Sunday Morning

Are you ready for some football? Bummer for you, but wait another week...

Comments

[JimNorCal]

"Every community that hosts a professional sports venue, a sports stadium or arena, is going to be affected by global climate disruption, by climate change,” said Allen Hershkowitz, the environmental science advisor to the New York Yankees."

I am TOTALLY ok with shutting down pro sports in the USA till the climate emergency is over.
Too much air travel, driving to games, ... plus the overpaid stars' life style burns energy ... hey, the carbon footprint of pro sports is YUGE! And NOTHING they contribute is necessary. It's all extra frills.
Once the athletes, coaches, hangers on, reporters, broadcasters ... see their income drop to zero I think they will look at Global Warming with less accepting eyes.

[JimNorCal]

TK: I withhold judgement on Bolton until ...

My advice, TK? Give it #TwoWeeks

[Neo]

Based on the predilection of Democrats to use 'projection' and Adam Schiff's comments, I guess we have to assume that Nancy Pelosi threatened any Democrat who didn't vote for impeachment with that proverbial .. "Head on a Pike", with few takers for the "Moral Courage" gig.

[MissMarple2]

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/china-closes-foxconn-johnson-johnson-and-samsung-factories-amid-virus-outbreak

[MissMarple2]

The "moral courage" award is going to the New Jersey rep who left the Democrat party.

I noticed there was only him.

[MissMarple2]

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
·
1m
Senate hearing on the Impeachment Hoax starts today at 1:00 P.M.

[Captain Hate]

the environmental science advisor to the New York Yankees

I'd hate to find out the Nats had an environmental science adviser on the payroll.

[Captain Hate]

No surprise here

The Dow industrials fell more than 500 points as concerns mounted over the viral outbreak in China and its potential economic impact.

[henry]

cause meet effect

Vicki McKenna @VickiMcKenna
43s

Ya don't say?! "NYPD Police Commissioner: Crime Has Skyrocketed Because Of Democrats’ Bail Reform"

https://twitter.com/VickiMcKenna/status/1221817027888930816

[Threadkiller]

:-) Jim

[James D.]

CH, if the Nats don't have one now, they probably will within a year or two.

[MissMarple2]

https://thefederalist.com/2020/01/26/40-faces-we-saw-at-the-2020-washington-dc-march-for-life/#.Xi7ztEJwEns.twitter

Pictures of people and signs.

[MissMarple2]

The President has retweeted Jesse Watters' video that he posted on Jan 25.

All Democrats should watch this! pic.twitter.com/WFK33pR0Lv

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 26, 2020

Video at the link.

[Threadkiller]

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/01/whats_bolton_up_to_with_that_new_move_to_play_schiffs_game.html

[Robin, eff 'em all]

SunnyJim,

That Scavino video was something special. Thanks for sharing.

"What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people."

Wow.

[henry]

Francis Brennan (Text TRUMP to 88022) @FrancisBrennan
12m

A day and a half before President @realDonaldTrump's
#KeepAmericaGreat rally in Wildwood, NJ and people are already waiting in line.

"They've been in line since 2 AM...it's almost reminiscent of when you used to camp out for concert tickets."

https://twitter.com/FrancisBrennan/status/1221815594783268867

[Robin, eff 'em all]

None of this stuff coming out seems like John Bolton. I've met him a few times but my biggest impression of him is from Clarence Thomas' book. The last thing I would think of him is as a dishonest person.

So I'm confused.

Jane, I'm with you. I simply don't get it.

[henry]

perhaps it is regular checkers by the deep state. Sacrifice everything now, because you threw all you had at the king and missed.

[Melinda]

CH-

The trade is more a US$ quant move. As Flight to Quality kicks in (towards US and Swiss sovereigns), quants rebalance by selling assets, including commodities, that are priced in now more expensive US$s. They sell Indices, not individual equities, Like crude oil, S&P Futures and such.

Sucks, but that’s where the action is.

[Dave (in MA)]

If things in China are so dire wrt. the corona virus that travel to and from there is forbidden, why are they bringing consular personnel stateside? Isn't that a risk?

[hrtshpdbox]

Dave, I'd imagine that they're U.S. citizens who'd like to be home now, and that we're obligated to bring them, quarantine and evaluate them, etc. Can't let 'em sit in China during this madness (that's what I'd be saying, were I one of them).

[Threadkiller]

Who knows if Bolton even read his own manuscript? “Sign here and get millions of dollars from Money Laundering Publishers.”

He blathers into a microphone and the Shakespearean monkeys type away. Then, when confronted with an “I never said that” moment, he is reminded that he used swamp blood money for mustache wax futures.

Meanwhile The Treasury robbery continues unabated.

[Captain Hate]

Interesting, Mel. So this is more than the market reacting to uncertainty?

[Dave (in MA)]

Posted by: Captain Hate | January 26, 2020 at 02:08 PM Breitbart was a good website, but like seemingly everything else these days it's been re-geared for the the low-info short attention span people who just sit around poking their iphones all day. Actually, sit around isn't even accurate; they even have the damn things in their faces walking around.

[hrtshpdbox]

The "flight to quality" is always just lemmings jumping off cliffs. If there's money to be made around the edges, so be it, but it's just a spectacularly epic fail to observe, every single time.

[Porchlight]

"NYPD Police Commissioner: Crime Has Skyrocketed Because Of Democrats’ Bail Reform"

I don't want to hear anything about "unintended consequences."

The consequences were fully understood and intended.

[Captain Hate]

Actually, sit around isn't even accurate; they even have the damn things in their faces walking around.

I do that when I'm walking Teddy even though I know it's dumb on my part.

[hrtshpdbox]

but it's just a spectacularly epic fail to observe, every single time.

Especially this time, with the yield on the "quality" almost in negative territory.

[Dave (in MA)]

I was behind a guy doing that one time, going down the concrete stairs with his shoes untied in the parking garage.

[MissMarple2]

Brad Parscale - Text TRUMP to 88022
@parscale
·
17m
.@realDonaldTrump
will give his historic third #SOTU address on Tuesday, Feb. 4th!

Join us that day for our National Day of Action as we watch POTUS address the Nation & share all he is doing to KEEP America strong, prosperous, safe, & GREAT. #LeadRight

https://trumpvictory.com/state-of-the-union-ndoa/

[Dave (in MA)]

hrtshpdbox, I saw an article that mentioned that more than a third of the people in Wuhan fled the city before the lockdown was instituted. While I couldn't blame the individual peopld for doing it, it's frightening to consider what could happen.

[MissMarple2]

Stonewall Jackson
@1776Stonewall
·
19m
Coronavirus fears hit stock market. Starbucks, McDonalds and Disney suspend all operations in China

[Melinda]

hrt-

I disagree, bt then again, you already knew I'd say that. The Flight to Quality trade is normal, and is both a cash and margin account phenomena, IMO. The quant reaction is about 11 yrs old. Rush to US$, with positive yield is "normal" and people trade around the flow, which is also normal. EU flight to Swiss sovereigns, yielding -0.800% as of this moment, seems IN-sane, to me, yet here we are. So their fear seems to be that they'd rather pay the Swiss govt for most of their money back, over and above the fear that an EU institution will confiscate ALL of it, for their own good.

There are strategies around each of those trades, but the move of cash is real, just with some HFT help to exacerbate the moves.

YPMV.

[Melinda]

And yes, CH, Flight to Quality definitely is a Fear/Uncertainty trade that no one will forget after getting schooled the hard way on October 19, 1987, where both US Treasury prices AND stock prices fell on the same day. That won't happen again for a very long time.

[MissMarple2]

Interesting article about Michael Avenatti and insider trading. Author is a criminal defense lawyer in NYC, and seems to now what she's talking about.

https://thefederalist.com/2020/01/27/as-he-sits-in-el-chapos-jail-cell-michael-avenattis-many-court-woes-escalate/

[Captain Hate]

There is another possibility.

In order to believe Team Trump was blindsided by this you have to believe Trump is and idiot who doesn't realize there are disloyal people in his administration who are constantly leaking and trying to bring him down. That seems unlikely to me.

I also doubt that Bolton has decided to kneecap Trump and go against the team he has supported his entire career to side with people who hate him and who he hates. The Democrats have no idea at all what Bolton will say and it seems to me the odds are way in the favor of him saying LOL GFY.

Trump has been saying from Day 1 he wanted witnesses. It was the Senate that didn't. Witnesses would be a very bad thing for Democrats.
Posted by: JackStraw at January 27, 2020 11:08 AM (ZLI7S)

[Captain Hate]

Thanks for that perspective, Mel. I remember that day.

[MissMarple2]

Scott Adams seems to have decoded how the DC press and media work:

https://dilbert.com/strip/2020-01-26

[Porchlight]

The Democrats have no idea at all what Bolton will say and it seems to me the odds are way in the favor of him saying LOL GFY.

That's a fair guess. I certainly wouldn't be surprised. Every other cigar has exploded in Dem faces.

[MissMarple2]

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/01/26/buttigieg-on-lack-of-support-from-black-americans-we-have-work-to-do/

Told you guys he wouldn't get minority support.

Now it's starting to surface.

[MissMarple2]

Thread on the New York Times/Bolton article and what he thinks is going on. Pretty good. Be sure you read the addendums and comments.

https://twitter.com/Shem_Infinite/status/1221606104855142411

[Neo]

With the “synthetic limited hangout” by Bolton via the NYT, there is no reason to call him now.

[Porchlight]

Buttigieg won't survive SC if he gets that far. Just angling for a VP slot.

[clarice]

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/01/breaking-exclusive-christopher-wrays-fbi-caught-in-another-lie-and-cover-up-fbi-emails-on-seth-rich-uncovered/

[MissMarple2]

Mark R. Levin
@marklevinshow

Let me get this straight. John Bolton and his lawyer Chuck Cooper submitted the book manuscript to the NSC for review, which is notoriously known for leaking, on the eve of the impeachment trial, and they’re now surprised about a cherry-picked leak?
9:47 AM · Jan 27, 2020

[Dave (in MA)]

I remember that day.

It seemed like the end of the world at the time, but it doesn't even really stand out on the DJIA all time graph.

[MissMarple2]

Nothing worse than a democrat trying to quote a scripture from the Bible, then just making something up when he doesn’t know one. pic.twitter.com/dyg0sB4Pln

— Dr.Darrell Scott (@PastorDScott) January 27, 2020

Video at the link.

Replies with additional observations here:

https://twitter.com/PastorDScott/status/1221822453942571009

[Melinda]

Dave,

Now do it in % moves and you'll see a sore thumb.

[Melinda]

Prince Andrew to receive a formal interview request on Epstein case.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--Let me get this straight. John Bolton and his lawyer Chuck Cooper submitted the book manuscript to the NSC for review, which is notoriously known for leaking, on the eve of the impeachment trial, and they’re now surprised about a cherry-picked leak?--

Ding, ding, ding.
I don't know Bolton. He might be a prince or a prick.
He stands up for America which is good. He seems to have never found a war he thought we shouldn't wage, which is bad. Very bad.
But the timing here, regardless of any of the above, is not to his credit.

[henry]

If you say so.

CNBC @CNBC
3m

After an explosive New York Times report, Democrats have new momentum in their push for former National Security Advisor John Bolton’s testimony.

[MissMarple2]

.@SenJohnBarrasso: New information coming out now is like what we saw in the Kavanaugh hearings.

“Old information told in a different way to inflame emotions and influence the outcome.”

pic.twitter.com/F8hMpd8Gqb

— Benny (@bennyjohnson) January 27, 2020

Video at the link.

[hrtshpdbox]

Mel, you talk way over my head, I've been out of the game too long. As far as I knew, for instance, quants were just gussied up program trading, which has been around forever (since the 80's, anyway). Program trading (old style, anyway), were a one-button approach to arb'ing S&P futures againt their underlying components - "pushing the button" was entering buy or sell orders on the 500 underlying stocks. It was, of course, decried for the volatility it created.

When long-term investors get their "emergency" stops hit due to the programs, or when long-term investors become Henny Penny's on their own and go to cash due to international or economic events, they lose (we are reminded of that every time the market makes a new high). I have to maintain that, from my fogey perspective, I'll fade a flight-to-quality every time, because it works. Having said that, though, I've been bearish on gold for awhile, so have been upside down on that for awhile...

[Jane]

Rush says he will make us all feel better about Bolton. I'll let you know if it happens before 1:00.

[clarice]

Levin, like others, suggests this is a book-selling ploy. For the Dems the strategy is clear. It is most unlikely anything Bolton would say would aid their cause but they want to have a hook to create suspicion if the Republicans do not call witnesses, including Bolton or they do call him and the president invokes executive privilege. As for Bolton, he's overstepped and wrecked himself.

[Threadkiller]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-impeachment-collins/republican-collins-says-bolton-report-strengthens-case-for-impeachment-trial-witnesses-idUSKBN1ZQ1TL

[MissMarple2]

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
·
2m
On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we remember the millions of precious souls who perished as a result of the horrific crimes perpetrated by the Nazi regime....

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/presidential-message-international-holocaust-remembrance-day-2020/

[KevlarKid]

why shut down any industry or business vertical based on a threat that SOMETHING might happen that's scaring the kids?

while BILLIONS$ are being made on climate change cons?

https://amgreatness.com/2020/01/19/what-comes-after-the-collapse-of-davos/

addresses pollution- the kind that matters from a knowledgeable veteran of international energy extraction. very sane.

[henry]

Friend of Maurice Strong, Global crook?

[clarice]

OTOH THE NYT COULD JUST HAVE MADE THIS UP, MAYBE ON A BOOK-SELLING LEAK FROM BOLTON'S AGENT.

[JM Hanes]

I would like to think that the Bolton thing is a sting of some sort, but that may just be wishful thinking. I've got a bad feeling about this. Bolton is notoriously for not playing well with others, and we never heard the details of his getting fired, did we? Only last week I said I wasn't worried about him, because Trump is doing so much of what he spent a lifetime fighting for, but today, I'm beginning to wonder if his own ego is too big for him to manage.

The Democrats have been making a big deal about wanting him to testify for months, and I think it's reasonable to assume that they approached him about going after Trump practically as soon he was "unceremoniously" fired. Did they have ay influence his manuscript? This certainly seems like a perfectly scripted dual purpose marketing campaign. Bolton announces that as a private citizen he will be happy to testify if subpoenaed. Then his ms gets submitted to Vindman's bro at the NSC for vetting, gets leaked to the Times, Bolton occupies center stage of the controversy. Books fly off the shelves, especially if he becomes the star witness in a "trial of the century."

What seems most significant to me is that the only thing Bolton's rep has said is that they have not shown the ms to anyone but the NSC. If the President's team ask to see the manuscript, that will no doubt be reported by the Times as well, no? Bolton's rep did not say the story was untrue, nor has Bolton said anything himself, which he could easily have done. If he's not allowed to say anything about it till the ms has been vetted, he could tell us that, but AFAIK he has not.

This stinks all around, and if there's a sting here, I think the target may be the President. Hope I'm wrong. Even if the story is true, I don't think it constitutes an impeachable offense, but the both the Dems and the Pres have made the answer to that question central to the trial.

[KevlarKid]

"we have work to do." really, Mayor Pedro? you might as well go to work at Pizza Hut seein' how few clues you have when it comes to black peepo. ":0

[KevlarKid]

this entire farce of Mueller-Peach Mint, and now Bolton's book, the relentless hype, reminds me of the thud Geraldo's mic made in Capone's empty garage.

Fuck.These.People. (FTP)

[Theo]

Deep breath everyone.

It seems to me that the Bolton revelation does change the dynamic here. Without it, the situation was pretty clear — the Republicans in the Senate would vote no witnesses and then acquittal and then everyone would, um, move on.

Now the pressure to call Bolton has ratcheted up tremendously. Will the GOP Senators hold firm and not call him? Maybe but they will take much more heat if they do. More likely, they agree to have Bolton testify. I don’t know what he will say but the overwhelming likelihood is that it will give the Dems some talking points but few if any additional votes for conviction. The country will move on, but the Dems will not have been defeated quite as thoroughly as would have been the case otherwise.

Ultimately, this peach mint business is going to come out all right. But I think the 4D talk on the Bolton disclosure is very likely wishful thinking. In all probability this latest news is a tactical victory for the Dems. It does not change the outcome of the war, but it gives them talking points.

[hrtshpdbox]

..Bolton's rep did not say the story was untrue, nor has Bolton said anything himself, which he could easily have done.

I hope you're wrong about Bolton, JM Hanes, but I don't like the situation either. If Bolton was pro-Trump, he'd be angry about the timing of this leak. So angry that you'd think he might make a statement! Unless there's some truly spectacular 4D'ery going on, Bolton isn't distinguishing himself here.

[henry]

Yep. Win for the Dems/neverTrumps in two ways. First it keeps OrangeManBad in the news. Second it keeps the crop of Dem nominees out of the news.

[Theo]

It looks as though JMH and I are very much on the same page.

This is not good news but it’s not a catastrophe either. Better to face it for what it is than engage in 4D fantasies.

[henry]

#NeverTrump on the march:

MarketWatch @MarketWatch
now

Romney: ‘Increasingly likely’ that enough Republicans will support calling witnesses at Trump’s impeachment trial

[hrtshpdbox]

new thread

[John S]

as of 12:45 today, the S&P 500 is down 1.17%. The Coronavirus news keeps getting worse. I'm afraid this could be a major disruption, and the market may slide for some time, especially since it has had quite a run-up recently.

[JimNorCal]

Overheard at a coffee shop:
"Trump's tweet about Kobe was really nice. Of course, I'm sure he didn't write it himself. Clinton's statement was the best though".

Rolls eyes. Celeb culture ... who cares?

[D]

NBC not covering the hearing with Republicans.

[JM Hanes]

Theo:

"It does not change the outcome of the war, but it gives them talking points."

Pretty much their only talking point, if Blumentahal post session remarks are emblematic. He said something to the effect that the Defense is living in "a bubble of denial." They must allow Bolton to testify!

"It looks as though JMH and I are very much on the same page."

In the sense that I don't think the Bolton business is an elaborate sting, yes. On instructing others as to how they should view it, no.