Like, it's not really news, but...
According to Bose George, analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, the two government sponsored entities that buy mortgages from banks have zero value to common shareholders.
Zero. Zippo. Nada. These firms used to be the backbone of retirement accounts, 'cuz they were so safe and stable, remember?
Brain-dead and on life support. Bailed out to the tune of $100 billion, and probably going to need the other $300 billion before all is said and done.
Remember when Henry Paulson asked for authority to bail these clowns out, assuring everyone he probably wouldn't need to use it? Just in case, you know.
And, they'll be with us for decades, we can't get rid of them. Or, at least, no one yet has developed the courage to drive the stake in their hearts.
At least Mr. George did:
It should come as no surprise that we cannot advise holding these shares, and at this point we think these shares are little more than a tool for speculators.
Actually, the better movie title would be 'Night of the Living Dead'.
This would be funny, except my unborn grandchildren will be paying for it, cursing our memory as they do it. For their sake, if not for ours, we must find a way to peacefully and effectively end this nonsense.
Have we thought about what happens to a culture if we teach that the most outrageously irresponsible among us earn access to the public purse?
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Slathering More Moral Hazard Onto The Culture: First-Time Home Buyers Tax Credit
Calculated Risk: WSJ: IRS Examining Many Suspicious First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit Claims
So, if the new homeowner doesn't have a tax bill over 8K, and buys that house for the first time, the guv'mint sends him or her a freaking check! Not a carryover of tax credit into future years, as is usually done, say, when a large loss is sustained by a taxpayer.
They send Joe or Jane Homeowner a check. They can take it to the bank, cash it, and put it in their pocket.
The potential for fraud, up and down the line of the home sale transaction is huge.
All to keep the real-estate market pumped up a few more months.
Even admitting fraud exists, the realtors want to extend the program, and expand it!
A spokesman for the National Association of Realtors, Lucien Salvant, said, "Any time there is a lot of money around, there is going to be people attracted to it with evil intent."
Housing-industry officials recently have stepped up their lobbying for an extension of the credit. In a letter to the Obama administration on Monday, the National Association of Realtors, the National Association of Home Builders and the Mortgage Bankers Association called for a 12-month extension of the credit. They also asked that the tax break be extended to all home buyers -- not just first-time purchasers -- and noted that they were urging Congress to expand its value.
Heaven help us.
So, if the new homeowner doesn't have a tax bill over 8K, and buys that house for the first time, the guv'mint sends him or her a freaking check! Not a carryover of tax credit into future years, as is usually done, say, when a large loss is sustained by a taxpayer.
They send Joe or Jane Homeowner a check. They can take it to the bank, cash it, and put it in their pocket.
The potential for fraud, up and down the line of the home sale transaction is huge.
All to keep the real-estate market pumped up a few more months.
Even admitting fraud exists, the realtors want to extend the program, and expand it!
A spokesman for the National Association of Realtors, Lucien Salvant, said, "Any time there is a lot of money around, there is going to be people attracted to it with evil intent."
Housing-industry officials recently have stepped up their lobbying for an extension of the credit. In a letter to the Obama administration on Monday, the National Association of Realtors, the National Association of Home Builders and the Mortgage Bankers Association called for a 12-month extension of the credit. They also asked that the tax break be extended to all home buyers -- not just first-time purchasers -- and noted that they were urging Congress to expand its value.
Heaven help us.
Wall Street's Naked Swindle : Rolling Stone
A little over a year ago, I was scouring every article and source I could find, attempting to understand the frightening events I was witnessing.
Deep Capture was a blog I stumbled over, but to my poor brain, it seemed too convoluted, and frankly too conspiratorial in tone. I didn't think it was credible, and after some attempts to read and absorb, I moved on.
I was wrong. The authors of Deep Capture were spot on.
What I had balked at was the style of writing, which, to my feeble brain, made the presentation hard to follow.
This article by Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone(of all places for an old fuddy-duddy like me to be reading) does a fabulous job of describing the outrageous criminality of both Wall Street and Washington at the top levels. It is numbing to ponder what has happened to us, while we were busily living our lives, raising our kids, going to church, and trying to keep the bills paid.
HT to Jesse, once again, for pointing it out. I sure as shootin' don't troll the pages of Rolling Stone!
I am grateful I was raised in a Southern church, because we were taught how to navigate our Bibles as children. The book of Judges is not light reading, as it describes how the most blessed nation on the face of the earth came apart at the seams, due to its own moral blindness and stupidity. The line is repeated several times, but is most pointedly used at the very end, inserted, I am certain, by the rabbinical editors just to make the point one last lamenting time:
In those days, Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.
The narrative later moves to Samuel, who in response to popular demand, anoints a secular king, while warning the Hebrew Children of the horrific consequences attached. Rather than restrain their own behaviour, they opt for Saul, who turns out to be paranoid, and disastrous.
The problem wasn't the lack of a king. The problem was the lack of an ethical rudder.
Heaven help us.
Deep Capture was a blog I stumbled over, but to my poor brain, it seemed too convoluted, and frankly too conspiratorial in tone. I didn't think it was credible, and after some attempts to read and absorb, I moved on.
I was wrong. The authors of Deep Capture were spot on.
What I had balked at was the style of writing, which, to my feeble brain, made the presentation hard to follow.
This article by Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone(of all places for an old fuddy-duddy like me to be reading) does a fabulous job of describing the outrageous criminality of both Wall Street and Washington at the top levels. It is numbing to ponder what has happened to us, while we were busily living our lives, raising our kids, going to church, and trying to keep the bills paid.
HT to Jesse, once again, for pointing it out. I sure as shootin' don't troll the pages of Rolling Stone!
I am grateful I was raised in a Southern church, because we were taught how to navigate our Bibles as children. The book of Judges is not light reading, as it describes how the most blessed nation on the face of the earth came apart at the seams, due to its own moral blindness and stupidity. The line is repeated several times, but is most pointedly used at the very end, inserted, I am certain, by the rabbinical editors just to make the point one last lamenting time:
In those days, Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.
The narrative later moves to Samuel, who in response to popular demand, anoints a secular king, while warning the Hebrew Children of the horrific consequences attached. Rather than restrain their own behaviour, they opt for Saul, who turns out to be paranoid, and disastrous.
The problem wasn't the lack of a king. The problem was the lack of an ethical rudder.
Heaven help us.
Monday, October 19, 2009
What the Morehouse Man Wears-A 'No Cross-Dressing Zone'
Three cheers for Robert Franklin, President of Morehouse College, who has imposed a civilized dress code upon his campus.
Here are some of the policy's features:
* Caps, do-rags and hoods are banned in classrooms, the cafeteria and other indoor venues. Do-rags may not be worn outside of the residence halls.
* Sunglasses may not be worn in class or at formal programs.
* Jeans may not be worn at major programs such as convocation, commencement or Founder's Day.
* Clothing with "derogatory, offensive and/or lewd messages either in words or pictures" may not be worn.
* "Sagging," defined as "the wearing of one’s pants or shorts low enough to reveal undergarments or secondary layers of clothing," is banned.
* Pajamas are banned in public areas.
* Wearing of "clothing associated with women’s garb (for example, dresses, tunics, purses, handbags, pumps, wigs, make-up, etc.)" is banned. (Morehouse educates only male students.)
Three guesses about which item on the list has created a tizzy amongst the politically correct.
TimeZup! The last item, which addresses cross-dressing by a few of the students.
It will be interesting to see how the SensitiveLeft will go about beating Dr. Franklin up on this one. After all, he's no Jerry Falwell.
But he knows that ethics matter.
Ethics shape culture, which shapes the economy.
Green Shoots nominee here!
Here are some of the policy's features:
* Caps, do-rags and hoods are banned in classrooms, the cafeteria and other indoor venues. Do-rags may not be worn outside of the residence halls.
* Sunglasses may not be worn in class or at formal programs.
* Jeans may not be worn at major programs such as convocation, commencement or Founder's Day.
* Clothing with "derogatory, offensive and/or lewd messages either in words or pictures" may not be worn.
* "Sagging," defined as "the wearing of one’s pants or shorts low enough to reveal undergarments or secondary layers of clothing," is banned.
* Pajamas are banned in public areas.
* Wearing of "clothing associated with women’s garb (for example, dresses, tunics, purses, handbags, pumps, wigs, make-up, etc.)" is banned. (Morehouse educates only male students.)
Three guesses about which item on the list has created a tizzy amongst the politically correct.
TimeZup! The last item, which addresses cross-dressing by a few of the students.
It will be interesting to see how the SensitiveLeft will go about beating Dr. Franklin up on this one. After all, he's no Jerry Falwell.
But he knows that ethics matter.
Ethics shape culture, which shapes the economy.
Green Shoots nominee here!
Somebody, Find Cranmer
Cranmer is a popular UK blogger, commenting on both theology and politics, always employing an erudite wit.
Two days ago, his post was distressed, out of character, and deeply disturbing.
He hasn't surfaced since.
The outpouring of responses has been moving to read, but the question remains: Where is he, and is he safe?
Someone in the UK undoubtedly knows who this man is. It's time for his friends to check in on him, because there is a really clear undertone in his last post that he may attempt to hurt himself.
In the meantime, let our prayers go up for him. There is a 'fellowship of the saints', and it's time for them to circle the wagons around him.
Two days ago, his post was distressed, out of character, and deeply disturbing.
He hasn't surfaced since.
The outpouring of responses has been moving to read, but the question remains: Where is he, and is he safe?
Someone in the UK undoubtedly knows who this man is. It's time for his friends to check in on him, because there is a really clear undertone in his last post that he may attempt to hurt himself.
In the meantime, let our prayers go up for him. There is a 'fellowship of the saints', and it's time for them to circle the wagons around him.
Feminism's Freedom Fighter
Feminism's freedom fighter.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali has put her life on the line to defend women against radical Islam.
And she continues to do so, thoughtfully, courageously, saying the things the Left hates to hear.
Amongst them, these words:
To be a community of free people, you have to defend that freedom tooth and nail, and for this country to remain vital, you have to understand that freedom is a very, very vulnerable institution. It's something you have to keep defending, and the only way to achieve that is intolerance of intolerance.
Kudos to the American Enterprise Institute for their support of this brave woman.
I hope you take time to read this interview, and then ask a simple question:
Now why was it Our Beloved Leader was given the Nobel Peace Prize?
Ayaan Hirsi Ali has put her life on the line to defend women against radical Islam.
And she continues to do so, thoughtfully, courageously, saying the things the Left hates to hear.
Amongst them, these words:
To be a community of free people, you have to defend that freedom tooth and nail, and for this country to remain vital, you have to understand that freedom is a very, very vulnerable institution. It's something you have to keep defending, and the only way to achieve that is intolerance of intolerance.
Kudos to the American Enterprise Institute for their support of this brave woman.
I hope you take time to read this interview, and then ask a simple question:
Now why was it Our Beloved Leader was given the Nobel Peace Prize?
El Sistema Arrives in The US
El Sistema, the transformational program that lifts kids out of poverty via music study, will launch in the US.
Three cheers and more.
Music education in the United States has been abysmally done, and for all the wrong reasons, for decades now. I lose count of the numbers of recitals I have endured where students were attempting to perform big pieces of literature, studying with teachers who hadn't taught them scales!
The kids are often cannon fodder in the brush-war rivalries between teachers (and some parents). Those few who do continue in university programs have to be disassembled and reassembled by the faculty, because they arrive so abysmally prepared. My college-teacher buddies sport thinning gray hair--what hasn't been torn out has been turned...
This is a true Green Shoot for the culture. Here's hoping it is embraced, and not suborned, by the US.
Three cheers and more.
Music education in the United States has been abysmally done, and for all the wrong reasons, for decades now. I lose count of the numbers of recitals I have endured where students were attempting to perform big pieces of literature, studying with teachers who hadn't taught them scales!
The kids are often cannon fodder in the brush-war rivalries between teachers (and some parents). Those few who do continue in university programs have to be disassembled and reassembled by the faculty, because they arrive so abysmally prepared. My college-teacher buddies sport thinning gray hair--what hasn't been torn out has been turned...
This is a true Green Shoot for the culture. Here's hoping it is embraced, and not suborned, by the US.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
A Perennial Green Shoot--The Music of Herbert Howells
In honor of Howells' birthday, a performance of perhaps his most-loved choral anthem, 'Here Is The Little Door', sung by Chanticleer:
Text by Frances Chesterton:
Here is the little door, lift up the latch, oh lift!
We need not wander more but enter with our gift;
Our gift of finest gold,
Gold that was never bought nor sold;
Myrrh to be strewn about his bed;
Incense in clouds about his head;
All for the Child who stirs not in his sleep.
But holy slumber holds with ass and sheep.
Bend low about his bed, for each he has a gift;
See how his eyes awake, lift up your hands, O lift!
For gold, he gives a keen-edged sword
(Defend with it Thy little Lord!),
For incense, smoke of battle red.
Myrrh for the honoured happy dead;
Gifts for his children terrible and sweet,
Touched by such tiny hands and
Oh such tiny feet.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Engineering Matters! (Or, Why We'll Be Shopping for a Volvo)
My bride says: 'Watch out for that(WHAM!)'
The airbags worked, the seat belts worked, the brakes and steering systems remained intact, as did the battery cables. The desperate 'Are you OK?' question, and 'Let's get out of the car, this smells hot. Grab the laptops, and let's go!'
The doors opened without a hitch, and we walked away with bruises only. The emergency flashers worked, and a good Samaritan found us and called 911. (It took 35 minutes for the deputies to arrive. A volunteer fireman drove up on the scene and directed traffic in the pitch black.)
So, a public word of thanks to the Volvo engineers and technicians we will never meet, who in the mid-1990's designed and assembled the car that kept us alive. The people who made sure the airbags were properly installed come to the top of the list.
And, literally, we thank Heaven. A few inches either way, and one of us may have had to plan a funeral. No shoulder on the road, ditches on either side, bounded by thick forest.
When we encountered the buck, the car had just shy of 418,000 miles on it, original engine and tranny. The suspension didn't eat the tires. We kept the oil changed, would need the brakes inspected at the next oil change and rotation. The paint job was faded, and we needed to order a new cruise control kit.
It just ran. And saved our lives.
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