Companies start competing for bailout money - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON – The bailout is now the hottest lobbying game in town. Insurers, automakers and American subsidiaries of foreign banks all want the Treasury Department to cut them a piece of the largest government rescue in U.S. history."
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The hogs are at the trough. It will be interesting to see whether the banks who get money use it to address their losses or instead use it to buy other banks. Thanks to Fred Pilot for the link.

Report: Iranian president has fallen ill

Report: Iranian president has fallen ill: "TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has fallen ill due to exhaustion brought on by his heavy workload, a close associate has told the Iranian state news agency."
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I prefer the alternative theory that his health is directly correlated with the price of crude oil.

Signs of trouble? Neighborhood divided over political displays

Signs of trouble? Neighborhood divided over political displays: "The signs are looking a bit troubling in the Grand View Homeowners Association. Residents in this 198-home subdivision northeast of Patterson and 28 roads are banned from placing political campaign signs in their yards. The president of the HOA, Tom Lowrey, is so adamant about enforcing the association’s rule that he has taken it upon himself to walk the neighborhood and uproot all campaign signs."
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Thanks to Chris Casey for the link to yet another example of why HOAs have gotten a bad name.

In Law School, Obama Found Political Voice - New York Times

In Law School, Obama Found Political Voice - New York Times: "In interviews, Mr. Obama was modest and careful. (In a rare slip, he told The Associated Press: “I’m not interested in the suburbs. The suburbs bore me.”)"
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I think in this context "suburbs" is a code word for "middle class people who have jobs, pay their bills, and take care of their families."

OBATMA AND BAT BOY TOUR U.S. | Weekly World News

OBATMA AND BAT BOY TOUR U.S. | Weekly World News
Many people have been saying all along that Obama had an unfair advantage. At last a newspaper with the guts to get the story.

Ravens to stave off credit curse | The Sun |News

Ravens to stave off credit curse | The Sun |News: "FOUR extra ravens are being drafted into the Tower of London because of the financial crisis — to prevent a 350-year-old curse coming true. King Charles II decreed there must be at least six ravens otherwise a disaster would strike the nation and the Royal Family. And up to now, bosses have kept just one spare bird in residence to act as a “super sub”. But with the UK facing credit crunch meltdown, they ruled an extra four must now be acquired."
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Now we can all relax. It is about time somebody did something to solve this problem.

Nouriel Roubini: I fear the worst is yet to come - Times Online: "For years Dr Doom toiled in relative obscurity as a New York University economics professor under his alias, Nouriel Roubini. But after making a series of uncannily accurate predictions about the global meltdown, Roubini has become the prophet of his age, jetting around the world dispensing his advice and latest prognostications to politicians and businessmen desperate to know what happens next – and for any answer to the crisis...What does Roubini think is going to happen next? Rather worryingly, in London last Thursday he predicted that hundreds of hedge funds will go bust and stock markets may soon have to shut – perhaps for as long as a week – in order to stem the panic selling now sweeping the world. What happened? The next day trading was briefly stopped in New York and Moscow."
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I must say that in most of his photos he projects a certain sense of foreboding. It would be nice to dismiss him as too dismal even for the dismal science. But then he turns out to be right about everything that has happened. The main quibbles are that the collapse happened later than he predicted, and he doesn't have hard core numbers to back up his predictions because he uses unorthodox methods. So what? He was right.

And now he says the worst is yet to come because the measures taken by governments so far have not worked, and the markets have lost faith in the ability of governments to fix things. Scary stuff. Sure hope he's wrong this time.

Iceland 'Will Need Billions More' - Yahoo! News UK: "Iceland will probably need 'several billion' dollars more in financial assistance even after a proposed $2bn loan from the IMF, its prime minister has admitted."
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My apologies for leaving nations off the bailout list. I think it now goes something like this:

1. Nations (Iceland)
2. Investment banks and major insurance companies (AIG, etc.)
3. Major corporations (auto makers, etc.)
4. Regional banks
5. States (California, Illinois?)
6. Counties (watch Jefferson County, AL)
7. Municipalities
8. Hedge funds
9. Shopping malls
10. Condominium and homeowner associations (FL, per Julio Robaina?)

I don't know where to put the 30% of tax filers who don't pay any federal tax but are getting a so-called "tax credit," meaning free money, according to The One. Is that a bailout or a social welfare check? I'm still collating, as Ash the android said in the movie Alien.

Please offer any amendments to this list that you deem appropriate.

Hedge fund stars in crisis as performance plummets - Telegraph

Hedge fund stars in crisis as performance plummets - Telegraph: "Experts are warning that the next few months as many as one in four hedge funds will fail."
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So where do they stand in the bailout line? I'm guessing ahead of the HOAs but behind the municipalities. But I could be wrong.

Orlando Sentinel - Obama campaign cuts off WFTV after interview with Joe Biden by Hal Boedeker

Orlando Sentinel - Obama campaign cuts off WFTV after interview with Joe Biden by Hal Boedeker: "Biden so disliked West's line of questioning that the Obama campaign canceled a WFTV interview with Jill Biden, the candidate's wife.

'This cancellation is non-negotiable, and further opportunities for your station to interview with this campaign are unlikely, at best for the duration of the remaining days until the election,' wrote Laura K. McGinnis, Central Florida communications director for the Obama campaign.

McGinnis said the Biden cancellation was 'a result of her husband's experience yesterday during the satellite interview with Barbara West.'

Here's a link to the interview: http://www.wftv.com/video/17790025/index.html."
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Poor Joe. He got hardball instead of softball and had a hissy fit.

BioPet Vet Lab Announces PooPrints(TM) - MarketWatchKNOXVILLE, Tenn., Oct 24, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- BioPet Vet Lab, a Knoxville, Tennessee DNA laboratory, announced today the introduction of PooPrints(TM), a program designed to encourage dog owners to pick up their dog's "droppings." The program is targeted initially to neighborhoods, but could be applied to any municipality that wants to clean up its public areas. The PooPrints(TM) program recommends that a home owner association (HOA) pass an amendment to its existing covenant that requires all dog owners in the community to have their dogs' DNA analyzed and filed with Bio-Pet's "DNA World Pet Registry. Once the DNA is on file, any dropping found in the public areas of the neighborhood can be sent to BioPet to be analyzed and matched up with the DNA already on file. Once the dog is identified, an email report is sent to the HOA, which then can identify the offending owner. The matching process takes three to four days after receipt to process. With positive proof through the DNA matchup, the association may elect to impose fines on the offenders, which will defray the cost of the program to the HOA."
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This super dooper pooper scooper idea looks like a new profit center for HOAs. Charge the whole thing to the owner and make a tidy profit. Thanks to Shu Bartholomew for getting the scoop.

Edgelings.com » Editing Their Way to Oblivion: Journalism Sacrificed For Power and Pensions

Edgelings.com » Editing Their Way to Oblivion: Journalism Sacrificed For Power and Pensions: "But nothing, nothing I’ve seen has matched the media bias on display in the current Presidential campaign. Republicans are justifiably foaming at the mouth over the sheer one-sidedness of the press coverage of the two candidates and their running mates. But in the last few days, even Democrats, who have been gloating over the pass - no, make that shameless support - they’ve gotten from the press, are starting to get uncomfortable as they realize that no one wins in the long run when we don’t have a free and fair press"
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From a journalist.

Blame game: GOP forms circular firing squad - Jonathan Martin and Mike Allen and John F. Harris - Politico.com: "With despair rising even among many of John McCain’s own advisers, influential Republicans inside and outside his campaign are engaged in an intense round of blame-casting and rear-covering — much of it virtually conceding that an Election Day rout is likely."
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Fred Pilot sent this link, and it is worth reading.

My own view of things is that George W. Bush has absolutely wrecked the Republican Party, and probably for many years to come. When he took office the party was perceived as trustworthy on foreign policy and responsible on taxing and spending. In short order, Bush blew their advantage on foreign policy with the war and his arrogant attitude toward other nations. He blew their advantage on economic affairs by going along with massive deficit spending and finally doing absolutely nothing to even warn people about the impending financial meltdown. He split the Republican base over immigration. What's left? A lot of retrograde social policies that young voters find totally unacceptable?

The Republicans are going to be in a complete shambles after this election. They won't have to worry about governing, though, so they will have plenty of time to rethink their entire program. When I say "plenty of time," I mean years, not months.

RealClearPolitics - HorseRaceBlog - A Note on the Polls

RealClearPolitics - HorseRaceBlog - A Note on the Polls: "So, we have made three observations: (a) relative to 2004, the standard deviation for Obama and McCain's polls are high, indicating more disagreement among pollsters at a similar point in this cycle; (b) the shape of the distribution of each candidate's poll position is not what we might expect; (c) multiple polls are separated from the RCP average by statistically significant differences.

Combined, these considerations suggest that this variation cannot be chalked up to typical statistical 'noise.' Instead, it is more likely that pollsters are disagreeing with each other in their sampling methodologies. In other words, different pollsters have different 'visions' of what the electorate will look like on November 4th, and these visions are affecting their results."
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Detailed explanation of the strange inconsistency in polling this year. I wonder who has the best sampling methods. This reminds me of 1992, when Perot was the wild card. The predictions of his support were all over the place because nobody knew how to predict who would actually turn out and pull the lever for him. He did much better than most of the polls predicted. The guy who had it right on the money was Frank Luntz. He had worked for Perot early on and had a handle on who supported him and how intense they were. What's the lesson for 2008? I don't know and nobody is really sure at this point.

cbs2chicago.com - Chicago Beats New York, Los Angeles In Murders

cbs2chicago.com - Chicago Beats New York, Los Angeles In Murders: "Chicago is the Second City in nickname and the third in population, but when it comes to murder, the city has the dubious distinction of being second to no city in America.

As CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli reports, the Chicago Sun-Times pointed out on Friday that Chicago has seen 426 homicides this year through Tuesday, compared with 417 in New York and 302 in Los Angeles."
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Chicago's gun ban is still producing after 25 years. I'm sure Obama will get to work extending it to the nation.

Bloomberg.com: U.S.

Bloomberg.com: U.S.: "Oct. 24 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Treasury is considering taking stakes in insurers as well as regional banks in the next round of capital injections to thaw a freeze-up of the financial system, a person briefed on the plan said. A final decision hasn't been made on firms to be included, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. An initial $125 billion out of $700 billion approved by Congress was allocated last week to buy preferred shares of nine of the largest U.S. banks."
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Sure, why not. Bail them all out. It's other people's money, right?
Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link.

KCTribune

KCTribune: Circuit City's problems lead to city problems: "Now that Circuit City may not become the anchor tenant, the City of Merriam may be left with a TIF developed shopping center with no tenants and no revenue. In 2007, the City of Merriam budgeted for over $600,000 in revenue from this project and another TIF incentive development, Merriam Pointe, across I-35, which is owned by David Block and David Christie. Neither property has produced any revenue to date, according to Leap.

“The current City Council put a lot of eggs in that basket – giving a TIF incentive for 30 acres, and they now want another tax incentive, a TDD, and they don’t even have an anchor tenant. The City of Merriam just had to raise the property tax for residents 6 mils, which is unheard of.” said Leap.

A TDD is similar to a CID (Community Improvement District) sales tax in Kansas City, which adds an additional percentage to the sales tax collected in a designated area, and is usually reserved for underdeveloped or blighted areas. In Kansas City, a CID must be approved by 51% of the stakeholders in the requested area, whereas a TDD can be requested by a single developer."
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The article says that Circuit City is likely to file for bankruptcy.

Obama and McCain in denial about deficits, economists say - Los Angeles Times

Obama and McCain in denial about deficits, economists say - Los Angeles Times: "Despite harsh scrutiny from economic analysts, Barack Obama and John McCain remain reluctant to admit what is becoming obvious -- that the nation's economic crisis will take a heavy toll on their ambitious tax and spending plans."
------------------------------
How unfortunate for them.

FT.com / In depth - ‘I made a mistake,’ admits Greenspan

FT.com / In depth - ‘I made a mistake,’ admits Greenspan: "Alan Greenspan, the former Federal Reserve chairman, said on Thursday the credit crisis had exceeded anything he had imagined and admitted he was wrong to think that banks would protect themselves from financial market chaos.

“I made a mistake in presuming that the self-interest of organisations, specifically banks and others, was such that they were best capable of protecting their own shareholders,” he said."
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For almost 30 years neoclassical economics has steered public policy, on the assumption that "free markets" run better with the least possible oversight and regulation by government. We may be at the end of that paradigm. For the foreseeable future it seems that government will have the stronger hand. It will be hard to sell the idea of deregulating anything in these times, after what happened to the financial markets.

Which brings me to common interest communities. If ever there were a creature that epitomized the neoclassical economics approach to governance, it is these things. And I think the libertarian argument that we should just leave them alone and they will not only succeed, but replace municipalities, will now be falling on deaf ears.

If there isn't more oversight and regulation of CIDs, there will one day be a massive sectoral collapse or a rolling disintegration. And that day may not be too far in the future.

US foreclosure filings up 71 percent in 3Q: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

US foreclosure filings up 71 percent in 3Q: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance: "Nationwide, nearly 766,000 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice from July through September, up 71 percent from a year earlier, said foreclosure listing service RealtyTrac Inc.

By the end of the year, RealtyTrac expects more than a million bank-owned properties to have piled up on the market, representing around a third of all properties for sale in the U.S.

That's bad news for anyone who lives nearby and wants to sell their home. While foreclosure sales are booming in many areas, those properties are commanding deep discounts and pulling down neighboring property values."
------------------
Good time to hunker down in the old crib, save your money, and hold onto your job.

America's Most Overrated Product: the Bachelor's Degree - Chronicle.com: "Today, amazingly, a majority of the students whom colleges admit are grossly underprepared. Only 23 percent of the 1.3 million high-school graduates of 2007 who took the ACT examination were ready for college-level work in the core subjects of English, math, reading, and science.

Perhaps more surprising, even those high-school students who are fully qualified to attend college are increasingly unlikely to derive enough benefit to justify the often six-figure cost and four to six years (or more) it takes to graduate."
--------------------
OK, but a great deal depends on how you spend your years in college. The escalator theory doesn't work anymore. You don't end up four years later on a higher floor in the building of life. And the humanities' claim that you are getting some mystical "learning how to think" experience that will translate into being incredibly valuable to any employer? Pure BS.

But lots of students set themselves up very nicely for jobs, careers, and graduate education. You need a goal and a plan, and you need to understand that you are in the real world already, not getting prepared for it.

And don't forget the other option.

Republican HQ Manager's Home Shot Up Over McCain Signs - Politics News Story - WKMG Orlando

Republican HQ Manager's Home Shot Up Over McCain Signs - Politics News Story - WKMG Orlando: "LONGWOOD, Fla. -- The home of a Central Florida Republican headquarters manager was shot up and damaged over his support of Sen. John McCain, the man told police."
----------------
Will Obama supporters continue their efforts at intimidation of his opponents throughout his administration?

Moneybox: The more Starbucks a country has, the bigger its financial problems. - By Daniel Gross - Slate Magazine

Moneybox: The more Starbucks a country has, the bigger its financial problems. - By Daniel Gross - Slate Magazine: "The higher the concentration of expensive, nautically themed, faux-Italian-branded Frappuccino joints in a country's financial capital, the more likely the country is to have suffered catastrophic financial losses."
----------------
This theory has yet to be fully tested in empirical studies.

Do five simple things a day to stay sane, say scientists - Times Online

Do five simple things a day to stay sane, say scientists - Times Online: "People should try to connect with others, to be active, to take notice of their surroundings, to keep learning and to give to their neighbours and communities, the document says."
----------------
Good advice. They seem to have overlooked surfing the web, though.

Illinois budget cuts to close historic sites and parks - Wikinews, the free news source

Illinois budget cuts to close historic sites and parks - Wikinews, the free news source
Our governor is closing 25 parks and historic sites to save money. Among them is a park with 90 miles of bike trails. This will hit a number of small communities hard, because they are losing their only tourist attractions.

Meridian Magazine:: Ideas and Society: Would the Last Honest Reporter Please Turn On the Lights?

Meridian Magazine:: Ideas and Society: Would the Last Honest Reporter Please Turn On the Lights?: "If you who produce our local daily paper had any personal honor, you would find it unbearable to let the American people believe that somehow Republicans were to blame for this crisis."
----------
Orson Scott Card send an open letter to American journalists.

PHD Comics: The Economic Meltdown

PHD Comics: The Economic Meltdown
A flow chart that lets you know whether or not you need to be concerned.

Natalie Portman Solves The Financial Crisis

Natalie Portman Solves The Financial Crisis
Why didn't Bush and Paulson think of this?

FayObserver.com - Current Article Page

Gated community annexed by municipality: "With little debate, the council voted 7-3 to annex the gated community and its 600 homes, golf course and country club.

The action, barring a legal challenge, caps an effort that began five years ago, when the city proposed annexing some 40,000 residents in western Cumberland County. All the neighborhoods except Gates Four were part of the “Big Bang” annexation in 2005.

Gates Four fought the city. Residents were vociferously opposed to what they viewed as a land grab. Their community, they said, needs no additional public services."
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Libertarians say HOAs will become the new form of local governance and replace cities, but I think many of the large ones will incorporate as municipalities in order to avoid being annexed by the closest city that has an appetite. It's called "defensive incorporation," and it is just about the only way for an affluent neighborhood to protect itself against being gobbled up for its tax base.

Bloomberg.com: Worldwide

Foreclosure sales drive SoCal home prices way down, sales numbers way up: "Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Southern California home sales rose 65 percent in September, the biggest year-over-year increase in at least two decades, as buyers took advantage of foreclosures to purchase properties at discounted prices, MDA DataQuick said...Sales increased the most in areas where rising foreclosures drove down prices, MDA DataQuick said. Half of all the homes sold in Southern California last month had been foreclosed upon in the previous 12 months, up from 13 percent a year earlier...The surge in foreclosure sales, which tend to be discounted, pushed the median price down 33 percent from a year earlier to $308,500."
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Is this good or bad?

20 Questions A Journalist Should Ask About Poll Results | NCPP - National Council on Public Polls

20 Questions A Journalist Should Ask About Poll Results | NCPP - National Council on Public Polls
I found this link on Instapundit. It is worth reading, given the influence of polling on media coverage and political discourse, and of course the reflexive way the polls influence the opinions they are polling about.

Republican HQ's Vandalized, Workers Threatened - Politics News Story - WSMV Nashville

Republican HQ's Vandalized, Workers Threatened - Politics News Story - WSMV Nashville

An All-in-One Security, Utilities Monitoring System - FOXBusiness.com

An All-in-One Security, Utilities Monitoring System - FOXBusiness.com: "Earlier this year, U.K-based AlertMe launched its AlertMe home security product that lets users monitor home security from a computer or cell phone. The service, which will be rolled out in the U.S., alerts a homeowner via text, email or phone call, if someone enters the home, opens a window or if the fire alarm goes off. The technology enabling AlertMe to provide that service will also be used to control heating and electricity costs."
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But can you catch your dog drinking out of the toilet?

Owner Believes Lexus Vandalized Due To McCain Sticker

Owner Believes Lexus Vandalized Due To McCain Sticker: "Clearwater - Frank Armstrong was preparing to go for a jog this morning when he noticed his Lexus – adorned with a McCain-Palin sticker - had been vandalized with obscenities and a burned American flag.

Armstrong discovered the damage to his 2006 Lexus about 8:30 a.m. at his Sand Key condominium at 1400 Gulf Blvd. Clearwater police and Armstrong said someone etched obscenities and 'KKK' into the paint, burned several areas of the car with cigarettes, set the flag on fire on his hood and may have urinated on the vehicle. Officers and Armstrong think the car was singled out because of its political stickers, including one reading 'Nobama.'"
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The people who did this are the same ones who claim Republicans are fascists.

Homeless numbers 'alarming' - USATODAY.com

Homeless numbers 'alarming' - USATODAY.com: "More families with children are becoming homeless as they face mounting economic pressures, including mortgage foreclosures, according to a USA TODAY survey of a dozen of the largest cities in the nation. Local authorities say the number of families seeking help has risen in Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix, Portland, Seattle and Washington."
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Where do these folks stand in the bailout line? Are they ahead of or behind the shopping malls?

Ten Cars To Live In: Ten Cars You Can Live In After Your Home Is Repossessed

Ten Cars To Live In: Ten Cars You Can Live In After Your Home Is Repossessed
Here's one to file for future reference. And they coin a term for our times: "financiapocalypse."

Mark Williams » EXCLUSIVE: .22 Gunshot, paint balls fired at McCain / Palin Straight Talk Express: "(Sunday, October 19 - Filed by Mark Williams in Raton, New Mexico with the Stop Obama Tour) We learned at this morning’s Stop Obama Rally here that the McCain/Palin Straight Talk Express came through town yesterday. It arrived with a window shattered by a .22 caliber weapon. It had also been hit by an unknown number of paint balls from a paint ball gun or guns. There were reportedly no injuries and neither candidate was on board."
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This Sacramento Union blog may be the only mention of this, given the way the press is behaving this year. Imagine the coverage if it had been Obama's bus. It would be the front page story, and it would be attributed to the "tone" of the McCain/Palin campaign that is somehow driving susceptible rednecks into acts of insane rage.

What Happens When City Hall Goes Bankrupt? : NPR: "Are we likely to see more towns and cities declare bankruptcy in the future?

That's difficult to say, but some experts believe the warning signs are clear: unfunded pension liabilities, an anemic economy, costly infrastructure repairs and falling property values. 'All of the ingredients are there,' Spiotta says. 'I wouldn't be surprised if we start to see more bankruptcies.'"
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From February, 2008, an NPR story focusing on Vallejo, CA but dealing with the history of municipal bankruptcy...and its possible future. The view from 8 months down the road isn't a whole lot cheerier.

A grim verdict awaits law grads

A grim verdict awaits law grads: "Nearly 44,000 law students nationwide will graduate next year with an average of about $73,000 in loan debt, according to numbers from the American Bar Association.

And while most would-be lawyers already have accepted that only a small fraction will start their careers with a big-firm salary of $160,000, the past few weeks of economic chaos have caused many to wonder if any kind of attorney work is in their near future."
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Law firms are cutting back on hiring because they anticipate a slow economy, which translates into fewer clients.

FT.com / In depth - US faces worst recession in 26 years

FT.com / In depth - US faces worst recession in 26 years: "Senior officials at the Treasury and Federal Reserve are confident that the rescue plan for US banks will succeed in preventing a financial system meltdown and ensure there will not be a repeat of the Great Depression. But they know that a sharp economic downturn is already baked in the cake. They do not,however, know how deep or protracted it will be."
------------
After listening to Bush and Paulson, I thought we were looking at bread lines, selling pencils on street corners, and strangling pigeons in the park to feed the family. If all we get is a 1982-size recession, the country can deal with it. Recessions are inevitable. The ones we had in 1991-02 and 2001-02 were painful for many people but still manageable for most of us. The 1982 recession was worse, but we got through it.

I am much more concerned about the baby boom retiring (that includes me) and what will happen to public and private pension funds and the social security system. If Obama spends in accordance with his promises, on top of the gazillion dollar bailout orgy, the Treasury will be printing money until the presses seize up and we will be carrying our cash in suitcases instead of wallets.

8th grade textbook has Obama chapter :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Metro & Tri-State

8th grade textbook has Obama chapter :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Metro & Tri-State: "MADISON, Wis. — The Racine school district’s use of an eighth grade textbook that includes a chapter on Democrat Barack Obama but nothing on his opponent John McCain is unfair and troubling, the Wisconsin Republican Party argued Thursday. A parent complained on an Internet blog about the textbook that includes a chapter on Obama called ‘‘Dreams from My Father.’’"
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That McCain chapter must have been omitted by accident.

Homeowner Association Management - home ownership, HOA, homeowner association, HOA members, assessments, housing associaitons, organization fees, HOA fees

Homeowner Association Management - 5 excuses owners give for not paying assessments
The article concludes that (ready for the surprise?) the HOA shouldn't accept any of these excuses.

Carrollton homeowners group sues resident over dues payments | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Breaking News for Dallas-Fort Worth | Dallas Morning News

Carrollton homeowners group sues resident over dues payments | News for Dallas, Texas: "A Carrollton man says his homeowners association is trying to take his home for what originally amounted to a jar's worth of change – $266.82 in what he calls inadvertently missed dues payments. James Alderman says the original amount he owed his homeowners group would have filled his change jar. [He] said the sum grew to $558.97 with lawyer fees and other charges and has now swollen to nearly $2,000...If Mr. Alderman loses his house over delinquent dues, he won't be the first. Dallas resident Linda Jones lost hers in 2004 because she was late paying $500 in association dues for 2002. "
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I expect to see more aggressive collection procedures as the economy worsens, unless state legislatures step in to protect owners.

Mall's demise could doom community
Sharp jump in store vacancies and a frozen credit market could force closures, resulting in loss of vital revenue and jobs: "NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- With thousands of stores closing in the economic downturn, the increase in empty space at the nation's shopping malls is leaving a hole in the hearts of once-vibrant communities.

In some cases, one-quarter or more of shopping centers are now empty, and the decline - or even the demise - of a mall can have a devastating economic and social impact"
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Maybe the malls should stand in the bailout line, too. The line is about a trillion dollars long already, and as we all know the federal budget was wildly out of balance before all this. What is a few thousand shopping malls? I hope the HOAs and condo associations are in line ahead of the malls, and right behind the cities, who are right behind the states, who are right behind the insurance companies, car companies, and the banks. The pension funds haven't showed up yet, but just wait a couple of years.

And we have more big-ticket items coming, according to campaign promises. What will the FY 2010 budget look like if Obama and the Democratic Congress set up the universal pre-school system, the universal health insurance plan, extend unemployment benefits until hell freezes over, and give billions in free money to people who didn't pay any federal taxes (fancifully labelled a "tax credit," but more properly called "welfare")?

At some point federal taxation would have to be radically increased to pay for all this, but increasing taxes during a recession is supposed to be disastrous. Radical cutbacks in military spending would provide savings (assuming our geopolitical situation permits that), but most of the procurement and enlistment numbers are already committed for several years into the future, so new cuts wouldn't take effect right away.

I wonder how all this will play out after the anticipated coronation in January.

A financial new world order? | csmonitor.com

A financial new world order? | csmonitor.com: "When President Bush hosts a world financial summit in the coming weeks, one of the least multilateral American presidents in decades will set in motion what could result in a full reordering of the global financial system.

The series of summits that Mr. Bush announced over the weekend at Camp David with European leaders at his side suggests a broad understanding among them: that the current crisis requires the kind of global regulatory reforms that have eluded major powers in the past."
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It would have been nice if these folks had seen "the current crisis" coming a few months ago.

Performer at State Fair injured during stunt

Performer at State Fair injured during stunt: "A man performing the act the 'Human Speed Bump' was injured after being run over by a car during his act at the Arizona State Fair around 6:20 p.m. according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety."
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I wonder what he was expecting, given the title of his act.

Ben Smith's Blog: The tolerant Left: "A spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney confirms the authenticity of a story circulating on conservative blogs: that during a (rare, and small) McCain rally on Lexington Avenue and 51st Street in Manhattan last month, a hostile local grabbed a woman's sign, broke it and hit her in the face."
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What will these folks do if by some weird set of circumstances The One finishes as "The Two"? The 10,000-strong party in Grant Park that Obama has arranged will turn instantly into a major civil disturbance of some sort, that's for sure.

Credit trickle slows construction | www.tennessean.com | The Tennessean

Credit trickle slows construction | www.tennessean.com | The Tennessean: "Local cities and counties are delaying millions of dollars in bond issues, waiting for municipal debt markets to calm down. Meanwhile, some local businesses are putting off expansions or new construction projects because of trouble getting loans.

Despite actions taken in recent weeks by the federal government to head off a deeper economic crisis, the impact of the credit meltdown still is being felt on Main Street."
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The ability to borrow money is central to construction, from single family home improvements to government buildings. The article talks about cities relying on reserves or delaying projects, but if things don't loosen up there will be cancellations.

MyFox Orlando | Central Florida 7th grader called racist for wearing Palin t-shi

MyFox Orlando | Central Florida 7th grader called racist for wearing Palin t-shirt
The next four years should be interesting.

Condo boards want banks' 'free ride' to end | MiamiHerald.com

Condo boards want banks' 'free ride' to end | MiamiHerald.com: "The suggestions reflect a growing sense of despair among condo owners who find themselves going up against lenders who are benefiting from a $700 billion bailout. Robaina said he was initiating discussions with South Florida's Congressional delegation about whether any of the rescue funds could be directed to the battered condo communities, many of which were at the center of speculative buying during the boom."
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As I expected, now the idea is being floated that condos should get bailed out too. This article details the complaints condo owners have about banks, especially when they don't foreclose in order to avoid having to pay the delinquent owner's condo fees. Thanks to Fred Pilot for the link.

Evictions to resume Monday :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Politics

Evictions to resume Monday :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Politics: "Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart says he'll end his prohibition on foreclosure evictions Monday now that new language has been added to court orders aimed at protecting renters who are not properly informed their landlord has lost the property.

The Sun-Times reported this week that Cook County judges began using a new court document for foreclosure evictions that specifically names tenants living at the foreclosed property and states how long they are allowed to remain in units -- the length of their lease or 120 days, whichever is shorter -- before deputies are allowed to haul out their belongings."
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After Obama takes office, he and the Democratic Congress will take care of these situations. I expect a national moratorium on foreclosures until they set up a way to restructure all the loans so foreclosure becomes next to impossible.

Pew Research Center: Who Knows News? What You Read or View Matters, but Not Your Politics

Pew Research Center: Who Knows News? What You Read or View Matters, but Not Your Politics: "The survey, conducted April 30-June 1 among 3,612 adults ages 18 and over, found that about half of Americans (53%) knew that the Democrats have a majority in the House of Representatives, while 42% could identify the secretary of state (Condoleezza Rice)."
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What hope is there for responsible electoral democracy this year? We live in a nation where almost half the population doesn't know the Democrats control the House of Representatives. I suspect that if you asked that question of the "undecideds" it would be even worse.

Bush Calls For Panic | The Onion - America's Finest News Source: "WASHINGTON—In a nationally televised address to the American people Wednesday night, President Bush called upon every man, woman, and child to spiral uncontrollably downward into complete and utter panic...During the address, Bush laid out a historic five-point plan for panic that he hopes will help the American people fall apart as quickly as possible. The plan—which many are calling Bush's most well-thought-out proposal to date—calls for citizens to abandon their daily routines entirely, and engage in a weeklong period of bloodcurdling screaming, arm flailing, dry heaving, and gnawing on one's fingers while rocking back and forth in alternating bouts of maniacal laughter and gentle sobbing."
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HOA: We're not 'a pack of Nazis' - Bay News 9

HOA: We're not 'a pack of Nazis' - Bay News 9
Then maybe you should stop acting like one.

JS Online: Brookfield condos lose fight with city over street upkeep: "Brookfield - A federal judge has ruled in favor of the City of Brookfield, dismissing a lawsuit by four condominium associations that challenged the city's requirement that the complexes be built on private roads maintained at the cost of the associations...The groups alleged it was discriminatory for the city to take over and maintain streets in single-family residential developments while refusing to do the same for multifamily developments. But Adelman ruled that the city had a legitimate interest in reducing public works costs. Shifting part of that burden onto condominium associations “with the means to provide their own services” is not unconstitutional, Adelman said."
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Mandatory privatization is the point. That's why cities favor CIDs. More property tax payers without the expense.

As condo owners are foreclosed, complex fails to pay gas bills -- chicagotribune.com

As condo owners are foreclosed, complex fails to pay gas bills -- chicagotribune.com: "A condominium complex near Des Plaines is locked in a battle with Nicor Gas over unpaid bills totaling $244,000, a problem a property manager blamed on a high number of foreclosures.

The foreclosures have dried up the collection of assessments—fees paid by condo owners to cover the cost of shared utilities and other expenses, the manager said.

But poor management by the condo association also has contributed, a Nicor spokeswoman said."
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I expect a lot more of this in the next few years.

Metro home sales up, but prices plunge | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press

Metro home sales up, but prices plunge | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press: "The median price on a house or condo sold in Detroit last month plummeted 57%, to $9,250, from $21,250 a year ago, according to figures released Monday by Realcomp, a multiple listing service based in Farmington Hills.

Foreclosures represented two-thirds of sales in Detroit in September, and they boosted sales by 81% as buyers laid claim to 1,019 homes.

For the wider metro area, the median sale price was down 34%, from $129,000 a year ago to $85,000 last month."
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Detroit median housing unit price: $9,250.
Detroit metro area median housing price: $85,000

Last one out, turn off the lights.

Note to self: Taser no good on wild boars
An object lesson for us all.

US confronts possibility of long, deep recession : National News : Knoxville News Sentinel

US confronts possibility of long, deep recession : "A recession is typically defined as a period in which the economy shrinks for two quarters in a row. In the 2001 recession, the quarters weren't even consecutive.

But in the 1970s, the recession stretched on for a year and a half. Nearly 2.2 million people lost their jobs. By the end of 1974, the Dow Jones industrial average had lost more than 40 percent of its value. At the same time, the nation was focused on the Watergate scandal and the vacuum left by President Nixon's resignation in August 1974.

The economy began to recover in spring of the next year. But inflation, which had eased as the oil embargo was lifted, spiked again. By 1980, prices were rising at an annual rate of 13.5 percent."
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The point of this article is that we haven't had a deep recession since the early 1970s, and many people don't know what it feels like. I am astounded by the depth of political ignorance this year, as people get ready to vote but don't even know the Democrats control Congress, and I guess the economic ignorance is much worse.

Pre-debate talking points: Raising expectations - Yahoo! News

Pre-debate talking points: Raising expectations - Yahoo! News: "A copy of Obama surrogates' pre-debate talking points slipped out inadvertently on a campaign press list this morning, in case you want to skip hearing them repeated ad nauseum on the cable news, they're posted in full after the jump."
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Interesting inside look into the way the campaigns try to spin the press coverage.

MyFox New York | Brooklyn Middle School Ordered To Remove Obama Poster

MyFox New York | Brooklyn Middle School Ordered To Remove Obama Poster: And on it goes...

Metro State clears teacher in Palin essay flap : Updates : The Rocky Mountain News

Metro State clears teacher in Palin essay flap : Updates : The Rocky Mountain News: "A special investigation of part-time Metropolitan State College instructor Andrew Hallam has determined that he had not violated any college policies in assigning an essay on Republican vice president nominee Sarah Palin to one of his English classes.

'The investigation concluded that Hallam must learn to curb the use of vulgar language in class, and that the introduction of controversial topics must have a substantial relationship with the subject of the class,' according to a news bulletin released by the college Tuesday.

'While discipline is not warranted, appropriate mentoring is recommended.'"
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So, maybe he can do a little less swearing while he uses his English class as a forum for his lefty politics? That's it? The essay assignment in question, that was OK with the college after all: "He allegedly told them to write an essay that would contradict "the fairy tale image of Palin" as presented at the Republican National Convention."

toledoblade.com -- Obama maps rescue for middle-class U.S.

toledoblade.com -- Obama maps rescue for middle-class U.S.: "Highlights of his plan include:

• A temporary tax credit of $3,000 for each new job companies create in the United States over the next two years.

• New legislation that would allow families to withdraw 15 percent of their retirement savings — up to a maximum of $10,000 — without facing a 10 percent tax penalty this year (retroactively to Jan. 1) and next year.

• A 90-day foreclosure moratorium for homeowners who are making a good-faith effort to pay their mortgages.

• Calling on the Federal Reserve and the Treasury to work to establish a facility to lend to state and municipal governments."
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So state and local governments bring up the end of the line. Don't see the nation's condos and HOAs there.

Pasadena woman facing eviction is found dead in burning home - Los Angeles Times

Pasadena woman facing eviction is found dead in burning home - Los Angeles Times: "A series of financial setbacks left Wanda Dunn facing eviction from the house in Pasadena where her family had lived for generations.

Dunn, 53, told neighbors that she would rather die than leave.

Early Monday, the day of her expected eviction, firefighters pulled her body out of the house as it burned. She apparently had set it on fire before shooting herself in the head, authorities said.

'We knew it was going to happen,' said Steve Brooks, who lived across the street. 'It was nobody's fault; it was everybody's fault.'"
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That makes two of these in the last week. Tragic.

Daily Herald | Waukegan store clerk fatally shoots robber, may face criminal charges

Daily Herald | Waukegan store clerk fatally shoots robber, may face criminal charges: "Walles said it's unclear why the clerk had a gun at the store, but confirmed there have been numerous theft and other disturbances at the location in the past two years. 'That's one of the things we are reviewing in the case,' he said. 'But, at this time, we are unclear on why the clerk had a gun in the store.'"
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Indeed. What a puzzle. And this Walles is a Waukegan police commander. Let's see if we can contribute to the solution of his conundrum, shall we? Hmmmmm.

Play the "Jeopardy" theme...

The answer: A gun.

The question: What is the best way for a store clerk in a bad neighborhood to protect himself against robbers and other miscreants?

If you want to debate whether he should have shot him, fine. I don't know how it all went down. But don't insult people's intelligence with all this public dithering about why there was a gun in the store. I have driven right past that store and if I worked there I would want a pistol nearby.

Soros Explains The Credit Crisis - Forbes.com

Soros Explains The Credit Crisis - Forbes.com: "With his near real-time critique of the credit crisis, George Soros has saved financial historians a lot of work. If he's right, the summer of 2007 and all of 2008 will be the topic of many an academic paper, much like how Ben Bernanke made a career out of studying the Great Depression. Soros sees this as a monumental time. It's not just a bursting housing bubble, he says. It's the end of a quarter-century of credit-driven economic expansion. We're in a whole new world"
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Excellent review published in May, 2008, of the Soros book that went to press in March. Soros predicted what just happened, so it is worth taking a few minutes to read this review.

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Predators could be superweed fix

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Predators could be superweed fix: "A superweed spreading throughout the UK could be brought under control by introducing plant-eating predators from Japan, scientists believe."
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I'm sure this will end well. Attack of the Killer Knotweed, followed by Knotweed Meets the Sap-Sucking Psyllid.

McClatchy Washington Bureau | 10/13/2008 | More lawsuits trip up bloggers on Internet: "The Citizen Media Law Project has tallied 280 legal actions against bloggers and other online publishers nationwide. Compared with the millions of blogs out there, that might not seem like a lot. But the numbers have been trending steadily upward, from a mere four lawsuits in 1997 to 89 last year.

Although only a handful of cases have resulted in verdicts or settlements, a few have been eye-popping enough to give even the average basement- residing poster pause."
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Yes. $11.3 million will give you Mary Feldman eyes for sure.

Money Central - Times Online - WBLG: Ten people who predicted the financial meltdown
Take a look at No. 10. Hint: his initials are R.P.

Royal Bank of Scotland under state control - Times Online

Royal Bank of Scotland under state control - Times Online: "The Chancellor will move to take control of the Royal Bank of Scotland today by injecting £20 billion of taxpayers’ money.

The Government is also expected to take over HBOS in the most dramatic extension of state ownership in the British economy since the war. The bank’s rescue takeover by Lloyds TSB appeared to be on the brink of collapse last night.

As governments around the world scramble to prevent the collapse of the global financial system, Alistair Darling will unveil plans for a £40 billion “recapitalisation” of the banking sector."
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Marx said capitalism would collapse and be replaced by socialism. Maybe he was right after all. I hope not.

Foreclosure-proof homes? - Los Angeles Times

Foreclosure-proof homes? - Los Angeles Times: "A U.S. District Court judge in Cleveland tossed out 14 foreclosure cases Oct. 31 on the grounds that the bank suing to repossess the properties, Deutsche Bank National Trust Co., didn't actually own them. Deutsche Bank held debt securities that were linked to the mortgage loans on the properties, not the mortgages themselves. And the judge ruled that a security backed by a mortgage is not the same as a mortgage.

That's a distinction that could make all the difference in the world -- especially to the millions of Americans facing potential foreclosure in our crumbling housing market."
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What if I have a mutual fund account that has some MBS shares? Do I get somebody's back porch or something?

Pair arrested after large McCain sign torched in Sellwood yard | KATU.com - Portland, Oregon | News

Pair arrested after large McCain sign torched in Sellwood yard : "PORTLAND, Ore. - Authorities have arrested two men after a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a 4-foot by 8-foot campaign sign for Republican presidential candidate John McCain in a southeast Portland yard."
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If you are tossing Molotov cocktails while your candidate is up by 7 in the polls, what do you do if he loses? Or if he wins, for that matter.

Crime: Buy Or Be Stabbed: "The global economy is crashing, credit markets are playing ice age, and you consumers have a simple choice: buy things now or prepare to be stabbed next year."
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The facts are in, courtesy of Mystery Reader.

Brown lawn means jail time - St. Petersburg Times

Brown lawn means jail time - St. Petersburg Times: "His crime? He had disobeyed a court order that he sod the lawn at his Beacon Woods home.

His bail? Zero.

Prudente, 66, must stay in the Pasco County jail in Land O'Lakes until the required sod work is completed, under a September court order signed by Circuit Judge W. Lowell Bray.

'He's in prison for God knows how long because we can't afford to sod the lawn,' said his sobbing daughter, Jennifer Lehr."
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Thanks to Beth Young for this sad tale. The Beacon Woods Civic Association is serious about that green lawn thing. And so is the judge.

Behind McCain’s Fall « The State of the Union: "In this election, as in nearly all before, a black swan has shaped the race’s trajectory: one of those unforeseeable external events that pops up in the last month or so, bearing an impact far greater than any of the daily fluctuations dissected by the punditry."
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The line chart that accompanies the blog post tells a dramatic story. The black swan is honking louder than anything else. Unless another rara avis shows up before November 3, McCain's goose is cooked, so to speak.

Las Vegas Now | I-Team: Ombudsman Talks About HOA Investigation

Las Vegas Now | I-Team: Ombudsman Talks About HOA Investigation: "No other state has an office like Nevada's HOA Ombudsman, which has assisted thousands of homeowners over the past few years. However, it's up to the state's HOA Commission to handle more serious matters.

The I-Team found the commission has picked up the pace in the last year, but still processes a small trickle of cases, each of which takes about two years to be processed."
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No other state? What about Florida? In any event, the verdict seems to be that the Nevada ombudsman office and the state commission haven't made much of a difference.

My Way News - Obama fundraiser, convicted of fraud, spills beans: "CHICAGO (AP) - Jailed political fundraiser Antoin 'Tony' Rezko, the Chicago real estate developer who helped launch Barack Obama on his political career, is whispering secrets to federal prosecutors about corruption in Illinois and the political fallout could be explosive."
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Our slimy governor, Rod "Testicular Fortitude" Blagojevich, has a lot to fear. He seems to be the top target of the investigation. But I don't think Obama is a real target at all. Maybe Rezko could say things that make him look bad, but unless Obama was involved in criminal conduct, which I doubt, we probably won't hear about it. Fitzgerald won't smear a likely future president unless he has a slam dunk case against him.

ps: I forgot to mention the obvious wild card. If Obama is elected, he can fire Patrick Fitzgerald, the US attorney for the northern district of Illinois (Chicago), and appoint some stooge who will make sure nothing bad happens to Blago or The One. Some people think Obama wouldn't do that because it would look so bad, given that everybody knows Rezko is already singing and Blago is the target. I wonder if those are the same people who said Obama would never go back on his promise to use public campaign financing. In other words, with this much at stake, I'm sure Obama can find a way to talk his way around looking bad. On the other hand, maybe Blago at long last has no friends left and Obama will let him swing. And I'm still unconvinced that Obama ever did anything criminal. However, just for the record there is one long opinion to the contrary, so we will just have to wait and see what Rezko has to say.

IBDeditorials.com: Editorials, Political Cartoons, and Polls from Investor's Business Daily -- Investors' Real Fear: A Socialist Tsunami

IBDeditorials.com: Editorials, Political Cartoons, and Polls from Investor's Business Daily -- Investors' Real Fear: A Socialist Tsunami: "It isn't only that the most anti-capitalist politician ever nominated by a major party is favored to take the White House. It's that he'll also have a filibuster-proof Congress led by politicians who are almost as liberal.

Throw in a media establishment dedicated to the implementation of a liberal agenda, and the smothering of dissent wherever it arises, and it's no wonder panic has set in."
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The argument is that the continued selloff is the result of the public's reaction to the crash. They are moving to Obama. And that, the author says, is causing a secondary panic.

Contra Costa sues major Wall Street institutions over alleged bid-rigging scam - Inside Bay Area

Contra Costa sues major Wall Street institutions over alleged bid-rigging scam - Inside Bay Area: "Contra Costa sued nearly every major Wall Street financial institution Wednesday, arguing they conspired to fix bidding on its municipal bond investments, costing the county perhaps millions of dollars in higher interest payments, fees and credit risks.

The lawsuit contends the conspiracy involved more than 50 investment firms, banks and brokers — including many bankrupt companies rescued or bought out in the recent Wall Street collapse — conspiring to get more lucrative interest payments and fees from public entities, including Contra Costa."
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And it is bigger than that. Much bigger. Many counties are involved, the money involved is huge, and this is not just a private civil suit. The FBI is involved.

kakistocracy: Definition from Answers.com

kakistocracy: Definition from Answers.comn., pl. -cies.

Government by the least qualified or most unprincipled citizens.

[Greek kakistos, worst, superlative of kakos, bad; see caco– + –CRACY.]
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This may be where we are headed.

Narcissistic People Most Likely To Emerge As Leaders

Narcissistic People Most Likely To Emerge As Leaders: "COLUMBUS, Ohio – When a group is without a leader, you can often count on a narcissist to take charge, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that people who score high in narcissism tend to take control of leaderless groups. Narcissism is a trait in which people are self-centered, exaggerate their talents and abilities, and lack empathy for others.

“Not only did narcissists rate themselves as leaders, which you would expect, but other group members also saw them as the people who really run the group,” said Amy Brunell, lead author of the study and assistant professor of psychology at Ohio State University at Newark."
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Food for thought, not just for people who live in CIDs, but for the nation as a whole.

Panama Guide - Home Invasion Robberies, Safety, and Security in Panama

Panama Guide - Home Invasion Robberies, Safety, and Security in Panama: "Gated Communities: Many foreigners who talk about moving to Panama often eschew gated communities. They say they would prefer to mix and mingle with their Panamanian counterparts and don't want to live behind a wall or a fence. That's fine, but there's no doubt that gated communities exist for a reason, and the reason is that the people living in those communities are the most likely to be targeted for an armed home invasion robbery. As a foreigner you have a big, fat target painted on your back the minute you get off of the plane at Tocumen airport. Most of the real estate projects and developments have taken the safety and security of their residents into consideration in their planning, so be sure to look for and to ask about those elements when making your choice. You don't have to live like a scared cat but at the same time you don't want to invite trouble either."
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If the crime is that bad, I see the appeal of a gated community. The strange thing is that you see them even where the crime is practically nonexistent.

Housing Pain Gauge: Nearly 1 in 6 Owners 'Under Water' - WSJ.com

Housing Pain Gauge: Nearly 1 in 6 Owners 'Under Water' - WSJ.com: "About 75.5 million U.S. households own the homes they live in. After a housing slump that has pushed values down 30% in some areas, roughly 12 million households, or 16%, owe more than their homes are worth, according to Moody's Economy.com.

The comparable figures were roughly 4% under water in 2006 and 6% last year, says the firm's chief economist, Mark Zandi, who adds that 'it is very possible that there will ultimately be more homeowners under water in this period than any time in our history.'

Among people who bought within the past five years, it's worse: 29% are under water on their mortgages, according to an estimate by real-estate Web site Zillow.com."
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Take a look at the map that accompanies the story. The red states have the highest concentrations of CID housing.

How Much Oil is Actually Left On This Planet? Should We Care? : Gas 2.0

How Much Oil is Actually Left On This Planet? Should We Care? : Gas 2.0: "The way he sees it, the world has plenty of remaining and untapped fossil fuel resources to keep up with demand for at least the next 30 years. From squeezing oil out of unconventional sources such as oil shales, to using new technologies to re-exploit old oil fields that had since been left as dead, to undiscovered conventional oil sources, Dr. McCabe’s opinion is that there is no impending peak oil crisis - and the same thing goes for natural gas and coal."
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Check it out, complete with charts. 30 years doesn't seem like a long time, though. I think somebody had better come up with an alternative to burning all these dead dinosaurs.

Las Vegas Now | I-Team: HOA Insider Breaks Silence

Las Vegas Now | I-Team: HOA Insider Breaks Silence: "A former property manager is now coming forward saying she saw problems with the person at the center of the HOA investigations, Leon Benzer. New video and phone calls show some violent hired muscle willing to cross the line.

Allegations are flying back and forth in this case. Now there's proof it could get a lot worse.

From rigged elections and cushy contracts, to junkets to Cabo San Lucas and six tough guys acting as enforcers who would rough up anyone that would get in the way. The tale is the videotape, and it's one tale Diane Wild wishes she could forget."
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Thanks to Monica Caruso for this link, which includes scary video of the hired thugs. I haven't hear CAI's take on this whole deplorable saga yet. I expect something along these lines: this is just another isolated incident that is in no way representative of the hard working professionals who serve the hundreds of thousands of volunteer-run community associations across this great land of ours.

My Way News - Sheriff in Ill. county won't evict in foreclosures: "CHICAGO (AP) - Residents of foreclosed properties in Chicago and other parts of Cook County don't have to worry about deputies forcing them out. Sheriff Tom Dart says that starting Thursday his office won't take part in evictions."
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This is the first time I've seen this.

Homeowner associations want state protections from legislators -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Homeowners want state protections from legislators -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com: "Homeowners responding to two recent surveys said they want a state agency to oversee their associations, training requirements for board directors and an ombudsman's office to act as a neutral resource and liaison for unit owners and board members. Condo associations have these protections in place, but HOAs have never had them in Florida.

Part of the reason is that historically the perception has been there are fewer HOAs, said state Rep. Julio Robaina, R-Miami, who championed condo reform over the past few years. As of June, there were 1,441,284 condo units in Florida governed by a total of 21,737 associations, but no state agency contacted could provide the number of HOAs."
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From Fred Pilot comes this piece signaling the start of a campaign to regulate HOAs in Florida in much the same way that condo associations are regulated.

Riley asks for help on city's sewer debt | montgomeryadvertiser.com | Montgomery Advertiser

Alabama Governor Riley asks for help on city's sewer debt | montgomeryadvertiser.com | Montgomery Advertiser: "The governor's meeting with legislators came after only two of the five members of the Jeffer­son County Commission voted Monday in favor of a bankrupt­cy filing. Others hope that a deal can be reached, but commis­sioners did vote to ask the coun­ty attorney to look into the pos­sibility of bankruptcy. One plan would use excess education sales tax money to pay part of the sewer debt, a move that would have to be ap­proved by the Legislature. Riley also has asked the in­terim head of the Treasury De­partment's $700 billion bailout to help Alabama's most popu­lous county avoid filing the larg­est municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history."
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Mr. Cash and Carry is going to have a long line outside his door. Jefferson County has a $3 billion sewer bill it can't pay.

Garbage crews 'paid to do nothing' city surveillance finds :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Politics

Garbage crews 'paid to do nothing' city surveillance finds :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Politics: "Chicago's household garbage is being picked up by crews that work less than six hours a day -- and get 'paid to do nothing' for 25 percent of their time on the clock -- costing taxpayers at least $14.3 million a year, the city's inspector general has found."
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I love the way President-in-waiting Obama reformed this city, county, and state before he went off to reform America.

Deployed Soldiered Getting Sued For Not Land Scaping His Home | KXNet.com North Dakota News

Deployed Soldier Getting Sued For Not Land Scaping His Home | KXNet.com North Dakota News: "Is there anything in the world more vile than a Homeowner’s Association?"
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I think that was intended as a rhetorical question.

My Way News - McCain would buy bad homeowner mortgages

My Way News - McCain would buy bad homeowner mortgages: "WASHINGTON (AP) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain is proposing a $300 billion program for the federal government to buy up bad home mortgages and allow homeowners to keep their houses.

McCain said: 'Until we stabilize home values in America, we're never going to start turning around and creating jobs and fixing our economy and we've got to get some trust and confidence back to America.'"
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This might actually work. The problem is it comes on top of the bailout of institutions. Maybe McCain should have said no to the bailout bill and proposed this instead. Why not bail out the consumers and stabilize the value of the underlying asset? This was suggested by others early on.

Good Morning Yahoo!

Condo board goes to war against Segway rider
So this 83 year old WWII vet cruises around the seniors condo development on his Segway and the BOD bans it, even though they are fine with golf carts, those little personal mobility scooter thingys, bikes, and even motorized lawnmowers. He is a spunky old guy who has a girlfriend he needs to visit, so he won't back down.

New Details Emerge in Las Vegas HOA Corruption Probe | HOA Nut House

New Details Emerge in Las Vegas HOA Corruption Probe | HOA Nut House: "So how was it done? For one thing, at Park Avenue, more than half the owners live elsewhere. The condos are investments, so they take little interest in board meetings. The most recent election had twice as many ballots cast as ever before, and most were mailed from one place. 'Funny part is, in California, all the different cities, they were all mailed form Long Beach at the same time on the same date,' said Dennis Noto.'They looked like real ballots that came in. Someone duplicated ballots, duplicated envelopes and then mailed them en masse. Even in Las Vegas, they were mailed all the same day from the same place,' said Lahargoue."
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I am interested to see whether this sort of thing is ultimately found to be criminal or just civil. If the former, homeowners' rights advocates have an opportunity big enough to drive a truck through. If the latter, we are back to the "6 years in court" drawing board.

Frank says GOP housing attacks racially motivated

Frank says GOP housing attacks racially motivated: "BOSTON (AP) - Rep. Barney Frank said Monday that Republican criticism of Democrats over the nation's housing crisis is a veiled attack on the poor that's racially motivated. The Massachusetts Democrat, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said the GOP is appealing to its base by blaming the country's mortgage foreclosure problem on efforts to expand affordable housing through the Community Reinvestment Act. He said that blame is misplaced, because those loans are issued by regulated institutions, while far more foreclosures were triggered by high-cost loans made by unregulated entities."
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Frank is probably right on the issue of regulated CRA loans (a point made by a knowledgeable commenter on this blog yesterday). But this claim that criticism of housing programs is racially motivated is exactly the same thing Democrats said to silence Republican criticism of Fannie Mae (to the enormous detriment of the nation); it is the same thing the Obama campaign says whenever The One is criticized; and I hope the rest of the nation is as sick of hearing it as I am.

AFP: US author of anti-Obama book detained in Kenya

AFP: US author of anti-Obama book detained in Kenya: "In a press release distributed earlier this week, Corsi announced he would 'expose deep secret ties between between US Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama and a section of the Kenyan government leaders.' He was also to detail Kenyan leaders' 'connections to certain sectoral groups in Kenya and a subsequent plot to be executed in Kenya should Sen. Obama win the American presidency,' the release said."
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If he's not careful, HE will be the one "executed in Kenya."

A move to secede on California-Oregon border

A move to secede on California-Oregon border: "Guess the time is ripe to create a whole new state. That's the thinking up here along the border between California and Oregon, where 12 sparsely populated, thickly forested counties in both states want to break away and generate the 51st star on the nation's flag - the state of Jefferson. You can see the signs of discontent from Klamath Falls to Dunsmuir, where green double-X 'Jefferson State' flags hang in scores of businesses."
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These folks think the governments of Oregon and California are too liberal for them, so they want their own little Conservastan called "Jefferson."

Leading geneticist Steve Jones says human evolution is over - Times Online
That is obvious. Exhibit A: daytime television. I rest my case.

FT.com / In depth - Markets routed in global sell-off

FT.com / In depth - Markets routed in global sell-off: "Stock prices collapsed around the world on Monday amid growing fears that the credit crisis would trigger a global recession. The wave of selling swept through markets despite a scramble by governments to tackle the crisis, leading to rampant speculation that co-ordinated emergency rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and other central banks might be in the offing."
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Slow news day.

Indian American to oversee $700bn bailout

Indian American to oversee $700bn bailout: "Kashkari, who was one of the originator of the bailout plan, was part of the Treasury team that negotiated the asset-repurchase programme with Congress. Now, he would oversee some key decisions on how the rescue programme would operate."
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He is an engineer whose first career was with the space program. He also has an MBA in Finance.Sure hope he knows what he's doing.

Cramer to the Market: Now Is the Time to Panic

Cramer to the Market: Now Is the Time to Panic: "Whatever you may need for the next five years, please take it out of the stock market. Right now. This week. I do not believe that you should risk those assets in the stock market."
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Well. That is helpful.