Thanks to LA Times for featuring Zuma Dogg in their article about City Council and their "Dog and Pony Shows" versus The People's General Public Comment.
Full LA Times Article
Although some are choosing to spin that the author is saying Zuma Dogg is a City Council timewaster, if you read the sub-headline and final passage, it appears the point may actually be that City Council is the biggest waste of time in town:
LA Times sub-headline: "Think the public comment period at City Council meetings is useless? Wait until the pols start talking."
Could THIS be the point?: "The weirdest part of the meeting was that, when I wasn't looking, the council passed $29 million in bonds for affordable housing, gave 11 neighborhoods street lighting for the first time and reinstated commuter express buses. All of which took about four minutes because the details were worked out in committee."
[ZD says a lot more than that happened on that, or any given day. But the point is, for all the "pony shows", ass-kissing and grandstanding -- all the real deals are made in the small committees -- off camera and out of the public's scrutiny.]
LA Times says, "The rest of the three hours was bread and circus. Which I understand is a big part of politics....Instead, a lot of politics is like a kids' soccer league, making everyone feel good about themselves with trophies for participation, good attitude and loving Rosa Parks. Which is really a waste of time."
Get it?
Thank you Joel Stein for the coverage, even though it wasn't exactly dream coverage. Especially since you said, "Three regulars -- Matt Dowd, Mike Hunt and Zuma Dogg -- started attending a year and half ago after they'd been thrown off Venice Beach for selling stuff without a license." We HAD licenses! The City sold them to us! That was the point! AND, I was never kicked off the beach. I simply could not sell what was constitutionally protected, the day before this new shady ordinance went into effect, without getting a ticket. And I never violated the ordinance, never got a ticket, and was never "kicked off the beach". (I simply couldn't return until they amended the ordinance, which they already suspended -- and are currently changing at the request of a Federal judge.)
That's a lot different than being "kicked off for not having a license." (And I predict the law is going to be amended, we will be triumphantly victorious, and the City will be writing checks for violating Federal law.)
Anyway, hilarious article -- and how triumphant to be included in an article that "rubs it" in LA City Council's face, y'all..yeah-yeah!
MITT ROMEY CAMPAIGNING IN N.H.: There is no way I would ever vote for him, because he represents the big corporations and special interests and the Charter school bamboozle -- but he did a fantastic job on Friday during his "Ask Mitt Anything" meeting in Manchester, New Hampshire (as seen on C-Span). He is able to say it in the simple terms that makes it all seem so simple. But at least he was saying all the right things, in all the right ways. But that doesn't mean he will be good, or bad as President. My comment is only regarding campain politics and how it is being perceived by the public in the media.
And I did call Obama, Edwards, Clinton (in that order), and Huckabee in Iowa as the final pre-caucus prediction based on my market research.
BILL RICHARDSON: I hope the guy wins, just so Horachio Sans can return to "Saturday Night Live" as Bill. Hate to say it, cause I really like Richardson, but I was just watching his speech, and he was a dead ringer for Horachio's impression. (Not a slam on Bill, it just turns out he looks and sounds like Horachio Sans. And boy oh boy are they dead ringers! Bill should send Mr. Sans out to campaign for him in places Bill can't be. Most people wouldn't know the difference.)
STOCK MARKET: Not gonna be a lot of fun for a while. People think it is so down, it has to come back up again, soon. NOT SO FAST YOU OPTIMISTS. If you have a general stock portfolio and a bunch of mutual funds that you go over with your stock broker once a month, or so...I would be selling it as quickly as possible on Monday.
People close to me know I have been urging them to sell all stocks and mutual funds by Dec 31, 2007 close -- and put the money in your mattress. I've been making these comments since October, then November, then December, then mid-December, then late-December. After the worst opening in 20 years on Wednesday Jan 2nd, I called everyone I knew and told them buy Gold and Agriculture (especially wheat: Monsanto, etc. and Gold (mining) Stocks. (But I liked gold at $800, now it's $870.)
Of course I was scoffed. The next day gold and agriculture literally skyrocketed, just as planned... if you had turned on cnbc/bloomberg/etc, or bothered to check a financial website!?!? (Check the charts.) People spend more time reading sports stats than the stats that actullay affects their real money.
I wasn't going out on a limb? I didn't make this up? I didn't know anything about gold or commodities before I started watching CNBC in October.
I watched the TV financial networks (Bloomberg and CNBC, also on the net -- and read some news wires. THE EXPERTS WERE SCREAMING THIS!!! WHEN YOU HAVE ALL THE EXPERTS SCREAMING THE EXACT SAME THING AT THE EXACT SAME TIME...I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH MORE OF A SIGNAL YOU ARE LOOKING FOR!!!
Now I understand. The people I was telling, had lives, and jobs and families and friends and don't have time to monitor the global economy and financial markets 16-17 hours a day.
But I do, and I did. So don't be so combative next time. You can either accept the recommendation, or not. You don't have to do everything in your power to try and prove why I am wrong. (Someone even had the nerve to tell me on Wednesday that they would never invest in gold or agriculture, because those are commodities, and she taught a course about the stock market for a local university. I don't know what her textbook said, but the next day gold and agriculture skyrocketed, and the rest of the market had the worst three days since the depression, and all of her stocks dove off a cliff.
But people don't like to take their money out of the stock market because it's fun to be in the stock market, and tell your friends in the locker rooms and country clubs what stocks they have. It's no fun to say that you sold all your stocks and put it in a 0.00% interest account. People like to make interest on their money.
They would prefer to lose 30%-50% of their fortune in the worst three days since the depression of the 1930's, than only make 4% interest.
Human nature is a bitch. How many people did I tell sell Starbucks in October. Everyone told me they bought it at $28, or $38 and they didn't want to sell at $23, because they wanted to wait for it to go back up.
I asked my closest friend, who I don't want to see lose money and said, "What if someone could guarantee Startbucks will be at $19 before $25." (Trying to make the strongest point possible as I have been known to do, when necessary.) He said, "I would tell them that they were full of sh*t." Two weeks later (or less, it was at $19. It closed at 18.11 on Friday. But what do you expect from someone who refused to sell Apple at $200 -- even though I warned that the market was about to fall and it's gonna be like a Rocket Man, before you see those prices (a long, long time). Apple is now at $180. And now everyone in the world (and all my close friends, family and my friends family are all going to be living with black market clouds over their heads, and the whole economy is going to start having "depression mentality" and start cutting back and being cranky.
OK, people say the market always rallies back. ZD says this ain't like your usual same old temporary market adjustment. You would probably NEVER consider selling everything at this point, because you have faith and hope -- and just know we are at the bottom and it's going to go back up.
THERE ARE STILL BIG BULLS OUT THERE TO INVEST IN...BEcause when something goes down, something goes up. But if you are one of these "buy and holders, with your stockbroker you check in with once in a while...SELL NOW! The stock market just turned into Rocket Man. (I think it's gonna BE a long, long time.) The market will be far too volatile beyond anything anyone is used to, so they will get burned if you try and predict tops and bottoms by yesterday's standards. This is no time to be a "buy and holder" or feel mutual funds are a safe haven.
ARE WE OR ARE WE NOT SEEING THINGS WE HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE? IT'S CALLED VOLATILITY -- AND IT IS A SIGN THAT THE BOTTOM IS ABOUT TO GIVE. And three days is not this cycle's time limit.
Remember, just when you don't think it can get any worse...it gets worse...and THAT'S WHEN IT'S ACTUALLY REALLY TOO LATE.
Here's a web page I put together for myself so I can have all the news wires and even cnbc/bloomberg micro-TV feeds all in one place. If you feel like taking your head out of your ass and do a little research while you have your life fortune invested in the worst stock market since the 30's Great Depression, you can see what I used to make these predictions at: strategyupdate.com
zumadogg@gmail.com
zuma's video blog
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