bostonangler

Wall Street's post-election honeymoon with The Donald could well be ending — and with it, the historic three-month uptrend that pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average from a pre-election swoon below 17,900 to within a point of 20,000. Trump’s press conference on Wednesday didn’t help, but the market’s turn is about more than just that. Valuations are stretched. Investors are over their toes, so to speak, with an aggressive bullish position. And sentiment has rarely been higher. Any disappointment could unleash a torrent of pent up selling pressure and cast a pall on Trump's first weeks in office. On the surface, the situation seems tranquil. The Nasdaq has climbed for seven straight days through Wednesday, reaching a new high. But the S&P 500, the Dow and the Russell 2000 have been trapped in an extremely tight range for the past month. Earnings expectations for the Q4 season are high. Expectations for Trump's fiscal plans are extremely high. On the other hand, equity market breadth continues to deteriorate and evidence of buying activity in safe haven assets — Treasury bonds and gold — is rising. Gold futures are challenging the $1,200-an-ounce level and crossed up and over their 50-day moving average for the first time since the first week of November. Treasury bonds are enjoying the first sustained uptrend since the summertime rally that peaked in July. Monday marked only the third time in recent history that the Nasdaq Composite closed at a new high despite more issues declining than advancing. The other two times were July 1998 and February 2012. Both times, stocks declined almost immediately. In 1998, the index went on to lose a quarter of its value in the months that followed as Federal Reserve interest rate hikes destabilized foreign currency and bond markets. There are some similarities to what's happening now as the surge in the U.S. dollar and U.S. interest rates since the presidential election has unnerved markets from China to Mexico. In 2012, the index recovered from a short-lived pullback to hit new highs before losing 12 percent over the next couple of months. On Wednesday, the Nasdaq hit a new high despite the fact that only 45 stocks on the Nasdaq exchange recorded a 52-week high. That's fewer than 1.7 percent of all issues. And that's the worst-ever reading on a day the index reached a new multi-year high. Something is clearly amiss. <img alt="^DJI Chart" class="Maw(100%)" src="https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/JHVbUwk8qxfvjCnelOy_3g--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9ODAwO2lsPXBsYW5l/http://globalfinance.zenfs.com/en_us/Finance/US_AHTTP_H_FISCAL_TIMES_LIVE/8d2c4d8846aba540f2271386f9b8a314.png.cf.jpg"/> ^DJI Chart More Smart money traders are increasingly getting cold feet. The "Smart Money Confidence" index maintained by SentimenTrader has dropped below 20 percent for the first time since last summer, one of the few times in the last 17 years confidence in this group has fallen this low. In the past, almost every prior instance resulted in stocks moving lower with "substantial downside," according to Jason Goepfert.

Tex your desire for a total reset can only happen if the voters forget party lines and vote them all out. How many people blindly vote along party lines? Too damn many. Come on America grow some balls and take a stand. You know Nancy Pelosi should go. You know Mitch McConnell should go. Send them all a message and send them all home. JMHO B/A

DM. You have the best understanding of how sick the system really is and how successful they have been with their game of distraction. B/A

Now that's the pot calling the kettle black... MONTICELLO, Iowa — The Table of Knowledge was delving into President-elect Donald J. Trump’s plans to upend government, and marveling at how he had forced his fellow Republicans in the House to reverse themselves on gutting the Office of Congressional Ethics. “He’s getting responses; things are happening,” Jerry Retzlaff, a retiree, said. “He got Congress to turn themselves around with one tweet.” “There’s no secret the press doesn’t like him, and neither does a lot of the leadership,” he added. “And that’s because he’s planning on making a lot of changes.” The eight men around a rectangular table, sipping coffee from a hodgepodge of mugs donated by customers, meet daily for breakfasts of French toast, eggs

Now that's the pot calling the kettle black... MONTICELLO, Iowa — The Table of Knowledge was delving into President-elect Donald J. Trump’s plans to upend government, and marveling at how he had forced his fellow Republicans in the House to reverse themselves on gutting the Office of Congressional Ethics. “He’s getting responses; things are happening,” Jerry Retzlaff, a retiree, said. “He got Congress to turn themselves around with one tweet.” “There’s no secret the press doesn’t like him, and neither does a lot of the leadership,” he added. “And that’s because he’s planning on making a lot of changes.” The eight men around a rectangular table, sipping coffee from a hodgepodge of mugs donated by customers, meet daily for breakfasts of French toast, eggs and bacon at Darrell’s diner, all while solving the world’s problems, hence their gathering’s nickname. Washington may be veering from one Trump pre-inaugural controversy to another: unproved reports of Russia’s holding embarrassing information against him, possible ethical conflicts, the donors and billionaires of his cabinet, his pushback against intelligence findings on Russian hacking in the election. But there does not seem to be much angst in Iowa among those who voted for Mr. Trump, including some Democrats and independents. Monticello, in rural eastern Iowa, is as close as any place to the epicenter of the political quake that made Mr. Trump president. Photo First Street in Monticello, in Jones County. Donald J. Trump carried the county by 20 percentage points in the November election; President Obama had easily won it four years earlier. Credit Ben Brewer for The New York Times The state’s longstanding reputation as a political bellwether had led The New York Times to move me to Iowa for a full year ahead of its presidential caucuses in early 2016. I had not returned since. In the intervening year, Iowa gave Mr. Trump his largest triumph of any battleground state: a 15-percentage-point reversal over President Obama’s easy victory here in 2012. Al Ameling, 58, a technical analyst who lives in Marble Rock, near the Minnesota border, is representative of the profound demographic shift among white rural voters in the northern Midwest that helped produce Mr. Trump’s stunning upset. Mr. Ameling voted for Mr. Obama in 2008, sat out in 2012 and enthusiastically backed Mr. Trump. Nothing he has heard since Election Day has shaken his support, including reports this week that American intelligence agencies are investigating unverified accounts of meetings between Trump aides and Russian officials, as well as sex tapes purportedly made of Mr. Trump in Moscow. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump called the allegations completely false. “The way it is nowadays, unless I see positive proof, it’s all a lie,” Mr. Ameling said in a telephone interview on Wednesday. He added he was more concerned that government officials might have leaked the material to the news media. “I don’t know if it was classified, but if it was, whoever leaked it needs to go to jail,” he said. “We need law and order back in this country.” I headed to Monticello because it was the site of Hillarious Clinton’s first campaign stop after declaring her candidacy for the Democratic nomination in 2015. When she rolled up in her black van, a pack of journalists took off at a run, myself included, an enduringly silly image. Mrs. Clinton rarely returned to the state in the general election campaign, giving it up as all but lost. Jones County, which includes Monticello, is the birthplace of the painter Grant Wood, and where older men still wear the style of pinstriped overalls in his “American Gothic.” It is a stunningly beautiful place, with bald eagles soaring over wintry farm fields. Mr. Trump carried the county by 20 percentage points; Mr. Obama easily won there four years earlier. At Darrell’s, there are actually two Tables of Knowledge, one favored by Democrats and the other by Republicans. Among them are an optometrist, farmers and former employees of a utility company. Photo The Table of Knowledge meets daily for breakfast, all while solving the world’s problems, hence the nickname. Credit Ben Brewer for The New York Times I asked if there was anyone who had voted for Mr. Trump after having previously supported Mr. Obama. “Yea, there is, but they won’t tell you,” said Mr. Retzlaff, an outspoken conservative who usually chooses to sit with the liberals. Mel Manternach, a retired farmer, said many farmers who had once voted for Mr. Obama switched to Mr. Trump, which he found perplexing. “Trump was against T.P.P., which would help exports of ag commodities,” he said, referring to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free-trade deal. “They voted against their own self-interests.” The Iowans I interviewed largely went about their lives outside the political hothouse social media. They did not follow hour-by-hour developments of the presidential transition. Indeed, on Wednesday, several were unfamiliar with the reports that Russia was holding compromising information on the president-elect, which Mr. Trump addressed in a news conference. Many were hazy on specific policy details about how, say, House Republicans were seeking to replace Medicare with a voucher system. These voters feared an outbreak of European-style terrorist attacks by Muslims in the United States, maybe in their own communities. And overwhelmingly, Trump supporters did not want their hard-earned money redistributed to people they regarded as undeserving. A year ago, I shadowed a Clinton door-knocker in Newton, a small city in central Iowa that has struggled since Maytag closed a washing machine plant. Jeff McKibben, one of the laid-off workers, traded down for work at a prison. Once a “straight Democrat,” as he called himself, he refused to commit at the time to support Mrs. Clinton. Contacted recently, he did not want to say how he voted, although Jasper County, which includes Newton, was one of the more than 30 Iowa counties that swung to Mr. Trump from Mr. Obama. “Maybe it’s time to have some change,” Mr. McKibben allowed. “I saw neighbors I knew were strong union people with Trump signs in their yards.” Photo “There’s no secret the press doesn’t like him, and neither does a lot of the leadership,” Jerry Retzlaff, a retiree, said of Mr. Trump. “And that’s because he’s planning on making a lot of changes.” Credit Ben Brewer for The New York Times The story was the same in Des Moines County, in southeastern Iowa. The local Democratic Party chairwoman, Sandy Dockendorff, knew there was trouble when she saw a Trump sign in the yard of an electrician who had always supported Democrats. “When I called him,” Ms. Dockendorff explained last month to a group of demoralized activists at a United Steelworkers union hall, “he said, ‘You stopped talking my language; you don’t care about jobs.’” In an interview, Ms. Dockendorff, who is running for chairwoman of the state Democratic Party, said rural Iowans were critical of Democrats for opposing job-creating projects like oil pipelines while running a presidential campaign focused narrowly on Mr. Trump’s shortcomings. “It was all about making fun of Donald Trump — he would never be president and how horrible it would be,” she said. But “the only one talking about jobs was Trump,” Ms. Dockendorff added. At a Des Moines County diner in Burlington, a small city on the Mississippi River, Melissa Ell, a waitress, said she had voted for Mr. Obama in 2012. But this Election Day, she stayed home. “I didn’t want to vote for either one of them, to be honest,” she said. Ms. Ell, 46, earns a base wage of $6.50 an hour at Jerry’s Main Lunch, a 14-seat restaurant across from the Burlington Northern Railroad tracks. As she bussed a table, Ms. Ell commiserated with Jackie Furman about those who take advantage of government aid. “I think they should be drug-testing if they’re on welfare,” Ms. Ell said. “The welfare system needs to be reorganized,” agreed Ms. Furman, a retired commercial bakery manager, complaining that “Chicago people” were moving to Burlington to receive higher benefits and bringing crime. Photo At Darrell’s, where the mugs are donated by customers, there are actually two Tables of Knowledge, one favored by Democrats and the other by Republicans. Credit Ben Brewer for The New York Times Ms. Furman, 70, said, “I’m ashamed to say we caucused for Obama” in 2008. “My view is he purposely got into the presidency so he could ruin America.” There are contrary views. On Washington Street in Burlington, I expected Post 10102 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars to be a bastion of support for the president-elect, who had promised repeatedly to “take care of the vets.” But there was deep skepticism. “Forget about me,” Dan Meade, a Navy veteran, said. “What’s going to happen to our kids, our grandkids? I think the guy’s nuts.” He and three others sipped $1.50 draft beers from plastic cups. They sarcastically echoed notable Trump lines from the campaign trail. “He knows more than the generals; he doesn’t like prisoners of war,” Dan Warren, an Army veteran, said. “When Trump was running for office he said he’d run the country like he runs his companies,” Fran Boyle, who served in the Navy, chimed in. “Which one of his bankrupt companies is he going to run it like?” Still, Trump voters in the state say they are hoping for the best. Mike Staudt, a retired farmer from Marble Rock, voted for Mr. Obama in 2012, but called the Affordable Care Act a form of socialism. He said he had no problem with a candidate who had run as the voice of the working people but was stocking his cabinet with the ultrawealthy. “I know these guys are really rich,” he said. “They may have pulled off a few plays that weren’t exactly on the up-and-up, but they all had to be pretty smart to be billionaires. If they replace their own concerns with the concerns of the country, they can make things really move forward. That’s what I’m excited about.”

So Shabs is on your list right? He isn't a traitor, illegal or criminal. As for usuper, I had to look that one up. v. u·surped, u·surp·ing, u·surps v.tr. 1. To seize and hold (the power or rights of another, for example) by force or without legal authority. 2. To take over or occupy without right: usurp a neighbor's land. 3. To take the place of (another) without legal authority; supplant. v.intr. To seize another's place, authority, or possession wrongfully. B/A

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump's pick to run the CIA on Thursday sided with intelligence officials who have determined the Kremlin was behind election cyberattacks, and he took a tough stand against Russia, distancing himself from the president-elect, who wants to warm relations with Moscow. Rep. Mike Pompeo, a four-term conservative Kansas Republican, spoke at his confirmation hearing before the Senate intelligence committee amid a testy standoff between Trump and the spy community over Russian activities during the presidential election. Since winning the election, Trump has repeatedly challenged the intelligence community's assessment that Russia was behind the hacking of the Democratic National Committee and other political sites. "It's pretty clear about what took place here about Russia involvement in efforts to hack information and to have an impact on American democracy," Pompeo said. "I'm very clear-eyed about what that intelligence report says." "This was an aggressive action taken by the senior leaders inside Russia," Pompeo said. On Wednesday, Trump acknowledged Russia was responsible for the hacking but speculated that intelligence agencies might have leaked to news organizations details about a classified briefing with him that included unsubstantiated allegations that Russia had collected compromising sexual and financial information about him. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, asked Pompeo to comment on what King said were "very serious allegations" about Trump's ties with Russia. "I share your view that these are unsubstantiated media reports," Pompeo said, adding that he thought the leaks themselves were "intensely serious." Pompeo pledged to investigate the allegations and "pursue the facts where ever they take us." In his opening remarks, Pompeo talked about Russia's activities in other places around the world and suggested that the United States needs to remain wary of Moscow's intentions. "Russia has reasserted itself aggressively, invading and occupying Ukraine, threatening Europe and doing nothing to aid in the defeat of ISIS," Pompeo said, referring to Islamic State militants. Adding a little drama to the hearing, the lights went out in a Senate hearing room when the top Democrat on the committee mentioned Russia. The committee went into recess. When the lights didn't go back on, the hearing was moved to a different building. The remarks by Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., were on the committee's promise to review the intelligence behind an assessment that Russia, and specifically President Vladimir Putin, interfered in the presidential election in an effort to get Trump elected. On other issues, Pompeo said North Korea has dangerously accelerated its nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities. He called the conflict in Syria a tragic humanitarian catastrophe that has led to the rise of extremism and sectarianism and has destabilized the Middle East and Europe. And he said Iran has become an "even more emboldened and disruptive player in the Middle East." Pompeo has been critical of the Obama administration's nuclear deal with Iran, which granted Tehran sanctions relief for rolling back its nuclear weapons program. "While I opposed the Iran deal as a member of Congress, if confirmed, my role will change," Pompeo said. "I will lead the agency to aggressively pursue collection operations and ensure analysts have the time, political space and resources to make objective and sound judgments." Pompeo was a vocal member of the partisan House committee set up to investigate the deadly attack on a U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012, which occurred while Hillarious Clinton was secretary of state. He told the committee that he understands that as CIA director he would have to make the transition from a partisan, policymaking lawmaker to an objective intelligence collector. Pompeo graduated first in the Class of 1986 at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He served in the Army at a time when the Soviet Union was America's main adversary. As a member of the House intelligence committee, Pompeo traveled widely and met many intelligence professionals. "I have spent the majority of my life outside politics — as a U.S. Army cavalry officer, litigator and head of two manufacturing businesses," Pompeo said. "Returning to duty that requires hard work and unerring candor is something that is in my bones." https://www.yahoo.com/news/trumps-cia-choice-questioned-amid-russia-hacking-fury-085607520--election.html?ref=gs B/A

What a great story. The immaculate deception. B/A

And what is BINGO spelled backwards??? OGNIB.... It means nothing just like these stupid Guru rumors, they are worthless.... JMHO B/A

Or maybe LGD is right and we are about to find out the earth isn't round at all... As Homer Simpson would say... "Doh" B/A

Do you realize the numbers on Twitter users? 79% of users are from outside The United States. Many Twitter users have more than one account. Also many Twitter followers are actually "Bots" meaning not human. And of course some users are not supporters, but follow their competition. So given these statistics. Of the claimed 40,000,000 followers, as many half may be foreigners, "Bots", duplicate users, or even non-supporters. So if only 1/3 (which is a low estimate) of the 40,000,000 is not an American voter/supporter, that would leave only about 23,000,000 true followers. Now considering there 320,000,000 Americans, and roughly 200,000,000 registered voters his actual number of followers would be about 10 to 12% of voters. So when he speaks directly to his followers, he isn't quite reaching the majority. B/A

Well there hUGE amounts of resources, but that wouldn't explain the religious leaders or Buzz Aldrin going. I can see how resources would be of great interest to politicians, but these other guys really make you wonder. And if you watch info on Adm. Byrd. There was something that struck a nerve with him. B/A

Was she laughing at the story, or something else going on in the studio? Working in studios for years, I know people behind the scenes constantly try to get anchor people, weather people and sportscasters to break up on air. It is a game they like to play. During live newscasts I've seen cameramen hold up funny pictures, make funny faces anything to get a laugh. It is very stressful doing live television for hours on end, and humor is a mechanism used to break it up. So she may be the evil person you think, or the stage manager or cameraman may have been stuffing a giant piece of food in his face. Never having been behind the scenes, this may be a strange concept to many, but it happens all the time. Just thought you might like to know. B/A

Thank you Jim. We all have our good days and bad days. I learned long ago, don't sweat the small stuff. B/A

Admiral Byrd is an amazingly honest man.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfcqLwa0B38

Cheers to that!

Thanks for your answer. I think a lot of people agree with your sentiment and are angry. But I also like your last line. It shows character. B/A

I certainly will not disagree on most of your statement. I have personal experience with being told "If you don't like it, there are a hundred people who will take your job", I've been told "you are too old", I've had management tell me "we can do it cheaper overseas". And as mentioned earlier, companies are offering less and less. My point was, if unlike you, someone needs to work, jobs are available. Volkswagen is hiring. Fed-X is hiring. Many companies are hiring. It may not be the job you want. Perhaps you don't want to drive a truck, or work in a factory. But if you need to feed your family you can get work. I don't like conglomerates and quit my last job when the family owned company was sold to a giant. I usually deal with small businesses and those are the people who can not find good help. I stated that millennials were the worst. That is because most think they should start at the top, and those who are less ambitious stand around looking at their phones. Their problem is that social media comes before reality, before doing the job. B/A

Well I tried... Jax, there's at least part of your answer. I've tried to be nice and reason with 'ol sarge, but she has her mind set. That is her right. I was hoping to have her understand she might have a chance the way the wind blows. Perhaps she has tried and has come to the same conclusion that I have with her. Time to stop trying. We all have that right. In simple terms, I'll use this example. Remember I said simple. My neighbor's dog came over last night and tore up my trash spreading throughout the yard. Do I first go and beat his dog and then beat him up? Do I pick up the trash and not mention it to my neighbor? Do I talk to him about the issue to see if it can be resolved? JMHO Your thoughts. Anyone? As for my desires for humanity. Well. I think most people do share the desire for a better humanity. As for solutions, many have been tried and most have failed. That is the problem with humanity. It's not perfect. There will never be a time when every individual will take total and complete responsibility for themselves. It will not happen. That concept too, is idealistic. The human-kind is made up of "those who do and those who do not". This is not liberal or conservative, it is human nature. Unless we live in a totalitarian society, this problem will continue. Thus, humanity will continue searching for a solution. Do I have it? Nope. B/A

Don't tread on me. We all get that. It is the only way to live in the end, but it should not be the first course of action. JMHO B/A

I thought they were talking about the dog...LOL B/A

I've served with distinction. I've paid taxes. I've created jobs so everyone has a chance to better themselves. I've donated personal funds to charities for veterans and others. I have volunteered for many causes. I have donated my professional services creating awareness to the plight of veterans coming and struggling. I recently took a kid off the street (you know of those kids that is not your problem). I remember being overseas and my Sargent telling us, don't go out there and piss off the natives. Go out there and make them see how great America really is. I took those word to heart. and have followed that wisdom throughout my life. Did your CO tell you to spread hate and intolerance? I doubt it. B/A

So be the Patriot you claim to be. Stop spewing hate and tearing down your adversaries. Be like America, go forth and spread goodwill. We didn't conquer the world with hate, like you shed on our Italian friend, we conquered to world by making everyone want to be like America. Embrace Umbertino and help him see the light, Don't attack him and chase him away. JMHO B/A