The Housing Bubble

Happy pre-Halloween! Ooooh, spooky, spooky housing. Oooooohhh.

Yes - your 401k and private pension will be confiscated…

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National Debt to be $27 Trillion in 10 Years, Says the CBO
New American | 10/16/2014 | Bob Adelmann

There was something for everyone in the release last week by the Congressional Budget Office of its August update and outlook. The federal government’s revenues are expected to top $3 trillion this year for the first time in history, thanks to individual income taxes rising by six percent, payroll taxes by eight percent, and corporate income taxes by 15 percent. Those infatuated with big government are celebrating the event as a reflection of an improving economy resuscitated by government spending and stimulus programs. Small government advocates, on the other hand, are decrying the event by reminding those who will listen that that is $3 trillion extracted from the economy, starving it of much-needed investment capital, consequently making the economy much weaker than it otherwise would be.

The CBO announced that the federal budget deficit for the year will amount to a paltry $506 billion, some $170 billion lower than last year. It noted that: “At 2.9% of gross domestic product (GDP), this year’s deficit will be much smaller than those of recent years (which reached almost 10% of GDP in 2009) and slightly below the average of federal deficits over the past 40 years.” Cue the trumpets from the Left: Despite huge increases in government spending to fight the Great Recession, the economy is now rebounding strongly enough to reduce the deficit substantially.

Unfortunately, the CBO goes on to point out that “later in the coming decade … deficits [will] grow and federal debt [will] climb.” The national debt, according to the CBO, will be $27 trillion in 2024. Cue the trumpets from the Right: We told you so.

The reason for the increasing deficits over time is simple: Government spending is projected to outpace the government’s revenues. Projected outlays for 2014 are estimated to be $3.5 trillion but increase to more than $4.1 trillion in just three years. By 2024, the CBO estimates that government spending will be close to $6 trillion a year and continuing to grow by nearly four percent annually thereafter. With the economy struggling to get back to three-percent annual growth, one can see that this is a race that the economy cannot win.

According to the Russell Sage Foundation, the typical household has seen its net worth decline by more than a third just over the last 10 years, from $88,000 in 2003 to $56,000 today. According to the foundation, most of the damage was done thanks to the Great Recession, which decimated home values and forced millions to walk away from their homes, unable to make their mortgage payments.

With finances in such disastrous shape it’s fair to ask again just how the average American is going to be in any position to pay off his share of the national debt. The answer is, he isn’t. If that’s the case, the next question is, how will the national debt be paid? The answer to that is, it won’t be.

What will it take to end the explosion in government spending, annual deficits, and the national debt? Absent any perceived and potentially successful reining in of government spending, the only other option, according to Robert Romano, writing for Americans for Limited Government, is default:

‘Plunge protection’ behind market’s sudden recovery
nypost.com | October 20, 2014 | By John Crudele

But times change and so does thinking. In recent weeks, we’ve discovered that the CME Group, the exchange in Chicago, has an incentive program under which foreign central banks could buy stock market derivatives like the S&P contracts at a discount.

It’s not that these foreign banks need a break on the price of their trading. But it does show that there is a back-door way — through foreign emissaries — for the Fed and the US government to prop up stocks like Heller suggested, and — maybe — not get caught.

But let me explain about the unknown forces in the market these days. Call it by a nickname — the Plunge Protection Team. Or call it the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets, the official name given to the group when it was formed by President Ronald Reagan after the market turbulence of 1989.

The details of last Wednesday morning are these: At the same time the Dow was off 350 points, the S&P index was down 43.80 points, That was an enormous decline in just 11 minutes of trading and it was an indication that Wall Street was not having a good day.

Then, someone (or something) started buying S&P futures contracts en masse. Twenty-one minutes later, the S&P index had regained 30 of those lost points and was back at 1,861.

It’s Coming: $65 Oil
The Atlantic | OCT 28 2014 | DEREK THOMPSON

Gas prices are falling below $3 a gallon across the United States for two big reasons: (1) the world economy is growing slower than we hoped, and (2) global oil production is improving faster than we expected.

“India and China are slowing down,” said Charles K. Ebinger, director of the Energy Security Initiative at Brookings. “The IMF just downgraded Europe’s growth to less than 1 percent, and they’re already quite energy efficient. Brazil’s a problem, too. All around the world there is no great growth story, and expectations are that things will stay that way or get worse.”

There is also unanticipated supply. A few years ago, political turmoil was taking up to 2 million barrels a day off the market. Now production is roaring back in Libya, southern Sudan, Yemen, Nigeria, and even Iraq, and the global price of crude has fallen about 25 percent in the last five months. It’s the same old story: low demand, high supply, etc.

Andrew John Hall, the alleged “God” of oil trading, is predicting $150 barrels within the next five years. But the deeper you dig, the more reasons you find to be down on the price of oil in the near future. “Japan’s announcement that they’re starting two reactors means that there will be less oil import for Japan,” Ebinger said. Second, there are industrial shifts that are reducing oil’s share in the energy market. For example, many U.S. companies are using natural gas rather than petroleum products to power their refineries.

Wow - an actually reasonable article on buying a house.

I would have put in #5: If you can rent the same house for half the price of buying it - then rent it!

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How a Buying a Home Can Come Back to Haunt You
Credit.com - AJ Smith - 10/30/2014

Buying a property is likely the largest financial decision you will make in your life and it’s important to do so thoughtfully. From how much house you can afford to which neighborhood is right for you, it’s important to consider each aspect carefully. Check out the reasons you may regret your decision to buy a home down the road.

1. If You Lose Your Job

Job security should be one of your first thoughts before you purchase a home. If you have reason to believe that you may be out of a job in the foreseeable future, now is probably not the right time. Mortgage lenders are not forgiving on missed payments and it’s a good idea to buy a home only when you are confident in your employment status or ability to afford your monthly mortgage for the future.

2. If You Need to Move — Again

When you make a home purchase, it’s generally a good idea to stay put for at least several years. A buy or rent calculator can help you determine what is the break-even point for you. That’s the number of years when it makes more sense for your net worth to buy instead of continue renting. Buying a property is generally a long-term commitment and probably not for you if you find yourself frequently changing cities. If you have to sell a recently purchased home on short notice it can be difficult to do without absorbing a big loss. Renting may be the better option for you if you find yourself moving more often than staying put.

3. If You’re in an Unstable Relationship

Although many single people buy homes, this is often a decision made with a partner or spouse. If your relationship with the person you’re buying a home with is unstable or the reason you are in a certain area (significant other, family) is not secure, you could face serious buyer’s remorse in the near future.

4. If You Have a Lot of Debt

Whether your debt is of the student loan, credit card or private loan variety, high debt ratios are a sign that you may want to hold off on making such a large financial commitment. If your expenses consume more than 50% of your income each month, you probably can’t secure a mortgage anyways (and even if you do it will likely be at a higher interest rate, which can cost you thousands of dollars over the life of your loan). It’s a good idea to try paying down your debts before buying a home.

Remember, you don’t have to buy a house. If your current personal, financial or employment situation is shaky, you may want to hold off on the purchase for now. Run the numbers to see what’s best for you. Be scared for the right reasons this holiday season – not because you have found yourself in a costly housing situation that isn’t right for you.

Now that QE3 is on hold, ru gonna buy the dip in stox, gold and housing?

Environmentalist are hard core socialists. They think far left wing big government politics will save the environment so they are doing ‘God’s Work.” And anyone who opposed them are evil and must be destroyed.

I learned my lesson with them. I was a member of several prominent environmental groups. They were all pro-immigration and pro-amnesty and supported every left wing wacko politician.

I couldn’t understand it. We actually have zero growth in population in America. Literally, if we stopped all immigration we would not have to build another single house or bulldoze another wooded lot.

You would think environmentalists would be the most anti-immigration people you could find in order to save the environment in America. You would be wrong. They care nothing about the environment. It is all about power.

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Environmentalists: The World Could Use A Good Pandemic Or War
Townhall.com | October 30, 2014 | Derek Hunter

In the late 1960s through the 1970s, there was a panic that the Earth’s population, if not controlled, would lead to mass food shortages, water shortages, death, wars and the end of civilization as it existed. But much like the “global cooling” movement during the same period, it was proven to be horribly, horribly wrong.

The book “The Population Bomb,” published in 1968, warned that by the 1980s there would be massive upheaval and starvation because of overpopulation.

The 80s came and went, and even though the Earth’s population has nearly doubled, from 4 billion in 1974 to 7 billion now, humans have managed to survive.

But, as is often the case with the climate change movement, everything old is new again. Not even the faces change. John Holdren was once a prominent global cooling cautioner. Now, he touts the dangers of global warming while working as President Obama’s science advisor.

Newsweek, which, in 1975, warned the world of “global cooling,” and an impending ice age, is back with a new warning – the planet’s population is growing so fast, and is so unsustainable, that even a major pandemic or war won’t be enough to save us from the coming disaster to the environment overpopulation will cause.

The piece, entitled “Even a Pandemic Wouldn’t Create a ‘Sustainable’ Population, Study Says,” starts off with the popular environmental mantra of science – where not proof but majority vote wins out. The first paragraph reads:

Environmental scientists generally agree that the growth rate of the world’s human population and its current rate of consumption are unsustainable. For that reason, many researchers and policy-makers have called for family planning and birth control to slow growth in various countries.

The cure? Population control, naturally. Their example? China.

Again, in the very next paragraph, Newsweek writes:

A good example is China’s one-child policy. Beginning in 1979, families in China were largely limited to a single child. That policy was extremely controversial and helped lead to a gender imbalance in Chinese society, but it also helped avert 400 million births.

China didn’t “avert 400 million births,” it performed 400 million forced abortions. And the “gender imbalance” so casually referenced there wasn’t “helped” along by this policy, it was the direct result of it. Girls are aborted routinely in China because families want boys.

So what did they study? Well, in one scenario “the researchers tested what would happen if 2 billion people died over the course of a five-year period in the mid-21st century, for example by a war or pandemic.” Sadly, the researchers estimated the world’s population still would increase to 8.5 billion by the end of the century. Plagues and wars, it would seem, aren’t what they used to be.

Craters. Craters forming everywhere.

Just as I predicted, it’ll be JEB! vs Hillary 2016.

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2014/10/30/speaking-in-co-jeb-bush-makes-appeal-to-hispanics-takes-swipe-at-hillary/

Beam me up, Scotty. The really sick part of this is that JEB! might actually be able to win this thing.

Once again here is the link with your “proof”.

http://www.robesonian.com/news/home_top-news/50549272/2-accused-in-murder-try - 92k -

Comment by Oddfellow
2014-10-28 18:31:27

“Sounds like you lost the bet, Mr. Phony. The truth will out, my friend, the truth will out. Let’s see, where should I have you send my winnings?”

10 to 1

Pay the man

“The woman said she thinks the men were looking for prescription pills, knowing the Byrds have medical conditions.”

‘I heard pow, pow, pow’

Last updated: October 23. 2014 10:37AM - 18688 Views

LUMBERTON — Neighbors say at least one man suspected in a violent home invasion on Yedda Road this week knew the victims, and they believe the family was targeted.

Sixty-seven-year-old Kenneth Byrd suffered at least eight gunshot wounds during the home invasion late Monday night, according to neighbors who helped him immediately after the incident. His wife, Judy Byrd, 65, and teenage granddaughter were severely beaten. One of the suspected intruders died as a result of gunshot wounds inflicted during the burglary, while two others remain hospitalized.

Three neighbors spoke with The Robesonian about the incident, but two did not want their names published.

According to a neighbor who lives across the street, one of the men hospitalized — Brandon Carver Stephens — knows the Byrd family. She said Stephens’ brother is close with Judy Byrd and that she “thinks a lot of him.”

“I didn’t think he had that in him,” she said. She said she did not know 17-year-old Jamar Hawkins, who has also been hospitalized and is a person of interest in the case, and 20-year-old Jamie Lee Faison, who was found dead following the incident.

The woman said she thinks the men were looking for prescription pills, knowing the Byrds have medical conditions.

The woman’s mother said she heard the shots ring out from inside her home on the quiet, secluded street. Questions about what was happening began being answered when a bloodied Kenneth Byrd — her neighbor of about 20 years — banged on the door.

“I don’t know how he ever made it across that road,” said the woman.

According to the neighbor and her daughter, Byrd’s heart was pierced by a bullet. He had been shot four times in the leg and three times in the arm, shattering his bone. His head was beaten so badly they feared he had been shot there, too.

“It just scared me to death,” she said. “You’re not expecting something like that.”

More shots were heard from the Byrd’s home and the woman called 911. Police came quickly but she said she had to call an ambulance twice.

While waiting for the ambulance to arrive, Kenneth Byrd was lucid. He had trouble breathing, the woman said, but was able to clearly describe a little of what had happened, although for whatever reason, he refused to come inside.

“He kept lookin’ over there towards the house,” she said.

The woman said there were no strange cars outside the home, and said the intruders must have been on foot. They eventually fled the home in Kenneth Byrd’s gold Cadillac, which was later found about six miles away by sheriff’s deputies on Singletary Church Road. Faison was found dead with a gunshot wound.

The Byrds’ next-door neighbor, Henry Pittman, said he was watching television when he heard gunshots come from the residence.

“I heard pow, pow, pow, and knew something was going on,” said Pittman, who has known and lived next to the couple for more than 20 years.

Pittman said that he stepped outside to investigate the noise and saw a bloody Kenneth Byrd across the street, “hollering for help” outside of the other neighbor’s home.

“They beat Kenneth. I mean they beat him bad,” Pittman said.

A few moments later, the Byrds’ teenage granddaughter managed to escape from a window and ran across the yard to Pittman’s home for sanctuary. According to a statement from the Sheriff’s Office, the intruders attempted to rape the 19-year-old during the burglary. The Robesonian has elected not to publish her name.

Pittman said that the teenager was partially dressed and her clothes were torn.

According to the sheriff’s statement, the couple were forced into a backroom before Kenneth Byrd recovered a gun and exchanged fire with the intruders.

“They got what they deserved,” Pittman said. “They kicked the wrong door in.”

Pittman said he had seen at least two of the intruders — including Stephens — in the neighborhood before. He believes the men were dropped off at the end of the street, and walked to the Byrds’ home.

According to Pittman, Kenneth Byrd “doesn’t believe in banks,” and has told people that he keeps large sums of cash inside his home. The couple has many friends, Pittman said.

Pittman said it was just like Byrd’s character to “take care of himself, take care of everything in the house, then get across the street” for help.

“The old man showed me,” he said. “I’m proud of him.”

Pittman says that violent crime is increasingly common in the neighborhood, citing drug activity and gangs. A shooting spurred by a domestic dispute occurred near his home in April.

“It’s always been quiet except for the last year or so,” Pittman said.

Pittman said that he briefly considered grabbing his gun during the invasion Monday, but decided against it after remembering that the weapon was not loaded.

“I keep it loaded in my closet now,” he said.

The woman who lives across the street said she never thought such violence would ring out so close to home, especially involving her warm, welcoming neighbors.

“They’re real nice, help you anyway they can, do anything for you,” she said.

The woman said if not for Kenneth Byrd’s resilience “it could have been uglier.”

“He was trying to protect his family,” she said.

Staff writers Sarah Willets and Jaymie Baxley contributed to this report. Sarah Willets can be reached at swillets@civitasmedia.com or at 910-816-1974. Jaymie Baxley can be reached at jbaxley@civitasmedia.com or 910-416-5771.

“But this time is the worst,” he said. “It has made the city less diverse, less artistic and, definitely, less cool.”

Too many white geeks!!!!

I can still remember a day in America when housing and rents were affordable and no landlord would kick out a good tenant over silly things.

Then government got involved in the housing market and somehow believes that “cheap” money will save us all. On one hand their policies jack prices of homes and rents to the sun and on the other they give out “affordable” rentals/housing for the select few. With everyone trying to scam the system.

I like the “bad” old days better - even at 13% interest rates. Buying and renting was a private matter between you and the bank/landlord. And it worked out pretty well.

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Rents are soaring — and so are evictions
CNNMoney.com - Les Christie - 10/30/2014

In cities across the United States, millions of people will be kicked out of their homes this year.

Some can’t afford their soaring rent, others are getting evicted over minor violations by landlords eager to get higher paying tenants in place.

Rents have risen 7% in the past year, while incomes have inched just 1.8% higher — making it that much harder for people to afford their housing payments. In fact, the average renter now spends 30% of their income on rent, up from a longtime average of about 25%, according to Zillow.

One big emergency or unexpected expense and it can mean a missed payment — and an eviction notice.

In Georgia, there was one eviction notice filed for every five rental households, more than 200,000 total filings last year. Many cases involved renters who were unable to keep up with rent increases.

Most evictions from Baltimore’s public housing are for just causes like failing to pay rent, hoarding and noise complaints, said Shawn Boehringer, chief counsel at Maryland Legal Aid. But other evictions are occurring as some subsidized, low-income buildings are being converted into middle-income or luxury housing.

For the displaced, it can be a long road back. Once renters are out, most landlords don’t want them. They often wind up in substandard housing with leaky roofs, broken windows, rodent infestations and no heat, said Boehringer. “It’s a tremendous hardship for them.”

In San Francisco, an influx of thousands of highly-paid tech workers has sent rents soaring and longstanding tenants are being pushed out as landlords seek to make a small fortune by selling their buildings or converting the units into condos.

Tom Gullicksen, the director of the San Francisco Tenants Union, said the same thing happened during the dot-com boom. As a result, the city lost a large number of middle and working class residents.

“But this time is the worst,” he said. “It has made the city less diverse, less artistic and, definitely, less cool.”

Making matters worse in San Francisco is the Ellis Act, state legislation that allows landlords to escape strict rent control and tenant rights laws by taking rentals off the market for a minimum of five years.

Since February 2013, Evan Wolkenstein, a 40-year old teacher, and four of his neighbors have been fighting Ellis Act evictions on their apartments in the Mission District, where he has lived for almost 10 years.

“Rents have skyrocketed to the point that an Ellis Act eviction is tantamount to an eviction from the city,” said Wolkenstein. “People who are not wealthy cannot afford to stay. This effects, naturally, the most economically vulnerable people more profoundly.”

Tim Cook comes out!

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-apple-ceo-tim-cook-gay-20141030-story.html

Wow, that’s cutting edge stuff right there, considering ApplePay bombed within about 60 seconds of its release. Come to think of it, I wonder if his “announcement” will serve as a distraction from that debacle.

Lol, for better comic relief, here’s the clip of the coming out scene in the movie Almost Famous:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEAIVXJ1Qds

Wall Street Journal - Apple CEO Tim Cook: ‘I’m Proud to Be Gay’

“Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said he was “proud to be gay” in a personal essay published Thursday by Bloomberg Businessweek, publicly acknowledging it for the first time.

Cook, 53 years old, said he strongly values his privacy but was talking about his sexuality because he felt it allowed him to do something to help others.

Cook said being gay was “among the greatest gifts God has given me”

10 to 1

I know a cop who says blah blah blah

Make the check payable to Ben Jones

Send it to

PO Box 1764
Flagstaff, AZ 86002

NC grandpa shoots 3 intruders after they beat his wife, attempt to gang rape granddaughter (VIDEO)

10/25/14 | by Jennifer Cruz

Neighbors say they’ve seen Stephens around the house before, and Byrd’s wife is close to his brother. One neighbor said she believes the family was targeted, most likely for cash and prescription drugs, but authorities did not confirm what, if anything, was taken from the home.

Authorities believe the three suspects may have been involved in other recent burglaries in the area.

“They got what they deserved,” Pittman said of the suspects. “They kicked the wrong door in.”

http://www.guns.com/…/ - 154k -

Washington Times - Ralph Nader dubs Hillary Clinton ‘a menace to the United States’

“When asked by a writer with We Are Change what he thought of the former Secretary of State seeking the nation’s highest office, Mr. Nader’s reply was less than enthusiastic.

“Well, Hillary is a corporatist and a militarist,” Mr. Nader said, Raw Story reported. “Do we want another corporatist and militarist? She thinks Obama is too weak. He doesn’t kill enough people overseas. So she’s a menace to the United States of America.”

Are zombie foreclosures increasing in your state?

Ru the renter whom your wealthy home owner neighbors disdain?

“Comment by MightyMike
2014-10-29 20:32:35
Even if you take the racial point out, I still think that the writer is really reaching there. He sees the story about rocket blowing up, remember the quote about reaching out to Muslims, and ties the two things together. NASA and its contractor are probably just starting an investigation now that may take months, but this writer knows what caused that accident in Virginia.”

I’m familiar with Vdare’s focus, so I get your point.

But the larger point about people in positions of power having a mission that has nothing to do with the real purpose of their agency or whatever is valid. Such an operating basis can and will cause massive confusion and failures, and that’s not good even for the people in charge. Sibelius, for example. Way in over her head and the way she was treated was shabby and ugly.

We had a similar situation happen in our local government some years back. The head of the Housing Authority was given a post way over his head. When $12 million went missing, the poor guy was hounded by the press until he finally broke down on camera. It was one of the cruelest things I’ve ever seen. He had no clue that budget was something he needed to be responsible for, and clearly thought that his underlings were taking care of it. I’m pretty sure a couple of the underlings with way more experience were pissed that they had been passed over in favor of an outsider with the proper social bona fides and undermined him. The outcome was just plain ugly. It was like the guy was set up to be knocked down.

Percentage by city of who “engaged in moderate aerobic physical activity for at least 150 minutes per week, or vigorous activity for at least 75 minutes per week”, in summary:

Boulder, CO - 72.5%
Heber, UT - 67.9%
Kapaa, HI - 66.4%
Eugene, OR - 65.0%
Fort Collins, CO - 64.8%
Portland, ME - 62.4%
San Francisco, CA - 62.4%

And at the bottom of the list:

Chattanooga, TN - 36.4%
Kingsport, TN - 36.6%
Memphis, TN - 37.8%
Shreveport, LA - 38.9%
Mobile, AL - 39.5%
Jackson, MS - 40.1%

http://www.businessinsider.com/metro-area-exercise-map-2014-10

Recently I overheard a wise man say, “hold on to your dollars and stay out of debt. You’re going to need every penny.”

He’s right.

Article about the 0.1% doing God’s work, chock full o’ sex and drugs

“She alleges that were instances where Sage allegedly “passed out at the marital residence — sometimes having defecated in our bed or on the floor next to the bed or having urinated on a bedroom wall.”

http://www.businessinsider.com/sage-and-christina-kelly-divorce-papers-2014-10

MarketWatch article asks are millennial better employees than Gen Xers?

HR managers respond of qualities each generation is more likely to possess:

80% of millennials are narcissistic, vs 20% of Gen X

MSNBC host Donny Deutch found guilty of scamming realtor out of $1 million over the sale of his $30 million house
UK Daily Mail | October 30, 2104 | David McCormack

MSNBC host Donny Deutsch has been found guilty of scamming a realtor out of over $1 million in commission on the sale of his former $30 million home in the Hamptons. Real estate broker Edward Petrie had claimed he was done out of his 4 percent commission after Deutsch went behind his back and brokered the 2010 sale privately to avoid paying the fee. Petrie had found a potential buyer in hedge fund boss Howard Marks, but once Deutsch realized he knew Marks, the realtor claimed that the TV host went behind his back. Justice Charles Ramos awarded Petrie’s employer, Sotheby’s, $1.2 million in compensation in court last week, reports The New York Post.

30-year mortgage rates are trying to push back north of 4%. Perhaps the end of QE3 will restore normalcy to long-term interest rates?

Because it’s good to be the king

http://www.infowars.com/number-of-global-billionaires-has-doubled-since-the-financial-crisis/

Happy Thursday

What if I told you the economy was improving in spite of the Fed’s efforts, not because of them…

Privatizing public goods might not be such a brilliant idea after all.

$10,000 for 11 unpaid trips. Wow.

Woman with $10,692 toll lanes charge goes to court
Thursday - 10/30/2014, 8:44am ET
WTOP.com

FAIRFAX, Va. — A Fairfax County woman who was charged more than $10,000 for 11 unpaid trips on the 495 Express Lanes went to court on Wednesday and won a partial victory over the company that operates the toll lanes.

Toni Cooley received the notices after her EZPass did not work in November and early December 2012. Cooley had to update the credit card on her EZPass account and did so, but not before she was charged $12.50 per unpaid trip in administrative fees. She didn’t know about the problem until after taking the 11 trips because they were so close together.

http://wtop.com/654/3732453/Woman-fights-10K-toll-lanes-charge

Everyone Must Check In

Even You Welchers

Former Marine banned from daughter’s school after dispute over Islam lesson

Published October 30, 2014
FoxNews.com

A former Marine who served in Iraq says he’s been banned from his daughter’s Maryland high school after a heated argument over a lesson on Islam.

Kevin Wood told MyFoxDC.com that he went to La Plata High School in La Plata, a town about 30 miles southeast of Washington, and challenged a history assignment requiring students to list the benefits of Islam. He said the meeting with the vice principal got heated; the school said he made a threat and banned the Iraq veteran from school property.

“[Wood] was threatening to cause a disruption or possible disruption at the school,” a district spokesperson said.

Wood did not deny getting worked up over the issue, but said he was standing up for the Constitution and is against any religion being taught at the public school.

“I have witnesses that have said I did not threaten anybody,” he told the station. “I don’t force my religious views on them, so don’t force your religious views on me.”

The school is allowing his eleventh-grade daughter to spend the class time in the school’s library, but defended its assignment and said it is teaching world history, not religion.

Wood’s wife, Melissa, wondered how teaching about one religion is considered a history lesson while teaching about Christianity would be viewed diffrerently.

“We cannot discuss our Ten Commandments in school but they can discuss Islam’s Five Pillars?”

The three-page assignment asked questions including, “How did Muslim conquerors treat those they conquered?”

A homework assignment obtained by MyFoxDC.com showed the correct answer was, “With tolerance, kindness and respect.”

http://www.foxnews.com/…/ - 57k - Former Marine banned from daughter’s school after dispute over Islam lesson

Support the Second Amendment? You Can’t Vote!

Election officials increasingly harass voters wearing pro-gun apparel at the voting booth

by Kit Daniels | Infowars.com | October 30, 2014

Voters wearing pro-gun apparel are increasingly being told they can’t vote by election officials.

In the most recent example, a poll worker told a Georgia veteran wearing a “National Rifle Association Instructor” hat that he couldn’t wear his hat in the voting booth because it was “too closely associated” with the Republican Party and the Tea Party.

“It kind of caught me off guard,” the veteran, Bundy Cobb, said, who was wearing the hat to promote his firearms training business.

The Douglas, Ga., County Board of Elections supervisor, Laurie Fulton, claimed the decision was made “out of an abundance of caution.”

“The courts have found that anything that suggests association with the NRA in many people’s perceptions is associated with the Republican Party,” Fulton told Fox Atlanta. “So in an overabundance of caution Mr. Cobb was asked to remove the hat so that no one could interpret that we were playing any favoritism over one party versus the other.”

But when the Daily Caller asked Fulton to cite the court case, she couldn’t nor could she cite anything prohibiting NRA apparel.

That’s because NRA membership has nothing to do with party affiliation.

“I know personally some Democrats who are members of the NRA,” Cobb said.

Earlier this year, a Texas man wearing a pro-gun t-shirt was similarly thrown out of a voting booth by election officials.

Chris Driskill was prevented from voting at the Waller County Courthouse after officials claimed he was violating Texas Election Code section 85.036 by wearing a shirt stating “Second Amendment – 1789 – America’s Original Homeland Security.”

“I heard a gentleman’s voice over my shoulder say ‘he can’t vote with that shirt on. You’ll have to either turn it inside out or you’ll have to leave,’” Driskill told KVUE.

The election code states “a person may not electioneer for or against any candidate, measure, or political party” in or within 100 feet of a voting location, but the Second Amendment has nothing to do with a political candidate or a party – it’s an inalienable human right.

In the eyes of these election officials, however, if you support a basic human right recognized by the Second Amendment, you can’t vote!

Many thanks, everyone, for your responses from yesterday! Sean, the twitter graph is very informative - I hadn’t seen a graph overlaying labor force participation with declining mortgage apps before. Oxide and Raymond, the Zerohedge articles were both excellent summaries. Thank you, all.

Alas, the person I’m trying to help, while hard-working and well-intentioned, has a very low level of education. Unfortunately Zerohedge articles with mortgage credit vs. price increase graphs are really beyond their grasp. And the only plain-language RE articles I can find are all full of NAR propaganda saying buy, buy, buy.

It appears the specuvestors have run out of greedy and willfully ignorant bagholders, so the last step is to prey on people who genuinely don’t know any better. Very sad to watch, especially since we’ve seen this movie before.

Everyone must check in.

Well, I’ve never been to heaven
But I’ve been to Region I
Well, they tell me I was born there
But I really don’t remember

In Region I, not Region IV
What does it matter?
What does it matter?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff8N2iC4oB8 - 290k -

the Velvet Underground - I’m Beginning To See The Light

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3gWi9bBkHQ

The political revenge of the UK renters is right around the corner. Loanowners and estate agents should be scared, very scared!

Did you make the mistake of leaving the stock market just before QE3 ended? If so, sorry to hear that. If you haven’t noticed by now, not only was QE3 good for the stock market ever since it started, but it is also good for the stock market now that it has ended. Buy now, or get priced out forever!

phony scandals