October 25, 2013

Bits Bucket for October 25, 2013

Post off-topic ideas, links, and Craigslist finds here.




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163 Comments »

Comment by Housing Analyst
2013-10-25 02:54:39

Day 2-

To Our Blog Liar “Rio”:

Post up a phone pic of your “ocean” or a simple scene in “brazil”. Make sure you got your middle finger in the picture so we understand clearly that it’s you.

Show us “Rio”

Comment by 2banana
2013-10-25 06:57:55

“obamacare make us more civilized”

–Rio

Comment by goon squad
2013-10-25 07:02:23

Downlow Joe has been personally dissing on you all week in the bits bucket.

Comment by my failure to respect is unacceptable
2013-10-25 07:22:53

Give banana a little slack. He was busy signing up for the O’care.

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Comment by 2banana
2013-10-25 08:06:44

And in three weeks I still couldn’t do it!!!!

The FSA gets upset when they can’t sign up for more free sh*t

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by Strawberrypicker
2013-10-25 07:10:08

You have to agree to give him a million dollars, a Cadillac car and a set of steak knives if he does. He’s a fraud or a fool. If you’ve got nothing better to do than troll this blog Rio, and you are actually in Rio (not a mental asylum) why not go help all those kids in the slums down there. Actually put your liberal views into action.

Comment by 2banana
2013-10-25 07:19:12

Liberal views in action: Take money from some people at the point of a gun, institute huge government bureaucracies and give that money to other people as a government worker sees fit. Pat yourself on the back and tell your friends you are doing God’s work.

God’s OWN words. Use your OWN time, treasure and talents to help other people. And God’s loves cheerful giver (i.e. because it comes from the heart).

Actually put your liberal views into action.

Comment by Bluestar
2013-10-25 07:55:06

I have been very impressed by the deeds and actions of the new Pope Francis. While I reject the idea that man was made in the image of God I support the new Pope in his efforts to bring humility and compassion back into the public conversation.

Pope Francis Suspends ‘Bishop of Bling’
“Pope Francis today suspended the free spending German Bishop Franz Peter Tebartz-van Elst — known derisively as Bishop Deluxe or the Bishop of Bling — and ordered him to vacate the Diocese of Limburg, at least temporarily.

The pope, who has declined to live in the Vatican’s opulent papal residence, has been urging prelates to adopt a more humble lifestyle and today’s actions were the strongest yet to reenforce that message.”

First and above all, follow the golden rule:
Do unto others as you would have done to you.

Jack Smith, AKA Bluestar

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Comment by my failure to respect is unacceptable
2013-10-25 08:51:45

Compassionate conservatism?

 
Comment by aNYCdj
2013-10-25 10:16:51

Where is Rev IKE when you need him……

http://www.revike.org/

 
Comment by Tarara Boomdea
2013-10-25 17:21:37

I’ve got my prayer cloth right here.

 
 
 
Comment by RioAmericanInBrasil
2013-10-25 07:45:47

why not go help all those kids in the slums down there.

Gee. Why didn’t I ever think of that? You must be some kind of savant or something.

put your liberal views into action.

Helping poor kids is “liberal”?

That says a lot about you.

 
Comment by RioAmericanInBrasil
2013-10-25 07:53:18

You have to agree to give him a million dollars, a Cadillac car

Can’t you read? He doesn’t have to give me anything. He has to give $500 to Ben’s blog.

I don’t do jump through hoops for bully fools for free because they “dare” me. Do you? (probably if they “double-dare” you)

Comment by Blue Skye
2013-10-25 15:20:43

Do you always think someone else should pay for your good cause?

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Comment by RioAmericanInBrasil
2013-10-25 18:27:17

Do you always think someone else should pay for your good cause?

I attempted no “good cause” until a very hostile person challenged me on something so dumb that I can’t believe.

Now it’s time for him to play or leave.

You saw it dude. No? Are you blind because of your politics?

 
Comment by Blue Skye
2013-10-25 21:40:30

No, I didn’t see it. I went fishing. I just see you telling him to donate money. F your politics.

 
 
 
 
Comment by RioAmericanInBrasil
2013-10-25 07:43:11

Post up a phone pic of your “ocean” or a simple scene in “brazil”. Make sure you got your middle finger in the picture so we understand clearly that it’s you.

Day 2.

I’ll flip you off in front of a live Rio street webcam for everyone to see if you agree to give Ben’s blog $500 after I do it. (down from yesterday’s grand)

I’ll even give Ben my Brazil cell number so he can ask me questions while I’m in front of the cam about this blog that only I would know. Two. After he confirms it’s me. You send Ben $500.

I don’t do dog tricks for bullies like you for free. Put up or shut up.

(Why would anyone fake living in Brazil? I know you’re jealous but why?)

Comment by RioAmericanInBrasil
2013-10-25 07:57:39

he can ask me questions while I’m in front of the cam about this blog that only I would know.. Two THEN After he confirms it’s me. You send Ben $500.

Comment by Housing Analyst
2013-10-25 07:59:56

it’s pretty easy to do “Rio”. It’s like this you coward.

http://picpaste.com/pics/d700c7f48d3fc6b34c56e1340c9ef2ba.1382713054.jpg

You’re a fraud.

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Comment by RioAmericanInBrasil
2013-10-25 08:33:06

it’s pretty easy to do “Rio”.

Show Ben the money. It’s pretty easy to do. If you agree, I’ll do it. Heck get your “rich” buddy Bill to put up the money.
It’s for a good cause….Ben’s blog.

You think I care where you think I live? Why on earth would I. I don’t respect you.

 
Comment by Housing Analyst
2013-10-25 08:52:30

Your a liar and a coward.

 
Comment by Blue Skye
2013-10-25 22:16:59

Please, could we have a fund to NOT see the Bubble Boy/Girl?

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by goon squad
2013-10-25 02:55:51

Realtors are liars.

Comment by goon squad
2013-10-25 03:10:29

Here’s a pic of the REALTORⓇ building I took while taking a stroll down Michigan Avenue this summer:

http://www.picpaste.com/IMG_20130622_130733_362-0II4e2K6.jpg

Just as evil and creepy as the Scientology building in Clearwater, FL…

 
Comment by jose canusi
2013-10-25 05:39:21

ha-ha, no sh*t. You have NO idea. Even in their general dealings with people outside of selling RE.

Comment by goon squad
2013-10-25 05:47:14

NAR public service announcement:

“Step right up folks, the koolaid tastes great! Just sign right here on the dotted line”

http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/wlrn/files/styles/card_wide/public/201301/Jonestown.jpeg

 
Comment by Salinasron
2013-10-25 06:15:30

Yeah I do. Three of them. Working with a gentleman from out of town on a commercial lease. He owns the property I just fleck on the maintenance of the bldg for him. The three agents for the business trying to lease the property are pure snakes in the grass and are willing to stab each other in the back for small amounts of money (small amounts comparatively speaking in the commercial world).

 
 
 
Comment by Combotechie
2013-10-25 03:13:23

Suck ‘em in, shake ‘em out.

For example, take a look at American Homes 4 Rent (AMH):

Their business plan: Buy houses cheap and rent ‘em out. The problem is, the more houses they buy the higher go the prices, which means at some point the rents will not pencil out a good enough return that will justify the higher prices.

Not that that they are doing all that well at this point. Go here and you’ll see that their profit margin sucks (it’s a minus 68.42%) and their operating margin also sucks (it’s a minus 89.23%):

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=AMH+Key+Statistics

So, who would want to buy into such a money-losing deal? Go here for an answer:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/mh?s=AMH+Major+Holders

Check out the largest holder, the one that owns 45,171,894 shares of AMH, an enormous pool of OPM that is called “Alaska Permanent Fund Corp”.

Go here for a description of Alaska Permanent Fund Corp:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_Permanent_Fund_Corporation

This is a huge pool of easy money, of oil money, looking for a return. IMHO easy money is treated a bit differently than money that is tough to get, its care and handling is a lot looser, and IMHO this maybe explains why so much of this easy money has been plunked down on AMH - or maybe it has something to do with some palms being greased somewhere (think Birmingham, Alabama).

Anyhow, something that is interesting to watch during what are becoming Interesting Times. FWIW.

Comment by Blue Skye
2013-10-25 07:31:17

Manias are never “logical” and they are always headed for a crash.

 
 
Comment by goon squad
2013-10-25 03:44:36

Politico - Department of Defense’s revolving door in full swing:

“Hundreds of Defense Department officials requested ethics opinions from the government over the past two years as they retired from the military and sought jobs with private companies or organizations.

The ethics opinions are required for certain current and recently retired officials, including those involved in procurement decisions, before they’re allowed to take new jobs with defense companies.

The Defense Department released a database of the ethics opinions to the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which had sued the department to get it. CREW provided an early copy of the database exclusively to POLITICO.

It sheds new light on an ongoing arrangement in which defense companies dangle lucrative job opportunities in front of Pentagon officials who manage millions — sometimes billions — of dollars in government contracts.

As a result, many officials leave the department with specific landing spots in mind.

“The moral of the story is the revolving door is alive and well,” said CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan. “Top DoD officials understand the inner workings of the Pentagon — and particularly how the Pentagon makes contracting decisions.”

Of the 379 officials covered in the database, 84 percent listed specific companies or organizations they had in mind as their post-military landing spots, according to CREW’s analysis. The release of the database marks the first time such information has been made public.

In the database, 13 outgoing or newly retired officials listed Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest defense contractor, as a prospective employer. Seven listed Boeing, eight listed General Dynamics, 10 listed Raytheon and 13 listed Northrop Grumman.”

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/department-of-defenses-revolving-door-in-full-swing-98813.html?hp=r17

Comment by inchbyinch
2013-10-25 08:42:55

CREW is also a acronym for Commercial Real Estate Women. When I read “CREW” in that article, it threw me for a loop.

 
 
Comment by Housing Analyst
2013-10-25 05:11:20

If you take on mortgage debt at current massively inflated housing prices, you’ll enslave yourself for the rest of your life.

“Debt is bondage.”~ Suze Orman, May 11, 2013

Don’t Be A Debt Donkey®

Comment by goon squad
2013-10-25 10:19:39

mike whitney’s latest on housing:

http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/10/25/what-recovery/

 
 
Comment by Housing Analyst
2013-10-25 05:12:30

Shiller: “Home Equity Isn’t A Place To Put Your Money”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-16/shiller-s-lesson-housing-was-never-a-great-investment.html

Why?

Because houses are depreciating assets that result in loss every.single.time.

Remember…. “equity” is a fallacy. It doesn’t exist.

Comment by goon squad
2013-10-25 06:34:23

And loanowner loosers get to mow their equity, and shovel their equity, and paint their equity, and rake their equity, and replace the roof on their equity, and pay municipal property taxes on their equity.

Renting is always better. ALWAYS

Comment by Housing Analyst
2013-10-25 06:46:59

Your $20,000 in equity needs a $10,000 roof…. Whoops….. now your $10,000 equity needs a $10,000 boiler replacement…. whoops… your $0 equity just turned negative because the tax bill just came…. whoops.

Comment by inchbyinch
2013-10-25 08:51:55

HA
Depends on what you paid and if and when you sell, and of course your micro market. Having a General Contractor friend doesn’t hurt either. Way too many variables for a blanket statement.

Out of curiosity, how many homes have you owned?

(Not picking on ya, just say’in.)

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Comment by Housing Analyst
2013-10-25 08:56:33

We know what you paid…… Too much. And make no mistake, your acquaintance isn’t a “general contractor”…… And you think he’s your friend. ……..LOLZ

 
Comment by inchbyinch
2013-10-25 15:41:01

HA
I’ve known John way before we used his license to buy stuff, and he didn’t make a dime off us, silly. John’s been a General Contractor longer than you’ve been alive. On Wednesday nights he feeds the homeless (his $ and time) not trolls like you. But I wuv you :)

So HA,
How many homes have you owned? Should I tear into you like you do others?
Not worth my time.

 
Comment by Housing Analyst
2013-10-25 15:58:06

A 70 year old “general contractor” installing gypboard for Donkeys.

Yeah. He’s ontop of the game and about your speed.

Carry on underwater Donkey.

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by Combotechie
2013-10-25 05:13:24

I ran across something that is interesting:

“Estimates of the number of slaves today range from 12 million to 27 million.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_day_slavery

Comment by 2banana
2013-10-25 07:05:14

The list doesn’t include debt slaves and FBs…

 
Comment by aNYCdj
2013-10-25 07:21:15

Slavery estimates….actually not that many came to america

http://www.slavevoyages.org/tast/assessment/estimates.faces

Comment by jose canusi
2013-10-25 10:37:50

Hey, dj, caught your post yesterday about ebay’s “commission” on shipping costs. Yeah, that sucks, and most of the time you can’t get around it on regular packages, but when I have something very heavy or large, I list it as local pickup or seller assisted shipping. Which means I’ll drop it off at the loca UPS store for them, but they have to call and make arrangements to pay for the packing and shipping with UPS and delivery is their responsibility, not mine. I’ve done this a few times and it works out really well if the seller wants the item bad enough, which they usually do. I pay the extra $1.50 to put “local pickup zip ___________ or seller assisted shipping option” in the subtitle, and then explain how it works in the listing. It’s great for furniture, large artwork, very heavy stuff, etc.

 
Comment by spook
2013-10-25 10:45:47

Slavers had ever incentive to undercount or avoid customs alltogether in order to dodge taxes, tarriffs, fees…

 
 
Comment by phony scandals
2013-10-25 14:08:50

“I ran across something that is interesting:”

Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road - With Lyrics - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxgagXVqZZM - 142k -

 
 
Comment by Housing Analyst
2013-10-25 05:19:16

10/24/2013: “Bank of America to eliminate up to 4,200 mortgage jobs”

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/24/us-bankofamerica-layoffs-idUSBRE99N1JR20131024

At Bank of America, the third largest U.S. mortgage lender, about 1,200 employees were notified this week that they would be terminated. Most were full-time workers in the division that processes new mortgages, a spokesman said.</b.

Can you say, “Housing demand is at 14 year lows and falling”? ;)

Comment by Strawberrypicker
2013-10-25 07:11:43

Oof!

 
 
Comment by phony scandals
2013-10-25 05:40:04

So, when a five year Deadbeat turns into a two year Vampire they become “Boomerang buyers”, and why?

“Because they can, said Daren Blomquist, a vice president at the Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac.”

“They are accustomed to living there for free without any consequence,” Blomquist said.

After foreclosure, former home buyers back in the market

Article by: JIM BUCHTA , Star Tribune
August 4, 2013 - 4:35 PM

“Boomerang buyers” — former homeowners who have gone through a foreclosure, short sale or bankruptcy — are restoring their credit ratings, getting mortgage approval and hitting the streets in pursuit of homeownership in Minnesota and across the country.

Already, one in 10 home buyers this year has gone through a foreclosure or short sale, more than double the rate in 2012, according to John Burns, a national research firm on the housing industry. Boomerang buyers are emerging at even greater numbers in communities hardest-hit by the housing collapse, including Phoenix, where one in five sales will involve a buyer who had to give up his home.

“People are starting to find out that they can get back into homeownership, and they’re rebuilding their life, credit and equity,” said Rebecca Brown, an agent for Re/Max Results in Maple Grove.

Jennifer Piper and Jerry Kempenich, for example, lost their St. Paul home in foreclosure after Kempenich was twice laid off, and they were unable to sell the house, which was worth $100,000 less than they paid.

Though the couple kept current on their bills, they believed their days of homeownership were over.

“We thought [that] from now on we’re going to be renters and paying someone else’s mortgage,” Piper said.

For three years, they have been pinching pennies and cutting back on vacations. Their jobs are stable, and they have saved enough money for a substantial down payment. That led to the couple getting preapproved for an FHA mortgage.

“It astounded me that we were eligible,” Piper said, noting that she and her husband are eager to buy now.

Real estate agents see boomerang buyers as an expanding, untapped market that is motivated to regain what was lost and often better qualified because of what they have learned when they lost their homes.

Chris Fellerman, an agent for Edina Realty, said 10 to 15 percent of his current buyer pool has been through some serious financial hardship, including foreclosure. “It’s a vibrant sector of the market today,” he said.

http://www.startribune.com/housing/218242631.html - 264k -

Real-estate market haunted by ‘vampire’ foreclosures

October 17, 2013

Vampire foreclosures are homes that have gone through the court proceedings and are bank-owned but are still occupied by their previous owners. Nationwide, 47 percent of bank-owned homes are still occupied by their previous owners.

Just in time for Halloween, Realty­Trac has issued a new report on “vampire” foreclosures.

Vampire foreclosures are defined as homes that have gone through the court proceedings and are bank- owned but are still occupied by their previous owners.

Why would the previous owners still live in them? Because they can, said Daren Blomquist, a vice president at the Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac.

“They are accustomed to living there for free without any consequence,” Blomquist said. “And up until recently, the banks have not had a huge motivation to kick them out because home prices were not increasing and the banks had so many properties they were dealing with.”

http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2022069361_vampiretenantsxml.html - 93k -

Comment by In Colorado
2013-10-25 09:32:07

For three years, they have been pinching pennies and cutting back on vacations. Their jobs are stable, and they have saved enough money for a substantial down payment. That led to the couple getting preapproved for an FHA mortgage.

Since when is 3% down “substantial”?

 
Comment by sleepless_near_seattle
2013-10-25 10:43:28

“Boomerang buyers”….are restoring their credit ratings, getting mortgage approval and hitting the streets in pursuit of homeownership in Minnesota and across the country.

All with the cheerful assistance of the FedResGovFNMFRENAR REIC crime syndicate. Had those mobsters let the market take over during/after the bust, those who want to buy houses at a decent income multiplier could have done so. Now the idiots we had to compete with back in the mid-2000s are back for more.

 
 
Comment by phony scandals
2013-10-25 05:52:50

When the punch bowl gets taken away, it’s gonna get fuqin ugly.

Comment by azdude02
2013-10-25 06:12:04

I cant see how printing money and buying bonds is really solving any of the real problems with the economy.

The media has sold this bs to the people and I guess they have bought into it.

Nothing is being solved here folks. They are just pretending that there are no problems with the economy and trying to paper over the issues.

They either don’t know what the problems are or maybe they need to address the issue of them being the problem.

Comment by michael
2013-10-25 06:22:12

“The media has sold this bs to the people and I guess they have bought into it.”

i don’t think they have sold this…they have sold the dow going up…up…and up.

most people do not even know what a bond is.

Comment by AbsoluteBeginner
2013-10-25 07:19:54

‘i don’t think they have sold this…they have sold the dow going up…up…and up.’

If only it was that easy. Not being snarky. On paper, I am doing better than 5 years ago with my IRAs, but so what? I think I mentioned risk here on HBB the other day. I am getting tired and irritated by trying to metric hope as a means to justify why one should do something. Hope that stocks do better than gold. Hope that real estate is affordable. Told that you vote for some unknown senator because of hope? You learn after a while that hope is the only good thing to say if there is not much more left to say.

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Comment by (Still) Waiting for the Fall
2013-10-25 06:24:48

It has always been about bread and circuses. The U.S. is the greatest slave culture in history, with the best fed, best entertained, and best medicated self-governing slaves in the world. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Comment by goon squad
2013-10-25 06:43:51

Re-post that Carl Morris dropped in yesterday’s bits:

http://www.raptitude.com/2010/07/your-lifestyle-has-already-been-designed/

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Comment by Pete
2013-10-25 14:40:04

Great reading in the comments section too. Really thoughtful folks.

 
 
Comment by Housing Analyst
2013-10-25 06:51:56

“The U.S. is the greatest slave culture in history, with the best fed, best entertained, and best medicated self-governing slaves in the world.

BINGO> You need your own syndicated column.

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Comment by (Still) Waiting for the Fall
2013-10-25 11:49:23

Actually, I paraphrased Edward Abbey. It was one of his rants against the modern military industrial complex- circa 1973.

 
 
Comment by Combotechie
2013-10-25 06:58:26

The best thing about these slaves is you don’t have to own them, they own themselves.

If you owned them then you’d have to pay for feeding and caring of them, but since they own themselves they - because they are the owners - feed themselves and care for themselves.

But just as with owning a slave outright you still get to cash in on whatever it is that they produce.

The way I look at is conventional slavery comes about through the power of coercion while self slavery comes about through the power of persuasion.

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Comment by Carl Morris
2013-10-25 09:48:36

self slavery comes about through the power of persuasion.

In other words, modern marketing.

 
 
 
Comment by Dale
2013-10-25 16:00:34

Most people have stocks in their 401K. As long as stocks are up the 401ks are up and people don’t realize how grim the future is. The 401ks btw could drop in a day but until then everyone is satiated.

 
 
Comment by Carl Morris
2013-10-25 09:46:05

The patient hasn’t even been able to get up to get to the punchbowl in quite a while. We’ve been administering the good stuff by IV to keep the party going. I’m sure he’s going to be up and at ‘em soon, though.

 
Comment by Rental Watch
2013-10-25 11:22:13

According to Bill Gross in his most recent Investment Outlook…the punch bowl is going to be here for a while (at least with respect to short-term rates). Apparently he’s not alone in his thinking…he noted Ray Dalio as another in that particular camp.

Comment by Rental Watch
2013-10-25 11:26:07

Here is a quote from the October 2013 Outlook–I’m not sure I entirely agree; that said, regardless of what you think of Gross, you can’t deny that Yellen is a dove (and is almost certain to be confirmed), and Dalio’s no dummy:

“The 30-year mortgage rate of course is connected to the policy rate and its pricing in forward space. All yields in composite are what an economy has to hurdle in order to grow at historically hoped-for rates at 2–3% real and 4–5% nominal: Treasury yields, mortgage yields, corporate yields and credit card yields, all in composite. Ray Dalio and company at Bridgewater have the concept down pat. The objective, Dalio writes, is to achieve a “beautiful deleveraging,” which assumes minimal defaults and an eventual return of investors’ willingness to take risk again. The beautiful deleveraging of course takes place at the expense of private market savers via financially repressed interest rates, but what the heck. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and if the Fed’s (and Dalio’s) objective is to grow normally again, then there is likely no more beautiful or deleveraging solution than one that is accomplished via abnormally low interest rates for a long, long time. It is PIMCO’s belief that Yellen, Woodford and Dalio are right. If you want to trust one thing and one thing only, trust that once QE is gone and the policy rate becomes the focus, that fed funds will then stay lower than expected for a long, long time. Right now the market (and the Fed forecasts) expects fed funds to be 1% higher by late 2015 and 1% higher still by December 2016. Bet against that.”

 
 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-10-25 18:52:05

That’s why the punch bowl WON’T get taken away (Fed jawboning notwithstanding to the contrary). :-)

 
 
Comment by goon squad
2013-10-25 05:57:37

TheHill dot com: “National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden on Thursday disputed Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-Calif.) claim that the government’s phone record collection program is not “surveillance.”

“Today, no telephone in America makes a call without leaving a record with the NSA. Today, no internet transaction enters or leaves America without passing through the NSA’s hands,” Snowden said in a statement Thursday.

“Our representatives in Congress tell us this is not surveillance. They’re wrong.”

Comment by goon squad
2013-10-25 06:04:25

Washington Post: “U.S. officials are alerting some foreign intelligence services that documents detailing their secret cooperation with the United States have been obtained by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, according to government officials.

Snowden, U.S. officials said, took tens of thousands of documents, some of which contain sensitive material about collection programs against adversaries such as Iran, Russia and China. Some refer to operations that in some cases involve countries not publicly allied with the United States.

The process of informing officials in capital after capital about the risk of disclosure is delicate. In some cases, one part of the cooperating government may know about the collaboration while others — such as the foreign ministry — may not, the officials said. The documents, if disclosed, could compromise operations, officials said.”

 
Comment by phony scandals
2013-10-25 06:19:48

“We need to know exactly what he has. He could have a lot, lot more. It may really put people in jeopardy,” Feinstein said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

It may really put people in jeopardy, people like Dianne Feinstein.

Feinstein: Snowden could leak even more damaging information

By Alexander Bolton - 06/23/13 11:21 AM ET

Video comments begin at 5:18 mark.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) warned Sunday that Edward Snowden could be carrying a trove of classified information as he meets with Russian authorities.

“We need to know exactly what he has. He could have a lot, lot more. It may really put people in jeopardy,” Feinstein said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

http://thehill.com/video/senate/307237-feinstein-snowden-could-leak-even-more-damaging-information - 63k -

Comment by goon squad
2013-10-25 06:37:01

“could leak even more damaging information”

Like that Feinstein and most of Congress are secret members of a satanic pedophile death cult?

Comment by phony scandals
2013-10-25 06:51:43

Do you want me to read the card?

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Comment by phony scandals
2013-10-25 06:56:08

Everyone must check in

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Comment by phony scandals
2013-10-25 06:58:07

Circles

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Comment by AbsoluteBeginner
2013-10-25 07:25:04

‘Like that Feinstein and most of Congress are secret members of a satanic pedophile death cult’

Goon, what is up with the Denver airport? Heard stories about that place.

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Comment by phony scandals
2013-10-25 07:59:35

“what is up with the Denver airport? Heard stories about that place.”

Ya see, this is why we can only have Feinstein approved reporters asking questions. Now unless you are a salaried journalist for the New York Times or Time Magazine you just keep your mouth shut and move along.

 
Comment by goon squad
 
Comment by phony scandals
2013-10-25 08:40:45

Something is rotten in the Denver airport (13 Photos) : theCHIVE
http://thechive.com/2012/03/08/something-is-rotten-in-the-denver-airport-25-photos/ - 111k -

 
 
 
 
Comment by 2banana
2013-10-25 07:00:34

“It is not surveillance or a police state if WE do it”
–Any democrat or obama kool-aid drinker

Comment by Housing Analyst
2013-10-25 07:10:28

That is the classic response.

 
Comment by Strawberrypicker
2013-10-25 07:21:35

It’s Bush’s fault!

Comment by goon squad
2013-10-25 07:31:41

Bush created it, and Obama pumped it full of steroids.

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Comment by my failure to respect is unacceptable
2013-10-25 07:36:53

2 clueless fooks like Bush and Obama most likely didn’t know what was going on right under their noses.

 
Comment by (Still) Waiting for the Fall
2013-10-25 09:17:14

Neither Shrub nor Bama did anything but sign the laws adopted by who?
Our good ole local congresscritters. If anything’s going to change, they ALL need to be replaced next election. But slaves, usually, are reluctant to change masters.

 
Comment by my failure to respect is unacceptable
2013-10-25 09:39:58

But slaves, usually, are reluctant to change masters.

If you read slavery in America, it was common for slaves to fight each other while arguing over who’s master is the better one.

 
Comment by Carl Morris
2013-10-25 09:50:46

Hah hah, like military guys getting in a fight over who is in the best unit. Or best branch of the service.

 
 
 
Comment by Bill, just south of Irvine
2013-10-26 10:50:45

‘Nuff said. Lib elitists do no wrong, according to them.

 
 
 
Comment by phony scandals
2013-10-25 06:04:46

Prelude to Disaster: The Coming Instantaneous Collapse of Obamacare Services

Mac Slavo
SHTFplan.com
October 25, 2013

There is no doubt that President Obama’s health care system promises to fundamentally transform America. It’s been touted as the saving grace of the working class.

But how feasible is it really?

We know it’s essentially a wealth redistribution scheme that takes money from one group of people in the form of forced tax payments, only to shift that money into the pockets of those who didn’t earn it in the form of government subsidies to their health care premiums.

But like all universal programs, the promise of free anything only works so long as you don’t run out of other people’s money.

That being said, a basic analysis of how Obamacare premiums work across the spectrum of America’s wide ranging socio-economic population suggests that it’s dead on arrival.

Once the forced mandates take hold one of two outcomes become inevitable, as noted by The Market Ticker, whose Karl Denninger took a detailed look at the government’s county-by-county premium data.

The consequences of implementation will be disastrous.

Either the Obamacare system itself collapses under its own weight, or the U.S. economy falls apart because of the extreme burden being hoisted on those who are responsible for paying the bill.

Either way, we’re looking at an almost instantaneous collapse of one or the other.

It’s an exercise in basic arithmetic that those who failed to read the bill before passing it should have considered prior to pushing this on the American people by way of a new stealth tax… unless of course the further impoverishment of America is their ultimate goal.

There are several very interesting statistical facts that come from this.

First, if you’re “27″, the average premium is $266.20/month or $3,194.40 per year. How many 27 year olds have an extra $3,200 to spend on this? Remember, this is the price that virtually every uninsured 27 year old must be willing — and able — to cough up in order to prevent the model this system is predicated on from collapsing.

If those 27 year olds don’t show up, and they won’t, then the system collapses instantly. If they do show up because the government threatens them with fines the economy collapses as $3,200 a year exceeds the average 27 year old’s disposable personal income after mandatory expenses (e.g. food, shelter, etc.) Remember, there are always exceptions but these premiums are averages and over large pools of people the statistical averages are what matters — not the ends of the barbell.

It gets better. The “average” 50 year old premium, again, for single coverage, is $452.87, or $5,434.44/year. How many 50 year olds will find that attractive compared against what they’re paying now? Probably more of them, especially if they’re already sick. But how about the healthy ones?

Note two things as well on this account — these premiums are for non-smokers (smoker premiums are grossly surcharged with reports being 2x the above) and they do not account for anyone other than one person. If you are a single parent with kids (rather common) the premium on average is $610.23/month or about $7,300, and if you’re a couple it’s $647.86 (again, $7,774 annually.)

Now let’s look at the government’s own claims. First, the CPI index claims that health insurance is 0.656% of the family budget. What percentage of couples make $1.185 million a year? Why do I ask? Because that’s the alleged median income for a couple if you believe the government’s CPI numbers.

Yeah, right.

Next, while some people will get “tax credits” to offset these costs all that does is lard it up on the federal budget, because someone else has to pay that bill. In other words this is the true cost that will come out of your hide one way or another — either directly by paying, indirectly by taxation, or indirectly by destruction of your purchasing power.

Next, note that this is the “50 year old” premium but you have to be 65 to qualify for Medicare. The price will rise each year after 50 that you happen to be and there are already reports that if you’re 59 these premiums are understated by half. How many couples who are 59 and cannot qualify for Medicare yet have not $7,700 a year of extra money laying around but north of $15,000?

That’s what I thought.

Full Analysis at Market Ticker

The whole idea is predicated on the notion that you can indefinitely take from Peter to pay Paul.

But eventually Peter is going to run out of money and not be able to foot the bill, or he’ll simply refuse to buy into the scheme altogether.

Like everything else government, the new health care initiative will be a complete and utter failure.

The basic principles of mathematics will prove this to be true in coming months and years.

As Denninger notes, America will be “strangled and expire economically as a direct consequence” of the marriage of the State and Health Care industry.

The die has been cast.

Comment by 2banana
2013-10-25 07:08:15

When you rob Peter to pay Paul - you ALWAYS get the vote of Paul.

The FSA army votes.

———————

The whole idea is predicated on the notion that you can indefinitely take from Peter to pay Paul.

 
Comment by Strawberrypicker
2013-10-25 07:26:04

It will take years and years before the mathematical failure takes hold and the data to not be manipulated to show it is failing. Much like the housing market. Rio is hoping that it is entrenched as an entitlement by then and the FSA aspect will outweigh that it is costing many times more than was projected. After all it is just other people’s money.

Comment by RioAmericanInBrasil
2013-10-25 18:29:36

Rio is hoping ……

Dude. Get a life. Rio this, Rio that……..Did you have fun this Friday?

I did.

 
 
Comment by my failure to respect is unacceptable
2013-10-25 09:33:59

And at some point they will introduce mary to both of peter and paul. They form a band and everyone lives happily ever after. What harm is done?

Comment by Ben Jones
2013-10-25 12:04:54

‘The Real Reason Obamacare Is a Disaster’

A comment:

‘I was recently involved in an accident. I broke my collar bone and the doctors needn’t do a thing but say good luck with that. The bill for the emergency room was 8k. I was in and out in an hour most of that time sitting with no care whatsoever. This can’t be fixed or mandated. The fact is that only the wealthy can afford this care. I could work forever and not afford to pay what Doctors are really worth on the open market. I get it. I’m not sore about. It’s just the way it is. Obama is dreaming if he thinks I can afford his premiums. Good luck with that, I opt out.’

‘the doctors needn’t do a thing but say good luck with that. The bill for the emergency room was 8k.’

I broke my collar bone once and there really isn’t much that can be done. But the bigger question is why 8k for an emergency room visit? It’s because he is paying for all the deadbeats. What do you suppose is going to happen when you tell every low-income, obese person walking around Wal-Mart they can go to the doctor every time their knees hurt?

Comment by Housing Analyst
2013-10-25 12:07:13

What do you suppose is going to happen when you tell every low-income, obese person walking around Wal-Mart they can go to the doctor every time their knees hurt?

They’re going to get knee replacement surgery and you and I will go without it yet we’ll pay for theirs.

Was that a trick question?

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Comment by MightyMike
2013-10-25 14:08:18

They’re going to get knee replacement surgery even if they don’t need it? Why would that happen?

 
Comment by Housing Analyst
2013-10-25 15:16:57

If you want them to have it, get your checkbook out.

 
Comment by phony scandals
2013-10-25 15:39:07

“They’re going to get knee replacement surgery even if they don’t need it? Why would that happen?”

Because the obese person broke the disabled obese people scooter he got from the government while he was taking a corner into the candy isle at Wal-Mart?

 
Comment by MightyMike
2013-10-25 15:51:40

That’s not an answer to my question.

 
Comment by phony scandals
2013-10-25 16:39:32

It wasn’t supposed to be, it was a joke.

But if you want a real answer, the only reason I could see for someone to get knee replacement surgery they didn’t need would be for the doctor to make money.

I would guess some months they could be a little short and two knees and one hip replacement could make all the difference.

 
Comment by MightyMike
2013-10-25 17:35:09

Well, this must then already be happening with people who have Medicare, Medicaid and private sector health insurance. So I suppose if that’s the case, then having an increase in the number of people on Medicaid and the number with private insurance could increase that sort of fraud.

 
 
Comment by RioAmericanInBrasil
2013-10-25 18:35:26

It’s because he is paying for all the deadbeats. What do you suppose is going to happen when you tell every low-income, obese person walking around Wal-Mart they can go to the doctor every time their knees hurt?

Totally misses the point.

ACA will have less “dead beats” because they can now pay for insurance.

What is happening to you all? “Deadbeats”? “WalMart”? After WalMart and the like exported our jobs?

These are you fellow Americans people. Your neighbors and family. Good God, what have we become?

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Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-10-25 18:50:39

“What do you suppose is going to happen when you tell every low-income, obese person walking around Wal-Mart they can go to the doctor every time their knees hurt?”

Endless waits for the rest of us to schedule a doctor’s appointment.

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Comment by phony scandals
2013-10-25 06:11:05

Army Halts Program That Labeled Christians Radical Extremists

Briefings characterized conservatives as terror threat

Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
October 25, 2013

The Secretary of the Army has halted training programs that characterize conservatives as radical extremists in light of numerous media reports which highlighted how recruits were being taught that Christians were to be considered “domestic hate groups.”

“On several occasions over the past few months, media accounts have highlighted instances of Army instructors supplementing programs of instruction and including information or material that is inaccurate, objectionable and otherwise inconsistent with current Army policy,” Army Sec. John McHugh wrote to military leaders in a memorandum obtained by Fox News’ Todd Starnes.

McHugh has “directed that Army leaders cease all briefings, command presentations or training on the subject of extremist organizations or activities until that program of instruction and training has been created and disseminated.”

As we reported yesterday, Fort Hood soldiers were told that Christians, Tea Party supporters and anti-abortion activists were a radical terror threat, enemies of America, and that anyone found to be supporting these groups would be subject to discipline under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Earlier this month, it also emerged that several dozen active duty and reserve troops at Camp Shelby in Mississippi were taught that the American Family Association, a well-respected Christian ministry, was a “domestic hate group,” prompting five Congressmen to complaint that the, “mislabeling of a Christian organization reflects what appears to be a troubling trend of religious intolerance in the military.”

The halt of such training programs has been announced despite claims by Fort Hood that the training program, during which it was also suggested that Christians who protest against abortion were planning to bomb family planning clinics, did not include such information.

As we have profusely documented, the problem of Christians and other conservative groups being demonized as extremists and terrorists is not just confined to the U.S. Military.

A 2011 study funded by the Department of Homeland Security also characterized Americans who are “suspicious of centralized federal authority,” and “reverent of individual liberty” as “extreme right-wing” terrorists.

Comment by goon squad
2013-10-25 06:41:34

Dianne Feinstein and Michael Bloomberg are a “domestic hate group”

 
Comment by imaadesi
2013-10-25 07:07:39

And what is wrong with this? In my opinion, any group who threatens or resorts to violence to achieve its goals (whether it is crazy goal or reasonable goal) is a terrorist organization.

If you want to change things, preach knowledge and hope that sheep and brainwashed realized THE truth and they vote for right candidate and not for both corrupt parties. But it is not going to happen and we would reach a destination of military industrial and policy state sooner or later.

There are many fake warriors and protectors of rights here and media, they are just selfish individuals, did anyone ever bother to find what happened to Michael Hastings? I do not indulge in conspiracy theory. But Michael’s history and circumstances under which he died should have prompted and independent investigation, but who cares, people are either afraid or thank themselves that they were not in Michael’s sheoes.

Comment by 2banana
2013-10-25 08:14:38

Except that “Christians, Tea Party supporters and anti-abortion activists” do NOT threaten or resorts to violence. And shun any that do. And turn them in.

Now compare contrast to muslims, union goons and abortionists.

But those groups are politically protected and their institutionalized violence is PROTECTED.

any group who threatens or resorts to violence to achieve its goals (whether it is crazy goal or reasonable goal) is a terrorist organization.

 
Comment by phony scandals
2013-10-25 08:53:43

“did anyone ever bother to find what happened to Michael Hastings?”

Ya, he had information that would “really put people in jeopardy” and then his car blew up and before he hit a tree.

“We need to know exactly what he has. He could have a lot, lot more. It may really put people in jeopardy,” Feinstein said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

 
 
Comment by Blue Skye
2013-10-25 07:40:27

Love is Hate.

War is Peace.

 
 
Comment by goon squad
2013-10-25 06:25:29

Denver Post: “Smog along Colorado’s Front Range is thickening again, exceeding federal standards, and government-backed scientists say the oil and gas boom is partly to blame.

If the industry expands, scientists at a conference this week said, air quality will probably deteriorate.

Smog still is decreasing in major U.S. cities that clamp down on vehicles and industry. But in Colorado, smog levels have increased since 2010, consistently exceeding the federal 75 parts per billion standard for ozone at multiple locations.”

Comment by Housing Analyst
2013-10-25 06:53:31

Smog might be bad in Colorado but your face will turn blue breathing that sh*t they call air in California.

 
Comment by phony scandals
2013-10-25 07:06:35

UN climate report glosses over 15 years without global warming

12:07 PM 09/27/2013

A U.N. bureaucracy’s newly released assessment on global warming does little to address the break in warming that has now lasted 15 years, saying that the time period is too short to reflect any long-term climate trends.

Nevertheless, because the science is settled, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change announces in the report that it is 95 percent certain mankind is the main driver behind rising temperatures.

The report states: “Due to natural variability, trends based on short records are very sensitive to the beginning and end dates and do not in general reflect long-term climate trends,” reads the report.

“An old rule says that climate-relevant trends should not be calculated for periods less than around 30 years,” said Dr. Thomas Stocker of the University of Bern, co-chair of the I.P.C.C.’s working group that wrote the report.

Governments have been pressuring the U.N. to downplay the lack of significant warming in the 15 years, as this report will play a key role in the upcoming climate negotiations in 2015. That’s when delegates will meet to hammer out a new Kyoto Protocol agreement.

Scientists have been struggling to explain the hiatus, with some arguing that it is due to natural variability in the climate system while others say the oceans have absorbed much of the warming over the last 15 years.

http://dailycaller.com/2013/09/27/u-n-climate-report-glosses-over-15-years-without-global-warming/ - 80k -

Comment by NH Hick
2013-10-25 17:27:52

The liberals are now calling “global warming”, “climate change” because the facts do not fit their agenda.

 
 
Comment by 2banana
2013-10-25 07:09:44

Or maybe everyone fired up their wood stoves…

:-)

Comment by goon squad
2013-10-25 07:21:26

No, it’s all the bong smoke since Amendment 64 passed.

 
Comment by inchbyinch
2013-10-25 09:03:45

2banana
Speaking as a recovered republican, boy have you drank the kool-aid. Brain washing at both extremes. The age of reasoning is when you accept it’s a two-headed snake. Period.

Our neighbor (diehard right wing nut-job republican) said homelessness is a choice. He discounted all other possibilities overall. I told him to turn off talk radio, Fox, (CNN as well) and to start thinking for himself. Oy Vey!

Comment by Blue Skye
2013-10-25 15:02:09

I am living under a bridge. My choice. I don’t have to back up a Brinks Truck to do so.

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Comment by my failure to respect is unacceptable
2013-10-25 07:20:35

Don’t import people from Cali. Ask the boys from Southpark, Co.

Comment by goon squad
2013-10-25 07:35:57

They’re all already here.

Per taxfoundation dot org 387,194 of them moved here between 1993 and 2010.

 
Comment by goon squad
2013-10-25 07:46:19

From communist public radio npr dot org: “Colorado’s politics have become positively Californian lately. There are new restrictions on guns (this won’t last). Pot is legal (this will). The legislative agenda featured an expansion of alternative-energy use requirements for rural consumers. Gay couples can now enter into civil unions.

There’s a reason for all this.

Lots of Californians have moved to Denver and its environs, bringing a progressive strain (stain) of politics with them and angering more conservative parts of the state — so much that 10 northeastern counties are planning symbolic but serious votes on secession this fall.

Conservatives have discovered that living on the far side of the Rockies is no longer far enough to get away from the influence of West Coast liberals.”

Comment by 2banana
2013-10-25 08:22:25

Liberals destroy where they live with their insane laws/big government, get sick of it/flee, move to where conservatives live and then attempt to recreate the same liberal hell hole as they just left.

I see it the same with muslims in the west.

I see it the same in suburbs of Philly and Chicago.

I see it the same with public union goons as they FIRST thing they do when they retire on their OT spiked pension is to move to a low tax and right to work state.

The USSR had it right. Build giant walls to keep people IN the socialist utopias and FORCE people to live in the the sh*t they created.

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Comment by goon squad
2013-10-25 08:50:17

Colorado is a right-to-work state, no goons here.

Once we repeal the gun laws (2 state senators just recalled, thank you) and as long as we can keep the fundy/evang nutjobs at bay (closing Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs), this state will be the most libertarian with regards to personal civil liberties in the USA.

 
Comment by In Colorado
2013-10-25 09:51:58

Colorado is a right-to-work state, no goons here.

Plus we have TABOR to keep the tax and spend crowd in check. There is a ballot issue to raise the state income tax to increase K-12 funding. I predict it will go down in flames. Even the Denver post admits that prop 66 is a “hard sell”. Some polls show only 30% of voters being in favor. And mind you, it would add about $200 a year to the average tax bill.

So contrary to some beliefs, Colorado hasn’t been “Californicated” yet.

 
Comment by MiddleCoaster
2013-10-25 12:39:34

Just curious: which suburbs of Chicago are you talking about? SInce I live in a pretty nice one that has a lot of what you would call “liberals” and it hasn’t been ruined yet.

 
Comment by RioAmericanInBrasil
2013-10-25 18:50:25

Liberals destroy

Liberals rock a little dude. IMO, they’re much more fun to live by than TP’s . (I’ve lived by both)

Who would you rather have a BBQ with? Seriously. BBQ with TP’s or liberals? No contest unless the TP has Porterhouse steaks………..I’d pick the libs just because of their lack of hatred for most Americans. Sure they hate some but their hate is much less than the other side. Wooooo. Sorry but true imo. Face the facts. That’s why you’re looosing.

Liberals are FOS on a lot of issues (lots) but they’re much more fun and smiling than the hard-core angry right. No?

 
 
Comment by MightyMike
2013-10-25 13:27:32

There are new restrictions on guns (this won’t last).

One of the two main provisions of that new gun law involved background checks. I read a poll at the time that those two state senators were recalled. It said that Colorado voters approved of that provision by a margin of something like 80 to 20.

Is the NRA powerful enough to get that repealed?

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Comment by Carl Morris
2013-10-25 13:32:00

I don’t think the NRA is powerful enough to get anything repealed that would be seen as reasonable by the average local gun owner. As far as I know most gun owners find most background check related things reasonable as long as they can be done instantly.

 
Comment by NH Hick
2013-10-25 17:41:41

I see it here in NH, a state which used to be conservative, but bastardized by the neighboring left wing states of Vermont, Ma$$holechusetts, and Maine. It’s funny how many Ma$$hole cars you see in the parking lots of Best Buy and Home Depot, over the border in NH(a sales tax free state), and then said cars return to their state to go and vote for the likes of Warren,Kennedy,Kerry who love to tax the crap out out of everything walking and breathing

 
 
 
 
 
Comment by 2banana
2013-10-25 07:03:21

From Zerohedge

———-

From the Front Lines of Chicago
Tim Knight from Slope of Hope’s picture
10/24/2013

2.) Everything you say about the U.S. economy jibes with my experience as a real estate investor in Chicago. The vast majority of my tenants are low-income (their rents are mostly subsidized by our fine government), but a couple make a decent living and reside in luxury condos downtown. Based on what I’ve seen during the past 5 years that I have been doing this, I completely agree that our financial system is totally, utterly screwed.

No matter what their personal situations or how great their intentions are, all my tenants fall short in some way; they either pay late, not enough, or not at all. And/or they don’t honor their obligations as tenants. ALL of them. You would be amazed by how many sob stories I hear on a daily basis.

Please keep in mind that my low-income tenants are not living in ramshackle buildings where they need to huddle in the corner for warmth; no, many live in homes with stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, and whirlpools (this is how investors attract renters in this area these days, after paying close to nothing for the properties themselves). Mind you, some of these are people pay NOTHING in rent every month.

They also pay almost nothing for food, utilities, and medical care. Yet despite having pets, flat screen TVs, cable, and gas-guzzling cars, they somehow can’t afford the $395 move-in fee (I don’t require a security deposit in order to avoid a potential lawsuit, which would result from not following the Chicago Landlord/Tenant Ordinance precisely and which many shark lawyers would happily take on) or light bulbs or mousetraps or batteries for the smoke detectors.

If they agree to maintain the yard, they expect you to provide a mower. Signed leases mean nothing to them. Nothing. They don’t seem to care who provides the resources which allow them to stay home all day waiting for their government checks to arrive in the mail. They don’t seem to think about the many, many, many people out there just like them, creating this unbelievably huge, unsustainable economic imbalance. They have mastered the art of throwing tantrums and threats until they get what they want, and they seem perfectly content contributing nothing more than carbon dioxide and votes for their favorite democratic Presidential candidate on Election Day. And of course, their favorite democratic Presidential candidate is happy to indulge them.

Comment by MightyMike
2013-10-25 09:24:01

Yeah, people who rent are lowlifes. All decent people own their own homes.

 
 
Comment by inchbyinch
2013-10-25 07:14:20

This is a real product “poo-pourri” and this commercial is hilarious. This BYU student is from Scotland originally.
http://www.poopourri.com/t/2013-10-21/girls-dont-poop-poopourri-com/#.Ump6hezn_oZ

 
Comment by goon squad
2013-10-25 07:19:21

Parents dot com: “A new study conducted by Satoshi Kanazawa at the London School of Economics claims to prove that women with higher IQs are less likely to get pregnant and have children. The findings showed that for every 15 points a woman’s IQ increases, she is 25 percent less likely to want a baby. Even with controls for education and economics, the results were the same: Smarter women chose not to get pregnant and not have kids.”

Comment by my failure to respect is unacceptable
2013-10-25 07:58:57

she is 25 percent less likely to want a baby,

I bet she is also gettting 25% less sex. Oh, what a waste….

 
Comment by 2banana
2013-10-25 08:17:27

So smarter women essentially conduct a self inflicted genocide on future smarter women???

Comment by goon squad
2013-10-25 08:54:41

Idiocracy is inevitable.

While I’m adopting shelter pets and saving and investing all the money that I’m not throwing away on breeding, your kids and their kids will get to grow up under the tyranny that is the Permanent Democrat Supermajority.

 
 
 
Comment by phony scandals
2013-10-25 07:30:06

Half of foreclosed homes in New Jersey have ‘vampires’ living in them

By Tom De Poto/The Star-Ledger The Star-Ledger
on October 03, 2013 at 11:14 AM

One of every two New Jersey homes that has gone through foreclosure and is now owned by a bank still has its previous owners living there.

At least one real estate tracking firm finds it a little scary, calling them “vampire” homes.

RealtyTrac reported nearly 4,300 homes in New Jersey are now owned by a bank, and half of them are occupied by the former owner. Nationwide, 47 percent of foreclosed homes still have homeowners inside.

Cape May and Hudson counties have the most “vampires” living there, at 82 percent and 79 percent respectively, according to RealtyTrac. By comparison, Camden (69 percent), Gloucester (64 percent) and Somerset (62 percent) counties have the highest percentage of foreclosed homes that have been vacated.

The real estate tracking company also looked at “zombie foreclosures,” in which the home is in pre-foreclosure status but the owners have already moved out.

The “zombie” survey found nearly 42,000 homes in New Jersey are in the foreclosure pipeline, and nearly 14,000, or 17 percent, have no one living there. The national average is 20 percent.

http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2013/10/half_of_foreclosed_homes_in_ne.html - 88k -

Comment by Housing Analyst
2013-10-25 11:11:52

“Half of foreclosed homes in New Jersey have ‘vampires’ living in them”

That is true in California, Oregon and Washington states.

 
 
Comment by phony scandals
2013-10-25 07:38:23

Feds confiscate investigative reporter’s confidential files during raid

Alex Pappas Political Reporter
(obviously not a Feinstein approved Political Reporter)
1:51 AM 10/25/2013

A veteran Washington D.C. investigative journalist says the Department of Homeland Security confiscated a stack of her confidential files during a raid of her home in August — leading her to fear that a number of her sources inside the federal government have now been exposed.

In an interview with The Daily Caller, journalist Audrey Hudson revealed that the Department of Homeland Security and Maryland State Police were involved in a predawn raid of her Shady Side, Md. home on Aug. 6. Hudson is a former Washington Times reporter and current freelance reporter.

A search warrant obtained by TheDC indicates that the August raid allowed law enforcement to search for firearms inside her home.

The document notes that her husband, Paul Flanagan, was found guilty in 1986 to resisting arrest in Prince George’s County. The warrant called for police to search the residence they share and seize all weapons and ammunition because he is prohibited under the law from possessing firearms.

But without Hudson’s knowledge, the agents also confiscated a batch of documents that contained information about sources inside the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration, she said.

Outraged over the seizure, Hudson is now speaking out. She said no subpoena for the notes was presented during the raid and argues the confiscation was outside of the search warrant’s parameter.

“They took my notes without my knowledge and without legal authority to do so,” Hudson said this week. “The search warrant they presented said nothing about walking out of here with a single sheet of paper.”

She provided TheDC with a photo showing the stack of file folders in a bag marked “evidence/property.”

On Thursday, a spokesman for the Maryland State Police declined to address any specifics about the search.

“Due to the ongoing criminal investigation and the potential for pending criminal charges at the state and/or federal level, the Maryland State Police will not discuss specific information about this investigation at this time,” spokesman Greg Shipley said in a statement to TheDC.

At about 4:30 a.m. on Aug. 6, Hudson said officers dressed in full body armor presented a search warrant to enter the home she shares on the bay with her husband. She estimates that at least seven officers took part in the raid.

After the search began, Hudson said she was asked by an investigator with the Coast Guard Investigative Service if she was the same Audrey Hudson who had written a series of critical stories about air marshals for The Washington Times over the last decade. The Coast Guard operates under the Department of Homeland Security.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3083445/posts?page=5 -

Comment by Blue Skye
2013-10-25 15:10:17

Aren’t we guaranteed “privacy in our papers” in some old document or other?

 
 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-10-25 07:40:31

tj must have slept in today, as myriad ACA posts are nowhere to be seen.

 
Comment by phony scandals
2013-10-25 08:07:53

Excuse me, there is an armored car in my driveway, my house is surrounded and there is some guy dressed in full body armor knocking on my door. I’ll be right back.

Comment by In Colorado
2013-10-25 12:34:16

It was nice knowing you.

 
Comment by Ben Jones
2013-10-25 12:40:09

‘there is some guy dressed in full body armor knocking on my door’

If he left wing or right wing?

 
Comment by MightyMike
2013-10-25 13:52:41

You do the crime, you do the time.

Comment by phony scandals
2013-10-25 14:25:42

“You do the crime, you do the time.”

“After the search began, Hudson said she was asked by an investigator with the Coast Guard Investigative Service if she was the same Audrey Hudson who had written a series of critical stories about air marshals for The Washington Times over the last decade. The Coast Guard operates under the Department of Homeland Security.”

 
 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-10-25 18:47:38

Is he thuggish and wearing jack boots?

 
 
Comment by 2banana
2013-10-25 08:36:22

A Nation of Deadbeats….

————–

Deceleration Nation: 50% Of Defaulters Live In Homes Rent-free While 49% Of Americans On The Dole
Confounded Interest | 10/24/2013 | Anthony B. Sanders

According to data released Tuesday by the Census Bureau, 49.2 percent of Americans received benefits from one or more government programs in the fourth quarter of 2011.

And, of course, When Obamacare is fully implemented on Jan. 1, 2014, Americans earning up to 400 percent of the poverty level will qualify for a federal subsidy to buy health insurance.

Speaking of more and more people of the government dole, RealtyTrac estimates that 47% of the nation’s foreclosed homes are currently occupied. The percentage actually tops 60% in some hot housing markets, like Miami and Los Angeles. Those still living in repossessed homes include both former owners and renters. Either way, their time in the homes is mortgage and rent free.

Real median household income is lower than it was in 2000.

As our economy decelerates, expect to see more households on government benefits. Unless we run out of money.

Comment by goon squad
2013-10-25 09:10:10

“49.2 percent of Americans received benefits”

Does that include government contractors?

Food stamps = $80,000,000,000 a year
Government contractors = 500,000,000,000+ a year

70% of Pentagon spending goes to contractors.

We are the real welfare queens (did I tell you I just got a raise?).

Now sit down, shut up, and pay your taxes.

Regards,

goon.squad.ctr@xxx.xxx.mil

Comment by 2banana
2013-10-25 09:29:31

Good for you.

I hope it last. As a contractor your contract can be ended at any time. No hard feelings. No pension obligations to pay. Not even unemployment compensation.

But your stats really don’t show the big picture

Federal Spending/Budget:
Entitlements: 58% and GROWING
Defense: 19% and SHRINKING

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:U.S._Federal_Spending_-_FY_2011.png

Comment by MightyMike
2013-10-25 16:20:41

He’s not an independent contractor working for the government. He works for a corporation that has a contract with the government. If he gets laid off due to the cancellation of the contract, he should be able to get unemployment insurance.

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Comment by 2banana
2013-10-25 08:40:21

The mindset of liberals/progressives.

There is not a problem that can’t be solved with bigger and bigger government and higher ans higher taxes…

And our children will wonder how we ended up like Greece

———————-

Harry Reid: ‘Everybody … Willing to Pay More’ Taxes
The Weekly Standard | Oct 24, 2013 | DANIEL HALPER

Senate majority leader Harry Reid says that “Everybody” is “willing to pay more” taxes. He said so in an interview with a Nevada Public Radio host.

“The only people who feel there shouldn’t be more coming in to the federal government from the rich people are the Republicans in the Congress,” Reid told the radio host, according to Roll Call. “Everybody else, including the rich people, are willing to pay more. They want to pay more.”

“You keep talking about Medicare and Social Security. Get something else in your brain. Stop talking about that. That is not going to happen this time. There is not going to be a grand bargain,” Reid said.

Comment by goon squad
2013-10-25 09:02:16

Nothing can stop the Permanent Democrat Supermajority

Comment by 2banana
2013-10-25 09:14:33

Nothing can stop the Permanent Democrat Supermajority

Until it runs out of money.

Then you end up with a…

civil war?
revolution?
dictator?
quality of life below greece/cuba?
refugees to russia?
etc.

I do know this for a FACT:

Women and minorities will be hardest hit

Comment by goon squad
2013-10-25 09:31:22

“Women and minorities will be hardest hit”

That’s BS (and racis too)

The USA will have a non-white majority by 2050. At which time there will be a Reparations Tax enacted that taxes only heterosexual white males, who are the Oppressor Class.

Women will get free abortions, free birth control, free day care, free WIC, free SNAP, and free online degrees in Womyn’s Studies.

African-/Latin-/Asian-/Pacific-Islander/Native-Americans will all receive reparations, paid for only by the white men who historically oppressed them with slavery and colonialism.

Forward

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Comment by NH Hick
2013-10-25 17:56:28

The problem is that the white males don’t have jobs, so there is nothing to tax.

 
 
 
 
Comment by (Still) Waiting for the Fall
2013-10-25 09:33:30

‘And our children will wonder how we ended up like Greece.’
Don’t you really mean ‘Rome’?

Comment by 2banana
2013-10-25 10:37:23

No - like Greece today.

A nominal 25% unemployment rate (which is really 50%)
Collapsing trade and manufacturing
Selling off of national treasures to pay insane bankers and even more insane public unions
A government that is despised and hated
A growing National Socialist Greek Workers’ Party (Nazi for those of who were educated in public schools)
Grandma and grandpa really thrown out in the streets and eating catfood
Oppression of civil liberties to “keep the peace” and to keep those in power in power

 
 
 
Comment by inchbyinch
2013-10-25 10:34:57

Earthquake-risk buildings list requested by city of Los Angeles -10/25/2013

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — The city of Los Angeles formally requested a list of some 1,500 buildings that could be at risk of collapsing in an earthquake.
The database of at-risk buildings was created by researchers at University of California, Berkeley.
Those researchers have previously refused to hand over the database saying they fear it would be used to point out specific buildings and lead to lawsuits.
The city has a voluntary program for retro-fitting such at-risk buildings, but stopped short of mandating it due to pressure from property owners who complained about the costs.

This is interesting. This is a whole lot of private and public money. The taxpayer will get hit up. We always do. Worth following, imho.

Comment by MightyMike
2013-10-25 16:23:46

We’ve probably paid already. At least some of the funding for the research on earthquakes and how to determine if a building is at risk was probably funded by the taxpayer.

 
 
Comment by Housing Analyst
2013-10-25 11:54:04

“Get what you can get for your house today because it’s going to be much less tomorrow for many years to come.”

No question. Especially if you were suckered into buying a house from 1998-current.

 
Comment by Housing Analyst
2013-10-25 15:53:46

“Why buy now what you can rent for half the monthly cost?”

Good point. Then buyer later when prices roll back to early 1990’s levels.

Comment by Resistor
2013-10-25 16:12:47

Preach it, brother.

 
 
Comment by Whac-A-Bubble™
2013-10-25 18:29:45

Wuz getting into my car to leave work when a colleague who pulled out just ahead of me pulled back into a nearby spot with her engine idling and stopped to chat. For reasons beyond my comprehension, some people think I know something they don’t about housing.

She and her hubby are purchasing an SD condo and locked in rates in early October (for a finance charge) at a local lender; they plan to close mid-November. Since they locked in, rates have dropped. Her understanding was that the lock protected them against rate increases, but if rates fell, they could costlessly get the lower rate so long as it was before closing. So rates have decreased, perhaps in part due to the shock and awe effect of the government shutdown on the economy, but when my friend asked whether their payments would drop, she was informed that it would cost them another finance charge to get it. Is this a scam, or standard practice?

On another note, I asked her why she was buying now, and she was not interested in talking much about it, except to say that their monthly payment will be much cheaper than current rent on a comparable place. She didn’t seem to want to hear my opinion that rising rates going forward may lead to negative home equity wealth effects, so I didn’t bother to offer it.

 
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