Dow Watch: Buffett says: "Buy." Itsez: "No, not Yet."

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It takes 10,000 Hours to become a Master. Of Anything.”
- Malcolm Gladwell/New Yorker Author
Comment: Malcolm was most reassuring last night on the Rachel Maddow Show. He is quite confident that Barack Obama has The Right Stuff to be America's CEO. I will comment more on Gladwell, Maddow...and all that. Oh...and Gladwell is also...half Black.

Our America, Circa 2008
Who ya gonna believe...?
November 21: When Warren Buffett said that it was time to "get back in"...I pretty much freaked out. Warren! How can you?

Now the numbers are in for the recent quarter...and Buffett is down HUGELY.

Uh...yeah...time for: "I told you so."
I think I'll just let that one ride for now.

You know the Old Joke: Some guy jumps off the roof...3o stories up.
As he passes the 20th floor...he says to himself: "Well...so far, so good!"

We're in that sort of Free Fall right now, and although MANY MILLIONS of us are... well..."OK"...America is crashing down all around our ears. And, it IS true that when a Citigroup goes to nearly ZERO, that there is some sort of Buying Opportunity here.

That's why the Saudi Oil Sheik is buying.
HE HAS NOPLACE ELSE to put his $ billions! All this does is prove...once again...that The Rich really DO Get Richer.

One thing that really upsetting is the constant reference from the CONS:
"It's all about Personal Responsibility."

Hey, George Lakoff: Whatcha Say abouth THAT?
I mean...talk about "Reframing" the Argument!!!

Here's the CONS version of Truth:
1. Americans take care of themselves.
(You know..."Government is not the Solution; Government is the Problem".)

The Subtext here: Americans with their Hands Out are merely Lazy; they are just looking for a Free Ride.

The "Free Ride" = Income REdistribution...from Us to..."Them".
And and these are of course called..."Entitlements".

2. So...let's (all) go ahead and Take Care of Ourselves.
Then...RepUglyCons and (many/most) Independents...do exactly that.
They get Jobs and earn their Pay and have Healthcare, etc., etc.

3. There it is...all so Neat and Clear...any 5 year old could understand it:
"I'll take care of Me...and You take care of You."

OK...Pencils Down...anybody want to volunteer the FLAW in all this?

It's right there...starting with the Bible: "The Poor will always be with us."

And the Poor do NOT start out Life at the Starting Line.
They start someplace BEHIND the Starting Line.
Sometimes they are so far from the Starting Line of Life...that they never have a chance...to even get into the Game.

RepUglies are simply Blind to this Reality.
Murdoch's Wall Street Journal, spend endless column inches pushing the idea of Equal Opportunity. And if that isn't Evil...I don't know what is.

This Theme is endlessly played out in Our America:

The Imperial CEOs of our Car Companies fly into D.C.
in their super-expensive Private Jets. Where they implore Congress for More $Billions to Bail Them Out.

I am 100% behind Life Support for Detroit.
NOT for the Car Guys in the Executive Suites; but for the
1 our of 10 US Jobs involved.

It is INCOMPREHENSIBLE to me that the likes of Mitt (Millionaire) Romney can actually say out loud: "Let them fail!"

You OutOfTouchZombie...WAKE UP!

Of course, the REASON the CONS give for why Detroit is in such dire straights ...is that the Unions forced Detroit into Ruinous Pay and Benefits for their Auto Workers.

And if THAT isn't the Sickest Example of the Pathology of American Labor...I don't know what is.

Senior Workers get paid something like $60,000 a year.
New Workers get paid...half that. (Still a better job than almost any other jobs in this Dysfunctional Nation.)

In other words...the Old Guys sold out the Newbies!
And nobody even comments on this.

But wait: There's more. It turns out that the New Wage Standard in America ...is what Workers earn in "Right To Work" States (that would be the Slave States)... where Unions are Forbidden/Outlawed/or "Discouraged."

Those Workers work for far less than Northern Workers.
And THAT trend drove the Mills to the South YEARS ago...as one group of Americans screwed another group.

The absolute EPITOME of the Red State Mentality is...Wal-Mart.
How can they get away with exploiting their Workforce...the largest workforce in the entire USA?

Easy: They are based in...Arkansas.
Home of...yeah, you got that right...Slick Willie Clinton.

And so it goes in America...an Endless, Confused, Contradictory...CircleJerk.

And so America...the Land of the Free...stumbles on...Right Over the Cliff.

Itsez Who? A long-time Itsez follower and contributor said it was about time to upgrade this "Who I Am" feature. Good point. I am the only Living American (that I know of) who was eye-witness to both Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, and the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center in 2001.
When I was a kid...everyone I knew respected and admired FDR. Sure...there were a few "Republicans" who sniffed at The New Deal, but we forgave them for their Silly Old Ideas. Who would have ever guessed that, led by Ronnie Reagan in 1980, those honorable Republicans would morph into Raging RepUglyCons??? One of my key tasks with Itsez is to point out the Sheer Stupidity and Core Mean Spiritedness of what used to be...that Grand Old Party.

Richard Calderhead CA/NYC

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Bill Clinton is paid $200,000 for a Speech.” - Itsez
Comment: "If you want to ever understand..."Were We Are"...that says it all. When Harry Truman left the White House...HE DROVE HIMSELF AND BESS HOME! Today, a mere 5 speeches make Slick a Millionaire. So Where Are We? Continued below.

Our America, Circa 2008
Say What...?
November 20: Get this straight: Nobody...including Barack Obama...knows where we are right now.

Ask: "Where is...The Bottom?"
And you will either get the Perpetual Happy Talk Answer...
or you'll get a Befuddled Stare.

All semblance of Stability is long gone; we are now in Free Fall.
Look at the Bloomberg Chart.

"Yeah, OK, Itsez...if you are so Smart...How Far Will We Fall?"

Short Answer: Why ask me? Sure...I've been 100% correct time after time after time. But THIS time...who the hell knows?

The Damage that has been wrought by The Dark Side is simply unbelievable.

Entire FACTORIES are shutting down in China.
Chinese cargo ships are sitting EMPTY.
US Car Sales are "off." (Who the hell is BUYING any right now?) And...right there on your TV set you can still see Humvee spots!!!???
Housing prices in San Diego, CA, have lost HALF THEIR VALUE!
Wall Street is firing tens of thousands PER DAY!
Even the price of Gasoline has retreated. (What ever happened to Peak Oil?)

The NY Subway System is in near total Chaos.
Uh...the Subway is the very Artery of Life for NYC...it's what allows the Workers to get to Work! Duh! Rich Guys breeze down to Wall Street in their Limos...just like those Auto CEOs...who flew to the Senate Hearings in their own Private Jets!!!

So what are they DOING? Oh...merely shutting off ENTIRE LINES.
Restricting hours. Firing workers. And it was already a NIGHTMARE during Rush Hour!!!??? (And Bloomberg gets to remain as Mayor???)

Even Warren Buffett solemly told us: "It's time to buy again."
Not hardly, Warren. You...with $ Billions to play with...can dabble in Energy Shares...but NOT Ma and Pa...who can NEVER in their Lifetimes bounce back from their Stock Market Losses.

Poor Barack: Now even NoDrama Obama is plagued by "Leaks."
I mean...what is Hillary doing NOW?

Go ahead and DECIDE already!

There is talk of Bill giving up control of his Foundation (and the Incoming Fee Stream)...to calm things down for Hillary. All YOU need to know about all this is that the Mental Calculation is Elementary: Bill, Hill and even Chelsea... are totally aware of the Golden Fountain...each of them can dip their Cup in the Fountain...and come away with a New Book Deal...worth $ MILLIONS.

They UNDERSTAND PERFECTLY that the Money is there...just waiting. (Even Sarah Palin is about to Cash In...with a (?$7Million?) Book Deal.

Barack also understand The (New) Game: Itsez Prediction:

"In 2018...after his 2nd Term...Barack Obama's
Net Worth will be $25,000,000."

That would continuing sales of his first Best Selling
books...plus the Big New One when he leaves office.

Not to mention Michelle's recap of her White House Years.

America right now is Profligate and Disoriented.

NPR had a snippet yesterday on the Infamous F-22 Fighter Plane.
This is perfectly symptomatic of Today's America:

1. It is the finest jet fighter ever built. (Pentagon Version.)

2. It is a Goldplated Boodoggle...designed by the notorious Fighter Jock Click ...to fight a non-existent new Cold War Opponent. (F-22 critics.)

Both sides can trot out Powerpoint Presentations that "Prove" their case; trouble is...the Pentagon is lying. Again.

Follow this: America has a HUGE Military/Industrial Complex.
We have been CONTINUOUSLY building High Performance Aircraft...for 70 years. Non-stop.

Now...across the Pacific...the only POSSIBLE new World Class Foe...is China. So far...they have NEVER built a fighter jet. Are we to believe that, overnight, they will suddenly launch a fleet of SuperJets?

The only reason the USSR's MIG jets were able to compete in the early years of the Cold War was that they had copied the British Rolls Royce jet engine ...which gave them performance superiority for a decade.

Obama will need to put the brakes on Profligate Pentagon Spending.
And the harder he tries...the more they will push back, using every Moronic Patriotic Slogan in their arsenal.

Grizzled Old Marine Vets will, as usual, be out harrumphing about "Losing the Next War"...all because of Meddling Politicans.

Before you blow your brains out...please DO realize that, bad as things are...we HAVE elected the best possible choice to head up Team America for the gruelling job ahead.

So...fasten your Seat Belts...it will be a Bumpy Ride...but we WILL succeed.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Belief in a cruel God makes cruel Men.” - Tom Paine
Comment: "I will cause it to rain upon the Earth Forty Days and Forty Nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the Earth."
Huh? What God would say DO such a thing? Read more about all this below.

Our America, Circa 2008
Once in a Blue Moon...?
November 19: America has arrived at a Moment In History. Truly.

Barack Obama has been elected President.
It is nearly beyond belief!

Please...never EVER forget that MILLIONS of Americans STILL will never vote for a Person of Color.

Our entire History is stained by the endless Racism which we've been practicing from the very first moment we arrived on these Pristine Shores.

It started with the Tribes. And, virtually from the beginning...was tainted by the horrific practice of Slavery.
America embraced Slavery for One Simple Reason: It created Wealth!

Now...finally...here we are with a Duly Elected President, who is Half Black!
Will Marvels never cease?

Watching the Moon...from the luxury of a Hot Tub...every morning at Sunrise and every evening at Sunset...I began to think of the Timelessness of that shining orbiting Orb as it ever so slowly arcs across the sky.

What sights it has seen, over all the Millenia since Earth was formed and the Moon commenced its Endless, Eternal Journey.

Including such Events as...The Flood.
What must the Old Man in the Moon THINK of such a Horror?

And, with his Long, Long Memory...what does he think about Us...today?
"Us" being Mankind.

On the one hand...we have succeeded in so many ways...we actually appear to be the Masters of Our Universe.

After all...it has been 39 years since The Eagle Landed...and we actually first set foot on the surface of the Moon! (Remember THOSE Glory Days of the United States of America?)

Yet from his perspective as the Eternal Eye In The Sky...Old Mr. Moon also sees every distant corner of our Planet; his Vision is Universal...and he Witnesses Everything.

What must he be thinking, as he sees us Polluting our Precious Planet to the very verge of...Extinction?

Wise Men tell us this is so; but we carelessly CONTINUE!

Mr. Moon saw Early Man.
He saw Lucy...walking Out of Africa.
He observed Socrates.
Watched as Alexander marched and conquered.
Observed Caesar's Rise. And Fall.
He saw Jesus. And then Mohammed.
He watched as Pompeii was consumed by fire.
He has cast his gentle light on countless Lovers.
He's been sung to by Troubadors.
He's seen us grow from a Few...to over 6 BILLION souls.

We share the planet, after all...with all Living Things; whole packs of Wolves howl in the Night made Light by his presence.

And the Full Harvest Moon has meant, since time Immemorial...that Man could gather the food that we'd carefully grown to sustain ourselves.

What must he think...of the CONSTANT Wars we inflict on ourselves?

And now Old Mr. Moon...who has seen everything...is about to watch as we inaugurate our 44th President.

Barack Obama's unlikely victory (was there ever in the History of Man a Dark Horse such as him?)...has touched a Nerve in America.

But not just in America; the whole World is amazed at this turn of events!
(As Itsez reminds you...in the ENTIRE World, only 3 nations wanted Obama to LOSE: The Phillipines. Georgia. And Israel.)

Despite the constant yammering from the Right Wing Jackals...Barack Obama is about to take charge. What will he actually DO...when he begins to steer the Ship of State?

Quick Answer: Lots. And...not everything.
No mere Mortal can undo all the Damage that's been done.

But you can be certain that Real Change WILL occur. Just in time, thank you.

Meanwhile, Mankind has barely touched the Moon.
It waits up there, silent and "unexploited".
Oh, sure...there's a dusty footprint or two...and maybe
a golf ball...left over from 1969.

But it won't be too long (in the Grand Scheme of Things,
that is)...before MORE Men arrive. Then they will proceed to trash the place.

Just like they've trashed Planet Earth.
Who is the "They" here? You. Me. All of us.

"Heckofa Good Job, People!"
And...Bye, Bye, Bush.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “We can easily expect to lose 1 Million jobs in the Fire Economy.”
- Itsez
Comment: FIRE Economy? Sure...Finance...Insurance...Real Estate. And these are among the Best Paying Jobs in all America. Oh, and while we're talking Layoffs...virtually EVERY Sector of the Economy is being hit. That's what Bubbles do to us. Have Fun.

Our America, Circa 2008
Citi...(-) 53,000 workers!?!?!?
November 18: As they say...the Citi Never Sleeps.
They used to be a client of mine...I never met a meaner group of Cutthroat Careerists in my entire career.

I will never forget the moment in time when I was called a "Vendor" to my face by one of their executives.

We were supposed to be their "Marketing Partners"...yeah...in your dreams.

Citi would be right up there at the top of any list of Who Ruined America.

We went in one time with a marvelous new concept for Affordable Housing; the Vice President who took the meeting basically told us that the Project Could Not Fail...that, because of New Policies coming out of Washington, they could THROW money at a program like this.

Result? Never Happened. Sandy Weill had "Other Priorities."

Citi was a Leader in Sub-Prime Mortgages...done under their Travelers banner...and targeting exactly the sort of At Risk Homeowners who would fall victim to Trick Mortgages with Ballooning Payments in the Out Years.

In Private Banking...supposedly where the real Elite were to be found at a bank like Citi, one real Animal of a Vice President yanked in his Secretary to get HER vote on a new advertising approach.

Hey...nothing wrong with Secretaries...but when you are not trained in a Discipline...and your BOSS is asking you to be an InstaPundit...you KNOW you are in Deep DoDo. (I won that day...but this sort of Client from Hell was par for the course at Citi.)

These were Not Nice People. Back-stabbing was a refined Art; but then, how ELSE could they climb the Corporate Ladder?

Now they're laying off THOUSANDS of workers. And that includes people at the Very Top of the Food Chain.

There were ZERO good jobs BEFORE the latest Fall Street Crisis; where are any good jobs supposed to come from in THIS climate?

Meanwhile...at the other end of the Job Spectrum... the Postal Service is tossing around numbers like 40 or 50,000 workers...with rumors that it could soar to 100,000! Those people are all at HUGE risk now.

Oh...you can always apply for work at Wal-Mart.

Those Ghouls (I refuse to shop there...savings or no savings)...pay on average $10.86 an hour. Since they have the largest workforce in America...this is Bad News for the USA.

The Boss tells you how many hours you'll work...
but shockingly often, they force workers to keep on workin'...even when they don't pay their staff for the
actual time worked.

To Wal-Mart...a 34-hour week is "full time".

Do the Math: that means that means a full-time Wal-Mart "associate" averages only $19,200 a year. That puts the worker about $2,000 below the 2008 federal poverty level!!!

(And, no surprise...the Walton Heirs have all become BILLIONAIRES!)

Maria Bartiromo is one of my Least Favorite Wall Street Commentators; recently she was bashing some Entreprenuer whose business just failed. He was in tough straights...and all Maria could do was chastise him for Not Saving Enough Money!

Normally, real entrereneurs don't pay themselves enough...they are busy trying to Build the Business. Maria doesn't seem to understand that.

And, since MOST New Businesses Fail in 5 years...it's not surprising that this guy is facing some tough times.

It was her DEPRECATING ATTITUDE that shocked me.

But her attitude is not unusual; so often people like her BLAME US for the problems we're having.

The REAL Culprits...like Sandy Weill...are lolling on a beach somewhere, with more money than Pharaoh. Yuck!

IF YOU ARE READING OLD COLUMNS...PLEASE STOP HERE:
Below this point Itsez is Under Construction...to provide brief Recap of some of the Best of Itsez.

Richard Calderhead

Our America, Circa 2008
Jobs? What Jobs?
November 12: Watching the American Comedy/Tragedy unfold in its latest Herky, Jerkey Permutation is, as always, nothing less than....Mindboggling.

It has just been revealed that the Fed's Fair Haired Boy...Henry Paulsen...is not...well, DEIGNING...to "reveal" what will become of the $2 Trillion in Bailout Money that's being doled out to Wall Street's Banksters.

This Utter Farce is a Slo-Mo Keystone Kops version of a Modern Bank Holdup...except that this time, the Bank is Owned by the Taxpayers!

Meanwhile, a barely noticed ARMY of the Newly Fired are the modern detritus of the a Failed and Corrupt Kapitalist System.

It's reaching further and further up the Food Chain...now hitting the Shoulder Economy. What's THAT, you ask?

Oh...that's the previously unidentified region that exists just below the UberRich...that benefits from actual Trickle Down Economics.

The Shoulder Economy is the Support Structure that exists to support the Lifestyles of the Rich.

It is the Shoulder Economy that has been the basis of all those Luxury Brands...including the SkyHigh Condos, the Private Jets, the Yachts, the incredibly expensive Fancy Meals...Cartier, Manolo, and all the rest of it.

Well, Folks...the Party is Over. Every single day, we awaken to the news of yet another Overpriced Resort or High Rolling Casino, going Belly Up.

Our America, Circa 2008
Where's all the Money?
November 11: America is supposed to have a $13 TRILLION Economy. Right.

Tell that to all those poor Working Americans who are strugging just to make it through the month.

But wait a minute. Somehow, in the "Giant, Complex American Economy"... SOMEBODY is getting Rich. Who?

Remember the famous line from the Woodward/Bernstein Era...when they were trying to figure out who was behind the Watergate break-in? Deep Throat kept whispering: "Follow the Money."

Barack swam upstream his entire LIFE. (How's THAT for Living the REAL American Dream?)

So when Barack is sworn in...he will be ready for the MASSIVE Challenges ahead; he's already hard at work on my Scorecard List.

His whole LIFE has been a mere Prep Course for the hard realities of the Tough Job Ahead.

Our America, Circa 2008
CLOSE? HUH?
November 3: We have another day plus 6 hours to go...then we'll begin to hear how what the Voters have decided for the Future of America.

Itsez will stay with the Big Win that I remain certain is at hand for us, and for Barack Obama.

With only 14 days to go, it's still Nail Biting Time...and it reminded me of the big song from The Man from La Mancha:

"To dream the Impossible Dream
To fight the Unbeatable Foe
To defeat the Rich - Cream de la Cream
To Win…and feel that Welcome Glow

To Right the Unrightable Wrongs
The Whole World will applaud our Wins
It will be the Stuff of E'erlasting Songs
As Obama ousts Bush…For All of His Sins"

Coming: A reprise of some of the most descriptive Cartoons that Itsez has published, exposing our Malefactors and our Problems.

Malefactor One...the Sharks who Feed on us.

 

Poor Uncles Sam (us, to be clear about it)...often appears to be totally baffled about the Challenges we face.

 

 

 

Itsez will clear up some/most of the Confusion.

 

And there sits the Always and Forever Befuddled George W. Bush...hoping against HOPE that he's somehow managed to stuff the Genie back into the Bottle.

But George will be Long Gone (finally)...and we will remember his as the person who Femad the American Government.

We need to be very clear about justt what sort of America we have here...and what our Tax Dollars actually pay for.

The point of Taxes is NOT to make the World Safe for Rich Guys, and that's for sure.

More to follow on all this in the days ahead.