Oil Prices Briefly Move Higher on Fire Hoax

I hope the SEC gets to the bottom of this chicanery.

“The reports are completely untrue. They originated from Facebook and Twitter, and the pipeline is still up and running,” one official told Dow Jones Newswires.

Oil futures jumped over $110.55 a barrel in after-hours trading Thursday following a report from Tehran’s PressTV which said that an explosion destroyed pipelines in the “flashpoint” Saudi city of Awamiyah.

An online website called the Arab Digest posted a headline “Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Revolution hits the oil sector – pipeline under fire” and two photos of what it claimed was a pipeline fire. Neither photo showed a pipeline, and the fires didn’t appear large. The photos couldn’t be authenticated.  The site quoted what it said was an unidentified resident of Qatif calling the blazes a message to the U.S. to pressure Saudi Arabia for reform.

“This is just a false propaganda, and we are not going to entertain it,” a second Saudi official said.

I would like to see if this Arab Digest has ties to the Iranian regime or not. 

Ways to Fix the Oscars

Well changing hosts might not be a good idea but I agree that the show is looking pretty old and tired.

1. Go Back to Five Best Picture Nominees:

I have to agree with this point. This year you knew that The Artist was a sort of lock to win it all so the other 9 movies are just a waste of time. It narrows the field and if Oscar watchers are interested they could see these movies before the telecast so they can handicap it. Only one year did I watch all 5 movies that were nominated but it is kind of nice to see a movie that I saw and loved win the award (ie Kings Speech, Return of the King, The Departed)

2. When the Academy Gives You Lemons, Make What Jimmy Kimmel Did: 

Yeah I think amping up the comedy regardless of what movies are nominated is a good idea. I think the Oscars get to stiff-necked sometimes and need to make fun of themselves more often.

3. Make the Show About the Year in Film, Not the Year in Awards Season:

This is a great idea. Make it a celebration of the year in movies more than a celebration of a few movies that almost nobody goes to see. That way, when you watch, at least you can see a few of your favorites along with whatever black and white silent film the Academy is honoring.

4. Old Flim Clips: Just Bury Them at Sea Already:

Yeah we don't need to remind people how much better Casablanca, Patton, or Bridge Over the River Kwai is than most of the crap that comes out these days. 

5. More Sacha Baron Cohen:

They should have so made him a presenter and allowed him to go ape-shit. The buzz seems to be what we remember from the telecast anyway so they might as well ramp it up a bit. I remember Roberto Benigni getting all nutzo when he won Best Actor far more than the movie that won that year. I think getting a few stunts in makes the show memorable and goes back to the notion that the Oscars should not be so stiff-necked about themselves. Maybe they should let everyone get drunk like the Golden Globes?

Obama Sneaks Dividend Tax Hike Into Budget

This guy just can't resist hiking taxes on everyone and hitting retirees directly in the teeth.

Mr. Obama is proposing to raise the dividend tax rate to the higher personal income tax rate of 39.6% that will kick in next year. Add in the planned phase-out of deductions and exemptions, and the rate hits 41%. Then add the 3.8% investment tax surcharge in ObamaCare, and the new dividend tax rate in 2013 would be 44.8%—nearly three times today's 15% rate. 

We are only just getting dividends back up to a decent level and this ignoramus wants to tax them at nearly triple the rate? The funny part is that they think that only people making $200K or more will be affected by this stupidity.

Companies don't make dividend decisions based on people making more than some magic "not paying their fair share" number. They make it on the total amount of people receiving dividends. So if dividends are taxed at 44% then companies will just sink them into stock buybacks and cease paying them out.  It seems like the kind of plan a person who owns nearly no stocks (Obama the king of the Profit and Earnings Ratio) would come up with.

Actually, the people this hoses are retirees who are using income mutual funds to augment their social security money. They get like 0.5% interest from the bank, treasury bonds pay hardly anything, and now Obama wants to indirectly steal their dividend money as well?

It almost seems like a reckless plan to get all seniors on Social Security (and Social Secuity only) so that they can be easily manipulated. So it comes down to vote for the Dems you retirees or we will starve you to death. Luckily this budget can be safely ignored. I was praising the damn thing too just a little while ago. I guess Obama just can't resist the impulse to hike taxes anyway he can get away with it.

Scientific Ethics Task Force Chair Resigns After Phishing Attack on Climate Skeptics

I think this really is no way for a scientist to act when they are trying to convince people to fork over billions to prevent something that they say are happening.

Peter Gleick resigned as chair of AGU’s Task Force on Scientific Ethics on 16 February, prior to admitting in a blog post that he obtained documents from the Heartland Institute under false pretenses. His transgression cannot be condoned, regardless of his motives. It is a tragedy that requires us to stop and reflect on what we value as scientists and how we want to be perceived by the public.

Yeah, after Climate scientists were caught fooling with models and "hiding the decline" they are now phishing their skeptics in order to dig up dirt on them. I didn't think they could have done any more damage to their reps but this makes things even worse. It really shows that they will stop at nothing like modern day Crusaders to get their point across.

Brave Kid Goes Home Rather Than Face more Painful Cancer Treatments

Now this 12 year old has more guts then 20 guys my age.

A 12-year old boy who has battled a rare form of cancer since he was 7 has made a bold decision. He is stopping his treatments so he can go home and be with his family.

Alex Rodriguez  is aware of what his decision means. So is his hometown of Shelbyville, Tenn., which has rallied around the boy who is facing such a stark decision with such maturity and good humor.

That is quite a tough choice for anyone to make. It's also good to see the town rally around him. This part touched me:

Jeffrey McGee, a minister from Edgemont Baptist Church who set up a bank account for donations, is asking stores in the area to cover up their signs with messages to Alex so when he rides through town he can see people supporting him.

Florists in town are putting together blue ribbons for people to hang outside on their mailboxes or street lamps to show their support.

That will probably be his last ride and it will be surrounded by an outpouring of support from his entire town. A great way to go out I should say.

Obama Considers Lowering the Corporate Tax Rate; Good Job Barry

Well I guess he seems to want to cut taxes somewhere at long last.

The president wants to lower the U.S. corporate tax rate from the current 35 percent, the highest in the world after Japan. Under his plan, manufacturers would receive incentives so that their effective tax rate could be even lower. 

Obama's election-year plan would set a new 28 percent corporate tax rate, still higher than the 25 percent rate sought by congressional Republicans. 

At least it is a starting point to jump off from. Also getting rid of all the corporate welfare that allowed GE to pay $0 in taxes is also something I get behind as well. I'm not so sure about having some minimum tax on overseas profits but something needs to be done to repatriate those funds.

Some companies have billions of dollars trapped overseas because they don't want to give 35% of that money to the government as soon as they ship it back. Maybe tax it at half the rate or something for a period of time then bring it up to the normal rate later on. Companies should not be penalized for growing their companies outside of the US but they should pay some taxes on that money though.

Christie Tells Buffett to Shut Up

Well, I have to agree with the governor on this point.

"He should just write a check and shut up," Christie said. "I'm tired of hearing about it. If he wants to give the government more money, he's got the ability to write a check -- go ahead and write it."

Earlier in the interview, responding to a question on class warfare in the political system, Christie, who has developed a reputation for not mincing words, said he didn't want to discuss Buffett.

"I'm so tired of talking about Warren Buffett," Christie said. "What are you going to bring up next, his secretary?"

There is a line on his taxes that says Taxes Owed. If Buffett thinks things are unfair then take whatever figure on that line and add 15% or 25% when he makes out the check. Call it the Leaving a Generous Gratuity for all the good work that Buffett thinks the government does. I'm sure it will be wasted in some record time or go to pay off some Red Chinese banker somewhere.

Hell, if I could get my way (and not go to jail) I would not pay taxes until there is a firm auditing of every department by an unimpeachable outside source. Once I know my money isn't poured down a crap-hole somewhere then I will gladly pay taxes.

I will still bristle at paying capital gains taxes though. I took the risk and did the Due Diligence why should the government get a cut of my gain when the company I invested in has already paid taxes? The same goes for dividends and interest. Any meaningful tax reform should lower my capital gains and dividends taxes to 0% or it is just crap to me.

Hot Water World Found Only 40 Light Years Away

I wonder if this would be a prime candidate to send a probe out to some time in the future.

But GJ 1214b, which is located 40 light-years from Earth in the constellation Ophiuchus (The Serpent Bearer), is something new altogether, researchers said.

This so-called "super-Earth" is about 2.7 times Earth’s diameter and weighs nearly seven times as much as our home planet. It orbits a red-dwarf star at a distance of 1.2 million miles (2 million kilometres), giving it an estimated surface temperature of 446 degrees Fahrenheit (230 degrees Celsius) — too hot to host life as we know it.

Scientists first reported in 2010 that GJ 1214b's atmosphere is likely composed primarily of water, but their findings were not definitive. Berta and his team used Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 to help dispel the doubts.

I'm sure the surface of this super ocean is too hot for life but I would be willing to bet that there is something interesting far below the surface. Also it is quite a bit closer to this red dwarf star so the gravity on the planet would be much higher than that of earth. So my money would be on super worms as long as subway trains, and massive whales as big as office buildings, fighting sharks the size of an industrial earth movers. It would be one strange world indeed.

Is Linsanity Helping the Asian Male?

Well according to this article it is going a long way toward doing just that.

This is why the Jeremy Lin phenomenon has been so spectacular. While it does transcend race -- his story is the perfect storm of underdog elements being played out in the media capital of the world -- it does not exclude race. Lin is a breakthrough because the Asian American male has always lagged behind in cultural visibility and acceptance. There has been progress in other areas, particularly entertainment, but sports has been the final frontier. "If you look at it historically, the dominant group has always favored the female of a minority, seeing them as assets, commodities or possessions," says Ruth Chung, a USC professor who specializes in Asian American cultural identity. "Males are seen as competition, and for Asian American men, their greatest threat to white males was perceived to be their intelligence, so it was always easy to stereotype them as being geeky and socially inept."

Yeah the stereotype was that Asian American men were good at math but poor at driving to the hoop or getting the girl in a movie. The only bad-assed Asians I know are martial arts guys from China or Japan and not really many Americans. However, Lin breaks this stereotype by being really good at a sport where there really isn't any social promotion. You can either blow past defenders and score 28 points a game or you can't.

Now all Lin needs is a super hot girlfriend who is not Asian and we will have liftoff. I mean if he dates the typical demure Asian girl then he goes right back into the stereotype. However, if he dates some awesome looking Latina or even a black girl then all bets are off.

Troy Aikman Says Football Might Not Be No.1 Sport in 20 years

I have a feeling he might be right on some counts.

The Super Bowl XXVII MVP said the NFL Network's struggles should be a red flag to owners: "People couldn't get [the channel] in the homes and, all of sudden, fans, me included, were saying, 'I wasn't getting the Thursday night game and I was OK with that.' That’s not a good thing."

Aikman spoke of his worry about the dilution of a product that is currently wildly popular. 

"At one time, watching football was an event," Aikman said. "'Monday Night Football' was a big event. Now you get football Sunday, you get it Monday, you get it Thursday and, late in the year, you get it on Saturday."

I have to agree with Aikman that the only Thursday game that I regretted seeing was one where the Houston Texans were playing. That was only because I had Arian Foster as my running back on my Fantasy team.

I think in some ways Fantasy Football might be contributing to both a resurgence in the sport but might also cause a crash as well. I know before this season I really only cared about what team had my players on them and only watched their games.

The season I had Ray Rice on my team was the one that I watched a ton of Ravens games. I haven't watched one since because I don't have anyone from that team anymore. Just like this coming year I would probably not watch many Texans games because I doubt I will get Arian Foster on my team again. If Fantasy Football lost popularity for whatever reason you might see ratings dip right afterward.

However, I will be following the 49ers because I finally settled on a team that I can back. Before that I really didn't care too much about any one team and I would only tune in to the one good matchup per week. That usually meant the Sunday Night Football game and nothing else. I usually don't get up early on Sunday morning to watch any of the early games and I watch the UH game instead of the late morning games.

I think what the NFL needs to do to create lasting fans in areas where there is no home team presence is to section off the country by team. This was similar to how baseball did it in the 80s. There are all sorts of Braves fans out here because TBS used to show all of their games and people followed the team from day to day.

What they need to do is show the Raiders game and then the 49ers game with the hometown feed instead of whatever crappy East Coast game CBS and Fox wants us to watch. I'm so tired of watching Philadelphia playing the Giants or whatever. I doubt there are many fans of either team at all in Hawaii.

I'm not really sure how much of a following these teams have outside of the East Coast in general as well. The idea of "America's Team" is long gone as far as I can tell. So when the Philly/Giants game is on I check my roster and say I have Victor Cruz on my team so I watch the game. If I have no one on either team I just switch over to Antiques Roadshow. My experience might not be typical but I have always enjoyed college football more than the NFL in the first place.

Home Ownership Might Not Be Much of a Money Maker Long Term

This wealth manager crunched the numbers and it looks like owning your own home is not a wealth builder but mostly a store of wealth.

McBride crunched the numbers in a pre-bubble era (2004) for a home purchased at $200,000 by a buyer in the 27 percent marginal tax bracket. Factoring in a 30-year mortgage, $1,200 in annual home insurance, closing costs of $5,500 and maintenance costs of $100 a month, along with property taxes, he calculated that it would take a selling price, 10 years later, of $395,404 just to break even. His conclusion gave Arzaga's view credence: "Homeownership may not be the moneymaker you think it is." 

So your house would nearly have to double in order for you to make your money back. That is a 9% gain each year or you will be falling behind. I wonder what this breakdown would be for owning an apartment?

Can Linsanity be the End of the Bear Market?

It at least would coincide with a national mood recovery.

Jeremy Lin is different. While at 6'3” and 200 pounds he's anything but undersized for an ordinary man, he's physically, culturally, and emotionally someone Americans can relate to. After what we've gone through as a country over the past decade, who among us can't understand feeling too small, overlooked, and seeking job stability, just hoping anyone will give us a chance?

Yeah even though he had a Harvard degree two teams passed up on him and the Knicks nearly cut him. Now he is on top of the world. The thing that is interesting is that he looks like Jeremy from Accounts Receivable and not your typical tattoo covered NBA star that was special from birth like Kobe or LaBron. 

 

I mean Americans can relate to the idea that they are overlooked by Washington,Wall Street, and the rest of the world just like Lin was overlooked by the rest of the NBA. The everyman that makes good meme is deeply ingrained in America. It shows up with Abe Lincoln (lawyer from Illinois becomes President,) James Braddock (Longshoreman from Hells Kitchen becomes Champ)

 

Maybe the "everyman that makes it good" spirit will be reflected in a doubling of the S&P500 like what happened when Jackie Robinson and Fernando Valenzuela burst on the scene in the 40s and 80s respectively.

Jaworski out on Monday Night Football

Well, it seems that Jaws was one too many for the MNF booth.

Jaworski will remain at the network and appear on various programs, including "Countdown" and "Matchup."

The longtime ESPN analyst had been in the MNF booth since 2007, replacing Joe Theismann after one season. He was supposed to add a respected football voice to a broadcast that included Tony Kornheiser. He dutifully played that role for two years until Jon Gruden was brought in as Kornheiser's replacement. It was all downhill from there.

I think Jaws sounded too much like Gruden and it was kind of hard to figure out who was talking sometimes. I mean the pitch of their voices were almost exactly the same so it was pretty strange to hear them agreeing with one another. I think a two man booth will be much clearer and easier to listen to.


However NFL Matchup is an awesome show that is one of the best on ESPN. You really get the behind the scenes Xs and Os view of football that many fans do not see. They need to expand the format and maybe bring in Mike Ditka and have it on more often. Maybe have it on right before Monday Night Football to have them break down the game before it starts. 

5 Treaties the Obama White House Should Not Sign

Well it seems that we are negotiating some seriously flawed treaties that will take away American sovereignty in a big way. The thing that Morris doesn't seem to get though is that these treaties will probably not get halfway through even a Democratically controlled congress in their current form.

This one sounds especially egregious:

Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST) has been signed, and the Obama administration — with the aid of RINO Sen. Richard Lugar (Ind.) — will push for its ratification as soon as Lugar’s primary in Indiana is over this year. LOST requires that the United States pay an international body half of its royalties from offshore drilling. The body would then distribute the funds as it sees fit to whichever nations it chooses. The United States would only have one vote out of 160 regarding where the money goes. LOST will also oblige us to hand over our offshore drilling technology to any nation that wants it … for free.

I would be willing to bet even money that Mexico, Brazil, and Nigeria would never sign onto this treaty because it would damage their home grown undersea drilling. The idea that Petrobras would kick back 50% of their profits to some international body would be ludicrous. Also they would never drive away the other drillers (and the money they pay the Brazilian government) that are taking advantage of their huge offshore oil strike.

Also the idea that offshore drilling technology will be handed off is not some terrible thing. Currently much of the drilling technology seems pretty homogeneous and Petrobras is using the same super deep water drilling technology as TransOcean does as far as I can tell. I mean any country or company domiciled anywhere in the world can commission the building of a super deep water rig for whatever billion it costs. I mean this is not nuclear secrets we are talking about.

For the First Time Since 1978 the US Okays the Building of Nuke Plants

It has been about time the nuclear regulatory agency has gotten off their asses and started to address our power issues.

The newly approved AP1000 reactors for the Vogtle plant — to be made by Westinghouse — have safety features that would give people "days instead of hours" to restore electric power in a Fukushima scenario, McFarlane told InnovationNewsDaily. The Fukushima reactors suffered a meltdown after the lack of electricity knocked out their cooling systems.

In the new models, which Westinghouse already has built for China, "the water needed to cool the reactors is stored inside the containment building rather than outside of containment," explained Robert Buell, a risk analyst at Idaho National Laboratory. "You use physics and natural circulation along the containment walls to cool the reactors instead of relying on mechanical systems."

Wait until we get some closed fuel cycle reactors online and we can forget about the nuclear waste problem and the meltdown problems all at once. I hate how Fukushima damaged the nuclear industry for years to come. It is the only viable energy source that doesn't use coal or the increasingly expensive oil. Only natural gas comes close in price but does not have the efficiency of 3rd generation reactors.

It Seems Google+ might be a Competitor After All

Well I signed up for Google+ a while back because it was tied to my Gmail and I thought I might as well. It seems they are growing pretty fast so far.

Among social networks, Google + (GOOG) is growing faster than Facebook, just after one year of existence. While it took Facebook nearly a year to reach a million users and more than four years to reach 100 million, it took only Google+ about two weeks to reach 10 million, and less than a year to reach 100 million.

About the only thing Facebook does better than Google+ is that it has more people on it. So you have a better chance to find people you know. But as Google+ builds I can see it actually going head to head with Facebook. So far the only thing I have been doing on Google+ is playing Gardens of Time but once more people I know go on there I can see me spending more time there.

20 - 30somethings Voted for Obama in Large Numbers and Have Nothing to Show for It

Well, it seems that 20 and 30 somethings are seriously hurting in the Obameconomy.

—The share of young adults 18-24 who are employed has dropped to 54.3 percent, the lowest level since the government began tracking such data in 1948. In the downturn, the employment decline has been steeper for this age group than any other; at the end of 2011, the unemployment rate was 16.3 percent for 18-to-24-year olds and 8.8 percent for adults ages 18-64. After the recession technically ended in mid-2009, the gap in the unemployment rate between those two age groups stretched to the widest on record. 

In other words they aren't getting employed right out of college anymore. The job that usually goes to them instead goes to an older person with tons of experience that was displaced from some other job. This statistic was really nuts I think:

—About 19 percent of men ages 25-34 were idle in the weak job market, neither working nor attending school. That's up from 14 percent in 2007. 

So that is 1 out of 5 men are not looking for work but not going to school either. I guess they are sitting on their couch playing Modern Warfare 3 or something. I really hope they come to their senses and vote for ABO (anyone but Obama) come this November.

Now Timmy Tebow don't do Anything Un-Christian with Maria Menounos

It seems he may have made a love match at the Super Bowl festivities.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports Tebow was "quite taken" after being introduced to Maria Menounos during his travels around Indianapolis for Super Bowl week. According to the newspaper, Tebow was overheard talking to a friend about the fetching "Extra" host at a Friday party. "Wow!" Tebow reportedly said. "She's not only gorgeous, she's really sweet too." 

The pair was spotted getting "very cozy" at the ESPN Party, according to the Sun-Times. Menounos and Tebow reportedly ran into each other at several other Super Bowl shindigs over the weekend.

Yeah don't do anything with your "Satan parts" that Jesus would not approve of. I mean she does hang out with skeezy-looking director types like Keven Undergaro. (I'm sure he is a nice enough person but he looks like the kind of guy that would pinch a passing Italian woman's butt.)

When I Wasn't Looking Everyone Turned on the BCS

Wow, I was not keeping up with college football for a few months and suddenly everyone turned on the BCS and are finally talking playoffs. In the words of Jim Mora: PLAYOFFS! PLAYOFFS? Indeed yes.

The Big Ten is open to more than a four-team playoff – expanding access to increase the likelihood a team from the conference makes the field. It also is contemplating a plan to have the semifinals played at campus sites and for the championship game to be open to bid by any city, not just traditional bowl sites. That would include some in the Midwest, particularly Indianapolis, which just flawlessly hosted the Super Bowl.

The idea of the National Championship then the Super Bowl all hosted in one city sounds like a great idea. Just have the various cities bid for it and have it move around the country like the NCAA Final Four. Also the idea of the higher seed having a home field advantage is an outstanding idea as well.

This also would create incredible inter-regional matchups in the game’s best settings: USC playing at Bryant-Denny Stadium? Oklahoma in the Horseshoe? Nebraska in the Swamp? Boise State at LSU’s Death Valley? Texas at Autzen? And so on. And so on.

Or would you prefer the Alamodome?

 
That would be such a a huge incentive to win out in order to get your home playoff game in front of 80,000 of your screaming fans. So this gets rid of the asinine "the regular season wouldn't matter with a playoff in place" argument.

Also it's always good to see national powers square off in games that matter and not just that opening game of the year. It would have been so cool to have seen Hawaii get slaughtered by Georgia at Sanford Stadium "between the hedges" instead of the Super Dome. One of the greatest football games I have seen was at Bryant Denny Stadium when Hawaii played Alabama. Imagine if that game was for the chance to play for the National Title?

SOPA Dead! Now Congress Take a Break

Well at least someone in Congress decided to stop the destruction of the next Google or Facebook before it was too late.

In the aftermath of the defeat of the Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP Act, a long list of organizations have sent a letter to Congress asking members to “take a breath” before they trying to push through new piracy legislation.

I have to agree with this group because rights need to be protected but not at the expense of innovation. I think a few hearings with tech giants would be in order to understand exactly what is needed going forward.

70% Haircut on Greek Debt?

If I were sitting on CDOs on Greek Debt I would just let them default instead of taking 30 cents on the dollar like this.

The person said Monday that the 70 percent loss was produced by cutting the bonds' face value in half, reducing the average interest rate to less than 4 percent and pushing repayment of the bonds decades into the future. 

Also I would be loathe to loan any of the debt-soaked southern European countries one single dollar more if this kind of thing could happen again. I hope whatever compact the Germans impose on the rest of Europe puts in place an automatic expulsion of a nation that gets over a certain debt level. That might have headed off this crisis at the very beginning and let the Greeks inflate their way out of this problem by bringing back the Drachma.

Market Headed for a "Golden Cross?"

At least it seems that way if we keep going higher.

The “cross” happens when the 50-day moving average rises above the 200-day moving average, signaling a continuing uptrend. 

“As of right now, the 200-day is at 1,257, and the 50-day is at 1,256, so it’s one S&P point away from happening. I think it will come, if you look at what the 50-day looks like,” said Birinyi Associates analyst Kevin Pleines.  

He said his analysis shows that when the 50-day crossed the 200-day in the 26 instances since 1962, the market was higher six months later 81 percent of the time. 

Wow 81% is a pretty good indicator. I am already net long the market and pared down my cash so this bodes well for me if the 50 day holds above the 200 day.

Amish Project: Interesting But Sad in a Way

This writer cut the digital cord for 90 days and he seems better for the experience.

Were there people who said, "I'm just not going to participate in this. If you can't answer my texts, I don't need to talk to you."

 

Reilly: Yeah, I mean, I definitely just lost complete contact with people that normally would have been part of my life. I mean it's also an interesting metric for your life to see who some of your closest friends are, you know, and who's willing to take the time. I started to feel bad for them, too, because it definitely became a nuisance, but, yeah, it definitely changed the level of, or the number of friends that I had and the level of contact that I had with them. 

I guess he saw who is "friends" were ie Facebook friends and who his real friends were. I mean the idea that people lost complete contact with him because he cut the digital cord says a lot about them. I wonder if these superficial "digital friends" are going to be the norm for 20-somethings going forward?

Stange Objects Found at the Bottom of the Baltic Sea

Now this is something that needs to be checked out as soon as possible.

Sonar readings show that the mysterious object is about 60 meters across, or, about the size of a jumbo jet. And it's not alone. Nearby on the sea floor is another, smaller object with a similar shape. Even more fascinating, both objects have "drag marks" behind them on the sea floor, stretching back more than 400 feet.

I wonder what they could be? They might be Soviet submarines that had an accident that was not disclosed to the public at large. However a Kursk class sub is only 18 meters across. It might be a Russian Dreadnaught from WWI but even those ships are only about half as wide as these objects at 26.8 meters. About the only thing that is 72 meters across is a Soviet era Carrier. You would figure that the Russians couldn't keep the sinking of a ship that size a secret even during the Cold War.

It Seems that Buffett Paying a Lower Tax Rate Than His Secretary is Rare

Well it seems that the uber-rich not paying their fair share seems to be a pretty miniscule number of people clocking in at just 236,883 taxpayers who earned more than $1 million in 2009.

The Top 400 tax filers  – the very richest Americans – do pay a lower rate of just 18.11 percent of their total income.  Why?  Many of them are hedge fund managers and people like Buffet — their income is pegged how much their investment fund grows.  For some reason, this income is counted as so-called “carried interest” (even though it is not interest at all; it’s more like a performance bonus) and is taxed at the lower 15 percent capital gains rate.

So if they got rid of the "carried interest" rule then that should solve much of the income inequality that Obama keeps harping on.  Also it seems that middle income Americans are not really paying their fair share at all according to this:

The numbers change a bit if you look at total income before deductions and tax credits (Adjusted Gross Income), according to another non-partisan group, The Tax Foundation. Here’s how the numbers breakdown using IRS data from 2009 on Adjusted Gross Income for the income groups at issue in this discussion:

-           $10 million a year paid 22 percent.

-          $1 million  to $10 million paid 25 percent.

-          $50,000 to $75,000 paid 7 percent.

The middle class pay just 7 percent because of deductions and tax credits that H&R Block get paid big money to uncover. If you go to those making less than $50,000 many of them pay no taxes at all and receive refunds instead. In any case the entire tax code should be overhauled.

Apple Obliterates Numbers from Orbit!

Who knew selling IPhones and IPads would be so damn lucrative.

The technology giant [AAPL  420.41    -6.999  (-1.64%)   ] delivered fiscal first-quarter earnings excluding items of $13.87 a share, double the $6.43 a share recorded in the year-earlier period.

Revenue jumped 73 percent to $46.3 billion from $26.74 billion a year ago.

Analysts had expected the company to report earnings excluding items of $10.10 per share on revenue of $38.9 billion, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters.

They had records all around as well:

The company said it sold 37 million iPhones, 15.4 million iPads and 5.2 million Macs during the quarter — all new records and all beating analysts' expectations.

They also hold $97.6 billion in cash just pretty much sitting in some bank somewhere. I think they should use that money to buy 5 Nimitz Class Aircraft Carriers (ICarriers?) and 75 F-18 Hornets (IFighters?) and go around solving the worlds problems one sortie at a time. Or maybe they should give shareholders a one time cash dividend or something. Just having it sit around in a large pile is a big waste of resources.

It Seems a Greek Default Wouldn't be so Bad

I guess since it doesn't come as a surprise and markets are ready for it then it can be dealt with.

The International Swaps and Derivatives Association says the total net exposure of market participants who have sold CDS credit protection on Greek sovereign debt was about $3.7 billion as of Oct. 21, 2011. At this point, the group estimates that more than 90 percent of Greek CDSs have been collateralized. In other words, most of the insurance has already been paid. 

Also there seems to be $53 billion in Greek Debt maturing in 2012 which will probably get wiped out. Anything else coming due in the future should be okay since Greece will run a surplus with the new austerity bill in place. Then the EU can move to boot them out of the Union and put some serious debt to GDP ratio laws in place going forward. Maybe if it gets too high they will put them on membership watch.

Romney Releases Tax Returns: Pays $6 million in 2 years

Now that is one hefty tax bill.

Bowing to increasing political pressure to provide more detail about his vast wealth, the former private equity executive released tax returns indicating he and his wife, Ann, paid an effective tax rate of 13.9 percent in 2010. They expect to pay a 15.4 percent rate when they file their returns for 2011. 
   
Romney's tax rate is below that of most wage-earning Americans because most of his income, as outlined in more than 500 pages of tax documents, flows from capital gains on investments. 

His tax return was 500 pages? I get mad when I have to file a bunch of K1s for owning ETFs. The idea of having to file a 500 page report to the government is asinine. I think the tax code should be simplified so that someone making $45 million and someone making $45,000 should file the same amount of worthless forms.

Also the idea that he pays only 15% while other Americans pay 35% is stupid. Most Americans pay 0% and actually get money back from the government to the tune of $1000s. I mean all those H&R Block commercials show people getting back like $10,000 or more.

I think every American should pay some income taxes even if it is $1. That way they feel more ownership of the government that wastes billions of their dollars on stupid crap. I would gladly pay more taxes if I am shown that my investment gets a decent return and isn't wasted on bridges to nowhere and to pay bureaucrats to sit around and meet.

Stocks Look Cheap According to Bespoke Investment Group

Hmm, this rally might just be returning to the mean which in this case is higher from here. The S&P 500 is currently trading at 1316 for purposes of comparison.

To start 2012, the benchmark had an earnings multiple of 13, the lowest since 1990 and below the 80-year average of 15, according to Bespoke. It would take a move back to 1,484 to get the benchmark back to this long-term mean P/E. 

The price-to-book ratio is 2.05, below the average since the late 1970s of 2.43. To get back to that average P/B, the benchmark would need to increase to 1,491.

One more valuation—dividend yield—points to above 1,400, argue the two strategists.

“At the end of 2011, the S&P 500 was yielding 13 percent more than the 10-Year US Treasury,” wrote Hickey and Walters. “Outside of the credit crisis, the last time the S&P 500 yielded more than the 10-Year Treasury was before 1960."

I Dislike Newt: But He Smashed John Kings Face with a Verbal Shovel during the Debate

Now this is red meat for the Conservatives out there that can't stand the main stream media and how they protect Obama and just want to destroy Republicans. I love the "No, but I will" line myself. I think this might be his "catch up to Romney" moment.

Facebook Makes You Unhappy? Maybe this explains the Occupy Movement

Well I guess seeing other smiling and happy and doing things that are "cooler" than their mundane crap is affecting some Facebook users.

"Those who have used Facebook longer agreed more that others were happier, and agreed less that life is fair, and those spending more time on Facebook each week agreed more that others were happier and had better lives," wrote Chou and Edge. "Furthermore, those that included more people whom they did not personally know as their Facebook "friends" agreed more that others had better lives."

I wonder is some of the Occupy protestors are bothered by the "life is less fair" part of the Facebook experience. I mean most of them are 20-somethings who are heavily into Facebook and they see that everyone else is getting bailed out and getting bonuses and it "isn't fair" in their minds.

Perhaps Facebook is creating the myth in their mind. Its like that scene from Trading Places where Dan Aykroyd is standing in the rain outside of the restaurant watching all of his rich ex-friends eating. They see the banksters like they see their Facebook friends with perceived better lives than them and it makes them angry and they protest. The problem is what are they protesting against? Do they want to break the window and come into the restaurant? Or do they just want to steal the food from the patrons?

GOP Finally Finds Some Sense: Pull Out of SOPA Co-Sponsoring

It's not just my Congress-critter but other heavy hitters in the GOP are starting to get second thoughts about SOPA.

Sen. Rubio follows Rep. Ben Quayle (R-AZ), who pulled his name from the list of SOPA co-sponsors on Tuesday. Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE) also announced plans to withdrawal is name from the SOPA co-sponsor list.

UPDATE: Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) has also pulled support for SOPA/PIPA. He writes on his Facebook page: “SOPA: better to get this done right rather than fast and wrong. Stealing content is theft, plain and simple, but concerns about unintended damage to the internet and innovation in the tech sector require a more thoughtful balance, which will take more time.”

I mean what Senator/Congressman wants to be responsible for killing a billion dollar industry to prevent people from pirating old copies of Dr. Who? Especially when the people who are pirating Dr. Who will not be effected by SOPA in the least and just find a way around whatever blocks are put in place.

In a Targeted Hit Piece Gingrich Looks Like a Lecher

Well, the main steam media strikes again although Newt seems to make this stuff too easy.

In her most provocative comments, the ex-Mrs. Gingrich said Newt sought an "open marriage" arrangement so he could have a mistress and a wife. 

She said when Gingrich admitted to a six-year affair with a Congressional aide, he asked her if she would share him with the other woman, Callista, who is now married to Gingrich. 

"And I just stared at him and he said, 'Callista doesn't care what I do,'" Marianne Gingrich told ABC News. "He wanted an open marriage and I refused." 

Marianne described her "shock" at Gingrich's behavior, including how she says she learned he conducted his affair with Callista "in my bedroom in our apartment in Washington." 

Yes Newt banged the mistress in the marriage bed or so his ex-wife claims. This is exactly why this man is unfit to be running against Obama. Even if these allegations are untrue by the time people fact check them they have already done their damage. 

Gingrich would make the election about him and his screwed up private life. It will not be about Obama failing to lead this country out of economic hardship while racking up massive debt. We would have to hear about Newt the Lech's sex life instead of what he will do to fix the economy while pointing out Obama's many failures.

I have heard people say that they want Gingrich in so that he can debate Obama and wipe the floor with him. I have a feeling that Gingrich would come off as a pompous, mean-spirited asshole. Obama would just have to smirk and stay calm and he would win hands down. 

The sooner this idiot drops out of the race the sooner Romney (sigh I guess this boring doof is going to be our nominee) can start to attack Obama on the economy. I mean Obama should be beaten quite handily but he must be licking his chops as the GOP field self-destructs.

My Congress Critter; Collen Hanabusa Opposes SOPA

Well at least she is good for something other than being the Congresswoman from Inouye:

Dear Mr. Michels,

 

Mahalo for your correspondence regarding H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). I appreciate your input on this important issue. 

 

While I support a legislative approach to combating online piracy, I do not support SOPA in its current form. In addressing the large and growing problem of piracy and counterfeiting on foreign websites, Congress must strike a balance that addresses these issues without inadvertently leading us to the slippery slope of government intrusion on the internet.

 

SOPA elicits vigorous debate and I appreciate you taking the time to contact me about this bill. While I do not support H.R. 3261 as it is currently written, I do applaud the work of my House and Senate colleagues in drafting compromise legislation. I look forward to reviewing the alternative proposals as we move forward. 

 

Again, thank you for expressing your views on this crucial issue and I will be sure to keep your thoughts in mind as Congress works toward a compromise. I hope you will continue to contact me on federal matters of concern to you.  If you would like regular updates, please sign up for my e-newsletter at http://hanabusa.house.gov.

 

 

Sincerely,

Colleen Hanabusa
Member of Congress

Perry Out of Race: Hopefully Gingrich will be Next

Well the hard facts of South Carolina has taken out yet another candidate.

Rick Perry ended his presidential campaign Thursday and endorsed Newt Gingrich's candidacy for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

At a press conference in Charleston, S.C., Perry called Gingrich "a conservative visionary who can transform our country."

"Newt is not perfect, but who among us is?" Perry said. "The fact is, there is forgiveness for those who seek God." He mentioned the importance of redemption to Christianity.

SOPA is a Joke: I'm Embarrassed that a Republican is Pushing This Mess

Well if you don't know what SOPA is then this is the best primer that I have read.

The beating heart of SOPA is the ability of intellectual property owners (read: movie studios and record labels) to effectively pull the plug on foreign sites against whom they have a copyright claim. If Warner Bros., for example, says that a site in Italy is torrenting a copy of The Dark Knight, the studio could demand that Google remove that site from its search results, that PayPal no longer accept payments to or from that site, that ad services pull all ads and finances from it, and—most dangerously—that the site's ISP prevent people from even going there.

This sounds bad so far but it is all done without due-process:

Perhaps the most galling thing about SOPA is that it lets IP owners take these actions without a single court appearance or judicial sign-off. All it takes is a single letter claiming a "good faith belief" that its target site has infringed on its content. Once Google or PayPal or whoever receives the quarantine notice, they have five days to either abide or to challenge the claim in court.

I think this part will make the bill unconstitutional even if it does pass. The idea that there is no due process with the infringer will kill this thing dead with the Roberts Supreme Court. But it shouldn't get this far because SOPA in this form will be the death of the Internet as we know it.

It will strait-up kill the next Facebook or LOLcats with worthless lawsuits. It will cause billions in damage to one of the only truly growing and innovative parts of our economy. The only people that will make out are the bloated content creators who need to innovate or perish and the trial lawyers.

The idea that this blog could get taken down by Google just because I put up a picture of a Coke can without the express written permission of Coca-Cola is so un-American that it isn't even funny. I mean Google would have no choice and I wouldn't even have a chance to appeal their decision. The more I read about SOPA the more I'm convinced it was taken verbatim from an old Soviet Politboro document.

Packers Lose Due to Sparkles and Clay Matthews Jersey

At least that is what poor drunk Casey thinks. I would blame the poor secondary of Green Bay and not enough pass rush on Eli would be more at fault. Also the Hail Mary at the end of the half was pretty bad deal as well.

But I would think sparkles and not wearing an Aaron Rogers jersey during the most crucial game of the year was certainly a big part of the equation. Casey you let the Packers down with your affinity for sparkles and the wrong jersey choice. For shame Casey for shame!

Kansas City Chiefs Run Like Soviet State?

This has to be read to be believed.

Paranoid? The Chiefs have adamantly denied that they tap phones or listen in on conversations. But as the team enters another period of transition after elevating defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel last week to head coach, interviews with more than two dozen current and former employees suggest that intimidation and secrecy are among the Chiefs’ principal management styles — and that Haley wasn’t the only one with paranoid thoughts.

Their former head coach thought that rooms in their practice facility were bugged and that his personal cell phone was being tapped. Then it seemed their officials went all Warsaw Pact on their employees.

Some of the first changes involved shutting off access and protecting information. Non-football employees, including those who had worked for the Chiefs for decades, were told that they weren’t allowed on certain floors, or in certain areas of the team facility. Business-side staffers with an office window facing the practice fields were made to keep their shades drawn during practices. The team president was no exception. A security guard made the rounds during practices, sometimes interrupting phone calls and meetings to lower shades.

I guess Chiefs officials were afraid of the CIA moles filming their practices and sending them to the Patriots or something. This article also makes Scott Pioli the Chiefs General Secretary of the Communist Party err General Manager sound like someone that would fit right in under Brezhnev or Stalin.

Pioli frequently came down hard on minutiae. Some emphases made sense, some staffers said; others, though, seemed over the top. One executive, who’s no longer with the team, was sent to human resources for casually referring to Pioli by his last name; the executive said, however, that first names were acceptable. Pioli also sent a memo with detailed instructions, including which stairway to use and which doorway to enter, when using the facility’s gym.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/14/3371495/arrowhead-anxiety-turnover-off.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/14/3371495/arrowhead-anxiety-turnover-off.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/14/3371495/arrowhead-anxiety-turnover-off.html#storylink=cpy

North Dakota Ad Deemed Too Racy: Gets Pulled from Facebook

I guess this is an ad from the "what were they thinking department."

The advertisement was meant to showcase North Dakota's nightlife: Two young men and three women flirt through the window of a downtown Fargo motel bar. Printed next to them is the message: "Drinks, dinner, decisions. Arrive a guest. Leave a legend."

It was meant to be "a little flirty, a little fun," said Pat Finken, president of Odney Advertising, the agency that created the ad.

I guess you leave North Dakota a "legend" by having sex with 3 women passing a bar while rocking a chin-beard or resembling Paul Bettany having an epileptic seizure. I guess that would be pretty legendary. Here is a look at the ad:

You Dirty Schettino

I hope this cowards name gets used as an epithet from now on. Here is him cruising on a lifeboat while arguing with a Coast Guard guy while the people on the cruise ship are trying to flee to safety.

Coast Guard: My rescue craft is at the bow. Go! There are already bodies, Schettino. Go!

Captain: How many bodies are there?

Coast Guard: I don't know! ... Christ, you should be the one telling me that!

Captain: Do you realize that it is dark and we can't see anything?

Coast Guard: So, what do you want to do, to go home, Schettino?! It's dark and you want to go home? Go to the bow of the ship where the ladder is and tell me what needs to be done, how many people there are, and what they need! Now!

Newt Gingrich is a Damn Idiot: Dings Romney on speaking French when he Does Himself!

I can't wait until this buffoon runs out of campaign money and slinks back to Fox News to offer his "commentary" on various things. In other words I can ignore him until Krauthammer or Karl Rove of someone else actually says something constructive. Here is his hypocritical attack on Romney and his speaking of hated French.

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is hitting Rival Mitt Romney in a new ad, with a voice-over that says at one point, “just like John Kerry, he speaks French, too.”

But it may not be Gingrich’s best line of attack, considering the former professor has a doctorate in European history from Tulane University.

Gingrich’s 1971 dissertation – “Belgian Education Policy in the Congo 1945-1960” — contains a multitude of sources in French in his bibliography.

In total, Gingrich relied upon 143 French-language sources to write his dissertation — including 18 “public documents,” 90 books, 33 published articles and 2 unpublished documents.

Yeah, I guess he either didn't actually include information from these hated French sources or had to read them with a derisive sneer on his lips. The problem is France under Sarkozy is a far different entity then it was when "freedom fries" were popular. 

 

This view also insults GOPers that I guess are supposed to have a reflexive hatred of France that is no longer warranted. This France is one of the things that is keeping Greece and Italy from dragging down the rest of the world economy. This France was responsible for bombing Libya into submission after we led from behind. I'm hoping Conservatives have grown up a little in the 9 years since when we are supposed to hate the French. 

 

In the meantime I would like the people of South Carolina to boot this igoramous out of the race so we can focus on the task at hand. That would be attacking Obama and how he has failed as a president and should not win a second term.

Groupon's "Clicky" Looks Like Something Culled from the Nightmares of the Damned!

On reading this article I thought Groupons new "Clicky" spin-to-win feature I thought it would be something kind of quirky or cute. Instead we have a creature cribbed directly from an HP Lovecraft novel:

This thing is monstrous even by horror novel standards. With two eyes perched wetly above its horrible golden body. They stare directly ahead with sad hatred etched in its terrible, unblinking hazel pupils. They seemed to bore into your soul and make you wish that its gaze was anywhere else but upon you. For if Clicky gazed upon you it will bring only sorrow rather than savings.

But it's eyes were not its most sickening feature. Situated directly in the center of its body was a horrible maw waiting to rip the flesh and crush the very bones of a luckless woman that happened to enter Groupons benighted land in search of a 20% off Zumba Classes at the Sheboygan Civic Auditorium.

It ghastly lips were mercifully closed but one knew that they hid miles of jagged, crooked, yellow teeth. Each one filed to a gore-ripping white point. One expected discounts when they happened upon Groupon but instead they received sanity-blasting horror served to them from a shuddering beast of the elder ages.

Do not attempt to flee Clicky because it does not sleep, its eyes do not close, its clacking jaws do not tire. It will catch you in the darkness and it will devour you body and soul. Gold was the color of its body but the spurting red lifesblood of the saver was all it desired. They came for coupons but left with nothing. Not even their lives.

Another Iranian Nuclear Scientist Bites the Dust: Magnet Bombs Again

It seems Mossad might be taking some tough measures like they did a years ago. At least we are categorically denying doing it.

"The United States strongly condemns this act of violence and categorically denies any involvement in the killing," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a press statement.

Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan, 32, was killed in a blast from a magnetic bomb, that two men on a motorcycle attached to his Peugot 405 in north Tehran during Wednesday morning rush hour, the BBC's Frank Gardner reported.

If I were in charge of enrichment at one of these Iranian nuke factories I would want to sleep at my desk just in case Mossad wants to give you a magnet bomb send-off.

Santorum's Italian Ancestors Red Commies?

Well that is what his grandmother is telling the Italian weekly magazine Oggi.

But the elder Santorum matriarch doesn’t understand why he has diverged so far from the family’s longtime political stance. “In Riva del Garda his grandfather Pietro and uncles were ‘red communists’ to the core,” writes Oggi journalist Giuseppe Fumagalli, likening the family to “Peppone” after a famous fictional Italian communist mayor who fought against an ultraconservative priest known as Don Cammillo and about which a popular television series is based. “But on the other side of the ocean, it’s like his family here doesn’t exist. Instead he draws crowds as the head of the ultraconservative faction of the Republican party, against divorce, gay marriage, abortion, and immigration.”

I guess you really can't do much about your foreign relations. The idea that there are commies in the past of the Church Lady Santorum is kind of funny.

Huntsman 3rd in New Hampshire: I Think I Will be Voting for This Guy if Given the Chance

Well, in a field full of lame GOP fodder I guess I can back the least of all evils, Jon Huntsman. Third is a pretty good showing I should think.

Mitt Romney has won the New Hampshire primary, Fox News projects, notching back-to-back victories in the first two contests of the presidential nominating season.

Fox News also projects that Ron Paul will finish second and Jon Huntsman will finish third. Rick Perry is projected to finish in sixth place. 

Romney will be beaten like a drum by Obama, Newt is a condescending asshole, Rick Perry seems dumber than Bush, and Santorum is the second coming of the Church Lady. So that leaves Huntsman who seems like a likable enough guy judging from a few interviews I saw on Squawk Box which comes on at midnight here in Hawaii. He's knowledgeable about the economy and is affable enough.

Let's look at Huntsman a bit:

1. He's a super-Mormon who is a direct descendant to Parley P. Pratt an early church elder.

 

2. He was an Eagle Scout which is pretty cool. He also was a keyboard player in the rock band Wizard which he dropped out of school to pursue. So we got some misspent youth going for him.

 

3. He then got his GED and went to University of Utah and then to Penn so he isn't a generic Ivy Leaguer like the last x-many Presidents. Too bad he didn't have some military service thrown in here.

 

4. He is fluent in Chinese so he can talk to the Red Chinese without an interpreter. He worked for the HW Bush administration in the Commerce Department and then was ambassador to Singapore. He doesn't seem like a Washington insider which is good.

 

5. Then he went to work at his dad's company the Huntsman Corporation and was in charge of their Cancer Foundation and other Utah civic groups. Um, I would have liked him to work somewhere else so the nepotism charge can't be leveled against him.

 

6. Then he was governor of Utah which usually means he has a good chance of being a decent enough President. It seems that when it comes to pre-presidential jobs generals are hit and miss, lawyers are usually crappy, engineers always suck, Senators are decent and governors are generally pretty good. Ronald Reagan, Teddy Roosevelt, and FDR were all former governors.

 

7. While governor of Utah he seemed pretty fiscally prudent grew jobs and signed a voucher bill into law. He also cut taxes and even got a flat tax passed.

8. He was Ambassador to China on Obama's watch which is a black mark. However, he has a sense of duty and served when called which you really can't fault him for. I guess the Obamites saw him as a harmless GOPer that can speak Chinese. Maybe he will take his ex-bosses job if given the chance?

9. On the issues: he is a tax cutter and wants to get rid of all the stupid tax loopholes that we have to jump through to do our taxes. He wants to cut corporate taxes to 25% from 35% which is awesome. He wants to dump subsidies and corporate welfare. He also wants to get rid of taxes on capital gains and dividends which sold me right there. If I was on the fence before if he can get rid of the asinine taxes on capital gains I have to say "He's the Hunts-man for the job!"

10. On social issues he is anti-abortion, is for civil unions for same-sex couples, and passed a civil unions bill in Utah. All pretty good things other then the abortion thing.

11. He seems anti-green house gas emissions and global warming but as long as it doesn't hurt our economy. In other words he wouldn't support having billions of dollars siphoned from the US into the pockets of foreign dictators in some UN sponsored global warming crap-fest.

12. He seems pro-China in his foreign policy views. He is also pro-Israel and has actually traveled to the Holy Land several times.

13. He is a serious immigration dove it seems. He supports the border fence even though it "repulses him." I think the border fence is a serious waste of money when we are trillions in debt. He was for "drivers-privilege" cards for illegals that can't be used for IDs which seems a decent compromise. He also threatened a veto of a bill that would have repealed in-state college tuition for illegals. He is also very pro legal immigration and wants more H1-B visas and he backed the DREAM Act. His immigration views match mine pretty well for the most part so that is good.

14. He doesn't seem to be the Church Lady about his views like Santorum so that is great. He is also not a creationist like Rick Perry. I think, for the most part, Huntsman will not have his religion be too big a factor when he is making decisions in the White House. This all bodes well and hopefully he can be the anti-Romney everyone has been looking for.

Tim Tebows's Win Ordained by God? John 3:16 All over the Game

Now this is either one wacky coincidence or the Patriots need to play indoors in case some lightning will come raining down on them for daring to thwart the mighty Tebow.

The fact that Tebow had 316 yards passing and averaged 31.6 yards per pass in the game didn't escape notice on Sunday night. Tebow wore "John 3:16" on his eye black in the 2009 BCS Championship game and has since become identified with the famous Bible message. The coincidental stats caused millions of fans to perform Google searches on the Bible passage in the past 24 hours. Here's one more unbelievable stat: John Ourand of Sports Business Journal reports that the final quarter-hour television rating for the Broncos-Steelers game was, you guessed it, 31.6.

In case your forgot your John 3:16 it is:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

Maybe in this case: 2 Samuel 22:15-18 would be more appropriate:

 ¹⁵ He sent out arrows and scattered them;
      Lightning bolts, and He vanquished them.

 ¹⁶ Then the channels of the sea were seen,
      The foundations of the world were uncovered,
      At the rebuke of the LORD,
      At the blast of the breath of His nostrils.

 ¹⁷ “He sent from above, He took me,
      He drew me out of many waters.

 ¹⁸ He delivered me from my strong enemy,
      From those who hated me;
      For they were too strong for me.

By "enemy" they mean the Patriots and by arrows they mean option running plays and by lightning bolts they mean wobbly passes for touchdowns.  The "me" in this case isn't David but Tebow. It all makes sense now!

Bow thy heads you filthy sinners on the CBS Post Game Show. Let no man speak ill of the Tebow!

FED returns 76.9 Billion to Treasury

I guess the FED is good for something after all.

The Federal Reserve said Tuesday it will send about $76.9 billion of its estimated 2011 net income over to the Treasury. 

That was down from a record $78.4 billion in 2010, and comes primarily from the interest payments on securities held in the U.S. central bank's massive multitrillion-dollar portfolio.

I wonder if we can hire some serious money managers and get this $78.4 billion to grow a little bit more?

Romney Likes to "Fire People?"

Well at least he is coming clean about what he likes to do.

"I want individuals to have their own insurance. That means the insurance company will have an incentive to keep you healthy," Romney said. "It also means that if you don't like what they do, you can fire them. I like being able to fire people who provide services to me. You know if someone doesn't give me the good service I need, I want to say, you know, I'm going to go get someone else to provide that service to me."

I guess that statement was taken out of context. He should have said he liked to fire a company that provided poor service to him. That would make sense and be somewhat anti-corporate as well. Everyone would like to fire their insurance company if they jacked up their rates by 15% or whatever. However most health insurance companies are monopolies in most states. The ability to buy health insurance like you can buy car insurance should be allowable to all Americans.

I'm Afraid your Colon Will Be Quite Operational when the Runs Arrive!

Star Wars burgers coming to a fast food chain near you if you live in Belgium.

Quick's limited-edition burgers come in three flavors. There's the Dark Burger—a double cheeseburger on a seeded bun with some kind of creamy mayo spread. Then there's the Jedi Burger, another double-patty cheeseburger, this time inspired by the cryptic genius Yoda. Only few are enlightened enough to know whether those white pellets peaking out from under the bun are cheese curds or marshmallows. 

The comments section of this article are absolutely hilarious. I think the burgers look weird no matter how you slice them. Also wheres the guacamole on the Yoda burger?

Europe Moves Toward Embargo on Iranian Oil: Time to go Long USO?

Wow, the Europeans sure are getting pretty warlike after kicking the legs out from under Qaddafi.

A final decision by the European Union will not come before the end of January and would be implemented in stages to avoid major disruptions in global oil supplies. But the move by some of Iran’s most important oil customers appears to underscore the resolve of Western allies to impose toughest round of sanctions on Iran to date, increasing pressure on Tehran to stop enriching uranium and negotiate an end to what Western leaders argue is an accelerating program to build a nuclear bomb. 

This should get us some $125 a barrel oil and maybe some tense times in the Strait of Hormuz going forward. I guess it would be up to Iran if they actually tried to close the Strait or not. In any case quite a few barrels of oil will be kept off the world market and USO (United States Oil ETF) might be a good play in the next few months.

Kodak is About to Die!

Well this is the end of one of a 131 year company that used to once be a Blue Chip and will soon be just a cow chip.

The struggling photography icon, which employs about 19,000 people, is in discussions with potential lenders for around $1 billion in so-called debtor-in possession financing that would keep it afloat during bankruptcy proceedings, the people said. A filing could occur as soon as this month or early February, one of the people said.

I think first digital cameras destroyed Kodaks film market and now cell phones with good cameras are even destroying that once robust market. It then went into the printer market which is dominated by large competitors like HP that had a 20 year head start on them. Oh well I guess the little yellow film tube will join the Newton and the Blackberry on the pile of forgotten technologies.