Grateful Dead

Chris Kyle from Texas is a former Seal and the greatest sniper in the history of the American armed forces (his longest confirmed kill was over 6100 yards, more than a mile) with over 150 confirmed kills. He received 5 bronze stars and two silver stars (combat medals) for his service in Iraq from 2003-2008. He co-wrote the book American Sniper. This book evoked a lot of emotion from me every time I opened it up. It provided a lot of information about veterans that I had been seeking. It opened up the war in Iraq to me through the battles for Fallujah, Ramadi and Sadr City inside Baghdad. I will list briefly some of the main points I discerned: * The precursor chemicals of WMD, sold to Iraq by the French and Germans, were found by US Forces. * The war turned into a Christian crusade against "the savages". * The armed forces go wherever they are ordered. Don't blame them, blame the politicians. * The rules of engagement seriously hindered the armed forces ability to do their job. There was paperwork & witnesses involved to justify all killing. * Non-political Iraqis fought against our armed forces out of national pride. * Combat is addictive. Black humor is pervasive. Friendships made in combat often last longer than marriages. * Veterans are not only scarred from physical wounds, they are tortured mentally by the killing and wounding they have done, especially when it is collateral damage. * The training of other country's men into an armed force is impossible. * Seals like to fight in bars. This is an excellent book if you want a first-hand perspective. Highly recommended for a view of things veterans usually only speak of to each other and at VFW halls.

that's what I said, back during the Strauss-Kahn scandal. How interesting the timing was to take him down.

A socialist won the French presidential election yesterday -- Francois Hollande. He is only the 2nd Socialist president since WWII and already the markets are tumbling and it would be easy to bet the DJI short today. Is this speculation justified? I have no idea but things are so screwed up already I don't think it will make much difference. He might get yelled at in Chicago at the NATO summit for pulling the French out of Afghanistan. What IS interesting to note is that Dominique Strauss Kahn would have been the first stringer for the Socialist Party had he not been set up in NYC in a sex sting honey trap. Who wanted Strauss Kahn out of power and for what reason?

And good riddance. The jury's still out on Hollande, at least amongst my more left-thinking French buddies; but we'll see. Bad news in the Greek elections-neo Nazis got 8 % of the seats in Parliament. Squeeze a people too badly, and they squeeze back in possibly unpleasant ways.

Many "Hat" (Derby Day, git it?) parties around my parts last Saturday. A lot of hung over people on Sunday. That is what happens when you substitute the passion fruit margaritas for the mint juleps on a super-moon Saturday Night. I stay away from the alcohol related events like the plague. Not that I don't have other vices... If you were in a full moon hat party hope your head wasn't too big the next day. (Noonie -- There is no system for winning at the horse races unless you happened to live or work around the track. Save your money and wait for a good fix, which didn't happen all that frequently. That is what we used to do at Narragansett anyway. A track that has long since closed.)

you know i always wanted to learn how to bet on the ponies. i use to work with a guy who every weekend he would go to the track and sometimes he wouldn't show up for work on monday. Then we would kmow he won big. I asked a couple of times to show me but he always said "no way get your own system" Those double ipa sound good, to bad i am work

Once a year the Kentucky bluegrass gentry and their horse breeders get together in Lou-A-Vull at Churchill Downs and do this thing. It is the showcase of the best horse on dirt and "the fastest two minutes" in the sports year. On another level, it seems to be a bizarre ritual in which 165,000 people get stinking drunk and watch midgets and dwarfs dressed in bright colors perched on animals go fast. It is also a fashion show and photo-op. Hunter Thompson writes most eloquently about this phenomenon. This spectacle was made for him and it is about us as Americans who have "Derby Parties" in our homes and watch on our monster flat screen TVs. My Old Kentucky Home indeed.

I'll Have Another cashed in at 40-1: any winners out there? I'll continue with the mint juleps and some double IPA's (Wood-aged from Great Divide). Bodemeister placed.

And people call me an "Alarmist" (among other things)! 1. War Could 2012 be the year World War Three begins in earnest? We've discussed this at some length in a number of letters, and though our timing has been wrong (we imagined hostilities would already be upon us by this time), we stand solidly behind our conviction that a Middle Eastern conflict that begins in this calendar year will spread and encompass nearly the entire planet, and that hostilities will not cease for some years to come. Part of our belief is predicated on the massive stockpiling of crude oil we see here at home, a development that only makes sense if someone, somewhere is expecting a sharp spike in the price of oil. 2. Liquidity Call 2012 the year that economic Rohypnol, the so-called 'date rape' drug, finally took effect. After several years of the Fed (and other central banks) slipping the stuff into the money supply, we're all beginning to 'go under'. With the world now awash in paper that people call money, inflation can never be far behind. In 2012 the dreaded 'I' word starts to bite. 3. Civil Unrest and Terrorism One look at Greece, Spain and to a lesser extent our own Occupy Wall Street movement, and its clear there's something afoot globally that looks like a riot. Recent disturbances in (of all places) Canada, where thousands of striking university students and union workers took to the streets of Montreal to voice their displeasure with the 'status quo' show that even sleepy backwaters like Canuckia aren't immune to the trend. Call 2012 the year that anarchy reached unprecedented proportions globally. In Europe, particularly, it appears the violence will take on nationalistic hues, bringing with it everything that normally attends such outbreaks (beatings/lootings/lynchings/pyrotechnics/etc). The terrorist underworld will likely view the whole show as an excellent opportunity to piggyback on popular frustration and begin marking their favorite targets. 4. Wilder Weather We're just the messengers here, so don't shoot, but it's looking like we're in for some strange and persistent natural calamities over the course of the year. After a steady pickup in tectonic activity over the last year and a half, scientists are now calling for even more seismic action in the twelve months, particularly around the so-called ring of fire that circumscribes the Pacific ocean. But that's not all. West coast earthquakes will also apparently be augmented by a hectic hurricane season (on the east coast and Gulf states), and tornadoes are expected to multiply across the Midwest during the storm season as well. Most of all, we have generational – and possibly historical – sunspot activity expected in the next year that most experts agree could cause irredeemable damage to our power grid, satellite technology and even domestic electrical appliances. 5. Summary In short, no one will be secure or immune from what's about to hit. The stock market will rise, we believe (liquidity), but the value of our holdings will diminish (inflation). And how long can such a condition persist? That depends on how safe our cities become in the face of a general civil breakdown, how successful terrorists are at undermining our habitual way of life, and how much increasingly violent weather and extended blackouts conspire to deprive us of confidence in corporate growth. That sounds strangely like the end of the world How do you plan for that? Well, I'm not going to give you their investment advice, you have to pay for that. But if this is what Wall St. is talking about then maybe the Mayan calender people aren't so nuts after all. Time to load the bullion supplies into the survival bunker. (!)

Although the history books, and media outlets, will never say it, President Barak Obama surrendered in the middle of the night after cowardly slinking in on Air Force One after a 13 hour flight from DC. The protocol was signed with President Hamat Karzai amidst a total news blackout with 6 big chinook helicopters packed with elite troops guarding them in a tight cordon on the tarmac. One year to the day after the navy Seals disposed of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan Obama addressed the troops in an airplane hanger and told them how proud he was of them for always upholding America's most cherished values. This is a president that always says and does the right thing, no matter what. Now America is signed to a contract to keep the troops in play in advisory roles till some time in 2024. I can't imagine who would want to remain on that blasted heath for another day. We're not fooling anybody. Least of all the Taliban who wouldn't even negotiate with us. Meanwhile, "Occupy" rioters took to the streets this May Day from Miami to Seattle. While not exactly a show of strength it was something to be considered. (I am currently reading "American Sniper" by ex Navy Seal Chris Kyle and had another comment for this day but will save it for another. This BUD/S for you & your tribe Mr. Kyle. I don't support war but I support the warriors who would stand for us.)