| David Brooks: Voters revolt
The Reagan administration had its pragmatists and its so-called ideologues. It had James Baker as well as Ed Meese. Reagan carried moderate states like Connecticut, Wisconsin and Washington, as well as conservative ones like Wyoming and South Carolina. .
Vermont's War
A local think tank recently warned that if the state doesn't create jobs that keep young people here, it will soon face dire tax and budget problems. Service. So military recruiters continue to hit pay dirt. Despite deep losses suffered by the Vermont National Guard-nine of the state's war dead are guardsmen, the others active duty-the guard's annual recruiting numbers at the end of November were the nation's best in terms of exceeding goals. Vermont National Guard Lt. Col. John Boyd maintains that the success, while in part about desire to serve, is no mystery. "Let's be honest; full-time guard pay is really good money for this state," says Boyd, who once headed the state's recruiting and retention effort. Even part-time service pays well, he says, and has attractive benefits.
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As a veteran of the Korean War, James Djerf, 76, feels John McCain is the right man to lead the county as president. "The only thing I hear complaints about is his stand on immigration," Djerf said, adding he chalks that up to McCain's proximity to the Mexican border in his home state of Arizona. Djerf is supporting him just the same. He likes McCain's directness. "He's a straight shooter, he talks straight from the hip. I like him as a man." Djerf got to meet McCain during a local campaign stop and even had his picture taken with the senator, along with a group of other area veterans. He has helped out the campaign by putting up signs and talking to people about why he feels McCain is the best man for the job. Wearing his Air Force jacket and hat, Djerf held up a McCain sign in front of the Hampton polls Tuesday.
CMP and MTC Performance Form Strategic Partnership That Offers a ...
MANHASSET, N.Y. and SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Jan. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CMP and MTC Performance today announced that they have formed a strategic partnership that offers the Channel a collaborative workflow tool that manages and automates incentive programs. MTC's relationship with CMP's ChannelWeb, which is accessed by more than one million Solution Providers, will accelerate the market standardization for incentive deployment and program management. This strategic partnership follows a recent partnership with eXalt Solutions, Inc. that provided the IT Channel an on demand multi-vendor solutions sales platform(TM), streamlining the information flow between suppliers, distributors and Solution Providers. Thousands of technology vendors use incentive programs to drive sales and motivate worldwide sales channels.
More BLS BS
After a wild week in the markets, there is so much to write about, it is hard to know where to start. The headline number says jobless claims fell 20,000. That would be good news, if it were true. Sometimes you need to look behind the curtain to see how these statistics are made. As we will see, claims were actually up by 26,000. I wrote in my annual 2008 predictions that the big story of the year would turn out to be credit default swaps and counter-party risk. I will admit to thinking it would take more than a few weeks for that to happen. And the Senate is hampering the ability of the Fed to work, and doing so for blatant political purposes, in an effort to reduce the independence of the Fed. There is that and a lot more to cover in what should be an interesting letter. But first, let me briefly mention my upcoming 5th annual Strategic Investing Conference (co-hosted with my US partners Altegris Investments).
New poll: Minnesotans divided
Five days before Minnesota's precinct caucuses, there are fresh indications that some presidential candidates are turning their attention toward the state. Republican Mitt Romney plans a stop in Minnesota sometime Saturday, Sunday or Monday as part of a tour of several battleground states taking part in Super Tuesday contests. A spokeswoman for the former Massachusetts governor's campaign said Thursday that details of the visit have not been firmed up. Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported that Minnesota currently isn't on GOP front-runner John McCain's tentative travel schedule. On the Democratic side, Barack Obama's Minnesota campaign reported that tickets for a Saturday afternoon rally in Minneapolis featuring Obama were snatched up quickly on Thursday.
Fed Rate Cuts May Go Even Deeper
Much will depend on incoming data on jobs, growth, and housing—and there is little good news at the moment. The latest figures on economic growth are troubling at best. In the fourth quarter of 2007, the economy expanded at a poor 0.6 percent pace, a far cry from 4.9 percent in the third. The jobs picture may have brightened a bit if the latest report on payroll job growth from ADP is accurate. It showed a bounce of 130,000 new jobs in January, a rebound from December's dismal 37,000-job increase. The government's monthly jobs report is due Friday. Orders for big-ticket durable goods have perked up, too. However, home prices continue to fall with no bottom in sight. Looking ahead, analysts also say this unprecedented round of rate cuts mark a shift in the Fed's strategy.
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