Here’s a good guide to the new tax code. It’s apolitical — but I’m not — so I would note that its top three effects will be to (1)massively help corporations like Koch Industries and their wealthy owners; (2) punish high-income blue-state voters; (3) take on debt that Republicans claim — when it is proposed for infrastructure or kids — we simply can’t afford.
It’s not true Trump has appointed no ambassadors! There are loads of places we don’t have any (South Korea springs to mind) but we have one in the Netherlands. Which is why you will, I think, find this clip of him representing America more than a little interesting — and perfectly suited to the Trump presidency. (Dutch headline: “American ambassador lies about his own lies.”)
Best Tweet of the Year . . . goes to neo-con David Frum: “So much was weird in 2017, but perhaps the weirdest was that people who nearly triggered a pizzeria gun massacre to stop imaginary child molesters rallied to support an actual child molester’s campaign for US Senate.”
One of you (well, lots of you) wonder if I’ll ever talk about stocks again. Given some of my past suggestions, perhaps the answer should be no. But he graciously focused on the quadruple he’d made with FANH (formerly CISG) and asked for more. If only! But I still like SPRT ($2.42 at year-end) because it has about that much in cash; new management seems to have stopped the bleeding; and a “value-themed” hedge fund just bought 5% of it. So maybe in a year or two we could get $4? No home run, but maybe not much downside either (famous last words). And of course I’m holding my zillion shares of BOREF, most of which are now older than the Kraft fat-free Caesar dressing, dated October 6, 2001, that I still consume. Other suggestions? Sell your Bitcoin.
