Preying Upon the Young and the Stupid

tax payer backed grist for the mill, ripe for grinding

"Two recent studies suggest that this bubble is indeed real and is beginning to burst.  The first is the recent Department of Education report on student loan default rates.  The report shows that the two-year default rate rose from 8.8% in FY (fiscal year) 2009 to 9.1% in FY 2010.  This marks the fifth year of increases in the two-year default rates -- indeed, the two-year rate is nearly double what it was in FY 2005.  This means that the number of borrowers whose first payments were due between 10/01/2009 and 9/30/2010 and who defaulted before 09/30/2011 went up dramatically -- numbering 375,000 in all, on a base of 4.1 million borrowers entering repayment.  Remember -- all these loans are ultimately guaranteed by the government."

Defaults will prove (again) that trees do not grow to the sky.

He will be on vacation in Hawaii in case you chumps students are wondering what your hero is up to for Christmas.  Now, get on down to your mall job at the Foot Locker so you can make the next payment to Sallie Mae on time....better that you pay your student loan bill than me (a Lower Slobovian taxpayer).

It Was Foretold by Mike Judge

strap in fuckers...might get a little bumpy!!!

It's got electrolytes!

From the "Get Off My Lawn" Files....

After shooting her with both the Mini 14 and the .22-caliber revolver, he dragged her next to Brady.

With her still gasping for air, he fired a shot under her chin "up into the cranium," the complaint says."Smith described it as 'a good clean finishing shot,'" according to the complaint.

Breaking and entering for fun and profit turns deadly.

Yours truly keeps a Remington product loaded with deer slugs at Smug Bastard Central....just in case.  No real accuracy required...fuckin' 12 guage slugs go through walls, doors, bodies... pretty much anything in their path for the first thirty yards or so.

Government Titles for Bimbos

"It's not suitable to the status of honorary consul that (she) sought to be involved in commercial projects and peddle influence. It's also inappropriate as honorary consul," Yonhap quoted Kim as telling South Korean reporters during a visit to Washington.

Kelley's title, which carries no official responsibility, came to light after Petraeus abruptly resigned on November 9 and admitted to an extramarital affair.

We are a country that fawns over the military, titties and ass in dangerous ways.  A nation of assclowns "citizens" who suffer from a serious case of arrested development.

Your Basic Best Buy Black Friday Shopper

Save Money. Live Better.

Out late with the unwashed masses trying to get a deal on an i-gadget...or a waffle iron....whichever.

English Word of the Day for Mr. Maldonado

The terms gristmill or grist mill (also: corn mill or flour mill) can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.

If you have to ask yourself who is the grist and who is the mill within the perpetual debt machine, chances are you are the grist.

F.H. Ayyyyyyyyyyyyy!

Everything you ever wanted to know about HUD but were afraid to ask...

The Office of Housing provides vital public services through its nationally administered programs. It oversees the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the largest mortgage insurer in the world, as well as regulates housing industry business.
The mission of the Office of Housing is to:

	Contribute to building and preserving healthy neighborhoods and communities;
	Maintain and expand homeownership, rentalhousing and healthcare opportunities;
	Stabilize credit markets in times of economic disruption;
	Operate with a high degree of public and fiscal accountability; and
	Recognize and value its customers, staff, constituents and partners

"The last time he owned a home, Maldonado refinanced four times and took on a second mortgage. He put a Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz C300W in the driveway and racked up about $45,000 in credit card bills and other debts. His debt-fueled lifestyle ended only when he was forced into bankruptcy."

What could possibly go wrong?

"His reentry into homeownership three years later (Kenny comment: there is little to any stigma about filing the old BK anymore...it's like the Locomotion....everybody's doin' a brand new dance now....c'mon baby, do the Locomotion) came courtesy of the Federal Housing Administration. The agency has become a major source of cash for so-called rebound buyers — a burgeoning crop of homeowners with past defaults who otherwise would be shut out of the market.

Barry and the Choom Crew to the rescue...thank you for your Latino vote!

"After everything that happened, thank God I was able to buy another house," Maldonado said in Spanish. "Now, it's good because the interest rates are low and there are lots of homes."

"Critics worry that the FHA is foolishly allowing marginal buyers to get loans just three years after foreclosure with as little as 3.5% down. What's more, the agency doesn't even track how many rebound borrowers it backs."

From the LA Times "Honk If I'm Paying Your Mortgage" bumpersticker files....

1, 2, 3, 4 What the Hell Are We Fightin' For?

"Gen. John Allen intervened in the same nasty child custody battle involving Natalie Khawam, the “psychologically unstable" twin sister of Jill Kelley, whose bombshell claims of being threatened by Petraeus' lover led to the top spy’s resignation last week, the Post has learned.
Allen, the four-star general top commander in Afghanistan, was revealed last night to have exchanged thousands of pages of of emails with Kelley, who went to the feds after receiving threatening e-mails from Paula Broadwell, the married mistress of Petraeus."

"Khawam claimed in a July 12 letter to her estranged husband that she took their now 4-year-old son "on vacation last year to Martha Vineyard," where their son and "I had a great time at the DSCC [Democratic Senate Campaign Committee] event."  "Sen. John Kerry asked if [her son] would be coming again this year," Khawam wrote. "[Their son] was a superstar at the DSCC last year."

Kenny Bing free analysis:  What a clusterfuck soap opera of over indulged ass clowns we have here.  If I'm a ground pounding grunt over in some bullshit asshattery imperial adventure in a Trashcanastan country, I'm asking myself, "How fucking stupid was I to sign up with these assholes."

Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Scorned

mutters under her breath, "David, when I get you home, I'm gonna waterboard your cheatin' ass to within an inch of your miserable life...."

Code Name: "Apple Pie"

"Retired Army Col. Steve Boylan said, "In a conversation with David Petraeus this weekend, he said that, 'Furious would be an understatement'" regarding Holly Petraeus' reaction to the affair."

Paula and David, Sittin' in a Tree...K-I-S-S-I-N-G...

If you have ever needed proof that power is an aphrodisiac for women, just take a look at the pictures.

Nice rack... they appear to be firm and perky for a broad your age....

Paula looks like your typical “hot soccer mom from the ‘burbs”.  It is ok to admit it – even though she’s squirted out a few young ‘uns, she is definitely a MILF.  I think most red-blooded, heterosexual men would agree that none of us would kick her out of bed.  On the other hand, I’ll bet being married to this chick is no walk in the park.  Fuck her?  Sure.  Put a ring on it?  Never.  Life is too short for that kind of drama.

Now, let’s take a gander at the geezer she was boinking.

ACE is the place with the helpful hardware man.

Not an ugly dude but certainly nothing GQ is going to put on the cover of the Senior / Seasoned Citizen Edition.  If you didn’t know he was Uncle Sam’s Top Swinging Dick of Spook Central, you’d swear this fucker was the owner of Dave’s Friendly ACE Hardware of Des Moines, IA.  Seriously, imagine him in a flannel shirt, a red vest and a pair of reading glasses hanging from a lanyard around his neck and tell me this fucker wouldn’t look like he could tell you which aisle to look in for the replacement toilet tank flap valves.

Later, I will introduce you to Major "Red" Helmethead.

I guarantee you that if that were the case, the skank wouldn’t think twice about doing push ups over the “General’s Lil' General”.  Anytime I see these chicks chasing dudes who are 20+ years their senior, I think to myself “Which is the case sweetie?  Did Daddy not love you enough as a little girl or did he love you too much?”  On the flip side, the dudes look just as ridiculous when the news comes out that they are banging some youngster groupie while their little missus is back at the ranch baking apple pies and volunteering for some asshattery charity to take her mind off the fact that the old man no longer finds her desirable.  Sad.

Roll Out the Crap - It is THAT Time of Year Again

 



Jeeeze Louise.... it is like watching the fucking Boston Pops do a version of Foghat's Slow Ride.....  STOP TRYING TO MIX CHRISTMAS TUNES WITH CRAPTASTIC ROCK SONGS FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING HOLY!!!!!

Red, White and Banana Republic

"With luck, it'll come before the jackboots come crashing down or the biker barbarians pull into your small, helpless village. (Actually, it won't be anything like either of those two scenarios - it'll be like Argentina, which is bad enough.) But if things do go completely bad, remember as you're fighting for that last rusty can of baked beans in the ruins that the Republicans are far from guiltless. The American people did look for a way out, once upon a time, and it was the GOP that slammed the door in their face."

From American Thinker

A good article that sums up why the old Smug Bastard no longer wastes time standing in line to cast a vote.  I do my best to mimic the coyote - adapt, be flexible and to use a piloting phrase, "plan your flight and fly your plan but when the environment and conditions change, change your plans".  Coyotes are amazing creatures.  They do what they have to in whatever the environment to assure their survival and their ability to thrive in difficult conditions is nothing short of wonderful.  It seems that I once heard it said that the indians thought the coyote would be one of the last creatures to walk the face of the earth because they were so adaptable and had such strong survival instincts.

A Republic, If You Can Keep It

"From an outright libertarian, the headline seems contrary; but Ron Paul's affirmation that "pure democracy is dangerous" critically confirms what Romney accidentally admitted: that enabling the majority to dictate the minority is a problem when the majority are receiving a [government] check. Bloomberg TV's Betty Liu looks a little shocked when the thoughtful Paul confirms bluntly that the reelection of Obama is driven simply by 'the people' being on the 'receiving end' of government benefits and that the US is "so far gone; we're over the cliff already."

"They talk about this fiscal cliff, but in my mind I work with the assumption we are already over the cliff, we're just wondering how we're going to land…it is unsolvable because you have to cut spending."

Gold and Silver holders LOVE the present system.

Nary a Peep About Housing from Either Candidate

Trend #7 – Remember history
There are some interesting stories in the news that are worth examining:

“ From Cincinnati.com. “The costs of the housing crisis remain steep in Greater Cincinnati and across the nation, yet the presidential candidates barely touch on the topic. ‘I find it absolutely remarkable,’ said Bill Faith, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio. ‘If you look at what triggered this whole financial market seize-up, it was housing.’”

Not much mention of this in the all important swing state of Ohio.... I wonder why????  Could it be that both parties are equally responsible for cheer leading the run-up in housing values and making their genius constituents (a.k.a. the middle class) feel all smug and good about themselves between 1995 and 2006???  Naaaahhhh.  I probably just have the chin strap on my tin foil helmet a little too tight.  When a little thing called reality comes a' knockin' on the door of hubris and false pride, no one wants to get up off the sofa, answer and look the truth in the face.

FOUR MORE YEARS!! FOUR MORE YEARS!!

Four more years of PRICELESS entertainment!!  pic credit Iowahawk

I was worried that Uncle Joe was gonna go buh-bye back to Scranton and then who the hell was I gonna follow to get my yucks?!? Thank you America!!!!!

FHA - For 78 Years, The Choice of White Trash for Mortgage Financing

"The government-backed mortgage insurer, which warned in last year’s report that its insurance fund was being drained, has raised premiums and tightened credit standards in an effort to avoid asking for a taxpayer subsidy.  Still, the improved quality of recent FHA-backed loans -- now comprising 15 percent of U.S. mortgages for home purchases - - may not offset continuing defaults from loans made from 2005 to 2008, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the report isn’t yet final."

To try to perpetuate the myth that borrowing money for the purpose of buying real estate is ALWAYS a move of sheer genius, FHA stupidly decided they were big and bad enough to step into the breach when the bubble burst and the smart money left town.

Meanwhile, Back at the Cradle of Democracy...

"Our society is on a razor's edge," Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias said recently, after striking shipyard workers broke into the grounds of the Defense Ministry. "If we can't contain ourselves, if we can't maintain our social cohesion, if we can't continue to act within the rules ... I fear we will end up being a jungle."

Social mood is dark but popularity of "Golden Dawn" is growing...??? Go figure....

Still madly in love with you after all these years....

Flav Says He Will Unleash His Stimulus Package

over the upcoming weekend.. and every weekend afterward (good Lord willing & the creek don't rise)

Great - We Got a Closeted Muslim for President and a Red For Big Swingin' Dick of the Fed...

"But in the aftermath of the financial crisis Bernanke is, in effect, dictating the price of all money, regardless of duration." - the Gospel according to Forbes

Joe McCarthy is turning cartwheels in his grave.

And on the other side of the coin where public sector employee unions are concerned:

"Many police and firefighters make more in retirement than they did working. Moreover, a majority of them get to retire at age 50 or so, provided they put in 20 years." - the Gospel according to Mish

 

Very true - many of them do quite well in retirement and at a relatively young age.

 

 "If one really wants to understand "gross inequalities in income distribution" one needs to understand precisely how and why that happened. Here's a hint. Lack of unions had nothing to do with it. Fiat money does. So does fractional reserve lending."

 

"Give me control of a nation's money and I care not who makes it's laws" — Mayer Amschel Bauer Rothschild

 

 

Please Do Not Call In a Drone Strike - I Am Only the Messenger

“Change you can believe in?” I bought that one hook, line and sinker in 2008 during the last vestige of my disappearing middle age optimism. We got a more intelligent President, but we hardly got change. Healthcare dominated by corporate interests – what’s new? Financial regulation dominated by Wall Street – what’s new? Continuing pointless foreign wars – what’s new?

from Zero Hedge

"Perhaps the most farcical aspect of it all is that the choice between the two seems to occupy most of our time. Instead of digging in and digging out of this mess on a community level, we sit in front of our flat screens and watch endless debates about red and blue state theologies or listen to demagogues like Rush Limbaugh or his ex-cable counterpart Keith Olbermann. To express my discontent, Genie, along with my continuing patriotism, I’ve created a modern-day version of our Pledge of Allegiance. Place your hand over your clock and recite after me:

I pledge allegiance to the flag of
the fragmented state of America,
and to the plutocracy for which now it stands,
a red and blue nation,
under financial gods
indistinguishable,
with liberty and justice for the 1(%)."

"Let the ruling classes tremble at a communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win." - Marx / Engles

Now, let's be clear - Yours truly is only an observer.  I have no dog in that fight and watch it mostly for the entertainment value.  For all you flag waving, red, white and blue bleeding spooks out there who are on Uncle Sam's payroll and hiding behind billboards on the information super highway, please don't call in a drone strike on Smug Bastard Central.... or if you are going to go all Iraqi on my smug bastard ass, please allow me enough time to get Kid a.k.a. Inglorious Bastard and Bing the Wonderdog out of the shack before you blow it to kingdom come.

Both sides are equally corruptible because both sides are human.  But, to the members of the upper echelon, I would caution you about becoming too emboldened by recent successes.  Be careful what you wish for because you may just get it.

The Pain In Spain Spreads Mainly Through the Plains

Home foreclosures in Spain, which disproportionately affected lower-income immigrants after the real estate bubble burst, are spreading to formerly well-to-do families and businessmen as they run out of ways to pay mortgages in a deepening recession.

I've used this illustration before but it bears stating again - stalls occur at different point in time and at different positions throughout the wing of an aircraft.  It is not as though the wing stalls all at once.  The stall spreads as airflow is diminished.

Watch the whole thing and yes, I agree it is about as exciting as watching paint dry or grass grow.

“Repossessions are encroaching further into the city centers, like an overflowing river,” said Emilio Miravet, head of real estate finance at the Spanish property unit of advisory and investment firm Catella AB. “At the beginning of the crisis, it was homes in the periphery areas belonging to the less affluent that were being foreclosed upon.”

'like a river that don't know where it's flowin'... I took a wrong turn and I just kept goin'....