rkbabang

Thanks, I'll check it out. I'm always looking for stuff to listen to on my commute. A site I've been using for human read open source audio books is Librivox.org. I recently listened to "Voyage of the Beagle" and "Origin of Species". --Eric

I ran across this story today: Hooters Casino teeters toward default, possible bankruptcy "... Chanticleer Holdings Inc., which also has an interest in Hooters America (which controls the larger 440-store chain), also put on hold a separate deal to acquire 45 Hooters franchise stores in Texas. "Since the credit crisis hit, we have been unable to get financing," said Mike Pruitt, chief executive of Chanticleer Holdings Inc. "But the contract is still valid when the markets loosen up." ..." --Eric

My response is usually "Do you have unsweetened ice-tea?" If the answer to that is also no, (and the place doesn't server beer) I'll just have water. I like Coke, but even that is bordering on the too-sweet for me. Pepsi is like sticking my tongue into a bowl of sugar. Yuk... As far as GM goes, you can have all the manufacturing capacity in the world, but if you produce crappy products that no one is willing to buy, your capacity is not much of a moat. It would only be a moat if it allowed GM to produce products that were better (or at least as good) cheaper then its competition. Obviously (to anyone that has had the unfortunate experience of owning one) that wasn't the case. A moat can work in your favor as one of your defenses, but you still need to produce a good product or service at a reasonable price to defend your moat. If you leave your moat undefended, it will be crossed. --Eric

This is very true. The reason a political system ends up with this type of people at the top is that those are the type of people who want to be there. Most people wouldn't want those jobs it is that small percentage that spend their lives trying to get into power that are the problem. In a free market you need to have a product or service someone will willingly pay for to attain wealth, in a political system you just need to lie/cheat/steal/ or otherwise bully your way to the top. This is why the scum always rises to the top in such an organization. I lump union leaders in with politics, because unions are protected by the state to such a degree that they couldn't exist in the form that they currently do in a free market system. And religious leaders are in a category by themselves, since the whole system is unapologetically based on faith to begin with. What an easy group of people to lead when you can answer every question with some form of "its god's will" or "have faith". I always find it interesting how good people are when dealing directly with them. None of my neighbors would ever think to hold me up at gun point and take what belongs to me. Yet they feel not even the slightest pangs of guilt doing the equivalent via the ballot box. Funny how people justify things, especially when they can delegate the dirtywork and not have to think about it. --Eric

I use Fidelity. You can get check writing and an ATM card with a regular brokerage account. If you want an FDIC insured account like a bank account, they have that as well: http://personal.fidelity.com/accounts/aong/sca_learn.shtml.cvsr?refhp=cp

The early Buffet partners were never told what their money was invested in. They trusted that WEB was honest. Madoff was trusted by his investors and when they got their statements, they had no reason not to beleive them. Also, don't forget people assume the SEC is looking out for them and that a crook will be caught. That is always the problem with government oversight of anything (food, medicine, product safety, investing, etc), people trust that oversight and look no further. The only thing his investors are guilty of is trusting too much and maybe laziness and a little stupidity, none of which are crimes. He is guilty of fraud on a grand scale, which is a crime. If someone is unarmed in a bad neighborhood at night taking money out of an ATM, he may be stupid, but no one has a right to kill him and take his money. Making yourself an easy mark, does not justify the crime against you in any way. Fraud and theft are crimes and the person committing them is solely responsible for them, regardless of how easy or difficult the victims are to steal from. Have you ever heard a defendant say, "sure your honor, I kidnapped, raped, and killed the little girl, but it was just so damn easy to do. Surely I can't take all the responsibility.". Madoff is the one who bears responsibility for his own actions. If anyone else is to blame other than him it is the SEC for not doing its job and letting this go on for so long. --Eric