Tag: national debt

Misdirection

OK, Maybe CNN wasn’t terribly subtle when they said “Washington could take down a mega-bank” and then immediately below showed a row of Bank of America ATMs. And don’t get me wrong, everything I have read about B of A lately indicates that they are skating on thin ice.

But don’t lose track of the prize. Fannie Mae just was forced to buy bought $500,000,000 in crappy loans from B of A — despite having plenty of foreclosures and pre-foreclosures of their own — in what Fortune calls a “back-door TARP.”

Gee, this couldn’t possibly have anything to do with the motivation behind a proposed program to help get rid of Fannie, Freddie, and HUD’s foreclosed properties, now could it? By the way, the headline is just a tweak misleading. They aren’t talking about slapping a “For Rent” sign in the lawns of these houses; they are talking about finding some sucker investor to buy them in bulk (that means with limited ability to pick and choose) under the condition of renting them out. Never mind that these homes are in conditions that vary from pristine to bulldozer-ready. Never mind that investors are already cherry-picking the best of them. Never mind that Fannie, Freddie, and HUD all have systems in place to favor owner-occupants when selling foreclosed properties.

Not gonna work.

In closing: I hope he’s still open for civil damages; She-Ra; Clavell did this as a novel, but with helicopters; If I Had $1000 Dollars; it hasn’t worked yet so let’s keep doing it; S&P and 63% of Americans agree about one thing; I know things are bad when Ron Paul starts to make sense; check your LinkedIn prefs; and Bert and Ernie are puppets, they have no sexual orientation.

Bikini Bloodbath Shorties

Where the heck does Hollywood keep coming up with absurd titles for horror movies? Anyways, on to the shorties.

It wouldn’t be Shorties without the Economy:  Yeah, turns out it is a recession if you stop playing games with inflation. Gee, really? Maybe that’s why the stock market is picking up their money and going home. Maybe if somebody were, oh, I don’t know, creating jobs.

Is it a coincidence that I’ve been invited to 2 protests that they won’t even tell me where it is until I RSVP?: Maybe, Maybe not.

Up, Up, and Away: in my beautiful 1940s aircraft.

People with Idiotic Ideas Aren’t News: You tell em, Senator.

From the Top: The Secretary of Education says that No Child Left Behind is a **** piece of **** and urges states to opt out of the money associated with implementing it. Gee, maybe “better” isn’t a standard.

Bloody Socialists: Turns out they have a few good ideas about the practice of medicine.

Speaking of medicine: The Duhpartment of Research is at it again.

Someone Noticed the Man Behind the Curtain?

Today the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down over 500 points. Now make no mistake, I don’t like to read too much into the Dow. After all, it’s only 30 stocks, tweaked so the most expensive ones matter the most. However, the S&P 500 also dropped almost 5% today.

The culprit? “Fears over the economy.” That’s the same economy that — at least outside corporate boardrooms — was crappy a week ago, a month ago, a year ago. But now? Someone is exposing the Wizard behind the curtain and it’s obvious that Bad Things are afoot in the Wonderful World of Oz.

What’s different now? Is it that the State of New York isn’t going to let Bank of America get off with a pennies on the dollar settlement? Is it that Congress has done such a bad job that their disapproval rating is at an all time high? Perhaps it’s that we now understand some of the lies surrounding the federal budget? Maybe somebody outside peace activists has realized that we really are running 2 and a half pointless wars (to say nothing of thinking we can still starve Cuba into capitalism)? Did some stock broker take a wrong turn into the wrong neighborhood and notice that trickle down doesn’t work? Could it be that somebody noticed that unemployment is up nearly everywhere, and there’s nothing in the budget deal or any other federal plan that would create jobs?

Of course, I am not alone in thinking we never actually got out of the Great Recession.

If you are looking for a silver lining, mortgage rates are down due to the economic data. Assuming you have a job, and good enough credit to qualify for a mortgage.

In Closing: Fannie and Freddie were just following everyone else off the cliff; if we seriously believe that some criminals can’t be rehabilitated, the answer is life in prison, not a scarlet letter (oh but then we would have to think for more than 10 seconds); it still wasn’t the drugs, but the scopes; Toyota, and Honda lose to Nissan, Kia, and VW; tax reform zombie; you have to be wealthy to eat healthy; and aww honey honey.

News from the Future!!

Just in case you had any doubt that a) the debt “crisis” is phony as can be and that b) a deal would be reached at the last minute, Reuters is already reporting on tomorrow’s events! Here’s a quote, emphasis mine:

President Barack Obama announced on Monday that Democrats and Republicans leaders have reached an agreement to reduce the U.S. deficit and avoid default.

For the Calendar-challenged, it’s still Sunday. As in Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! Monster Trucks, Trucks, Trucks!

The one thing I can tell you about this deal that apparently will have been announced on Monday in some version of our current timeline is that it will screw normal everyday people. It’s almost not worth “voting the bums out” because there will just be a new, less experienced group of bums.

Edit: Yes, I am aware that it was an error by Reuters, corrected within an hour of my post. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t amusing, or change the fact that the debt deal will still be something less than sunshine and roses for most people.

In Closing: long term unemployment; maybe Apple can buy some bonds?; more plots for CSI if they would stop with the serial killer shark tank extravaganzas; taxes; Pell Grants; it’s the economy, stupid; and glow-in-the-dark dogs.

Something Completely Different

A few years back, I was showing a property to a nice lady. As I usually do, I pointed out things nearby: “It’s within walking distance of that playground.” She laughed for a moment and said it had been a long time since she’d taken her boys to the playground, and then I remembered that her 3 boys were all grown men in the United States Marine Corps.

This immediately made me imagine 3 Marines — full battle uniforms, helmets, assault rifles, the whole nine yards — playing on the swings and slides. I could not help but smile at the mental image.

I was in that same neighborhood the other day and remembered and smiled.

In Closing: a few tidbits on the economy and Social Security and the debt ceiling; sugar; JP tells it as it is; Gee, GE; “We are one big industry of professionals, it’s time to behave like it”; a time for every purpose under heaven. And I hope you have something to smile about tonight.

Book Review Time!

This time it’s The Beach Trees. Go check it out!

In Closing: The Burger Economy; bang; Amen; Social Security; Dodd-Frank; hold on to your hats; credit; thank goodness somebody is telling the truth; it turns out that “green” technology employs more people than the oil or gas industries; nudie scanners getting less nude (still bombarding you with radiation!); and tea ceremony.

Banks Will Continue to Make Their Own Rules

President Obama is backing down from the idea of actually having a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that protects consumers in any way. Elizabeth Warren is reportedly out of the running to head it. To me, this telegraphs that the CFPB may give lip service to protecting consumers and enforcing the law, but will probably really protect bankers from consumers while they continue to break the law and screw their so-called customers.

I sure do hope he’s not planning on my support to get re-elected.

In Closing: two ships that never sailed; still not vegetarian, adds ew; way to go, kid; neighbors would rather have a house be empty and slip into complete disrepair than have that man live there; Kucinich has a point (but credit rating agencies didn’t cause a crisis by handing downgrades, banks did by playing games with the numbers!); everyone panic!; the fight over nudie scanners has just begun; it’s good to be king CEO; and 5 fundamental problems with the jobs market.

A Buffet of Bad Ideas

There’s a restaurant site down the street that does not appear to attract success.

I forget what the place was originally, other than an expensive build. I feel certain that high expenses are what killed the place.

After remaining empty for a while, it became an “Asian fusion seafood restaurant.” Hey, this is Vegas, we can support that sort of thing. Of course maybe if the site weren’t within a few hundred feet of not one, but two nationally known chains of “Asian fusion seafood restaurants,” and down the street from a notable modern sushi bar, it might have done better. Oh yeah, they maybe could have had some advertising. But it was clearly an expensive build, so maybe they didn’t have money to let people know it was actually open.

After remaining empty for another long while, the building got a new paint job in colors that suggested Mexican or some other sort of Latin cuisine, and signage for a new restaurant. It never opened. I remember seeing some sofas out by the dumpster behind the building. Yet another expensive build.

Then the sign changed again, and signs of what was by my count a 4th expensive interior redesign began. The name of the place? Hotel California. Yeah, like this:

Right, because everybody wants to go eat dinner someplace where they’ve got no wine, but plenty of pink champagne on ice. And you have to stab your dinner to death with a steely knife. Oh, and you might not be allowed to leave after you pay your check. Happy Hour indeed.

As if that’s not enough, we have a California Hotel here in Vegas.

Yesterday, I noticed that the sign — which by the way looks like it was painted by teenagers from Acapulco — had changed. It’s now the “Baja California.”

The big, brass, expensive-looking letters on the front of the building still read HC.

In Closing: truth; I hope this really happened; do you think the Republicans would be willing to put tax rates where they were during the Reagan Administration?; Not Gonna Happen! There can never be a Get Out of the Security Line Free card!; when ideology is more important than science; Al Jazeera prints the truth; another victory lap around the shark tank; “die, bitch”; and the last dinosaur.

Two and a Half Men

Thank heaven for Alan Grayson and — still! — Howard Dean. Harry Reid? Not so much.

If you don’t read Toothpaste for Dinner, you should!

In closing: 10 ways to get fat; pretty pictures; revisionist “history” (go ahead and read the Constitution, Newt); fearmongering; reality check. Sorry, I’m just not feeling like a long post right now.

Be Afraid of Everything

Ok, seriously. Our obsession with terrorism has veered off into paranoia.

Two unidentified “U.S. security officials” says we need to be afraid of terrorists with implanted explosives, and the TSA director agrees that this is a possible concern — adding that there’s not a damn thing even the nudie scanners and patdowns that violate some states’ sexual assault laws can do about it.

Never mind the fact that such a bomb is much more likely to shower bystanders with gore than actually kill them. Don’t let reality stand in the way of losing some more civil liberties; after all it’s for our safety!

Right?

In Closing: more than you really wanted to know about the fake budget crisis, the economy, Republicans, and how politicians plan to screw you out of Social Security; Heinlein; stupid products for children; and camels at the oasis.