Where did the vitriol start and who started it? UPDATE

On this day of remembrance of all those who lost their lives unnecessarily in the attack on our nation at the World Trade Center, I gave thought to that time and how we were as a people. After the attack we came together as a nation, even though before 9/11 we were divided politically by the election of George W. Bush by the Supreme Court decision over Al Gore. It was a bitter pill for Democrats and some Independents to swallow and it lasted right up to 9/11. But then everything changed. We were all saddened by the loss of life and angry that we were attacked by terrorists. But there was now our President on the pile of debris from the fallen Towers telling the world we are going to get through this because we are Americans and we are a strong people and that we would find the people who did this and bring them to justice. It was a solemn moment in our history and we were all united as Americans right after that, maybe for the first time for many Americans, but I had seen it before. When President John Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, TX, we were together then too. The best of the American spirit was shown then too and the outpouring of sadness we all felt and a tribute to the loss of our President and the fact we all knew then the world had changed for us. There were no Republicans and Democrats then. We were all Americans and we were a strong people and that we would find the people who did this and bring them to justice.

Here we are on the Anniversary of 9/11, a very solemn day, and what's on many American's hearts today. I'll tell you, it's idiocy about whether a pastor in Florida will burn the Holy Book of Muslims or not. And, whether the Imam in NY will move his plans for building a Community center, which will contain a mosque, 2 blocks away from the site of the Twin Towers. The Republicans have been connecting the two separate issues even though the Pastor in Fl had not. But then, he finally got there message that there is a connection as Palin, Boehner, and Gingrich have been trying to connect those dots for the weak minded among us for the past week. It's a disgrace. First there is no comparison. Burning anyone's Holy Book is weak minded and not something a so called minister of God would do. But again, he had not connected these dots until these Republican leaders pointed it out to him.

Where do these nut jobs come from? They come from the shadows, where evil lurks all the time but is usually in check when there is balance of spirit and mind between people. But that spirit has been missing for a while now. I was trying to think when did it all change recently? I figured it out. It was when John McCain picked Sarah Palin, as his Vice Presidential candidate. She was not ready for prime time, or any time in my view, but here we are with her leading the whack jobs of the fringe of the Republican party and getting support from the other whack jobs of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck and driving our country into madness. And the fools who listen to them get hyped up and do their bidding and think in the shadows about "coming out". And every once in a while one comes out ie. the Pastor in Florida.

But this vitriol started during the campaign for President and by the selection of Sarah Palin, by John McCain. John McCain, the same leader who said "Country first!" and has abandoned about everything he has stood for over his career as a Senator. The same John McCain who said he was a maverick and now said he wasn't a maverick. Make up your mind please, John. Now it was the perfect storm because opposing John McCain was Barack Obama. That helped bring out the racists among us. But you see Barack Obama, in my humble opinion, has done nothing to fuel this divisiveness. He was born from a white mother and a black father. So what? What's the big deal. Get over it and join the 21st Century. Most kids have. Many don't see color distinction, as their older parents do.

I am afraid we have lost that special moment when we were all together as Americans. But when I think about the meaning to me of 9/11, I wish we could go back to that moment in our hearts and stop this divisiveness. It is killing our country now. How you can help? Change your mindset. If you are still embracing the notion that our country is special and what it means to be an American. then you should think that if someone owns a piece of property and wants to develop it and build anything they want they should be allowed to as long as it follows local ordinances and laws. They have a right to build the Community Center and include a mosque in it if they so choose. We should be pleased we live in a country where we can express our religious freedoms in whatever way we want to as long as it doesn't do physical harm to others. By the way, people have been praying in the existing mosque there since 2009, just to set the record straight.

As for the whack job Pastor in Fl., it is a very difficult situation for sure. In this 24/7 news cycle with Social Networks bringing pictures and videos all around the world. One could make the case that he is endangering others and it is illegal, just like yelling Fire in a crowded theater. The world won't end if he does this and some may die too as General Petraeus has warned. But that will be on the Pastors head before God as well as those Republicans who have not condemned the possible act, Palin, Boehner and Gingrich. May God have mercy on their souls.

UPDATE: 10:20am PST

I don't know what has happened by the Florida Pastor has decided that God has spoken to him and that he will not burn any Holy Books now or ever. Hallelujah! He has seen the light. One must be grateful for little steps of progress when they come. Amen! Now if the political leaders of Palin, Boehner and Gingrich can see the light, maybe this will be a memorable 9/11 where something good comes out of it.

Market comments for Sept. 10th and comments about both 9/11 anniversary and Emergency Preparedness.

A friend of mine this morning provides me with an excerpt from the WSJ showing something relevant about the Initial Jobless Claims numbers released yesterday. Here's his note to me:

9.9.10/WSJ's MarketWatch: "Weekly jobless claims decline by 27,000 to 451,000; Labor Day holiday may have distorted data"

Source: www.marketwatch.com/story/jobless-claims-decline-by-27000-to-451000-2010-09-09-84800

Excerpt: One potentially big caveat about the latest data is distortion caused by the Labor Day holiday. Two large states, California and Virginia, supplied estimates instead of actual data, while the federal government estimated the claims of seven other states.
"Given the weakness in the labor market, we welcome any sign of improvement in the pace of layoffs, but this figure should be taken with a grain of salt," economist Omair Sharif wrote in a report.
A more accurate gauge of employment trends is the four-week average of initial claims, which is less volatile than the weekly number. The four-week average fell a more modest 9,250 to 477,750.
"This is a level consistent with a stagnant labor market and very subdued private sector job creation," economist Neil Dutta of Bank of America/Merrill Lynch said in an email.

Thanks Dennis!

And I thought another piece of information was relevant to what I am experiencing about the stock market. This is an article from Seeking Alpha titled, "What MasterCard and Visa Show About Market Disconnects" by Karl Denninger. Here's one excerpt from his article:

Simply put, either the market is "wrong" (and both of these stocks are screaming buys) or the market is right and the economy is literally falling apart.

If the latter, then all this "levitation" and "great time to buy" nonsense in the broader market is about to undergo a "reality adjustment" that just might reach 40% down - from here.

Pick a view, then place your bets.

The only economic data to be released today at 7:00am PST is the Wholesale Inventories number. This is a release of July data, hence backward looking. Expectations are for the number to come in at +0.4%, nut I don't see much of a reaction from this data. The big news will be more on what the Pastor from Florida plans to do tomorrow, go to visit NY and speak to the Imam, or stay home out of anger and do something stupid out of anger on the anniversary of 9/11. European markets are down currently while Dow Futures are up modestly +25 points.

The charts below show the Dow and S&P 500 for a 2 month period. You will notice that there is a light yellow line on both and they are the 200 day Moving Average. Both Indexes have remained below this line the past 2 months, with only brief moves above it. However, the S&P has gained closer than it was to the 200 day MA when I posted the same charts a few weeks ago. I do not believe we will go above this Resistance level and stay there so we are now at the top of the range. It is a good time to buy Short indexes again if you don't own some. I use ETF's as you know and while I haven't sold any, there has been a number of opportunities these past few months to make some nice gains on short term picks. Have a nice weekend.


On a side note, there was a massive gas explosion in the South San Francisco community of San Bruno last night about 6:00pm. I'm sure you have seen it on the news. Many victims are severely burned and many homes were destroyed. This should be a reminder to prepare yourself and your family for an emergency. In California, we have programs called Get Ready which are 2 hours in duration but will provide you with an awareness of what to do in an Emergency. More advanced programs such as CERT (Community Emergency Response Training) gives people all the knowledge they will need to survive 7 days without help from local Fire and Police Dept. assistance in your community. Give your family a gift and look into your own local program before you face what the people in San Bruno, CA or other people in Tornado affected communities in the midwest face every year, or what the people in Colorado are facing with the fires there. Check with your local Fire Dept. for programs near you.