Open Thread: I’m Back…
May 3rd, 2008 at 02:55am Mark Noonan
…yes, dear friends; tanned, rested and ready.
I had a grand time on the cruise - we were a party of 9 and we had many a great meal, substantial quantities of interesting drinks, good and bad luck at the ship’s casino and, most importantly, the back and forth fun of being with people you love.
Naturally, I’m a bit out of the loop on current affairs…the ship did carry CNN, but who the heck wants to watch any news at all when there is sun, fun and friends about? I’ll catch up on my reading as quickly as possible - but I have noted:
1. The stock market is back up above 13,000.
2. Unemployment has dropped.
3. New construction is visible all over southern California, both commercial and residential.
4. There is talk that Hillary might come close in North Carolina (something considered impossible when I left).
5. The dollar has recovered a bit.
6. We’re deploying a second carrier to the Persian Gulf.
No recession; Obama-Hillary fight is still intense; more US power in the Persian Gulf, just in case we need it.
Seems as though things have gone very well this past week.
Entry Filed under: Announcements
12 Comments
1. Stock Market » Blog&hellip | May 3rd, 2008 at 4:59 am
[...] Energy News | Oilweek Magazine wrote an interesting post today on Open Thread: I’m Back…Here’s a quick excerpt1. The stock market is back up above 13,000. 2. Unemployment has dropped. 3. New construction is visible all over southern California, both… [...]
2. OperationChaos | May 3rd, 2008 at 6:27 am
Mark where did you find all this good news? I’ve checked CNN, seeBS, NBC, ABC, and MS-LSD, and I haven’t seen it at all.
Oh yeah, it’s good news. How silly of me. Never mind…
3. Nate | May 3rd, 2008 at 10:02 am
unemployment has dropped? what a way to describe 20,000 jobs lost in April — just fewer lost than in previous months — but still 20,000 lost
http://www.cnbc.com/id/24425064
and the djia back above 13,000 — how about back above 14,000?
and how about the good news in gasoline prices and the home mortgage mess and …..
oh yeah, that good news just keeps on coming…
4. Rich | May 3rd, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Speaking of good news in the foreclosure mess! My girlfriend and I just bought a foreclosed house in the suburbs for about 60 percent of the value!! Great time to buy.
5. Mark Noonan | May 3rd, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Nate,
Rich pointed out the good news in the mortgage mess - not only did he find a bargain, but so did my step-son, a close friend of mine and a whole bunch of first-time buyers who were priced out during the speculative boom in 2005-06.
Life is not what you on the left think it is…it isn’t a bowl of misery in desperate need of a liberal to make things all better.
6. Rich | May 3rd, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Anyone know what can be done when your vehicle is hit by an illegal alien? I posted on this the other day. My car was parked in fron of my apartment and was struck by a drunken illegal alien. He was picked up for d.u.i. and not having a drivers license and the car was owned by somone else. It appears I am going to have to claim this under my insurance and pay the deductible. Is there any way the owner of the car is liable or can be sued?
7. Nate | May 3rd, 2008 at 3:44 pm
“Rich pointed out the good news in the mortgage mess - not only did he find a bargain, but so did my step-son, a close friend of mine and a whole bunch of first-time buyers who were priced out during the speculative boom in 2005-06.”
assuming there was some sort of family unit living in those foreclosed buildings the good news rides on others’ misfortune. there’s a lot of such misfortune out there and $600 isn’t going to make it better. so, fine, good news for some, still pretty awful news for some who were trying to live bush’s ownership society. if you can insulate yourself from the bad that’s happening out there — well, hooray.
8. Diana Powe | May 3rd, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Mark,
I’m glad to hear you had a good time.
9. Rich | May 3rd, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Actually Nate- the lady that owned the house previously had a job transfer and owed more money on the house than what is was worth due to a home equity loan. She simply handed the keys to the bank and walked away, and they have been stuck with the loss. To her credit, she did not trash the house when she left, but that seems to be a definite trend in foreclosure.
10. Bill Eischeidt | May 3rd, 2008 at 7:32 pm
You guys can spend the rest of your evening when you should be watching west coast baseball trying to figure out how to spin the whole McCain the Iraq War isn’t about oil thing.
And I know as a sports guy laying a hard news trap like this isn’t fair but heck neither is politics.
11. Bill Eischeidt | May 3rd, 2008 at 8:13 pm
“My friends, I will have an energy policy that we will be talking about, which will eliminate our dependence on oil from the Middle East that will — that will then prevent us — that will prevent us from having ever to send our young men and women into conflict again in the Middle East.‖Senator John McCain, Denver, CO, 2 May 2008.
“No, no, I was talking about that we had fought the Gulf War for several reasons. But also we didn’t want him to have control over the oil, and that part of the world is critical to us because of our dependency on foreign oil, and it’s more important than any other part of the world.”–Senator John McCain, clarifying his earlier statements, 2 May 2008.
“With all due respect, and I respect everyone’s opinion, to say that we went there for oil, that’s just not - people said that’s why we went there the first time. The reason we went there the first time was because he invaded Kuwait.”– Senator John McCain, Arizona Reporters Roundtable, 28 August 2005.
12. Eric T | May 4th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrLH6kImNd8