Ain't it the truth!

From far-flung correspondent fpm:How long, d'ya think, till Obama picks up on the futility of pursuing 'bipartisanship' with the current GOP???

news from Afghanistan

Caption: "A cold day in hell."

Other news:

Spelling is generally quite haphazard in this part of the world. Read Seven Pillars of Wisdom if you don’t believe me, or just note that from Dwyer we are currently attacking (oops, I mean ‘liberating’) Marjeh, Leatherneck is attacking Marjah, and the newspapers are reporting from Marja.

NM makes HuffPost!!! (not good)

Man Racks Up Giant Phone Bill Trying to Claim Unemployment Check
First Posted: 02-26-10 03:43 PM | Updated: 02-26-10 04:53 PM
As part of our Bearing Witness 2.0 project, the Huffington Post is rounding up compelling local stories about the victims of the recession.

A 72-year old man spent so much time on hold with a state unemployment agency trying to claim his benefits that he racked up a $700 cell phone bill, reports Jeremy Joyola of Eyewitness News 4 in Albuquerque.

Ernie Sanchez called the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, a government-run unemployment relief agency over a thousand times trying to get his unemployment money to cover his basic needs, but could not seem to get through. Now, he told Joyola, he has to use almost all of the benefits to pay his Verizon bill.

"It's almost the same amount for two weeks of benefits that I was trying to get," Sanchez said.

Joyola writes: "The bill shows Sanchez made 1,114 calls to the unemployment office in one month. Some days, it took hundreds of calls to get through -- each call costing $0.45. When he would get through, he says he would be put on hold. One time, he was on hold for almost 3 1/2 hours."

That one phone call cost Sanchez nearly $100, the article reports..

"I feel cheated in some way," Sanchez said.

The original story can be found on KOB's website, at Man racks up huge cell bill to claim unemployment, which notes that

Workforce Solutions officials say they're dealing with an unprecedented amount of people who are unemployed.

The department admits it has a problem with 50,000 unemployed New Mexicans trying to get through on a phone system that is not designed to handle the load.

Have a nice day.

conversations with strangers

one of the things i enjoy about the 'virtual' world of blogs, facebook, email, the internet in general: you can strike up conversations with strangers.

through this blog i've met a fair number of folks i'm now happy to count as friends.

even before the blog, i'd send email to folks found via google... and they'd reply!
... more often than not they'd reply informatively - and in a manner suggesting future communications would be welcomed.

facebook has enabled resurrecting long-lost - in some cases, long-forgotten - relationships.

yeah, it's not quite the same as real inter-personal contact, but i was never good at that. 'virtual' connections work just fine for me.

my only real complaint? 'digital information' can be ephemeral. websites aren't as reliable as books. cool info found today may not be there tomorrow.
anyone have any brilliant ideas about how to reliably retain digital info?

This is getting harder by the day!

"Obama seeks bipartisan solutions"
"Dems flinch at own shadows"
"GOP obstructs"

These have been consistent headlines for past... how many months?

It's getting harder & harder to work up the righteous rage to post about this stuff.

Warning!

I've rec'd 3 questionable emails today, all with .zip attachments:
- one from a social-networking site
- one from amazon.com (purportedly regarding a recent purchase... that i didn't make)
- one from twitter

i deleted all of 'em.

Be on the lookout for dangerous email crap!

Back on the campaign trail

I hauled a couple of 4x8 "Heinrich for Congress" signs from storage down to campaign HQ yesterday. My little pick-up truck gets drafted for this type of duty from time to time.

While at campaign HQ I picked up a small stack of 'endorsement' papers - data to be entered into campaign database. I've promised to have this completed by late p.m. Saturday.

I'm shocked!

Obama, GOP fail to reach accord on health bill

... this sounds a lot like, "Dog bites man." Vague memories of high school journalism class suggest such stories are NOT news!

THIS they can pass???

Forget healthcare reform, jobs, unemployment, infrastructure, financial reform...

BUT: that wise deliberative body seems ever-ready to restrict our civil liberties:

Senate votes to extend USA Patriot Act for 1 year

I'm a-wondering: why didn't the DEMS filibuster this to death???

It's alive!

wooden stakes...
... silver bullets...
... garlic...
okay - now we're trying sunlight!

will nothing kill this beast?

Key senators rip Blackwater actions in Afghanistan

... and rumor has it Obama is giving them a contract to train Afghan forces!
Augghhh!!!

light posting... but you have choices!

I've pretty much exhausted my store of brilliant commentary for the week.
Expect light posting next few days.

BUT: this is an opportunity for you to check out some of the folks on My Blog List, all of whom are more articulate than I, and more likely to express themselves with less reserve & more compelling - and entertaining - prose!

Welcome!

2 new followers:
Nance & Steven.

Welcome to the Buffoon!

I don't understand curling...

... but find watching it hypnotic.

The B-52 Stratofortress

On 23 November 1945, Air Materiel Command (AMC) issued desired performance characteristics for a new strategic bomber "capable of carrying out the strategic mission without dependence upon advanced and intermediate bases controlled by other countries".
...
First flying in December 1954, B-52B, AF Serial Number 52-8711, entered operational service with 93rd Heavy Bombardment Wing at Castle Air Force Base, California, on 29 June 1955.
[Wikipedia, B-52 Stratofortress]

Less than 10 years from concept to operational service!
... and: IT'S STILL FLYING!!!

This is the ideal for which the Pentagon ought to strive: from concept to operational service in 10 years, with useful life of 50+ years!

an up-coming milestone

The Soviets invaded Afghanistan on 24 Dec 1979.
They left on 15 Feb 1989.
Total stay: 3,066 days.

As of today, 22 Feb 2010:
- U.S. invasion, 7 Oct 2001.
- Stay to date: 3,061 days.

In five days we'll have equaled the Soviet's wasted time.
In six days we'll have surpassed 'em!

Mark your calendars: 28 Feb 2010!
- our Afghan fiasco outlasts the Soviet's!

[recall: the Soviet Afghan misadventure is widely credited with bringing about the fall of the U.S.S.R.!]

faith

As the person in the household responsible for the laundry I'm immensely grateful for the "Downy Ball" - the device that allows you to include fabric softener with the wash WITHOUT having to remember to rush to the washing machine for the rinse cycle.

That said, I take the Downy Ball's performance on faith. I assume it does what it claims to do - releasing fabric softener into the wash at the beginning of the rinse cycle.
For all I know, it opens up immediately, during the wash cycle.
All I know for sure is -
1) I put it in at the beginning of the cycle, loaded with fabric softener;
2) I take it out at the end of the cycle, and it's empty.

Faith is a wonderful thing!

hmm... wonder what health coverage he has...

Former VP Cheney hospitalized, resting comfortably
AP, 22 Feb 2010
WASHINGTON – Former vice president Dick Cheney was hospitalized after experiencing chest pains Monday, an aide said.

Most of us don't check into a hospital for simple 'chest pains'... we can't afford it!

The B-29 Superfortress

From Boeing's website:

Boeing submitted the prototype for the B-29 long-range heavy bomber to the Army in 1939, before the United States entered World War II.

The B-29 recorded its first flight on 21 Sep 1942. It flew its first combat mission on 5 June 1944.

At the time, the B-29 was a technological marvel.

A very advanced bomber for this time period, it included features such as a pressurized cabin, an electronic fire-control system, and remote-controlled machine-gun turrets.
[Wikipedia, B-29 Superfortress]

When was it designed?

One of the most advanced bombers of World War II, design of the Boeing B-29 began in the late 1930s.
[World War II: Boeing B-29 Superfortress]

Taking "late 1930s" to be 1936, from inception to combat, this plane was 8 years in the making.

How long does it take modern combat aircraft to become operational?

"The JVX [Joint-service Vertical take-off/landing Experimental] aircraft was designated "V-22 Osprey" on 15 January 1985.
...
Marine Corps crew training on the Osprey has been conducted by VMMT-204 since March 2000."
[Wikipedia, V-22 Osprey, emphasis added]

FIFTEEN years from inception to operation - and "operation" here is merely training.

What's happened?
How has our military, the Pentagon, become so reliant on high-tech gadgets that take forever to develop, cost tons of $$$, and may or may not perform in the field?
We entered WWII with little and emerged with much - in no more than 10 years.
Today - in peacetime - we devote twice the time to develop weapons systems we don't need.

the Free Time movement

From far-flung correspondent, army bud, and loyal reader fpm, posted in its entirety:

Adios, compadres, the cheese is calling
You have fought the good fight, but your tide has turned
Garrison Keillor
21 Feb 2010
If you wake up in the morning with the blues because people treat you mean, you could sing a song about it, or you could shop around for an enormous conspiracy that has denied you your constitutional right to liberty and happiness. And how about Central Standard Time? What gives the feds the right to set your clock for you? It's tyranny.

So you join the Free Time movement. You go to meetings. You tune in "The Bob Glenn Show" every day on Fox for your marching orders and set your clock as you darn well please and feel liberated from lockstep uniformity.

Before, you were worried about your novelty taxidermy business and the declining sales of mummified mice on tiny surfboards, but now that it's gone under, thanks to Obama's bank bailout, and you lost your mansion on Wyandotte Lane and Joan took the kids to Toledo and you moved into a studio rental, you have time to write scorching letters to authorities and attend Free Time rallies and go to the shooting range preparing for the Revolution.

You used to be a Republican, a Kiwanian, a Presbyterian, a go-along-get-along kind of guy, but now, at age 62, you've awakened from decades of indifference — which, you now know, was caused by chemicals the Department of Agriculture puts into snack foods to induce torpor, and so you only eat dried organic veggies ordered from a Patriot company in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho — and you are filled with enormous energy. You join the good fight on all fronts. You are anti-union, opposed to the eight-hour workday, the 24-hour clock, the Gregorian calendar and the New York Times.

You don't necessarily agree with all the other Free Timers, e.g., the religious wing that says Only God Can Know The Time and is opposed to the use of the future tense, or the wing that believes Obama is using metal detectors at airport security checkpoints to program the minds of all who pass through, but these minor differences disappear in the joyful enthusiasm of the rallies and marches, which focus on Washington's attempts to rule our daily lives and its indifference to you and to others in the novelty taxidermy business.

Meanwhile, your health insurance runs out and your gut hurts and it takes you 20 minutes to empty your bladder. You go to the ER, but they want to check your prostate and you happen to know, thanks to Bob, that the digital prostate exam is how the CIA inserts GPS chips into Patriots to monitor their movements, and so you go home and suffer.

And then the New York Times publishes a big story about the Free Time movement. All your fellow Patriots are thrilled. Sarah Palin is quoted as saying that the movement has raised important questions and that we must look to God for answers and put our clocks in His hands. David Broder says Free Time is an authentic voice of grass-roots anger. The chairman of the Republican National Committee meets with Free Time leaders and is "deeply impressed." Democrats, meanwhile, are silent, confused, disheartened by the fact that Free Time has a 23 percent approval rate in some polls.

But in your own heart, you know that the crest has passed. Once the Times has recognized you, you're on the way down. It's the kiss of irrelevance. Meanwhile, your old friends avoid you, your own mother doesn't call. You've burned through your savings and Joan is talking divorce.

And then a job offer. Teaching science to middle-schoolers, $900 a week through June 10. Your brother the school board liberal twisted an arm and you have two hours in which to decide. Congress doesn't care what you do, neither does the president. Will you continue donating your life to Bob, or will you be a dad to your kids? They miss you. You may be a wingnut, but your kids don't care about that. They love you deep down in their hearts, Daddy, and they always will.

And that's what you're going to do, pal. I've been there. I know.

I was with Che Guevara in Bolivia, selling T-shirts and fomenting revolution, and I got the offer to write a weekly column and had to decide: Do I want to die in the jungle and become an icon, or would I rather live in Minnesota and enjoy macaroni and cheese and quarter-pounders with cheese and deep-fried cheese curds. Call me a coward but I chose cheese.

I was expecting an act of violence at the end.

What passes for journalism...

From an AP story:

Attack on IRS part of long line of tax protesters
By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER
Associated Press Writer
"... Stack’s bitter feud with the IRS apparently drove him to commit suicide Thursday by slamming his single-engine Piper PA-28 into an Austin office building where the IRS has offices."
[emphasis added]

Well, no: his feud didn't drive him to to anything... he DECIDED to commit suicide. Feuds are relationships... intangible concepts - not animate, willful beings. They lack volition, they cannot DO anything, let alone "drive" someone to act.
People are free agents.
Mr. Stack chose suicide... in fact, chose to die by what in another context would be called a "suicide bombing".

The notion that Mr. Stack's 'feud with the IRS' drove him to his action is simply wrong-headed and dangerous.

addendum: Why 'dangerous'?, you ask.
1. crediting the 'feud' as the prime mover absolves Mr. Stack of responsibility.
2. this re-assignment of responsibility from the individual to 'the system' absolves all future domestic terrorists of responsibility: "I couldn't help myself! - 'they' made me do it!" or "The Gov't deserves what it gets."

I like this guy!

Pa. governor wants White House to revamp strategy

Yes, please, Mr. President: revamp your political strategy...
(... and it wouldn't hurt to simply forsake "bipartisanship"!)

hmmm... deja vu all over again

From far-flung correspondent & loyal reader fpm:

A (Soviet) Soldier’s Guide to AfghanistanWhen in Afghanistan, you’ll need to follow a few basic rules: Be sensitive to local customs. Don’t swim or sunbathe near local villages. And never, ever intrude on the women’s quarters of an Afghan household.

Advice for NATO troops in Helmand Province? No, these handy tips are part of a list of do’s and dont’s for Soviet soldiers fulfilling their international socialist duty to Afghanistan in the 1980s. Courtesy of the Russian Navy Blog, we have a marvelous translation of a 1987 handbook prepared for the “internationalist warriors” serving there.
...

"Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose."

Here's OneFly - sayin' it better than I can

Outta the Cornfield: So I Understand Fly Nutter Is A Hero

This terrorist action has become a game changer. It has now become patriotic to attack and kill innocents who work for our government.

Yep.

Gee, ya think?

Austin plane crash exposes gap in US air security

Fortunately, the gap is just in the airspace above south-central Texas...

... but, somewhat more seriously: does anybody recall that Timothy McVeigh blew up the OKC Federal Building with a rented van & fertilizer?
While we obsess about high-tech threats, low-tech seems to work just fine.

oh, yeah: Tiger is sorry

Tiger Woods says sorry, golf return still unknown

I know I'll sleep better tonight.

kitchen update

most of this is our fault.

we didn't order enough flooring - expected delivery date = 5 march.
sadly, this is gating the stove installation.

we didn't order enough cabinet 'toe kit'.
happily, this gates nothing.

the counter-top arrived wednesday - it was not the style we ordered (it WAS the right pattern).
re-work will take till next tuesday.
on the bright side: we expect windowsills to be installed same day.

more 'on the bright side': all window-dressings have arrived.
we picked up new door today.

the original 3-week estimate has been extended somewhat...
in the best of all possible worlds, we'll have a kitchen by 1st or 2nd week of march.

Good news from CPAC

CPAC 2010 Day One: The Return Of Bush-Cheney
Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 18, 2010
An unlikely pair has taken CPAC by storm -- everywhere you look, people are saying nice things about George Bush and Dick Cheney. The return of Bush and Cheney to Republican good graces is the strongest evidence yet that conservatives are ready to come out of the shadows in the wake of their monumental defeat in 2008.

I would like to encourage Republicans to embrace Bush & Cheney!
Please - invite them to speak, frequently.
Put their pictures on your websites.
Invoke their names repeatedly.

Please!

does anyone remember Jayson Blair?

New York Times reporter accused of plagiarism resigns: NYT

During the initial invasion of Iraq - remember that? under W? Operation "Iraqi Freedom"? - Jayson Blair filed fabricated interviews with Jessica Lynch and a bunch of other fabricated stories. It was fun!
I used the occasion to spice up my letters to my USMC bud - fabricating stories of my own, based on contemporary accounts of Hulagu Khan's 1258 sack of Baghdad (with 'photos' of Lego G.I. Joes to provide verisimillitude).

Will the NYT never learn? - It pretends to be a "newspaper of record"... but continues the grand tradition of Judith Miller, Jayson Blair, the over-hyped "Wen Ho Lee is a Chinese spy" story... and countless other journalistic failures.

I've absolutely NO journalistic qualifications, but I'm pretty sure I could do a better editorial job than the folks now getting paid big $$$ by the venerable Times!

[full disclosure: I subscribe to the NYT, Mon-Sat]

worrisome

I've not heard from my USMC bud in a couple of days... this after he promised to provide a new mailing address.

The more likely explanation: his internet connection is down/non-existent. This is a verified chronic issue that impacts his email communication.

... BUT: there's always the lurking fear that he'll be listed as a casualty in week-end casualty reports!

... it's a bit worrisome.

ain't it the truth

[thanks to C&L for featuring this!]

well, that's over!

"Lunch @ the Library" talk today on "Gilbert & Sullivan influence on American popular culture"... is DONE! Decent-sized audience - perhaps 20 (not all of them relatives!... even a few strangers).

The collection stays on display thru February - 1 case downstairs, 3 cases upstairs.

soon... maybe

i'll be back to blogging in a day or so.

i've been consumed with prep for Lunch at the Library talk.

Winning hearts & minds

US rockets slam into Afghan home, killing 12

Tell me again: why are we there?

I just like the headline...

I should order stuff from Amazon in a drunken stupor more often...

... and it's also good to point readers to a worthwhile blog they might otherwise miss!

a long but worthwhile read...

... from old army bud & loyal reader:

How America Can Rise Again

So... does this prove Al Gore was right, Sean?

How Vancouver can hold an Winter Olympics with no snow

... or how 'bout this:
Heat wave roasts Rio, kills 32 in southern Brazil

Note: it's WINTER in Vancouver - absence of snow is a bit weird.
... on the other hand, it's SUMMER in Rio - so heat wave isn't weird.

Sean: it's WINTER in DC - snow isn't that weird!

Me & Bill Clinton

Former President Clinton undergoes heart procedure
By DEEPTI HAJELA and MARILYNN MARCHIONE, Associated Press Writers
11 Feb 2010
NEW YORK – Former President Bill Clinton, who had quadruple bypass surgery more than five years ago, was hospitalized Thursday to have a clogged heart artery opened after suffering discomfort in his chest.

Two stents resembling tiny mesh scaffolds were placed inside the artery as part of a medical procedure that is common for people with severe heart disease.

Me? I've 4 stents, in 3 coronary arteries.

Could it be all those McDonald's cheeseburgers?

light posting likely for a while

kitchen remodel + rehearsals aren't so much sucking up time as simply making me too tired to pay much attention to news.

expect light posting for next several days.

can't say i disagree

Former Va. governor urges DNC chairman's firing

just for fun

From friend & sometime reader of PrivateBuffoon:

[I've] have had my shot....have you?

Gonorrhea Lectim - Health Risk

This is not a joke -- it is the most serious risk to your health since the 1918 flu epidemic.

Gonorrhea Lectim

The Center for Disease Control has issued a warning about a new virulent strain of Sexually Transmitted Disease. The disease is contracted through dangerous and high-risk behavior. The disease is called Gonorrhea Lectim... And pronounced "gonna re-elect ‘em."

Many victims contracted it in 2008, after having been screwed for the past two years. Naturalists and epidemiologists are amazed at how this destructive disease has become since it is easily cured.... by voting out all incumbents!

Why I stopped sending $$$ to DSCC

Nelson signals intent to join Republican filibuster of Obama labor board nominee. (Updated)

You can do what you want with your $$$, but me?
Not another dime to DSCC!!!

idiots

Hannity: Snow Storms ‘Seem To Contradict Al Gore’s Hysterical Global Warming Theories’

GOP senator’s family builds igloo to mock global warming

Washington Times: February Snow Storms "Undermin[e] The Case For Global Warming One Flake At A Time"

Someone give me a hint: how does one argue with these people?

NM makes HuffPost!!!

New Mexico House Votes 65-0 To Move State's Money To Credit Unions, Community Banks
New Mexico's House of Representatives voted Monday to pass a bill that allows the state to move $2 billion - $5 billion of state funds to credit unions and small banks.

The municipal funds bill was approved 65-0 (roll call - PDF), and is subject to a vote by New Mexico's Senate. Governor Bill Richardson told the bill's sponsor that he supports the legislation.

Credit Union Times, spoke to one banker who believes that the bill got a boost from Huffington Post's Move Your Money campaign...

Way cool!

what's wrong with US

Glenn Beck has a large, devoted following.
Rush has a large, devoted following.

What's wrong with us?
Why are there no liberal/progressives with similarly large, devoted followings?

I believe I've found the answer, obliquely, in a review, "On Isaiah Berlin: Explorer", from The New York Review of Books:

"... he is eminently useful in understanding the kinds of moral conundrums that regularly perplex anyone too sensible to be an ideologue."

THAT'S our problem!

We are "too sensible to be" ideologues!
We're too attuned to the moral conundrums of policy.
We're too polite.

KO tries, but he can't quite muster the thoughtless rage, the unthinking, raw certitude that entertains and informs.
Rachel? Much too serious, too intellectual, too honest.

Would someone please volunteer to be the Rush (or Glenn) of OUR perspective?

"Yet people still listen."

Loyal reader PM:

Has a Republican been right on anything? Yet people still listen.

Today?

Bolton: Either Iran Gets Nukes Or ‘Israel Or Sombody Else Uses Military Force To Stop It’

Kristol, Bolton, and the rest of the neocons: why do they still get air time?

... and why are the media still, consistently, described as "liberal"??? - the only talking points I hear on any network or cable news are derived from the GOP!

SuperBowl reaction (day late & dollar short!)

For a pleasant change: it was a good football game!
- not a blow-out.
- a few 'trick' plays to keep things interesting, but otherwise just basic football: offense vs defense.
- I'll give Saints' coaching the edge: they apparently coached during the seemingly interminable half-time - the Saints came out ready to meet the Colts' challenges.

Saints' win? - it's always fun to see the underdog win!
(... and I'm glad that, maybe, I don't have to read any more commentaries declaring Peyton Manning's super-human abilities!)

Do Dems have a communications organization???

Once upon a time I figured DNC had a PR/communications department.
Now I'm not so sure.

Here are a couple of headlines that I'm pretty sure will never get picked up by DNC - or any other Dem source:

Bachmann’s Plan: To Deal With Debt, We Must ‘Wean Everybody’ Off Social Security, Medicare

I note that this is consistent with the Repugs recent Budget Proposal, which includes privatizing Social Security and (surprise!) tax cuts for the rich!

Cantor Opens The Door To GOP Rejecting Obama’s Bipartisan Health Care Meeting

BEFORE the prez even talks with 'em, Repugs are vowing to OBSTRUCT!

As Democrats Get Tough On Financial Reform, Republicans Court Big Banks

Ah, yes: the Repugs true constituency. (Why doesn't anyone tell the Tea Partiers?)

It's really not that hard to put together a tough-talking PR campaign against the GOP based on what the GOP itself says!

I used to send brilliant advice to DNC containing these bits of wisdom... but they've never once followed up on any of these suggestions.
Heck - I'm not looking for acknowledgement, or glory: I just want 'em to start fighting back!

What's wrong with the Democratic Party???

a fun economics blog

Employment by Education Attainment

Posted using ShareThis.
The post features some good graphs.

Shooting fish in a barrel

Yet another person - loyal reader & commenter PM - has noted that my 'claim to fame' for predicting GOP response is perhaps less worthy of praise:

Ah, come on! Predicting the Repugs will scream that anything the Dems do is going to help terrorists is like predicting a compass needle will point North.

Well... yes. BUT: at least I'm sufficiently fearless to make my predictions 1) in advance, and 2) in (virtual) print!

Desideratum: Every day you can scan the financial pages of newspapers and the financial blogs, and they'll tell you why the market did what it did yesterday. I'd be a lot more impressed if they told me TODAY what the markets would do TOMORROW based on currently available information.
PrivateBuffoon attempts to do this.

To his credit, Jim Cramer attempted this when he predicted...

... we could have a gigantic rally off a Coakley loss and a Brown win.

Of course, he was wrong!... The market has tanked since Brown won the MA Senate seat!

the efficacy of prayer

Wife Teresa - on 'chemo-holiday' since November, recently had CT scan & follow-up oncologist appt. The 'chemo-holiday' has been great - Teresa feels sort of normal, has energy, wants to do things (and her hair is growing back - a psychological lift!).
We figured the nasties would also be enjoying the chemo-holiday...
... but, no! - CT scan reveals liver is healing, no new lesions, and existing lesions shrinking.

With no other explanation available, Teresa credits prayers - those offered by many others.

Now, I'm a confessing agnostic, but I never turn down offers of prayer: can't hurt, might help, doesn't cost anything.

So... I'm inclined to agree with Teresa's assessment.
Thanks for the prayers!

Another Buffoon forecasting failure?

Not too long ago (3 Jan), I called the Dow peak at 11,000 (10,700 - 11,700; asymmetrical range).
The day of the MA special Senate election it closed at 10,725.
Since Scott Brown was elected to U.S. Senate from MA, it's been on a downward trend.

Today?

Stocks tumble on worries about jobs, European debt
By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer
4 Feb 2010
NEW YORK – Stocks buckled Thursday under the growing belief that the global economy is weaker than many investors expected and likely to stop companies from hiring. The Dow Jones industrials briefly traded below 10,000 for the first time in three months.
[emphasis added]

10,725 - the day of the MA election - was the peak. Okay, my "midpoint" was off, but I got the lower end right! - in fact, pretty close to dead on!

Still on hiatus... BUT...

... this news tidbit is just too good to be true (at least, from the perspective of "PrivateBuffoon has psychic powers!").

US Senator blasts Christmas Day plot disclosures
Thu Feb 4, 2:51 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The White House demanded an apology on Thursday after a top US senator said it may have helped violent extremists by disclosing that the Christmas bomb plot suspect was cooperating with interrogators.
...
"This information immediately hit the air waves globally and, no doubt, reached the ears of our enemies abroad," Bond said, warning that the disclosure "has no doubt been helpful to his terrorist cohorts around the world."
[emphasis added]

Recall, I predicted that the White House's release of Summary of the White House Review of the December 25, 2009 Attempted Terrorist Attack would be condemned by former Wyoming Congressman Cheney:

"Releasing this report puts America in danger."

So, okay - it isn't former Congressman Cheney, but a senior Republican senator making the charge.

The Buffoon will take credit for psychic abilities!