Afternoon Delight 03/20/12 -You Need To Be Afraid, Really Afraid - The Government Is Taking Over Everything

As the market works on a top here, so many other things are working on their own crescendo. Of course none of this is any good. In fact it is all rather disturbing (quite disturbing actually). If you don't follow the news on the net or rely on the MSM solely for your news you may find some of this either off base or a stretch. Bottom line is what you are about to read below is all real.

It is time for you to take the big boy step and realize just how bad things are both politically and economically. As STB has stated many times recently, the market is NOT the important things here. Far from it as a matter of fact. The markets are a great distraction. They are the smoke screen hiding the painful truth that as an American your rights and freedoms are being taken from you right from under your nose.

In what should be the safest place on the planet for the Secretary of Defense, the unheard of (and never done before) happened, "US soldiers were asked to disarm during a speech by Leon Panetta, the American defence secretary, in a sign of grown concern over spates of seemingly random violence in Afghanistan." Soldiers asked to disarm during Leon Panetta speech in Afghanistan - Telegraph. Yes, we've now reached a point where not even our own military personnel (yes, the same ones we trust to defend the nation) are not trusted with weapons around their own command.

You see, guns are bad. They are not safe and they are about to be taken from us after Obummer gets reelected. An armed nation is not what this government wants.  US Attny General Eric Holder is doing everything he can to rid this nation of guns. If you are not familiar with Fast and Furious, read more about it here. You know, when our government shipped guns to Mexico so they would be used to kill our own law enforcement agents so the government could crack down on gun control. You need to listen to, "then-U.S. Attorney Eric Holder announcing a public campaign to "really brainwash people into thinking about guns in a vastly different way."" The Vetting - Holder 1995: We Must 'Brainwash' People on Guns

If you are a bit late to the game and missed the NDAA (You know the National Defense Authorization Act that says you have NO rights at all and that the government can come and lock you up indefinitely for no reason at all) you need to read NDAA Is Washington’s Totalitarian Response To Political Dissent And Economic Collapse Alex Jones' Infowars. Then came ACTA and Sopa and PIPA where the government launched its strike on attempting to control the internet.

Afternoon Delight 01/05/12 - Total Control

Well, if you are confused, don't be. I know the feeling. The problem is that you are not in touch with reality. Reality check! Reality check! You must remember that you are now living in a centrally planned environment where nothing happens without some sort of hall pass from the Fed, Treasury or Obummer. It is a lot like living in China or the USSR, you just did not see the changes as they happened quietly and conspicuously over the past few years.

My how times have changed. Dump all regulation, change the accounting rules, crank up the printers and remove the 4th, 5th and 6th amendments from the Constitution and POOF we now live in a brave new world. When did all this happen Shanky, I missed it? Well, you were not looking and I can't rehash all of that, but if you google NDAA that will be a great place to start, or you can read America's Socialism Tsunami | Conservative Outpost.

Afternoon Delight 12/15/11 - Indefinite Internment

The markets are a huge issue right now, but there is a far more important development we need to focus on. As for the markets, the EU summit and the FOMC meeting both came and went without any form of resolution to the crisis in the EU nor with more easing from the Fed. That leaves a gaping hole in the markets defenses for the bears to exploit. STB has been looking for a move to 1040 to come in order for the central planners to have the support (fear/desperation) to be able to deliver more stimulus.

I was very pleased to see Citi Near Term Stock Forecast: 9300 In The DJIA; 985 In The S&P; Sees Chart Analogs To Pre-World War Periods | ZeroHedge confirming a lot of what I have been calling for over the past 6 months. More recently I have been allowing the central planners to halt the current slide because of opex Friday and Christmas on the way, but after the 24th "all bets are off". My 1218 backtest call halted the upward movement this morning nicely. Was that it for the upside here? More than likely I think so, but we still have to get thru next week and 1200 round level support below.

After hours the RIMM disappointment and this announcement - Fitch Downgrades 8 Global Banks Including BNP, SocGen, BofA, Deutsche, And Morgan Stanley have not budged the futures. I guess big tech and banks no longer matter to the markets.