He then went on to confirm that those people should sell even at a loss. Later that day, as the world reacted to his advice, Jim claimed that he was "subject to misinterpretation today," but claimed that he could take the heat because he was "born in the kitchen."

"Everyone says I said sell everything and you know because you watch the show, Alex, that that is quintessentially untrue, but I'm willing to take the heat because I was born in the kitchen."

If you're interested in which prognostications of doom Cramer is willing to take responsibility for, you can click here and get his 5 year plan.

Cramer revisited The Today Show today to field insults from their viewers — many of whom accused him of creating a panic.

“Do you think I’m causing a collapse?,” he asked Vieira. “I worked at Goldman Sachs. They almost went out of business. My insurance was with AIG. It did get nationalized. Lehman Brothers is a place I traded with for years. It’s disappeared, as has Bear Stearns. I’ve sold a lot of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae bonds. They don’t exist anymore.

“I could sit back and say, ‘None of this really matters. Everything’s fine,’ ” Cramer added. “Or I can say, ‘Take some off, ride it out, put it in a savings account that’s insured for $250,000.’ To me, that’s [better] safe than sorry. Only in a jittery time would someone who says ‘be safe than sorry’ be pilloried.

“I like the stock market. I still recommend defensive stocks. I do one every night on my show. But I think I’m irresponsible if I tell you everything’s fine.”

Did ‘Mad Money’ host turn into Chicken Little? [Today Show]

In our latest episode, Cramer tearfully informs Ann Curry that the time has come for some of you who are dabbling in the stock market to make a hasty retreat. If you're going to need access to your money in less than 5 years... sell! No matter what.

What Jim is trying to say, through the tears, is that if you're planning on needing your money within 5 years — you shouldn't be investing in individual stocks.

“I don’t care where stocks have been, I care where they’re going, and I don’t want people to get hurt in the market,” Cramer told Curry. “I’m worried about unemployment, I’m worried about purchases that you may need. I can’t have you at risk in the stock market.”

Jim Cramer Begs America To Abandon Hope [Gawker]

"Alan Greenspan told everyone to take a teaser rate and then raised the rate 17 times?" Cramer yelled back in August, pleading with Bernanke to focus on the issue. "Open the darn Fed window. He has NO IDEA how bad it is out there. HE HAS NO IDEA."

Here's his initial meltdown:

And here's Jimmy's elegy to the economy:

[via Gawker]

He told viewers: "Don't move your money from Bear! That's just being silly! Don't be silly!"

Cramer and CNBC have defended his statements, arguing that Cramer's assertions on the bank were in reference to a viewer's question on Bear Stearns' liquidity, not its stock prices.

CNBC spokesman Brian Steel said that on the Friday before Bear's meltdown, Cramer presciently called the bank's stock worthless. Cramer could not be reached for direct comment.

"I think that anybody who has a fundamental understanding about capital markets knows the distinction between [a] question about stocks and liquidity," Steel said.

Whether Cramer's viewers understood that the host and former hedge fund manager was not talking about Bear Stearns' stocks is unclear. Meanwhile CNBC's defense of Cramer has not insulated its heavily promoted star.

In recent days, finance and news blogs have blasted Cramer, and Comedy Central's news parody "The Daily Show" gave him a not-so-gentle ribbing: "I love the way Jim Cramer breaks down really complex financial issues into ones that are wrong," host Jon Stewart said.

Upping the snark factor was Fox Business News, which took out half-page ads Monday in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, comparing Cramer's words to some of the most infamous quotes of the last century, including Neville Chamberlain's famous statement after conceding Czechoslovakia to Adolf Hitler's Germany: "I believe it is peace for our time."

What do you think? Is Jim Cramer bad for you? Has he turned you into one of those losers from the E*Trade commercials? Wow, man. I just bought a stock from Hong Kong.

Should You Stay Away From Jim Cramer? [ABCNews]