Bailout?

Lets clarify a few things for everyone who hasnt got a clue.
#1 A loan or line of credit is not a "bail out". The congressional debacle that was the life ring AIG received is a bail out.Has anyone asked who was asleep at the switch while the largest insurer in the US fell into financial insolvency.All us "little people" pay for various forms of insurance.Am I the only one who thinks "bailing out" an insurance vampire..I mean company...is like deliberately letting someone crap in your mouth.
#2 The Big 3 have captured , or should I say, retain, about 50% market share here and around the world, regardless of the fact that market share has been in decline.This puts some 350-400 BILLION dollars back into the good old USA.Thats a lot of money folks.
#3 The foolish notion that the carmakers refused to produce fuel efficient vehicles is just poppycock.North America wanted trucks and SUV's and guess what, you got em.The President of the USA travels on the ground in a Chevrolet Suburban, not a Camry, or a nifty Honda.Refitting car factories and the subsequent chain of supply ( yes, there are millions of Americans working for far less than UAW guys) takes time even if the engineering of these vehicles was sitting completed on the shelf.Doesnt happen overnight folks, sorry.Lest we forget that oil was 140 bucks a drum in JULY(Wall Streets doing, you know the guys who got paid by Paulson).Less than six months is not enough time to pump out 15 or 16 million cars from scratch that get 50 mpg and look like a Scion or whatever mainstream feels is flashy enough to set them apart from the rest of the sheep.
#4 The myth of quality is a reflection of ownership in part.Granted, Detroit has pushed out some stinkers, no doubt.Guess what, we didnt buy em and they went away.Generally speaking, people do not maintain their vehicles anywhere near the amount they should.Most people never even pull out the owners manual and read it.So its not a big shock when the engine in the shit box Cavalier that they pushed 80+ mph down the freeway for 145000 miles gives up."I changed the oil regular"..translation:when the light in the dash came on I slowed down and drove it another 22 miles while ripping of the Valvoline sticker that said I was due 4 months ago for an oil change off the windshield.After all, who has time between texting and TV dinners to change oil, besides its a whole 18 bucks!!!
#5 The upper midwest has gotten a bad rap for a long time.If I here one more thing about how nifty east coast or west coast living is, I promise you I will lay down an old fashioned "Detroit leaning" ass whuppin.Provincial thinking is comical at best but why not? Them folks out there ain't happy with nothin including themselves.Fake tits,ass, you name it.Therapy and anti psychotics for everyone.Paris Hilton,OJ Simpson, David Beckham..who gives a crap.And New Yorkers especially,are critical of everything, and solve nothing.It takes no talent to complain.I have immediate family that reside in New Hampshire.Love em, love to visit, cant stand their paranoid, conspiracy driven view points on EVERYTHING.To all the teenage, misguided souls who despair at being trapped in the boring Midwest, remember, 99% of quality of life is what you put in.Therefore, if your life sucks, YOU SUCK.
#6 Heavy manufacturing and manufacturing base in general is what propelled this country through 2 world wars, oil embargo,hostage crisis,Vietnam,you name it.If we cant make it here, it usually isnt worth having and definitely not worth what you pay.This country will fall into 3rd world status if the only jobs to be had are serving coffee at Starbucks to the 1% of the population who control 90% of the wealth.We wont even be growing the goddamn coffee people.In all reality, its possible to attribute the manufacturing technology and capability in Asia AND Europe in part to strides made right here in the USA.
#7 To have Congress, of all people, criticise auto execs is ludicrous.Was anybody looking when Congress ran up, what is the number, some 450 billion in deficit.These guys are telling auto execs how to run car companies? Really, please.Wall Street calls on Friday, gets a check on Monday, and the source of 400 billion dollars in revenue, has to come with hat in hand for a friggin loan??!!!?? Is this REAL??? If NAFTA giving us the ole SHAFTA wasnt enough,heres some more shit sandwich to chew on.Dumbass Ross Perot said "you'll hear this sucking sound from Mexico".Guess he was right on that one.Maybe not the aliens and Admiral Whats his name,but job and manufacturing losses to foreign countries is starting to hurt.
FREE TRADE IS NOT FAIR TRADE.This is a fact.
In summation, lets be clear on things indisputable.If health care was run properly and efficiently in this country, legacy costs for the Big 3 would be a non-issue.If trade deficits were more in line, it wouldnt be profitable to outsource manufacturing of ANYTHING.If Congress wasnt for sale (see former Governor of Illinois),maybe failure of leadership would not be commonplace here in the "greatest country on earth", and people could flourish and WE ALL COULD BE MORE WEALTHY.Lastly, Congress sitting back in leather chairs, Barney Frank pointing the handle of his gavel, raking the automakers over the coals to direct attention from the fact that this country hasnt had a real Energy policy, is sickening.Reprimand for dumbassery, such as Kucinich(10th district Ohio) to the Fannie & Freddie crooks, is understandable.Let us consider our terms (bail out) and views(upper Midwest get poorer BIG TIME) more closely, shall we?

Dusting off

Every now and again, if you're like me

life can really give you a challenge.

Sometimes , by no wrong doing of

your own, your biggest plans really

fall asunder. I mean the wheels really

fall off the train.I believe men in the

railroad business call it "gunpow".

From what I understand, "gunpow" is a

reference to an accident at GunPowder

Creek near Baltimore,MD.The train ran into

river after part of the bridge gave way.No one was

killed, but it scared everyone and badly

injured the engineer and fireman.The moral is that it was one hell of a mess and everyone made

it out but not without some horrible injuries. Anyway, with jobless rates on the move up, and lay offs for everyone and their brothers, it looks as if economic HARD TIMES are here.How this happened, Im sure will reveal itself over time.So far, Im making it ok.My investments have been annihilated.My personal performance went from +22% over two years to -53% since October of this year.In September, my trades made me 26% or so.I have maintained about a 33% cash ratio, so Im able to move a little.Hedge fund redemption's, Insurance Company government bail outs (I just dry heaved), and a bridge loan for the Big 3 coupled with a dramatic deflation of commodity prices marinated in oil that ran at 145 bucks a barrel in JULY.July was 4 months ago people.What changed, besides the fact that we all poured our cash into a gas pump during the first 7 months of 2008.This is the funny part...no really, here it comes....these greedy dumbasses never thought that Americans would drive less after fuel prices fell.Companies who make other goods that we consume never dropped prices after fuel declined, and after other commodity prices declined.SOooOOooo....what we got here is....failure to control a deflationary spiral we are falling into as a whole.Fed moved to late...credit markets seized...decline of real estate value accelerated...unemployment increases burden on states as small cap business crumbles due to credit issues...fed sits on hands more...food AND fuel prices stay elevated further pressuring the consumer (70% of the US economy is consumer driven I think)...etc...etc...etc.

Well, I ve had enough.I have sold off stock, accepted the loss where it occurred, and Im moving on.Now I shall trade MUCH MORE AGGRESSIVELY.This last hour selling at market has created an environment where electronics are king.So I shall indulge them.I always traded with limit orders, but now the volume and % ratios must enlarge and tighten.I have several stock picks in mind that move rapidly, are in cash heavy companies with little or no debt.Most pay dividends also, so thats a plus.Time to get back into the game.Not by choice, but by necessity.Job outlook is bleak.Not impossible, but bleak.That creates a demand for alternate cash flows.I wanted to stay on the sidelines longer, but its not possible.More people trade using computer algorithm programs and 80% of all trading is electronic, so I shall use my calculator instead of common sense to defeat them.Even some big wig "professional" managers use software to trade as opposed to the usual stuff, like..well..#1 does the company earn money?...#2 do they have customer/sales prospects...#3 how much do the insiders v.s. mutual funds own...Debt/equity, and so on. If Under Armor (UA) was a bit cheaper, I'd jump on that one on fundamentals.I made some money this spring on a decline and subsequent bounce in (UA).I have entered the trades for tomorrow, so we shall see what occurs.Im wagering DOW down.Maybe a bounce , when Congress says it will throw a bone to GM.I think money or not, bankruptcy is inevitable for several auto makers.

Doc, I'm having some pain in my.....

..ASS.OMG,am I disappointed.North Carolina did a number on us.At one point in the second half, I seriously thought about pulling the wiring out of my seat back and wrapping it around the neck of the UNC faithful within eyesight.I also informed the crowd, after UNC failed to miss the basket in 15 straight trips down the court, that ALL TARHEELS have sold their souls to the devil.The best part of the night was bullshitting with the greek national that parked the truck.That was a funny guy, with great teeth and a great sense of humor.Greektown Casino and the downtown area was pretty lively for a Wednesday night.Ford Field is a great facility, far to nice for the slugs that play there.Its far to cavernous for basketball, but I bet live music would work really good.All the players I mentioned including Tyler " the 2nd coming of Larry Bird" Hansbrough, or Tyler "all my moves are spin left,spin right, throw my arms over my head because I cant jump, and Im an acting minor" Hansbrough,Tyler "you can audibly hear Dick Vitale masturbating to my roster photo" Hansbrough scored with relative ease.Tom Herzog, the 7ft freshman for MSU was a shining star with 6 points,4 reebs, 1 block in 3 minutes of play.Raymar Morgan scored 20, so Problem#1 is solved.There is no truth to it.UNC shot the ball very well, played aggressive defense (we got NO calls from the refs) with out getting caught,and did I mention they shot like 3,456% floor?I kinda wish this game was played at the Breslin Center, but I dont think the outcome would have been different.I respect that MSU tried to work the ball down low, but UNC had a good enough strategy and the transition play by UNC was executed with precision.
As anticipated, Lawson and Ellington scored and played very good ball.Another defeat for Big Ten teams in the challenge.The only comforting thought is the fact that typically there are a couple Big Ten teams in the great 8 NCAA tournament round, and usually the ACC has one team left.UM lost to Maryland, but handled them better than MSU did.We could have used Goran Suton.I hope this knee thing doesnt linger on all season.The buckeyes got a victory, so kudos to them guys.Iowa had a real chance , but had a meatclubber 21% freethrow shooter on the line to tie the game apparently, and failed to do so.All in all, we got our collective ass whupped, and it well.....sucked.Yeah, that's a good word for it.....sucked.Like a chest wound.

Michigan State at Ford Field

Finally, Ford Field will have TWO teams worth watching on it.No, it's not the Lions, lord knows that is the worst football team in the history of the world.Its MSU versus North Carolina.Michigan State continues to show why its regarded a top notch program by playing ranked teams month after month.And they should.With a top level coach and talent pouring into East Lansing like tequilla into my gut,MSU gains that valuable BIG GAME experience before critical Big 10 play begins.Everything is peachy,right? Not so.Some things have become glaring problems stemming from the loss to Maryland and the subsequent 5th place finish at the Old Spice Classic. 5th place??? five...place???? Yep,color me completely disgusted.
Problem #1:Right now, the sun rises and sets for MSU on how Raymar Morgan plays.Morgan scores, MSU blows 'em out. Raymar has poopy pants, MSU loses.
Problem#2:Maryland executed the same play, pushing the ball into the center, guard sets a pick then breaks to the corner.Ball kicks back out, guy in corner WIDE FRICKIN OPEN.The dumbass helping double the center(not necessary against the weak center Maryland has) NEVER WENT WITH THE GUARD SETTING THE PICK.Maryland scored at least 9 points on this play.Backdoor passes with MSU defenders giving distant chase also hurt.
Problem#3:MSU gets few enough chances at the line, so we need to shoot 70% or better from the charity stripe.MSU shot less than 50% ,if I recall, against Maryland AND Witchita State.
Problem#4:How much do we need Goran Suton.OH MY GOD, if Suton isnt playing and Morgan is stinking up the place, we have little to no big men to put down low.Ebok does what Ebok can, but he's a fill in at best.We need Drew Naymick back really bad.Marquise Gray does what he can, but he needs help down there.

North Carolina is good at most posistions and should be a difficult challenge.That being said, MSU can defeat, no, dominate NC if all goes right.Fouls must be controlled and we need to get all the points we can from the stripe.NC has not got the answer for Lucas, and Allen,Roe(my current fav player)Summers and Walton ALL need to pour in points.With good foul shooting and equally fair shooting from the floor, MSU should do fine.
You can expect Ellington,Lawson and Green to get off for a bundle of points, and OF COURSE the player I hate the most in all college sprots history, Tyler Hansborough.I'm so sick of that guy, you have no idea.I maintain, if Hansborough plays anywhere other than NC with the supporting cast he has, Tyler is average at best.Put this guy in a Penn State uniform, and he becomes a footnote on the box scores week after next.He requires a man and a third coverage on defense.Me no likey him.Opinion of course, but mine none the less.
I shall witness the spectacle first hand, as I still have paid time off to use, and I found the 40 bucks for the ticket.Heres to a MSU victory in the ACC/Big Ten challenge.GO BIGTEN/GO MSU!!!!