QUINN ON EMANUEL’S PHONE TAX, U.S. INVOLVEMENT IN SYRIA AND IRAQ, EXPORTING CRUDE OIL, AND TRADING BASICS

6/27/14

Summer is finally getting to be some fun, and writing these screeds is a major element of said fun.  This week, I feature posts on basic trading and economics, Iraq and Syria (of course)…and a masterpiece, if I can say so myself, on the phone tax increase that illuminates much of Rahm Emanuel’s thinking.

CHICAGO’S PROPOSED PHONE TAX INCREASE:  RAHM EMANUEL’S IDEA OF “CONSTITUENT SERVICE”

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/06/26/chicagos-proposed-phone-tax-increase-rahm-emanuels-idea-of-constituent-service/

You think the property tax can be regressive?  Try this phone tax.  Do you think Rahm Emanuel gives a rat’s hindquarters?   He’s just serving his natural constituency.

MORE ENLIGHTENED THINKING FROM WASHINGTON:  LET’S FIGHT IN BOTH IRAQ AND SYRIA!

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/06/25/more-enlightened-thinking-from-washington-lets-fight-in-both-iraq-and-syria/

There is no limit to the world’s battlefields and potential battlefields, which Washington sees as more opportunities to keep the “defense” contractors happy…and writing checks.

KEEP ALL CRUDE OIL AT HOME?   “LAST NIGHT I HAD A WONDERFUL DREAM…”

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/06/25/last-night-i-had-a-wonderful-dream-keep-all-crude-oil-at-home/

I suppose we’d all like to be swimming in cheap domestic crude, but the world doesn’t work that way.   It looks like somebody in Washington understand this, but it’s not who you’d think.

BAD ECONOMIC NEWS = A HEALTHY STOCK MARKET?  BUT OF COURSE!

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/06/25/bad-economic-news-yielding-a-healthy-stock-market-goes-against-logic-right/

Pretty basic stuff for many of my readers, not so basic for others.  However, in trading and investing, as in so many other fields of human endeavor, ignoring the basics is the source of much misery.   One of those basic points is that you don’t have to like a particular policy or approach to act on, and profit from, that policy or approach.  Ideology and investing, and certainly trading, don’t mix.

Have a great weekend, everybody.  While I don’t pretend to understand this World Cup stuff (For example, why is losing such a good thing?), it’s sort of fun.

For more on Chicago’s politics, see my books:

The Chairman:

http://www.amazon.com/Chairman-Novel-Big-City-Politics/dp/1439255598/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1355257845&sr=1-1&keywords=Mark+M.+Quinn

The Chairman’s Challenge:

http://www.amazon.com/Chairmans-Challenge-Continuing-Novel-Politics/dp/1426939108/ref=sr_1_3_title_1_pap?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1360098045&sr=1-3&keywords=Mark+M.+Quinn

QUINN ON IRAQ, SHAKMAN...AND THINGS FAR WORSE THAN PATRONAGE HIRING

6/20/14

Yes, I am a bit consumed with Iraq of late, but this story deserves plenty of attention; rarely do we find ourselves on the brink of catastrophic (at least) regionwide conflict in which at least some of the major players are clueless, fanatical, or both.  

Despite the time spent on Iraq, I did mention to commit some apostasy on Chicago politics, still one of my favorite topics, in my first (and thus the last in this reverse chronological list)  post this week.

This week’s paragons of insight included

“ADVISERS” TO IRAQ:   DOES OBAMA REMEMBER VIETNAM?

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/06/20/sending-advisers-to-iraq-does-obama-remember-vietnam/

Our clueless commander-in-chief apparently can’t remember the major foreign policy debacle of his youth.   This post not only afforded me the opportunity to rant in a Cassandric fashion but also gave me an excuse to relate a few stories from the St. Walter School of my youth.  Such stories are bound to be included in my upcoming third book, still in its formative stages.

JOHN KERRY TO IRAQIS TRYING TO STAY ALIVE:   (WESTERN DEMOCRACY) IS WHAT YOU NEED 

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/06/18/john-kerry-tells-iraqis-trying-to-stay-alive-that-western-democracy-is-what-they-need/

Mr. Kerry failed to propose mandatory nightly renderings of Kumbayah.  One wonders why he committed such an oversight.

PARTITION IRAQ?   ANOTHER LOUSY IDEA FROM WASHINGTON

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/06/18/partitioning-iraq-just-another-lousy-idea-from-washington/

Modern day Metternichs pore over the map of the Middle East.  Oh, yeah, they’re qualified to redraw the world…just like the guys at Versailles in 1919.

PATRONAGE, THE SHAKMAN DECREE, THE CITY THAT ONCE WORKED…AND DAVID COPPERFIELD
http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/06/16/patronage-the-shakman-decree-the-city-that-once-worked-and-david-copperfield/
Yes, Mr. Shakman, et. al., there are worse things than patronage hiring.

For more on Chicago’s politics, see my books:

The Chairman:

http://www.amazon.com/Chairman-Novel-Big-City-Politics/dp/1439255598/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1355257845&sr=1-1&keywords=Mark+M.+Quinn

The Chairman’s Challenge:

http://www.amazon.com/Chairmans-Challenge-Continuing-Novel-Politics/dp/1426939108/ref=sr_1_3_title_1_pap?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1360098045&sr=1-3&keywords=Mark+M.+Quinn

QUINN ON IRAQ, SYRIA, ERIC CANTOR…AND $5,000 SUITS

6/13/14

Somehow I was under the mistaken notion that things would slow down with the summer and the consequent lightening of my teaching load, but that has not been the case.  Still, I’ve managed to comment on what I consider the big story of perhaps the year, or maybe even the decade, the goings on in Iraq, and a few other items for good measure:

SYRIA AND IRAQ:  THE BUSH/OBAMA ADMINISTRATION PUTS US ON BOTH SIDES OF A RELIGIOUS WAR

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/06/13/bushobama-adminstration-put-us-on-both-sides-of-syria-and-iraq-religious-war/

..and we continue to elect these Bozos from both parties who are apparently completely ill-equipped to deal with a dangerous world…or any world in which they are not completely insulated from reality, for that matter.

IRAQ ON THE VERGE OF BECOMING A TERRORIST PETRI DISH:   THANK THE BUSH/OBAMA ADMINISTRATION

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/06/13/iraq-on-the-verge-of-becoming-a-terrorist-petri-dish-thanks-to-the-bushobama-administration/

Yes, I will blame Bush…and Obama and Hillary Clinton.  They are all guilty of making the Middle East a fiasco…but none is more guilty than George W. Bush, an utter and complete disaster of a president.

WALL STREET DRESSES DOWN TO SEAL A DEAL

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/06/11/wall-street-dresses-down-to-seal-a-deal/

The smart money guys wear $5,000 suits?  O tempora, o mores!

ERIC CANTOR AND THE GOP ESTABLISHMENT GO DOWN HARD IN VIRGINIA

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/06/11/eric-cantor-and-the-gop-establishment-go-down-hard-in-virginia/

Few elections have ever made yours truly happier.

THE BIGGEST FAILURE OF HILLARY CLINTON AT STATE

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/06/09/highlighting-hillary-clintons-biggest-failure-in-current-administration/

Benghazi is only a symptom of a much larger policy failure.

Have a great weekend and a great Father’s Day.  I will.

See my two books, The Chairman, A Novel of Big City Politics and The Chairman’s Challenge, A Continuing Novel of Big City Politics, for further illumination on how things work in Chicago and Illinois politics. 

QUINN ON WRIGLEY AND FORMER ALDERMAN SMITH, CAR SALES AND FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, AND AN HISTORIC ANALOGY FOR TODAY’S CHINA

6/6/14

Today is the 70^th anniversary of D-Day.  Last summer, we were in France (See my seminal travelogue, CLARK GRISWOLD, MR. PEABODY, AND ME, http://mightyquinnpolitics.blogspot.com/2013/08/clark-griswold-mr-peabody-and-me.html) and visited the beaches and the American cemetery in Normandy.  At the expense of sounding sacrilegious, if I don’t ever see Paris again, it won’t break my heart.  But Normandy is another story; if you can, please try to get there.   You’ll learn a lot, hopefully pray a lot, and maybe cry a little.  And you will appreciate what those guys gave us.  At the expense of sounding comparatively trite, the countryside and the villages of Normandy are also stunningly beautiful; I told our tour guide the farm boys from Iowa who landed at Normandy probably felt right at home.   I don’t think she appreciated the sentiment.

I thought I’d be able to write a lot more this week, but things got busy, though I’m not quite sure with what.  I did manage to write three posts on widely varying topics, however…

WRIGLEY AND THE CUBS:  A FORMER ALDERMAN ENLIGHTENS THE BENIGHTED RICKETTS FAMILY

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/06/06/wrigley-field-and-the-chicago-cubs-a-former-alderman-enlightens-benighted-ricketts-family/

The politicians know everything, don’t you see?

HUGE MAY CAR SALES:  “I SAW A CADILLAC SIGN SAYIN’ ‘NO MONEY DOWN’…”

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/06/05/huge-may-car-sales-i-saw-a-cadillac-sign-sayin-no-money-down/

The seemingly prescient Chuck Berry, the father of rock’n’roll, saw today’s car financing situation way back in 1956.

A "COERCIVE AND PROVOCATIVE” CHINA?   LESSONS FROM HISTORY

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2014/06/02/a-coercive-and-provocative-china-lessons-from-history/

To quote a guy who was okay but who couldn’t carry the aforementioned Mr. Berry’s guitar case, I’m lookin’ at the man in the mirror when I read about China.

Have a great weekend, everybody, and say a prayer for the boys of Normandy.

See my two books, The Chairman, A Novel of Big City Politics and The Chairman’s Challenge, A Continuing Novel of Big City Politics, for further illumination on how things work in Chicago and Illinois politics.