News from another hemisphere, down under. This ties in with a post I made last Saturday about the Administration not paying attention to the major problems happening around the world.

This is from the New Zeland Herald:

Anti-gay law fell on its face, as expected

Friday June 9, 2006
By Rupert Cornwell


WASHINGTON - Iraq is going to hell in a hand-basket. The United States' trade and budget deficits are spinning out of control, and petrol prices have gone through the roof.

Yet the US Senate has devoted two days to a Republican-inspired constitutional amendment banning gay marriage that everyone knew had not the slightest hope of passage.

In the event, the body that calls itself - without a blush of embarrassment - the "greatest deliberative body on Earth" yesterday backed by 49-48 a procedural motion to end debate and bring the measure to a formal vote. But the majority in favour of the guillotine was 11 votes fewer than the 60 required. It also fell 18 votes short of the majority needed to pass a constitutional amendment.

But this was not an exercise designed to tackle the real problems facing the country. It was a cynical exercise in pandering by a beleaguered White House and Republican majority in Congress, intended to save their political skins.

President George W. Bush and his master strategist Karl Rove have played an identical gambit before, and with some success - ahead of the 2004 election in which mobilising his socially conservative base was crucial to victory.

This time Bush does not face re-election, but his own political position, and that of his party, is far weaker than two years ago. At November's mid-term elections, the Republicans could now easily lose control of one, if not both chambers of Congress.

Not surprisingly, the Bush team reverted to what worked in the past.

If anything however, yesterday was a setback.

Supporters of the ban on gay marriages had been hoping for more than 50 votes in favour. Instead, they hardly fared better than in 2004, when a similar procedural vote was narrowly rejected, by a 48-50 margin.

More important, Bush's heart was visibly not in the enterprise - nor was that of the Republican best placed to succeed him.

"Americans are not convinced their elected representatives or the judiciary are likely to expand decisively the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples," said Senator John McCain of Arizona, front-runner for the party's presidential nomination in 2008.

Outwardly at least Bush had begged to differ, arguing that heterosexual marriage must be protected from "activist judges" by its enshrinement in the constitution, beyond the reach of any court in the United States.

In the meantime, the Senate is now to address the outlawing of flag-burning, another issue dear to the hearts of true believers, but of limited relevance to ordinary Americans.

Full article here: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10385731

Yep, I had enough 5 years ago.

How about this headline:

Bush to host Nigerian peace talks

-or-

Bush sends peace envoy to East Timor

-or-

Bush announces troop withdrawls from Iraq

But no, we get his shallow attempt to distract the American public from the serious issues the world is facing. Doesn't it seem reasonable to you that the President, his staff, and the members of Congress should meet minimum IQ standards before they're allowed to run for office?

A woman at work reported this little tidbit:

At her 8-year-old's birthday party, she asked her daughter how she was enjoying the cake & ice cream.

The daughter responded, "My tongue is having a birthday party in my mouth."

It's 1:46 where I'm at on this Saturday afternoon, and here are today's headlines:

Ontario terrorist plot “inspired by al-Qaida”
Group denies involvement in Nigerian kidnappings
Australia Calls for Greater UN Involvement in East Timor Crisis
UK police hunt for dirty bomb
Iran's Nuclear Views Reflect Deep Beliefs
Iraqi Survivor Wants US Troops Executed


There you have it... Oh, wait. This just in...

Bush Backs Proposed Ban on Gay Marriage

He's right on top of things, isn't he? Don't forget folks, this is the same guy that waved at Stevie Wonder.

The Searchers. I wouldn't have remembered that if there had been $10 million on the line.

And I was fifteen years old when that song was popular. I should have been able to remember that!! LOL.

Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

I told her that I was a flop with chicks....

Sorry, only ½ credit, you forgot to name the artist(s). Wasn't it The Coasters?

Did you see their price list? Wow, $22,000 for a bullet and entry resistant door. But will it withstand a 3-year old? Or an RPG?

I just know I'll get banned from the board for this.....

I'm usually a straight-up soft drink kind of person. Give me a Coke, or a Pepsi, or a Sprite, whatever, just don't put flavors in it.

Having said that, I must now confess that I've fallen in love with (get this) Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper. It's GOOD! There was a lady at the store handing out free samples and (I held my nose, I closed my eyes, I took a drink!) it was a pleasing taste.
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Ten bonus points to anyone who remembers the artist & song I quoted from above.
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I can't remember if I've ever seen anything with J Lo in it. Of course, if she is as wodden as all that, I probably wouldn't.

Vanna (Vana?) White of Wheel of Fortune fame once made a highly forgettable TV movie. She gets my all-time, hall of fame vote for the most wooden performance ever.

Her manequin-like performance was more entertaining than the movie itself.

Meanwhile: Bush's gifts to posterity

David Martin The Boston Globe

FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2006

During a recent news conference, George W. Bush let it be known that the decision to end the U.S. military presence in Iraq will not be his. Instead, according to Bush, it will be for "future presidents" to decide.

Barely reliable sources note a possible post-conference follow-up in which Bush plans to leave a number of other decisions to future presidents, preferably Democrats.

"As far as the increasing national debt," said Bush, "future presidents will have to tackle that problem."

"Given the precarious state of the economy," said the U.S. president, "it would be irresponsible of me to interfere at this point in time. I really think it's best if someone else handles it."

Suspending tax cuts for the wealthy is another issue apparently best left to future presidents.

"I handed out those tax cuts," said Bush. "So how would it look if all of a sudden I took them back? Again, I think it's better that someone new make that decision."

The end of the war on terror has also been deferred.

"My speech-writers tell me that it's unrealistic to expect a war on a concept to end any time soon," said President Bush. "So I'll leave that one to a future president to deal with as well."

When questioned about his administration's ill-fated prescription drug plan, Bush again deferred.

"It's obviously way too early to do something about that," said the president. "Tinkering with the plan now could make the situation even worse. Best to let some future president try to fix it."

Gulf Coast residents hoping to get some immediate hurricane relief will also have to wait for another day.

"The worst thing to do at this point is to throw more money at the problem," said Bush. "Better to wait a few years and see where help is really needed. Then some future president can clean up the mess."

Asked how he intends to spend his remaining political capital, the president said that he would not be undertaking any major new initiatives in the next two years. "Let's face it," said Bush. "Anything I tried to do now would just need to be fixed up by some future president anyway. I think it's best for the nation if I just do nothing."

David Martin is author of the satiric collection "My Friend 'W'." This article first appeared in The Boston Globe.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/03/27/opinion/edmartin.php

I guess I was in a good mood when I watched Phantom Of The Opera (the new version). Lots of people gave it a raspberry, but I really enjoyed it. So there you go.

I try to tip at least 20% but it's usually more if we don't eat an expensive meal. What I mean is, if your tab is just $13.00, the tip would be $2.60, but I would round that up to $3.00. I'd be embarassed to leave less than $3.00 at any table.

I agree on the poverty wages wait staff make. But my daughter was a waitress at Dead Lobster for several years and she made pretty good money. I guess it depends on where you're working.

Cheapskate ploy #394: Save $1.25 or so every time you eat lunch out but just ordering water with lemon.

Squeeze the lemon in the water and add a packet of artificial sweetener that's always on the table and, ta-da, instant lemonade.

All right everybody... tighten up your act, the dreaded Spillway is back!

LOL, thanks Hogs.

ZENX proved to me that I'm a moron. I bought it based on a tip from someone that is pretty reliable... paid .40 thereabouts.

Eight days later I was still waiting for the new FEMA contract to move the stock... finally lost faith and sold it at 0.33.

Four days after I sold, it was at a buck twenty and I started looking for a rusty razor blade.

Gold stocks... after two dreary days Monday and Tuesday, precious metal stocks (PDG, PAAS, GFI, etc.) all went up around the 5% ballpark today.

I didn't make quite 5% because I was wary of them during the first ½ hour the market was open, but I'd like to get a little more without being greedy about it :=))

Anyone have a feeling where the gold/silver stocks may move tomorrow?

What a bunch of unsightly ne'r do wells I've found here! Scoot over, make room on the couch for a Spillway. Glad to be back.

Yes, I saw that. I was sorely tempted yesterday to add another million, but didn't... should have listened to my gut feeling.

Didn't it kaboom a little yesterday?

If I'm thinking right, it's one of those instances where price doesn't follow volume. The mistake I've made in the past was to assume the stock was undergoing accumulation, which will also show up sometimes as an increase in volume without an accompying increase in pps.

Oilco, I had 12k shares of SNPD on Friday, and I spilled a quart of paranoia all over myself and sold it, thinking the Lebed thing was a hoax and I would get burned if I was still bag-holding SNPD on Monday.

How's that for some serious insanity?

THANK YOU!!!

Swinging, I'm holding a million shares of this, does it have news or something? I can't get Level II on pinks, nor even b/a. I got a million shares on a tip from my wife a couple of weeks ago.

Well written and informative. I just learned last week that FEMA is not supposed to be a first responder. I suspect that a lot of people in the US don't know that.

OK, here's 100 years of tradition unhampered by progress.

NYMEX is still reporting Henry Hub Natural Gas futures (11.45 -0.187) and we don't even know if Tailgate, Louisiana still exists. Guess the name is the most important part, but I'm damn glad it's not winter or I'd be very worried about where my natural gas was going to come from.
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Oil producers & oil services were the big kitties on the fence today. I took a nice scalp on FCEL, too. I'm also in an oil/gas trust, SJT in at 44.00 and so far I'm up 7%.

My play for tomorrow, if everything goes according to plan (ROFL!) is CNP, I'll be watching it closely at the open. Watch GE tomorrow, too, for confirmation that it's found a bottom.

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The above is just my opinion. Do not buy or sell any security based on my brain-damaged meanderings up there. You are a MUCH BETTER trader than I am, so do your DD like you know you should, and the LAST thing you do before you buy any stock is to check for news.

No kidding, Lance. Been there, done that. My net gain today was $87.53 but I feel pretty darn good about it. Obviously I can't go forever like that if I want to continue to eat warm food and sleep indoors. But I'm going to bed tonight with my account bigger than it was this morning.

As far as your confidence is concerned, it doesn't matter how much you made that day, as long as you finished ahead.

Really. I took a $57 profit on a stock Monday... gut feeling about it... wound up selling it at HOD.

I didn't think you were going to mention me, until I saw the word "freaks". Good morning to you.

Strap it on folks, five minutes until the wildest day in the market I suspect any of us have ever seen.

Have we just completely lost the city of New Orleans? Three refineries standing in 6 feet of water, officials say it will be 6 weeks to 2 months before they can get the water out of New Orleans.

Can you say $4/gallon for 93 octane? Hell, by Haloween it may be $5 or $6.

Yes I'll second that. The images coming out of Gulfport and Biloxi Mississippi are horrific. And those poor people still trapped in the Super Dome. And now I hear that a levee broke in New Orleans, and that the length of the break is almost 300 feet. They're asking anyone within a 100 mile area to donate any thing that can be used to make sand bags.

Gives me a big knot in my stomach. I'd love to get in my car and race down there to help, but I'd just be in the way.

The problem with a lot of penny stock players, Lance, is that they set themselves up to make a fixed amount, like say they want to make $60,000 on BCIT & they're holding a million shares.

Over a period of time, they come to believe that BCIT, when it runs, will get them that 60 grand regardless.

Then when it finally does run, they won't sell and take $40,000 profit when the run begins to lose momo because they haven't made their 60 yet and by God they're going to hold it until it DOES make them the 60 that by now they think they deserve.

They quickly and unfortunately become bag-holders. And the POS stock may never run again.

Yes, Lance, you get one chance to see da money fall on your side of the table on the long side. They go up usually just once, then complete retracement and back to the bag-holders to take over at .007 or worse.

Folks, with NYMEX Henry Hub natural gas closing at 11.70, and NYMEX crude at 69.90 (both for Oct delivery) I'm going to be scanning the oil services and oil trusts issues closely tonight.

IMHO el Presidente's announcement about the strategic oil reserves kind of put a damper on them tomorrow.

The real test is how will oil & gas trade tonight (tomorrow) in Taiwan, China, and Japan. Then the market in London. All this will roll around before NYMEX opens its sleepy little eyes.

Good luck to all!

CMKX... the stuff legends are made of, LOL. Five years from now you could just say to someone "CMKX" and they'd know exactly what you were talking about if they were playing the pennies in 2004/05.

There it is.

I think I'll call my other broker, the folks over at Edward Jones and ask them what they can find out about BCIT.

...

If you're not laughing right now, here's the humor: EJ won't even talk to you about a BB stock, especially if it's under $4.00!! Lotta good they are.

If he worked for Ameritrade, there would be no question about playing dumb/or not. In the first 3 words, you KNOW they're dumb.

Hey, I thought it was a great try.

I like that. Hope his spam filter doesn't flush it.

There it is right there. Mr. Logan either replies or he doesn't.
Folks, I believe right now we're down to the pointy end of the stick.