In case God is checking in on this blog and would like to know a really nice way to play things out on the S&P, I think it would go something like this.

1. Have the big-honkin' announcement come out regarding the "stimulus" package;
2. After an initial 9/19-style rally (tinted below), have the market completely lose its marbles and plunge to 700;
3. Bang around 700 for a while as we Slopers sell our puts and cover our shorts;
4. Have it dawn on the market that "the plan might work after all" and start a meaningful, multi-month rally;
5. Give us the shorting opportunity of a lifetime sometime later this year

As it is now, the only really formidable resistance is at about 940.

Given how cruel and devious this market has been all of 2009, I doubt it's going to make it that easy on any of us. So we continue to – – groan – – take it one single day at a time, with tomorrow's pre-opening jobs report being the big kahuna.

This one looks sweet.

The /ES keeps threatening to break above 849.50. I am short the /ES, but not massively so – – – today is disappointing, to be sure, but not devastating. If we do bust higher, I'd say 870 is a pretty strong level of resistance for the S&P itself.

Before the planet's attention was poisoned with the likes of Bernie Madoff, Ken Lewis, John Thain, and all the rest of the bloodsucking, greedy, crooked leeches, there was a different man put in front of a Senator to defend federal funding. Specifically, Fred Rogers – – if you want to see a saint in action, and the diametric opposite of the kinds of "leaders" you see on TV today, watch this clip.