Scandals, Fisticuffs and the Voices of Tyranny

Man ... there are so many scandals and donnybrooks it's hard to keep track of them. Heck, there has been so much shocking news and fisticuffs I've already forgotten about the Garcia-Woods tango over the weekend. This fresh batch of scandals that's popped up like springtime perennials could have enormous conclusions.

> IRS
> AP
> Benghazi
> Army Sex Misconduct

How these are handled will tell us even more about the administration and give insight into how dangerous the power grab of the past four years is.

Obama Administration vs. Tea Party & Individual Rights

This IRS scandal is so egregious it might even ripple through Main Street. How amazing is all the talk of suppression of the Black vote when in reality it was members of conservative organizations like the Tea Party that were being denied opportunities to grow stronger opposition to President Obama. This was real suppression, real intimidation, and real harassment. I don't think anyone had to answer how many bubbles are in a bar of soap but IRS demanded donor lists, copies of speeches, manuals and even list of books people in organizations read.

It's the oldest trick in the book, do to your enemy what you are accusing them of doing to you. It is real underhanded stuff. Yes, the administration really stuck it to organizations that dared to think for themselves and had to gall to ask for nothing from government. Talk about turning the government reliance agenda on its head-how could anyone turn down more food stamps, earned income tax credits, child tax credits, welfare, and more goodies. The Tea Party said "no thanks," and their message was catching on; see 2010 election results.

This is the height of hypocrisy, but the administration isn't very contrite despite the resignation of Steven Miller, acting head of the IRS.

Separate Sinister Entity

"Unfortunately, you're grown up hearing voices that incessantly warn of government as nothing more than some separate, sinister entity that's at the root of all our problems. Some of these same voices also do their best to gum up the works. They'll warn that tyranny always lurking just around the corner. You should reject these voices."
-President Obama

Thank God for voices of tyranny; the kind of voices that rejected a King; the kind of voices that rejected a Madman; the kind of voice that rejected a rule about where to sit on a bus; and the kind of voices that rejected laws of knowledge that could have never conceived personal computers, laptops, smart phones and medicines that doubled life expectancy in a century. The voices of tyranny came along at the exact moment the nation needed them. An agenda to completely remake America had begun; its consequences would have destroyed the greatest nation to every grace in the planet.

To tell kids attending a college graduation to reject the kind of voices that spurred previous generations to greatness is hubris, the kind of hubris that says the ends justify the means. In this case, the best way to shut out those voices was to derail specific organizations by any means necessary. For people that dared to think differently than Barack Obama, tyranny wasn't lurking around the corner, it was lurking in the very government sworn to protect individual liberties and freedoms.

Put up Your Dukes

"I haven't been treated with a lot of respect...this isn't a personal thing, but I am the Attorney General of the United States!"
-Eric Holder

During his hearing in front of congressional leaders, Attorney General Eric Holder ripped into Darrel Issa (R) Ca. After suggesting Mr. Holder was holding back details concerning the nomination process for Labor Department Secretary after Congress got a bunch of emails concerning Tom Perez that simply had to and from and no contents. When Issa made this point, Holder replied that the congressman from California was "unprofessional" and his conduct "shameful."

It was ugly to say the least.

It's Okay ... it's Your Money Anyway

It hurts doesn't it? Your hopes dashed, your dreams down the toilet. And your fate is sitting right besides you.
-Teddy KGB (John Malkovich) in Rounders

After the bell, news broke that Elon Musk would purchase $100.0 million of Tesla's stock sending the shares to the moon ... or I should say the moon of another planet since the stock was already in deep orbit. I immediately thought of a few scenes in the movie Rounders including the one where the protagonist, Teddy KGB just lost a lot of money to Matt Damon's character but goaded him into playing longer by reminding him in not the prettiest way of a prior crushing defeat.

Elon Musk is sticking it to the shorts.
At least 45% of Telsa (TSLA) shares are short. That means of all the shares issued to the public (float) 45% have been borrowed and are already sold. It's mostly the smartest guys in the room doing this and as I've written for weeks now, those guys aren't looking so smart these days.

(Tesla is featured in our December 2012 Newsletter, and our analytical team wanted to take profits, but I said let's wait until it gets to $100. but now we might have to set our sights higher.)

Rooting Interest

I root for the underdog almost always, and this week I've had a lot to cheer about. Elon Musk is rich and successful, but he's also the personification of the little guy making good. His success hasn't stopped Wall Street from beating hugely on his failure. The Tea Party rose like a Phoenix to influence the conversation and derail a locomotive. Just as titans of the street tried to level Musk, titans of government and their powerful tools were used to level the Tea Party.

This week the little guys are winning, and it feels great.