLESSLY HUMILIATED BY U.S. TROOPS No Miranda Rights read, search warrant not issued properly, mistreatment at the hands of brutal U.S. troops a concern. PETA expresses sorrow over the "wanton slaughter" of the body lice on Saddam. Pelosi and Boxer are "happy" at capture but observe that troops who captured Saddam excluded women and the arrest is another homophobic macho excercise by angry white males who fly confederate flags on their Humvees. French demand oil contracts be honored want trial before International Tribunal in Paris. Germans claim no envoronmental impact report filed before capture and that once more the U.S. has contributed to Global Warming.

Quotes from leading Left Democrats: "Fuck!!", Howard Dean. "There is a disconnect between reality and perspective in these things. Is Saddam important? Is freedom necessary? Do we want another out of control U.S. military thugocracy in the area?", Nation Magazine.

Stay tuned. LATE ADD I have two friends who are on the extreme LEFT. Both have stated that Saddam was no threat to our country and that the capture is worthless. I will assume that this is the party line.

THERE ARE THREE SIDES TO EVERY STORY; AND A DECORATED GENERAL WHO HAS NEVER SEEN ACTION

A ton of offers to pay the $5,000 fine levied against Lt Col. West. Put me down for some bucks. This is a guy every one of us would want as a CO. So far there is only a "defense fund" which he no longer needs. My military experience contains a bias against all officers not West Point or Annapolis grads. I don't know the details about Major General Raymond Odierno (West Point, class of 1976), the division commander who levied the fine against West, but I guarantee you that he was told NOT to let West skate on this one. That if he let him off it would be regarded as a fatal career move. FOX is implying in their report this morning that the General is an asshole and his men don't like him. West's attorney stated

"The problem with today's Army is that the top brass seem to have become paranoid about making common sense decisions without the 'advice of counsel.' " said Mr. Puckett, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. "Those counsel usually have no idea what it means to command troops in combat."

In other words this Major General has never seen combat (except from the rear during 1991 Iraq War) and doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground, something that can be said for much of the top brass. Odierno is your classic "educated to the hilt" officer who has earned all kinds of medals for sitting around in Germany and stuff; he even has a Bronze Star for sitting around, a first as far as I know. Puckett further observes

"Had true Army leaders been allowed to handle this without benefit of counsel, I believe Al West would still be in command, would have been privately congratulated, and told to stay out of the interrogation business in the future," Mr. Puckett said.
"That would have been true Army leadership. Those type of leaders are still in the Army. It's just that they have been subverted by job-justifying lawyers who seek to play a larger role in the command."

The other side to this story is political. Meaning that if West was allowed to skate, other officers and enlisted ranks would engage in the same activity. Since we are trying to help the Iraqi people we cannot have a bunch of our guys sticking guns in the faces of people "we think" might be terrorists. As a former 18 year old grunt with no judgment whatsoever who once ran around Pusan with a loaded .45 looking for beer and pussy with my pals, let me observe that if I thought this type of activity was approved I'd be pointing guns at the heads of every towel head I could find. I'd be a fucking Mafia Don behaving like a complete asshole. A message had to be sent. It's just that the Army chose a piss poor way to do it.

MarketsWHY TOO MANY ANALYSTS CAN SPOIL THE BROTH

Marty Zweig who is one of the best once taught a class where he mentioned that one of his better indicators for market direction was the number of tout sheet ads for bullish or bearish news that ran in Barron's each week. That when 60% of the ads were bullish he got very scared, and vice versa. What this means is that even with good analysts, once all the selling or buying is in the market, the market has to change direction. That is because there are either no more sellers out there or no more buyers. When I made my scare observation earlier this week I was not yelling in the wilderness. Others saw and see the same thing (genius is not existant in the markets). As of Friday most newsletters are warning their readers. This mass warning makes a big correction less likely because the big players will hedge with options or futures. So while the market still looks uncomfortably vulnerable to a major correction, my concerns are shared by too many. Just watch your stops. The jobless claims were stinko but everything else is strong. People who look at PE ratios (I believe those numbers are worthless) see the market as "over valued". Just watch the moving averages of the Indexes. Christmas is not necessarily a light volume time. This is the month for tax squaring. Many sell in late December and immediately buy in early January. I can also tell you that when I was a broker, December was one of my biggest months at least half the time. Don't go on vacation from your market watching. December can be a dinosaur month.

KIM du Toit strikes again with a really funny Christmas card. I also agree with him on the "Best Blogs" bullshit where there is even a competition for best female bloger. Right! Women can't write as well as men so they need a separate category. You women ought to be pissed about this.

Drop by Fuck France dot com today for some really good stuff. Especially this Pipes piece regarding Jews and their future in Europe (Not). Then there is the piece about the EU regulating the number of bees than can accompany the queen bee. Yes, Virginia. There is an EU.

MarketsOK, DOW 10,000

Doesn't mean shit. Markets still look very bad technically. Now more and more good analysts are calling for a major correction. This means a correction is less likely than it was three days ago. But it is still likely. Watch your stops.

Why is the Media Left? And other stupid questions. The Media is composed of the 1960s draft dodgers, the people who hid behind phony deferments, hiding in Canada, and just plain luck in avoiding the draft; and their little pink darling children. The sixties Draft Dodgers were motivated by cowardice and let others who had less money and clout die in their places. The offspring of these 60s Leftists naturally back up daddy. These are the two generations of people who "work" in the Media. These two generations will be forever excusing the cowardice of the sixties Draft Dodgers. The military HAS to be bad or they expose their families as gutless opportunists. Any foreign involvement is bad or they expose their lack of principles. There is no other reason for the bias. The Left is cowardly. Will not stand up and fight for freedom anywhere, including here unless it is safe to do so. Green on the outside and red on the inside (enviros); furry on the outside and pink on the inside (Animal Rights); and just plain red (Academia). They want to destroy capitalism and impose socialism. Period. End of discussion.

The flu and what the hell are people thinking? How can you NOT get your kids flu shots? How can old farts drift around knowing they are high risk and not get the free shots that are available everywhere? Not their fault. They are victims of the drug companies, Wall Street, and Republicans. I can't believe that people didn't bother to get their kids shots, but they didn't. So they die. The French will point to the death toll and blame capitalism. The Muslims will credit Allah.

File under Fuck France Yes I agree that the Axis of Weasels should be frozen out of rebuilding contracts in Iraq. Especially France, Germany, and Russia who stabbed us in the back. Reward your friends, punish your enemies. France is an anti-Semitic cauldron and Germany is going that way, again. Russia is no longer a shadow of a democracy, having elected Putin Dictator for Life. I''m totally with Bush on this one.

ANGELS IN AMERICA; THE ABERCROMBE AND FITCH CATALOG OF FILMDOM

Whenever the Left praises a movie you can bet the movie is a total propaganda piece. "Angels in America" ain't about God. Angels in America is about homosexuals being victims because they stuck their dicks into somebody's ass and caught AIDS. Like guess what? There ain't no penicillin up there, people. There's shit up there. What the hell do you think is going to happen to you if you slosh your dick around in shit for five minutes? A Federal hand out, that's what they think. Angels in America is about how everybody should rally and pay for their disease. It's about, hating Reagan, Republicans, and everybody who isn't on the "gay side". The New York Times led the usual liberal choir in praise of this homosexual spectacle. The people who watch TV knew exactly what a long winded piece of shit this was and didn't watch. No ratings at all. Sort of like the Abercrombe and Fitch catalog of filmdom.

Both Glenn Reynolds and Roger Simon are asking if the media actually wants us to lose in Iraq and point to the lack of coverage of the demonstrations against terror in Iraq yesterday. As of 1PM PST today, 12/11 a Google search finds not one single mention in any American media of the demonstrations, including FOX. One South African paper ran a piece. Yes the Left wants America to lose and they are proving it.Late add FOX carried it as a feature story in their Brit Hume evening news, including the blackout by big media.

MarketsJobless Claims Rise

As I said yesterday: watch your asses. The outsourcing of jobs is serious. It should be a HUGE election issue once the campaign gets underway. Technically, the market looks horrible, but if technical analysis really worked we'd have no markets. However it is a guide. Watch it.

File this under: Stupidity at the GOP According to all reports Bush will run against Dean by painting Dean "as another McGovern". Yeah? Well McGovern was elected and re-elected to both houses of Congress, was a huge war hero (33 combat missions to GWB's zero), won the Distinguished Flying Cross among other medals, served in many other administrations. McGovern ran on policies that people rejected. That was the only thing "wrong" about McGovern. Any attempt to tar somebody as "another McGovern" is going to come back and bite, big time. These guys think they can beat Dean on the cheap. They are dead wrong. Check out McGovern's record in life and ask yourselves if you would be disappointed if your son turned out like him; then check out Ann Coulter's hit piece today. Won't work and shouldn't work.

Regarding the Google bombing linking George Bush with the search phrase "miserable failure". Google is now a victim of its success. In short it is not reliable any more. Case in point: I was looking up a name who I know was convicted of child molestation in a major city. Found zero. Found zero for the name, a name that is very common. In other words, if you have the energy or the legal clout you can manipulate Google. Nexus which used to be the best of the best has been worthless for more than two years.

I saw a movie on cable called "Iran, Veiled Appearances" directed by Thierry Michel. I recommend it highly. It is a lefty Belgian-French look at the student movement in Iran. They do a bang up job. I was surprised at the number of young people involved in the movement. The movie shows lots. What it doesn't show are the Mafia, cops, and business interests, the phony charities raking in the funds, and the jailing of anyone standing in their way. It features a bunch of "liberated women" doing next to nothing, and not too many men willing to talk. In spite of this the movie is still good. However, like most Left assholes, the movie is followed by a "commentary" by all the feel good Lefties who urge people not to do anything about it. A pretty powerful piece. It was shown on The Sundance Channel here in SoCal over Adelphia Cable. Their schedule is here This movie will be shown again Tuesday 12/23 at 11:30AM ET. Check it out and tape it.

MarketsCOVER YOUR ASSES

The markets look like absolute shit. Poor volume, NASDAQ falling, and a correction overdue. Watch your stops. Do not throw new money in unless every duck is lined up, and every duck is NOT lined up the way I look at markets. I bailed on my S&P calls yesterday because this market absolutely looks ready to tumble. I don't know how far.

Anybody who thinks Dean can't beat Bush is smoking something, as I've been saying for months. Now Bill Kristol chimes in too. Hispanics, Blacks, and Labor count for plenty.

"Will stab anyone in the back for food." Gore and his motives are unknown to anyone without access to the secret plan. Sullivan has as good a take as anyone, but he's probably wrong because he makes sense. Keep in mind that Gore has stabbed Gephardt, one of the first to support him back in 1999; his old pal Lieberman, and the Clintons. Everybody strong thinks Dean is a loser. Don't count on it. Blacks, the pissed off Left, and the teacher/lawyer complex will support him no matter what.

Take a look at The Belmont Club today. $70 billion was paid to terrorist groups by Saudi-controlled Islamic charities. There is also a link to U.S. News and World Report, a news story that will make you puke. It IS the Saudis, stupid. The Belmont Club should be a must read for all of us. And U.S. News is a must must. I think you will shit when you read it.

BLOOD MAKES THE GRASS GROW Biggest News---- Not Iraq. Not the missing girl. Not free drugs. It's the BCS, stupid. It seems that USC is becoming "America's Team", a sentimental favorite around the country. The "Super Victim" in a country that sees everyone as a victim. Even UCLA guys are pissed. But USC as some kind of symbol of the downtrodden out here is like declaring Godzilla the National Pet. I mean everybody hated USC til Sunday at 3PM PST. This once again shows that we are a country that likes fairness above everything and this flat ain't fair. The Rose Bowl now becomes a war zone. USC will be crazy to vindicate themselves and Michigan will be crazy to kill them once and for all. Looks like a great Rose Bowl to me. As the old High School cheer goes: "Blood Makes the Grass Grow". My favorite High School Cheer goes like this

Beer, Beer, makes you want to cheer

Gin Gin makes you want to win

Cold Duck, makes you wanna......

S C O R E

A week suspension and a D in government. Response to a bunch of emails I think the Big Twelve is really a weak conference and is the Big Three at most; the Pac 10 is the Pac 1, The Big Ten is the Big Three, and the Southeast Conference is over rated as hell with maybe four teams. Strength of schedule is a joke, but USC probably played the weakest because the Pac 10 was indeed a fucking joke this year.

Hillary turns RIGHT and if you didn't catch her on Tim Russert this AM you missed the recasting. From Hillary Pussy to Hillary Thatcher. A total hawk on both Afghanistan and Iraq. I told all of you months ago that she was going there (May 30). Now she is there. She knows Dean will lead the party into the wilderness and she is ready to lead it out. Question would be: will the radicals follow her? Wait and see.

As usual, a very scholarly piece from Braden. A once over lightly

Middle East Peace: Europe Strategizes To Counter U.S. Hegemony

Summary
Europe is backing an unofficial Middle East peace proposal in a bid to strengthen its hand in the region and curb U.S. influence. The maneuvering will not lead to a clash between Brussels and Washington, but it will improve the geopolitical position of some actors in the region who are out of favor with the United States.

You'll get what EU is up to.

Some Hillary bashing not covered. Her obnoxious behavior while at Thanksgiving Dinner with the GIs is getting no coverage except HERE and HERE. As a former grunt I can tell you that the description rings true. Eating with officers, posing for pictures, and taking a hike. Letter from a GI incudes

Bagram GI: Troops Waited While Hillary Chowed Down

U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton forced U.S. troops stationed at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan to wait for their Thanksgiving dinner last Thursday while she and her entourage arrived late, then cut in line and were served first. Quoting the email from a GI:

"Thanksgiving Dinner started at 3 p.m. that day, so the line was forming around 2:30 p.m. She didn't show up until around 3:30 p.m. "Once she got there, Clinton and her entourage bumped everyone in line, forcing them to wait almost an extra hour."

People magazine was on hand to cover the event (and didn't) and wanted to interview the troops for reaction to Clinton's visit. "But they were getting declined left and right, people were actually telling the reporters, 'You don't want to print what I think about her and her visit.

A comment about her moronic claim that Bush has as purpose the destroying of the New Deal. This means we are supposed to believe that insuring all the bank deposits will go, as will all securities laws, Social Security, Labor laws guaranteeing collective bargaining, the return of Prohibition (actually the ban on pot IS prohibition), no FDA, no Deparment of Ag, and so on. I have a good idea on why Big Media lets it slide, but it can't slide if you think about it.

The rioting Germans in 1946 stories now circulating the web are about as relevant as Sparticus is to NAFTA. From a lady who says she went to Munich High School Army Dependent School class of 1949:

.....Nobody paid any attention. The Germans were starving, they lost the war, and deserved all the bad that could happen to them. The Army had jeeps with 50 cal. machine guns mounted on the back and would not have hesitated a second had the Krauts done anything. We were in charge. We had nothing to fear from anybody. We had the bomb and the Russians didn't. Most U.S. officers had lost their best friends in combat and hated the Germans anyway. My dad wanted their blood. Nobody really cared about what the Krauts thought about anything because we regarded all of them as Nazis. All you had to do was look at the news reels of millions of Germans Zieg Heiling to know it. Nothing in Iraq remotely resembles Germany in 1946.

There is more but you can tell that the lady was there. The continuing effort to equate "now" with "then" is absurd. Letter includes story about high school basketball and football rivalries just like the states; their big rivals were Frankfurt and Berlin.

File under "No Shit, Sherlock!" The hate Bush campaign is headed toward assassination attempts. LINK to 500 words where ten would cover it. Link via Reynolds. The rights of free speech also cover the obligations to the listener. But that is philosophical navel study. This hate campaign is dangerous as hell and the media savvy Democrats know exactly what they are doing and exactly how to stir people up. Will the last psycho leaving the meeting bring the ammo.

Markets

Biggest News on the Street by far is the now fully funded pension plan at General Motors. Every analyst was worried. Ford has still got big problems, with a low stock price hurting the company. Keep in mind that GM once dominated the world and had 50% of the U.S. market. Their high end business is now beginning to dominate; led by Cadillac and Hummer. The new Cadillac is becoming the hot car for the young rich. The problem with all the car companies is the UAW who keep demanding higher benefits and may shut down the industry, although their arrogance has been modified over the past five or so years by losing organizing campaigns everywhere, and the delicate positions of the Big Three. But this pension reversal is major news. Major.

Piss poor jobs number but positive anyway. This was a pretty big surprise. I only know of one analyist who predicted less than 100,000 jobs increase. Keep in mind that jobs are a lagging indicator. This means that manufacturing jobs won't show up til next time, or even later.

HUGE VICTORY for decency as the American Public is staying away from Abercrombie & Fitch in droves. They posted another disappointing month, with sales falling 13 percent -- after a nude child Christmas catalogue that was as despicable a publication as has ever been printed. Total kiddie porn. It's about time we all behaved this way. The second I saw it I had made my mind up to avoid Fitch completely. Glad the rest of you did too.

HOT BARELY DRESSED BABES TO PLAY TACKLE FOOTBALL ON TV

Stuff that even Jerry Springer can't think up: Freshmen forced to drink enema kits as a hazing ritural; boys and girls strip a male student and then the females fondle him (bad girls, bad; No TV for a day); Canadian "Kids Hockey" mom punches another mom in the face at a game. This and more hot news HERE. There will be a test on this stuff Monday. Most importantly: Babes with big boobs clad in underwear will be playing tackle football during half time of the Super Bowl. The "game" will be on HBO. Want to bet that the NFL will spend whatever it takes to stop the show?

File under: HOW STUPID IS LABOR? Now the steel workers are pissed because Bush cancelled the steel tariffs. What a bunch of true assholes. The tariffs were a payoff for their votes. As a show of gratitude the union endorsed ANY democrat as being better than Bush. No wonder the Democrats lose elections.

FILE UNDER: THE CIA IS SHIT Why does Valarie Plame (Wilson) have a security clearance? Why does she still work for the CIA? And why isn't her employer, Mr. Tenant, fired? The answer is Bush.

The Braden Files has a pretty good take on the CIA and how they got to where they are. He's a very smart guy and doesn't trash anybody. Just a POV based on fact.

"Just part of the facts, ma'am" As Bernard Lewis wrote and as Pipes, Ladeen and a ton of others, including me have written, one of the main things Muslims hate about us is "the separation of church and state". This is a non starter with them and they never give up on the concept of "the devine man", a person ruled always by God. Sullivan links to an article in the Asia Times today that is more than likely an article that tells intelligent people what they already know and dopes things they don't want to know, but worth reading because you will get a feel of the dialogue. I have written here many times that our problem with the Left in this country is that they have total contempt for ALL religion; if you believe in God you are a moron. The Left is not capable of dealing with any religious movement other than to ignore it within a Democratic society. Well Lefty, we are now face to face with the eighth century and they are pissed. God and state are one-----or else. While this guy in Pakistan is a radical with the typical concentration on selected data to prove a point, he is just one of hundreds of very bright, and very dangerous, leaders in the Muslim world. Not unlike plenty of university professors here. "Just part of the facts, ma'am. I don't want to think about too much." covers it.

Wondering about Iraq? Read my July post. Hate to tell you, but I told you.

TURN THE OTHER CHEEK AND I'LL HIT YOU WITH THE OTHER FIST
The Beverly Hills Power elite are now on the side of hate filled columns of Chomsky, Robert Scheer at the LA Times, and the lies spewed out by the ex-Clintonistas and the likes of "moveon.org". Don't think we can deal with this by just being nice and playing fair. This is political terrorism and there are no rules. Lies, cheating, law violations are all OK for this current Left crowd.

Never underestimate the power of hate. Think about it. The KKK, Nazism, Stalin, Pol Pot, and so on. If you can get people to hate you can take over a continent. Every dictator has done it. Bush is hated by the Democrats and the Left. Do not for a second suppose that "Love conquers all" or any other sophistic drivel. Look at the anti-Semitism being spewed by all the "intellectuals" on our college campuses, among the chattering classes, and the European Left. "Turn the other cheek and I'll hit you with the other fist" is the aphorism that applies here. We all better realize that wealthy Democrats on the extreme Left control the party and will spend all it takes to get rid of Bush and the Republicans. They don't care how many people are back to work and working. They don't care how many people Saddam and bin Ladin are no longer able to kill, put into plastic shredders, or gang rape while their families watch. What they care about are abortion, entitlements, and an anti-Christian agenda.

Markets

Under the Heading: A rising tide lifts all boats Goldman Sachs has declared that this bull market has completely bailed out GM with its pension fund; that it is now fully funded. That's news folks.

I bailed out of 1/3 of my S&P calls so that I am now in the market for free almost nothing. I don't give stock tips, I've been calling for a 10,000 Dow by Christmas for at least six months (Actually 9500 since April 30). I didn't call for 10,000 by Christmas til late July, HERE. It is clear that the cheap dollar is causing the huge rally in the manufacturing business across this country. There are limits to this. LATE ADD in response to many emails calling me a chickenshit, a person with no convictions and so on. Always, always, always "scale out" of trades so that you are in markets with almost no risk at all. This is risk management 101. If the market tanks tomorrow and stays down I have lost nothing. If it roars upward like I think it will I will triple my money.

Under the heading "A falling dollar has consequences". Oil prices will remain high because Saudis sell oil for dollars and the dollar has lost 30% of its value. Oil at $30 per bbl is around $24 to the Saudis and others who sell oil for dollars. This slide has got to stop.

Before you start feeling good and hoping for French casualties in the Ivory Coast, remember Mogadishu. The French went into the Ivory Coast to save lives and are now about to lose them. The difference between then and now? Clinton had no commitment. The French do because thousands of French citizens live there.

Pro-government mobs armed with everything from assault rifles to stones demanded a return Tuesday to all-out war against Ivory Coast's rebels and threatened attacks on French civilians in the country if French peacekeeping troops refuse to clear the way.

Remember that this is STILL a colony, no matter what the pretense.

"We give an ultimatum to the French. . . . They have to leave the front line," militant youth leader Narcisse N'Depo said at the military base. "If not, the next targets will be the residences, houses, goods and interests belonging to the French. All that is French will be attacked."

Terrorists will terrorize.

Is Dean crashing before our eyes? Or will his Bush hating followeres ignore every stupid thing he says. In a speech the other day he referred to "the Soviet Union" at least ten times in the present tense as if it still exists. He has also accused Bush of locking up his records while governor of Texas when those records are in a public library. This guy is out there, but the Democrats are going to have to attack him or he wins. Bush certainly will attack.

For cardiac freaks only How are heart attacks caused by the Kawasaki Effect? What does it do? OK. A doctor named Kawasaki discovered this in Japan in 1967. Unexplained serious illnesses occurring in children between the ages of three and eight, and occasionally as late as the teens, can leave the sick person with permanent heart damage. This damage is almost always an expanding, or "ballooning" of the artery close to the heart. This expansion weakens the artery. It also means that microscopic "platelets" will park in the "corrugations" within the artery. Eventually one or two of these will break off and go straight to the heart causing a "mild" heart attack; one that cannot be seen on an electrocardiogram even while the heart attack is going on. My attack lasted for a day and a half and my EKGs showed zero. The only test that shows it is an enzyme test. The victim will feel an extreme tightness in the chest, numbness in the exremities particularly the left arm, shortness of breath for no reason, and dizzyness. No pain, at least in my case.

Cure? Well blood has to be drastically thinned, the tiny clot dissolved, and then you will be on blood thinners for the rest of your life. To find out in advance you actually have to have a doctor "Looking" for the expansion. My prior tests had shown the expansion but it is so minor that no one caught it.

Kawasaki Syndrome. Less chlorestoral means nothing, exercise ditto, good weight won't help. We are talking the smallest possible clot breaking loose. Just so you know. Go here for a Google search.

MEDICAL CARE FOR VETERANS? FUHGEDABOUDIT

Log of actions taken:

12/15 Got a call from the VA Hospital in WLA. They will see me on Monday. I don't know if my kicking and screaming will help the rest of you.
12/11/: Made formal complaint through Senator Boxer; still no response from VA
12/8; Am on very limited excercise. Still out of breath after short walk. Have been told to cool it with the walking. VA still won't see me unless I agree to climb the hill and stairs. Can't do it. Without other care I'd be a dead man.
12/1; wrote below letter and sent to head of Congressional Committee and VA.
12/2; sent letter to media; sent by email and FAX to Congressional Members of Veterans Committee
12/3; Sent web page by email to all VA offices. Got one reply, that from VA in DC. They told me to contact Patient Representative. I called just before noon and a recording told me that office hours were between 8 and 5, to leave a message and my call would be returned. Call was never returned.
12/4: Received an email from the Office of Inspector General at VA. Informed that they had "opened my case" and that I had no appeal whatsoever on any decision they may make. Still NO MEDICAL CARE. Anybody know a lawyer?
12/5: Thursday I sent web posting to 20 reporters at LAT. None responded. I went to my private doctor, had to have coumadin level changed. Called my psych at the VA who is in the same building. He told me NOT to climb the stairs and adjusted my meds over the phone. Keep in mind not ONE congressman has contacted me either, nor has the "Patient Representative returned my calls.

The VA Hospital in West Los Angeles; a place where unlicensed CLERKS with golf handicap IQs practice medicine and doctors don't bother to call.
What follows is a copy of a letter I sent to Congressional Committe members, the VA both in West Los Angeles and D.C., a Senator, and the Los Angeles Times. Keep in mind that I STILL haven't heard from ANYONE and had I not had alternate coverage I'd be on the street with no medical care. If you are in Iraq or Afghanistan thinking about re-upping and that you will have lifetime medical coverage, check this out. The coverage totally sucks and this is how you will be treated too. It ain't just happening to me.

I have been under VA care at the West Los Angels Hospital for 15 years. I had a heart attack on Monday 11/24/03 at 4AM. I called 911 and was transported to the nearest hospital which was Cedars Sinai. Diagnosed as a Kawasaki related attack, placed in ICU for two days, and hospital for five more where I was on Halparin, coumadin, and Plavix. Released on 11/30. I am prescribed coumadin and Plavix. I was told to contact the WLA VA Hospital for some follow up, advised to do limited walking for three days and get blood work done. I am also covered by Medicare A&B.

I called the VA upon discharge this AM and was told nobody could help me; that I would have to call my Primary Care Provider, a Mr. DeJesus at ext. 49162. I told the lady I wanted to talk to a real doctor and my real doctor at that number is Dr. Baum. I was told I had to talk to the UNLICENCED TO PRACTICE MEDICINE clerk. Mr. DeJesus, in keeping with his unlicenced status, refused to transfer me to a cardiologist. He told me I had to drive over there to Bldg. 205 (it sits on a hill 100 feet above the street), climb the steep hill in front, and then climb up a steep flight of stairs and he'd see me IF he wasn't busy. I can't climb the hill and stairs at this point because I am short of breath. I then called the business and they were rude, told me I had to go to Building 205 and the fact that I'd just had a heart attack "was the way we do things no matter what". Again from an UNLICENCED clerk.

I then called Cardiology Clinic. Another UNLICENCED CLERK told me nobody would see me until I went to Building 205 and did the appropriate climbing.

If you think this is medical care you must be working for the government, a government that allows and encourages UNLICENCED people to practice medicine. No real doctor who knew I'd just had a heart attack would ever instruct me to climb a hill and then a steep flight of stairs. I assume that CLERK, Mr. DeJesus, will cause a law suit one day and I will do my best to see that I am that cause.

I am still waiting for a call from somebody. I am glad I have Medicare and a real doctor in the private sector will see me this afternoon. A REAL doctor with a degree and everything; his CLERKS do paperwork and answer the phone. They do not give medical opinions.

So if you are a Veteran thinking the VA is there for you, beware. No hospital, doctors office, or even country clinic would treat somebody who had just had a heart attack like this. Only the Federal Government with their army of union employees, many with golf handicap IQs, would dare to treat people like this.
LATE ADD, 3PM TUES Still no way to get to the VA. I am on coumadin, a drug that needs constant monitoring or you can die. Private doctor ran test yesterday and will run another on Thursday. Just so you veterans get it: a fucking bunch of clerks put my life at risk. I could have died yesterday due to a coumadin imbalance. The same thing can, and will, happen to you. And nobody cares.