The Housing Bubble

And then Gingrich publicly announced that he would start a write-in campaign, only to be told that write-ins are not allowed in primary elections in VA.

One article I read is that he was leading in the poles in Virginia.
Thus this is one of two things.

1. Gingrich is stupid and has hired stupid people.
2. The PTB want someone other than Gingrich to win and he is in it just for the show and the money.

? Does dropping out help Romney and hurt RP?

seriously has anyone ever heard of something like this happening in a primary before?

Something similar happend to Hillary in Texas, no? I still don’t get the attraction people have for her? Remember Hillarycare? At the same time she wanted to force every person in this country into socialized medicine. She would not even trust government to teach reading and writing to her daughter. Sent her to a private school. Obummer (is that not cute? Saw it yesterday on a bupper sticker for the first time) sends his daughters to the same private school. Guess he’s afraid if they go to public school they’ll have to rub shoulder with POOR children.

Now it’s natuarl for all parents to want the best ed. for their kids. But since he’s the president if his kids went to the worst public school in DC. because the scrutinty the kids would get a sound education. More important his kids classmates (most likely poor children) would also get a good ed. That would be leadership. But Obummer pulls a limousine liberal and sends the kids to private school.

Probably would have done his kids a world of good to meet other kids rather than similiarly privilidged kids at Sidwell Friends (the private school.)

Right on. Most limousine socialists live in lily white areas. Wonder where Obama’s Hawaii and Chicago estates are?

Or maybe sending the children of prominent public figures to public schools would present a profound security risk to the rest of the kids and teachers who go there?

Or maybe you’re just a simpleminded um, partisan?

well DCPS is pretty dysfunctional. They’re bad enough that private school is not just for the Limo and caviar class. Most middle class parents in DC send their kids to private school.

God bless us everyone!

Feliz Navidad!

must be unspeakable

“piece of worth”

was that intentional? Admittedly, I wondered about the five cars too. If it weren’t for the American-sounding name, I would have thought the driveway was for contractor trucks.

Aren’t parking spaces highly sought after in and near urban areas? I could imagine being thrilled by the idea of having the three adults living in the house all be able to park off street, and also have room for two more guests, if I lived in such an area.

And you don’t have to back out to let each other come and go- a major pain in the arse.

Or they may own five cars, who knows? Probably all junkers, if that many.

“It’s interesting that Romney said he won’t make his tax returns public; he’s afraid of the reaction when people see… that he’s one of the .1%.

It is indeed interesting, my friend- and quite revealing , for those who have eyes to see. But don’t expect the person you’re addressing to respond similarly. He’s blinded by the dark side of the force.

If Romney or anyone else is pay 15% on millions then he’s paying a fair share - probably too much. Taxes are paid in DOLLARS not percentages. Romney probably pays more taxes per month than most people earn all year. But never enough taxes for spendthift politicans.

“Taxes are paid in DOLLARS not percentages. ”

Wow! That’s a good one! Did Rush teach you that? I hear it a lot from the dittoheads.

I’ll be happy when the millionaires and billionaires pay the same percentage of their incomes in taxes as the lower and middle classes do. They sure don’t now.

“It should be noted that the Russians pretty much speak with one voice, instead of being splintered into all sorts of ethnic/religious/cultural/special interest groups ”

Is that why they have such a great government?

“Is that why they have such a great government?”

No, that’s why so many show up, in frigid temperatures, to protest the suppressive government they currently have.

And just to forestall the race-baiters, I have said a number of times that you can have a multi-racial society, so long as the culture and language is agreed upon.

Sounds like a plan. Now all you have to do is convince at least 270 million U.S. residents to give up whatever culture they have and adopt one you in your infinite wisdom select, and you’ll have your unity. I presume you’ll be selecting black culture, given that blacks for centuries worked at slave wages and thus have shown their culture is tough enough to take one through the coming collapse. What’s that you say, you just assumed the selected culture would be “1″ from Europe? But how can that be, there is no Euro-culture, there is only German culture, English culture, Italian culture, and so on.

IAT

Nobody should be forced to adopt any particular culture, but as a practical matter, everyone should learn how to speak English, and that should be the language of trade inside U.S. borders. Sharing a common language of commerce reduces transactions costs and helps unify people of diverse ancestral backgrounds. And I say this as one who is not of English ancestry or cultural heritage, aside from having grown up as a U.S. citizen.

Sharing English (or any language) is one thing, but sharing culture, that’s quite another.

IAT

I’m all for multiculturalism; the more cultures, the merrier, IMHO, provided they peacefully coexist.

“In a large circle of friends mostly lower to upper middle class financially, with a spin on discussion of society and the world, I see very few people mention OWS at all. ”

Is there no discussion of wealth disparity in your large circle of friends?

‘bit off more than it could chew’

Maybe more than it could chew without a platform or list of demands or specific leadership. The idea of no centralization has an appeal, but replying on spontaneity can only go so far.

I thought the most powerful moments were when they stood up to the paramilitary police forces. It showed the true nature of our society and those who would control it. Why did they leave, no tents? That doesn’t make any sense, why not hold a protest every week, permit or no permit?

—Is there no discussion of wealth disparity in your large circle of friends?—-

There is discussion of many aspects of life. There is no obsession on fact that some of us have more money than some people and less money than some other people. History is replete with wealth disparity. Observing it as if it is a fresh discovery would be… odd.

Too, many people have big broad lives, and find so many things to talk about.

Too, even when many people with big broad lives occasionally turn to the nothing-new notion of wealth differentials, they do so without retreat to snarky catch phrases coined on the ipads of protesters here this month and gone the next.

Life is much richer (pardon the pun) than that.

Of course the various Tea Party organizations have brought us some Congress critters. They attracted a huge amount of money to Republican primaries. I’ve said over and over again on this blog that primaries are where you can actually get a new person elected.

And when I talk about changing the conversation, I am not talking about people actually discussing OWS. What the heck would they talk about? There is no unified proposal to discuss. I am talking about people using terms like 99% and 1%. I hear it all the time among friends, family, co-workers and the media. People who talk about a policy idea, automatically mention whether it is good for the 1% or the 99%. It is a profoundly new idea that this should even be part of the conversation.

Good questions.

Partially it seems to have petered out. Boredom? Short Attention Span? Protesters less “desperate” than appearances might have suggested? Home for holidays?

From a different angle, several cities did get around to finally sending in large police presence to remove tents and equipment. Hard to protest all night in 20 degree weather without housing.

Yes, anarchy has its limits. All those non-conformists conventions still need notices going out over… organized… internet, mail, phone, etc.

Too, there remain questions as to how spontaneous all this was. I saw some articles about left-side money financing some elements, but I don’t have them handy at the moment, so I will leave that point open.

There certainly were some bold moments for the protests, but a great deal of negative behavior too (yeah, just my view). Interviews with small businesses in the penumbra of the protests (and yeah, we do like small mom-pop businesses here, they are not “Big X” after all) were… revealing.

In no small part, the young players just don’t seem up to handle a cold winter.

“History is replete with wealth disparity. Observing it as if it is a fresh discovery would be… odd.”

To not discuss a nationwide protest seems a bit…stunted.

‘no discussion of wealth disparity’

I personally don’t care how many super rich there are if I can find a job that enables a certain lifestyle. And if I want to stick my neck out and go for the brass ring, that opportunity should be available to everyone too. The problem on the latter is capital. And where people used to borrow money from family to start a little shop, etc, now it takes $250k to open a business and the family doesn’t have the income to come up with it.

I heard the other day that Will Smith is worth over $500 million. Does that mean I can demand some of his money? Or should the govt take it and spend it on staying in Afghanistan for a weekend? Or is it better to demand the job base we used to have; that public policy gave away?

Unfortunately Ben, it appears that “super rich” and “a job for everyone” is mutually exclusive. Because the best way to get super rich is to take away jobs: outsourcing, insourcing, cutting benefits, forcing longer hours, union-busting, and shifting from profit based on goods/services to profit based on money manipulation.

As for Occupy, I’m rather surprised that they seem to have disbanded. IMO one of their main weaknesses was insisting on 24-hr Occupation. If they Occupied even 6-8 hours a day, every day, they could have kept it up for months without invoking the pepper spray brigade. For example, they could have set up their kitchens and libraries and medical facilities in mobile vans.

‘the best way to get super rich is to take away jobs’

Focusing on this situation would have been the better route, IMO.

‘one of their main weaknesses was insisting on 24-hr Occupation’

I agree, and periodic targeted protests wouldn’t require kitchens and libraries.

If OWS would start with demanding term-limits for Congress, it would become a mainstream sensation overnight.

That’s what they should focus on. Fix this problem, and the rest of the problems then become easier to fix.

“Wealth disparity” isn’t the issue. People should be able to earn what their talent and drive are deemed worth in the marketplace. What chaps my a$$ is to see banksters and securities firms who almost crashed the global financial system through their recklessness, greed, and hubris not only getting bailed out with taxpayer money, but also reaping huge bonuses and obscene golden parachutes when they should be sharing prison cells with their Congressional accomplices like Barney Frank & Chris Dodd.

The electorate should determine term limits. With the proviso that demonstrably stupid or parasitic people shouldn’t be allowed to vote.

—-To not discuss a nationwide protest seems a bit…stunted.—-

To obsess on a transient phenomenon that had some poseur elements, would seem… dysfunctional

—-With the proviso that demonstrably stupid or parasitic people shouldn’t be allowed to vote.—–

And if a Republican introduced such laws? The noise here no doubt would deafen…

—–Of course the various Tea Party organizations have brought us some Congress critters. They attracted a huge amount of money ——

One marker of successful idea is to attract backing. We have entire TV “reality” shows now devoted to seeing which back yard inventor can convince investors to buy in. Recognizing error bars in all data, it is the good ideas that pull the bucks.

Indeed, there have been significant assertions about Big Money and Big Politics backing the OWS movement.

But, too, the Tea Party protests didn’t poop on police cars, had no murders and rapes, had no spread of Tuberculosis. And, had catchy ideas.

As I often note, most situations in real life are complex and have multiple vectors of etiology and of outcome. Simple one liners tend to be popular in online chat, as studies have shown (such as the “backfire principle”) that many people who like to post responses on blogs are more concerned with zinging the opposition than they are in considering new ideas.

My one liner to embrace this OWS vs Tea Party phenomena? …

Always it is good to imagine parallels, but let’s not overlook possibly dominant perpendiculars.

‘To obsess on a transient phenomenon”

To discuss is not to obsess. Either there are ‘things we don’t discuss’ (ie stunted conversation), or your group of friends doesn’t really have very broad ranging conversations, or you’re a liar.

—To discuss is not to obsess. —

To obsess on how much discussion is necessary to qualify as acceptable and then to cast ad hom insult in place of issue-oriented discussion, shows weak discussion skills.

I’m with you as long as I get to pick who is stupid and parasitic.

“To obsess on how much discussion is necessary to qualify as acceptable”

Who’s doing that?

“to cast ad hom insult in place of issue-oriented discussion”

It was not ad hom, it was a plausible option. Either you and your friends have stunted conversations or you’re a liar. Which is it?

He done did dat, and wuz called out for it. Straw man questions are third fail tactic after Obsession and Ad Hom Insult.

Care to go for #4?

The “issue” was, is and will always be evaporating economic opportunity. It hasn’t gone away and nothing will make it go away except for…… economic opportunity.

Good non-answer, docs. In a bit of a corner?

—Good non-answer, docs. In a bit of a corner?—

Straw Man #2. Looks like you concede the game.

Well, if you have no answer to a simple question based on your earlier statements, it looks as though you have lost the debate. And possibly found to be a liar.

Check…mate.

But, too, the Tea Party protests didn’t poop on police cars, had no murders and rapes, had no spread of Tuberculosis.

Of course not. They were hand picked and bussed in by the elite.

Then again, I am reminded of a former coworker I used to carpool with. She was hardcore Tea Party, and when “Obamacare” passed she was nearly apoplectic. She also constantly bitched about “Government Motors” and that government was “too big”.

Then she got a FedGov job. I have to admit, I was stunned as I thought as a true believer she would never work for “The Beast”. And all it took to change her tune was a better paying position with good benefits and job security.

Who would have thought?

“There is discussion of many aspects of life. There is no obsession on fact that some of us have more money than some people and less money than some other people. History is replete with wealth disparity. Observing it as if it is a fresh discovery would be… odd.”

It sounds like you are oblivious to the whole thing, as if today’s disparity in wealth is no different than 50 years ago. This mindless oblivion is at the root of the problem.

—-Well, if you have no answer to a simple question—-

Nah. Good policy is never to engage the straw man. Serves only further to obfuscate the actual issues in play. Of course engaging the meta-strawman has some merit, as it serves to point out that someone has tossed out a straw man to obfuscate actual issue sin play.

—-It sounds like you are oblivious to the whole thing—-

Once once retreats to “sounds like” we are back to 2) straw man and 4) telepath.

When you wish to engage issues….

“—-It sounds like you are oblivious to the whole thing—-”

Sounds like you’ve been determined to be a fool, a troll, or a liar, Drs Evil. Which is it?

Or have you not decided yet? It is sometimes a hard determination to make, by yourself.

—Sounds like you’ve been determined to be a fool, a troll, or a liar, Drs Evil. Which is it? —-

It uses mindless ad hominem insult, lacking ability to generate issues-oriented argumentation. It thus invalidates anything it subsequently has to say.

As a great physician one day will say, “I see the Klingon’s lips move, but no sound emerges.

“Once once retreats to “sounds like” we are back to 2) straw man and 4) telepath.”

If you must split hairs, replace “it sounds like” with “by your own words.” You are truly lost.

—f you must split hairs, —-

No splitting hairs. Illuminating grand concepts. Which is why those who weakly respond do not engage issues.

“I see the Klingon’s lips move, but no sound emerges. ”

It’s fun to ‘pretend’ to be a psychopath, isn’t it? It shows how much smarter you are, than everyone else.

But you still haven’t answered my simple question.

—Why? I presumed you might have a good reasons for what you do that I had not considered. Alas, I see you do not.—

One does not engage straw men

“He done did dat, and wuz called out for it. Straw man questions are third fail tactic after Obsession and Ad Hom Insult.”

Hee!- amusing, as I look at it. I shall save this tripe, to chuckle over when I’m feeling blue…

—Hee!- amusing, as I look at it. I shall save this tripe, to chuckle over when I’m feeling blue…—-

Hey. Fun how much attention you pay to me

And, of course, all my points about the discussion stand.

He’s mildy amused doc. Like everyone else.

“Hey. Fun how much attention you pay to me”

‘Tis just a trifle, to chuckle over. Your excitement over my interest is another chuckle. Thank you for these Solstice presents.

“all my points about the discussion stand.”

Where do they stand? They’ve been knocked flat ’round here.

Or have you thought of an answer to my question?

What chaps my a$$ is to see banksters and securities firms who almost crashed the global financial system through their recklessness, greed, and hubris not only getting bailed out with taxpayer money, but also reaping huge bonuses and obscene golden parachutes when they should be sharing prison cells with their Congressional accomplices like Barney Frank & Chris Dodd.

Ditto!

If you’re going to call people losers, you may want to at least spell it correctly so as to appear to be at least marginally smarter than the folks you’re flaming.

These are not my sentiments, just a representative sample of the reader comments on any Denver Post article about OWS

I never saw a focal point with OWS. I didn’t say I was going to change the world, and my cat has made stains on the carpet that lasted longer than this movement.

“my cat has made stains on the carpet that lasted longer than this movement.”

Words and ideas have staying power, and ramifications, that can long outlast and outdo the movement that brought them about.

No! Don’t mention your cats! NOOOOOOOO!!!!! Gah!

“I was at occupations at two cities and both had significant Ron Paul supporters involved directly in the protests. “End The FED” was a frequent and popular chant. Anyone every see a anti-Paul sign at a OWS protest? ”

Cognitive dissonance alert!!!

People protesting, or waging war, has long been a seasonal event, the world over, throughout history.

And yes, the Egyptians did do a time out between the protests that brought down Mubarak and the protests against the military going on now.

It’s just an off-the-cuff prediction, made through the biased, jaundiced eye of a hibernating ursine.

In other words, probably not worth paying much heed…

—nd many religions have extremist fascist nut cases—-

Irrelevant. Too, you appear not to be using “fascist” in context.

There are whack-jobs in all walks of life. See the attitude of the most ardent 1% of Global Warming advocates

Most religious people from most religions don’t blow up loaded churches on Christmas.

Despite the sect’s claims, I’m sure that once calmer heads prevail this will be classified as just another case of workplace violence, like Fort Hood.

“See the attitude of the most ardent 1% of Global Warming advocates”

Yikes. Red Herring alert!

I believe that you can add this to the logical fallacy list that was compiled above by… let me look back up the blog… Oh wait, it was you. Well I’ll be. And by using “you”, I don’t mean to start an ad hominem attack. Insert cutesy (i.e. annoying passive aggressive winky face) here.

—-to the logical fallacy list—-

Perhaps you should check your definitions.

Interesting you don’t address issues, but try to divert. No luck though. Fun thread

Retribution against people who attack you, and engaging in a religious crusade, are two entirely different things.

—Retribution against people who attack you,—

Self hatred is unfortunate.

Our country has a strong alliance with the people/country of Saudi Arabia, the home of Osama and the jihadists who hit the WTC. Bush even held hands with one of the Saudi leaders (a weird photo, I concede).

And, all the things you don’t like about American culture, all that right wingy stuff, would be so much more intense for you, were you to live there.

—-Retribution against people who attack you, and engaging in a religious crusade, are two entirely different things.—-

Verily, often the former is disingenuous justification for the latter.

All i wish for is a Jew can walk the streets of Tehran safely and an Arab can walk the streets of Tel Aviv safely…but both be scared to death of stepping inside a house of “worship”….

—-All i wish for is a Jew can walk the streets of Tehran safely and an Arab can walk the streets of Tel Aviv safely…but both be scared to death of stepping inside a house of “worship”….—-

Well, you have a part of your wish. Arabs routinely walk down streets of Tel Aviv in great safety, and can be female mosque attending gay bikini-enjoying elected members of Israeli Parliament. Of course… the opposite is not so true.

I wonder how many Chinese households tied themselves down to apartments at 28x income before the government stepped in to try to pop that bubble. If China let it go on too long, like in the US, then there are going to be a lot of Chinese FB’s going underwater at the exact time they are laid off from their jobs due to the drop in American consumerism. And this is about the time that the FB’s parents get old enough that they have to call up their ONE kid and ask for support…

And the Chinese are not as nice dealing with OWS type protests…

In a coop, since it is not “really” real estate, but shares in a corporation, property taxes are part of the maintenance. (Probably about half.)
Not sure what they owe on the mortgage, but sure it’s not paid off.
Pity is they should be old enough to remember that you should have buying the new place contingent on selling the old…

“Now a very small # of poorly trained hired boots can keep a very large population under control. ”

For a while. Propaganda helps too.

“Even Mohamed would cut back on suicide bombs if every time he did so it meant his village would be uterly destroyed.”

Yeah, we tried that in Viet Nam. It sure worked there!

It’s always tweakers. Scum of the earth- the worst of the worst of the human race.

Got that right Grizzly.

YMMV DJ. Out in flyover country, our police blotters are full of white people (and people of other races too).

I agree that importing poor, uneducated people is a bad idea. But its not just the Ebonics crowd committing the crimes. You need to remember that NYC is not a valid sample of the USA.

Ok…but I’m surprised meth heads would be mentally capable of planning such a detailed theft.

Why do you keep bringing this up? Who cares who is in who’s parliament? Do you think the U.S. government is now more legitimate because there’s a black face in the White House? I don’t, and nobody who has been paying attention thinks so either.

Geez.

IAT

—-Why do you keep bringing this up? Who cares who —

A. Because it’s not for you to determine what I bring up.

B. Because my job is to educate you.

C. Because I address issues and don’t let weak contributors escape via the 7 diversionary steps of debate.

D. Because, in this case, the issue is enlightening readers that 1 line complaints about a one-in-billion event vector makes for poor illustration of bigger issues

Of course, if issues-oriented discussion bothers you and if meta-analysis of the approaches of those who only skirt issues oriented discussion bothers you… you certainly may choose not to engage.

Funstuff.

I’m not trying to tell you what to bring up. I asked Why? I presumed you might have a good reasons for what you do that I had not considered. Alas, I see you do not. Thanks for your honest and revelatory reply.

In all your answer, you fail to state whether diversity legitimates a government. Your repeated comparison of the Saudi and Israeli governments suggests you believe diversity does legitimate a government. I disagree. Obama’s skin color does not make the oppressive, anti-Constitutional acts of the U.S. government legitimate. And bikini wearing women of whatever faith entering whatever buildings with whatever sexual orientation is also irrelevant.

By your logic, because now we have diversity in government, it’s violations of the Bill of Rights are now somehow legitimate. I’d much rather a mono-racial aristocratic leadership committed to social justice and due process than the rainbow coalition we allegedly now have, that only wants to line the pockets of their banker friends. But, perhaps that’s just me.

IAT

—-Why? I presumed you might have a good reasons for what you do that I had not considered. Alas, I see you do not.—-

Unable to understand what is presented, it simply denies.

Charming

Good grief AIT…. you ought to write more often.

Evildocs, whenever someone asks you a legitimate question that might reveal the internal contradictions of your claims, you just putter and mutter and generally deflect the issue, usually by accusing others of being unwilling to discuss issues. I used to post on this board daily and there were a very small number of people posting with that mode of behavior and most just thought they were stupid. You sometimes raise good issues, but your refusal to really engage pretty much destroys any value your contributions might have.

There are a lot of people on this board I agree with, and a lot of other people on the board I disagree with, and a lot of people I sometimes agree with and other times disagree with, and so on, but agree or disagree, I have found that almost everyone has insightful things to say, teach me (and others) things, and contribute to the overall high quality of this venue. You, however, do not. You think you’re being clever. You’re just being an idiot. Sad, this is such a useful locale for dialogue, but, I guess there’s always someone who will have none of it. What a pity.

IAT

On the third day of Christmas,
My true love showed to me
Three Robo signers,
Two turtled houses,
And a deadbeat who`s still living free.

On the Fifth day of Christmas,
My true love showed to me
Five unbuilt condos,
Four years without payments,
Three Robo signers,
Two turtled houses,
And a deadbeat who`s still living free.

On the Sixth Day of Christmas,
My true love showed to me:
Six mortgage defaults,
Five unbuilt condos,
Four years without payments,
Three Robo signers,
Two turtled houses,
And a deadbeat who`s still living free.