How College Became Affordable Again

"College graduates should be allowed to discharge student loans in bankruptcy, an influential bankruptcy lawyers' group recommends. And there's a renewed effort to push the change through Congress."

OK, OK - to say it will become "affordable" might be a stretch.  But, it wouldn't cost an arm and a leg.... just an arm.

Dow 13,000

What could possibly go wrong from here?

Sometimes, Junior Needs a Foot Up His Ass to Get Him Back on Task

"An Oregon congressman is backing a bill that, if passed, would allow bankruptcy judges to force principal modifications on primary home mortgages during bankruptcy."

Behold the statement (which may become action) that will hold lenders' feet to the fire.

Losses (or the very real threat of losses) are the ONLY thing that gets the attention of people who lend out money for a living.

ShitiBank

In an emailed statement, Citi said it settled “so we could put these issues behind us and focus on serving our clients. We take our quality assurance processes seriously and have pro-actively undertaken process improvements.”

It's nice to know that Shiti Citi wants to "focus on serving me" - I just need to take care when getting ready to take a big bite.  When they "serve" what is supposed to be a Ham and Swiss Cheese on Whole Wheat, it might just be a nice big shit sammich instead.

A Shift In Thinking

"Feb. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Roshell Schenck has a PhD in pharmacy and earns $125,000 a year, yet can’t qualify for a mortgage for a house for herself and her 9-year-old daughter. The 2008 graduate of Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, in Erie, Pennsylvania, has more than $110,000 in student debt."

It seems to me that there has been a change in the way several generations view debt.  The boundaries have moved quite a bit in the past twenty years or so.

“I wouldn’t be looking at jumping into another $100,000 of debt to own a home,” said the 31-year-old single mother. “I don’t think jumping into home ownership would be financially reasonable.”

Bloomberg student loan news and the ripple effect that the 1 trillion dollar debt is having on the recovery.

For Lissa

Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect. Mark Twain

If it seems that your gut tells you that you should be swimming in the opposite direction as "the bait ball", don't worry.  It just means you're doing it right and you're in small but good company.

Mortgage Broker Wanted - Must Have Own Paddles

Vinson-Daughhetee divorce: Truth becomes strange fiction

Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't.
- Mark Twain

The divorce turned into a war for American Equity Mortgage, and millions of dollars was spent on private investigators. Daughhetee turned to Joe Adams, who isn't an ordinary P.I.

Later that month, Brensinger gave a deposition in the divorce case, saying Vinson had been her boyfriend for about six months. She said Vinson never disclosed that he was married. She said the two had sex several times, often using whips and paddles and engaging in asphyxiation, and snorted cocaine.

May I Suggest A Little Waterboarding?

The charges made Wegelin the first overseas bank in history to be indicted by U.S. authorities and marked a milestone in a burgeoning American crackdown on Swiss bank secrecy and efforts to force banks to turn over client names. The sale and the subsequent indictment effectively brought an end to the storied bank.

We got ways of making you talk....

The indictment of Wegelin was the latest move by the U.S. Justice Department to clamp down on Swiss banks for their role in helping wealthy Americans dodge taxes.

Hummler courted press attention. In recent years, Hummler became particularly outspoken, telling Der Spiegel in 2009 that German tax evasion "is a legitimate defense by citizens trying to partially escape the current grasp of the administrators of a disastrous social welfare state and its fiscal policies." 

But in more recent weeks, Hummler's public voice grew silent - a sign of his worries, according to some people familiar with the matter.

I guess his hubris took a much needed vacation to the Swiss Alps.

What Do We Want? Jobs! When Do We Want Them? Now! or Yesterday!

This is a generation of people who are not accustomed to waiting very long for anything.

Consider: a whopping 77 percent say that they are delaying life changes due to economic woes. Of those:

-- 44 percent are delaying buying a home.
-- 28 percent are delaying saving for retirement.
-- 23 percent are delaying starting a family.
-- 18 percent will wait to get married.

Might have to start a war (or other paid, make-work project) to give all these kids, ahem, voters something to do....

Relieve Your Stress By Becoming an Arsonist

An O'Fallon man who told authorities he was "under a lot of stress" is accused of burning down his house Tuesday while his two children were at school and his wife was out of town.

 

Copeland told police that he is "under a lot of stress from daily life."

Corruption to Fraud to Delusion to Default to Foreclosure

Chicago, the Mid-West Mecca for Money Grubbing Douchebags

Is there a correlation or pattern???  Nah, I’m probably just wearing my tin foil hat a little too tight these days - that's all...

"Cook County saw a dramatic increase last month in the number of severely delinquent homeowners whose properties entered the foreclosure process."

Hate to say "Wildy, I told you so back in 2004" - so, who's crazy now? Winnetka, really?!? In 2005?!?! Really?!?!? You have more money than sense, girl.

When There Appears To Be No Plausible Explanation....

Just recall that the oldest profession on God’s green earth isn’t prostitution.  It’s deception.

European Union antitrust regulators are also investigating whether banks formed a cartel to manipulate borrowing rates, said two people with knowledge of the probe who declined to be identified because the inquiry isn’t public. Barclays, HSBC and RBS have said the European Commission quizzed them last year.

"Collusion" sounds like a dirty word, huh?

Party On Wayne... Party On Garth

Bummer dude... but you took a most awesome mug shot photo.  Rock on!

Chicago PD Mugs in the News

Religion, Sex, Humanity, Guilt, Madness

"But now, three weeks after their bodies were found, Colombian prosecutors say the two Catholic priests hired hitmen to kill them when at least one of them was diagnosed with AIDS."

Yet another story of how tortured individuals allow their perception of faith and how it relates to their sexuality drive them toward complete self-destruction.

Kenny Bing newsflash for humanity - People fuck.  People have always fucked.  People will always fuck.  It’s fun It can be fun.   It’s rewarding It can be rewarding.

It is what you make it.  Your attitude makes it whatever you want it to be.  

I think of sex the same way I think of beer – Beer / Sex is evidence that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

Chick - a - Pow, Chick - a - Pow Wow, Chick - a - Pow, Chick - a - Pow Now

"Police aren't filing charges against a father who briefly played a pornographic video instead of "The Smurfs" at his child's birthday party."

I always thought that Smurfette was a big tease.

Meanwhile, Back in Bjork Land

"Iceland’s pain was mostly front loaded, and their growth in 2012 (est. 3%) is looking brighter than most countries in the debt-plagued developed world.  Not spending tax dollars on bail outs, they have been able to double down on investment in things that will strengthen them long-term like education and green technology.  They are an example of how it is possible for a country to let the banks take their deserved losses, and still overcome deep economic dislocation without undoing the social fabric."

Danielle's Juggling Dynamite

Danielle Park - she's smart, blonde, smoking hot, sane, has a great smile, killer hair - sleeping with her is most likely just like juggling dynamite.... why the hell are you STILL here on this website reading my bullshit?  What's wrong with you?

Hey Greece (and other hopelessly indebted nations) - You Are Not An Island - Learn From Other's Mistakes And Success!

The Rain In Spain Falls Mainly On the Plain

"Regardless, any contraction means Spain will miss its targets and in turn Germany will demand more spending cutbacks."

"With unemployment at 22.9%, how long will it be before we see Greek-style pushbacks?"

My question – how long will it be before we see a violent, collective pushback by all of the lower classes, middle classes and debtor classes across all of Europe?  It’s usually only after the bullets start to fly in earnest that the upper classes in their white ivory towers begin to pull their heads out of their asses and address reality.

The 25 Reasons Why Your Home Is Going All "Money Pit" on You

Artificial, aggressive and cheaply priced credit in a Ponzi like bubble chasing after real estate bred a ton of fraud and self dealing that in turn led to a collective delusion.  Poets were the only ones not fooled.

"People who lie to themselves, and believe their own lies, becomes unable to recognize the truth, either in themselves or in anyone else. 

And they end up losing respect for themselves and for others. When they have no respect, they can no longer love.

So they yield themselves up to their impulses, indulging in the lowest forms of pleasure, and behave in the end like a thing obsessed in satisfying their vices.

And it all comes from lying — to others and to yourself."

Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

Thank you Jesse at jessescrossroadscafe

Sic Semper Tyrannis (A Valentine's Day Greek Tragedy I'm Working On)

"In a letter obtained by Reuters on Friday, the Federation of Greek Police accused the officials of "...blackmail, covertly abolishing or eroding democracy and national sovereignty" and said one target of its warrants would be the IMF's top official for Greece, Poul Thomsen"

It's a lot of Greek theatrics and hot air at this point, but....

Never forget, kids - the head is ever the dupe of the heart (Francois Duc de la Rochefoucauld) and that cuts a path in both love and in hatred.

Going to demand that this guy play the lead when Hollywood asks to adapt my play into a movie - I will not sell out and give up artistic control... I am not a whore.

Today's Secret Word is "Shitstorm"

Germany needed Shitstorm, according to a group of language experts who elected the word as the top English contribution to the German language last year.

It's my understanding that the runner-up word was clusterfuck.

Greek Week

Under the present circumstances, it should have a few little candles burning on it in different places.

Greek word for "Austerity"? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

"Cost-of-living increases spawned by the unrest and panic have meant that most Greeks earn barely enough to scrape by."

No problem says the leadership - let them eat 2,000 Euro worth of cake.

Churchill Proven Correct (Yet Again)

the story proves that dumbass voters come in all colors

The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.

- Winston Churchill

Next thing you know, a few clever, smooth-talking black guys will convince a bunch of naïve, new-age whitey's harboring unrelated but deep seated guilt trips that they should collectively try to push through something completely asinine like “reparations” on behalf of all the people of color who have been victimized by the white devil.  (snicker, snicker)

Read 'Em and Weep, Staceburger

You were wrong.  I was right.  I know that flies in the face of all that Girl Power / Hot Shower bullshit that the system has force fed you all these years but it doesn't change the fact that you were wrong.  Does it hurt coming to that conclusion knowing that I'm sitting here all smug and unemcumbered?  Guess what?  I'm such a dick for putting my foot up their asses when they got out of line and you're the "cool mom" (what a load of shit that statement is) for your attitude about modern parenting, you get to deal with it alone going forward - I wonder what the little darlings' own little darlings (your grandchildren) will be like - probably complete assholes since there won't be any counterbalance in thier lives demanding old fashioned notions like "be respectful of elders" "breaking the rules carries consequences" "relationships are two way streets not driven completely by what you want, when you want it"  A great big "Fuck you and the horse you rode in on, Cool Mom" shout out to the ex-Mrs. Bing.

Why American Kids Are Brats

And their parents might be getting just what they deserve

Read more: http://ideas.time.com/2012/02/10/why-american-kids-are-brats/?hpt=hp_t3#ixzz1mArACqKN

When Someone Says "It's not about the money" - Guess What? - It's About the Money

But economic ties -- valuable military contracts and energy investments that could be lost if the Assad regime fails -- play a key role as well.

Has absolutely nothing to do with money....comrade....(pffftttt... what bullshit)

Ben Has His "Aha!" Moment

"The economic recovery has been disappointing in part because U.S. housing markets remain out of balance," the Fed chairman said in prepared remarks at the International Builders' Show in Orlando, Fla.

From the "No Shit, Sherlock?" File

On Parenthood

It’s always the ones who outwardly appear to be the loving, caring and doting parents that you have to wonder about.  The ones that are just a little too involved in the lives of their children are often the kooks, weird-o control-freak assholes with major league mental issues that usually spill over into their fucked up sex lives.  They’re always the ones that to everyone’s “surprise” has a shitload of fucked up images on their computers that are enough to make a 30 year veteran Chicago detective blush like a fucking schoolgirl.

Parent-Child sex... yeah, very fucked up.

“She described Powell as a devoted dad, who always had surprises for his boys.”

“Oh, he was a fabulous father”  “My, she was a selfless mother” …. Blah, blah, blah, what the fuck ever.

Let Them Eat $2,000 Worth of Cake

With head

....and not so much

Many homeowners will see reductions in the principal they owe on their mortgages. In California, those who endured foreclosure probably will see checks averaging $1,500 to $2,000.

"It's not going to solve the problem," said the hairdresser, who along with four family members is trying to avoid eviction. "It's not going to make things right."
He bought it for $211,000 and by the time he was done borrowing on the shack he was a cool $500,000 in the hole on an underwater house. Yeah pal, $2,000 ain't gonna do you jack shit worth of good. You're fucked AND you're now well into your 60's. Stick a fork in it. You might want to set that $2,000 aside for burial costs so your remaining family isn't stuck with your mortuary bill.

California - land of fucking over-reaching, overly optimistic nut jobs and people who have NEVER seen a loan that they would not take.  A 61 year old hair dresser with a half a million dollar mortgage.... really?!?  What could possibly go fucking wrong?!?!?

Illinois - Ground Zero for Pinheads

common sense legislation from people who care

Mayor Rahm Emanuel is proposing statewide legislation to require handgun owners to register their weapons.

And people comment after the story....

"And their other gun control laws are working so well. "common sense legislation"???  The state is over 100 Billion in debt and this is what he wants to focus on?  Personally I feel the FOID Card is Illegal and a violation of the 2nd Amendment.  You can't even buy shotgun shells for to shoot clay birds without a FOID card.....  yep that makes us all safer.  This is great.  It'll drive even more down state Democrats away from the party."

I am a former Illinois resident and former Illinois F.O.ID. (firearm owner's identification) card holder but I'm now an out-of-stater so when I hunt in Illinois, it's with the state issued and required non-resident hunting license.  OK - Kenny Bing true-life story from this past pheasant season.  I go into the Carlyle, IL Wal-Mart to pick up a case of steel shot shells for pheasant hunting with Bing the Wonderdog.  Get to the check out counter and there is an elderly woman that looks like my Grandma Bing working the register.  She looks at the shells and says "Gotta have a F.O.ID. card for these."  I reply "I'm a Missouri resident and here's my non-resident hunting license."  She replies, "No honey, I have to get a cashier that has a F.O.ID. card to ring these up for you.  It's not you, sweetheart, it's me - I don't have a F.O.ID. card so I can't ring these up for you."

I guess it was some of that good, good, good “common sense legislation” that got that added to the gun laws in Illinois.  Long live the pinheads.

You're OLD!!! Accept It and Act Your Fucking Age

this is what normal fucking people used to do when they paid off the shack & once it got paid off, it STAYED paid off

http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2012/02/jpmorgan-chase-caps-martin-luther-king.html

Now that campaign is turning into a public relations nightmare for the banking behemoth. Chase is now threatening to foreclose on 78-year old, Helen Bailey, a former Nashville area Civil Rights activist who stood up to police attack dogs, tear gas and fire hoses for her God given rights.

Ms. Bailey couldn’t keep up with her mortgage payments and attempted to refinance with another mortgage company and would work with her to let her stay in her home until she died. The only thing she asked from Chase was a $9000 principal write down.

I have but one axe to grind with this sob fucking story - why the fuck do old people today find it OK to gamble in the debt casino using the roof over their head as collateral?!!?!?

How stupid can an old person be to go into a sucker's bet using the house one lives in as collateral for loans to do what?.... take a vacation?.....help a relative?......do "home improvements"?  (For those of you NOT in the lending business, the purpose of "home improvements" for a mortgage application has become the cover language for all kinds of stupid ass purposes that idiotic old-ass borrowers come up with as a reason for why they want to go into debt...sometimes I just wanna grab 'em by the collar and say "Do yourself a favor - you're gonna be dead soon anyway, why not just accept the shape of your house and live in it or make improvements that you can afford to do over time while paying in cash?")

Education, Education, Education

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/

Retraining Scam
Job retraining is scam perpetrated by for-profit universities, fueled by statements from Obama regarding re-training people for new jobs.

Brick-layers are told they can be "chefs", take $10,000 courses and the universities call it a "success" if they land a job "in their field" at McDonald's. Unemployed roofers are led to believe they can become Java programmers, and they waste collective $billions trying. Meanwhile out of work Java programmers are told to take up a trade like roofing or auto mechanics.

The cost of education keeps rising because Obama (like Bush before him), keeps adding to the student loan program when the entire student loan scam really needs to be shut down.

I'll share a Kenny Bing real-life-experience example soon of how universities are completely cool with the student loan arrangement currently in place and how it greases their wheels in the name of "higher education".  It involves one of Kenny Bing's own Golden Delicious Apples and how $88,000 of saved "college funding" left in the care of the Ex-Mrs. Bing went into the coffers of ShapeXpress (women's 30 minu.... ahem, upscale women's 30 minute fitness gym) instead of paying tuition costs as originally intended and agreed upon in a divorce petition.  That example will include a copy of the reply (shoo, go away crazy divorced man) I got from the government office in charge of policing for fraud and misuse of funds.  I'll have to go find it and dig it up.  I'll find it over the weekend and see about putting her on the blog.

Never See The Forest for the Trees

Or, in the case of people out to save the world from itself, they don't seem to see the trees right in front of them because of their focus on the forest.  Works both ways.  Either a person has a sense of balance and timing, or they don't.  It can't be learned or taught.  It's either there, or it isn't.  Good luck with all that.  History says "You're gonna need it".

That's Life

Tough shit, GQ boy.... hey, at least you're banging Gisele, right?

Stop sulking, Brady... jeeze, I don't even like you and can't stand to see you like that.... get the fuck up and start thinking about next season.... Kenny Bing needs a team to hate and the Patriots are it...

Meanwhile, Back At The Debt-O-Zone....

yeah, that's gonna be a little sore in the morning

"Spanish central bank warns of double dip recession"

And why does this matter?

Because if an economy the size of Spain's begins to contract again, it's doubtful that the working engines remaining within the Eurozone are going to be strong enough to pull them out of a stall.

"The latest employment data, released Friday by Spain’s national statistics institute, showed that Spain also had one of the highest levels of youth unemployment in the Western world, with a third of those unemployed aged below 30. "

Rock and hard place.

Well, OK So Long As You Are Both STRAIGHT Children.....

Wedded Bliss....OK for Teenagers but Not OK for Gays

“That prospect underscores the vital importance of this election and the movement to preserve our values. I believe marriage is between a man and a woman and, as president, I will protect traditional marriage and appoint judges who interpret the Constitution as it is written and not according to their own politics and prejudices,” Romney said.

Not hot... but none of my business

Sort of hot....color me curious

A thought occurred to me this morning on the way into work.  We have a whole lot of people who believe in prohibiting gays from marrying one another.  At one time in my life, I might have been inclined to join that bait ball and swim with the masses.  A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I was granted the ability to get married to a woman at the tender young age of 18.  That marriage license was granted by the same sorts of people who think that it is a bad idea to let two gays marry.  The two decade long marriage I remained within was the worst thing that ever happened to me....by far.  To this day, I harbor a great deal of regret for my mistake and a great deal of animosity toward my fabulous, wonderful, amazing, goddess-like, genius bitch --- ex-wife.  So, my thought is this – the same idiots who will grant marriage licenses to people who are not a whole lot more than two big children (so long as they are both straight children), are the same Mensa Members who will not allow marriage between two mature adult people who have probably had to do a lot of soul searching in figuring out who they are.  And they prohibit this based only upon the sexual orientation of the couple.  

Does that seem like complete fucking nonsense to anyone else but me?!?!? 

As for what people do in their bedrooms, I don’t care so long as no one is getting injured or hurt.  Other than that, I got 99 problems and one dude fucking another dude or one chick licking another chick ain’t one of them.  If they want to tie the knot, it’s none of my fucking business.

I Don't Race For Cures

I think all that pink dye they wear during the races makes them kind of crazy.

"Runners are athletes. Joggers are douche-bags."  - yours truly is a jogger as I'm too fucking old to run anymore.  I guess that makes me an old douche-bag.

"Many of them now say they are uncomfortable with the size of the foundation's executive salaries, lawsuits against smaller nonprofit groups, partnerships with companies whose products may increase breast cancer risk and lack of investment in research to prevent and treat the disease."

"As many as 80 charities have received letters from Komen attorneys over the years asking them to refrain from using the Komen-trademarked pink ribbon or the catchphrase "for the cure."

"In 2010, Komen teamed up with KFC in a promotion called "Buckets for the Cure," which raised $4.2 million for the charity through sales of pink buckets of chicken."

The only time I get the urge to wear fuzzy pink bunny ears and pink ribbons in my hair is when I'm three sheets to the wind drunk.

Student Debt Bomb

Ka-Boom!

Bankruptcy lawyers are warning about a "student debt bomb" they say is about to explode into a repeat of the mortgage bust.

tick tick tick tick tick tick

You're Feeling Down and Out

You've just gotten your dick knocked in the dirt and you're trying to figure out how to pick yourself up and carry on.  Who do you want to see in your face urging you to get the fuck up and get moving again?

Preacher

.....or this douchebag?

...I'd just as soon get a pep talk from the StayPuff Marshmellow Man

OMG Eastwood ---- you offended Skippy!!! You brute!!!!

Hope You're Enjoying Single Parenthood, Staceburger

Hopefully, all three of the Bing Golden Delicious Apples didn't fall (and stay) directly under the tree.

"Other common signs of entitlement in children include:
- not taking turns
- impatience
- a tendency to put themselves first
- insensitivity to or a lack of compassion toward others
-temper tantrums when they don't get what they want
- not saying "please" or "thank you"
While it's not uncommon for kids to view themselves as the axis of the universe, it's a parent's job to help kids see beyond themselves, and some of us aren't doing it very well."

Hopefully the tree is on a hill and gravity made those three apples roll out from under the tree's shadow.



Face it Mommy of the Year - when Daddy gives Junior a well earned "foot up his ass" from time to time, it doesn't make Daddy the second coming of Genghis Khan.  You're such a goddamned genius goddess - do it all yourself, bitch.

"They're getting entirely too much attention. And I know what some of you are

thinking: "Jesus, he's not going to attack children, is he?" Yes he is! He's 

going to attack children. And remember, this is Mr. Conductor talking; I know 

what I'm talking about.  For one thing, there's too much emphasis on safety and

safety equipment: childproof medicine bottles, fireproof pajamas, child 

restraints, car seats. And helmets! Bicycle, baseball, skateboard, scooter 

helmets. Kids have to wear helmets now for everything but jerking off. Grown-ups

have taken all the fun out of being a kid. What's happened is, these baby 

boomers, these soft, fruity baby boomers, have raised an entire generation 

of soft, fruity kids who aren't even allowed hazardous toys, for Chrissakes! 

What ever happened to natural selection? Survival of the fittest? The kid who 

swallows too many marbles doesn't grow up to have kids of his own. Simple 

stuff. Nature knows best!"  -- George Carlin

Ben Wanted a Ferrari

Ben had this kind of "recovery" in mind....

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has called the U.S. economy "frustratingly slow." On Tuesday, Congress will find out whether he still thinks so, even after Friday's news that hiring surged in January and unemployment reached a three-year low.

Don't sweat it Ben. A crap recovery is really all we expected you to be able to produce.

And, your Nanna still hates you.

This is the recovery we got instead - thanks Ben!!

Rolling Like Thunder, Under the Covers

Of the 1,001 wives ages 18-49 surveyed last month, 75% say a good sex life with their spouse is "very or extremely important"; 16% say "somewhat important."

You can guess which 9% category the ex-Mrs. Bing fell into....

"For survey respondents, communication translates to action in the bedroom..."

 

Because Hindsight is Always 20/20

My Linda Lu tells me that Kenny Bing should have been a history major had he actually followed through with any formal education in his youth and I suspect that she is right – so far, she’s got a pretty good batting average where getting things about me “right” are concerned.

Anyhoooooo – let’s revisit the recent past where Ron Paul is concerned, shall we?

I’m a long time reader sufferer of “The Daily Reckoning”.  Bill Bonner is a delight to read even though he comes across as an even bigger smartass than yours truly – he’s just much better at disguising his insults in language that can be spoken in formal and mixed company.

December, 2010

A few years ago, everyone hated Ron. The left hated him because he wanted to withdraw funding for its pet projects. The right hated him because he wanted to rein in the US military.

Now, things have turned around. The left likes Ron because he wants to bring the troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan. The right likes Ron because he is a consistent opponent of deficit spending.

The young are fascinated by him. What sort of Congressman votes no on his colleagues’ boondoggles? What sort of conservative opposes the Pentagon and calls for an audit of the Fed? What sort of politician sticks to his principles, even when they are out of favor?

The Daily Reckoning

I believe Dr. Paul is serving a legitimate and much needed purpose in being a counterbalance to Uncle Sam’s more sinister, over-reaching and nastier side.  When Ron is gone, we should all hope someone steps up to the plate to take his place because Uncle Sam’s arrogance and hubris is often what leads him into the quick sand (looking at you, W).  It’s hard to believe that both Ron and George were from the same state but that’s what you seem to get in Texas.  Braggarts and bloviating blow-hards rubbing elbows with mind your own business, live and let live and leave us the hell alone types.

It's a Crap Recovery But We're OK With Crap

Mitchell also said still-historic low interest rates and and decreasing unemployment are fueling the recent foreclosure filing rate's decline.

The average price of local foreclosed homes recorded in the metropolitan area last year during the third quarter was $80,545 -- almost 55 percent below the average price of nonforeclosed properties.

You get used to it.

recovery discovery

Read more here: http://www.bnd.com/2012/02/06/2047563/good-sign-january-foreclosures.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.bnd.com/2012/02/06/2047563/good-sign-january-foreclosures.html#storylink=cpy

WMC Mortgage - Bringing Good Things to Life

So, Amy Brandt's in the music business now, huh?

"It's mostly about: Did they knowingly sell mortgages into the secondary market that they knew were fraudulent?" said one person with direct knowledge of the investigation.

Amy, do you like English punk?

What Do I Spy With My Little Eye? A Recovery... Of Sorts

To be sure, this is NOT your father's recovery.  I don't think it is the recovery Ben Bernanke and the Merry Men had in mind down at the Federal Reserve.  In my little corner of the world, I see people buying things and selling things.  I see people adjusting to the higher costs of groceries and gas.  Old debts and stubbornly high real estate prices in some markets are hampering or choking off a full blown traditional recovery.  I think we might be getting the "New Coke" of economic recoveries.  It's still "wet" and comes in the traditional looking bottle but it is strange tasting and certainly not living up to all the hype.

The can you've come to trust with newfangled crap inside!

Monday Geography 101 - What a Drag Man - Can't Wait For Lunch and Recess

Let's review some geography, shall we?

I wonder what sort of assets Uncle Sam has left out in the desert sands to the west and in the mountains to the east. 

Get there first with the most men. - Nathan Bedford Forrest

Let's put it into terms that the Dockers windbreaker wearing short-round Nazi with shifty eyes and scraggly/crappy beard can understand.

Why Break With Tradition Now?

"An Iranian missile under construction, caught up in a mysterious blast in November, had a range of 6,000 miles, a senior Israeli official said Thursday in a speech outside Tel Aviv."

Get ready kids.  We've been in conflict for most of our nation's history.  Sometimes for good reasons.  Sometimes not.

Really, Buddy? You really wanna go there?

These control freak assholes are the types that stone their young for the oh-so-serious offense of wanting to hold a dance.... for wanting to have a fucking dance with dance grooves.  Now, let me say this... I do not like teenagers (mostly).  They're loud, know-it-all, dirty, foul mouthed, lusty.... oh wait, I might be describing myself there.....  Anyway - they're a pain in the ass but you don't stone them just because they want to move their groove thang.  Plus, I'm old enough to remember these ragheads holding our own hostage and getting all uppity about it.  I knew a kid back in the day that had to flee with her family because her daddy was some low level guy within the Shah's government and the fundamentalist assholes who took over Iran would have loved to stone TiTi to death.  By the way, TiTi was a totally smoking hot little Iranian thing who loved to wear jeans so tight, she had to lay down on the bed to get them on.  Dark eyes, great Persian features, hair that was model quality and an ass that made jaws drop when dudes (and some dudettes) saw her walk by....  ok, back to present day... and these assholes would have loved to stone her because of what her fucking daddy did for a living and that she liked western clothes and wanted to look good.  They'd rather fuck goats, I guess.

Back Together

Let the record show that Kenny Bing always thought that Joyce DeWitt was completely totally smoking sexy hot. Used to watch this show just so I could watch her butt.

Now, kiss and make up.

From My Point of View - Home Ownership/Debtorship is Over Hyped & Over-Sold Bullshit

I spent almost 8 years renting a place after a costly and messy divorce.  Because I wanted a dog again, I bought a house.  It has had its good moments.  But, it has also been costly, time consuming and sometimes irritating compared to renting an apartment.

My thought was to withhold judgment until I got my first year of taxes done as a boomerang “home owner”.  Prior to renting a place, I had owned two houses previously but under very different personal circumstances for a few decades.  I just got the results of my tax return (done by a CPA) and guess what?  I’m getting the princely sum of $1,163 back from the Feds and the State combined.  In my old apartment days, I generally paid additional taxes beyond withholding that ranged anywhere from $700 to $900 in any given year.  So, that puts me generally $2,000 to the good.  As of this moment, I don’t feel as though it has been worth it from a strictly financial point of view.  I’m rather disappointed.

The Complaints Never End

In case you’re wondering – Kenny Bing is a regular white Joe Schmoe schlepping his ass into his office gig and “doing the Dew” so he can go out on the weekend and “Do the Dew” with his Linda Lou or with Bing the Wonderdog or just go fishing and smoke a cigar and mind his own business.

I no longer listen to all the “screaming Mimi’s” of the world who yap endlessly about the racial and gender injustices done so that “whitey dude” doesn’t have to relinquish his ill gotten gains in life.  In my case specifically – I was born poor to working class parents (daddy was a trucker and mommy was a lunch lady) and have worked since I was fucking 12 so anyone who wants to tell me how I wound up with any ill gotten gains in life based upon my skin color, please step forward and enlighten me… and then I can politely tell you to go fuck yourself.

No problem with it but I suggest you stop your endless yapping about the "inequalities"

Newsflash for you – most regular Joe Schmoe white dudes don’t want much more in life than to make a living, do their extra curricular activities on the weekend and live “a quiet normal life” (thank you Warren Zevon for a wonderful body of work).

It could be much worse - you could be under the thumb of some corn pone Nazi like this jackoff

I Humbly Suggest That You Get Your Fucking Act Together, Ben

"A growing number of states are seeking shiny new currencies made of silver and gold.
Worried that the Federal Reserve and the U.S. dollar are on the brink of collapse, lawmakers from 13 states, including Minnesota, Tennessee, Iowa, South Carolina and Georgia, are seeking approval from their state governments to either issue their own alternative currency or explore it as an option."

Permit me to issue and control the money of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws.
- Mayer Amschel Rothschild

Ben Desires "Normalcy"

"We still have a long way to go before the labor market can be said to be operating normally," Bernanke told the committee.

feeling normal yet?

Yes, your Nanna still hates you Ben...go have a drink or snort some glue while you come to terms with that...

So, by "normal" labor market do you mean the kind of labor market driven by a debt fueled speculative bubble chasing real estate that inflates in “value” (whatever the fuck that word is supposed to mean anymore) year over year for a decade or more?  Is that the kind of “normal” you and the Fed are shooting for, Ben?

Tell you what… you want that kind of "normal" again you better open a retail window at the Fed so that every Tom, Dick and Harry in the country can come on down to their friendly local Federal Reserve Bank and take out a low or no cost loan (with no underwriting criteria outside of the borrower being able to fog a mirror) so that said borrowers can go on a shopping spree over at your recently created bubblicious stock market and speculate with *cough* “invest” the money he borrowed from you in Facebook’s upcoming IPO…  oh, but wait.. Then you’d be the direct lender trying to collect that money back from Tom, Dick and Harry….  Well, don’t worry – as you've stated in the past, you’ve got a printing press so you can just print more Federal Reserve Notes when needed, lend it to Tom, Dick or Harry and he can repay you with the fresh Federal Reserve Notes you just loaned him….problem solved.  (You’re welcome, asshole)

Life has taught me that the best way to deal with wannabe fascist control freaks who are in fact actually nothing more than Little Lord Fauntleroy types is to give them complete control and then require them to deal with the aftermath of their decisions and actions --- on their own.  More often than is not, they choke on their own hubris….or step all over their own dick….whichever you prefer.