Day 3 Ends In Near Manic Happiness
This is probably starting to sound a little broken recordish but it's blowing my mind to be this happy about my job. Seriously... Wow.
Anywhoooo.... a few things have caught my eye around the internets lately.
Anywhoooo.... a few things have caught my eye around the internets lately.
- After seeing a vague reference by Perez Hilton and other mysterious viral clips, I finally got around to checking out the whole "2 Girls, 1 Cup" phenomenon last night. Oh. My. Gawd. I don't think the word "disgusting" does it justice... I'm still slightly blind in my right eye. I won't link it here for fear some kiddie will happen on it and be scarred for life but if you're dying of curiosity, just Google "2 Girls 1 Cup" and you'll find it easily enough. On the other hand, the string of reaction videos on Youtube showing people watching it for the first time are hysterical... I think this one summed up my reaction perfectly.
- Here's kind of an odd story on Huckabee. Allegedly in a fit of Clinton hatin', Huckabee personally oversaw the early parole of a guy, Wayne Dumond, convicted of raping a distant Clinton relative in Arkansas. Huckabee was even considering commuting the rapist's sentence until that idea was met with public outcry. Not sure what the real motivation was... sounds like Huckabee kind of thought Dumond got the shaft (no pun intended) when he was castrated while awaiting trial. After his release, the rapist, grateful to Huckabee for his freedom, went on to rape and kill another woman. Like I said, it's an odd story.
- I have read about -- but have not yet fully absorbed -- the proposed 5 year interest rate freeze on sub-prime mortgages. Sounds like it might a good idea in the pragmatic sense, eh? Not sure about any ideological arguments for or against.
- More on the Iran NIE... Time did an interesting blurb here about the Pentagon's perspective. Also, the clip below capturing Bush's subsequent press conference was pretty funny as Bush does his own take on what the meaning of "Is" is.
posted by Logic101 at 12/05/2007 06:40:00 PM
5 Comments:
A bailout of the mortgage industry will only make the situation worse.
The Mortgage industry made a ton of money taking advantage of homeowners with slimy practices against people not smart enough or disciplined enough to help themselves.
Although I have already expressed my anger regrarding being punished by people buying homes they can't afford hurting my own resale, (your rebuttal regarding my situation was lame) this is truly about bailing out government cronies in the mortgage and banking worlds.
Some experts compare the situation with Japan. The government over there decided to bail out the commercial speculative real estate industry and went into a recession for 2 decades as a result. Japan is still struggling 20 years later to come out of it.
Look, Milton -- I'm glad you're feeling well versed enough to state unequivocally that this is a bad idea. As I said, I am unsure.
On the one hand, I have said previously that I was against a bank bailout or homeowner bailout because I -- as a taxpayer -- do not want to finance everyone's greed (especially since I quite deliberately decided not to get caught up in the "must buy a show home!" frenzy of the past few years). If there is no consequence to accepting risk, the incentive is there to take unlimited risks.
On the other hand, I am concerned about the long term macro-economic impact of just how deep this financial crisis runs. I fully believe that what we're seeing today is just the very tippy top of the iceberg. I would not compare this to Japan 20 years ago... I think the scope is much greater.
Who does the rate freeze proposal help? I am still trying to think this through but I'd say: Homeowners who keep their homes. Banks, who would otherwise lose money on foreclosures. Other homeowners such as yourself, who would otherwise have problems with resale. The general US economy, which would crumble under a subsequent credit crisis. The world economy, which could drag down if the US comes down (how much impact? no clue).
Who does the rate freeze hurt? Anyone who holds the paper. But, are they getting hurt less by freezing rates than by loan abandonment? I'm not sure.
What is the impact of just letting everyone burn vs intervening? I think this is one of those principle vs. pragmatism questions that I'm not smart enough to know the answer to.
Regarding my rebuttal... I'm trying to be nice here. I am in way too good of a mood lately to get balled up in exchanging barbs with you and I've decided I'm just not going to put my energy there anymore. If you want to discuss stuff 'cause it's interesting, I'll discuss stuff. If you want to poke sticks at someone all day, go do it on your own blog.
Since I am not allowed to exchange barbs, I guess I will no longer post. You write great columns however and I wish you well in your new job.
Lordie that video thing with the two girls was really some sick shit, no pun intended. Cool tho since I threw up on my work laptop, and now I'll get a system refresh from my employer. I hope the poor soul they cascade that unit to doesn't mind typing thru my old barf chunks.
Your can't say I didn't warn you...
:-)
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