The talk of the federal "bailout" perplexes me.
Why do "we" need a federal bailout?
I don't get the illiquidity of the giant mortgage pools.
They're not illiquid at all.
The owners of the mortgage pools simply want more money for the pools than the market will pay.
My proof?
I'll offer $100 (CASH) for every $10 billion of "illiquid" bunch of mortgages the wizards of wall street can't sell.
Maybe Warren Buffet would outbid me, probably.
But my point is that there ARE bidders for these mortgages but the sellers (Wall Street crooks) want more money than anyone will pay. More money than they are currently worth.
And they think they can con us dopey taxpayers into paying our tax dollars to buy their crappy investments for far more than they are worth.
Much like homeowners who say "my house is worth $xxxx and I won't sell it for anything less".
The difference is that dufus homeowners can't get innocent taxpayers to bail them out.
Wall street crooks can....maybe......
Only if our elected politicians allow it.
And only if we voters let them do it to us again.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Debates Don't Always Reveal Character
Debates Don't Always Reveal Character
"As everyone saw that evening, he was not a politician. He was a fighter-pilot ace, a Medal of Honor recipient, and a wonderful dad and human being. During his eight years as a POW, he slit his scalp and beat his face with a stool to prevent his captors from parading him in the streets for propaganda purposes. He gave starving men his food rations when he himself was starving. And at home, after his release in 1973, he was a respected leader, scholar and writer. He considered himself a philosopher."
Read the entire article about our American hero.
"As everyone saw that evening, he was not a politician. He was a fighter-pilot ace, a Medal of Honor recipient, and a wonderful dad and human being. During his eight years as a POW, he slit his scalp and beat his face with a stool to prevent his captors from parading him in the streets for propaganda purposes. He gave starving men his food rations when he himself was starving. And at home, after his release in 1973, he was a respected leader, scholar and writer. He considered himself a philosopher."
Read the entire article about our American hero.
James H Warner- How we got here
This was sent to me by my friend itazuke:
The BEST explanation of the current crisis I've read.
JAMES H. WARNER
20511 Bent Willow Road
Rohrersville, Maryland 21779
(301) 432-4935.
http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/w/w063.htm
The Democrats are correct. The financial crisis was caused by "failed policies," including a refusal to permit meaningful regulation of financial institutions. However, they are deliberately lying when they associate these policies with President Bush. Since taking the oath of office, President Bush has called, 18 times, for adequate regulation of the financial institutions which have done the most to create this crisis: two government-sponsored entities (GSE's), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. ("Freddie Mac") and the Federal National Mortgage Corp. ("Fannie Mae"). Each time it was Democrats, not Republicans, who willfully blocked regulation. Why?
The Democrats have been protecting the failed policies of Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. In 1977, under Jimmy Carter, the Democrat controlled Congress passed the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), which was designed to stop the practice of "redlining" by forcing banks to invest in low income neighborhoods. In 1995, the Clinton administration rewrote the regulations governing the manner in which the CRA ratings were applied to banks. The new regulations require banks to make mortgage loans to borrowers who would not normally qualify – “subprime” mortgages. Frequently these subprime loans were made without a down payment or any documentation from the borrower.
The CRA, with the new regulations, gave “community organizers” a powerful tool with which to pressure banks to do their bidding. Before any bank can open a new branch, or merge with another bank, it has to petition the bank regulatory authorities for permission. This calls for a review which includes review of the bank’s CRA compliance. Complaints, even if spurious, by "community organizers" could threaten permission for the proposed move. In order to prevent such complaints, banks began to buy off the “community organizers.” By the year 2000 these groups had received nearly $10 billion from the banking industry. In that year, the banking industry came up with a proposal under which “community organizers" would receive funding over the next several years. For example, ACORN Housing was scheduled to receive $760 million. (ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, has been investigated repeatedly for fraudulent voter registration attempts.) While this is legal, it bears a very close resemblance to extortion.
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae bought subprime mortgages and created "securitized" packages -- bundles of mortgages which included some of the sub primes and some sound mortgages. These are the dubious investment instruments which are leading to the failures of so many financial institutions. Freddie and Fannie themselves failed because their portfolios were very heavily invested in subprime mortgages. When Andrew Cuomo was Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) he stated that he wanted these mortgages to be 50% of their portfolios. As they were two of the largest financial institutions in the country, it was clear to observers that the situation posed a serious threat to the economic stability of the country.
The need for regulation was made clearer when the CEO of Fannie Mae, Franklin Raines, was forced to step down in 2004. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) accused him of being complicit in accounting irregularities, which resulted in overstating earnings by more than $6 billion, making it possible for the senior executives of Fannie Mae, including Raines himself, to receive huge performance bonuses. He is reported to have received more than $100 million during his five years as CEO of Fannie Mae.
When a congressional subcommittee investigated this, the Democrats on the subcommittee saw nothing wrong and saw no need for regulation over Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. This at a time when other banks were required to have 10% reserves behind their mortgages, and Freddie Mae back and Fannie Mae were required to have only 2 1/2%.
The failed policies that led to the current crisis were the policies of Democrats, not Republicans. It was Democrats, not Republican, who blocked regulation. In 1933, when FDR took office, banks were failing all over the country. Roosevelt proposed, and Congress enacted, a number of regulatory measures designed to prevent a repeat of the events that led to the economic collapse. Roosevelt recognized that the greater the economic enterprise, the greater the threat to the country if it should collapse, and for this reason felt that regulation was absolutely necessary to protect the country against foolish speculation by such institutions. Thus, FDR asked for the creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The same reasoning led President Bush repeatedly to request meaningful regulation of the GSE's. It also led Sen. John McCain, in 2005, to introduce legislation to create a body with authority to exercise oversight over these GSE's. The legislation failed because Democrats blocked it.
It was Democratic policies that forced banks to grant subprime mortgages to people who were not creditworthy, and in amounts that could not help but put the country at risk ( in 2006, banks were forced to issue $600 billion in subprime mortgages). Rational economists, but not Democrats, trembled to contemplate what might happen if these mortgages started to turn bad.
The only argument Democrats have that the subprime mortgages issued pursuant to CRA were not the cause of the crisis is the fact that a large number of these loans were made by independent mortgage brokers who are not subject to CRA. This is irrelevant since the independent mortgage brokers were acting as agents for banks or sold the mortgages they issued to banks, which needed to have them in their portfolios in order to show compliance with CRA.
I agree with the Democrats that greed was a contributing factor to this crisis. It was greed on the part of the Democratic executives at Fannie Mae that caused them to lie about their earnings in order to be granted large multimillion-dollar bonuses.
I agree with the Democrats that foolish speculation helped cause the crisis. Forcing banks to grant subprime mortgages was every bit as foolish as any speculations made by financiers during the roaring twenties.
I agree with the Democrats that the people whose failed policies caused this crisis should not be trusted to fix it -- they are the failed policies of Democrats. I agree with the Democrats that it was a lack of effective regulation that permitted the two largest holders of subprime mortgages to fail -- it was congressional Democrats, including Barack Obama, Harry Reid, and Nancy Pelosi who blocked John McCain’s attempt to impose regulations and who failed to heed President Bush when he warned the Congress about the risk of these entities failing.
If, 85 years after the multiple bank failings of 1933 pushed the country deeper into the Great Depression, the Democrats do not have the same good sense that Franklin Roosevelt had to recognize that large financial entities should be regulated and should not take such foolish gambles as granting billions of dollars of subprime mortgages to people who are not credit worthy, then they cannot be trusted to govern. Furthermore, when they lie about their own complicity, one wonders if it is even worthwhile to continue to listen to them.
James H. Warner is a retired attorney. He served as a domestic policy advisor to President Ronald Reagan from 1985 until 1989.
The BEST explanation of the current crisis I've read.
JAMES H. WARNER
20511 Bent Willow Road
Rohrersville, Maryland 21779
(301) 432-4935.
http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/w/w063.htm
The Democrats are correct. The financial crisis was caused by "failed policies," including a refusal to permit meaningful regulation of financial institutions. However, they are deliberately lying when they associate these policies with President Bush. Since taking the oath of office, President Bush has called, 18 times, for adequate regulation of the financial institutions which have done the most to create this crisis: two government-sponsored entities (GSE's), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. ("Freddie Mac") and the Federal National Mortgage Corp. ("Fannie Mae"). Each time it was Democrats, not Republicans, who willfully blocked regulation. Why?
The Democrats have been protecting the failed policies of Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. In 1977, under Jimmy Carter, the Democrat controlled Congress passed the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), which was designed to stop the practice of "redlining" by forcing banks to invest in low income neighborhoods. In 1995, the Clinton administration rewrote the regulations governing the manner in which the CRA ratings were applied to banks. The new regulations require banks to make mortgage loans to borrowers who would not normally qualify – “subprime” mortgages. Frequently these subprime loans were made without a down payment or any documentation from the borrower.
The CRA, with the new regulations, gave “community organizers” a powerful tool with which to pressure banks to do their bidding. Before any bank can open a new branch, or merge with another bank, it has to petition the bank regulatory authorities for permission. This calls for a review which includes review of the bank’s CRA compliance. Complaints, even if spurious, by "community organizers" could threaten permission for the proposed move. In order to prevent such complaints, banks began to buy off the “community organizers.” By the year 2000 these groups had received nearly $10 billion from the banking industry. In that year, the banking industry came up with a proposal under which “community organizers" would receive funding over the next several years. For example, ACORN Housing was scheduled to receive $760 million. (ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, has been investigated repeatedly for fraudulent voter registration attempts.) While this is legal, it bears a very close resemblance to extortion.
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae bought subprime mortgages and created "securitized" packages -- bundles of mortgages which included some of the sub primes and some sound mortgages. These are the dubious investment instruments which are leading to the failures of so many financial institutions. Freddie and Fannie themselves failed because their portfolios were very heavily invested in subprime mortgages. When Andrew Cuomo was Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) he stated that he wanted these mortgages to be 50% of their portfolios. As they were two of the largest financial institutions in the country, it was clear to observers that the situation posed a serious threat to the economic stability of the country.
The need for regulation was made clearer when the CEO of Fannie Mae, Franklin Raines, was forced to step down in 2004. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) accused him of being complicit in accounting irregularities, which resulted in overstating earnings by more than $6 billion, making it possible for the senior executives of Fannie Mae, including Raines himself, to receive huge performance bonuses. He is reported to have received more than $100 million during his five years as CEO of Fannie Mae.
When a congressional subcommittee investigated this, the Democrats on the subcommittee saw nothing wrong and saw no need for regulation over Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. This at a time when other banks were required to have 10% reserves behind their mortgages, and Freddie Mae back and Fannie Mae were required to have only 2 1/2%.
The failed policies that led to the current crisis were the policies of Democrats, not Republicans. It was Democrats, not Republican, who blocked regulation. In 1933, when FDR took office, banks were failing all over the country. Roosevelt proposed, and Congress enacted, a number of regulatory measures designed to prevent a repeat of the events that led to the economic collapse. Roosevelt recognized that the greater the economic enterprise, the greater the threat to the country if it should collapse, and for this reason felt that regulation was absolutely necessary to protect the country against foolish speculation by such institutions. Thus, FDR asked for the creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The same reasoning led President Bush repeatedly to request meaningful regulation of the GSE's. It also led Sen. John McCain, in 2005, to introduce legislation to create a body with authority to exercise oversight over these GSE's. The legislation failed because Democrats blocked it.
It was Democratic policies that forced banks to grant subprime mortgages to people who were not creditworthy, and in amounts that could not help but put the country at risk ( in 2006, banks were forced to issue $600 billion in subprime mortgages). Rational economists, but not Democrats, trembled to contemplate what might happen if these mortgages started to turn bad.
The only argument Democrats have that the subprime mortgages issued pursuant to CRA were not the cause of the crisis is the fact that a large number of these loans were made by independent mortgage brokers who are not subject to CRA. This is irrelevant since the independent mortgage brokers were acting as agents for banks or sold the mortgages they issued to banks, which needed to have them in their portfolios in order to show compliance with CRA.
I agree with the Democrats that greed was a contributing factor to this crisis. It was greed on the part of the Democratic executives at Fannie Mae that caused them to lie about their earnings in order to be granted large multimillion-dollar bonuses.
I agree with the Democrats that foolish speculation helped cause the crisis. Forcing banks to grant subprime mortgages was every bit as foolish as any speculations made by financiers during the roaring twenties.
I agree with the Democrats that the people whose failed policies caused this crisis should not be trusted to fix it -- they are the failed policies of Democrats. I agree with the Democrats that it was a lack of effective regulation that permitted the two largest holders of subprime mortgages to fail -- it was congressional Democrats, including Barack Obama, Harry Reid, and Nancy Pelosi who blocked John McCain’s attempt to impose regulations and who failed to heed President Bush when he warned the Congress about the risk of these entities failing.
If, 85 years after the multiple bank failings of 1933 pushed the country deeper into the Great Depression, the Democrats do not have the same good sense that Franklin Roosevelt had to recognize that large financial entities should be regulated and should not take such foolish gambles as granting billions of dollars of subprime mortgages to people who are not credit worthy, then they cannot be trusted to govern. Furthermore, when they lie about their own complicity, one wonders if it is even worthwhile to continue to listen to them.
James H. Warner is a retired attorney. He served as a domestic policy advisor to President Ronald Reagan from 1985 until 1989.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Mind the gap! The world's biggest cruise ship squeezes out of dock and sets sail
Mind the gap! The world's biggest cruise ship squeezes out of dock and sets sail
"Mind the gap! The world's biggest cruise ship squeezes out of dock and sets sail"
"Mind the gap! The world's biggest cruise ship squeezes out of dock and sets sail"
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Comparison of original Paulson bailout to compromise proposal
Comparison_of_original_Paulson_bailout_to_compromise_proposal
"House Republican Whip Roy Blunt's office provides this side-by-side comparison of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's original Wall Street bailout proposal with the final compromise agreed to over the weekend by congressional and Treasury negotiators:
********************
Side-by-Side Comparison of Rescue Legislation"
"House Republican Whip Roy Blunt's office provides this side-by-side comparison of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's original Wall Street bailout proposal with the final compromise agreed to over the weekend by congressional and Treasury negotiators:
********************
Side-by-Side Comparison of Rescue Legislation"
Family Told Obama NOT To Wear Soldier Son's Bracelet... Where is Media?
Family Told Obama NOT To Wear Soldier Son's Bracelet... Where is Media?
"Shockingly, however, Madison resident Brian Jopek, the father of Ryan Jopek, the young soldier who tragically lost his life to a roadside bomb in 2006, recently said on a Wisconsin Public Radio show that his family had asked Barack Obama to stop wearing the bracelet with his son's name on it. Yet Obama continues to do so despite the wishes of the family"
Obama is a despicable panderer.
"Shockingly, however, Madison resident Brian Jopek, the father of Ryan Jopek, the young soldier who tragically lost his life to a roadside bomb in 2006, recently said on a Wisconsin Public Radio show that his family had asked Barack Obama to stop wearing the bracelet with his son's name on it. Yet Obama continues to do so despite the wishes of the family"
Obama is a despicable panderer.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Study: Students in advanced math classes do worse
Study: Students in advanced math classes do worse
"Once unavailable to many minority and poor children, algebra is becoming widely accepted as a must-have for eighth-graders.
Algebra is considered a “gateway” course for higher learning. Students who take it that year are on track for calculus as seniors. President Bill Clinton made eighth-grade algebra a priority, and an influential 1995 book labeled algebra “The New Civil Right.”"
Why is algebra necessary simply to graduate?
What about reedin', ritin' and addin'?
"Once unavailable to many minority and poor children, algebra is becoming widely accepted as a must-have for eighth-graders.
Algebra is considered a “gateway” course for higher learning. Students who take it that year are on track for calculus as seniors. President Bill Clinton made eighth-grade algebra a priority, and an influential 1995 book labeled algebra “The New Civil Right.”"
Why is algebra necessary simply to graduate?
What about reedin', ritin' and addin'?
Senate OKs $25B loan for automakers
Senate OKs $25B loan for automakers
"The largest federal aid ever offered to the U.S. auto industry passed the Senate today, as a $25-billion loan program won final approval from Congress after a three-month industry blitz."
"The largest federal aid ever offered to the U.S. auto industry passed the Senate today, as a $25-billion loan program won final approval from Congress after a three-month industry blitz."
Obama emotionally recalls fallen soldier: What's his name?
Obama emotionally recalls fallen soldier: What's his name?
"Getting some notice -- not enough -- is Obama's failure to remember the name of the fallen soldier on his bracelet. At least Fox is covering it:"
"Getting some notice -- not enough -- is Obama's failure to remember the name of the fallen soldier on his bracelet. At least Fox is covering it:"
Media Mum on Barney Frank's Fannie Mae Love Connection
Media Mum on Barney Frank's Fannie Mae Love Connection
"Frank has argued that family life “should be fair game for campaign discussion,” wrote the Associated Press on Sept. 2. The comment was in reference to GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and her pregnant daughter. “They’re the ones that made an issue of her family,” the Massachusetts Democrat said to the AP.
The news media have covered the relationship in the past, but there have been no mentions since 2005, according to Nexis and despite the collapse of Fannie Mae. The July 3, 1998, Reliable Source column in The Washington Post reported Frank, who is openly gay, had a relationship with Herb Moses, an executive for the now-government controlled Fannie Mae. The column revealed the two had split up at the time but also said Frank was referring to Moses as his “spouse.” Another Washington Post report said Frank called Moses his “lover” and that the two were “still friends” after the breakup"
Ah, the wonderful "unbiased" MSM.
"Frank has argued that family life “should be fair game for campaign discussion,” wrote the Associated Press on Sept. 2. The comment was in reference to GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and her pregnant daughter. “They’re the ones that made an issue of her family,” the Massachusetts Democrat said to the AP.
The news media have covered the relationship in the past, but there have been no mentions since 2005, according to Nexis and despite the collapse of Fannie Mae. The July 3, 1998, Reliable Source column in The Washington Post reported Frank, who is openly gay, had a relationship with Herb Moses, an executive for the now-government controlled Fannie Mae. The column revealed the two had split up at the time but also said Frank was referring to Moses as his “spouse.” Another Washington Post report said Frank called Moses his “lover” and that the two were “still friends” after the breakup"
Ah, the wonderful "unbiased" MSM.
Global warming has paused
Global warming has paused
"Recent studies by the Hadley Climate Research Center (UK), the Japan Meteorological Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the University of East Anglia (UK) and the University of Alabama Huntsville show clearly that the rising trend of global average temperature stopped in 2000-2001. Further, NASA data shows that warming in the southern hemisphere has stopped, and that ocean temperatures also have stopped rising."
"Recent studies by the Hadley Climate Research Center (UK), the Japan Meteorological Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the University of East Anglia (UK) and the University of Alabama Huntsville show clearly that the rising trend of global average temperature stopped in 2000-2001. Further, NASA data shows that warming in the southern hemisphere has stopped, and that ocean temperatures also have stopped rising."
Friday, September 26, 2008
School counts suffer as families flee area
School counts suffer as families flee area
"School districts already dealing with declining birth rates are suffering another 'worrisome' hit this year -- drops in enrollment as students' families seek jobs elsewhere.
School officials counted their students Wednesday -- counts that will be used to determine how much per-pupil state aid districts will receive. In Muskegon County, enrollment fell by 485 students, a 1.6 percent drop."
It's ALL about money, not kids.
Nor parents.
Nor taxpayers.
No gleeful "class sizes smaller, better!"
No giddy "Smaller classes mean less need for taxpayer dollars for teachers!"
No hopeful "Parents to see lower taxes and kids closer attention from teachers!"
Nope.
It's ALL about the money...... and that says everything about education and its willing cheerleaders in The Chronicle.
"School districts already dealing with declining birth rates are suffering another 'worrisome' hit this year -- drops in enrollment as students' families seek jobs elsewhere.
School officials counted their students Wednesday -- counts that will be used to determine how much per-pupil state aid districts will receive. In Muskegon County, enrollment fell by 485 students, a 1.6 percent drop."
It's ALL about money, not kids.
Nor parents.
Nor taxpayers.
No gleeful "class sizes smaller, better!"
No giddy "Smaller classes mean less need for taxpayer dollars for teachers!"
No hopeful "Parents to see lower taxes and kids closer attention from teachers!"
Nope.
It's ALL about the money...... and that says everything about education and its willing cheerleaders in The Chronicle.
Letterman-sad...
The David Letterman has descended, over the years, into a sort of a one man "The View".
A good friend of mine who has been an avid fan for decades has finally stopped watching.
He said it's just too sarcastic and politiaclly biased.
Too bad Letterman cares not.
A good friend of mine who has been an avid fan for decades has finally stopped watching.
He said it's just too sarcastic and politiaclly biased.
Too bad Letterman cares not.
Four Pinocchios for Biden's Tax Fabrication - Fact Checker
Four Pinocchios for Biden's Tax Fabrication
"However, Biden conveniently overlooks the fact that the Republican nominee is offering tax-payers a credit that should cover the cost of going out and buying insurance."
"However, Biden conveniently overlooks the fact that the Republican nominee is offering tax-payers a credit that should cover the cost of going out and buying insurance."
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Dems paid $1.4 million for failed state ballot proposal
Dems paid $1.4 million for failed state ballot proposal
"The Michigan Democratic Party provided nearly all the $1.4 million spent supporting a failed ballot proposal that would have rewritten several sections of the state constitution, according to campaign finance reports submitted Wednesday."
And those democrat scumbags and their willing enablers in ithe Michigan media covered up this attack on freedom!
Sick and disgusting!
"The Michigan Democratic Party provided nearly all the $1.4 million spent supporting a failed ballot proposal that would have rewritten several sections of the state constitution, according to campaign finance reports submitted Wednesday."
And those democrat scumbags and their willing enablers in ithe Michigan media covered up this attack on freedom!
Sick and disgusting!
Drunk driver hits K'zoo police cruiser
Drunk driver hits K'zoo police cruiser: "A Kalamazoo man is behind bars after allegedly hitting a police cruiser and taking off."
Kids, don't try this at home!
Kids, don't try this at home!
Obama's $100K Englewood garden grant being probed :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: The Watchdogs
Obama's $100K Englewood garden grant being probed
The Watchdogs: "A $100,000 state grant for a botanic garden in Englewood that then-state Sen. Barack Obama awarded in 2001 to a group headed by a onetime campaign volunteer is now under investigation by the Illinois attorney general amid new questions, prompted by Chicago Sun-Times reports, about whether the money might have been misspent.
The garden was never built. And now state records obtained by the Sun-Times show $65,000 of the grant money went to the wife of Kenny B. Smith, the Obama 2000 congressional campaign volunteer who heads the Chicago Better Housing Association, which was in charge of the project for the blighted South Side neighborhood."
The Watchdogs: "A $100,000 state grant for a botanic garden in Englewood that then-state Sen. Barack Obama awarded in 2001 to a group headed by a onetime campaign volunteer is now under investigation by the Illinois attorney general amid new questions, prompted by Chicago Sun-Times reports, about whether the money might have been misspent.
The garden was never built. And now state records obtained by the Sun-Times show $65,000 of the grant money went to the wife of Kenny B. Smith, the Obama 2000 congressional campaign volunteer who heads the Chicago Better Housing Association, which was in charge of the project for the blighted South Side neighborhood."
Chronicle among papers letting go young carriers
Chronicle among papers letting go young carriers
"Those papers will come from The Chronicle in downtown Muskegon until Oct. 20, when printing of the paper will be moved to the Walker facility of The Grand Rapids Press. The Chronicle and The Press are owned by the same company.
Only those 18 and older will be allowed to pick up bundles of newspapers at the depots and have a route in their name."
Exhibit A in why The Chronicle is a dying "news"paper.
1. No explanation of WHY the kids are being fired. Just a mention that The Chronicle is "among" other papers making similar business destroying decisions.
2. No mention of future delivery rates or "time of delivery" changes.
3. No mention of ANY benefit to either The Chronicle, its owners OR the customer.
This smelly paper has gone beyond being worthy of wrapping dead fish.
Ba bye Commie Chronicle........
"Those papers will come from The Chronicle in downtown Muskegon until Oct. 20, when printing of the paper will be moved to the Walker facility of The Grand Rapids Press. The Chronicle and The Press are owned by the same company.
Only those 18 and older will be allowed to pick up bundles of newspapers at the depots and have a route in their name."
Exhibit A in why The Chronicle is a dying "news"paper.
1. No explanation of WHY the kids are being fired. Just a mention that The Chronicle is "among" other papers making similar business destroying decisions.
2. No mention of future delivery rates or "time of delivery" changes.
3. No mention of ANY benefit to either The Chronicle, its owners OR the customer.
This smelly paper has gone beyond being worthy of wrapping dead fish.
Ba bye Commie Chronicle........
Sports fans = Political Fans
The Volokh Conspiracy - -: "How Political Fans are Like Sports Fans - Why Voters are Highly Biased in their Evaluation of Political Information"
How do we get out of the dangerous box in which public policy is determined in elections where most voters are either rationally ignorant about even basic political information or highly biased in their evaluation of what they do know? There is no easy answer to that question. In the article linked above and in some of my other scholarship (e.g. - here), I suggest that we consider making fewer decisions through the political system and more through free markets and civil society - where people have much stronger incentives to both seek out information and evaluate it at least somewhat rationally.
How do we get out of the dangerous box in which public policy is determined in elections where most voters are either rationally ignorant about even basic political information or highly biased in their evaluation of what they do know? There is no easy answer to that question. In the article linked above and in some of my other scholarship (e.g. - here), I suggest that we consider making fewer decisions through the political system and more through free markets and civil society - where people have much stronger incentives to both seek out information and evaluate it at least somewhat rationally.
Sheep sex doesn't make man a sex offender
Judges: Sheep sex doesn't make man a sex offender
"A Calhoun County man who sodomized a sheep will not have to register as a sex offender because the sheep cannot be considered a victim of sexual assault under Michigan law, a court ruled this week."
Shari Lewis must be giddy in her grave!
(what WAS her hand doing up LambChop's shirt for all those years?)
"A Calhoun County man who sodomized a sheep will not have to register as a sex offender because the sheep cannot be considered a victim of sexual assault under Michigan law, a court ruled this week."
Shari Lewis must be giddy in her grave!
(what WAS her hand doing up LambChop's shirt for all those years?)
If Someone Has Sex with a Sheep, Must He Register as a Sex Offender?
If Someone Has Sex with a Sheep, Must He Register as a Sex Offender?: "If Someone Has Sex with a Sheep, Must He Register as a Sex Offender?"
Is Michigan going to displace New Zeeland as the haven for sheep love?
Florida Democrat Congressman: Palin 'Don't Care Too Much What They Do With Jews and Blacks'
Florida Democrat Congressman: Palin 'Don't Care Too Much What They Do With Jews and Blacks': "said Hastings. 'Anybody toting guns and stripping moose don’t care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks."
... and this is what democrats elect to office.
Anyone hear Obama's response to one of his own supporter's racist comments.............?
... and this is what democrats elect to office.
Anyone hear Obama's response to one of his own supporter's racist comments.............?
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Democrats to let offshore drilling ban expire
Democrats to let offshore drilling ban expire
"Democrats have decided to allow a quarter-century ban on drilling for oil off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to expire next week, conceding defeat in an months-long battle with the White House and Republicans set off by $4 a gallon gasoline prices this summer."
YES!
"Democrats have decided to allow a quarter-century ban on drilling for oil off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to expire next week, conceding defeat in an months-long battle with the White House and Republicans set off by $4 a gallon gasoline prices this summer."
YES!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Woman Gets Life Sentence for Sex With 5-Year-Old
Woman Gets Life Sentence for Sex With 5-Year-Old
"Florida woman has been sentenced to life in prison for having sex with a 5-year-old boy.
Kelly Lumadue, 33, was found guilty Thursday of having sex with the boy 12 years ago, when she was 21, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
Lumadue told the jury she had sex with the child under the direction of her now-deceased husband, who was a professional pornographer, the paper said.
Police arrested Lumadue in 2003 after a garbage collector found the tapes in a box on the curb of Lumadue's Volusia County home, the Sentinel said."
"Florida woman has been sentenced to life in prison for having sex with a 5-year-old boy.
Kelly Lumadue, 33, was found guilty Thursday of having sex with the boy 12 years ago, when she was 21, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
Lumadue told the jury she had sex with the child under the direction of her now-deceased husband, who was a professional pornographer, the paper said.
Police arrested Lumadue in 2003 after a garbage collector found the tapes in a box on the curb of Lumadue's Volusia County home, the Sentinel said."
"Conservatives have stronger startle reflexes?"
Lucianne.com News Forum: "Conservatives Have Stronger Startle Reflexes?
National Geographic News, by Brian Handwerk
Original Article
Posted By:Sector7G, 9/18/2008 11:31:10 PM
As Barack Obama and Joe Biden tussle with John McCain and Sarah Palin over the mantle of change in the U.S. presidential race, they may all be losing a little-known constituency: people who startle easily. Voters with heightened physical reactions to perceived threats—blinking or sweating when exposed to 'threatening' images—may be less likely to vote for change, a new study says."
National Geographic News, by Brian Handwerk
Original Article
Posted By:Sector7G, 9/18/2008 11:31:10 PM
As Barack Obama and Joe Biden tussle with John McCain and Sarah Palin over the mantle of change in the U.S. presidential race, they may all be losing a little-known constituency: people who startle easily. Voters with heightened physical reactions to perceived threats—blinking or sweating when exposed to 'threatening' images—may be less likely to vote for change, a new study says."
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Instapundit.com -
Instapundit.com -: "I would put together a commercial that said…
James A. Johnson - former Fannie Mae CEO and Obama Advisor
Just cost you billions in taxes
Franklin Raines – former Fannie Mae CEO and Obama Advisor
Just cost you billions in taxes
Barack Obama – If we can’t afford his advisors, how can we afford him?"
James A. Johnson - former Fannie Mae CEO and Obama Advisor
Just cost you billions in taxes
Franklin Raines – former Fannie Mae CEO and Obama Advisor
Just cost you billions in taxes
Barack Obama – If we can’t afford his advisors, how can we afford him?"
Monday, September 15, 2008
Thinking Outside the Lox - WSJ.com
Thinking Outside the Lox - WSJ.com: "I shall probably vote for John McCain in this year's presidential election. But I am not locked in on my vote, and if the McCain-Palin campaign gets dramatically stupid, I could go the other way. I make no claim to be an original political thinker, but, unlike so many of my co-religionists, I feel a nice sense of freedom, knowing that I am able to think, so to say, outside the lox."
Atlantic Magazine Might Sue McCain-Smearing Photographer | NewsBusters.org
Atlantic Magazine Might Sue McCain-Smearing Photographer
"The magazine's editor, James Bennet, told Fox News's Megyn Kelly Monday that he was deeply sorry about this incident, and that The Atlantic isn't taking it lying down (audio available here, partial transcript follows, h/t NBer blonde) :
JAMES BENNET, EDITOR 'THE ATLANTIC': I'm already drafting a letter of apology [to McCain]. I mean, this photographer went in there under our auspices to take a covershot for us. Again, we stand by the picture, and we produced a terrific story on John McCain...But while she was there, she behaved in an incredibly underhanded and unprofessional way. [...]
MEGYN KELLY, HOST: What do you do to shut down her use on her website, not just of that covershot, but the disgusting things she has done to John McCain's image on her website which I won't repeat here?
BENNET: She's violated the terms of our agreement with her, or our contract with her. So, we're taking steps. We're looking into steps we can see to do something about that.
KELLY: Are you considering a lawsuit?
BENNET: We're looking into what we can do.
KELLY: Would that be including legal action?
BENNET: If we can, if it's available to us, yeah.
KELLY: Has she been paid?
BENNET: No.
KELLY: Will she be?
BENNET: No."
"The magazine's editor, James Bennet, told Fox News's Megyn Kelly Monday that he was deeply sorry about this incident, and that The Atlantic isn't taking it lying down (audio available here, partial transcript follows, h/t NBer blonde) :
JAMES BENNET, EDITOR 'THE ATLANTIC': I'm already drafting a letter of apology [to McCain]. I mean, this photographer went in there under our auspices to take a covershot for us. Again, we stand by the picture, and we produced a terrific story on John McCain...But while she was there, she behaved in an incredibly underhanded and unprofessional way. [...]
MEGYN KELLY, HOST: What do you do to shut down her use on her website, not just of that covershot, but the disgusting things she has done to John McCain's image on her website which I won't repeat here?
BENNET: She's violated the terms of our agreement with her, or our contract with her. So, we're taking steps. We're looking into steps we can see to do something about that.
KELLY: Are you considering a lawsuit?
BENNET: We're looking into what we can do.
KELLY: Would that be including legal action?
BENNET: If we can, if it's available to us, yeah.
KELLY: Has she been paid?
BENNET: No.
KELLY: Will she be?
BENNET: No."
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