Bits Bucket for December 1, 2012
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The Housing Bubble
Examining the home price boom and its effect on owners, lenders, regulators, realtors and the economy as a whole.
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That Fiscal Cliff thingee is sure driving the stock market berserk:
U.S. Stock Futures Up on ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Hopes
NASDAQ-Nov 29, 2012
US stock futures off; ‘cliff’ worries persist
MarketWatch-Nov 29, 2012
Do Wall Street traders know something about the Fiscal Cliff the rest of the sheeple are missing ?
My guess is that the financial writers are mistakenly attributing Mr Market’s response to the Fed’s recent QE4 announcement to Fiscal Cliff optimism.
Stock fund inflows surge despite “fiscal cliff” worry: fund tracker
By Sam Forgione
NEW YORK | Fri Nov 30, 2012 3:50pm EST
(Reuters) - Investors pumped the most into U.S. stock funds in more than a year, even as U.S. lawmakers wrestled with the looming “fiscal cliff” of combined tax hikes and spending cuts, data from EPFR Global showed on Friday.
Worldwide, stock funds took in a massive $14.86 billion in the week ended November 28, the second-largest total since 2008, reversing the prior week’s outflows of $7.74 billion, the fund-tracking firm said.
Since 2008, that amount was topped only by the $17 billion that poured into stock funds in the week ended September 19, when the Federal Reserve announced an extension of its stimulus plan.
Funds that hold U.S. stocks accounted for $10.52 billion of the overall flows into stock funds in the latest week, the most in roughly 16 months, according to the data firm.
“There’s a sense that if Washington can actually do its job - if you remove that sword of Damocles from over the economy - we might actually get a nice boost at the start of next year,” said Michael Jones, chief investment officer of RiverFront Investment Group, on the fiscal cliff talks.
…
I noticed among my watch list of thirty or forty companies in various industries a lot more insider sales in the last week. It could be a flood of insider sales next week.
a rush to beat the higher tax coming ?
What Wall Street knows is sheeple have no sense.
“Fiscal Cliff” is just the latest “news” Wall Street uses as a tool to manipulate the sheeple to get the sheeple to buy what Wall Street is selling and sell what Wall street is buying.
Churn ‘em and burn ‘em.
Their game, their rules. Play their game and you will be played.
you got that right dude. all this bickering wont make a dent in the fiscal problems. There acting as if there might be some miracle bull market if they can solve the fiscal cliff. Its all bs as usual.
My other thought is that Wall Street investors may be betting on a fiscal cliff punt which could trigger a stock market rally in early 2013…
Legal/Regulatory | News Analysis
November 26, 2012, 2:46 pm
Mortgage Interest Deduction, Once a Sacred Cow, Is Under Scrutiny
By PETER EAVIS
A home for sale in September in Riverside, Fla. Limits on mortgage interest deductions are likely to be part of federal budget talks.Chris O’Meara/Associated PressA home for sale in September in Riverside, Fla. Limits on mortgage interest deductions are likely to be part of federal budget talks.
A tax break that has long been untouchable could soon be in for some serious scrutiny.
Many home buyers deduct their mortgage interest when assessing their tax bill, a perk that has helped bolster the income of millions of families — and the broader housing market.
But as President Obama and Congress try to hash out a deal to reduce the budget deficit, the mortgage interest deduction will likely be part of the discussion.
Limits on a broad array of deductions could emerge in any budget deal. It is likely that any caps would be structured to aim at high-income households, and would diminish or end the mortgage tax break for many of those taxpayers.
“This is definitely a chance worth jumping for,” said Amir Sufi, a professor at the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago. “For a fixed amount of revenue, it’s better to remove deductions than increase marginal tax rates.”
…
Ben Hallman
Senior Financial Writer, The Huffington Post
GET UPDATES FROM Ben Hallman
Mortgage Interest Deduction: Not A Tax Break For The Middle Class
Posted: 11/29/2012 4:07 pm
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As Washington searches for ways to drum up tax revenues in a bid to avert the fiscal cliff, the interest deduction some homeowners claim on their mortgages may be on the chopping block.
The possibility that this deduction might go away has prompted the sort of dire warnings that might be reserved for news that the American flag will lose its stars and stripes: The housing market, finally recovering from a long decline, will plunge anew as values fall. People won’t buy as many homes. Middle-class families will suffer and despair.
But this view, voiced with the most conviction by lobbyists for home builders and real estate agents, simply isn’t grounded in reality. The deduction helps some middle-class families to a modest degree, but it is mostly a giant giveaway to the wealthy. Moreover, there’s no evidence to suggest home prices would crash or people would suddenly choose renting over buying if it went away.
“It’s time to take a closer look,” said John Taylor, the president of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, which advocates for low-income borrowers. “This is far and away the government’s largest housing subsidy, and it primarily benefits people who are financially comfortable and some people who are extremely financially comfortable.”
…
The MID is a subsidy for house prices more than for house mortgage takers. Also a subsidy for car prices through HELOC loans. In our HMAM society, if carrying costs go up, price comes down to match. The MID does shaft the actual cash buyer.
A more significant subsidy of debtors is 3.5% mortgage interest rates. That doesn’t seem to be part of the discussion. Perhaps those not in debt are not significantly part of the “economy”.
Another lie so easily made into a war on the rich slogan; MID does not help rich people so much. Maybe those pretending to be rich. Someone 10 million in debt on their house is not rich. It has only seemed so.
Someone 10 million in debt on their house is not rich. It has only seemed so.
I would say that that depends on the rest of their balance sheet. If they have $50M in other assets, and only took out the $10M loan in order to reap the tax benefit, then yes, they are rich.
Certainly not all of those appearing rich are actually rich—far from it. But that doesn’t mean that a disproportionate share of the MID doesn’t flow to rich people. It does.
“The MID is a subsidy for house prices more than for house mortgage takers.”
It’s also an incentive for homeowners to buy more house than they would choose to buy without the federal tax break. Apparently, rich guys who are very strongly against entitlements have no qualms about accepting tax breaks to help them add square footage to their million dollar+ homes.
Apparently, rich guys who are very strongly against entitlements have no qualms about accepting tax breaks
There’s a big difference in recouping the money paid in taxes - way too much taxes - vs. collecting benefits and not paying taxes.
“Someone 10 million in debt on their house is not rich. It has only seemed so.”
Did you miss the recent article I posted about rich guys who pay cash for a home when they first purchase it, then later get a mortgage in order to capture the tax benefits? It sounds like it should be illegal, but I guess it isn’t.
Just in case you missed this, I am reposting:
JUMBO JUNGLE
November 8, 2012, 9:49 p.m. ET
Home Buyers Do the Mortgage Time Warp
By ANNAMARIA ANDRIOTIS
Pay cash for your next home or get a mortgage? Some wealthy home buyers are choosing both.
It’s called delayed financing, in which buyers pay cash for a home and then take out a mortgage soon after closing. Rarely used even two years ago, experts say it has picked up over the past 12 months.
“It was an extremely unusual phenomenon, but it’s going on quite a bit now,” says Jack McCabe, an independent housing analyst in Deerfield Beach, Fla.
Sales of million-dollar-plus homes are on the rise nationwide, while inventory remains limited.
The practice is growing mostly in affluent coastal housing markets, including New York and San Francisco. And it all boils down to competition. Sales of million-dollar-plus homes are on the rise nationwide, while inventory remains limited. All-cash buyers have a better chance of standing out from competing bids and getting the home at a lower price since their offer isn’t contingent on financing.
After the deal is done, these buyers also want to regain some liquidity. So they get a mortgage and, in some cases, stash this money in investments that might have higher returns than what they pay in mortgage interest. Other options: They might use it to purchase another property or to simply bolster their cash cushion.
…
They are just letting inflation work for them. They know that we are facing inflation far higher than the mortgage rates they can receive fixed for the next 30 years.
If “they” do end the MID, they should grandfather all existing loan holders in and have no deduction for new loans. I agree with ending the deduction, but I am sick of the Federal Government screwing people after the fact. A deal is a deal.
You probably think the Magna Carta is still valid.
You probably think your mom stopped working the streets.
I am a little sarcastic. You are abusive.
If you think your response was civil, then I apologize.
“…they should grandfather all existing loan holders…”
Shouldn’t be a problem; why wouldn’t they do so?
Sorry for the late-night misfire…trying again, with edits and link.
Ben Hallman
Senior Financial Writer, The Huffington Post
Mortgage Interest Deduction: Not A Tax Break For The Middle Class
Posted: 11/29/2012 4:07 pm
As Washington searches for ways to drum up tax revenues in a bid to avert the fiscal cliff, the interest deduction some homeowners claim on their mortgages may be on the chopping block.
The possibility that this deduction might go away has prompted the sort of dire warnings that might be reserved for news that the American flag will lose its stars and stripes: The housing market, finally recovering from a long decline, will plunge anew as values fall. People won’t buy as many homes. Middle-class families will suffer and despair.
But this view, voiced with the most conviction by lobbyists for home builders and real estate agents, simply isn’t grounded in reality. The deduction helps some middle-class families to a modest degree, but it is mostly a giant giveaway to the wealthy. Moreover, there’s no evidence to suggest home prices would crash or people would suddenly choose renting over buying if it went away.
“It’s time to take a closer look,” said John Taylor, the president of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, which advocates for low-income borrowers. “This is far and away the government’s largest housing subsidy, and it primarily benefits people who are financially comfortable and some people who are extremely financially comfortable.”
…
Why wouldn’t Timothy Geithner be expected to appease his future Wall Street employers?
November 29, 2012, 5:00 am
Dropping the Ball on Financial Regulation
By SIMON JOHNSON
Simon Johnson is the Ronald A. Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship at the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management and co-author of “White House Burning: The Founding Fathers, Our National Debt, and Why It Matters to You.”
With regard to financial reform, the outcome of the November election seems straightforward. At the presidential level, the too-big-to-fail banks bet heavily on Mitt Romney and lost; President Obama received relatively few contributions from the financial sector, in contrast to 2008. In Senate races, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Sherrod Brown of Ohio demonstrated that it was possible to win not just without Wall Street money but against Wall Street money.
More broadly, this political shift coincides with and matches a significant change of views within the regulatory community. To pick these up, you need to listen carefully, but the signs are unmistakable.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is firmly in the hands of sensible people. The Federal Reserve governor Daniel Tarullo is making all the right noises, including about the need for a cap on the nondeposit liabilities of our largest banks. Even Bill Dudley, the president of the New York Fed and a former Goldman Sachs executive, now acknowledges that too-big-to-fail is still with us. If the New York Fed is getting past denial, we are making progress.
At the Treasury Department, however, the tone and the content of messages on financial reform sound increasingly discordant. Recent signals suggest that appeasing powerful players within the financial sector is still high on the agenda for Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
…
It is unwise to antagonize your future employer.
All that money borrowed and spent.
SOMEONE tell me - WHAT DO WE HAVE TO SHOW FOR IT????
Housing in a bubble again?
Unions bailed out?
Banks bailed out?
————————————————–
Obama’s Now Borrowed More Than All Presidents from Washington to W
(CNSNews.com) - The federal government has now borrowed more money during Barack Obama’s time as president than it did in the period lasting from the time President George Washington took the oath office until July 2, 2001, more than five months into the first term of President George W. Bush.
At the close of business on Jan. 20, 2009, when President Barack Obama was inaugurated, the national debt stood at $10,626,877,048,913.08, according to the Treasury. At the close of business this Thursday, it stood at $16,323,083,449,604.98.
That means the debt has increased $5,696,206,400,691.90 during Obama’s presidency.
On July 2, 2001, more than five months after President George W. Bush entered office, the national debt was $5,693,220,327,798.14, according to the Treasury. By the close of business on July 3, 2001, it had risen to 5,698,195,769,465.40. Since then, the debt has never again dropped below $5,696,206,400,691.90—the amount it has increased in less than one full term of Obama.
exponential growth at work. who is going to pay for all wall streets bad bets? they get the gains and you get the losses.
taxpayers need to grow some stones.
We are living in the Weimar Republic lets just hope that Nazi Germany is not around the corner but when an economy collapses what happens is never pretty.
“We are living in the Weimar Republic …”
Weimar Republic? Wasn’t this the time when money was so plentiful that people spent it as fast as possible because it was rapidly losing value?
Is this what you see happening around you?
Weimar Republic? Wasn’t this the time when money was so plentiful that people spent it as fast as possible because it was rapidly losing value?
Many people around me do seem to spend it as fast as possible; but I don’t think that’s the reason why…
It started off with just the printing of money as fast as they could (we are there), the spending as fast as the people could began after the high inflation began.
Another possible facet of this Dan is that we are lending the money into existence. The credit expansion reversed on the private side and the government is borrowing to try to keep the bubble aloft. Our government is not printing to expand the money supply, they are borrowing. It’s not enough and it looks like it running out of will. We are already in deflation, not hyper inflation.
That’s just crazy talk dan.
Our currency has the “The full faith and credit of the U.S. Government”. It even says so on our bills.
Blue Skye where is this deflation? I did not see it in food or housing, medical care etc.
“It even says so on our bills.”
Don’t know about the bills in your wallet, but the ones in mine say Federal Reserve Note.
From the BLS (sorry about the formatting but you can tell the inflation is there):
Table A. Percent changes in CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): U.S. city
average
Seasonally adjusted changes from
preceding month
Un-
adjusted
12-mos.
Apr. May June July Aug. Sep. Oct. ended
2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 2012 Oct.
2012
All items……………… .0 -.3 .0 .0 .6 .6 .1 2.2
Food…………………. .2 .0 .2 .1 .2 .1 .2 1.7
Food at home…………. .2 -.1 .1 .0 .1 .0 .3 1.0
Food away from home (1).. .3 .2 .2 .2 .3 .2 .1 2.7
Energy……………….. -1.7 -4.3 -1.4 -.3 5.6 4.5 -.2 4.0
Energy commodities……. -2.6 -6.4 -2.3 .2 8.6 6.7 -.5 8.6
Gasoline (all types)…. -2.6 -6.8 -2.0 .3 9.0 7.0 -.6 9.1
Fuel oil (1)………… -1.1 -2.8 -7.9 -.5 4.6 4.1 1.1 5.6
Energy services………. -.2 -.7 .0 -1.1 .8 .7 .3 -3.0
Electricity…………. .2 .3 -.5 -1.3 .2 .2 .5 -1.2
Utility (piped) gas
service………….. -1.8 -4.1 1.7 -.2 2.8 2.0 -.2 -8.4
All items less food and
energy…………….. .2 .2 .2 .1 .1 .1 .2 2.0
Commodities less food and
energy commodities…. .2 .2 .2 .0 -.2 -.2 -.1 .7
New vehicles………… .4 .2 .2 -.1 .2 -.1 -.1 1.0
Used cars and trucks…. 1.5 1.0 .0 -.5 -.9 -1.4 -.9 -2.1
Apparel…………….. .4 .4 .5 .2 -.5 .3 .7 3.0
Medical care commodities
(1)……………… .0 .0 .1 .5 .3 -.1 .0 3.0
Services less energy
services………….. .3 .2 .2 .1 .1 .3 .3 2.5
Shelter…………….. .2 .2 .1 .1 .2 .2 .3 2.3
Transportation services .5 .3 -.2 -.2 .0 .5 .7 2.0
Medical care services… .4 .5 .7 .3 .2 .4 .0 3.9
1 Not seasonally adjusted.
Many keep posting about inflation esp. at the grocery but I just don’t see it. You do have to shop the specials and they are plentiful. Sure I can go to Trader Joe’s and get all kinds of goodies and they have gone up. But basic stuff no I have been paying $4 per pound for hamburger for 10 years. Pasta has been ~ $1 per pond for about 15 or 20 years. Canned black beans ~$1 per can for 20 years. Stop n Shop (Giant Food in Washington, DC) has rotisserie chicken every Friday for $5. So do many Safeways. Yesterday whole pineapples $2.50. I guess if you are inflexible and will buy only x brand or buy stuff out of season you might be paying more. Plus I don’t even use coupons.
I am paying much higher for items I buy such as salmon, mixed nuts etc and basic items such as milk. All you have to do is look at the government numbers that tend to underestimate inflation to confirm this. Also, many have attributed many of the revolutions all over the world to higher food prices sorry if you cannot see inflation than you are looking with rose color glasses.
“…for items I buy such as salmon, mixed nuts etc…”
Given the huge wealth gains in 1 percent households, why is it surprising to see luxury consumption items skyrocket in price?
Sorry but to me they are staples not luxuries. They are necessities to eating a healthy diet and I avoid medical bills by eating them.
CIBT, I don’t think the 1% ever had a problem affording Costco salmon and eating it at home so I don’t think they have increased their consumption the last few years.
Costco salmon and 1% salmon are substitutes in production, as the same fix landed at the processor can go into various different product forms.
The more salmon that gets processed to supply high-end luxury consumption, the worse the price-quality combination for your Costco salmon will look.
“They are necessities to eating a healthy diet and I avoid medical bills by eating them.”
The education needed to enjoy this insight and the cash flow needed to provide for it are luxury consumption items.
CBIT, you are still assuming increased consumption by the 1% has increased and I see no basis for it. It would never have been a significant part of their budget. Far more likely is the more people have made the realizations that I have made and they are driving up the consumption but they are not the 1% but maybe are the top 10%.
“CBIT, you are still assuming increased consumption by the 1% has increased and I see no basis for it.”
Sorry if my salmon fisheries production example went over your head…
you are still assuming increased consumption by the 1% has increased and I see no basis for it
Maybe there are some new 1%ers in the BRICs?
“My daily bottle of Cristal is for medicinal purposes.”
Prices here are higher. Almost double for pasta. 30cents for canned beans. We switched over to dried beans, although cooking them costs more money in elec.
“Many keep posting about inflation esp. at the grocery but I just don’t see it.”
One word for you…Bacon.
Darn those facts getting in the way of the spin that he is fiscal conservative.
“WHAT DO WE HAVE TO SHOW FOR IT????”
Nobody seems to care if you ask egg head self loathing guilty white progressives, most minorities, college students or the media. Just keep it coming they say…eff the consequences.
Personally, I would have liked to see infrastructure improvements and also a national high speed rail system. My guess is that sanctuary cities, community organizations, the lazy, the unions, the breeders and the connected cronies pretty much used it all up and are begging for more.
Remember when people on the HBB complained about HB-1 visas and the jobs they took from Americans and the way it depressed wages?
But that was before Hope and Change.
————————————————
House passes bill to cancel diversity visa lottery
Washington Times | November 30, 2012 | Stephen Dinan
The House voted Friday to cancel the annual diversity visa lottery and give those immigration visas to high-tech foreign-born who earn advanced degrees from American universities, as Republicans powered through their chamber the first major immigration bill since the election.
The 245-139 vote was a test of the GOP’s plan to tackle immigration piecemeal, and while the bill passed, the strong opposition from Democrats suggests that Republicans’ strategy will face difficult hurdles.
And while the chief selling point of the bill was to boost green cards given to science, technology, engineering and technology students, the bigger fight came over Republicans’ plans to cancel the diversity visa lottery, which the GOP argues is rife with fraud.
“We want to put to the head of the line the people who, every single one of them that comes, net creates jobs,” said Rep. Darrell Issa, California Republican, who managed the bill on the House floor.
Democrats, though, objected to making immigration a zero-sum equation, where any new visas would have to come at the expense of existing lines of immigration.
“I can’t support a bill that pits immigrant communities against each other,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the ranking Democrat on the House immigration subcommittee……
….House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, who wrote the legislation, said the visa lottery invites fraud.
It’s H1B.
I can’t support a bill that may reduce my future voters. Says the gentleman from Democratic party.
Well, it was the Republican controlled house that voted on this. So I don’t see how you can blame this in Obama, at least not until he signs it into law.
It reduces 50,000 or so in DV visas but creates 20,000 new h1B.
So it’s a net reduction of 30,000 a year.
So you think it is better to let people in this country based on a lottery than having skills?
I said no such thing. Personally, I’d prefer they not let those people in at all, lottery or H1-B.
What I was pointing out is that the push for more H1-B’s, which will put MORE downward pressure on wages, was instigated by the GOP.
I don’t disagree with any restrictions unless you are talking about the true cognitive elite but the issue here was do with cut down on immigration and eliminate people coming by lottery and the democrats clearly said no. Don’t you think the change would have at least been beneficial if not optimal?
definitely need more of those somali job creators.
But Montana they do create jobs, a job as a terrorist. Join the jihad now.
You just cant walk down the street without tripping over a terrorist these days..
If the democrats seem to have their way we will tripping over trip wires. But if you join now you can get the great benefits. They will give you a job for life, if you join as a suicide bomber.
The “Somali Speed Boat Institute” has a nice ring to it.
Remember Jeff Saturday’s updates on home equity extractions and foreclosures in his neighborhood? Here is one at 165 Magnolia near his old rental:
10/08/03: Sales Price: $337,966
10/08/03: Mortgage: 336,300
12/19/06: Refinance: 413,000.
04/25/07: New Pool, Spa
and Outdoor Bar
08/02/12: Foreclosure Begins
Yet we still have to read about the poor underwater homeowners and the need for mortgage forgiveness. This guy only had $1,666 of his own money in the game and lived very nicely. No longer making mortgage payments, he has a great lifestyle.
At least he put some of the proceeds of the refinance back into the property in the form of durable improvements rather than blowing it all on an SUV, vacations, and the like.
12/19/06
Calling Dr. Snorkels calling, Dr. Snorkels
Dr. Snorkels: What do we have here?
Nurse: We have a patient living without a Pool, Spa
and Outdoor Bar.
Dr. Snorkels: We`re going to have to do an emergency equity extraction.
Dr. Snorkels: Suction!
Posted: 4:35 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30, 2012
Fewer homes underwater, but many still just treading water
By Kimberly Miller
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Kevin Kent, broker associate with Platinum Properties Real Estate, said areas with high underwater mortgage rates were also places where homeowners were more likely to pull out equity as the real estate boom escalated.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/business/fewer-homes-underwater-but-many-still-just-treadin/nTKRG/ -
Sign of another housing bubble top? I still remember the Japanese in the 1980s…
FYI - That is the official title - US Real
—————————-
Norway Wealth Fund to Spend $11 Billion Adding U.S. Real
By Devin Banerjee - Dec 1, 2012 - Bllomberg
Norway’s $660 billion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, plans to invest about $11 billion as it enters the U.S. real estate market.
The fund, mandated by the country’s finance ministry to eventually put 5 percent of assets in property, wants one-third of that, or 1.7 percent, to be in the U.S., said Yngve Slyngstad, chief executive officer of Oslo-based Norges Bank Investment Management, which oversees the pool. The fund held 0.3 percent in real estate, 60.3 percent in stocks and 39.4 percent in bonds as of the end of September, according to its quarterly report.
Norway, Europe’s second-biggest oil and gas exporter, generates money for the fund from taxes on oil and gas, ownership of petroleum fields and dividends from its 67 percent stake in Statoil ASA , the country’s largest energy company. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
“The U.S. is the next real estate market to invest in,” Slyngstad said yesterday in an interview at Bloomberg LP’s headquarters in New York.
Sovereign wealth funds, or state-owned investment pools, are seeking to diversify their risk by expanding investments beyond stocks and bonds. China Investment Corp., which oversees about $482 billion in assets, in 2010 helped refinance a Manhattan office tower co-owned by private-equity firm Carlyle Group LP. (CG) Norway, seeking higher returns and lower risk after record losses in 2008, gave approval in 2010 for its fund to invest as much as 5 percent of its value in real estate over several years.
Ditching paper for hard assets?
What a concept.
Selling hard assets and buying paper?
“…are seeking to diversify their risk by expanding investments beyond stocks and bonds.”
??
Ditching overvalued assets in exchange for hard Norwegian currency…great plan!
Come and get it, suckers!
“Come and get it, suckers!”
As I recall, the cheeseheads went neck deep in MBS and lost every penny.
“Dec 1, 2012 - Bllomberg
Norway’s $660 billion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, plans to invest about $11 billion as it enters the U.S. real estate market.”
Hah! We’re clearly in the time warp phase of the Housing Bubble stages of grief.
Remember how those stoopid Norwegian investors took a bath in U.S. subprime mortgages? I’m happy to hear they are still stepping up to share their national wealth with Americans.
Regarding the flaw I pointed out in Thomas Sowell’s theory of “black empowerment” or whatever he calls it, I wanted to provide an example of where greed was not a powerful enough force to overcome the force of racism.
Professional baseball.
Now Im sure there is someone reading this site who knows more history than I regarding how Jackie Robinson ended up being the first black player in 1947, and in all the years leading up to it and for some years afterwards. Thomas Sowell’s theory failed to account for the behavior of all the white people collecting a check from professional baseball.
Why?
I say its because Sowell fails to designate white supremacy a CARTEL. The purpose of a cartel is precisely to “get around” market forces.
Now, if I could figure this out, why couldn’t he?
And if he did figure it out and refused to tell black people, doesn’t this solidify evidence of the greater power of this cartel?
BTW— was the team that too Jackie Robinson really good and talented when they accepted him?
or did they suck when they accepted him.
Market theory would say the team in last place would be most desparate to win, EVEN if they had to take a black player or 4…
I have always said that the surest way to end racial quotas was to strictly enforce them in the NBA…
No black players over 6′2″ that’ll teach ‘em
What is the enforcement mechanism against a cartel?
Its another cartel right?
So whats the most powerful cartel and are they the ones who set up the quotas?
A big part of the confusion is centered around peoples mistaken belief that they are in the cartel.
Thomas Sowell may be one of them.
I haven’t read Sowell as carefully as you obviously have, but I surmise he is nearly blind to cartels & the closely related phenomenon, rent-seeking, in his economic presentation.
Hey Spook, if you want an interesting read wiki-up the boxer Jack Johnson.
“Unforgiveable Blackness: The Jack Johnson Story” - fantastic PBS piece.
The debut Dec. 14 of “The Junction Boys,” ESPN’s movie about Bear Bryant and his first preseason training camp as head coach of Texas A & M,
And for 13 years, when he could have made a great difference, he did very little and did not really dissent from the biases of the region. Yes, he let ‘Bama play an integrated Penn State team in the Liberty Bowl in 1959. But that was good for him and his players and changed very little. In truth, he denied native sons of Alabama, great players, players better than he was when he was their age, their rightful place on the state university team. It did not take a genius at that time to know something was wrong with this picture, and to know that his failure to stand apart from the worst of the region’s culture diminished him as a man on something profoundly important.
We know that he knew better, that he knew that what he was going along with was wrong, and that in the end he was placing a severe ceiling on the quality of his teams, which soon would not be able to compete with the best teams in the nation. We know that in 1970, he arranged a game with Southern Cal, and that Sam (Bam) Cunningham scored two touchdowns in the first half as USC destroyed Alabama 42-21, thus changing the course of deep South football because the Alabama program was integrated the next year. And all the good old boys could later laugh and say that old Sam Cunningham did more to integrate Alabama in 30 minutes than Martin Luther King did in 16 years.
http://espn.go.com/page2/s/halberstam/021220.html - 22k
“…white supremacy a CARTEL…”
Nope.
In contrast to the definition of a CARTEL, which assumes a small number of colluding firms, white supremacy was grass roots and broad based.
Cantankerous,
are you a white person?
and,
Do all white people practice white supremacy?
“Do all white people practice white supremacy?”
No.
In fact, my first girlfriend in sixth grade, whose daddy was a (white) Southern Baptist preacher, opined that my daddy was a “n_____ lover.” My dad was quite the antithesis of a white supremacist.
I’m pretty sure I don’t qualify, either, as evidenced by my peacefully coexisting with several different black roommates over my college years, and living in predominantly black communities at various points later in life.
By contrast, I know white men who would literally never set foot in areas where I used to live, out of fear of blacks. I personally don’t fear blacks, though I confess to a fear of crime. I believe this is what keeps many blacks and whites away from high crime ghetto areas, rather than racism per se.
Thanks for the edit on the ‘n’ word.
I was frankly appalled by her remark (and there and then ended our budding romance…).
It would be very hard to be a white supremacist living in Richmond.
You’re absolutely right. I remember how very white North County San Diego seemed after moving away from Richmond, and we have black neighbors who live across the street. I don’t take the sense our area is racist, but it is very plain vanilla white.
In the interests of accuracy, vanilla is actually a near-black pod.
Comment by Cantankerous Intellectual Bomb Thrower™
2012-12-01 19:03:01
“Do all white people practice white supremacy?”
No.
——————
So you are admitting that the percentage of white people who do could be a small one?
So following the logic white supremacy could be a cartel of white people who practice racism; correct?
“So you are admitting that the percentage of white people who do could be a small one?
So following the logic white supremacy could be a cartel of white people who practice racism; correct?”
You got me, spook.
Market theory would say the team in last place would be most desparate to win, EVEN if they had to take a black player or 4…
Yes, but that assumes that winning was their most important objective. With most professional things making money trumps even winning. Winning just seems like the focus because it usually helps make money. I suspect they were afraid of losing money on things such as ticket sales.
Losing money on ticket sales to whom?
White supremacists?
Are you saying they could not make it up in volume
Don’t know. Just saying I can see how their fear of losing money due to other people’s assumed racism could be a bigger factor than their own possible racism.
Hi. Snowing here outside of Boston. I missed yesterday the lengthy thread yesterday about Obama and grades and affirmative action and the law review. I think both sides of the argument is are right. Even before Polly explain the role of the editor and how law review works I figured out that is why it had no articles contributed by Obama. It’s not like a news paper editorial or article that you dash off in a few hours. (I am thinking of Wesley Pruden, the editor of The Washington Times who writes an editorial several times a week. Even if that paper’s view is contrary to yours he’s a good and often funny writer think of Mark Twain lampooning politicians. It’s of that flavor.) Now to those who think Obama’s being black (or half black) not being a factor in his admission to Harvard and being selected as editor of the law review I have bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. Finally about his not releasing his grades - don’t give us the malarkey about safety. The transcripts or his medical records or any other record could be redacted. If Congress can do it with classified documents it can be done with a college transcript. My guess and I would bet my life and bottom dollar that the he probably got some Ds or Fs in some of the more challenging courses: econ or physics or chemistry or might have pulled all Cs. Do I care? Not much. But use some common sense there is some reason why he would not release his grades other than the nonsense of protecting the security of professors*, etc… Excuse any typos I have not had coffee yet. *Can’t even see the threat to professors and some of them could be identified by looking at old course catalogs and comments of people who went to school with Obama.
I personally don’t give a flip how witty the guy may or may not be, or if he smokes cigars in the oval office. He’s a front man for Wall Street. Dirty money.
I personally don’t give a flip how witty the guy may or may not be, or if he smokes cigars in the oval office.
Who clips and lubes his cigars?
Wall Street’s dirty money went to Romney this time.
Maybe I wasn’t watching. They didn’t hedge their bets? Dirty money from six or eight years ago is water under the bridge?
“Now to those who think Obama’s being black (or half black) not being a factor in his admission to Harvard and being selected as editor of the law review I have bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. ”
Dio didn’t say it was some kind of factor. He said that the only reason he became president of the law review was because of the EEOC. Well, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforces US employment discrimination laws. They have no influence on admission to colleges or grad schools since that is not employment. They have no ability to enforce anything related to selection to be on the law review since that is not employment (technically it is a student activity, though some schools will give you credit for your writing requirement if you actually publish a note). And they have no ability to enforce anything related to the selection of the student leadership of the law review since that is a bunch of students choosing the person they want to lead their activity group. His premise from the start was completely and totally wrong.
He also insisted that Obama was the only black person in his Harvard Law School class and that somehow that meant that his selection as president of the law review had to be based only on race. First of all the “fact” asserted is absurd. It is impossible that there was only one black person in the Harvard Law School class of whatever year the President graduated. It would have been a giant story in the legal community, and I assure you I would have known about it. Harvard’s first year class has 550 people in it. One person would have been less than 0.2%. Not even a remote possibility. In addition, he said that he learned this from seeing a photo (presumably on the internet). Could you look at a picture of over 500 people on-line and reliably figure out their races? I couldn’t.
As for the selection being influenced by race, I think that Joe and I explained the selection for law review used at higher level schools (not Yale, by the way) clearly enough to kill that. First year law school classes are graded based on a single final exam. The exams are assigned numbers so the professors grade them anonymously. That is probably pretty easy now, but it happened even back when I was in law school. Most of the process to get on law review is grade based. The writing competition that is combined with grades is also submitted under a number system so that the scores don’t reflect any knowledge of the person who wrote it. “Writing on” in second year is probably less anonymous just because only a few people even try to do it, but in any event, it would be nearly impossible for people who write on during second year to get chosen for a leadership position because they miss all the work that everyone else has to do over the summer and in the fall of second year.
Now, once “Barry” Obama got on to law review in the normal way, and put in the long hours of work needed to stay on law review throughout his second year of law school, was his selection as president influenced at all by his race? I’m not sure how Harvard works that selection exactly. It is probably done by the outgoing editors. These people have devoted two solid years of their lives to running the country’s leading journal of legal scholarship. They care about it deeply. They know how important it is to have the right person in the right job. They probably had more than one person who they thought would do a very good job in the role. Did some of them think that it would be great to have the person who would do a great job and was also black be the president? Perfectly possible. But if the people doing the selecting had believed that someone else would be better in the role, not a chance that they would have failed to pick that other person. There are too many things that can go wrong when you have to put out that many volumes in a year to not choose one of the best people for the job. The President’s preferred method of decision making (consensus building) is exceptionally well suited to leading a law journal. The fact that he wasn’t just 22 or 23 (like most 3rd year law students) would have been much more of a factor than his race. He had real work experience and experience leading groups of volunteers to come together to a common goal. Very important skills to have in that circumstance.
I suppose the incoming second year editors could have the ones who chose their own leaders. In that case, it is even less likely that race was an issue. You don’t pick your own boss for the next year based on race. You pick the person who isn’t going to make your life a misery.
By the way, there is a fairly high chance that the President’s grades in law school deteriorated once he was on law review. That happens a lot because law review itself is so absurdly demanding and time consuming that the students who are on it just don’t have the time to study enough to keep their grades up to the standards that got them on in the first place.
I am thinking the asking price on the Brooklyn Bridge is attractive to you.
Off topic: For a real laugh wiki-up “George C. Parker”. He’s a guy that “sold the Brooklyn Bridge twice a week for years”.
If you have any fact about the EEOC controlling who gets picked to be president of the Harvard Law Review, please offer them. Otherwise, well, there is this saying about remaining quiet and being presumed a fool rather than opening your mouth and confirming the matter.
GBOT - Government Bot
Home • Ask FactCheck • Obama’s ‘Sealed’ Records Obama’s ‘Sealed’ Records
Posted on July 31, 2012
Obama’s college records are not “sealed” by a court order, as this graphic would have you believe. It would be illegal under federal law (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974) for Occidental, Columbia or Harvard Law School to give any former student’s records to reporters or members of the public without that person’s specific, written permission. Obama hasn’t released them, but neither have other presidential candidates released their college records. George W. Bush’s grades at Yale eventually became public, but only because somebody leaked them to the New Yorker magazine. Bush himself refused to release them, according to a 1999 profile in the Washington Post.
Did someone write a book containing all the documented examples of when governments or presidents DID get caught lying to their citizens?
If not, someone should.
The best example I know is the U2 incident in 1960.
In that example you have the lie and some evidence of the extent of the cover up.
Wickipedia has this:
Four days after Powers disappeared, NASA issued a very detailed press release noting that an aircraft had “gone missing” north of Turkey.[12] The press release speculated that the pilot might have fallen unconscious while the autopilot was still engaged, even falsely claiming that “the pilot reported over the emergency frequency that he was experiencing oxygen difficulties.” To bolster this, a U-2 plane was quickly painted in NASA colors and shown to the media.
So if you are an agency head, where do you draw the line at lying for an administration?
Is it good enough to simply be told: “its for national security reasons and you don’t need the details…?”
Or should you push back?
Or do you just consider it a “favor” that you can cash in at a later date for some extra funding?
Here is the wiki article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_U-2_incident
BTW, I read somewhere that if you dad was in some elite covert military unit and went missing while on a secret mission, not only did you have to move off base, but you may never have a funeral for your dad because they want the enemy to keeps guessing about what happened to him?
I think it was in a book called “Military Brats”. A man was describing how nobody in his family ever really dealt with his fathers death because of the circumstances. He thinks thats where his alcoholism came from.
“I missed yesterday the lengthy thread yesterday about Obama and grades and affirmative action and the law review.”
Way off topic, by the way.
Why can’t the Obama haters club members form their own blog?
“Why can’t the Obama haters club members form their own blog?”
So I guess your not down with…..
“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”
More like….
I disapprove of what you say, so go start your own blog and die.
Don’t put words in my mouth. This is a matter of degree, and some folks have gone way beyond what is reasonable.
“I will defend to the death your right to say it”
What does that have to do with the exact location of the speech?
Exactly:
“I will defend to death your right to say you how much you hate Obama and why as often as you feel the urge…
on some other blog!”
You guys are easy.
Have you checked transaction prices in your town? Prices are falling. Even in the bay area.
from what i’m reading prices are rising and back to bubble highs in some CA coastal areas. The rest of CA is still trying to digest foreclosures.
Maybe you should read MLS data for the Bay Area. Prices are down QoQ and MoM.
The Bay Area is a big place. Some parts of it are more equal than others.
Trust me on this. High end BA real estate is rollin’ right now.
That is correct Colorado…
Santa Clara county is down MoM and QoQ.
“Kevin Kent, broker associate with Platinum Properties Real Estate, said areas with high underwater mortgage rates were also places where homeowners were more likely to pull out equity as the real estate boom escalated.”
And that would have been anywhere this commercial aired.
I’m in debt up to my eyeballs… - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0HX4a5P8eE - 111k
Posted: 4:35 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30, 2012
Fewer homes underwater, but many still just treading water
By Kimberly Miller
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Fewer South Florida homeowners were drowning in mortgage debt during the third quarter of this year as home values rose and the percentage of underwater home loans fell.
About 41 percent of homeowners with mortgages in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties owed more on their loan than their home was worth through September, 5 percentage points below where it was during the same time in 2011.
While that’s still equal to $39.1 billion in negative equity, it’s an improvement that matches a nationwide trend of climbing home prices and diminished mortgage strain, according to a report released this week by real estate analysis firm Zillow.
Kevin Kent, broker associate with Platinum Properties Real Estate, said areas with high underwater mortgage rates were also places where homeowners were more likely to pull out equity as the real estate boom escalated.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/business/fewer-homes-underwater-but-many-still-just-treadin/nTKRG/ -
Resolution Copper cutting 400 jobs, citing uncertainty of long-pending proposal for land swap
SUPERIOR, Arizona — An Arizona mining company announced Friday it will suspend shaft and drilling work at its Superior operation and eliminate about 400 jobs, saying the moves are the result of continued uncertainty around a proposed land exchange.
Resolution Copper Mining officials said they will try to place affected workers in other jobs within the company. Some workers could be placed in positions with one of Resolution’s owners, London-based Rio Tinto.
The cuts, which will start in December and conclude by the end of March, amount to about 75 percent of Resolution’s workforce.
Under a proposal that has been pending since 2005, Resolution would swap 5,300 acres of land for conservation purposes for 2,400 acres of national forest land that company considers vital for its expansion plans.
The exchange has been stalled in Congress for years, opposed by some conservationists and American Indian groups.
“To justify further development, we need more certainty around legislative and regulatory activity affecting Resolution Copper,” project director Andrew Taplin said in a statement. He said the land exchange “constitutes the critical path forward.”
One of the largest undeveloped copper resources in the world rests under the forest land in question. Company plans call for investing more than $6 billion in the proposed mine, which would be the largest copper mine in North America.
Taplin said $1 billion has already been invested in the project and Resolution Copper is committed to seeing it through.
U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said the area has already been hit particularly hard by the economic downturn and job creation there is desperately needed.
McCain said if Congress were to pass the legislation calling for the land swap, the mine expansion could result in 4,000 jobs.
U.S. Rep.-elect Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., said the cuts announced Friday could devastate Superior, Globe, Miami and other small communities.
“When a small community loses jobs, the hardship hits families, school districts, small businesses — just about everyone,” she said, adding that her office plans to work with civic and business leaders to determine the next steps.
Opponents of the swap include the Obama administration and many Democratic lawmakers. They have argued that an environmental review should be completed before the exchange is made.
During debate in the House last fall, Democrats complained that the mining company would not have to pay royalties to the U.S. government for lucrative mineral rights that could be worth billions of dollars. They also said the proposed mine site contains sacred Native American artifacts and important cultural areas that would be displaced by the mine.
What they want to do is - what? - move a gigantic hole from a place that is depleted to another place that is not yet depleted?
Do you user copper or foresee any other person in the universe using copper in the future? We have to get it from somewhere. As long as the company does not violate environmental regulations, what is the problem?
Plus a big chunk of the money generated stays in which country…….I think it begins with a Usa
I think the pendulum has started to swing against the eco-nuts.
Just think, if we were trying to build the Golden Gate Bridge or any other huge infrastructure project, they would be held up in court for a generation or more. Unf*ckingbelievable. If anyone thinks that starving Americans on their own land via the EPA is just, please go to the nearest mirror and gaze upon the idiot before you.
Dirty, filthy, unregulated resource extraction is happening on a massive scale around the globe. This is not something I’ve read on wiki or learned through a quick Google degree. I’ve seen it first hand. If you think that resource extraction is a relic of olden times please revisit the mirror. Everything you see in your daily lives, everything, is a result of RE.
* Resource extraction using the best technologies has to be part of our plan if we are going to maintain any semblance of a first world living standard here.
That is unless there is another “plan”.
* I think fracking for oil & natural gas near aquifers is a mistake long term.
“Native American artifacts and important cultural areas…” Oh brother. American Indians are nice people but none of the tribes even came up with the wheel or any other engineering / technology and for writing had crude
hieroglyphics.
Report: Economy Failing Because U.S. Built On Ancient Indian Burial Grounds
The Aztecs did have aqueducts. Many precolombian pyramids have alignments that provide for interesting effects during solstices. True, the tribes present in the US were far more primitive.
The lack of the wheel is perplexing though.
They actually had it but only used it as a toy. One of the reasons may have been the lack of suitable draft animals. But when you talk about science you cannot not ignore what native Americans did in agriculture for example: the creation of corn from probably a grass is an amazing achievement.
I suggest more people read 1491. It explodes myths on both sides. Native Americans as the perfect environmentalists and Native Americans as not having well developed science and using it productively.
U.S. Rep.-elect Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., said the cuts announced Friday could devastate Superior, Globe, Miami and other small communities.
Uh that area already looks pretty devastated to me thanks to a 100 years of mining.
you could flim a pretty creepy movie in some parts of Miami AZ I think.
Only 20 Mayan shopping days left.
12-21-2012
Now are the Doomsday Preppers gonna be bummed out 12-22-2012?
Or do they eat MREs through the Holidays and shoot off a couple of thousand rounds of ammo on New Years Eve?
As long as Obama is the president, the doomsday preppers will have a use for their items.
After Sandy - we should all be preppers.
The government is not going to save you - no matter how many times obama says it will.
One can always take the Purple Robe option.
It is on a bus line as it will come in handy to haul groceries or oil cans to heat the darn thingy.
http://www.cnyhomes.com/Listing/Search/info.cgi?mlnum=S282887
9 garages, 6 bedrooms and a gynmasium worthy of a junior high. I’m not even sure that’s a house… are we sure that it didn’t used to be a boarding school or something similar?
bwhahahahahaha. Amsterdam. Depopulation Central.
Prices to get a 1000 sq ft crawl space cleaned is as follows. $10,500 to $11,000.
This includes debris removal, cleaning the crawl space and then installing the insulation back. 3 days worth of work maybe? Profit for the contractor about $9000. NJ prices.
Long Island prices are about $11,000 (Eleven grand just to spray and treat. I am telling you things have gone nuts. Just Nuts.
Anybody who wants to disagree needs to shut up
Waaaaaaa? Strip trash/debris from joists in crawl space and reinstall batts? How much? Where?
!00 miles of coast line in NJ and Long Island. Please remember it is also for removing the mold.
You didn’t say the area had been flooded and is now moldy. Price sounds about right.
Kansas City Chiefs player fatally shoots himself, police sayNFL.com
Published: Dec. 1, 2012 at 10:47 a.m.
By NFL.com
A Kansas City Chiefs player died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Saturday morning at the team’s training facility, Kansas City Police communications supervisor Kathy Childs said.
The shooting occurred at 8:10 a.m. local time at the team’s facility near Arrowhead Stadium, Childs said. She said police know the name of the player, but declined to release his name since the shooting was still under investigation.
The player was also suspected in the killing of a young woman at a nearby residence earlier in the morning, Kansas City Police spokesman Darin Snapp told NFL.com’s Albert Breer.
“About (7:50 a.m), we got a call to a residence, in regards to a shooting, on the 5400 block of Crysler Ave.,” Snapp said by phone. “We arrived and the lady there informed us that her daughter had been shot by her on-again, off-again boyfriend. The young woman was taken to a local hospital, where she died a short time later.
“At about 8:10 a.m., we received a call to the Arrowhead practice facility in regards to a black male armed with a gun in the parking lot, and he matched the description of the shooting suspect,” Snapp continued. “Officers arrived, saw a black man with a gun to his head, and some Chiefs employees. As the officer got out of his car, he heard a gunshot. It appeared the individual shot himself. He was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.”
Snapp said the shooting occurred outside the front doors of the facility. The player’s name will not be released until family is notified, Snapp said.
According to Snapp, Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, coach Romeo Crennel and another unnamed Chiefs staff member were talking to the player just before he killed himself, Breer and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reported. Snapp said Pioli and Crennel “never felt like they were in danger.” The player thanked Pioli and Crennel for all that they had done for him.
When officers arrived, the player walked in the opposite direction from where they were all standing. “A couple seconds later, they heard the gunshot,” Snapp said.
The Chiefs have released a statement in regard to the incident:
“We can confirm that there was an incident at Arrowhead earlier this morning. We are cooperating with authorities in their investigation.”
The Chiefs are scheduled to play host to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
I will put a case of beer that there is a housing element to this somewhere.
Like he was underwater or trying to shortsale or there was a foreclosure…
Housing isn’t all that pricey in KC (this is flyover country). You can buy a real mansion for less than what what he made in a single season (1.927 million).
Ryan’s speculation below is more likely: He was cut, his girlfriend dumped him and he pissed it all away, probably on her.
Congrats 2Ban, your post didn’t mention Obama or unions.
You can do it!
It’s a rare event…
LOL.
Probably got cut by the team.
Why else would he make a special trip to the stadium? Apparently he said thank you for the opportunity to the GM and the Coach before topping himself.
Girlfriend/mother of couple’s 3 month old kid came home late from a show at the Midland Theater at 1am. Argument ensued, going into early morning hours.
Guy (26 years old) shot woman in front of either his mom, or her mom (Reports vary), then drove to the practice facility of the team House was on the east edge of Raytown, in a newish development, approx 5-10 minutes from the stadium. Houses in area seem to be run of the mill 3/2/2s, not a McMansion
Was talking with the GM and Head Coach, when the police rolled up….he then shot himself.
Guy was a 4 year NFL player, undrafted free agent. T
For what it’s worth…….I never understood this kind of deal either, until I went thru a divorce. Not condoning it, but some/most 20 something guys just aren’t prepared to deal with ugly breakups.
“until I went thru a divorce.”
Tell me more about this. My self-assessment puts me at about 90% chance in the next five years.
Housing and sex.
That’s terrible.
I believe a key reason my wife and I have stayed reasonably happy in marriage is that she is not moronically fixated on a belief that home ownership is the ticket to happiness.
You can show your wife this post if you think that would help.
“That’s terrible.”
Yeah, it is.
No joke, seek counseling. Nip problems in the bud.
Mugster,
Whatever you do, stay amicable, don’t badmouth each other to anyone, and put whatever you would have spent on attorneys into trust for your children. Also keep in mind that there’s no reason to divorce unless one of you wants to marry someone else.
“Housing and sex.”
Still renting, and no caboose?
In the poker game of life, women are the rake.
- Worm
Comment by Muggy
2012-12-01 14:30:37
“until I went thru a divorce.”
Tell me more about this. My self-assessment puts me at about 90% chance in the next five years.
—————–
Muggy, regardless of what happens, always remember that men are better than women.
Why?
Because men have always needed to aquire real skills to get a woman and the result of all this “trying” has made us better.
On the other hand, women have never needed any real skills in order to get a man; even social skills.
Don’t get mad. It is what it is.
Good luck, I’ll see you on the beach.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82RTzi5Vt7w
Not condoning it, but some/most 20 something guys just aren’t prepared to deal with ugly breakups.
I think it’s the legal system as it pertains to divorce that they aren’t prepared to deal with. The military is good for learning how to recognize when you’re screwed and knowing how to just shut up and take it or things will only get worse for you.
Can’t you guys at least wait before shooting off your mouths?
From NFL.com:
“Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the team’s training facility after killing his girlfriend in a seperate incident Saturday morning, Kansas City Police spokeman Darin Snapp said.
The shooting occurred at 8:10 a.m. local time at the team’s facility near Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City Police communication supervisor Kathy Childs said.
Belcher killed his 22-year-old girlfriend at a house he was leasing before driving to the training facility, Snapp told NFL.com’s Albert Breer. Police said Belcher’s mother witnessed the shooting.
Police have not released the woman’s name, but confirmed she and Belcher had a 3-month-old daughter…
The fourth-year player was named a starting linebacker in 2011.“
He thanked the head coach and GM for what they had done for him before he killed himself.
By the way, you are all racists. Even Muggy although he did not actually comment on the story, he got caught up in the thread thus making him a racist by association.
Maybe the test came back Belcher wasn’t the daddy?
“Maybe the test came back Belcher wasn’t the daddy?”
That could do it, but once again I`m afraid I`m going to have to throw the racist flag.
By the way, you are all racists. Even Muggy although he did not actually comment on the story, he got caught up in the thread thus making him a racist by association.
That’s hilarious.
Even worse, I hijacked it. I have no shame. None.
Remember guyz it’s Never racist when it’s the truth
If I played for the Chiefs I’d kill myself, too.
Cheeseburger In Paradise
I like mine with granite and it`s gated
Refied seven times, that can not be debated
Big Flat screen and leather sofas too
It`s been Robo signed so I`m not payin you for my
McMansion in paradise (paradise)
Makin’ the best of every virtue and vice (paradise)
Worth every damn bit of Lawyer`s advice (paradise)
To keep my, McMansion in paradise
Live in a, McMansion in paradise
I got a, McMansion in paradise
Can’t squeeze blood out of a rolling stone.
Went for dinner at Carlsbad Village PizzaPort last night with my wife and sons, which kindled fond memories of a HBB meetup there several years back.
PizzaPort is still thriving, just in case a 2013 opportunity presents itself…
“… 2013 opportunity …”
Let’s do it.
From the Detroit News today:
Lansing — Michigan Supreme Court Justice Diane Hathaway and her husband claimed in a court filing Friday their mortgage lender financially benefited from allowing them to sell a Grosse Pointe Park home for $600,000 less than they borrowed — an argument some legal experts found baffling.
Hathaway and her husband, attorney Michael Kingsley, were responding to allegations leveled last month by federal prosecutors that they hid a posh second home in Florida — valued at $644,000 — while seeking a financial hardship from a bank to escape $600,000 in mortgage debt owed on the home on Lake St. Clair.
U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade contends the two attorneys committed bank fraud when they transferred the Florida home to Kingsley’s daughter and got it deeded back after the short sale was complete.
In an interview, Hathaway’s attorney was adamant it was a good deal for the bank.
“There’s no doubt ING Bank would have been worse off if they had walked away from it and there was a sheriff’s sale,” Fishman said. “The bank will never quarrel with it. That’s why they did it.”
A spokeswoman for Capital One, which owns ING Direct, has declined comment on the case.
The response also indicated Hathaway and Kingsley were acting “with the assistance of their lawyer.”
Mike Novak, a media attorney from Troy, read Hathaway’s response Friday and said the justice appears to be shifting blame to the unnamed attorney.
“Don’t look at me, look at the attorney we hired,” Novak said. “It’s like a bank robber who says, ‘Hey I didn’t take all of the money. I left you a few sacks.’ That’s an awful defense.”
Hathaway has not publicly commented on her real estate transactions and ducked reporters Wednesday after a Supreme Court administrative hearing in Lansing.
A good lawyer can argue a dead man back to life.
Took the words right out of my mouth!
You rotten lying corrupt realtors.
REVIEW & OUTLOOK
Updated November 30, 2012, 7:14 p.m. ET
Senators for Housing Busts
How dare Fannie and Freddie try to charge for their risks.
For proof that politicians have learned nothing from the Federal Housing Administration’s insolvency, look no further than a November 19 Senate letter to Edward DeMarco of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Mr. DeMarco wants to let the toxic mortgage twins charge higher fees to cover their risks. Oh, the horror.
At issue is a little-noticed September FHFA proposal to discriminate between states with efficient foreclosure practices and those where judicial and regulatory burdens prolong the process. Specifically in Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey and New York, foreclosures can take years.
Starting next year, Fannie and Freddie would charge borrowers in those states a one-time upfront fee of between 0.15% and 0.30%, which on a 30-year, $200,000 fixed-rate mortgage equates roughly to “an increase of approximately $3.50 to $7.00″ on a monthly mortgage payment, according to FHFA.
The agency explained that the fees Fan and Fred charged before the housing crisis “proved inadequate to compensate for the level of actual credit losses” the duo sustained, which “contributed directly to substantial financial support being provided to the two companies by taxpayers.” Total taxpayer cost so far: $138 billion. The change would relieve borrowers in low-cost states from subsidizing those in high-cost states. FHFA would lower or eliminate the levy if states sped up their foreclosure processes, which would also speed up the housing recovery.
Cue the outrage from Capitol Hill. “As you know, certain state and local governments have put in place increased regulatory and judicial scrutiny of foreclosures to protect consumers from mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure abuses,” Democratic Senators from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Florida, plus Independent Joe Lieberman, declared. They want the higher fees withdrawn.
Translation: The Senators are embarrassed that FHFA is exposing the cost of their antiforeclosure crusade and are trying to pin the blame on bankers. Recall that the “robo-signing” scandal never unearthed a wave of current borrowers wrongly ejected from their homes. The politicians want Fan and Fred to keep churning out below-market-rate mortgage insurance, regardless of the eventual cost to taxpayers.
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