Ike, you seem very defensive in your response.
I do not fault you for having been wrong about this market since many of the so-called experts have been completely wrong about it also. No one should be attacked because they were wrong about their read of the market; after all, we are all free to make our own decisions.
I will admit that I was interested, after years of being (correctly) very bullish on the market, whether you would be able to adapt your stance when the market enviroment changed. You often stated on SI that you would go short the market and cease to be bullish when the time was right. I think that you will agree that you missed the down-turn and remained bullish even when the party was over. Again, I do not fault you for this. What I have learned over the years is that the built-in biases of individuals, including market gurus, prevents them from being adaptable to changed circumstances. You have pointed out on many occasions how the "gloom and doom" crowd remained bearish through the entire bull-market. Similarly, the "this time is different" crowd could not bring themselves to see that the market had finally topped out.
I am not one of those who follows your every post. I do read your posts about global macro-economic issues. I am not interested in your "levels" in part because I am not, for the most part, a short-term trader and also because, quite honestly, I am confused by when the levels are to be considered as breached. Sometimes the levels that you refer to are the futures and other times the cash; sometimes you say that one should look for two closes above or below your specified level and at other times you refer to what happened intra-day. Perhaps, it is my own inadequacies, since others seem to value the information regarding the levels.
There are things that I respect you for: how you and your wife have raised your children, your selfless contribution of time and energy to help others, your knowledge of global economics, your seemingly generous nature, etc. There are other things that I am not enamored of: your defensiveness when anyone criticizes you, your lack of clarity in some of your posts (though this could be cultural/language related), your insistence that you were right when it is obvious that you were wrong, etc. But none of us are perfect and we must accept people for who they are. As you have pointed out many times, those who do not care for you can stop following your posts.
Have you ever wondered what it is that causes people to seem to delight in showing your foibles and warts? You are one of a handful of people on SI who seem to have this capacity to attract such individuals. There are others who are followed by many, who don't engender the animosity that you seem to be able to do. In one of your introspective moments, you should reflect on what it is about your interactions, at least on the net, that seems to cause this to occur.
Finally, if you feel able to do so, can you please answer the questions that I posed to you; your response covered a lot of issues but did not address the questions that I asked. This is the relevant portion of the post that I am referring to:
"I am however looking to establish some investment positions with a 3-5 year outlook. What stocks would you buy given where we are at this point and what strategy would you suggest to protect the portfolio on the downside?
What would have to occur before you change your mind on the market and the economy?"
I assure you that I am not setting you up with these questions. I shall accept it as your best advice and make my own decision.