And the Winner Is?

Posted on July 23, 2020 by thependulumswings staff

We have interesting developments to share as the “peaceful” protesters continue defacing buildings, looting, committing bodily assaults, and toppling statues. President Trump has sent in the “federal police.” Except that isn’t the development of interest.

The Democrat mayors of 15 cities across the United States have signed a letter asking Attorney General William Barr and Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf to remove or not send federal law enforcement officers to their municipalities, calling the deployments an “abuse of power.” Except that isn’t the interesting development either. For now, the deployment is limited to the most unruly of all-Portland.

In the countdown of most interesting, the action of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot finishes a strong third. “I’m calling on all Chicagoans that if you see something that doesn’t look right, please, don’t hesitate to report it,” Lightfoot said during a press conference. “We are going to remain diligent.”

Finally, she is urging residents to take action to take back their beloved city from its year’s long violent crime wave. Isn’t she? Nope. She continued, “if we see any steps out of line, particularly with DHS or Border Patrol, we are not going to hesitate to take the president to court and stop any unconstitutional actions.” Let the crime wave roll all the way to Waveland Ave.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler joined a violent demonstration in his city Wednesday night at which “protesters” threw flaming bags of garbage at a federal courthouse. He also was jeered by the crowd before being tear-gassed by federal officers. How woke is Wheeler? In one day’s time he marched with the offenders and got mocked by them. Then he got gassed by the federal officers he had signed a letter against earlier in the day. His wokeness finished a close second.

But the hands-down winner is Hiden Joe Biden’s hot take. Wednesday during a remote union town hall meeting, the Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice President called President Trump the country’s “first” racist president. This should save the few statues that still stand that have George Washington or Thomas Jefferson atop the pedestal. It seems like just days ago we were told they were racist.

All of the peaceful protesters are now free to go back home to mama’s basement, but we digress.

Long live Mt. Rushmore too?

The Golden Rulers

Posted on July 21, 2020July 21, 2020 by thependulumswings staff

What do Ghislaine Maxwell and Tucker Carlson have in common? On so many levels they have nothing in common.

Maxwell is the disgraced, and now arrested and held without bail, former girlfriend of the now-deceased Jeffery Epstein. She procured many of the underage girls that pedophile Epstein used to his personal advantage or used to gain an advantage over some very noteworthy global figures.

Carlson is a revered conservative voice and stars nightly in the prestigious 9 PM EST slot for Fox News. His show is the most-watched cable news broadcast every night, and has become must-see TV for the righteous right. Carlson’s TV work is darn near the level of Rush Limbaugh’s radio work.

But on one very important level they have something in common. And, it’s a simple one. They both now have great fear for their personal safety. And, that fear emanates from the same source. Some very powerful people want them gone.

Maxwell sits in a cell and hopes to be able to tell her side when her day in court comes. She very much believes that Epstein’s death in a similar NY jail was no accident. She brought 99% of this upon herself. You swim with the sharks, you get eaten. When you have the “goods” on the Royal Family of England, on the royal want to be William Jefferson Clinton family, and who knows who else, you’ve got a target on your orange prison uniform. The sooner they silence her, the better.

Carlson was going about his business of calling out every injustice he sees in this rapidly evolving US political landscape. He very much believes that the New York Times was very soon going to publish a story about a whole lot of nothing that would have included the physical address of his family’s place of residence. He brought none of this upon himself if you still believe in free speech. But, if you deliver the “goods” nightly to the opposition of the opposition’s Movement, you’ve got a target on your fine silk suit, crisp white straight collar shirt, and woven repp tie. The sooner they silence him, the better.

For Maxwell the problem is that they don’t want to get exposed for being exposed. For Carlson the problem is that they don’t want him exposing their ulterior motives.

And, this is where we are in America today. It’s the golden rule. He who has the gold ultimately makes the real rules.

The rich and the powerful play in their own sandbox. Maybe they always have.

It just feels like America is extra dirty right now. You know how that sand can get caught up in all of those untoward places. It could use a bar of soap and a warm shower.

And, soon.

Nasdaq Steals The Show

Posted on July 20, 2020 by Jim Carlton

Independent Investment Management designed to protect and grow your wealth.

Friends

Despite more encouraging news on the vaccine front, stocks were struggling through the early part of the trading session. But, as the day wore on, the bulls got a little more interested and by the close stocks had posted decent gains. The big move was in the big growth names which had been left behind last week. Back on top, were the usual suspects, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Tesla and Amazon, as they pushed the Nasdaq up nearly 3% at one point.

By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 8 points to finish the day at 26,680. The S&P 500 was up 27 points to close at 3,251. Gold was up $8 to trade at $1,818 per ounce, while oil was up $.16 to trade at $40.75 per barrel WTI.

Earnings season swings into full gear this week and next, so we’ll be keeping an eye on what companies have to say about the coming months. This week we’ll hear from IBM, Coca-Cola, AT&T, Verizon, Intel, Union Pacific, Amazon, Microsoft, Tesla, Lockheed Martin, and the beleaguered Schlumberger- just to mention a few. Stay tuned for a busy week. We’ll keep you up to date of all proceedings.

Have a nice evening everyone.

Jim

10200 Grogan’s Mill Road, Suite 340
The Woodlands, TX 77380
(281) 298-2700 Phone
(877) 824-4299 Toll Free
(281) 298-2760 Fax

[email protected] www.chjwealthmanagement.com

Investment Advisory offered through Carlton, Hofferkamp & Jenks Wealth Management, LLC (“CHJ”).

*Numbers and figures sourced from the following: Bloomberg.com, CNBC.com and Finance.Yahoo.com.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which investment(s) may be appropriate for you, consult your financial advisor prior to investing. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly.

CHJ Wealth Management,
10200 Grogan’s Mill Road,
Suite 340
The Woodlands, TX 77380

It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over.

Posted on July 16, 2020July 16, 2020 by thependulumswings staff

It’s over!

A Quinnipiac Poll released Wednesday showed Joe Biden leading President Trump nationally by double-digits, widening his lead over the last month.

The former vice president leads Trump 52 percent to 37 percent. That’s up from the eight-point lead he saw in the June 18 poll.

And, it gets worse for Trump when you look at the underlying responses. Biden even overtook Trump according to respondents as best to handle the economy 50-45%. And, that’s the best of the worst. For handling a crisis it’s Biden 57-38. For COVID-19 it’s 59-35.

And, the worst of the worst is when it comes to addressing racial inequality. Biden gets the nod by a whopping 62-30. Of course, he does. Trump is a racist. Everyone has been telling us that for four years and counting.

But, is it over? Is the poll as accurate as the August Quinnipiac 2016 poll that showed Clinton dominating Trump by double-digits as well? Trump hopes so.

“We are starting to hear the faint rumblings of a Hillary Clinton landslide as her 10-point lead is further proof that Donald Trump is in a downward spiral as the clock ticks,” Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy said at the time.

Malloy still has a job with Quinnipiac.

Yesterday he said that the survey provided a “very unpleasant real-time look at what the future could be for President Trump. There is no upside, no silver lining, no encouraging trend hidden somewhere in this survey for the president.”

If you take a deeper dive it turns out that Quinnipiac surveyed 1,273 self-identified registered voters across the country. Republicans only made up 24 percent of the respondents. Democrats were 34%.

He pondered in the late summer of 2016, “wow, is there any light at the end of this dark and depressing chapter in American politics?” Given where we are in 2020, he at least was prescient on that one.

It’s Biden’s election to lose. We heard the same about Hillary. There are conventions (maybe virtual), debates(maybe very bad for Biden), stump speeches (where Biden always stumps himself), and the sheer rigor (Biden would be older entering the presidency than any other predecessor when they left it) of conventional state to state campaigning left.

Singer, not pollster, Lenny Kravitz might have it right. It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over.

Pollster, not singer, Tim Malloy might have it wrong.

Again.

Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right.

Posted on July 8, 2020 by thependulumswings staff

Two wrongs don’t make a right.

CNN’s Don Lemon called for former President Barrack Obama’s chiseled likeness to be added to Mount Rushmore last evening. “I think, listen … if they are going to put someone on Mount Rushmore, considering the history of the country, the first black president should be front and center,” he reasoned.

The anchor that he was handing off to, Chris Cuomo added, “Add to Mount Rushmore. I think that’s first of all, it’s a more salable idea than the idea of taking away Founding Fathers.”

The exchange continued. Lemon said, “So what’s wrong with all of us together thinking or reshaping our country so that more people rethink our country in the way we think and where priorities are so the country it belongs to everyone.”

Cuomo said, “Nothing is wrong with it.”

Except everything about the premise is wrong with it. If statues of Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln don’t deserve to be in town squares anymore, they why should they be on Mt. Rushmore? If you can find a statue of Roosevelt let us know. If Barrack Obama deserves to be on Mt Rushmore, start carving out the stone.

The conversations should be 100% independent of one another.

America strives for greatness. America demands greatness. America applauds greatness. America builds libraries, museums, monuments, statues, and mountainside likenesses to honor distinguished men and women who helped America achieve its status as the envy (regardless of what some might want you to believe) of the world. You might have heard that it is the “land of the free and the home of the brave.”

America got to where it is with little compromise. Why start now?

It’s easy to be average. It’s hard to be excellent.

It’s great that America has now had a black president. He was voted in as qualified by its citizens to lead us. Soon enough it will likely have it’s first female president as well. She will need to be deemed qualified to lead us as well. May there be a day when these occurrences are commonplace.

But having a certain skin color or being a certain gender doesn’t make you great. And being the first this or that doesn’t make you great either. It just gets you noticed more than others. Accomplishments and leadership of all of its people do.

So, did the four presidents accomplish enough for our country, in spite of any shortcomings, flaws, or mistakes along the way, to deserve to be forever admired in stone? America said yes then. Does it still say yes now?

Did Obama do the same? America will, or will not, mull that over for years to come.

But don’t keep one(or four) up as a negotiation ploy to get another.

Can’t you just see Ronald Reagan shaking his head, coiffed hair and all?

The Silence Is Deafening

Posted on June 16, 2020June 16, 2020 by thependulumswings staff

Monday afternoon’s BBR staff meeting provided a look back to give us a look at what might happen going forward. One staff member told us his story about the 2012 and 2016 elections.

In early October 2012, he moved into his new (old) home. Driving down the street in the UHaul he realized that 14 of 22 homes had Romney/Ryan yard signs. One had an Obama sign. It almost sounds like this neighborhood enjoys white privilege, but we digress. Obama won.

In 2016 that same street had but one Trump/Pence sign. Just one. One neighbor had a Hillary/Kaine sign. Just one. Trump won. Did the silent majority speak back then? We don’t know because they are silent. But we have a hunch.

And now 2020 arrives at the doorsteps of this very same street and streets all across this fruited plain. The fruited part is being bolstered by the “guerilla gardening” inside of the compound formerly known as CHAZ, but we digress.

What do you have to say silent majority? Oops. We forgot. The silent majority doesn’t speak. It watches and listens. And we have another hunch or five to share.

Putting Russian collusion, impeachment, Covid-19 handling, lockdowns, and other attacks (from the right’s point of view) or deep concerns (from the left) aside do they see a picture being painted along the road to November 3rd, election day?

We submit they do. And we submit that they have been watching all along and were listening and open to meaningful reforms as well. In order to listen you have to be silent.

And, now, we surmise that the silent ones have stopped listening because The Movement won’t stop screaming long enough to listen. And, it was going so well at first. But, burning down cities aside, it’s now gone too far. Arson wasn’t enough. Looting wasn’t. Beating innocent people wasn’t either. Making death threats against Drew Brees and his family wasn’t enough. The hell with free speech. Coast to coast cries of “defund the police” wasn’t enough.

Even actual murder and attempted murder on the police that started weeks ago isn’t. And, now you’ve armed yourself and taken over six square blocks of Seattle in this Summer of Love. Now you’re the police. Good luck.

Don’t use excessive force or maybe the silent majority will come and riot in your new city(named CHOP as of this AM). Actually, they won’t. They’ll just watch it self implode. And self implode it will. It’s only a matter of when. Then, they’ll vote.

CNN had a weekend poll that showed Joe Biden had a 14 point lead on Donald Trump. Didn’t Trump trail Clinton by 11% per the polls in 2016? How did that turnout after the voters turned out? Polls, schmolls.

The silent majority doesn’t speak to pollsters either.

But they’ve listened, learned, and likely become disgusted. They’ll hit the voting booth in record numbers.

The election could be held today. Is anyone in America undecided?

Stocks Collapse

Posted on June 11, 2020 by Jim Carlton

Independent Investment Management designed to protect and grow your wealth.

Friends

Well, it appears that the old worrier indeed had something to worry about. Stocks collapsed today, perhaps on fears that the Covid-19 pandemic still is anything but in the past, or as a continuation of yesterday’s concerns over Fed Chair Powell’s less than encouraging outlook of the economy. Now, remember, we have seen a two month advance in stocks that was reaching historic proportions, so to give some back is certainly not something that we normally would be concerned about. What does get our attention these days is the speed at which things happen. You know the old adage that the stock market takes the escalator up and then takes the elevator down. Many of the moves we’ve seen in 2020 have been breathtaking. Today’s was no exception.

By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1,861 points to finish the day at 25,128. The S&P 500 was down 188 points to close at 3,002. Gold was up $13 to trade at $1,734 per ounce, while oil was down $3.92 to trade at $35.68 per barrel WTI.

We had been chalking up one great week after another for stocks, but this week has certainly been a different story. Whether a little bit of economic reality has been introduced into the discussion or just a cooling off period, the pullback is not really unexpected. We had risen nearly 45% off the lows of March 23^rd. Even the bulls would agree that would call for a little digestion before strapping on the feed bag again. Let’s catch our breath and see how the week finishes up tomorrow.

Have a nice evening everyone.

Jim

10200 Grogan’s Mill Road, Suite 340
The Woodlands, TX 77380
(281) 298-2700 Phone
(877) 824-4299 Toll Free
(281) 298-2760 Fax

[email protected] www.chjwealthmanagement.com

Investment Advisory offered through Carlton, Hofferkamp & Jenks Wealth Management, LLC (“CHJ”).

CHJ Wealth Management,
10200 Grogan’s Mill Road,
Suite 340
The Woodlands, TX 77380

Stocks Take A Breather

Posted on June 9, 2020 by Jim Carlton

Independent Investment Management designed to protect and grow your wealth.

Friends

Stocks finally took a little breather today, and that is probably a good thing. The market averages have gotten very extended on a technical basis, so before we set ourselves up for another more drastic downturn, it would be nice if we just cooled down a bit. The Fed is meeting today and tomorrow, but it is not expected that anything particularly new will come out of it, but we’ll let you know what the statement and Mr. Powell have to say.

As for today, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 300 points to finish the day at 27,272. The S&P 500 was down 25 points to close at 3,207. Gold was up $15 to trade at $1,720 per ounce, while oil was up $.49 to trade at $38.68 per barrel WTI.

Though Covid-19 cases seem to be on the rise in states like Texas, California, Arizona and Florida, the markets for the time being aren’t taking any notice. It was expected that case counts would rise as states opened up, so for the time being we’ll count it as an expected occurrence, but we will keep an eye on hospitalizations which have risen here in Texas. As mentioned, today’s pause is one that was welcome. It would be good to see the economic data catch up just a little with stock prices. Oh, I’m just on old worrier, aren’t I?

Have a nice evening everyone.

Jim

10200 Grogan’s Mill Road, Suite 340
The Woodlands, TX 77380
(281) 298-2700 Phone
(877) 824-4299 Toll Free
(281) 298-2760 Fax

[email protected] www.chjwealthmanagement.com

Investment Advisory offered through Carlton, Hofferkamp & Jenks Wealth Management, LLC (“CHJ”).

CHJ Wealth Management,
10200 Grogan’s Mill Road,
Suite 340
The Woodlands, TX 77380

Brees and Knees

Posted on June 4, 2020 by thependulumswings staff

Drew Brees exercised his right to freedom of speech yesterday. And, immediate reactions and overreactions poured in from around the sports world. Woke Nation told everyone who tags, follows, trends, hastags, Snaps, or Instagrams that Saints Nation was ablaze because of it.

The BBR staff sat around a Zoom happy hour last evening. Dixie beers straight from NOLA were aplenty. Rather than fret about the short term, we asked “what does this mean long term for Brees’ legacy in New Orleans?”

Our conclusion? We think that Drew Brees will be the mayor of predominantly black New Orleans the very first time that he runs for the post. And, we think that he should. We’ve long thought that he would. And, we think that eventually, he will. He has always wanted to make a difference outside of the hash marks.

When you boil it down, Brees said that he stands with his teammates and many others seeking racial equality and justice, but that he would not kneel during the presentation of the flag during the National Anthem that honors many who protected us and fought for our freedom along the way.

Woke Nation was outraged because it’s always important to be immediately outraged. You cannot break through the massive clutter of social media and stay there unless your take is edgy, passionate, immediate, and progressive.

Former ESPN talking head Jemele Hill tweeted, “Drew Brees is why people shouldn’t assume that just because someone white is around black people that they understand black issues.” Jemele Hill is why people who have no idea what Brees does off of the field say that they understand Brees. Do you know what Brees and his Brees Foundation did for many minority families and causes post-Katrina? No, you don’t. He wants it that way. And, his list of charitable efforts and contributions is quite long.

LeBron James tweeted that Brees was still ignorant as to why Kaepernick took a knee and said it had zero to do with the flag. Thankfully we’ve heard little from LeBron since he told Daryl Morey that he was ignorant about the Chinese (communist) culture and that his words could be so hurtful. That was just after they occupied Hong Kong, but before their China virus broke out, was covered up, was lied about, was contained but wasn’t, and interrupted his NBA season. We wonder if LeBron is ignorant to the fact that Brees donated about $250k to build a state of the art special needs playground smack dab in the middle of a park in the city last year.

Aaron Rodgers stated, “It has NEVER been about an anthem or a flag. Not then. Not now. Listen with an open heart, let’s educate ourselves, and then turn word and thought into action.” It sounds like good advice. Maybe he should listen to what Brees is saying. Per Packer sources, Rodgers has a difficult time listening with an open head, much less a heart, to his teammates and coaches. The Green Bay brass like his leadership so much that they traded up, reached, and drafted what they hope will be his replacement with Rodgers still in his prime.

We could go on. But, what does the three of Jemele, LeBron, and Aaron have in common? They don’t know Brees. His family, friends, business associates, teammates, civic leaders, and coaches do. Ninety-nine percent of them hold him in the very highest regard on and off of the field.

Star receiver Michael Thomas tweeted, “He don’t know no better.”

The nation known as America protects free speech even when it contains double negatives. It used to embrace it. The nation known as Woke only embraces it when you speak their language.

Maybe they don’t know no better.

Peaceful

Posted on June 2, 2020 by thependulumswings staff

“Never underestimate the strength of an opponent.” Clearly those are smart words of advice. They come in handy in the boardroom, on the playground, at the office, onfield, in the gym, or in the court of public opinion.

Ask Hillary. She found out the hard way about Donald Trump. He outworked her. She slept while he flew tirelessly to the Rust Belt again and again. Dare we say that the result “shocked da world?”

It was an upset in more ways than one. The Democratic Party and the DNC, its right arm, are master strategists. One of their tried and true, bread and butter, plays is to constantly make the Republicans play defense. It’s hard to score when you are always on defense. Trump stole that page from their playbook and executed it masterfully.

Never again cried the Democrats. They’ve been on offense the last three-plus years. You know, racism, Russian Collusion, racism, Quid Pro Quo, racism, Impeachment, racism, and Coronavirus mismanagement come to mind. America was just starting to get healthy. And now, tragically George Floyd has fallen and look what has fallen into their laps.

We have to stand together for social justice. We need to end racism. It’s time for real change. We doubt many disagree with any of that at all. One cop should spend the rest of his life in jail it seems. Three others should pack a toothbrush for a while too.

But, a funny thing happened over the weekend. The party that turned “abortion” into “women’s wellness” went on the offense. You watched America burn, get looted, get knocked unconscious, and get rocks thrown at it over the weekend. CNN was comparing the “violent” protests a week ago (that violated social distancing and were sans masks) aimed at governors and asked to end the lockdown to go back to work to the “peaceful” ones that spread across America mourning the loss of George Floyd.

The playbook said to say “peaceful.” And CNN did. MSNBC did as well. Half of America laughed at the mischaracterization and cried watching flat-screen TVs being stolen live on their flat-screen TVs.

When will Pelosi and Schumer and company come out and denounce the “peaceful” violent protests and the thugs that continue to commit breaking and entering, theft, assault and battery, and attempted murder crimes?

They showed up yesterday. But, surprise, they caught the pass from the media and ran further down the field. In a joint statement Pelosi and Schumer stated, “At this challenging time, our nation needs real leadership. The President’s continued fanning of the flames of discord, bigotry and violence is cowardly, weak, and dangerous.” Jim Acosta(CNN) asked Trump if this is still a democracy.

And so did Hollywood. Samual Jackson, “Did we just get Martial Lawed??! So, he just Declared War on The Public??!! It’s not 1807 this is not Rebellion!!” Ice Cube, “Will Trump be the first President to nuke a U.S. city? Stay tuned.” Stephen King, “Trump is politicizing the protests. ANTIFA? Give me a break. Those look like apolitical hooligans and smash-and-grab artists to me.” He does write great fiction.

See how easy that was? What you’re seeing on TV are peaceful protests. Don’t worry about what you think you see, listen to what is being said.

Last night a rioter in Vegas peacefully shot a cop in the back of the head. He’s in critical condition. In St. Louis four policemen were shot peacefully.

Violence is the new peaceful. Tranquil and calm are soon to follow. Voila!