The Housing Bubble

http://home.earthlink.net/~wfortier/Fark/5602067-vote.jpg

Made me smile

Politico - The looming GOP civil war — whether Mitt wins or not:

“Regardless of whether Romney wins or loses, Republicans must move to confront its demographic crisis. The GOP coalition is undergirded by a shrinking population of older white conservative men from the countryside, while the Democrats rely on an ascendant bloc of minorities, moderate women and culturally tolerant young voters in cities and suburbs. This is why, in every election, since 1992, Democrats have either won the White House or fallen a single state short of the presidency.

But Republicans are divided on the way forward. Its base is growing more conservative, nominating and at times electing purists while the country is becoming more center than center-right. Practical-minded party elites want to pass a comprehensive immigration bill, de-emphasize issues like contraception and abortion and move on a major taxes-and-spending deal that includes some method of raising new revenue.

But many rank-and-file Republicans in Congress and grass-roots activists won’t sanction amnesty for undocumented immigrants, are determined to advance restrictions on abortion and have no appetite for any compromise with Democrats on fiscal issues. And that doesn’t even get at the growing cleavage on foreign policy in the GOP between the party’s hawkish wing and the rising voices who prefer a more restrained role abroad.

There’s not much of a moderate wing left in the GOP, but the pragmatism versus purity battle that looms on the horizon could be as fierce as Republicans have seen since the Goldwaterites sought to wrest control of the party in the 1960s.

This split will loom over the GOP for the next few years whether Romney is in the White House or on the beaches of La Jolla. If he becomes the 45th president in January, Romney will have to tread carefully as he grapples with a conservative-dominated Republican House, a Senate GOP increasingly divided between old bulls and younger true believers and thousands of party activists who opposed him in two presidential primaries.

A Romney loss would mean the same internal issues would come to the fore more quickly and explosively but with no clear leader at the top of the party. Consider all the voices who’d jockey for attention: the pragmatic Senate and House GOP leadership; next-generation stars like Rubio and Paul Ryan; older reformers led by Jeb Bush; conservative stalwarts like Sens. Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Rand Paul of Kentucky ; and the talent-rich ranks of current Republican governors. These forces would all assert their authority in the lead-up to what could be a sprawling 2016 presidential primary that renders a judgment on which direction the party will take.”

http://www.politico DOT com/news/stories/1112/83305.html

WSJ Opinion Piece - Liberal Exceptionalism:

“It isn’t true that liberals don’t believe in American exceptionalism. When it comes to the national balance sheet, they think the U.S. levitates fiscally. And when it comes to the presidency, they think Barack Obama walks on water.

For some liberals, the concept of American exceptionalism smacks of a kind of dumb chauvinism. In the New York Times last month, reporter Scott Shane wrote a revealing article on “The Opiate of Exceptionalism,” which warns politicians that they court Jimmy Carter-like ruin whenever they speak truth to people. For Mr. Shane, asserting “exceptionalism” is the way American leaders gloss over the ugly realities of a country with (as he sees it) too-high rates of incarceration, military spending, obesity and child poverty.

Great nations may have greater grace periods, but they don’t get blank checks. Bills come due. Populations age and become more expensive to support. Interest rates do not remain near-zero forever. Overtaxed people figure out new ways to shelter their income from the government, or they renounce their citizenship. Whenever advocates of an expansive welfare state start talking about “economic patriotism”—a phrase Mr. Obama has lately been trying out on the campaign trail—you know the scoundrels really have found their last refuge.”

http://online.wsj DOT com/article/SB10001424052970204349404578100600454044238.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_opinion

WSJ opinion piece - The Mistake That Is the Libertarian Party:

“To the extent that a third party is successful, it will drain votes from the coalition party to which it is closest and help elect the coalition party that is further removed from its interests. The Libertarian Party’s effort will, if effective, attract more libertarian voters away from the candidate who is marginally less hostile to liberty, and help hand the election to the candidate who is more hostile to liberty.

Fortunately, because this drawback is so obvious, the Libertarian Party’s presidential vote has remained minuscule. (It was about 0.4% in 2008, though it could cost Mitt Romney the electoral votes of New Hampshire this time around). Most libertarian voters resist the party’s call, even when, as this year, it has nominated a good man like Gary Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico.

Some have defended the LP by saying it is an expressive outlet for political libertarians, as distinct from more intellectual or policy types. Here too the LP has been counterproductive. By drawing libertarian politicos from both major parties, the LP makes these parties less libertarian at the margin than they would otherwise be. In each major-party coalition, the libertarian element is weaker precisely to the extent that libertarian politicos are expending their energies on behalf of the LP.

Libertarian activists should choose whichever party they feel more comfortable working within. That’s what Ron Paul did. Likewise, Rand Paul has brought his libertarianism inside the GOP tent. The small-”l” libertarians in the tea party movement identified the Republican Party as the coalition closest to their concerns about fiscal responsibility and the growth of government power, and they have gone about making the GOP more libertarian from the grass-roots up. They have moved the party in a libertarian direction, as has the Republican Liberty Caucus.

Despite all this, some libertarians continue to insist that, because the Republican and Democrats are equally bad for liberty, it makes no difference who gets elected. However true this once was, in recent years Republicans have been better for liberty and Democrats have been worse.”

http://online.wsj DOT com/article/SB10001424052970203922804578080684214526670.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_opinion

Washington Post - Young workers’ retirement hopes grow bleaker amid economic downturn:

“The economic downturn is pressing more employers to reduce pension benefits and significantly delaying when people launch their careers, darkening the already bleak picture that young workers face in saving for retirement.

Corporations have been slashing pensions for decades, but such cuts are common now in the public sector, where retirement benefits were traditionally much better. In both cases, employers frequently reach for the same tool — preserve benefits for current employees but make severe cuts for new ones.

Blue-chip corporate giants such as IBM and Verizon are among those that have closed their traditional pension plans to new workers in order to limit future liabilities. Meanwhile, public workers in states from Rhode Island to California have seen pension promises scaled back as governments struggle to reduce debt.

As it is, most workers are vastly underprepared for retirement. Although coverage is near universal among the small minority of workers employed in the public sector, just over two in five private-sector workers between ages 25 and 64 are covered by pensions or 401(k)-type retirement plans in their current jobs, according to Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research. On average, workers in their prime working years have a retirement funding gap of $90,000 per household, the center has found.

Adding to the challenge, the recession forced many young workers to launch their careers later, which reduces their earnings — and their ability to save for retirement — in ways many are unlikely to overcome, analysts say.

Even as the labor market slowly improves, the prospects for young workers remain difficult. More than half of recent high school graduates are underemployed, as are nearly one in five recent college graduates, according to the Economic Policy Institute.”

http://www.washingtonpost DOT com/business/economy/young-workers-retirement-hopes-grow-bleaker-amid-economic-downturn/2012/11/05/3ea7ed3c-13c1-11e2-ba83-a7a396e6b2a7_story.html

Bloomberg - Romney Remains a Mystery After Revealing Little on Trail:

“Twenty-four hours before Election Day, the man at the front of the plane remains a mystery.

“I need your vote. I need your work,” Mitt Romney implored enthusiastic supporters from Florida to New Hampshire. “Walk with me. Walk with me together,” he said, while standing perfectly straight, an eye on the teleprompter, staying precisely on script.

Yet, with more than a decade of national exposure, hundreds of thousands of ads and life without private moments, Romney has remained largely inscrutable. To voters, the journalists traveling with him for almost two years and even some of his staff, the Republican nominee has revealed little beyond his campaign-crafted images as a business technocrat and family man. Should he lose his bid for the White House tonight, friends and supporters say, that opacity may be among the reasons.

For much of the campaign, Romney rarely mentioned his membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including the people he helped as a Mormon bishop, fearing it would put an unwanted spotlight on a religion viewed with suspicion by some.

His wealthy upbringing as the son of a former auto company executive and Michigan governor, George Romney, cut against sharing details about his comfortable upbringing with voters struggling in the economic downturn.

And his discomfort with discussing the wealth he accrued at Bain Capital LLC, particularly his refusal to release more than two years of tax returns, gave ammunition to Democratic charges that he was hiding something or playing by a set of rules reserved for society’s elite.

With a trio of issues common in most political stump speeches off-limits, the former private equity executive’s unease on the campaign trail became a larger part of his candidacy’s narrative.

To soften his image, he traded suits for skinny jeans. He posted messages on Twitter about commercial flights on Southwest Airlines and stops at Subway for lunch. And he insisted on spending less time at campaign headquarters in Boston and more time mingling with voters all across primary states.

His campaign scheduled bus tour after bus tour, packed with events like “Pancakes with Mitt” and “Spaghetti with Mitt.” They created all-American backdrops, seeking out specific types of straw after Romney informed his advance team he is allergic to hay.

Campaigning with Romney is like traveling back to the era of Sputnik and soda fountains, with dated expressions and awkward punch-lines, or Mittisms, as aides call them.

In the final sprint, the Romney campaign took on an air of wistful, weary nostalgia.

Cruising through rallies in matching red and blue fleece emblazoned with the Romney logo, senior aides took photos with their phones and joked about singing the campaign’s theme song in their sleep. The candidate’s wife, Ann, walked down the aisle of the campaign plane handing out pastries for reporters and secret service agents.”

http://www.bloomberg DOT com/news/2012-11-06/romney-remains-a-mystery-after-revealing-little-on-trail.html

Jerusalem Post - Obama’s silence on Israel’s plight questioned by Romney:

“For those who watched the third and final Presidential debate one thing was certain, President Obama made a 360 degree turn when asked if he would stand with Israel if she had to go to war with Iran to stop their nuclear proliferation. Until the debate, which focused on foreign policy, Mr. Obama has been silent on standing with Israel, virtually ignoring Iran’s threat to wipe Israel off the face of the planet. When asked by his opponent, Mitt Romney, why he visited virtually every Middle East country but bypassed Israel, Obama regressed all the way back to before taking office and simple stated he had visited Israel and even Sderot, an Israeli town next to Gaza. Romney quickly seized the moment and stated that if Israel is forced into war, as President of the United States he (Mitt Romney) would stand solidly beside Israel. Shortly thereafter Obama followed suit despite being silent for over four years.

President Obama snubbed Prime Minister Netanyahu yet again by refusing to meet with him during his recent visit to the United Nations. In his speech at the UN, Prime Minister Netanyahu virtually accused Obama of going soft on Iran. He said, “Those who refuse to put red lines before Iran have no moral right to place a red line before Israel.” He, of course, was referring to Obama’s demands that Israel hold off on a pre-emptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Should Obama be re-elected as President of the United States, Israel’s survival would be significantly in the hands of a man who has shown little appetite for standing with Israel in any military conflict and little empathy for the Jewish state. While Israelis were predominantly pleased when Obama was first elected, his pro-Arab and pro-Muslim attitude and actions since his election have caused his approval ratings in Israeli polls to drop significantly. Talk on the streets is that many Israelis are now hoping that Republican Mitt Romney will be the victor in next month’s all-important election.”

http://blogs.jpost DOT com/content/obamas-silence-israel%E2%80%99s-plight-questioned-romney

Globe and Mail - After a $6-billion campaign bill, it’s time for a price check on democracy:

“Perhaps the best symbol of this election is not the logos of the presidential candidates, nor the Republican elephant or the Democratic donkey. A better emblem would be a very, very large pile of cash.

One of the most closely fought elections in U.S. history is also its most expensive. The final price tag will reach $6-billion (U.S.), eclipsing the 2008 campaign by roughly $700-million, estimates the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan research group.

One big force driving spending higher: the arrival of new outside groups that can accept unlimited donations and spend the funds on political ads, so long as they don’t co-ordinate with a candidate’s campaign. Such groups, which include so-called “super” political action committees and non-profit organizations, are on track to pump close to $1-billion into the election.

Despite their anodyne names – “Restore Our Future,” say, or “Priorities USA Action” – such groups have crystal-clear political goals (the former super PAC is pro-Mitt Romney, and latter is pro-President Barack Obama).

Such outside groups have brought new opacity to campaign finance. “It’s the Russian doll problem,” said Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, a law professor who specializes in campaign finance at Stetson University in Florida. Super PACs must disclose their donors, but if the donor is a non-profit organization, then that group doesn’t have to reveal its sources of funds, and the trail ends there.

In critical swing states and in crucial races, the influx of funds – sometimes from shadowy groups specializing in nasty ads – may make voters stop listening. “You crank up the volume and you crank up the lies and deception,” said Edwin Bender, executive director of the National Institute of Money in State Politics. “People are starting to recognize it.”

http://www.theglobeandmail DOT com/news/world/after-a-6-billion-campaign-bill-its-time-for-a-price-check-on-democracy/article4957587/

UK Guardian - Lemmy: ‘Mitt Romney is a monster’

Motörhead frontman urges US not to vote for Republican presidential nominee, saying he will repeal abortion laws

“Lemmy has sent an election message to the US, decrying the Republican presidential nominee as a “f*cking monster”. In an interview with Rolling Stone, the Motörhead leader pleaded with Americans: “Please, please don’t vote for Mitt Romney. F*ck him. Repeal abortion law is the first thing he’ll do.”

Lemmy is not famed for his political involvement, frequently denying any ideological motive behind his collection of Nazi memorabilia. However, he was steadfast in his view on the presidential race. He suggested the US had not been ready for an African-American president in the form of Barack Obama, “because they’re trying to drag him down now. I mean, the poor f*cker’s only just gotten rid of all that George Bush sh*t that he left, or is trying to. And he’s being stonewalled by the f*cking Congress all the time. I don’t know how he’s gotten anything done. They should be glad. I mean the alternative is Mitt Romney.”

http://www.guardian DOT co DOT uk/music/2012/nov/06/lemmy-mitt-romney

Manufacturing output rose by 0.1pc in September on the month after a downwardly revised drop of 1.2pc in August, the Office for National Statistics said. Economists had predicted a monthly 0.3pc rise.

The wider reading of industrial output, which includes energy production and mining, fell by 1.7pc in September after a 0.5pc drop in August.

Excluding a decline in June that was affected by an extra public holiday, the monthly reading was the lowest since August 2009 and below forecasts for a 0.6pc drop on the month.

Samuel Tombs at Capital Economics said the industrial production figures suggest that “the economic recovery is quickly losing momentum again”.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/9657829/Sharp-fall-in-industrial-output-denting-recovery-hopes.html

Well that was a short lived recovery; back into recession I fear.

Has anyone watched the documentry “Paradise or Oblivion” and think today’s materialism and debt could really be replaced knowing human nature?

There is a really good chance Obamney is going to do well today.

Today is election day. Perform your civic duty.

Get yourself to the polling place and cast your ballot.

Cell phone spam phone call report from the “battleground” state of WI. I use google voice on my cell phone, all anonymous calls get dumped direct into voicemail never even ring my phone. Google voice makes hilarious speech to text transcripts of voicemails. So I have a record for yesterday which I cut and paste below… 7 voicemail spams in one day from R, ZERO voicemail spams from D. Somebody’s getting very, very desperate!

13174895700 11/5/12 10:25 AM
“This is MIT. Romney calling to remind you, The tomorrow is election day.”

(thanks mittens, please remember to firmly attach your dog cage to the roof of your car when you drive to the polls)

Unknown 11/5/12 11:25 AM
“Hello, I’m calling on behalf of the U. S. Chamber of Commerce … Tommy Thompson for U. S. Senate.”

(really? Who are these crooks?)

Unknown 11/5/12 2:41 PM
“Wisconsin can’t afford 4 more years… this call was paid for by the Republican National Committee”

(LOL I thought they were talking about 4 more years of Paul Ryan until I figured out it was a “R” ad.)

Unknown 11/5/12 3:15 PM
“I believe MIT. Romney can continue my father’s legacy and make America great.”

(OK 1%er crook, I’ll be a good little quisling and sacrifice my country for you, LOL)

+17016719050 11/5/12 3:48 PM
“So please be sure to vote for Tommy Thompson”

(Something to be said for brevity)

+16082578029 11/5/12 5:21 PM
“This call has been paid for by the Republican Party of Wisconsin.”

Unknown 11/5/12 8:04 PM
“This is State Senator Glenn broken reminding you to hold for Tommy Thompson.”

(Who the hell is this?)

+12028005534 11/5/12 8:09 PM
No Google Voice transcript available

These republican crooks (but I repeat myself..) are costing me money by calling my cellphone over and over. Needless to say I’m not voting for Gordon Geckko errr I mean Rmoney.

Looking forward to casting my vote for Gary Johnson in a bit less than 12 hours (long day at work)

One interesting observation I’ve overheard at work from the hard core Ds is for over 4 years we’ve all heard how Obama is a kenyan marxist gun grabber who is going to deploy UN troops on american soil and cancel Christmas and replace it with kwanza. And they pretty much ignore it, as adults should when teased by children. Until today, and now I’m hearing all about how all criticism of the big O is invalid because we’ve all heard for more than 4 years how he’s gonna grab our guns… umm… next week… yeah this time for real, and its always been a lie, so any criticism of the big “O” is also probably a lie.

True, I don’t like kenyan marxist gun grabbing un troop deploying christmas cancelling crooks, but 4+ years of crying wolf show that has nothing to do with big “O” so maybe he’s not so bad after all. I’m still voting for Johnson, but at least I don’t have to worry about the result of “O” winning. I highly doubt he’s going to deploy UN troops to guard the Waupun grain elevator, or change the state farm crop of iowa from corn to collard greens or whatever other B.S. the R party hacks have been saying.

Weekend Topic Suggestions

Comment by UNKNOWN TENANT
2012-11-02 05:29:02

I have said that I thought there was a massive shadow inventory in the North East, including Long Island where my first DBLL went back and bought in 2006. If I happened to be correct who if anyone would pay to rebuild a house that got major damage from Sandy on a house that had not had a mortgage payment made for years?

Would the bank or servicer or whoever have kept federal flood insurance on these properties and if so do they use it and let the non paying homeowner move back in after the house is repaired?

Do they get sued for not having clear title and not keeping flood insurance? Do the victims live in moldy houses?

Featured NewsMonday, November 5, 2012

HUD Secretary Announces Foreclosure Protection for Displaced Rhode Island Storm Victims
Weekend Topic Suggestions

Wednesday, October 31, 2012
HUD Secretary Announces Foreclosure Protection for Connecticut Storm Victims

Tuesday, October 30, 2012
HUD Secretary Announces Foreclosure Protection for New York Storm Victims

Tuesday, October 30, 2012
HUD Secretary Announces Foreclosure Protection for New Jersey Storm Victims

HUD/U.S.
http://www.hud.gov/ - 60k - Cached - Similar pages
In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy (or any natural disaster), families can be … HUD Secretary Announces Foreclosure Protection for New York Storm Victims …

This is amazing: An entire article in The Economist without one mention that central banks might have been pushing on a string for several years by now. Rather than noting the destructive effect of chronically low interest rates to stimulate malinvestment, including dead cash on corporate balance sheets, the writer suggests that artificially suppressed (below market) interest rates should provide a beneficial effect, through “reduced borrowing costs.”

Corporate savings
Dead money
Cash has been piling up on companies’ balance-sheets since before the crisis
Nov 3rd 2012 | WASHINGTON, DC | from the print edition

MONETARY stimulus gets you only so far. In America, third-quarter profits and revenues for companies in the S&P 500 index appear to have fallen year on year for the first time since 2009, according to Thomson Reuters. Profits for roughly half the firms in the European Stoxx 600 have fallen short of expectations so far.

Companies in search of a culprit may want to glance in the mirror. Firms are trimming their budgets for everything from technology-consulting services to semiconductor equipment in the face of what Sir Martin Sorrell of WPP, a British advertising and marketing giant, calls four “grey swans” (unlike black swans, people know about grey ones). The four worries unnerving business are: the euro-zone crisis; upheaval in the Middle East; a possible recession in China; and America’s economic health and “fiscal cliff”—the combination of tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to occur at the end of this year.

This is not a new problem. Investment has steadily risen since the recession ended, but not as vigorously as profits. In America, for example, nominal capital expenditure this year (on an annualised basis) has risen by 6% compared with 2007; internal cash flow is up by 32%. Companies have been net suppliers, instead of users, of funds to the rest of the economy since 2008. Firms in the S&P 500 held roughly $900 billion of cash at the end of June, according to Thomson Reuters, down a bit from a year earlier but still 40% up on 2008.

Business leaders and conservative critics cite that cash mountain as proof that meddlesome federal regulations and America’s high corporate-tax rate is locking up cash and depressing investment. But that cannot explain why the same phenomenon prevails worldwide. Japanese companies’ liquid assets have soared by around 75% since 2007, to $2.8 trillion, according to ISI Group, a broker. Cash stockpiles have continued to grow in Britain and Canada, too, to the immense frustration of policymakers there. “Dead money” is how Mark Carney, the Bank of Canada’s governor, has described the nearly $300 billion in cash Canadian companies now hold, 25% more than in 2008. Mr Carney admonished them to “put money to work and if they can’t think of what to do with it, they should give it back to their shareholders.”

No single factor seems to explain companies’ high savings. The Bank of England notes that natural-resource companies account for a disproportionate share of the cash build-up. That may reflect the boom in commodities prices and the paucity of promising new sources of supply.

Low interest rates have reduced borrowing costs, adding roughly a percentage point to American profit margins, according to BCA Research. (Yet rock-bottom interest rates also make it less attractive to hold cash.) The financial crisis has made firms more skittish about relying on banks or securities markets for funds. Since questions were raised in 2008 about the ability of General Electric’s finance arm to fund itself, the company has been stockpiling cash: $85 billion at the end of the third quarter, the most in the S&P 500.

A rapid reversal is unlikely. That’s because rising corporate saving has deeper roots than the crisis, the commodities boom or this interest-rate cycle. In a recent study Loukas Karabarbounis and Brent Neiman at the University of Chicago found that across 51 countries they examined between 1975 and 2007, companies’ share of private saving rose in aggregate by 20 percentage points. In countries where corporate saving rose, labour’s share of GDP in the corporate sector shrank, by five percentage points in aggregate.
…

I don’t care if the Mayans called it, I want this guy at my TEOTWAWKI party:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ey7eWt0WjRM&feature=fvwbrel

I read this interesting article on what Brazilians think of this election and American politics.

Brazilians stay hostile to Republican foreign policy

http://www.browndailyherald.com/brazilians-stay-hostile-to-republican-foreign-policy-1.2788644

RIO DE JANEIRO — …….on the streets of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s second-largest city, there is just one option…..“It’s Obama. The other side is the dark side of the moon,” ….“Even (conservatives in Brazil) think the conservatives in the U.S. are very old-fashioned — even the oligarchy,” he added….

…Araujo declared herself “100 percent pro-Obama,” adding that the current president has changed how Brazilians view the United States.

The president certainly has a much higher rate of name recognition than his opponent. Brazilians generally talk about “Obama or the other guy,” as Arakillian described Romney..

….“In the U.S., it’s mostly the conservative thinking and the center,” Arakillian said. “There’s no left.” He said Brazilians were surprised the Occupy Wall Street movement’s idea of uniting the workers against the extremely wealthy was perceived as radical in the United States.

….Romney calls the territory affected by his trade plan the “Reagan Economic Zone.” From a foreign policy perspective, this reference to President Ronald Reagan may be dangerous,…..In Latin America, “many, including several of today’s presidents, associate (Reagan’s) tenure with torture, disappearances, murder and other human rights violations,”…..

Here comes the broken window fallacy — AGAIN!

Let’s see how well the New York City economy does without any federal money to help them rebuild before we get too excited about the beneficial effects of hurricanes on local economies.

Got Broken Window Economics?

Nov. 6, 2012, 8:01 a.m. EST
Sandy has economic silver lining
Commentary: Rebuilding to offset financial hit and then some
By Irwin Kellner, MarketWatch

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. (MarketWatch) — First Sandy will be a drag on economic activity, but later it will provide a major lift.

Besides the widespread misery Sandy left in its wake as it barreled up the East Coast of the U.S., knocking out power to more than 8 million homes and businesses, the drag from the superstorm is, of course, its cost.

According to several risk-modeling firms, the United States is facing damages amounting to as much as $50 billion.
…

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up. Is the market pricing in a Democrat victory?

Out of curiosity - why is it only democrats who feel they have the right to do this?

Black Panthers Intimidating the Vote in Philadelphia
Pundit Press | 11/6/12 | Aurelius

The Black Panthers are at it again. Video and pictures have emerged already showing that the racist group are intimidating voters in front of a polling location in Pennsylvania and possibly other locations.

This picture was taken earlier today showing a member of the Black Panther party staring down people going in to vote:

Let’s all take a personal inventory/audit of our current economic situation so we can see how the winner of today’s election changes our personal economic metrics 4 years from now.
Things to include:
Wages, Taxes(and fees), Investments, cost of risk(Health & Property insurance), local property values or equivalent rent,… You can include stuff like changes to federal laws that ether restrict or improve your political/economic power, try not to let your ideology taint your assessment. Just be sure the issue is personally relevant to your personal situation.
What to exclude:
Catastrophic natural events, Wars we didn’t start, collapse of Europe/
China/etc., generally stuff that happens out side the US that drags down the whole world’s economic health be it political or economic.

PAUSE…………NOW back to some BIG HOUSING NEWZZZZ

Refrigerator News
So Long, Stainless: Whirlpool Introduces a New Finish For Premium Kitchens

http://www.refrigeratorinfo.com/News/So-Long-Stainless-Whirlpool-Introduces-a-New-Finish-For-Premium-Kitchens.htm

FWIW…Stan Humphries is a chief economist at Zillow.

Obama Gets High Marks for What He Hasn’t Done on Housing
The president resisted pressure to implement housing policies that would have damaged the market

housing has barely been mentioned by either presidential candidate, either on the stump or in three presidential debates. That’s too bad given the centrality of the housing collapse in the Great Recession and the fact that negative equity afflicts about 15 million home owners in the United States right now.

We’ve had ample opportunity over the last four years to observe Obama’s approach towards housing. I personally believe that a) his policies have not been particularly material to the ultimate magnitude of the housing recession; but b) there aren’t other policies out there that would have done any better; c) the president’s policies, while not stopping the overall decline in home values, have helped a substantial number of people caught up in the maw of the housing recession; and d) folks suggested a lot of policies that, if implemented, would have really damaged the market. So, the president gets high marks for what he hasn’t done despite pressure to do so.

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2012/11/05/obama-gets-high-marks-for-what-he-emhasntem-done-on-housing?google_editors_picks=true

turnout at my polling station in fairfax county va is crazy according to my wife.

even in 2008 i have never had to wait more than 15 or 20 minutes.

Putin Fires Defense Minister Linked to Real Estate Investigation

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/07/world/europe/putin-dismisses-russian-defense-minister.html?_r=0

MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin fired Russia’s defense minister on Tuesday after the police raided the offices and an apartment of a real estate company involved in the privatization of valuable ministry land near Moscow.

The firing of Anatoly E. Serdyukov, a longtime Putin ally, is one of the highest-level dismissals connected to a corruption case in recent memory in Russia. It was also a departure for Mr. Putin, a leader who has been reluctant to dismiss members of his inner circle.

Many ministers in the Russian government have secondary roles in business and even extensive property and wealth that is typically tolerated unless an official falls from favor for another reason, analysts of Russian politics say.

“In Russia, where what matters first and foremost are informal deals and relations,”….“We should be looking for some kind of intrigue behind this all, some kind of a clash of very important interests.”

To take your minds of the election, how about some rationalization on why U.S. home prices are still falling:

Nov. 6, 2012, 11:29 a.m. EST
U.S. home prices decline in September
This is first month-over-month decrease since February: Corelogic
By Ronald D. Orol, MarketWatch

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — U.S. home prices nationwide declined in September compared to the previous month, according to an index released Tuesday.

Corelogic, a provider of information and analysis, said that on a month-over-month basis, home prices decreased by 0.3% in September 2012 compared to revised August 2012 data. The decrease represents the first month-over-month decline since February 2012.

However, the report added that home prices increased on a year-over-year basis by 5% in September 2012, compared to September 2011. It added that the year-on-year hike represented the largest increase since July 2006 and the seventh consecutive increase in home prices nationally on a year-over-year basis.

“While prices on a month-over-month basis are declining, as expected in the housing off-season, most states are exhibiting price increases,” said Corelogic chief economist Mark Fleming. “Gains are particularly large in former housing-bubble states and energy-industry concentrated states.”

Capital Economics, a research firm, noted that Corelogic’s measure of house prices isn’t seasonally-adjusted, adding that the downturn is seasonal and should not be surprising.

“As the summer-buying season draws to a close, it’s normal for prices to weaken,” said Capital Economics economist Paul Diggle in a report. “This seasonal downturn is something we have been warning about for some time now and it should not come as a surprise.”
…

i just heard on the radio soundbites from romeny and obama…i think they both know something…romney said he was confident…that he had never seen this kind of enthusiasm from republicans.

obama basically told his team in chicago that we plan on doing well tongiht but no matter what happens i want everyone to know how much i appreciate all of their hard work.

just something i noticed.

Wall Street is set to Take America Back!

Wall Street in rally mode as voters head to the polls
• Live coverage of Election Day 2012 | Poll: Who will you vote for?
• What to watch as Election Night unfolds | A cliffhanger for investors

Dumb question of the day: Do at least some likely voters base their choice on whom they believe will win? For instance, if someone sitting on the fence gets word that Romney is more likely to win than he was yesterday, would the fence sitter be more likely to vote for Romney?

If yes, then what is the logic? (Or is there none?)

Home prices fall in September, the first drop in months

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-home-prices-fall-september-corelogic-20121106,0,2469437.story

After six straight months of gains, nationwide home prices fell 0.3% last month from August, tamped down by low prices on distressed properties.

But compared with the same month a year ago, prices for single-family homes are up 5%, according to Irvine-based CoreLogic. That’s the largest boost since July 2006 and the seventh straight year-over-year increase.

Prices in every state except for seven are up from last year, according to the report.

In California, they’re up 6.9%. In the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale area, prices saw a 4.8% surge. They advanced 5.2% in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario region.

But compared with their peak highs in April 2006, statewide prices are down 37.2%.

Quiz: How much do you know about California’s economy?

Arizona led all states in price appreciation in September with an 18.7% upswing, followed by 13.1% in Idaho and 11% in Nevada. Rhode Island prices tumbled the most, sliding 3.5%.

An outstanding article on why anthropogenic climate change doesn’t matter anymore.
http://climatedenial.org/2012/11/06/reasons-why-climate-disasters-might-not-increase-concern-about-climate-change/

“Disasters can increase social confidence and certainty. Accepting anthropogenic climate change requires a high degree of self-criticism and even self-doubt. It requires a preparedness to accept personal responsibility for collective errors and for entire societies to accept the need for major collective change. And, inevitably, this process of acceptance would generate intense debate and conflict.

Disasters may very well do the opposite and provide proof of the worth of the existing social system- including the existing worldview and lifestyle. The spirit of pulling together and moving on generates a consensus to suppress divisive issues and support the existing society. Areas of contention or disagreement are likely to be suppressed in the interests of social cohesion or out of respect to people who have offered kindness and generosity. After all, if your current society and economic model has served you well in a crisis you are surely less willing to accept change.

We could say, for historical comparison, that the transition of Germany from a dictatorship to a successful social democracy required the self doubt and introspection that came with defeat. Britain and the U.S. won the war and with it a correspondingly inflated view of their own global authority that lasts to this day.”

** There will be 8-10,000 more humans on this rock by the time you finish reading this story.
http://www.joshuaproject.net/world-clock.php

I just received a shipment of new computer drive-bay parts direct from China that were purchased on eBay. Delivery time was 7-days! The parts are high quality metal pieces with powder coat paint. Very nicely packaged with bubble-wrap and fitted boxes.

I paid a song for these durable parts, and shipping was free! They communicated well in English, posted immediate feedback as soon as I paid-up with Paypal, and they shipped right away; very professional in every detail.

FWIW, we couldn’t even package these parts for what I paid.

http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/11/06/foreign_election_officials_amazed_by_trust_based_us_voting_system

Foreigners amazed that pictre IDs aren’t a requirement. Funny, I’m amazed too. Yet for some reason, certain political entities find ID laws to be racist?

Regardless of the election results, will the Plunge Protection Team let the markets sort it out from here, or will further market support be applied post-election?

163-163 ev and Fox is already starting in on the post-mortums. Watching Rove and Noonan dissemble is a genuine pleasure.

Chalk one up for the 99% in Massachusetts.

Warren defeats Brown in Massachusetts, in latest Dem Senate victory
Published November 06, 2012

November 6, 2012: Democratic candidate for Massachusetts Senate Elizabeth Warren waves to supporters before voting in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (REUTERS)

Democrat Elizabeth Warren ousted Republican incumbent Sen. Scott Brown in the Massachusetts Senate election Tuesday night, Fox News projects, ending probably one of the most dramatic Senate races of the 2012 cycle.

The win came on top of several significant victories for the Democrats, who are so far maintaining their slim-but-steady lead in the Senate.

“Tonight is a great night for the people of Massachusetts and for the middle class across the country,” Sen. Patty Murray, chairwoman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said in a statement.
…

Election called.

I told ya so.

I think and Obama victory is “in the bag”

LOL AlbDan… LOL, I feel bad for you, old man. So out of touch, so sad.

Also LOL @ Gallup & Ras…

About five minutes ago, my wife could sense it. She cut me off in mid sentence when I mentioned it wasn’t looking good for Mitt…

Nov. 6, 2012, 11:20 p.m. EST
Obama carries swing state Ohio
By Robert Schroeder

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — President Barack Obama carried Ohio in Tuesday’s election, putting 18 electoral votes into his column. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the presidency. Mitt Romney’s final internal poll reportedly had him losing Ohio by 5%.

Poll: Election winner will have limited influence on biggest economic threats
From Wire Reports
Published: 29 October 2012 09:17 PM

WASHINGTON — Whoever wins the U.S. presidential election will probably struggle to manage the biggest economic threats he’ll face.

That’s the cautionary message that emerges from the latest Associated Press Economy Survey.

Europe’s recession will persist deep into the next presidential term, according to a majority of the 31 economists who responded to the survey. A weaker European economy would shrink demand for U.S. exports and cost U.S. jobs. Yet there’s little the president can do about it.

An even more urgent threat to the U.S. economy, the economists say, is Congress’ failure so far to reach a deal to prevent tax increases and spending cuts from taking effect next year and possibly triggering another recession. Yet as President Barack Obama has found, the White House can’t force a congressional accord.

And whether Obama or his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, wins next Tuesday, he’ll probably have to deal with one chamber of Congress led by the opposing party. Polls suggest the Senate will remain in Democratic hands after the election and the House in Republican control.

“It’s not like there’s a clean slate for someone to do what they want,” says Joshua Shapiro, chief economist at MFR Inc.

Still, there are some ways in which the economists think the White House will be able to drive the economy.

The president, for example, could help lift growth and reduce unemployment by backing lower individual and corporate taxes and looser business rules, more than 70 percent of the economists say.

They think such policies — the core of Romney’s economic message — would be more likely to help than would Obama’s plans for more spending on public works and targeted tax breaks for businesses.

Only about 1 in 5 of the economists says Obama’s policies would be more likely to help spur growth and reduce unemployment.
…

Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.

POLITICAL DIARY
November 6, 2012, 12:01 p.m. ET

‘I’m Calling It for Mitt’
By KIMBERLEY STRASSEL

Predicting an election is risky business, but political journalists ought to be expected to take some risks. So I’m calling it for Mitt Romney.

This isn’t blind enthusiasm talking; I’ve spent much of this election cycle assuming Mr. Romney would lose. He ground out an uninspiring victory in the primaries. He ran an equally timid general-election campaign, right through to his pick of Paul Ryan as a running mate. The Republican then risked all the benefit he’d earned from that bold move by staging a lackluster GOP convention.

But the Romney that has emerged since the first Denver debate is the sort of leader that voters have been hoping for at a time of economic uncertainty. As a result, Republican voters have gone from wanting to simply get rid of Barack Obama to wanting to vote to elect Mitt Romney as president. That wave of enthusiasm on the ground has infected independents as well and is the key to a Romney victory.
…

For the record, the etch-a-sketch strategy failed. Maybe if the Republicans could figure out how to free themselves from the Neocon extremists who drive away moderate voters, they might have a shot in 2016.

Time to roll out the conspiracy theories!

Tuesday, Nov 6, 2012 05:56 PM PST
Rove: It’s not over yet!
Liveblog: Fox News calls Ohio for Obama, but the Republican strategist insists they’re being premature
By Salon Staff

What a looser!

Tuesday, Nov 6, 2012 08:41 PM PST

Donald Trump loses it, calls for “revolution”
Even better than Karl Rove’s refusal to give up is the Donald’s rage on Twitter after Obama wins
By David Daley

As projected, Romney’s map of states won looks like the Confederacy.

And wow, I predicted 290-300 for Obama but it looks almost certain he will top 300.

Obama crushed Romney among college educated voters, upper middle class voters, and among women. And the GOP has a massive problem coming up with the Latin populations continuing to soar in the south and west.

How to fix the Electoral College
Aspects of the Electoral College and the popular vote can be combined to bring more people into the process
By Alexander S. Belenky and Richard C. Larson
3:44 PM EST, November 6, 2012

Ohio, Virginia, Florida: If you don’t live in one of these or a few other “battleground” states, you may feel disenfranchised in U.S. presidential elections. As a Marylander, no major party candidate competes for your vote — even if the nationwide polls suggest that the election is close.

Whether you are part of a voter majority or voter minority, a Democrat, a Republican or something else, as a Maryland resident you simply cannot affect the state outcome under the current “winner-take-all” system. On election night, you watch only as a spectator, asking yourself: Is this fair?

For Republicans in places like Maryland or New York, and Democrats in places like Texas, shouldn’t their votes have some influence on the election outcome? Just who should elect our president? And how? How do we define “fairness?”

Gallup polls show that a majority of Americans support the introduction of direct popular vote for presidential elections. The current system gives priority to the states rather than the national popular vote. Many Americans support this system, despite the 2000 election aftermath.

The cornerstone of the first viewpoint is the “one person, one vote” principle, which underlies all the other elections in the U.S. The phrase :… one Nation, under God, indivisible …” from the Pledge of Allegiance may suggest that the country needs at least one executive to be elected by the nation as a whole.

The second viewpoint reflects the vision of the Founding Fathers, who reserved two methods to elect a president to the states: first via the Electoral College, and, if that is unsuccessful, in Congress. They collectively rejected direct popular elections for the president. The creation of the Senate as part of the 1787 Great Compromise suggests that the Founding Fathers believed that the will of the states should prevail in addressing federal matters. Also, the Founding Fathers didn’t vest the right to amend the Constitution in the nation as a whole. Rather, they vested it in the states as equal members of the Union, which means that the Founding Fathers recognized the will of every state. Finally, the Supreme Court has several times stated that the “one person, one vote” principle, mandatory in any statewide election, is not applicable in presidential elections. The Court has also stated that the right of a state to change a manner of appointing presidential electors (via its legislature) is plenary and independent of the process of other states.

Although the two viewpoints are starkly different, there are proposals for finding common ground between the two. Let’s consider two such proposals.
…

And now we return to our regularly-scheduled programming.

President Obama will win Nevada on his way to re-election, CNN projects.

More culls expected as investment banks cut
Financial Times
By Daniel Schäfer, FT.com
updated 11:27 PM EST, Tue November 6, 2012

(Financial Times) — European investment banks will cut staff costs by at least a fifth and shed tens of thousands of jobs in the next few years, consultants and recruitment experts estimate, as much tighter regulation and a weak economy prompts them to rethink their business models.

UBS’s decision last week to cut 10,000 jobs has shone a spotlight on a sector that, five years after the financial crisis, is still trying to come to grips with its notorious inefficiency.

“Many trading businesses have been built around revenue maximisation — cost management disciplines have played second fiddle,” says Adrian Harkin, partner at KPMG.

“If you look at what the banks have announced after the financial crisis, it adds up to broadly 10 per cent of their cost base. But market sentiment is that costs will need to come down by at least double that to regain competitiveness.”
…

Can I have a second helping of pie?

Yes you can.

Nationwide, almost a 50-50 split in the popular vote. Another four years of “we wuz robbed”.

If only they had nominated a “true” conservative……

Expect a campaign of “spot-hiding” in 2016.

OK, now that the election is over…how about some raw data that has something to do with housing?

New Article in the WSJ: “New Households Sprouting Up”

“Americans are setting up house at the fastest rate in more than six years, an indication that recession anxiety, which prompted adult children to move in with their parents and single people to postpone marriage, is starting to ease.

The nation added 1.15 million households in the 12 months that ended in September, according to the most recent Census Bureau data. That is a significant rise from the past four years when an average of 650,000 households were formed annually. While what economists call “household formation” is running a little lower than the average 1.25 million added annually during the boom years, the latest data nevertheless represent an important shift.”

Shadow households coming out of the shadows…

Sixty million spondoolicks out of his own pocket notwithstanding, it looks like the Mittster shoulda written that concession speech after all.

Rove’s bs modus operandi just aint’ gonna play this time. Concede already.

Deadbeats and criminals won again……Im applying for my ohbahhhma phone tomorrow….and what ever else i can get…

Time to stop being a loser and worrying about paying my bills on time…ohbewanna will help me…just act black i think ieyez havda lingo down low jus fyne

Get ready for the new america….A man is fighting for his life after a brutal attack in downtown Baltimore. A witness to the broad-daylight beating is speaking only to WJZ.

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2012/11/06/witness-to-brutal-attack-speaks-with-wjz/

Just woke up. Did Ron Paul win?

Epic fail.

M.R President
Poll expert says Mitt Romney’s a safe bet
By FRANK LUNTZ
Published: 29th October 2012

BOOKIES think Democrat President Barack Obama will win the upcoming US election, not Republican rival Mitt Romney.

Here, US polling guru Frank Luntz reveals who he’d put his money on.

AMERICANS are not legally allowed to bet on US elections — we’d have to use a British bookmaker.

Thanks to your bookies, this American is preparing to make a lot of money.

If the British public currently think Barack Obama is coasting to victory in the November 6 election, they are gravely mistaken.

Mitt Romney can win this election. No doubt about it.

And it will be because of the first presidential debate on October 3 — a battle of ideas and ideologies that changed American politics as we know it. That day, Romney came to fight and Obama became his punching bag.

The polling data says it all. Obama led in 29 of 31 national polls taken during the four weeks leading up to the first debate.

Today Romney is up a point or two on Obama. The momentum is with Romney. In the last 20 years, the candidate with the best October almost always won in November.
…

Looks like lying and skullduggery funded by ginormously deep pockets didn’t serve the Republicans very well this time around. Better luck next time!

Disclosure Fiasco: Fox Hosts Luntz To Praise Rove Ad
November 5, 2012 12:24 PM EST
BEN DIMIERO

Fox News hosted GOP pollster Frank Luntz to praise a recent anti-Obama ad as “powerful” and “one of the best ads of the campaign.” Neither Luntz nor the Fox hosts mentioned that the ad was produced by the super PAC American Crossroads, a group co-founded by Fox News political analyst Karl Rove, or that Crossroads has paid Luntz’s firm this election cycle.

Luntz’s November 5 Fox & Friends appearance kicked off with a series of interviews he had conducted at Romney campaign events with parents of young children. As explained by Luntz, these parents were worried that their children “would not grow up in the America they grew up in.” Luntz then transitioned to a political ad he had “dial-tested” a week ago, labeling it “one of the best ads of the campaign and it does focus on this inter-generational concern and anxiety.”

Fox News then aired the ad in full, with the exception of the disclosure at the end indicating its creator. In fact, the ad was released by Rove’s American Crossroads last month. Onscreen text identified it as a “Political Ad” and a “Romney Ad.” Both Luntz and the Fox & Friends crew failed to mention that it came from a Fox employee’s political group:
…