Jim Cramer's Stop Trading! Thornburg Thumbs-Up

"Take away their shoelaces," Jim Cramer said of short-sellers who are betting against lender Thornburg Mortgage (TMA Quote - Cramer on TMA - Stock Picks).

Cramer made the comments on CNBC's "Stop Trading!" segment, where he said Thornburg and some other members of the short-influenced dirty dozen have shown signs they "didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday."

Cramer particularly applauded an interview with CEO Garrett Thornburg in which the executive said the company has been demanding documentation on so-called Alt-A loans -- a sometimes lightly documented section of the mortgage market that bears are saying will be hit by rising defaults and delinquencies. He also likes the insider buying by execs, something he said is always a bullish sign.

Cramer said Dow Chemical (DOW Quote - Cramer on DOW - Stock Picks), up 6% on buyout rumors, is worth looking at, because "where there's smoke there's fire." He also reiterated his call that Alcoa (AA Quote - Cramer on AA - Stock Picks) "won't be independent at this time next year" and said a recent rise in nickel is good for CVRD (RIO Quote - Cramer on RIO - Stock Picks), which Cramer has in the past described as having a government-enabled "monopoly on nickel."