by John Walters
Tweet Me Right
Starting Five
- Trump, Taj Mahal: Possible thought bubbles: A) “They have one, too?” B) “How much does this cost? I could buy it and run it into bankruptcy in less than two years.” The Taj Mahal is a shrine a grief-stricken man built to honor his late wife. I’d like to have seen Trump’s face when they told him that.
2. 2-24-20
Someone was thinking when they chose to hold Kobe Bryant’s public memorial on this date, honoring his and his late daughter, Gianna’s, numbers. Also fittingly, last night Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu, who was close with Kobe and spoke at the memorial, later nabbed 12 rebounds in a defeat of Stanford to become the first player in NCAA history to notch 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists in his or her career. Ionescu finished with a triple double on the evening: 21 points, 12 boards and 12 assists.
3. M.J.’S Latest GOAT Moment
The Staples Center opened after Michael Jordan retired, so he never had the chance to put his imprimatur on it as a player. No matter. Yesterday Jordan, not renowned as a public speaker, stood up and eulogized Kobe and took our breath away with honesty, sincerity (“A part of me died when Kobe died”) and humor (“I’m going to have to look at another crying meme for the next…”).
By the way, we know the All-Star Game was eight days earlier, but has there ever been more hoops talent assembled under one roof? Just a partial list of who was there: Kareem, Russell, MJ, Magic, Phil, Steph, AD, the other Russell, Worthy, Nash…. (You can go on and on if you like….)
4. Try The Beal!
Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal found a creative way to honor Kobe on 2-24-20: he became the first player since Bryant to put up 50 or more points in consecutive games. Beal, who was not chosen for the All-Star Game earlier this month (in the East, for chrissakes), scored 55 in a 137-134 overtime loss to Milwaukee. One night earlier in Chicago Beal scored 53 in a loss to the Bulls. That’s 108 points in about 30 hours in two cities.
Beal, who scored 44 points in consecutive games back in November, is now second in the NBA in scoring at 30.1 points per game. And again, Beal was not on either All-Star roster eight days earlier. Nutty.
5. Dow Drops Hard
The Dow Jones index finished down by 1,031 points yesterday, the stock market index’s worst single day in two years (fortunately, Susie B., I sold all of my Tesla and Bitcoin on Friday; really). Coronavirus fears stoked the sell-off and honestly, does anybody have confidence that this administration will deal effectively with the epidemic should it find greater purchase on our shores.
Meanwhile, it’s only February and Time magazine has named the coronavirus its Pathogen of the Year. Well done!
Anyway, if you’re looking for a safe harbor, check out Regeneron or Gilead (GILD), which are companies whose drugs have seemingly had the most effect on the virus. And, from a health standpoint, probably best to wear gloves on the plane and not touch your face. And don’t take health care advice from Rush Limbaugh.
Reserves
Harvey’s Going To Jail
Erstwhile Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was convicted on two of five counts, including 3rd-degree rape, in a Manhattan court. He still faces charges in Los Angeles. Barring a Trump pardon, Weinstein will be going away for a few years… unless he has dirt on the Republican party, in which case he’ll “hang himself” in his jail cell.
*****
This site will always be free but we’ve decided to try a new wrinkle: more frequent posts, no daily Starting Five, and we’ll add a PayPal address for any and all who’d like to donate.
PayPal: trumansparks88@gmail.com
Well, lucky you! Alas, luck has forsaken me it seems, although I have owned GILD for the past 4 years (which has actually been one of my worst (non-energy) performers. Although yesterday, it was one the only GREEN light in the burning forest of my stocks.
Anyhoo, remember back in December & I mentioned I was planning on moving a portion of my 401-k out of my growth-type funds into a bond fund when my 401-k reached a target level? It reached that level but I decided to wait & set a NEW goal-level at which I would do so. But, it flew past THAT target so fast that I upped it again. Whoosh, again, it flew past. So, I upped it again. Whoosh, upped again. FINALLY, last Tuesday I decided “enough is enough, I HAVE TO DO THIS, I FEEL a correction coming!” & decided if Wednesday went well, I’d move the money on Thursday. Last Wednesday once again saw ATHs (All Time Highs) in my 4o1-k, ROTH, & taxable investments so it was a “go”. As long as Thursday was in the green, even by a little… I’d decided on the exact amounts of each of the four funds I was going to move & where. But, last Thursday was in the red, so I decided to wait for the bounce-back on Friday…..@($^&@^$&@$&^*&#^&#
Yesterday morning, before it really got bad, I took a peek at my stock account & saw the largest one day drop I’ve ever had. I did not look again as I thought gouging one’s eyes out probably would not lead to one’s continual employment & after yesterday, I need my job more than ever. 😉
Win some, loooooose some.
Presidents can’t pardon people for state crimes, they only apply at the federal level.
I mean, you’re right, John, but when has this POTUS ever let precedent stand in his way?