I’m not complaining (it’s actually an asset for creativity; some call it dialectic), but sometimes I find myself at loggerheads with editors and other higher-ups here because I want to write about politics and philosophy and history and long-term quant model signals and try to justify those things as “big macro ideas”…and they want me to stick to stocks.  It’s a fair “back and forth”…and I think it improves my output.

Today I am going to try to get past the gargoyles with an open letter to Warren Buffett, who said on the day that Berkshire was giving up on the airline industry, “don’t bet against America.”  Because I’m looking at the election of a Ugandan jihadist communist as mayor of New York, and I’m wondering how long there’s going to be an America to bet against.

It was Paul Simon who asked “where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?”  Lore has it that Simon and “Joltin’ Joe” crossed paths in a restaurant one night and the iconic Major Leaguer confronted Simon, and not pleasantly.  He let the songster know in no uncertain terms that he was very much around and hadn’t gone anywhere.  “I’m doin’ the Bowery Savings Bank, I’m doin’ Mister Coffee.  I haven’t disappeared.”  Supposedly Simon was successful in convincing DiMaggio that it was just a lyrical metaphor and ruffled feathers were amicably smoothed.

I was only a little kid when Fidel Castro came along and stunned the world but I remember it vividly.  It was a sort of historical rhapsody.  The world greeted it as a liberation.  I once had a Cuban boss and he referred to this phenomenon as “guerilla chic.”  In years to come, college kids around the city on the Columbia and NYU campuses would wear Che t-shirts and they still do.  Fidel was even invited on to “The Ed Sullivan Show.”  He charmed the birds right out of the trees.  The new mayor-apparent has equivalent if not more animal magnetism.  But go to youtube and look up Cubans who are probably in the forties but look twice that age, shopping amidst the rubble of Havana for plantains that don’t look very appetizing.  Is that what we will see in city-owned grocery stores that don’t gouge the workers who have nothing to lose but their chains?

So, like many older men, I’m asking, “where have you gone, GIL HODGES?”  because I’m more of a pessimist than an optimist, and New York LOST the Dodgers (including Hodges) to Los Angeles.  And at that time, New Yorkers were afraid of California eclipsing them, and that turned out to be a legit fear (along with, at this point, Texas and Florida), but while DiMaggio was a superstar, Hodges was the perfect quiet man.  He didn’t have a Marily Monroe in his collection of trophies.  But he had the unshakable loyalty of every baseball player whoever had anything to do with him.  They LOVED the guy for his consistency and wholesomeness.  Hodges also went on to a great manager’s career.  Look at these amazing achievements I’m ripping off of his Wiki page.

Gil Hodges, AP

Gil Hodges was a four-sport athlete and son of a coal miner who stood six foot one and weighed 200 pounds.  When he went pro, he went directly to the majors.  It was even better than that; he first TURNED DOWN a contract offer from the Tigers to go to college.  His modest aspiration was to be a collegiate coach.

He is still in the stratosphere on all these lists.  Very different from today’s baseball of specialists where a relief pitcher makes millions of dollars for coming out for a couple of innings to throw a few fast balls.

• List of Gold Glove Award winners at first base
• List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders
• List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders
• List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders
• List of Major League Baseball career games played as a first baseman leaders
• List of Major League Baseball career putouts as a first baseman leaders
• List of Major League Baseball career assists as a first baseman leaders
• List of Major League Baseball career double plays as a first baseman leaders
• List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle
• List of Major League Baseball single-game home run leaders
• List of baseball players who went directly to Major League Baseball

We didn’t have a communist mayor then, but we were getting close to the folly of Jelly Belly John Lindsay, whose claim to fame was the strategy that if you simply acquiesce to every union labor demand, that would keep them happy (something like handing pallets of cash to Iranian mullahs?).  Hint: it didn’t work.  Then came the bankruptcy.

Gil Hodges died in 1972 on a golf course, playing with his buddies.  He had a heart attack, but it was actually cracking the back of his head open on concrete when he fell down that killed him.

The entire sports world and all of Brooklyn and New York turned out in droves to mourn him.  Don Drysdale said he couldn’t leave his apartment in Texas for three days but could only cry.  He loved Hodges but couldn’t get himself to show up for the funeral.

And if you are a man, would you rather have a Marilyn Monroe in your life, or a woman who outlived you by 50 years who didn’t stop loving you and only died one month after you were admitted to the Hall of Fame?  Only then did Gil Hodges’ widow (Joan Lombardi) give up the mortal coil, only a couple of years ago, just a month shy of her 96^th birthday.

Gil Hodges lived with his family in a modest house in Brooklyn.  He invested in that immediate area, including a bowling alley.

So tell me, Warren Buffett, ‘cause you’re getting up there too…is there an America left to bet against?  How do you see the earthquake in New York politics?

Just because I wanted to feel young, I asked Duck.ai about Buffett’s airline-exit decision:

“When did Buffett get out of airline stocks?”

Assist

Warren Buffett sold all of his airline stocks in May 2020. He made this decision during the COVID-19 pandemic when the airline industry was severely impacted.

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• How Warren Buffett's airline stocks have performed...Yahoo
• Warren Buffett dumps US airline stocks, saying 'wo...The Guardian

“How have airline stocks done since then?”

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Since Warren Buffett sold all his airline stocks in May 2020, airline stocks have experienced significant fluctuations but have generally shown a recovery trend. Here are some key points regarding their performance:

1. Initial Recovery: After the initial downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, airline stocks began to recover as travel demand gradually returned. By mid-2020, major airlines like American Airlines, Delta, United, and Southwest saw substantial gains as passenger numbers increased.
2. Continued Growth: By late 2024, airline stocks had reached levels not seen since before the pandemic. For instance, United Airlines' stock soared to its highest level since February 2020, reflecting a strong recovery in business travel and overall demand. The U.S. Global Jets ETF, which includes various airline stocks, rose over 30% since early 2024.
3. Market Dynamics: The recovery has been supported by improving airfare pricing trends and a reduction in unprofitable capacity in the market. Executives from major airlines have expressed optimism about future yields and margins, indicating that the industry has reached an "inflection point."
4. Current Status: As of June 2025, airline stocks are performing well, with many airlines reporting strong earnings and positive forecasts for the coming quarters. The overall sentiment in the market is bullish, with expectations of continued growth as travel demand stabilizes.

In summary, airline stocks have rebounded significantly since Buffett's exit in 2020, with many airlines now performing at or above pre-pandemic levels.

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