A lot of random and somewhat disconnected postings.
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It happened at a New York Airport. This is hilarious. I wish I had the guts of this girl. An award should go to the United
Airlines gate agent in New York for being smart and funny, while making her point, when confronted with a passenger who probably
deserved to fly as cargo. For all of you out there who have had to
deal with an irate customer, this one is for you.
A crowded United Airlines flight was canceled. A single agent was re-booking a long line of inconvenienced travelers.
Suddenly, an angry passenger pushed his way to the desk. He slapped his ticket on the counter and said, "I HAVE to be on this flight and it has to be FIRST CLASS."
The agent replied, "I'm sorry, sir. I'll be happy to try to help you, but I've got to help these folks first; and then I'm sure we'll be able to work something out."
The passenger was unimpressed. He asked loudly, so that
the passengers behind him could hear, "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM?"
Without hesitating, the agent smiled and grabbed her public address microphone. "May I have your attention, please?", she began, her voice heard clearly throughout the terminal. "We have a passenger here at Gate 14 WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHO HE IS. If anyone can help him with his identity, please come to Gate 14".
With the folks behind him in line laughing hysterically,
the man glared at the United Airlines agent, gritted his teeth, and said, "F*** You!"
Without flinching, she smiled and said, "I'm sorry sir,
you'll have to get in line for that, too."
Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.
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Medicare Part G
Say you are an older senior citizen and can no longer take care of yourself and need Long-Term Care, but the government says there is no Nursing Home care available for you. So, what do you do? You opt for Medicare Part G.
The plan gives anyone 75 or older a gun (Part G) and one bullet. You are allowed to shoot one worthless politician*. This means you will be sent to prison for the rest of your life where you will receive three meals a day, a roof over your head, central heating and air conditioning, cable TV, a library, and all the health care you need. Need new teeth? No problem. Need glasses? That’s great. Need a hearing aid, new hip, knees, kidney, lungs, sex change, or heart? They are all covered!
As an added bonus, your kids can come and visit you at least as often as they do now!
And, who will be paying for all of this? The same government that just told you they can’t afford for you to go into a nursing home.
And you will get rid of a useless politician while you are at it!! (And now, because you are a prisoner, you don't have to pay any more income taxes!)
Is this a great country or what?
Now that you have solved your senior Long-Term Care problem, enjoy the rest of your week.
*FYI: Some folks are already complaining that you are limited to only
one politician.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: I’m sharing some market analysis from the team over at Avalon today. From time to time, I like to give you a behind-the-scenes look at what clients at money management firms come to expect from their investing teams.
What Can Dow Theory Tell Us About Today’s Market?
Dow Theory is one of the oldest techniques in market analysis and was created by Charles Dow in the 1880s, yet it’s just as relevant today as it was when he put pen to paper.
Charles Dow invented the first two stock market indexes – the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and the Dow Jones Transportation Average (DJTA).
In Dow’s time, transports were limited to just nine railroad stocks.
Of course, over the years the Transport index has evolved to include Airlines, Trucking, and Shipping.
Dow’s thinking was that in a healthy economy, both industrial and transportation stocks should be rising together.
A growing economy would require more products (produced by the industrial companies) and then these products had to get to market via the transportation companies.
One doesn’t function independently of the other. And Dow intended his indexes to be used as an indicator of economic strength.
Dow Theory holds that the 30 stocks of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the 20 stocks of the Dow Jones Transportation Average must rise together in a strong economy.
If one of the averages lags behind the other too far for too long, or worse yet, forms a negative divergence, an economic and stock market peak may be around the proverbial corner.
Dow Theory purists will tell you, the first signs of trouble occur when either the DJIA or the DJTA hit a new high, but the other index does not.
It’s best not to forget history.
During the bull market of 2003 to 2007, Industrials and Transports moved in unison.
However, that relationship changed in the summer months of 2007, and turned out to be a warning sign to anyone astute enough to see it.
In July 2007, both the DJIA and the DJTA made new highs.
Into July and August, both averages retreated, followed by Industrials breaking out to new highs in October.
But Transports did not come close to matching their summer highs.
And bingo – there was your divergence and a clear message to the markets.
It was that divergence between Industrials and Transports in the 4th Quarter of 2007 that was a warning sign that the current bull market was on borrowed time.
That divergence showed goods were not being transported at the same rate they were being produced, suggesting a decline in nationwide demand.
Something to know about transportation stocks – these are considered economically sensitive stocks, meaning they are tied to the business cycle.
So they’re especially sensitive to a slowing economy. If demand for goods begins to slow, there are fewer goods to transport.
And that’s what happened back in 2007, well before the Great Financial Crisis crash in 2008.
So that’s history…
Now, what can Dow Theory tell us about today’s market?
Are Dow Industrials and Transports suggesting an economic slowdown?
Is Inflation, higher interest rates, inverted yield curves, or even headline-grabbing layoffs by some of the biggest employers a reason for alarm?
Conventional wisdom would say so.
But let's check the charts!
Bottom line: With both Transports and Industrials moving higher, there is nothing in the current relationship to suggest there is a problem on the horizon.
However, don’t turn a blind eye to the impact of Fed policy. Just because we’re not seeing price deterioration hit the equity markets today, does not mean we won't sometime in the future.
And that’s why we’ll keep a close eye on this relationship and any other that may lead to a different conclusion.
But until we see some kind of deterioration under the surface, investors can continue to look for opportunities – while always remaining vigilant when it comes to position-sizing and risk management.
It’s interesting that as of this writing, Industrials have worked their way back into the four strongest sectors, while Transportation - Non-Air is the strongest industry group.
We’re currently seeing both Relative Strength and absolute outperformance from Industrials and Transports.
Industrials are a very diverse sector and the most correlated to the broader S&P 500.
These are the industry groups in the sector to consider.
And here are the current 20 stocks that make up the Dow Jones Transportation Average.
Alaska Air Group, Inc. (ALK)
American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL)
Avis Budget Group, Inc. (CAR)
C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (CHRW)
CSX Corp. (CSX)
Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL)
Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (EXPD)
FedEx Corp. (FDX)
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (JBHT)
JetBlue Airways Corp. (JBLU)
Kansas City Southern (KSU)
Kirby Corp. (KEX)
Landstar System, Inc. (LSTR)
Matson, Inc. (MATX)
Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC)
Ryder System, Inc. (R)
Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV)
Union Pacific Corporation (UNP)
United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (UAL)
United Parcel Service (UPS)
Or you may want to look into one of these ETFs to gain exposure to Transports.
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Investors have a choice: Is it Don’t Fight the Fed or Don’t Fight the Tape?
Stock prices have been moving higher for months now in spite of Fed policy and recession worries.
You can sit on your hands and wait for a recession that may come or you can participate in rising prices until it’s time not to.
But we’re not about to let you do it all on your own…
The team at Avalon is dedicated to seeing people succeed, so we send ADAPT every week with market insights from a responsible money management perspective – not just one-off stock ideas.
If you’d like to hear more from us and get a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re investing our clients’ money, go here and sign up now.
It’s your only way to get Intel on major shifts in the stock market and asset categories right to your inbox to help you make more informed investment decisions.
Not to brag, but we sold our stocks and bonds back in April of 2022 and went into cash for a horrific couple of months – saving our clients incredible losses.
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United we stand, divided we fall.
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A group of demonstrators advocating in favor of the transgender ideology stormed the Oklahoma State Capitol Monday to protest proposed bills that would prohibit gender mutilation surgeries for minors.
Approximately 150 protesters gathered inside the state Capitol, yelling “Trans lives matter” while state legislators met for their first joint session of 2023, reported the Daily Mail. The group was speaking out against proposed Senate Bills 129 and 252, which ban “gender transition procedures” from being practiced on young people.
Videos of the chaos were recorded and posted to social media, with some Americans drawing comparisons between the events in Oklahoma and the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
“When do the insurrection charges begin?” inquired Patriot One News Senior Editor Matt Clark. “Certainly looks like one to me!”
Protestors shown in the clip are seen occupying the state capitol, and can be heard repeatedly chanting, “This Is Our House.”
Oklahoma is one of 11 states that is focusing on putting forth bills that protect minors from gender-changing surgeries and hormone treatments, reports The Washington Free Beacon. As the outlet noted, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) was the first governor this year to sign this type of bill into law.
Gov. Kay Ivey (R) of Alabama was arguably ahead of the curve on this issue; she signed a law to ban “gender transition” procedures for children in April of 2022.
“I believe very strongly that if the Good Lord made you a boy, you are a boy, and if he made you a girl, you are a girl,” the Alabama governor said at the time.
A similar bill was advanced by West Virginia’s House Judiciary Committee last Friday.
Other related bans seen nationwide include a law signed by Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) prohibiting men from partaking in women’s sports.
The Oklahoma governor affirmed his support for these types of new laws during his State of the State address on Monday.
“We must protect our most vulnerable—our children,” Stitt said. “After all, minors can’t vote, can’t purchase alcohol, can’t purchase cigarettes. We shouldn’t allow a minor to get a permanent gender-altering surgery in Oklahoma.”
“As governor, I will never shy away from calling out right from wrong,” Stitt proclaimed. “I will not be intimidated by partisan interest groups or make decisions based on groupthink.”
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A story of hard work, political will and personal determination.
By Salena Zito
EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio — Seven years ago, Greg Bricker was with his wife at a wedding in Cincinnati when someone walked up to him, handed him their phone and asked, “What the hell is going on in East Liverpool?”
Mr. Bricker looked down at the headline: “Ohio city shares shocking photos of adults who overdosed with a small child in the car.” The accompanying photo showed two adults passed out from a fentanyl overdose in their station wagon with a toddler strapped in his car seat.
Mr. Bricker had recently moved back home to East Liverpool after living in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Squirrel Hill for a few years, and he’d just started a financial planning business in the center of town.
“We became infamous because of that picture,” Mr. Bricker said. “Everyone at that wedding knew we were from East Liverpool, had seen that picture and knew that’s where the overdose happened. The photo that sort of became the symbol of the decay of the Rust Belt. I was so frustrated that my hometown was becoming known for the exact wrong reasons.”
The first time I met Mr. Bricker was a year later. I had taken my Harvard students to East Liverpool to spend the day working at the Fiestaware factory across the Ohio River, and then to sit and talk with folks trying to make a difference in their hometown.
Mr. Bricker spent hours with the students explaining the importance of civic involvement and volunteering. He answered their questions about why he would move back to a place that was visibly decaying, explaining that he was trying to get other young people like himself to come back and invest in their hometown.
He admitted he was not having much luck — and in fairness, it was a hard sell. The city was littered with vacant homes; drugs were being sold openly; and almost all the Main Street businesses that once made the city thrive were boarded up.
One hundred years ago, East Liverpool was the largest city in Columbiana County, complete with a hospital and a stop on the Cleveland-Pittsburgh Railroad line. It also was the epicenter of ceramic tableware in America, with more potteries making fine china than any other place in the nation.
By the 1980s, cheap imports killed the pottery companies, and people moved out. Most of the city’s shop owners moved their businesses to the bypass strip malls, or just closed down completely.
Two years after meeting with my students, Mr. Bricker rang me to say he’d decided to put his money where his mouth was and run for mayor. But there was a catch: He decided too late, and would have to run a write-in campaign against a long-time incumbent.
When I asked him why, Mr. Bricker said: “If I don’t do it, who will?”
Five weeks later, after knocking on every registered voter’s door and making his case, he didn’t just win — he blew out the incumbent Democratic mayor, who only earned 20% of the vote.
Mr. Bricker said he was prepared for the magnitude of the problems he faced when he was sworn into office in January 2020. “I had run on fixing the abandoned homes and businesses that were dominating our city square. We had lost 60% of our population in the last three decades . . . and when people left, no one bought those homes,” he said. “They just locked the door and left, which means the city was overwhelmed with vacant, decaying properties that were not only serving as shelter for the addicted, they were such an eyesore . . . it was impossible to attract businesses to downtown.”
Mr. Bricker was not prepared, however, for the “unknowns.” One month after he took office, COVID hit. Shortly after that, the Hall China plant closed, and with it went more than 100 jobs and a tax base for the city.
Several months later, when his uncle decided they wanted to sell the family’s iconic Bricker Cafeteria — which has been serving delicious comfort food for four generations — Mr. Bricker did what he always does: stepped up and bought it.
Many “reform” politicians enter office and confront other officials and bureaucrats who make their work difficult, and they give up. They start out earnest and full of hope, but ‘die on the mountain.’
Mr. Bricker is not that guy. His story doesn’t end with an election triumph or even the feel-good story of the family business. His story continues. It’s one of the ones of people who don’t just win once; they see things through, no matter the challenges.
To say East Liverpool is transformed from the first time I came here as a reporter in 2016 is an understatement.
A quarter of the 400 vacant homes standing three years ago have been torn down; even more importantly, for the first time in nearly two decades, new housing is in the works. “By getting rid of the blight, we’re chipping away at a lot of our other problems, and I’m determined to get a new construction house built in the city to try and rebuild our tax base. I think if we get a new construction that would be my biggest accomplishment,” he said.
As for downtown, Mr. Bricker said he has had 15 commercial buildings change hands in the past three years: “And it’s the right people buying the property. For years, it was always . . . a John Doe who buys a 20,000-square-foot building for $15,000, but it needs a $150,000 roof. He doesn’t have it, and it continues to sit and deteriorate even more. But that’s the exciting part of right now: It’s the right people, and we’re all at the table trying to help one another.”
Shops and dining are returning, filling the beautiful shells left by the glory days generations ago. The former Potters Bank and Trust Building that sat vacant for years, for instance, is now an upscale restaurant called the Cadence Vault Gastro Pub.
As we were talking, Mr. Bricker is about to open “The Den,” a bright and cheery annex to the Cafeteria, complete with an exposed brick wall, original stamped-tin ceilings, blue-and-white tile floor and plenty of space for a bridal shower, family event, small wedding or party. Across the street, a winery will open in the coming weeks.
Last year, when I checked in for an update for the Post-Gazette, East Liverpool was just starting to show signs of renewal. Today, the difference is palpable — something few, apart from Mr. Bricker, thought was possible.
As for reelection, Mr. Bricker said he still hasn’t decided whether he can keep running the city and two businesses. One thing is for certain: Small cities like this across America need more Greg Brickers to take risks and do these hard but necessary job — or places like East Liverpool will just disappear, and that would truly be a loss.
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Just as leftists hated Trump and wanted to create discord and chaos the same types are alive and active in Israel protesting against Bibi.
short interview-kudlow interviews netanyahu
It has become fashionable to weaponize, destroy people hate and protest. It has proven effective as well.
The world is upside down and dangerous.
Trump is gathering campaign fund for his own candidacy by attacking SOROS but he is absolutely correct in doing
so because Soros is one of the most dangerous advocates against America walking the streets today.
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Friend,
While no one was looking, George Soros snuck another $50 MILLION into the radical Left’s pockets for 2024.
I had my team pull a report with the Federal Election Commission to show you:
We need to remind left-wing billionaires like Soros that AMERICA IS NOT FOR SALE – with a SURGE of grassroots contributions from MILLIONS of Americans like YOU.
Please make a grassroots contribution to FIGHT BACK against Soros and SAVE AMERICA – for an incredible 1,200% impact.
CONTRIBUTE $5 >>
CONTRIBUTE $10 >>
CONTRIBUTE $24 >>
CONTRIBUTE $47 >>
CONTRIBUTE $100 >>
CONTRIBUTE OTHER AMOUNT >>
Could you imagine spending $50,000,000 of your own money on these two?
But Soros knows that he’s getting much more than that…
…He’s buying full access to the White House and pushing hardworking Americans like YOU back into the shadows.
When I was your President, the White House was the People’s House.
Our Administration brought American jobs back home, took care of our citizens, secured our border, defended your rights, repaid our veterans, stayed out of pointless wars, revived those three beautiful words, “Made in America,” and preserved our way of life.
Hardworking patriots like YOU were always my top priority.
And that’s why globalists like Soros are willing to pay an arm and a leg to keep me out of the White House.
But with your help, it won’t matter – because there’s no price Soros can pay to buy the United States of America.
So please, make a grassroots contribution to FIGHT BACK against Soros and SAVE AMERICA – for an incredible 1,200% impact.
Thank you,
Donald J. Trump
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Left state (yes, people are leaving it) versus right State (yes, people are flocking to it because it is doing most everything right.)
New York vs. Florida, by the Numbers
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A Tale of Two States
The Editorial Board
A Tale of Two States
Florida | New York | |
State population | 22,244,823 | 19,677,151 |
Top state income tax rate | 0 | 10.9% |
Top income tax rate in New York City and Miami | 0 | 14.8% |
State sales tax rate | 6% | 4% |
State unemployment rate in December 2022 | 2.5% | 4.3% |
Annual state government budget (new proposals by Govs. DeSantis and Hochul) | $114.8 billion | $227 billion |
Medicaid spending in fiscal year 2021 | $8.95 billion ($28.76 billion with federal share) | $26.47 billion ($73.27 billion with federal share) |
Medicaid recipients in December 2022 | 5,638,561 | 7,761,755 |
Real state GDP growth, 2016-2021, in 2012 dollars | 17% | 8% |
WSJ Opinion based on Florida and New York data
Yet, believe it or not, Florida’s state budget as measured in the latest proposals from the two governors, is only half the size of New York’s. This is in part a reflection of their tax burden, which in Florida is much smaller. If Florida politicians want to spend more, the state’s economy has to grow more. New York’s politicians can raise income taxes, as they do with great frequency.
Florida has no state income tax, while New York’s top tax rate is 10.9%. In New York City, the top rate is 14.8%, while in Miami it’s zero. Any guess why Ken Griffin moved his Citadel hedge fund to Miami instead of New York when he was looking for an alternative to Chicago? Florida has a 6% sales tax, higher than New York’s, but New York City’s combined state and city sales tax is 8.875%.
One of New York’s biggest budget busters is Medicaid, with 38.6% of the population on the rolls at the end of 2022. The state spent $26.47 billion on the joint state-federal program, or $73.27 billion with the federal contribution. Contrast that with Florida, where 25% of the population is on Medicaid and the cost is about two-thirds less than New York’s. We doubt the quality of medical outcomes is vastly different for Medicaid patients in the two states, despite the disparity in funding.
As for the state economies, Florida’s jobless rate was 2.5% in December, well below the January national 3.4% rate. New York’s rate was 4.3%, tied with Alaska and Michigan for fifth worst in the country after Nevada, Illinois, Oregon and Delaware. State GDP growth in Florida in 2012 dollars from 2016-2021 was more than double New York’s—17% to 8%.
These comparative statistics don’t tell the whole story about the quality of life in the two states, for better or worse. But they do show that better governance yields better fiscal and economic results. And those results in turn attract more people, which contributes to faster growth and more tax revenue without an income tax. We don’t expect the denizens of Albany to care, but they should.
In his keynote address at the Miami National Conservatism Conference on Sept. 11, 2022, Gov. Ron DeSantis highlighted how Florida differs from liberal-run states on quality of life issues including taxes, education and crime. Images: LA Times/Getty Images/Reuters Composite: Mark Kelly
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Hunter Biden Calls In FEDS On Trump Allies!
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