This is the Michael Savage Nation Show Summary for Tuesday December 1, 2009, you can listen to podcasts and the entire Savage nation shows at TRNCentral.com:
Savage opened the show asking if you would give up a family member’s life to die in Afghanistan when the mission is not clear. He asked if you can name one person in Congress that has a combat ready relative that will be sent to Iraq or Afghanistan to fight.
Savage said the Big Lie is: If we don’t fight them there we will have to fight them here.
Savage maxim: He is without sin does not cast the first stone that is why I’m not casting the first stone I am casting the thousandth stone.
Savage: There is no journalism anymore, there is only talk radio and the blogosphere, journalism is dead.
Savage: In Afghanistan there are rules of engagement that Houdini himself could not follow.
He pondered what is the strategic reason for being there, it is not worth one American life for the animals over there. It is now Obama’s war, within six months there will be 100,000 U.S. troops there.
Savage: The Number 1 reason Obama is doing this is for political reasons, this is geared toward winning the 2012 election. Why are we propping up the stooge puppet Karzai. Who will pay for this war, am I allowed to ask for that?
Savage brought up this Talking Points Memo article that brings up the point that Obama won’t reveal how many more contractors will be added to Afghanistan:
With President Obama addressing the nation tonight about a new escalation in Afghanistan, a perennially underexamined topic is once again receiving short shrift: the huge force of contractors, which as of June outnumbered the size of the U.S. troop presence itself, is likely to swell.
The Administration seemingly hasn’t addressed the issue, and the word “contractor” doesn’t appear much in media coverage — for example, in the Times and Post stories on the escalation today.
But David Berteau, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, tells TPM that as Obama increases troop levels to at least 100,000, “there will definitely be an increase in the number of contractors.”
Savage discussed the millions of dollars in campaign contributions that the war profiteer companies such as Raytheon, Boeing, Lockheed Martin gave to politicians in the 2008 cycle.
War69.com Question: Why are any corporations, defense related or otherwise allowed to give one dime to our politicians? Campaign contributions should only be allowed to be given by an individual and should be capped.
Savage predicted that if you want to make money invest in the stocks of Raytheon, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin.
Here are the current share prices of the defense giants:
However, I would sell Lockheed Martin (LMT, about $75.25) immediately. And if you were following the stock properly, it would have been sold when it first drifted below the magic $100 number in July. I think LMT could drop to the mid-$60s, at which time I’d repurchase the stock.
Boeing (BA, about $51.50) is a huge company with $68 billion in revenues, but its $326 billion backlog suggests that you should add to your position.
Elbit Systems (ESLT, about $60), which makes unmanned air vehicles (drones) and intelligence reconnaissance systems, has lots of momentum going for it. The Street believes ESLT has good upside potential.
General Dynamics (GD, about $66.50) will have a so-so year in 2009, but 2010 and beyond look very prosperous. I’d increase my position.
Raytheon (RTN, about $50) has a strong balance sheet and a superb 3- to 5-year revenue and earnings growth potential. The coming few years look good for RTN.
Teledyne’s (TDY, about $34) Electronics & Communications division, its Engineered Systems, its Aerospace Engines division and its Energy & Power Systems are experiencing declining revenues. TDY does not float my boat, so I’d sell the shares.
All in all, it has been difficult to lose money in defense issues. The defense industry is one of the half-dozen lobbies that own Congress lock stock and barrel, playing those baby-kissers like puppets on knee and string. And many retired senators and congressmen owe their conspicuous consumption retirement and special bank accounts to the defense lobby.
Check back in a few months to see if Savage is correct.
Finally we end the Savage show summary with one of the most prophetic farewell addresses of any President in U.S. history. Here is President Dwight D. Eisenhower warning of the military industrial complex.