AFP: Risk of Japan going bankrupt is real, say analysts

AFP: Risk of Japan going bankrupt is real, say analysts: "Public debt is expected to hit 200 percent of GDP in the next year as the government tries to spend its way out of the economic doldrums despite plummeting tax revenues and soaring welfare costs for its ageing population."
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The USA had better get busy or Japan will beat us to the bottom of the barrel.

Foreclosure auction of Nicolas Cage's mansion is a flop - latimes.com

Foreclosure auction of Nicolas Cage's mansion is a flop - latimes.com: "'The design was 'frat house bordello,' ' Parsons said. 'There must have been 300 comic book covers elaborately framed and hanging on the walls.' Model train sets on raised tracks a couple feet below the ceiling circled the inside of the breakfast room and two bedrooms. There were also no takers in the courthouse sale, and in less than a minute the auction closed, with ownership reverting to the foreclosing lender -- just one of six holding a total of $18 million in loans on the property."
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He had tried and failed to sell it for $35 million. They started the auction at $10.4 million. No bidders. Frat house bordello must have gone out of style.

Evolution, Big Bang Polls Omitted From NSF Report - ScienceInsider

Evolution, Big Bang Polls Omitted From NSF Report - ScienceInsider: "The deleted text, obtained by ScienceInsider, does not differ radically from what has appeared in previous Indicators. The section, which was part of the unedited chapter on public attitudes toward science and technology, notes that 45% of Americans in 2008 answered true to the statement, 'Human beings, as we know them today, developed from earlier species of animals.' The figure is similar to previous years and much lower than in Japan (78%), Europe (70%), China (69%), and South Korea (64%). The same gap exists for the response to a second statement, 'The universe began with a big explosion,' with which only 33% of Americans agreed."
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Chase Sued For Telling People To Stop Paying Mortgage, Then Foreclosing - The Consumerist

Chase Sued For Telling People To Stop Paying Mortgage, Then Foreclosing - The Consumerist: "We hear stories all the time about people who are having trouble paying their mortgage, call the bank for help, and are then told there's nothing the bank can do unless they stop paying their mortgage. Well, one couple is suing Chase after they followed that advice, and then got foreclosed on."
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Thanks to Mystery Reader for this absolutely infuriating story. It makes me wonder what percentage of home foreclosures by banks and associations are bogus.

Nearly half of US households escape fed income tax - Yahoo! Finance

Nearly half of US households escape fed income tax - Yahoo! Finance: "WASHINGTON (AP) -- Tax Day is a dreaded deadline for millions, but for nearly half of U.S. households it's simply somebody else's problem.

About 47 percent will pay no federal income taxes at all for 2009. Either their incomes were too low, or they qualified for enough credits, deductions and exemptions to eliminate their liability. That's according to projections by the Tax Policy Center, a Washington research organization."
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It would be interesting to see what the correlation is between paying income tax or not and supporting big federal spending programs. Somehow I think the people who pay the income taxes are not so keen on the huge deficits the federal government is running up.

KSBY News San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, Paso Robles - Duck feeding ban approved in San Luis Obispo

KSBY News San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, Paso Robles - Duck feeding ban approved in San Luis Obispo: "You will no longer be able to feed the ducks in the city of San Luis Obispo.

Tuesday night, the city council passed its new storm water management regulations. The ordinance prohibits people from feeding ducks at local parks, lakes and creeks. City leaders say feeding animals contributes to pollution."
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You know what drug the ducks take?
Quack.

L.A. mayor calls for temporary shutdowns of some agencies - latimes.com

L.A. mayor calls for temporary shutdowns of some agencies - latimes.com
When you read all these demands to abolish HOAs and condos, keep in mind that such a thing can only happen through state legislation. Can you imagine the California state legislature tampering with the HOA cash cow, with cities running gigantic structural deficits? Neither can I. Cities and CIDs are joined at the hip now.

Tea Party 48% Obama 44% - Rasmussen Reports™

Tea Party 48% Obama 44% - Rasmussen Reports™: "On major issues, 48% of voters say that the average Tea Party member is closer to their views than President Barack Obama. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 44% hold the opposite view and believe the president’s views are closer to their own."
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Interesting election coming up, I'd say.

Lawyer: "Be aggressive with your foreclosure actions."

Condo and HOA Law by Donna DiMaggio Berger, Esq.: Time to Tighten Up Your Current Collection Policy: "Be aggressive with your foreclosure actions. This accomplishes several things: it sends a message to the rest of the paying members that you are doing something; it warns those who might be tempted to stop paying their assessments that you will do something, it allows the association (once it takes title) to either sell the property or lease it out short term to recoup some or all of the money owed and it allows the association to control who occupies the property and its condition."
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I posted a link a while back to President Obama's request that banks not be so quick to foreclose. I received a comment to that post flagging this one, from Donna Berger's blog. She says to "be aggressive with your foreclosure actions."

I understand that associations need to collect delinquent assessments, or else the other owners end up paying for the ones who don't. But look--even CAI says to use foreclosure only as a last resort. Yet, within CAI there are always these lawyers and managers who tell their association clients something different, such as be aggressive; use foreclosure ASAP; use nonjudicial foreclosure if possible; and so forth.

So--which of these two approaches is the "real" CAI? The statements that emanate from CAI national, or the advice CAI members give their client associations?

Homeowner group OKs $4,000 yard art fine | HeraldTribune.com

Homeowner group OKs $4,000 yard art fine | HeraldTribune.com: "LAKEWOOD RANCH - Two metal poodles and several small seashells decorating Summerfield resident Joani Ellis' front yard are still costing her $50 a day

Facing nearly $4,000 in fines, Ellis appealed the penalties to the Summerfield/Riverwalk Homeowner Association on Thursday night.

But the board did not budge on their stance that Ellis is breaking a neighborhood rule that allows only three lawn decorations."
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Take a look at the picture and tell me this is something her neighbors have any business even talking about, much less imposing fines.

Fred Pilot sent this link.

Colleyville homeowners divided over developer's control of HOAs | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Breaking News for Dallas-Fort Worth | Dallas Morning News

Colleyville homeowners divided over developer's control of HOAs | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Breaking News for Dallas-Fort Worth | Dallas Morning News: "COLLEYVILLE – This affluent community, full of beautiful new homes and shops, doesn't look like a hothouse for revolutionaries hellbent on overthrowing the established suburban order.

But a group of residents in five luxury neighborhoods has grown tired of their homeowners associations dictating everything from how many day lilies to plant in a flower bed to what companies they can hire to put in a swimming pool."
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The peasants are revolting!

Thanks to Fred Pilot for the link.

Somebody needs a lawyer in Colorado

Can anybody give me the name of an attorney in Colorado who will represent owners in a dispute with an HOA? I have been contacted by somebody in Jefferson County, CO, who needs a lawyer. You can send it to me at ecmlaw@gmail.com and I will pass it on to the interested party.

White men shun Democrats -- Page 1 -- Times Union - Albany NY

White men shun Democrats -- Page 1 -- Times Union - Albany NY: "Millions of white men who voted for Barack Obama are walking away from the Democratic Party, and it appears increasingly likely that they'll take the midterms elections in November with them. Their departure could well lead to a GOP landslide on a scale not seen since 1994."
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It only took a year or so for President Obama to alienate a huge chunk of the electorate. I don't think there is much he can do to get them back, either. People know who he is now.

He ran as a common-sense, centrist, outsider who was going to Washington to fix things. Nobody who knew him would have believed that for a minute, of course, but with the press declining to dig into his background much it worked with a lot of independents. The Republicans had cast themselves into a pit of disrepute and the McCain-Palin ticket was hopelessly inept, so Obama swept right in.

But now everybody can see that Obama is farther to the left than he let on. He is committing the federal government to vast deficits for decades to come, and he is loading up his administration with lefties who want to regulate every aspect of the economy to the point of making entire industries virtual arms of the federal government. With Congress on his side he can do all this, or at least most of it.

Jobs and fixing the federal budget are more important to many voters than they are to those in power in Washington. If the November elections bring a huge turnout of angry white people, watch out. Remember that Ross Perot got 19% of the vote in 1992. And he was an obvious nutball whose VP candidate couldn't even figure out why Perot chose him.

Chase Hassles Woman For $45K In Payments For Home She No Longer Owns - The Consumerist

Chase Hassles Woman For $45K In Payments For Home She No Longer Owns - The Consumerist"In Oct. 2008, a mother of four in Illinois needed to unload her house or face foreclosure. So she worked with Chase Home Financial and got them to agree to a short sale. Unfortunately, more than a year later not everyone at Chase knows the house was sold, because they're telling the former homeowner she owes almost $45,000 in late payments."
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Thanks to Mystery Reader for this example of another major screw-up by a bank dunning somebody for money they don't owe. Is this better than foreclosing on the wrong home?

Half of U.S. Home Loan Modifications Default Again (Update1) - Bloomberg.com

Half of U.S. Home Loan Modifications Default Again (Update1) - Bloomberg.com: "The re-default rate of loans modified in the first quarter of 2009 was 51.5 percent by the end of the year, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision said in a joint report today. The figure, which measures payments at least 30 days late, climbed to 57.9 percent for changes made in the prior 12 months.

U.S. homeowners are struggling to make payments as depressed housing prices leave them owing more than their properties are worth. About 24 percent of properties with a mortgage were underwater in the fourth quarter, First American CoreLogic said last month. The median price of a U.S. home was $165,100 in February, down 28 percent from its peak in July 2006, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Modifications are “clearly not working well and it’s not a surprise,” said Sam Khater, a senior economist at First American CoreLogic in Tysons Corner, Virginia. “It’s pointless to rewrite these loans because they’re underwater.”"
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No problem, because Obama will just tell the banks to be nice. See below.

Obama readies steps to fight foreclosures, particularly for unemployed - washingtonpost.com

Obama readies steps to fight foreclosures, particularly for unemployed - washingtonpost.com: "The Obama administration plans to overhaul how it is tackling the foreclosure crisis, in part by requiring lenders to temporarily slash or eliminate monthly mortgage payments for many borrowers who are unemployed, senior officials said Thursday."
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Which will push more banks into insolvency, and thus into the arms of the ever-expanding federal regulatory apparatus, where they will be reprogrammed as community service agencies?

Eldo Telecom: Study points to demise of burbs as bedroom communities

Eldo Telecom: Study points to demise of burbs as bedroom communities: "A study by the Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology found that long commutes to jobs in the Los Angeles basin from California's Inland Empire area (San Bernardino/Riverside) aren't really worth it when the cost of commuting if factored in. For decades, housing that costs less than comparable real estate closer to jobs in L.A. was the draw that fueled the region's growth. But when the costs of hours spent in cars and gasoline and maintenance are taken into account, it comes out a wash. (And arguably, potentially a net loss when the adverse work/life balance and health affects are included)."
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Fred Pilot, on his blog, zeroes in on the problem that is setting the limits to suburbia.

New home sales drop 2.2 percent in Feb. to new low

New home sales drop 2.2 percent in Feb. to new low: "The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that new home sales fell 2.2 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 308,000.

It was the fourth consecutive month of declines and the worst showing on records dating to 1963."
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The figures for Chicagoland showed prices up, but sales down.

No more State Police on Chicago expressways? :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Election 2010

No more State Police on Chicago expressways? :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Election 2010: "The Chicago Police Department may be forced to assume primary responsibility for patrolling 53 miles of Chicago area expressways -- at a time when police manpower is woefully short -- under Gov. Quinn's proposal to slash the State Police budget and lay off 464 state troopers."
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The CPD is the second-largest police department in the country with 13,000 officers. They claim they have a severe manpower shortage and can't get enough officers on the street as it is, so they can't be expected to write speeding tickets on the expressways.

My observations: 1. CPD officers regard traffic enforcement as a nuisance unless they are specifically assigned to that duty. I walk from Union Station to UIC and back every working day and have been doing so for years.I have never, ever--not one time--seen a Chicago Police Officer writing a traffic ticket. Almost every day I see driving behavior that should lead to public flogging. There are cops hanging out at the 7-11s and elsewhere. No tickets being written.

2. Even with the state police writing tickets on the expressways, it is like a scene from Deathrace. People drive over 100 mph. You see it all the time. And when the go to court for driving over 100 mph, 2/3 of the time they get court supervision and it doesn't even go on their driving record. Don't believe me? Read this. The judges couldn't care less, either, as long as the money comes rolling in from the fines. So: the expressways are full of people driving like maniacs. Many of them are driving on suspended licenses, don't have insurance, and seem not to care if they kill you.

3. So, if they fire the 464 Chicago area state troopers, CPD will not pick up the slack very well and it will be like the Autobahn out there.

I'm glad I take the train.

americas-most-underwater-housing-markets: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

americas-most-underwater-housing-markets: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance: "'We have never had negative equity like this at the national level in as many different regions as we have now,' Humphries says. To get a better sense of the cities with the greatest concentrations of negative equity, Zillow provided U.S. News with data that detail the percentage of mortgage borrowers who are underwater in 142 distinct markets throughout the country. Based on this research, we compiled the following list of America's most underwater housing markets. (Please note: We chose no more than one city per state.)"
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Vegas, Merced, Phoenix, Orlando, Greeley, and on. Quite a spread.