Adopt a filmmaker to send to Iraq. Jonathan Versen, the self-described Arab-American lefty blogger from Denton, Texas who is the proprietor of HugoZoom wants to go to Iraq to shoot a documentary and he also wants you to help him. Which is a good thing, because it's much easier than going yourself, and God knows we need more eyes and ears over there. So click already.

{ 5:54 PM }

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The almost-record-breaking Bush economy. As the economy inches toward Junior's first Dow Jones Industrial Average record high, much overjoyed journalistic ink will be spilled forgetting the years and years of routine record-breaking during the Clinton administration:

1993 Mar 8, On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average soared to a record high, climbing 64.84 to end the day at 3,469.42.
(AP, 3/8/98)

1993 May 19, Dow Jones closed above 3,500 For the first Time (3,500.03).
(DTnet, 5/19/97)

1994 Jan 21, Dow Jones passed 3900 to a record 3,914.20.
(MC, 1/21/02)

1995 Feb 23, The Dow Jones industrial average closed above the 4,000 mark for the first time, ending the day at 4,003.33.
(WSJ, 12/16/96, p.C1)(AP, 2/23/00)

1995 Apr 24, Dow Jones Index hit a record 4303.98.
(MC, 4/24/02)

1995 Nov 21, The Dow Jones Industrials in the US closed above 5000 for the first time to 5023.55.
(WSJ, 11/22/95, p.A-1)(AP, 11/21/97)

1996 Sep 13, The stock market hit a new record of 5,838.52 on the Dow.
(SFC, 9/14/96, p.A1)

1997 Feb 13, On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average broke through the 7,000 barrier for the first time, ending the day at 7,022.44.
(AP, 2/13/98)

1997 Jun 2, The NASDAQ Stock Exchange began trading in 1/16th-point increments.
(WSJ, 5/30/97, p.C1)

1997 Jun 16, The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed above 8,000 for the 1st time.
(SSFC, 2/2/03, p.I4)

1997 Aug 6, The Dow Jones reached an all-time high at 8,259.31.
(SFC, 8/16/97, p.A1)

1997 Sep 2, The US stock market made a record 257 point gain.
(SFC, 9/3/97, p.B1)

1998 Feb 13, The Dow Jones rose to another record high of 8,370.1.
(SFC, 2/14/98, p.D1)

1998 Apr 3, The Dow Jones industrial average climbed above 9,000 for the first time, but finished with a 3.23 point drop at 8,983.41.
(AP, 4/3/03)

1998 Apr 6, The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 9,000 for the first time.
(CNBC, 4/6/98)(AP, 4/6/99)

1998 Nov 23, The Dow Jones hit a new record high at 9,374.27.
(SFC, 11/24/98, p.A1)

1999 Mar 16, The Dow Jones industrial average briefly topped the 10,000 level, reaching a high of 10,001.78 before retreating.
(AP, 3/16/00)

1999 Mar 29, The Dow Jones broke the 10,000 level and closed at 10,006.
(SFC, 3/30/99, p.A1)

1999 May 3, The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 11,000, just 24 trading days after passing 10,000.
(AP, 5/3/00)

1999 May 7, The Dow Jones closed at a record 11,031.59.
(SFC, 5/8/99, p.D8)

1999 Aug 23, The Dow Jones industrial average soared 199.15 to a new record of 11,209.84.
(AP, 8/23/00)

1999 Dec 31, The DJIA closed the decade at 11,497.12.
(WSJ, 9/5/01, p.C1)(WSJ, 4/8/04, p.C4)

2000 Jan 14, The Dow Jones reached a peak high.
(NW, 3/17/03, p.44)

Note that even in the Fall of 1998, when Clinton was enduring the Starr Report and the beginnings of the clown-college impeachment witchhunt, the economy — a partial measure of consumer confidence — soared like the proverbial eagle. Approval ratings sometimes do translate into dollars after all.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average doesn't include so-called dot-com and related stocks, so this has nothing to do with all the "New Economy" internet bubble stuff.

I used to think that Republicans were the guys who supposedly listened to what the market was saying.

But what the market actually said was, "Portfolio Manager Clinton, +350% in eight years; Portfolio Manager Bush Junior, near zero in five years."

If you were smart, where would you put your money?

{ 1:20 PM }

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