Friday, October 3, 2008
Pat "Fucking" Robertson
Christian looney bird Pat Robertson is at it again, predicting "armageddon" in the next 100 or so days ("we have between 75 and 120 days before the Middle East starts spinning out of control") and stating that "The Western powers have left Israel no choice but to strike Iranian nuclear facilities now..."
Another example of how religion is, as Lewis Black might say, the root of all evil!
Read all about it here.
Another example of how religion is, as Lewis Black might say, the root of all evil!
Read all about it here.
Palin Bingo
This looks like a fun game... I guess she is so predictable in what will spew out of her mouth that somebody has created Palin Bingo cards.
I watched the debate on Thursday night and Sarah Palin did not crash and burn like many thought she would. The expectations were so low that she'd have had to come out and take a shit on stage to do worse than the expectations.
That said, she didn't answer many of the questions posed to her... and to me, at least, that means she lost. Of course, Biden didn't set the stage on fire, but he did reasonably try to answer the questions that were asked of him.
I watched the debate on Thursday night and Sarah Palin did not crash and burn like many thought she would. The expectations were so low that she'd have had to come out and take a shit on stage to do worse than the expectations.
That said, she didn't answer many of the questions posed to her... and to me, at least, that means she lost. Of course, Biden didn't set the stage on fire, but he did reasonably try to answer the questions that were asked of him.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
John McCain, Astronaut, on Health Care
Great question posed to McSame in Des Moines about him always being provided for by a tax payer health care system. Watch his answer here, about never having been an astronaut?
But, wait-a-minute, didn't he say he was an astronaut in the past?
Intrade Predicts Obama Landslide
Today's electoral map from www.intrade.com predicts a landslide victory for Barack Obama. Intrade is a betting site where users buy and sell "shares" of candidates in elections.
The bettors think Obama will sweep all the states John Kerry won in 2004, plus the swing states of Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada. The only swing state bettors think McCain will take is Missouri.
If this map ends up being the final one, Obama wins 339 electoral votes to McCain's 200.
I sure hope they're correct!
The bettors think Obama will sweep all the states John Kerry won in 2004, plus the swing states of Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada. The only swing state bettors think McCain will take is Missouri.
If this map ends up being the final one, Obama wins 339 electoral votes to McCain's 200.
I sure hope they're correct!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
On The Financial Meltdown
I copied the following post from a data management forum, but I thought it was very interesting and worth sharing:
Regrettably, we're all focused on the mortgage holder that's stuck or behind, or whatever.
That's NOT what this is about. They are the instruments that brought this into existence, and lenders, banks, etc, may have caused it, but that's not the point.
Here's a close to home example. Liz just bought that house for $290K. Mike bought a Cape about 9 years ago for $120. That's 2.5 times price increase in under 10 years. Liz's house has about $50K worth of improvements, so that, in theory brings it down to about $240. Just 2x Mike's house...
The mortgage on the house was $313K. There were ZERO payments for 12 months prior to the sale. The interest rate was 10.45%. So, just straight interest, there was $33K in lost interest. So, the "true" debt was about $350K. The mortgage holder got $265 after all expense of the sale were deducted. So, the mortgage holder lost $85K.
Likely, the mortgage holder took that mortgage and bundled with a bunch of others and sold them to a bank. That bank was to use the future interest to pay interest on deposits, etc.
Because the home owner defaulted, the bank's customers were not able to get paid... So the bank had to take the owed interest out of reserves.... Multiply that by some quantity, and then the bank goes under.... etc. Multiply that by whatever and you have the dimensions of the problem.
If the bank needs money, then it cannot lend. That means that farmers cannot get advance on crops, business cannot buy equipment on credit against further sales, and all that....
Vapor lock takes over....
"We" are all what this is about. The businesses that we use, services that we get, and all that depend very much on credit from large banks. Because of this mess, the whole flow of money could come close to stopping.
So, what we, regrettably need to keep focused on is that if this doesn't get fixed we all suffer.
Regrettably, we're all focused on the mortgage holder that's stuck or behind, or whatever.
That's NOT what this is about. They are the instruments that brought this into existence, and lenders, banks, etc, may have caused it, but that's not the point.
Here's a close to home example. Liz just bought that house for $290K. Mike bought a Cape about 9 years ago for $120. That's 2.5 times price increase in under 10 years. Liz's house has about $50K worth of improvements, so that, in theory brings it down to about $240. Just 2x Mike's house...
The mortgage on the house was $313K. There were ZERO payments for 12 months prior to the sale. The interest rate was 10.45%. So, just straight interest, there was $33K in lost interest. So, the "true" debt was about $350K. The mortgage holder got $265 after all expense of the sale were deducted. So, the mortgage holder lost $85K.
Likely, the mortgage holder took that mortgage and bundled with a bunch of others and sold them to a bank. That bank was to use the future interest to pay interest on deposits, etc.
Because the home owner defaulted, the bank's customers were not able to get paid... So the bank had to take the owed interest out of reserves.... Multiply that by some quantity, and then the bank goes under.... etc. Multiply that by whatever and you have the dimensions of the problem.
If the bank needs money, then it cannot lend. That means that farmers cannot get advance on crops, business cannot buy equipment on credit against further sales, and all that....
Vapor lock takes over....
"We" are all what this is about. The businesses that we use, services that we get, and all that depend very much on credit from large banks. Because of this mess, the whole flow of money could come close to stopping.
So, what we, regrettably need to keep focused on is that if this doesn't get fixed we all suffer.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Truth Fights Back
Nice new web site Truth Fights Back tracks the Republican deceit, smears and lies and offers up the truth... for those who can handle the truth.
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