EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

do the math...

Educational background of candidates:

Obama:

Occidental College - Two years.

Columbia University - B.A. political science with a specialization in
international relations.

Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude

Biden:

University of Delaware - B.A. in history and B.A. in political science.

Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)

McCain:

United States Naval Academy - Class rank 894 of 899

Palin:

Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester

North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study

University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism

Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester

University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in journalism

The Man, BS

Avoid the indexes at all costs now unless you want to be at the waterline of inflation (not beating it).


Stick to funds with reputations and top advisors and seek the help of professionals. Lucky for me I wasn't in any indexes (significantly).-- or at least not the ones that took a hit.


The theory being why invest in all 500 companies when you can invest in just the top good ones? I've been a psychic or a financial advisor or a psychic advisor? Anyway, the only financial I bought into at the new year is the one Warren Buffet also decided to buy recently. (smart minds think alike?)


Now is a green light to buy if I ever saw one.


Just diversify, seek professional help and don't be speculative.


It's a bad year to retire but otherwise things are great (market wise... not for other markets)


There are also guarantees and options for tax free money with guarantees at every income level to consider. It's important to start no matter how broke you may feel.


As for the "bailout" it's a yes and no. Too vague and tax payers should get an equity stake as was the case with the loan to AIG (they took a penalty stake even though they still have tons of profit arms in the advising and insurance sectors and were only downgraded to AA and A+ with Moody's, etc).


Giving money to mortgage holders is frankly wrong as well for rewarding poor decisions. Those who are single and already paying more taxes than "working families, without a mortgage and one month from being on the street with steep rent, jobs with poor to no benefits or multiple part-time... and having to max out credit to get by-- they should not be so lucky to get the bill.



Which mortgages are monopoly money and which ones are good? No one can tell-- unless we sent the IRS and FBI to audit and track (since they are so good at this) and while they are at it they can audit and reconfigure the Pentagon budget-- which has also never been done and last deemed impossible (Spring 08 Money magazine article)--
see:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/03/washington/03cnd-military.html



http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1622315920071017



And then there is the $79billion Iraq budget surplus not counting the 275 billion in gas profits sold back to us retail that we funded wholesale



http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/05/18/MN251738.DTL



http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/iraq/2004285479_iraqoil16.html



...besides that there were never any nukes to find and we knew that, at least the admin did-- and me.--And no terrorist to get until th admin created the entire concept with a fear campaign and new Crayola color code.... for preschoolers.



Anyone remember the investigation into the admin with "no note taking allowed" over energy... back to Eron and the CEO circus links and links--right back to the bird flu and wiretapping, homegrown terrorism backed by McCain and that evil VP who seems to have his hand at the switch.



My point is of course no one really trusts the Bush man--with his track record how could we possibly? It's the girl who cried wolf senario and now we are all going to be crying--either in looming debts or because Mr Bush and Cheney got their final pot of gold and Parachuted to lifetime salaries and security on us. Meanwhile McCain is creating a convenient distraction. We might even lose our last remaining right which is the freedom to choose and keep the government out of our bodies weather comatose or sperm infested. In what way have Republicans ever been for keeping down spending and less government intervention in the affairs of the people? A: Only when it applies to lining their tombs in solid gold-- I only wish this would happen soon.



On that note, invest merrily!- even if only to have voting rights with the military's contractors. Change starts from within.



My last point is that fed taxes were created to fund the Mexican American war so the entire concept is towards arms and bloodshed and perhaps we can give tax payers a break by freezing or entirely eliminating the tax-- keep the state tax, of course and change the $3 political party check box on tax forms to be for funding wars--make it optional. Use the pentagon budget to fund education and other bailouts, arts and social service needs, along with taxing Iraq if we insist on throwing more money at them than they know what to do with--and even better get the heck out and go find Osama (who is more likely at the Beverly Hilton shooting behind a faux desert film set.



Cut waste in government and the tax payers could all get a tax cut and solve the budget.



And I will give my first born son to any politician who would revise the poverty line because that hasn't been done since it's inception in the early 1960's. The gap between the rich and poor simply can't get any wider without drawing demarcations and seceding. Give that 5% Puerto Rico and Alaska. Paelin can be their beauty queen, tanning bed and all. Give them the Hiltons too. (Any high school principal has run larger organizations than her--except maybe the ones in Alaska)


That's why it's a travesty to responsible single renters to bail out "main street" or mortgage holders. It's bad enough that corporations and "working families" get all the tax cuts--what about the rest of us? As my great great great........... cousin/uncle was a single hard working man who never had a child (or had to pay taxes and ran things pretty dandy) and was named George Washington. Unfortunately I also can't tell a lie.

REPORT: EMAIL SPAM, STOCK PICKERS, BANK FAILURES, ETC.

Stock Scams:
Doublingstocks.com is a huge scam I was told, so I did research. There are plenty of sites online that say the software doesn't compute anything and they are just another newsletter charging fees to recommend stocks they are paid to recommend. I do know that their bot has never recommended anything, even on the newsletter end of things. I did research on their stock picks and even they are scams: such as RUDY 45 (Pink Sheets: RDYF)
and MYECheck Inc. (OTC BB: MYEC.OB) whose profit statements were unaudited... (Rudy 45 recieved a temporary suspension in July 2006 by the SIPC (FINRA and the SIPC don't make recommendations so no stock is ever promoted by them just because it's on file with them; suspended because they didn't meet the minimum standards of outside audits at that time.)

They may be ligit but they are definutely speculative and I could "speculate" that they are only getting by due to stock letter picks (as the stock did not climb after the picks were announced even in the newsletter, but prevented them from hitting rock bottom).
That makes 3:3 of everything I've looked into appear to be %100 scamalicious in a scam chain of scam chains.

...and MyECheck Inc linked to PayDay.com, well we all know a certain celebrity who lost it all to them. Any payday advances is always a bad idea due to the outrageous interest charges and their services marked to the lower income demographic in innercity neighborhoods.
...besides most online offers for free anything being major scambots to sell your info even if you didn't click on "yes" and then every tech school and college that advertises is calling your private, do not call list, unlisted number even when you have all the degrees you ever wanted already and don't want a PhD in psychology or medical processing, lab technician academies and online MBAs...

Email Spam-bots:
And when will they fix programs to make the "spam" and "junk" and "block" flagging addresses stay in the spam box or prevent emails from being sent??? I will buy stock in that company (Hotmail and Yahoo email programs being particularly bad with Google being actually pretty good-- Oh yeah, I do own Google stock : ) Microsoft blocks the message itself so you unblock it to see a message in order to see if you want to block it and you have then given them the OK before you made a decision... It's OK but needs improvement. Yes, I have 5 email accounts wait 6 or 7 for every purpose. 2 for those I that are questionable and will spam and sell my info and 2 for buisiness and 2 personal and 1 I never use since it's attached to a subscription that I may drop (if I never use it in the 1st place then I save myself the hassle).

Stockpickers cont...
Doubling Stocks also states they have "special agreements" with brokers for 50% in special accounts set up. This offer, besides being no longer valid by Sharebuilder, is not a special deal they arranged, but was open to anyone via Sharebuilder as I saw it way before I saw the DS offer. DS says not to tell your friends and family about the SB offer but SB in their offer states the entire purpose of their offer (was) to encourage friends and family to join. The good news is DS does give refunds.

Web banking, MM's & Bank Failures:
I do like Sharebuilder as the easiest webdesign to navigate, customer service is super, great design and I love orange and ING as well; though unless you have big bucks and knowledge, then going through a financial advisor such as myself is a much cheaper way to go in the long and short run, and the returns are much better even after any fees (at least with me) rather than buying, selling and monitoring the markets 24/7 of individual stock picks on your own. I say this out of experience and not sleeping at night because of the research it entailed... (Now that I am in the industry I have access to info that the average investor doesn't, as well as work with other top money managers in the world-- and it doesn't take big bucks to sit down with a financial advisor, in fact we don't even charge a fee.)

To be fair, Ameritrade has better by-the-minute stock info but their money market rates are to cry over (2% down to .02% last I checked).

E*Trade is harder to set up (you must fax in your first born son)--really it's very confusing until you call them, and even then things are a big cryptic in their attempt to encrypt... and protect your data and please Homeland Security (which the entire financial industry must do at this point: to reverse track money laundering schemes used by alleged terrorist circles.)

Onbank is the most difficult website I've ever used and still can'd see via their site how to fund the account once it's open (good mm rates but not good if can't use them)-- not that mm's are so good. They all suck right now. Paypal's as well hit 1. something % last I checked.
That's why 8-9.5% to even 15% return is a great reason to see a financial advisor and avoid the banks and govt bonds with FDIC and the gov't allegedly on the verge of bankruptcy (this would take another crisis or a small string of a few banks going bankrupt with Bersterns being 5% of gov't revenues plus the WAMU & insurance writedowns & bailouts).

My Econ Rant & Stock Market News

You learn something new everyday, for instance, that the FDIC only insures premiums from default, not the interest, ex: Cds! Also, I can beat the 3.3% current CD rate with bonds at 8%+ and more aggressive security vehicles at 12% currently without suffering the low-lows, and that's after fees. (Also lots of tax free money avenues for all income levels...)

Plus with inflation at 4-5% compounded and 2-3.5 mill needed just to maintain the average standard of living (or less than average ) in 30 yrs, it's crazy not to start planning with a financial advisor in order to beat inflation if even only saving a minimum of $50-100 per month--ideally you'd start in your 20's... people in their 30's at only $100 per month will lose over 1 million in compounded interest just by waiting 15 years to start a (non-bank) investment plan; banks Cd's 3.3% and 5% are still not going to beat inflation. (Being a financial advisor I am fortunate to have access to all kinds of info and self-info that the average investor doesn't have access to, and can spend all day long researching, besides a wealth of the top financial mentors to bug.)

If only I could have invested as a kid when I wanted to and had the funds! (you have to be over 18; instead I invested in the banks which actually stole my funds on two occasions and at one bank completely erased the entire history of my account-- see blog #1 = no FDIC backing if the govt can't locate any records!!!; banks go bankrupt and get bought out as well which makes tracking even more nearly impossible for older accounts-- esp in the days of pass-book savings --aka the child fraud plan

..Wish my parents had been smart enough to start a college savings account, but of course lots of those didn't exist then and the tax issues have changed; even cosigning my loans would have saved me a few percentage points equaling a few grand by now-- their theory was that even though they "borrowed" money from me for gas, rent, etc and I basically clothed myself and worked since the age of 7--pro by age 11 and never even bought candy--besides a single Kit-Kat bar and one box of Luden's cough drops when I was sick; wouldn't cosign assuming I'd have the poor financial habits that they did and might possibly default, which of course has never happened (and I have great teeth even though they don't --so I must have been a depression era adult reincarnated...) For an actual figure, my loans over 10 yrs ago were taken out at 10% which seems crazy right now. A few years before that were at 7.5% and 5% which is now quite high (though I had consolidated the higher, non-govt backed ones at the last bubble burst and got them averaged down to 3.5% when the APY was 1.3% nationally; will re-consolidate with my unconsolidated loans if the interest rates dip lower and when the govt backing expires which is only a few months down the road, if it will lower my average rate--kept separate so far because the govt will pay the interest on the high % ones still and don't want the higher amount ones to increase in %... plus, if you don't consolidate all at once than you can keep consolidating without paying any fees to do so...--so I have 2 more free consolidations, even though they'll be paid off by then most likely--this is grad school and undergrad and private institutions in the late 1990's if you are wondering, and the tuition I over-paid then looks like a steal just 10 years later due to inflation).

Oh yeah, also discovered in 18 years it is estimated to cost $400,000 to attend UCLA--yikes!
Just did the math--yes, including R&B and books--yep! A state school which was 10-13K out of state and ridiculously low in state when I went to a $16K private college that ended up at $18K per yr and grad school at $23K ending at around 30K when I was done 2 yrs later (not including R&B) So with kids going into debt $150K for undergrad and the fact that I turned down a full-ride at an Ivy league school, it makes me feel good that I went $16K into debt in undergrad (after scholarships and working approx 3-5 jobs at once throughout) and 60K in grad school at with "only" 2 jobs then and maxing out my credit load even though I took 4x the required amount of courses. So... I'll fully pay those off when interest rates soar and I've a nice low rate and my loans are the equivalent of my 16,888K 2006 car today which, BTW in 30 yrs will cost $78,000 with inflation... and BTW it is still so important to get a education vs. just tech training because of future options and tech training being so quickly outdated and now overpriced for it's actual educational value... or no education which I just had a discussion about with an aunt who was in agreement that it leaves you at the mercy of your employer and with the average job change every 5 yrs and companies going under and depleting entire 401(k)s ex: Enron, etc and the difficulty of a rehire with out an education and the current salary or upward mobility available it is crucial to get a higher degree, and never too late to do so. Diversification--that's my personal motto in every regard; huge risk as well with a couple working at the same company = zero diversification and security if the employer goes under.

On the car note, my dealer is now NOT offering to sell me a car but to buy my XA car from me because of the best gas mileage (esp as a manual trans) and it's out of production now that it was rated the best consumer car buy period and the end of 2007 (= major increase in value that they are hoping I don't realize, beyond the normal fact that they can sell a used car for more than a new car due to no incentives... My car gets better mileage than the Prius unless you are running your engine in a parking lot and is less than half the payments, better traction, pick-up, etc; has the best pick-up of any vehicle I drove and so quiet you forget the engine is on--way better than the Mini-cooper and about half the price of a used one. To top it off, the Scion XA is a 13-14K car (more because I added after-market extras). And if you aren't aware, the Pruis no longer qualifies for tax incentives or carpool stickers, besides being on back order, and has a central core of it's battery that is highly toxic and difficult to dispose of; but it does appear that they can now dismantle it with "precautions" and sending it to Euro facilities (yes, I'm a nerd and research this.)

Also CalSTRS and STRS is tanking with their fund manager leaving. (Important for teachers) ... but there are non-prof & teacher plans with guaranteed matches even when the school systems and STRS systems can't match them (see me... )

Meanwhile my SOL is still up 105% and ACI is also up 55% and CPRT up 50% OIS 55% since FEB. and IAF getting great returns at 8.6% (on their rising dollar) while other stocks are 1% or under in returns. Even MM funds are at 1.95%-.02%, crazy! I'm going to follow my own investment advice as a back-up plan. (see me... 1st para.)

On another note, my co-worker pointed out a genius idea of "back to one" or "back to zero" every 10 years which would allow the poor to catch up with the ENRON CFOs and CEOs and mortgage banking executives which are still not held accountable--that 5% which are on every board (board members all on an average of 5 boards creating a spider web of not the top 5% with the wealth, but the same small number of people year after year). Of course it would never happened with the Bushes, Cheney's etc. (Google "bird flu" and you should see the financial chain linked to the co that produces the faulty virus and the fear mongering for a limited epidemic that wouldn't effect the US due to the fact that birds only fly north to south and back, not east to west...) This radical idea would force real estate issues. But we did have a similar thing set up originally called bankruptcy which was set up for the people to be forgiven for debts and go "back to 1" which credit card lobbyists have now basically completely eliminated as of last year and is now a right for corporations who BTW have all the rights of an individual and don't pay taxes and are a legal person although this makes no sense because they can't cast a ballot (though they can purchase candidates so I guess this eliminates the need).

... I do agree with the sales tax vs. Fed tax as a genius idea (see Mike Gravel) so that illegal workers whether drug dealers, sex workers, or working illegally would all pay their fair share of taxes, along with the top 5% income earners that generally find loopholes to avoid taxation (and the money saved in accounting would be the same 22% added on as a TL sales tax that would not effect the current cost of goods & services (only tax accountants would be out of work and many would probably prefer it this way as they would love to not pay taxes and have clients not pay the IRS and deal with ever chaning laws and paperwork; H&R Block would go under but that is fairly deserved if you've ever used their services).

On another note, if you have had your head in the sand, know that pharmaceutical Co's have bought seeds and copyrighted them in order to destroy them and genetically modify and sell seeds that can't reproduce (crops can't make futile seeds), which besides creating and increasing world hunger problem, there is the fact that winds and birds spread the seeds around pollinating non hydrogenated/modified crops and therefore making it impossible to tell what is organic, and more importantly, altering the genetic complex of other crops, introducing new disease issues and hurting sales. Also, they passed laws making it illegal to trade seeds even at the hobbyist level (look it up) which seems strange now but may become crucial when it becomes widely enforced. Also look up apples-- we went from 300 or so varieties at the turn of the century to under 10 due to this pharma practice.

Also, just for kicks, Google the "EPA Library" and you will find out about the shredding and crucial loss of info going on there, as authorized by the current Admin. as well as the 10,000+ concerned scientists who petitioned.

If you haven't ready my other blogs (Blogamyth), that's where the info is with links all in 1 place, soon to be transferred to Blogamyth@blogspot.com.

Then there was the seal sanctuary bombings as part of a military training exercise (circa 2000) and the Sequoia National Forest that Bush was trying to log (blocked by the Sierra Club) a couple years back.

Air quality is fine now because Bush lowered the standards immediately in taking his office and I suddenly immediately got a rash of headaches (until I invested in air purifiers), but I am still and only since then allergic to band aids (chemical sensitivity issues only when I moved to LA with poor air quality and poorer very noticeably just looking at the smog line when Bush took office (we haven't had a skyline in a long time; similar to that of Japan and China, just more yellowish gray vs. a white haze ~ at seeing actually stars in Kansas and blue skies in Scotland I nearly had a heart attack-- it seemed like a Disney set or a wet dream).

Well that's the recap on a fraction of the bad (politically) and a bit of the good news as well (financially speaking). Bonus: the Kennedy assassination and Cold War and recent events made barely a blip in the stock market, as well as every war and Natl event (went down a tad more with Nixon's resignation) that means the future, though I can't predict as I am only looking at figures from the past, regardless, it looks promising (esp for alternative power sources) -- but for the world to sustain another 50 yrs we will need population control due to the water crisis, besides energy issues (each person coming out of poverty throughout the world generates miles of pollution (see past blogs for the exact figures). This makes family planners the truly pro-life advocates as the planet can't sustain the current levels of human expansion with water resources alone (besides oil drilling triggering tidal & weather events, etc). The fact that polar bears are on the red alert extinction list but we can legally do nothing to curb their death is a huge problem as we don't just need polar bears but our icecaps to sustain world climates, aside from greenhouse gases, etc.

The art is now to be aware, educate and take action as we can no longer afford in anyway for humans to bury their heads in the sand and avoid world news. The entire world capital market is linked together, besides that we share the same planet. And the US GDP is still the most in the world with all other countries tied to ours so we really aren't going anywhere. We only have to stop being so arrogant and disrespecting ever other country say, Iraq, Iran, etc and the world is hopefully realizing that Americans are being held hostage by a failing system that allows the few to control everything, including voting power and this lack of educational funding has caused an uneducated public to become a do-nothing people that allow their own government to walk all over them and run the country into the ground for the past decade. Hopefully other countries will pity our Hitler ways and understand the gestapo we are under and that we don't agree with our govt (as in 2005 they certainly did not realize this but thought we must love Bush if we allowed him to be the "world's #1 terrorist" as they put it, and how we could not take action if we did not agree with our govt, and not understanding the level of false news (tabloid rumor being our news and actual news being considered tabloid rumor; besides that the BBS has US news 6 months in advance of our own news outlets!) and deep corruption spawned from apathy and stupidity and lack of willpower and education and general liaises-fare.

My Stock Picks (Long) & Other Economic Predictions

Anyway, I'm not against managed funds at all. They a lot less work and probably same in costs in the long run (esp. the low load funds). There was certainly a learning curve in my first month and I could pay less in fees if I just stuck to a few stock or indexes. Anyway, I currently have around 40 different securities which means more fees on the back end (at least $399 worth). I wouldn't do that again unless I was dealing in very large amounts. So, as managed funds go, the company I'm working with only does the safest, most stable type, but has access to everything else (ie. not contracted to only sell through one broker or certain products).

But, it's not like Vegas where you leave and they keep everything. Well, OK, I won $2,300 my first and only time gambling there and the person I was with who fronted me cash, an obvious addict gambled it away (lost $20,000 there and was a regular-- explains why the wife and kids left).

Anyway, my point was I go long, in general, and I'm not "betting the farm" and it's so easy to have a "come-back".

I should probably admit that I'm a Bloomberg TV addict as well. The best part is their 3am footage covers the art world as well and they actually know their shit in that market as well (great interviews with all the blu-chip players). At this point I should tell you I've a MFA & BFA if you didn't already know.

So, I'm not advising anyone via this blog to buy anything, or sell any service. But if you are curious what I've been looking at I'll tell you. I started with my tax refund this year (from last year which I late-filed in November, and btw the IRS gave me 4.75% interest on my return for filing so late--printed right on my check.)

I also "found" unclaimed funds of mine in a previous state in a savings account from over 10 years ago. I can't even remember how that happened. Probably also a tax refund, I have no idea. I was expecting $0.85 back, or maybe $6 back since the amount in the account wasn't listed. Instead I got a check for around $12058. That is my positive banking story for this year. It made my year.

I had this hunch (like an inner nag) saying "Buy Google, buy Google." (GOOG)-- so I did-- bought it when it was way low and everyone was freaking out about the company's future. I only buy it when it's low. Also, no one can spell without Google, find anything, and every kid uses it to write their papers... besides that their gmail email has genius programming in that the more that use it, the more space available. And high company ethics, and had programers mess with the code so that back in the day, "miserable failure" and "total idiot moron" came up with search results for "George W. Bush". Also, this blog is via Google and my nickname as a baby to adulthood from my dad was and is still "Googs." Coincidence? That alone is the cause of my huge attachment to Google. In fact, when it first came out and it was scorned it, I knew it would be huge being that it was any relation to "Googs" and seemed to be well designed and fast! (If I had $300 bucks to spare then I would have invested) --It's not going anywhere. Enough said.

Other growth interests:

CHCG--riskier because it's in China and way low, but it's just signed a contract to merge with the Walmart of China (bought it originally on a rumor of internet university interests, but it appears to be more of a retain chain for cell phones, like a Radio Shack. It's a long shot, but it's also so cheap per share that if it loses value, so what. It's not worth selling, but I'd buy more in the future if the stock improves. I only have about 3 shares. The companies success really depends on how China is doing, but everyone needs cellphones, toasters and rice cookers regardless. I'm going long.

SOL or Renesola (a solar chip manufacturer) is a new one--very promising & supported by a few major solar players. I got in when it opened. Then it took a nose-dive and has now doubled from then. Also is in China with a bunch of contracts for major solar manufacturers.

CSUN-China Sun Energy Co, also manufactures solar circuits... It's been very steady and is still very cheap.

Go long... (Hold)

WDC --make computer drives tech.

STX -Seagate Technology I like -- make disk drives & new super drives cataloguing/encrypting/security technology. (They do pay dividends and bought back stock during the "Spring meldown" so that's a great sign.

MVL - Marvel Ent-- comics and tons of sci-fi movies like Spiderman, and a bunch coming out this year... plus action figure lines. If you've ever been to the San Diego comic con and seen the amount of sci fi nerds (and that's only the ones who were local with free time or nerdy enough to travel for it) you know it's a good investment (Long).

ATVI -Activision. A friend said, "My friend works there, you should buy it." I said, "How talented is this guy." He said, "Very." Also a nerdy venture, based in Santa Monica, CA -- makes of Guitar Hero and others for WII and anounced a new kiddie league of baseball for the WII coming out as well. This company is going to be huge. I can feel it.

NTGR -Netgear I bought on a newsletter rec. It's been pretty consistent. Their technology uses internal wiring of houses to phone (ie any wire becomes a phone line). Sounds promising.

CPRT- also a newsletter rec. It's been doing pretty well and is about to launch more part locations in the midwest (it's an industrial online auto part/salvage warehousing/auction system-- like ebay of wrecked cars for the auto & insurance industry).

VOL -Volt Information Services --business support specialists via India for locations worldwide (ie customer support operators). Does better obviously, when labor in India is cheaper than US or Europe. (Hold)

GAF- Emerging Markets of the Middle East (Index). I bought this one when I heard via NPR that they recommended this one for Muslim investors who apparently can't invest in any fee-charging stocks per their religion (or use banks, etc). It's the only security they can invest in (besides 1 mutual fund). Based on the number of Muslims out numbering any other religion, this one is a great bet, besides that the mid-east economies are on the up and up. It's interests are in North African, Israeli & other mideast interests. The dividend earned is very next to nothing (not to allowed to profit from...) Anway, the funds fairly new and doing pretty well.

QID --Proshares Ultra Short (Index) does 200% the opposite of the S&P and also pays dividends. It's my hedging.

ECV -- Blackrock Enhanced Equity -- at 12% interest I bought it. It's about to merge pending voting with their 2 other closed funds which might push the % down to 10% or so... (Hold)

AMAT-- another tech growth stock that's hugely promising.

GS PRB-- Goldman Sacks Preferred -B very steady (vs. A which has been low). They're not going anywhere and have increased.

MAT -Mattel -- Because a billion baby boomer had kids who had kids who will have more kids and on, and they will all want toys, and later in life, nerdy sci fi action figures as 40 and 50 year olds. Plus a zillion illegal immigrants all buy their kids toys as well, even in bad economies. And babies will need monitors and other baby paraphernalia, even if they are all made in China a coated in lead paint. MAT says they've solved all of that. They pay dividends.

Others: IWS, IVE, AGG, SPY, SHY, XLF, XLE, XLB; all pay dividends...

AA - ALCOA Inc -- Major US aluminum manufacturer... Have new deals with China Aluminum & Rio Tinto; got me interested (besides that I have relatives on both sides of the family that work there). Their income is largely based on foreign labor being cheaper, but they've been steadily rising (bought because of an inner nag). Pays dividends.

CVS -- CVS Caremark-- I bought because a few billion baby boomers are going to need a zillion prescriptions very soon. They pay dividends.

RTN -- Raytheon -- an aerospace/defense co -- an investment in the wars of the world: defense systems, airplane part manufacturing, "unmanned aerial systems" (a.k.a. weapons of mass destruction), and major provider to imaging technology, etc used by Homeland Security. A massive list in 7 major components. Besides dividends and them making "a killing" from all these international civil wars, it doesn't hurt to have some voting power as an anti-war proponent. (If you can't beat them, join them.)

HON -- Honeywell-- Heating & Cooling & tech warfare systems. Because my dad just cashed out his 3 shares from 20 years ago and it was quite a bit of money for 3 shares! He used to work there so, in loyalty to receiving a portion of his profits from them and their great returns (besides my family's interests in halting their nuclear arms development), I bought a very small stake. They seem to do well and pay great dividends, even in the worst economic quarters. (my dad proudly holds onto to one share of their nuclear program segment which forces them to give him voting power -- even though they tried to force him to sell.)

IBM - Int'l Business Machines -- also seems to keep increasing, regardless of the economy. Pays dividends.

ESV - Ensco Int'l - A deep-sea oil drilling co. Doing great & dividends...

OIS -- Oil States International. No dividends, but seems to be skyrocketing up. In protest of oil prices I only buy this one when gas prices are down (as well as its share price). Seriously, it is overvalued and any more buy-ins of this stock are going to kill the working classes via their wallets at the tank. Don't buy this until it bottoms out or at least levels off. (Hold)

ACI -- Arch Coal Inc -- an East coast coal mining go that is doing incredibly well (with the China coal crisis; why I got in. Snowed in Chinese coal mines made me buy this one). Decent dividends. This stock keeps going up.

GLD -- Streettracks Gold Trust. (Index) Another back-up plan. (In case the dollar becomes worthless) No dividends

IAF -- Aberdeen Australian Fund -- I like this one a lot. They pay better dividends than any US stock, probably because of their much stronger dollar. It's been very steady when the US equities where bottoming out. I just have a great feeling about this one.

RIO - Cia Vale Do Rio Dolce -- a Brazilian mining & paper manufacturing co. Has done very well in the past and just merged with an their "child co" (they were the parent co of...) 3% dividends as of the last stock proposal.

Anyway, there are many more I'm interested in but trying to my urge to spread. It certainly seems to be how I've beat all the major self-managed investors though. I also keep a close watch on international news and find out 6 months in advance of US announcements via BBS radio and a few days in advance via Bloomberg (The major networks are very slow to catch on to actual news). You could say I'm fairly obsessed. I care about what goes on in the world and knowing it's impact on my folio and economic trends is a major bonus. I also closely watch politics and enjoy these economic meltdowns in terms of it's a chance for the "small guy" to enter the market-- which I haven't until now. Friends have advised me to wait, but I couldn't wait. My inner voice told me to get in in February and March. Oh, my point. It was that well, people are saying they aren't getting their dividends, but almost every one of my dividend paying stocks has paid out. So, there you go, I must be doing something right. The only thing that stops me from being a major player in the market is the high cost of living in Los Angeles. It's certainly a healthier habit than H&M which I wish was publicly traded, and Facebook and Trader Joes. If I were to advise someone else it would be probably to stick with the indexes and maybe a couple blue chips, or easier, a managed mutual fund, annuity, or life product. Even going long is like having a pet -- it needs constant attention. I do this because I may not have a social security as an option and even that was only formed to supplement other retirement income. Companies may do well and keep paying dividends, regardless of my personal income -- keeping my eggs in many baskets. It is also very fun. You just don't do anything stupid like buy an overvalue stock at the top of the market or bet it all on one stock company ...!!. Just don't bet the farm. Even the weediest or most barren land can grow great crops. If I wasn't paying my student loans still I'd invest in real estate too. Now is the time. (I give it a 2 year window minimum before a major recovery in that market).