I Don’t Care; I’m Selling DNDN February 16, 2012March 27, 2017 HOW ROMNEY STOLE MAINE This clip shows how Ron Paul may actually have beaten Mitt Romney in Maine. Three of Maine’s 16 counties weren’t counted. Just how that happened is either funny or chilling depend on how you look at it. One of the three had been Ron Paul’s strongest county in 2008. Its caucuses got canceled – by a Romney supporter – on account of a snowstorm he predicted. It didn’t snow – the Girl Scouts didn’t cancel their meeting – and even if it had, so what? Snow, it turns out, is not the rare paralyzing thing in Maine it is in, say, Mississippi. (In 2008, that same Ron Paul-leaning county had 8 inches of snow and the caucuses were held just fine, according to this report.) Romney seems to be losing an awful lot – he may lose his home state of Michigan next – but he has some tough people on the ground determined to get the job done. Shades of Florida 2000? HOW WALLA WALLA WON THE DAY This Republican legislator from Walla Walla, Washington, gives state legislators a good name, if you ask me. Her 4-minute speech on the recently-debated “gay marriage” bill – this week signed into law – is about as good as it gets. And not to belabor the point, but . . . IS CARL STRAIGHT OR GAY? Carl: “Your blogs about how the right wingers are attacking gay rights of all kinds makes me want to remind people how these rights benefit straights. I am Cuban and was raised a Catholic. In my family we had a big stigma against gays and homosexuality. We were taught it was abnormal and evil. As a result we were often encouraged to make fun of (and even beat up) anyone we thought acted queer whether they were or not. In our family business my father often hassled or fired anyone he thought was effeminate. In other words we were taught to be prejudiced, cruel, and judgmental. . . . It had even a worse effect on our individual lives. My father didn’t show affection or love because he thought that was gay. He taught us to be the same. He would often make fun of me because he thought I was too kind which was a sure sign of a weakness and therefore being gay. He often also feared I was gay because I like to do impersonations, didn’t like to watch sports, liked the arts, and had a curious intellect. Although his intent was to ‘help me’ his attitudes made me very insecure, made me hate myself till well into adulthood, and made it very hard for me to have a relationship. I especially used to be uncomfortable having male friends because I thought this meant that I or my possible friend most be gay. My dad’s attitude, as well as many of his peers, catholic school, and such made me hate who I was. Eventually I learned to work past this, learned to love, learned to love myself, and learned to think for myself but many others have haven’t been so lucky. My younger brother for example never worked past this training and he fears relationships, won’t show emotion, is always trying to prove he is a ‘man,’ and he is so depressed he has to take lithium daily. . . . My point is that when we teach hate, prejudice, and ignorance it hurts us all not just the intended targets.” ☞ But, so, well – not that it matters, but – is Carl straight or gay? And (I asked him) what’s his story? “I was born in Cuba and came here when I was five with my parents and two brothers. We lived in Miami for first 4 years and the rest in the Ft. Lauderdale area. I am straight, divorced, and currently engaged. I adopted two kids from El Salvador when I was 25 and 27 as a single parent. I also have an 18-year-old biological daughter in a small private college. My father was a successful developer in South Florida but died 12 years ago. My brothers and I were also developers and are still real estate investors. We are part of the 1%. My family and cousins are mostly well off and staunch Republicans. I am the odd ball. I consider myself an Independent but I am a registered Democrat and primarily vote that way because I believe in protecting the personal freedoms Republicans are always attacking in the name of tradition and God. While my family over time has become more and more socially liberal, their main issue is that they want to pay less and less taxes because the rich are paying too much, the poorer/lazy Americans are jealous of the rich, and because the rich are the ‘chosen people’ . . . why else would God be rewarding them with riches? They are willing to ignore the attacks Republicans make on our personal freedoms, environment, and debt as long as they get their tax cuts now and are promised still more in the future. Don’t get me wrong, my family are good people in most ways; it is just that this is how most rich kids seem to be raised these days.” DNDN For all I know, it’s going to the moon. But having gotten so badly burned with this stock in years past – and its now having closed last night at $14.71, up 37% from $10.66 when suggested August 15 – I am exiting. Not enough of a gain to break even on my previous short sale (or the puts), but better than nothing.