Penny Pre ss Press 11-17-5 screen.pdf · Fred Weinberg Brent Jordan Al Thomas Circulation: Doug French Bill Here Charlotte Weinberg Brent Jordan Pat Choate Joyce Meyer Bob Jennings

Penny Press

Las Vegas, NV Volume 3 Number 8 NOVEMBER 17, 2005

Aviation Nation:Showing Tin Horn Mullahs

What We Can DoSee Analysis Page 3

THE PENNY PRESS, NOVEMBER 17, 2005 PAGE 2

PennyPressLogotype Pointedlymad licensed from: Rich Gast

Credits:Publisher and Editor: Contributing Editors:Fred Weinberg Brent Jordan Al Thomas Circulation: Doug French Bill HereCharlotte Weinberg Brent Jordan Pat Choate Joyce Meyer Bob Jennings

The Penny Press is published weekly by 5010 Productions, Inc. All Contents © Penny Press 2005

Letters to the Editor are encouraged. They should be sent to our offices at 418 1/2 S. Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas 89101. They can also be emailed to: [email protected] No unsigned or unverifiable let-ters will be printed.

702-740-5588 Fax: 702-920-8215

www.pennypresslv.com

By PATRICK T. NOHRDENSpecial to the Penny Press

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita saw a new depth to which national politics could go. The government, and in particular President Bush, were blamed for not being prepared for the hurricanes, for not responding fast enough in the aftermath of Katrina, and for allowing Big Oil to reap such fantastic profits. What?

Last week, Congress held hearings to learn just how it was that the big oil companies could make such large profits in the wake of America’s busi-est storm season in memory. How dare they? With the misery of so many people who had to pay more than $3.00 per gallon of precious gasoline to fill up their SUV’s, the big oil companies should not have been making a profit. That would be un-American.

Now, with the pressure of big storms gone, the political pressure seams greater still, as President Bush is obligated to predict and prevent the next big disaster, Bird Flu. Bird flu has killed numerous people in Asia, includ-ing China. The official scare is that the virus, which has never before been transmitted from person to person, may do that in the future. It is the next big threat from China, after SARS in 2003 and the Black Death of 1509.

Following the 2003 SARS scare, China wants nothing more to tarnish its improving world reputation. Especially, China, which now boasts the fastest economic growth of all nations, wants nothing to slow down that growth. According to BBC World News, as of November 5, 2005, since the disease re-emerged in 2003, there have been at least 60 human deaths associated with H5N1 (Bird Flu). Many of these deaths were in China.

SARS saw a drastic decrease in tourism in 2003, and a shocking reduc-tion in productivity in areas hit hardest by the epidemic. With SARS in the past and emphasis being placed on prevention, the bird flu has already become a major concern to China. The fear of Bird Flu is so great that on November 1, 2005, President Bush unveiled a $7.1 billion plan to prepare for an imagined pandemic. This money will come from our general treasury when it is approved by Congress.

The Chinese government has been inspecting chicken farms throughout the country. If they find any chickens infected with bird flu, all the chickens in the area are killed. For his loss, the farmer is paid ten yuan (about $1.25) for each bird killed. The chicken farmers are hoping for bird flu, because ten yuan is about twice the amount they normally get for their chickens. This is surprising when you consider the fact that most of China’s farmers have not received their government stipends in years.

But government works differently in China. The Chinese president did

not place a bill before the Chinese People’s Congress asking for appro-priations to pay the farmers. Instead, at least in Jinzhou, the public school teachers are paying for it.

Government inspectors recently discovered two chickens with bird flu near the city of Jinzhou in Liaoning Province in northeast China. Ma Jing is a math teacher at Middle School Number 4 in Jinzhou. She earns about 1,200 yuan per month, or 1,000 yuan after normal taxes. That is about $125.00. For northeast China, it is a decent salary, and since most people in northeast China do not have car payments, mortgages, or credit cards to pay, it is adequate. However, on November 10, 2005, Ma Jing was told that on Monday, November 14, 2005, she has to fork over 200 yuan to help pay the farmers for their chickens. Some teachers pay more, some less, depending upon their salary. Li Laoshi, a Chinese teacher at the same school, must pay 400 yuan. But the teachers must pay. It is their obligation to help support and protect society.

The farmers are ecstatic. They are getting more than twice the market value for their birds. The teachers are angry, bewildered, and helpless. Perhaps the government considers their teachers to be overpaid. After all, the monthly wage for an average urban dweller in China is 500 yuan, or about $63.00. Or perhaps there is a connection to the Cultural Revolution in the late 1960’s and 1970’s when teachers were forced out of the schools to become farmers, and without any additional education, the farmers became the teachers, the teachers of those who are now in charge of the current government.

KFC will certainly suffer in China, a country that teems with KFC franchises. Jinzhou boasts two KFC franchises, and already they are losing money. But last year, KFC was fined by the Chinese government for mak-ing excessive profit. That is truly difficult to understand.

Historically, the Chinese emperors would levy disproportionate taxes on certain elements of Chinese society in order to pay for wars, flood recovery efforts, or to fight against famine. Those elements of society that did not pay the tax were the elements that the government feared the most. But those who were taxed would revolt, and a new dynasty would be born. In 1949 it was the farmers who revolted. In 1966, it was the farmers again, who revolted against the teachers. In 2005, the teachers are being held responsible for China’s latest crises. History is repeating itself.

In China, there is no constitutional prohibition on this sort of tax appor-tionment. The United States Constitution would never allow such a tax apportionment—unless you are an oil company.Pat Nohrden is a Las Vegas based writer who lived in China for several years

From Hurricanes To Chickens, A Problem For The Teachers’ Union

By FRED WEINBERGPenny Press Publisher

Every year, over two hundred thousand people—people of most every nationality, ethnic origin and station in life—converge on Nellis

Air Force Base for an air show.You don’t need a security clear-

ance to watch the newest planes in the Air Force inventory perform.

And you don’t need to be a World War Two veteran to appreci-ate the oldest planes recreating their glory days when they gave our coun-try the air superiority with which we won the war.

But the spectacle of over two hundred thousand people, mostly civilians, on an air force base which, in almost any other nation, would be completely shrouded in secrecy says a whole lot about what kind of people we are here in the United States of America.

Nobody will ever have to won-der whether or not we possess weap-ons of mass destruction.

We do. In fact, we invented them.

Nobody will ever have to won-der whether or not we possess the will to use them in defense of the freedom we possess.

We will. We did to end World War Two. We may, some day have to again.

And nobody will ever have to wonder whether or not the United States of America can control its

own destiny. We can. For almost 230 years

we have.In fact, included in that crowd

might have been a member of a ter-rorist cell or two and a spy from one of the nation states which harbor them.

We can only hope because that would be a good thing. Let them see what our best, brightest and bravest can do.

Think of what that spy may tell his mullah sponsors back in Iran, as an example.

“You should have seen the F/A 22 go five miles straight up!

“Why it could punch out one of our clandestine nuclear reactors and be back in American airspace before Al-Jazeera could report it happened!

“Those Americans…even their

oldest propeller driven planes can do more than one of our suicide bomb-ers.”

Well, maybe not in those words, but you get the point.

We don’t hide our prowess, but showing it off is not the same as flaunting it. It merely makes a state-ment of fact which is louder than anything the Secretary of State can say in a visit to the Middle East.

There is a school of thought that we will never again have to fight a conventional war because our new enemy is stateless.

If that is true, it is only true because we are completely prepared to fight a conventional war and win decisively.

We cannot let our guard down because if we do, every tin horn mullah in the Middle East will be

Penny PressLAS VEGAS, NEVADA 16 PAGES VOLUME 3 NUMBER 8 NOVEMBER 17, 2005

Penny WisdomFar better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by fail-ure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat. —Theodore Roosevelt

The Conservative Weekly Voice Of Las Vegas

Inside:Lance Malone Should Shut Up!See Editorial Page 6

PAT CHOATE PAGE 5FRED WEINBERG PAGE 6DOUG FRENCH PAGE 7BILLHERE PAGE 8AL THOMAS PAGE 10DIANE GRASSI PAGE 11JOYCE MEYER PAGE 12BRENT JORDAN PAGE 14PET OF THE WEEK PAGE 15

We Can Only Hope The Tin Horn Mullahs Were Watching

Analysis

Continued on page4


www.LasVegasCrooks.com

You Can Get Billhere's

Calendar and Newsletter

FREE by email!

The FREE, e-mailed, VegasResource.com Newsletter and complete index of

Las Vegas coupons for shows, buffets and attrac-tions is available on the internet at:

http://www.vegasresource.com/FreeVRC.html

Were The Mullahs Watching?

www.choateweinbergreport.com

lined up at the MIG and Sukhoi offices in Moscow trying to buy the Russian planes and tactics we train against.

This means that those same tin horn mullahs, instead of trying to face us off in a conventional war, are now reduced to having people blow themselves up and crash planes into buildings and pretend that they are stateless.

That is a state of affairs which is infinitely preferable to facing a modern day Emperor Hirohito or General Tojo.

Hence the invasion of Iraq.Come down hard enough on

states which sponsor terrorism and they won’t.

And if you truly believe that Saddam Hussein was completely divorced from the terrorism scene, we have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.

Of course, the Hate America First crowd will never see it that way. But that’s why we have elec-tions and that crowd never seems to win, because the American voter is smarter than that.

And that’s why an air show here in Las Vegas has international implications.

Besides, it’s a lot more fun than a May Day parade, which is where we used to get much of our informa-tion about Soviet missile technol-ogy.

Continued from page 3

www.pennypresslv.com

Want A Penny PressIn The Mail?

$55 per year First Class MailName__________________ Penny PressAddress________________ 418 ½ S. MarylandCity_____State___ZIP_____ Las Vegas, NV 89101

The China Report – Part 1

Because of all the recent atten-tion given to the CIA leak investiga-tion, and the back and forth over the confirmation of a Supreme Court nominee, most of the national media missed last week’s release of a major report on China by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. For those who wish to read the full report, it can be found on the Web at www.uscc.gov.

The Commission is composed of China experts appointed by Congress. It serves as the unofficial “Team B” on China policy – that is, the policy recommendations by experts outside of government who

are given access to both public and classified information. In the spirit of full disclosure, I have authored two papers that the Commission considered in its deliberations – one on China’s advanced technology trade with the United States and the other on China’s intellectual prop-erty practices.

The Commission’s 2005 report contains ten key recommendations. Here are the first five. Next week, the other five.

Recommendation 1 – Currency Manipulation

China is manipulating its cur-rency to gain a trade advantage over U.S. producers and workers. The Commission recommends that unless China appreciates its cur-rency by 25 percent against the dollar, that Congress press the Bush Administration to file a case

against China at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and impose an immediate tariff on all Chinese imports, an act that can partially off-set the effects of China’s cheating.

Recommendation 2 – Challenge China’s Piracy and Counterfeiting

When China joined the WTO, the Chinese agreed to abide by the WTO rules that require that nation to provide minimal protections against the theft and infringement of foreign-owned patents, copy-rights, trademarks and trade secrets. So far, China has made promises but has done little to stop such theft. As a result, two-thirds of all the counterfeit goods seized by the U.S. Customs Service each year are made in China. The U.S. Commerce Department estimates that such pira-cy and counterfeiting inside China costs U.S. companies and inventors at least $50 billion annually. The China Commission recommends that the Administration be encour-aged to file another case at the WTO against China for not living up to its obligations. If successful, and it would be, such a case could produce billions of dollars of damages from China that could be distributed to the U.S. victims of this theft.

Recommendation 3 – Coordinating with the Europeans and Japanese on China Trade and Security Matters

The unfair trade practices that China uses against U.S. companies are also used against companies from Europe and Japan. So too, Chinese pirates and counterfeit-ers are stealing from European and Japanese owners. Yet, the U.S.,

Japan and Europe are each working independently of each other to deal with these problems. If they worked together, they would be more likely to achieve success. The Commission recommends that the Congress urge the Administration to take the lead in developing a common approach to a common problem.

Recommendation 4 – Proliferation of WMD and Missile Technology

China is a notorious exporter of missile and other technology capable of mass destruction. Executive Order 13382 empowers the Administration to freeze the assets of Chinese firms that are engaged in such work or assist or lend monies to such pro-liferators. The Commission recom-mends that Congress encourage the Bush Administration to expand that order so that the U.S. can seize the property of any parent company or financial institution that knowingly helps these distributors.

Recommendation 5 – Develop a U.S. Strategy for Technological Competitiveness

China is challenging America’s scientific and technological leader-ship. This has basic implications for both future U.S. economic growth and for our capacity to mount and sustain an assured national defense. Just as the U.S. developed a space agenda after Sputnik, it now needs a technological competitiveness strat-egy to assure that the U.S. does not become second or third best in sci-ence, innovation and technological deployment. PAT CHOATETo be continued. Part 2 next week.


Commentary: Pat Choate

The Penny Press Tips Its Cap To:Sierra Pacific Power, the parent of Nevada power for settling with Enron instead of spending years in Bankruptcy Court and millions of our dollars fighting for an uncertain outcome. The real question here if why they were dealing with Enron in the first place when anybody who could read a bal-ance sheet knew these clowns were as crooked as a three dollar bill? And why the senior executive who allowed that to happen is still a senior execu-tive?

Caralynne Rudin who, faced with her record of business dealings resigned from the Taxi Authority where she had no business being appointed anyway. How proud of Governor Guinn's appointment process should we be?

The Penny Press Sends A Bronx Cheer And A Bouquet of Weeds To:Lance Malone and his foolish defense counsel for leaking a secretly recorded tape of Mike Galardi's in which he whined that the jurors believed something she had implied at trial and that he's going to prison because of that. He's going to prison because he was a cheap little thief and that was well documented in the other 400 recordings which the FBI made. He tried to corrupt public officials with cash and got caught. Take it like a man.

Want A Penny PressIn The Mail?

$55 per year First Class MailName__________________ Penny PressAddress________________ 418 ½ S. MarylandCity_____State___ZIP_____ Las Vegas, NV 89101

I know that Lance Malone must have a lot of dirt on many people who pass as adult supervision in city and county government here from the letters to Judge Jeffrey Miller before Miller sentenced him to three years in the can for being a cheap thief.

What amazes me is that Malone shows absolutely zero remorse.

In fact, heading into yet another criminal trial next year here in Las Vegas where the charges are even more detailed and the evidence reportedly even more devas-tating, all he can do is try and undermine the credibility of his former boss by secretly taping a conversation with Mike Galardi’s girlfriend.

Like anybody cares.

Lance baby.

You got yourself elected to the County Commission.

You served one term with three other clowns who were also indicted. One of those morons (Erin Kenny) was smart enough to cop a plea.

Now you are going to have two witnesses testifying against you.

And you want to fight?

Some of us in the media knew you were a moron the first time we ever laid eyes on you.

Now, you’re proving that to everybody else.

Nobody told you to take your “skills” and go to work for a crook like Galardi.

Nobody told you that it was perfectly legal to spread cash around so that Galardi could make even more money than he already made by trying to play with the law so that his strippers could play with customers’

genitals.

You did all these things willingly.

And you got caught. On audio and video tape.

And now that you have been convicted you are asking the age old question of cheating husbands caught in the act.

“Who are you going to believe? Me, or your lying eyes.”

In other words, you must think that the people who tossed your butt out of public office are really stupid.

Lance, here’s some free advice.

Quit while you’re ahead. Cop a plea, shut up and do your time like a man—even if they put you in a cell with a four hundred pound guy named Bubba.

Nobody who counts likes you or what you have done.

Nobody thinks you should skate because you think you’re a cute victim.

And nobody is going to appreciate the bill that the tax-payers will have to foot for another trial which will end the same way.

You are screwed.

You did it to yourself.

Now for once in your life will you just shut the hell up and take responsibility for your actions?

Act like a man and maybe we’ll have more sympathy for you when you’ve done your time.

FRED WEINBERG


OPINIONFrom The Publisher...

Memo To Lance: Shut Up!


Commentary: Doug FrenchPrice Control Is Not The Answer!

Big-five oil company management was summoned for questioning on Capital Hill last week and berated by a bi-partisan panel of pecksniffs. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said the executives did not ‘’adequately answer the question of whether the sky-high gas prices we saw earlier this fall were entirely justified, and whether their companies’ profit margins are appropriate given the hardships energy consumers are facing and will con-tinue to face this winter.” According to the Boston Globe, House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, Republican of Illinois, urged Exxon Mobil’s Lee Raymond in a private meeting yesterday to invest profits in production. While supply and demand affect the cost of gas, ‘’we should not tolerate price-gouging,” Hastert said after the meeting. “Urged on by an economically ignorant pub-lic,” economist Tom DiLorenzo writes, “Congress recently held one of its periodic Grand Inquisitions of oil company executives to demand an answer to the question: “How dare you profit from the American free enterprise system?”

Thankfully oil companies have a small chance of keeping some of their money if left to congress. Because, judging by the irate mail I receive in response to my attempts to explain economics, supply and demand, and the price system, if left to a vote of the masses, oil companies would likely be nationalized and we’d all be left to schlep to work on the bus.

Conservative or liberal, it doesn’t seem to matter; many people believe that there is some giant conspiracy on the part of big oil companies to rob the public. When I argue the opposite, no matter the amount of evidence I provide I’m called a moron or worse. I have no illusions that this column will be any different.

Recently, Exxon Mobil (XOM) published record quarterly profits of $9.9 billion. The company’s SEC 10-Q filing reveals the following:

What one should notice is that although Exxon Mobil made a $9.9 bil-lion profit, the company paid nearly $26 billion in taxes during the third quarter of this year and just short of $73 billion in taxes for the first nine months of 2005.

Exxon’s effective tax rate is 42 percent, yet there are continual cries for windfall profits tax. It looks like the government is earning a windfall profit, not Exxon. As Jeffrey Tucker wrote on the Mises.org blog last week: “[The numbers] reinforce the research that contends that oil companies make 10 cents per gallon on gasoline while Federal, State and Local Government make a combined total of 45 cents (over 50 cents in Nevada).”

As oil has retreated to a price under $60 barrel, prices at the pump have fallen from the prices experienced during the hurricane-induced supply dis-ruption. But, the outrage continues. Besides, if Evian were sold in barrels, it would cost $500 per. Why hasn’t the Evian brass along with the other water company executives been called into the star-chamber for price gouging? What, is water less vital than oil?

Professor DiLorenzo points out that anti-price-gouging legislation and price controls are really the same thing. “The case against price controls is not merely an academic exercise, restricted to economics textbooks,” DiLorenzo explains. “There is a four-thousand-year historical record of economic catastrophe after catastrophe caused by price controls.”

Most recently, the 1970’s energy crisis was caused by price controls, as was the California energy crisis of the 1990s (only the wholesale price of electricity was deregulated there; controls were placed on retail prices).

The men and women in Congress promise to make everything cheaper with nothing more than words on a piece of paper and the police power of the state. But, the results are, in DiLorenzo’s words, always the same: “shortages, sometimes of catastrophic consequence; deterioration of prod-uct quality; the proliferation of black markets on which prices are actually higher and bribery is rampant; destruction of a nation’s productive capacity in the industries where prices are controlled; gross distortions of markets; the creation of oppressive and tyrannical price control bureaucracies; and a dangerous concentration of political power in the hands of the price control-lers.” However, the public is armed with little economic or historical knowl-edge. The average Joe wants cheap gas period, and their Representatives damn well better make it so. Boobus Americanus better be careful what is wished for. It might just happen. DOUG FRENCH


The Best Vegas Calendar BAR NONE!By Billhere

The FREE, e-mailed, VegasResource.com Newsletter and complete index of Las Vegas coupons for shows, buffets and attractions is available on the internet at:

http://www.vegasresource.com/FreeVRC.html NOVEMBER, 2005==================17-20= London Suite by Neil Simon - Las Vegas Little Theatre.17= Celebrity Impersonators Convention - Imperial Palace.17= Westward Ho closes to make way for high-rise residences.17-19= The Comedy Festival - Caesars Palace and Flamingo.17-20= Debbie Reynolds - The Orleans.17-30= George Carlin - Stardust.18= Rolling Stones-MGM Grand Garden Arena.18-19= The Moody Blues - The Mirage.18-20= Al Jarreau - Suncoast.19= Maxxis EuroCross - Orleans Arena.19-20= Gun & Knife Show - Cashman Center.19-20= Toy Expo - Also at Cashman Center.20= Pink Floyd - Aladdin.22-27= Neil Sedaka - The Orleans.23= Comedian Carrot Top opens a 3-year run-Luxor.24= Thanksgiving Day.24-25= Wayne Brady - The Mirage.25-26= Paul McCartney - MGM Grand. 25-27= Craft Jamboree - Cashman Ctr.25-27= International Auto Show - Las Vegas Convention Center: http://www.motortrendautoshows.com/lasvegas/26= Depeche Mode - Hard Rock.26= Foreigner - Texas Station.25-27= Bill Acosta - Suncoast.27-Dec.3= Miss Rodeo America - Orleans: http://www.lasvegasevents.com/events/event-11272005-missrodeo.php

DECEMBER, 2005==================1= Neal McCoy - Fremont Sreet Experience.1-10= Cowboy Xmas Gift Show - LV Convention Center: www.lasvegas-events.com/events/event-12022005-cowboyxmas.php1-21= Carrot Top - MGM Grand.2-3= All-Stars Gaming Expo - Fiesta Rancho.2-4= Lynyrd Skynyrd - Las Vegas Hilton.2-11= NFR National Finals Rodeo - Thomas & Mack Center.: http://www.

nfrexperience.com/ and http://www.lasvegasevents.com/events/event-12022005-nfr.php3= Boxing. Taylor vs. Hopkins - Mandalay Bay.4= Las Vegas Marathon: www.lvmarathon.com5-7= LeAnn Rimes, Phil Vassar - Las Vegas Hilton.6= Billboard Music Awards - MGM Grand Garden Arena. [FOX-TV]. Information: www.billboard.com/bb/daily/article_display.jsp?vnu_con-tent_id=10011361097-20/Randy Travis - Golden Nugget.9= Keith Urban/Deana Carter - Mandalay Bay.10= Chris Isaak - buffalo Bill’s in Primm, NV.10= Kelly Clarkson - Aladdin.15= Allegiant Air to begin flights to Vegas from Orlando,FL.15-18=The Dionne Warwick Christmas Show-Orleans.16-18= Tony Bennett - Golden Nugget.16-18= Sha Na Na Rock n’ Roll Christmas-Suncoast.17= Westward Ho closes to make way for high-rise residences. Information: www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/sun/2005/sep/15/519361092.html?westward%20ho 25= Christmas Day.26-27= Jerry Seinfeld - Caesars Palace.30-Jan.1= The Four Tops - Stardust.31= New Year’s Eve Celebrations:1. The Strip is closed to cars.31= Hootie and the Blowfish - Silverton.31= The Vincent Falcone Orchestra - Suncoast.Dec.??= Fresh Market Buffet and Andreotti’s Italian Restaurant reopen-ing after major renovations - Harrah’s. Dec.??= Harrah’s closes on its purchase of the Imperial Palace. Information: http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Aug-23-Tue-2005/news/27091901.htmlDec.??= Major multi-million dollar renovations completed on the lobby, porte-cochere, poker room and bar - Las Vegas Hilton.Dec.??= Buffet reopens after renovations-Sunset Station.====================================Please e-mail errors, omissions and additions to:[email protected]

Robert Jennings/Penny Press


Aviation Nation 2005

Photos by Fred Weinberg/Penny Press

Starting from the upper left clockwise, the United States Air Force Thunderbirds perform a bomb burst in their final show of the season, a pair of early Vietnam era Skyraiders put on a demonstration, the newest air superiority fighter in the inventory, the F/A 22 climbs out and the Thunderbird solo pilots execute an opposing knife edge pass.


Commentary: Albert ThomasWhiplash Investing

Have you ever been struck from behind while you were in your car? It usually happens at a stop light or stop sign. Everything is nice and peaceful and BANG you get a terrible whack. Totally unexpected. Some damage to the car and maybe to you.

It might be a day or so later as headaches start, dizzy spells and vomit-ing. Yuk! Best thing is to be off to your chiropractor to have bones reset.

This is somewhat like the stock market and your portfolio. You are going along comfortably relaxed and suddenly the market hits you from behind. Totally unexpected. There is damage to your portfolio and maybe to your peace of mind. Could be headaches and vomiting depending on how serious is the crash.

It’s off to your broker or financial planner to get things fixed. After you get there you are shocked to find out he has no idea how to get your money back. Yuk! He is supposed to be an expert and this should not have happened in the first place. You are about find out that brokers and finan-cial planners have been taught their trade by the big Wall Street brokerage houses. Their goal is not to make you rich but to get rich off you. Can this be true? You betcha. You will learn that advice from a broker is a eulogy for your money.

It is not that your broker or financial planner is dishonest. It is that he doesn’t know that he doesn’t know. The methodology of Wall Street is to get your money and keep it. Buy and never sell. Brokers are not taught that cash is a position. Think back. How much more money would you have

today if you had been in cash from 2000 to 2003? There are times when Buy And Hold is a good idea, but there are also times when you should be in a money market.

Your chiropractor will make an adjustment to your neck and back and you will get off the table feeling better. Your broker will suggest adjusting your portfolio by selling certain equities and buying others. The chiroprac-tor may ask that you have additional adjustments. Unfortunately, unless you have a very large account brokers forget their clients until you are faced with another headache and call him to make further “adjustment”. It doesn’t help unless he is aware of the general direction of the market – up or down. Down he doesn’t understand and has not been schooled how to protect your money.

The standard Wall Street medications of Buy and Hold, Diversification, Do Research, Dollar Cost Average and You Can’t Afford to be Out of the Market are a few of the poison pills prescribed to investors every day. There are more standard WS tablets and they will all make your portfolio smaller over a period of time.

If you have either of these types of whiplash you will need to find some-one who knows the cure. AL THOMASAl Thomas’ best selling book, “If It Doesn’t Go Up, Don’t Buy It!” has helped thousands of people make money and keep their profits with his simple 2-step method. Read the first chapter and receive his market letter for 3 months at no charge at www.mutualfundmagic.com and discover why he’s the man that Wall Street does not want you to know.

1.877.821.93021.877.821.9302


Commentary: Diane GrassiPay Cuts Or Shut Downs

The erosion of the manufacturing sector in the United States started decades ago, however the playbooks used by CEOs have changed. Instead of renegotiation of labor contracts and requests for concessions, the threat of permanent job loss, steep rollbacks of salaries and the complete elimination of employee benefits has replaced management propositions.

We have heard of offshoring of the apparel and textile industries, the furniture and steel industries and more recently the givebacks by airline employees including pilots. But different from those scenarios is a new variation or precedent being set with the bankruptcy filing October 8, 2005 by the Delphi Corporation, one of the world’s largest auto suppliers, for-merly a division of General Motors Corp., prior to 1999.

At stake are thousands of U.S. jobs and more importantly the ultimatum involved of slashing up to two-thirds of workers’ hourly wages. Delphi cur-rently employs 50,600 workers including employees in Canada and 45 man-ufacturing plants in 16 states. 34,000 are unionized in the U.S., with 24,000 United Auto Workers Union employees and 8,500 from the International Electrical Workers Union, in addition to 12,000 retirees also impacted.

In an original proposal by Delphi’s CEO, Robert S. Miller, who took over the struggling parts-maker in July 2005 following his helm at Bethlehem Steel Corp., he asked for the deflation of wages for production workers at a $10.00 to $12.00 per hour range, where the average wage is presently $26.00 an hour. Now, he has changed those figures to $9.50 or $10.00 an hour. New-hires would see a starting wage of $9.00, down from the present $14.00 wage.

In addition to changes in wages, Delphi has an extensive list of require-ments it has pitched to the UAW in a letter sent October 21st. They include: large increases for out-of-pocket healthcare costs presently from $500.00 per family per year increased to $5,000.00 per family per year; elimina-tion of dental and vision insurance; reduction of pension benefits to reflect lower rage rates and no pension plan offered after January 1, 2006 for new-hires; elimination of traditional 8-hour overtime pay, now only after a 40 hour week; cost-of-living adjustments and profit sharing will be eliminated; reduction in vacation and sick days.

Unlike the agreement arrived at recently between the General Motors Corp. and the UAW, Delphi’s figures are far more drastic. For example, the out-of-pocket expense for healthcare per family per year at GM is $752.00 as opposed to the proposed $5,000.00 per year by Delphi. Additionally, Delphi’s proposal would allow it to outsource certain jobs performed by skilled-trades workers in the U.S. and the unrestricted right to close, sell or consolidate most of its U.S. plants over the next three years. The proposal also slipped in a radical cut in union representatives or 1 for every 250 workers. No strikes, work stoppages or slowdowns would be permitted dur-ing the term of the proposed contract to run through December 31, 2011.

Should no agreement be reached with the unions and Delphi by December 16, 2005, CEO Miller has asked U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Drain to revoke its existing labor proposal on January 17, 2006 in order to freely issue its own contract directly to the unions. Judge Drain complied with the request. With the only option left at that point, the unions have discussed the possibility of striking which evoked a response from Miller stating, “Any plant that wants to be at the top of our plant closures list should engage in [such] industrial action as a way of sending a message.”

Delphi will proceed with cuts to salaried employees simultaneously to negotiating with those unionized.

All told, Delphi employs 1, 850 white-collar or non-executive workers

and 463 executives with 90 senior executives. They know that their jobs are also at risk. They also face reduced health care and pension benefits in addition to those retired salaried workers who will lose all medical ben-efits beginning in 2007. The most severely impacted of several states in which Delphi has plants will be Michigan, where Delphi is based. It would amount to losses of $4.8 billion imposed on Michigan taxpayers due to the lost income taxes and tax revenue. 2007 alone would cost Michigan $390 million.

If this were not so serious an issue it would almost be laughable. It sug-gests that Ebenezer Scrooge has come back from the dead. However, the method of using the bankruptcy process for a national corporation’s lever-age over workers’ wages and rights, while used in the past, has been brought to new heights in this scenario. And Robert Miller’s dossier includes the bankruptcy filing of Bethlehem Steel in 2003, when he was CEO, and was on the Board of Directors when United Airlines filed for its bankruptcy. Miller defends his decision to file bankruptcy for Delphi because “we could not extract more money from our customers than what the global market says that the parts are worth. That’s it.”

Jim Clark, President of the International Electrical Workers Union, states that “These are not cushy jobs. These are labor-intensive jobs. In the global economy, workers are gong to be exploited. And just because they’re Americans doesn’t mean a big corporation won’t try to pay the least amount that people are willing to work for.” Clark also realizes that means that Delphi “is playing them off against workers in lower-wage countries such as Mexico and China.”

In a recent development, GM has offered to discuss assisting in the pension plan for Delphi employees by offering buyouts to encourage early retirement of its employees. In 1999 when General Motors created Delphi from its auto parts division, it had guaranteed pensions and benefits to Delphi employees. How this would be structured, in light of Delphi’s demand for givebacks, is still under review by GM. But GM, with its own revenue problems cannot risk a work stoppage by Delphi at this time, as it has lost approximately $3 billion so far in 2005. However, GM’s offer does little to solve the heart of the problem from which no U.S. industry is immune.

Ron Getelfinger, President of the UAW, believes that Delphi’s contract proposal “is designed to hasten the dismantling of America’s middle class by importing Third World wages.” Additionally, “the proposal faithfully reflects a vision of America in which an elite few live in luxury while every-one else struggles to make ends meet.”

While there are no guarantees in business, the lack of a decent wage for American workers will guarantee less revenue generated for the economy, more individual debt and less discretionary spending. Unfortunately, this logic has eclipsed the thinking of those in charge of U.S. corporate America. The pity is they do not even care. DIANE GRASSI

Want A Penny Press In The Mail?$55 per year First Class Mail

Name__________________ Penny PressAddress________________ 418 ½ S. MarylandCity_____State___ZIP_____ Las Vegas, NV 89101

Don’t Play The Blame GameThere are many people today who don’t seem to be able to accept responsibility when things go wrong in their lives. While it is true that some things happen to us through no fault of our own, sometimes our problems are the result of bad deci-sions. We all know what it’s like to be blamed for something that wasn’t our fault…and many of us have probably been guilty of blaming oth-ers for things that were rightfully our responsibility. But playing the blame game should never be an option for Christians. When experiencing an uncomfort-able situation in our lives, we must honestly face the reality of our actions and make a choice. We can either choose to accept responsibility for our actions or find another place to put the blame. Placing the blame on something or someone else when things go wrong is usually our first tendency. This is our human way of running from responsibility and say-ing, “This is not my fault, and I am not going to deal with it.” This kind of response traps us in a destructive pattern that keeps us from experiencing a breakthrough into the freedom that God wants us to have. He wants us to face the truth about ourselves, repent for any wrongdoing and accept responsibil-ity for our actions. When we are willing to do things God’s way, we can experience significant improve-ment in our lives.For many years I blamed my behav-ior on my past abuse. I didn’t real-ize that by making excuses for my behavior, I was giving my flesh (my mind, will and emotions) a reason for not dealing with my actions (see Romans 13:14). I would say things like, “I can’t help being rebellious toward men because I was mis-treated and abused by them most of my life.” It is true that I was abused in my past, but I was using my past as an excuse for my feelings and actions in the present. It wasn’t my husband’s fault that somebody abused me while I was growing up, but I was making him pay for it.

God patiently dealt with me about the problem, showing me that I must stop making excuses and accept responsibility for my behav-ior. Instead of running from difficult people and situations, He wanted me to run to Him, believing Him to change my attitudes and actions and bring healing and restoration to my soul. You and I need to learn that as long as we point the finger of blame at something or someone else and make excuses for ourselves, we are going to remain in bondage and for-feit our breakthrough. But when we go to God in prayer, ask Him to help us face the truth about ourselves and

accept responsibility for our actions, we can move forward into a life of freedom and fulfillment.The Bible says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13 NKJV). So if you’ve been sitting around feeling depressed, discouraged, and miser-able, it’s time to quit feeling sorry for yourself and blaming everybody else for your problems. It’s time to say, “That’s it—I’m tired of this stuff! It doesn’t matter what has happened to me in the past or what others have said or done—I have a great future. God lives inside of me and I’m going to do something and be somebody.”

Taking this bold step of faith will bring an amazing breakthrough that will change your life. You’ll discover the happiness and contentment that come from knowing that with God’s help, you can take responsibility for your actions. So make a decision to quit playing the blame game and start enjoying the wonderful thrill of victory!

JOYCE MEYER

For more on this topic, you may order Joyce’s six-part series, Breakthrough, which is available by calling 1-800-727-9673 or you may order online at www.joycemeyer.org.


Commentary: Joyce Meyer


Find Out What REALLY Was Happening At CheetahsAvailable Now At All Las Vegas Borders Books

You think you know what goes on in here? You don’t have a clue.


Who are the criminals?

Citizens of a country hostile to the United States break into your house, invade your home. Always being aware and prepared for this danger, you get the drop on them. You don’t feel compelled to be very nice to the criminals. Maybe you even yell at them some, rough them up a little, then send them packing.

Later, the criminals hire a legal group and sue you for your treat-ment of them when they invaded your home. The criminals win the law suit and ultimately, your home is forfeited to these criminal citizens of a hostile country. You wind up in jail, with no home to return to when you are finally released.

Is this justice? Is this right? Is this American?

The answer to all three is no. The answer to all three appar-

ently is also, yes.This scenario happened recent-

ly when a pair from El Salvador illegally invaded the United States, intent upon stealing jobs, and or, ser-vices, and were caught by members of Ranch Rescue, a group of civil-ians who patrol the southern border of the United States, using their own money and resources.

That criminal Salvadorian pair now owns the 70 acre Ranch Rescue property in Arizona; yes, Arizona, USA.

To add insult to injury, the law center who perpetrated this hei-nous act on behalf of the crimi-nal Salvadorians, advertised their perversion of law and reason, by boasting of their “success” on the front page of the SPLC Report: The 8 page paper printed and distrib-uted by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The headline read: “Center team crushes border vigilantes. 70-acre paramilitary compound goes to Center clients.”

The SPLC Report refers to the Mexico / US border as “a land bridge to jobs and opportunity for Latin Americans.”

A “land bridge?”Privately owned property in

the United States of America being

awarded to criminals from a foreign country, in reward for their criminal behavior.

If I were a facetious sort, I would compare this act to awarding Osama bin Laden a New York penthouse for the losses he suffered in the 9/11 attacks.

I shouldn’t say that out loud. That sounds like a potential law suit the SPLC would jump at.

Condoleezza Rice:Now, it was before my morning

coffee, so cut me a break, but my ears perked up at a headline in the RJ that read; “Rice Pursues Border Deal.” Don’t ask me why, but the first thought through my head was; “Finally, the government recognizes what the rest of us already know; the biggest threat to National security is our open border between the US and Mexico. Condi herself is going to take care of it...finally.”

Of course, the story was about shoring up the border between Israel and the Palestinians, not Mexico and the United States.

Why would I imagine the for-mer United States National Security Advisor should take an interest in the least secure area of the United States? Why would I believe the security of the US is more important to the US Secretary of State than the security of Israel? Israel’s security is important––very important––I’m sure, but so is the security of the United States. It seems to me, that the security of the US is so impor-tant, as a matter of fact, that if our security is threatened, so is the secu-rity of every country on the planet, including Israel (which would likely no longer exist if not for our assis-tance).

Actually, Israel has an advantage over the US in security: They so not hesitate to shoot terrorists illegally coming across into their country.

On the other hand, the US allows foreign subversives to sue property owners and seize their property––right here in our country––if anyone tries to stop them from entering the US. (See my story; “Who Are The Criminals.”)

A newspaper story about the US National Security Advisor taking action to secure the US borders...what was I thinking? Like I said, It was before my morning coffee.

Lance Malone:Three years in Federal Prison is

no cake walk, especially for a for-mer cop / politician who looks like he could make the cover of GQ.

It’s going to be a tough three years for Malone, whose sentence was handed down last week in the San Diego portion of the Operation G-sting trial.

For those of you feeling sorry for Lance Malone, remember, even during the proceedings, Malone was still scamming and scheming. He “divorced” his wife (the woman you saw on his arm throughout the entire trial) and put his Orleans casino Subway® franchise in her name so the prosecutors would not see his wealth, and lessen his fine and sen-tence.

If that doesn’t bother you, check his record during his single term as County Commissioner. That term alone could have warranted a prison sentence. And might yet.

If you are still not convinced, just ask someone who had to work around him at Cheetahs. His obscene and ludicrous acts, if not prison wor-thy, should have gained him a beat-ing, at very least.

If anyone is still feeling a twinge of sorrow for Mr. Malone, realize he is an admitted drug addict (painkill-ers). The stress of the trial appar-ently was too much to endure, and forced him to seek escape from his pain with drugs... (bla, bla, bla...). If nothing else, maybe his time in

prison will help him kick that habit.California Lawsuit:The Peoples Republic of

California strikes again, this time with the assistance of the US Supreme Court.

California should be de-annexed from the United States for refusing to allow their Governor to pull them out of the mess they are in, but that’s a separate issue.

What I am talking about is the California man who has initiated a class action law suit against Harrahs, here in Nevada, for failing to disclose a $3.00 energy fee that is billed, in addition to the cost of the room.

Check that number again, it is correct, it says three dollars.

I can’t even blame the man who initiated the suit so much. I mean, he’s from California. It’s like blam-ing a retarded, mutt dog for piss-ing on the carpet: He’s too stupid to know any better. (Of course, a retarded mutt dog can be trained. Californians...)

Californians will sue for mental distress and anguish if their reruns of Seinfield are shifted from one time slot to another. But the US Supreme Court?!

I’ve got to know which bunch of idiots felt a three dollar omission in advertising a room rate was worth being presented in front of the US Supreme Court...redundant. Never mind.

BRENT KENTON JORDAN

Commentary: Brent Jordan


Pet Of The WeekAdopt This Pet !

My Name Is

ROSCO - ID#A096906

I am a male, gold golden retr mix.

The shelter thinks I am about 9 years old.

I have been at the shelter since Nov 01,

2005.

For more information about this animal, call:

The Animal Foundation — Las Vegas at (702) 384-3333Ask for information about

animal ID number A096906

1.877.821.9302


Penny Pre ss Press 11-17-5 screen.pdf · Fred Weinberg Brent Jordan Al Thomas Circulation: Doug French Bill Here Charlotte Weinberg Brent Jordan Pat Choate Joyce Meyer Bob Jennings

Documents