the 7-20-6 Penny Press

Penny Press
Las Vegas, NV
Volume 3 Number 43
JULY 20, 2006
"We choose to go to the moon in this decade and
do the other things, not because they are easy, but
because they are hard."
—President John F. Kennedy at Rice University 9-12-1962
Private Or Public We MUST Do It Again!
See Commentary Page 3
THE PENNY PRESS, JULY 20, 2006 PAGE 2
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The Penny Press is published weekly by
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Contributing Editors:
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Al Thomas
Doug French
Bill Here
Brent Jordan
Pat Choate
Joyce Meyer
Bob Jennings
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16 PAGES
VOLUME 3 NUMBER 43
JULY 20, 2006
We Choose To Go To The Moon
By FRED WEINBERG
Penny Press Publisher
I remember exactly where I was
37 years ago today when I heard the
words, “Houston, tranquility base…
the Eagle has landed.”
Commentary
I was in a motel room near
Milwaukee on a family vacation
watching CBS on a black and white
TV when first Neil Armstrong and
then Buzz Aldren set foot on the
moon.
I saw Walter Cronkite speechless
and near tears.
He wasn’t the only one.
Apollo 11 was the culmination
of the most productive exercise in
pure, non commercial research ever
conducted.
We didn’t have a partisan uprising, even though it took from John
Kennedy’s shortened presidency
through Lyndon Johnson’s shortened presidency to Richard Nixon’s
shortened presidency to get it done
during some of the most polarized
time in American history.
The left and right seemed united
on that day. They couldn’t agree
on Viet Nam, nor could they agree
on military spending but neither
side had today’s palpable hatred for
the other back then and they were
mostly united on beating Russia to
the moon.
Kennedy, in a speech at Rice
University on September 12, 1962
explained his commitment to the
nation that before the decade was
out, we would land a man on the
The Conservative Weekly
Voice Of Las Vegas
Inside:
Don't Elect A
Dummy Governor
See Editorial Page 6
moon.
“Those who came before us made
certain that this country rode the first
waves of the industrial revolutions,
the first waves of modern invention,
and the first wave of nuclear power,
and this generation does not intend
to founder in the backwash of the
coming age of space. We mean to
be a part of it―we mean to lead it.
For the eyes of the world now look
into space, to the moon and to the
planets beyond, and we have vowed
that we shall not see it governed by
a hostile flag of conquest, but by a
banner of freedom and peace. We
have vowed that we shall not see
space filled with weapons of mass
destruction, but with instruments of
knowledge and understanding.”
Nobody exactly knew how
Apollo 11 was going to turn out
but America had watched Alan
Shepard and Gus Grissom ride their
Penny Wisdom
It may be that the old astrologers had the truth exactly
reversed, when they believed
that the stars controlled the
destinies of men. The time
may come when men control
the destinies of stars.
—Arthur C. Clarke
Project Mercury capsules, launched
by Redstone Intermediate Range
Ballistic Missile,s into a sub orbital
flight after the Russians beat us to
it.
And we watched breathlessly
as John Glenn rode a Mercury capsule on an Atlas Inter Continental
Ballistic Missile into space for the
first three orbits an American had
ever completed.
After duplicating that feat three
more times, we moved onto the
Gemini program where we learned
how to maneuver a spacecraft, how
to dock and acquired the skills necessary for our run at the moon in the
Apollo program.
By 1969, we knew that space
was still dangerous but landing on
the moon was probably doable.
It was.
Fast forwarding to the present,
REALITY CHECK
FRED WEINBERG
DOUG FRENCH
BILLHERE
AL THOMAS
JOYCE MEYER
DIANE GRASSI
PET OF THE WEEK
Continued on page4
PAGE 5
PAGE 6
PAGE 7
PAGE 8
PAGE 10
PAGE 12
PAGE 13
PAGE 15
THE PENNY PRESS, JULY 20, 2006 PAGE 4
Let's Get Back In Space
Continued from page 3
you would have thought that the Government’s will to explore space further
would have continued, but, alas, it has not.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration moved on to the
space shuttle and is now working with a consortium of nations—including
the Russians—on the International Space Station.
We have had two shuttle tragedies, just when we took the shuttle program for granted, which opponents of the program are using as leverage to
cut budgets further.
Their mantra is to send unmanned vehicles. And NASA has had some
success in that arena.
But until the nation commits to an extremely difficult if not impossible
goal in manned space travel, we are never going to have that sort of nationally uplifting moment we had 37 years ago today.
What about private exploration?
Aviation expert and author John Nance has written a novel, “Orbit”
(available at Amazon.com) in which he explores the interesting question of
the relationship between NASA and a private space flight company when
the private company has a serious problem with a flight.
His speculation is not pretty—something which Nance says he intended
when he was writing the book.
“I think there’s still room for NASA,” says Nance, “to do the big stuff.
But there’s plenty of room for private exploration in space and NASA
should work with—not against—those people.”
In Nance’s book, a fictional NASA administrator defies a President’s
order to use the Shuttle to mount a rescue mission.
“I made (his character) up,” said Nance, “but that attitude is not unheard
of at NASA.”
And the federal government has already started making noises about
private space explorers. There were questions when Burt Rutan’s company
made the sub-orbital flights which claimed the $10-million Ansari X prize
that maybe the government needs to regulate such activities.
It does not.
If the Government tries you’ll see such efforts take place in nations
which have more accommodating environments.
What the Government needs to do is to commit to a major project, tell
the world what it needs to accomplish that project and then invite everybody—public or private—to work toward that goal.
NASA could do that by imitating the Ansari X competition.
Providing incentive for private research.
That’s what government should be doing; funding and encouraging
research that the free market cannot sustain because there’s no immediate
commercial return.
The commercial returns come later, just as they did in 1969.
There is virtually no part of our lives today which has not been touched
by the results of research commissioned for the Mercury, Gemini and
Apollo projects.
It would be a national tragedy if one of the things government can do
best is just abandoned because it is too much trouble for the Republican and
Democratic “strategists” to get their minds around as they trash each other
on the Fox News Channel.
Editor's Note: Nance's novel, Orbit is available at Amazon.com and at
major bookstores. It was released in March
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THE PENNY PRESS, JULY 20, 2006 PAGE 5
Clift Raises Ire Of Colleague When She Calls Bush A ‘Dictator’
Editor’s Note: Occasionally, someone from the mainstream media
gets it right. Brent Baker of the
Media Research Center (www.mrc.
org) caught this exchange—as did
we—last Sunday and memorialized
it for us.
When, on the McLaughlin Group
over the weekend, Newsweek’s
Eleanor Clift charged that President
Bush is “a dictator who’s ineffective,” an incensed Chrystia
Freeland, a Canadian native who is
the Managing Editor in the U.S. of
London’s Financial Times, scolded
Clift for using the dictator label “so
loosely” and inaccurately.
Clift opined that of those
attending the G-8 summit, Russian
President Vladimir Putin is “the only
one of those leaders who goes in
there with a commanding popularity among his own people, because
he is perceived to be an effective
dictator. What we have in this country is a dictator who’s ineffective.”
Freeland, shouting over panelists
who were trying to move on to other
points, retorted: “But he’s not a dictator! I mean we can’t use, no we
can’t use these terms so loosely.”
Clift backtracked a bit: “Well we
have an authoritarian President who
is ineffective.” But Freeland stood
her ground, pointing out: “You guys
can elect your Presidents and there
can be a free choice. That’s not the
case in Russia.”
A November press release last
The Penny Press Tips Its Cap To:
Higher Education Regent Thalia Dondero for foregoing a free Canadian
fishing trip hosted by Chancellor Jim Rogers. Her action won't change the
basic facts that six Regents are going to accompany Rogers on a trip paid for
by Rogers but it's nice to know that not everybody connected with higher
education in this state needs to have freebies. Frankly, we'd be a lot more
impressed if each regent paid his or her own way. Then, at least, we'd know
that the Regents had a no-comp policy they adhered to.
Attorney General George Chanos for his commonsense opinion on the TASC
proposal. He said a typo would not disqualify it from the ballot. We did not
expect such common sense from Chanos but are impressed anyway.
The Penny Press Sends A Bronx Cheer
And A Bouquet of Weeds To:
The City for giving Cox Communications 7 acres of city land for $1 to build their
new headquarters on. If they can afford to pay a whole $1, given their outrageous
rates and terrible service, they can probably afford to pay market rates, which is
what they should be paying. There are entirely too many giveaways to companies who do not need the incentives in the name of economic development. How
about using that land to bring a NEW company to town? Or, just selling it?
fall announcing Freeland’s promotion, recounted: “A Canadian national, Ms. Freeland has held a number
of senior positions at the Financial
Times, including Weekend FT Editor,
and Editor of FT.com. She was also
Deputy Editor of The Globe & Mail,
Toronto, and from 1994 to 1999
she worked at the FT as UK News
Editor, Moscow Bureau Chief and
Eastern Europe Correspondent.”
Amazon’s page for her book,
Sale of the Century: The Inside Story
of the Second Russian Revolution:
www.amazon.co.uk
A transcript of the exchange on
the July 15/16 McLaughlin Group
taped on Friday afternoon:
John McLaughlin: “You wrote a
book on Russia, right?”
Chrystia Freeland, Financial
Times: “I did.”
McLaughlin: “Did you get into
very much of Putin’s administration?”
Freeland: “Well, I’m actually
pleased to say that-”
McLaughlin: “You writing a
book now?”
Freeland: “No, I wrote about
Putin at the very end and I predicted
that although some people thought
he was going to turn out to be
benign, he would actually turn out to
be an authoritarian leader -- which I
think is the case.”
McLaughlin: “Alright, I think
that-”
Eleanor Clift: “He’s the only
one of those leaders who goes in
there with a commanding popularity
among his own people, because he is
perceived to be an effective dictator.
What we have in this country is a
dictator who’s ineffective.”
Freeland, shouting over others:
“But he’s not a dictator! I mean
we can’t use, no we can’t use these
terms so loosely.”
Clift: “So don’t use that so loosely? Well we have an authoritarian
President who is ineffective.”
Freeland: “No he’s not authoritarian.”
Tony Blankley: “-small d.”
Freeland: “You guys, you guys
can elect your Presidents and there
can be a free choice. That’s not the
case in Russia.”
BRENT BAKER
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OPINION
THE PENNY PRESS, JULY 20, 2006 PAGE 6
From The Publisher...
Why Elect Another Dummy For Governor?
Let’s not kid each other.
Anybody who knows me well enough to say that they know
me knows that I have been a friend of Bob Beers for quite
some time.
So, even if I thought highly of Jim Gibbons, I would still support Bob in his Republican primary race for Governor.
And, the truth is that I certainly thought a lot more highly of
Congressman Gibbons until two weeks ago than I do now.
Why?
The statute of limitations has probably run on this since
1989, but our votes are still very real.
If I wasn’t already convinced that Bob Beers is the man we
need to replace that RINO (Republican In Name Only) Kenny
Guinn, this would certainly eliminate Gibbons from contention.
Had he told the story with some remorse, had he been a
little apologetic, maybe I could accept it as a moment of bad
judgment.
But this brings out starkly that Gibbons thinks this is an
acceptable way to do business in Carson City. And, remember, this is coming from the mouth of a sitting Republican
Congressman after the Abramoff scandal!
Gibbons told the Las Vegas Review Journal’s Molly Ball this
story about his time in the Nevada legislature. It appeared
in the July 3 edition.
Either he’s a crook or he just isn’t very smart.
“Gibbons tells a curious story about his first term in the
Assembly. Perhaps intended to illustrate his ability to stand
his ground, it also reads as a tale of political payback.
The newly elected legislator told Delta (airlines), his employer, that he would need a six-month unpaid leave to serve
in the Assembly. But unlike his previous airline, Delta didn’t
have a public-service leave policy, and Gibbons was told he
would have to choose between his job as a pilot and serving
in the Legislature.
Now the truth is that I don’t see Gibbons as a crook. But
he’s damn sure not smart enough to be our Governor.
We’ve already had two of those guys over the last 16 years
in Bob Miller and Kenny Guinn.
We’re not against dummies as governors, but we can do a
lot better.
For starters, Beers is an accountant which means that he
doesn’t need Terry Lanni, Sig Rogich or Billy Vassiliadis to do
Sure enough, when Gibbons went to Carson City he was fired the counting for him as they will for Gibbons.
for failing to show up to work. But he soon had a chance to
get back at the airline.
For another, Beers is a budget wonk. He knows where the
money comes from and where it goes.
“The Legislature was increasing the tax on jet fuel, and they
put me in charge of the bill,” Gibbons said. “Delta sent a That’s one of the reasons that Rogich has Gibbons under lock
representative to lobby, and guess who they had to come and key and won’t let him debate Beers. Gibbons does not
talk to? Me.’”
know where the money comes from and where it goes.
Aren’t we sending Lance Malone, Erin Kenny, Mary Chauncey And we don’t need another Governor who doesn’t underand Dario Herrera to prison for exactly this?
stand money.
Once and for all, we do not send people to the state legislature or the United States Congress for their own personal
benefit. The fact is that Delta Airlines was under no obligation to have such a policy as Gibbons wanted them to have
and using a piece of legislation to strong-arm them into
rehiring him is simply against the law. It was against the
law then and it’s against the law now.
You probably won’t hear Gibbons squeal with indignation
over the contents of this column because Rogich won’t let
him.
Imagine what they won’t let him do if he becomes
Governor.
FRED WEINBERG
THE PENNY PRESS, JULY 20, 2006 PAGE 7
Commentary: Doug French
Idiot Savants And Just Plain Idiots
Last week’s piece questioning the universal fawning over Bill Gates
and Warren Buffett’s philanthropic endeavors by the mainstream press
prompted an editor’s note in the Penny Press from that publication’s editor
Fred Weinberg and his friend Pat Choate.
The previous week, these two had joined the chorus of mainstream commentators everywhere including Sherm Fredrick at the RJ in extolling the
virtues of the two wealthiest men in America, as they embark on the arduous
task of giving away their fortunes.
My questioning whether the two idiot savants have any economics
knowledge and whether their donations would actually improve the world
evidently annoyed Weinberg to high dungeon and that in order to stomach
running the untoward piece, he used his editor’s prerogative to tack on a
paragraph at the end in order to have the last word.
For those who didn’t pick up the Penny Press, Weinberg and Choate,
essentially invited me outside to see who can color the snow bank out the
furthest. “Doug’s logic is, in our humble opinion, a little faulty because of
his lack of historical perspective,” the two begin. They say that Bill Gates
made his money in the free market and Buffett made his money investing in
the same free market. Talk about a lack of historical perspective. Do these
two really believe the American economy is now a “free” market? I wish
Buffett’s father Howard was alive to respond.
Maybe Weinberg and Choate have read something about a certain antitrust case involving Microsoft in the last few years? I’m sure Bill Gates
doesn’t believe that he competes in a free market. As economist Tom
Dilorenzo wrote in the Wall Street back in 1999, Microsoft competitors
fought for market share through the political process not the market process. “Economists call the kind of behavior displayed by Microsoft’s rivals
(including the hiring of Mr. [Robert] Bork) ‘rent seeking,’ defined as the
use of the political process to procure special privileges, including regulations that harm one’s competitors. Lobbying for protectionism is a classic
example of rent seeking, as is harassing one’s more successful competitors
with antitrust lawsuits.”
By the way, Doug Casey believes Gates was spineless in the way he
responded to the U.S. Government’s anti-trust suit against Microsoft back
in 1998. “If it had been my company, I promise I would have transplanted
it to a friendlier clime—and paid for the move with just a couple of years
tax savings.”
As for Buffett’s Berkshire-Hathaway, the conglomerate’s largest investment is in the insurance business. Other than banking, health care and
gaming, there is likely no more regulated industry than insurance. Buffett
has said on numerous occasions his investment strategy is to invest in businesses that have significant barriers to entry, of which government is the
largest provider.
“They [Gates and Buffett] didn’t get rich because of their ignorance of
capitalism,” Weinberg and Choate complain. I didn’t imply that they did,
just that it obviously doesn’t take economics knowledge to get rich.
Next, Weinberg and Choate say something about Gates and Buffett not
sharing “our more conservative viewpoint…” I mentioned in last weeks
piece Buffett’s zeal for high property taxes, how about his stumping for high
estate taxes?
Back in 2001, Buffett, Bill’s dad William Gates, anti-capitalist speculator George Soros, lefty ice-cream magnate Ben Cohen, at least two
Rockefellers, and many others, signed an ad that decried the proposed estate
tax cuts on many spurious grounds.
The billionaires said at the time that inheritance elevates privilege
above merit. “But this is a false distinction that asserts an egalitarian view
of merit,” Lew Rockwell wrote. “It is also very dangerous because it puts
government instead of the private sector in charge of deciding who merits
what.”
“The existence of billionaires is a wonderful testament to the glories of
the capitalist system,” Rockwell points out, “but let us not forget that many
of them are loony tunes on issues outside their core business.”
Segueing to Weinberg and Choate’s next contention, “logic dictates
that if they apply the same principals to their charitable efforts that they
applied to their business, they will get similar results.” Logic does not
any more dictate that than logic dictates that since Fred Weinberg is in
his third year of publishing the Penny Press that he can build a rocket
ship successfully. “They might as well be Thomas Aquinas and Mahatma
Gandhi setting up a fireworks display; smart men, but not likely to know
what they’re doing,” Bill Bonner wrote this week.
The problem with non-profits and foundations is that there is no
price system to provide signals as to whether the organization is being
successful. Gates and Buffett have the benefit of a price system in their
given disciplines. In philanthropy, no such guidance is provided. “Acts
of grand benevolence,” writes Bonner, “on the other hand, whatever good
they do in the short term (and we don’t deny that they do great good in the
short term) usually make things worse in the long term. Instead of getting
to choose what they want, people get what the givers choose to give them,
not as customers, but as charity cases. Of course, acts of personal charity
are enjoined on us. And we hope we take pleasure in doing them. But when
the scale is large enough, charity begins to smack more of a public spectacle
than a private virtue...more of a government program than of an unalloyed
act of generosity. Along with hope and help, it carries with it, ever so faintly,
the acrid whiff of humbug.”
Weinberg and Choate wind up by emphasizing that the money is Gates’
and Buffett’s to do with as they wish. Of course. I’d be the last to stop
them. But, what they are doing is not worthy of the praise they are receiving, and in fact will likely be damaging in the long run, and that’s the
point.
DOUG FRENCH
Editor’s note: We love a man who grins when he fights. The problem with
this debate is that Doug, Pat and I probably will not be alive when the jury
comes in. But Pat and I will give him this much. If the Gates foundation
becomes something like the Ford Foundation, Doug will be proven right. If,
on the other hand, Bill Gates—who probably CAN figure out how to build
a rocket—sees what has not worked in the past and acts on that knowledge,
Pat and I will probably have been proven right. Doug’s essential problem is
that he trusts nobody to do anything right unless there is an economic incentive involved. Despite our careers in and around politics and journalism,
Pat and I are just slightly more hopeful. If it is at all possible, Pat and I
would like to meet Doug back here in 75 years to see who was right. All that
aside, we say again, it’s their money, they’re two of the smartest and most
competent managers in the world, we think they will accomplish their stated
goals, which we think is good for America and the world. But regardless of
what we think or like, it’s their money to do with as they will.
FRED WEINBERG and PAT CHOATE
THE PENNY PRESS, JULY 20, 2006 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
JULY, 2006
===========
++++++++++
Through Jul. 31= Art Exhibit of Rubens & His Age - Guggenheim
Museum - Venetian.
++++++++++
Through Aug. 10= World Series of Poker Rio /Binion’s.
Information: http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/2006wsop.asp
++++++++++
20-30=Elton John- Caesars Palace.
20-30= Reba McEntire- Las Vegas Hilton.
21-22= Bridal Expo -Cashman Center.
21-22= Jay Leno - Mirage.
22=Pat Benatar- Mandalay Bay Beach.
27-30=”Cats”-Aladdin.
29=Santana- MGM Grand.
29=Gipsy Kings-Palms.
+++++
31= Art Exhibit of Rubens And His Age closes-Guggenheim
Hermitage Museum inside the Venetian.
++++++++++
July ??= Opening of the Playboy Club -Palms’ Fantasy Tower.
++++++++++
July ??= Opening of second floor of Tangerine.nightclub - Treasure
Island.
++++++++++
July ??= Passengers flying out of Las Vegas McCarran Airport this
year will be able to use a kiosk at the Venetian Hotel to check in
for flights and check bags to their final
destinations.
++++++++++
++++++++++
AUGUST, 2006
==============
++++++++++
3= FLAMINGO: Toni Braxton starts to perform six nights a week,
through March 2007,in her own production show.
++++++++++
3=Basketball. USA National Team vs. Puerto Rico National TeamThomas and Mack
4-5=Jerry Seinfeld- Caesars Palace.
5= Olivia Newton-John - Primm Valley.
5-6= Gun & Knife Show - Cashman Center.
10-12=Frankie Avalon & Bobby Rydell- Orleans.
10-23=Tom Jones-MGM Grand.
11= Wynonna - Primm Valley.
11-12=Jay Leno- The Mirage.
12=Shakira, Wyclef Jean- Mandalay Bay.
12=Lonestar- Sunset Station.
15= Elvis-A-Rama Museum closing.
16=Champions on Ice-Orleans.
16-20=Neil Sedaka- Orleans.
18=Def Leppard- Mandalay Bay Events Center.
18-19=Wayne Brady- The Mirage.
19=A Tribute To Woodstock - Cannery.
19=Nickelback- Mandalay Bay events Center.
24-26= Reba McEntire- LV Hilton. .CANCELLED.
25-26=Brad Garrett- The Mirage.
25-26=Freestyle MotoX Championship- The Orleans.
25-27= Tower of Power - Suncoast.
26- Mel Tillis/Roy Clark - Primm Valley.
++++++++++
Aug.??= Trader Vic’s opening at the Desert Passage Mall inside
the Aladdin.
++++++++++
Aug.??= Steve Wyrick opens his own 430-seat theater with the
Ronn Lucas(the comic ventriloquist) Show, the Martin Nievera
(Filipino pop star) show and his own Steve Wyrick (magic) show
- in the Desert Passage Mall inside the Aladdin.
++++++++++
Aug.??= Beacher’s Rockhouse Bar opening where Tequila Joe’s
was located. The show will be midgets imitating the rock group
KISS - Imperial Palace.
++++++++++
Aug.??= Gordie Brown Show grand opening on a multi-year deal
- Venetian.
++++++++++
Aug.??= Tao will open a 14,000-square-foot entertainment facility
and pool deck - Venetian.
SEPTEMBER, 2006
================
++++++++++
1=The Doobie Brothers- Mandalay Bay Beach.
1=Down Home Blues Festival- The Orleans.
1-2=David Spade- The Mirage.
1-3=Tim McGraw and Faith Hill- Mandalay Bay.
4= Labor Day.
4 = Annual Muscular Dystrophy Telethon with Jerry Lewis returns
to Las Vegas-South Coast.
7-9=Cirque Du Soleil’s “Delirium”- MGM Grand.
8-9=Dana Carvey- The Mirage.
8-10= Art & Craft Show - Cashman Center.
14-17= Annual Bikefest - Cashman Center.
16= The Guess Who - Cannery.
16= International Mariachi Festival-L.V.Hilton.
16-17=Rich Little- Suncoast.
21-25=Dennis Miller- MGM Grand.
23= Ronnie Milsap - Cannery.
23= Toby Keith- Mandalay Bay Events Center.
23= Hockey. Los Angeles Kings vs. Colorado Avalanche- MGM
Grand.
28-Oct.1=Joe Weideris 2006 Olympia Weekend-Orleans.
30=Seal- Lake Las Vegas
30=Mariah Carey- MGM Grand.
++++++++++
Sep. ??= Greek restaurant Taverna Opa opening in the Desert
Passage Shopping Mall - Aladdin.
++++++++++
Sep. ??= The acclaimed Mel Brooks theatrical production “The
Producers” opening in -Paris Las Vegas.
====================================
Please e-mail errors, omissions and additions to:
[email protected]
www.LasVegasCrooks.com
THE PENNY PRESS, JULY 20, 2006 PAGE 9
www.americasupportsyou.mil
THE PENNY PRESS, JULY 20, 2006 PAGE 10
Commentary: Albert Thomas
What Have You
Done For Me Lately?
Don’t you love those ads in the paper and on TV saying how much their
mutual fund has made over the past 3, 5 and 10 years? I get all choked up.
Hind sight is always 20/20. If Mr. Investor had known that he would be in
clover today, BUT …..
It seems that during the past few months, in fact for more than a year
90% of all mutual funds are lucky to be even. Even. Even doesn’t cut it so
what can an investor do when the market starts down as it has been doing
lately? The Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost 500 points. What if it
drops like it did in 2000 when the NASDAQ lost 78% of it value and 7 trillion (yes, that’s a T) dollars. Will your broker call you to tell you to sell? Did he tell you that last
time? According to statistics less than 2% of Wall Street recommendations
in that bear market were to sell. Is the tune going to change this time?
Hardly. You are on your own again. Either you take charge or you will lose
your money.
Some people run to Morningstar for mutual fund recommendations. If
you will look at their 5-Star Mutual Funds you will see they sank into the
slime along with all the others. Morningstar follows the Wall Street line so
you can’t rely on them.
Who can you rely upon to protect your investments?
One person.
YOU!
Don’t tell me you can’t do it because you don’t know enough. Obviously
any blind hog could have found more acorns in the years 2000 to 2003 than
your broker. The first consideration is protection of what you have now. If the fund
you bought at $20 went to $40 would you be happy if it went back to $20?
Not really. So you have to decide right now how much you are willing to
give back. One of the basic rules of thumb is 10% from its highest closing
price. If it drops below $36 sell it because you don’t know how far “down”
is. This is protection against a major loss. If investors will look at the history of the funds they own they will see that a 50% loss is common and that
means the investor would have to earn 100% to make up for that loss. Fund
managers usually aren’t that smart.
The professionals let the market tell them when to get in and more
importantly when to get out. The great secret of the stock market is not buying. It is selling. Investors who have an exit strategy are those who end up
with big money. There are many good exit methods, but they must be put
into place and acted upon when the appropriate time occurs.
There are many good long term investment plans and all of them have
periods when the best investment is cash.
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.
Read the first chapter at www.mutualfundmagic.com and discover why he’s
the man that Wall Street does not want you to know.
THE PENNY PRESS, JULY 20, 2006 PAGE 11
THE PENNY PRESS, JULY 20, 2006 PAGE 12
Commentary: Joyce Meyer
Choosing A
Humble Attitude
Do you know that attitude is a
choice? It’s true.
A good attitude can make a bad
situation good, and a bad attitude can
make a good situation bad. Attitudes
are not determined by how we feel,
but by how we choose to respond to
our feelings.
We have a choice in the matter.
We can choose whether to feel sorry
for ourselves and whether to follow
our jealous feelings when someone
else gets what we want, or we can
go to war against those feelings and
refuse to permit them to rule our
lives. We can choose to have a humble attitude or a prideful attitude.
Pride is defined as: “to boast
or to be high-minded. Pride also
means: “inordinate self-esteem and
unreasonable conceit of your own
superiority in talents, beauty, wealth,
and accomplishments.” It means to
think more highly of yourself than
you ought to, which automatically
causes you to think less of others.
In today’s society, pride has
become a major problem. Virtues
like respect and honor seem to have
fallen by the wayside. It is a spirit of
pride, which causes people to say,
“Why should I listen to you? You’re
no better than I am.” What they
don’t understand is that it’s not about
somebody being better than they are.
It’s about God’s divine order.
For by the grace (unmerited favor
of God) given to me I warn everyone among you not to estimate and
think of himself more highly than he
ought [not to have an exaggerated
opinion of his own importance], but
to rate his ability with sober judgment, each according to the degree
of faith apportioned by God to him
(Romans 12:3).
Pride causes us to have an exaggerated opinion of our own importance, causing us to see others as
unimportant. Looking at others
through eyes of pride always produces a distorted view. Every time
we have a critical opinion of someone else, pride is the root. But in
contrast, the word humble means,
“to be low lying,” but always in a
good sense—humble in spirit and
mind. The word humble also means,
“to be courteous.” In a world full of
rude people, courtesies are rare but
welcome.
The Bible says, Humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves
in your own estimation] under the
mighty hand of God that in due time
He may exalt you (1 Peter 5:6).
The Bible says that pride always
comes before destruction and humility always comes before promotion.
The choice is obvious. Even though
there will always be tests, situations
in which you’ll have to humble
yourself and wait on God, humility
is by far the best choice.
So humble yourself today, and
prepare for the promotion God has
planned for you.
JOYCE MEYER
For more on this topic, you may order
Joyce’s six-part series, Attitudes of
the Mind, which is available by
calling 1-800-727-9673 or visiting
www.joycemeyer.org.
THE PENNY PRESS, JULY 20, 2006 PAGE 13
Commentary: Diane Grassi
New Orleans Levee System Never
Built To Handle Big Hurricane
Nearly an entire year since Hurricane Katrina devastated the U.S. Gulf
Coast, leaving behind extensive damage to several states and the city of New
Orleans, most would think that recovery is well underway. While Mississippi
has faired far better than Louisiana, with less residents impacted, New
Orleans remains troubled. Suffering flood damage in 80% of the area from
the ravages of Hurricane Katrina, compounded weeks later by Hurricane
Rita, New Orleans has far greater obstacles to overcome than most had ever
expected.
New Orleans is not in a rebuilding mode, but rather in a reconstruction mode.
It has not only been victim of hurricanes raging out of control but a government out of control, thus the creation of a perfect storm. With a city history
steeped in political corruption, a high crime rate, a high poverty rate, in educational decline, the hurricanes of 2005 allowed Americans a peek behind
New Orleans’ proverbial curtain. And it exposed the open wounds of a city
now with twice the task of rebuilding, as it was in a downturn well before its
levees broke.
So far over $20 billion has been allocated by the federal government to assist
in New Orleans and Gulf Coast restorations. Yet, such appropriations do not
solve the most desperate problem New Orleans faces which is the restoration
and reformation of its levee system. It remains crucial to New Orleans’ future
or its chance to even have one. And to that end, it will not only take the brawn
of the Army Corps of Engineers but its candor as well, in spite of its less than
forthcoming past.
A nine-volume report with some 6,113 pages, costing some $20 million,
was prepared by the Army Corps of Engineers at the request of the Congress
on the status of the Louisiana coast’s levee system. It became preliminarily
available to certain lawmakers on June 1, 2006 and was delivered on July 10,
2006 to the Congress. Surprisingly, its final draft is not due until December
2007. Its purpose was for the Army Corps of Engineers to come up with a
plan in order to protect Louisiana’s coast and infrastructure from a category
5 hurricane. Now, even the stated purpose of the report is in contention and
has caused conflict.
Objections as to the content of the draft report have been raised by Louisiana
Governor Kathleen Blanco as well as U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu (D) LA,
setting the backdrop for heightened frustrations which will remain throughout this process of what appears to be a series of unending dilemmas. The
Army Corps of Engineers did acknowledge, however, in its report that the
levees it built had flaws in their design, construction and maintenance of the
350-mile levee system.
It was divulged that the levee system was never built to handle a hurricane
even close to the strength of Hurricane Katrina’s which was a category 3.
According to the report, “The hurricane protection system in New Orleans
and southeast Louisiana was a system in name only.” The report’s investigators found that the flood protection, consisting of a network of levees, floodwalls, pumps and gates were to provide the necessary protections and should
have been far more resilient. Due to design flaws, breaches were suffered in
the New Orleans’ drainage canals which were never foreseen. Even though
the waters did not rise above the height of the floodwalls, they still failed.
Given the voluminous size of the Army Corps of Engineers’ report, it has
been criticized as to its skeletal and scant recommendations for the coast’s
restoration. It does recommend that as much as 98% of the levee system
impacting New Orleans will require a great deal of work in order to raise the
height of the levees. The Army Corps of Engineers is presently still studying
the requirements for increasing levee heights and to ensure stability for such
changes. But it is also dependent upon the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) to provide the necessary information for doing so. Sadly, it
is not expected the increase in the height of the levees will be finished until
at least 2010.
And although the report identified key pitfalls of the current levee system,
it does not go into depth about the necessity of the restoration of the coast’s
wetlands and marshes, badly eroded and largely ignored over the years as
well. Their restoration remains critical in providing a further barrier in order
to mitigate flooding into the city of New Orleans. The report revealed that
the city was sinking a lot faster than anyone had expected, and as much as
an inch per year in some areas. In spite of outcries from local officials and
outside scientists and engineers, nothing over the decades had been done to
address the wetlands or to maintain the levees.
And like most problems, one entity, and in this case the Army Corps of
Engineers, cannot shoulder all of the blame given the inertia of state and local
officials over the years. But the question is not how much money the federal
government is going to throw at New Orleans but how to avoid even more
misspending. For at stake is the reliability of the integrity of the levee system.
And without such a plan there will not be a dependable levee system and New
Orleans cannot be realistically rebuilt nor attract investors to help restore it.
The flood plain map has now been revised by FEMA and is now available
for federal flood insurance purposes and for homeowners to decide whether
they are now indeed in a flood plain. Many houses which were flooded were
never even in the original flood plain maps. And many homeowners with
houses damaged by wind are in litigation with insurance companies that have
blamed flooding on such damage. This leaves most homeowners awaiting
payment from the partial amounts insurance companies will pay with remaining mortgages on houses which are beyond repair, yet without the money to
rebuild or relocate.
Astoundingly, the present water system in New Orleans is losing close to
85 million gallons of water each day due to its vast number of leaks. So far,
17,000 leaks have been repaired, however, many still remain. The city is
pumping 135 million gallons of water through 80 miles of pipeline a day in
order to utilize 50 million gallons. Therefore, water and energy are seriously
being wasted at a cost of $200,000.00 per day. The estimated cost to complete
the pipeline leaks is $1 billion. Presently, there are no state or federal appropriations for the city’s pipeline.
Also pending in the Congress, which could have huge ramifications for the
levee system’s repair, is the Water Resources Development Act. It has been
shelved in both the House of Representatives and the Senate since April
2005, well before Hurricane Katrina hit U.S. shores. The legislation provides
for the authorization of funding for Army Corps of Engineers projects.
To date, the Army Corps of Engineers has a backlog of $58 billion in projects
nationally, going back 10 years. And the legislation as originally drafted does
not provide for a prioritization for its projects. Therefore, the McCain-Feingold
amendment was introduced in the Senate this year precisely to provide for a
priority schedule and time-frame for projects most in need. It would expedite
restoring the levees of New Orleans. But the Congress must vote and approve
the amendment which takes time. And it could jeopardize putting lofty pork
barrel projects presently included in the bill on the back burner. Thus far, the
amendment has not been widely embraced by the Senate.
While the tragedies of Hurricane Katrina gave Americans a bird’s eye view
into a system of failures on the local, state and federal levels, it more importantly showed that the system of communication between levels of government is broken. Promises have since been made and monies appropriated to
correct such deficiencies but the same closed-door deals and lack of transparency are ripe to be repeated.
Americans across the country and people across the world were stunned to
see the abject poverty which existed in New Orleans. But even more dismaying a year later is the lack of progress in New Orleans with respect to basic
and human services and improving its infrastructure. For New Orleans is no
longer a city in decline, but now a city in decay. And ultimately America
needs to decide now, before the next natural or manmade disaster, of whether
it will allow such deterioration and ruin to ever persist again.
DIANE GRASSI
THE PENNY PRESS, JULY 20, 2006 PAGE 14
THE PENNY PRESS, JULY 20, 2006 PAGE 15
Pet Of The Week
Adopt This Pet !
My name is
MAX - ID#A153103
I am a neutered male,
white american eskimo.
The shelter thinks I am
about 4 years old.
I have been at the
shelter since Jul 07,
2006.
For more information about
this animal, call:
The Animal Foundation — Las
Vegas at (702) 384-3333
Ask for information about
animal ID number A153103
THE PENNY PRESS, JULY 20, 2006 PAGE 16