Ben Stein's column, w/ a rather mild critique

The column is titled "Keeping your Cool in a Shaky Market", which is pretty timely and excellent advice in itself. The comments ( I didn't read them all,) are a hoot. Either the commenter is a trader/market timer, and gives Ben's words one star of a possible five, or is more of an investor, and gives four or five stars. There is something to note in this! One commenter calls Ben's counsel "basic stuff". My thought: it is out of sound, dogged, tenacious implementation of good, valid "basic stuff" in investing that you pull ahead. Don't ever hold "basic stuff" in contempt. Ever. You get away from it at your own risk. You don't have to agree with me or with Mr. Stein on all the details. But there are principles which have worked in investing.

Warren Buffett's name is thrown into this melee by one commenter as one who "was smart enough to sell last month when the market was increasing. People will think I'm crazy but you can time the market and the party is over. It's 1929 all over again." Aarrrghh.