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Latest News | Top Stories | News Articles: "CLEVELAND (AP) -- A contractor who found $182,000 in Depression-era currency hidden in a bathroom wall has ended up with only a few thousand dollars, but he feels some vindication. The windfall discovery amounted to little more than grief for contractor Bob Kitts, who couldn't agree on how to split the money with homeowner Amanda Reece."
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Look on the bright side. At least there was no HOA to cite them for not getting the work approved in advance.

Deborah Howell - An Obama Tilt in Campaign Coverage - washingtonpost.com

Deborah Howell - An Obama Tilt in Campaign Coverage - washingtonpost.com: "The Post provided a lot of good campaign coverage, but readers have been consistently critical of the lack of probing issues coverage and what they saw as a tilt toward Democrat Barack Obama. My surveys, which ended on Election Day, show that they are right on both counts."
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Just in time.

National Underwriter Property & Casualty

Mortgage Insurance Fraud Seen Spurring Policy Cancellations: "According to Susman Godfrey, grounds for rescission cited by mortgage insurers include cases where loan originators and underwriters approved loans using grossly inflated statements of borrower income and assets, fraudulent employment and occupancy information, and false debt-to-income ratios. There are also cases where banks and other entities created pools of bad loans, and then shifted losses to mortgage insurers by lying about the quality of the loans, the firm noted."
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Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link.

His Job at Bear Gone, Mr. Fox Chose Suicide - WSJ.com

His Job at Bear Stearns Gone, Mr. Fox Chose Suicide - WSJ.com: "Barry Fox, a research supervisor who worked for nine years at the brokerage firm, took a drug overdose and then jumped from his 29th-floor apartment the evening in May after he learned he wouldn't be hired by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., which was about to buy his firm."
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Honeywell to move 700 jobs out of U.S.

Honeywell to move 700 jobs out of U.S.: "The announcement came two days after Barack Obama, who has promised to take a hard line with companies that move manufacturing jobs overseas, was elected the 44th U.S. president."
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Bloomberg.com: Worldwide

Bloomberg.com: Worldwide: "Las Vegas Sands Corp., billionaire Sheldon Adelson's casino company, fell the most in New York trading since going public after saying it may default on debt and face bankruptcy. The casino owner, which had $8.8 billion in long-term debt at the end of June, said in a regulatory filing today that it probably won't meet the requirements of loans arranged by Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. unless it cuts spending on developments, boosts earnings at its Las Vegas Strip casinos and raises more capital. The reversal of fortune is a black eye for the 75-year-old Adelson, who was once America's third-richest man on the strength of his Las Vegas Sands holdings. The Las Vegas-based company's dwindling cash flow is threatening $16 billion worth of developments in Macau, China, and Singapore, where Las Vegas Sands is building resorts to cater to wealthy Asian gamblers. "
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I neglected to put casinos on the bailout list. Consider the omission corrected.

Breitbart.tv » Governor Announces Plan To Stop Calif Foreclosures

Breitbart.tv » Governor Announces Plan To Stop Calif Foreclosures: "KOVR: The Republican administration on Wednesday announced a plan to encourage lenders to modify existing home loans as a way of keeping people out of foreclosure. The governor also proposed a 90-day moratorium for homeowners facing default on their loans. Lenders, however, would still be able to exempt themselves under certain circumstances."
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I think something has to be done at the bottom of the ladder.

Breitbart.tv » Governor Announces Plan To Stop Calif Foreclosures

Breitbart.tv » Governor Announces Plan To Stop Calif Foreclosures: "KOVR: The Republican administration on Wednesday announced a plan to encourage lenders to modify existing home loans as a way of keeping people out of foreclosure. The governor also proposed a 90-day moratorium for homeowners facing default on their loans. Lenders, however, would still be able to exempt themselves under certain circumstances."
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I think something has to be done at the bottom of the ladder.

Solar power game-changer: 'Near perfect' absorption of sunlight, from all angles

Solar power game-changer: 'Near perfect' absorption of sunlight, from all angles: "Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have discovered and demonstrated a new method for overcoming two major hurdles facing solar energy. By developing a new antireflective coating that boosts the amount of sunlight captured by solar panels and allows those panels to absorb the entire solar spectrum from nearly any angle, the research team has moved academia and industry closer to realizing high-efficiency, cost-effective solar power."
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This has the potential to revolutionize energy generation for residential use and transportation.

Obama's housing plan not enough to fix problems - International Herald Tribune

Obama's housing plan not enough to fix problems - International Herald Tribune: "His plan includes a 10 percent mortgage tax credit for homeowners who don't itemize their taxes, and a change in the bankruptcy law to allow judges to modify mortgages for financially distressed homeowners. Obama's Web site also says he will 'fight mortgage fraud and protect consumers against abusive lending practices,' and standardize loan forms to make it easier for borrowers to understand the true costs. But those proposals will have a minimal impact on the more than 4 million homeowners who are behind on their mortgages. They probably won't prop up home prices, which are down 18 percent from the peak. Nor will they bolster the confidence of consumers who have lost their jobs or are afraid they will. And Obama's plan won't make banks more willing to lend to consumers with less than perfect credit scores, or tiny down payments."
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Web site, schmeb site. It's about hope and change, people!

Black Man Given Nation's Worst Job | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Black Man Given Nation's Worst Job | The Onion - America's Finest News Source: "WASHINGTON—African-American man Barack Obama, 47, was given the least-desirable job in the entire country Tuesday when he was elected president of the United States of America. In his new high-stress, low-reward position, Obama will be charged with such tasks as completely overhauling the nation's broken-down economy, repairing the crumbling infrastructure, and generally having to please more than 300 million Americans and cater to their every whim on a daily basis. As part of his duties, the black man will have to spend four to eight years cleaning up the messes other people left behind. The job comes with such intense scrutiny and so certain a guarantee of failure that only one other person even bothered applying for it."
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America's Finest News Source captures the essence of current events.

But Where Did Bush Go Wrong? - HUMAN EVENTS

But Where Did Bush Go Wrong? - HUMAN EVENTS: "The GOP needs to confront the truth: The failure of the Bush presidency lies not in a failed execution of policy but in the policies themselves and the neoconservative ideology that informed them. Yet, still, the party remains in denial, refusing to come to terms with the causes of its misfortune. One expects they will be given the time and opportunity for reflection soon."
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Pat Buchanan is not overburdened with redeeming qualities, but in these few sentences I think he makes a good point. The Republican party needs to rethink itself. The Bush mix of neoconservative interventionism in foreign policy, religion-based social policies, and free market economics won't sell in this country anymore--at least, that's the way it looks today.

Virginia reports some early voting problems - Virginia Politics -

Virginia reports some early voting problems - Virginia Politics -: "'Apparently what is happening is some of the problems that are occurring is voters coming in out of the rain with wet hands and wet clothes,' Pollard said, adding that the board has received multiple reports of the problem. 'Ballots are getting wet and affecting the machines. You need to be sure to dry your hands before completing your ballot.'"
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See? I told you Karl Rove was tuning up the Hurricane Machine.

Jonathan Martin's Blog: Professor ousted after tearing down McCain yard signs - Politico.com

Jonathan Martin's Blog: Professor ousted after tearing down McCain yard signs - Politico.com: "The St. Olaf (Minn.) professor who recounted tearing down McCain campaign signs in a well-read Huffington Post item has resigned."
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Wow. That's a pretty heavy punishment for something like this. It isn't as though he ran people down with his car for wearing McCain buttons.

Flag-waving gunman closes Calif. highway for hours - Yahoo! News

Flag-waving gunman closes Calif. highway for hours - Yahoo! News: "The man agreed to give up after he was allowed to attach a Barack Obama campaign sign and the flag to the overpass railing, said police Sgt. Jim Pfleging."
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Was he clinging to the gun, or just the railing?

YouTube - Obama Is Going To Pay For My Gas And Mortgage!!!

YouTube - Obama Is Going To Pay For My Gas And Mortgage!!!
I guess some people are reading between the lines of Obama's speeches.

asahi.com（朝日新聞社）：Home, sweet home, where the gates stay locked - English

asahi.com（朝日新聞社）：Home, sweet home, where the gates stay locked - JAPAN: "For well-heeled Japanese fixated on security and social status, an exclusive residential development in the upmarket district of Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, offers a living experience unlike anywhere else in the country."
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And they "live in a country with one of the lowest crime rates in the OECD," which suggests that a lot of this is about physical isolation from those of lesser means.

Election 2008 :: Karl Rove

Election 2008 :: Karl Rove: "The final Rove & Co. electoral map of the 2008 election cycle points to a 338-200 Barack Obama electoral vote victory over John McCain tomorrow, the largest electoral margin since 1996."
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The Evil One takes time away from tuning up his Hurricane Machine to predict an Obama landslide. I notice that he gives Florida, Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania to Obama. The way I see the race, those are the key states. They add up to 81 electoral votes. McCain would have to win all of them to win the election with a bare 281 electoral votes (it takes 270 to win). I don't think that is possible, which is why I have been saying for a long time that Obama will win. But it would be quite a disaster for Republicans if McCain lost all of them, as Rove predicts. It could be closer than 338-200, especially if Obama's "bankrupt them" comments about the coal industry hurt him in PA.

News : Colony's homeowners association files for bankruptcy protection : EUROPE : Culture & Arts

News : Colony's homeowners association files for bankruptcy protection : EUROPE : Culture & Arts: "The Colony Beach & Tennis Club's homeowner's association has filed for bankruptcy to shield itself from a $12 million lawsuit filed by the club's management for repairs and upgrades to the venerable resort."
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Homeowners more realistic about house values: "The Zillow 'Homeowner Confidence Survey,' released Wednesday, found that 49 percent of homeowners said they think their own home's value has increased or stayed the same over the past year. The report said nearly 74 percent of homes nationwide have lost value in the past 12 months.

The report also found that nationwide homeowners are not quite as confident as they were in the second quarter, when 62 percent said their homes either increased in value or remained the same."
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So our unrealistic expectations of our home's value are getting slightly less unrealistic.

Tonight at 10:00: Citizenship Test | Today's TMJ4 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin News, Weather, Sports, WTMJ | Local News

<b>Tonight at 10:00:</b> Citizenship Test | Today's TMJ4 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin News, Weather, Sports, WTMJ | Local News: "TODAY’S TMJ4’s John Mercure spent an afternoon at the mall, and was more than a little surprised at some of the answers he got.

John Mercure: “Can you name one state that borders Mexico?”

“Umm, Canada,” one woman said.

John Mercure: “What is the name of our National Anthem?”

“The Declaration of Independence?” one person said."
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Should have asked them the big followup: "How many times are you going to vote for Obama tomorrow?"

Frozen mice cloned - are woolly mammoths next? | Science | Reuters

Frozen mice cloned - are woolly mammoths next? | Science | Reuters: "'There is hope in bringing Ted Williams back, after all,' cloning and stem cell expert John Gearhart of the University of Pennsylvania said in an e-mail. The family of Williams, the Boston Red Sox hitter, had his body frozen by cryogenics firm Alcor after he died in 2002. Gearhart was only half-joking and said the study 'may now stimulate the small industry of freezing parts of us before we die to bring us back in the future.'"
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I think cryogenic companies will be experiencing a boom tomorrow.

Hey, maybe the Republicans can bring back Ronald Reagan. Judging from what I hear on TV and radio, he's the only candidate they want.

RON HART: Looking forward to being less productive : NewsHerald.com: "I really do not want to be that 'greedy' guy whom Obama so hates. 'Greedy,' loosely defined in Obamanomics, is 49 percent of voters. For the record, if you make $249,000 per year or less you are fine; somewhere around $250,000 and above, you are officially evil and he is coming after you. I want to appease the new administration and not be too productive. So, upon Obama's passing his new redistribution plan, I will slow my work schedule, lay off a few people (Obama's got their back) and let someone else bust his tail since I will now be able to get 'redistributed wealth' from those poor fools who are ambitious, energetic, work hard and have made good decisions."
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This column is funny, but the topic is serious. If Obama wins, I think a whole lot of wealthy individuals and businesses will be pulling back and waiting for a more favorable climate in Washington. Why take the risk of losing your money when, if you succeed, the gains will be more heavily taxed so the feds can "spread it around"? And with the guarantee of increased regulation, the chances of success are reduced or eliminated entirely. Obama made it pretty clear for the coal industry: build a coal fired power plant if you like, but the Obama Administration will see to it that you go bankrupt paying the penalties for the greenhouse gas emissions. The price of electricity will "skyrocket" under his policies, he says.

Should be an interesting four years for the business community, what with that target pinned to their chest.

Townhall.com::Blog

Did the Examiner bury the lede?: "Leaving these quotes buried in a fifty-three minute, 336MB video is not, in my own judgment, quite as bad as the Los Angeles Times' making (and then hiding behind) an unethical promise to a source not to release a videotape of another newsworthy event (the Khalidi dinner). But certainly when we see how the Chronicle's top writers and editors used such pathetic and compromised judgment in picking and choosing what to report as newsworthy from the Obama interview, the public has even more reason to doubt that the LA Times has been forthcoming, fair, and complete in its reporting on the videotape it's still concealing entirely."

Palin suggests Chronicle withheld Obama remarks

Palin suggests Chronicle withheld Obama remarks--Chronicle denies it: "John Diaz, editor of The Chronicle's editorial pages, said the paper not only posted the entire audio and video of the Obama interview, but promoted it to readers.

'How can anyone suggest that we hid an interview that we did, immediately put up on the Web - and advertised to our readers?' said Diaz. 'We promoted it like hell ... and I'm sure the Clinton campaign and the McCain campaign scrubbed it. You can still find the whole 48 minutes and 33 seconds online.'"
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This is one of those "dog that didn't bark" situations, I guess. If it was there, why did neither Clinton nor McCain make something of it? Strange.

What We Know About Obama by Stanley Kurtz on National Review Online

What We Know About Obama by Stanley Kurtz on National Review Online: "Reflecting on all that I’ve written about Barack Obama over these past six months, four inter-related points stand out: Obama’s radicalism, his stealthy incrementalism, his interest in funding and organization-building, and his willingness to use — or quietly support — Alinskyite intimidation tactics. Since we stand on the cusp of the election, I’ll lay out the bottom line. For those who want to know more, go back and read the detailed studies on which I base these conclusions."
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Kurtz has done a series of detailed and carefully-researched pieces on Obama. This one is a summary.

STEALING AN ELECTION - New York Post: "WHETHER or not Barack Obama wins election tomorrow, his campaign has exposed some gaping weaknesses in the electoral process - and some even more serious problems with today's mass media."
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Instapundit strikes.

Bank of America agrees to halt 2,000 foreclosures in the Valley

Bank of America agrees to halt 2,000 foreclosures in the Phoenix area: "Last month, BofA agreed to modify loans for struggling borrowers if attorneys general from Arizona, Texas, Ohio, Iowa and Washington halted legal action against Countrywide. That action is based on the lender's 'alleged use of deceptive practices' in its mortgage-lending business, according to Goddard. The deal requires BofA to place a temporary hold on foreclosures on loans made up until the end of 2007 and work with buyers to make their mortgage payments more affordable so they have the option of staying in their homes."
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I'm sure these 2000 owners (and the 11,000 coming later) didn't do anything wrong, like give false information on their mortgage applications about their income, or buy way beyond their means, or anything like that.

Appeals court rules against Hillsmere association - Annapolis - (HometownAnnapolis.com)

Appeals court rules against Hillsmere association in adverse possession case- Annapolis - (HometownAnnapolis.com): "The swath of land at issue, which ranges from 8- to 80 feet wide, goes from the main beach to a marina, and passes behind 17 homes. It originally was community property, but over the years the homeowners living next to it have put up fences and hedges to protect their privacy. They also have installed bulkheads to stop erosion.The homeowners association overlooked those construction projects until 2002, when a homeowner built a pier, despite the association's objections. That brought the dispute to a head, resulting in the lawsuit. Five Hillsmere residents - Gregory and Susan Singleton, Parviz Sahandy and Edward and Leah Hertz - said the homeowners association had waived its rights to the property, and that they now own the land that stretched between their homes and the water."
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Fred Pilot sent along this report of an unusual appellate court decision where owners acquired common area by adverse possession.

'My Heart and My Values Didn't Change'

'My Heart and My Values Didn't Change': "In Bush, Loyalists See a Good and Steadfast Man Who Has Gotten a Bad Rap"
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In other news, there are Bush loyalists.

Hidden Audio: Obama Tells SF Chronicle He Will Bankrupt Coal Industry | NewsBusters.org

Hidden Audio: Obama Tells SF Chronicle He Will Bankrupt Coal Industry | NewsBusters.org: "So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it's just that it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted."
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He said this in January, and he said it to something that calls itself a major newspaper, and it somehow stays hidden until two days before the election.

Think this would have made a difference in Pennsylvania?

Austerity style: Men of Britain, put down your hair gel - Features, Fashion - The Independent: "Of all the many effects of the current global economic meltdown – the plunge in property prices, inflation, rising unemployment – perhaps the greatest change will be in attitudes and, as a result, in behaviour. For men, this change could even be epochal: we may be witnessing a return to the virtues and values of an earlier generation. No one – no one sensible – would advocate a regression to the days when men were men, women were downtrodden and children were terrified, but perhaps, in tough times, some stiffening of masculine sinew is required. Maybe it's time to put some hair back on the nation's chest. Perhaps the word 'product' will once again indicate something we make, rather than something we wear in our hair."
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Don't hold your breath.

San Pablo's funding gamble pays off - ContraCostaTimes.com

San Pablo's funding gamble pays off - ContraCostaTimes.com: "SAN PABLO — They're raising fees in Walnut Creek, sapping reserves in Antioch and San Leandro, slashing jobs in Oakland, Hayward and San Mateo, shaving mental health services in Berkeley and mulling rolling 'brownouts' at fire stations in Alameda. The mounting loss of sales and property tax revenues has forced painful choices upon cities and counties across the East Bay. Yet one city barely feels the pinch. In San Pablo, home to some of the East Bay's poorest households and highest unemployment, City Hall sits high-and-dry amid a raging fiscal storm. Here, tax revenue takes a back seat to a far different budget model: Jackpot economics. Nearly a decade ago, the city hitched its fate to Indian gaming in a controversial pact with the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians that is now paying big dividends."
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Gee, there's an improvement. Instead of taxpayers getting the bill, the city gets a cut of gambling losses.

Thanks to Fred Pilot for the link.

Pantagraph.com | News | Banks asking for credit card debt forgiveness: "Americans are lumbering under about $900 billion in credit card debt, according to the latest available Federal Reserve figures. People who are in credit counseling, on average, carry seven cards. Many of the people now having trouble making their credit card payments are in a double or triple whammy: their mortgages or car loans also may be under stress. And for many, the torrent of envelopes bearing credit card offers at low initial rates - much like the old 'teaser' rates on subprime mortgages - has recently been replaced by more somber notices of crimped credit lines, hikes in interest rates or even accounts being closed as lenders tighten the reins to reduce their risk. The new proposal pitched to federal regulators by the Financial Services Roundtable, which represents more than 100 big banks and other financial companies, and the Consumer Federation of America, would allow lenders to reduce by as much as 40 percent the amount of credit card debt owed by deeply indebted consumers in a pilot program."
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Great. Now these folks will race out and charge more stuff.

Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link and the two that follow.

Gambling Capital Is Flush With Empty Houses - washingtonpost.com

Gambling Capital Is Flush With Empty Houses - washingtonpost.com: "LAS VEGAS There are 6 million empty homes in the United States. Or 6.2 million, to be slightly more precise."
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There are ghost towns being born all over, many of them with ghost HOAs.

Task force targets home buyers, brokers who lied on mortgage applications - ContraCostaTimes.com

Task force targets home buyers, brokers who lied on mortgage applications - ContraCostaTimes.com: "A law enforcement task force is investigating thousands of Bay Area homeowners, mortgage agents, investors and others who may have committed mortgage fraud, the latest fallout from a housing bubble that wrecked the finances of countless people.

Federal, state, and local investigators who make up the 30-member task force have begun to probe as many as 11,000 cases involving people who may have committed fraud during the residential real estate frenzy, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Badger. She heads the task force on behalf of the U.S. attorney's office in San Francisco.

Some local mortgage agents say at least one-third — and perhaps one-half — of the home loans that were written in the East Bay at the height of the housing bubble were loans with fraudulent documentation about income and debt of borrowers."
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Well, incarceration was the fitting end to the Enron, Worldcom, etc., corporate financial scandals of six years ago. Why not lock up some of these mortgage crooks, including the owners? They need a place to live anyway.

News 8 :: KFMB Stations, San Diego, California

Chain lady has a history?: "Fifty-four-year-old June Reyno has spent the last three days chained to her front porch, saying she won't give in and lose her home to foreclosure. But documents show this isn't the first, second or even the third time she's lost a piece of property because she's defaulted on her loan.

'We actually only have the one home left,' said Reyno.

Fifty eight documents over three years. They're public records that show Reyno has been buying, selling, renting and defaulting on payments for properties throughout Riverside County."
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Somebody gave the press the full story and they printed it for a change. Refreshing.