I was with you on this. I have a friend who cashed out 500K and is now my best friend. He had to fight his broker and family to get it done. Now look. I also had a great call to short google at it's highs and got rolled on by a bunch of "experts" on the Free Republic.
I see the Dow in the sub-10k range also. And it will end up there so fast that getting out will be impossible.
If you have a stock that is still making you money, chances are it is in the black for others as well. They will be taking profits to offset their losses very soon. Why wait? What is the upside for yourself? Another 3-8%? Face it, the downside is 20-30%. Tell me why that stock is worth holding?
After reading this thread once again I see many folks who have no business trading their own money.
Good post.