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Kurt Fischer

To All:

I stand corrected.  Someone from the January 6 riots has been charged with sedition.  The leader of the Oath Keepers was charged today.  I assume this means he intended to take over the government of the United States. 

Reading further, it turns out there were eleven charged with seditious conspiracy.  This is a sizable clump of folks who might have had more on their minds than protesting via riot.

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

 Just read that Biden is inforcing the WAIT IN MEXICO UNTIL COURT DATE COMES ROUND recent ruling handed down by a judge, by sending around 35 illegals to holding areas each day.  That's 35 people out of 5,000 illegal entrants coming across the Rio Grande.

Goes to inform us all that just as we thought, the people crossing are considered future voters for the Democrat Party, and the Party is allowing all of these 2million plus people here for one reason only: their power is meant to be the one and only power desired in this country.  Opponents will be silenced by having no hope of defeating their quickly multiplying numbers.

They do not want to have a closed southern border.  I suspect they dream of what Hillary wishes, which is to have open borders at all times, as globalists desire.

Wayne Gary

I have read New York City has joined a growing number of Demicratic cities that allow non US citizens to vote on local elections.  This is the first step to allowing non-citizens to vote in all elections.

David Cordell

Kurt,

I'm no attorney, but I suspect that sedition will be a pretty tough charge for a conviction.

I can't recall if I posted thiw song. I heard Marc Martel in concert at Choctaw casino, and he was excellent. Here he is, singing Dolly Parton's song I Will Always Love You, popularized by Whiney Houston. I like this opposite-sex version. Not saying that he is better than Whitney, but it isn't heavily produced either.

David Cordell

Watching Amazing Grace about abolitionist William Wiberforce in late 18th and early 19th century. Very good movie, and disturbing, too. The title character is played by  Ioan Gruffudd. Never heard of him. But the supporting cast contaims many familiar names, although some may only be familiar to to those of us who watch British shows: Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Gambon, Rufus Sewell, Ciaran Hinds, Toby Jones, Albert Finney, Nicholas Farrell. There are only a couple of women who are prominent in the movie, and I didn't recognize them.

Jerry May

It's a little late to comment on National Championship, but we've not felt that great with sinus and

allergy issues. And of course with all the Covid issues were tested again. We were both NEGATIVE on the 

rapid test, but were tested for the other (PCR) and have not heard; yet.

I did get a thrill out of watching those powerful "Dawgs" prevail! Mainly, Jerry was an island amongst 3 siblings and half-dozen friends who picked Alabama.

I just knew it would be tough to beat them twice in a row! Besides, I thought Georgia made costly turnovers in the SEC championship, and still hung 24 on them!

One brother asked how I figured they would win. I told him 2 things: "They're capable of beating them if they tackle with the first guy, and not let them step out of tackles." And, the most important: "Get in that quarterbacks face and sack him (3 times) and maybe create turnovers." (they did, including a 79 yard pick six)

My brother said, "Well that's not enough to persuade me switch from my pick."

Wasn't changing mine either!!

Wayne Gary

Jerry,

How is your eyesight doing. Are you recovering from your stroke?

Lowell Tuttle

Wayne, I knew in the past I had read about non citizens voting in the US.   Before 1932, even in Texas, there were non US citizens voting rules allowing some to vote....as long as it was their intention to become a citizen...or at least that's what I read briefly in wikopedia.

Something about all that changed since 1932.

I believe the Constitution gave that power to the States (other than federal elections,) and it has been excercised several times for a variety of reasons in States though time...

Steve Keene

Hollis,

Don't worry.  It is all Greek to me.

Steve Keene

David, Kurt and Bob F.,

I was driving along a back country road in deep West Texas on a recent freezing day, not paying attention and ran out of diesel.  I walked about a quarter of a mile to an old two story farmhouse with a barn and went up to the front door on the wrap around porch.  An old man opened the door.  "What dya want?" he said.  I explained my predicament and asked if I could buy five gallons of diesel.  The old man said, "Listen young feller, I am fresh out of diesel."  I added, "Could I pay you to take me to the nearest service station?"  He said "Yessir, but the problem is it is late and the station closes at 6, and doesn't open back up till 8 in the morning."  I told him it was too cold to sleep in my truck.  "Do you have a couch or chair I could sleep on?"  I asked.  "I have a couch, but I sleep there  I guess you could sleep upstairs with my grandson." He volunteered.  "Damnit, I am in the wrong joke." I said.

David Cordell

Short Selling

If you know all about, or don't care about, the investment concept of short selling, skip this post!!!

At the risk of seeming pedantic -----

In going through some of my school files, I ran across this item that I posted for my students last January.

--------------------------------

As I watch the stock market today, January 29, 2021, Game Stop's stock price is up by 74% for the day. It has gone from $19 one month ago to $335 today. It almost hit $500 during the trading day yesterday. What's happening? 

Selling Short

Have you heard the phrase, "Don't sell yourself short"? Do you know what it means?

Well, in the common vernacular, it means, "Don't underestimate (or undervalue)  yourself." 

Under the category "Misc. videos" in the left margin of the class webpage, I have posted three short videos (less than a minute) that use some form of the term "sell short".

• Hillary Clinton, referring to President Obama. (Crank up the volume)
• The movie Moontruck with Cher and Nicholas Cage. (Really good movie. See if you can find it.)
• A TV program about outlaw Jesse James.

Where does the term "sell short" come from?

Selling short is an activity in investing. Here is a brief explanation.

Normally, when we think a stock price will increase, we try to make money in stocks by buying at a lower price and selling at a higher price. But what if we think the stock price will go down? How can we make money?

One answer is through a short sale. Note that being "long" in a stock means that you own some of that stock. Being "short" in a stock means that you don't own the stock. In fact, you owe stock to someone else. Huh??

Here's an example of how a short sale works, with some simplifications.

• You think the stock's price will fall significantly. It is currently trading for $50.
• You borrow 100 shares through your broker. Not the dollar amount -- the number of shares. There is a fee associated with this.
• You sell the stock for $5,000.
• You are now "short" the stock.
• You turn out to be right, and the stock price goes down to $40.
• You buy back the shares for $4,000. 
• You return the 100 shares to the broker.
• You pocket the difference between the amount you sold it for and the amount you bought it back for, i.e. $1,000 less fees. 

Are these short sellers bad people for betting that the stock will go down? Well, they may be bad people for other reasons, but they serve a purpose. When they think stock price valuations are higher than justified, their sale of borrowed stock increases the supply of the stock relative to the demand. If there are enough short sellers, the price falls to a more reasonable level. Their actions make stock valuations more efficient.

The downside for a short seller is if the stock price goes up instead of down. If the price in the example above had gone up to $60, the short seller would have lost $1,000. Not only that, but the profits on a short sale are limited because the stock price can only go down to zero, but its upside is unlimited. In other words, the maximum gain is 100%, but the maximum loss is unlimited.

A big issue with Game Stop is that many hedge fund managers and other big investors sold Game Stop short. In fact the "short interest" in Game Stop was 140% on December 31. That means that more shares were sold short than the actual number of shares!

Apparently, a lot of relatively small investors, communicating through websites, decided to go long in Game Stop, knowing that there was very large short interest. This caused the price to go up. All the sudden, the short sellers were under water. They had to buy back the shares to keep from losing even more money. They were in a "short squeeze" and had to buy back the stock at ever-increasing prices.

A very interesting incident involving short selling occurred in the 1860s involving Daniel Drew and Cornelius Vanderbilt (two-great grandfather of the late designer Gloria Vanderbilt and three-great grandfather of newscaster Anderson Cooper). I have read that, relative to the US gross domestic product, Vanderbilt was the second richest man in American history, second only to John D . Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil. Here is the Wikipedia description of the Drew-Vanderbilt event.

In 1864, Drew once again struggled with Vanderbilt, speculating on the stock of the New York and Harlem Railroad. Drew was selling the stock short, but Vanderbilt and his associates bought every share he sold, ultimately causing the stock price to rise from 90 to 285 in five months. Drew lost $500,000.

Of course, $500,000 in 1864 was an unbelievably large amount. Licking his wounds, Drew is said to have lamented, "He who sells what isn't his'n must buy it back or go to prison."

I posted a more involved description of a short squeeze in the handouts. "Short Sale - What exactly is a short squeeze?"

If you want to see a more visual, dramatized version, watch the movie The Big Short with Christian Bale, Steve Carrell, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, and Marisa Tomei. It relates to the mortgage market rather than the stock market, but the effect is the same.

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

Ro Khanna says that Twitter was wrong to suppress news in October of 2020, telling of Hunter Biden's laptop revelations about 'the Biden family business.'

Khanna stated, "I am not for having either the government or, you know, tech companies ultimately being the arbiters of truth."   He was speaking on Zoom to Jon Lonsdale of 'The American Optimist.'

 A day (or year) late and a dollar short....

Jerry May

Wayne, thanks for your concern! Not exactly a "stroke" as most are familiar (have no one-sided weakness, paralysis, crooked smile or voice distortion). It was a perfect storm of a piece of plaque threading the retinal vein......which formed a blood clot on the rear of the eye; and thus the loss of vision.

With the over-compensation for loss on the left, my walking symmetry is not as efficient as it should be. (same with my neck,.....constantly twisting to my left to simulate peripheral vision)

Working with a therapist has mitigated these issues. That and ALL of our 69ers' thoughts and prayers. 
Gaining vision has been next to nil, but there are a few more things we are trying. In the meantime, trying to stay positive!~j
 

Steve Keene

Jan,

I read your impressive and continuing listing of canine adoptions including dogs that barked at everyone and had behavioral and mental issues.  I could not help but wonder if you could handle a dog that continuallly latches on to a Trump bone no matter what subject or circumstance arises as if a result of not getting one's way anytime in life due to needful and demanding siblings.  A dog that started out affable and well liked that, over time, becomes a terrible liability as it's personality deteriorates with age.

In short, would you consider adopting Tommy and see if there is any chance he could find acceptance instead of alienation.  Please answer on this forum as you may be the only one qualified to teach an old dog new tricks.

Jan Alexander

Steve, I am not responsible for any old dogs... but if Trump throws a bone into any race, as sure as the wolf moon , millions of werewolves will howl their condemnation. So plug your ears. 

Lowell Tuttle

Dogs.

No dogs here for years.   Argument as to who would clean up the crap and neither one of us agreed.

But, years ago we had a good one.

A story.   From 93 on, I tried to attend the World Amateur Golf Championship in Myrtle Beach each year. A week of golf, partying, and fun for 1000 or less.   My two friends John and Brad and I loaded up one year in his Ford F250 cab and a half…and pulled his 5^th wheel there from his Lake Conroe trailer park life and drove.   I was usually in the half/backseat position which was uncomfortable.   Anyway, we got to Myrtle Beach somehow and checked into the KOA just off the Main drag there near the beach. 

John had a chihuahua which loved to walk with him each morning, but he was 100-200 lbs overweight (not the chihuahua,) so I volunteered a couple of times to walk the dog.   John was a gin playing, vodka drinking, fat guy who loved golf too, but was lonely after 3 or 4 marriages.. His chihuahua was his buddy.

They had a dog park at the KOA, so, I thought I’d be nice to the dog “little bit” and take him down and let him run around.   Off the leash, the dog took off and I couldn’t catch him.   We both had golf matches we had to go to soon, so it was a crisis that morning.  We took off driving all over Myrtle Beach KOA park and the surrounding mobile home streets and finally gave up.  

After an hour or so we returned to the 5^th wheel, and there was Little Bit, all well and ready for a good time in the trailer that day.

I was terrified I had lost that dog for my friend.

I also learned you can fake picking up Chihuahua crap on a dog walk because the turds are so small no one can find them.   So, if you’re thinking about a dog and don’t like picking up the crap, you can get away with a chihuahua…

Steve Keene

David,

A guy walks into a bar.  He says , "Bartender, how much are rum and Cokes?"  The bartender says "$3.50."  Set me up twelve of them in a row on the bar." says the guy.  The bartender does as he was told.  The guy slams down two drinks, then he rests a second and slams down two more.  "Why are you drinking 'em down so fast?" the bartender asks.  "You would too if you had what I have." The guy laments. "I am sorry to hear that, sir." says the bartender, "What do you have?"  The guy slams down two more and says, "About 50 cents."

David Cordell

Steve,

Lee Trevino was asked about the pressure of standing over a putt that could make a difference in $100,000 in winnings. He said, "That's not pressure. Pressure is when you're standing over a putt for a $10 bet and you only have $5 in your pocket."

Whodathunkit? An ad in the Wall Street Journal.

Steve Keene

All,

For those of you who were asking Colleyville is about the same distance from Granbury as Waxahachie is to Weatherford.

Wayne Gary

All,

Colleyville is on the  west side of DFW Airport.

Glad the hostages were rescued withot physical injuries.

Ron Knight

One of favorite Lee Trevino stories.

One day Lee was out mowing his own yard in Preston Hollow when a neighbor lady drives up in her new Cadillac Fleetwood. She stops and rolls down her window and motioned him over. He walked up to her and the neighbor asked how much he charged for mowing. Lee quickly responded by saying, " oh, I don't charge anything for this yard, but the lady of the house let's me sleep with her". The neighbor rolled her window up as fast as she left with squealing tires!!

Kurt Fischer

David:

re. your Willie Nelson ad for Skechers in the WSJ

Did you notice the lead story in the Off Duty section?  "Men with Baggage" - the lead story of how men were now carrying what I would call handbags.  I'm not sure which is stranger, the Willie Nelson ad or the men's handbag story.  

However, showing all things old are new, this reminds me of the old Kinks song "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" which parodied the same orientation.

David Cordell

Yes, Kurt, I saw that story. I typically save that section of the weekend WSJ for my gay son since it always has something related to fashion.

Lowell Tuttle

Getting ready for Pokes/49ers in my new recliner...

So glad Joe Buck is doing the Buccanneer Eagles and not the Cowboys...

I think this game is totally up for grabs...

penalties and error/turnovers will be the key...

Raiders/Bengals was a good game.

Buccanneers/Eagles is a yawn, as well as Buffalo / New England...Josh Allen looked SuperBowl ready...

Kurt Fischer

David:

Along the same lines, I remember reading a couple of years ago that cosmetic companies had identified a new market - men.  And sure enough, within six months all sorts of ads showed up to encourage men to hydrate, exfoliate, etc, etc.  The times they are a changing.