• This massive intervention brings Our Wishbone World back into focus.
  
  
• Through that lens, I will again share that I’m surprised the dollar is acting as resilient as it has since the bailout was announced.
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• The end of the world as we know it! The decision to scrap the Wall Street model and morph Mother Morgan (MS) and Goldman Sachs (GS) into traditional bank holding companies is the end of an era. We will delve deeper into those discussions in the days ahead but suffice to say that it’s the exclamation point on our series last week regarding Why Wall Street Will Never be the Same.
  
  
• If the government has “bought the cancer, sold the car crash,” doesn’t it make sense that short-side attention spans will shift to retail (as we saw with Target (TGT) and Wal-Mart (WMT)) and tech (Dell (DELL), Intel (INTC)) on Friday?
  
  
• There is a profound difference between words and life. We’ve been talking about societal acrimony for some time but writing it and experiencing it are two different worlds.
  
  
• Indeed, after a frantic phone call with someone tied up in the Reserve Primary Fund—someone who desperately needs to tap their money market and is not being granted access—the dichotomy hit home in a hurry.
  
  
• Ditto conversations I had with six separate people who worked at Lehman Brothers, one of them a “lifer” whose retirement money is now in the hands of bankruptcy proceedings.

Finally, and tying this column up with some good energy, someone once said that you get out of something what you put into it. 

I’ve put the last seven years of my life into Minyanville and our entire family—MVHQ staffers, our awesome professors and our investors—dared to dream alongside me.

The feedback last week was fierce from around the world. Hundreds, if not thousands, of e-mails and phone calls from afar served to validate our mission. We have one heck of a community, my friends, and I wanted to extend gratitude on behalf of the entire team.

Along those lines, the following letter was hand delivered on Friday and I share it for the benefit of ye faithful. This isn’t about “me”—it never has been—it’s about “us”, the collective us, now more than ever.

You should all be proud.

Dear Todd,

I began reading Minyanville in July of 2007 and when I reflect back upon the countless wisdom and insight it has provided me I become thankful. As I sat in my apartment Sunday night, trying to digest the historic events that were unfolding, it became clear to me that it was finally time to contact you and thank you for your tremendous efforts. It was then that I realized that just as the financial market turbulence seems to be at its worst, it is at precisely the same moment that the website and community you have created is more valuable than ever.

I would like to volunteer at Minyanville doing whatever tasks your company may need to have done. You often speak of giving back and I would like to do my part. In particular, the posts of yourself, Bennet Sedacca, Mr. Practical, Kevin Depew, and Jeff Saut have provided me with immeasurable benefits and I feel it’s the least I can do in return. I currently have an 8-5 job, but I am willing to work weeknights or weekends for free. At the risk of sounding too cheesy, being more closely involved with Minyanville is all the compensation I need.

If this request is too out of the ordinary or not feasible in any way, than I ask that you please ignore it. If in fact you could use my services, please contact me and let me know. Regardless, the spirit of this letter is to compliment you on what you have built, and let you know how much it is appreciated. Keep up the great work!

Regards,
Minyan Brian

That’s good mojo no matter how you slice it and I look forward to shaking his—and your—hand at the December 4th Festivus to benefit The Ruby Peck Foundation for Children’s Education.



R.P.