February 16, 2022

Chickenhawk tears incoming... Fresh reporting, troops leaving. Breaking: AFP

Apparently... Troops leaving border area.

https://twitter.com/AFP/status/1493841466938265600?s=20&t=jPm4rKalX1jvk9Rzpm0p1w

https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1493854005444976646?s=20&t=rKBR4Cca9iSLUhbC3R4qxw

February 15, 2022

Zelensky walking back 2/16 attack prediction... "not being literal"

https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-696487

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's adviser walked back the president's statement that "February 16 will be the day of the attack" on Ukraine by Russia, on Monday night.

According to CNN, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak said that Zelensky was not being literal when he said that the attack would be on Wednesday. He was reportedly being ironic. "The president referred to a date that was spread by the media," Nykyforov told NBC News.

Ukrainian Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov has stated that Kyiv does not see a risk of a full-scale Russian invasion in the coming days, according to RBC Ukraine.

February 13, 2022

Inflation. Why isn't a McDonalds Big Mac $50?

Why isn't a 2 bedroom apartment in Dustnsteers, Kansas $5000/month?

First thing, automatically assume that Corporations will maximize profit. Their shareholders insist on it.

A Big Mac isn't $50 today because no one would buy them.

https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/willingness-to-pay

Willingness to pay, sometimes abbreviated as WTP, is the maximum price a customer is willing to pay for a product or service. It’s typically represented by a dollar figure or, in some cases, a price range. While potential customers are likely willing to pay less than this threshold, it’s important to understand that, in most cases, they won’t pay a higher price.

“What the concept of ‘willingness to pay’ is telling us is that whatever your willingness to pay for a product might be, and wherever it comes from, you’re just not going to pay more than that [amount] for it,” says Harvard Business School Professor Bharat Anand in the online course Economics for Managers.

Willingness to pay can vary significantly from customer to customer. This variance is often caused by differences in the customer population, typically classified as either extrinsic or intrinsic.


Thus, prices today show that consumers ARE willing to pay these high prices.


When someone has more money in their pocket, they're willing to pay more for products because... well, they can afford it.

Don't like the price of lumber today? Well... when home mortgage interest rates are 5-6% and the real estate bubble has burst, lumber costs will go back to 2018 levels.

Likewise, McDonalds will bring back the "Dollar Menu" when people steer away from the McD drive-thru because they're not WILLING TO PAY the price.

Basic ECON101 or BUS101...

You can't have a flourishing economy with stagnant consumer prices.

And labor costs are being directly passed on to consumers... as an overhead, just like Corporate taxation and cost of materials.

So what's the solution?

The FED likes to call it "putting the brakes on the economy" meaning increased interest rates which will negatively affect the stock market.

The FED is holding an "Emergency Meeting" this week and Wall St. rumors hint there may be a surprise rate hike coming this week. I've heard as much as 75BP

2022 is going to be a rough year.

In the market, I'm no longer holding ANY long positions. I'm trading weekly options and mostly day-trading... "scalping" for those who are familiar. I may dump CASH into the market if I sense a "March 2020-like" bottom...

February 10, 2022

I'm amazed how talented politicians are at trading stocks... they're really good at this!

That Austin Scott guy... he's practically Warren Buffett??

If you sign up for his Congressional Newsletter... do you get daily stock picks?

https://twitter.com/unusual_whales/status/1480656947577860096?s=20&t=DZxxuneHGIkgabxm7xe6iw

February 10, 2022

There's just no way for Congress-folks to trade stocks without controversy. Re: Blumenthal

I like Senator Blumenthal.

He's a fighter, he's principled and a strong progressive.

He has followed the rules re: his stock investments.

But sometimes...

Things just don't look good.

"Optics"

While Sen. Blumenthal was grilling the CEO of Robinhood on Capitol Hill, the Investment firm in charge of the Blumenthal investments purchased between 500k-1M of Robinhood stock on the same day as the Senate hearings...

The Blumenthals sold up to $2.55M worth of Robinhood stock between 10/29 and 12/8, through the investment firm handing their investments.





Now before the usual cast of characters attacks me for this post...

Sen. Blumenthal did NOTHING WRONG and NOTHING ILLEGAL.

He followed Congressional RULES/LAWS to the letter.



But the optics... aren't good.

I previously thought it was OK for Congress-folks to invest in Mutual Funds of transfer control to a Blind Trust but now I'm not so sure...

Don't forget... David Perdue and "Insider Trading Barbie" used the "Blind Trust" argument...



https://twitter.com/unusual_whales/status/1491832536351354883?s=20&t=DZxxuneHGIkgabxm7xe6iw

February 8, 2022

NBC News: Supreme Court allows Alabama voting maps that advocates say disenfranchise Black voters

Didn't see this on the first page of GD...

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-allows-alabama-voting-maps-advocates-say-disenfranchise-rcna15162

WASHINGTON — In a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court cleared the way Monday for Alabama to use its new congressional district map even though a lower court said it violated the Voting Rights Act by denying Black voters a new district.

The court granted a request from Alabama Republicans to put a hold on the lower court ruling.

The case — the first to reach the Supreme Court involving the redrawing of political boundaries with 2020 census results — could affect redistricting in other states that gained minority populations.

February 4, 2022

Will the conviction of Michael Avenatti hurt his Presidential ambitions in 2024?

Hopefully MOST will get the joke

February 3, 2022

Just a discussion about loons who threaten politicians...

Was thinking about it the other day...

For MANY years... I guess hundreds of years, Americans have made private and public threats to politicians of all parties.

In the age of the internet, social media and 24 hr "news" networks, we hear about them more frequently.

Also, we frequently hear about Federal charges being filed.

It got me to thinking... what are the criteria for pressing charges?

Would a crayon drawn picture of purple and green rockets falling on the White House qualify?

Or what if a quadriplegic threatened to kick someone's ass?

Does the prosecution have to show some level of actual intent? Or ability?

Or is a simple "verbal assault" enough?

Also noticed we frequently hear stories about "FBI arrests person of interest..." but rarely hear about convictions or prison sentences??

Of course, I think one would have to be dumb as a rock to make a political threat nowadays... but by definition... 50% of the population is dumber than average.

To add: I once saw an interview with an artist who was making anti-TFG art and had a visit from the SS. Sounded like the officers didn't want to be there and were just checking off the box by visiting.

February 2, 2022

Just curious... not a single post on the first page... the UCLA Maniac and his 800p manifesto?

Quite a big story... I'm sure if I checked LBN or page 2, 3 or 4 of GD... I'd see it.

The "Terrorist Professor"??

The highlight of the story... this guy tried buying a gun in Colorado but he was rejected because of a California red flag on the online-check system...

https://denver.cbslocal.com/2022/02/01/matthew-harris-arrested-boulder-former-ucla-instructor/

https://apnews.com/article/shootings-california-los-angeles-university-of-california-3d7268cbc84e3c2dc2107e5e824a1fe2

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A former lecturer at the University of California, Los Angeles, who was arrested Tuesday after police say he emailed an 800-page document and posted videos threatening violence against the school had previously sent messages saying he would “hunt” and kill a professor, court documents show.

Matthew Harris, 31, was taken into custody in Colorado following a standoff at his Boulder apartment complex that ended peacefully.

The investigations in California and Colorado began Monday after Harris, who had lectured in the philosophy department at UCLA, sent the email to members of the UCLA community. UCLA officials canceled classes on campus Tuesday and the university’s police department tracked Harris to Boulder and reached out to law enforcement there.

February 1, 2022

The danger of a 2nd Term for Trump can't be overstated.

Let's look at the first time around.

Trump went into the job clueless... he had a lot of assistance from the RNC, people like Sean Spicer and he looked to Paul Ryan as an "ally" and in reality, they never supported him.

I think he even wanted to come across as "normal" at first.

He made some really STUPID moves (in retrospect) like making Jeff Sessions AG.

He also didn't fire many people in gov't.

Fast forward 8 years.

Make no mistake, from day 1... Trump will make exactly the right moves (for an authoritarian)

He will fire an unprecedented number of gov't officials in any branch that he has the authority to fire...

There won't be any Paul Ryans, Chris Christies or Sean Spicers to pull back the reins on Trump.

He will get HIS guys running the House and Senate. No Paul Ryan and MM that "held him back".

I hope the American people think long and hard before voting for this disaster in 2024.



100% unqualified partisan hacks at every station in gov't...