Saffire

American banks don't have monthly charges as far as I know, just overdraft fees if you take more money out of your account than you have. And David, the ATMs you're referring to aren't "free", hence why I didn't include them in my definition of free banking. ;)

It's where you can get some money out of your bank account using anybody's ATM machine anywhere, without having to pay a fee.

Thank God for online brokerage accounts and leveraged short ETFs! ;)

Let me know if you need any trading tips. I've made a killing off this volatility (355% in returns since mid-October - after fees). Right now the market seems like it's bouncing around in the 7500-9500 range. We'll likely see a few big rallies of 30% or more, but they'll probably be false starts. Right now I'm net short, though, so I think the DOW could stand to lose another 600 points or more before it turns around again.

Expansion Expansion Expansion Expansion Expansion Expansion *creation of the Federal Reserve* Expansion Contraction Expansion Contraction Expansion Contraction Expansion Contraction And all the while the government keeps getting bigger. What's funny is how they use words like "strain" and "volatility" and "meltdown" like they're bad things. All that's happening now is a rebalancing, which is perfectly natural.

And while we're at it let's end the draft, which targets only young men. Oh yeah, and let's end the progressive income tax, which targets the successful. And don't forget the whole concept of "hate crimes" which gives whites harsher punishments when they commit a crime against a minority than if the situation were reversed. And we should probably get rid of property taxes also, because they're sort of... well... unconstitutional. Not that that's ever mattered! ;)

Ron Paul is a good man, and so is Mark Sanford (the governor of my state). But there aren't enough fellows like them in government office to make a difference. We are about to enter a new era of regulation. Ironically enough, regulation is what caused this financial turmoil we're currently in. The Republican party looks like it'll end up drawing from the same 'talent pool' as before - Huckabee, Romney, Palin, Guiliani, Thompson, etc. Even Jindal wouldn't be a striking change for the party, because his main draw is that he looks young. Seriously.

This is a really interesting point. I don't mean to be conspiratorial but as long as government policies in America revolve around the phrase "War on...(insert bad concept here)" then it will consciously or subconsciously build up enemies in order to justify its own existence. Terrorism never really was as grave a threat as we've been told, but we've put hundreds of billions of dollars (trillions even) and thousands of American lives toward the cause of fighting Al Qaeda. Not to mention destroying our civil liberties in the process. By the time another Soviet Union pops up, I'm afraid the substantive differences between it and America won't be as striking as they were during the first Cold War.

Now American Express is asking for some taxpayer money, and they've reconstituted themselves as a commercial bank in order to qualify for it. There are reports that various banks (including Goldman Sachs, which also transformed into a commercial bank overnight in order to get some taxpayer dollars) are still doling out multi-million dollar bonuses to executives. Warren Buffett recently bought $17 billion in preferred shares of Goldman Sachs - notice he's also among Obama's "trusted economic advisors". How convenient. Today Treasury Sec Paulson announced the government would be using the $700 billion to buy bank stock instead of the distressed mortgage backed securities. That's a clear bait-and-switch, because had Congress known this, they probably wouldn't have passed the second bailout bill (but then again maybe they would have, because apparently if you put enough pork in there...). Finally, there is news that the Republican minority leader in the House is demanding the Federal Reserve to reveal where they sent that $2 trillion, and he might use the Freedom of Information Act to find out. The Fed is keeping mum in the meantime. What is happening now is the most blatant example of government robbing its citizens one could ask for. Are the American people paying attention?

I'm sort of in the same boat as Nick, because I also started out as a Bush supporter. I had been a Republican through high school, primarily because my parents were. But it was Bush's time in office, along with the constant Republican nostalgia for Ronald Reagan, that made me realize that ship had sailed long ago. The Republicans aren't principled. The reason I don't trust that Obama will be a good president has to do with his background. He doesn't understand economics. I don't care how you spin it, he is simply WRONG (along with Bush) that holding interest rates low and making cheap loans to dying businesses will help this economy. Obama is clearly capable of writing and understanding law. But that's only a technical skill. It's quite another thing to guide policy, and understand the domino effects policy will have in the real-world.

My mom calls me "Jay bird".

Fashion fascists!

He should have been arrested for crimes against fashion long ago...

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/nov/11/exclusive-obama-deletes-agenda-from-transition-web/ Uh oh! EDIT: http://media.newsbusters.org/stories/obama-spokesman-says-obama-ready-rule-day-1.html?q=blogs/warner-todd-huston/2008/11/10/obama-spokesman-says-obama-ready-rule-day-1 Obama is ready to RULE! ;) http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aatlky_cH.tY&refer=worldwide And here's the Federal Reserve refusing to say where they sent $2 Trillion. It's a seeeecret!

I fully expect that next winter, Obama will get on TV to tell us to buy cardigan sweaters (a la Jimmy Carter) because of how expensive it will become to heat our homes. And people will think "Oh, what a nice man!"

Probably one of the easiest trades in the world would be to simply short Ford and GM, but God knows the government will keep those two alive beyond your first margin call. Rats! When a company knows that it can't go bankrupt, it makes bad products. What really strikes me as odd is how people ascribe certain properties to companies like they would a solid object - assuming GM is a monolithic block that, when it falls, won't exist in any form ever again. That's simply not true. Businesses are made of people. When GM and Ford bankrupt, those people are still around. A new capitalist will swoop in and invest in a brand new car company to take their place. Of course the Democrats are aware of this fact, but they aren't necessarily interested in the companies - what they care about is keeping the unions intact.

Grinding is sinful. Damn 16 year olds and their STDs and MP3s... I can't keep track of all this stuff.

What's going to be really fun to watch is Obama's charisma bumping up against the reality of the terrible policies he implements. This is going to create a sort of schizophrenia in the media and public opinion - should we continue to line up behind this youthful, good looking, well-educated black guy, or were we wrong to vote for him in the first place? Ideally it will remind the public how worthless charisma and an ivy league degree really are.

Neva gonna give you up! :D

I've never drank enough to get a hangover...

http://www.236.com/news/2008/11/07/black_christians_just_as_assho_10139.php Wow, blacks are 20% more likely to be bigots! I'll keep that in mind next time a proposition banning interracial marriage comes up. :rolleyes:

It'll be interesting to see how Obama justifies this... Anyway, he's probably only doing it so Russia knows he "means business" - even though he's not a Republican. Democrats always feel like they have something to prove when it comes to foreign policy.

Look up Smosh on YouTube. They do annoying short comedy skits, some of which are actually really funny.

The Smosh guys: Weird, I know. :P

I knew that sounded familiar!!! :D