Bits Bucket for March 18, 2014
Post off-topic ideas, links, and Craigslist finds here.
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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Name:Ben Jones
Location:Northern Arizona, United States
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Renters are less intelligent than home buyers.
Then by default, you must be a renter. Post something that is meaningful. That one is just stupid.
Just sharing some midnight thoughts, and one that you of all posters here would certainly agree with.
If I take that one sentence and expand it into two pages of fluff full of quotes from Realtors and self-proclaimed real estate experts, about writing love letters to home sellers and bidding thousands of dollars above asking price, MarketWatch publishes it on the front page of their website and pays me a lot of money.
You want meaningful?
Renting is just throwing money away every month.
Renting is just paying your landlord’s mortgage.
Home owners build equity with every mortgage payment.
Buying a home is the greatest investment you’ll ever make.
You forgot a few:
- Real estate always goes up.
- Buy now or get priced out forever.
- Suzanne researched it!
- No investment is safer than housing.
- If you buy ten houses today and wait, then you will be a millionaire in ten years.
If Amy waits ten years, then her brain cells might reproduce enough for her to have a million of them, but she would have to put down the bong for that.
Hitting the bong couldn’t have done all that damage to Amy’s brain. She must have taken a pipe wrench to the cranium at some point in time, or maybe spent a half hour at the bottom of a swimming pool as a youth. Nothing else can explain such density.
I would venture to say there are some very intelligent people who choose to rent. My late aunt was one. Ownership of real estate was not of interest to her for many reasons. Just like Bill (just S. of Irvine). I find your statement untrue and idiotic.
My Aunt had an I.Q. exceeding 140. She probably forgot more than you will ever learn.
The definition of the last one has expanded to include housing (FB), but it still holds:
If it…
Flies
Floats
F@cks
…rent it.
“She probably forgot more than you will ever learn.”
J._Fraud sezs another funny.
HA, see below for one that is even funnier. You made the Yahoo.Finance highlight reel. You are much better looking that I imagined. Much younger too!
I found a video of HA! He seems rather intelligent in person! And he rents:
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/renting-vs–owning-a-home-143539176.html
We all know about me J.Fraud. On the other hand, your claims of being a “general contractor” hasn’t been substantiated…. Much like everything else you say.
You’re untrustworthy.
Now that the Crimea crisis is over, is it safe to say that stocks and real estate can only go up from here?
Russia formally moves to swallow Crimea
Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY 3:37 a.m. EDT March 18, 2014
Russian President Vladmir Putin has taken the first official steps to make Crimea part of the Russian Federation, approving a draft bill that would formalize the annexation of the Black Sea peninsula.
Notice of the draft bill was posted Tuesday morning on a Russian government website ahead of an address by Putin to Russia’s State Duma — Russia’s parliament.
That address is expected at 3 p.m. Moscow time in a nationally televised speech where he is widely expected to stake Russia’s claim on Crimea.
…
Maybe we should go and “annex” Baja California. We could even let Mexico keep Tijuana and Mexicali.
It would open up a lot of beachfront and they are not making any more of it don’t you know.
And it’s all unused and going to waste! Imagine all the new beachfront condos! It would be like adding a second Florida.
Chinese zillionaires could “snap them up”. Imagine the realtor commissions! The economy would be saved!
Didn’t we already annex Alta California?
Yup, so why stop there? Plus Baja has twice the coastline and the weather is better!
Ever watch Shark Tank? I wonder what the sharks would say about the current stock market as a whole.
I’d like you to pay X for a share of the business. But that share may go down later, after you buy in, as our executives issue more shares to each other as part of their pay.
Meanwhile, you get a 2 percent cash return. Less than half what it has been in the past, on average.
And, by the way, we are already making as much money as we possibly can, because we pay our workers so much less than we used to and our customers (the same people) are broke.
I’M OUT!
Are you expecting interest rates to remain low forever?
March 17, 2014, 12:41 p.m. EDT
Fed set to roll out new low-rate pledge
Meeting’s focus on how to revamp communications over low-rate vow
By Greg Robb, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The Federal Reserve has said again and again that it wants to keep interest rates low for a long time. But it keeps fiddling with how to express that commitment.
Another shift in that communications strategy is set to occur when the central bank’s interest-rate-setting committee gathers for two days of talks on Tuesday and Wednesday, as it’s the first meeting to be led by Janet Yellen, the new chairwoman. The Fed will release a policy statement and updated economic forecasts at 2 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, and Yellen will hold a press conference at the end of the deliberations at 2:30 p.m.
With the Fed and the markets basically on the same page on the economy, the current near-zero interest-rate policy, and the rate of reduction in bond purchases, the central bank has an opportunity to revamp its forward guidance tool, now the chief policy instrument.
“They’ve got a little room to unanchor these things,” said Lewis Alexander, chief economist at Nomura Holdings Inc. in New York.
So-called forward guidance attempts to drive down long-term rates by promising to keep short-term rates low for a long time.
…
I have been expecting interest rates to increase since 1998. I have been wrong!
Barring a true paradigm change, I’m not sure I’ll see double-digit interest in my working years. There are just too many things that depend on low interest rates, like the DOW. And those low interest rates are priced into society as a new normal which used to be a perk, but is now needed to survive, like two-income households and 7-year car loans.
“low interest rates…is now needed to survive.”
Well there you go! I suppose you will get what you want, just because you “need” it.
I “need” a bushel basket full of 100 dollar bills…. and lets see…. 80 degrees and sunny 365 days a year and eh….
Add two Victoria Secrets’ models.
Add two Victoria Secrets’ models.
There is no man-made climate change, because two of AlGores’ models are broke.
Good morning Lola.
What time do they open the doors at your half way house?
Oxide, when you have almost 18 trillion dollars in governmental debt and your entire GDP is less than that number it is not very hard to a see a scenario where interest rates will be back into double digits. Yes, the DOW is dependent on these low interest rates but that does not mean it cannot fall because the government has no choice but allow interest rates to rise.
There are just too many things that depend on low interest rates, like the DOW.
Forget the DOW, there’s sovereign debt around the globe. If rates rise there will be a chain reaction of defaults around the world.
There is no universal law dictating that things must occur in such a way as to work out for a certain set of people. For instance, life on Earth depends on the sun for survival. The sun will eventually implode. Fact.
Yields are in a dead cat bounce mode…… Just like housing J._Fraud.
There used to be a poster here who called himself Hoz — not sure whatever became of him. I took the impression that he was an experienced financial professional, perhaps with a futures trading background.
Anyway, he recommended pre-2008 to go into some kind of Ultrashort Treasury fund, on the presumption that interest rates could only go up from where they were at the time. He was wrong, too, or at least very early.
Very early, can make you very broke when it comes to investments.
Late is not so good, either.
It seems timing is everything when it comes to successful investing.
Timing is everything when it comes to successful speculating. I don’t hear many people talk about true investing much anymore.
Sure people talk about investing. You’re too busy pimping depreciating shacks.
Maybe the trick is to measure the upper and lower limits of timing that a person can rely on, using the available information at hand. For the stock market so far, it seems that “they” can keep it ouf of whack for at least a year. So maybe a person writing options should bake at least two years of wiggle room (+/- 1) into the cake.
Yes, I got unto a double leveraged Treasury short in 2009. Finally dumped it a year later. It went nowhere. I took a small loss on it.
So, what are the percentages?
10% of the time it is good to invest and 90% of the time you get hosed?
Hi Kidbuck,
Since you asked, it is generally the other way around. 90% of the time I make money in stocks, 10% I lose or break even.
I do much better in real estate because I know how to buy right.
Paying multiples of reproduction costs isn’t a sign of someone who knows what they’re doing.
But, as I recall, Hoz wasn’t a typical speculator- the type of market in which they now thrive. Hoz was an informed and informative soul who knew where to put his money through careful analysis washed through a great deal of experience. i sincerely doubt he had any use for the high speed trade experience- throughout which the markets are frought these days.
“buy what China buys”
Now I think it would be sell what China has been buying for the past few years.
HA, I am flattered that you believe I use a half a dozen different screen names. I don’t. I am not Amy Hoax, Captain Credit Crunch, or Blackhawk. I don’t drive an exotic car. I drive a crossover with 110,000 miles on the odometer.
I find cars depreciate in value, so they are simply a tool for driving and carrying people and supplies. I have never sold a car for more than I paid. In fact, I have always lost money on the transaction.
You see HA, vehicles are not like real estate. Every property I have ever sold, I sold for more money than I paid. Every property. Sometimes much more money. And every property I own delivers me some wonderful cash flow. Every property.
If Bill (just south of Irvine) wants to rent and stack up gold coins, that is great. He and I are on the same page. I like Bill, and if he was a resident in my property, I would never raise his rent for as long as he wanted to stay. I would fix his dishwasher when it broke and return his security deposit when he left the place in great condition.
The world is not out to deceive you HA. We all make our contribution and add value in the process. We each do it in our own way. Just like you.
And houses depreciate…. just like cars. The only difference is the losses on houses are far greater. You’ll find that out the painful way. I’m certain of it.
And yes… you’re deceptive.
Every property I have ever sold, I sold for more money than I paid. Every property.
JingleFraud with more lies, thanks.
Not trying to pick on Jangles, but we don’t know how many properties he is still holding, which may only be sold at a loss currently. I believe he stated previously that his ROI was only 2% on rentals, but that may have been Rental Watch.
I have eight properties, 7 are rentals (sold one in July 2013 for $100,000 profit). I have $372,000 of hard equity left in them and if I sold today (which I won’t because I have outstanding cash flow), I would get all the investment back, plus about $715,000. Actually, less selling costs of $180,000, I would net about $535,000. Selling costs is another good reason to hold for the long term.
This excludes my own home, which I bought in 2010 for $385,000 with 3.5% down and used an FHA loan. It “Zillows” today for $557,000, but would probably sell in 1-day at $600,000.
So none of you need to worry about me and my properties. I am so far above water, I stowed the oars away.
Who knows what the future brings, but in under 20 years, I plan to be free and clear on a very nice portfolio.
Polly actually figured out the location of my personal address and confirmed my personal home metrics a year or two earlier. She may be able to confirm those numbers for you, because I know some of you will all be calling me a liar.
Don’t think it was me. I am not bad at figuring out income when people complain about their exact amount of income tax, but I have no real experience with using the sites that let you backtrack locations of real property. Unless you gave enough information to find your location on google maps, it was probably someone else.
What is hard equity? How many houses have you sold?
$372,000 and one
It wasn’t Polly, it was Wittebelle.
Comment by wittbelle
2012-04-11 09:46:06
__________________________________
I had posted information about my personal house as follows:
Comment by jinglemale
2012-04-11 02:58:54
I bought a foreclosed house from BofA in Nov. 2010 for $395,000. Zillow indicated it was then worth $405,000. I just checked today and the valuation is now $462,200. I have made $10,000 of improvements. I know Zillow is not perfect, but this is what I see in the market in desirable areas around Sacramento. We are not interested in selling as we love our home. Having it appreciate is just a bonus.
BTW, we used an FHA loan, so our DP and closing cost came to under $20,000. Subtracting $30,000 in selling costs and the $35,000 profit is much greater that leaving the money in the bank.
____________________________________
So two years ago, everyone was questioning if the house was worth $462,000. Today, everyone can question if the house is worth $557,000. Argue away, I believe it would sell for $600,000 in one day, but that is irrelevant.
Here were Wittebelle’s last words:
“I, for one, am bookmarking this conversation to refer back to periodically. It should be interesting……”
The fraud crowd huddles. How cute.
Whoever said 2% wasn’t me. That’s a really low number.
Nor I.
My return on cash invested is about 6-7% now and growing each time a property goes vacant and the rent goes to market….well, just below market, as I look mostly for good tenants and offer them a below market deal.
Using depreciation to offset earned income, the return is even greater, although eventually all that “write off” recaptured at a rate of 25%, if and when I sell.
So strange seeing someone air their financials so specifically and openly on the internets. Why would one do that, insecurity? Self doubt?
Fraud?
strange seeing someone air their financials so specifically and openly on the internets.
IDK, the financials about houses is the main subject here.
So strange seeing someone air their financials so specifically and openly on the internets. Why would one do that, insecurity? Self doubt?
I see this on all blogs about finance. Nothing wrong. Do you actually think this stuff is really traceable? It is if you 1) give your real screen name and 2) your snail mail address or your social security number.
but give me a break. No one’s going to find your net worth, the name of your dog, your street, unless you post it.
I have been on this blog for many years and it has offered me wonderful insight into the housing bubble. However, I believe (and have acted on the belief) that we hit a market bottom and there were opportunities to buy after the bubble popped in 2006 & 2007.
Some on this blog believed the market was still headed down in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and even 2013 and today. I have shown differently and share that example to offset those who are still stuck in 2007. The bubble busted. Get over it. If you want a house, buy one. If you want to rent, go ahead.
I object to the “sky is falling” forever mentality and the false advice of the last 4 years. Many people bought houses and have done well financially in the last few years. People called me an idiot for buying in 2008, 9 & 10. It was the best financial move of my lifetime.
JingleFraud with more lies, thanks.
Actually 2009, around March 1, was the time everyone should have went way long on the S&P 500 index. Hindsite.
However I made a big hit by buying 1700 shares of my former company stock at $2.00. I missed the rock bottom $1.38 price a few days before that. Today I still have those shares and the price is above $37 per share. I got another couple batches totalling 3,000 shares below $5.80 cost. Those are keepers. Probably to keep through the next market cycle of downs and ups in staffing.
Find me a house where I could make a 1,777% gain on it in 5 years and 2 weeks after holding.
Find me a house where I could make a 1,777% gain on it in 5 years and 2 weeks after holding.
Zona Sul Rio de Janeiro Brazil: 2008-2014
If you paid cash, went about 1/3 all in with your net worth, got lucky - got “free” rent for 6 years and counting and let it ride - better than your stocks in total I would bet.
Why? Volume. Your 1800% gain was probably a /small part of your portfolio. But you did great. We’re small timers who got a little lucky.
I don’t think Bill got “lucky” in the same way you do Lola.
Well Bill, since you asked, I invested $15,500 in the down payment on the house where I live. The equity today is $145,580 after selling costs. 39 months. 939% Return.
Annualized return to 5 years = 1,445% return. I say we both got pretty lucky, but we both agreed to take the risk.
I bought back into the stock market in September 2009 (9,000 Dow) after bailing 50% in December of 2005 (10,800) and 50% in December of 2006 (12,400). It went all the way to 14,000 and I was really doubting myself. Getting back in at 9,000 was not easy for me. I went into mutual funds, not individual stocks.
There are some interesting lessons in this history.
I have shown differently and share that example to offset those who are still stuck in 2007. The bubble busted. Get over it. If you want a house, buy one.
Did you miss the memo that we are above bubble-peak pricing in some markets, with significantly lower employment (participation rate) and aggregate income?
That’s hard to figure, right thar…
Above peak pricing shortly after a widely-acknowledged bubble does not strike me as a smart time to buy.
J. Fraud the “contractor” and his $90k water meters. LOLZ
I like Bill, and if he was a resident in my property, I would never raise his rent for as long as he wanted to stay.
Thanks JM!
Imagine that! Rent control that is voluntary - done by goodwill and not by point of the gun like it’s done in Santa Monica or San Francisco!
Voluntaryism rocks
normally Bill is right my LL has raised it a lot less then he could…..because we treat his property like our own…..
But being in NYC i also like the idea of rent control /stabilzation because its not as easy to quickly move like in phoenix.
It also distorts the market when things get out of hand…. like the last few years ….but the Landlord can PAY the tenant to give up the lease and move.. OH the horror……
So they try illegal means and it costs them more in legal fees then to be nice.
Here is the truth Bill apartment houses sell on the cash flow…if you have rent control that lowers the original sales price but you will recoup when the tenant moves out or dies or moves to floorRiddah.
Think of it as an easement that goes with the property. If people hate rent control then dont buy a house with it.
But being in NYC i also like the idea of rent control /stabilzation because its not as easy to quickly move like in phoenix.
That’s good comedy, dj—one of the biggest reasons that it is not easy to quickly move is BECAUSE of rent-control! It gives renters in rent-controlled properties a strong incentive not to move, which make it correspondingly harder to find a place.
Prime that’s true to some extent…but you also have to realize most people dont have cars or even a drivers license..
And to be in a position to find a place quickly that’s near your job or public transportation and move is a lot harder then you think
In flyover country you can find a place and move in the same day because you have a car.
In flyover country you can find a place and move in the same day because you have a car.
Are you saying you can’t rent trucks in the city? Or pay movers?
Most people do NOT move with their own cars… It would take way too many trips, and furniture does not fit in your average car.
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
In other words, don’t buy housing at these massively inflated prices. Don’t Be A Debt Donkey®
The Most (and Least) Fiscally Solvent States
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/lists/state_fiscal_condition_best_and_worst/
The states at the top of the list are all active in the new oilfield surge.
Those at the bottom, not so much.
Wow, that is a fascinating find. Thanks for sharing BH.
No problem, but isn’t that like thanking yourself?
It took me a moment….you mean because I am Blackhawk? HA, HA, HA! Yes, you got me. I am me, myself and I!
Actually states like South Dakota and Nebraska are not gaining much from the energy boom. North Dakota is getting most of the drilling not South Dakota and I am not aware of any significant drilling in Nebraska. The common denominator I see is all five of the best states voted for Romney and the worse states voted for Obama.
all five of the best states voted for Romney
And Romney won it all because “America is a center-right country, and Obama and his cronies are far-left.”
Headline November 06, 2012, 02:11 pm:
Tomorrow’s headline: Romney Wins! Republicans take control of Congress! Rick Manning, Americans for Limited Government.
http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/266087-tomorrows-headline-romney-wins-republicans-take-control-of-congress
Mitt Romney shocked Democrats across America with an overwhelming Electoral College victory, taking Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania to go with a reconsolidated South by restoring North Carolina, Virginia and Florida into the Republican electoral ranks.
Harry Reid’s hopes of continuing as majority leader are quashed as George Allen, Denny Rehberg, Josh Mandel, Connie Mack, Tommy Thompson, Tom Smith and, yes, Todd Akin all ended up sweeping their Democratic opponents out of office.
And Nancy Pelosi is expected to retire after a bruising loss in her attempt to retake the House, as House Democrats scramble to find new leadership in what is likely to become a long stay in the minority.
The mass rejection of Obama’s legacy in the Nov. 6 elections can be attributed to one thing: America is a center-right country, and Obama and his cronies are far-left.
Savvy Democrat politicians like Bill Clinton can win because, having grown up in Southern politics, they speak the language of a center-right country even if they don’t govern from that position.
Obama’s real revolution was that for the first time in 50 years, he was able to win election by running as a liberal candidate. However, Obama’s reelection was doomed when he chose to double down on the language of the left, running a divisive campaign based upon class warfare.
When Obama took this hard-left tack, he dragged his down-ticket team, and they couldn’t escape from it. A senator like Jon Tester could not pretend to be a conservative to voters in Montana, because Obama’s rhetoric would not let him. Instead, he became a proxy for Obama, and paid the price at the polls.
“Those at the bottom, not so much.”
Isn’t New Jersey where Jon Corzine reined almighty?
Call the Property Brothers!
Canada’s Housing Ends Four-Month Skid on Gains in Toronto
By Theophilos Argitis Mar 17, 2014 10:13 AM (bloomibergi)
“Canada’s housing market ended a four-month skid in February, with Toronto and Vancouver leading gains during the month.
Sales rose 0.3 percent in February from the previous month to 36,573 units, the Canadian Real Estate Association said today in a statement. The average price of a home sold in February rose 0.5 percent from the previous month and 10.1 percent from a year ago…
..The gain in February followed a 3.3 percent drop in sales in January, which the real estate association has said was partly due to colder-than-usual weather.
Work began on about 192,100 new homes in February, a gain of 6.4 percent… The value of residential building permits granted by municipalities jumped 26.3 percent to C$4.60 billion ($4.2 billion) in January, Statistics Canada reported March 6.”
HA, HA will have to change his name to Boo Hoo….
Don’t sales always increase from Jan to Feb?
Yes. Great point. Conversely, don’t sales always decrease in November and December? Touche’!
Yes, Jangle, they do (except during a bubble), which makes the article a bit pointless.
I agree Uncle, it is a bit pointless. I also believe Canada is on a precipice. Of course I believed that in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013. I cannot figure out the metrics that keep Canadian prices so high. I suspect demographics and immigration, but don’t have time to invest in the solution.
Exactly. Canadia is a socialist place. All the socialist places have economics that are too out of whack to make any sense. People who actually live there may be better able to explain it.
Posted on March 17, 2014 by Anthony Watts
Another massive cold wave headed for Eastern US next week to put temperature 20 degrees below normal
Senior WeatherBell Meteorologist Joe Bastardi commented:
I am 58.. never seen anything close to this for late March.
and
[The] pattern next week has as much extreme potential for the time of the year as I can find. Coldest opening to calender spring in 50 yrs at least.
Weather forecast models such as the ECMWF and NCEP, both of which have had good track records this year in identifying polar vortex outbreaks in advance, are now forecasting a massive cold blast for the beginning of spring. See maps:
I remember snow drifts on Easter one time in the ’50s in Buffalo.
Was Easter in March or April? Also, the more open the Great Lakes are open the more lake effect snow. It may have been that the lakes were actually more open than this year because the temperatures were actually warmer. Of course, it does shows the cyclical nature of climate and Joe Bastardi has an excellent record of predictions and he is very skeptical of AGW claims. If the climate Nazi’s take over he will end up in a concentration camp.
Joe Bastardi has an excellent record of predictions and he is very skeptical of AGW
There is no AGW because Koch/FOX’s favorite weatherman knows more than NASA and America’s premier scientific society.
“The rate of climate change now may be as fast as any extended warming period over the past 65 million years, and it is projected to accelerate in the coming decades,”
Climate change is putting world at risk of irreversible changes, scientists warn Tuesday 18 March 2014
AAAS makes rare policy intervention urging US to act swiftly to reduce carbon emissions and lower risks of climate catastrophe
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/mar/18/climate-change-world-risk-irreversible-changes-scientists-aaas
The world is at growing risk of “abrupt, unpredictable and potentially irreversible changes” because of a warming climate, America’s premier scientific society warned on Tuesday.
In a rare intervention into a policy debate, the American Association for the Advancement of Scientists urged Americans to act swiftly to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – and lower the risks of leaving a climate catastrophe for future generations.
“As scientists, it is not our role to tell people what they should do,” the AAAS said in a new report, What we know.
“But we consider it our responsibility as professionals to ensure, to the best of our ability, that people understand what we know: human-caused climate change is happening, we face risks of abrupt, unpredictable and potentially irreversible changes, and responding now will lower the risks and costs of taking action.”
Your Democratic talking points are getting thinner and thinner. Bush II won reelection, it sometimes takes time for people to turn, but Obamacare is Obama’s Iraq, the people know they have been lied to by Obama which they did not know before the 2012 election.
Obamacare is Obama’s Iraq
By “Iraq,” do you mean “the worst thing Obama’s done in his Presidency?” If that’s the case, then Obama will be hailed as a very awesome President.
Your Democratic talking points are getting thinner and thinner.
I think you’re referring to your skin.
but Obamacare is Obama’s Iraq
LOL. I sure hope “Obamacare is Obama’s Iraq”.
Iraq killed, displaced and maimed hundreds of thousands, broke international precedent and might end up costing over 4 trillion.
In contrast, Obamacare will save thousands of lives a year, grant liberty to individuals that was only available in collectives, and has put America on the path of becoming a more civilized country.
When people say that Afghanistan is Russia’s Vietnam, they do not mean any success or failure that the Russian’s had in Vietnam. Moreover, even if it did mean what you seem to be implying, I do not think that Iraq is going down as a huge success for Obama given the instability in Iraq but it is not as a huge as disaster as under Bush. No, I mean Obamacare is a total failure just like Bush II’s decision to try to create a democracy in Iraq instead of just trying to eliminate any threat Saddam might have posed.
In contrast, Obamacare will save thousands of lives a year, grant liberty to individuals that was only available in collectives, and has put America on the path of becoming a more civilized country
It will be repealed or the Republicans will run the table. It is a huge governmental Rube Goldberg scheme that is not working and cannot work and that is the reason why Obama is delaying as much of it as he can to after the 2014 election. However, the truth is out there and people will know how their insurance is going to be impacted prior to the election because businesses have to plan and they will warn their employees when they figure out the numbers.
(ObamaCare) will be repealed or the Republicans will run the table.
Here is another example of your lack of a big picture view. It’s actually what I was talking about yesterday when I said your posts are like watching the movie “Ground Hog Day”.
As I said a couple years ago, ObamaCare has changed the entire debate. Obama has dragged the Repubs kicking and screaming to the left. Obama has made health-care a de-facto right in America which is a fundamental change.
I’ve said that even if major parts of ACA “fail”, the Repubs will have to settle for fixes that keep the major goal of universal coverage alive. The left won this battle. Bigtime.
How in the world did this conversation pivot from “the scientific consesus is that humans are causing potentially destructive climate change” to “Obama is bad and Obamacare is worse”?
http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/obamacare-leaves-las-vegas-man-owing-407000-doctor-bills
Professor Calls for Jail for Climate Deniers
http://www.infowars.com/college-professor-calls-for-climate-change-deniers-to-be-imprisoned/
AlbqDan, you know they’d like to do it and here’s the proof
Reading articles like this should make people mad enough that they will restore our future and take America back.
These science people and professors hate our freedoms.
They are the real terrorists.
It is not science when you call for the jailing of people that disagree with you, it is the worse of religion.
BTW, since the Earth has not warmed for almost twenty years shouldn’t all the scientists that predicted rapid warming be jailed for negligence since the higher energy costs imposed by efforts to combat warming have literally caused people to die in England and Europe in their homes due to a lack of heat?
BTW, since the Earth has not warmed for almost twenty years
That’s about as dumb and factual as starting a paragraph with:
BTW, since the Cubs have won the World series for almost twenty years……
The satellite data shows a slight cooling over twenty years and the land based data (easier to fake) shows a slight warming. The statement is entirely factual unlike 99% of what you post.
http://wattsupwiththat.com/
BTW, the post shows just how far the models are off. Even if an El Nino causes us to break the record by a few hundreds of a degree, it is in now way going to validate the predictions of the models.
now=no
shows just how far the models are off.
Really “predictions of models being off”? On global climate. Involving extremely complicated variables which can change every year? You hang your hat on some models over or under predicting?
U sure know your scientific method. Did you get your AA degree in dental hygiene from Liberty University?
Lola,
It’s easy to see why you and Liberace are a couple. Your rhetoric mimics his. Liberace hates Liberty U.
Republicans regularly call for jailings and executions of people who disagree with them. If a female disagrees with a Republican, then she also gets to be called a slut.
So sorry, but the “conservatives” are pots who call the kettle black on that one.
http://business.iafrica.com/news/907979.html
I am not buying this article. Why is it that SA which produces 80% of platinum according to this article cannot control the price of platinum when OPEC with around 40% of production can control oil prices? Recycling can only go so far. Full disclosure, I do own Stillwater shares and I am profiting from this strike.
Supply and demand might speak to this. You use much more oil every day than you use platinum.
Yes, but the supply is that they claim to produce 80% of it and the demand exists in refineries and cat convertors and other uses. So according to the article demand already exceeds supply. With a market that tight you do not have to take much off the market to double the price even taking into consideration substitutions which I do not think are many. I think like oil, platinum is pretty demand inelastic.
Oil demand is elastic. We have been driving fewer miles since 2007.
Oil demand is elastic. We have been driving fewer miles since 2007.
It is elastic over the longer term but a doubling or tripling in price only gets you a 5% drop in demand in the short term which is pretty inelastic. Check out just how little OPEC cut production in 1973 to get a tripling in price.
Washington Post - The last decade was a historically awful time to enter the job market
“The recession wreaked particular havoc on opposite ends of the labor market: on the young and unemployeeyed marooned in their parents’ homes for lack of work, and on the (relatively) old and experienced stuck in the workforce for lack of money to retire.
Studies have suggested that people who are unemployed as young adults later earn less when they are employed. Aging into a crummy economy doesn’t just hurt you when you’re looking for your first job from your mother’s basement; the negative effects persist for years.
Early unemployment, in other words, has lasting scars. And we’ve just watched an entire cohort come of working age at a time when employment prospects for young workers have been at an unprecedented low.”
What those kids need are $500,000 starter homes.
They don’t need jobs, they can borrow their way to prosperity.
Welcome to the recoveryless recovery.
So what if all their jobs were offshored? You can buy cheap, imported socks at Walmart.
I had a conversation about this recently with an elderly retired man. He was seriously clueless. He made the point that I can “well afford” to shop at Wal*Mart because of offshoring. I tried to explain that I can’t afford to shop at Wal*Mart because employment prospects are too unstable, meaning that I can’t spend any money unless it’s absolutely necessary. Investments only. New socks? I can wear shoes without socks.
He didn’t get it. The oldsters have seen nothing but prosperity their entire lives. They can’t handle the abstract thought of a person with a college degree and relatively successful career being unable to afford things. He completely disregarded my entire point.
They also don’t understand the layoff culture. Back in 2001 after I was laid off from HP (during Carly’s great purge) an oldster asked me how long i would be until I was “called back”. When I explained to him that being “laid off” was permanent and not a furlough he looked very surprised.
^very true.
Sometimes you see a story that just does not make sense. Why are these credit cards still valid one month after the home invasion? I am glad that they have video of the probable thief but how he can still be using the card is amazing.
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/video/9957113-only-on-kcal9-security-footage-captures-suspected-cat-burglars-in-riverside/
1. They call it a home invasion but it appears to have been just a burglary at night of the occupied home, not what I necessarily think of as a home invasion. (Still scary though).
2. I think they released the video a month later but that doesn’t mean he used it then. He could have used it right after and the cops only release it now cause they came up cold looking for him.
Yes that makes sense. I guess it was too early when I posted. However, I think reporters should provide more details such as the video was shot a month ago, if they want to help solve the case.
March 18, 2014, 7:45 a.m. EDT
Gold falls as Fed meeting promises volatility
By Shawn Langlois and Ben Eisen, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Gold prices added to this week’s decline in electronic trade Tuesday, pulling back during a potentially volatile stretch of trading ahead of a key Federal Reserve meeting.
Gold for April delivery GCJ4 -1.38% traded lower by $12.00, or 0.9%, to $1,360.90 an ounce, while May silver SIK4 -2.33% shed 29 cents, or 1.4%, to trade at $20.98 an ounce.
A day earlier, gold snapped its five-session winning streak as investors opted to instead buy equities after their recent stretch of weakness.
Look for action to pick up this week with traders awaiting the outcome of the two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting. The next step in the wind-down of the central bank’s bond-buying stimulus program is likely to be announced by Janet Yellen at the end of the two-day meeting on Wednesday afternoon.
…
As I said a few days ago I suspected that the PTB still have a few tricks to keep PMs suppressed. They will not let fiat currencies go quietly in the night when it is the source of their money and power.
All I see is bubbles eveywhere.
Drudge link to some real journalists:
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/official-prophecy-of-doom-global-warming-will-cause-widespread-conflict-displace-millions-of-people-and-devastate-the-global-economy-9198171.html
Enjoy the die off
And the answer is to send billions of dollars to the U.N. countries and then Sudan will be like Switzerland.
Put some smoked salmon and cheese on those soylent green crackers and you have a real meal.
Enjoy the dieoff
I plan to, it’s gonna be great.
More real journalists:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/18/science/scientists-sound-alarm-on-climate.html
If scientists were really scared about imminent CAGW, they would be following over each other to endorse nuclear power which is the quickest way to meaningfully reduce carbon emissions. However, we do not see any movement here and in Germany to use more nuclear power. In fact, in Germany they have returned to coal in a major way. Do you really think you are better briefed than Merkel? No, this is a natural cycle a continuation of the inter-glacial warming that the Globalists want to use to justify carbon taxes, transfer of wealth to developing countries and a world government structure. If Merkel believed that carbon emissions were causing rapid warming she would not be turning to coal and the rest of the world would be discouraging her from turning off nukes and burning the coal.
Global warming is European, socialist, and probably gay.
Al Gore just made it up to sell more movie tickets so he can pay the air conditioning bill for his 200,000 square foot house.
The scientists who believe in global warming are gay too.
They want global warming because it will make it more comfortable to be naked outside and do gay things with each other.
Global warming is European, socialist, and probably gay.
Well that would explain why Lola has been supporting it so much lately. I thought it was because the Democratic party has made it a political priority to divert attention from Obamacare since the issue cuts against Republicans in polls. Thus, being a paid political hack he had to post on the issue. However, I will defer to your explanation. You are the keeper of the Man Code on this site. If the Man Code says it is European, Socialist, and Probably gay, I cannot go against the law that binds all heterosexual males.
If scientists were really scared about imminent CAGW, they would be following over each other to endorse nuclear power which is the quickest way to meaningfully reduce carbon emissions.
This is a simplistic either/or throwaway line easily proved meaningless by
1. The concept that scientists are also “really scared” about nuclear power’s potential damages.
2. Some important US climate scientists DO support development of safe nuclear power.
Your post fits your MO, a little bit of fact warped with deflections and smoke and mirrors to fool the gullible.
Top US climate scientists support development of safe nuclear power
Open letter to environmentalists and world leaders says wind and solar power are not enough to diminish carbon emissions
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/nov/03/climate-scientists-support-nuclear-power
Some of the world’s top climate scientists say wind and solar energy won’t be enough to head off extreme global warming, and they’re asking environmentalists to support the development of safer nuclear power as one way to cut fossil fuel pollution.
Four scientists who have played a key role in alerting the public to the dangers of climate change sent letters Sunday to leading environmental groups and politicians around the world. The letter, an advance copy of which was given to the Associated Press, urges a crucial discussion on the role of nuclear power in fighting climate change.
The letter signers are James Hansen, a former top NASA scientist; Ken Caldeira, of the Carnegie Institution; Kerry Emanuel, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and Tom Wigley, of the University of Adelaide in Australia.
Environmentalists agree that global warming is a threat to ecosystems and humans, but many oppose nuclear power and believe that new forms of renewable energy will be able to power the world within the next few decades. That isn’t realistic, the letter said.
This is a simplistic either/or throwaway line easily proved meaningless by
1. The concept that scientists are also “really scared” about nuclear power’s potential damages.
2. Some important US climate scientists DO support development of safe nuclear power.
No, it is not simplistic, you have Merkel burning more coal despite her having access to the greatest scientific minds. It means something. You never made this a major issue until the Democrats made this their diversion from Obamacare, you are showing just what a paid political hack you really are. It did not work in Florida and it is not going to work in November, the economy and Obamacare are going to be the top issues and the Democrats are in trouble on both.
Merkel burning more coal despite her having access to the greatest scientific minds. It means something
Maybe it means they have a lot of coal and enviro-nuts don’t want nukes.
You never made this a major issue until the Democrats made this their diversion from Obamacare,
“Sweet Rio Dreams are made of these, who am I to disagree”
You are a sight to read. A case study in something.
Who do you dream about more, me or Obama? Maybe me? Let’s see. For you, “I don’t live in Rio”, “missed Some DC snow days posting” that “you called” and I now slam your bunk science and BS math “because the Dem’s Obamacare has done something in the polls that you don’t even believe in” And you want me to pose with a newspaper”?
Dude. I’m actually chuckling as I hit send.
Dude. I’m actually chuckling as I hit send.
That is because you are off your meds. What is the problem does the crappy Medicaid policy you have under Obamacare not cover them? Or is it that your crappy essentially HMO does not have enough doctors for you to see? It is interesting when the private sector came up with HMOs in the 1980’s the liberals could not denounce them fast enough and forced them to open up their networks with laws. However, the Obamacare networks are more restrictive than any of the HMOs but now it is passed off as good care. What a bad joke.
I have to go before my other response posts but you really do need to get on your meds. I am sure HA can deal with you with half his brain tied behind his back since you are incapable of posting anything but Democratic talking points. But everybody has to live, at least you are now out of your cardboard box and off SNAP drawing your check from Soros or the DNC.
Obamacare doubleplusgood.
Long live King Obama!
Nuclear waste is a thousand times more dangerous than global warming.
“Never underestimate what a gathering of bureaucrats and carbon profiteers might accomplish when after your money”, warned Rucker.
http://blog.heartland.org/2013/12/the-un-global-warming-hoax-is-slowly-dying/ - 99k -
Nice find Phony Scandals.
“They said they had to evacuate it (island), because the sea level was rising. But again, you look at the tide-gauge record: There is absolutely no signal that the sea level is rising. If anything, you could say that maybe the tide is lowering a little bit, but absolutely no rising.”
But what about those awesome videos of glaciers melting?
What about the polar bears?
If there’s no global warming, what am I going to believe in and whom am I going to believe?
I posted on the Teapot Dome scandal yesterday. My amazement is that something that made its way into the history books as an epic scandal seems so mild by today’s standards. I see the era of mortgage fraud PLUS the lack of any willingness to pursue that as bizarre. Banana republic bizarre.
Anyway, William K. Black held a brief lecture on the subject. It’s 19 minutes long and quite informative.
Black’s Twitter feed is interesting too.
President Barack Obama was born in Africa.
Don’t forget to use Hussein.
I just clarified that, exactly nine seconds after your post.
In addition to being born in Indonesia, he is an illegal drug user and a homosexual.
It’s time to restore our future and take America back!
In addition to being born in Indonesia, he is an illegal drug user and a homosexual
You said above he was born in Africa.
I think we can stipulate that he is a drug user and a homosexual but you need to be careful about his place of birth.
I think we can stipulate that he is a drug user and a homosexual but you need to be careful about his place of birth.
Dude. You should stick with disseminating bad math, white-trashesque bigotry and bunk science.
Because you are just not funny.
Did I hit a little too close to home?
Did I hit a little too close to home?
Yes. Too close. Humor. I value it. I understand it. You don’t.
Your daily schooling is almost finished Lola. You’ll be going back in your cage soon.
In addition to being born in Indonesia, he is an illegal drug user and a homosexual.
Don’t forget, he wants to force everyone into gay sharia marriages.
Not everyone, just white males. I explained this before.
All the white males are forced into sharia law gay marriages.
All the white women are redistributed and given to the coloreds.
So while the white men are all having sharia law gay sex, the white women will all be having mixed race babies. Within one lifespan, all the white people will be extinct.
This is Obama’s plan.
And also don’t forget the “bachelor tax” which will be used to finance generous welfare bennies for the single moms those selfish bachelors refuse to marry.
All the white women are redistributed and given to the coloreds.
You are mistaken that colored folks will take trashy white women. They will go for asian women, too.
They will go for asian women, too.
Who doesn’t go for Asian women, they are the platinum of females?
You are mistaken that colored folks will take trashy white women.
If they have the money, they might come to Brazil. In fact, they do all the time.
http://www.ucityguides.com/cities/top-10-countries-with-the-most-beautiful-women.html
Top 10
Countries with the MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMEN in the World
#1 | BRAZIL
Why are there so many Brazilian supermodels? Because they have the genes for it. Brazilians are probably the most ethnically mixed people in the world, so combining different shades and shapes creates the most perfect of bodies. And they work on them too, since they live at the beach in Rio or flaunt themselves at the trendiest bars in fashion-obsessed São Paulo. Go to any fashion show around the world or open a Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition, and you’re guaranteed to find a Brazilian girl.
Colored folk seem to gravitate toward trashy white women.
“Brazilians are probably the most ethnically mixed people in the world, so combining different shades and shapes creates the most perfect of bodies”
Maybe in Brazil. Not in the US, though, sigh.
There’s nothing sexier than a tramp stamp riding above a muffin top.
Some of you may not know this, but his middle name is Hussein.
That’s the same as the last name of the Iranian dictator who attacked us on 9/11 because they hate our freedoms.
How can someone who’s middle name is Hussein be loyal to America?
BTW, the fact that he has Hussein in his name not only means that he is Muslim but suggests he is a Shiite Muslim since Hussein was a Martyr for Shia Islam. Thus, his favoritism for Iran over Saudi Arabia.
That’s “Shiite Muslim who’s a BFF (brony bud forever) with a radical Christian preacher” to you, pal.
That’s only cus like the enemy of my enemy is my friend and stuff.
Both of them want the same thing, which is the global extermination of white people.
I read his book “Dreams of my Father”, it’s all true that Obama is like a gay Stalin.
I read his book “Dreams of my Father”, it’s all true that Obama is like a gay Stalin.
So he would put you in a gulag but it will be well decorated?
Or he will torture you all day but then give you a stylish haircut.
Or he will pull out five of your finger nails but give you a great manicure on the other five.
Please clarify what a gay Stalin will do.
Yep, and Saddam was a Shia too and he favored I-Ran over I-Raq.
“Retirement: A third have less than $1,000 put away”
http://www.king5.com/news/less-than-1000-dollars-retirement-250779911.html
by Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY
Posted on March 18, 2014 at 6:42 AM
Updated today at 6:42 AM
Most people have very little tucked away for retirement, and many aren’t even trying to figure out how much they’ll need later in life, a new national survey reveals.
About 36% of workers have less than $1,000 in savings and investments that could be used for retirement, not counting their primary residence or defined benefits plans such as traditional pensions, and 60% of workers have less than $25,000, according to a telephone survey of 1,000 workers and 501 retirees from the non-profit Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald and Associates.
Only 44% say they or their spouses have tried to calculate how much money they’ll need to save by the time they retire so that they can live comfortably in their golden years, the survey shows. Workers who have done calculations on what they need to save tend to have higher levels of savings than those who haven’t crunched the numbers.
“There’s an incredible difference between those lucky enough to have a retirement plan and those who don’t,” says Jack VanDerhei, the institute’s research director and co-author of the 2014 Retirement Confidence Survey. “What’s really striking is that 73% of those without a retirement plan, such as an IRA, 401(k) or 403(b), have less than $1,000 in savings and investments.”
The reason defined benefits weren’t included in the total is most people don’t know how much those are worth, he says.
Many people realize that they are not on track in saving for retirement, and the two most important reasons they give for not saving more are cost of living and day-to-day expenses, VanDerhei says.
People’s confidence that they’ll have a comfortable retirement has risen slightly after record lows of the last five years, with 18% of workers in 2014 saying they are very confident they can retire comfortably, up from 13% who were very confident in 2013. Meanwhile, 24% are not at all confident they have enough saved for a comfortable retirement, about the same as 2013.
Retirement confidence is present mostly in people with higher incomes and in those with retirement plans, VanDerhei says.
The survey “highlights the impending retirement crisis that we will face over the next 20 years,” says Mark Fried, president of TFG Wealth Management in Newtown, Pa. “When I see these numbers I have ask the question: How did we get here? We need more financial education in the schools, in the media, in the workplace.”
If possible, people 40 and older should try to save up to 20% of their income, he says. “If you can’t afford to do that right now then set this as a target, and as you get annual raises put aside part of each raise until you reach the 20% number,” Fried says.
Invest in your company’s retirement account up to the match. One of the best ways to increase your retirement savings is to take advantage of your employer match if you have one, he says.
John Piershale, a certified financial planner at Piershale Financial Group of Crystal Lake, Ill., says: “Try to imagine how much you are going to need to have saved up to last you 20 to 30 years during retirement. The only way you can figure that out is do some retirement calculations. We help clients figure this out.”
If people are way behind in saving for retirement, they may need to work longer at their current job or get a second job to help fill the savings gap. Piershale says. “If you had the idea that you were going to retire at 62 or 65, and you don’t have enough saved up, then you have to keep working.”
Other survey findings:
• Debt is weighing heavily on many people, with 58% of workers and 44% of retirees saying they have a problem with their level of debt.
• Like workers, many retirees are also short on funds, with 58% of them having less than $25,000 in savings and investments, not counting their primary residence or defined benefits plans (traditional pensions); and 29% having less than $1,000.
• Although 65% of workers plan to work for pay in retirement, only 27% of retirees say they are working for pay during their golden years.
Total savings and investments reported by workers, not including value of primary residence or defined benefit plans such as a traditional pension.
Less than $1,000, 36%
$1,000 to $9,999, 16%
$10,000 to $24,999, 8%
$25,000 to $49,999, 9%
$50,000 to $99,999, 9%
$100,000 to $249,999, 11%
$250,000 or more, 11%
Total savings and investments reported by retirees, not including value of primary residence or defined benefit plans such as traditional pensions:
Less than $1,000, 29%
$1,000 to $9,999, 17%
$10,000 to $24,999, 12%
$25,000 to $49,999, 8%
$50,000 to $99,999, 7%
$100,000 to $249,999, 11%
$250,000 or more, 17%
Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute
That’s what you get for throwing good money after bad at a depreciating asset like a house.
Houses are not investment vehicles. They’re depreciating assets that always result in loss.
I love articles like this. The future belongs to Lucky Ducky!
In twenty years only 20% will have more than $1000 stashed away.
And 99% of the 80% that do not have $1000 will all have the newest i-phone, with the unlimited intravenous/intraneural data plan.
And 99% of the 80% that do not have $1000 will all have the newest i-phone, with the unlimited intravenous/intraneural data plan.
Yes, but unfortunately they also will have sufficient votes in Congress to vote in means-testing not only of SS, but also of my own saved retirement funds.
Yes, but unfortunately they also will have sufficient votes in Congress to vote in means-testing not only of SS, but also of my own saved retirement funds.
Move them offshore. Or buy gold coins and hide them in paint cans in your basement.
One thought that crosses my mind, if they outlaw possessing gold, like FDR did, how will gold hoarders be able to convert them into currency to spend? Or will they too have to store it offshore?
I don’t get this. The whole economy is based on spending NOT saving.
Cause and effect?
This is so sad. All of these poor souls trusting the government for their retirement existence.
We’ve got to get a handle on this. Sooner rather than later.
You’ve got enough losses to handle. They don’t need your help.
People who have an employee-provided retirement plan are usually paid more, so that would explain why people without plans tend to have less money saved up. Also, people who plan their lives are more likely to get advanced/continuing education, climb the corporate ladder, etc.
Er, I mean “employer-provided retirement plan”.
So no one’s found the friggin’ plane yet?
It’s there somewhere. I get the feeling that other countries are also trying to cover up the mess the Malaysian govt created.
I’m beginning to think that not finding it is the point of its disappearance. Kind of diabolical if you consider that we’ve already experienced exploding and crashing planes - one that totally disappears without a trace? Really plays with the imagination.
Obama flew it back to his ancestral village in Indonesia.
It’s parked in a secret underground hangar made out of palm fronds and shaped like a hammer and sickle. The 239 missing people from the plane are actually all Chinese Al Qaida, part of Obama’s secret army to take over America and exterminate all the white people.
Indonesia is a county in Africa.
The plane has Barack Hussein Obama’s true birth certificate on board, it had to disappear.
BTW, Israel is tightening its security because it thinks that the plane might be used in a terrorist attack. Maybe you could attack a nuclear reactor with the plane if it was filled with enough explosives it might be able to breach the containment vessel. Older Russian nuclear reactors do not have containment vessels so it might be particularly effective against them.
Israel is tightening security because they have the plane and are prepping it to crash it into Empire State Building.
Wow. That theory wins the conspiracy theory of the day award. How did you identify the specific target of the Empire State Building?
Because the twin towers are gone?
Isreal tightens security whenever I had too much beans in my diet, too.
Isreal tightens security whenever I had too much beans in my diet, too.
Biological attacks are nothing to fool with.
Good comeback.
But Israel and America are 2 sick countries. Weak, afraid and paranoid to the max. May be it’s by design as it serves certain industry and people very well.
If the purpose was to load a plane with a bomb, wouldn’t it be easier to hijack a cargo plane?
Gee, why didn’t I think of that?
Adan: 2014-03-18 07:43:08
If scientists were really scared about imminent CAGW, they would be following over each other to endorse nuclear power
Rio: 2014-03-18 08:50:30
…scientists are also “really scared” about nuclear power’s potential damages.
Adan: 2014-03-18 08:55:03
Maybe you could attack a nuclear reactor with the plane if it was filled with enough explosives it might be able to breach the containment vessel.
They landed it. Everyone on the plane was in on the same disappearing act. They are laughing it up in Barbados right now, with enough gold and diamonds to live forever.
Someone once told me that when there is a big news story mystery put up that gets everyone talking, you should be extra vigilant about all the side news stories. That is the time that sneaky little bills get passed in congress, or some important person gets a plea deal for stealing billions.
Good piece in The Weekly Standard - - “The White Trashing of Television”
——————-
http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/hard-times_784264.html
“As it happens, these shows are not embarrassing at all. For one thing (with the exception of True Blood), they’re just too good, too interesting, too flavorful. Still, rich Hollywood folk making mincemeat out of poor rural folk is another element of the ongoing American culture war that should not go unremarked. “
Liberace!
Do the coastal elitists who make these shows think that after “Go Time” happens that food will magically continue to appear on urban grocery store shelves?
They’ll just retreat to their offshore havens.
For all the money that is spent on False Flags I would think the crisis actors could do a better job.
Right?
President Barack Obama, Senator Dianne Feinstein, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg really put all their eggs in one basket when they orchestrated the alleged massacre at Sandy Hook elementary.
Feinstein would probably order a hit on her own grandchildren if she thought would help the grabbers.
The Gene Rosen Song - - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eobHWDs99EQ - 134k -
Woman hits bus in Palm Beach Gardens, tells police it’s St. Patrick’s Day: “Of course I was drinking”
By Jorge Milian
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
12:54 p.m. Tuesday, March 18, 2014
After rear-ending a bus Monday afternoon, 71-year-old Karen Gail Andreae was asked by police if she had been drinking.
“Of course I was drinking,” Andreae told a Palm Beach Gardens Police officer, pointing out that it was St. Patrick’s Day. “I had three drinks.”
That’s when the party ended for Andreae, who was wearing a St. Patrick’s Day hat, beads around her neck and a St. Patrick’s Day shirt when she was arrested at the intersection of PGA Boulevard and Campus Drive.
Neither Andreae nor people on the bus were injured.
Andreae, of North Palm Beach, faces a charge of DUI with property damage. She was released Tuesday morning from the Palm Beach County Jail on her own recognizance.
Police were called after Andreae crashed into the rear of a metro transit bus. When police arrived, they noticed a “strong odor” of alcohol coming from Andreae. The police report lists Andreae’s speech as slurred but her attitude as “very cooperative.”
realtors are liars
Lock up your daughters, pets, and prescription medications when a Realtor® is in the area.
And if the realtoR is a male Democrat, then make sure to lock up your sons too.
Interesting points in this piece about Matt Taibbi, who recently left Rolling Stone to do his own thing.
@ goon - Taibbi’s criticisms would add to your “real journalists” meme. Please read & incorporate. TYIA.
——————-
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/03/matt-taibbi-on-wall-street-first-look-media.html
““Glenn’s (Greenwald) in this position of being a reporter trying to put out material that came from a whistle-blower, and now they’re both essentially in exile. It’s crazy. If the press corps that existed in the ’60s and ’70s had seen this situation, they’d be rising as one and denouncing the government for it,” Taibbi says.”
– and –
”
Taibbi’s father is the Emmy Award–winning NBC reporter Mike Taibbi—and along with Gogol and Tolstoy, he also idolized the “middle-class, working-class people” who then populated newsrooms. “They relished their role as jerks who wouldn’t let anything slide. And I was attracted to that,” he says. “I mean, journalists should be dark, funny, mean people. It’s appropriate for their antagonistic, adversarial role.”
Contrast that with today, he argues, when for a lot of reporters, “the appeal of the job has more to do with proximity to power. They want to say they had a beer with Hillary Clinton or whatever it is.” Especially offensive to Taibbi: the tendency of his peers to go to great lengths to always give equal weight to opposing arguments. “If there’s one way of looking at things, and there’s another way of looking at things that’s totally ridiculous, you don’t have to give the latter point of view as much quarter as some contemporary journalism professors might tell you.”
Journalism schools aren’t cheap. Student debts have to paid one way or another.
There is no goon. The goon is dead, Joe.
He’s not dead. He lives on in our memory.
Especially offensive to Taibbi: the tendency of his peers to go to great lengths to always give equal weight to opposing arguments.
This is a big problem in journalism today. And maybe a problem that the left’s idiotic pursuit of political correctness at all costs has wrought.
We have to be “fair” to everyone. No way. Why do we have to be fair to everyone even when they’re spouting BS about bunk science, bunk theories of birth certificates, bunk economic failed trickle-down theories?
Maybe this was a bed made by the left that we now all have to lie in?
Along these lines, some liberals are starting to smell a rat at the PBS NewsHour. The lib theory is that the News Hour is turning conservative, but they are have to be very very very quiet and subliminal about it, because they know their viewers are smart and suspicious.
I don’t know how true it is, but PBS has been going in a bad direction lately anyway, to the point where next year I will write them a check for a big fat $0.
There’s really only one big question about the entity which will replace Fannie and Freddie - will it be able to lobby and contribute to politicians?
If yes, the bill will move forward. The financial sector is quite enamored of the new entity. It basically has FHA-level standards. So it will be a bountiful teat at which the FIRE sector will suckle. So, if it is able to redirect money back to politicians, it will be a go. Otherwise, no.
“corporations are people too, my friend”
can’t restrict their freedom of speech rights. which means you can’t tell them how they can spend their money or how much campaign money they can contribute to PACs, interest groups, etc.
nope, those rights are equivalent to your or my rights to speak.
If we ever start the draft again, I’m hoping that all of these “corporations are people” corporations draw a low draft number.
Imagine GE making a couple of hundred bucks a month.
long time no see, welcome back
Welcome Back Kotter - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVS3WNt7yRU - 135k -
Great idea! The Koch corporation has to dedicate itself to nothing but war efforts until Afghanistan is over.
No bubble in Austin, Texas, nossir:
http://www.cityviewtx.com/ClientPropertyDetails?ls=ACTRIS&pid=9042934&search_id=1629731548&realtor_id=1447174065&result_id=9042934&show_virtual_tour=yes&show_description=yes&show_address=yes
Ho-lee heckfire! (Or whatever they say in Texas). That is truly insane. 0.3 acres with a 1600 sq ft teardown for $1m? I no longer feel so bad about my market.
Love the exposed power lines too, that will really complement the McMansion the realtor thinks someone might want to build there!
Keep in mind, what TX lacks in a state income tax, it makes up for in property tax.
Dang! That makes Highlands Ranch look cheap.
Isn’t that Whitman’s sniper perch in the photos?
Mathguy, here’s some math stuff but life is more than math. You think Brazil’s median income is “too low” but look up “median” - half make more, half make less. Brazil is a divided country between rich and poor but making great progress. Of course a country with a lot of dirt-poor will have a very low median income but a lot of those people making less than the median income are “richer” than you think.
1. Most don’t own cars (they use buses, bikes, and little motorcycles) and have much less transportation expenses. They don’t even know what car or house or life or any kind of insurance bill is.
2. Most own their homes outright. Yes they are overcrowded and “slummish” compared to your standards but they are very clean on the inside, paid for and filled with family love.
3. They have “free medical care”. Which can be very good to bad. (sound familiar to the USA?) In major cities, I’d rate it a C by USA standards for trauma and B-D for everything else. But for being “free” in Brazil, not bad at all considering there is no-way they could afford western style medicine with out “free” healthcare. No way in the world.
4. They get almost a paid month off a year and lots of holidays and an extra month’s pay at the end of the year.
5. They get a week off for Carnival and will take about 3 weeks off for the World Cup.
6. If they work in the formal economy, they get much stronger labor protections/benefits (except for safety) than Americans.
7. They get “free” rice and beans if they keep their kids in school.
There is is. This is not the USA. This is Brazil - a formerly 3rd world country making steady progress and dealing with things the USA has no idea about.
crater
crater
Could be, but no matter what happens, the people who will buy my house will be in the Brazil top 1% or higher. I’d roughly guess the 0.654321%. For the most part luck and oblivious “courage”.
But even if I sell and “score” someday. I don’t know if I would ever do it over again the same way.
But that my friends, is the story of the life we lead.
You’ve gotta own a house before someone buys it Lola.
V, you gotta go BIG.
KEEEEEEEEEEEEEYRATER
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#$23/sq.ft. #Hee #Haw
As if this is shocking:
http://money.cnn.com/2014/03/13/investing/tech-bonds-overseas-cash/