Here’s what else I’m watching as I get ready to fly to San Antonio at the expense of Todd-O’s birthday party. How about protecting me from that miserable choice, President Obama? No way, instead you’re lashing out at:
 

• Target (TGT), Harley-Davidson (HOG), and Pitney Bowes (PBI) -- all of whom act as "industrial loan companies," which is an obscure way of saying they issue credit and credit cards under state-issued charters. For those who go with Target -- which issues their cards in a near-frenzy at every checkout counter -- the interest rate charged on the balance at the end of the month is absurdly burdensome.
  
  Wal-Mart (WMT) tried a similar program years ago, but ended up alienating their customers by rejecting the applications, meaning credit wasn’t simply given to anyone with a pulse. Target (-24%), HOG ( -57%) and PBI (-42%) are down over 40% on average.
  
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  Causality is always a dicey proposition in markets, but as a blanket statement, I’d say Target’s very lucrative credit-card program has helped the company in aggregate. Target sells good merchandise at low prices. Harley sells expensive, impractical vehicles. Pitney Bowes sells products getting crushed by electronic documents. The free market works here; at least it works better than the cell phone and travel industries. Target is in no danger of dying. HOG and PBI may be. The world will be just fine, regardless.
  
  
• When you grow oblivious to criticism -- a must for TV guys, even those in exile -- you end up shocked by what others find offensive. A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned buying a Hummer -- in a post called Inflation, What Inflation? -- a decision based largely on the GM division then giving the best bang for the buck. Since then I’ve noticed a general loathing and angry looks coming from people of all stripes.
  
  Keep in mind, I live in a small community where testosterone-compensation rigs (Pick a luxury sports car, any luxury sports car.) or family cars like Chevy Suburbans and GM (GRM) Blazers (both are government owned and pushing gas prices higher with every mile) are the norm. My H3 costs about 40% less and gets at least 50% better mileage. Not that those stats and facts matter to the folks sneering at me as though Hummers were crafted out of actual rainforest trees.
  
  
• Last point prior to heading to LaGuardia: An extremely heartfelt thank you to those of you who have written me regarding CNBC over the last week. I’ve gotten literally hundreds of notes, only a fraction of which wished me any sort of ill. (I keep score of pro versus con just because if you’re not pushing buttons on either or both sides, you simply aren’t trying.) The point is this, I’ve felt a bit like George Bailey over the last week thanks to you folks. To those who've asked, wondered or are passingly curious, I’ll be back in a different format ASAP. I’ll be spending more time at the ‘Ville from now on. I miss doing the TV job with my friends, more of whom were leaving all the time. As Blondie sang, “the time [was] right, so I’m moving on”.

PS, I bought some Apple and Agrium (AGU) back yesterday as the probed resistance. Strictly for what it’s worth.