I noticed today while watching college football that all of the officials are wearing an American Flag patch on they shirts. I am a procatical man if anything, and I can't find any practical reason for having an American Flag on their shirts.
If this were international competition and you had officials from several different countries then it would make sense for each official to identify their origin.
Here you have American College Football. No foreign officials or even players.
Putting American Flags on officials shirts is nothing more than a feel-good display of nationalism. Are we really that insecure that we have to go to these ridiculous lengths to show that we're proud to be Americans? It actually makes us look like a bunch of idiots.
I wish the insanity were ending in the next election but I'm sure it'll be more of the same.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Football for Pussies
I am seeing a new trend in football. Last week they delayed the start of the Miami Dolphins game for 30 minutes because of lightning and today they delayed the Florida State game for 45 minutes, in the middle of the game, because of lightning.
What was notable is that the announcers in the Florida State game came back after 45 minutes and reported that they had not seen ANY lightning during that period.
WTF is wrong with football. There is NO record of anyone EVER being struck by lightning at a college or pro football game.
If there is increased risk then so what. Maybe it will make someone the unlucky designee as the guy that gets knocked off by lightning.
I go to every home Jaguars game and I accept that risk. If they delay one of my games for lightning then I'll call the players and officials exactly what they are ... pussies.
What was notable is that the announcers in the Florida State game came back after 45 minutes and reported that they had not seen ANY lightning during that period.
WTF is wrong with football. There is NO record of anyone EVER being struck by lightning at a college or pro football game.
If there is increased risk then so what. Maybe it will make someone the unlucky designee as the guy that gets knocked off by lightning.
I go to every home Jaguars game and I accept that risk. If they delay one of my games for lightning then I'll call the players and officials exactly what they are ... pussies.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Offseason for Carrots
Apparently this is the offseason for carrots. Winn Dixie didn't have any of the baby carrots they usually have. I had to buy celery. I like celery but not as much as carrots ;-)
Saturday, September 22, 2007
President Elizabeth Edwards
Whoever is running John Edwards' presidential election campaign really needs to have a talk with him.
I saw he and his wife, Elizabeth, not too long back on 60 Minutes and was a little intrigued that most of the questions and conversation seemed to revolve around Elizabeth.
Then last weekend on one of those Sunday News programs they were talking about some topic and then they went to quotes from candidates on the topic. First they showed a quote from Hillary, then Obama and then ... Elizabeth Edwards. WTF?
John had been my favorite of the Dems but unfortunately he is now at the bottom. If he can't be the boss in his own campaign then who's gonna be running things when he gets to the White House? I'm not willing to take that chance.
There is also the fact that as Elizabeth's cancer progresses John will be rightfully distracted from the duties of the presidency.
The only reason I can fathom that Elizabeth is out there so much is that they are trying to take women voters from Hillary.
Hopefully they'll get one to replace me.
I saw he and his wife, Elizabeth, not too long back on 60 Minutes and was a little intrigued that most of the questions and conversation seemed to revolve around Elizabeth.
Then last weekend on one of those Sunday News programs they were talking about some topic and then they went to quotes from candidates on the topic. First they showed a quote from Hillary, then Obama and then ... Elizabeth Edwards. WTF?
John had been my favorite of the Dems but unfortunately he is now at the bottom. If he can't be the boss in his own campaign then who's gonna be running things when he gets to the White House? I'm not willing to take that chance.
There is also the fact that as Elizabeth's cancer progresses John will be rightfully distracted from the duties of the presidency.
The only reason I can fathom that Elizabeth is out there so much is that they are trying to take women voters from Hillary.
Hopefully they'll get one to replace me.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Bush: History to prove Iraq war worth it
I am using the same title as the article that I read today.
When I read articles like this I usually have a commentary running in my mind that is contrary to what the written piece says.
In this piece they write: "The ideals and interests that led America to help the Japanese turn defeat into democracy are the same that lead us to remain engaged in Afghanistan and Iraq," Bush said in advance excerpts of a Wednesday speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
"The defense strategy that refused to hand the South Koreans over to a totalitarian neighbor helped raise up an Asian Tiger that is a model for developing countries across the world, including the Middle East," Bush said.
Meanwhile, in my mind he's hoping that in the future history will show that by his actions we have secured a long-term, stable source of oil for the United States.
I don't believe at all that he cares about spreading Democracy to either Afghanistan or Iraq. These are both God-forsaken countries and Afghanistan was only used as a stepping-stone to get to Iraq. If it hadn't been for the oil we wouldn't be there. Look at Sudan, and the issues in the Darfur region. Did we intervene there? Look at Rwanda. Did we intervene there?
It's all about the oil and he's hoping that we thank him in the future for lying, and misleading us in the present for our future happiness.
When I read articles like this I usually have a commentary running in my mind that is contrary to what the written piece says.
In this piece they write: "The ideals and interests that led America to help the Japanese turn defeat into democracy are the same that lead us to remain engaged in Afghanistan and Iraq," Bush said in advance excerpts of a Wednesday speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
"The defense strategy that refused to hand the South Koreans over to a totalitarian neighbor helped raise up an Asian Tiger that is a model for developing countries across the world, including the Middle East," Bush said.
Meanwhile, in my mind he's hoping that in the future history will show that by his actions we have secured a long-term, stable source of oil for the United States.
I don't believe at all that he cares about spreading Democracy to either Afghanistan or Iraq. These are both God-forsaken countries and Afghanistan was only used as a stepping-stone to get to Iraq. If it hadn't been for the oil we wouldn't be there. Look at Sudan, and the issues in the Darfur region. Did we intervene there? Look at Rwanda. Did we intervene there?
It's all about the oil and he's hoping that we thank him in the future for lying, and misleading us in the present for our future happiness.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Minnesota Bridge Collapse - some perspective...
Two days ago a main traffic artery in Minneapolis collapsed into the river with bumper-to-bumper traffic on it. So far the death toll is at five and the news sources issued an audible sigh of disappointment when authorities lowered the number of missing estimate from thirty to eight.
The morbid media wants the big death count. They want human suffering because that's what people want. People have a morbid curiousity not too deep in their subconscious that gets satisfied by such big events like this.
I remember when the planes hit the towers and the media proclaimed that 50,000 people worked in those towers. Final deathcount: 3000+-
When Katrina hit New Orleans they were expecting 10,000 dead. Final deathcount: 2000+-.
They will never error on the low side because their estimates are always inflated five-fold or more.
After the event, there is always the "Are we at risk for another similar disaster?" related story followed by the "Who's to blame?" story that continues for years.
It's easy reporting. It's even lazy reporting.
Contrast this with the daily suicide bombings and sectarian violence in Iraq that kill scores or people on a daily basis. This is real devastation. Real people getting blown up. Real people grieving at the loss of family members. Real people leaving with nothing but the shirts on their backs in order to only find a place that is peaceful.
The US media has grown bored covering these stories because they are the same everyday. The faces all look the same. They literally could show film from events from last year and no one would know.
The US citizen doesn't want to see them either out of a collective shame that we feel for having caused it and now being able to do nothing about it.
So why are we getting 48 (going on 72) straight hours of bridge-collapse coverage? Very simply, it's a distraction from the misery going on in other parts of the world. It's a way for people to say "See, it happens here too."
Unfortunately, in the end, we will be disatisfied because of the disproportionate coverage given to such a small incident comparative to world-affairs.
The morbid media wants the big death count. They want human suffering because that's what people want. People have a morbid curiousity not too deep in their subconscious that gets satisfied by such big events like this.
I remember when the planes hit the towers and the media proclaimed that 50,000 people worked in those towers. Final deathcount: 3000+-
When Katrina hit New Orleans they were expecting 10,000 dead. Final deathcount: 2000+-.
They will never error on the low side because their estimates are always inflated five-fold or more.
After the event, there is always the "Are we at risk for another similar disaster?" related story followed by the "Who's to blame?" story that continues for years.
It's easy reporting. It's even lazy reporting.
Contrast this with the daily suicide bombings and sectarian violence in Iraq that kill scores or people on a daily basis. This is real devastation. Real people getting blown up. Real people grieving at the loss of family members. Real people leaving with nothing but the shirts on their backs in order to only find a place that is peaceful.
The US media has grown bored covering these stories because they are the same everyday. The faces all look the same. They literally could show film from events from last year and no one would know.
The US citizen doesn't want to see them either out of a collective shame that we feel for having caused it and now being able to do nothing about it.
So why are we getting 48 (going on 72) straight hours of bridge-collapse coverage? Very simply, it's a distraction from the misery going on in other parts of the world. It's a way for people to say "See, it happens here too."
Unfortunately, in the end, we will be disatisfied because of the disproportionate coverage given to such a small incident comparative to world-affairs.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
The New Ten Commandments
I found these on line and thought how refreshing they were. These would be so much better for our secular society than the religious versions currently being pushed into the public sphere:
First Commandment: Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you.
Second Commandment: In all things, strive to cause no harm.
Third Commandment: Treat your fellow human beings, your fellow living things, and the world in general with love, honesty, faithfulness and respect.
Fourth Commandment: Do not overlook evil or shrink from administering justice, but always be ready to forgive wrongdoing freely admitted and honestly regretted.
Fifth Commandment: Live life with a sense of joy and wonder.
Sixth Commandment: Always seek to be learning something new.
Seventh Commandment: Test all things; always check your ideas against the facts, and be ready to discard even a cherished belief if it does not conform to them.
Eighth Commandment: Never seek to censor or cut yourself off from dissent; always respect the right of others to disagree with you.
Ninth Commandment: Form independent opinions on the basis of your own reason and experience; do not allow yourself to be led blindly by others.
Tenth Commandment: Question everything.
I'm going to let these sink in a little bit and may offer my commentary on them in the future.
First Commandment: Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you.
Second Commandment: In all things, strive to cause no harm.
Third Commandment: Treat your fellow human beings, your fellow living things, and the world in general with love, honesty, faithfulness and respect.
Fourth Commandment: Do not overlook evil or shrink from administering justice, but always be ready to forgive wrongdoing freely admitted and honestly regretted.
Fifth Commandment: Live life with a sense of joy and wonder.
Sixth Commandment: Always seek to be learning something new.
Seventh Commandment: Test all things; always check your ideas against the facts, and be ready to discard even a cherished belief if it does not conform to them.
Eighth Commandment: Never seek to censor or cut yourself off from dissent; always respect the right of others to disagree with you.
Ninth Commandment: Form independent opinions on the basis of your own reason and experience; do not allow yourself to be led blindly by others.
Tenth Commandment: Question everything.
I'm going to let these sink in a little bit and may offer my commentary on them in the future.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
This Just In !!!
Al-Qaida plots new attacks on U.S. soil
By KATHERINE SHRADER, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 3 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Al-Qaida is using its growing strength in Pakistan and Iraq to plot attacks on U.S. soil, heightening the terror threat facing the United States over the next few years, intelligence agencies concluded in a report unveiled Tuesday.
[Kier: This is one of those stories that Washington throws out there every now and then to see if we're still awake and too keep the gullible in fear.
The fact of the matter, and everyone knows it, is that Al-Quaida has always been planning attacks against the US. They always will until the US gets itself out of the middle-east which is never.]
In the National Intelligence Estimate prepared for President Bush and other top policymakers, analysts laid out a range of dangers — from al-Qaida to Lebanese Hezbollah to non-Muslim radical groups — that pose a "persistent and evolving threat" to the country over the next three years.
[Kier: Blah, blah, blah. Nothing new here. No evidence, just general anxiety building BS.]
The findings focused most heavily on Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, which was judged to remain the most serious threat to the United States. The group's affiliate in Iraq, which has not yet posed a direct threat to U.S. soil, could do just that, the report concluded. Al-Qaida in Iraq threatened to attack the United States in a Web statement last September.
[Kier: Good job Bush. You took a place where there were no terrorists and it's now a real-world, hands-on training ground. To me that sounds like he has not only made the world a more dangerous place but he also made the US a more dangerous place.]
The findings focused most heavily on Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, which was judged to remain the most serious threat to the United States. The group's affiliate in Iraq, which has not yet posed a direct threat to U.S. soil, could do just that, the report concluded. Al-Qaida in Iraq threatened to attack the United States in a Web statement last September.
[Kier: Sounds like we're setting up Pakistan. It wouldn't surprise me after we unilaterally recognized India as a nuclear power and have been supplying them with technology. We always support you until you piss us off, just ask Saddam.]
Analysts — who concluded the U.S. now faces a "heightened threat environment" — painted an increasingly familiar picture of al-Qaida: A group focused on high-profile attacks against political, economic and infrastructure targets, while striving to cause mass casualties and dramatic destruction.
[Kier: The recent attack attempts in Britain were against none of the above. This analysis tends to give the would-be terrorists far more credit than they deserve. With few exceptions groups that were detected being involved in some kind of terror plot were incompetent idiots. The people caught outside the US involved in terror activities were apprehended by good police-work and a bit of luck.]
FBI Deputy Director John Pistole said the bureau does not know of any al-Qaida cells in the United States, although his agents continue investigating such questions. The estimate said international counterterrorism efforts since 2001 have hampered al-Qaida's ability to attack the United States again, while also convincing terror groups that U.S. soil is a tougher target.
[Kier: The FBI director doesn't know of any cells in the US??? So what's with the scare tactics?]
Charles Allen, the Department of Homeland Security's top intelligence official, said the department isn't changing the nation's threat level, which remains at yellow, or "elevated" — the middle of a five-point scale. Airlines remain one step higher, at orange.
[Kier: No threat change either. Sounds like the equivelent of Chertoff's recent "gut feeling".]
The Bush administration also brushed off critics who say the administration released the intelligence estimate now to help its case as the Senate debates whether to withdraw troops from Iraq. White House press secretary Tony Snow said critics are "engaged in a little selective hearing ... to shape the story in their own political ways."
[Kier: Bush has a well-earned reputation for doing this. Of course he would say that is not the case, but we all know it's true. The intelligence community has tarnished it's reputation as being solely about finding the truth to being just another political tool to be wielded to support whatever policy that the President comes up with.]
Bottom line: I just don't believe anything from this administration anymore.
By KATHERINE SHRADER, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 3 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Al-Qaida is using its growing strength in Pakistan and Iraq to plot attacks on U.S. soil, heightening the terror threat facing the United States over the next few years, intelligence agencies concluded in a report unveiled Tuesday.
[Kier: This is one of those stories that Washington throws out there every now and then to see if we're still awake and too keep the gullible in fear.
The fact of the matter, and everyone knows it, is that Al-Quaida has always been planning attacks against the US. They always will until the US gets itself out of the middle-east which is never.]
In the National Intelligence Estimate prepared for President Bush and other top policymakers, analysts laid out a range of dangers — from al-Qaida to Lebanese Hezbollah to non-Muslim radical groups — that pose a "persistent and evolving threat" to the country over the next three years.
[Kier: Blah, blah, blah. Nothing new here. No evidence, just general anxiety building BS.]
The findings focused most heavily on Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, which was judged to remain the most serious threat to the United States. The group's affiliate in Iraq, which has not yet posed a direct threat to U.S. soil, could do just that, the report concluded. Al-Qaida in Iraq threatened to attack the United States in a Web statement last September.
[Kier: Good job Bush. You took a place where there were no terrorists and it's now a real-world, hands-on training ground. To me that sounds like he has not only made the world a more dangerous place but he also made the US a more dangerous place.]
The findings focused most heavily on Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, which was judged to remain the most serious threat to the United States. The group's affiliate in Iraq, which has not yet posed a direct threat to U.S. soil, could do just that, the report concluded. Al-Qaida in Iraq threatened to attack the United States in a Web statement last September.
[Kier: Sounds like we're setting up Pakistan. It wouldn't surprise me after we unilaterally recognized India as a nuclear power and have been supplying them with technology. We always support you until you piss us off, just ask Saddam.]
Analysts — who concluded the U.S. now faces a "heightened threat environment" — painted an increasingly familiar picture of al-Qaida: A group focused on high-profile attacks against political, economic and infrastructure targets, while striving to cause mass casualties and dramatic destruction.
[Kier: The recent attack attempts in Britain were against none of the above. This analysis tends to give the would-be terrorists far more credit than they deserve. With few exceptions groups that were detected being involved in some kind of terror plot were incompetent idiots. The people caught outside the US involved in terror activities were apprehended by good police-work and a bit of luck.]
FBI Deputy Director John Pistole said the bureau does not know of any al-Qaida cells in the United States, although his agents continue investigating such questions. The estimate said international counterterrorism efforts since 2001 have hampered al-Qaida's ability to attack the United States again, while also convincing terror groups that U.S. soil is a tougher target.
[Kier: The FBI director doesn't know of any cells in the US??? So what's with the scare tactics?]
Charles Allen, the Department of Homeland Security's top intelligence official, said the department isn't changing the nation's threat level, which remains at yellow, or "elevated" — the middle of a five-point scale. Airlines remain one step higher, at orange.
[Kier: No threat change either. Sounds like the equivelent of Chertoff's recent "gut feeling".]
The Bush administration also brushed off critics who say the administration released the intelligence estimate now to help its case as the Senate debates whether to withdraw troops from Iraq. White House press secretary Tony Snow said critics are "engaged in a little selective hearing ... to shape the story in their own political ways."
[Kier: Bush has a well-earned reputation for doing this. Of course he would say that is not the case, but we all know it's true. The intelligence community has tarnished it's reputation as being solely about finding the truth to being just another political tool to be wielded to support whatever policy that the President comes up with.]
Bottom line: I just don't believe anything from this administration anymore.
Blood for Oil - It's starting to seep out
About 300 oil industry workers gathered in Iraq’s main oil port of Basra yesterday to protest a draft law that they said would allow foreigners to pillage the country’s wealth.
Let's face it, Iraq has only one asset and that is it's oil. Current estimates give Iraq the 2nd largest oil reserves on the planet.
This super-secret bill's provisions, that Bush has been not-so-quietly pushing for, is starting to seep out to the public. Not only the public of Iraq but also America.
If there was any question before regarding whether this war was about the oil then it can pretty much be laid to rest now.
This law, in fact destroys the achievements of the Iraqi masses and especially the Law number 80 of 1961 and the nationalisation of 1973.
The law from 1961, part of a bundle of socialist reforms issued by then-Prime Minister Abdul Karim Qassim, sharply limited foreign involvement in the oil sector.
The new law explicitly states that the oil industry be privatized. What I've heard lately is that the US will be given a 30 year lease to develop all oil fields that are not currently developed. The Iraqi oil workers are concerned that when the US oil companies come in then they will be out of jobs.
So what about all the promises that the oil belonged to the Iraqi's? I guess it technically still will but how much revenue from their oil that they receive will be up to us. Current estimates are that we'll get 80% and they'll get 20% which they get to split three ways.
Even stallwart Democrat Dennis Kucinich was taken aback by how his own party is capitulating to the GOP's push to steal the oil. Here is what he said recently, "We have the Democratic Congress promoting President Bush’s bill that provides for the privatization of Iraq’s oil under the guise of a reconciliation program, that tells the Iraq government that unless they agree to privatize their oil, that we’re going to pull our troops out and not put replacement troops and peacekeepers in.
You see, this doesn’t represent what America is about. No way. This isn’t who we are.
"
I'm sorry Dennis, apparently it is.
Let's face it, Iraq has only one asset and that is it's oil. Current estimates give Iraq the 2nd largest oil reserves on the planet.
This super-secret bill's provisions, that Bush has been not-so-quietly pushing for, is starting to seep out to the public. Not only the public of Iraq but also America.
If there was any question before regarding whether this war was about the oil then it can pretty much be laid to rest now.
This law, in fact destroys the achievements of the Iraqi masses and especially the Law number 80 of 1961 and the nationalisation of 1973.
The law from 1961, part of a bundle of socialist reforms issued by then-Prime Minister Abdul Karim Qassim, sharply limited foreign involvement in the oil sector.
The new law explicitly states that the oil industry be privatized. What I've heard lately is that the US will be given a 30 year lease to develop all oil fields that are not currently developed. The Iraqi oil workers are concerned that when the US oil companies come in then they will be out of jobs.
So what about all the promises that the oil belonged to the Iraqi's? I guess it technically still will but how much revenue from their oil that they receive will be up to us. Current estimates are that we'll get 80% and they'll get 20% which they get to split three ways.
Even stallwart Democrat Dennis Kucinich was taken aback by how his own party is capitulating to the GOP's push to steal the oil. Here is what he said recently, "We have the Democratic Congress promoting President Bush’s bill that provides for the privatization of Iraq’s oil under the guise of a reconciliation program, that tells the Iraq government that unless they agree to privatize their oil, that we’re going to pull our troops out and not put replacement troops and peacekeepers in.
You see, this doesn’t represent what America is about. No way. This isn’t who we are.
"
I'm sorry Dennis, apparently it is.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Bush - Master of Diplomacy ... NOT
Something interesting has unfolded recently that the mainstream media seems oblivious to.
President Bush had a summit meeting with Vladamir Putin on July 1-2 up at Bush's fathers residence in Maine.
Not much was said of the outcome of that meeting and now it may be clearer why.
Over the weekend the Kremlin announced that Mr. Putin had signed a decree to cease the country's fulfilment of the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty, which was signed at the end of the Cold War and limits the deployment of military forces in Europe. Hmmm, very interesting.
He cited U.S. plans to install elements of an anti-missile shield in central Europe and NATO members' failure to ratify an updated version of the treaty as justifications for the suspension.
Former Soviet premier Gorbachev said, "It would have been completely incomprehensible if Russia was to continue fulfilling the treaty when the other sides had not even ratified it,"
I can only imagine a take-it-or-leave-it ultimatum from his highness King George at the meeting in Maine prompted this.
Then today we hear that Russia rejected the latest U.N. draft resolution on Kosovo's future Monday, calling it a hidden attempt to achieve independence for the Serbian province despite vehement opposition from its Serb minority.
Moscow, which has strong cultural ties to Serbia and Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin all but said Moscow would veto the resolution if the sponsors call for a vote, saying the chances of its adoption "are zero."
The sponsors of the bill were the US and the EU. If Bush and Putin were really chummy I'm sure they could have worked this out behind the scenes.
All indications seem to point to Bush's cowboy personna alienating another world figure. He has a knack for it.
President Bush had a summit meeting with Vladamir Putin on July 1-2 up at Bush's fathers residence in Maine.
Not much was said of the outcome of that meeting and now it may be clearer why.
Over the weekend the Kremlin announced that Mr. Putin had signed a decree to cease the country's fulfilment of the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty, which was signed at the end of the Cold War and limits the deployment of military forces in Europe. Hmmm, very interesting.
He cited U.S. plans to install elements of an anti-missile shield in central Europe and NATO members' failure to ratify an updated version of the treaty as justifications for the suspension.
Former Soviet premier Gorbachev said, "It would have been completely incomprehensible if Russia was to continue fulfilling the treaty when the other sides had not even ratified it,"
I can only imagine a take-it-or-leave-it ultimatum from his highness King George at the meeting in Maine prompted this.
Then today we hear that Russia rejected the latest U.N. draft resolution on Kosovo's future Monday, calling it a hidden attempt to achieve independence for the Serbian province despite vehement opposition from its Serb minority.
Moscow, which has strong cultural ties to Serbia and Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin all but said Moscow would veto the resolution if the sponsors call for a vote, saying the chances of its adoption "are zero."
The sponsors of the bill were the US and the EU. If Bush and Putin were really chummy I'm sure they could have worked this out behind the scenes.
All indications seem to point to Bush's cowboy personna alienating another world figure. He has a knack for it.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
The Real Iraq Plan
Mark my words. As surely as day follows night this is what will happen in Iraq...
The US is biding it's time to complete the embassy and it's permenent bases in Iraq. We will of course work out cerimonial deals with Iraq as we did with Cuba to host those bases with no intention of leaving.
We will then slowly pull back our troops to those bases and re-deploy other forces back to the US. Remember that most of the forces there are Guard and Reserve troops that are only supposed to be used in emergencies and have (or had) full time jobs and careers in the US.
We will also secure a very lengthy development contract that gives US oil companies a monopoly on developing the oil reserves in the country.
By the time the monopoly runs out so will the oil and we'll say so long to that God forsaken piece of shit country.
The US is biding it's time to complete the embassy and it's permenent bases in Iraq. We will of course work out cerimonial deals with Iraq as we did with Cuba to host those bases with no intention of leaving.
We will then slowly pull back our troops to those bases and re-deploy other forces back to the US. Remember that most of the forces there are Guard and Reserve troops that are only supposed to be used in emergencies and have (or had) full time jobs and careers in the US.
We will also secure a very lengthy development contract that gives US oil companies a monopoly on developing the oil reserves in the country.
By the time the monopoly runs out so will the oil and we'll say so long to that God forsaken piece of shit country.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Been gone a long time...
I realize that I really should just comment on a daily basis and it would be better if I did but for some reason I have to save it up and let it out all at once.
Well I'm not going to let that happen. I'm going to try to treat today as another day and not let previous day's effect me (or is it affect me).
In the past two days we have heard that the current administration is going to reconsider detentions at Guantanamo and then they said that they are going to drop the forces in Iraq in the spring.
Hmmm... What an interesting plan. It sounds so fresh coming from GOP lips compared to what Americans have been asking for for years.
These idiots count on short-term memory issues with people. It's very difficult to watch so I just want to point out that Guantanamo and the SURGE in Iraq was the idea of the GOP.
Well I'm not going to let that happen. I'm going to try to treat today as another day and not let previous day's effect me (or is it affect me).
In the past two days we have heard that the current administration is going to reconsider detentions at Guantanamo and then they said that they are going to drop the forces in Iraq in the spring.
Hmmm... What an interesting plan. It sounds so fresh coming from GOP lips compared to what Americans have been asking for for years.
These idiots count on short-term memory issues with people. It's very difficult to watch so I just want to point out that Guantanamo and the SURGE in Iraq was the idea of the GOP.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
The Gasoline Tipping Point
I was coming home from work yesterday and needed some gas. As I was approaching the station that I normally go to I was literally shocked to see that their price was $3.07/gallon. I don't follow gas prices much but it wasn't too much earlier that I was pleased that prices were down to $2.83/gallon. It wasn't just this station either. There were three in the same area and they were all charging $3.07.
This is the highest price that I've ever seen in Jacksonville. Considering that it seems like everyone here drives big pickup and SUV's that make about 15 MPG. At that rate you are spending 20 cents a mile just for gas.
Here in Jax we have a lot of folks who come into town from the outlying areas to work. ...and they don't drive Toyota Yaris's. I wonder at what point these people are going to have to make some hard choices. Move closer to town, buyer more efficient vehicles, or work more. Philosophically it's hard to imagine people being slaves to a commodity without blaming the government. I feel the same way about healthcare but that's a separate article.
So my question is at what point will the gas prices irreversibly affect the US economy? Trucks that supply all the Wal-marts run on deisel. Employees are going to ask employers for more money to subsidize their commutes. Service-based companies like plumbers, electricians, etc are going to pass on the charge to customers. Hmmmm... sounds like inflation.
So, on top of high gas prices we'll have high service prices???!!! Who will be able to afford all the niceties of having a new deck built, re-designing their kitchens, or taking nice vacations. Hmmm... sounds like recession.
What is the tipping point that leads us to this? $7.00/gallon, $5/gallon $3.07/gallon.?
Our cities are not designed for mass transit. They are not even designed for people to bike to work. They are designed for people to drive their cars from wherever they live to their jobs and back with lots of space in between.
Should be an interesting next couple of years to watch this rollercoaster.
This is the highest price that I've ever seen in Jacksonville. Considering that it seems like everyone here drives big pickup and SUV's that make about 15 MPG. At that rate you are spending 20 cents a mile just for gas.
Here in Jax we have a lot of folks who come into town from the outlying areas to work. ...and they don't drive Toyota Yaris's. I wonder at what point these people are going to have to make some hard choices. Move closer to town, buyer more efficient vehicles, or work more. Philosophically it's hard to imagine people being slaves to a commodity without blaming the government. I feel the same way about healthcare but that's a separate article.
So my question is at what point will the gas prices irreversibly affect the US economy? Trucks that supply all the Wal-marts run on deisel. Employees are going to ask employers for more money to subsidize their commutes. Service-based companies like plumbers, electricians, etc are going to pass on the charge to customers. Hmmmm... sounds like inflation.
So, on top of high gas prices we'll have high service prices???!!! Who will be able to afford all the niceties of having a new deck built, re-designing their kitchens, or taking nice vacations. Hmmm... sounds like recession.
What is the tipping point that leads us to this? $7.00/gallon, $5/gallon $3.07/gallon.?
Our cities are not designed for mass transit. They are not even designed for people to bike to work. They are designed for people to drive their cars from wherever they live to their jobs and back with lots of space in between.
Should be an interesting next couple of years to watch this rollercoaster.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
New Improved Property Tax Plan. Yeah Right!!
There was a Point of View article in the Florida Times Union today from Mark Rubio who is the Florida Speaker of the house touting the new Property Tax plan that claim to reduce local government taxing and spending, provide significant and immediate tax relief to taxpayers, and give Floridians the opportunity to vote for meaningful and comprehensive property tax reform.
What he doesn't mention is that he is taking what is currently a local tax to pay for local services such as trash pickup, libraries, public works, etc and turning it over to the state to dole out. What you are going to end up seeing every year is a parade of county officials going to Tallahassee with hat in hand to beg the state to give their money back to them. Sometimes they will, sometimes they wont. Anyone familiar with politics knows that whoever controls the purse strings controls the policy. How many times have we seen the Feds extort policy changes out of the states by threatening to withhold highway funds, many times for issues that had nothing to do with roads.
Next he goes into his formula that confronts what he says in the state's biggest problem: unaffordable and unfair property taxes.
Florida's House doesn't know what high property taxes are. Here in Duval county I pay 1.81825% of my property value in taxes. In my hometown of Syracuse, NY it is currently 2.61583%. ...and their economy stinks too.
Under his proposal 80% of the first $300,000 of value is exempt, 70% of the next $700,000 and 30% on properties over a million. Oh happy day, this is great!! That means that your average $300,000 home that currently pays $5000/yr in taxes is now only going to pay $1090.90.
Hang on buster, this is the government that we're talking about!! Mr. Rubio is conveniently leaving out what the new tax rate is. He'll leave it to us to assume that it'll be the same. I'm sure that Joe Average in his $300,000 house is going to end up paying the exact amount they are paying today. What that means is that instead of paying 1.81825% of your assessed property value in taxes you're going to pay 8.3333% on the new assessed value. On the plus side the folks living in a $1,000,000 will have a tax increase from $17,727 to $22,500. If by some miracle they keep the same rate then they will also save the most because their taxes will now be $4909.28. That won't happen. How could they possibly make up the shortfall.
There are so many holes in Mr. Rubio's argument that the middle-class should take a hard, close look at this bill and then reject it outright as a power grab by the state that will turn into a classic bait-and-switch in short order. If it looks too good to be true, it is.
Keep your money local. If your county wants to change it's tax structure then that is their peragative with your input. Don't put it in the hands of the state who will use it for political leverage instead of the good of the municipalities it's meant for.
What he doesn't mention is that he is taking what is currently a local tax to pay for local services such as trash pickup, libraries, public works, etc and turning it over to the state to dole out. What you are going to end up seeing every year is a parade of county officials going to Tallahassee with hat in hand to beg the state to give their money back to them. Sometimes they will, sometimes they wont. Anyone familiar with politics knows that whoever controls the purse strings controls the policy. How many times have we seen the Feds extort policy changes out of the states by threatening to withhold highway funds, many times for issues that had nothing to do with roads.
Next he goes into his formula that confronts what he says in the state's biggest problem: unaffordable and unfair property taxes.
Florida's House doesn't know what high property taxes are. Here in Duval county I pay 1.81825% of my property value in taxes. In my hometown of Syracuse, NY it is currently 2.61583%. ...and their economy stinks too.
Under his proposal 80% of the first $300,000 of value is exempt, 70% of the next $700,000 and 30% on properties over a million. Oh happy day, this is great!! That means that your average $300,000 home that currently pays $5000/yr in taxes is now only going to pay $1090.90.
Hang on buster, this is the government that we're talking about!! Mr. Rubio is conveniently leaving out what the new tax rate is. He'll leave it to us to assume that it'll be the same. I'm sure that Joe Average in his $300,000 house is going to end up paying the exact amount they are paying today. What that means is that instead of paying 1.81825% of your assessed property value in taxes you're going to pay 8.3333% on the new assessed value. On the plus side the folks living in a $1,000,000 will have a tax increase from $17,727 to $22,500. If by some miracle they keep the same rate then they will also save the most because their taxes will now be $4909.28. That won't happen. How could they possibly make up the shortfall.
There are so many holes in Mr. Rubio's argument that the middle-class should take a hard, close look at this bill and then reject it outright as a power grab by the state that will turn into a classic bait-and-switch in short order. If it looks too good to be true, it is.
Keep your money local. If your county wants to change it's tax structure then that is their peragative with your input. Don't put it in the hands of the state who will use it for political leverage instead of the good of the municipalities it's meant for.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
No Terrorist Attack at Fort Dix
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-plot9may09,0,5722696.story
Six foreign born Muslims were arrested for planning an attack against the Fort Dix army base in New Jersey.
"The men allegedly had discussed trying to kill hundreds of people on the base with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades."
Lemme see if I got this straight...
Six yahoos are going to somehow get onto one of our military bases and kill hundreds of trained soldiers? Yeah right.
I would love to know who the source of the quoted information is above. Is it the journalist, the FBI, the plotters, or a governement official? I would bet it's someone with a vested interest in exxagerating the real capabilities of "The Dix Six".
I want to state something and hopefully I'll never have to say it again: YOU CANNOT HAVE A TERRORIST ATTACK AGAINST A MILITARY TARGET !!!
Terrorist attacks are against civilian targets. If it's against a military target then its a Military Attack. If you can terrorize our military then we are in real trouble.
The media is responsible for their mislabeling, and misleading stories. This one is courtesy of the LA Times.
Six foreign born Muslims were arrested for planning an attack against the Fort Dix army base in New Jersey.
"The men allegedly had discussed trying to kill hundreds of people on the base with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades."
Lemme see if I got this straight...
Six yahoos are going to somehow get onto one of our military bases and kill hundreds of trained soldiers? Yeah right.
I would love to know who the source of the quoted information is above. Is it the journalist, the FBI, the plotters, or a governement official? I would bet it's someone with a vested interest in exxagerating the real capabilities of "The Dix Six".
I want to state something and hopefully I'll never have to say it again: YOU CANNOT HAVE A TERRORIST ATTACK AGAINST A MILITARY TARGET !!!
Terrorist attacks are against civilian targets. If it's against a military target then its a Military Attack. If you can terrorize our military then we are in real trouble.
The media is responsible for their mislabeling, and misleading stories. This one is courtesy of the LA Times.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
The Essence of Conservatism
This is not my writing but I read it recently and thought it was interesting. I can only ascribe this to someone who uses the handle 'ezeflyer':
"People say that conservatives are those who have the most to conserve. The richer they are, the more conservative they become and it seems, the more greedy and fearful of losing their hoard and power.
Their religious zeal helps conservatives lose the guilt for the depredations they cause. Superstition, homophobia, racism, sexism, punishment, fearmongering, warmongering, crime and other forms of authoritarian behaviour, they call “traditions”, “patriotism” and “God fearing”. With these handles they manipulate the poor, middle class and simply rich conservative believers of their propaganda, like lambs led to slaughter.
Nature controls the amount of resources any animal can hoard by limiting these to what the animal can personally defend, enabling diversity, competition and natural selection. Money enables the human animal to monopolize and hoard resources without limits, circumventing natural selection. That’s why modern conservatives are sorry examples of human beings.
Republicans are uniformly conservative authoritarian beasts. The more beastly, the more they deny their bestial nature. We are not animals they say, because we are smarter, or have souls, or possess some other divine characteristics that separate us from beasts. But conservatives daily prove to be the followers of Mammon the proverbial biblical beast.
Republicans and Democrats are ruled by conservative’s money. Yet conservatives have become freaks of nature who don’t rule by strength, intelligence and information like their alpha male animal counterparts. They rule by self defeating, world destroying, unfettered greed enabled by unlimited hoarding of money-power. As opposed to their animal cousins, the dumbest and weakest rule for the most corrupt."
"People say that conservatives are those who have the most to conserve. The richer they are, the more conservative they become and it seems, the more greedy and fearful of losing their hoard and power.
Their religious zeal helps conservatives lose the guilt for the depredations they cause. Superstition, homophobia, racism, sexism, punishment, fearmongering, warmongering, crime and other forms of authoritarian behaviour, they call “traditions”, “patriotism” and “God fearing”. With these handles they manipulate the poor, middle class and simply rich conservative believers of their propaganda, like lambs led to slaughter.
Nature controls the amount of resources any animal can hoard by limiting these to what the animal can personally defend, enabling diversity, competition and natural selection. Money enables the human animal to monopolize and hoard resources without limits, circumventing natural selection. That’s why modern conservatives are sorry examples of human beings.
Republicans are uniformly conservative authoritarian beasts. The more beastly, the more they deny their bestial nature. We are not animals they say, because we are smarter, or have souls, or possess some other divine characteristics that separate us from beasts. But conservatives daily prove to be the followers of Mammon the proverbial biblical beast.
Republicans and Democrats are ruled by conservative’s money. Yet conservatives have become freaks of nature who don’t rule by strength, intelligence and information like their alpha male animal counterparts. They rule by self defeating, world destroying, unfettered greed enabled by unlimited hoarding of money-power. As opposed to their animal cousins, the dumbest and weakest rule for the most corrupt."
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
America Loves Torture
America has really come to embrace the idea of torture. It was once viewed as something that Americans would never condone, much less make a public policy.
The tide turned when Alberto Gonzales called the Geneva Conventions regarding torture "quaint" and then said that they didn't apply because we weren't holding "Prisoners of War", we were holding "Enemy Combatants" which is a term never heard before in international policy.
Next was the propaganda storm that these "terrorists" were pure evil and the only way to prevent future 9/11's was to pull their information out by force. There was no other way, that's how crazy these terrorists are.
Once you have one group that you are willing to torture then the slide towards using it on anyone is a quick and easy journey.
The TV show '24' made a situational case for it. If someone (i.e. A Terrorist) had information that might prevent the deaths of thousands of people would it be OK to torture the information out of them. Many Americans said yes, with a big smile.
The real indication of widespread acceptance is that torture is now featured in many hit movies. While gore has existed in movies for decades it was usually relagated to the quick kill, ala Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Nightmare on Elm Street. Rarely did a movie come out like The Marathon Man where someone was shown being slowly, methodically, tortured by another person. It was just considered too disturbing to most people.
Now there has been a glut of movies like the Saw series and Hostel that feature it and advertise it to draw folks into the theatre.
This is a subtle but clear indication of America's downward slide as a moral leader in the world. We used to be able to point at the government and say that it's not us, it's them, but increasingly we have to look deeply into our souls as a people and realize that we are no longer different than them.
The tide turned when Alberto Gonzales called the Geneva Conventions regarding torture "quaint" and then said that they didn't apply because we weren't holding "Prisoners of War", we were holding "Enemy Combatants" which is a term never heard before in international policy.
Next was the propaganda storm that these "terrorists" were pure evil and the only way to prevent future 9/11's was to pull their information out by force. There was no other way, that's how crazy these terrorists are.
Once you have one group that you are willing to torture then the slide towards using it on anyone is a quick and easy journey.
The TV show '24' made a situational case for it. If someone (i.e. A Terrorist) had information that might prevent the deaths of thousands of people would it be OK to torture the information out of them. Many Americans said yes, with a big smile.
The real indication of widespread acceptance is that torture is now featured in many hit movies. While gore has existed in movies for decades it was usually relagated to the quick kill, ala Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Nightmare on Elm Street. Rarely did a movie come out like The Marathon Man where someone was shown being slowly, methodically, tortured by another person. It was just considered too disturbing to most people.
Now there has been a glut of movies like the Saw series and Hostel that feature it and advertise it to draw folks into the theatre.
This is a subtle but clear indication of America's downward slide as a moral leader in the world. We used to be able to point at the government and say that it's not us, it's them, but increasingly we have to look deeply into our souls as a people and realize that we are no longer different than them.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Election Transparency
I often wonder why an industrial superpower like the United States has such a difficult time having a fair election while a third-world country with over a billion people, like India, can get by with purple ink on people's fingers.
Actually I wonder a lot about our elections. Every voting district has their own election board which may have a different set of rules and protocols for how elections are run. There is little consistency between these election boards.
The Supervisor of Elections is an elected member of one of the parties. How can that be? It's easy to infer that there would be bias because of that.
The Secretary of State for each state is also an elected member of one of the major political parties. They step in, just as Katherine Harris did in Florida in 2000, when there are discrepancies or a recount has to be done.
There are obvious conflicts of interest with having party-people running elections.
The goal of free elections is to have it be fair and have the process be as transparent as possible so that there can be no doubt in the minds of the voters that the integrity of the election was maintained.
To me the only way that can be done is to have a third-party come in and certify that the 'election process' is fair and stable.
Here in Florida the lottery process has to be signed off on by a major auditing firm. They determine the tests needed to make sure that each drawing is random and fair with no bias. Why can't we have the election process certified?
It actually makes life for the Supervisor of Elections easier. All they have to do is execute the process and troubleshoot the anomolies that happen during the election.
If the public doesn't trust that the elections are being carried out with the highest un-biased integrity then they lose faith in Democracy in general.
If Americans lose faith in Democracy then what are the peoples of the world that we're pushing this form of government on going to think?
Actually I wonder a lot about our elections. Every voting district has their own election board which may have a different set of rules and protocols for how elections are run. There is little consistency between these election boards.
The Supervisor of Elections is an elected member of one of the parties. How can that be? It's easy to infer that there would be bias because of that.
The Secretary of State for each state is also an elected member of one of the major political parties. They step in, just as Katherine Harris did in Florida in 2000, when there are discrepancies or a recount has to be done.
There are obvious conflicts of interest with having party-people running elections.
The goal of free elections is to have it be fair and have the process be as transparent as possible so that there can be no doubt in the minds of the voters that the integrity of the election was maintained.
To me the only way that can be done is to have a third-party come in and certify that the 'election process' is fair and stable.
Here in Florida the lottery process has to be signed off on by a major auditing firm. They determine the tests needed to make sure that each drawing is random and fair with no bias. Why can't we have the election process certified?
It actually makes life for the Supervisor of Elections easier. All they have to do is execute the process and troubleshoot the anomolies that happen during the election.
If the public doesn't trust that the elections are being carried out with the highest un-biased integrity then they lose faith in Democracy in general.
If Americans lose faith in Democracy then what are the peoples of the world that we're pushing this form of government on going to think?
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Subprime Mortgages
The Subprime mortgage market is imploding. Just checkout mortgageimplode.com.
What does that mean to the average Joe? Not much
The mortgage industry is one of the most regulated industries in the US with regard to disclosures to their customers. Borrowers must receive a Truth-in-Lending (TIL) statement and Good Faith Estimate (GFE) of charges within 72 hours of application. The TIL states what the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is. Generally speaking, the lower the APR the better the loan. The GFE details the charges that will be incurred because of the loan. Any charges that are paid to the Lender for non-descript fees (aka Junk Fees) are included in the APR and those that are paid directly to a third party (aka Appraisal & Credit Report) are not.
Subprime simply means that the borrowers don't qualify for the best loan terms. They have credit issues, bankruptcies, foreclosures, etc in their past. To make up for the added risk Lenders charge more fees and/or a higher interest rate.
Everything so far is above-board and the risk to the investor who buys the mortgage from the Lender is fairly easy to calculate.
With the growth of the Subprime market came the advent of new products. Chief among them were the Interest Only and the Pay-Option Arm programs.
Both programs are Adjustable Rate (ARM) programs where your interest rate is reset at set intervals based on an index such as the 1 yr Treasury Rate. Hence, interest rates go up, so will your mortgage payment.
The Interest Only is just as it implies. It's usually something like 10 yrs of paying only the interest portion of the loan and the other 20 years paying down the principal and interest. This allows the borrower to get the interest & tax payment incentives and also, hopefully, getting appreciation on their property value over ten years which gives them a REAL stake in the property.
The Pay Option ARM is a completely different animal entirely. It allows the borrower to pay the fully amortized payment which reduces the principal balance with each payment, or they can pay just the interest, or they can pay a reduced payment which actually INCREASES their principal loan balance. This is called Negative Amortization.
Another aspect of the Subprime market was that they were allowing higher and higher Loan-to-Value (LTV) loans. For instance, if someone was buying a $200,000 home they could get a loan for $200,000 and they would only have to pay closing costs. That's considers a 100% LTV.
The Risk with high LTV loans is that the Borrower could walk away from the property with little skin in the game.
So how did we get to where we are now? It's a common element of all capitalist societies, it's called Greed. Borrower's want the benefits of homeownership even though they don't really qualify, and investors in those mortgages want the higher returns even though they know there is significantly higher risk.
It's definitely not the worst-case-scenario but what happened was that there was an increase in interest rates, a stagnation in home prices, and also stagnation in wages. After a year people's home payments went up but their pay didn't. Their properties also didn't increase in value. If they had a Pay Option they might have opted for the lowest payment possible which increased the Principal Balance on their loans. If they still couldn't pay after their payments went up with the interest rate increase then their lenders foreclosed on a loan that may have been more than the property value. Obviously a lose-lose for everyone involved.
The Borrower has a lot to lose but ultimately the investor loses the most because they bought loans that are non-performing and have assets (the property) that don't come close to covering the costs of forclosure through selling of that property.
What happens is what we are seeing now. The investors don't want to buy any more of those loans so the whole subprime market is drying up.
People always try to assign blame but in this case I don't think that there is any. Ultimately the people that suffer are the Borrower who was trying to get the American Dream even though they were marginal, at best, and the Investors in those loans who wrote the guidelines and are going to take the financial burden of the defaults that happen.
What does that mean to the average Joe? Not much
The mortgage industry is one of the most regulated industries in the US with regard to disclosures to their customers. Borrowers must receive a Truth-in-Lending (TIL) statement and Good Faith Estimate (GFE) of charges within 72 hours of application. The TIL states what the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is. Generally speaking, the lower the APR the better the loan. The GFE details the charges that will be incurred because of the loan. Any charges that are paid to the Lender for non-descript fees (aka Junk Fees) are included in the APR and those that are paid directly to a third party (aka Appraisal & Credit Report) are not.
Subprime simply means that the borrowers don't qualify for the best loan terms. They have credit issues, bankruptcies, foreclosures, etc in their past. To make up for the added risk Lenders charge more fees and/or a higher interest rate.
Everything so far is above-board and the risk to the investor who buys the mortgage from the Lender is fairly easy to calculate.
With the growth of the Subprime market came the advent of new products. Chief among them were the Interest Only and the Pay-Option Arm programs.
Both programs are Adjustable Rate (ARM) programs where your interest rate is reset at set intervals based on an index such as the 1 yr Treasury Rate. Hence, interest rates go up, so will your mortgage payment.
The Interest Only is just as it implies. It's usually something like 10 yrs of paying only the interest portion of the loan and the other 20 years paying down the principal and interest. This allows the borrower to get the interest & tax payment incentives and also, hopefully, getting appreciation on their property value over ten years which gives them a REAL stake in the property.
The Pay Option ARM is a completely different animal entirely. It allows the borrower to pay the fully amortized payment which reduces the principal balance with each payment, or they can pay just the interest, or they can pay a reduced payment which actually INCREASES their principal loan balance. This is called Negative Amortization.
Another aspect of the Subprime market was that they were allowing higher and higher Loan-to-Value (LTV) loans. For instance, if someone was buying a $200,000 home they could get a loan for $200,000 and they would only have to pay closing costs. That's considers a 100% LTV.
The Risk with high LTV loans is that the Borrower could walk away from the property with little skin in the game.
So how did we get to where we are now? It's a common element of all capitalist societies, it's called Greed. Borrower's want the benefits of homeownership even though they don't really qualify, and investors in those mortgages want the higher returns even though they know there is significantly higher risk.
It's definitely not the worst-case-scenario but what happened was that there was an increase in interest rates, a stagnation in home prices, and also stagnation in wages. After a year people's home payments went up but their pay didn't. Their properties also didn't increase in value. If they had a Pay Option they might have opted for the lowest payment possible which increased the Principal Balance on their loans. If they still couldn't pay after their payments went up with the interest rate increase then their lenders foreclosed on a loan that may have been more than the property value. Obviously a lose-lose for everyone involved.
The Borrower has a lot to lose but ultimately the investor loses the most because they bought loans that are non-performing and have assets (the property) that don't come close to covering the costs of forclosure through selling of that property.
What happens is what we are seeing now. The investors don't want to buy any more of those loans so the whole subprime market is drying up.
People always try to assign blame but in this case I don't think that there is any. Ultimately the people that suffer are the Borrower who was trying to get the American Dream even though they were marginal, at best, and the Investors in those loans who wrote the guidelines and are going to take the financial burden of the defaults that happen.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Cell Phones while Driving
I get so mad at these idiots on cell phones while they're driving that I want to throw my beer bottle at them.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
American Culture of Violence
As predicted the airwaves were full of talk today about the VT shootings. There was a lot of ranting & raving about how folks wish that he were still alive so that they could really make him suffer. Not much less than a radio lynch mob.
I don't know why folks act like that. They don't know the shooter or any of the victems but they feel that they should somehow get involved in the form of retribution. Most wanted to dish out some vengeance of some sort.
Basically it comes down to our national mentality of wanting to address violence with additional, and perhaps ramped-up, violence. An eye for an eye, right.
In the south we call them rednecks. They have thick southern accents, maybe a confederate flag on their car and are the brother, with a mean streak, of a good ol' boy. They are agressively ignorant of American justice structures and due process. They don't know and they don't want to know.
The irony is that rednecks display the same anti-social behavior that they claim should have triggered the authorities to stop the shooter before the event.
Our justice system is established to treat even the most heinous of criminal humanely. Even though they may spend the rest of their lives in prison or even be put to death, they will follow an established process that involves fairness and even putting the burden of proof on the prosecuter. A criminal need not be worried about torture or extreme measures to coerce confessions out of them.
This humanity in our justice system is what sets us apart from countries with kangaroo courts. American's should emulate this system or at least respect that it's not perfect but it works better than any other system.
Most Americans need to take a page from the Amish and the Buddhists that peace, love, compassion and forgiveness are better traits to have than hate, vengeance, and violence.
I don't know why folks act like that. They don't know the shooter or any of the victems but they feel that they should somehow get involved in the form of retribution. Most wanted to dish out some vengeance of some sort.
Basically it comes down to our national mentality of wanting to address violence with additional, and perhaps ramped-up, violence. An eye for an eye, right.
In the south we call them rednecks. They have thick southern accents, maybe a confederate flag on their car and are the brother, with a mean streak, of a good ol' boy. They are agressively ignorant of American justice structures and due process. They don't know and they don't want to know.
The irony is that rednecks display the same anti-social behavior that they claim should have triggered the authorities to stop the shooter before the event.
Our justice system is established to treat even the most heinous of criminal humanely. Even though they may spend the rest of their lives in prison or even be put to death, they will follow an established process that involves fairness and even putting the burden of proof on the prosecuter. A criminal need not be worried about torture or extreme measures to coerce confessions out of them.
This humanity in our justice system is what sets us apart from countries with kangaroo courts. American's should emulate this system or at least respect that it's not perfect but it works better than any other system.
Most Americans need to take a page from the Amish and the Buddhists that peace, love, compassion and forgiveness are better traits to have than hate, vengeance, and violence.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
2006 Mid-term election
I think there is a real misconception by the news media about what the 2006 midterm elections actually implied.
I have heard over-and-over that the elections were a statement by the American people of their disatisfaction with the way that the War in Iraq and the GWOT (Global War on Terror) was being prosecuted. I think that is completely inaccurate.
People will stick behind a losing team forever as long as they feel that the team is giving their all and everything's on the up-and-up. Look at Cub's fans. What unravelled before the elections is that the American people found out that they had been intentionally misled and lied to so that our government, in our names, could invade another soveriegn nation under completely false pretexts.
I remember a poll taken at least a couple years after the invasion of Iraq that showed that a full 70% of Americans believed there was a direct link between Hussein and the 9/11 disaster. This was not by mistake. This was a carefully orchestrated fraud on the American People, Congress, the UN, and the World.
When W finally had to come clean and say that there was no link there was an almost audible, "What??" out of the American People. Then he comes out and says, "I've never been 'stay the course'". Again, another big, "What???".
By the time the elections rolled around even the semi-informed couldn't believe a word out of anyone in this administration. If they said it was raining, I would stick my head out the window to double-check.
BushCo has lost ALL of their credibility. They cannot be believed by anyone, foreign or domestic.
I get no joy out of watching this death spiral because it's really the American people that have to pay for this lunacy.
Unless the unbelievable happens there will be no impeachment, which Congress is obligated to do whether they like it or not. Impeachment would set a precedent so that no other President would take such liberties with the constitution and our foreign treaties.
Just beware anytime someone in government says that we should do something because it'll show our 'National Unity'. It's BS. We as Americans need to think for ourselves and become more educated in the future.
So the next time you hear that the 2006 elections were a statement about how the War in Iraq was going think about whether it was that or the fact that you just don't trust George W. Bush, or anyone in his administration anymore.
I have heard over-and-over that the elections were a statement by the American people of their disatisfaction with the way that the War in Iraq and the GWOT (Global War on Terror) was being prosecuted. I think that is completely inaccurate.
People will stick behind a losing team forever as long as they feel that the team is giving their all and everything's on the up-and-up. Look at Cub's fans. What unravelled before the elections is that the American people found out that they had been intentionally misled and lied to so that our government, in our names, could invade another soveriegn nation under completely false pretexts.
I remember a poll taken at least a couple years after the invasion of Iraq that showed that a full 70% of Americans believed there was a direct link between Hussein and the 9/11 disaster. This was not by mistake. This was a carefully orchestrated fraud on the American People, Congress, the UN, and the World.
When W finally had to come clean and say that there was no link there was an almost audible, "What??" out of the American People. Then he comes out and says, "I've never been 'stay the course'". Again, another big, "What???".
By the time the elections rolled around even the semi-informed couldn't believe a word out of anyone in this administration. If they said it was raining, I would stick my head out the window to double-check.
BushCo has lost ALL of their credibility. They cannot be believed by anyone, foreign or domestic.
I get no joy out of watching this death spiral because it's really the American people that have to pay for this lunacy.
Unless the unbelievable happens there will be no impeachment, which Congress is obligated to do whether they like it or not. Impeachment would set a precedent so that no other President would take such liberties with the constitution and our foreign treaties.
Just beware anytime someone in government says that we should do something because it'll show our 'National Unity'. It's BS. We as Americans need to think for ourselves and become more educated in the future.
So the next time you hear that the 2006 elections were a statement about how the War in Iraq was going think about whether it was that or the fact that you just don't trust George W. Bush, or anyone in his administration anymore.
First Post
It's the day after the massacre at Virginia Tech and all the politicos have taken the opportunity to express their horror or such an unthinkable act.
I'm surprised that anything is unthinkable to them anymore. I'm sure to most of them its just a fine photo-op and a way to get their name out associated with this event.
Maybe I'm just a hard-ass but I get a little P.O.'d when people start saying things like "we're a nation that's greiving". Can't we be a little more stoic like the British, or even the Amish after the schoolhouse shooting.
Maybe some folks have an over-developed sense of empathy, but to me that isn't news. It's stirring the emotional pot of people who like to believe that there is evil all around us and ready to pounce at any time.
Next comes the blame game. "What could we have done to prevent this from happening?". Nothing. Again, it's not news, it's speculation and hindsight.
The timing of this event was pretty bad for Don Imus. If it happened a week earlier he probably would still have a job.
I'm surprised that anything is unthinkable to them anymore. I'm sure to most of them its just a fine photo-op and a way to get their name out associated with this event.
Maybe I'm just a hard-ass but I get a little P.O.'d when people start saying things like "we're a nation that's greiving". Can't we be a little more stoic like the British, or even the Amish after the schoolhouse shooting.
Maybe some folks have an over-developed sense of empathy, but to me that isn't news. It's stirring the emotional pot of people who like to believe that there is evil all around us and ready to pounce at any time.
Next comes the blame game. "What could we have done to prevent this from happening?". Nothing. Again, it's not news, it's speculation and hindsight.
The timing of this event was pretty bad for Don Imus. If it happened a week earlier he probably would still have a job.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
