My opinion: Obama and his team are in waaaaay over their collective heads. They believe the world is basically good, and because Obama is in control of the White House, the world will warm to them and we will all live together in harmony. Except that's not the world. Putin will outmaneuver the clueless Obama. … Continue reading Cripple America
Tag: Bank
Obama Urges Spending Curbs for Somebody, But Not Him
Associated Press headline, "Obama urges spending curbs, hands out $15 billion." After not quite a month in office, I've begun to change my opinion on the President. I thought at first he was a useful idiot, a tool of the powerful Democrat Spending Machine. I no longer think he's useful, and "idiot" may be too … Continue reading Obama Urges Spending Curbs for Somebody, But Not Him
The Next Civil Liberties Scare
Image via WikipediaI'm amazed at how fast we're moving to a system where the government controls everything. They're nationalizing banks, socializing medicine, rewriting property laws and taxing our grandchildren as we speak. Here I thought the loss of property rights from the Kelo decision were bad for America. All this coming from lefties who have … Continue reading The Next Civil Liberties Scare
Tea Party
And so the veil of deceit lifts. The news media, so eager to proclaim Obama as the messiah during the election cycle, now turns on him and begins to devour him. What changed? In one sense, nothing. Obama's promises of socialist changes are progressing. Universal health care, nationalization of manufacturers and banking, imposition of union … Continue reading Tea Party
Most Economists Agree – The Stimulus is a Bad Idea
From Obama's speech last night - Most economists almost unanimously recognize that, even if philosophically you’re — you’re wary of government intervening in the economy, when you have the kind of problem we have right now — what started on Wall Street, goes to Main Street, suddenly businesses can’t get credit, they start paring back … Continue reading Most Economists Agree – The Stimulus is a Bad Idea
Congress Gives Themselves a Raise
Because they gave away billions... no wait, over a trillion dollars of taxpayer's money... ... because in order to approve %750 billion of it, they had to add $150 billion in pork... ... because they pressured banks to lend money to people to buy houses they couldn't afford... ... because the same people like Barney … Continue reading Congress Gives Themselves a Raise
Christian Carnival CCXLIV
Image via WikipediaIt's National Bailout Day, seeing as how our illustrious US Congress has allocated $700 billion for Wall Street bankers. As Christians, I think we probably could put $700 billion to better use, don't you? But I got to thinking that our lives are not ours, we have been purchased at a cost. How … Continue reading Christian Carnival CCXLIV
Bailouts and Earmarks
As we all know by now, Congress failed to pass the Bailout Bill on Monday for $700 billion (a number, apparently, the US Treasury just made up). If they pass it, they saddle taxpayers with the debt and socialize the banking system. If they don't pass it, they tell us civilization will end as we … Continue reading Bailouts and Earmarks
Mortgage Meltdown
Image via WikipediaI had been thinking this, but hadn't seen anybody writing about it. Sub-prime mortgages have led to a financial crisis. The blame for sub-prime mortgages generally get laid on the greed of the mortgage bankers, but is that all there is to it? Twenty years ago I remember the push to get banks … Continue reading Mortgage Meltdown
Yasser Arafat's Wife
I suppose she must have found me by googling, perhaps looking for Dale Earnhardt's current girlfriend. However she found me, Mrs. Arafat emailed me and wants to share $6.5 billion dollars with me. From: Mrs Suha Arafat ( mrsarafatsuha80@gmail.com ) Re: Trusted Partner For Investment/Safekeep Wednesday, September 26, 2007 1:31:26 PM This mail may not … Continue reading Yasser Arafat's Wife
Mechanical Investing for December 2006
This was a good month again for Mechanical Investing; I'm catching up to the market, though still lagging behind. Let's check the numbers - Last 4 weeks: +4.3% Last 3 months: +3.2% Year to date: +1.0% (Dow is +14.7% ytd from 10,718) Last 12 months:+0.9% Holding for another month: Ticker Bought Now Months Return … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for December 2006
Mechanical Investing for November 2006
The Michael Investing Club (number of members: 1) did OK in October. It's nice to see positive numbers again, though I'm still lagging the market. Last 4 weeks: +5.1% Last 3 months: +4.1% Year to date: +0.6% (Dow is +12.4% ytd from 10,718) Last 12 months:-0.2% Holding for another month: Ticker Bought Now Months Return … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for November 2006
Tuscan Whole Milk
Amazon sells a lot more than books. And I like the fact that you can write a review of the product. Amazon also sells a 1 gallon jug of Tuscan Whole Milk, and as of this moment there are 609 reviews, such as: Humbly self-touted as nutritious Some even bandied, crazy-delicious But like the man … Continue reading Tuscan Whole Milk
Mechanical Investing for June 2006
Don't look, Ethel! My portfolio lost 5% this month, fell behind the market as a whole, and was generally ugly to look at. So... I won't look at it anymore. 
Last 4 weeks: -5.2% Last 3 months: -3.8% Year to date: -1.1% (Dow is +4.2% ytd from 10,718) Last 12 months:+0.5% Holding for another … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for June 2006
Market Influences
Today's a good example of why I invest mechanically. I don't read news resports to see whether the market is going up or down, I just stay invested because over the long haul the market goes up. The daily fluctuations, no matter how hard I try to understand them, only make sense if you are … Continue reading Market Influences
Mechanical Investing for May 2006
Bah. Some of the other investors in Mechanical Investing did much better than I did this month. I somehow think that's just the luck of the draw; which screens they've selected and when they trade. My benchmark is the market as a whole and I've fallen behind a little further this month. Last 4 weeks: … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for May 2006
Mechanical Investing for April 2006
No complaints this month on the Mechanical Investing side. Nothing spectacular, nothing traumatic, but I'm falling a little behind the market as a whole. Last 4 weeks: +1.5% Last 3 months: +1.3% Year to date: +1.3% (Dow is +4.7% ytd from 10,718) Last 12 months:+1.8% Holding for another month: Ticker Bought Now Months Return … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for April 2006
Mechanical Investing for March 2006
February was looking good until 3 stocks took a 15% nosedive within 2 days. Bah. Why don't they ever nosedive upwards? Still, things are looking good so far this year even with that bump. Last 4 weeks: -3.60% Last 3 months: +3.2% Year to date: +3.8% (Dow is +3.7% ytd from 10,718) Last 12 months:+1.3% … Continue reading Mechanical Investing for March 2006
Snail Mail Spam
Capital One sends me an offer for credit by mail. Every. Single. Day. You'd think after I ignored the first 5,367 solicitations they'd figure out I'm not interested. The ones that bug me the most are the ones where they trick me by pretending to be something important. One of the offers this week was … Continue reading Snail Mail Spam
Mechanical Investing News
The Mechanical Investing strategy I've been following since 1998 is in the news at the Motley Fool today. Here are some excerpts, part 1 of 2: Want 50% Annual Returns? By Jim Fink (TMF Hamp) January 30, 2006 In my years of reading The Motley Fool, I've been particularly interested in the Fool boards on … Continue reading Mechanical Investing News
Sleeping at Your Desk
Ten things to say when caught sleeping at your desk: 10. "They told me at the Blood Bank this might happen." 9. "This is just a 15 minute power nap they raved about in the time management course you sent me to!" 8. "Whew! Guess I left the top off the Whiteout. You probably got … Continue reading Sleeping at Your Desk
Houston Election Recap
I didn't get all jazzed over this election; except for Proposition 2, there weren't any real hotbuttons. My general impression of the results are that social conservatives and fiscal liberals won; Proposition 2 won handily, but those incumbents against appraisal caps held their job. Pfft. Proposition 1 passed that authorized various grants. I think the … Continue reading Houston Election Recap
Living Beneath Your Means
Apparently, the more you make, the more in debt you are. Statistics show that the highest 20 percent of Americans -- those with a pre-tax income of $110,000 and up -- have seen their liabilities skyrocket since 2001. The net change in that group's total liabilities increased by about $40,000 on average from 2001 to … Continue reading Living Beneath Your Means
Not Blogging This
I need to make a list of things I don't blog about. Michael Jackson's trial, Madonna's conversion, Brittany Spears' baby... the trouble with making such a list, of course, is that as soon as I say I'm not blogging about something, I've blogged about it. Or metablogged it. Or perhaps antimetablogged it. So here's a … Continue reading Not Blogging This
Piggy Bank
Look at my piggy bank after I bought gas yesterday.
Snowflake Project
The House of Representatives have decided to represent the unborn and voted to sacrifice frozen human embryos for scientific research. Representative Joe Barton (R-TX) said, "If they did have the ability to consent, wouldn't some of them choose to do so?" I dunno, Joe. Let's ask some of them. President Bush held a press conference … Continue reading Snowflake Project
Call a Thing By Its Name
Buried deep within the bowels of Chasing the Wind are the comments section, where most of the time it seems to be the place where you can disagree with me. Sometimes y'all agree with me, sometimes you don't. On a recent post, I made the observation that the view toward abortion has become more commonplace, … Continue reading Call a Thing By Its Name
Not Interested
At lunch today, I looked for news to blog about about. I found a lot of stuff that doesn't interest me. So I'm going to blog about that. Paris Hilton. Apparently hackers broke into her Blackberry and posted her address book on the web. Somewhere. All the news is gaga over the fact that Paris … Continue reading Not Interested
What Do the Democrats Stand For?
OpinionJournal today asks, "What do the Democrats stand for?" Then proceeds to eloquently trash the heart of liberalism and what is stands for. Excellent reading today; while applauding the heart behind liberalism, once you recognize that liberalism has a cost, you next have to ask, "how much cost is too much?" And as soon as … Continue reading What Do the Democrats Stand For?
No Good Deed Unpunished
I wouldn't normally post this except I'm amused. 😛 Coming home from church last night (the 2nd of four Advent studies), I stopped to fill up with gas. Swipe my card, fill up, swap the windows, hang up the nozzle, get back in the car... And a young woman interrupts just before I close the … Continue reading No Good Deed Unpunished
What the Liberals are Stooping to Now
Oh, those liberals are such pranksters! Ha ha ha, you just got to love the little jokes they play at election time! Here's a list of what those little kidders have been up to recently: September 18, Gainesville Florida, punching the chairman of the Republican Executive Committe in the face. September 19, Columbus Ohio, attacking … Continue reading What the Liberals are Stooping to Now
Green Eggs and Spam
Bulk email now accounts for all email traffic on the internet. Yahoo catches and diverts one billion spam messages every day. I receive 80 pieces of spam a day. Fake phishing emails that look like they're from eBay or Citibank, ads to buy cheap drugs, online poker, get rich quick schemes, free credit cards. And … Continue reading Green Eggs and Spam
Twas the Night After College
They come back, don't they? My son and I left early for Sam Houston State. There were lots of errands to do; old dad was huffin' and puffin' emptying both cars. College teens were whistling while carrying 200 lb trunks on their shoulders; I'm dragging a suitcase. With wheels. Then a trip over to the … Continue reading Twas the Night After College
Keeping Your Guard Up
Yesterday, the terror alert level was raised in New York, New Jersey and Washington, citing intelligence information that showed financial institutions such as Citibank, Prudential, and the World Bank were possible targets. Today, leftist news was dismissive of the threat, saying that it's based on old news prior to 2001. WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 -Much of … Continue reading Keeping Your Guard Up
August Stocks
Another good month for mechanical investing; only up 1% for the month, but that's good for this time of year. Out of 12 stocks, 7 were winners and 5 were losers, but the losers only overaged a 1.1% loss, while the winners averaged almost a 10% gain. Here's the breakdown: Holding for another month: Ticker … Continue reading August Stocks
King of the Forest
I have to get my car inspected, but that has almost nothing to do with the story. Like a good little taxpayer, I reregistered both cars - my Maxima and my son's Aurora. He's heading off to college next month and I've been trying to do last minute training at turning him into a full-fledged … Continue reading King of the Forest
Paying the Ransom to Kidnappers
Michelle Malkin uncovers a story from Philippines Daily Tribune: The Malaysian government, Malacañang and the [Phillipine] Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) yesterday refused to confirm or deny reports that $6 million in ransom was paid out to the Iraqi kidnappers for the release of Filipino truck driver Angelo de la Cruz in time for President … Continue reading Paying the Ransom to Kidnappers
Mechanical Investing – June Returns Were Great
Stock Trading Day today - usually it's on Monday but the markets were closed yesterday. Still doing Mechanical Investing, mostly from the Ancer Screen of Screens. It's a high return, high risk screen selection, but since I expect to be in the market for 20+ more years, it's a good screen selection for me. It … Continue reading Mechanical Investing – June Returns Were Great
Out & About Today
I'm going to head over to the Houston Camera Exchange and see if they'll take my old Minolta Maxxum 400si film camera and exchange it for a fancy schmancy digital one. The old camera is fine, but film is rapidly becoming archaic. I only bought the Minolta in 1997 and it was fancy schmancy at … Continue reading Out & About Today
Mechanical Investing
Once GoDaddy stops mucking about with my web hosting (I'm supposed to call back after 5pm; they won't look at it until then), then I'll start my conversion to WordPress. WordPress allows "categories", and this will be my first entry in the "Financial" section.It was my Stock Trading Day today. One Monday a month I … Continue reading Mechanical Investing
Chasing the Wind 