Obamaville Thursday, February 19 - The Deep Freeze

.

Weather...

Here I sit, 65 miles from downtown Washington, D.C., waiting for the coldest temperature on this date in 40 years, maybe since records started in the 1800's, or maybe since the last Ice Age.  Ever since the weather stations went digital, the weather reports have made a shambles of the truth.

I do not know what a meteorologist has for breakfast, but lately the bizarre forecasts might indicate something comparable to LSD.  If they say we will get two feet of snow, we might get five inches.  When they say it will be around 20 degrees tonight, and then they revise it to a wind chill of 25 below, we know it is not just cream in their coffee.

Did I mention that the forecast for just 48 hours later is over 50 degrees?  The good news is no one really puts much faith in the weather reports, I mean it is still a government agency so accuracy and efficiency are distant dreams.

Politics...

Nothing has changed.  Obama trashes the Republicans and the Republicans trash the President and the Democrats watch and strategically trash both the President and Republicans.

On the presidential scene, the apparent front runners are a Bush for the Republicans and a Clinton for the Democrats.  My how things have changed since 1988 and 1992.

It has been 28 years since a Bush was first elected president, in 1988.  During the 28 years, from 1988 until the next election in 2016, a Bush will be president 12 years, a Clinton for 8 years, and everyone else in America the remaining 8 years.

Pot Smoking Ivy League Presidents - Harvard & Yale

What do you think about the dominance of the Ivy League?  A graduate of Yale will be president for 20 of the 28 years, and a graduate of Harvard for 16 of the 28 years.  I think the Ivy League invented the term "Fuzzy Math" which might explain why Yale's 20 years and Harvard's 16 years add up to 36 years, not to 28 years.

Do not worry there is an answer for all deviations and this time a legitimate one.  One president graduated from both Yale and Harvard.  In fact, he is the only president in history with that intellectual distinction, his name, George W. Bush, as in junior.

Is it not ironic that one candidate for president in 2016 with a legitimate chance to win is also the first person in 28 years to NOT graduate from Harvard or Yale.  It is not Hillary Clinton (Yale), or Mitt Romney (Harvard), or Ted Cruz (Harvard).

Yet another twist in logic and reason, one of the top picks to break the Ivy League stranglehold on the presidency is Jeb Bush, whose father and brother are Yale and Harvard alumni.

Other legitimate candidates like Rand Paul, Chris Christie, Paul Ryan, Marco Rubio, and Martin O'Malley are among others who are not Harvard or Yale graduates.

Health, Energy & Education...

Every month brings new super viruses, mutating bacteria, other drug resistant diseases, and fewer and fewer cures to an unsuspecting public.  UCLA Medical Center is the latest breakout of a dramatic new virus, which has already killed 2 and exposed about 180 people in the first reports.

America celebrated becoming energy independent with the third major derailment and explosion of train cars filled with crude oil.  Not even napalm bombing in Vietnam could match the spectacular explosions from the West Virginia fireworks this week.

The North Dakota crude oil apparently burns better than other production here in the west.  With thousands of oil tankers using train tracks through about every major city in America, look for Keystone Pipeline approval as a "safe" alternative to urban trains.

Terrorism...

ISIS terrorists seem to be popping up in country after country with their unique theology and evil ways.  With Obama still in a scolding mood, so far Jordan and Egypt are the only nations taking a lead in armed resistance and dedication to destroying the terrorists.

Our paper tiger approach to foreign affairs has also been a great aid to Vladimir Putin, who used American indecision to carve a land mass to connect Crimea to the Russian border, as predicted a long time ago by the Coltons Point Times.

Economy...

Stock Markets are pushing against their highest levels in history in the midst of a mediocre, at best, recovery that has left most Americans with less cash, less equity, less choices, and a lousy selection of cheap made consumer products.

In my opinion, the markets have nowhere to go but down and they will take all the 401K money with them since most 401K funds have stock based investments.  Market players should have the ability to sit on investments for 5-10 years before needing the funds, in order to come out ahead.  As for the rest of us, forget it.

Sports...

The Super Bowl was rocked by scandal, the deflate gate conspiracy, while the Patriots took home the money.

College football crowned the first playoff king, as Ohio State beat number one Alabama in the semi-finals, and number two Oregon in the finals.

In college basketball, the mighty University of Kentucky have five games left in the season in their historic effort to become the first undefeated national champion since Indiana in 1976.  It promises to be a magnificent March Madness if we survive the Arctic deep freeze.

More later...

. 

World comes together behind France - 3 million French march in unison - where is Obama?

.

Only major ally leader missing - Obama

Only flag missing - USA

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu marched with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas while Ukranian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in a stunning show of world solidarity in Paris today.

For one moment in time, the world seemed to come together, racial, religious, ethnic and cultural differences seemed to melt into the background.  Paris and the French became the capital of the world as the top world leaders came to Paris to work toward a better world.

Missing, President Barack Obama, who returned from a Hawaiian vacation and spent the past three days promoting his manufacturing agenda and community college giveaway program in Tennessee and other states.

Okay, he really did become the only western ally to skip the most important gathering of leaders to support the needs of the people in modern world history.  Now that is a mouth full.  Why in the world was the leader of the only Super-power and most important ally of most European nations missing from the world stage?

To add insult to injury, while Putin sent his Prime Minister, the second in command, Obama seemed to think it was better to keep Vice President Joe Biden home with him touring manufacturing facilities, one of which was not even open.  Nor did Obama send a key cabinet official to represent him, or members of the House and Senate to give their support.

Fact is, only Attorney General Eric Holder was at the March and that was because he went to Paris to attend a meeting today, Sunday, on terrorism security, and just happened to be there for the March.  Holder had previously resigned and will not even be around for more than a few weeks at best.

Well three million people felt it was important to be there, and nearly 50 top leaders of the world.  So where was Obama, certainly never one to miss a media opportunity nor hesitate to do just about anything to distract people from thinking about his record of achievement?

There were no American flags seen and no top ranking government official to share the concern, solidarity, and prayers for the French victims and French people.

What a shame President Obama.  What a way to treat our oldest and most loyal ally and the wonderful French people.

.

No one can take away the love of freedom of the French - Viva La France

.

France was the first ally of the American colonists who sent advisers and resources to help General Washington win the American Revolution.

The gift by France to the United States of the Statue of Liberty remains one of the most iconic symbols of the USA to this day.

Among our greatest allies in Europe including England, Germany, Spain, and Italy, France is our only major European ally who never fought a war against the USA.

Yesterday France came under terrorist attack because a French magazine made fun of Mohammed and Allah in cartoons just as the French have been doing since the days of Napoleon.  Napoleon once said a cartoonist in Paris did more damage to his reputation than all the armies he fought.

Ten French journalists and two French police were dead in the carnage while 11 more suffered injuries in this brazen assault by the radicalized terrorists in the heart of Paris.  It was the worst terrorist action in France since the Algerian war ended in the 1960's when the entire world seemed to be at war.

While newspapers like The New York Times declared, "The mood of failure and paralysis is widespread in France," the French people were far from intimated, far from intent on punishing all followers of Islam for the actions of radical extremists, and the people showed it.

Rather than cower in their homes and offices after the brutal attack thousands in France took to the streets to declare WE ARE NOT AFRAID and I AM CHARLIE in massive demonstrations that quickly spread throughout France, Europe and the rest of the world.

The Paris based magazine or newspaper, Charlie Hebdo published the cartoons and had already survived a firebombing that destroyed their headquarters in 2011 in retaliation for satirical cartoons they published.

No radical terrorist in this day and age will ever silence or intimidate the French people because freedom, liberty, equality, and brotherhood flows in their blood and molds their character.

Thank you the people of France for continuing to put democratic principles, freedom, and equality above all other secular concerns.

. 

Spirits in the Sky - August 16, 1977 - The King is Dead!

.

Born: January 8, 1935, Tupelo, MS

Died: August 16, 1977, Memphis, TN

Only in America could a country kid from Tupelo, Mississippi grow up to become King, sell over 600 million records, and become one of the greatest icons in American history.

While amassing 14 Grammy nominations and winning three, Elvis was awarded a Grammy lifetime achievement award at the ripe old age of just 36.

Single handed Elvis brought life and controversy to the fledgling rock and roll movement in the 1950's and by the end of the decade it was the dominate music genre in the world.  Every rock and roll success story since his time was because of what he did.

Elvis used television and movies like no other star at the time to make the public aware of him but it was probably the military that helped make Elvis.

Why do I say this?  Back in the mid-1950's when Elvis was starting out rock and roll did not exist. He was known locally and some of those early fans were in the military and would take copies of his records to Germany and other bases where they would share them with fellow soldiers from other parts of the country.



One of my closest friends had a brother in the army who was stationed in Germany and when he came home he brought his brother and thus me copies of the early Elvis records.  
  

The Elvis and Priscilla love story remains one of the greatest in rock history as he asked her father, an officer in Germany when Elvis was serving in the military, if he could take his 14 year old daughter under his protection until they were old enough to marry.  It was seven years before they were married.  

His one child, named Lisa-Marie, went on to become wife to Michael Jackson thus merging two families of the most revered singers in the world.

.
Elvis was also friends with my favorite 20th century icon Marilyn Monroe thus insuring him a permanent place in my mind.



During his life he reinvented his career several times, had a manager whose love for money made Elvis a fortune but may have cost him a lifetime of unhappiness, and he became addicted to prescription drugs.



Both Elvis and Michael Jackson would die prematurely from an overdose of prescription drugs.  Still, he remains one of the greatest icons of the 20th century.  Happy birthday Elvis.
.

Health Care in America - Obama and Big Pharma - Strange Bedfellows

.

The Broken American Health Care System - CPT Reprint

When he ran for office Obama pledged to get control of health care costs and the first thing he did was have his then Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel negotiate a multi billion dollar deal with big pharmaceutical companies to get their backing for his Obamacare health program.

Details of this deal have never been made public but he did get the support and money from big pharma to lobby and pass his health care program.  As profits continue to climb and costs continue to soar for prescription drugs in America let us look at how they have fared in selling their drugs under Obamacare.

Would you like to know what contributions you are making to drug companies in America? Here are the top 15 drug sales of prescription drugs for 2010 as reported by Bloomberg News.

As you will note, the drug is first, what it treats next, the annual sales in BILLIONS of dollars, and the percentage change over the previous year.  This does not include sales for livestock, fish and poultry use which can represent up to 70% of total antibody drug sales for big pharma, tens of billions more in revenues.

.

Lipitor Topped Worldwide Drug Sales in 2010; Crestor Gains Most

1. Lipitor - High cholesterol - Pfizer - $10.7 - -6%

2. Plavix - Blood clot prevention - Bristol Myers - $9.43 - -4%

3. Remicade - Rheumatoid arthritis - J&J Merck & Co. - $7.99 - N/A

4. Advair - Asthma - GlaxoSmithKline - $7.94 - 2%

5. Enbrel - Rheumatoid arthritis - Amgen/Pfizer - $7.23 - N/A

6. Abilify- -Depression Bipolar Schizophrenia - Otsuka/Bristol-Myers - $6.78 - N/A

7. Humira - Rheumatoid arthritis - Abbott - $6.55 - 19%

8. Avastin - Cancer - Roche -  $6.22 - 8%

9. Rituxan - Lymphoma Leukemia - Roche/Biogen Idec - $6.11 - 9%

10. Diovan - High blood pressure - Novartis - $6.05 - 1%

11. Crestor - High cholesterol - AstraZeneca - $5.69 - 26%

12. Seroquel - Depression Bipolar Schizophrenia - AstraZeneca - $5.3 - 9%

13. Herceptin - Breast cancer - Roche - $5.22 - 7%

14. Zyprexa - Bipolar Schizophrenia - Eli Lilly - $5.03 - 2%

15. Singulair  - Asthma Allergies - Merck & Co. - $4.99 - 7%

*Estimated, Otsuka declined to provide 2010 sales. Some year-over-year sales comparisons are N/A because there isn’t comparable 2009 data.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net.

.