2020 has been a horrible year for most people. Working people, that is. With oligarchs…that’s a different story. They gorge and gaggle on on their fat-cow munchies.

The markets have performed surprisingly well (markets don’t care how many people die of Covid, people) , and nothing bested Tesla. Tesla bulls are in haven. Since 2018, Tesla has surged some 1,276%. [Still] The most-shorted stock in history, Tesla is now the 6th biggest company in the U.S. It was added to the S&P 500 Index on Dec. 21.

Tesla (ticker: TSLA) is only the sixth company to reach that milestone[over $600 Bn] in U.S. markets recently, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The others are Amazon.com (AMZN), Facebook (FB), Apple (AAPL), Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) and Microsoft (MFST).

Barron’s

Other than Tesla, of course we know food taxi companies like DoorDash as well as apartment taxicabs such as Airbnb did extremely well this year.

There were other developments in 2020 we have addressed here such as the SPAC Goldrush.

On this blog, however, we don’t write market updates or research.

My focus is bringing forth the knowledge and fortitude rulers hide from their minions. Restoring masculinity and the virtue of the Paterfamilias.

Women have the greatest power and hold the highest ranks in government and business, yet every day they cry how they’re being oppressed by the white male. They’re 60% of college graduates and the majority in the workforce, yet they say that’s not enough. It is never enough.

Give us the world, and we will call you our “equals”.

It is a misconception that Wall Street ranks are some tough guys living it large with high expense accounts and playboy habits. 90% of the people who work or have worked on Wall Street in the last decade or two are herbs with no balls and no life, computer geeks and run-of-the-mill VBA coders programmed to worship women like the rest of us. I know, I’ve worked with them. A waiter working at your average restaurant has more personality than them. They probably have only one girlfriend who has carefully screened their wallet and to whom they will get married to. They probably have a dog or two of those rat-like Scottish terriers or something. And they probably have a woman boss.

That’s love in the age of Corona. Or Cholera, whatever.

Frankly, I understand. If you don’t go with the program, they’ll spit you out. The Matrix doesn’t take any prisoners. You’re easily replaceable. You have to live in a female-dominated world. You are one and they are hundreds of millions, billions of tiny little packed bits of the Matrix. You’re living in the Matrix.

Ok, now that we know we are not referring to the novel Covid-19 virus, but to the female-centric society, you should acknowledge, and be proud of your dependency to women’s greatness. Bow to the magical feminine power.

Herb lines

“I am a feminist.”

If you tell that to a girl you met, you’ve set the record straight. You don’t wanna be second-guessed.

“I practice social-distancing.”

I heard that phase as a recommendation to preventing this virus, but I would extend it and use it as a valid introduction in any social interactions, way after the Coronavirus epidemic stops being an issue.

When you see some girls talking and giggling among themselves, go up to them and say:

“What are you guys talking about ? Is it Beyonce ? Tell me it is about Beyonce.”

I once started talking to a girl and told her: ” I vote to make prostitution legal.” She wasn’t too happy to hear that one out, so I explained myself: “With prostitution legal, there’ll be fewer abortions. Life begins in the fetus.” She left with a headache.

Another herb line: “If an orgasm falls onto deaf ears, is it still happening ?”

And another one: “I feed my (female) dog vegetable chicken breasts. What do you guys think, will she be growing breasts ?

If you have a male dog, ask the girl:

“My dog is only humping other male dogs in the park. Do you think he is gay ?” If she says “Probably” say, “So happy !”

When you introduce yourself, sometimes it pays to just introduce yourself by the Zodiac sign. Say: “I’m a Sagittarius.”

Consider wearing a white suit when you go to a club. You’ll stand out. If they ask about it, just say : “White Party.”

But this is not the kind of strategy I will get your attention to today. Introducing my readers to the Strategist column of the NY Mag. This is a column dedicated to “new products, gift ideas and the best deals”

Browsing though it :

• 100 Best Pens as, tested by NY Mag’s strategist editors.

Who made it to number one, according to the editors ? 1. Baron Fig Squire — Best Rollerball & Best Overall

Of course, there is a component of affiliate earnings from the publication, and it’s Ok -you and I haven’t tested out 100 pens.

• Ask the Strategist: How Should I Take Care of My (Newly) Bald Head? from David Notes

Enjoy the column !

Well, let me put your mind at ease. I’ve watched it, and I’ve enclosed yesterday’s episode (which is free). I watch it when I catch it sometimes.

Billions is a pretty drama, very intense, yet I don’t see it a formative movie. I haven’t reviewed it because I don’t get much from it. Watching rich people fight and screw each other…there’s really no conclusion for me. That is not to say I don’t appreciate Brian Kopelman and David Levien’s artistic geniuses. But I thought watching The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (Alex Gibney on HBO) was more interesting.

Some things don’t sit down well with me. For example:

-They had a Russian oligarch sit in for a SWF decision-maker -makes no sense.

-The whole idea of a former intern, Taylor, starting her own fund after leaving Axe Capital is silly. Taylor is a woman who shaves her head, dresses like a man and makes decisions like Popeye the Sailor Man. In last year’s Season 3, Taylor bonds with a nerdy VC named Oscar and beds him. You don’t bed someone over your love of the game NetRunner or Star Wars.

-The main character, Axe, barely resembles real life characters. Number one: If you work with them, you just don’t see that much of them. 99.99% of times these people conduct business though an intermediary. People ask me: Is this how it is ? One piranha bigger than the other ?

What you <b>don’t understand</b>. **If you work there in real life**:

You are too insignificant to them. You're a fly on the wall. This guy (or gal) doesn't even remember your name (unless you're named like their pet dog).  Nobody cares and nobody will listen to you. Let that amount to something.

People who work in the big money space will back me up on this.

That being said, I heard some good things in Sunday’s episode.

Quotes from S04 E01 · Chucky Rhoades’s Greatest Game:

“Like a honeybee, take what you pick up here and drop it there,

Just make sure at the end of the day.

You’re the one who ends up with all of the nectar.” -Wendy Rhodes

“Intentions don’t matter at all to me,

I reward actions,

And I punish them, too.” -Axe

Wendy Rhoades sitting in as Performance Coach…that doesn’t sit well with me. A company that needs a Full-Time “performance coach”: doesn’t happen. This Wendy character seems to be administering HR policies, plus too many things rest with her. If she were real, she’s be a liability in any company. The jobs she does are too many, her accountability-in-line too small. You can’t have somebody like that with too many hats on.

Those in hedge funds will back up what I’m saying.

Knuckleheads and dumbshits will have a hard time sorting it out.

People that are not business owners or that have not been responsible for their own revenue line have a poor understanding of what a CEO, or even a top salesman, are. CEOs, ostensibly the ones in the public eyes, let very little of their own true image show though in interviews and publications, because they worry about their public image. Politicians do too, with the exceptions of Donald Trump, which had to reveal himself to get elected.

People are so divided over Trump. It’s hard to find anyone that’s indifferent or not opinionated. His fiercest supporters call him “King”, while his critics are no less shy in going to the other extreme. I think this division goes into institutions as well.

Well, what is ? What’s the secret sauce that has taken millions of people by the storm ?

What Trump does he speaks to the emotions of the audience. Trump uses language designed to provoke and enrapture the listener. He is, in my opinion, often bare of facts, ignoring content but getting a deep emotional response that have his supporters raving and his detractors go mad. You can do anything but ignore him. Both his words and body language are a battery of emotion-laden imagery, a emotional rollercoaster. His outbursts are very carefully scripted. This comes from CEO and showbiz training. You can’t very well argue with that –Watch the grab-and-jerk handshake. Trump has an emotional gravitational pull and unbridled frank language that along with his open hand gestures constitute his trademark. What the stunt doesn’t tell you Trump functions like a good businessman, and number one law in business is that “All relationships are transactional.”

Business community leaders have come out of WH meetings expressing being “charmed” by Trump. Reality check: negotiations are rarely done by the President, but by his aides. I would default to Frank Underwood on this one: “Shake with your right hand but hold a rock in your left.”

Trump is the “Showbiz President”. He likes using hyperbole, stunts, brake the norm of civility, but in the end what counts is seeing the economy flourish, sales and employment grow.

“Nobody cares more for the intelligence community than I do. Nobody !” -That’s a statement Trump made not long ago [if not the exact words, it was along those lines]. Let’s examine this statement. Onto fact checking: Is there any evidence that is true ? No. Is there any evidence it isn’t true ? None whatsoever. So this is a plausible statement. However, the way he made it was emotionally loaded. Some people might say: this is bullshit. Other might think: that’s the guy that cares for me. A plain language statement that anybody can understand would be: “I support the intelligence community”. That’s a simple, unemotional, un-provoking way of saying the same thing.

Social media is reduced perception, second-hand experience

4, 8, 12, etc. years ago social media did not exist or not in this form. Today, social media is a form of instant gratification. We are all addicts to this game. I wrote about reducing social media dependency here. What’s the net result of using social media ? Simply put, reality becomes less congruent to our needs. Facts that do not matter become part of our reality. Our lives as a result are poorer because our experiences come through indirect messages. Now kids watch Youtube videos while doing their homework. Social media is one easy way to manipulate opinion and distort reality.

Trump seems to like to amplify the bad news while “burying the good news”. Yesterday he twitted “he couldn’t find any country the U.S. had a trade surplus with” when in fact there are quite a few. To quote a follower of his “when he hasn’t tweeted before 8 AM ‘he’s got you eating out of his hands’.”

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Updated video: July 27th, 2017