Apart from episodes of Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, I avoid reality TV. Gordon's a special case, and has become a hero of the household, but that's a tale for another time.
But yesterday in Chicago, packing up to check out of the hotel room, I surfed over to A&E Network's Flip This House, about twenty minutes into the episode. I confess I didn't know what show I was watching, just observing some guys in Hartford trying to bring a house back to life they had bought, hoping to rehabilitate and resell.
The bees nested in the ceiling and windows were one challenge. After about five minutes, morbid curiosity took over, sensing that much worse was to follow.
It did.
The plumber arrived.
He went to the bathroom, and turned on the bathtub faucet.
No water. Because the fixtures were cosmetic only, not attached to any plumbing anywhere. The previous owner had cosmetically rigged the house to get past a lazy (or perhaps corrupt?) appraiser for a refi, to pull cash from the property.
Mortgage Fraud 101.
Someone should go to jail, but they won't. Complaining to the local prosecutor will get them the response, 'This is a civil matter', and the state prosecutor will tell them he's too busy--and likely he thinks he is. But just once, with a case this blatant, and professionally filmed, it would seem worthwhile to round up the owner, the appraiser, the realtor, and the mortgage broker, and at least perp-walk them for the local evening news.
Now, our intrepid remodelers don't get off that cleanly in my mind. They had a duty to inspect before buying. Betcha they will the next time!
But that in no way excuses or lessens the stench of a transaction based upon a lie.
Myself, I've got a Mercedes in the driveway I should have asked a few more questions about. Exhilarating to drive, but the previous owner didn't mention its need of a new head gasket. Shame on me, but more shame on him. I was gullible, he was duplicitous. I still would have bought the car with all the facts on the table, at a bit lower price.
There will be no recovery of the economy without a recovery of ethics.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Walking Around With Colin Montgomerie
OldSouth is a real golf geek. Golf Channel's Playing Lessons from the Pros is a favorite show. Most of the pro golfers followed by the camera are eloquent and outgoing, eager to explain how they do what they do.
This episode with Colin is one of the very best.
No trash talk.
No sub-English Ebonic dialects.
Not too many cliches, and never a string of 'you-know's.
Unlucky in love, but his twenty-year old girlfriend hasn't murdered him. He hasn't been arrested for beating up his wife or girlfriend. No drug arrest, DUI's, off-the-field mayhem. Polite, cheerful, confident.
Watching Colin Montgomerie talking about how he sizes up a hole, and calmly eliminates the risk on the journey from tee to green is a real joy. After five holes, he's three under, and not even playing brilliantly. His constant question is: 'What presents the least risk here? How do I take out the variables?'
He mentions that he won the 'Greens in Regulation' stat six out of seven years. He's standing in the middle of the fairway, and says: It's no mystery. It's easy to do that from here, as opposed to there(pointing to the rough).
Never defeated in Ryder Cup singles matches, 1991-2006.
Mom and Dad, if you're looking for a sports hero for Junior, OldSouth nominates Colin.
This episode with Colin is one of the very best.
No trash talk.
No sub-English Ebonic dialects.
Not too many cliches, and never a string of 'you-know's.
Unlucky in love, but his twenty-year old girlfriend hasn't murdered him. He hasn't been arrested for beating up his wife or girlfriend. No drug arrest, DUI's, off-the-field mayhem. Polite, cheerful, confident.
Watching Colin Montgomerie talking about how he sizes up a hole, and calmly eliminates the risk on the journey from tee to green is a real joy. After five holes, he's three under, and not even playing brilliantly. His constant question is: 'What presents the least risk here? How do I take out the variables?'
He mentions that he won the 'Greens in Regulation' stat six out of seven years. He's standing in the middle of the fairway, and says: It's no mystery. It's easy to do that from here, as opposed to there(pointing to the rough).
Never defeated in Ryder Cup singles matches, 1991-2006.
Mom and Dad, if you're looking for a sports hero for Junior, OldSouth nominates Colin.
The Really Great Thing About Not Having a Conscience Is...
The line that made Joe Wilson lose his temper, and his better sense of judgment, in BHO's health care speech was the one in which Himself claimed that illegal aliens would not participate in the Brave New Program.
Joe erupted, there was a lot of hand-wringing on all sides, but language was quietly inserted to require that everyone participating prove citizenship or residency eligibility, and provided an enforcement mechanism.
All-in-all, not too bad a thing.
Until today, when BHO announces His Solution: Exclude illegal aliens, yes, but let's make sure that all the illegals are legalized.
Easy-peasy!
This from the Washington Post.
President Obama said this week that his health care plan won't cover illegal immigrants, but argued that's all the more reason to legalize them and ensure they eventually do get coverage.
He also staked out a position that anyone in the country legally should be covered - a major break with the 1996 welfare reform bill, which limited most federal public assistance programs only to citizens and longtime immigrants.
"Even though I do not believe we can extend coverage to those who are here illegally, I also don't simply believe we can simply ignore the fact that our immigration system is broken," Mr. Obama said Wednesday evening in a speech to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. "That's why I strongly support making sure folks who are here legally have access to affordable, quality health insurance under this plan, just like everybody else.
Mr. Obama added, "If anything, this debate underscores the necessity of passing comprehensive immigration reform and resolving the issue of 12 million undocumented people living and working in this country once and for all."
Why, with that done, we can provide in-state college tuition(and the requisite financial aid), liar mortgages, and (ta-da!!) voter registration to them as well.
We'll just securitize those mortgages and student loans, sell them to unsuspecting rubes in Eastern Europe and Indonesia, and if we keep a firm majority in both houses, no one will ever be able to do more than whine about it.
The really great thing about not having a conscience is that you can live completely unmolested by any sense of shame. Words are just noises one makes to accomplish one's aims. No real meaning there, except for the poor fools who hear them and still think they have significance.
We are a long way from recovery. The central banks can print money and pump it to the marketplace forever, and it just won't matter. At the heart of this dilemma lies a profound ethical bankruptcy, located in the souls of those we have allowed to lead us for far too long.
The culture shapes the economy long before the economy shapes the culture...
Joe erupted, there was a lot of hand-wringing on all sides, but language was quietly inserted to require that everyone participating prove citizenship or residency eligibility, and provided an enforcement mechanism.
All-in-all, not too bad a thing.
Until today, when BHO announces His Solution: Exclude illegal aliens, yes, but let's make sure that all the illegals are legalized.
Easy-peasy!
This from the Washington Post.
President Obama said this week that his health care plan won't cover illegal immigrants, but argued that's all the more reason to legalize them and ensure they eventually do get coverage.
He also staked out a position that anyone in the country legally should be covered - a major break with the 1996 welfare reform bill, which limited most federal public assistance programs only to citizens and longtime immigrants.
"Even though I do not believe we can extend coverage to those who are here illegally, I also don't simply believe we can simply ignore the fact that our immigration system is broken," Mr. Obama said Wednesday evening in a speech to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. "That's why I strongly support making sure folks who are here legally have access to affordable, quality health insurance under this plan, just like everybody else.
Mr. Obama added, "If anything, this debate underscores the necessity of passing comprehensive immigration reform and resolving the issue of 12 million undocumented people living and working in this country once and for all."
Why, with that done, we can provide in-state college tuition(and the requisite financial aid), liar mortgages, and (ta-da!!) voter registration to them as well.
We'll just securitize those mortgages and student loans, sell them to unsuspecting rubes in Eastern Europe and Indonesia, and if we keep a firm majority in both houses, no one will ever be able to do more than whine about it.
The really great thing about not having a conscience is that you can live completely unmolested by any sense of shame. Words are just noises one makes to accomplish one's aims. No real meaning there, except for the poor fools who hear them and still think they have significance.
We are a long way from recovery. The central banks can print money and pump it to the marketplace forever, and it just won't matter. At the heart of this dilemma lies a profound ethical bankruptcy, located in the souls of those we have allowed to lead us for far too long.
The culture shapes the economy long before the economy shapes the culture...
Long Drive, Much Caffeine, Random Thoughts
On the road, driving to Chicago via Louisville. The coffee consumed to keep me awake behind the wheel worked! It's after 2:00, and I'm still buzzing! (Note to self: Moderation is a virtue.)
There is an abundance of warehouse and retail space going begging between Louisville and Indianapolis. A nice subdivision with a nine-hole golf course south of Indy with plenty vacant lots still available. All this not unexpected, nearly two years after the bubble popped.
However, the drive into an old neighborhood of Indy to visit a friend was pretty shocking. She has been one of those brave 'homesteader' types a bank took a chance on, and she has done an admirable job with her life and house on her corner of the 'hood. Sadly, her efforts were not emulated around her, and the supply of boarded-up houses around her has really ballooned. I fear for every boarded-up property, there probably is at least another on the 'extend and pretend' plan. The abandoned factory down the street doesn't help, and no dent has been made in the drug trade. I begin to fear for her safety a bit more now. Luckily, she knows every cop on the beat, and they are keeping an eye out for her. But she needs a shotgun. And likely, a plan to move out that doesn't involve her taking a huge haircut.
I'm not sure, given the situation, that this will be possible in the near term.
She has done all the right things. Fixed-term mortgage on a solidly-built house bought at a very reasonable price. The house has always been her only debt. She is entreprenurial, hard-working, generous with her time and talent to the obvious need around her. She has delayed marriage and motherhood to build her own responsible life, unlike many of her friends.
Virtue is its own reward, and she is a happy and confident young lady. Could I find a way to clone her, I could make Bill Gates look like a pauper from the proceeds.
Here's a doff of the cap to her. She will ride out the storm. What if the bank had found ten of her to install into that neighborhood, instead of just one? What if they could be found going forward?
Ahh, finally, I drowse...
There is an abundance of warehouse and retail space going begging between Louisville and Indianapolis. A nice subdivision with a nine-hole golf course south of Indy with plenty vacant lots still available. All this not unexpected, nearly two years after the bubble popped.
However, the drive into an old neighborhood of Indy to visit a friend was pretty shocking. She has been one of those brave 'homesteader' types a bank took a chance on, and she has done an admirable job with her life and house on her corner of the 'hood. Sadly, her efforts were not emulated around her, and the supply of boarded-up houses around her has really ballooned. I fear for every boarded-up property, there probably is at least another on the 'extend and pretend' plan. The abandoned factory down the street doesn't help, and no dent has been made in the drug trade. I begin to fear for her safety a bit more now. Luckily, she knows every cop on the beat, and they are keeping an eye out for her. But she needs a shotgun. And likely, a plan to move out that doesn't involve her taking a huge haircut.
I'm not sure, given the situation, that this will be possible in the near term.
She has done all the right things. Fixed-term mortgage on a solidly-built house bought at a very reasonable price. The house has always been her only debt. She is entreprenurial, hard-working, generous with her time and talent to the obvious need around her. She has delayed marriage and motherhood to build her own responsible life, unlike many of her friends.
Virtue is its own reward, and she is a happy and confident young lady. Could I find a way to clone her, I could make Bill Gates look like a pauper from the proceeds.
Here's a doff of the cap to her. She will ride out the storm. What if the bank had found ten of her to install into that neighborhood, instead of just one? What if they could be found going forward?
Ahh, finally, I drowse...
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
A Proverb for Jimmy Carter, who thinks we're all racists...
A lawyer's proverb:
If you don't have the law, pound the facts.
If you don't have the facts, pound the law.
If you have neither, pound the table.
(Sound of flesh on hardwood...)
If you don't have the law, pound the facts.
If you don't have the facts, pound the law.
If you have neither, pound the table.
(Sound of flesh on hardwood...)
Hubris
Hubris is hubris.
Sometimes, it is the stuff screenwriters use to create funny characters such as 'Frazier' Crane, weekly hoisted on the petard of his own preening arrogance.
Journalists seem to live on the stuff.
This time, however, it got several people killed, who otherwise had a good chance of living out their normal lives.
A British family buries a beloved son. As does an Afghan family.
The journalist has a great tale to tell over his G&T's at whatever hotel bar he holds court in from here forward.
There is a book deal, with speaker bureau representation, in negotiations even now. Only the advance and deadlines need agreement. All in a day's work.
What piece of the movie and merchandise rights will our intrepid journalist claim?
OldSouth feels it coming...after a respectable wait, of course, followed by a tearful interview or two in tribute to those brave boys who died pulling his arse from the fire.
Oh, the horror and injustice of war, and I was there to record it, yea to experience it for you.
There is time, after all. The major book trade shows aren't until next June.
Sometimes, it is the stuff screenwriters use to create funny characters such as 'Frazier' Crane, weekly hoisted on the petard of his own preening arrogance.
Journalists seem to live on the stuff.
This time, however, it got several people killed, who otherwise had a good chance of living out their normal lives.
A British family buries a beloved son. As does an Afghan family.
The journalist has a great tale to tell over his G&T's at whatever hotel bar he holds court in from here forward.
There is a book deal, with speaker bureau representation, in negotiations even now. Only the advance and deadlines need agreement. All in a day's work.
What piece of the movie and merchandise rights will our intrepid journalist claim?
OldSouth feels it coming...after a respectable wait, of course, followed by a tearful interview or two in tribute to those brave boys who died pulling his arse from the fire.
Oh, the horror and injustice of war, and I was there to record it, yea to experience it for you.
There is time, after all. The major book trade shows aren't until next June.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The Kentucky Bank Orchard
Thanks again to Jesse for sharing this essay from Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor to Bill Clinton.
They are sober words, and the source should be considered. How will Obama and Company be able to disparage this man, a member of the transition team from last fall, as just another example of Racist AstroTurf?
I mean, the man is a professor at UC Berkley, for heaven's sake...
He tells us needs to be said: The bailouts not only did not change anyone's behavior, it actually poured fuel on the speculative fires. The first line of this excerpt is a clear reminder of how we have forgotten very simple ideas, and ideals, that make a society liveable: Banks exist to link savers to borrowers. They succeed when they serve both groups, and get to make a profit for their service.
Easy-peasy.
Long-forgotten.
The basic function of commercial banking in our economic system -- linking savers to borrowers -- should never have been confused with the casino-like function of investment banking. Securitization, whereby loans are turned into securities traded around the world, has made lenders unaccountable for the risks they take on.
In a tiny town in Kentucky I visit often, there is a little bank building, built some time ago. The original owners built the bank on the main drag, right by the train stop, and then...they planted a fruit orchard to surround it.
What a fabulous parable, a clear message to borrower and saver alike about how they intended to do business, for the long haul.
Every October, as I visit, I gather a couple of apples to take with me. No one objects, they are there for all to glean and take away.
The sweet taste of real success--for everyone--banker, saver, borrower, village, visitor passing by.
And, by the way, the tiny town seems to be doing fine, as I have watched it ride out twenty years of booms and busts.
The culture shapes the economy long before the economy shapes the culture...
They are sober words, and the source should be considered. How will Obama and Company be able to disparage this man, a member of the transition team from last fall, as just another example of Racist AstroTurf?
I mean, the man is a professor at UC Berkley, for heaven's sake...
He tells us needs to be said: The bailouts not only did not change anyone's behavior, it actually poured fuel on the speculative fires. The first line of this excerpt is a clear reminder of how we have forgotten very simple ideas, and ideals, that make a society liveable: Banks exist to link savers to borrowers. They succeed when they serve both groups, and get to make a profit for their service.
Easy-peasy.
Long-forgotten.
The basic function of commercial banking in our economic system -- linking savers to borrowers -- should never have been confused with the casino-like function of investment banking. Securitization, whereby loans are turned into securities traded around the world, has made lenders unaccountable for the risks they take on.
In a tiny town in Kentucky I visit often, there is a little bank building, built some time ago. The original owners built the bank on the main drag, right by the train stop, and then...they planted a fruit orchard to surround it.
What a fabulous parable, a clear message to borrower and saver alike about how they intended to do business, for the long haul.
Every October, as I visit, I gather a couple of apples to take with me. No one objects, they are there for all to glean and take away.
The sweet taste of real success--for everyone--banker, saver, borrower, village, visitor passing by.
And, by the way, the tiny town seems to be doing fine, as I have watched it ride out twenty years of booms and busts.
The culture shapes the economy long before the economy shapes the culture...
Sunday, September 13, 2009
And, from the UK Daily Mail
Estimates of 1 to 2 million people showing up today.
Don't know how accurate their count is, but the picture is impressive.
How does Obama explain this away?
Don't know how accurate their count is, but the picture is impressive.
How does Obama explain this away?
Washington Post Coverage of 9/12
Hand-lettered signs.
Carried by people who paid their own way to the rally.
30,000 registered online, but many many more showed up on their own.
You know...AstroTurf.
Pelosi can continue to believe that if she wishes.
Hand-lettered sign of the day: Having government manage your health care is like having Michael Vick watch your dog.
Carried by people who paid their own way to the rally.
30,000 registered online, but many many more showed up on their own.
You know...AstroTurf.
Pelosi can continue to believe that if she wishes.
Hand-lettered sign of the day: Having government manage your health care is like having Michael Vick watch your dog.
Even the NY Times Admits Something Is Happening--How About ObamaBob?
After months of disparaging reporting, breathlessly parroting the Dems line that the protests against the explosive growth of government are just so much 'AstroTurf', tens upon tens of thousands of ordinary citizens showed this morning in Washington, D.C.
Even the New York Times had to cover it.
It was huge.
It was loud.
It was undeniable.
Robert Gibbs, Himself's press secretary, professed to know nothing of it.
OldSouth is reminded of Baghdad Bob, who was briefing western reporters on the victorious forces of Saddam Hussein routing the infidels, while the US Marines were securing the block across the street from the hotel where Bob was holding the briefing.
Bob's link contains some of his most priceless quotes, as well as updates on his career since.
ObamaBob might want to get in touch with him. Everyone needs a mentor, and some former press secretaries, like Ron Nessen(who worked for Nixon) discovered the world can be a cold place for people with his sort of resume.
Even the New York Times had to cover it.
It was huge.
It was loud.
It was undeniable.
Robert Gibbs, Himself's press secretary, professed to know nothing of it.
OldSouth is reminded of Baghdad Bob, who was briefing western reporters on the victorious forces of Saddam Hussein routing the infidels, while the US Marines were securing the block across the street from the hotel where Bob was holding the briefing.
Bob's link contains some of his most priceless quotes, as well as updates on his career since.
ObamaBob might want to get in touch with him. Everyone needs a mentor, and some former press secretaries, like Ron Nessen(who worked for Nixon) discovered the world can be a cold place for people with his sort of resume.
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