“First off, I want to thank God, because that’s who I look up to. He has graced my life with opportunities that I know are not of my hand or of any other human hand. He has shown me that it’s a scientific fact that gratitude reciprocates … When you’ve got God, you’ve got a friend, and that friend is you.”

Matthew McConaughey

"When I look down at this golden statue, may it remind me and every little child that no matter where you’re from, your dreams are valid. Thank you."

Lupita Nyong’o

Gratitude and Thanks

I'm not a big fan of entertainment industry award shows.  In fact, the last time I watched an award show of any kind, was the year  Stevie Wonder set a record for his "Songs in the Key of Life" album at the Grammy’s.  While channel surfing Sunday night, I was lucky enough to catch a part of Matthew McConaughey’s acceptance speech, where he thanked God for his success and mused about his father looking down with satisfaction from heaven.

It was very touching and very surprising.  The most self-absorbed phonies in the world reside in Hollywood, with Manhattan and The Hamptons coming in a close second.  It's a place where living legends, like 81- year- old Kim Novak, who appeared on stage, only to be ignored and ridiculed afterward for having had too much plastic surgery.

The nation continues to drift from the idea of God, embracing pagan priorities and beliefs, while taking too much credit for being born in a nation that became the greatest, in large part from a strong belief in God.  Overwhelmingly, soldiers that died fighting for American freedom believed in God, and were proud to proclaim their love for their Heavenly Father.  These days, the smug arrogance of Hollywood spends time alternating in its put-down of all of the foundations of America, from their belief in God and capitalism, to the Constitution.

I mentioned to a make-up person at Fox how much I appreciated McConaughey's comments. She agreed and said Lupita Nyong'o's speech moved her to tears.  I read it and it was a great speech, but was dubious because she is the current "it" girl in Hollywood, but I checked it out anyway.  It was a wonderful speech and in some ways, there was a connection to McConaughey's speech.  When the winner of the Best Actress award said, "your dreams are valid," I realized she was thinking of herself. Lupita was born in Mexico of Kenyan parents, where she moved back to Kenya then Mexico, and eventually Yale and Hollywood.

Hollywood is still the fairy-tale land of the world, and the Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday underscored it to the point that I'm wondering; when can Americans actually apply.

2014 Oscar Winners:

It's possible to make it big anywhere on the planet.  And even now, more than ever, it's possible to make it big in America, and for that reason we should all thank God.  America is still the greatest nation in the world, and we should fight 'tooth and nail' to keep it that way and to respect those that built the foundation on their belief, rather than buy into arrogant arguments that it's man, who is moving the cosmos and determining all fates.

Gratitude reciprocates, indeed.

Without Firing a Shot

Far from Hollywood, Russia (which ceased being a movie villain a long time ago, replaced by US corporations, congressmen, and just about anyone that wears a tie to work) took over Crimea without firing a shot.  In many ways it is ironic, considering Nikita Khrushchev once boasted that his communist nation would take over America without firing a shot, gave Crimea to Ukraine.  That was then, and this is now; and in between, a guy named Ronald Reagan put to bed the idea of Soviet global domination.   However for Vladimir Putin, the Cold War never ended.

On that note, and despite predictions by very smart people, I think the global ambition of modern Russia extends for the moment to Crimea.

It would be a serious economic gambit at this point to impose sanctions on Russia, which would result in a massive interruption of oil and natural gas to Europe.  The West is weak, and everyone from failed stage actors to those with grand ambitions are watching and licking their chops.  What's interesting is that Putin called China to pitch his case for invasion and apparently got the green light.

The Market

All things considered, the market put in a good session finding buyers when the Dow melted down more than 200 points.  There were a couple of pieces of positive economic news which got lost in the sauce, but we could have big news later in the week if we receive positive data on employment.