===
Time will tell but I tend to be in her camp! (See 2 below.)
===
Will wonders never cease! (See 3 below.)
Sowell finishes his article on Race-Hustling. (See 3a below.)
===
PJTV,com: "
|
| President Obama was going to spearhead our nation’s healing and provide affordable health care, but he failed in both tasks. Is the president bored with his job, or is he just incompetent? Is the real problem that Obama sells a big product, but then fails in its delivery? Hear what Scott Ott, Bill Whittle and Stephen Green think about the chief executive’s inability to seal a deal." Have you ever thought he might be both? So let's return to the' Obamascare' mess and speculate on t some options that might be coming down the pike: 1) Obama may have to postpone 'Obamascare's' implementation which he rejected when Republicans offered him that option. That would be a hard swallow. 2) Assuming the mess can be fixed in time prospective signer ups would then see what insurance offerings are available so that is when the' s---' really hits the fan because young people will find out how expensive the options are and may refuse to sign now because they can do so later. The entire program's success is dependent upon these young sign ups! 3) Finally, this administration, until to today, has never fired anyone for anything until Twitter man got it in the neck today, so the Benghaze cover up, the IRS cover up, the Fast and Furious cover up are still out there like pigeons seeking a roost and eventually someone will be scapegoated and it can not be GW. The next several months should prove uncomfortable ones for Obama and then we have the Saudi and Egyptian pull away and their flirtation with Russia as more logs possibly being thrown on Obama's 'mess pyre.' I foresee less golf time ahead for our duffer president and the Republicans, like Cruz, may have the last laugh as Democrats start fleeing , running for cover, slamming Obama for his incompetence etc.. Want bigger government ? Stay tuned!!!!! === Dick |
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1)Adopt a Terrorist.- The Canadians know how to handle complaints. Here is an example.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------A Canadian female liberal wrote a lot of letters to the Canadian government, complaining about the treatment of captive insurgents (terrorists) being held in Afghanistan National Correctional System facilities. She demanded a response to her letter. She received back the following reply:
National Defense Headquarters
M Gen George R. Pearkes Bldg., 15 NT
101 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa , ON K1A 0K2
Canada
Dear Concerned Citizen,
Thank you for your recent letter expressing your profound concern of treatment of the Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorists captured by Canadian Forces, who were subsequently transferred to the Afghanistan Government and are currently being held by Afghan officials in Afghanistan National Correctional System facilities.
Our administration takes these matters seriously and your opinions were heard loud and clear here in Ottawa You will be pleased to learn, thanks to the concerns of citizens like yourself, we are creating a new department here at the Department of National Defense, to be called 'Liberals Accept Responsibility for Killers' program, or L.A.R.K. for short.
In accordance with the guidelines of this new program, we have decided, on a trial basis, to divert several terrorists and place them in homes of concerned citizens such as yourself, around the country, under those citizens personal care. Your personal detainee has been selected and is scheduled for transportation under heavily armed guard to your residence in Toronto next Monday.
Ali Mohammed Ahmed bin Mahmud is your detainee, and is to be cared for pursuant to the standards you personally demanded in your letter of complaint. You will be pleased to know that we will conduct weekly inspections to ensure that your standards of care for Ahmed are commensurate with your recommendations.Although Ahmed is a sociopath and extremely violent, we hope that your sensitivity to what you described as his 'attitudinal problem' will help him overcome those character flaws. Perhaps you are correct in describing these problems as mere cultural differences. We understand that you plan to offer counselling and home schooling, however, we strongly recommend that you hire some assistant caretakers.Please advise any Jewish friends, neighbours or relatives about your house guest, as he might get agitated or even violent, but we are sure you can reason with him. He is also expert at making a wide variety of explosive devices from common household products, so you may wish to keep those items locked up, unless in your opinion, this might offend him. Your adopted terrorist is extremely proficient in hand-to-hand combat and can extinguish human life with such simple items as a pencil or nail clippers. We advise that you do not ask him to demonstrate these skills either in your home or wherever you choose to take him while helping him adjust to life in our country.
Ahmed will not wish to interact with you or your daughters except sexually, since he views females as a form of property, thereby having no rights, including refusal of his sexual demands. This is a particularly sensitive subject for him.
You also should know that he has shown violent tendencies around women who fail to comply with the dress code that he will recommend as more appropriate attire. I'm sure you will come to enjoy the anonymity offered by the burka over time. Just remember that it is all part of 'respecting his culture and religious beliefs' as described in your letter.
You take good care of Ahmed and remember that we will try to have a counsellor available to help you over any difficulties you encounter while Ahmed is adjusting to Canadian culture.
Thanks again for your concern. We truly appreciate it when folks like you keep us informed of the proper way to do our job and care for our fellow man. Good luck and God bless you.Cordially,
Gordon O'Connor
Minister of National Defense
2)
Earnings Growth to Ramp Up? Call Me a Skeptic
By Sheraz Mian
Stocks have performed impressively this year and have largely been able to hold on to the gains despite monetary and fiscal uncertainties and the less than inspiring economic and earnings pictures. In a price-earnings framework for the market, most of the gains this year have resulted from investors’ willingness to pay a higher multiple for pretty much the same, or even lower, earnings.
Reasonable people can disagree over the extent of the Fed’s role in the market’s upward push, but few would argue that the Bernanke Fed’s easy-money policy has been a key, if not the only, driver of this trend. If nothing else, the Fed policy of deliberately low interest rates pushed investors into riskier assets, including stocks.
But with the Fed getting ready to institute changes to its policy, investors will need to go back to fundamentals to keep pushing stocks higher.
We don’t know when the Fed will start ‘Tapering’ its bond purchases, but we do know that they want to get out of the QE business in the not-too-distant future. What this means for investors is that they will need to pay a lot more attention to corporate earnings fundamentals than has been the case thus far.
The overall level of corporate earnings remains quite high. In fact, aggregate earnings for the S&P 500 reached an all-time record in 2013 Q2 and are expected to be not far from that level in the ongoing Q3 earnings season as well. There hasn’t been much earnings growth lately, but investors are banking on material growth resumption from Q4 onwards. This hope is reflected in current consensus expectations for 2013 Q4 and full-year 2014.
I remain skeptical of current consensus earnings expectations and would like to share the basis for my skepticism with you. The goal is to convince you that current earnings expectations remain vulnerable to significant downward revisions.
Negative estimate revisions haven't mattered much over the last few quarters as the Fed's generous liquidity supply helped lift all boats. But if the Fed is going to be less of a supporting actor going forward, then it's reasonable to expect investors to start paying more attention to fundamentals. It is in this context that the coming period of negative revisions could potentially result in the market giving back some, if not all, of its recent gains.
This discussion is particularly timely as we are in the midst of the 2013 Q3 earnings season that will help shape consensus estimates for Q4 and beyond. In the following sections, I will give you an update on the Q3 earnings season and critically review consensus expectations for Q4 and beyond.
The Q3 Scorecard
As of Monday, October 21st, we have Q3 results from 109 companies in the S&P 500 that combined account for 31.6% of the index’s total market capitalization. Total earnings for these 109 companies are up +7.5% year over and 63.3% of companies beat earnings expectations with a median surprise of +2.1%. Total revenues are up +2.1%, with 45.9% of the companies beating top-line expectations and median revenue surprising by +0.02%.
The table below presents the current scorecard for Q3
Note: One sector, Aerospace, has not reported any Q3 results yet. NRPT means ‘no reports’; NM means ‘not meaningful’.
With results from more than 30% of the S&P 500’s total market capitalization already out, we are seeing the Q3 earnings picture slowly emerge. This is particularly so for the Finance sector, where 51.8% of the sector’s total market cap has already reported. Other sectors with meaningful sample sizes include Transportation (47.3%), Consumer Staples (40.4%), Technology (36.9%) and Medical (25.2%).
Finance has been a steady growth driver for the last many quarters and is diligently playing that role this time around as well despite anemic loan demand, wind-down of the mortgage refi business and weak capital markets activities, particularly on the fixed income side. Outside of Finance, total earnings are up +4.4% for the companies that have reported already.
How do the 2013 Q3 results thus far compare with the last few quarters?
The short answer is that they are no better than what we have seen from this same group of 109 companies in recent quarters. In fact, on a number of counts the results thus far do not compare favorably to either the preceding quarter (2013 Q2), or the 4-qurater average, or both.
Specifically, the earnings and revenue growth rates and revenue beat ratio are tracking lower, while the earnings beat ratio is about in-line
The charts below compare the beat ratios for these 109 companies with what these same companies reported in Q2 and the 4-quarter average (beat ratio is the % of total companies coming ahead of consensus expectations).
The trends we have seen thus far will shift to some extent as the rest of the reporting season unfolds, but not by much. A composite look at the Q3 earnings season, combining the actual results from the 109 companies with estimates for the 391, is for +2.1% earnings growth on +0.8% higher revenues, as the summary table below shows.
Earnings growth rate has averaged a little over +3% over the first two quarters of the year and will likely stay at or below that level in Q3 as well. With respect to beat ratios, roughly two-thirds of the companies come ahead of expectations in a typical quarter and the Q3 ratio will likely be in that same vicinity.
The ‘Expectations Management’ Game
In the run up to the start of the Q3 earnings season, consensus earnings estimates came down sharply. The primary reason for the estimate cuts – guidance from management teams. Companies guided lower for Q3 while reporting Q2 results, a trend that has remained in place for more than a year now.
The chart below does a good job of showing the evolving Q3 earnings expectations over the last few months.
The Q3 estimate cuts weren’t unusual or peculiar to the quarter, as we have been seeing this trend play out repeatedly for more than a year now. The chart below compares the trends in earnings estimate revisions in the run up to the Q3 and Q2 reporting seasons
These expectations mean that Q3 wouldn't be materially different from what we have become accustomed to seeing quarter after quarter, with roughly two-thirds of the companies beating consensus earnings estimates. This game of under-promise and over-deliver by management teams has been around long enough that it has likely lost most of its value in investors’ eyes.
Beat ratios may not carry as much informational value this time around, but what will be particularly important is company guidance for Q4 and beyond. Guidance is always very important, but it has assumed added significance this time around given the elevated hopes that Q4 represents a material earnings growth ramp up after essentially flat growth over the last many quarters.
Evaluating Expectations for Q4 & Beyond
Let's take a look at how consensus earnings expectations for 2013 Q3 compare to what companies earned in the last few quarters and what they are expected to earn in the coming quarters.
The chart below shows the expected Q3 total earnings growth rate for the S&P 500 contrasted with the preceding two and following two quarters. (Please note that the Q3 growth rate is for the composite estimate for the S&P 500, combining the 109 that have reported with the 391 still to come)
The Finance sector has been a big earnings growth driver for some time. Outside of the Finance sector, total earnings growth for the S&P 500 was in the negative in 2013 Q2 and is expected to be no better in Q3. But the high hopes from Q4 and beyond reflect a strong turnaround in growth outside of Finance.
The chart below shows the same data as the one above, but excludes the Finance sector.
What this means is that quarterly earnings growth was +3.4% in the first two quarters of the year, is expected to be 2.1% in Q3, but accelerate to a +9.4% pace in Q4. And not all of the expected Q4 growth is coming from the Finance sector, as the rest of the corporate world is expected to reverse trend and start contributing nicely from Q4 onwards.
The chart below shows the same data, but this time on a trailing 4-quarter basis. The way to read this chart of steadily rising expectations is that total earnings for the S&P 500 are on track to be up +3.8% year over year in the four quarters through Q3, but accelerate to +4.5% in Q4 and +5.6% in 2014 Q1. Consensus expectations are for total earnings growth of +11.8% in calendar year 2014.
The two charts below show earnings for the S&P 500; not EPS, but total earnings. The first chart shows quarterly totals, while the second one presents the same data on a trailing 4-quarter basis. As you can see, the 'level' of total earnings is very high. In fact, quarterly earnings have never been this high - the 2013 Q2 total of $260.3 billion was an all-time quarterly record.
The data in this chart reflects current consensus estimates. This shows that consensus is looking for new all-time record quarterly totals in the coming two quarters. The high expected growth rates in Q4 and beyond are more than just easy comparisons, they represent material gains in total earnings.
The record level of current corporate profits is also borne by the very high level of corporate profits as a share of nominal GDP, which has never been this high ever. The chart below, using data from the BEA, of corporate profits as a share of nominal GDP clearly shows this.
Where Will the Growth Come From?
There is some truth to the claim that the current record level of corporate profits, whether in absolute dollar terms or as a share of the GDP, does not mean that earnings have to necessarily come down. But earnings don’t grow forever either as current consensus expectations of double-digit growth next year and beyond seem to imply.
After all, earnings in the aggregate can grow only through two avenues - revenue growth and/or margin expansion.
Revenue growth is strongly correlated with 'nominal' GDP growth. If the growth outlook for the global economy is positive or improving, then it’s reasonable to expect corporate revenues to do better as well. But the global economic growth outlook is at best stable, definitely not improving as the recent estimate cuts by the IMF shows.
The U.S. economic outlook has certainly stabilized and GDP growth in Q4 is expected to be modestly better than Q3’s growth pace. The expectation is for growth to materially improve in 2014, with consensus GDP growth estimates north of +3% for 2014 and even higher the following year. Europe isn’t expected to become an engine of global growth any time soon, but the region’s recession has ended and its vitals appear to be stabilizing. The magic of Abenomics is expected to revitalize Japan, but it’s nothing more than a hope at this stage. In the emerging world, sentiment on China has improved, but India, Brazil, Turkey and other former high flyers appear to be struggling.
All in all, this isn’t a picture to get overly excited about. But with almost 60% of the S&P 500 revenues coming from the domestic market, the expected GDP ramp up next year should have a positive effect on corporate revenues, which are expected to increase by +4.2% in 2004. But in order to reach the expected +11.8% total earnings growth in 2014, we need a fair amount of expansion in net margins to compliment the +4.2% revenue growth.
Can Margins Continue to Expand?
The two charts show net margins (total income/total revenues) for the S&P 500, on a quarterly and trailing 4-quarter basis. For both charts, the data through 2013 Q2 represents actual results, while the same for Q3 and beyond represent net margins implied by current consensus estimates for earnings and revenues.
The chart below shows net margins the same data for a longer time span on a calendar year basis – from 2003 through 2014.
As you can see margins have come a long way from the 2009 bottom and by some measures have already peaked out.
Margins follow a cyclical pattern. As the above chart shows, they expand as the economy comes out of a recession and companies use existing resources in labor and capital to drive business. But eventually capacity constraints kick in, forcing companies to spend more for incremental business. Input costs increase and they have hire more employees to produce more products and services. At that stage, margins start to contract again.
We may not be at the contraction stage yet, but given the current record level of margins and how far removed we are from the last cyclical bottom, we probably don’t have lot of room for expansion. The best-case outcome on the margins front will be for stabilization at current levels; meaning that companies are able to hold the line on expenses and keep margins steady. We will need to buy into fairly optimistic assumptions about productivity improvements for current consensus margin expansion expectations to pan out.
So What Gives?
What all of this boils down to is that current consensus earnings estimates are high and they need to come down - and come down quite a bit. I don't subscribe to the view held by some stock market bears that earnings growth will turn negative. But I don't buy into the perennial growth story either.
So what's the big deal if estimates for Q4 come down in the coming days and weeks? After all, estimates have been coming down consistently for more than a year and the stock market has not only ignored the earnings downtrend, but actually scaled new heights.
A big reason for investors' disregard of negative estimate revisions has been that they always looked forward to a growth ramp up down the road. In their drive to push stocks to all-time highs in the recent past, investors have been hoping for substantial growth to eventually resume. The starting point of this expected growth ramp-up kept getting delayed quarter after quarter. The hope currently is that Q4 will be the starting point of such growth.
Guidance has overwhelmingly been negative over the last few quarters. But if current Q4 expectations have to hold, then we will need to see a change on the guidance front; we need to see more companies either guide higher or reaffirm current consensus expectations. Anything short of that will result in a replay of the by-now familiar negative estimate revisions trend that we have been seeing in recent quarters.
Will investors delay the hoped-for earnings growth recovery again this time or finally realize that the period of double-digit earnings growth is perhaps behind us for good? Hard to tell at this stage, but we will find out soon enough.
My sense is that markets can buck trends in aggregate earnings for some time, as they have been doing lately. But expecting the trend to continue indefinitely may not be realistic.
220 Stocks To Sell Now
No matter where the market is headed, one fact is obvious: You should not buy and hold stocks unless they offer good prospects for profit. I can help you weed out many of the ones that don't make the grade. That is because my company, Zacks Investment Research, is releasing to the public its list of 220 Stocks to Sell Now.
These Strong Sells are sinister portfolio killers because many have good fundamentals and seem like good buys. But something important has happened to each of them that greatly lowers their odds of success. Historically, such stocks perform 6 times worse than the market.
I invite you to examine this list for free and make sure no stock you own or are considering is on it. Today you are welcome to see it and other time-sensitive Zacks information at no charge and with no obligation to purchase anything.
Best,
Sheraz Mian
Sheraz Mian is the Director of Research for Zacks and manages its award-winning Focus List portfolio.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3)Piers Morgan: Press 'Quite Soft' on Obama
By Bill Hoffmann and Kathleen Walter
CNN's Piers Morgan, who as a top tabloid newspaper editor in Britain for years had his reporters ask tough questions and write hard-hitting exposes, thinks the U.S. press has been too easy on the Obama administration.
"I would say actually they've been probably quite soft and could have gone harder. The financial crisis was inherited by the president, but he's been there long enough to try to work it out himself. Unemployment's still comfortably over 7 percent — really completely unacceptable," said Morgan, 48.
"Issues like Benghazi have exposed some of the limitations of his leading from behind on foreign policy and a lack of attention to detail in protecting the American ambassadors and serviceman around the world. There needs to be more clarity from the president about what he really stands for, what he really wants to achieve."
Morgan also says the United States is positioned to remain the great superpower it has been for years — but must now share the title and the responsibilities that come with it with other, fast-growing nations.
"I would never bet against America. America has been a great superpower and will continue to be a great superpower and one of the key players in the world. But unlike, say, 20 years ago, it's not the only superpower in town," Morgan told Newsmax TV.
"We have the emerging powers of China and India, Brazil — countries like this will get stronger economically and militarily, so America won't be the only superpower out there.
"And with that comes a shared responsibility, which is good that America won't have to be the sole global policeman that it's had to be before. I'm sure that Americans will be relieved about that," Morgan said.
"You've got to have a better-functioning political system. You can't have this dysfunction in Washington that means that nothing ever gets done," he said.
'Ever since I've been on air at CNN in three years, it's been one catastrophe and crisis after another down in D.C. and nothing ever seems to get resolved. Meanwhile, the national debt is $17 trillion, a third of which is owned by the Chinese."
Morgan's advice to lawmakers is to "stop the squabbling, come together and sort it out."
He said the same solution applies to the gun debate, which has pitted gun advocates and the National Rifle Association against the Obama administration and lawmakers who want further firearms restrictions.
"You have such incendiary, extreme positions on both sides but nothing ever gets resolved, and what you need is consensus," he said.
"You need old-fashioned politicians that can get in a room and start pump-thumping each other and get stuff done that actually suits the American national interest."
Morgan's book — a memoir about his career as a newsman and interviewer of some of the world's most powerful leaders, compelling newsmakers, and top celebrities — came about thanks to a detailed journal he kept after his start at CNN, where he replaced Larry King.
"[I wanted] to put people into my shoes, really, of anchoring a cable news show in America — and indeed around the world — on some of the biggest breaking-news nights that America's seen in a very long time, whether it was the death of Osama bin Laden, the Arab Spring, the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, right up to the financial crisis and of course the horrendous mass shootings that America's had."
One of the more defining moments of Morgan's time at CNN was his anti-gun stance in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.
But Morgan says he is not opposed to law-abiding citizens who carry firearms.
"There are already numerous restrictions on the kind of guns that Americans can have. My argument has not been against law-abiding Americans who want to have a handgun at home to protect themselves," he said.
"My main issue has been with the proliferation of mass shootings in America in the last six, seven years. There are many more than there used to be, the scale of them is much higher than it used to be, the ferocity is much worse.
"Sandy Hook and Aurora were two of the worst mass shootings in American history and came within a few months, and to me, it's unconscionable the way that America, this great superpower, a country that I love, full of people that I love, just turns a blind eye to this kind of atrocity, and the politicians in Washington simply do nothing about it to try to stop it from happening again."
Morgan said former first lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stands a good chance of capturing the White House should she become the Democratic nominee for president in 2016.
"She can be a very formidable candidate if she runs. I'm sure that she will. She's very impressive," he said.
"But, at the same time, if she runs on a ticket of eight years of Democratic rule where you still have unemployment at very high levels, many people suffering extreme financial hardship in America, a dysfunctional Washington, a confused foreign policy, then you've got an opportunity on the Republican side to win an election."
If Republicans want to have a shot at the presidency, they must be able to stem the burgeoning civil war between the tea party and the moderates.
"Can they work out a consensus within themselves driving forward to take on the Democrats and actually win an election?" he said.
"Because, if they can't, and they're still split come the next election, and we'll get a taste of this in the midterms, then I see no hope of success for Republicans. They've got to be united."
Morgan said his book will give people a taste of the world's most well-known names, both on- and off-camera.
As far as his favorite interview, it would be the Dalai Lama.
"There's a man who's 75, he looks 50, and one of the reasons may be he's never taken drugs, never smoked a cigarette, never had an alcoholic drink, never had sex, doesn't watch television, doesn't watch movies, doesn't listen to music," Morgan said.
"He just meditates and prays and that's about it, and he looks damn well on it. So, maybe the rest of us should take a lesson from the Dalai Lama: less self-abuse, more meditation."
Morgan said he has a slightly off-kilter question he enjoys throwing at his nightly guests: How many times have they properly been in love?
"It often engenders a really good reaction. Oprah Winfrey revealed that she'd been properly in love twice . . . two people had broken her heart. And one of them, she actually kept his love letters in a safe to this very day, which was fascinating," he said.
"But also, you can get a most surprising, if not ridiculous, response. So when I asked Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, when he was still ruling Iran, I said, how many times have you been properly in love, Mr. President? He looked at me and said, after a few seconds of contemplation, I am properly in love with the whole of humanity."
But when the question of love is turned on him by Newsmax, the twice-married Morgan isn't quite as forthright.
"Everyone asks me that question, and like a good British gentleman, I always tap-dance the answer away," he demurred.
"They know who they are, but I don't really want to embarrass, perhaps, some of the ladies in my past who maybe thought they were one, but weren't."
Morgan also says the United States is positioned to remain the great superpower it has been for years — but must now share the title and the responsibilities that come with it with other, fast-growing nations.
"I would never bet against America. America has been a great superpower and will continue to be a great superpower and one of the key players in the world. But unlike, say, 20 years ago, it's not the only superpower in town," Morgan told Newsmax TV.
"We have the emerging powers of China and India, Brazil — countries like this will get stronger economically and militarily, so America won't be the only superpower out there.
"And with that comes a shared responsibility, which is good that America won't have to be the sole global policeman that it's had to be before. I'm sure that Americans will be relieved about that," Morgan said.
"You've got to have a better-functioning political system. You can't have this dysfunction in Washington that means that nothing ever gets done," he said.
'Ever since I've been on air at CNN in three years, it's been one catastrophe and crisis after another down in D.C. and nothing ever seems to get resolved. Meanwhile, the national debt is $17 trillion, a third of which is owned by the Chinese."
Morgan's advice to lawmakers is to "stop the squabbling, come together and sort it out."
He said the same solution applies to the gun debate, which has pitted gun advocates and the National Rifle Association against the Obama administration and lawmakers who want further firearms restrictions.
"You have such incendiary, extreme positions on both sides but nothing ever gets resolved, and what you need is consensus," he said.
"You need old-fashioned politicians that can get in a room and start pump-thumping each other and get stuff done that actually suits the American national interest."
Morgan's book — a memoir about his career as a newsman and interviewer of some of the world's most powerful leaders, compelling newsmakers, and top celebrities — came about thanks to a detailed journal he kept after his start at CNN, where he replaced Larry King.
"[I wanted] to put people into my shoes, really, of anchoring a cable news show in America — and indeed around the world — on some of the biggest breaking-news nights that America's seen in a very long time, whether it was the death of Osama bin Laden, the Arab Spring, the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, right up to the financial crisis and of course the horrendous mass shootings that America's had."
One of the more defining moments of Morgan's time at CNN was his anti-gun stance in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.
But Morgan says he is not opposed to law-abiding citizens who carry firearms.
"There are already numerous restrictions on the kind of guns that Americans can have. My argument has not been against law-abiding Americans who want to have a handgun at home to protect themselves," he said.
"My main issue has been with the proliferation of mass shootings in America in the last six, seven years. There are many more than there used to be, the scale of them is much higher than it used to be, the ferocity is much worse.
"Sandy Hook and Aurora were two of the worst mass shootings in American history and came within a few months, and to me, it's unconscionable the way that America, this great superpower, a country that I love, full of people that I love, just turns a blind eye to this kind of atrocity, and the politicians in Washington simply do nothing about it to try to stop it from happening again."
Morgan said former first lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stands a good chance of capturing the White House should she become the Democratic nominee for president in 2016.
"She can be a very formidable candidate if she runs. I'm sure that she will. She's very impressive," he said.
"But, at the same time, if she runs on a ticket of eight years of Democratic rule where you still have unemployment at very high levels, many people suffering extreme financial hardship in America, a dysfunctional Washington, a confused foreign policy, then you've got an opportunity on the Republican side to win an election."
If Republicans want to have a shot at the presidency, they must be able to stem the burgeoning civil war between the tea party and the moderates.
"Can they work out a consensus within themselves driving forward to take on the Democrats and actually win an election?" he said.
"Because, if they can't, and they're still split come the next election, and we'll get a taste of this in the midterms, then I see no hope of success for Republicans. They've got to be united."
Morgan said his book will give people a taste of the world's most well-known names, both on- and off-camera.
As far as his favorite interview, it would be the Dalai Lama.
"There's a man who's 75, he looks 50, and one of the reasons may be he's never taken drugs, never smoked a cigarette, never had an alcoholic drink, never had sex, doesn't watch television, doesn't watch movies, doesn't listen to music," Morgan said.
"He just meditates and prays and that's about it, and he looks damn well on it. So, maybe the rest of us should take a lesson from the Dalai Lama: less self-abuse, more meditation."
Morgan said he has a slightly off-kilter question he enjoys throwing at his nightly guests: How many times have they properly been in love?
"It often engenders a really good reaction. Oprah Winfrey revealed that she'd been properly in love twice . . . two people had broken her heart. And one of them, she actually kept his love letters in a safe to this very day, which was fascinating," he said.
"But also, you can get a most surprising, if not ridiculous, response. So when I asked Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, when he was still ruling Iran, I said, how many times have you been properly in love, Mr. President? He looked at me and said, after a few seconds of contemplation, I am properly in love with the whole of humanity."
But when the question of love is turned on him by Newsmax, the twice-married Morgan isn't quite as forthright.
"Everyone asks me that question, and like a good British gentleman, I always tap-dance the answer away," he demurred.
"They know who they are, but I don't really want to embarrass, perhaps, some of the ladies in my past who maybe thought they were one, but weren't."
3a)Race-Hustling Results: Part II
By Thomas Sowell
Bob Costas is one of the premier sportscasters and a very smart guy, so it was somewhat surprising to see him join the chorus of those decrying the fact that the owner of the Washington Redskins is resisting the pressures to change the name of his football team.
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The argument is that American Indians are offended by the name, though there is no compelling evidence that most American Indians are worked up about it. Nor is there any evidence that anyone intended the name to be insulting, either by this team or any number of other sports teams that have called themselves some variation of the name "Indians."
After all, neither individuals nor teams give themselves names that they consider insulting, whether they are calling themselves Indians, Vikings or The Fighting Irish.
Nevertheless, Dartmouth, Stanford and other colleges that once called their teams Indians succumbed to the politically correct pressures and changed their names. But that is no reason why the Washington Redskins should succumb to those pressures.
Among the reasons why they should not is the fact that being offended is one of the tactics of a race hustling industry that is doing more harm to Indians and other minorities than any name is likely to do. Some people are in the business of being offended, just as Campbell is in the business of making soup.
Shelby Steele's best-selling book "White Guilt" provides sharp insights into the many counterproductive consequences of white guilt that can be exploited by race hustlers, to the detriment of blacks and whites alike. The sports team gambit is just one of many.
So long as the race industry -- the Al Sharptons, Jesse Jacksons, and their counterparts in various minorities -- can get political or financial mileage out of being offended, they are going to be offended. The only thing that will put a stop to this racket is refusing to be taken in by it or intimidated by it.
Looked at in isolation, Bob Costas' opinion about the names of sports teams is one that reasonable people might agree or disagree with. But, unfortunately, this issue is not something that exists in isolation. It is part of a whole grievance-generating campaign that poisons race relations. That campaign is conducted not only by the race industry but also by all too many in the media and in the education system, from elementary schools to the universities.
Young blacks are especially susceptible to the message that all their problems are caused by white people -- and that white society is never going to give them a chance. In short, they are primed to resent and hate individuals they have never seen before and who have never done a thing to them.
During the same week when Bob Costas was criticizing the name "Washington Redskins," the New York Daily News reported an incident in which a gang of young blacks attacked a white couple in a car, beating the man severely and dragging the woman out of the car by her hair down to the pavement, and beating her as well -- all the while shouting racist obscenities.
Episodes like this have occurred repeatedly, in dozens of cities, all across the country. The only thing that was missing in this particular episode were public assurances from police authorities and the mayor that race had nothing to do with what happened. Such dishonest assurances have been common in the wake of such plainly racist attacks. Officials in various cities are obviously trying to keep the lid on this incipient race war.
But you cannot keep the lid on forever. In 1961, James B. Conant's book "Slums and Suburbs" warned that "social dynamite" was accumulating in American cities. Just a few years later, ghetto riots erupted all across the country.
Social dynamite can accumulate among whites as well as among blacks. White extremist hate groups already exist, though they are a fringe, as the Nazis were once a disdained fringe in Germany. It was the people's loss of confidence in the respectable institutions of society that gave the Nazis their chance for power.
The blind and dishonest political correctness of our media and educational institutions on racial issues today can eventually forfeit the confidence of Americans and give similar extremist groups their chance to ignite a race war in the United States. And once a race war starts, it can be virtually impossible to stop.
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