E*Trade Sucks

I became an E*Trade customer when they bought Harris Direct Brokerage... E*trade seems to work fine, but it's been almost a month and they haven't resolved a fairly serious customer service issue for me. E*Trade is too big to miss my account if I move it, so maybe arbitration is in the future... I may end up being a happy customer, but they have a really big mountain to climb. I can't recommend them to any family or friends at the moment.

Looking up in Canada

It looks like the conservatives are in power now in Canada... I hear they may try to eliminate the capital gains tax there. Before you lefties start trotting out the old- 'another tax break for the rich,' try to realize that you've never been hired by a poor man... Elimination of the capital gains tax will do nothing but strengthen an already strong economy.

I've been investing in Canada for about a year now, and things are looking even better. Go Canucks!

This Plantation will be Vanilla at the End of the Day

Wait a minute! This post isn't supposed to be about racists Nagin and Clinton! (see previous post) This is an update on a particular societal leech: Jackington Viego points out the update on the woman who attempted to extort Wendy's about the finger in her chili... She got 9 years! Excellent... that may just restore enough faith in my fellow man to get me out of my funk... Yes, indeed.

He Who Smelled It Dealt It

Have you noticed that the person who speaks up quickly and loudly about another person's behavior is often guilty of behavior that's just as offensive? Sometimes even the very behavior they're railing against? By now, you've heard the unbelievably racist comments made on MLK day by New Orleans Mayor Ray 'Chocolate' Nagin... A recap of a couple, in case you missed out:

"We ask black people ... It's time for us to come together. It's time for us to rebuild New Orleans – the one that should be a chocolate New Orleans," the mayor said. "And I don't care what people are saying in Uptown or wherever they are. This city will be chocolate at the end of the day."
"This city will be a majority African-American city. It's the way God wants it to be. You can't have New Orleans no other way. It wouldn't be New Orleans."

I very well remember Nagin screaming something about racism and the slow response to Hurricane Katrina by the Federal government... Now we all can see who is racist. I also enjoyed his comments on God being angry at America- sending us "hurricane after hurricane." Hey Nagin- it's called the weather; please note also that America's greedy, horrible pharmaceutical companies have done wonders with anti-psychotic medications these days! Call your doctor and ask about a prescription.

I Am in a Funk

and I'm not sure why. Maybe I am disappointed that the Maryland state legislature would actually have the audacity to dictate to Wal-Mart what its costs will be. If Wal-Mart's health-care benefits are too low for you, then don't work there. Folks, we've seen the results of the old command-and-control economies; they don't work, and nothing has changed in that department. I know that Wal-Mart would never do it, but it would make my year if Wal-Mart responded to the law by unceremoniously pulling out of Maryland, dumping all those horrible, low-paying jobs. There are apparently plenty of people in this country willing to work for them, and plenty of states out there glad to have the local jobs and tax dollars they provide.

Perhaps that's not the cause of my funk. It is sad, however. While I'm ranting about employment, I continue with this: All those industrial union types who demanded lavish pensions and artificially high pay in the past are now realizing that the birds come home to roost (Think General Motors (I say GM goes bankrupt by the end of 2007) , Delphi, Ford, etc). Pretty soon, no employer to pay them anything. Damn. Take that, Local ### worker- you may not have a job, but by golly you fought for your 'fair share.' You showed them.

Nah, it can't be that stuff. It's not enough to put me in a prolonged bad mood. Things are only temporarily out of phase, however. I know this because I rarely experience the funk, but when I do, it seems to resolve itself. Back to the grind. I have work to do.

Here's the Angle

on the coal mine disaster mentioned in my last post, and why it's Bush's fault (in the minds of the lefties): lax regulation and enforcement. From the Seattle Times article: Large fines are rare, and the most serious sanctions — such as closing mines — are almost never used, documents show.
This pattern has been even more pronounced under the Bush administration, which came into office with a promise to forge cooperative ties between regulators and the mining industry. During the past five years, the number of mines referred to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution has dropped steadily, from 38 in 2000 to 12 last year.
Meanwhile, inspectors who sought to impose large fines on coal companies have seen those penalties whittled down by agency negotiators and administrative-law judges.

The miners have hardly been buried, and the lefties are trying to make political hay of the situation. Not surprising, but sad. Of course, Congressional investigations/hearings have been called for. I will give them this: at least it's more important than steroids in Major League Baseball...

Some Observations

The new year is off to a great start, at least personally. Hopefully it has for you as well. Some observations for the past week:

• Dick Clark was actually on TV for New Year's Eve. He is clearly a man that deserves much admiration, but it's time to call it quits.
• It's only a matter of time before someone figures out how to blame Bush for the coal mine disaster in West Virginia.
• I predicted that foreign investors would shy away from Russia due to Putin's power grab, but I didn't expect that high-level insiders would bail on him so quickly... From the article: "This year, Russia has become a different country," said Illarionov, citing the most recent report by the U.S.-based Freedom House. "It is no longer a democratic country. It is no longer a free country." And: "Six years ago, when I took this position, I was planning to create conditions to increase economic freedom in Russia" continued Illarionov. "The situation has radically changed and there is no longer room to follow a policy of economic freedom."
  

Predictions for 2006? Here's one that doesn't go out on a limb very far at all: Energy prices in the USA remain extremely volatile, due to a lack of refining capacity (we've really done nothing so far to solve the problem- maybe India and China will stop growing and demand will wane? Wrong!) and more Gulf of Mexico hurricanes... The highs for the price of crude oil get tested once again. Another: The continuing anti-capitalist/anti-USA sentiment in South America ratchets up a few notches, probably due to some insane policy decisions by Venezuela and/or Bolivia.

You heard it here fir-- well, you heard it here.