What The Hell Were They Thinking?

The New York Post is under fire because of a new President Obama cartoon seemingly linking him to a crazy money. Check out the cartoon in the picture attached to this post. This is from an article I read at the Huffington Post.

What the hell were they thinking. This is the single most outrageous act by a media outlet since President Obama began his quest to become elected the first black President in US history. I see why other idiots are out there trying to assassinate him. Check out the video and tell me what you think. Is this racism or just bad judgement. I would call it racist, but that’s just me.

BART Police Shooting In Oakland - Somebody Needs To Pay

Today I saw something very disturbing. It is video footage of a police shooting in Oakland, CA. In the video, the police shoot and kill an unarmed man for no apparent reason. If you watch it, you will agree that something went terribly wrong.

People in Oakland are now rioting because nothing has been done to the officer, who in my opinion, committed a crime and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. I am outraged also because of this and I can only imagine what I would do if I were in Oakland. Hell, if I had money, I’d go there for this one for sure.

Anyway, watch the video below and determine for yourself. Check it out below.

The George Bush Shoe Incident (Funny)

Here is a funny incident involving President Bush. It is an Iraqi journalist throwing two shoes at the President. It’s funny to me because President Bush actually dodges them quite well. Check it out below.

Hot New Controversy Involving Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich

This is the hottest controversy in the media right now. According to a report by the Chicago Tribune, the Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich has been arrested for trying to sell the vacated Senate seat of President-Elect Barack Obama. Here is what he said yesterday to defend himself:

One day later here is what is going on:

This must be the dumbest Governor in US history. Stay tuned to see how this one plays out.

Controversial Topic: ‘Are You an Idiot to Keep Paying Your Mortgage?’

In today’s “You’ve Got to be Kidding Me” moment, the San Francisco Chronicle advocated that folks who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth should stop making payments so they can qualify for a government bailout.

I’m not kidding.

Disgustingly titled “Are You an Idiot to Keep Paying Your Mortgage,” the article actually instructed readers upside-down in their real estate the ins and outs of how they can transfer responsibility for their own investment mistakes to others (emphasis added throughout, picture courtesy The Economist):

Should you keep paying your mortgage?

If you have significant equity in your home, absolutely.

If you don’t, it’s getting harder to answer that question, especially when our government keeps giving people who owe more than their homes are worth so many reasons not to pay.

Last week, the government announced a program that will substantially lower payments for many homeowners who have little or no equity, but only if they are at least 90 days delinquent.

Here’s how it works:

To qualify, you must be at least 90 days delinquent and live in the home as your primary residence. You must owe at least 90 percent of the home’s value. It’s fine if you owe more than it’s worth.

Your mortgage must be owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or held by one of the participating loan companies.

If you meet these requirements and can document your income, your servicer will reduce your monthly mortgage payment - including property taxes, insurance and association dues - to 38 percent of your gross income.

Here’s the best part:

The streamlined process looks only at income, not assets. If you refinanced your home to buy a Mercedes or own another home, you won’t be expected to sell them to pay your mortgage.

Did you get that? So, a person may have taken out a loan against this house to buy other things, or may just have other assets, but they’re NOT going to be required to liquidate anything to pay off what they owe on their primary residence.

Are you kidding me? How can the borrower’s total assets NOT be part of the bailout equation?

Why should the tax dollars of folks NOT underwater in real estate be used to bailout folks who might have substantial, liquidatable assets to solve their own financial troubles without federal assistance?

What is happening to our country?

Sadly, this program seems destined for abuse:

Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital, predicts that many homeowners who have little or no equity will stop paying their mortgage and then reduce their income to get the biggest payment cut possible. They could stop working overtime or, if two spouses work, one could quit. After the modification, they could try to boost their income again.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Schiff says. “People are going to feel like complete morons if they don’t participate. The people getting punished are the ones who never made an irresponsible decision to buy a house they couldn’t afford.”

You’re darned right Peter, but it gets worse:

Schiff predicts that loan agents “will be cold-calling people trying to get them into it. Just like they encouraged people to overstate their income to get a bigger loan in the first place, now they will encourage them to understate their income to qualify for a smaller loan.”

The Chronicle even instructed people that this won’t do too much damage to their future borrowing ability:

A 90-day delinquency will hurt your score, but not as badly as a foreclosure. How many points it takes off depends on other things in your credit file, such as the number and severity of late payments on other accounts.

In the latest version of FICO, which is just being rolled out, “one isolated delinquency will do less damage to your score than it has in the past,” [Craig Watts, a spokesman for Fair Isaac, which markets the FICO credit score] says.

Consumers who suffer a severe delinquency can rebuild their scores over time by paying all credit accounts on time and keeping their balances low.

“If it was me and I was certain that I could keep my home even after missing a couple payments by working out a deal with the lender, I’d be for keeping the home,” Watts says. “Your score will bounce back.”

Schiff predicts that many homeowners will reach that conclusion and that the new program will cost Fannie and Freddie far more than expected.

And, as the government now owns Fannie and Freddie, that means this will cost you and me far more than expected.

What’s happening to our country?

Disturbing AP Report

The Associated Press just published a disturbing piece about a rise in race-related crimes and incidents since Election Day:

Cross burnings. Schoolchildren chanting “Assassinate Obama.” Black figures hung from nooses. Racial epithets scrawled on homes and cars.

Incidents around the country referring to President-elect Barack Obama are dampening the postelection glow of racial progress and harmony, highlighting the stubborn racism that remains in America.

From California to Maine, police have documented a range of alleged crimes, from vandalism and vague threats to at least one physical attack. Insults and taunts have been delivered by adults, college students and second-graders.

The article listed some of these disgusting incidents:

_Four North Carolina State University students admitted writing anti-Obama comments in a tunnel designated for free speech expression, including one that said: “Let’s shoot that (N-word) in the head.” Obama has received more threats than any other president-elect, authorities say.

_At Standish, Maine, a sign inside the Oak Hill General Store read: “Osama Obama Shotgun Pool.” Customers could sign up to bet $1 on a date when Obama would be killed. “Stabbing, shooting, roadside bombs, they all count,” the sign said. At the bottom of the marker board was written “Let’s hope someone wins.”

_Racist graffiti was found in places including New York’s Long Island, where two dozen cars were spray-painted; Kilgore, Texas, where the local high school and skate park were defaced; and the Los Angeles area, where swastikas, racial slurs and “Go Back To Africa” were spray painted on sidewalks, houses and cars.

_Second- and third-grade students on a school bus in Rexburg, Idaho, chanted “assassinate Obama,” a district official said.

Is this really America in 2008? How can we still be here as a nation?