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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.