Blogs For Victory

From Mish’s:

…Hey Mish,

I always found it humorous when you posted people’s dealing with their mortgage lender, hence my personal submission.

We applied for Fannie Mae’s mortgage modification program only to be denied during the probation period for paying too early. Evidently, paying your mortgage one day early signifies an “over willingness” to pay (i.e. keep current) and from FNM’s perspective. That means you can afford the original payment.

Here was my response:

“Look man, I’m on my second layoff in 2 1/2 years and my wife’s company is hanging by a thread so I think I’ll stop paying you now. For the next 6-12 months I’ll save what would normally be spent on carrying/maintaining our underwater mortgage, while you run through the process of foreclosing.

My loan’s non-recourse so no worries there. And we’ll have no problem renting a home just as nice for 1/3 the cost. The way I see it, I need incentives to stay.”

And that’s where I left it.

…Once someone decides to stop paying, the loan may be irrecoverable no matter what incentives the lender offers down the road. On the other hand, if the lender offers new terms to anyone who asks, everyone will ask. Either way the lender loses. Moreover, the lender may not easily be able to figure out which option is worse.

There are millions of people out there in the same situation and unless the banks start sweetening the loan modification deal, those millions will simply walk away. This, in turn, would drop housing prices even more, which would encourage ever more people to walk. The only solution: “cram down”. This is where the mortgage amount would be reduced to fair market value – a huge hit for banks and homeowners, but the only surefire way to keep people in their homes, and their homes off the market.

Feeling a bit down? Wondering if we’ll ever get back on track? As JPII once said, “be not afraid”:

Fear not, my people!

Remember, Israel,

You were sold to the nations

not for your destruction;

It was because you angered God

that you were handed over to your foes.

For you provoked your Maker

with sacrifices to demons, to no-gods;

You forsook the Eternal God who nourished you,

and you grieved Jerusalem who fostered you.

She indeed saw coming upon you

the anger of God; and she said:

“Hear, you neighbors of Zion!

God has brought great mourning upon me,

For I have seen the captivity

that the Eternal God has brought

upon my sons and daughters.

With joy I fostered them;

but with mourning and lament I let them go.

Let no one gloat over me, a widow,

bereft of many:

For the sins of my children I am left desolate,

because they turned from the law of God.

Fear not, my children; call out to God!

He who brought this upon you will remember you.

As your hearts have been disposed to stray from God,

turn now ten times the more to seek him;

For he who has brought disaster upon you

will, in saving you, bring you back enduring joy.” – Baruch 4:5-12, 27-29

Have a little faith; this, too, shall pass.

Its like someone is slipping stupid pills in to the DC water supply:

Sen. Thomas Carper (D.-Del.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, told CNSNews.com that he does not “expect” to read the actual legislative language of the committee’s health care bill because it is “confusing” and that anyone who claims they are going to read it and understand it is fooling people.

“I don’t expect to actually read the legislative language because reading the legislative language is among the more confusing things I’ve ever read in my life,” Carper told CNSNews.com.

And its on video – its like the 2010 campaign is writing itself…heck, I don’t know: Maybe Rove does have some sort of mind-control device…

Rather interesting comparison between our first socialist President and the USSR’s last:

The comparison between Gorbachev and Obama is apt on few levels. The chief difference is between the U.S. of 2009, and the USSR of 1985; between a huge, decentralized, open economy, and the society it serves; and a much smaller, very centralized, command economy, and the society serving it. These circumstances are not even remotely comparable, and one must be a fool indeed to play with a moral, economic, or ideological “equivalence” between the two old superpowers. Which is not to say such fools aren’t numerous…

…On the other hand, some interesting comparisons could be made between the thuggish party machine of Chicago, which raised Obama as its golden boy; and the thuggish party machine of Moscow, which presented Gorbachev as it’s most attractive face.

Both men have been praised for their wonderful temperaments, and their ability to remain unperturbed by approaching catastrophe. But again, the substance is different, for Gorbachev’s temperament was that of a survivor of many previous catastrophes.

Yet they do have one major thing in common, and that is the belief that, regardless of what the ruler does, the polity he rules must necessarily continue. This is perhaps the most essential, if seldom acknowledged, insight of the post-modern “liberal” mind: that if you take the pillars away, the roof will continue to hover in the air.

Being that the author is Canadian, he ends by pointing out that America’s preeminent power is passing away. This is a common sentiment among foreigners – mostly because foreigners, by and large, don’t understand the United States. When they visit, they hang out in New York or Los Angeles, and thus don’t understand what really makes for American strength. With that caveat, the comparison does work – out of touch socialists who think they are reforming when they are actually destroying.

Gorbachev was reforming by attempting to let a little liberty in to the prison; Obama is attempting to reform by putting us all a bit more behind bars – but both men attempt the same thing: to hold people down while giving the people enough freedom to allow the leaders to claim success and cut an impressive figure on the world stage. Gorbachev has, I think, over the years come to realize what he did wrong – Obama has yet to wake up to the massive error he is making.

The United States can and will survive whatever disasters Obama presides over – we might not survive two or three Obama-style Administrations in a row, but we can survive this one (and the way things are going, we’ll only have this one to deal with). But this doesn’t mean that we’ll get off easy – heck no. Obama’s policies will have to be paid for – in blood and treasure, just as Gorbachev’s policies were paid for by the Chechens, the Georgians and other people who emerged wracked by war in the downfall of the USSR.

Only months after it was first noted – but, hey, its the MSM…

… the biggest factor driving cash into longer-term bonds is the feeling that there is no inflation threat to fixed-income securities, Tucci and Di Galoma said.

In fact, sentiment is shifting more toward the idea that the U.S. could face outright deflation, Tucci said.

Figure it this way: If inflation is 2% and a bond pays 3% interest, the “real” or after-inflation yield is just 1%.

But say inflation turns to deflation, and the U.S. sees broad-based declines in prices of goods and services, similar to Japan’s experience.

At a deflation rate of 2%, the real return on a 3% bond would be 5% — a huge number, by bond standards.

The deflationistas are still a minority camp on Wall Street. But their numbers will grow if the economic data get weaker instead of stronger.

I started talking this up in August, while Mish’s has been on it for quite a long time. As an aside, Mish’s has an excellent – and worrisome – look at the steel trade. Seems that the Chinese are low-balling everyone, and we’re still not buying: imports down around 55% from a year ago.

Its a Depression, boys and girls: get used to it. When will we get out of it? When we start making, mining and growing our own stuff. Oh, and balance the budget – without raising taxes.

The long battle begins:

The seesaw 2010 Senate race in Pennsylvania tips to Republican Pat Toomey, who has 43 percent to recently converted Democrat Sen. Arlen Specter’s 42 percent, too close to call, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. This reverses a 45 – 44 percent tip to Sen. Specter July 22 and wipes out a 20-point Specter lead May 4, in the flush of Specter’s switch from Republican to Democrat to escape a primary battle with Toomey.

President Barack Obama’s job approval rating in the Keystone State has dropped to a new low, 49 – 42 percent, the first time he has been under 50 percent in the state, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds.

The good news for Sen. Specter, who was first elected to the Senate as a Republican in 1980, is that he remains far ahead of his Democratic primary challenger, U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak from southeastern Pennsylvania, 44 – 25 percent.

I think that Sestak might become more appealing to PA Democrats – certainly, if I were a PA Democrat, I’d be furious about the powers-that-be saddling me with a worn out, retread reject from another party. Be that as it may, the fact that Toomey is doing so well in this trial heat shows how precarious the Democrats’ hold on power has become.

Its still a near impossibility for the GOP to score a majority in the Senate, but we can certainly whittle down the Democrats majority by 5 or 6, if we fight hard.

That is how much federal debt we wracked up in FY 2009. Now, Obama isn’t fully responsible for this as he only took over in Q2, FY2009…but he’s 3/4ths responsible…and from now on, its all him.

Um, you liberals will remember to hammer him relentlessly if he doesn’t balance the budget, right? We on the right don’t want to think your attacks on Bush were just dishonest opportunism…

Regarding Iran:

President Obama appeared in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House Thursday afternoon to demand that leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran take concrete actions to defuse international tensions regarding its nuclear program, beginning with allowing the International Atomic Energy Agency “full access” to Iran’s nuclear facility at Qom within the next two weeks.

IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei, with whom the president has been in close contact, will be arriving in Tehran in the next few days, the president said.

“Our patience is not unlimited,” the president said, alluding to tougher economic sanctions if Iran does not take the necessary steps. “The United States will not continue to negotiate indefinitely, and we are prepared to move towards increased pressure.”

What’ll he do? Threaten to threaten again? Now, there is a story that Iran will send a large amount of its uranium to Russia for final processing as fuel-grade material. This is considered good news – how so, I can’t imagine. Iran doesn’t need a civil nuclear program – in fact, Iran is largely bankrupting itself with its nuclear program. Send that stuff to Russia for final processing as fuel-grade and all your doing is saving the Iranians some trouble – once back in Iran, it can then be further processed to weapons-grade. And this, of course, would presume that Iran would do it – and that Russia would tell us the truth if Iran didn’t perform. We’ll also have no way of telling, if Iran performs, that this is all the material they have.

The problem with negotiating with Iran is that there’s no real teeth behind it. Alluding to possible pressure at some future point if Iran doesn’t come through is utterly foolish – and Obama’s statement is just the mindless statement of someone who thinks that negotiating is an end, rather than a means. For liberals, as long as you’re talking, everything is going swell. Well, it will be for the Iranian mullahs – as long as we’re talking with no threat of force around, they can continue on their merry, nuclear way.

The only way to get Iran to the table – really to the table and willing to give up the nukes – is to make it clear to Iran that failure to comply means force will be used, in whatever measure proves necessary. Iran can bluster about fighting, but even the most kooky of Iranian mullahs know they can’t actually stop us – they can’t stop us from bombing the facilities, blockading the ports, blowing up Iran’s sole gasoline refinery. They can shoot back a bit, but that would only give us the excuse to entirely wreck Iran’s military power. Put the threat of force on the table, and the Iranians will back down – in addition, this will encourage the Iranian people in their simmering revolt; there is nothing better for oppressed people than to feel that the United States is on their side against their oppressors.

But, Obama will talk and talk and talk and the issue will just stumble along…until Iran has nukes, or Israel just decides to take care of the issue, with incalculable results for the world. The Giant is bound hand and foot – and Obama is the man tying him down.

Geesh – what woodwork did these people crawl out of?

A law professor nominated by President Obama to become a commissioner for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was a signatory to a radical 2006 manifesto which endorsed polygamous households and argued traditional marriage should not be privileged “above all others.”

Georgetown University Law Center professor Chai R. Feldblum, nominated as a commissioner for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), is listed as a signatory to the July 26, 2006 manifesto “Beyond Same-Sex Marriage: A New Strategic Vision for All Our Families & Relationships.”

The manifesto’s signatories said they proposed a “new vision” for governmental and private recognition of “diverse kinds” of partnerships, households and families. They said they hoped to “move beyond the narrow confines of marriage politics” in the U.S.

Describing various kinds of households as no less socially, economically, and spiritually worthy than other relationships, the Beyond Marriage manifesto listed “committed, loving households in which there is more than one conjugal partner.”

Its ok to be a kook, but why does Obama keep appointing kooks to positions in his government? Does no one around Obama realize that polygamy is not a core, American value? Did he ever discuss this issue with Mrs. Obama and find how she’d feel about being one of many wives? When he used to chat with his late Grandmother, did Obama never get a sense of what is normal and acceptable?

Or is he just out to lunch and second-tier kooks are just running hog wild?

From CNBC:

Weekly Jobless Claims Gain, But Planned Layoffs Fall

And if that doesn’t keep you on Obama’s good side, then nothing will.

The actual story is how unemployment is getting worse, but as you read the linked article its all about how things aren’t getting worse as fast as before, and thus things are getting better. I really expect to start seeing things like “plus-good” to describe the events of the day…