vlogolution network » bernie madoff

Letter from Grandpa to Liberal Granddaughter – ask Obama to Spread the Wealth

Alexander P Morris — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:58:15 +0000

This anonymous “letter” has been circulating around the Internet for the past few months, and it’s turning out to be more or less right on. Granted, Obama supporters will claim that Obama “inherited” many of the problems he faces. But how does that address Obama surrounding himself with many of the same questionable entrenched politicians from past administrations? And palm-greasing bribery lobbying is still alive and well and going on strong in Washington.

Hitler, Chavez, and any other number of die-hard socialists have made the same claim to sweeping hope and “change”. Unfortunately, it never turns out as most people expect, and tends to lead to a massive power-grab instead, under the guise of “helping the people”. When considering a new employee, one will generally look for references, appropriate qualifications, history of competent performance, honest and ethical behavior, and years of experience, to say the least. When hiring a money manager, most of the time they’ll want to see years of track records, references, etc (and still Madoff managed to bilk his clients for billions).

However, in politics we are always told to “give him a chance, and let’s see what he’ll do”. No big deal that these politicians control the incomprehensibly massive purse strings of the nation — TRILLIONS of dollars worth. But, that’s okay. Obama seems like a nice guy. Of course, I doubt he’s ever run anything so much as a lemonade stand. Let’s have some faith (where’d that suddenly come from?!) and let’s see what he’ll do. Given the limited choice of political nominees (which are selected solely by their parties), many people tend to vote for who they believe will be less “bad” for the country. They’re actually surprised if a politician merely tells fewer lies, breaks fewer promises, or causes fewer problems than they expected.

So, while everyone’s so busy bickering republican over democrat, the people have lost site of the fact that at this point, nearly all politicians are guided by one primary motive: their own self-interest. With the exception of a few politicians such as Ron Paul, I’d say we should place just about all of them on their own rocket ship to the moon. It would be interesting to see how they would handle that move. Of course, as Margaret Thatcher once stated, “socialism only works until you run out of other people’s money“, and without generous, naive, and hopeful peasant slaves citizens to bilk, things will fall apart pretty quickly. Especially since many of them would find more ways to evade paying the taxes they themselves imposed on each other (as they already do in Washington, right Mr. Rangel?!).

Unfortunately, corruption, perversions of the “Rule of Law” by the “untouchable” Judiciary branch, and political self-interest will always usurp all best efforts at such Utopian fantasies. And what politician ever considers the ramifications of their policies if their latest “war” once again turns out to be dead wrong? How is that “War on Poverty” going Mr. Johnson? You would think 45 years should be long enough to win any war, at least any war that can actually be won… If socialism and near-complete government control over everything is such a great prospect, there must most certainly be at least ONE, just ONE single example in 6,000+ years of history leading to a happy ending for all those concerned, right? Anyone, anyone, Ashley? Anyone??

Benjamin Franklin once said “Upon the whole I am much disposed to like the World as I find it, and to doubt my own Judgment as to what would mend it. I see so much Wisdom in what I understand of its Creation and Government, that I suspect equal Wisdom may be in what I do not understand.” Or as St. Francis de Sales perhaps best put it, “The path to Hell is paved with good intentions.”

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Trading for Control and Avoiding the Confidence Trap

Alexander P Morris — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 23:23:20 +0000

Most traders and investors at one time or another have fallen into the “confidence” trap. Sometimes it’s a result of believing in the infallibility of their research. Other times it’s due to having a presumed “hot” hand — they’ve finally got the game figured out and can do no wrong. Maybe they’ve gotten caught up with some hot new money-minting trading system with a great historical track record. Or perhaps they’ve been drawn in by someone else’s hot streak, in a chat room for instance (novice traders, trying to skip a few steps, are notorious for succumbing to this). All the calls turn out great, and even the fundamental and technical research that’s shared always seems right on the money. However, up to that point they’ve just watched –- and they’re kicking themselves for missing out on yet another huge gain. Let’s take our fictional trader and call him Bernie.

Bernie decides he’s not going to miss out on the next opportunity that comes up. When the next “hot stock” is revealed, it happens to be a stock that he himself already had on his radar. The additional research backs up his conviction. Everything seems right, and the stock appears perfectly poised for a huge move. Bernie’s confidence level for the trade is higher than ever. Forget about what he can afford to lose, this is the trade that’ll make his year!

Bernie decides to accumulate a position much larger than normal — 3 times as large in fact, equating to about a quarter of his total account size. At first, all seems to be working out great and the trade has even moved a nice 5% in his favor. Two days later however, he wakes up to find the stock down 25%, blowing right through any stop levels he may have considered. The company out of the blue announced a dilutive secondary offering to “better take advantage of opportunities that may become available” or some other similar mumbo-jumbo.

Bernie feels caught, but he figures the big picture still hasn’t really changed, and that prices should find support around the offering price. In fact, he decides to double his position around the offering price if he can. The company’s valuation seems cheaper than ever, and the company will now have even more cash to materialize its goals.

However, as the price continues to drop, Bernie starts to wonder… More investors, increasingly disgusted by the management’s apparent lack of regard for their investing well-being, decide to throw in the towel. By the end of the week, the stock is down another 38% just from the offering price! The same stock that traders and investors all loved at $9 just a few days earlier, they now hate at $5. Even those investors who bought into the secondary are feeling completely betrayed.

Ironically, if the research and valuations are accurate, the stock should be more attractive than ever at these levels. Of course, it doesn’t matter anymore, as most traders (including our newbie trader Bernie) decided to throw in the towel as the stock sells off in a panic around $4/share leaving Bernie with a whopping 44% account loss (requiring a 125% increase in account value just to reach breakeven). Several days later, the stock is trading back around its offering price. How’s that for the perfect reaming. Bernie feels crushed, blames the guy in the chat room for putting out such a horrible call, and calls him a fraud despite the fact that all his other picks turned out pretty well.

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Remembering Those Who Died for Our Independence

Alexander P Morris — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:50:09 +0000

The Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull (1795). Trumbull's famous painting is often identified as a depiction of the signing of the Declaration, but it actually shows the drafting committee presenting its work to the Congress.

It’s always wise to remember the price people paid to provide us with so many of the freedoms that we take completely for granted today. Especially in these times when our civil rights are being stripped away one after another by the government “elite” all in the name of protecting us from terrorists, banksters, panics, and ponzi schemes often created and orchestrated by those same people behind the scenes. Bernie Madoff has been given 150 years in jail for orchestrating a huge ponzi scheme. But who will go to jail when the greatest ponzi schemes of all time go bust? Who will pay when the monetary system collapses into hyperinflation and the social security and medicare systems collapse altogether? Instead, they’ll probably give the same people who helped cause the problems kudos for “saving” us from the mess, along with a few more trillion dollars of some new currency to help “save us” from themselves…

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Ruth Madoff Hates You!

Michelle — Wed, 20 May 2009 18:55:56 +0000

Ruth Madoff is banking on your gullibility and victims' cash. Apparently, she's also plagued with man hands.

Quickie: ABC News released this news clip today (click here) of a hissy Ruth Madoff.

When asked for a response to her husband’s victims by a reporter, an emaciated Ruthie offered a curt “no response”. Judging by the footage, it may be a tad bit old as I was under the impression that she had retreated to her cave down in the Sunshine State. Or, she recently hopped back on her broomstick and headed north for Lower Manhattan, I dunno.

Although, I must say from the video, Ruthie’s blondie coif isn’t looking so chic. Dirty, dishwater roots – yuck! Guess this succubus has still been unable to find a stylist unafraid of her plotting Madoffian ways. Muah-ha-ha-ha!

DENDREON’S 70% PORK OVER BY THE NASD

Alexander P Morris — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 23:27:09 +0000

Here’s to another great oversight job by the SEC and the NASD. For anyone who caught any of the trading in Dendreon today (NASD:DNDN), this is exactly the type of situation that can be the death of you as a trader. Once you see it unfolding, the best thing you can do is STAY THE HELL AWAY. For those of you who missed all the “fun”, basically DNDN tanked nearly 70% in a bit over two minutes from 1:25pm to 1:27pm down to around $7.75 and was halted a few minutes later. Trading did not resume until 6:15pm when the stock reopened at about $24 per share and traded as high as $27.65 within minutes before pulling back a bit. You think maybe a few people got caught in the early fun and games that took place by some market-manipulating private trading elite? I’d bet on it…

The Nasdaq Stock Market said it was investigating two minutes worth of transactions in Dendreon Corp because they may have resulted from a brokerage error. Transactions executed between 1:25pm and 1:27pm were under review, the New York-based exchange said in an e-mailed statement. Anyone who made any trades in DNDN during that time were now panicking due to the trading halt, since they have no clue what their position would be by the time it’s all over (as the stock may gap huge and/or the trades may be broken). In such a case, if it was really some massive broker error or some other strange sheistery, the proper way to handle it would have been to BREAK EVERY TRANSACTION right up to the time just before the debacle began. But, that would of course mean that those politically-connected friends of the NASD who made a fortune from this mess (you know, like Bernie Madoff until he went just a wee bit too far) would have to give it all back, and that’s just NOT PLAYING FAIR!

So, the Nasdaq Stock Market announced that it would let stand those hairy two minutes worth of transactions in Dendreon that it initially suspected were the result of a brokerage error! Nasdaq announced its decision in an e-mailed statement at 3:06pm. The statement also asserted that the ruling “cannot be appealed”. Of course not… then their pals couldn’t have booked their 100%+ of porkified profits once DNDN reopened for trading later in the day!

Getting caught in something like this is a trader’s worst nightmare, and my heart goes out to any trader who may have been sideswiped and reamed in the rear by the elite powers that be.

What can be learned from this? Trading is war, and you’re on your own. Your only protection is that you’re always in control of your position size. Remember the importance of discipline, and always consider worst-case scenarios when managing risk. Speaking of which, anyone else notice some of the “Swine Flu” stocks may be attempting to build new higher bases today (ie. NVAX, BCRX)?

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Ruth Madoff Shows Her Hideous Roots

Michelle — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:17:20 +0000

NEW POST! Ruth Madoff Hates You! UPDATE: JUDGE DENNY CHIN BLOCKS ASSETS TRANSFER! – Crook Bernie Madoff and his business associates family members have done nothing but wreak financial havoc for many since December of last year. While on Twitter this past Saturday, I stumbled upon an enthusiastic tweet by Daleela Farina about her fabulous new coif at the “it” Midtown East luxury salon, Pierre Michel. So, what in the hell does a hair salon have to do with Wall Street’s Satan incarnate? The NYPost’s Page Six published this article that Pierre Michel’s decade long former client, Ruth Madoff, has now been banned from the salon (GASP! ). Isn’t it a relief to know that Mrs. Madoff can still afford such luxuries? Well BOO F’ing HOO FOR YOU Ruthie and snaps for Pierre Michel Salon (Elle Woods style b*tches )!

I’m a close matzah ball’s throw away from the Madoff residence and personally it’s refreshing to read that the Madoff name is creating buzz and some moolah for a business establishment instead of the reverse. As for Ruthie Madoff’s graying goldilocks, I imagine she can surely shell out to have a hair stylist visit her home considering her MANY MILLIONS in “INHERITANCE”. If not, there are plenty of luxury doggie grooming salons here on the Upper Eastside…oh silly me, that’s right those are for CANINES NOT PIGS IN LIPSTICK, gosh darn it. Oh wait, here’s an idea for poor Ruthie since she’ll most likely have those pretty tresses chopped off in the slammer anyway – why not do SOMETHING CHARITABLE for her husband’s victims and auction off her locks on Ebay! Cheaper than SuperCuts, a fun, charitable cause and Ruthie will be able to leave her multimillion dollar penthouse without a bag over her head.

UPDATE: JUDGE DENNY CHIN BLOCKS ASSETS TRANSFER – About damn time!

From Tax Day Tea Parties and Tax Freedom Day, it’s time to Pass Me The Pork!

Alexander P Morris — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 18:31:34 +0000

What better way to introduce vlogolution’s new PassMeThePork channel than on TAX DAY! It’s that fun-filled day of the year when Americans aren’t sure if they want to celebrate completing their 25 hour+ annual final exam-like tax forms, or cry and whine over how much of their hard-earned money was just raped from them.

To add insult to injury, isn’t it great to know you’ll be helping pay off just a bit of the huge PORK spending and bailouts of our friendly government and the royal fat-cat elite that control them?! I guess paying taxes on earnings isn’t so bad if it’s all because of a taxpayer bailout anyway. Oh wait, how many of these guys haven’t even bother to pay their full taxes anyway! Eh hem, Mr. Geithner (Treasury Secretary and Head of the IRS).

So maybe by now you’re thinking… with so many crooks, so many schemes, so much sheistery, isn’t it time they Pass Me The Pork, #$%&$! With our brand new channel, along with a completely revamped website, we can now easily blog, create videos, and create a friendly community of Porkypines to “pop the pork”! By following closely, we’ll find the pork, debunk the pork, slice the pork, and find astute tricks on how best to grab a piece of the pork for ourselves. So PORK YOU, Hank Paulson, Vikram Pandit – Citigroup, Martin Sullivan – AIG, Franklin Raines – Fannie Mae, Rahm Emanuel – Freddie Mac, Bernie Madoff, Ben Bernanke, Alan Greenspan, oh how we could go on, …

We’re also in the midst of Tax Freedom Day, which is the number of days of the year that an average American works to pay off their “government obligations” as good little lemmings do. For those in the higher tax brackets, would you believe they work well into June before making a few bucks for themselves?! Maybe more Americans would wake up if they didn’t get paid at all until Tax Freedom Day. Those living in Connecticut (120 days), New Jersey (119 days), New York (115 days), and California (110 days) will be proud to know that they are the TOP average tax payers out of all fifty states (congrats to Connecticut for being in first place as the most expensive of all – perhaps all those hedge fund salaries tipped the scale a bit). On average, this year taxes will amount to 28.2% of our income, or 103 days of work per person.

If this upsets you enough to stretch out of your easy chair, you may want to participate in one of the many Tax Day Tea Parties occurring today. In New York City, there will be one at City Hall from 7pm to 9pm. These rallies have been organized in cities and towns across the nation, and it’s amazing how they’ve received almost no press coverage whatsoever! Gives you a clue to who owns and controls the media…

So far the pundits have still been talking down the stock market. This has helped many stocks do nothing but continue moving higher while the average investor is frozen like a deer in the headlights. Just watch out when the pundits start talking again how stocks are the place to be. Don’t think another test of the lows is out of the question… Given the market’s current price action, it’s just very unlikely to happen for at least the next few months. Banks still have yet to pony up true values on many of their holdings, and it’s still amazing how easily the media accepts “brighter outlooks” from the same people who were completely clueless, wrong, and/or outright lied throughout the entire meltdown.

On a final note, talk about how complacent we’ve all become, in 1773 the tea tax that was protested at the Boston Tea Party was approximately 3%. Today, the average American pays as much as 70% of their total income in taxes (income, sales, gas, utility, etc)! So, hmmm, beer and TV, or… take a stand… Well, I dunno, I guess I’ll just have to think about it over a nice cold beer…

A Bernie Madoff Movie in the Making?

Michelle — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 21:42:55 +0000

Camera crew filming in front of Bernie Madoff's former Manhattan residence.

The above picture was taken in front of our favorite yutzi shmeckle of Wall Street, Bernard Madoff’s former digs last week right before Passover. Could an eager, bootstrappin’ documentary filmmaker be in the process of filming a Madoff movie? Time will only tell…

UPDATE: The NYPost published this article on 4.20.09 that “Filmmaker Edmund Druilhet says he’s started work on a docudrama called, “Madoff: Made Off With America”.