February 27, 2008

PIGS FLY ALERT!!! George Bush is My Hero as he punks Reid and Schumer's stupid and un-American housing gambler bailout plan


Don't worry - Bush is still an idiot, and he's doing this because his banker buddies at the Mortgage Brokers Association were against it. But hey, at least he's doing the right thing, regardless of the "why"...

But shame on the Democrats for thinking they could destroy the sanctity of contracts. Shame on Harry Reid and the brain-dead Dems for trying to prop up housing gamblers and overvalued house prices in an election year. Shame on the Democrats for trying to pass a law that would have let judges tear up contracts.

And Bravo to Bush for pulling his head out of his ass long enough to threaten a veto of this mess.

Message to Congress: The United States is (was) a nation of laws and contracts. Don't fu*k with it.

We're run by monkeys folks. Corrupt, brain-dead monkeys. Be afraid. Be very afraid.


White House to veto foreclosure bill

$4 billion housing bill is too expensive for the administration and would 'slow the recovery of the housing sector.'

The Democratic housing bill would change bankruptcy laws to allow judges to cut interest rates and reduce what's owed on troubled borrowers' mortgages, provide $4 billion to communities to purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed homes, and improve disclosure of subprime mortgage loans in hopes that borrowers won't be surprised by big payment increases.

But the White House said the $4 billion for purchases of foreclosed homes is too expensive and "would constitute a bailout for lenders and speculators, while doing little to help struggling homeowners."

The provision rewriting the bankruptcy code, the White House said, would allow borrowers to effectively rewrite their mortgage contracts, leading lenders to tighten their standards and raise interest rates.

90 comments:

Anonymous said...

cant the Dem congress override the veto?

blogger said...

No, the Dems don't have the vote to override

But they will in January 2009

Be afraid. And vote every REIC-corrupted incumbent out of office

Ed said...

Keith said:

"But shame on the Democrats for thinking they could destroy the sanctity of contracts."

Why not? They have destroyed just about everything else that this country was built on. Just you wait until the glorious MESSIAH BARACK is in the WH. Shit like this is only the opening act in a long play.

Anonymous said...

Sorry Keith I do not agree and I am not a democrat. Bankruptcy Judges have the power to modify contracts and completely discharge debt and "cram down" loan balances on all sorts of debt BUT not mortgages to one's primary residence. For mortgages they usually have a payment plan set up & monitored by a court over time and tack on unpaid payments to the back end of a modified mortgage in terms of time horizon. So why can a Judge cram down credit card debit but not mortgage debt? I see no reason not to limit the judge's power as he will be righting the wrong that banks, appraisers and brokers committed against the borrower when the gamed the system to inflate the asset's value so they could all line their pockets and burden the buyers. Its no different than a short sale in terms of final result. And it is JUSTICE to bring things back to the price/value that is should have been in the first place before the parties colluded to game the system so they could all get paid and screw the sheeple buyers and on a massive national scale threaten the viability of the economy. I am not saying that all buyers should be afforded this remedy as such a measure would be an exercise of equitable power and only if the buyer had clean hands and/or the banks have unclean hands should this be used. By kicking this one to the curb, "Dubya" was doing the bidding of the REIC. Justice has been denied.

Anonymous said...

No, the Dems don't have the vote to override

But they will in January 2009

What can kind of economic shape will the country be in by then?

Anonymous said...

I am not saying that all buyers should be afforded this remedy as such a measure would be an exercise of equitable power and only if the buyer had clean hands and/or the banks have unclean hands should this be used...Justice has been denied
----------------

"Clean hands?"

NOBODY had clean hands when it came to this unprecedented orgy of greed these past few years. NOBODY!

You had to have been living under a rock not to know that homes were appreciating at 20-50 percent per year from 01-to 05. And no one was living under a rock!

It is and was all about Greed or stupidity. Greed because everyone was banking on pocketing from continued appreciation or it was stupidity because they didnt bother to read the contracts they signed and AGREED to honor.

Its time to pay the piper. continue to pay your mortgage, or as Keith has mentioned time and again, just "walk away." That is a still a legal option.

Anonymous said...

GOLD TO DA MOON ALICE!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

If this shit pisses you off, just wait for capital controls, 90% tax rates and 20% + inflation rates. Time to get some capital out of the country if its not too late. Keith, would you consider posting a page on how best to do that? Esp with what just happened in Lichtenstein with the "confidential" list being handed over to tax authorities? How do we set up a foreign trust. Where? Panama? What are the tax issues?

-MattC

Anonymous said...

"So why can a Judge cram down credit card debit but not mortgage debt? I see no reason not to limit the judge's power as he will be righting the wrong that banks, appraisers and brokers committed against the borrower when the gamed the system to inflate the asset's value so they could all line their pockets and burden the buyers."


Can please that retroactive to 1999 ? You see I bought some .com stock and lost lots of money doing so. I was an innocent bystander. It was all the fault of banks and brokers who gamed the system to inflate the value of the stock. I want a judge to give me my money back.

Anonymous said...

A nation of laws my fat ass. That guys has ignored or changed any law he's wanted to whenever he sees fit to, provided it benefits him or his corrupt war mongering party.

I'm as against bailing people out as anyone else is, but don't go giving the worst president in US history a compliment about sticking to "laws of the land" because this is just more self serving by someone who has wiped his ass with the document the country was founded on.

Anonymous said...

§ 1322. Contents of plan

(b) Subject to subsections (a) and (c) of this section, the plan may—

...

(2) modify the rights of holders of secured claims, other than a claim secured only by a security interest in real property that is the debtor’s principal residence, or of holders of unsecured claims, or leave unaffected the rights of holders of any class of claims;


That's the language in the BK code that would be changed. Under current law, if you own two or three homes, and you're upside down in your second or third home, you can bifurcate the loan on each to a secured portion and an unsecured portion, and blow off the unsecured portion. Same with commercial or investment property. But you can't do it with your primary residence. This one change would do more than anything to defuse the crisis. Yes, the FB's would benefit, but acquiring the benefit would not be painless. The purpose of bankruptcy is to impose order in a chaotic situation. Forcing the mortgage lenders to start acting like adults and accept half a loaf instead of none would be part of that process.

Anonymous said...

You mean your cult leader Obama would have signed this?

Anonymous said...

Keith, you have this wrong. Lenders/Mortgage companies and banks all have the option of BK, in fact many of the lenders will be using the BK laws very soon.
Bush is just protecting his buddies (as usual). The "cram down"
change to the law would give the homeowners much needed leverage to modify thier loans without filing BK. The banks stand to loose billions more in forclosures without the change.

Dont give me that rent argument again, there is no way ALL of us can rent a place to live.
Investors in rental properties are going belly up everyday. The banks own everything.

Anonymous said...

Welcome to eternal debt serfdom, courtesy of the Bush administration.

If a big business, such as an airline, cannot pay on its secured debts (such as airplane mortgages), it can file for Chapter 11 and have the debts reduced or eliminated while keeping the assets. Most major airlines did this.

They wrote off pension funds (many of which were tapped for cash to fund cushy payouts to top executives), voided contracts with labor, screwed secured and unsecured creditors, and roared back to life for a year or two -- where they look like they're about to go bankrupt all over again.

"Free market" Republicans said such government court intervention is "important to keep the economy moving."

So Delta, United, etc. can cancel their contracts with employees, walk away from their secured loans yet keep their airplanes, etc., and that's a Great American Business Culture.

But let a single mom reduce the interest rate on her mortgage, or have her credit card debt discharged in bankruptcy, and the same "free market" idiots squeal like burnt stuck piggies about "responsibility, contracts and commitment."

The irony being, they think the average person is stupid enough not to see the variance in their behavior.

Anonymous said...

Come on, Keith; "sanctity of contracts"? For too many years bankruptcy judges have allowed corporations to screw the working class out of pensions, health care & etc.
"And they became what they beheld."

Anonymous said...

Good point, anonypuss 11:12. I would have no problem with bankruptcy judges being able to help the parties renegotiate the terms of mortgage contracts like they do with other contracts.

However, I don't think Bankruptcy judges can modify contracts willy-nilly; it has to be with the consent of the parties. (I might be wrong; bankruptcy is not my area). Of course, if the debtor goes into receivership, his contracts will be rewritten as a practical matter, but the terms of the contracts themselves are still not modified.

That said, whoever gets left holding the bag -- the banks or the homedebtors -- is largely a shell game. Someone is still getting screwed, and the residential real estate deflation will not be abated by changing who the screwee is.

However, I think the biggest victory in defeating this bill is the denial of $4,000,000,000 worth of pork destined for communities to buy up foreclosed properties and prop up the prices that way. Can't private citizens do that more efficiently when the prices finally reach reasonable levels?

This is typical of the crap we get from our government. Maybe our Communities should buy up all residential real estate, we'll address each other as "comrade" or "citizen," we can have a five year plan and we'll all grow our own beans, and there will be no need for private property. We will have a Ministry of Homes that will fix the housing crisis through central planning.

Save us, Uncle Scam! Save us!

tater said...

Keefmeister,

I don't think that Toll Brothers likes us talking about a recession. I found this on Marketwatch.com:

"Luxury home builder Toll Brothers on Wednesday swung to a fiscal first-quarter loss and said "ceaseless talk" about a recession is dampening the mood of consumers."

Now, they're asses are against the cactus, and they're screaming about the "ceaseless talk about a recession". But, when it comes time for a government-sponsored homebuilder bailout, Toll Brothers will be the first in line screaming "recession".

Anonymous said...

Here Comes Ralph Nader!

Here's something you won't hear the current candidates addressing.
“You won't hear a call for a national crackdown on the corporate crime, fraud, and abuse that have robbed trillions of dollars from workers, investors, pension holders, taxpayers and consumers. Among the reforms that won't be suggested are providing resources to prosecute executive crooks and laws to democratize corporate governance so shareholders have real power. Candidates will not shout for a payback of ill-gotten gains, to rein in executive pay, or to demand corporate sunshine laws.” http://www.nader.org/

Anonymous said...

I don't see what the big fuss is about. Bankruptcy courts always had the power to set aside contracts and they excercise such power all of the time. Since the 1980s bankruptcy courts have had the power to adjust terms on secured loans in Chapter 11 proceedings (corp. reorganizations). Such modifications of secured loans also occurs frequently. The modification of secured loans is known as "cram down." The application of cram down to individual proceedings under Chapters 7 and 10 should make no real difference to the lenders. The lenders only risk is that the Court may set the value of the loan's security below market value.

What difference is it to the lender if it forecloses on a $100 loan and realizes $80 on the property sale as opposed to having the loan balance reduced from $100 to $80?

Anonymous said...

It isn't the $4B. The problem is that the proposal bails out ordinary assholes. Everybody knows that a proper bailout bails out BANKERS.

Anonymous said...

George Bushs' head is permanently up his ass. The entire Bushco family is an embarrassment to all humankind. To Wit:

Bush Hopes Recession Doesn't Affect Sales Of His Memoirs

February 22, 2008

WASHINGTON—President George W. Bush told reporters Monday that he remains optimistic that the impending recession will end before his memoirs go on sale. "With any luck, we can pull together as a nation and get through this thing before Dec. 15, 2010," said Bush, referring to the tentative release date of his autobiography, Born Leading. "It would be a terrible tragedy if this massive economic downturn left the average American family unable to afford the $39.95 plus tax they need to buy my book." Bush added that he is currently considering an exclusive straight- to-paperback deal with Wal-Mart to make his memoirs less costly should the country slide into a crippling economic depression.

Below Me, Bushco!

Anonymous said...


I see no reason not to limit the judge's power as he will be righting the wrong that banks, appraisers and brokers committed against the borrower when the gamed the system to inflate the asset's value so they could all line their pockets and burden the buyers.


Yes, all those poor flippers and housing gamblers lying on their applications with zero down loans are the victims. LOL

If the value of the homes went up by 100%, should the banks be able to rewrite the contracts to increase the mortgages or does it only go one way?

Anonymous said...

I told you those greedy white conservative males would be against helping the homeowners.

Laws and contracts be damned. It's more important to have the government start buying excess housing inventory to prop up home prices and make sure there is another generation of debt slaves.

Anonymous said...

Here's another bailout boondoggle from Democrat House member Barney Frank. People are calling for the taxpayers to buy all of the toxic loans held by banks and hedge funds in order to "save the housing gamblers"

http://tinyurl.com/yw596z

A leading Democratic lawmaker on Tuesday called for $20bn in public funds to be made available to the Federal Housing Administration to purchase and refinance pools of subprime mortgages.

The proposal from Barney Frank, Democratic chairman of the House financial services committee, comes amid indications that Democrats in Congress are becoming increasingly willing to advocate direct taxpayer-funded intervention in the mortgage market – widening the political divide with the Bush administration.

Mr Frank said that under his plan, the FHA would “buy up packages of mortgages but at a substantial discount”. It would then refinance the loans.

Alan Blinder, a professor of economics at Princeton, has called for a new government vehicle modelled on the Home Owners Loan Corporation of the 1930s to borrow between $200bn and $400bn to buy up and restructure distressed loans.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com told the House financial services committee that it would take about $250bn in upfront funds to purchase all 2m loans expected to end in foreclosure by the end of this decade.

Anonymous said...

The FDIC is planning on at least 100 bank closings, and that's probably a low-ball estimate on their part. Who do you think is going to "insure" those millions of depositors when the FDIC's reserve is only 1.2%?

Bend over boys and girls - this one's an equal-opportunity reaming courtesy of your friends at the Federal Reserve.

Anonymous said...

WELL, My God!! What a shocker!!

I am skeptical that Bush actually does understand what the Banks are trying to pull over on him!!

Any Government guarantee of loans, simply means that the Taxpayers of America will be backing those garbage loans and WILL foot the bill for the Banks and failed housing~~

Read the headlines today- Fannie and Freddie are bleeding red ink already, and this wound will become a raging river if we load them up with more loans including JUMBOS!!--They will fail, it is only a matter of time!! They back 4 Trillion in loans, and have just 34 billion in capital to cover losses....(Heck- That is about a month's worth of bad loans from B of A!!)

THE MARKET MUST BE ALLOWED TO CORRECT and PRICES must be allowed to return to the historical mean if any kind of normal housing market will ever return. All these attempts to prop things up is only prolonging the AGONY and will TRASH contract law and reward BAD decision makers.

THANK YOU DUBYA for getting one thing right!!

Anonymous said...

OT- Fannie's numbers are out. they're awesome!

http://www.fanniemae.com/ir/pdf/sec/2008/2007_10K_investor_summary.pdf

slide 22: 54% of her $2.5T book originated 05-07.

Anonymous said...

Keith,

The helecopter man fesses tells the truth and comes out and says we a F***Ked.

Check MSN's home page

Thanks,

RayNLA

Anonymous said...

Did anyone notice Hillary scribble something on a piece of paper during the Ohio debates last night?
Bet anything I know what it said..
'Will you be my boyfriend?'

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA..........
oh well, back to sleep.

Anonymous said...

Did anyone notice Hillary scribble something on a piece of paper during the Ohio debates last night?
Bet anything I know what it said..
'Will you be my boyfriend?'

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA..........
oh well, back to sleep.

Anonymous said...

Did anyone notice Hillary scribble something on a piece of paper during the Ohio debates last night?
Bet anything I know what it said..
'Will you be my boyfriend?'

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA..........
oh well, back to sleep.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Keith. The President is on the right side on this one.

As far as why mortgages on primary residences cannot be adjusted in bankruptcy, while I do not work in the industry, I suspect the inability to adjust the terms is factored into the mortgage rate. When I have spoken to banks about their mortgage rates, they definitely seemed very interested in knowing whether the mortgage was for a primary or secondary residence. As I recall, the rate quotes were different, too.

I am also pretty certain judges still have "equity" powers to fix wrongs if fraud was committed by the banks, mortgage brokers, or appraisers in inducing the buyer. The judges should not need special bankruptcy powers to do this.

Anonymous said...

But shame on the Democrats for thinking they could destroy the sanctity of contracts. Shame on Harry Reid and the brain-dead Dems for trying to prop up housing gamblers and overvalued house prices in an election year. Shame on the Democrats for trying to pass a law that would have let judges tear up contracts.
---------------------

Keith, get off the crack, son! Do you want Obama in there, or do you want the free market to try to roll on?? One minute you are for this the other for that. Make up your mind.

Anonymous said...

Thats why I think Obama is a better Candidate than Hilary. But Keith you are right both Dems and Repulicans are idiots. I just don't want to vote for Republicans on the thought of how many from Bush Admin will join McCain. We had enough of them. It's like choosing between thieves and killers who are you going to choose.

Anonymous said...

he will be righting the wrong that banks, appraisers and brokers committed against the borrower when the gamed the system to inflate the asset's value so they could all line their pockets and burden the buyers.


Ok Che, slow down. your innocent buyers signed the loan doc, and more than likely lied about their income. No breakes for any side of this dirty penny.

Anonymous said...

Isn't changing the rules after the mortgage contracts have already been made called "Ex Post Facto" law - and isn't that prohibited by the U.S Constitution?

Also, doesn't changing the interest rate and terms of payback on the mortgage reduce the value of the mortgage? Isn't the federal government prohibited from taking away something of value by the Fourth Amendment?

Anonymous said...

"I see no reason not to limit the judge's power as he will be righting the wrong that banks, appraisers and brokers committed against the borrower when the gamed the system to inflate the asset's value so they could all line their pockets and burden the buyers."

The wrongs committed against the buyers to burden them? Did these buyers lose their ability to assert their FREEWILL? I didn't think so!

Justice? Are you high? Leaving things alone is the best for all of those involved. In fact, it is a severe INJUSTICE to someone like myself, who has been priced out.

Anonymous said...

But 4 Billion for war - that's ok.

No money for education or health care... check


Money for war....check

Anonymous said...

If I were a holder of CDOs and other mortgage backed instruments, I might ask:
and the difference between a bk cram-down and a servicer modified mortgage loan is what?

"A nation of laws"..you're soooo 1970's

Anonymous said...

I'm with the first anonymous on this. As i understand it Judges can already change contracts in bankruptcy, [i]including [/i] mortgages, provided that the mortgage is not on your primary residence.

There needs to be consistency on this, and the most straight forward way to achieve it is this legislation.

the long term upshot will be mortgage lenders will look a lot harder at who they lend money to, they will up their rates to cover their risk, and house prices will come down more because both steps will hit the demand side of the equation.

Anonymous said...

Wow, Bush 08 baby.

Talk about a late inning upset.

BC

Anonymous said...

a judge should not have the sole ability to re-write the mtg on a primary residence-terms are set by the value of home against the down payment or equity agreed to by a 3rd party appraiser and a bank who reviewed said appraisal, against the credit of the buyer. essentially if a home owner is facing foreclsoure the bankruptcy plan is an option and a bank and bankruptcy atty can re-negotiate a mtg, since it is the banks' $$ to lose. banks do not want to take homes as the acquistion cost is too high,( with lawyers fees-then the selling of said home -a realtors fee is going to be charged).adding, since the collateral is usually in some state of dis repair or de-valued from time of loan origination. it us better for the bank to re-negotiate than to take the home-but that is ultimately the banks decision not a 3rd party judge---we have to be careful of what rights we give away-
you may sell a house and you want the buyer not to have to pay you.
I agree --the country is full of contracts made on faith--and it should stay that way---
remember--how many times has Donald Trump gone bankrupt???

Ed said...

Anonymous said...

But 4 Billion for war - that's ok.

No money for education or health care... check
===================================

WTF are you talking about? The US govt spends hundreds of billions on education and health care. Every year it spends more than the year before. And still most kids can't do basic math or write a sentence.

Yet this is the solution by every liberal. Throw more tax money at it. Look at DC. It has the highest per student spending of any school district in the country. And it is also one of the worst school districts in any measure available, be it test scores, graduation rates, college attendance, you name it.

As for health care...again, hundreds of billions of dollars through medicare, medicaid, prescriptions for seniors and of course the ER care that illegals get gratis.

Get your head out of your ass.

Anonymous said...

Bank of America doesnt want judges reducing mortgage balances, they want 740 billion of your tax dollars instead.

Why on earth would you want to pay for this mess on your tax return?

The cram down will change everything. Banks will be forced to renegotiate the toxic mortgages they have and put a REAL value on all the alphabet soup of MBS.

All of the current Federal programs are flawed, but one on one in front of a judge it wont be as difficult to root out the fraudsters and gamblers. Cram down the balance on the people truly taken advantage of, and forclose on the speculators, fraudsters and gamblers.

Anonymous said...

"I see no reason not to limit the judge's power as he will be righting the wrong that banks, appraisers and brokers committed against the borrower when the gamed the system to inflate the asset's value so they could all line their pockets and burden the buyers."

Clearly, you have no idea how judges abuse their discretion on a daily basis. They need less discretion, not more.

Where is the responsibility for these idiots who had enough income to buy a $300k house the traditional way (20% down, etc), yet chose to but an overvalued $700k one on an interest-only one they knew would reset within 3-5 years?

This is another example of government trying to buy more votes of the stupid. Robbing responsible persons to pay irresponsible ones.

Mark down the reps who voted for this, tell them you will not vote for them again because of it, that you see it for the sham it is.

Anonymous said...

OS ANGELES (Reuters) - Michael Jackson's famed Neverland Valley Ranch in California will be foreclosed and sold on March 19 unless the pop star pays a balance of nearly $25 million, property records showed on Tuesday.
ADVERTISEMENT

FoxNews.com celebrity columnist Roger Friedman reported on the Web site (www.foxnews.com) that Jackson has been formally apprised of the foreclosure and that legal documents have also been filed with the Santa Barbara County Recorder's office.

Anonymous said...

Keefer,

I told you the dailykooks sheeple are now backing the bailout. They were given their marching orders from their masters. Everyone who committed mortgage fraud to buy an $800,000 house is now a victim in our victim society. Anyone who opposes the bailout is a greedy, selfish person who supports the Iraq War but doesn't want to "save the homeowners" from their own idiocy. How about we pull out of Iraq and use that money to put these poor criminals in prison?

They think that they are hurting the banks, but sane people know that the taxpayers will end up reimbursing the banks for any and all losses due to these type of bills. Dodd, Schumer, Clinton and Obama are all in the pockets of the bankers. The only ones benefitting from any bailout will be the ones who cheated, lied, and ran up debt. That includes the REIC and homedebtors.

Anonymous said...

Stop getting your talking points from your stupid politicians. You're supposed to tell them what you want, not they tell you what you want.

Anonymous said...

I'm an independent and usually not very political, but if the Democrats pass this FB amnesty bill, I am voting straight ticket Republican and will get political. Just because Bush has been a f&ckup for most of 8 years doesn't justify the Democrats making things worse. Saying that since we're in Iraq, we should bail out all the banks and flippers doesn't cut it. One has nothing to do with the other. That's like saying since someone got away with a robbery, all robberies should now be legalized. Democrats, stand up and stop this or else your party will be destroyed in 2008 just like Bush destroyed the Republicans in 2006 with Iraq. It is independents like me who decide elections.

Anonymous said...

A nation of laws my fat ass. That guys has ignored or changed any law he's wanted to whenever he sees fit to, provided it benefits him or his corrupt war mongering party.

I'm as against bailing people out as anyone else is, but don't go giving the worst president in US history a compliment about sticking to "laws of the land" because this is just more self serving by someone who has wiped his ass with the document the country was founded on.


I agree. Keith has that little evil Republican inside of him, which constantly looks for something "positive" about his pathetic party, even if it's in benefit of the worst president in history.

The only reason that the chimp Bush vetoed is because is not beneficial to his secret society cronies, Arabs, or the Chinese. Oh, another thing, Bush was giving medals to Greenspan, the articulator of this housing mess. And picking Paulson, the articulator of CDOs, for Treasury Secretary.

Classic Republican shameless behavior: Bush and the GOP destroyed the country in just 7 years, but the Republican freaks still try to cherry pick and blame everything on democrats. And no, I'm not a democrat and I don't even vote anymore in this POS country.

Anonymous said...

Hey Ed, please don't breed like your hick parents.

Anonymous said...

Look at the stupid leftwing sheeple jumping on the bailout bandwagon. Keef is now a rightwing fascist for running this blog and opposing bailouts. Suddenly all the flippers and HELOC slaves have become victims overnight. They had no idea they couldn't afford that $1 million house on the Walmart paycheck. What caused this about-face among you leftwing useful idiots?

Anonymous said...

Hey you inbred liberal morons, these flippers you're trying to save aren't dolphins. just because your Messiah wants a bailout, you don't have to listen to him. Use your feeble little brains for once.

Ed said...

Ha ha anonypuss has a crush on me. I am honored, really I am. Now be a good little liberal and go have your Obamagasm. I hear he's found another $500B to spend on sorry, lazy pieces of shit like you.

Unknown said...

You guys & your phony right/left debate kill me. Understand that we live in a fascist/corporatist country. No candidate that's not deep in the pockets of big business has a prayer. I liken it to choosing between being raped in the mouth or the ass. Yeah, you got the freedom to choose, but you're still taking a fat one in one of your holes. I'm making my exit plan as I type this. This country resembles nothing of the great nation I grew up loving & believing in. That sucking sound is the good old USA going down the toilet.

Anonymous said...

Yet this is the solution by every liberal. Throw more tax money at it. Look at DC. It has the highest per student spending of any school district in the country. And it is also one of the worst school districts in any measure available, be it test scores, graduation rates, college attendance, you name it.
-----

ya, why is that????????

With all of that money the DC students should all have 180 iqs.

Anonymous said...

>> GOLD TO DA MOON ALICE!!!!!!!!!

Gold Confiscation Act Moron!

Anonymous said...

A bizzare day indeed when I agree with anything Bush does...

But, I have to grudingly admit, he got this one right.

Anonymous said...

On the bright side, Congress is demanding that the DOJ open an investigation into Roger Clemens. Nancy Peloser and Harry Reid are not asking for an investigation of mortgage fraud that is about to collapse our economy and require a $1 trillion taxpayer-funded bailout. Instead of calling for an investigation of Angelo Mozilo, Stan O'Neal, Chuck Prince and the rest of the goonsquad, they want to focus on baseball and Roger Clemens.


Bloomberg

Five-Year Probe

The government's five-year probe into performance-enhancing drugs among athletes has already resulted in the conviction of Marion Jones, an Olympic runner, and the indictment of Barry Bonds, Major League Baseball's home-run leader.

Anonymous said...

hello infidels

fannie limits get lifted

HB stocks up 5% today

new bailout plan in the works for FHA to buy bad debt, meaning no more foreclosures

another fed cut coming

so keep on renting morons and keep stashing your money in 3% savings accounts while inflation is double that amount. once again you losers miss out

Anonymous said...

Keith has that little evil Republican inside of him, which constantly looks for something "positive"

You are now the target of the rabid foaming-at-the-mouth dailykooks for the crime of opposing a bailout for the housing gamblers. These people have serious mental issues. If you do not goose-step with them on 100% of the issues, then you are the "evil" enemy. If you ever point out any wrongdoing by any Democrat, then you are the evil enemy. They would fit in perfectly in comrade Stalin's USSR goose-stepping in his military parades. Two legs good. Four legs bad. BAAAAAH

You should put up that poll again and ask how many people support the Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008. I bet the majority will now support the bailout since the DNC and dailykooks websites now support it. The liberals are nothing but pathetic sheep as we've always suspected.

Anonymous said...

A look into the demented minds of Obama sheeple

http://obamamessiah.blogspot.com/

In the video near the bottom, you will see a compilation of the actors that were hired to faint at his rallies. It's so scripted that he says nearly the same thing each time a person faints. It's also funny how he can spot one person fainting in an audience of over ten thousand people. I told you the guy is a fake, a fraud, a phony, and a charlatan. He only gives hope to those who are hopeless and clueless.

AndrewHac said...

OK... Joe6Pack & JaneZinfandel, let's get this simple, no brainer fact into that fried-burger brain one more time.

Owning a house is not for every one in the planet Earth, particularly in the land of the Americano AKA the land of the Snapper Turtle. If a person, a married couple or a family of chumps are poor, ignorant, uneducated, illiterate, buck-teeth, obese, fat, plain ugly or just looking like a piece of human crap, then that entity or organism is not entitled to own a house, or allowing to think of owning a house, or even dreaming of owning a house. Got it ? A very simple truthful fact to internalize based on Charles Darwin's famous theory: "You don't own jack if you ain't got jack to prove that you've got the jack to jack with..."

Furthermore, if that particular Americano had voted for "Little Boy + Fat Man" AKA "Dubya Shrub + Penis Shooter" in the last 8 years, then homeboy and homegirl HillBillies and Homer Simpson all alike out there should not consider a house as a place to live in. His and/or her adobe is to be in the horse ban, the chicken shack, the ass stall, or more fittingly, the Snapper Turtle lodge.

So, Hicks and CrackerNutheads out there, the 64 millions dollars question is:
"Is the Americano roasted yet, and if not, how long before the Americano will be roasted slowly, nicely and juicely like a snapper turtle skewered on a Chinese bamboo stick from mouth to ass sizzling, fat popping on a bed of white hot charcoal ?"

Are we there yet ? Is Joe6Pack still alive, breathing and kicking ???

Anonymous said...

"Impeach Bush and Cheney and all 7 remaining supporters in America", loved that article from The Onion! Wouldn't that be ironic if it actually came true?!?

Anonymous said...

Wow, mortgage fraudsters who put zero down on liar loans and took out HELOCs to go on spending sprees are now victims. Will the loony leftards demand a bailout for the NAR and mortgage brokers too? If Bush opposes a bailout for Wall Street, the nuts on the left will automatically support it even though they're killing themselves. Those idiots need to grow up. It's like a bunch of little kids holding their breath until they pass out.

Anonymous said...

** FDIC NEWS FLASH * *

The FDIC Is Paying $180K+ For New Employees (getting ready for MASS US BANK FAILURES)!!!!

** In The WSJ News **
FDIC to Add Staff as
Bank Failures Loom
February 26, 2008;

The FDIC, which insures bank deposit accounts at more than 8,000 financial institutions, are bracing for well over 100 bank failures in the next 12 to 24 months, with concentrations in Rust Belt states like Michigan and Ohio, and the states that are suffering severe housing-market problems like California, Florida, and Georgia," said Jaret Seiberg, Washington policy analyst for financial-services firm Stanford Group.

Such new positions would require "very frequent overnight travel," the posting said, and would pay up to $180,770.
***********

Full article: http://tinyurl.com/2npclk

Wow, not a bad gig! Traveling around the US writing out checks to all the bush and cheney victims!

Bwaaaaaaaaa!!

***************

Anonymous said...

Honest working citizens who paid their share in taxes without entitlement programs to rely on, had a very difficult time moving into a new house - if they were even able to do so.

There should be no bail-out plan for house-flippers, speculators and anyone responsible for pushing house prices into the stratosphere.

Anonymous said...

God Keith, I thought you were smarter than this too. (see Anon 2/27/08 11:12 am) Jeezzzz! How did you get this far convincing me you knew a lot about what you are blogging about. Shame on you for harping on people and topics that you have not done your homework on. And then you got everyone on the bandwagon. You are worse than the talking heads.

I don't believe in bailouts, but this is not as big a bailout as what Henry Paulson, Bernanke, and Bush has been proposing. And shame on you Keith for calling Bush your hero. Who is your God then, Alan Greenspan? What a joke this post is.

Anonymous said...

We know at least 30% of the population will support a bailout. Watch this CNN video on the coming disaster. No wonder so many on this board are supporting a bailout now. They must be drowning in mortgage debt. Watch the fat cow at the end begging for a government handout so she can stay in the house she paid $400,000 for: so we're now bailing out people who paid 5x gross income on a house they could never reasonably afford.

http://tinyurl.com/25qcqw

Anonymous said...

Dear Ed,
thank you for not saying something really stupid or fecklessly contrarian today.

Your pal,
Anonymous

Anonymous said...

NO TAX PAYER BAIL OUT!

Stand the FuC# back and let the chips fall where they may where the housing market is concerned.

Any alternative is so fraught with moral hazard that it cannot even be considered!!!

Yeahhh, lets just destroy the sanctity of CONTRACT LAW in America...what a genius idea!!

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR---Is this a bad nightmare or WHAT?!?!
Our founding fathers are turning over in their GRAVES right now!

Anonymous said...

A MUST READ

Nouriel Roubini, Professor of Economics at at the Stern School of Business, NY University testified to the House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/roubini022608.pdf

Anonymous said...

Isn't changing the rules after the mortgage contracts have already been made called "Ex Post Facto" law - and isn't that prohibited by the U.S Constitution?

Also, doesn't changing the interest rate and terms of payback on the mortgage reduce the value of the mortgage? Isn't the federal government prohibited from taking away something of value by the Fourth Amendment?


Yeah, I am sure the corporate bankruptcies that do all these things are evil to you too, and keep you equally awake at night.

Gawd. Idiots.

Bush and his owners bent over backwards to liberalize corporate bankruptcies (which included TONS of fraud, including companies that planned to file knowingly lying to suppliers to get one last round of supplies before screwing them), and all you can talk about is how the middle class should get stuck with an unchangable contract while any old company with a lawyer should be able to void any contract it wants in Chapter 11.

I'm all against bailouts for homedebtors, but I'm also against gaming the bankruptcy system so that banks can set up unchangeable terms for personal borrowers and easily voided terms for corporate lenders. Let the bankruptcy system be the same for everyone.

Anonymous said...

Democrats suck; every last one of them.

Republicans Rock!

Anonymous said...

Hey, Anon February 27, 2008 7:53 PM:

What Ed said made perfect sense. You have nothing to contribute so you sling insults. Why don't you come up with a few coherent thoughts and check back in?

AndrewHac said...

Dubya Shrub + Penis Shooter = "Little Boy" + "Fat Man"

This nation and its Americano citizen is as toasted as a snapper turtle skewered on a Chinese bamboo stick from mouth to ass all sizzling, sputtering, roasting nicely, juices dripping, fat popping over a bed of white hot charcoal grill.

Americano = Grilled Snapper Turtle

Heeeee... Haaaaa... Arrrrr...

So, tell me, does the average Americano take it enough in the rear orifice yet by the forceful penetration of "Little Boy" + "Fat Man", or do you want more "Enter The Dragon" ?

Americano = Being Entered By The Dragon up the Kazook

Heeeee... Haaaaa... Arrrrr...

And all of you retards, ass-head that voted for SHRUB and worshipped his ASS over the last 8 years, guess what, the chicken are coming home to roost on your head-ass. The ancient snapper turtle probably have more brain cell than you and your children combined together. Are you sorry yet ? Do you feel ashamed and stupid about your shallow thinking, narrow-minded love and swoon for DUBYA ? Do you, do you, do you ???

Anonymous said...

another ANON poster said,
"What difference is it to the lender if it forecloses on a $100 loan and realizes $80 on the property sale as opposed to having the loan balance reduced from $100 to $80?

February 27, 2008 3:06 PM"

The difference is;
in example 1, the asset is now "off the books".
While in your example #2, the asset AND it's debt, (or OBLIGATION TIED TO THAT ASSET) still exists.
If that asset is a depreciating asset, (we are talking houses here, no?),
I would think there is a BIG difference.

Anonymous said...

Anything that the Government decides to do will be, "too little, too late", like usual.

Unless somebody really smart, comes up with really smart ideas, REALLY, REALLY QUICK, this looks like an EPIC thing starting to happen.


You know, like something the studies of Economics will be writing about for the next 100, er, 1000 years?

Off topic,
Looks like we all know where "THE MONEY" is going, huh?
Funny, this inflation thing only started getting serious soon after those silly Hedge fund problems.
Anyone connect the dots on that one?

Don't worry about housing and the propositions thrown around by those in charge.
Worry about the future price rises that are coming.
Ten dollar loaf of bread is not far away.
Gas will be 4 soon enough.

The Government is like a magician.
Everyone is looking at the wrong hand!!!!

Anonymous said...

Can a Judge change the provisions of a signed contract?
In Bankruptcy, yes, but for mortgage default?
Well, yes. I guess...

But for a mortgage contract that has been wrapped up and sold to unsuspecting customers (unsuspecting FOREIGN customers)
Those very same customers who trusted certain agencies to protect them against fraud and deceit.
Those same customers who now own these contracts, lock stock and barrel?????



Legislation will need to pass to allow Judges to alter these, now foreign owned, contracts.
If those laws are passed, we are slapping the face of those we already betrayed.
Financial Armageddon.

Did I spell that right?

Anonymous said...

But 4 Billion for war - that's ok.

No money for education or health care... check


Money for war....check
--------------------------------

no money for education or health care? what planet do you live on?

Rob R. said...

We could do without a lot of what's in that bill, Keith, but the bankruptcy change is a good idea. It wouldn't cost taxpayers, and FBs would still be pretty F'ed.

As long as the industry - and not taxpayers - are eating the losses, I'm okay with FBs getting to keep their homes. I want more affordable housing, not burning houses.

At the very least, lenders have no business getting bankruptcy relief while lobbying to keep borrowers from getting it too. The fact that Bush and the industry are joining forces to block this thing ought to speak volumes.

Anonymous said...

Many posters obviously don't understand bankruptcy laws:

1. In a chapter11 re-reorgnization filing, equity holders are wiped out. Creditors are in posession of the company, with new lender having the first claim.

2. Commercial loans have much higher interest rates than fully amotized residential home mortgages precisely because commercial creditors can find themselves coming behind new lenders who lend new money after Chapter11 filing.

3. It's ludicrous to modify laws to put equity holders ahead of creditors . . . that would be plain robbery. Equity means asset minus liability, what's left is equity. Home "owners" are equity holders.

Anonymous said...

"Cram down the balance on the people truly taken advantage of, and forclose on the speculators, fraudsters and gamblers."

So tell us what magic touchstone do you have to tell the two categories apart?

The most efficient way to punish the banksters is simply walking away and rent. People who are "truly taken advantage of" would be far better off renting a house of the right size in the current market condition wehre rent is less than half the cost ofa fully amortized mortgage plus property tax. This whole "cram down" thing is yet another pathetic attempt at rescuing the banks: so that the houses don't have to come onto the market and expose the worthlessness of the banks' level-three assets.

Anonymous said...

As long as the industry - and not taxpayers - are eating the losses, I'm okay with FBs getting to keep their homes.

So you're ok with people committing fraud on their mortgage applications and being rewarded for it? That shows the corrupt criminal mind of most liberals

Anonymous said...

Since most of these mortgages are owned by foreigners, would this in effect be seizing their assets after the contract was signed? Will their governments be seizing American assets in retaliation? How about all thes pension funds who bought mortgages?

Anonymous said...

The Dailykooks website is now 100% behind the bailout for flippers and speculators.

Anonymous said...

I just got back from "Your Muslim Bakery" in Oakland, after seeing Obama and his sermon I just had to partake. Nation of Islam Louis Farrakhan told me he is the messiah.

Anonymous said...

So when the prices go back up, do the mortgage fraudsters get to keep the newfound equity and HELOC to the hilt again? When prices crash then they will get the judge to lower the mortgage again? Nice game if you think the owners of the debt will just sit there and let it happen.

Anonymous said...

From Gary Shilling


"We haven’t had a year-on-year decline in house prices since the 1930s. But the Case-Shiller index today shows the first drop occurred in December.”

American consumers were living in a fantasy land, Shiller says.

"People thought house prices would rise forever. It was a piggy bank that kept filling. Keep borrowing as much as you can and buy the biggest house you can possibly swing. You will always be bailed out by rising prices.

"That game is over, and it’s a tremendous shock to people.”



Now the leftist dailykooks want to bail out these morons so they can do it again in 5 years

Anonymous said...

In a chapter11 re-reorgnization filing, equity holders are wiped out. Creditors are in posession of the company, with new lender having the first claim.

Wrong. They get the claim that the judge is willing to provide to them. In Chapter 11 cases like Enron and Pan Am, creditors often get nothing at all and the company dies anyway.

In situations like Delta Air Lines' bankruptcy, debts were eliminated and creditors received a few pennies on the dollar in stock in the new company.

Similar arrangements for personal creditors would have the house revalued at market, with the bank maintaining some lien at a much lower amount after a bankruptcy is filed.

Banks whining about this mess are half the problem. They lent people 8x to 10x their salaries on an overvalued house and now bitch that "it's unfair" that their poor credit underwriting left them in the lurch. They're like the dumbass banks who make 29.99% APR credit cards with $100,000 limits available to welfare moms -- they're culpable by dint of their own incompetence.

And like it or not, far-right-wing idiots, America is not a country where debt slavery is permitted. By all means, foreclose on the borrowers and whatnot, but this bullshit about "eternal contracts" is just that -- bullshit.

As for "the rule of law" and "no bailouts," look at all the unconstitutional laws your party has implemented in the last 8 years. As for bailouts, the Iraq War has brought Halliburton back from the brink of collapse, hasn't it?

And what about the airline bailouts?

And Amtrak?

All under Republican Congresses.

The earlier poster was right -- partisan jackassery clouds the mind. How any Republican could argue his guy "opposed bailouts" is beyond belief.