Apr 4, 2011, Vol. 16, No. 28 • By MATTHEW CONTINETTI

“David Koch’s secretary told him the news. This was in February, during the rowdy standoff between Wisconsin governor Scott Walker and demonstrators backing 14 Democratic legislators who’d fled to Illinois rather than vote on a bill weakening public employee unions. Koch’s secretary said that an editor for a left-wing website, the Buffalo Beast, had telephoned the governor posing as David Koch and recorded the conversation. And Walker had fallen for it! He’d had a 20-minute conversation with this bozo, not once questioning the caller’s identity. But then how could Walker have known? Sure, David Koch was a billionaire whose company had donated to his campaign. But Koch (pronounced “Coke”) had never talked to Walker in his life.

Yet here were the media reporting that he and his brother Charles were behind Walker’s push against public employees. Anger washed over David like a red tide. He’d been victimized by some punk with a political agenda. “It’s really identity theft,” he told me a month later, during an interview at Koch Industries’ headquarters. “And I think it’s extremely dishonest to misrepresent yourself. I think there’s a question of integrity. And the person who would do that has got to be an incredibly dishonest person.” Up until Walker’s showdown with the Democratic state senators, Koch had never seen a photograph of the governor. He didn’t know him at all. But now the protesters occupying the Wisconsin state capitol were calling Walker a “Koch Whore.”

Why? Because the Koch Industries PAC had given $43,000 to Walker’s campaign. That was less than one half of one percent of Walker’s total haul—but still enough for the left to tie Koch Industries to the battle royal in Wisconsin. David found the whole affair disturbing. “One additional thing that really bothered me,” he said, “was that the press attacked me rather than the guy who impersonated me! And I was criticized as someone who’s got a death grip on the governor and his policies. And that I control him—I mean, that’s insane!”

Read the rest here.

Do government employees work to support Americans, or do Americans work to support government employees? If this question is not dealt with soon, look for similar protests in a city near you.

“Organisers of a huge protest against the Government’s public spending cuts tonight hailed the demonstration a “fantastic success” after hundreds of thousands of people joined the biggest event of its kind for over 20 years.

Between 400,000 and 500,000 teachers, nurses, firefighters, council and NHS workers, other public sector employees, students, pensioners and campaign groups from across the UK marched through central London to a rally where union officials and Labour leader Ed Miliband condemned the “brutal” cuts in jobs and services.”

Read the rest here.

Protesters near Daraa are turning violent in response to Government killings of peaceful demonstrator. It’s being reported that Baath party offices have been set aflame.

Related: there are protests in the US supporting the people in Syria.

“As Brad Williams walked the halls of the California state capitol in Sacramento on a recent afternoon, he spotted a small crowd of protesters battling state spending cuts. They wore shiny white buttons that said “We Love Jobs!” and argued that looming budget reductions will hurt the Golden State’s working class.

Mr. Williams shook his head. “They’re missing the real problem,” he said.

The working class may be taking a beating from spending cuts used to close a cavernous deficit, Mr. Williams said, but the root of California’s woes is its reliance on taxing the wealthy.”

Read the rest here.

“Gives Taxpayers, Lawmakers a Guide to Their States’ Rankings on Vital Tax and Fiscal Measures

Washington, DC, March 1, 2011-Today the Tax Foundation is releasing the 2011 edition of Facts and Figures: How Does Your State Compare?, a pocket-sized guide ranking all 50 states on 32 different measures of taxation and fiscal policy. Topics include individual and corporate income tax rates, business tax climates, state-local tax burdens, and excise tax rates. Facts & Figures is edited by Mark Robyn, staff economist at the Tax Foundation.”

The 2011 edition of Facts & Figures: How Does Your State Compare? is available here.

Read the rest here.

Natty stocks responding in kind.

5 day chart of natural gas

Stocks responding:
GMXR, WRES, PQ, CRZO, GDP, XTXI, CWEI, FST and SD

BIIEX, NIVLX, SGOVX, IVICX, TVAFX

Full article

Heavily battered, and likely fraudulent to some degree, Chinese listed stocks are bouncing hard today. Here are the winners.

No. Ticker Industry % Change
1 BSPM Chinese Burritos 15.77
2 SBAY Chinese Burritos 12.21
3 TSTC Chinese Burritos 11.24
4 ALN Chinese Burritos 10.42
5 YOKU Chinese Burritos 10.11
6 MCOX Chinese Burritos 9.51
7 FFHL Chinese Burritos 7.50
8 RCON Chinese Burritos 7.48
9 CVVT Chinese Burritos 7.42
10 SIHI Chinese Burritos 7.11
11 CAAS Chinese Burritos 6.20
12 CXDC Chinese Burritos 6.19
13 DANG Chinese Burritos 4.88
14 CSR Chinese Burritos 4.59
15 XNY Chinese Burritos 4.40
16 HOLI Chinese Burritos 4.27
17 CMFO Chinese Burritos 4.12

And, it wouldn’t be a burrito sector without some sort of egregious daily losers:

No. Ticker Industry % Change
1 FUQI Chinese Burritos -10.87
2 CHGS Chinese Burritos -10.66
3 SHZ Chinese Burritos -8.09
4 GFRE Chinese Burritos -6.31
5 DEER Chinese Burritos -6.16
6 XING Chinese Burritos -5.56
7 CBEH Chinese Burritos -5.37
8 CISG Chinese Burritos -5.14
9 CTDC Chinese Burritos -4.93
10 JRJC Chinese Burritos -4.69

Data provided by The PPT

There are widespread protests in Jordan and apparently dozens are injured.

UPDATE: More than 100 injured in Amman.

How long before a trip to the 7-11 costs more in taxable miles than a trip to say, a GM dealership?

“The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) this week released a report that said taxing people based on how many miles they drive is a possible option for raising new revenues and that these taxes could be used to offset the costs of highway maintenance at a time when federal funds are short.

The report discussed the proposal in great detail, including the development of technology that would allow total vehicle miles traveled (VMT) to be tracked, reported and taxed, as well as the pros and cons of mandating the installation of this technology in all vehicles.”

Read the rest here.

Japanese and Hong Kong markets are up about 1%, with most Asian markets not too far behind.

US S&P futures are up nearly 4.

Japanese police are reporting the death toll from the dual disasters have topped 10,000. Possibly worse, over 17,000 are still missing.

Full Story

Full Story

Bravo for first class manipulation. Bravo. Today’s SA hit piece is brought to you by Copperfield Research. It’s magic.

Parts 1

2

3

Crack spreads have reversed an earlier 3.5% loss and are now up 1.8% to $22.45. Refinery stocks are responding in kind, with gains in DK, SUN and TSO.

UPDATE: They are now up 2.2%

Mean intra-day reversal in gold and silver underway. Stock keep their gains.

The following are stocks up more than 4% with more than 10% of their float sold short.
No. Ticker Short as % of Float % Change
1 TLB 22.50 26.88
2 GLUU 14.50 11.67
3 QPSA 17.30 10.53
4 ARIA 11.20 7.40
5 OCLR 11.60 6.01
6 CAR 17.70 6.01
7 WAVX11.70 5.43
8 AMRN 35.45 5.37
9 CIEN 32.60 5.33
10 MCP 22.70 5.32
11 NTSP 10.60 5.31
12 YONG 16.90 5.26
13 CBEH 33.30 5.22
14 VIVO 11.00 5.15
15 MELI 13.60 4.66
16 TTMI 12.40 4.62
17 STEC 23.20 4.61
18 GCO 12.50 4.57
19 BYD 31.90 4.56
20 GME 24.20 4.55
21 SOLR 13.90 4.23
22 OSBC 15.30 4.17
23 ARUN 17.30 4.04
24 CAAS 12.67 4.03

Crack spreads are continuing to decline, down another 3.5% to $21.29, coming off of Monday’s high of $24.79. Refinery related stocks are weak, led by losses in WNR, HOC and VLO.