Soot and Ashes: The World AFTER the Crash

Gone Fishin

2010-04-16T07:02:00.003+01:00

Too much laggard teabagging pessimism and ignorance around here.

Good luck America.

Enjoy the boom.

Don't forget that we're simply monkeys, floating on a rock through space

2010-04-15T21:11:00.002+01:00

And at any moment, it could be over.

And one day, maybe sooner than you expected, you will die.

Enjoy your trip.

This just in - Tea Partiers are idiots

2010-04-15T05:44:00.007+01:00

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."

- Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love, 1963

Here it is folks.

Tea Partiers are idiots.

Sure, a few of 'em aren't. But damn, just look at these stats, and it should be fairly obvious, if you're not an idiot, that the teabaggers are idiots. Maybe the should rename the party as the Know Nothing Party.

I know it would have been a natural for readers of HousingPANIC to be teabaggers. Hell, that's what Dick Armey wanted when he got a hold of me, to support his astroturf Angry Renter blog. But I quickly saw that the Ron Paul tea party money bomb movement was being co-opted by Fox News, the GOP, Karl Rove, Roger Ailes, Sarah Palin, Dick Armey and essentially the very same bastards that got us into this mess, and no way no how was I going to support 'em.

And then I saw who was showing up at the Fox News Tea Party rallies. A bunch of wingnuts. Fox News viewers. Republicans. Conspiracy theorists. Ignoramuses. Idiots.

Be mad at deficit spending and taxes, but you better be against Social Security, Medicare and military spending too. And boy, I hope you don't support the Dick Armey Fox News teabaggers. I hope you don't support the bastards who got us into this mess - from either side of the aisle. And I hope you're not an idiot.

Here's some gems from the teabagger survey:

59% of Tea Partiers think Obama was born in another country or don't know

Two thirds of Tea Partiers said they had a favorable opinion of Palin, 59 percent have a favorable opinion of Beck. Fifty-seven percent think well of former Republican President George W. Bush

66% of teabaggers think global warming will have no impact. Seriously.

88% say the economic stimulus has had no impact on the economy - 36% said it actually made the economy worse. I guess they never took an econ 101 class. Or noticed the gdp numbers.

62% support Social Security. Idiots. They want low spending, low taxes, but DON'T CUT MY GOVERNMENT CHEESE!

89% are white. 1% are black. Surprise!

92% say that Obama is moving the country toward socialism

54% identify as belonging to the GOP while 41% claim to be Independents. Just 5% are Democrats

75% don't believe that the president shares the values of most Americans

[UPDATE - GOP operatives crash the tea party]

Looks like the Glenn Beck pessimism porn folks are in trouble: "How America pulled itself back from the brink—and why it's destined to stay on top"

2010-04-14T08:47:00.007+01:00

One more time - HousingPANIC was about the shitstorm to come. And then it came. We crashed.

Soot & Ashes is about the world AFTER the crash.

March 2009 was the pivot.

We were pessimistic when the masses were optimistic. Now (some of us, especially those who read Manias, Panics and Crashes a few times) are optimistic, when the clueless masses are pessimistic.

Pivot.

Get out of your bunker.

Turn off Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Fox News.

We've got problems, but problems that can be solved. It was a hell of a storm, but storms pass. And if we're smart, we'll have learned some lessons, and we'll adjust.

Bottom line - I like America's chances.

Party time.

2011 - 2020.

But this one will be more tea and cookies, instead of hookers and cocaine.

And that's a good thing.

The Comeback Country

So what will our new economy look like once the smoke finally clears? There will likely be fewer McMansions with four-car garages and more well-insulated homes, fewer Hummers and more Chevy Volts, less proprietary trading and more productivity-enhancing software, less debt and more capital, more exported goods and less imported energy. Most significant, there will be new commercial infrastructures and industrial ecosystems that incubate and propel growth—much as the Internet did in the 1990s.

"A little learning is a dangerous thing"

2010-04-14T05:46:00.002+01:00

"A little learning is a dangerous thing; drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring: there shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, and drinking largely sobers us again."

Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism, 1709

You know, I don't think she knows that she's stupid.

And that's kinda funny, in a cute way, no?

And now a word from Lawrence Yun

2010-04-14T05:25:00.004+01:00

If you suck really, really, really bad at what you do, don't you usually lose your job?

And if you own investment real estate, and then you go out in a professional capacity in public and pump real estate, shouldn't you at least have to legally disclose your holdings, and conflict of interest?

A special message to angry, teabagging, underemployed and unemployed Americans, whose fake housing "wealth" has disappeared:

2010-04-13T12:23:00.005+01:00

This man didn't cause your problems.

This man did.

It may be convenient to blame the janitor for cleaning up the puke on the bathroom floor, but it would be stupid.

The "Ownership Society", corrupt deregulation and unchecked speculation and greed got us here. When we needed adults in charge, we got children. And of course, you're to blame too. You knew you couldn't afford that mortgage. And you should have known the home's P/E was out of whack.

Be angry, be upset. But look in the mirror, and look who was in charge when the problems could have been averted. To do otherwise is delusional.

"How to Get Dummies to Believe Fake Movements are Real"

2010-04-13T05:19:00.003+01:00

Has SNL done one on Dick Armey and the tea party yet?

For the 16% of you here that self-identify as 'tea baggers', you are being conned. But deep down you probably know that anyway.

Imagine the worst. "al Qaeda are .. trying to secure a nuclear weapon -- a weapon of mass destruction that they have no compunction at using"

2010-04-12T04:37:00.010+01:00

Serious question - what would be the impact on humanity, and the future of world events, should terrorists set off a nuke in New York City? Or Mumbai? Or Paris? Or Moscow? And threatened that they had 5 more to go.

First, imagine that it happened.

What would be the impact? On the world economy. On how countries like India, Russia, China, the UK and the US dealt with foreign and domestic terrorists. On how people who lived in big cities felt and behaved. On political discourse in the US.

If one went off in Mumbai, would that be much different than one that went off in New York? Why? If one went off that killed 1 million, would that be much different than one that killed 10 million? Why? If one went off, who would be put to blame?

No jokes.

Because it's not a joke. With loose nukes and loose nuke material, combined with corrupt and incompetent government, military and science officials, the unimaginable could and should be imagined. And when Obama proposes increased efforts and funding to lock down nukes, and when the new START treaty with Russia comes to the Senate, those who oppose for political advantage or profit should be exposed.

It just takes one.

“We know that organizations like al Qaeda are in the process of trying to secure a nuclear weapon -- a weapon of mass destruction that they have no compunction at using... If there was ever a detonation in New York City, or London, or Johannesburg, the ramifications economically, politically, and from a security perspective would be devastating.”

- President Obama, April 2010

You get one life.

2010-04-11T22:58:00.010+01:00

Isn't life too short to be a realtor?

Isn't life too short to live in Newark. Or Detroit. Or Las Vegas?

Isn't life too short to be a tea bagger, or Fox News zombie?

Isn't life too short to spend it buying cheap crap you don't need at Walmart?

Jumping off cliffs in wing suits might be the answer for some. Raising a family and living a moral life might be the answer for others.

Just remember, life is short.

Enjoy it.

Republicans 2001 - 2008: the out-of-control, unregulated, drunk-on-power girl in the red dress. America 2010: the girl in white.

2010-04-11T07:01:00.002+01:00

It's not just that the Republicans got out of control, and took the world down with them.

No, it's that everyone stood around and watched, and did nothing, until it was too late.

Watch out for girls in red dresses. After they sober up, and everyone's forgotten what they've done, they'll come right back another night and do it all again.

Watch out for girls in red dresses.

The Worst Town in America? "UNLV survey reveals 40 percent of Las Vegans would leave Nevada if they could"

2010-04-10T05:23:00.002+01:00

I was actually surprised by this poll.

Only 40%?

Man, thought that number would be higher.

Life's too short to live in a realtor-infested-suburban-nightmare-morally-and-culturally-bankrupt-soon-to-be-out-of-water-hell-hole like Las Vegas.

Get out, people of Las Vegas. Get out. Now.

[If Las Vegas isn't America's Worst City, what is?]

LAS VEGAS -- Las Vegas was once the fastest growing city in the nation, but the recession hit, and now a record number of people want to move out of the valley. A UNLV survey reveals 40 percent of Las Vegans would leave Nevada if they could. The question is why are these people leaving Las Vegas?

Las Vegas has grown from a gambling outpost to the entertainment capital of the world. It was just a few years ago, Las Vegas was a thriving town... A symbol of growth, a Mecca for opportunity. But then the housing market crashed, gaming was down on its luck, and unemployment skyrocketed.

Shocking video showing the destruction of America

2010-04-09T03:41:00.003+01:00

Play Video

Is there a way to make the evil blue dots go away?

Taking advantage of dummies for money 101. Realtors and phishers? Of course. Glenn Beck? Dude conned America to the tune of $30 million in '09.

2010-04-08T16:41:00.006+01:00

I gotta give it to Glenn Beck, he knows his history.

His P.T. Barnum.

His Father Coughlin.

His Rush Limbaugh.

His Joseph McCarthy.

Back when he was doing pie-in-the-face radio gags, I wonder in his wildest dreams if he thought he could create a character that would eventually go on to make $30 million a year. But so he has, and the money will keep pouring in. TV show, books, radio, speeches, merchandise, gold advertisements, you name it, he's his own industry. And Fox News is his pusher.

I like Glenn Beck. He entertains me.

But I worry about America. I'm not sure they're in on the gag?

Glenn Beck Earned $32 Million In 2009

Just how handsomely does it pay to be one of the most controversial men in America? For Glenn Beck, $32 million.

Beck, who became a household name in 2009, pulled in the shocking sum through a revenue stream that includes books, radio, TV, digital media, and speaking fees.

Interestingly, Forbes reports that Beck's Fox News contract is the least lucrative of all his ventures.

According to the Forbes analysis, Beck earned $12 million from book sales thanks to his "profit participation co-venture with Simon & Schuster typically reserved for authors like Stephen King." He has a five-year, $50 million contract with Premiere Radio Networks that netted $10 million for the year. His website, supported by both ads and an "Insider" subscription service as well as retail merchandise sales, brought in another $4 million. Speaking fees and events like his "Bold Fresh Tour" with Bill O'Reilly earned him $3 million, and his Fox News contract brought in $2 million. Add in a final $1 million from his Fusion magazine, and Beck had a $32 million year.

KyrgyzstanPANIC

2010-04-07T20:55:00.004+01:00

Man, I wish they knew how to do this in China.

Or Iran.

Or in America back in 2003.

Seriously, in the past couple of years, I'm surprised this hasn't happened more. Greece, Spain, Ireland, Iceland, Russia, China, Thailand, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Hungary, Ukraine, Moldova, Bulgaria, Romania, Dubai, Mexico, America - all the housing bubble countries, especially the ones with corrupt governments, should have went up like a tinderbox.

Money bombs and police states can only hold back the tide so long.

Here's Jim Grant destroying Alan Greenspan, Ayn Rand and by association the idiots who followed them while America burned

2010-04-07T20:06:00.006+01:00

I despise Alan Greenspan.

I laugh at Ayn Rand and her greedy, self-centered, ignorant, as*hole followers.

I don't think it's possible for the two of them to be more discredited at this point. Now, and forever.

Being an Ayn Rand follower should disqualify anyone from the Fed, or any public office. They're a danger to America. Watch out for them. They'll screw you every time.

Makes sense now, don't it?

2010-04-07T03:01:00.002+01:00

Forget your troubles. Come on, get happy.

2010-04-06T19:57:00.002+01:00

Get out of the bunker.

Seriously.

Get out of the bunker.

I dare you to get happy.

For awhile at least.

Hell, you're paying for it. Might as well enjoy the party.

(anyone wonder if this cheap-money no-regulations party will end just as badly if not worse than the last one?)

Forget your troubles
Come on get happy
You better chase all you cares away
Shout halleluja
Come on get happy
Get ready for the judgement day

The sun is shining
Come on get happy
The lord is waiting to take your hand
Shout halleluja
Come on get happy
We're going to the promise land

So, looking back on it, how close did we come?

2010-04-06T04:54:00.002+01:00

So, if it wasn't for the $10 trillion money bomb, the 0% interest rates, the stimulus bill and the bank bailouts, would it have been a World-Weekly-News-worthy depression-of-all-depressions? People eating dogs in the streets, ATMs not working, 50% unemployment, martial law imposed?

How close were we to total economic Armageddon?

Yes, this is called "piling on". Sean Hannity needs to apologize to the families of Oklahoma City. And that audience of his should be ashamed.

2010-04-05T18:30:00.003+01:00

Sarcasm and joking around end when it comes to 9/11 and Oklahoma City.

And if you're ever in an audience, and you're referred to as "Tim McVeigh Wannabe's" or anything like that, you don't cheer.

Never.

Not in the America I remember.

Too bad there wasn't an American hero in that audience that day. One who would have taken the insult, rushed the stage, grabbed the microphone out of the multi-millionaire's hands, and told him to go f*ck himself.

No, you don't expect people to do good things at Hannity/Fox News rallies.

Just the opposite.

They cheered.

They cheered.

I've waited 20 years for a simple device to access the internet. That's it. And now the wait is (almost) over. The iPad is here.

2010-04-04T19:48:00.008+01:00

100 years from now, this day will be seen as a historic day. They'll still have an internet, of course, and it will be everywhere. They'll think of life before the internet as the "dark ages". They'll have no comprehension as to how we survived, or learned, or communicated, or thrived, without it. And they'll wonder what took us so long to develop a device to take the internet with us. Everywhere. As it should be. As it should have been all along.

And now Apple has found a way to take the internet everywhere. As it should be. As it should have been all along.

Apple will eventually become the largest company on the planet by market cap. Bigger than Exxon. Bigger than Walmart. Bigger than GE and P&G combined.

Why?

Because they invented magical products and services, loved by their consumers, and were miles ahead of their competition. Steve Jobs is a genius, but Jonathan Ive is from outer space. Between the two of them they changed the world. They showed everyone what American (and British) ingenuity looks like. And they simply changed the world.

Apple's competitors will get stories planted poo-poohing the iPad. Laggards will complain about this and that. And some of you will see lines to buy an iPad as consumerism run amok.

For me, I see the iPad as a dream come true. And I see it not as a product - a noun - but as a verb. It's not a computer. It's simply the internet. Information. Knowledge. Newspapers. Magazines. Films. Games. Ball games. Encyclopedias. Phone calls. Books. TV Shows. Stocks. Travel reservations. Blogs. In bed. At the pub. In the john. At the cafe. On a plane. In Bulgaria. In France. In Texarkana. Everywhere.

As it should be. As it should have been all along.

Bravo Apple.

Bravo.

(disclosure - of course I still own Apple stock. And now they need to get iPad to Europe ASAP!)

Happy Easter

2010-04-03T18:59:00.000+01:00

From S&A: "Top 10 Ways You Know You're a Tea-Bagger"

2010-04-02T12:58:00.007+01:00

1) You've conveniently forgotten who got us into this mess

2) You only watch Fox News, morning, noon and night

3) You call yourself a christian, but you hate poor people, and think if you're sick and uninsured you should just go ahead, suffer and die

4) You didn't go to college, and if you did your degree is of Sarah-Palin-quality

5) You hate science, you hate scientists, you don't understand evolution, you dismiss global warming, and you think dinosaurs and humans roamed the earth together

6) You have guns in your house. Lots of 'em.

7) You're in a dead-end career, or you've already lost your job

8) You enjoy your government benefits, but you don't want to pay taxes to the socialist US government

9) Tim McVeigh, the Branch Davidians, Eric Rudolph and Scott Roeder are heroes of yours

10) You're a sucker born every minute. Even if you don't know it.

[bonus edits...]

11) You're white

12) You're easily conned

Read this book: The Next 100 Years, by George Friedman (STRATFOR).

2010-04-02T04:33:00.002+01:00

Easily the best non-fiction book I've read this year.

HP and S&A have been about what comes next. And although nobody can accurately predict the future, some do come close.

Get popcorn. Enjoy The American Century. Watch Poland and Turkey. Say goodbye to old dying decaying Western Europe. Get ready for us to start PAYING people to come to America. Wait for drone wars, country break-ups and space power. And seriously, read this book. It's a fun one.

The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century

Sean Hannity admits the truth. His supporters, the Tea Baggers, are simply "Tim McVeigh Wannabes". Wow.

2010-04-01T21:22:00.005+01:00

Pretty sick to see the audience cheer at that one. You know, instead of recoiling in horror. Instead of booing. Instead of walking out in droves.

Tim McVeigh - hero of the right? The Original Tea Bagger? Are you serious? Are we no longer Americans?

At this rate folks, they won't be simply "wannabes".

No, I'm afraid, soon, they'll be the real thing.

Dead innocent women and babies. Assassinated politicians. Domestic terrorist bombings. Militia crazies doing their thing.

Why? Because Fox News, Sean Hannity, Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, Dick Armey and the rest of their ilk called for it. Encouraged it. Asked for it by name.

I think they did it for the money. I think scum like Hannity and Beck simply sold their souls for a buck. But soon enough, they'll have (even more) blood on their hands. And you have to wonder, at that point, will they have any shame?

Don't hold your breath.

NEWSFLASH! GUAM MAY TIP OVER!

2010-04-01T20:16:00.004+01:00

Why do we put morons in Congress?

Serious question.

Utter, complete, total morons.

I guess in total though Congress is indeed a good representation of America. Morons, corrupt criminals, religious whackos, sexual deviants and the insane.

Nice job American voters.

Perma-Bears and Tea Baggers will hate this post

2010-03-31T21:31:00.005+01:00

HousingPANIC was about the shit-storm to come. Before people knew. And then it came.

Soot & Ashes was the pivot, from crash to recovery. Before people knew. And then it came.

Even my March 2009 "green shoots" call was rejected by 94% of readers here, although it was the EXACT bottom, perhaps to the hour, but it doesn't matter, history proved me right yet again. Perma bulls get slaughtered. Perma bears get slaughtered. Smart and open-minded people who read Manias, Panics and Crashes do OK.

And now, a year later, it's nice to see The Economist on it yet again. Their "In Come the Waves" article was hands-down, without-question the single best piece of reporting during the Great Bubble. And this piece, "A Special Report on America's Economy", is one of the best pieces I've seen during the recovery.

So many of you are still (wrongly) perma-bears. Still sickeningly Glenn-Beck-Fox-News-Tea-Bagger negative. Still stuck in 2007, and 2008. And still see so much as what's going on as the future, when instead it's a trailing indicator. You have no hope, you think we'll never recover, you're angry, you want problems and not solutions, and, as always, you're wrong. Dead wrong.

The US is rising from this disaster, whether you want it to or not. We fired the corrupt GOP f*ckers who got us into this mess, and we're rooting out the corrupt f*ckers now on both sides of the aisle who want to keep us down.

We hired a great president, not just a good one, but a great, for-the-history-books one, even if he is to be hated or killed in his time.

We realized that the current path was unsustainable. We accounted for (most of) the bad debts. We took the 30% - 50% haircut on home prices. We stopped the stupid lending. And we got on a long, long path, that will eventually take us to solvency and fiscal and social responsibility. Eventually.

Now is the time for radical change, and radical change we shall have. Health care. Social Security. Medicaid. Medicare. Energy policy. Taxes. Trade. Education. Fiscal policy. Social policy. Infrastructure. The military. Transportation. Gays and civil rights. Commerce. Immigration. NCAA football playoffs. Internet devices. Pop culture. The American brand. Views on religion. Scientific knowledge. How we get our news.

You name it, everything will soon change. Dramatically. Like it or not, everything will soon change. There will be ups, and there will be sickening oh-dear-god downs, but everything, for the better, will now change.

So buckle up. Get out of the bunker. Bet on America. Bet on knowledge. Bet on change.

In the end, as always, you'll win.

Sarkozy to America: "Welcome to the club of states who don't turn their back on the sick and the poor"

2010-03-31T05:27:00.001+01:00

"Welcome to the club of states who don't turn their back on the sick and the poor... The very fact that there should have been such a violent debate simply on the fact that the poorest of Americans should not be left out in the streets without a cent to look after them... is something astonishing to us."

-French President Nicolas Sarkozy, telling Americans who despise taxes, government services and poor people (of course, that is, funny enough, until they need, consume or qualify for government services, or become poor - then they love their government cheese) his views on America, March 2010

Welcome to the FoxNews.com Hot Sex Channel

2010-03-31T01:09:00.000+01:00

I dropped by FoxNews.com, to check in on attractive missing blonde girls, porn stars, hot celebrities and sex tapes. And no, Fox News did not disappoint!

Oh, there was some stupid stuff about politics and ugly old men too. But I skipped right over that.

Gotta love Roger Ailes. Genius. Suck 'em in with hot babes, christian paranoia and some American flags, and then feed them your corporate-sponsored GOP political hypnosis.

Genius.

Straight from foxnews.com yesterday - you know, the right wing family values conservative christian network - here you go. You can't make this stuff up folks. Bill Loofah O'Reilly must be in heaven.

Mindy McCready Sex Tape

EXCLUSIVE: Troubled country star in explicit sex tape, talks about alleged affair with Roger Clemens, others | NSFW: VIDEO COVER
'Hot Tub' Hot Stuff

MAXIM MONDAY: Lyndsy Fonseca, John Cusack's girlfriend in 'Hot Tub Time Machine,' talks about her zebra-striped, spandex cat suit in the movie...
Bombshell Blindsided

Jesse James' tattooed lover thought they were an item, until she watched the Oscars, dad says | DO YOU WISH YOU HAD JESSE'S GIRLS?
Eat Your Heart Out Reg!

FOX411: Kim Kardashian looks to have bounced back nicely from last week's breakup with Reggie Bush | KIM'S TWIT PICS
More Stars Without Makeup

BEFORE/AFTER: Brooke Mueller looks worse for wear from the drama surrounding her marriage. How do other stars fare without the warpaint?

VS Model Dreams of Curves

POP TARTS EXCLUSIVE: Alessandra Ambrosio may seem perfect to us but she wishes she could beef up one body part ... | VICTORIA'S SECRET ALL STARS

Uchitel Longs for Privacy ...

Yet, she still showed up at gossip blogger Perez Hilton's birthday bash, where she bragged that anybody would want to be her friend | RACHEL HOT SHOTS
Kate's 'DWTS' Disaster

More trouble for Gosselin on 'Dancing With the Stars' as her partner threatens to quit during rehearsals and judge slams her performance as a 'nightmare'
'I Won't Be Edited'

FOX411: Heidi Montag, famous for editing her own body with multiple procedures, looks forward to life after 'Hills' | HEIDI'S

I think this is a joke. An SNL sketch. A gag. But like a lot of things on Fox News, I'm not quite sure.

2010-03-30T16:34:00.004+01:00

I guess nobody else in America was available to have on Fox News?

Wow.

At one point, you'd figure the Fox News news actors would be like "OK, this is a gag, right?" and cut it off. And you'd figure they wouldn't make the mistake of having crazy lady keep coming back to reinforce their tea party narrative.

I love Fox News. Best entertainment channel on the TV, bar none.

Tea Baggers are gettin' angry. They're "on their last piece of chewing gum" if you know what I mean.

2010-03-29T19:16:00.005+01:00

Man, I hope the FBI and Secret Service are staffing up.

Hate and rage sure goes good with some country music, don't it?

And why are they so angry at the government? Shouldn't they start with the realtors? Or maybe the people no longer in government who got us into this mess?

We wondered where the rage was, when the crooks were getting away with the loot. Well, the rage finally came, albeit too late. And stay tuned. Some kooks are going to go over the edge soon enough.

How'd that buying cheap crap from China at Walmart work out for you Americans?

2010-03-29T07:46:00.005+01:00

You did it to yourselves. You offshored your jobs. You sold you soul. You gutted your downtowns. You destroyed your small businesses. You permanently altered your way of life.

All because of you love cheap crap from China, more than your fellow (now jobless) man.

Such a shame. It didn't have to be this way.

Enjoy your trip today to Walmart.

Try not to notice the blight on your way there.

US Unemployment Rate

Goodbye US manufacturing jobs.

2010-03-28T06:31:00.000+01:00

Americans used to make things. And then they purchased things that other Americans made.

And then came Walmart, corrupt and incompetent unions, bad management at GM, lots of robots, idiots in DC, and, of course, communist China.

Well, I guess everyone can work at Walmart. Or maybe they can build robots and have their robot go to work for them?

BTW, are charts supposed to do that?

Jon Stewart destroys Glenn Beck

2010-03-24T04:06:00.001Z

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Conservative Libertarian

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Reform

Epic.

(FYI traveling, back Sunday)

Hate. Rage. Danger. Ignorance. Disinformation. Self Enrichment.

2010-03-23T13:04:00.000Z

History will be brutal.

We've seen as*holes like these guys before.

Don't worry. Eventually the people wise up, and they go away.

"We followed the most radical voices in the party and the movement, and they led us to abject and irreversible defeat." - Bush speechwriter David Frum

2010-03-22T15:34:00.004Z

There are some adults left in the Republican Party.

Not many.

Some.

And the adults know the truth. That their party has been hijacked by whackos, liars, discredited hacks, con artists, ignoramuses, lobbyists, the military industrial complex and corporations. And that even though the American population's memory is short, and they may soon escape the blame for the economic catastrophe they caused our land, and they may soon escape blame for leading us into an idiotic and unjustifiable war, they won't be able to escape trying to score political points while attempting to sabotage the Obama presidency. They won't be able to escape not working in good faith toward good policy, and good government.

Because, yet again, they failed. Epic fail. Yet again.

They failed their party. They failed their nation. They failed.

And America is better off for it.

I know I've seen these angry ignorant racist white teabagger mobs before...

2010-03-21T13:31:00.007Z

I saw them here...

I saw them here...

I saw them here...

I saw them here...

And, of course, I see them here...

If you're a "Tea Party" member, you're associating yourself with right wing racist ignorant intolerant thugs, sponsored by Fox News, the GOP and FreedomWorks.

The "Tea Party" is now a Republican/Fox News/FreedomWorks/Corporate-Sponsored movement of paranoids, racists, ignoramuses, fringe right wingers and thugs.

You know, just like the ones we've seen time after time, bringing shame to America.

History, again, will not be kind.

Finally

2010-03-21T09:39:00.002Z

Good.

Evil.

What side are you on?

Without comment.

2010-03-19T20:00:00.003Z

Been there. Done that. From 1989: "Is Government Dead?"

2010-03-18T08:51:00.004Z

Twenty years have gone by, and still no solution for America's biggest problems - Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, health insurance, financial regulation, manufacturing, energy reinvention, and of course, the deficit.

Twenty years.

But soon you'll be able to take health insurance off that list. Next must come entitlements. You think Congress and Obama are unpopular today? Wait until they (rightly) try to touch the social security retirement age. Or try to defuse the medicaid/medicare $61 trillion timebomb.

People (especially selfish baby boomers) want the streets paved with gold. They want to be treated as children. They want services, but they don't want to pay for them - they want to leave that up to their kids. And they elect leaders who promise them everything will be fine, no need for change, until the day when the whole ponzi scheme unravels (and that day is getting close).

The incumbents are going to lose their jobs anyway. Maybe they'll do the right thing for the nation on the way out the door.

Fix this mess now. Or else history will not be kind.

Hint - I think history will not be kind.

Health Insurance Overhaul Open Thread

2010-03-17T21:07:00.004Z

Have at it.

Think it's gonna pass?

Five years from now, will this help the Dems or the Reps more?

And as part of your comments, share your health insurance status.

Flash: Realtors Care!!! They're Superheroes!!! Here's proof: "Realtors Care Nevada Foreclosure Councelling"

2010-03-17T16:22:00.006Z

Realtors care?

Uh, then can we have all those commissions back?

And what's their angle? They want the foreclosure listing no doubt. And they want people who got foreclosed to be able to buy houses again ASAP. Gotta make that commission!

Bloodsuckers. Leeches. Cockroaches. Realtors. Made money lying to people on the way up, made money screwing people on the way down, making money hand-over-fist off the very people they screwed on the way back up. Giving that "comprehensive and unbiased advice" you know.

Every day is a good day to make a commission!

A message to the corrupt and paranoid communist leaders of China: Go f*ck yourselves.

2010-03-16T21:35:00.006Z

Hey, everyone get down to Walmart today?

I wonder if S&A is censored in China. I'm doing all I can.

OVERTHROW YOUR LEADERS, BRAVE PEOPLE OF CHINA!

Man, it must be hard to mind-control 1.3 billion people. This can't last much longer, can it?

Oh, for a good and swift revolution.

Meet GOP hack and uber-corporate-lobbyist Dick Armey, the scum who brilliantly hijacked the 'tea party' movement

2010-03-16T04:50:00.006Z

Don't forget, HP'ers were really amongst the first 'tea partiers'. Amongst the first to promote, and then endorse, Ron Paul. Amongst the first to support his 'money bombs', which became 'tea party money bombs', which then became essentially a Ron Paul tea party movement.

And then, seemingly overnight, probably because of a meeting over brandy and canapes with Rove, Armey, Gray, Ailes and Murdoch, it became the GOP Fox News Dick Armey Corporate Lobbyist Angry Renter Astroturf Fake Blog Hijacked Fool the Idiots Into Voting For the People Who Caused the Mess Tea Party Movement.

Brilliant. Seriously, brilliant. Watching Fox News, the GOP, Karl Rove and Dick Armey hijacking the tea party movement is only equaled to watching the GOP hijacking christians after Watergate. As if jesus would be a supporter of the rich and the corporations over the poor and the people. As if people angry at the corruption and incompetence of government leading America to financial ruin would support the corrupt fools who were in charge for eight years.

Brilliant. Flipping brilliant.

So, here he is, again, Dick Armey. Founder of fake astroturf quasi-housing-panic blog "angry renter". Founder of Freedom Works, and bankroller of the now-fake "tea party" debacle.

I detest Dick Armey, and everything he's about. One of the most destructive men of the past twenty years. This man is a scoundrel, pure and simple, absolute disgusting scum. But damn, he's good. Brilliant at what he does. And confirms that people really are that stupid.

Dick Armey's 'tea party' history is a strange brew

Dick Armey is intellectually versatile: The former leader of House Republicans went from being a rainmaker for a Washington lobbying firm to being the unofficial leader of the anti-Washington "tea party" movement.

Worth watching again - Mike the Discredited Hack Norman, Tom the Discredited Hack Adkins and Peter Schiff, 2006

2010-03-15T08:26:00.002Z

It's tough to do a victory dance when the entire world economy has collapsed, but I guess you all can take some solace in the fact that you were right. Dead-on, historically right. And hacks like Norman and Adkins will live in shame forever. Thank you youtube. Thank you internets.

"What artificial lending standard are you talking about" - Mike Norman, clueless idiot full of bravado but little knowledge, December 2006

"You're gonna see prices go up" - Tom Adkins, spinner of misinformation so as to earn a commission, December 2006

(btw, did you know that Tom Adkins, the Fox News caveman hair realtor, was doing the Fox Business News anchor Brenda Buttner at that point? True story. Even though Fox didn't disclose it. Makes you wonder who Mike Norman was doing.)

Jesus is Here. (so, are you gonna buy an iPad?)

2010-03-14T11:02:00.005Z

Lots of Americans think America sucks now. That it's doomed. That this recession will never end. That there's no future. That America is falling behind. That we don't make things anymore (correct - we don't make them, but we design them). That we're raising a generation of lazy idiots. That we've lost our edge. That we don't lead anymore. That we're doomed.

Sure. We still have realtors lurking amongst us. Nobody big got arrested for the housing bubble scam. Our politicians are incompetent and corrupt. And Sarah Palin is seen as a 'political leader'.

But I submit Apple. And the iPad.

And for good measure, I submit Google, Amazon, FedEx, Facebook and In-and-Out Burger. For starters. Great innovative American companies, great products, great services, brilliant people, and if we're gonna get out of this mess, our saviours.

(and I can't wait to get my hands on one of the little iPad buggers. And yes, of course, I still own AAPL).

Runaway Toyota Hoax realtor "I think about 95 per cent of the realtors filed bankruptcy". Yup. And now I bet they'll all get Toyotas.

2010-03-13T07:37:00.008Z

1) get real estate license

2) gamble in real estate

3) fail

4) foreclose home, steal appliances on way out, do some insurance fraud, declare bankruptcy

5) come up with a new con

6) watch incompetent mainstream media buy it hook line and sinker (again)

7) get exposed by blogs

8) fail again

I wonder what other con game realtors will get into next. More insurance fraud? Maybe survival seed farms for tea partiers? Start a hedge fund? Run for Congress? Oh, no, wait, I know, that can still be realtors! Because people are too clueless to realize they're the conmen who got us into this mess in the first place, and love giving them their hard-earned money!

Harry Reid (finally) shows some spine, basically tells Mitch McConnell and his insurance-company-funded henchmen to go F themselves

2010-03-11T23:47:00.008Z

Maybe next he'll demand that the GOP actually fillibuster next time. You know, bring out the cots and see how long these coddled old white men can go. See if they can keep it up for a week or a month or a year.

Now THAT would be worth seeing.

Here's Droopy Dog Harry, giving corrupt piece of sh*t Mitch McConnell the bizness. And yes, even though I favor Reid on this one, I can't stand the both of 'em.

"Given this history, one might conclude that Republicans believe a majority vote is sufficient to increase the deficit and benefit the super-rich, but not to reduce the deficit and benefit the middle class. Alternatively, perhaps Republicans believe a majority vote is appropriate only when Republicans are in the majority. Either way, we disagree.”

-Harry Reid, growing a pair, March 11, 2010

You may not know it yet, but there's a good chance you've been hypnotized.

2010-03-11T00:01:00.000Z

It's all just one big formula.

But you knew that. Right?

(Oh, and if you're a Fox News viewer, add in the "you're under attack" narrative - you know, christians, whites, straights, republicans, kkk members, militia members, gun owners, businessmen, the rich, young blonde girls. whatever. just fill in the blank.)

2006, just as housing started an epic and historic collapse. Suzanne from Century 21: "This listing is special John. You guys can do this!"

2010-03-09T04:00:00.000Z

Now fast-forward to today's conversation:

Husband: "Our home dropped 50%, we're $300,000 below water, you've lost your job at the bank, we've blown through our savings, and we can't even short sale this debt trap!"

Wife: "I TOLD YOU I DIDN'T WANT TO BUY THIS HOUSE YOU FAT IDIOT! WHY DID I EVER LET YOU TALK ME INTO IT! I HATE YOU! AND I'M SLEEPING WITH YOUR BROTHER!"

Ring, ring, ring, ring

On speakerphone, it's Suzanne

Suzanne: "Hi guys, it's Suzanne!!! How is my favorite couple doing? Ready to trade up to a nicer home?"

(sound of gunfire erupts)

(hint - realtors aren't superheroes. never forget.)

URGENT FRAUD ALERT - TREASURY DEPT CONSIDERS HAVING REALTORS ON COMMISSION SET 'FAIR PRICE' FOR SHORT SALES, FEDS TO BRIBE FAILED HOUSING GAMBLERS

2010-03-08T08:19:00.007Z

Oh. Dear. God.

Either they're corrupt, or they're idiots. One or the other.

If this news is to be believed, the Treasury Department is going to try to stimulate short sales, and as part of the process they're going to have lenders enlist REALTORS ON COMMISSION to tell them what a fair price should be for a short sale property.

Not appraisers (who are corrupt anyway and got us into this mess). Not government-hired investigators. Not CPA's.

No, they're going to ask REALTORS ON F*CKING COMMISSION. You know, the ones who will MAKE A F*CKING COMMISSION when the short sale goes through, they're going to ask what the fair price of a home is.

ARE YOU F*CKING KIDDING ME?

SERIOUSLY, ARE YOU F*CKING KIDDING ME?

HEY GOVERNMENT - EVER HEAR OF A THING CALLED ZILLOW.COM? EVER HEAR OF AN HONEST REALTOR? AND PLEASE, JUST GET THE F*CK OUT OF THE HOUSING MARKET. YOU'RE ONLY MAKING IT WORSE.

Please, MSM and bloggers, pay attention to this issue. This is, I believe, the single worst idea and single worse government meddling scheme I've seen during this whole housing fiasco, and it must be stopped.

From the report:

Under the new federal program, a lender will use real estate agents to determine the value of a home and thus the minimum to accept. This figure will not be shared with the owner, but if an offer comes in that is equal to or higher than this amount, the lender must take it.

And wait, it gets worse. The govenment is going to PAY HOUSING GAMBLERS WHO GAMBLED AND LOST to short sale their homes. Seriously. THEY'RE GOING TO PAY FAILED GAMBLERS $1,500 IN COLD HARD TAXPAYER CASH:

To bring the various parties to the table — the homeowner, the lender that services the loan, the investor that owns the loan, the bank that owns the second mortgage on the property — the government intends to spread its cash around.

Under the new program, the servicing bank, as with all modifications, will get $1,000. Another $1,000 can go toward a second loan, if there is one. And for the first time the government would give money to the distressed homeowners themselves. They will get $1,500 in “relocation assistance.”

When I see John Boehner, I see used cars.

2010-03-08T04:42:00.001Z

Well, when this whole politician thing doesn't work out, maybe he can be a realtor.

No, check that. Even John Boehner probably wouldn't sink that low.

(p.s. - is he trying to be black?)

(p.s.s. - follow the money)

The top donor to Boehner's leadership PAC in 2003-2004 was SLM Corp., the Reston, Virginia-based student-loan company better known as Sallie Mae. SLM contributed $65,170 to Boehner's Freedom Project, more than twice as much as the second-biggest donor, New York-based Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The money came as the House Education and Workforce Committee, which Boehner chairs, prepared to write new legislation governing student loans.

In 1995, Boehner handed out campaign checks from the tobacco industry to members on the House floor at a time when lawmakers were considering eliminating a tobacco subsidy.

Americans 1980 - 2010: "A criminal generation that had selfishly and blithely ignored clear warnings"

2010-03-05T16:11:00.000Z

For those of you selfishly and ignorantly on the wrong side of history, all I can say is history will not be kind. Your kids will come to hate you.

And their kids. And their kids. And their kids. And their kids. And their kids. And their kids. And their kids. And their kids. And their kids.

For those of you thankfully on the right side of history, that's all and good. But what are you personally doing about it?

We Can’t Wish Away Climate Change
By AL GORE

It would be an enormous relief if the recent attacks on the science of global warming actually indicated that we do not face an unimaginable calamity requiring large-scale, preventive measures to protect human civilization as we know it.

Of course, we would still need to deal with the national security risks of our growing dependence on a global oil market dominated by dwindling reserves in the most unstable region of the world, and the economic risks of sending hundreds of billions of dollars a year overseas in return for that oil. And we would still trail China in the race to develop smart grids, fast trains, solar power, wind, geothermal and other renewable sources of energy — the most important sources of new jobs in the 21st century.

But what a burden would be lifted! We would no longer have to worry that our grandchildren would one day look back on us as a criminal generation that had selfishly and blithely ignored clear warnings that their fate was in our hands. We could instead celebrate the naysayers who had doggedly persisted in proving that every major National Academy of Sciences report on climate change had simply made a huge mistake.

I, for one, genuinely wish that the climate crisis were an illusion. But unfortunately, the reality of the danger we are courting has not been changed by the discovery of at least two mistakes in the thousands of pages of careful scientific work over the last 22 years by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In fact, the crisis is still growing because we are continuing to dump 90 million tons of global-warming pollution every 24 hours into the atmosphere — as if it were an open sewer.

Everyone's all freaked out about Greece's debt, draconian cutbacks, and possible default. Here's an easy solution. Just mortgage the Greek Islands.

2010-03-04T14:58:00.004Z

Seems like a no-brainer. Greece needs about $20 billion from France and Germany, and they need some cash for a few years until they can get their sh*t in order.

Fine.

Instead of just loaning them the cash, and having the German taxpayers guarantee the loans against default (stupid, stupid, stupid), go ahead and loan them the cash, just like any company in receivership, but have 'em put up the Greek Islands as collateral. Default on the loans, lose the islands. Or enough of 'em to back up the loans. Might just take a few.

Same goes with Spain, Portugal, Iceland, etc. Want loans? No problem. Put up assets, just like everybody else. The EU as one big pawn shop.

And next time, don't listen to realtors on commission and bankers on bonus. They'll screw you every time. It's not like the Euro was real anyhow.

A special note to all current and former Hummer owners. Go f*ck yourselves.

2010-03-03T19:30:00.002Z

History will not be kind.

Funny in a sick way how many realtors and mortgage brokers bought Hummers, eh?

Please join me in spitting on any of 'em that you see.

RayNLA lays down the hammer to the six percenter who said realtors on commission are "superheroes"

2010-02-28T16:27:00.000Z

Ka-plam! Ka-booshie!

Someone just got PWND!

"Now look were we are! Now we have you along with Hank Paulson calling yourselves heroes? I got an idea for you. Call one of your clients that you sold a house to in July of 2006 and ask him if he thinks you are his hero!!!"

-RayNLA, laying down the hammer of truthiness, February 2010

245,087 realtors on commission down, 1,112,645 to go

2010-02-27T05:52:00.005Z

A nice 18% cull in the past few months.

Got buggy whip?

Got ramen?

Got internet?

[Memo to REALTORS - Life's too short to lie and deceive for a commission. Life's too short to be a REALTOR. Go find honest work. You'll be glad you did. Maybe a job that doesn't spell its name ARROGANTLY IN ALL CAPS. Or one where you don't have to put your glamour shots photo on your business card]

Field Guide to NAR Membership Statistics

2000	1,524	766,560
2001	1,502	803,803
2002	1485	876,195
2003	1,471	976,960
2004	1,453	1,102,250
2005	1,445	1,265,367
2006	1,442	1,357,732
2007	1,443	1,338,001
2008	1,437	1,197,529
2009	1,420	1,112,645

Got Monkey?

2010-02-26T20:22:00.003Z

(have I mentioned that I can't stand stupid and ignorant people?)

The spades don't like it too much when you call a spade a spade, right to the spade's face.

2010-02-25T06:12:00.000Z

I can't stand both parties. 'nuff said.

But on this never-ending healthcare debate, isn't it clear who's for the insurance companies and who's against them?

Bravo to Anthony Weiner for getting up and calling the republicans out for being insurance company bitches. I wonder why they objected? Just stating fact. Just like the GOP could stand up and call the democrats a wholly owned subsidiary of the trial lawyers. Again, just stating fact.

Should be good political theatre Thursday. Meanwhile, the US healthcare "system" is a joke.

Fly, winged monkeys, fly!!!

2010-02-24T16:59:00.004Z

There's a post on realtor circle-jerk site Active Rain today about realtors on commission being superheroes.

'Nuff said.

Fly.

The comments, until they delete them, should be brutal. They need to know. They need to hear just how low their profession has sunk.

(man, I miss HP sometimes)

The Realtor as Super Hero

Glenn Beck 2012.

2010-02-23T11:06:00.001Z

I like Glenn Beck.

He entertains me.

But I'm twisted. I like watching people trip on the sidewalk. I like the failblog. So yes, in a sick and twisted way, I like Glenn Beck. He entertains me.

He's our P.T. Barnum. He's our Eugene McCarthy. He's our Barry Goldwater. He's our Chuck Barris. He's our Ginsu Knives guy. And he's a genius at what he does. Just like when he was doing AM radio slapstick. He's a genius at what he does.

So, since the GOP is going to implode (again) in 2012, before it splits into two parties, let's go out with a bang.

Beck 2012.

(god help us all. isn't democracy fun?)

Want to understand something interesting? Read this report. Then read this book. And you'll know more about EMP's than you'll want to.

2010-02-21T17:50:00.007Z

Here's the report.

And here's the book

Boy, I'd sure miss diet cokes. Pizza. The internet. And hot showers. And would've wished I had a sick amount of guns, ammo and canned goods (instead of none).

How 'bout you?

(and isn't it too bad you don't read about stuff like this in the MSM?)

I think I've found the Tea Party's 2012 candidate. Or Sarah Palin's running mate. Epic Beard Man.

2010-02-21T09:59:00.003Z

Yup, he fits the bill.

He'd be a great write-in candidate in the 2010 races too, if you're looking to throw your vote away.

(you can check out the big fight here)

If you wonder why I'm so anti-Tea Bagger party, here's why. It's not real. It's Dick "Angry Renter" Armey and his corporate masters fooling fools

2010-02-15T20:46:00.007Z

I got an email once in the housingpanic days from Dick Armey, in the form of "AngryRenter.com". Something about helping drive traffic to his "grass roots" housing bubble website. Of course, it didn't mention that it was Dick Armey (and Fox News, and Steve Forbes).

No, it supposedly was from a little guy, fighting back against corporate interests, starting a little blog.

Ha.

So, of course, I smelled a rat, did some digging, and found out it was just Dick. Being a dick. Pretending to be "grass roots". When it was all about serving his corporate masters, just like he did when he was the Republican majority leader in the House, leading the United States to ruin.

Don't be a dick. Don't be fooled. It's just sooooooooooooooooo obvious. Dick Armey and his "Freedom Works" and "Angry Renter" and "Tea Bag" and "Glenn Beck" and "Fox News" crap is bullshit. And if you support any of it, ANY of it, you are a fool.

I repeat. You are a fool.

[But hey, if you watch Fox News and believe that bullshit, I guess it's already established that you are a fool. Nothing to see here. Move along.]

The 28th, 29th and 30th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America

2010-02-14T21:15:00.003Z

The government of the United States is broken.

The corrupted US Congress, and the disgusting political-hack-stacked Supreme Court can't, and won't, fix it.

So it's time for the people to take it into their own hands, and get it done.

Seriously.

It's time to get it done.

It's time to amend the Constitution.

(a little help with the language from any lawyer-types appreciated)

28th Amendment

Legislation passed by 50% plus one vote of the seated members of each chamber by the House of Representatives and the Senate and then signed by the President shall become law.

29th Amendment

Senators shall serve a maximum term of two six year terms without the ability to be re-elected to the Senate in their lifetimes. Representatives shall serve a maximum of five two year terms without the ability to be re-elected to the House of Representatives in their lifetimes. Supreme Court Justices shall serve a maximum of 10 years without the ability to be re-appointed to the Supreme Court in their lifetimes.

30th Amendment

Only Natural Born Citizens (Individuals) of the United States shall be able to contribute financially to United States political campaigns or political parties or political interest groups or political advertising, or directly to any candidate for any political office in the United States, on any level or by any method, with financial contribution limits and penalties for disregard to be determined regularly by Congress for national political offices and by State legislatures for State political offices.

Both parties are hopeless. Kill them (the parties). Starve them. Don't give them a penny. And vote 'em out. All of 'em.

2010-02-14T18:10:00.006Z

Man, I hope there's some good choices in 2010 and 2012.

And no, voting for a Republican to replace a Democrat is not a choice.

Independents, if they run, will win.

Period.

Deal with it. You're PWND.

2010-02-13T19:00:00.003Z

I've found the Sarah Palin / Tea Bagger anthem. Sing along everyone. No, check that. Don't. Please. Don't.

2010-02-12T19:08:00.004Z

Make it stop America.

You're embarrassing yourselves.

Seriously.

Make it stop.

Prussian Blue: Victory Day | Viral/Other | SPIKE.com

Well sit down and listen, to what I have to say. There soon will come a great war, a bloody but holy day. And after that purging, our people will be free, and sing up in the bright skies, a sun for all to see…….

Times are very tough now for a proud White man to live. And although it may appear that this world has no life to give. well, Times are soon changing, this cant go on for long. And on that joyful summer’s day, we’ll sing our Victory song…..

And the women, they’ll smile, on Victory Day. And the children, they’ll laugh and they’ll sing and they’ll play. And the forests will echo our grace, for the brand new dawn of our Race…

You are my brother and in war we proudly sing. Our Cause shall never tire. Our gift to you we bring: A holy creed of Racial purpose, as a mighty Race to defend. And when we fly our holy flag Their oppressive reign shall end….

And the women, they’ll smile, on Victory Day. And the children, they’ll laugh and they’ll sing and they’ll play. And the forests will echo our grace, for the brand new dawn of our Race…

And when we finally conquer, our people will be free. And all across this great land, the bold Truth we shall see. So as we march together, to avoid catastrophe, let’s remember always our sacred Destiny….

And the women, they’ll smile, on Victory Day. And the children, they’ll laugh and they’ll sing and they’ll play. And the forests will echo our grace, for the brand new dawn of our Race…

2012

2010-02-11T21:45:00.001Z

And this was too good to pass up too...

2010-02-03T03:37:00.000Z

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Q & O

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Crisis

Had to come back to say this: Sarah Palin, you are f*cking retarded

2010-02-02T21:45:00.003Z

Seriously, is anyone still buying her sh*t?

Sucker born every minute if that's the case. As she laughs her way all the way to the bank.

Obama chief of staff’s 'retarded' insult brings fallout, Palin criticism

[traveling, but yeah, I'll be back. Eventually]

Hittin' the Road

2010-01-28T18:26:00.004Z

You know the drill..

Sam Alito. A historical mistake. An embarrassment. And just one more corrupted Republican, f*cking over the American people, serving his masters.

2010-01-28T05:36:00.009Z

Ah, nice to see Sam Alito running for Joe Wilson's seat. And nice to see Obama calling him out.

Good speech tonight by Obama. Too bad talk won't get anywhere. Too bad the GOP, and their corporate interests, after running the country into the ground, wants to run the country further into the ground.

I'm not sure who's unfavourables increased more tonight - Alito's, or the GOP's. At least with the GOP, after they were exposed, they were tossed on their asses.

With Alito and his ilk, we're stuck. Perhaps for a generation to come.

Will Russia soon invade the United States, now that Sarah Palin isn't standing guard?

2010-01-25T18:55:00.000Z

I'm getting worried.

Now that Sarah Palin is whoring herself out to Fox News, is anyone watching the border with Russia?

I mean, at any moment, we may be looking at Red Dawn 2.

I'm afraid.

Without Sarah Palin to protect us, is there any hope?

S&A proposes a constitutional amendment to ban corporate funding of US candidates and campaigns

2010-01-25T00:28:00.009Z

So, John Roberts and his corrupted corporatist GOP-installed Supreme Court wants to give corporations the same rights as individuals? He and the four other corporatist pigs on the Court want to reverse decades of settled law, so that Exxon and Wal-Mart can install candidates of their liking ?

There's one way to trump 'em.

There's one way to save the nation.

It's time for a constitutional amendment to ban companies from further meddling in US elections. An amendment that would define the rights of The People, versus the rights of Corporations, when it comes to free speech and elections.

Call it the F*CK YOU EXXON amendment.

It was sickening to see this decision, but it was even more sickening to see the GOP and pigs like Mitch McConnell back it, thinking it would help them win elections.

Don't they realize that liberal companies like Google and Microsoft have a bunch of money too?

This isn't a left-right thing. It's an America thing. And corporations should NOT have the same rights as individuals. What next, they have a right to marry? A right to vote? What a joke.

John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Sam Alito, Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy were wrong, dead wrong, last week. How warped is their thinking? Their version of this passage would now read:

We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all CORPORATIONS are created equal, and with their funds are superior to the common man. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, the pursuit of Happiness, and Domination over the State and the People.

This judicial error exists because the Constitution and its amendments do not specifically define the rights of corporations versus man. 200 years of settled case law, and prior Supreme Courts not stacked with GOP corporatist pigs, had held a decent status quo. But now that the Supreme Court has been bought, it is up to the People to do what is needed, urgently, via an Amendment.

Time to fix this error. Time to smack down the five activist fringe GOP judges currently polluting the Supreme Court. Quick. As in this year. Before Exxon and friends run roughshod over the US political system, even more than they are today.

And now a word on secret societies.

2010-01-24T12:33:00.005Z

Shame. John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia and Sam Alito have (again) shamed the Supreme Court, and their nation.

2010-01-22T08:15:00.007Z

Worst decision of my lifetime. Worst decision in 150 years. Shameful. Disgusting. And just goes to show you that the corporate takeover of America is now complete. Halliburton will be proud. The Bilderbergs and Skull & Bones will be pleased. Exxon and Wal-Mart will see their ROI.

As of today, we are all their bitches. We are owned. We are enslaved.

Shame.

Shame on them. And shame on the American voter for letting it happen.

At what point does your country no longer deserve your support? Are we now there?

The Supreme Court removes important limits on campaign finance

FOR MORE THAN a century, Congress has recognized the danger of letting corporations use their wealth to wield undue influence in political campaigns. The Supreme Court had upheld these efforts. But Thursday, making a mockery of some justices' pretensions to judicial restraint, the Supreme Court unnecessarily and wrongly ruled 5 to 4 that the constitutional guarantee of free speech means that corporations can spend unlimited sums to help elect favored candidates or defeat those they oppose. This, as the dissenting justices wrote, "threatens to undermine the integrity of elected institutions across the nation."

This result was unnecessary because the court's conservative majority -- including supposed exemplars of judicial modesty -- lunged to make a broad constitutional ruling when narrower grounds were available. It was wrong because nothing in the First Amendment dictates that corporations must be treated identically to people. And it was dangerous because corporate money, never lacking in the American political process, may now overwhelm both the contributions of individuals and the faith they may harbor in their democracy.

Democrat leadership meeting, January 20, 2010

2010-01-21T06:08:00.004Z

You gotta love the Dems. Ushered in with a landslide, and the overwhelming support of the people a year ago, after eight disastrous years of Cheney and the GOP.

And then they screw the pooch. They don't listen to the people. They (try to) do whatever the f*ck they want to do. And they fail.

But hey, that's what makes them Dems

Incompetent. Corrupt. Political idiots. Pussies.

Say goodbye to them as they get ushered out in 2010. And say hello to the corrupt, dimwitted and evil Republicans that replace 'em.

Republicans play chess. Democrats, well, what can you say. They give Reid and Pelosi the ball, and let them destroy the party.

And maybe that's not a bad thing.

The anti-Democrat anger is here, it is building, and in November 2010 it will be fierce. "Throw the bums out. All of them" will rule the day.

2010-01-19T14:51:00.003Z

Obama and the Dems will learn what happens when you follow Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.

They'll learn what happens when you don't do the things that were promised, and completely piss off your base.

They'll learn what happens when you're in charge during 10%+ unemployment (no matter if it was your fault or not).

They'll learn what happens when you tax and spend, and do nothing about the deficit or entitlements bomb.

They'll learn what happens when you try to work with the GOP.

They'll lose.

Big time.

Historically.

And we'll be right back to being led by the corrupt and brain-dead Republicans who got us into this mess.

God Bless America.

Isn't anarchy fun?

Get ready to vote 'em all out in 2010. Democrats and Republicans. And then in 2012, do it again. And in 2014, do it again. And in 2016, do it again.

RON PAUL UNLOADS: " We have broken from reality, a psychotic nation.. We must escape from the madness of crowds.. prepare for revolutionary changes.."

2010-01-17T07:13:00.007Z

This, folks, is a beautiful speech, an important speech (thank you blogs and internet). And possibly a historic speech, depending on what comes next. Remember, first they ignore you...

"Prepare for revolutionary changes in the not too distant future" Ron Paul says.

Maybe.

Maybe.

Depends on stock and home prices of course, and what's on Idol.

After all, this generation of speculative, lazy and coddled Americans has proven time and time again that they enjoy taking it lying down. As long as home prices go back up, and something good is on the telly, no sweat.

Quite simply, we may be the French of the new millennium. Easily deceived. Believing the lies. And taking it lying down.

Until it was too late.

“Could it all be a bad dream, or a nightmare? Is it my imagination, or have we lost our minds? It's surreal; it's just not believable. A grand absurdity; a great deception, a delusion of momentous proportions; based on preposterous notions; and on ideas whose time should never have come; simplicity grossly distorted and complicated; insanity passed off as logic; grandiose schemes built on falsehoods with the morality of Ponzi and Madoff; evil described as virtue; ignorance pawned off as wisdom; destruction and impoverishment in the name of humanitarianism; violence, the tool of change; preventive wars used as the road to peace; tolerance delivered by government guns; reactionary views in the guise of progress; an empire replacing the Republic; slavery sold as liberty; excellence and virtue traded for mediocracy; socialism to save capitalism; a government out of control, unrestrained by the Constitution, the rule of law, or morality; bickering over petty politics as we collapse into chaos; the philosophy that destroys us is not even defined.

We have broken from reality--a psychotic Nation. Ignorance with a pretense of knowledge replacing wisdom. Money does not grow on trees, nor does prosperity come from a government printing press or escalating deficits.

We're now in the midst of unlimited spending of the people's money, exorbitant taxation, deficits of trillions of dollars--spent on a failed welfare/warfare state; an epidemic of cronyism; unlimited supplies of paper money equated with wealth.

A central bank that deliberately destroys the value of the currency in secrecy, without restraint, without nary a whimper. Yet, cheered on by the pseudo-capitalists of Wall Street, the military industrial complex, and Detroit.

We police our world empire with troops on 700 bases and in 130 countries around the world. A dangerous war now spreads throughout the Middle East and Central Asia. Thousands of innocent people being killed, as we become known as the torturers of the 21st century.

We assume that by keeping the already-known torture pictures from the public's eye, we will be remembered only as a generous and good people. If our enemies want to attack us only because we are free and rich, proof of torture would be irrelevant.

The sad part of all this is that we have forgotten what made America great, good, and prosperous. We need to quickly refresh our memories and once again reinvigorate our love, understanding, and confidence in liberty. The status quo cannot be maintained, considering the current conditions. Violence and lost liberty will result without some revolutionary thinking.

We must escape from the madness of crowds now gathering. The good news is the reversal is achievable through peaceful and intellectual means and, fortunately, the number of those who care are growing exponentially.

Of course, it could all be a bad dream, a nightmare, and that I'm seriously mistaken, overreacting, and that my worries are unfounded. I hope so. But just in case, we ought to prepare ourselves for revolutionary changes in the not-too-distant future.”

Screw you all!!! I told you I was untouchable!!! Obama can kiss my ass!! Bwa-ha-ha-ha!!! Bwa-ha-ha-ha!!!

2010-01-17T06:07:00.003Z

"Much of the turmoil of this recession was caused by the irresponsibility of banks and financial institutions on Wall Street. These financial firms took huge, reckless risks in pursuit of short-term profits and soaring bonuses. They gambled with borrowed money, without enough oversight or regard for the consequences. And when they lost, they lost big."

- President Barack Obama, January 16, 2009, ripping on the criminal banksters that he still refuses to prosecute, either because of his administration's corruption, incompetence, ignorance or sickening lack of urgency

This month (so far) in islamic terror

2010-01-15T06:41:00.004Z

Hey, what's that?

It's a spade. (note that this list leaves out the beatings, the stonings and the canings)

List of Islamic Terror Attacks - January 2010

Date Country City Killed Injured Description

2010.01.14 Afghanistan Uruzgan 20 13 Three children are among twenty civilians blown to bits at a market place by a Fedayeen suicide bomber.

2010.01.14 Ingushetia Nazran 1 3 Islamists shoot a cop to death outside a mosque.

2010.01.14 Thailand Pattani 2 0 A Buddhist couple is shot to death by Muslims while riding to work. Their bodies are then burned.

2010.01.13 Thailand Pattani 1 4 Islamic terrorists ambush a group of electricians, killing one.

2010.01.13 Pakistan Tank 1 6 A child is killed from an explosive planted by religious radicals at a playground.

2010.01.13 Pakistan Hangu 1 0 A man is kidnapped and beheaded by Muslim militants, who then booby-trap the body.

2010.01.13 Yemen Shabwa 2 0 Two local soldiers are cut down in an al-Qaeda ambush.

2010.01.13 Afghanistan Ghazni 1 6 An Afghan police officer is murdered by Sunni roadside bombers.

2010.01.13 Iraq Saqlawiya 7 6 A suicide bomber sends seven Iraqis to Allah.

2010.01.12 Iraq Diyala 3 5 Terrorists murder three people with a brutal bomb blast.

2010.01.11 Pakistan Peshawar 1 5 One person is crushed to death in a Taliban rocket attack.

2010.01.11 Afghanistan Uruzgan 1 2 A policeman is cut down by a suicide bomber.

2010.01.11 India Jammu 1 0 Pakistani terrorists shoot an Indian border guard to death.

2010.01.10 Afghanistan Uruzgan 3 0 Three humanitarian workers die in a Taliban roadside attack.

2010.01.10 Thailand Narathiwat 2 0 Two men sitting in a tea shop are blown away by Muslim terrorists with automatic weapons.

2010.01.10 India Kulgam 2 1 Hizb-ul-Mujahideen gun down two former members who had renounced violence.

2010.01.10 Pakistan Mohmand 2 0 Suspected Islamists murder two tribal elders.

2010.01.09 Afghanistan Helmand 2 6 A British journalist is among two killed in a roadside Mujahideen bombing.

2010.01.09 Iraq Mosul 1 0 Freedom fighters kill a 16-year-old boy with a bomb.

2010.01.08 Pakistan Bajaur 2 2 Two people are blown to bits by a Taliban roadside bomb.

2010.01.08 Pakistan Karachi 5 7 Five mourners at a funeral are shot to death by sectarian Jihadis.

2010.01.08 Afghanistan Logar 2 0 Two Afghans are blown away at point blank range by a Fedayeen.

2010.01.08 Iraq Ras Al-Jadeh 2 0 Jihad bombers kill two local cops.

2010.01.08 Pakistan Khyber 8 11 Three children are among eight civilians murdered by a Lashkar-e-Islam suicide bomber outside a mosque.

2010.01.07 Egypt Nag Hamadi 7 10 Six worshippers and one guard are gunned down by Muslim radicals as they leave mass at a Christian church. A 14-year-old is among the dead.

2010.01.07 Afghanistan Nangarhar 9 44 Four children are among nine Afghans murdered by Islamic bombers in two attacks.

2010.01.07 Iraq Hit 7 6 Women and children are among the dead when Mujahideen detonate planted bombs around the bedrooms of four homes.

2010.01.07 Iraq Khanaqin 3 15 Three Iraqis are cut down by a Jihadi bomb.

2010.01.07 Afghanistan Uruzgan 8 0 All eight Afghan soliders riding in a vehicle are killed by a Taliban roadside bomb.

2010.01.07 Thailand Yala 1 0 A man is ripped in two by a Religion of Peace nail bomb.

2010.01.06 Iraq Mosul 2 1 Two children are killed by a bomb in their home, suspected to have been stored there by their father.

2010.01.06 Egypt Rafah 1 0 Hamas snipers take down an Egyptian soldier.

2010.01.06 Pakistan Sudhanoti 3 11 Three local soldiers are incinerated by a suicide bomber.

2010.01.06 Dagestan Makhachkala 6 12 A suicide bomber murders six Russian police officers.

2010.01.06 India Srinagar 3 11 Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen militants toss grenades and fire into a crowd at a shopping center, killing at least three people.

2010.01.05 Pakistan Mohmand 2 2 Two civilians are taken down by Taliban rockets.

2010.01.05 Pakistan Karachi 1 0 A 70-year-old leader of a religious minority is murdered while sitting in his store by Jihadi gunmen.

2010.01.04 Iraq Mosul 3 1 Sunni bombers blast three civilians into pieces.

2010.01.04 Iraq Kirkuk 3 7 Three Iraqis are murdered in a Mujahideen double bombing.

2010.01.03 Pakistan Hangu 4 2 A Taliban roadside bomb ends the lives of four people.

2010.01.03 Pakistan Bajaur 2 4 Two tribal elders are blown to bits by a Taliban roadside bomb.

2010.01.03 Pakistan Waziristan 2 5 A bombing and separate rocket attack leave two people dead.

2010.01.03 Iraq Tal Abta 3 0 Three road construction workers are gunned down by Muslim terrorists.

2010.01.02 Afghanistan Nimroz 5 6 Five civilians are killed when Sunni terrorists bomb their pickup truck.

2010.01.02 Somalia Dhusamareb 47 150 al-Shabaab Islamists assault a small town. At least four dozen people are killed in the fighting.

2010.01.02 Iraq Mosul 2 0 Two local cops are gunned down by Sunni terrorists.

2010.01.02 Iraq Baghdad 1 21 Jihadi bombers take out a civilian and injure two dozen others.

2010.01.02 Pakistan Orakzai 3 0 Three civilian village guards are ambushed and killed by Islamic militants.

2010.01.02 Afghanistan Kandahar 4 0 Four American soldiers guarding a road are murdered by a Taliban roadside bomb.

2010.01.01 Pakistan Shah Hason Khel 105 100 Children are amply represented among over one hundred spectators massacred at a volleyball tournament by a Fedayeen suicide bomber.

Google says "FU Communist Party of China".

2010-01-14T08:15:00.001Z

No company or person should ever compromise their firm moral beliefs for the sake of a buck. Or a renminbi.

Realtors, hookers and Wal-Mart shoppers do it every day. But nice to see the guys at Google (finally) have some moral spine. "Don't be evil" they said. Just took 'em some time.

I heart Google. Sadly a voice in the wilderness though, as US corporations, the US government and the American people whore themselves out to the paranoid and corrupt leaders of China every day.

Radical cleric Pat Robertson issues fatwah against Haitians, cites their "pact with the devil", says the destruction of their homes is a "blessing"

2010-01-14T06:22:00.008Z

Please donate to the Red Cross as they work courageously to save the lives of millions of desperate Haitians today and in the weeks and months to come.

And please join me in wishing Pat Robertson, snake oil salesman extraordinaire and former Republican candidate for president, a lovely time in hell, once he finally gets there.

Sane muslims need to cast out the devils amongst them. Sane christians should do the same.

Donate to the Red Cross in Pat Robertson's name. Channel your hatred for scum like him into something good.

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - In the frightening pitch black of quake-stricken Haiti's night, religious songs rise from groups of people huddled in open spaces for safety and solidarity.

The chanting and clapping, mainly by women, echo from hill to hill, street to street, as Haitians pray for their dead and ask God to spare them more suffering after an earthquake that has killed thousands and flattened much of the capital.

While the widespread singing provides comfort, the jarring shrieks and sobs of injured children -- some lying in the street clutching bloody gashes -- are a haunting reminder of the untended suffering in Haiti.

"Oh my God, who will help my country now?" said Manuel Deheusch, a Haitian businessman who came rushing back from neighboring Dominican Republic to check on his friends, family and properties.

So now muslims in Malaysia are burning christian churches, because the christians can now legally call god 'allah'.

2010-01-13T20:14:00.000Z

So, we've got muslims going after cartoonists.

We've got muslims burning down christian churches for calling god 'allah'.

We've got muslims putting bombs in their shoes and jockstraps to kill women and children on airplanes.

We've got muslim rulers empoverishing their people. We've got other muslim leaders shooting their people like dogs in the street.

Here's a news flash. There are no hindus blowing themselves up in markets. There are no christians flying airplanes into buildings. There are no jews with bombs in their shorts. There are no mormon leaders shooting and jailing peaceful protesters. There are no spaghetti monsters beating women who don't cover themselves in bags.

Here it is:

The world has a muslim problem.

And more specifically, MUSLIMS have a muslim problem.

Deal with it. Call a spade a spade. This 'my god is better than your god' crap has to end, especially when it comes to islam. It is 2010, not 1010 after all. And that goes for muslims, jews, christians, mormons, baptists, hindis and any other man-made religion that comes our way.

Bottom line? Islam needs an enema. Muslims themselves need to do the cleansing. Or the civilized world, over the next 50 years, will do it for them.

Malaysia in an Uproar Over Use of the Word ‘Allah’

BANGKOK — An uproar among Muslims over the use of the word Allah by Christians spread over the weekend with the firebombing and vandalizing of several churches, increasing tensions in a country that is in the midst of far-reaching political changes.

Rainbows and unicorns yippee!!! Crisis over!!!! Now let's pave the streets with gold!!!

2010-01-12T05:03:00.005Z

Whew. That got scary for awhile.

No need to look at the man behind the curtain.

Everyone move along now. Nothing to see here.

Rainbows and unicorns yippee!!!!

Federal Reserve earned $45 billion in 2009

Wall Street firms aren't the only banks that had a banner year. The Federal Reserve made record profits in 2009, as its unconventional efforts to prop up the economy created a windfall for the government.

The Fed will return about $45 billion to the U.S. Treasury for 2009, according to calculations by The Washington Post based on public documents. That reflects the highest earnings in the 96-year history of the central bank. The Fed, unlike most government agencies, funds itself from its own operations and returns its profits to the Treasury.

The Economist, the most credible news source in the world, has one word. Again. Sit down. Here you go. Here it is. "Bubble".

2010-01-10T05:35:00.005Z

Bubble warning
Jan 7th 2010
From The Economist print edition

"Investors tempted to take comfort from the fact that asset prices are still below their peaks would do well to remember that they may yet fall back a very long way. The Japanese stock market still trades at a quarter of the high it reached 20 years ago. The NASDAQ trades at half the level it reached during dotcom mania."

"Today the prices of many assets are being held up by unsustainable fiscal and monetary stimulus. Something has to give."

- The Economist, January 7, 2010

(in come the waves, again?)

In 2005, the National Association of realtors on Commission assured the nation that there was no housing bubble. Epic fail.

2010-01-09T04:03:00.001Z

Here they were, November 2005, encouraging people to make the wost financial decision of their lives.

They were joined by their undereducated army of 1.2 million thieves, led by the hilariously clueless likes of Connie De Groot, Greg Swann, Leslie Appleton Young, Kendra Todd and that weird lady at your church who wears too much makeup.

I give you the full 2005 NAR anti-bubble statement now in its entirety. For posterity. So that nobody forgets. No matter how much they try to rewrite history.

Please don't kill them. Remember, like hookers and crack dealers, they're just out to make a buck. And remember, in many cases, they went bankrupt and lost their homes, reputations and careers too.

Housing Bubble Prospects Q&A

What is a housing bubble?

As broadly interpreted, a housing bubble refers to an unsustainable gain in home prices. The premise is that a price bubble is at risk of “popping,” resulting in a loss of equity.

Has there ever been a national housing price bubble?

No, not since good recordkeeping began in 1968. There was a national decline in the 1930s during the Great Depression; however, home prices were not a prime concern in that era. The greatest issues were essentials such as food, clothing, employment and shelter of any kind. Declining home prices were a natural result of a general economic collapse caused by the stock market crash in 1929.

What is the “normal” rate of home price growth over time?

Since 1968, the national median existing-home price has increased an average of 6.4 percent per year. However, that includes a period of high inflation. A better frame of reference is in relation to the overall rate of inflation. Home prices typically have increased 1.5 percentage points faster than the rate of inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index.

What are the biggest factors that drive home prices?

In simple terms, it gets down to supply and demand. The inventory of homes available for sale has been historically low since 2001, which is why home prices have been rising at above normal rates.In a balanced market between home buyers and sellers, there typically is a six-month supply of homes on the market. Over the last four years, the supply has hovered around 4.5 months. By contrast, in the recessionary period of 1990-1991, there was in excess of a 9-month supply.

What conditions are necessary for home prices to soften or decline?

Generally, two conditions are necessary for price softness in a given area: an oversupply of homes available for sale, and adverse economic conditions – generally a weak local job market. Sometimes these conditions occur against a backdrop of overall economic weakness, recession or high interest rates.

Where and when have home prices declined in the past? What were the general market conditions?

Most metropolitan areas, especially in the Midwest and South, have not experienced price declines in the era of modern recordkeeping. In the period from the mid-1980s though the early 1990s, many metros in the Northeast and on the West coast saw localized declines. Typically, this occurred in large population centers with very little capacity for growth. When housing shortages developed during a period of high demand, prices grew at sharp double-digit rates – often over 20 percent per year – for several consecutive years.After local economic conditions declined in those areas, home sales stalled and the inventory of unsold homes rose, which eventually led to price softness or decline.

How long have home prices declined in the past?

Although there are exceptions to any general finding, most metro areas that experienced price declines were relatively short lived (several years). Most homeowners who went through such downturns -- but stayed in their home for a normal period of homeownership -- still netted healthy gains when they sold. People view homeownership as a long-term investment as opposed to the kind of quick-in, quick out investment that Wall Street is fond of. Unlike stocks, homeowners don’t panic sell simply because a home down the street sold for less. Home prices tend to be sticky on the downside -- usually a single digit decline in any given year following a sustained period of double digit gains. Very few people buy at the top of a market and then sell in a short timeframe. After several years, home prices level and return to normal appreciation patterns.

Should we be concerned that home prices are rising faster than family income?

No. There are three components to housing affordability: home prices, income, and financing costs – the latter are historically low. During the last four-and-a-half years of record home sales, there has been a shortage of homes available for sale. As a result, home prices during this period have risen faster than family income. However, in much of the 1980s and 1990s, the reverse was true – incomes rose faster than home prices.On a national basis, according to the Housing Affordability Index published by the National Association of Realtors, a median income family who purchases a median-priced existing home is spending a little over 20 percent of gross income for the mortgage principal and interest payment. In the early 1990s, a typical mortgage payment was in the low 20s as a percent of income, and in the early 1980s it was as high as 36 percent. Overall housing affordability remains favorable in historic terms.

What are the prospects of a housing bubble?

There is virtually no risk of a national housing price bubble, based on the fundamental demand for housing and predictable economic factors. It is possible for local bubbles to surface under the right circumstances, but that also is unlikely in the current environment. There are tight supplies of homes available for sale in most of the country, and labor markets have been improving. In other words, the two conditions necessary for price softness do not exist in most of the country.The strong underlying demand for homes results from the simple fact that the population is growing faster than the supply of homes. In addition, it is highly unlikely that the cost of construction will decline. In fact, construction material shortages are expected to continue and the cost of building and development is trending up. Baby boomers remain in their peak earning years. Echo boomers – the children of the baby boom generation – are just entering the period of life in which people typically buy their first home. The echo boom is the second largest generation in U.S. history. Considering the median age of a first-time buyer is 32, echo-boomers will be a big factor over the next decade. In addition, immigration has been strong for many years. Census data shows that immigrants eventually achieve homeownership rates higher than do native born Americans – this also will be a strong factor in housing demand in the future. Also, minority ownership rates have been trending up. All this means the demand for housing is historically high and is one of the reasons 2005 will be the fifth consecutive year of record home sales. Even in an economic downturn, the demand remains.

If conditions become unfavorable, home buying may be postponed, but a general price decline remains highly unlikely.What is likely to happen with home prices?

The forecast is for mortgage interest rates to rise slowly over the next year, which will have a minor breaking effect on home sales. The good news is that will help inventory levels to recover and allow the market to come into a closer balance between buyers and sellers.In other words, a general slowing in the rate of price growth can be expected, but in many areas inventory shortages will persist and home prices are likely to continue to rise above historic norms.

Breaking news from the US

2010-01-07T15:43:00.001Z

Anyone else feeling like a Roman in 476?

NSFW

Senator Chris Dodd: Goodbye, and good riddance

2010-01-06T05:40:00.003Z

A miserable failure.

A corrupt politician.

And now on his way out the door.

Goodbye, and good riddance.

One down. 99 to go.

From Pong to the iTablet. Americans invent some cool things.

2010-01-05T23:39:00.010Z

A lot of people bet against American ingenuity this past year, figuring the Great Housing Ponzi Scheme would be the end of everything good, and that we'd never recover.

Not.

Yes, a bunch of bankers, realtors and congressmen conspired to steal trillions, and ruin lives.

Yes, our government is corrupt, hopeless and incompetent.

Yes, we're trillions and trillions in the hole.

But that doesn't mean America, and Americans, can't do great things. Come up with the big ideas. Invent the next new amazing thing. Destroy laggard businesses and products. And change the way people live their lives, for the better.

They can. And they will.

The telephone. The PC. The internet. Automobiles. Airplanes. Light bulbs. TV's. Spaceships. Puffs Plus with Lotion and Vicks. Cocoa Puffs. The cotton gin. Air conditioning. Nuclear bombs.

Next up: The iTablet. (sorry, Kindle, thanks for playing).

God bless America. Or at least the good folks at Apple.

(disclosure - of course I own AAPL)

Pick the dumbest building

2010-01-04T16:00:00.004Z

A)

B)

C)

Extra credit if you know what all three are.

2010-01-02T04:53:00.002Z

Bank Heist of the Century - Congress, Bush, Obama, the NAR, Fannie and Freddie conspire to steal $400 billion from US taxpayers

2009-12-31T17:20:00.004Z

We said for years that Fannie and Freddie would fail.

We were wrong.

They didn't fail.

It all went according to plan.

Damn, those grifters were good. Real good.

That's $1200 per citizen, if you're keeping score at home.

U.S. to Lose $400 Billion on Fannie, Freddie

Dec. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Taxpayer losses from supporting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will top $400 billion, according to Peter Wallison, a former general counsel at the Treasury who is now a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

“The situation is they are losing gobs of money, up to $400 billion in mortgages,” Wallison said in a Bloomberg Television interview. The Treasury Department recognized last week that losses will be more than $400 billion when it raised its limit on federal support for the two government-sponsored enterprises, he said.

IranPANIC

2009-12-30T23:30:00.003Z

My hope in 2010?

They kill the mullahs.

Then they take on the basiji, and string them up one by one.

Happy New Year brave Iranians.

Catherine Reagor, the Arizona Republic's laughably incompetent real estate 'reporter', has another gem today. "Nobody saw it coming" she tells us.

2009-12-29T22:51:00.006Z

"No one guessed then that housing would lead Arizona's economy into a recession"

-Rolodex of Realtors Catherine Reagor, Arizona Republic, December 29, 2009, writing about the Phoenix housing crash in 2007

Strange thing to say now though, since she knew very well about HousingPANIC, Housing Doom and TheHousingBubbleBlog, all out of Arizona, all posting about the shit-storm that was hitting Phoenix and the world.

Guess all she remembers now though is what her rolodex of realtors was telling her, over nice dinners and martinis no doubt.

Phoenix? Vegas? Dubai? Detroit? No, this ghost-town of empty skyscrapers is where you'd least expect. It's China

2009-12-27T05:49:00.000Z

Remember when we thought Japan would take over the world?

Me gettin' some serious deja-vu all over again.

Anyone want to buy some land or investment condos in China?

2000 - 2009 was the worst jobs decade ever for America. And the worst stock market decade ever. Thank you Republican Party!

2009-12-24T17:03:00.006Z

And some people still support these jokers why?

Seriously, with that pitiful record, how stupid would you have to be to call yourself a Republican? You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can fool a Republican all of the time it would appear.

Keep hating the fags. Keep stressing about abortion and flag burners.

Meanwhile, you're jobless and broke.

(UPDATE - P.S. - THE DEMOCRATS SUCK TOO. But for pure negligence, corruption and incompetence, the GOP takes the prize - worst of the worst. 2010 recommendation - vote 3rd party and anti-incumbent. 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018 - repeat.)

Stocks ending their worst decade ever

Worst Ever Decade For Jobs

Not one more thing from China. Not one. Anyone want to join the 100% boycott of Chinese goods? Anyone? Anyone?

2009-12-23T07:35:00.004Z

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new foe.

China.

An oppressive, evil regime. Afraid of her people. And now a documented enemy of Planet Earth.

But hey, enjoy your cheap Chinese sh*t from Wal-mart. Keep enabling them. Keep looking the other way.

Your children will come to hate you.

It's safe to say that that Nouriel Roubini screwed the pooch something royally in 2009. And that's why you should never listen to a perma-anything

2009-12-21T22:19:00.006Z

Nothing lasts forever.

What goes down must come up.

What goes up must come down.

And if you listened to Nouriel Roubini in 2009, you were as screwed as those who listened to Lawrence Yun in 2008, or Greg Swann in 2007.

Here's Roubini, being spectacularly wrong a year ago. Guess he didn't read Manias, Panics and Crashes either.

For those of you who did, please feel free to chime in with your 2010 predictions here. And make sure you put Roubini in the "never to be listened to again" file.

8 really, really scary predictions

"For the next 12 months I would stay away from risky assets. I would stay away from the stock market. I would stay away from commodities. I would stay away from credit, both high-yield and high-grade. I would stay in cash or cashlike instruments such as short-term or longer-term government bonds. It's better to stay in things with low returns rather than to lose 50% of your wealth. You should preserve capital. It'll be hard and challenging enough.

"I wish I could be more cheerful, but I was right a year ago, and I think I'll be right this year too."

- Nouriel Roubini, December 2009