the 3-20-8 Penny Press

Penny Press
Las Vegas, NV
Volume 5 Number 26
MARCH 20, 2008
THE PENNY PRESS, MARCH 20, 2008 PAGE 2
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16 PAGES
VOLUME 5 NUMBER 26
MARCH 20, 2008
It's Wright-Wing Racism
By MICHAEL REAGAN
Special To The Penny Press
Most of the media and their
fellow liberals were positively
giddy over Barack Obama’s speech
Tuesday, all but comparing it to the
Sermon on the Mount.
I won’t deny it was a masterful
Commentary
piece of oratory — the man can be
spellbinding — but when you stop
to consider what Sen. Obama was
really doing up there on the podium,
invoking the specter of slavery and
Jim Crow and the era of “whites
only,” it becomes clear that it was a
con job designed to make the voters
as giddy as he knew his worshippers
in the submissive media would be.
The speech was meant to be an
explanation and expiation of his
guilt for his years of remaining mute
in the face of the outrageous antiAmericanism spewed by his pastor
and bosom buddy, the Reverend
Jeremiah Wright.
Until Tuesday, Barack Obama
(you can’t use his middle name,
which has now become the “Hword,” allegedly a code word for
anti-Muslim rhetoric) had steadfastly
denied he ever heard his friend and
pastor make his hateful remarks. In
the speech, however, he just kind of
mentioned that; well, yes; he guesses he was aware of the Reverend
Wright’s offensive rhetoric after all.
Mea Minima Culpa.
He then launched into a defense
of his friendship with the man
he credited for bringing him to
The Conservative Weekly
Voice Of Las Vegas
Inside:
Don't Pee On My
Leg, Barack Obama
See Editorial Page 6
Christianity, and helping to form his
social and political philosophy and
set him on the path to a life of public
service. Admirably, while denouncing Wright’s extremism, he refused
to denounce the man himself.
Nobody expected him to declare
Wright anathema and cast him into
the outer darkness where there is
weeping and wailing and the gnashing of teeth — one simply doesn’t
do to that sort of thing to a longtime
friend, benefactor and mentor even
if he has been shown to have slipped
the rails time after time.
What was not expected was
Barack H. Obama’s use of a litany of
America’s past racist offenses to justify not only Wright’s blatant hatred
of white America but his suggestion
that it was a sentiment shared by
most African Americans. And that is
simply not true.
Penny Wisdom
Much of the social history
of the Western world over
the past three decades has
involved replacing what
worked with what sounded
good.
—Thomas Sowell
Nor was it true, as Obama
charged, that the Reagan coalition
was created out of white resentment
for affirmative action or forced busing.
He charged that “anger over
welfare and affirmative action
helped forge the Reagan coalition.
Politicians routinely exploited fears
of crime… talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire
careers unmasking bogus claims of
racism while dismissing legitimate
discussions of racial injustice and
inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.”
Poppycock! These are not only
outright falsehoods, but echoes of
what Obama learned at the feet of
Jeremiah Wright and now preaches
as his own beliefs. He learned his
lessons well.
STEVEN MILLER
FRED WEINBERG
VICTOR KAMBER
BILL HERE
AL THOMAS
WYATT COX
JOYCE MEYER
PET OF THE WEEK
Continued on page4
PAGE 5
PAGE 6
PAGE 7
PAGE 8
PAGE 10
PAGE 11
PAGE 12
PAGE 15
THE PENNY PRESS, MARCH 20, 2008 PAGE 4
Continued from page 3
Wright Wing Racism
When he suggested that my father’s coalition was based on anger over
affirmative action and welfare he was peddling a blatant falsehood as egregious in its falsity as Wright’s charge that whites created AIDS to wipe out
the black population.
Everything Obama said was directed at suggesting that while Rev.
Wright should not have used such inflammatory language, he was somehow
justified because of America’s white racism.
Try as he might, Barack Obama cannot claim the innocence of a lamb
in his long years of worshipful association with the Reverend Jeremiah
Wright. He was either fully aware of the seething racial hatred that motivated Wright, or something of a blithering idiot who can’t spot a racist hater
when he spends years genuflecting at his feet.
Barack Obama is not an idiot. He is a brilliant orator who exudes charm
and arouses near-worship from his host of giddy, hypnotized supporters.
He is also a committed socialist and a talented salesman for his brand of
Marxist snake oil.
Beware of camels bearing gifts, and politicians promising utopia.
Mike Reagan, the elder son of the late President Ronald Reagan, is heard on
more than 200 talk-radio stations nationally as part of the Radio America
Network. Look for Mike’s newest book, “Twice Adopted.” E-mail comments
to [email protected].
THE PENNY PRESS, MARCH 20, 2008 PAGE 5
Commentary: Steven Miller
On The Road To
Health-Care Hell
Currently, Southern Nevada
news is full of reports of assemblyline colonoscopies, hepatitis C infections, clinics ignoring the most basic
safety protocols, criminal medical
investigations and a collapse of public confidence.
Welcome to the future of
American health care.
For the last two generations, the
U.S. system of federally dominated,
third-party “managed care” medicine has been on a direct trajectory
toward this ignominious point.
While an embarrassed Silver
State now finds itself in the national
spotlight, the main engines driv-
ing degradation of health-care quality are actually national. Moreover,
they have been in place, gathering
increasing momentum, for a very
long time.
First, a rarely publicized truth:
The hidden bone fields of American
medicine are already remarkably
large. Consider the year-2000 study,
To Err Is Human, published by the
Institute of Medicine of the National
Academies. Its authors reviewed
U.S. hospital medical records and
found that as many as 98,000 people
die every year from medical errors.
Even those numbers, however,
may be a substantial under-estimate:
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) says 2 million
patients contract hospital-acquired
infections each year, with 90,000 of
them dying as a result. In addition,
The Penny Press Tips Its Cap To:
Governor Jim Gibbons for his willingness to kick Daniel McBride, Javaid
Anwar and Sohail Anjum off the Board of Medical Examiners if they do
not quit voluntarily. “The law permits the governor to remove those members for cause,” Gibbons said in a short news conference. “We will move to
remove them. It is going to be soon. We are not going to let this drag on.”
These guys have lots of ties to and friendships with the cretins who own the
clinics which exposed over 40,000 innocent Las Vegans to Hepatitis C.
Gov. Jim Gibbons (twice in one week) who signed the Nevada Open
Government Initiative to set up a Web site at which citizens can review
complete state financial records, with information about state contracts,
grants and expenditures.
The Penny Press Sends A Bronx Cheer
And A Bouquet of Weeds To:
The City of Las Vegas for even thinking about kicking handbillers off the corner
outside the downtown marriage license office, a course that could take the city
into unconstitutional waters. You'd think after going 0 for the century (and the
last century) in court, the city would learn the First Amendment implications of
trying to restrict free speech.
there is the entire subject of medication errors. Last year the Institute
of Medicine estimated, based on
multiple studies, “that about one
medication error occurs per patient
per day in hospital care.”
In that report, Preventing
Medication Errors, the Institute of
Medicine also returned to the subject
of its earlier, groundbreaking work.
“The key messages of To Err Is
Human,” said the Institute, “were
that there are serious problems with
the quality of health care delivery;
that these problems stem primarily
from poor health care delivery systems, not incompetent individuals;
and that solving these problems will
require fundamental changes in the
way care is delivered.”
That American health care’s
problems are systemic is an argument we often hear from advocates
of socialized medicine. But the rarely admitted reality is that we already
have socialized medicine. And it
is that system that is increasingly
devolving into — and subjecting
us to — bureaucratically indifferent, incompetent and callous Sovietstyle medicine.
Michael F. Cannon, director of
health-policy studies at the Cato
Institute, made this point emphatically last October:
“We’ve already got socialized
medicine. Government already pays
for half of Americans’ medical care.
Government controls production
and consumption by determining the
number of physicians; what services
medical professionals can offer and
under what terms; where they can
practice; who can open a hospital or
purchase a new MRI; who can market a drug or medical device; and
what kind of health insurance consumers may purchase. Government
even sets the prices for half of our
health-care sector directly, and indirectly sets prices for the other half.”
Yes, said Cannon, “[m]uch of
the U.S. health-care sector is private.
But private markets are not necessarily free markets. What matters
is who controls how the resources
are used. More often than not, that
‘who’ is government.”
Consider, as an example, how
federal rules operate to reduce the
quality of care for certain patients.
Because Medicare’s price-fixing system only pays predetermined fixed
sums for treatment of numerous categories of illness, the actual cost to
physicians and hospitals of delivering medical care can vary enormously, depending on the patient.
The result is to effectively ration
care for the poor, the old and the
sick. Because the government, not
the patient, controls the treatment
price, the system offers big economic incentives for assembly-line
medicine that ignores the actual
individual needs of such patients.
Precisely such a case was recently reported in Las Vegas — 78-yearold Duke Breuer, sent home from
the Endoscopy Center of Southern
Nevada, an IV needle still sticking
in his arm.
The impact of the federal government’s bureaucratic one-size-fitsall system goes far beyond elderly
Medicare patients. Because government-paid medicine so dominates
U.S. health care, most large thirdparty payers have, for economic
reasons, also adopted its approach.
Nevada and many other states, for
example, use the same system in
their Medicaid programs for lowincome patients. Ditto for numerous
private insurers’ programs.
Another major way government is driving America down the
road toward health-care Hell is by
its repeated and politically motivated exemption of the health-care
industry — medical professionals,
insurers, pharmaceutical companies
and hospitals — from the competitive and accountability-producing
dynamics of free markets.
Today, as special-interest rent
seekers, leftwing ideologues and
mentally challenged politicians
agitate for a full-blown, coercive,
police-state health-care socialism,
it’s worthwhile to stop and reflect
just a moment:
If you like the growing problems
America has now, you’ll love the
mess we’ll have later.
STEVEN MILLER
Steven Miller is vice president for
policy at the Nevada Policy Research
Institute.
OPINION
THE PENNY PRESS, MARCH 20, 2008 PAGE 6
From The Publisher...
Memo To Obama: Don't Pee On My Leg
Regular readers of this space know full well that I am not a fan of Barack
Obama’s.
However, I had hoped to be able to write of his courage and character in
the face of the now wide release of the relatively anti-American sermons
of his 20-year pastor, Jeremiah Wright.
Alas, last Friday evening, we discovered what we have really known all
along.
Barack Obama has the spine of a Jellyfish and his “politics of hope”
is the same old politics of “I did not have sex with that woman, Miss
Lewinski”
Now let me be clear.
I don’t agree with almost anything Jeremiah Wright preaches with
regard to the United States.
But this is America and we have a Constitution and that Constitution
specifies Wright’s right to make such statements.
Barack Obama has been his parishioner for TWENTY YEARS!
Wright married him in that church. His children were baptized
in that church by Wright.
Had he said to Fox News’ Major Garrett, “Pastor Wright has been my
friend and advisor for 20 years and I love him. I don’t agree with him
but I love him. His views are not my views but I have no intention of
rolling him under the bus merely because I am running for President,” I
would have a great amount of respect for him.
I certainly have friends who cringe almost every week when this newspaper comes out and yet defend my right to my viewpoints and I have
friends who fall into the category of Reverend Wright who I would never
think of distancing myself from.
Instead, this is what he said (transcript of Fox News live interview March
14, 2008):
OBAMA: Well, Major, I’ve got to confess that, you know, as you know,
I was voting in the Senate all day yesterday. So I wasn’t following this
story as carefully as I could have been. And then I flew back to Chicago.
When I saw these statements, many of which I had heard for the
first time, then I thought it was important to make a very clear and
unequivocal statement. None of these statements were ones that I
had heard myself personally in the pews. One of them I had heard
about after I had started running for president, and I put out a statement at that time condemning them. The other statements were ones
that that I just heard about while we were—when they started being run
on FOX and some of the other stations. And so they weren’t things that I
was familiar with. Once I saw them, I had to be very clear about the fact
that these are not statements that I’m comfortable with. I reject them
completely. They are not ones that reflect my values or my ideals or
Michelle’s. And that, had I heard them, had I been sitting in the church
at the time that they were spoken, I would have been absolutely clear
to Reverend Wright that I didn’t find those acceptable. Obviously.
GARRETT: Sir, would you have—would you have quit the church had you
heard them personally?
OBAMA: You know, I guess – keep in mind that, just to provide more
context, this is somebody who I had known for 20 years. Pastor Wright
has been a pastor for 30 years. He’s an ex-Marine. He is somebody
who is a biblical scholar, has spoken at theological seminaries all across
the country, from the University of Chicago to Hampton. And so he is a
well- regarded preacher. And somebody who is known for talking about
the social gospel. But most of the time, when I’m in church, he’s talking about Jesus, God, faith, values, caring for the poor, those – family,
those were the messages that I was hearing. And so you know, I think
that the statements that have been strung together are compiled out
of hundred of sermons that he delivered over the course of his lifetime.
But, obviously, they are ones that are, from my perspective, completely
unacceptable and inexcusable. And if I had thought that that was the
tenor or tone on an ongoing basis of his sermons, then, yes, I don’t think
that it would have been reflective of my values or my faith experience.
GARRETT: So, quick yes or no. If had you heard them in person you
would have quit?
OBAMA: If I had heard them repeated, I would have quit. I mean, obviously, understand that – understand that, you know, this is somebody
who is like an uncle. If you have – to me. He’s somebody who helped
me find Christ. And somebody who always talked to me in very powerful ways about relationship to God and our obligations to the poor. If
somebody makes a mistake, then obviously, you recognize – I make
mistakes. We all make mistakes. If I thought that that was the repeated
tenor of the church, then I wouldn’t feel comfortable there. But, frankly,
that has not been my experience at Trinity United Church of Christ.
His distancing was mealy-mouthed, and just like a kid saying “I’m sorry”
to his parents so he will be allowed to go out and play instead of sent
to his room.
In the immortal words of Judge Judy, “Don’t pee on my leg and
tell me it’s raining outside.”
I—and I believe most Americans—have a hell of a lot more respect for
loyalty (and a loyal disagreement) than a politician who will tell you what
he thinks you want to hear because he’s running for President and is
keeping his eye on the prize.
Tuesday, Obama made a speech in Philadelphia which can best be
described as a “you-a-culpa”. He admitted, without coming out and saying, that he had not exactly told the truth on Friday. That he, in fact,
had been in the pews for some of the best of Wright’s sermons. And
then, he tried to make Wright’s rhetoric seem to be our fault.
In short, Obama wants to be black enough for his black friends
and white enough for everyone else. But he doesn't want race
to be an issue.
Barack Obama ought to be ashamed of himself. In the real world, you
dance with what brung you and Obama wants to dance with whoever
will bring him in the future.
Just like the politicians he says he’s not like.
FRED WEINBERG
THE PENNY PRESS, MARCH 20, 2008 PAGE 7
Commentary: Victor Kamber
What To Do? Enjoy!
As the train wreck known as the Democratic Presidential primaries
rattles into Pennsylvania, practically the entire party establishment is looking at Chairman Howard Dean and muttering as Oliver Hardy would to Stan
Laurel, “this is a fine mess you’ve got us into…”
Fine mess indeed. This could be such a triumph that I have to think
Howard planned it this way. Instead of the unforgettable shriek he let loose
after the Iowa primary results were in, I expect he is rubbing his hands and
chuckling the way leaders do when a great plan comes together.
Everyone knows this is an election where the only way Republicans can
win is for Democrats to find a way to lose.
The independent vote that GOP nominee John McCain once attracted is
bitterly opposed to a disastrous war that he would pursue for another hundred years. If that weren’t enough, there’s the declining dollar and 4-buck a
gallon gas. And it is a given that no incumbent party ever won an election
when the economy went into recession on their watch.
So how can Democrats possibly lose? Well, there are problem areas,
such as the nasty name-calling that has another two months to run, what to
do about Michigan and Florida, and those up-for-grabs super-delegates.
Some Democrats worry that week after week of bitter primaries just
might hurt their chances. Real Democrats know this back-and-forth bloodletting generates continuing interest among voters and media while conditioning the eventual winner to withstand whatever muck the GOP swiftboaters throw in the fall.
While it is true that voters like both Obama and Clinton, it is also true
that the candidates themselves and their top staff people detest each other
(anyone ever involved in a political campaign knows this is true). So forget
the “dream ticket” scenario—the eventual nominee is more likely to select
Eliot Spitzer as a running mate.
Lots of nasty things have been said about each candidate, mostly by surrogates, but nothing Democrats haven’t heard before. Because of race and
gender, epithets are riskier than usual, allowing pundits to find affronts that
often don’t exist.
There are Nervous Nellies like Democratic strategist Matt Bennett who
is concerned that these attacks “could make our nominee the New York
Mets of politics—winning in the spring only to lose in the fall.”
Others fear that with Democrats fighting on and on with no end in sight,
while the GOP contest is over, gives McCain a tactical advantage. He has
time to relax and shore up his vulnerabilities. Not to worry. His first act
was to traipse over to the White House, where he received a toxic embrace
from President Bush, providing Democrats with a photo-op that will be featured on millions of “McSame” campaign posters in the fall.
Democrats should be proud of their much-ridiculed party rules. When
Howard Dean invalidated nearly two million Democratic votes in Michigan
and Florida, he was playing by the rules. Even after all the primaries and
caucuses, neither of their extraordinary candidates is likely to have enough
pledged delegates to claim the nomination. What saves the day are party
rules, enlisting the aid of super-delegates who have been waiting since
the1982 DNC convention for the opportunity to exercise their judgment and
“do the right thing.” (Those who worry about a “backroom elite” ignoring the wishes of the majority need to understand that super-delegates are
savvy, lifelong Democrats who didn’t get where they are by disappointing
people.)
Play by the rules. The American Dream is built on the notion that if you
play by the rules you’ll get ahead. That hasn’t been true for several years,
but that’s why “change” is the dominant theme of this election season.
Only the fighting Democrats are on the media radar these days. The
anointed but unloved Republican nominee simply grows older. By
November voters may see his name on the ballot and ask: “Who knew?”
Nice going Howard. This time when the results are in, a simple yell of
victory will suffice.
VICTOR KAMBER
For more than a quarter of a century, Victor Kamber has made headlines as a political consultant while writing several books and providing
sound bites that resonate for network and cable talk shows. His blog can be
read at www.victorkamber.com.
www.choateweinbergreport.com
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THE PENNY PRESS, MARCH 20, 2008 PAGE 8
The Best Vegas Calendar BAR NONE!
By Billhere
The FREE, e-mailed, VegasResource.com Newsletter and complete index of
Las Vegas coupons for shows, buffets and attractions is available on the internet at:
www.vegasresource.com
OPENINGS & CLOSINGS COMING UP IN THE FUTURE:
=======================================
Sometime in mid-March, MAINLAND RESTAURANT
(FrenchVietnamese) will open in the PALAZZO
Sometime in mid-March, DAL TORO RISTORANTE (Italian) will
open in the PALAZZO.
Mar.23= Easter Sunday.
Mar.31= Opening of the condominium part of the $365 million,
TRUMP INTERNATIONAL HOTEL & TOWER LAS VEGAS. It is a 64story hotel/condominium project located west of Las Vegas Blvd
on Fashion Show Dr., behind the New Frontier. The project is
modeled after the successful New York venture at One Central
Park West,
Condominium units are in the price range from
$700,000 to $7 million and feature 1,282 condominium hotel units
ranging from studios to multiple room suites. This will be the
tallest residential tower in Las Vegas. the 645-foot tower will
open with a spa, a signature restaurant called “DJT,” a heated
outdoor pool and 2,400 square feet of meeting space.
Sometime in March, 2008, The Korea Town Plaza at Spring
Mountain and Rainbow will be opening. The indoor Plaza, will
include retail stores and restaurants. Now we will have both a
Chinatown and a Koreatown.
Sometime in March, 2008, Phase 1 of the reassembly of the La
Concha motel lobby next to the Riviera will open as a historical
site.
Sometime in the third week of March, the RIO Village Seafood
Buffet reopens after an extensive facelift, but is keeping its
seafood theme.
Mar.??= Opening of TRUMP INTERNATIONAL HOTEL. Located west
of Las Vegas Blvd on Fashion Show Dr., behind the New Frontier.
Sometime in March, 2008, the Variety Theater inside the Miracle
Mile Shops in Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, will open another
performing theater with a 300-seat capacity. It will be located
on top of the Cheeseburger In Paradise Restaurant next to the
existing Variety Theater.
Sometime in March, 2008, Tommy Bahama’s Emporium &
Restaurant will open in the Town Square Shopping Mall.
Sometime in late March, 2008, 1. The Grape Restaurant (Wine Bar
with a full restaurant), 2. Blue Martini Restaurant and 3. Kabuki
Japanese Restaurant. will open in the Town Square Shopping
Mall.
Apr. 4= “JERSEY BOYS” opening in the new PALAZZO TOWER.
JERSEY BOYS is the winner of four 2006 Tony Awards including Best
Musical. The original Broadway cast recording on Rhino Records
won the Grammy Award for Best Show Recording. JERSEY BOYS
is the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons: Frankie Valli,
Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi. This is the story of
how a group of blue-collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks
became one of the biggest American pop music sensations of all
time. They wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and
sold 175 million records worldwide - all before they were thirty.
The show features such hits as “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,”
“Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You,” “Oh, What a Night,” and many
more.
Sometime in the first week of April, opening of the new “BRAND”
steakhouse where Blackstones was located - MONTE CARLO.
Apr.7= Southern Skyways will add service between Dallas/Fort
Worth Love Airport and Las Vegas.
Apr.13= Society of Seven show closes - Flamingo.
Apr.13= Nathan Burton’s Comedy Magic show closes - in the Variety
Theater inside the Miracle Mile Shops in Planet Hollywood.
Apr.20= Nathan Burton’s Comedy Magic show opens - Flamingo.
Sometime in April or May, 2008, A.J.’s Steakhouse closes - Hard
Rock.
May 8= The 2008 World Series of Poker. The 39th annual gathering
of the world’s best poker players will be held at the Rio, May 30
through July 17, and be sponsored by Milwaukee’s Best Light
beer.
Apr.??= Miracle Mile Shops in PLANET HOLLYWOOD RESORT &
CASINO Opens RG512 store (chic and trendy attire).
Apr.??= WYNN LAS VEGAS will re-launch the LA REVE show after
extensive changes in its creative content, better lighting focuses,
many technical improvements. ALSO, La Reve Theater’s 2087
seats have been reduced to 1606, with no seat more than twelve
rows from the stage. The theater itself has been repainted in
warmer tones and given new, roomier seats and more plush
surroundings. On top of all this they have created what they
call a “Champagne Circle” ($66 extra), where 100 guests sit in
custom chairs sipping Perrier Jouet and eating chocolate-covered
strawberries
May 6= Cher starts her shows at Caesars Palace.
Sometime in the spring of 2008, Widening should begin on
Interstate 15 in southern Nevada -- under an accelerated program
allowing it to be designed as it’s being built. The $242 million
project is dubbed the North Corridor project. It’ll improve about
four miles of the freeway north of the Spaghetti Bowl interchange
near downtown Las Vegas. Plans call for widening I-15 from
six lanes to 10 up to Lake Mead Boulevard, reconfiguring the
Lake Mead Boulevard interchange, and widening the freeway to
eight lanes from Lake Mead Boulevard to Craig Road. Electronic
message
Please e-mail errors, omissions and additions to:
[email protected]
www.pennypresslv.com
www.choateweinbergreport.com
THE PENNY PRESS, MARCH 20, 2008 PAGE 9
THE PENNY PRESS, MARCH 20, 2008 PAGE 10
Commentary: Albert Thomas
Cash Is A Position
Have you been to any of those Money Shows? They have them all over
the country. Orlando, Las Vegas, New York.
Just about every type of investment vehicle you can think of is offered to
the hapless investor. By the time he leaves he is more confused than before
he attended.
Would you care to invest in domestic or international? Stocks, bonds
or mutual funds? How about those chancy limited partnerships? Need a
money manager for your portfolio? Maybe you are smart enough to buy one
of those sophisticated software programs that will find winning (?) trades
every time. Options are always an option. And many more.
The wily mavens give free seminars to mesmerize the little guy with big
Wall Street jargon. As a professional trader they are too complicated for me.
Questions are usually allowed, but not once did I hear the one that separates
the winners from the losers:
“How did your model portfolio perform from 2000 to 2003?” Almost
without exception the best any domestic or international fund would
answer: “We outperformed the S&P500”. They fail to add the S&P lost
40%. And 80% of all mutual funds do NOT outperform the S&P500 index
in any year.
Mutual fund managers are not able to protect customers money. The
charter of most funds requires they must be 90% invested at all times. When
everything is going down the fund manager must continue to buy and is not
allowed to sell, BUT YOU CAN.
During any 10-year period history records at least one or two bear markets of 20% to 40% or more. During those times brokers do not counsel
their clients to sell and hold cash in a money market.
Think back to 2000. If you had sold 10% or 15% off the top how much
more cash you would have had when the market turned up in 2003.
The market is screaming it is in that same 2000 mode and headed much
lower. Will any investor want to take that ride again?
There is once secret to the market Wall Street does not want you to
know. It is not how to buy right. It is how to SELL. Any investor without an
exit strategy will never make money in the stock market.
Do you or your broker or your financial planner have an exit strategy?
Check with them immediately before your portfolio disappears. Have it put
in writing now. This is your only protection.
It is the intelligent investor who understands it is better to be in a money
market paying 1% than in an equity position that is steadily losing 1, 2 or
3% every month.
Do not wait until losses pile up. CASH IS A POSITION.
AL THOMAS
Al Thomas’ book, “If It Doesn’t Go Up, Don’t Buy It!” has helped thousands
of people make money and keep their profits with his simple 2-step method.
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THE PENNY PRESS, MARCH 20, 2008 PAGE 11
Commentary: Wyatt Cox
Wrestling Still More
Ethical Than Politics
A good friend that I never met died over the weekend.
“Playboy” Gary Hart, the arch nemesis of the much beloved Von Erich
family, passed away over the weekend at the age of 68.
In spite of the on screen feuds between Hart and the Von Erichs, the real
life Gary Williams and the Adkisson family worked toward a common purpose: the success of Dallas-based World Class Championship Wrestling.
WCCW was the last of local “territorial” wrestling. Long before
Vincent Kennedy McMahon came along and built the big national brand of
the World Wrestling Federation (not to be confused with the cuddly little
pandas of the World Wildlife Federation) there existed a loosely organized
group of regional promoters that worked local territories and gave wrestlers
a place to ply their craft.
Gust Karras and later Bob Geigel ran Kansas and Missouri, Bill Watts
ran Oklahoma and Arkansas, the Adkissons ran Texas, the Crocketts ran the
Carolinas, and the father of McMahon ran the Washington/Baltimore/New
York corridor under the Capital Sports banner.
As my friend April Hunter, a valet/manager and former pro wrestler
until a number of injuries took her out of the sport said, top wrestlers in the
day could make a thousand a week in a territory, work for 4 to 6 months,
then line up their next area and take a month off to rest and heal between
stints. Even the local boys could work 3-4 nights a week for a $50 payoff
nightly...good money in the 70’s and 80’s, especially if they had a full time
job!
McMahon’s systematic dismantling of the territory system meant that
a lot of hard working wrestlers were out of a job. Nationalization of wrestling meant less work, and more importantly, there was no longer a training
ground for the talent that McMahon needs to survive.
Plus, rather than relying on people involved in the sport to deal with
creative, McMahon went to professional scriptwriters --people who had
no understanding of wrestling’s appeal -- to develop storylines for his company. Writing for WWE Smackdown or Raw is a whole lot different than
writing for Everyone Hates Chris or the Gilmore Girls.
A lack of understanding of the audience, a failure to develop talent, and
a willingness to turn a blind eye to the physical, mental, and moral wellbeing of your talent.
Hmmmm...
Sounds an awful lot like the Republicans and Democrats, no?
Perhaps some of you might take offense, but there are an awful lot of
comparisons to be made between pro wrestling and politics.
The WWE chairman, Vincent Kennedy McMahon, is an egocentric
maniac who books himself as the center of attention instead of the talent that
fans usually pay to see. He consistently puts his own ego ahead of his company and crows about ratings successes, despite the fact that the total viewing audience for wrestling is less than 10% of what it was 20 years ago.
The Democrats have....Howard Dean.
The WWE has Mark Callus, who for years has had a huge run on top as
the character The Undertaker. Though he is not the athlete he used to be,
people still show up to see him simply for his entrance. While the skillset is
low and the movement is slow, people want to believe in the charisma that
has been The Undertaker.
The Democrats have...Hillary Clinton.
The WWE has John Cena, a reasonably talented athlete who has tempered his act down and held down with stupid catchphrases and a “hip hop”
attitude that consistently gets him booed by most fans except younger kids
and teenage girls. Most true wrestling fans boo him based on his choosing
not to perform, despite his ability to perform.
The Republicans have ... John McCain.
The WWE has Ken Kennedy, a promising individual who has the ability
to cut a reasonable promo and talk a good game, but is still really learning
how to tell a story in the ring. His recent gaffes about not using steroids
while turning up on the Signature Pharmacy list of steroid purchasers
amounts to talking out of school while trying to toe the party line.
The Republicans have ... Mike Huckabee.
The WWE has Edge, someone who knows how to elicit a crowd reaction, can carry a match with the worst wrestler in the organization, and can
make people tune in week after week. But the WWE has shown no faith
in him and has regularly taken him out of the spotlight to put other, lesser
talented wrestlers in the feature spots. He has been the future for a very long
time, if only the WWE would give him the chance.
The Republicans have ... Mitt Romney.
The WWE has Montel Vontavious Porter, or MVP. Given a push way
before he was ready, this young man can talk, but can’t wrestle for crap.
Despite the fact that he’s the WWE US Champion, he is far too inexperienced to be on the big stage and needs a lot of seasoning before he’s ready
to headline.
The Democrats have ... Barack Obama.
The WWE has Ric Flair. Active since the 70’s and arguably the best
interview and promo artist in the WWE today, he consistently gets no
respect from McMahon and the WWE hierarchy. Flair should be a manager
for the top talent in WWE today. Instead, at 53, he’s in the ring regularly
and preparing for life after wrestling. But while he’s still hands down better
than over half the active roster in the ring, and better than 99% of the talent
on the mike, he gets zero respect from management.
The Republicans have ... Ron Paul.
WYATT COX
If Wyatt hits Megabucks, he’ll book at least one show with his favorite talent, and maybe even an Obama/Clinton jello wrestling match. Pass along
your fantasy matchups at rant.wyattcox.net
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THE PENNY PRESS, MARCH 20, 2008 PAGE 12
Commentary: Joyce Meyer
The Spirit
Is The Key!
I love the book of Proverbs! This
is a wonderful book of wise sayings
written by King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived. One of the
verses that’s helped me the most in
my walk with the Lord is Proverbs
18:14. It says, The strong spirit of a
man sustains him in bodily pain or
trouble, but a weak and broken spirit
who can raise up or bear? (The
Amplified Bible).
Do you realize what King
Solomon is saying in this verse?
He is saying that regardless of what
comes into a person’s life, he can
bear up under it if he has a strong
spirit within him to sustain him
when times of trouble come. But if
his spirit is weak or wounded, he is
going to have a hard time with anything in life.
Do you know what is wrong
with many Christians today and why
they can’t seem to handle their problems? It’s not because their problems are any worse than those of
anybody else; it’s because they are
weak. I don’t mean to say that they
are physically weak. I’m saying that
they are weak in their spirit.
The Bible tells us to bear with
the failings and the frailties of the
weak (see Romans 15:1). We are to
lift them up and support them (see 1
Thessalonians 5:14). In Romans 12,
we see that one of the gifts that God
has given to some people is the gift
of exhortation and encouragement.
Such people are usually easy to recognize because every time we get
around them, they make us feel better by the things they say and do. Do
you know anyone like that? Do you
know someone who just naturally
encourages and strengthens others
by their very presence and personality?
Now you and I may not be a naturally gifted exhorter, but we can all
encourage. We can all build up, lift
up and speak life to those around us.
We can refuse to be slanderers—we
can refuse to do the work of the devil
and tear others down with the words
that come out of our mouths.
You may be thinking, “Well,
Joyce, that’s easy for you to say.
But the truth is, I don’t feel like
encouraging anyone. I need someone to exhort and encourage me!”
I understand how you feel because
I have been there—many times. In
my ministry I used to get so discouraged and down in the dumps that I
just wanted to give up and quit. The
intense preparation and heavy travel
involved with ministry, as well as
the demands of motherhood, would
make me so weary at times. I would
get physically, mentally and emotionally worn out. I needed encouragement but there wasn’t always
someone there to give it to me.
In fact, I used to get angry
because there was no one there to
build me up. I would concentrate on
all that I was doing for others and
how little others were doing for me.
This was a destructive way to think!
It’s certainly not the way the Lord
wants us to think. He wants us to
come to Him and find our strength
and encouragement in Him.
I finally learned that if, instead
of getting angry, bitter, and resentful, I will go to God in earnest,
humble prayer, things will go much
better for me. There have been times
when I’ve prayed, “Lord, I need to
be encouraged,” and the next thing
I knew, I was receiving cards, gifts
and flowers.
I learned that every time I allow
myself to be resentful and start complaining, things only grow worse.
As long as I keep my eyes on the
Lord and trust Him to bring me the
encouragement I need, I am strong
enough to endure whatever comes
my way. My spirit is the key!
JOYCE MEYER
For more on this topic, you may
order Joyce’s four-CD series Me
and My Big Mouth! by calling 1800-727-9673 or visiting www.joycemeyer.org.
THE PENNY PRESS, MARCH 20, 2008 PAGE 13
THE PENNY PRESS, MARCH 20, 2008 PAGE 14
THE PENNY PRESS, MARCH 20, 2008 PAGE 15
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