Markets were stunned in the overnight by weak reports by APPL and AMZN.
GDP came in much better than expected today, although I have to admit my expectations were in the less than 1 range along with quite a few economists.
I hear today that in response to Colin Powell's endorsement of Obama based largely on his foreign policy views, John McCain came out and denounced Colin Powell as 'he got us into Iraq.'
Well, if firefighters, police officers and other first responders can be defamed as parasites who do not hold 'real jobs' when it comes time to pay them, then I suppose that these same politicians can also rewrite history to take the responsibility for the war in Iraq away from Bush and Cheney. Why not, when whatever one chooses to believe is real.
It used to be that a politician had trouble changing their positions every four months, without being labeled as a 'flip-flopper' or a hypocrite. Now it seems to be a winning practice to change your positions, radically I might add, every four hours, depending on who you are speaking with and what they might wish to hear. And the bigger and more astonishing the lie, the better they seem to like it.
I was discussing the markets a bit last night via email with the maven of finance, Yves Smith.
Today the words that I was reaching for finally came to me today when I was thinking along similar lines concerning the financial and political systems in general.
The US markets today are an organized hypocrisy.
You may recall the earlier use of this same label by Benjamin Disraeli in describing the government of the day. I think it applies rather well now.
We shall have to keep an eye on Hurricane Sandy as it works its way up the east coast of the US towards the left hand of the Anglo-American banking cartel.
Have a pleasant evening.
