My best friend has raised two wonderful boys whom we are very close to. James, the oldest son, is an officer in the Navy aboard the USS Hawes. I have known him since he was grade school, and even back then all he could talk about was wearing the uniform and joining the Navy. His ship is currently at port for a few days in Mobile, a tradition for the start of Mardi Gras. We are very proud of him - as he represents the best of the best of the young people in this great country. He made the local news down there and I felt compelled to share the video. He is the one explaining damage done to the ship during a recent deployment, as well as their future mission. We can all be proud of all of these tremendous young people who serve our country with such great pride - and we should thank them at every opportunity we get.

The pep talk we need in the battle for the soul of America...

The amphitheater is an outdoor venue with approx. 3,500 fixed seats and 12,000 lawn seats. All seating is uncovered. Certain events will have a table and chair set up in place or in conjunction with the 3,500 fixed seats. They have recently launched a new website.  Check often for schedule of upcoming events.

 

This is one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time: movie footage of London shot in 1904. This clip is an excerpt from a 12-minute long video that was made as a travelogue to lure visitors from Australia. It is a fascinating and all too brief glimpse into the vibrant, teeming London of Sherlock Holmes.

 I'm not an attorney, and I may be miss-interpreting this measure in the 700 billion bailout bill, but it seems if we just stop paying our mortgages, we have a chance to get a lower interest rate and/or a lower principle on our loan.  It also looks like the government will now be in the buisness of determining property value...How in the hell is this fair to all of us who actually act responsibly in paying our debts? Someone with more expertise than myself please tell me if this is how you read this.

 

GENERAL.-To the extent that the Federal property manager holds, owns, or controls mortgages, mortgage backed securities, and other assets ecured by residential real estate, including multifamily housing, the Federal property manager shall implement a plan that seeks to maximize assistance for homeowners and use its authority to encourage the servicers of the underlying mortgages, and considering net present value to the taxpayer, to take advantage of the HOPE for Homeowners Program under section 257 of the National Housing Act or other available programs to minimize foreclosures.

(2) MODIFICATIONS.-In the case of a residential mortgage loan, modifications made under paragraph (1) may include-
(A) reduction in interest rates;
(B) reduction of loan principal; and
(C) other similar modifications.

Yes, in the quest to "preserve homeownership" at all costs, it appears the government will be determining the value of homes directly in the marketplace - not only reducing interest rates but also loan principal.

 

SEC. 124. HOPE FOR HOMEOWNERS AMENDMENTS. Section 257 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715z-23) is amended-
(1) in subsection (e)-
(A) in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting before ‘‘a ratio'' the following: ‘‘, or thereafter is likely to have, due to the terms of the mortgage being reset,'';
(B) in paragraph (2)(B), by inserting before the period at the end ‘‘(or such higher percentage as the Board determines, in the discretion of the Board)'';
(C) in paragraph (4)(A)-
(i) in the first sentence, by inserting after ‘‘insured loan'' the following: ‘‘and
any payments made under this paragraph,''; and

(ii) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Such actions may include making payments, which shall be accepted as payment in full of all indebtedness under the eligible mortgage, to any holder of an ex6
isting subordinate mortgage, in lieu of any future appreciation payments authorized under subparagraph (B).''

Robert asks: "Is this about renegotiating mortgage rates of existing mortgages? Did I just get screwed for paying a point to lock in 5% fixed rate when my %^&*# neighbor went with no points adjustable rate? How the hell is this fair? I want his new rate and MY POINT BACK!"

My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE:
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside -- I just finished cleaning!"

My mother taught me RELIGION:
"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL:
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

My mother taught me LOGIC:
"Because I said so, that's why!"

My mother taught me FORESIGHT:
"Be sure you wear clean underwear in case you're in an accident."

My mother taught me IRONY:
"Keep laughing and I'll give you something to cry about."

My mother taught me about OSMOSIS:
"Shut your mouth and eat your supper!"

My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM:
"Will you look at the dirt on the back of your neck!"

My mother taught me about STAMINA:
"You'll sit there 'til all that spinach is finished."

My mother taught me about WEATHER:
"It looks as if a tornado swept through your room."

My mother taught me how to solve PHYSICS PROBLEMS:
"If I yelled because I saw a meteor coming toward you, would you listen then?"

My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY:
"If I've told you once, I've told you a million times -- don't exaggerate!!!"

My mother taught me THE CIRCLE OF LIFE:
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION:
"Stop acting like your father!"

My mother taught me about ENVY:
"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do!"

Don't laugh at my headline!  The senate apparently think they need some bailin' out, too!!

 The Senate has added some goodies into the bailout bill they are currently debating and will vote on this evening.  You can read the whole thing here.  700 billion just isn't enough....

 You can find the phone number of your Senator here, if you would like to voice your opinion...

 

New Tax earmarks in Bailout bill
- Film and Television Productions (Sec. 502)
- Wooden Arrows designed for use by children (Sec. 503)
- 6 page package of earmarks for litigants in the 1989 Exxon Valdez incident, Alaska (Sec. 504)

Tax earmark "extenders" in the bailout bill.
- Virgin Island and Puerto Rican Rum (Section 308)
- American Samoa (Sec. 309)
- Mine Rescue Teams (Sec. 310)
- Mine Safety Equipment (Sec. 311)
- Domestic Production Activities in Puerto Rico (Sec. 312)
- Indian Tribes (Sec. 314, 315)
- Railroads (Sec. 316)
- Auto Racing Tracks (317)
- District of Columbia  (Sec. 322)
- Wool Research (Sec. 325)

Ok, for sure this is photo shopped, but it's still pretty cool.  What could the caption for this be? With all that is going on today, could the little guys in the boat represent us little tax payers and giant whale is....?  Use your imagination and take your best shot!

 

 

 Jeffrey A. Miron is senior lecturer in economics at Harvard University. A Libertarian, he was one of 166 academic economists who signed a letter to congressional leaders last week opposing the government bailout plan.

Here is some excerpts from his take on the bailout:

 

This bailout was a terrible idea. Here's why.

The current mess would never have occurred in the absence of ill-conceived federal policies. The federal government chartered Fannie Mae in 1938 and Freddie Mac in 1970; these two mortgage lending institutions are at the center of the crisis. The government implicitly promised these institutions that it would make good on their debts, so Fannie and Freddie took on huge amounts of excessive risk.

Worse, beginning in 1977 and even more in the 1990s and the early part of this century, Congress pushed mortgage lenders and Fannie/Freddie to expand subprime lending. The industry was happy to oblige, given the implicit promise of federal backing, and subprime lending soared.

This subprime lending was more than a minor relaxation of existing credit guidelines. This lending was a wholesale abandonment of reasonable lending practices in which borrowers with poor credit characteristics got mortgages they were ill-equipped to handle.

Once housing prices declined and economic conditions worsened, defaults and delinquencies soared, leaving the industry holding large amounts of severely depreciated mortgage assets.

The fact that government bears such a huge responsibility for the current mess means any response should eliminate the conditions that created this situation in the first place, not attempt to fix bad government with more government.

The obvious alternative to a bailout is letting troubled financial institutions declare bankruptcy. Bankruptcy means that shareholders typically get wiped out and the creditors own the company.

Bankruptcy does not mean the company disappears; it is just owned by someone new (as has occurred with several airlines). Bankruptcy punishes those who took excessive risks while preserving those aspects of a businesses that remain profitable.

Further, the current credit freeze is likely due to Wall Street's hope of a bailout; bankers will not sell their lousy assets for 20 cents on the dollar if the government might pay 30, 50, or 80 cents.

Anticipation of the bailout will engender strategic behavior by Wall Street institutions as they shuffle their assets and position their balance sheets to maximize their take. The bailout will open the door to further federal meddling in financial markets.

So what should the government do? Eliminate those policies that generated the current mess. This means, at a general level, abandoning the goal of home ownership independent of ability to pay. This means, in particular, getting rid of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, along with policies like the Community Reinvestment Act that pressure banks into subprime lending.