Archives for August 2007

Well, not really much market commentary today. Since my good day on Tuesday I’ve stayed out of the market, save for longer time-frame positions that are doing fine with time premium melting away towards September options expiration on the 21st. For the short term swing plays that can last anywhere from minutes to a few days, I’ve gotten to where if I have any reasonable hesitation, I just wait for a better "feeling." Monday afternoon, I bought those puts without a second of hesitation and then rode them for every penny Tuesday, got out a minute before the bell — and Wednesday the market would have taken back every last dime of profit had I tried to ride it for more. These huge swings are great, when you can catch ’em, but they’ll kill you if you’re not careful.

So, weird week. Ended up pretty much where it started with lots in between.

I was going to post something else entirely, but YouTube doesn’t yet have a version I’m happy with, so I’ve got another treat. Think you could guess my favorite Led Zeppelin tune? Stairway, right? Nope. Black Dog? No way. Whole Lotta Love? Great one; but no. Dazed & Confused, yet? Nah. How about Ramble On? Right you are. This is one of those rare songs that I love more the more I hear it; because every time I hear it I notice something new. The way the bass guitar (well, "baritone," actually) kinda but not completely leads the verses, then kind of trades off here and there with both acoustic and electric guitar, and then how the drums really mark and hold the chorus with such a cool sharp and punchy percussion. And Robert Plant gives a great –what I call — power-pure vocal performance. It’s a complex and balanced number, and I just can’t ever get enough of it.

Here y’ go; and yea, that Lord of the Rings animation is the only version I could find on YouTube. And by all means: crank it. You’ll be glad you did.

Arnold, CA. Just minutes ago. The cabin. Maybe I’ll stir some shit over the weekend right here.

1. Funny: This post on the completely undefined or distinguished "Conservative Revolution."

2. Funnier: The seven comments (so far).

If Paul accomplishes nothing but expose the republicans for the slithery and unprincipled reptiles they’ve become, then it’ll be something, I guess.

At minimum, it should be interesting. I’m pretty confident that Paul will soon command "top tier" status simply because the media is being embarrassed right and left and the coverage volume is increasing pretty rapidly already. The resistance is understandable. On principle, integrity, and honesty, Paul is simply unassailable. He’s completely bullet proof, so the only way, really, to counter him — when you have no choice but to — is to either mimic him — but without a shred of integrity or track record — or push even farther to the left and talk about how "the world has changed" and how big government is essential and Republicans are simply going to have to get on board. Once he’s recognized top tier, it’s kinda tough to ridicule him because you’re ridiculing his supporters, whose votes you wish to secure.

Paul is the ultimate Republican wedge, and I’ll just love it if he just blows the shit out of that cadre of hypocritical shit bags. Then, perhaps, they can rebuild something with a modicum of principle, honesty, and integrity — because having those virtues within a hundred miles of any national politician but Paul is a complete laughing farce.

(via Rockwell)

At least I was able to laugh

Driving home from breakfast, I mustered the nerve to switch over to NPR and listen to a "debate" (euphemism for phony opposition) over California’s health care "crisis" (euphemism for manufactured hysteria). I learned that what we need is a "plan" (euphemism for scam) for a "system" (euphemism for absolute control by the state and select privileged companies) in order save us from the "random hodge podge" (euphemism for free market and ultimate control by customers) that currently exists.

Most importantly, we learn that what Schwarzenegger most certainly "doesn’t want to do" (euphemism for exactly what he will do) is to create another "giant bureaucracy" (euphemism for bad before the fact and good after the fact, when fake jobs are at stake).

Yea, that’s where I really lost it.

On the bright side, they were reading some listener emails and actually had the nerve to read one from someone with some brains, asking why they kept referring to it as "insurance," when what it is is pre-paid heath care. If you buy something that covers all routine and major maintenance on your car, you don’t call that "insurance." It’s a maintenance contract, and it’s understandably very expensive — which is why most people don’t buy them; they take their chances and pay as they go. Insurance is a low-cost, long-term means of covering catastrophic costs.

Of course the point was quickly acknowledged, and everyone just as quickly moved on.

That was my line out loud, just a few minutes ago in the locker room over at the gym in response to this on the Teevee, which earned a round of laughs and nods from the guys.

It’s fair to say we were all very surprised by this.

That’s the typically lying hag bag of shit, Hillary!; who else? You know, it’s difficult for me to recall — going back to 1991 here — a single time I have ever heard her open her fat trap when I thought she was being sincere and honest. Bill, too, mostly; but at least he always had a certain charm of being a bit difficult to dislike just because. Not her; that pathetic bitch has made me nauseous from day one: every single time I have the misfortune of laying eyes on her ugly mug. Loathing; I can’t think of any other way to describe it.

So now a bunch of democrats, once again, are shocked — shocked — to find they’ve taken "dirty" money and are scurrying as fast as they can to return it.  Rats or cockroaches; no matter.

Disclaimer: for those unfamiliar ’round here, I couldn’t really care less about sources or amounts of campaign donations. I’m speaking to the general lying hypocrisy rampant in the whole rotten deal.

Warren Meyer does his usual superb job in cataloging the mass of lies that always go into this sort of thing — always. But be my guest; you’re always welcome to keep being the leftists’ fools. It’s the only way they can possibly survive and operate. Without fools, both parties would cease to exist of course; by my bet is the democrats would collapse first.

To state it another way: that "99%" of politicians lie about "99%" of the time is not causal; not at all. It’s not even necessarily harmful, taken alone. What’s causal, and what makes it harmful is that you, dear American, believe it most of the time.

Are you one of their perfect fools; their very own useful idiot?

I’ve just spent a rather enthralling 45 minutes watching the video, Ron Paul: A Man For All Seasons. It’s very, very tight in terms of coherence to a simple set of principles; it’s comprehensive in terms of the message it seeks to deliver and the impressive volume of sources it uses; and it’s put together by one David McClain, an apparent "nobody," like you or I.

I like the substantial, all-caps tag line to his blog, Republican Renaissance.

"THIS IS ABOUT CHANGING THE DIRECTION OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.
IT’S A CALL TO TRUE CONSERVATIVES WHO FEEL THEIR PARTY HAS BEEN LED
ASTRAY, STEERED BY AMBITIOUS BIG-GOVERNMENT POLITICIANS FUNDAMENTALLY
INDISTINGUISHABLE FROM THEIR COUNTERPARTS ON THE LEFT. JETTISON THE
PRETENDERS, THE SLOGANEERING MOUNTEBANKS, THE PROFLIGATE
CAESARS-IN-WAITING, AND SHOW THE COUNTRY A DIFFERENT KIND OF
REPUBLICAN. BECAUSE THERE ARE ENOUGH CLINTONS IN POLITICS AS IT IS."

For me, the most interesting aspect of this campaign, thus far, is the
various and impressive videos being put together by Paul’s supporters.
I’m certainly not sure if we have a Black Swan in the making, but this
is exactly where it’s likely to come from if we do end up with one. And now here’s the video.

In case it isn’t obvious by now, I freely admit that I was 100% and in every way dead wrong in supporting this war in Iraq — every little bit of it — and not just the follow-on "nation building" which I initially was less enthusiastic about, but admittedly OK with. It’s an easy thing to do, you know: to admit you were dead, stinking, stupidly wrong, wrong, wrong.

Try it, sometime.

Yea, I could maybe pick at a thing or two, but the essential message is, to me, quite powerful and moving. I just can’t imagine supporters for any of the other candidates being able to come up with anything even close.

Anyway, that’s apparently the favorite video of this democrat homeschooling mom. I’m a big sucker when it comes to seeing people awaken to freedom, liberty, and honesty for the first time right before my very eyes; and some of the comments to that post are quite interesting as well. I found this paragraph most interesting…

That being said, I don’t agree with him on every single issue. Some of
what we disagree on is a matter of personal belief or opinion. However,
his political views being what they are, any issues we disagree on
personally, he believes are best left to the people to decide on, and
not our government.

Imagine that. An alternative to who gets to force their values upon whom, eh?

(via Rockwell)

It’s almost as if politicians don’t really care what lenders are doing,
they just want to find an excuse to get a few sound-bites on the local
news back in their district and issue some legislation to expand
federal power in the banking industry.

Ya think? I think I know how how friar William of Ockham would call it. When people politicians find themselves in a heads-I-win, tails-I-win situation, it’s had to imagine them not taking advantage of it. That goes a long way towards explaining most politics, and people on every side fall for it every time.

The only general way for politicians — qua parasitic organism — to lose is for people to quit paying any attention to them. As a class, they don’t win and lose elections. It’s in the turnout. Just not showing up hands them the only meaningful defeat they will ever encounter.

Billy:

It’s a load of fun, really. When I was on 7th Fleet staff over in WestPac, we staff officers used to get together in various ports and make lots of fun of it. I’ve "hashed" in the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia (Penang, not Kuala Lumpur, it’s place of origin), Hong Kong, and numerous times in Japan — including once a course with the terminal point (and beer kegs and BBQ) at my house in Hayama. The looks on the faces of "natives" is unforgettable.

Afterwards, we drink beer, eat, and insult one-another in song and lyrics having plenty of f-bombs and other foul and vulgar language.

You’d get along great with these kind of people, I’m quite certain. I can’t recall Balzac ever coming up, either.

(For those of you reading, don’t overlook the important aspect of Billy’s post detailing the terrorism hysteria.)