Tonya Ann Flower of Georgia picked up a copy of the local "Bad & Busted," which publishes photos of people recently arrested. She was shocked at her picture, so she did what any reasonable person would do-she called 911. Of course it would have been better if the line went to the fashion police or cosmetics counter at the nearest mall, but that wasn't the case.
You would think it takes a lot of nerve or a lot of humiliation to call in a police emergency because of a photograph, but the gambit worked! Tonya was allowed to pose for a fresh photo which came out a lot better than the first. Yet, it is interesting to see the things that motivate people. The catch, unfortunately, was that the second photo came as a result of a second arrest.
You guessed it ... the arrest was caused by the unlawful use of 911 and disorderly conduct. 
Tonya spent three days in jail before making bond, and it stands to reason she probably came out looking more like the first mug shot than the second. These days everyone is bellyaching about everything, and some people even write bellyaching commentary to complain about all the bellyachers.
Things are tough, frustrating, and frightening. But we've stared down all those threats that came before us in the past, and we are going to do the same again. I had the honor of speaking to some wonderful people last night. I got an avalanche of replies to my special offer and wanted to speak to as many as I personally could (my goal is to reach everybody).
People have achieved different levels of success, all with the same streak of patriotism and rugged individualism. They are the backbone of the nation, so it's critical when they lose faith. They're all fighters, yet most are waiting out the battle on the sidelines and hoping sanity returns to the nation.
If they could, all would make a collective 911 call to the White House and invite the president into their lives for a day. They want him to see how business people at age 70 still work 10 to 12 hour days or how innovators are coming up with ideas that help the economy and the ecology without government funds or taxpayer money. Many are moaning and waiting. Ironically, none of them attained success with that approach. I spoke to a couple of millionaires as well as people with $60,000 in the bank and six years from retirement. Every single one was self-made and not once in their journey of life did someone from the government do anything for them beyond heavy taxes and thick red tape.
Thanks to everyone I spoke to. It was a thrill for me. By the way, the special offer continues.
Underscoring the moaning epidemic is the latest from the American Association of Individual Investors that saw a dramatic decrease in bullish sentiment in the last week.
Down to 22.19% from 30.21% in a single week matches the biggest weekly decline since April 12 and brings bullishness to its lowest point since August 2010. Bearish sentiment is now 41.79%. These polls are interesting, and some professional investors use them as contrarian devices. The fact is most professionals are in a sour moaning mood, too.
The Dow began August 2010 at 10,650 and rallied straight up to 12,810 by April 2011 and hit 13,232 in March of this year. I typically like to go the opposite of the crowd, particularly one that's bellyaching so much as to miss opportunities. There are lots of reasons to be anxious, upset and afraid, but there are also a lot of reasons to be optimistic, too. If you don't like this government, fight back but don't surrender. Don't put your head in the sand, and don't let them win by giving up. In the spirit of Tonya - take action.
Happy Faces
Earnings after the bell point to management teams getting better at their jobs.
Microsoft missed on the top line but $0.73 blew away consensus of $0.62 (GAAP results were first loss in company's public history). The Street seems be okay with the new Windows 8 coming out on October 26. Company has $63.0 billion in cash.
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Google's $10.12 earnings were two pennies ahead of the street but all the excitement is around the 42% spike in number of clicks. The company is sitting on $43.1 billion in cash.
Sandisk (SNDK) beat the street by two cents with earnings of $0.21 for the quarter. Management seemed more upbeat than recent earnings releases and the street noticed.
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