I have been posting my bible notes as I update them annually, but I figured I would give my subscribers something additional: weekly information about a variety of topics. I hope you enjoy.
INVESTING
As you may know I love investing, both equities and commodities. I like commodities more, however. The number one rule, traditionally, is supply and demand for commodities. And for equities, while supply and demand are very important in equities, studying the financial statements, market preferences, and management decisions are very important factors as well. However, it appears that just being on reddit and looking at memes is all you need to do now. Roaring Kitty has recently disclosed his net worth due to GameStop (GME) and is now worth $586 million, with a 219%. Warren Buffett can learn a few things from sharing memes and giving up all that studying.
Speaking of Warren Buffett, he had one of the worse days ever recorded in stock market history. His stock went from being worth over $600,000 per share to just $185 per share. The stock drop was a 99.97% drop. This only happened for a few minutes and it was nothing that Warren Buffett or the company did. It was a glitch with the NYSE. They halted trading and when they opened trading again it was back up to $633,000 per share. If you could have timed it right, you could have turned $500 into $2,000,000 in just a few minutes! Also I would have loved to see Buffett’s reaction upon learning he was at the moment, no longer a billionaire.
Finally, Nvidia, a computer chip company, has been doing really well. So well that women are now asking Jensen Huang, the CEO, to sign their breasts as if he is a rock star. And no, I’m not kidding. Computer nerds are in now.
ACCOUNTING
A good way to save taxes is to have an S-Corp. Generally speaking, you can save 15.3% taxes due to self-employment taxes. The caveat is that you will probably have to pay yourself a reasonable salary. What is a reasonable salary? Good question.
LEGAL
If you haven’t heard by now, Trump was found guilty on all 34 felony counts in New York. Trump was convicted by state law, which means only the governor can pardon him, not the president. Personally, I have equal contempt for all sides. As J.R.R. Tolkien said, “My political opinions lean more and more to anarchy. The most improper job of any man, even saints, is bossing other men. Not one in a million is fit for it, and least of all those who seek the opportunity.” That being said, I think Trump does have a good chance of being successful on an appeal. The felonies rely on an underlying crime, which New York claims is from a federal misdemeanor that was never prosecuted. So there is no underlying crime really. This creates some issues on appeal. This may violate State and Federal constitutions. The prosecution likely extended beyond the text and intent of the statute. They also likely violated Trump’s due process rights regarding the lack of the underlying time. I guess time will tell. Since Trump is a first time offender and there are no minimums for punishment, Trump will likely get a fine and maybe probation. However, I for one would love for the next president to be sworn in an orange jumpsuit.
RELIGION
In 1992 a Canadian Catholic priest, Father Gaston Hurtibise, was giving a sermon on the meaning of life. After giving his inspiring sermon, he ended with “Thank you, Lord,” and then immediately collapse and died.
In a very sad case, Jesse Morgan, a Christian blogger, laid to rest his little daughter. His kids were playing badminton in the yard and a racquet broke a piece went through her skull. Despite several days of trying to save her, she eventually succumbed to her injuries. Events like this make me physically sick. All I can think to do is pray for those shattered lives left behind.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Israel is always in perpetual war. However, it can be pretty funny as well. Israel War Room is an Israeli non-profit that gives warning and information about attacks. On X, formerly called Twitter, Khamenei, the leader of Iran, was eulogizing its past president that recently died in a helicopter crash. Khamenei posted, “President Raisi was clear in keeping a distance from the enemies. He never trusted the enemy’s smile.” Israel War Room responded with, “President Raisi had zero SEC championships.” This is a reference to a common line from an account named Three Year Letterman, a troll account that has this as his ultimate dis. Three Year Letterman is definitely worth your follow. I also support mocking all world leaders in this way.
POLITICS
Politics isn’t much different religion in some respects. There are blind followers that will support a candidate regardless whether they agree with their principles, or lack thereof. Sometimes, the parallels are just too close to call it anything other than a religious cult, for example, this video.
This past week we also celebrated Killdozer Day, when a guy finally had enough and armored his bulldozer with concrete and proceeded to destroy property around the city that belonged to city officials and those he felt have wronged him. Despite the fact it is called Killdozer, no one was injured or killed, other than the operator, who committed suicide after getting stuck.
Steve Bannon, an advisor to Donald Trump, was ordered back to jail for violating his bail. Bannon was found to be in criminal contempt for ignoring a subpoena issued by the Jan. 6 Committee congressmen. For those who think that those in charge of the republican party are on the side of republicans, just know that the Speaker of the House could squash the subpoena and the criminal contempt would probably go away for Bannon. But Speaker Johnson, a republican, isn’t probably going to help Trump. Again, I don’t care, but I do find it hilarious that he isn’t helping Trump out.
ENTERTAINMENT
If you have Netflix, I recommend two documentaries.
Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War. This is obviously about the atomic bomb and its ramifications. It gives the history of the Cold War and why things happened the way they did, and ends with the current war in Ukraine. It is probably one of the more objective documentaries I have seen as it demonstrates that both the US and Russia have committed war crimes, and why Russia is distrustful of the US.
Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal. This documentary is about the famous website with a motto, “Life is Short. Have an affair.” For those who may not remember. It was a dating site to have an affair without your spouse knowing about it. Some hackers who thought the website was doing something absolutely terrible threatened to leak all the user information and the private conversations of the CEO unless they shut down the website. The hackers made good on their promise. They dumped all their data, and marriages and lives were ruined. However, the company lives on.
Loved this.