JJC:   There's no denying it now... it's a bear market.  And our only concern is to protect the money we have.  We're not going to try to make risky bets right now that depend on the Fed coming to the rescue...   It doesn't mean the market isn't overdone on the sell side, and tomorrow, we could catch a bounce...

But that's hope... and you know that hope can never be part of the equation on Mad Money or Cramerica...

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So, tonight's show is devoted to stocks that should be a great defense against the Fed's war on America... and to picking cheap stocks that belong to a handful of groups that are still working, in spite of the Fed...  Also to recognize that - even after Intel (INTC)'s bad quarter, we're getting a vicious over-reaction to the downside - that we should never be blinded to opportunity, simply because a particular quarter gets reported, or a particular charge is taken.

So let's start out with some pure defense...  

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One of the few remaining themes that is working - and there really aren't...  I even said, look, agriculture's gone up too much... that's going to take profits...

There's one last group here that's working.  It doesn't mean it's going to continue to work, but it does mean that it fits the depiction about what I'm saying about the economy...

Diagnostics...  You've heard this from me before, and I've got a great diagnostics stock for you...  one of the great high-growth defensive areas, as spending on diagnostics actually lowers overall healthcare costs...

It's not going to change from this bear market... 

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This one has a real twist...

It's a pet diagnostic company...  But, as it turns out, strangely enough... pet care has one big advantage over human care...  There's no government reimbursement risk.  Insurance companies can't really control pricing the way they do in human care... so the dominant pet care companies have been making a fortune...

Which brings me to a stock that, amazingly... and, believe me, this was incredibly hard to find... incredible...  it brings me to a stock that was actually up today...

IDEXX Labs (IDXX)...

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IDXX... this is the best-of-breed integrated play on pet diagnostics...

IDXX makes diagnostic products for vets.  They've got something called VetLab, which is a blood and urine analyzer... and Snap, which is a single-use diagnosis for heartworm, Lyme, and ecanis...

Even in a recession, people love their pets and they pay outrageously-high medical bills to keep them healthy...

I can't think of a soul who doesn't want what IDXX is selling. 

Beyond diagnostics, they also sell a management system to run veterinary practices, along with laboratory services for more complex analyses...

A one-stop shop for vets, and everybody wants one dealer for all their needs... I want you think of this as the Costco (COST) of veterinary products...

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They've got two upcoming catalysts that I think should drive the stock higher, even in this crummy... market.

They're coming out with a replacement for their blood and urine tests...  The new one is called Catalyst DX.  The second new product catalyst is called SnapshotDX.   That replaces the current single-use rapid diagnosis test...

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Be patient... I think you should get into IDXX on a pullback.

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The Bottom Line!:   
When things get tough, we need D (i.e., defense), and D is IDEXX Laboratories Inc. (IDXX)

[See Jim's 2nd Opening Segment stock picks below... ]