Bear Pit: now the sole domicile of politics at LuLa

[TechTalk]

Then Republican Governor DeSantis of Florida will refuse to sign the extradition papers to send him back to NY State to face those charges claiming NY Democrats are playing politics.

Cleanup on Aisle 5!

Extradition is required by the constitution.  But I could see DeSantis trying to make political points first. 

Violating the Constitution and federal law is an interesting choice for making political points.

[jeremyrh]

If you're tired of reading garbage written by our local contributors, you might like to step into Trump-porn, such as

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jan/28/erotica-fan-fiction-for-the-trump-era-chuck-tingle-jessica-stranger

The mind, she boggles!!

[kers]

Then, Trump will retire in Mir-a-Lago, play golf and make millions writing his memoirs of how he drained the swamp. 

will be a good read...

[William Walker]

You were given a break the moment you were born a white man – like me. This does not mean we didn’t have to work for what we have achieved. It means that barriers were not put in our path because of our race or sex. And if some contracts/positions were given preferentially to people other than white men, oh boo hoo. They were given preferentially, if not exclusively, to white men for centuries. And when things turn around, if only a little bit, all of a sudden, the white guys are all about equality. Save it.

There is a saying that goes something like this: "to the privileged, equality feels like discrimination..."

[Peter McLennan]

If you're tired of reading garbage written by our local contributors, you might like to step into Trump-porn, such as

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jan/28/erotica-fan-fiction-for-the-trump-era-chuck-tingle-jessica-stranger

The mind, she boggles!!

She boggles indeed.  I couldn't resist your link.  A brief excerpt:

"Donald and Vlad consummate their desire with the aid of an uncooked beet"

[John Camp]

There is a saying that goes something like this: "to the privileged, equality feels like discrimination..."

That's an interesting thought, and probably somewhat true of a certain set of privileged people. It has occurred to me lately though, as I read all the "unequal" stuff in the NYT, that "equality" is a word like "fair." It generally means, "Let's take something away from somebody and give it to somebody else. And I'll be the arbiter." In fact, there is no such thing as equality. There can't be. What there can be is a serious effort to eliminate discrimination, but even if that's done, there will still be inequality and a large voice for eliminating it...which means, "Let's take away something from somebody and give it to somebody else, and I'll be the arbiter." Arbiters are always well paid.

[Alan Klein]

That's an interesting thought, and probably somewhat true of a certain set of privileged people. It has occurred to me lately though, as I read all the "unequal" stuff in the NYT, that "equality" is a word like "fair." It generally means, "Let's take something away from somebody and give it to somebody else. And I'll be the arbiter." In fact, there is no such thing as equality. There can't be. What there can be is a serious effort to eliminate discrimination, but even if that's done, there will still be inequality and a large voice for eliminating it...which means, "Let's take away something from somebody and give it to somebody else, and I'll be the arbiter."

The arbiters are always careful that they're not one of the ones giving away.

[Alan Klein]

The market is up 600 points because the unemployment claims are down slightly less than expected.  Investors are nuts.  Here we are losing almost a million jobs a week almost a year into Covid and the market thinks that's OK.  Hold onto your hat, Dorothy.  This ain't Kansas anymore.

Initial jobless claims, week ended Jan. 23: 847,000 vs. 875,000 expected, and an upwardly revised 914,000 in prior week
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/initial-jobless-claims-for-week-ending-jan-23-001546390.html

[digitaldog]

The market is up 600 points because the unemployment claims are down slightly less than expected. 

Trump must be crushed that the market is up SO HIGH under Biden. 

[LesPalenik]

The market is up 600 points because the unemployment claims are down slightly less than expected.  Investors are nuts.  Here we are losing almost a million jobs a week almost a year into Covid and the market thinks that's OK.  Hold onto your hat, Dorothy.  This ain't Kansas anymore.

Initial jobless claims, week ended Jan. 23: 847,000 vs. 875,000 expected, and an upwardly revised 914,000 in prior week
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/initial-jobless-claims-for-week-ending-jan-23-001546390.html

The market today is up 600 points because yesterday it dropped 600 points. Good time to buy Apple and Amazon, they are still lower than 2 days ago.

[Alan Klein]

The market today is up 600 points because yesterday it dropped 600 points. Good time to buy Apple and Amazon, they are still lower than 2 days ago.

The market is irrational.  I'd be careful.

[Alan Klein]

Democrat NY Gov Cuomo got an Emmy and plaudits for his work and Covid news conferences. Reminds me of Obama's phony Nobel Peace award.  Meanwhile, his policy of sending old people back to their nursing homes killed thousands m, more than the thousands already figured.  By the way, the NY Attorney General is a Democrat like Cuomo.

Cuomo administration underreported nursing home Covid deaths by up to 50%, NY attorney general says.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/28/cuomo-administration-underreported-nursing-home-covid-deaths-ny-attorney-general-says.html

[Alan Klein]

The bombshell findings could push the current DOH tally of 8,711 deaths to more than 13,000, based on a survey of 62 nursing homes that found the state undercounted the fatalities there by an average of 56 percent
https://nypost.com/2021/01/28/ny-nursing-home-covid-deaths-50-higher-than-stated-ag-probe/

[chez]

The market is irrational.  I'd be careful.

Got out of Blackberry yesterday...nice profit...but I was into the stock for the long term but could not stomach to irrational behavior on no news . Believe in their abilities for security and car automation. I'll wait until things become more sane and probably buy back in.

[faberryman]

Democrat NY Gov Cuomo got an Emmy and plaudits for his work and Covid news conferences. Reminds me of Obama's phony Nobel Peace award.  Meanwhile, his policy of sending old people back to their nursing homes killed thousands m, more than the thousands already figured.  By the way, the NY Attorney General is a Democrat like Cuomo.

Cuomo administration underreported nursing home Covid deaths by up to 50%, NY attorney general says.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/28/cuomo-administration-underreported-nursing-home-covid-deaths-ny-attorney-general-says.html

The bombshell findings could push the current DOH tally of 8,711 deaths to more than 13,000, based on a survey of 62 nursing homes that found the state undercounted the fatalities there by an average of 56 percent
https://nypost.com/2021/01/28/ny-nursing-home-covid-deaths-50-higher-than-stated-ag-probe/

For those of you who might be interested in the viewpoint of the New York Attorney General, who authored the report, below are links to the report summary and the report itself.

One of the report's conclusions was that the number of deaths in nursing homes was higher than reported, but the bulk of the report examined and elaborated on the reasons the number of deaths in nursing homes was so high. Cuomo's decision to require nursing homes to accept medically stable COVID patients was certainly a factor, but the bulk of the report deals with the failures on the part on the nursing homes themselves. It doesn't paint a very pretty picture of the nursing home industry.

Summary: https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2021/attorney-general-james-releases-report-nursing-homes-response-covid-19

Report: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/2021-nursinghomesreport.pdf

Reading the AG's summary reinforces my skepticism in relying on anything in the New York Post. CNBC's reporting wasn't much better.

[PeterAit]

That's an interesting thought, and probably somewhat true of a certain set of privileged people. It has occurred to me lately though, as I read all the "unequal" stuff in the NYT, that "equality" is a word like "fair." It generally means, "Let's take something away from somebody and give it to somebody else. And I'll be the arbiter." In fact, there is no such thing as equality. There can't be. What there can be is a serious effort to eliminate discrimination, but even if that's done, there will still be inequality and a large voice for eliminating it...which means, "Let's take away something from somebody and give it to somebody else, and I'll be the arbiter."

From the cynic's dictionary:

Fair: I get what I want.
Unfair: I don't.

[LesPalenik]

The market is irrational.  I'd be careful.

Somebody had a prediction about the stock market that it will fluctuate.
More worrisome is the fact that AOC raised concern about the recent Robinhood's move to restrict trading of GameStop, R.Tlaib called it absurd and both Ted Cruz and Elon Musk agreed with them.
By the way, the DOW index which was at this noon up 600 points back to Tuesday's level, dropped since then 300 points, so we are now 300 points below Tuesday. The AAPL, TSLA and  AMZN are even better bargains now.

[John Camp]

Somebody had a prediction about the stock market that it will fluctuate.
More worrisome is the fact that AOC raised concern about the recent Robinhood's move to restrict trading of GameStop, R.Tlaib called it absurd and both Ted Cruz and Elon Musk agreed with them.
By the way, the DOW index which was at this noon up 600 points back to Tuesday's level, dropped since then 300 points, so we are now 300 points below Tuesday. The AAPL, TSLA and  AMZN are even better bargains now.

I don't think Tesla is rational. I read a valuation report that said a rational valuation or Tesla stock would be in the $90 range. I think Amazon's rational price depends on whether they lose business after Covid, and we don't know at this point what will happen -- we do know that Amazon is high. I don't know about AAPL. I suspect there's a crash around the corner, but I've often suspected that since 2010, and they mostly didn't happen. 

[LesPalenik]

TSLA ($835) and AMZN ($3,237) valuations are based on the future earnings. Both companies are in "disruptive" category and conventional valuations don't reflect their real potential. The year end forecasts are $1,400, resp. $4,000 for the two companies. ARK Invest's Cathie Wood made a prediction in 2018 that Tesla stock would hit $4,000 (before split adjustment). Her prediction came true 2 years early.

Jan 8, 2021. With Tesla hitting Wood's target two years ahead of schedule, the firm now has a $7,000 price target for Tesla, or $1,400 split adjusted, representing potential upside of 72% from Thursday's close.

https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/tesla-stock-analysis-cathie-wood-ark-prediction-just-came-true-2021-1-1029944356#:~:text=With%20Tesla%20hitting%20Wood%27s%20target,of%2072%25%20from%20Thursday%27s%20close.

[faberryman]

I would pay money to watch the newly announced Senate Banking Committee hearings about the GameStop goings-on. They ought to be hilarious. Sort of like hearings of the Senate Science and Technology Committee on new developments in quantum field theory. Maybe the opening act would be trial by combat between AOC and Ted Cruz.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/28/politics/ocasio-cortez-ted-cruz-capitol-attack/index.html