Now's the Time - Sell All Your Common Stocks

"I'm coming down fast but don't let me break you"

There is a saying that "Bulls make money in the market - - Bears make money in the market - - but Hogs never do".  And it's not a good idea to want to squeeze out those last few points on the upside of the market so I'm saying to Sell Everything Now.  The market hasn't retrenched too far - - yet- - so now's an excellent time to lock in the profits which hopefully you have accumulated over the past several years.  These "bouts of panic" or whatever, have come to the market on too frequent a basis not to be paid attention to, like an older person with a serious disease, which nobody wants to face but they know they'll have to.  The Gallop poll as presented by Rush Limbaugh or whoever- - indicates that these past six years have seen more business disilussions or "deaths" than new businesses have been created.  Since the population of the country continues to grow constantly, this should not be the case.  Retail sales were down point nine percent in the month of December.  It was very disconcerting.  And this flies in the face of gasoline prices being at six year lows.  You'd think with petroleum prices down, people would have more cash to spend on other items, but this has not been the case.  Many states want to raise gasoline taxes because they claim that revenues from these taxes are down.  This is strange because I thought most gas taxes were strictly numerical and not based on any percentage.  But even if they are based on a percentage there should NOT be that much of a drop in revenue because people have more money to spend on said gasoline.  Many people in the business world are feeling pessimistic about the year 2015 for reasons that may or may not be political.  So sell everything tomorrow morning and don't worry if the prices are going up when the market opens tomorrow.  I'd definitely rather sell into a rising market than a falling one.  That way you won't be chasing bids and have all these people climbing over you to get there and sell their holdings first.  There's no need to panic.  Just go in there and take your profits, like cashing in your chips at a casino after you've had a good run.

This Republican congress is like the last four years in steroids.  They mean business.  They could literally be cutting the Social Security I personally have to live on -- by twenty percent as of next year.  This is nothing to sneeze about.  That's a drastic cut for any program.  They are going to use any legal guimic or technicality to exact their way, I suspect on a whole host of issues.  The XL Pipeline is a done deal if the President doesn't keep his word and Veto the darned thing.  But pardon my lack of faith, but this President has let us down so much before that I don't trust his word till he actually does it.  Meanwhile Rush Limbaugh is puzzled why John Boehner is making anti Obama remarks.  John Boehner has NEVER been a moderate.  I don't know how the hell that rumor ever got started, but right now Johyn Boehner is just showing his true colors.  Finally we have the fact of the President speaking from Iowa today in front of a backdrop of carpenter's tools.  I don't know.  On this issue is Internet Neutrality the President IS on the right side, thank Allah.  But I don't know how much power the President has.  Every time he appoints someone to a cabinet post or some comission some Power takes a hold of him and he appoints a right winger.  So why should people be surprised to learn that the FCC these past few weeks has been leaning to have this tiered Internet for the priveleged, who "pay to play" - - who get the diamond lane or whatever - - and the rest of us, consigned to the slow lane.  We've had it our way the past twenty five years but that's now good enough for these people.  They want to institute these Mafia type shake-downs for money if you want your information packets to get through on time.  I don't think the American people realize just how serious of an issue this is of Internet Neutrality- - - which, once again, we've had up till now, but we may be losing it very soon.

On the subject of Islamic violence - - I'll make a deal with you.  If you agree with me that Christianity contains violent people, I'll agree that Islam contains some really sicko, violent, anarchistic people.  I think that any religion needs to own up to violent people in their midst, and this is especially true of Islam.  I think there can be no question that among the world's major religions, Islam is by far the most violent one.  I don't know how many clerics speak out against violence in their own faith.  According to liberals such as Washington's Blog- - these moderate Muslims speak out all the time but the media never reports THAT but persists in giving you the false impression that they are all passively going along with the acts of terror we see throughout the world nowadays - - and don't seem particularly rattled by it.  Among Christians- - the Pope for one has spoken many times of the evils in the world and against war and for Peace.  The Pope has also spoken out extensively against raping the planet and monetary greed.   I could only wish that leading Muslim clerics were as prominent in the news coverage in terms of speaking out against acts of violence in their ranks.  My friends at the Federation will give such violence a pass because they say "Taking on Islam would upset the Cosmic balance and make things worse for a whole lot of people".   I felt it necessary here to include that remark.  Historically - - Islam was a very productive religion that featured liberal thought and scientific quest.  Of course that was a thousand years ago when Islam still had academic respectability.  Now everything they've accomplished in the past is put in jeopardy because of all of these current nut cases they "suffer among them" (to use a little King James lingo there).

 Many ask me if I believe the New Testament.  My answer is 'I have no real problem with most of it in terms of teaching" however I have issues with Hebrews and First Peter.  Both books glorify suffering saying that we are actually perfected in suffering, or that "He who has suffered has ceased from sin" or an image of what Pastor Mark used to talk about of as "God's conveyer belt" as in honing of metal parts, for instance.  I believe suffering is neutral.  Hebrews mentions being visited by Angels and not knowing it, or being surrounded by "a cloud of martyrs" looking down on us, like the Catholics believe.  Hebrews contradicts the Book of Revelations as to just when we get our "Heavenly reward" or "Last Judgement' or what have you?   But now I would rather tackle an issue that has do with the origen of various other Bible books.  I believe as you know that Marcion started the whole idea of some body of "New Testament" scripture, so to speak.  Marcion wanted to "Christianize" Gnosticism or give a more Messianic twist to the usual Gnosticism, which is already tending in that direction.  But many wonder about another guy Luigi Cascioli, who posited the idea that Jesus of the Holy Scrptures was to an extent based on the life of one Jonah, brother of the historic figure Thaddeus (with various spellings) who was a revolutionary.  Thaddius also went by the name of Judas, and Judas was the Twin brother of one of the brothers (perhaps "Jonah" himself)  Hence we have Judas Thomas, who later in his life visited India and was martyred there, flayed alive with a sword.  This is probably the "Jude" of scripture and also "Judas, not Iscariot".  There were other brothers - - who were revolutionaries and fomented an uprising in Galilee in 46 AD.  The other brothers were Simon (or Simeon) the Zealot, and also a Jacob (or James) and another previously unknown brother named Eleazer, which means "The Lord will provide".  In the so called Gospel of Thomas (Judas Thomas) we for the first time are exposed to the sayings of "Jesus" alias Jonah.  (It's a little odd and coincidental that Jesus told his detracters "You will have no sign but the sign of Jonah".   This "sayings' gospel- - was combined with more action oriented material in which healings are performed and demons were cast out.  But keep in mind at this early date, in the first half of the second century - - the whole crucifixion or "Passion Play" Jerusalem stuff still isn't included.  Just to say that a particular story, or Books existed is not to say that the material wasn't tinkered around with and added to at a later date.  I posited the thought that John chapter 21 actually belongs at the end of Matthew's gospel, where it makes a whole lot more contextural sense.  Because there are "glosses" in Matthew such as Jesus's teaching that "Any man who marries a divorced woman commits adultry with her".  There is also the whole "high mountain" text where Jesus says "Go into all the world making disciples and baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit".   St Paul teaches "It is better to marry than to burn with passion" and he also encourages widdows to marry "If they can't control their bodily lusts".  I said that "Sometimes you can't believe Everything in the Bible because some passages contradict others and you have to make a choice."   It's a clear case of crossing a diamond with a pearl and unleashing it on the world.  For instance it's Gnostic doctrine that "If you have enough faith - - you are Already seated with Christ in heavenly places".  St Paul teaches this.  He said "To live is Christ; and to die is Gain".  Remember that the "epistles" section of Marcion's scriptural cannon- - was composed of Paul's letters.  In Gnosticism - - - death was not to be feared because you'd already had the "Born Again" experiance and thus had "eternal life" right NOW.  However there were other oppinions from what is referred to as the "Syrian Church".  Justin Martyr emphatically tought soul sleep and said "If you believe when you die and go straight to heaven - - and deny the physical resurrection, then you are in hericy".  Justin taught that souls had "sensation" but it was passive, along with the Saints in the book of Revelation who were given white robes and waving palm branches and told "rest here a while till your blood on earth can be avenged".  You can see clearly the difference.  One school says "I have it now in the present and for all time" and the other school posits a protracted "waiting period" after death.  (Selah)

Bill Cosby is in the news again because of this fresh charge by a new woman of being drugged and waking nude in bed with Mr Cosby.  He said that Bill Cosby was "sucking on her toes and fondeling himself" and she has no memory after being given drinks.  Personally I think this is a good chance to put Cosby on trial for once and for all, since this incident took place in 2008 within the California statute of limitations.  The girl was only eighteen at the time.  In other news news of the day - - John Boehner might have been poisoned if an Ohio bartender had had his way.  Now the line is printing below the bottom of the screen and it's driving me nuts because I can't read it.  The guy thought he was Jesus Christ and John Boehner was the devil.  And if he couldn't poison his murlow then he'd just shoot him.  Sean Hannity has said "Well, I've received mailings where people thought that I was the devil."   In other news that free climbing guy finally made it to the top of El Capitan after eighteen days.  He only had the ropes there to prevent his falling to his death, but he did not use the ropes to help him climb.  That was all done with muscle power.  Congratulations!  North Korea once again is denying any computer involvement with the hacking of Sony Pictures studio.  Of course now the military's twitter page has been hacked.  Go figure that!