Lakedog,
I do not fault your explanation, however, my calling of a bear (or specifically what I feel to be a bear) is a prediction on my part that may affect the way I lean in my trades. Sure, the definition may be a 20% decline, but if that happens then it will be a 20-20 hindsight observation. I need to be able to make assessments today and cannot really wait for a textbook definition to come to pass. I have already said that sure, the decline that we have seen may prove to be nothing but a momentary flag before resumption of the long standing uptrend. But I am not so optimistic. It just doesn’t feel that way to me. So I am going to continue to trade as though it is more likely to stay in a decline. That is, until the market shows me that it is actually going up and then I’ll change. Even in an extended bear market I will continue to go long with calls because some of the most powerful up moves occur during bear markets.
I have long term investments but that is a completely different account and has nothing to do with my trading activity. All of my short term trades are measured in days, often only 1 or 2 days. I really have no interest in seasonal changes such as a 20% bear market decline in either my trading or LTBH accounts.