I looked at my Google yesterday. I had a bad feeling. I didn’t like the way it was trading. I didn’t like a chart I’d seen of a flat (i.e. non-growing) market share of the search business.
I was about to dump it. Then I got distracted. Last night it reported earnings that disappointed Wall Street. Today Google will be down by 5% or 6%. And I’ll feel like a total idiot.
Much easier to sell and buy it back later. Heck this is not the bad old days, when it cost $500 to trade a handful of shares. Fidelity charges me $7.95 no matter how many.
Meanwhile, I have a bad feeling about Apple. It’s been trading like shit.
I am super glad, however, I’ve kept everyone away from the big banks, like C and BAC and big tech stocks, like Cisco, Dell,, RIMM, Microsoftt, etc. My “stay away” recommendation still stands. Meantime, SGOL, BHP and DHR are doing well.
Reading for this weekend: There’s lots of it:
+ Naming Culprits in the Financial Crisis. Click here.
+ The 650-page report from the Senate, “Wall Street and the Financial Crisis: Anatomy of a Financial Collapse,” Click here.
+ Net Impact. One man’s cyber-crusade against Russian corruption. From the New Yorker.
+ In Financial Crisis, No Prosecutions of Top Figures. By GRETCHEN MORGENSON and LOUISE STORY of the New York Times. Excerpts:
It is a question asked repeatedly across America: why, in the aftermath of a financial mess that generated hundreds of billions in losses, have no high-profile participants in the disaster been prosecuted? …
In July 2008, the staff of the S.E.C. received a phone call from Scott G. Alvarez, general counsel at the Federal Reserve in Washington.
The purpose: to discuss an S.E.C. investigation into improprieties by several of the nation’s largest brokerage firms. Their actions had hammered thousands of investors holding the short-term investments known as auction-rate securities.
These investments carry interest rates that reset regularly, usually weekly, in auctions overseen by the brokerage firms that sell them. They were popular among investors because the interest rates they received were slightly higher than what they could earn elsewhere.
For years, companies like UBS and Goldman Sachs operated auctions of these securities, promoting them as highly liquid investments. But by mid-February 2008, as the subprime mortgage crisis began to spread, investors holding hundreds of billions of dollars of these securities could no longer cash them in.
As the S.E.C. investigated these events, several of its officials argued that the banks should make all investors whole on the securities, according to three people with knowledge of the negotiations but who were not authorized to speak publicly, because banks had marketed them as safe investments.
But Mr. Alvarez suggested that the S.E.C. soften the proposed terms of the auction-rate settlements. His staff followed up with more calls to the S.E.C., cautioning that banks might run short on capital if they had to pay the many billions of dollars needed to make all auction-rate clients whole, the people briefed on the conversations said. The S.E.C. wound up requiring eight banks to pay back only individual investors. For institutional investors — like pension funds — that bought the securities, the S.E.C. told the banks to make only their “best efforts.”
This shift eased the pain significantly at some of the nation’s biggest banks. For Citigroup, the new terms meant it had to redeem $7 billion in the securities for individual investors — but it was off the hook for about $12 billion owned by institutions. …
Verizon easily delivers the fastest Internet speed. I have FiOS. Wired, it delivers a phenomenal:
Wirelessly (i.e. over Wi-Fi), it delivers:
Note the huge reduction over when you go from wired to wireless. I was only ten feet from the wireless router when I ran this test.
Verizon is the only cell phone provider with true 4G service. Verizon calls it 4G LTE. You can get it several ways:
These speeds are levels above anyone else’s “4G” service.
Don’t even consider buying a house or an apartment. Rent. Rent. Rent. It’s cheaper. It’s more convenient. There’s no maintenance. You get to leave painlessly at the end of the lease without waiting months for a buyer to show. But most importantly, the old presumption that housing prices always rise no longer holds. You could easily buy today for $x and in five years find your abode is only worth 70% of $x. above all you get to keep your capital. One day interest rates will rise. And you’ll be happy to have a few shekels sitting around.
And while we’re at it: Don’t ever consider building a swimming pool or a tennis court. The maintenance costs will eat you alive. Take your neighbors presents. They’ll let you use their toys.
Firefox 4.0 is much faster than earlier versions. Please upgrade. Firefox is my browser of choice. I lover 4.0’s new interface. As I wrote in the right column, it has oodles of plug-ins and add-ons, including my three favorites — Showcase, MeasureIt and ScreenGrab. Get it. It’s free.
Moody’s downgraded Ireland this morning.Whoopee. Gives you faith in the rating agencies! I met a bond guy recently who keeps his own database on bonds. He rates them himself. His are much different to the rating agencies, sometimes higher, sometimes lower. Remember: rating agencies are paid by the bond issuers — not by the people who rely on them — i.e. you and me investor.
Lightbulbs revisited. Lots of readers weighed in with their lightbulb experiences yesterday. Worth reading their comments. Conclusions:
+ The lightbulb decision is no longer simple. But it’s important and expensive. For example, 90% of a typical 100 watt bulb is lost in heat.
+ The labor to replace bulbs is expensive — often far more than the bulbs costs.
+ CFLs (compact fluorescents) can be a great replacement option for incandescent bulbs. They last longer and cost a lot less to run. Quality and thus performance vary from product to product. Do your research, you’ll find CFL products out there that are excellent replacement products for incandescent bulbs.
+ There are other energy-efficient products like Cold Cathode and LED that may be a better option for some businesses and homeowners.
+ I am impressed with the research Bulbs.com does on the bulbs it sells. Talk to them over the phone before you buy online.
Look at this dog. Simply amazing. I wish I could do half his tricks. Show your kids and grandkids. Click here.
It drizzled in New York. I tried to cross a metal grate riding my bicycle. I came off the bike, but managed not to hit the ground by dint of slamming my left leg on the ground. Dumb to go anywhere near metal when you’re on a bicycle. Be careful.
Be wary of someone who keeps repeating your name. They’ve been taught to do that in broker sales school. It usually means you’re being sold a piece of crap. Be wary.
Miele makes washing machines. My friends like them. I do, too. I especially like their phone service. I called with a problem. They found me the replacement part. They sent me an exploded parts diagram of my machine. I bought the part. It came the next day. I am impressed. My wife says little things impress me. She’s right. She’s always right.
Passover begins on Monday night. Get yourself invited to a Seder dinner. They’re fun, especially for the kids.
Moses and the Red Sea:
Nine-year-old Joey was asked by his mother what he had learned at the Passover Seder dinner;
“Our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt . When He got to the Red Sea , he had his army build a pontoon bridge and all the people walked across safely. Then, he radioed headquarters for reinforcements. They sent bombers to blow the bridge up and all the Israelites were saved.”
“Now, Joey, is that really what your teacher taught you?” his mother asked.
“Well, no, Mom. But, if I told it the way the teacher did, you’d never believe it!”
Amen.
A Story about the present Budget Mess in Congress.
I met a fairy today who said she would grant me one wish.
“I want to live forever,” I said.
“Sorry,” said the fairy “I’m not allowed to grant wishes like that!”
“Fine,” I said, “then I want to die after Congress gets their heads out of their asses!”
“You crafty bastard,” said the fairy.
Harry Newton who wonders why everybody is getting fatter. Then Susan explained last night: “When we were in the California desert in March, we went everywhere by car. Now we’re back in New York, we walk. We don’t use our car during the week. Look. We’re walking back from the theater.” (Where we saw the first half of Arcadia and then left because I’m too stupid to understand what was going on.)
Happy Weekend, Harry,
You're not an idiot, only human. Sorry, but someone had to tell you. Human's make errors and have 100% hindsight. I say that as one who has never – never – lost a doubles tennis game. My partner losses them.
It's amazing to me that Congress, particularly Balooney Franks and Chis Dud, get a giant free pass on this whole mortgage mess which lead us and Wall Street into the financial disaster. Then human smarts and greed took over. And the regulators slept, sort of like some air controllers. Add in Senator Obama, high on the gift list back then, and the do-good liberal Congress. Speaking of free passes, wow, did Goldman Sachs, the big bad leader of the pack, get a super bonus pass card (take all you want, please; pay yourselves unbelievable bonuses; and, oh, do come visit again if you need more money).
The one possible advantage to home buying can be if you get a great deal and then inflation hits hard, as it's likely to do at some point down the road. House will appreciate too. But, we're renting today.
CFL lights frequently have a far shorter life than advertised, particularly if turned on and off frequently, such as we all do in our bathrooms today. And are apparently a danger if broken, not good with little kids. Plus, if I'm renting (as I am), why buy a very expensive long life light that someone else will get the benefit of?
Bikes and gratings don't go together well. Glad your meeting went well.
Interesting fact filled book review on water in today's WSJ. P.S., the draught is officially over in Calif., says our Governor.
Not everyone is getting fatter. Am down over the last 6 months from 174-175 to 158.2 this morning. As my wise father said, “Just push yourself away from the table!”.
Give them hell on the courts.
Corruption is rampant in the U.S. government and the situation with the Fed and their bailouts to foreign entities is a good example. Dylan Ratigan (MSNBC at 4:00 EST) is doing a piece today on the Matt Taibbi Rolling Stone article on the Fed that you featured a couple days ago. The fact that this isn't headline news is an indication that the media is either stupid or complicit in covering up the corruption. The Fed, which was not elected by the American people, has more power than the president and they have abused that power. They have done a lousy job of running our economy and they need to be abolished.
Spinebarry,
Matt Taibbi showing up on the Dylan Ratigan show is nothing but a gigantic CYA with total regard to the Park Avenue crowd. I wonder how Ratigan will be able to interview Taibbi anyway, they'll both have their tongs in each others mouths.
TruthSayer –
Well Matt Taibbi and Dylan Ratigan with their tongues in each others mouth will be better than the Fed and the Congress with their d*cks up our a**. In the mean time, we are being distracted as the media focuses on BS like Donald Trump, Sarah Palin and a 38 $billion deficit reduction on a 14 $trillion debt.
Spinebarry,
Why is the media so focused on Sarah Palin?………….would you like a cup of tea?
Harry,
Just wondering what you think of the government getting more involved with the internet? Here's and article from
April 14 titled “White House draft bill expands DHS cyber responsibilities”…..http://federalnewsradio.com/in…
Maybe they'll pay me NOT to write this blog? In which case I'll finally make some money with it….
Yea Harry you're a liberal so maybe they might pay you but what about us conservatives I guess we go to jail. And the liberal media was so fond of calling Bush and Giuliani either Nazi or Hitler…….I guess you didn't feel like addressing the question or don't understand the problem…….but soon you will……..”AND YOU WILL LIKE IT”!!!…..or else……now repeat after me……..HEIL HITLER, HEIL HITLER…….SIEG HEIL!!!….Harry don't worry about those guys in the brown shirts…..they're nice guys.
Gee I wonder if Franklin Raines, Andrew Cuomo, Barney Frank and Chris Dodd should be investigated? Oh, let me correct myself, Franklin Raines is being investigated but guess what, the US tax payers are paying his legal fees. Don't believe me?…….take a look from your own NYT……http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02…
… and who is it who would conduct the suggested investigation? None other than Randy Neugebauer , the headline-making Republican congressman from Texas. Famous for his “Baby killer!” outburst from the House floor, I figured he might have further notoriety regarding other unsavory matters – assuming from the outset as I did that, since he was a high-ranking Conservative, I wouldn’t have to go too far before he didn’t smell too good. I wasn’t disappointed. From http://www.citizensforethics.org (April 15, 2009):
“Rep. Randy Neugebauer wants to use his campaign funds to pay for the use of his yacht to fundraise for his campaign
We’re not kidding. Texas Congressman Randy Neugebauer (R) has asked the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) to allow him to let his campaign pay Neugebauer for the use of his yacht — for fundraisers. Per the FEC letter, we learned that Neugebauer actually owns the yacht through a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) with ‘certain members of his family.’ And, he also wants to let other campaigns use the yacht, too. The boat will be anchored in the Washington, DC. area.
The FEC received the request via Neugebauer’s lawyers, Ben Ginsburg and Kathryn Biber Chen … This is the first time we’ve seen the request for payment from campaign funds for a candidate’s own yacht.”
But back to the topic at hand, and a bit of background (as excerpted from a January 28, 2011 WSJ article):
The Financial Stability Oversight Council, a centerpiece of the Dodd-Frank financial-regulatory overhaul legislation, would have broad power to supervise banks and other financial firms. With the bureau poised to start in six months, newly empowered House Republicans are seeking to curb the bureau’s powers and change its structure and funding so that it faces greater congressional scrutiny.
Congress created the bureau as an independent agency that receives funding from the Federal Reserve’s budget. However, Mr. Neugebauer [chairman of the House oversight subcommittee] and other Republicans want to change that. “I feel strongly we have to take it out of the Fed,” he said. “Does consumer protection require the same amount of independence as monetary policy? I don’t think so.”
In other words, Neugebauer is doing it all for us, and not for the insurance, commercial bank, and securities industries, who together contributed over $226,000 to Neugebauer in the 2009-2010 reporting period.
And fresh off the Dow Jones newswires …
US Regulators: Progress Made On New Financial Oversight Council
By Jamila Trindle and Jessica Holzer
WASHINGTON – Regulators have made substantial progress in creating the new Financial Stability Oversight Council, they plan to say at a congressional hearing Thursday.. “Since passage of the Dodd-Frank Act, FSOC has taken steps to create an organizational structure, coordinate interagency efforts, and build the foundation for meeting its statutory responsibilities,” Robert Cook, director of the Security and Exchange Commission’s Division of Trading and Markets, said in the text of a statement prepared for the hearing.
The Financial Stability Oversight Council was created by the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul law to spot and respond to risks to the financial system. The body has ten voting members–the heads of the nine federal financial regulators and one independent member representing the insurance industry–with the authority to single out certain large financial institutions for heightened supervision by the Federal Reserve.
Republican lawmakers plan to raise concerns at Thursday’s hearing about how the new rules will hamper U.S. companies’ ability to compete globally. Rep. Randy Neugebauer, when he announced the hearing Monday, said it was imperative that the council’s chairman provide “sufficient leadership to avoid harming the global competitiveness of our businesses and capital markets.”
In other words, it’s about global competitiveness – not about loosening regulations and diluting oversight, or the cash thrown at Neugebauer to maintain his yacht and otherwise embellish his personal wealth.
What better way to obstruct and shackle the FSOC than to investigate (as “ronaldreagan” proposes) Dodd and Frank – the very authors of the legislation. Well, with Republicans controlling the House, it’s silly time on Capitol Hill and Neugebauer is sure to investigate whatever … but a good and honest start would be for Randy to investigate himself, before he succeeds in killing the FSOC baby even before it makes it out of the legislative crib.
… and who is it who would conduct the suggested investigation? None other than Randy Neugebauer , the headline-making Republican congressman from Texas. Famous for his “Baby killer!” outburst from the House floor, I figured he might have further notoriety regarding other unsavory matters – assuming from the outset as I did that, since he was a high-ranking Conservative, I wouldn't have to go too far before he didn't smell too good. I wasn't disappointed. From http://www.citizensforethics.org (April 15, 2009):
“Rep. Randy Neugebauer wants to use his campaign funds to pay for the use of his yacht to fundraise for his campaign
We're not kidding. Texas Congressman Randy Neugebauer (R) has asked the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) to allow him to let his campaign pay Neugebauer for the use of his yacht — for fundraisers. Per the FEC letter, we learned that Neugebauer actually owns the yacht through a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) with 'certain members of his family.' And, he also wants to let other campaigns use the yacht, too. The boat will be anchored in the Washington, DC. area.
The FEC received the request via Neugebauer's lawyers, Ben Ginsburg and Kathryn Biber Chen … This is the first time we've seen the request for payment from campaign funds for a candidate's own yacht.”
But back to the topic at hand, and a bit of background (as excerpted from a January 28, 2011 WSJ article):
The Financial Stability Oversight Council, a centerpiece of the Dodd-Frank financial-regulatory overhaul legislation, would have broad power to supervise banks and other financial firms. With the bureau poised to start in six months, newly empowered House Republicans are seeking to curb the bureau's powers and change its structure and funding so that it faces greater congressional scrutiny.
Congress created the bureau as an independent agency that receives funding from the Federal Reserve's budget. However, Mr. Neugebauer [chairman of the House oversight subcommittee] and other Republicans want to change that. “I feel strongly we have to take it out of the Fed,” he said. “Does consumer protection require the same amount of independence as monetary policy? I don't think so.”
In other words, Neugebauer is doing it all for us, and not for the insurance, commercial bank, and securities industries, who together contributed over $226,000 to Neugebauer in the 2009-2010 reporting period.
And fresh off the Dow Jones newswires …
US Regulators: Progress Made On New Financial Oversight Council
By Jamila Trindle and Jessica Holzer
WASHINGTON – Regulators have made substantial progress in creating the new Financial Stability Oversight Council, they plan to say at a congressional hearing Thursday.. “Since passage of the Dodd-Frank Act, FSOC has taken steps to create an organizational structure, coordinate interagency efforts, and build the foundation for meeting its statutory responsibilities,” Robert Cook, director of the Security and Exchange Commission's Division of Trading and Markets, said in the text of a statement prepared for the hearing.
The Financial Stability Oversight Council was created by the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul law to spot and respond to risks to the financial system. The body has ten voting members–the heads of the nine federal financial regulators and one independent member representing the insurance industry–with the authority to single out certain large financial institutions for heightened supervision by the Federal Reserve.
Republican lawmakers plan to raise concerns at Thursday's hearing about how the new rules will hamper U.S. companies' ability to compete globally. Rep. Randy Neugebauer, when he announced the hearing Monday, said it was imperative that the council's chairman provide “sufficient leadership to avoid harming the global competitiveness of our businesses and capital markets.”
In other words, it's about global competitiveness – not about loosening regulations and diluting oversight, or the cash thrown at Neugebauer to maintain his yacht and otherwise embellish his personal wealth.
What better way to obstruct and shackle the FSOC than to investigate (as “ronaldreagan” proposes) Dodd and Frank – the very authors of the legislation. Well, with Republicans controlling the House, it's silly time on Capitol Hill and Neugebauer is sure to investigate whatever … but a good and honest start would be for Randy to investigate himself, before he succeeds in killing the FSOC baby even before it makes it out of the legislative crib.
Name the political party that controlled the White House, who had huge majorities congress, therefore controlling the entire Federal government for all of 2009? Ans: Liberal Democrats. Then how in the world could this have possibly happened?….
June 26, 2009: Federal Election Commission rules that Neugebauer may pay himself for the use of his own private yacht, harbored in the Washington area, for parties to raise political donations for himself. “The congressman appreciates today's ruling from the FEC and will abide by the guidelines that have been put forth,” says Chanda Allen, campaign spokeswoman.
Looks like Rep Neugebauer went to the FEC long before any monies were collected. Can you name a liberal who would have done the same, I can't.
Hey, you learn something every day. I thought it was John Kerry who had the yacht problems. Didn't Kerry register his yacht in Rhode Island while storing this yacht in Massachusetts?….He did this to avoid a huge tax bill, am I correct on that?
Maybe Neugebauer got his favorable ruling for his yacht because the focus on Capital Hill at that time was on good old Charlie Rangel. I don't think I have to go into that bullshit but talk about balls. Come to think about it didn't Charlie essentially get away with it.
Don't mention it, thanks for shining a light on Randy Neugebauer after a little reading I'll be sure to send him a campaign contribution…..
“with Republicans controlling the House, it's silly time on Capitol Hill”…..No, the adults are back in charge. Dodd-Frank is a gigantic bunch of mindless regulation. You need to educate yourself, investigate who Chris Whalen is and try to understand his research. He is by far the smartest bank analyst on Wall St. and with any luck will be our next Treasury Secretary or Fed chairman. Chris Whalen and Ron Paul understand monetary and fiscal policy better than any other 2 people alive. Long live Ayn Rand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Q: “Name the political party that controlled the White House, who had huge majorities congress, therefore controlling the entire Federal government for all of 2009? Ans: Liberal Democrats. Then how in the world could this have possibly happened?… “
A. Your “huge majorities congress” is a blatant falsehood. Democrats had a clear majority in the House; anyone who can count, or cares to be honest, knows that the Democratic majority in the Senate was at its best – i.e., in terms of simple political affiliation – razor-thin. In practice, it was non-existent. Senate Republicans mastered the filibuster threat to stonewall Democratic legislation and turn the democratic process into a farce. Try googling “Republican obstruction” or some similar reference and you'll come up with:
“When it comes to political obstructionism, it's no contest. The AP is just the latest to document the Republicans' runaway gold medal in the filibuster. On track to easily shatter their previous record, the GOP has made obstructionism the new normal in Washington … The number of cloture motions requiring a Senate supermajority of 60 votes is simply unprecedented in American history. [At the time of this writing, no less than 290 bills were stalled in the Senate.]
The frequency of filibusters — plus threats to use them — are measured by the number of times the upper chamber votes on cloture. Such votes test the majority's ability to hold together 60 members to break a filibuster. Last year, the first of the 111th Congress, there were a record 112 cloture votes. In the first two months of 2010, the number already exceeds 40. That means, with 10 months left to run in the 111th Congress, Republicans have turned to the filibuster or threatened its use at a pace that will more than triple the old record.
The numbers don't lie. For over a generation, while Democrats have acquiesced in the GOP's budget-busting tax cuts for the wealthy, Republicans instead presented a unified rejectionist front on the economic and health care programs of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Worse still, the Republicans' record-breaking use of the filibuster since being relegated to the minority in 2006 has made the 60 vote threshold a permanent fixture of the Senate.”
The same Republicans who yammered for up-or-down votes for their Supreme Court nominees were horrified by the prospect that legislation could actually be passed by a simple majority vote. Oh, the populist tyranny of it all!
Q: 'Hey, you learn something every day. I thought it was John Kerry who had the yacht problems. Didn't Kerry register his yacht in Rhode Island while storing this yacht in Massachusetts?….He did this to avoid a huge tax bill, am I correct on that?”
A: In a word, No – he both registered and docked in Rhode Island. To quote one source:
“After a burst of unflattering media, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts has agreed to pay about $500,000 in taxes for a luxury yacht that he docked outside the state. (Get it? 'docked outside the state.') Kerry issued a statement Tuesday evening – five days after the story broke – saying he would make a lump payment to the state he represents.
“We’ve reached out to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue and made clear that, whether owed or not, we intend to pay the equivalent taxes as if the boat’s home port were currently in Massachusetts. That payment is being made promptly.”
The former Democratic presidential candidate initially avoided about $440,000 in Massachusetts sales taxes and $70,000 in annual excise taxes by stationing his new $7 million luxury yacht in neighboring Rhode Island. That state repealed taxes on the sale and use of yachts in 1993, making it a tax haven for boaters.”
Anyone familiar with the Patriots and the accessibility of Foxboro can see that it can be practical to port in Rhode Island while living in Mass. – not unlike those who work in Mass. while living in the tax-friendly neighboring New Hampshire.
So you're wrong about Congress; misleading about Kerry …
Your comment regarding Republican control of the House: “ … the adults are back in charge.”
Response: Yes, these are the same “adults” who kept their mouths shut or cheered while George W. Bush lied us into Iraq; brought us two unfunded wars costing a trillion or so; and exacerbated the astronomical deficit he created and mismanaged through Reaganhood: taking from the poor and giving to the rich … all resulting in a deficit and unemployment mess of historical proportions for Obama to clean up – while serving as punching bag for the perpetrators who vilify him.
Your comment, “thanks for shining a light on Randy Neugebauer after a little reading I'll be sure to send him a campaign contribution … You need to educate yourself … “
Response: Glad I could help with Neugebauer. Combined with your adulation of Giuliani, you must be assembling quite a roster of dirty, venal politicians who will work tirelessly to pile up the wealth for those who already have it, at whatever cost to the nation at large. As to your exhorting me to educate myself – I might exhort you to come off your high horse, but I recognize your aversion to risk soiling your silk stockings.
Don't mention it……..You remind me of a huge liberal radio talk show host, who called himself “Citizen Smith”, that was on WICC radio out of Bridgeport CT during the 2004 election season. One evening he was on the air foaming at the mouth about GW Bush having been a member of the Yale underground organization called “Skull and Bones.” I was listening to this moron go on and on about Bush being a member of Skull and Bones during my 30 minute commute home from work that evening. When I got home I continued to listen for a few more minutes and then decided to give him a call. I actually got through fairly quickly to him and in a calm voice explained to him that John Kerry had also been a member of Skull and Bones. This moron went completely “bullshit” on me even going as far as to call me a “deranged son-of-a-bitch” at which point my phone went dead. I immediately called back to WICC and this time the young women who was the call screener began apologized to me repeatedly but would not allow me back on to speak to Citizen Smith. I continued to listen to the show as people called in confirming my fact and criticizing him for what he had called me. Later after the show came back on the air after some commercials a different talk show host was on the air, yea it was the young women who was previously screening calls. She didn't say where Citizen went but she continued the show for the final 15 minutes or so, mostly apologizing for him. I found this on google search dated June 1, 2004:
*In CONNECTICUT, talk show host Ken “Citizen” Smith is out of a job. Smith was fired by WICC (600 Bridgeport) last Monday, apparently after making some sort of racist or anti-Semitic remark on the air. No replacement's been named, and the station is conducting a contest now to find one.
I don't remember the exact date I called him but I distinctly remember it being a warm afternoon so it's safe to say he was fired within days or possibly the day of my phone call. Obviously I never herd him on the air again.
Don't mention it…….out of the absolute goodness of my heart I'm going to explain something that in the coming years will become very important to you. The Tea Party is on the move “BIG TIME”…..We are currently in the process of taking over the Republican party by electing STRICT conservatives and by removing those deemed RINO (republicans in name only) Republicans from our party. In other words we are strengthening our party from within. At the same time we have all but taken control of the US House of Representatives along with making serious advancements into the US Senate. Not bad for 2 years work, but only the very beginning. Now brace yourself because I'm going to speak frankly to you. This Tea Party lead conservative dominated movement is different than anything the country has ever seen, yes FAR more conservative than even during the Reagan years. Listen closely, we are not the old Republican Party that tried to work with the liberals for decades and decades. No, we want to destroy the liberal Democrat Party and remove it as a dominate party in American politics. We have absolutely no intention of “working with the Democrats” and are not even remotely interested with having anything to do with “BIPARTISANSHIP” those days are coming to an end, quickly. As I write the Tea Party is beginning the process of “cutting its teeth” with the ongoing debate regarding the current budget. The liberal Dem's along with the insane cohorts in the media are getting a small taste of the future. The liberals have and still do very much VASTLY UNDERESTIMATE the power of this movement. Tea Party conservatives love this country and our children far more than you can possibly even begin to comprehend. We will do whatever it takes to deposit the likes of you and your liberal Democrat Party into the dust bin of history. Make no mistake about it.
I'm going to close here and leave the details of the how and why for you to research, as if their's actually any chance of that, but so be it. The “how” is straight forward enough but for the the “why” might I suggest you begin by familiarizing yourself with the teachings of Ayn Rand. If you THINK I'm some kind of crazy, insane, uneducated, back-woods hick might I also suggest that you…..THINK AGAIN.
Be careful of the cheap ones, Harry. Their ballasts have been shown to overheat and even catch on fire. I had a fire marshal walk me around a property I was managing and point out CFL’s that had black burn marks on the ballasts.
http://www.queensbury.net/FM/C…
But overall lack of definitive information in the face of rumors and anecdotes only further confuses us consumers trying to be virtuous.
Thank you for your continued fine work.