simplesimon

Defense Spending and the Presidential Election

As a V/N vet, I can add a little bit of perspective-hopefully useful and as objective as this report is. WE won almost every battle, but lost the one re. the civilian 'stomach for war'. It was our first full scale operation against guerillas under the radar. Just as the intelligence ops were separate and competitive on 9/11, and since has become more homogenized-we are much better at CAS or close air support. Whenever and wherever there are ground soldiers, e.g. Afghanistan's rugged terrain -ideal guerilla topography-we have helicopter gunships, A-10 Wart hogs, and the side firing , night flying, C-130 ordinance platforms all standing by, hovering, and ready to spray fire on any one foolish enough to identify his location by his own muzzle flash. We recently even chased a group into Pakistan and obliterated them, much to the ire of Pakistan. The point being, if any of you watched both conventions, as i did, heard the 'this is not the time for young lawyers on training wheels" facetious remarks in St.Paul-please take note that our enemy is regrouping in Pakistan, and will certainly be profoundly encouraged by Obama's election. While the terminally idealistic like to think that appeasement, negotiation, diplomacy, & sanctions, all sound so very plausible-the simple fact remains that our enemy still thinks of us, Obama included, as "The Great Satan"...they have no intention of negotiating with Satan.
In a word, we truly have lost the will to fight. And why not? With our iPods in our ears, our advancement to Boardwalk foremost in our minds, and busy painting our faces to attend the NFL game? We 'can't be bothered with the messy business of being at war'. As much as we would all like to close our eyes and 'cause it to disappear from view'...it ain't boys and girls! It just ain't. Nice try. I'm happy that you've found the moral high ground. Our enemy does not see you as standing on moral high ground...they see the egregious, unbridled greed that dragged the economy down the primrose path to the abyss we are 'enjoying now' - so we could all indulge our sopohmoric lusts for lots of 'stuff'. They see pornography and gambling on every corner, and the biggest customer for illicit drugs in the world...they feel a 'need' to destroy us.
Thus I adjure everyone to focus on the final words of McCain's convention address...."Stand up and fight...stand up and fight...stand up and fight". Put it down, and step away from your iPods. We are at war. Remind yourselves that the dollar of 1965, when homes could be bought for $18K, is worth a dime today. Viewed from that perspective, this war is cheap. Remembering that more men were shot dead in a matter of hours at the Battle of the Bulge in WWII...this casualty rate is phenomenally low. Gird your trembling loins, and stand up and fight. OR...you could run home to mamaobama. "Protect me Daddy"...clue...he ain't gonna protect you from anything. He's only one man. A young, idealistic, but inexperienced young man who stutters, and has a hard time finishing a sentience. he won't be able to finish anything.

Performance Update: 10 Solid Clean Energy Co's to Buy On the Cheap

There have been plenty of not so flattering comments on GE, e.g.-surely few of us are happy with the dilution of late. I do believe it is still a superlative long position choice. All the news seems to indicate that GE has fallen back to regroup, and is garnering numerous enormous, gargantuan sized contracts for a wide variety of basic services worldwide. GE and Siemens are going toe to toe in many areas...but GE will be a strong player in the next few years. If I had more disposable income, I'd buy much more of it, in spite of the poor returns of late. I would not give up on this energy company at all.