Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Debt Star Implodes


I'd love to give a hat tip, but the illustrator of this humorous image is unknown.

This, however, is the real debt star (click to zoom).


Graph: Washington Post.

Breaking: Stimulus Bill Finally Kicking In


Glock reports that FY 2009 sales are up 36% over 2008.

I'm not sure that's the kind of stimulus Democrats were going for, but they'll take credit for anything at this point.


Related: Enjoy the spectacular, free Somali Coast Cruise Brochure!

Guess which CNBC breaking news headline is legit


Only one of these headlines is real. Repeat: one of these headlines is real. Can you guess which one?

Give up?

It's the second one. Sad, ain't it?


Hat tip: Zero Hedge.

Biker bar for the older set


Papa B says this is the biker bar he'll be visiting as he transitions into retirement.

Look up 'stubborn' in the dictionary...


...and you may see this series of photos.






Hat tips: My Ballard and Deputy Dog.

Toon o' the Day


From the fine folks at Hope n' Change Cartoons:




Hat tip: Denny. Linked by: Cold Fury, a new addition to the blogroll.

Larwyn's Linx: Walpin-gate opens wider

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email! You can also follow me on Twitter.

Nation

Walpin-gate opens wider: Times
ACORN plans name change: Examiner
Obama's spending graph: WaPo

Oops! About that private insurance: Foundry
Rahm Emanuael on Socialized Medicine: Verum
Dying is Patriotic: MoneyRunner

EMP - The Very Real Threat, Part I: PJTV
Dodge facts, skip details: Examiner
Obama nominee won't ID clients: Times

Justice Department and Islamic radicals: PJM (Rubin)

Economy

Ohio's AG objects to GM sale: Alpha
China's Real Estate Riddle: Feer
Foreclosure Reality Check: Dr. Housing Bubble

World

Clarity in the defense of freedom: Doc Zero
Obama and the rogues: WSJ
Obama snacked, Iranians got whacked: Treacher

Sarkozy: Islamic burka 'not welcome' in France: Eye
Obama's Persian Tutorial: WSJ
The Soviet Analogy and Iran: LegalIns

Climate

Why is it so difficult to answer three simple climate questions?: Online Opinion

Media

ABC self-nationalizes for Obama: IBD
Courant still squarely in Dodd's corner: RA Blogs
New York Times: McCain Voters Not Americans?: Kesler

Gray Lady explains impossibility of states cutting their budgets -- ever: MoneyRunner

Cornucopia

12 most amazing pools in the world: Boots n' all
Ron's Rant: Denny
'One-square Sheryl' to headline MLB All-Star concert: BWM

Adios, AOL, sort of: Parkway

Monday, June 22, 2009

Calling the Democrat Socialized Medicine Emergency Line


Welcome to the ObamaCare Emergency Help Line!

For Espanol, press 1.
For Urdu, press 2
For Arabic, press 3
For Farsi, press 4
For Hmong, press 5
For all other languages, press 6

6

Thank you! Did you press 6? If yes, press 1. If no, press 2.

1

Thank you. To speed processing of your call, please key in your 9-digit social security number, whether it was illegally obtained or not.

5 5 5 4 4 3 3 3 3

Thank you. Did you enter five five five four four three three three three? If yes, press 7, if no, press 3.

7

Thank you. Please enter the nature of your ailment, condition or problem.

For Achondroplasia, press 1-0-0-0. For Acne, press 1-0-0-1. For Acrodysostosis, press 1-0-0-2. For Acromegaly, press 1-0-0-3. For Adenoids, press 1-0-0-4. For Adrenoleukodystrophy, press 1-0-0-5. For Age-related macular degeneration, press 1-0-0-6. For Agoraphobia, press 1-0-0-7. For Albinism, press 1-0-0-8. For AIDS, press 1-0-0-8. For Alcohol poisoning, press 1-0-0-9. For Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, press 1-0-1-0. For Alport syndrome, press 1-0-1-1. For Altitude sickness, press 1-0-1-2. For Alzheimer's disease, press 1-0-1-3. For Amyloidosis, press 1-0-1-4. For Anaemia, press 1-0-1-5. For --

*

Thank you. To enter the nature of your ailment, condition or problem by name, use the touch-tone keypad to spell the name, then press the pound sign.

4 (h) ... 3 (e) ... 2 (a) ... 7 (r) ... 8 (t) ... 2 (a) ... 8 (t) ... 8 (t) ... 2 (a) ... 2 (c) ... 5 (k) ... #

Did you select HEART ATTACK? If yes, press 2, if no, press 9.

2

On a scale of 1 to 9, with 9 being excruciating pain, how much pain are you in?

9

Enter your age, followed by the pound sign.

7 4 #

I'm sorry, the maximum age of treatment for this condition, as determined by Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research is Seventy-three. Thank you for calling.

Good-bye.

7 2 # ... 7 2 # ... 72 #

*** Click ***

[Call recording terminated]


Bet they didn't clear it with the White House: Intel agencies to delve deep into applicants' ancestry, ethnicity


Government Security News reports that the U.S. intelligence communities will be delving deep into its applicants' ancestry and ethnicity.

The Director of National Intelligence [Dennis Blair, pictured at right] wants to ask job applicants and current employees in the U.S. intelligence community to identify their “ancestry” and “ethnicity” to enable personnel officers to assess their progress in recruiting and retaining U.S. citizens with knowledge of certain languages, cultures and societies.

Applicants and employees will be asked to identify their “country of origin” from a list of 58 different countries (plus “Other”); their “ethnicity” from a list of 71 possibilities – ranging from the familiar, such as Arab, Chinese, Jewish, Kurdish, Serb and Ukrainian, to the distinctly unfamiliar, such as Azeri, Banyakole, Dagestani, Kikuyu, Oromo, Tigre and Zhuag – and their “cultural expertise” from a list of 113 countries or ethnic groups, including relatively obscure ones, such as Circassian, Fulani, Hausa, Kpelle, Peuhl, Sara and Yezidi.

Kpelle? Yezidi? Bless you!

How long you figure it will take Al Sharpton and the ACLU to lodge a protest complaining that this kind of practice is -- no matter how much it's warranted -- some sort of violation of their anti-American agenda?

The over-under says ten days.


"Timid and passive" doesn't begin to tell the story


Every once in a while, even a blind squirrel finds a nut. In this case, Lindsey "Goober" Graham.

Republicans like Senator Lindsey Graham are accusing the President of being timid.

"Young men and women taking to the streets in Tehran need our support. Their signs are in English. They're basically asking for us to speak up on their behalf, and I appreciate what the President said yesterday, but he's been timid and passive more than I would like," Senator Graham said.

Former Republican presidential candidate John McCain is also urging the President to take a tougher stand.

"I'm not for sending arms, I'm not for fomenting violence - nothing, except to say that America's position in the world is one of moral leadership and that's what America's all about," Senator McCain said.

That's what America was all about, Senator.

After initially trying to pat himself on the back by crediting his Cairo speech with the rebellion ("We are excited to see what appears to be a robust debate taking place in Iran and obviously, after the speech that I made in Cairo, we tried to send a clear message that we think there’s a possibility of change..."), the President suddenly went deaf, dumb and mute rather than support freedom.

How's that "engagement with Iran strategy" coming?

Furthermore, the tinpot dictator of a starving, fourth-world country by the last name of Il is threatening Hawaii with ICBMs. He's testing Obama, as Joe Biden predicted many months ago, and this is just the first test of many.

Thus far, President Training Wheels has come up woefully short on the leadership front.


A little slice of housing heaven, courtesy of Fannie Mae


Diane writes in with her own puzzling story concerning Fannie Mae.

We were trying to get a contract on a foreclosure that is owned by Fannie Mae.

The asking price for the home was $290,000. The home had no appliances, holes in the walls, exposed wiring, etc. We fell in love with the home and most of the things wrong we could repair ourselves. So we made some offers on the home. Our final offer was $278,500.

Well, they [Fannie] declined all of our offers wanting $290,000 for the home (all of this took place over the last few weeks).

So I later went and looked to see if the home is still up for sale (we are under contract on another home now) and they are asking $268,900 for the home!

This is almost $10,000 less than our last offer. We were already pre-approved for more than what we were offering on the home, but Fannie Mae obviously has some kind of problem on accepting offers on this particular home.

It has been on the market for almost two years and they decline offers on the home but then turn around and drop the home's price to below that of the last counter-offer!

Is this discrimination? We are a white "middle-class" Military family. Why would Fannie Mae decline an offer of $278,500 and then turn around and lower the price to $268,900?

Kind of makes you wonder how many other families they have done this to just to keep homes on their books.

No wonder they needed a Federal Bailout!

To top this off I have been trying to contact Fannie Mae to find out the reason behind this... but of course you never get to speak to a representative and they never return phone calls! Something is obviously very fishy with Fannie Mae.

Maybe the government needs to take an even closer look!

Diane, they're a little too busy to return your calls. After all, they've got an entire health care system to nationalize!

In all seriousness, if anyone knows of similar stories, please fire me an email. We may have to delve into this little mystery.


Larwyn's Linx: A message from the boss

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email! You can also follow me on Twitter.

Nation

A message from the boss: STACLU
Feingold defends public plan, admits goal is single-payer: Verum Serum
GOP Senators Fight Marxist Healthcare Cramdown: Verum Serum

Our Fatherhood Crisis: Times
'High crimes and misdemeanors': Examiner
Change: Presidential Tracking Poll: Rasmussen

Democrat cap-and-trade bill could hike electricity rates 47%: KJCT
Washington learns how Chicago does it: Kass
We don't need Radical Healthcare Reform: Will

Economy

Unions at it again and FPL fights back: InvestmentU
"Dumb money" begins to lose conviction: Technical Take
California soon to get junked by Moody's: Zero Hedge

World

The Abandonment of Democracy: Muravchik
Priorities: SIGIS
Chicks with guns don't get raped: ForceOfReason

Kindergarten graduation pageant, Palestinian-style: Matzav
Iran Election Fraud Truthers Emerge: LegalIns
Want to see a GP? Get in line: Daily Mail (UK)

A teenager shot dead in street becomes Martyr for protesters: Sky
Iran Updates and Ice Cream: Morrissey

Eco-Crackpots

Fire Jim Hansen, the Weather Clown: Watts
Coal CEO challenges Hansen to debate: NewsBusters

Media

Sniveler: NE Repub
Juan Williams Pillories Media 'Kowtowing' to Obama: NewsBusters
How to write a NYT article on an Obama controversy: Hot Air

Update on Andrew Sullivan's Neocon Derangement Syndrome: AmPower
Stephanopoulos: Obama 'Obsessed' with FNC; NYT's Keller Denies Pro-Obama Bias: NewsBusters
Pat Buchanan is an useless idiot and must be rejected: LGF

Orwell's time-tested warnings: Jacoby

Cornucopia

Ottowan floods Iran with firewall bypass info: Ottawa Citizen
A video tribute to our 44th president: Barack ObaMao: Blatt

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Awkward's Father's Day Photo Contest Winner


My new favorite site -- Awkward Family Photos -- held a Dad's Day Photo contest. This shot won in a landslide.

Father’s Day Winner: The Role Model

A toast to the man who has taught us so much.

Genius: Barney Frank calls on Fannie and Freddie to relax mortgage standards for condos


Oh, this is rich.

...Democratic lawmakers are calling on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to relax recently tightened standards for mortgages on new condominiums, saying they could threaten the viability of some developments and slow the housing-market recovery.

...In a letter to the chief executives of Fannie and Freddie, Reps. Barney Frank, the Massachusetts Democrat who is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Anthony Weiner (D., N.Y.) warned that the 70% sales threshold "may be too onerous" and could lead condo buyers to shun new developments. The legislators asked the companies to "make appropriate adjustments" to their underwriting standards for condos.

The political push illustrates the balancing act facing the two government-controlled mortgage-finance giants as they struggle to keep the housing market afloat without losing more money.

The two companies, along with the Federal Housing Administration, purchase or guarantee the vast majority of mortgages in the U.S. That means that any toughening of lending standards could have an outsize impact on the housing market. But setting guidelines that are too lax could saddle the companies with risky loans that ultimately stick taxpayers with a bigger bill...

Not to worry, folks.


Barney Frank is calling the shots, so what could possibly go wrong?


Cold Chills and Assisted Suicide: Why Every Senior Must Oppose Democrats' Health Care Plans


The gargantuan "Stimulus" bill passed by Democrats sight unseen ordered the creation of a "federal medical database of every American by 2014."

The bill’s health rules will affect “every individual in the United States” (pages 445, 454 and 479). Your medical treatments will be tracked electronically by a federal system.

It also establishes a "National Coordinator of Health Information Technology" to monitor the database.

This coordinator will have the ability to verify that "doctors are using treatments that are federally approved and cost effective."

The goal is to manage costs and "guide" your doctor’s decisions (442, 446).

The stimulus bill calls it the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research (190-192). The goal that is described by Tom Daschle’s book -- which serves as the Democrats' blueprint -- is to slow the development and use of new technologies and drugs because they drive up costs.

Daschle praises Europeans for accepting "hopeless diagnoses"; he also criticizes Americans for expecting world-class treatment from the U.S. health-care system.

Daschle admits in his book that Socialized Medicine "will not be pain-free". He insists that Seniors should accept the aging process and forgo expensive treatments.

Quite simply, the elderly will suffer most.

How do we know this? We have many examples from Canada and the UK where access to medical technologies is carefully restricted and rationed.

But we can see it in this country as well. Oregon's socialized medical program is an utter disaster. Just days ago, it was discovered that Oregon's health plan covers covers assisted suicide, but not drugs, for certain cancer patients. The drugs are too expensive, but the suicide is deemed cost-effective.

What's next? Euthanasia of the elderly? It's not far-fetched. Euthanasia is legal in the Democrat utopia of Holland, where socialized medicine has become expert at rationing care.

There are more damning ramifications of the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research, which will decide the treatments you should get, who should get them, and whether they should be made available at all.

Using the "comparative effectiveness" (CE) approach, virtually every country with nationalized health care routinely denies patients life-saving medical treatments because of out-of-control costs.

In Britain, CE is specifically employed as a deadly tool to deny advanced drugs to patients suffering with breast cancer, Alzheimer's and Multiple Sclerosis under the banner of cost.

How do we know that the Democrats plan the same thing for their "Comparative Effectiveness" research?

A recent proposed amendment prohibited the use of CE research to deny coverage of health care treatments under any federal health care program. The amendment required "that comparative effectiveness research take into account [Page: S4127] the individuals and their treatment responses and their preferences, and it [protected] doctor and patient sovereignty over health care decisions."

In short, the amendment would "expressly forbid Medicare and other federal health programs from using results of comparative effectiveness research to deny coverage of any treatments."

The amendment -- to protect American Seniors -- was defeated on a straight party line. All Democrats voted against protecting American Seniors and instead supported the creation of a deadly health care-rationing bureaucracy; all Republicans voted the other way.

Every Senior in America should shudder in fear. With Democrat Socialized Medicine, assisted suicide is a certainty and euthanasia may be in the cards as well.

And where is the AARP? Too busy raking in dough from its various affinity programs, it would seem, to be all that concerned with the fate of its members.

In fact, Seniors should boycott the AARP until it puts its members first.

And they should call their representatives in Washington to oppose Democrat socialized medicine. To not do so would be -- quite literally -- suicidal.


'Invisible' Homes


New Zealand jewelry tycoon Michael Hill has gotten permission to build 17 'invisible' homes in and around his golf course.

Each [subterranean] dwelling would take one of seven designs, some of which include lap pools, wine cellars, libraries, outdoor fireplaces and/or courtyards... More than half of the dwellings would be built below a ridge southwest of the golf course. A handful would be nestled between fairways.

Mr Hill last week told The Southland Times he was looking forward to building the "world-beating" homes... He said the design shied away from the resort-style courses that were popular in the United States... "The Americans put a big colonial clubhouse at the back of the 18th and fill the fairways with homes.

"For me, that spoils everything. We want it to be like a Scottish course, where you see nothing. These homes will be invisible."

Somewhere, Frank Lloyd Wright is beaming.

False confidence and the Coming Economic Storm


Interviewed on Charlie Rose, economics columnist and author Michael Lewis left no doubt that he believes a recovery is not imminent.

CHARLIE ROSE: And you think maybe more bad news is to come.

MICHAEL LEWIS: I do think that. I think that the scope of the losses has not been completely acknowledged by the government. I think that the approach that they’ve taken has been to sort of -- it has been -- you know, it works, up to a point. The Obama administration especially has been very good at creating false confidence, they have been very good at talking up the financial institutions, and it is true that.

CHARLIE ROSE: But it’s not just the Obama administration, I mean, it’s outside the Obama administration. I mean, I saw a ticker go today, "Bank CEOs suggest recovery by end of year."

MICHAEL LEWIS: Right.

There are many thoughtful analysts who believe as Lewis does. Investment firm T2 Partners (PDF) offers its opinion, based upon hard numbers, that the full credit and banking crisis has yet to arrive. I selected some of the key panels from their June 1 presentation (click on any image to zoom).



In recent years, lenders relaxed underwriting standards because they could pass on loans to upstream investors. The GSEs (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) and the FHA supported this framework by securitizing and insuring these low-quality loans.








Defaults in "above subprime" loans continue to rise at a frightening rate. The current unemployment situation, of course, is not helping.


A huge percentage of Alt-A (just above subprime) and Option ARM (a dangerous adjustable rate package with "pick a payment" options) loans are underwater, meaning the homeowner owes more than the home is worth. The default rates on underwater mortgages continue to rise.


The biggest block of Alt-A and Option ARM defaults are still ahead of us.



HELOCs (Home Equity Lines-of-Credit) were often used to purchase cars during the boom years. Now that HELOCs are defaulting, it bodes poorly for both the financial services and the automobile industries.







We appear to be a deflationary spiral: foreclosures are increasing, which continue to drive prices down, which turn more loans "underwater", which increase foreclosures.





President Barack ("We're open to new ideas -- except ones that work") Obama could have blunted much of this mess with massive tax cuts. This would have freed up capital for investment, mortgage payments and the like.

But it appears that the President's ideology trumped common sense. And that is why T2 believes the economy will continue to deteriorate.