The month of April was a glorious one, for the Godly folks at iBC. Traffic hit an all-time high, yet again. The little amount of advertising revenue generated hit a high. And, finally, we added a new blogger (Adam) to the mix.
As for my readers:
I do not hate you anymore. I harbor mild disdain for most of you. Quite honestly, you are a benign bunch, with little to say, little to do. However, I do hate the readers of other blogs. That’s right. I’ve turned my guns of “death and cannibalism” on the readers of other blogs, as opposed to having them on the actual third tier bloggers.
Why bother destroying third tier bloggers? Look, they’re harmless. I even hired one of them to host iBC’s May 6th elections.
Speaking of which, according to the latest poll data, GW is in the lead. I’ll have you know, “The Fly” will be announcing his endorsement, through Dinosaur Trader, on May 6th.
As for the markets:
Oil stocks are enjoying a double “fuck you, you’re dead,” as the commodity slips and [[XOM]] shits the bed—due to margin pressures. Quite frankly, the refiners are to be avoided at all costs, except death. If you are threatened with “sudden death” for not owning a refiner, buy one. You can always sell it later. They are saddled with so many input pressures, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them start losing money.
With the temporary resurgence of the dollar, expect all commodities to get laid out across the pavement. Good plays are [[DUG]], [[SMN]] and my favorite: short [[POT]].
Tech looks to be an early winner today, with strength in [[AAPL]] and [[RIMM]]. For a trade, I like retail. [[VLCM]] is spiking on good numbers. Look for [[ZUMZ]] to trade up in sympathy.
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Time for the rotation out of energy and into tech….
Sell all rallies.
Yeah, what he say:
Serr arr larries!
If you like the dollar check out UUP etf and if you don’t like it look at UDN etf. The volume on UUP has been about 8X normal the last few days. I haven’t read the prospectus so I don’t know if it has goofy crap like DCR.
BTW — if Gold gets back down to $790 an ounce (or so)…
This is what the back of my truck will look like:
Whatta predicament!!
LOL@ Jake. King Midas would be jealous.
imagine a country where you get 5 – 10 weeks of paid vacation, free health care, 35 hour work weeks, lower infant mortality rate than the US, longer life expectancy, free daycare, a governmnet that is afraid of it’s people…hmm.. no wonder we are programmed to hate them, is it that we are jealous?
news flash – Jake Gint’s brother just sold his house in less than two weeks – this means there is no forecloser problem in the US.
This is what I call a mutual exchange of value between two willing parties. Raw capitalism in the Horn of Africa. We got what we wanted, and apparently, he got what he wanted, too!
MOGADISHU, Somalia – The U.S. military said Thursday it launched an attack against an al-Qaida target in Somalia, and an Islamic insurgent group said the head of the terror network in the African country was killed in an overnight American airstrike.
The spokesman for the Islamic al-Shabab militia, Sheik Muqtar Robow, said the strike killed Aden Hashi Ayro, another commander and seven others at his house in the central Somali town of Dusamareeb, about 300 miles north of Mogadishu. Six more people were wounded, two of whom later died, said resident Abdullahi Nor.
“Our brother martyr Aden Hashi, has received what he was looking for — death for the sake of Allah — at the hands of the United States,†Robow told The Associated Press by phone.
.
Jake took the words right outta my mouth. I will back up the DGP truck when gold slices & dices thru 800.
I am the Zephler, and I speak for the trees:
If we tax everyone at 90%, and let the government take care of them cradle to grave, they’ll be happy AND STILL have a little “pocket jingle” to visit the coffee shops and talk post modern novellas over a gaulois haze!
Dig a hole, pull the metal outta the ground, haul it away to be smelted and refined, dig another hole, haul it to hole #2, stick it back in the ground at hole #2, insure it while it sits there, hire a bunch of guys to guard it. It has no utility. Just hope and pray some sucker will pay more for it than you did.
It’s goddam perrty shit though.
Zephler, I have imagined that country, and then I woke up from the nightmare when I realized the 60% tax rate.
Zeph- lets take a hypothetical neighborhood restaurant that decides to give away for free, all their meals. Anyone, at anytime can come get a meal for free, regardless of their ability to pay or their need.
What will that restaurant look like the first day? The next week? What happens to those that truly need free services but can’t get it in a timely manner because those that can pay are overwhelming the restaurant? How does the restaurant continue to pay for food to sell? I’ll tell you one way, taxes get raised, and so the very people who think they are getting something for free are actually paying for it in taxes. But the trouble doesn’t end there.
Then, what happens when the restaurant is so overwhelmed that it can no longer serve all its “customers?”
The restaurant then will ration food. Yes, its still free, but you can only get it on Monday, depending on your social security numbers.
What happens to its employees? There is no money coming in to pay them, so the restaurant must go to the government and ask them to raise taxes, and give them some money. So now the employees can get paid, but alas, their pay is no longer based on performance, or any other objective level, but is instead based on the gov’ts ability to raise tax revenue. Plus, the employees are busy as hell because they are handing out free shit, all day, every day. So…the more talented employees go to work for the restaurant in the next town, where they can get a better wage because the restaurant is not giving away food for free….
You can follow this hypothetical situation to the bitter end and you will see that private enterprises cannot survive under a model of socialism and still provide top quality services. Yes, everyone may get service, for free, but it won’t be when they want it and they will not be served by top quality professionals.
imagine a country where you get 5 – 10 weeks of paid vacation, free health care, 35 hour work weeks, lower infant mortality rate than the US, longer life expectancy, free daycare, a governmnet that is afraid of it’s people…hmm.. no wonder we are programmed to hate them, is it that we are jealous?
Just out of curiousity, and putting aside your bullshit statistics (for the moment) are we actually talking about France here, with the “gov’t afraid of the people??”
LOFL!
The same gov’t that one can only participate in if one is an alum of two aristo schools?
Dig a hole, pull the metal outta the ground, haul it away to be smelted and refined, dig another hole, haul it to hole #2, stick it back in the ground at hole #2, insure it while it sits there, hire a bunch of guys to guard it. It has no utility. Just hope and pray some sucker will pay more for it than you did.
Was that your objective when you were hording silver back after the dot com meltdown, oh Oracle?
Or is the different color of that precious metal that attracted you?
(‘Cause I’ve got that one too!)
fm minyanville
For those that know my past musings, I was particularly negative on National City Corp. (NCC) since January. Why? It had to sell its soul to the devil by issuing a 9 7/8% preferred and 12% corporate note. This seemed desperate.
So my firm had a NCC put spread on for a while until it diluted everyone to death and avoided a death spiral by selling boatloads of stock at $5 per share last week. Put spread? Exit stage left.
But you know what looks frighteningly similar to NCC? First Third Bancorp (FITB). They’re in the same markets, have the same problems and guess what? FITB just did a preferred deal at 8 7/8% that was poorly received.
The real sad part is that the company is actually jacking its dividend up (twice in the past year) to the point that it’s paying out all of its earnings. Then, it goes hat in hand, and pays 9%.
What the company should be doing is cutting the dividend.
Same stuff, different bank.
And oh, by the way, FITB isn’t alone.
see how brainwashed you are? Of course the response is “Oh they must be taxed to death!”, a couple making a combined income of $100k a year in france can live comfortably, going on vacation, owning two cars, and paying a $1600 / month mortgage…those are the facts…wait until one of you gets a “denied” stamp on a health care claim…then see how greatful you are you didn’t pay those “high” taxes….pfffttt….
this rally is just the godly folks that play with OPM, putting ‘1st of the month’, inflows to work. It will play out & down she’ll go
You can follow this hypothetical situation to the bitter end and you will see that private enterprises cannot survive under a model of socialism and still provide top quality services. Yes, everyone may get service, for free, but it won’t be when they want it and they will not be served by top quality professionals.
Which is why the infant mortality rates for these bullshit gov’t health systems are just that… bullshit, shaved and molded by the socialists who are in charge of the WHO.
And that’s NOT EVEN taking into account the fact that ALL of these bullshit gov’t health systems “free ride” off of medical innovations created by the for-profit American health system. It may not come to them for years thanks to rationing delays (see the amount of Canadians coming here for anything life or death, not to mention simple MRI’s) but the innovation still comes, FOR FREE.
what about people like me who read your blog, and spends more time on this blog than any other, but occasionally reads other blogs. Do you hate?
this just in – libraries are going to be shut, fire departments are going to be shut down, and police departments are also going to be shut down – they are all tools of the evil force known as socialism. If they continue to operate, the US will have to pay a 90% tax rate or a 60% rate (according to Jake, so I believe this one, as he knows what stats are bullshit and which are real).
Zephler who speaks for the “pffff!”
Why can’t the high income French afford to take their grandmere’s and grandpere’s on vacation? If their standard of living is so great (it’s worse than almost any city in the U.S.) then why cannot they afford air conditioning to at least cool their grandmeres and grandperes during the summer when they are off on their government imposed vacations?
Zephler, if France is such a fucking great place to live, why in hell are they cooking their old people to death every time the temperature rises a little bit??
Die Nattie Gas Die!
But you know what looks frighteningly similar to NCC? First Third Bancorp (FITB). They’re in the same markets, have the same problems and guess what? FITB just did a preferred deal at 8 7/8% that was poorly received.
Is that Fifth Third Bank, you mean? Out of Cincy?
They’ve been cutting corners for years after going on a huge buying binge. Chickens, roost time.
.
zeph/jake-
about a year ago, i watched a documentary about the growing trend of americans moving to france for the reasons zeph outlined.
this is evidently becoming more and more pronounced, so much so that the french have noticed it (and arent too pleased).
not to get all tin foil/doom and gloom on your ass, but i sincerely think americas’ glory days are over, and i have started slowly easing my wife into the idea of moving abroad…..no time soon, 5 or 10 years maybe.
I held that silver for 7-8 years, and when I finally disclosed I’d sold it, I also said I sold too early and didn’t make any money on it.
Zephler, please, what is the tax rate in France for a couple making combined 100K? Give me facts, not just your emotional rhetoric.
From that tax rate, then we’ll back out their disposable income, figuring in your 1600/month mortgage, 600/month car payment, food, fuel, and other living expenses.
C’mon, you up for the task?
By the way, how is France doing with that little problem of the Muslim extremists? As a govt official, I’d be scared of my people too is half of them thought that suicide bombing was a legitimate and effective tool for furthering a political cause.
Zephler, to be clear, you have provide no facts, only emotional rhetoric. I have seen no hard data present in any of your arguments.
Until you can (you won’t, because the data doesn’t support your emotional appeal) I will continue with retorts such as, “What about all the folks from Canada coming over here to get surgery?”
is that all you have – old people dying from heat stroke? What about the 50 million US citizens that are denied health care? What about the 250 million that gamble everyday that their claims may be denied or retroactively denied? I would rather have grandma or grandpa cooked, then have to pay $100k for heart surgery that is “experimental”, or thousands of dollar per month on cancer medication, use your head.
I’ve got a friend who bought a house in France with the idea of retiring there someday. He is selling his house there and buying retirement property in the U.S.
The French have a terrible healthcare system. Need elective surgery? Try waiting about 9-10 months. Need to see a doctor? Put your name on the list, aka lottery. Government has never, ever worked efficiently.
You get what you pay for.
how did the US do with muslim extremists lol – ever heard of 9/11 ?
Death, Canadian Style
By Bill Steigerwald
FrontPageMagazine.com | Tuesday, September 04, 2007
If Canada’s national health-care system is so dang wonderful, why are so many Canadians coming to America to pay for their own medical care?
Why is the hip replacement center of Canada in Ohio — at the Cleveland Clinic, where 10 percent of its international patients are Canadians?
Why is the Brain and Spine Clinic in Buffalo serving about 10 border-crossing Canadians a week? Why did a Calgary woman recently have to drive several hundred miles to Great Falls, Mont., to give birth to her quadruplets?
It’s simple. As the market-oriented Fraser Institute in Vancouver, B.C., can tell you, Canada’s vaunted “free” government health-care system cannot or deliberately will not provide its 33 million citizens with the nonemergency health care they want and need when they need or want it.
Courtesy of the institute, here are some unflattering facts about Canada’s sickly system:
Number of Canadians on waiting lists for referrals to specialists or for medical services — 875,000.
Average wait from time of referral to treatment by a specialist — 17.8 weeks.
Shortest waiting time — oncology, 4.9 weeks.
Longest waiting times — orthopedic surgery, 40.3 weeks.
Average wait to get an MRI — 10.3 weeks nationally but 28 weeks in Newfoundland.
Average wait time for a surgery considered “elective,” like a hip replacement — four or more months.
Foie gras, brie, and a bottle of ’82 Margaux. What’s not to like?
Zephler, your argument is weak because you provide no facts, no verifiable evidence, no objective, supporting data.
I know that for liberals, only emotions matter, but when debating an issue, it makes the difference between winning and losing the debate.
As you know, I owe all my limited success in life to doing the opposite.
Healthcare costs should be INCREASED. I know. You wonder why.
Because, that will motivate all the obese, fucking fat ass, lazy smokers and alcoholics to clean up their act.
Oops. I is one of those fat fuckers.
I am the Zephler who speaks for the Trees:
Do you know the difference between local and federal taxes, you dumb fuck?
Listen, your locality can tax as much as they like… one can move away if one is not happy with the rates. Federal taxes are inescapable, and for the most part, the most inefficient taxes one remits.
But it’s obvious you’re a dumbass as you are a socialist, so I’m done educating you, and will now return to mocking you relentlessly.
Null,
All due respect, but wealthy Americans can move anywhere the want in the world. This is a result of the financial freedom afforded to them by the American system, whether they are grateful for it or not.
So France may get our socialist bobos… and God bless!
We get the French entreprenuers who are stymied by that country’s byzantine taxes, regulations, and general ill feelings towards capitalist enterprise and class movement.
And we welcome those fuckers with open arms.
I held that silver for 7-8 years, and when I finally disclosed I’d sold it, I also said I sold too early and didn’t make any money on it.
I know that Warren. I was buying when you were selling you old commie goat. ($4.50 basis)
… is that all you have – old people dying from heat stroke? What about the 50 million US citizens that are denied health care?
This is why we need an IQ test before allowing people to post on this sight.
Dumb shit, cite me not fifty million, not even one million, but cite me…. ten people who have been “denied health care” in the US.
The socialists only exist because they can pluck dumbshits like you off the trees with little effort.
Two points from the article below”
1. The French healthcare system taxes individuals 18.8% of their income to pay for the benefits.
2. The system is moving towards insolvency and may have to resort to rationing.
So, lets say you make 100K a year. Then you are paying 19K a year for healthcare. That is roughly 1,600/month. That seems pretty pricey to me. Lets not forget that we will have to back out another large percentage to pay for all the other “free” services Zephler is expounding upon.
Health Care Around the World: France
April 14, 2008 in Health Care Around the World, International Health Care Systems
France is often seen by liberals as the ideal system. It has universal health care, with few waiting lists. France has the highest level of satisfaction with their health care among all European countries. How can this be? What is their secret?
France provides a basic, universal health insurances through large occupation-based funds. The General National Health Inusrance Scheme covers 83% of French workers, while other occupational specific (e.g.: for agricultural workers, for the self employed, for miners, etc.) cover the remainder. About 99% of individuals are covered by this universal health insurance system.
However, France utilizes more market-based ideas than most people realized. Copayment rates for most services are 10%-40%. About 92% of French residents have complementary private health insurance.
In essence, the French system avoids widespread rationing because, unlike true single-payer systems, it employs market forces. Even the OECD says that the “proportion of the population with private health insurance†and the degree of cost sharing are key determinants of how severe waiting lists will be.
Insured. About 99% of French residents are covered by the national health insurance scheme.
Cost. France is the third most expensive health care system (~11% of GDP). While the system has generally been well funded, in 2005 the health care system ran a €11.6 billion deficit and in 2006 the health care system had a €10.3 billion deficit. No centrally planned health insurance system will be immune from occasional (or even frequent) deficits.
Funding. Most of the funding is from a 13.55% payroll tax (employers pay 12.8%, individuals pay 0.75%). There is a 5.25% general social contribution tax on income as well. Thus, there is an approximately a 18.8% on employees for health insurance. There are also dedicated taxes which are assessed on tobacco, alcohol, and pharmaceutical company revenues.
Private Insurance. “More than 92% of French residents have complementary private insurance.†This insurance pays for additional fees in order to access higher quality providers. Private health insurances makes up 12.7% of French health care spending. These complementary private insurance funds are very loosely regulated (less than in the U.S.) and the only stringent requirement is guaranteed renewability. Private insurance benefits are not equally distributed so there is, in essence, a two-tier system.
Physician Compensation. French doctors are paid by the national health insurance system based on a centrally planned fee schedule, but doctors can charge whatever price they want. The fees are based on an up front treatment lump sum, which is similar to DRGs in the U.S. The patient–or their private insurance–must make up the difference between the fee charged by the doctor and the amount paid for by the universal health care system. The average French doctor earns only €40,000, although medical school is free for them and the French legal system is fairly tort-averse.
Physician Choice. The French have a fair amount of choice in which doctors they choose. However, recently the French have moved towards a more “managed care†practice style where patients have a “preferred doctors†who acts as a gatekeeper for specialists.
Copayment/Deductibles. 10% to 40% copayments.
Technology. The government does not reimburse new technologies very generously and because of global budgets and fee restrictions, there is little incentive to make capital investments in medical technology.
Waiting Times. France has generally avoided waiting lists, likely due to the fairly high coinsurance charges. Recent trends towards Increased restrictions, reduced reimbursement rates, and rationing has increased wait times however.
Tanner’s summary. “To sum up: the French health care system clearly works better than most national health care systems. Despite some problems, France has generally avoided the rationing inherent in other systems. However, the program is threatened by increasing costs and may be forced to resort to rationing in the future.â€
I’ve been waiting for months for Gold to come to me. I’m with Jake and Bill Cara.
Another great quote. One would ask why if the system is so great that 92% pay extra to “access higher quality providers.”
“More than 92% of French residents have complementary private insurance.†This insurance pays for additional fees in order to access higher quality providers.
thanks for the fun, it really is funny to see how one sided people can be with their opinions, just try to look at things from the both sides, instead of what you media has cultured you to think! I am sure we have pissed off fly supremely, as he has a “No politics here assholes” policy…
So let me see if I get this right, the dollar weakens the market goes up, the dollar strengthens the market goes up, commodities up market up, commodities down market up, more rate cuts market up, no more rate cuts market up, all bad gov reports equals market up. Bad economy market up, good economy market up. This is great, I will never short again when I can just ride this perpetual one way escalator to financial bliss.
Again fuck MER and its ugly mother.
Zephler, a good debate is always fun. Believe me, I am not one-sided. For the most part, I am conservative only in my fiscal beliefs. I would be seriously willing to entertain your arguments if you could provide some objective data.
jake-
speaking in a broader sense here….
i have no love for france per se. the point i was trying to make is that (IMO, FWIW) the us is in trouble long term, for a number of reasons which (i suspect) you already know and acknowledge.
i liken the u.s. and its culture/mentality/economy to a shooting star – burns extremely bright, but it is unsustainable.
…and yes, i am getting uncomfortably close to 47 1/2 (dont tell fly)
Zephler,
Come with some facts next time. I hope you can recognize that it’s you that’s been duped. All you are reciting is typical left wing hackery. Fact free.
Get a clue, before it’s too late for your family.
Null,
Here’s the thing. If we’re screwed, France is far worse. They’re ahead of us on the demographic curve — they’ve far less children growing up to meet their aging population, and they’ve already got an incredibly high embedded pension/healthcare liability on their collective balance sheet.
This is not even taking into account that the one area where they have some recourse to their fiscal problems — through immigration — saddless them with an increasingly unhappy Islamic populace who were never made to feel welcome (only the US assimilates it’s immigrants with any efficiency thanks to a lack of historial nationality), and who now are starting to think the “historic France” is a mite too “decadent” for them.
Hey Jake,
Maybe A’dawgg could confirm this, but the point and figure counts down to about $840 an oz. $760 to $790 would be the longer term trend line. I’m not sure you’ll get there. By the way my truck is bigger than yours.
Peace
Some analyst at a no name firm pisses on FSLR and look what happens.
BTW, who is ThinkPanmure? Did Thinkequity merge with someone?
GW– I’m alright with $840 too.
I hope your truck is hydroelectric.
I keep hoping for gold to get to $790 over the next couple of months to add some more GLD. Not sure it will get there, but I’ll be ready if it does.
Oops. Thought this was IBC.
How did I end up on the Yahoo boards? I’m outta here.
I’m moving to France to get away from my shitty reputation here in the US.
I really screwed the pooch.
Sohu days to cover 5 days… 20% short.. Low Float… going nuts
Yeeeess, Lovey and I would’ve
ruled, er… “governed” you peons with a much fiiiirmer haaahnd!If COF can hold above 55 and then 57.5 look for a target at 62
Fuck anyone that can’t bank enough coin to pay for their own medical bills… Through insurance premiums fucktards. What the fuck is with the bad karma?
HANS and MVIS red on this tape, odd no?
This rally is bananas!
Fuck me.
I have lived in France for the last ten years. The medical health care system is excellent–I love it! Doctors have wonderful bedside manners, and they visit your house when you are too sick to go out. Taxes have always been ok for my household–some years we did not even have to pay much. Lots of benefits that allow us to have a much better standard of living than we had when we lived in the US or in the UK. The best aspect that I noticed is that people are calm and not frenzied. For me, that contributes a lot to everyday enjoyment.
The French were shocked when elderly people died during that awful calicule (I had difficulties myself during that summer and I am not elderly) and mobilized so that would not happen again.
There certainly are problems in France. The Beurs–second generation Moroccans and Algerians–don’t hate France and wish for its demise. They got problems as a group that need to be solved–very high employment for them. The birth rate in France is actually quite perky, and it is not only because of immigration, but native French are having more babies. There are huge incentives to have babies including affordable nursery care so parents can continue to work.
France needs to loosen up their restrictive labor practices and Sarkosy may be able to accomplish that.
NVDA moving up nicely!
Hi Michelle, not sure if you’ve posted before, but if not, welcome to iBC. Did you mean the Un-employment rate of the 2nd gen Moroccans and Algerians is high?
I like your writing style… perky birth rate indeed.
Don’t you mean to say the Islamic birth rate in France is quite perky? Eurabia is proceeding nicely. Someday practicing Christians (if there are any left) will follow what the Jews have been forced to do for years and that is to leave.
I hope the Sarkosky election means a new direction for France.
Michelle B.,
Now there you go…just as the whole French/medical/socialim debate was calming down, you come along and fan the dying flames–just because you actually have some first hand experience.
BTW, did you not mean “very high unemployment” vs. “very high employment” viz the preblems of the Beurs? And if it is in fact high unemployment, could this not at least partially be because they are for the most part a lazy, hateful bunch of immigrants who are real happy to be outta where they’re from, but who refuse to attempt to assimilate into their new home? Just askin’.
TraderCaddy, the native French birthrate is going up because of governmental incentives and also because the French are very family oriented–big 2 hour family meals are still the norm, people go home to have lunch! And I suspect less stress, more babies.
There are car burnings every year–it is a ‘tradition’ done by young people, mostly males, regardless of their race. They burn the cars, the govt cleans up the mess, and it is over until the next summer. I can’t say that I have witnessed any pronounced racial tension here (much more so in the US when I lived there about 15 years ago–I am an American citizen btw) And the govt is unfortunately ‘afraid’ of the people, and that is why it has been almost impossible to implement much need Labor reforms–they take to the streets and protest and close down everything. Sarko may be able to pull off needed changes–to keep the French social way but with a little more free entreprise thrown in the mix.
Boca, yes, the unemployment rate for young 2nd gen Moroccans and Algerians are very high, 25% in some urban areas. It is a big problem. The labor rules are too restrictive and need to be changed. Thanks for the welcome–I have been around the trading blogosphere for about 5 years and have been published at TraderMike’s.
I am a trader by profession and my tax rate is 25% Wealthy people are taxed 50%–way too much. Many French don’t pay taxes! or very little–am guessing the average is probably around 30%. Also there lots of public infrastructive–bike paths, electric trams running over beds of grass, etc.
There are many lovely countries to live in–about 45 in my mind, America is certainly one of them. However, it is nice to live somewhere different, and I, after living in 3 diff countries, would like v much to try out either Sweden or Estonia.
I, of course, meant high UNemployment for the Beurs and in general for the French.
brushbuck, there are nasty people in every group; there are also many hardworking, decent Beurs with strong identification to France. Yes, I was reluctant to fan the flames and will end the discussion here.
Michelle B.- I hear Estonia has had great changes over the last twenty years or so and is pretty nice. My daughter has spent time in Finland, Estonia,Romania and visited most of Europe while in the Peace Corps. She liked Estonia very much and the cost of living is pretty cheap.
Good stuff Michelle. Thanks for contibuting.
Michelle B.,
Was being semi-sarcastic/funny with the “Now there you go…fan the flame” comment. By all means continue the discussion or not as you see fit. No one ever got hurt by listening to someone else’s opinion. And if that opinion is based on first hand, at the scene experience(s), so much the better. Thanks for sharing.
The French, just like some Americans towards the French, entertain some funny ideas about Americans. Some think all African-Americans are poor and starving and to those I say, yeah, O. Winfrey is a white gal who puts on black makeup every day. They don’t get the joke.