Retailers Think Young Girls in America Are Dolts

I guess a female scientist is out of the question for J.C. Penny and David & Goliath.

A few months ago, the Internet was up in arms over a white David & Goliath T-Shirt that read, in pink bubble letters, "I'm too pretty to do math." Then there was the one with "Future Trophy Wife" written on it.

But many parents think this one is worse.

The long-sleeve T-shirt that J.C. Penney pulled off its website today amid plenty of parental outrage read: "I'm too pretty to do my homework so my brother has to do it for me." And, judging by the description of the shirt on the J.C. Penney website—"Who has time for homework when there’s a new Justin Bieber album out? She’ll love this tee that’s just as cute and sassy as she is"—it seems like the company didn't have a problem with the shirt until customers started to complain.

If you are cute and sassy young girl then you need to be dumb as well. Hmm, can you sense a little misogyny at J.C. Penny?

It Seems that S&P Gave out 14,000 AAA Ratings

The more I think about them downgrading the US debt the more I see it in purely political terms. According to this article it seems that quite a few different things have AAA ratings that shouldn't.

Even though S&P this month cut the U.S. government's credit rating to double-A-plus, from an earlier triple-A, the ratings company is far less parsimonious in handing out its highest ratings to other borrowers. As Bloomberg's Zeke Faux and Jody Shenn report today, S&P currently assigns a triple-A rating to more than 14,000 securitized bonds in the U.S.

Those triple-A credits include bonds backed by car-dealer loans and farm-equipment leases: two types of borrowings known for higher default rates in economic slumps. S&P also keeps awarding triple-A ratings to some securities backed by subprime home loans, a type of investment that fared disastrously after housing prices began slumping in 2007-08.

Yeah car loans, farm equipment loans, and subprime home loans are all more creditworthy then the number one economy in the world. I still think Congress needs to investigate S&P and make sure they are all on the up-and-up.

Tweens Candid Views on Social Networking: It's Pretty Desturbing

This article is strait up scary about how social networking is affecting tweens. I did a double take on the following admissions:

1. I feel safer online than I do offline.  So I do things online that I wouldn’t do in real life.”

--Sadie, 14 years old

This fits a generation brought up with 2 wars (now 3) and in the shadow of 9/11. I'm pretty sure Muslim terrorists won't be bothering your Farmville Farm anytime soon. It is sad how the fantasy world online is more palatable then the real world with real people in it. The Red Chinese are going to run over these kids.

2. “Social networking affects all the things you do in real life now.  Like, if you go to a party, one of the most important aspects of going to the party is to document yourself for online posts.  You have to prove you were looking good, you were having fun, and that you were actually there!  It’s not about the party anymore but about the pictures of the party.”  

--Caroline, 14 years old

This statement gave me a William Gibson/Shadowrun vibe. So meatspace is just a pale extension of cyberspace? Like if you didn't put it on Facebook it didn't happen. This goes a long way to explaining why kids are so insular in their knowledge and let nothing new into their closed off minds. Their world revolves around their little coterie of friends and their online lives. It's pretty sad.

3.  “I feel sad, depressed, jealous, or whatever when I don’t get a lot of “Likes” on my photo or when someone else gets way more Likes than me. Honestly, I’m not sure that parents realize how drastically it affects our self-image and confidence. If I see a picture of a really pretty girl, it’s like ‘Goodbye self-esteem.’  It forces me to compete and do stuff that I don’t want to do, so my confidence will get a boost.”  

--Samantha, 14 years old

I guess this is the first inkling of Facebook Syndrome. Your "Likes" define your self-worth which makes almost no sense at all. She is actually comparing herself to another girl and uses Facebook "likes" as a measure of her own self-esteem. The need for therapists in 10 years will be staggering.

4. “My friendships are really affected by social networking. You have to constantly validate your friends online. And everyone’s like ‘Where were you?’ ‘What have you been doing?’  ‘Why haven’t you commented on my picture yet?’ So you have to be online all the time, just to keep track, so you don’t upset anyone.”  

--Jasmine, 13 years old

I guess this is the result of a Facebook rat race where you have to be present and online at all times or people become upset with you. If I was this girl I would self-delete with a few good friends and take the friendship back into meatspace. I have a feeling that her life will be so much richer and happier because she will only need validation from a few people and not tons of random people.

5. “I really want my mom to be proud of me.  Obviously, I want her to think I’m writing my essay or doing things I should be doing instead of being on Facebook.  But I also want to be online. So I lie or accuse her of not trusting me.  It’s awful, but I’ve become really comfortable with lying.”  

--Maya, 14 years old

This statement is probably the most harrowing to me. A bunch of kids validated by technology that are comfortable about lying is a recipe for disaster later on. Hopefully, there will be a Facebook backlash and these kids will unplug and enjoy meatspace a little bit more.

Yahoo Sports Deserves the Pulitzer Prize for their University of Maimi Expose

It's weird that a web page is doing better reporting than the big news dailies nowadays. In any case they deserve the Pulitzer for all the work they did.

In an effort to substantiate the booster’s claims, Yahoo! Sports audited approximately 20,000 pages of financial and business records from his bankruptcy case, more than 5,000 pages of cell phone records, multiple interview summaries tied to his federal Ponzi case, and more than 1,000 photos. Nearly 100 interviews were also conducted with individuals living in six different states. In the process, documents, photos and 21 human sources – including nine former Miami players or recruits, and one former coach – corroborated multiple parts of Shapiro’s rule-breaking.

University of Miami Football Might in big Trouble Off the Field

Well, it looks like cheating to win in college football is still live and well after they gave the Death Penalty to SMU.

The NCAA has a checklist when it comes to major infractions cases and Shapiro can click through most of it quickly. There’s no denying his role as an official Miami booster – “an ardent, devoted, intense supporter,” the school website once described him. There is no question he owned part of Axcess Sports, which had signed Vince Wilfork and Jon Beason, Hurricane players who became first-round NFL picks.

And there is no question Shapiro provided scores of Miami athletes with impermissible benefits from 2002-2010. In March 2011, he began working with a team of NCAA investigators and Shapiro said they call it, “the biggest case they’ve ever had.” Multiple media reports say NCAA investigators were on the Coral Gables campus Monday.

The most difficult issue for Miami, the one that will cause the NCAA hammer to drop harder and swifter than any other is this: did school officials know, or should they have known, of Shapiro’s actions?

I wonder if the NCAA would drop the "Death Penalty" on Miami or not? It seems like there were payoffs and other bad things for 8 years and the officials may have known about it. They can't really say that it was the fault of one bad egg coach like Ohio State did. I think the boom will fall pretty hard on the Canes.

New Cancer Therapy Turns T-Cells into Cancer "Serial Killers"

So far it has been only tried on 3 patients that have leukemia but it seems that two of them were totally cured by the technique.

June and his colleagues made changes to the technique, using a novel carrier to deliver the new genes into the T-cells and a signaling mechanism telling the cells to kill and multiply.

That resulted in armies of "serial killer" cells that targeted cancer cells, destroyed them, and went on to kill new cancer as it emerged. It was known that T-cells attack viruses that way, but this is the first time it's been done against cancer, June said.

It does result in the worst flu of your life as all the cancer cells die off at the same time but two of the patients emerged cancer free. I wonder if you can train these killer cells to kill off other types of cancer too? It seems that Dendreon's trick of taking out the patients blood and then putting it back with all sorts of cancer killers included may be quite a breakthrough. 

I'm looking forward to the "cancer serial killer" technique being scaled up to a large population of cancer patients. If we get a 2/3rd cure rate then maybe we can turn the corner on one of the world's worst killers once and for all.

The Open and Tolerant Liberal Mindset: Yeah Right

This article struck me as funny.

If she someday embraces "family values," the Tea Party or other right-wing agendas, could it damage my relationship with her? Although I try to understand my parents' political beliefs, I don't. When I see what Newsmax "article" or Wall Street Journal editorial my father "likes" on Facebook, or glance at a photo, taken a few years back, of my folks dressed as McCain and Palin for Halloween, I feel physically sick. Sometimes it's hard to even have simple conversations with them. Even the most innocent pleasantry, like "Nice weather," could spiral out of control if I don't watch what I say. (For the record, they are loving grandparents and are far more gracious than I am about not bringing up delicate topics.) If my dad says, "I bet you guys are happy you're not back east this winter. All that snow in New York." I'm tempted to mutter something about climate change, but instead I bite my tongue and say, "Yes, in Portland we don't have to shovel rain." 

So she feels physically sick by her parents being conservative? I have not felt that way at all about liberals and their beliefs. I find them funny sometimes but I am never sickened by them. About the only far-left thinking I feel sick about is the notion of committing genocide and sterilization of 3rd world peoples in order to combat global warming. But only the most radical of environmentalists think that way.

Also I think this mother needs to take a step back and understand that everything isn't about politics. "Nice weather" doesn't have to be an indictment against her global warming obsession. It only spirals out of control because this woman is a nut job that gets sick because her parents wear a costume of hated political figures or dares to "Like" a Wall Street Journal Editorial.

I really hope her daughter becomes a full-throated Hannity-eqsue conservative just to freak her mom out. I mean sometimes the most ardent conservatives were once liberals who opened their eyes about how contradictory and flawed the thinking is on the left. But I bet the daughter won't get physically sick at her mom dressing like Hillary Clinton to a Halloween party.

New Catwoman Costume: Yeah it Looks Stupid

Well I have to agree with the Internet push-back against the new Catwoman costume. It does look pretty goofy.

 



It is pretty much a black jumpsuit with some dorky glasses. I mean the glasses kind of look like a cats face but the blue lights also remind me of a Bluetooth headset. What was wrong with skin-tight leather and a whip? Even the purple costume with the green cape from the 50s (the Dick Sprang era Batman) looked a little sexier then this one.

The side view is even more unflattering. She looks like she is either wearing a mullet or a Frankenstein hair-do. The motorcycle is kind of cool looking I guess. Oh well, I'm not a huge Catwoman fan so it isn't as big a deal as it would be to some fan boys out there.

Our Budget Breakdown: Or what we should Cut

This is a pretty good primer on what we need to cut in order to get our house in order.

Though the Federal budget is a lengthy beast, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities neatly lays out the spending breakdown: 20% of spending goes to Social Security, 21% goes to Medicare & Medicaid, 20% goes to defense, about 6% goes to interest payments on our debt and another 14% to so-called "safety net" programs. The remaining 20% is spent on veteran's benefits, medical research, education, infrastructure and other smaller programs. 

So it is pretty clear. Cut social security by 10% by moving the age up or reducing payouts or whatever. Then cut Medicare by 10% by doing the same. I like the Ryan plan that provides you with vouchers where you can buy your own health insurance instead of Medicare. As long as the government stops abuse by insurance companies then it might work out. Whatever the case make both things solvent before I retire or cheerfully refund my money.

Then we can cut defense now that we are winding down one of our wars. Maybe 5% or whatever savings we will get from leaving Iraq. The 14% safety net programs can be cut slightly or just farm some out more to the states or to church and charity groups. That last 20% might be hard to cut but maybe they can shave off 5% somewhere.

Then we raise revenue but cutting out tons of tax breaks and simplifying the tax code and we would be back on the path to solvency again. I would first get rid of the interest deduction on mortgage debt. I mean living in your house is enough of a bonus why should the tax payers also give you some free cash as well? Then get rid of all tax breaks for certain corporations. GE and Exxon needs to pay some taxes like everyone else.

Then you cut the corporate and individual tax rates like the Gang of 6 plan did and suddenly you are back on the path to growth again. Too bad Congress and the White House are full of people that want to be reelected more than they want to fix our economy. Hopefully getting our debt rating cut will wake up some people and get them from playing the blame game to fixing the economy.

It's Been 3 Years and Obama is Still Blaming Bush

These kind of statements just take so much gall it isn't even funny.

Speaking at a Democratic fundraiser, where families paid $15,000 to get a picture with him, Obama defended his economic record and noted that problems in Europe were affecting the United States.

"We do have a serious problem in terms of debt and deficit, and much of it I inherited," Obama said. The financial crisis, he said, made the problem worse.

Stop saying this and fix the problems already. Yeah it was bad when Bush left office but at least the unemployment rate was still 6% then. It has jumped to 9% and the White House has nothing up its sleeve to fix the problem. Blaming the other guy does not create any jobs or increase the GDP.

Moody's Reaffirms AAA debt of the US. For Now.

Why haven't we had these people in front of committees right now? I mean they played a huge part in the 2008 Housing Crisis by giving bundles of junk loans top ratings. Now they are holding billions of dollars hostage with their ratings.

Moody's Investor's Service expects to maintain the United States' top-notch rating for now, despite the "limited magnitude" of the deficit reduction plans being discussed in Washington.

But Moody's on Friday warned that affirmation of its Aaa credit rating for the United States will likely come with a negative outlook, meaning it would not downgrade the rating immediately but could do so in the medium term.

I think there should be much more stringent regulation in this debt rating market to prevent further abuses.  The idea that a private company holds so much power over our everyday lives needs some sort of brake or federal oversight involved.

Thundercats Revamped. I Like It!

It seems the Thundercats are getting an anime makeover. It looks pretty good to me. Judge for yourself:

Obama's Approval Rating Hits All Time Low

There is now a 10% gap between the Likes and Dislikes.

Just 41 percent of the public said they approved of the way Obama was handling the debt-ceiling negotiations, while 52 percent disapproved, according to another Gallup poll released Thursday. Nonetheless, Obama still polls better than congressional leadership. Speaker of the House John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid both received even lower approval rates.

I think Americans are saying a pox on all houses. I am in agreement. If these ass-grabs don't get a deal together and we go into technical default I will be very angry. If we have a 700 point move lower on the Dow due to these idiots I will be very, very angry.

What If America was a Publicly Traded Company?

Well, I would short it first of all but this is a pretty interesting report from Mary Meeker if America ran as a publicly traded company called America Inc.

America's financial challenges are headlined by a negative net worth of $44 trillion (or $371,000 per household) and gross debt as a percent of GDP in excess of 90%. But they can be solved with constraint and reduction in government spending at the top of the list. Entitlement spending is the largest expense by far and has risen to 57% of annual expenses, up from 25% 40 years ago. By the government's own forecast, our annual entitlement spending plus the interest expense on our debt is expected to surpass our revenue within 15 years. We all need to acknowledge the problems and commit to change. 

Yeah pretty much. I wish we could just toss out the CEO (President) the senior management (Senate and Congress) and hire some guys from Apple to run the company. I'm pretty sure they would get that debt thing under control and it would be a real blast to do any business with the Federal Government (which would all be on the USACloud with an ergonomically designed web page.)

Kudlow Understands How Good the Gang of 6 Plan Actually Is

I really think that more conservatives need to follow Larry Kudlow in his support of the "Gang of Six" Deficit Reduction plan.

The best part of the Gang of Six plan is a reduction in the top personal tax rate from 35% to a range of 23 to 29%. For businesses, the rate would drop in the same manner. And the corporate tax would be territorial rather than global, thereby avoiding the double tax on foreign earnings of U.S. companies. Finally, the plan would abolish the $1.7 trillion alternative minimum tax. That's huge. It's another pro-growth tax reform. 

Just the reduction of the double taxing would unleash billions of dollars for American companies to grow with. Plus, companies can finally stop gaming the tax system with tricks and worry about raising their revenue numbers. I mean GE can stop trying to lobby Congress and the White House for tax breaks and concentrate on creating new products and hiring people so their company can grow.

Also getting rid of the dreaded AMT would save millions of upper middle class people from getting hit with massive tax bills. I would love to see rich people just pay 29% of their income in taxes and not try to claim farm land and other nonsense just to reduce their overall tax bill.

No games or sharp minded accountants gaming the system but just you made X and multiply by 29% and write a check for that amount payable to the IRS.

This thinking actually harkens back to Reagan who wanted a tax system with 3 lines. How much you made, percentage of how much made, and how much you owe. They do raise capital gains by 5% but that can be gamed away with strategic stock sales. Or maybe just let lower income investors like me keep my 15% capital gains tax. In any case just simplify taxes and you will have millions of happy Americans.

"Gang of Six" Spending Cut Plan: Looks Good so Far

Um, pass the damn thing already so the market doesn't have an excuse to sell off as we get closer to the August 2nd deadline. On looking at the plan it does seem like a fairly good compromise. This part is red meat for me.

Reform the tax code: The plan would eliminate some tax breaks, reform others, halve the number of income tax brackets to three from six, and reduce rates. 

The rate on the new brackets would fall between 8% and 12% for those in the lowest bracket; 14% and 22% for those in the middle bracket; and 23% and 29% for those in the top bracket. Rates today run from 10% on the low end to 35% on the high end.

I'm in the middle bracket so I would have my taxes cut by 6% hopefully. If they keep capital gains rates for me at 15% I would back this thing wholeheartedly. I mean shaving $4 trillion off of the deficit in 10 years sounds like a great idea in the first place. That means we would only be $10 trillion in the hole and can whittle that down further if the recovery becomes more robust. It would be so cool to have a budget surplus sometime in my lifetime.

I mean if the GOP wins the Senate next year they can push through a Constitutional Balanced Budget Amendment and maybe we will be able to finally get something other that $1 trillion in debt added onto our deficit each year.

Wall of Worry at 22 Blocks?

Very interesting article on all the different head-ways that are standing in front of the market now. Yet we are climbing that wall at least of the time being with today's 200 point move upward. Thanks IBM you did wonders. You got the market to not focus on Washington BS and onto companies that are making piles of money with great products. Here are the 22 blocks as put out by Lloyd Khaner.

QE III: Okay maybe just a little scratch to get us over the hump…again.

U.S. ECONOMY: Down, but not out. Emphasis on “down”.

UNEMPLOYMENT: Not looking for some corner office c-suite position, “just talking about some shiftwork, a big ol’ pile of shiftwork, working 7-to-3, 3-to-11, 11-to-7…”
U.S. DEBT CEILING: Playing catch with a hand grenade. Not advisable. (Our Debt Ceiling Countdown Clock is still sticking!)

INVESTOR SENTIMENT: The patient isn’t dead yet, but we're getting a mighty irregular heartbeat.

HOUSING CRISIS: Seeming more and more like the cavemen had it right.

INFLATION: China and the EU are fighting it tooth and nail. And they're promptly losing their teeth and nails.

BOND VIGILANTES: “We’re baaaaack.” And spending a gloriously torrid summer in Europe.

OIL PRICES: The sub-$100/barrel price on WTI crude is possibly all that’s keeping the recession screamers from re-emerging en masse.

ARAB SPRING: The normally calm, cool and collected Jordan enters the fray.

LIBYA: Now up to 30-plus countries vs. Mo-Mo & Co., and still no end in sight.

JAPAN: Taking every positive they can get -- and winning the Women’s Soccer World Cup is worth a psychological boast if not an economic one.

CHINA: Doing their best to compete with the US in a who-can-lose-financial-credibility-faster tourney. I advise not sitting in the front row to watch this race.

EARNINGS SEASON: Not going to be terrible. Not going to be great. Going to be okay, like eating jello or listening to Josh Groban music.

SOVEREIGN DEBT: Daily threats of a downgrade of US Debt which has never happened in history. As my mother says, “Sometimes making history isn’t a good thing.”

COMMODITIES: “Rough rice” (aka regular old raw harvested rice) is spiking to 12-month highs. Not great, as 2 billion of us humans subsist on it.

POLICY MISTAKE: None last week. But not for lack of trying!

EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK: It’s big decision time and it has been for a month. So maybe it's also get-a-new-calendar (and a watch) time as well.

GREECE: Some are suggesting that Greece sell off islands to pay off its debt. I myself have taken out a no-interest, 3-year exploding option ARM loan at 5% on Santorini.

SPAIN: Neatly passed the buck to Italy during a siesta.

ITALY: Now starring in the lead role of “Eurolanden Debtnicus Tragedia” Also see: Italian-Inspired Market Panic Pauses, Awaiting Thursday's Greece Summit

Herman Cain Against Building a Mosque in Tennessee

This is exactly the reason why I sometimes dislike the GOP.

During a discussion on "Fox News Sunday" of a proposed mosque in Murfreesboro, Tenn. that has drawn protests, legal challenges and even arson, host Chris Wallace asked the former Godfather's Pizza CEO his feelings about communities that wish to ban mosques.

"Yes, they have the right to do that," Cain replied.

Um, I just have to say that preventing a mosque from being built on private land is strait-up un-American. I mean this is the land of the free what do we have to fear from Islam? Political Islam is starting to show cracks anyway. I mean the Iranian regime will probably not last another 10 years and our form of government seems to be sweeping through the Middle East as we speak.

So what if there is a mosque in Tennessee? If nefarious things are going on there the FBI can look into it. Its not like as soon as they build the thing an Al-Quida cell will move right in or other nonsense. I mean would Cain be against a Synagogue or a Wiccan Church being built there? So the separation of church and state part doesn't matter.

Just let people use private land for whatever the purpose they want as long as it is legal. That is the only way to look at this as an American. It is not the Land of the Free (as long as you aren't Muslim) its the Land of the Free for everyone.

Tom Coburn Takes an Axe to the Budget: $9 Trillion in Savings!

Now this is exactly what we need in order to get this deficit under control. Coburn doesn't spare the axe anywhere even raising taxes and cutting veteran benefits and raises the retirement and Medicare age.

The plan by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., is laced with politically perilous proposals like raising to 70 the age at which people can claim their full Social Security benefits. It would cut farm subsidies, Medicare, student aid, housing subsidies for the poor, and funding for community development grants. Coburn even takes on the powerful veterans' lobby by proposing that some veterans pay more for medical care and prescription drugs.

Let's debate some of his proposals. The more I look at Social Security and Medicare the more I think it will go bankrupt years before I retire. If that is the case I better have every dollar I pay into the system refunded to me with interest. 

It Looks Like the GOP Leadership is Caving on Rasing the Debt Limit

I think some fairly meaningful spending reform could have come out of this whole mess but instead it seems the GOP is as addicted to spending as the Dems.

Ahead of a fourth negotiating session at the White House in as many days, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell defended his proposal to give President Barack Obama new powers to increase the nation's borrowing limit without GOP support.

"I refuse to help Barack Obama get re-elected by marching Republicans into a position where we have co-ownership of a bad economy," McConnell said on a radio talk show, contending that letting the nation go into financial default would give Obama reason to blame Republicans for the negative fallout.

McConnell is such a spineless weasel. I mean we will eventually default on our debt anyway if we keep spending like we are now. Hell, at this rate Medicare and Social Security will be bankrupt nearly a decade before I retire. If the GOP won't fight for deep cuts in every program then who will?  

I kind of understand that the GOP will be blamed for a debt default though and Obama will be a hero to the markets for marching in and invoking the 14th Amendment. I mean the market is already getting kind of antsy about a default. As we get closer to the deadline it will start to get worse and worse. A US Government Debt default is no joke.

Still a deal could have been reached without McConnell cutting out Boehner's legs like this. I guess McConnell got a call from some Wall Street Hedge funds or bankers or something that are long the market to throw water on the fire before it gets out of hand. 

In any case I think it is about damn time for someone to show McConnell the door. He caved on Obamacare and now he is caving on the debt ceiling. He really isn't on the side of fiscal conservancy so what use do I have with him?