John Mauldin on “The Dow”

CONFICKER

If you saw Lesley Stahl’s piece on 60 Minutes a week ago, you are nervous about a virus called Conficker.

James Musters: “To test a stand-alone PC to see if it is infected with Conficker, click here. You should see six icons in two rows of three. If you see all six then you don’t have the Conficker virus.”

LOVE

My friend Don, a U.S. citizen, may have to emigrate. His letter in Saturday’s Washington Post:

To Live With ‘The Love of My Life’
Saturday, April 4, 2009; A14

Thanks for the March 16 editorial “Separation Anxiety.”

When many people hear the word immigration, all they think about is illegal immigrants. I am a gay man in a five-year relationship with a foreign-born partner who is in this country legally. His visa expires next year, and we will have to go live in exile to remain together.

All I want as a U.S. citizen is the same right that a heterosexual citizen has – to sponsor the love of my life so we can live here together. This issue is really about the rights of U.S. citizens, not about immigration.

For me and my partner, the clock is ticking.

DON GEORGE
Atlanta

AND MARRIAGE

Iowa’s Supreme Court came down unanimously in favor of marriage last week – 6-0.

Here is what the state’s Senate Majority Leader and House Speaker said in joint response:

Thanks to today’s decision, Iowa continues to be a leader in guaranteeing all of our citizens’ equal rights.

The court has ruled today that when two Iowans promise to share their lives together, state law will respect that commitment, regardless of whether the couple is gay or straight.

When all is said and done, we believe the only lasting question about today’s events will be why it took us so long. It is a tough question to answer because treating everyone fairly is really a matter of Iowa common sense and Iowa common decency.

Today, the Iowa Supreme Court has reaffirmed those Iowa values by ruling that gay and lesbian Iowans have all the same rights and responsibilities of citizenship as any other Iowan.

Iowa has always been a leader in the area of civil rights.

In 1839, the Iowa Supreme Court rejected slavery in a decision that found that a slave named Ralph became free when he stepped on Iowa soil, 26 years before the end of the Civil War decided the issue.

In 1868, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that racially segregated “separate but equal” schools had no place in Iowa, 85 years before the U.S. Supreme Court reached the same decision.

In 1873, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled against racial discrimination in public accommodations, 91 years before the U.S. Supreme Court reached the same decision.

In 1869, Iowa became the first state in the union to admit women to the practice of law.

In the case of recognizing loving relationships between two adults, the Iowa Supreme Court is once again taking a leadership position on civil rights.

Today, we congratulate the thousands of Iowans who now can express their love for each other and have it recognized by our laws.

☞ The Majority Leader and Speaker are both Democrats. The Republican House and Senate leader both expressed “disappointment” over the ruling. (It is not known how their counterparts responded to the rulings in 1839, 1868, 1869, and 1873.)

INFLATION

Joey: “If you really think the possibility of inflation is looming (as well as Treasury yields), buy RYJUX. It goes up as rates go up.”

☞ It’s hard to have inflation when demand is down and the supply of idle hands and idle production lines is up. So timing is everything, and way beyond my level of clairvoyance. But with so much (necessary) dollar-printing going on, it’s hard not to see inflation, and depreciation of the dollar, occurring at some point. Meanwhile, you are paying RYJUX 1.4% a year in fees while you wait . . . which is not to say “don’t buy it,” only to say, “nothing’s easy.”

JOHN MAULDIN ON THE DOW

His latest letter will fascinate any student of the market. How has the Dow really done since 1928? (Not as well as you might think.) And how would it have done had Dow Jones not periodically tinkered with it, replacing losers with winner? (Better – the losers tended to outperform the winners.)