Let’s see now, quick takes:
Shooting at Mom’s Day Parade in New Orleans
Nepotism? What Nepotism?
Debbie Wasserman-Schultz wants you to celebrate Mother’s Day by signing an online card for Michelle Obama. Do remember to provide your email and OFA will follow up to get your donation.
Saturday Night Live feels that Gregory Hicks is Jodi Arias or something.
Aaron Blake of WaPo “Too bad about that IRS thing. Oh no, I don’t mean their targeting conservatives, I mean the IRS admission they did so. It’s giving those people ideas.”
Only gay virgins suffer episodes of bad sex.
Add your own in the comments …
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Just too good not to share … how the woman who should have been Vice President spent her Mother’s Day — Bear hunting
I don’t believe this “one Republican granted anonymity to offer a candid take” actually exists really. I think propaganda slut Aaron Blake just made up a quote what said what he wanted it to say.
oh noes
Politico: Obama Admin Pushed ‘False Narrative’ After Benghazi
not shocking
Kristol: Stop Attacking Hillary on Benghazi
– Intended consequences. Life after the New Utopia.
– From the “A lie is only a lie when I say its a lie!” chapter in the little red book of poodle skirt journalism: “There is no evidence the White House is hiding the truth about what occurred in Benghazi,” journalist David Corn wrote in left-leaning Mother Jones magazine. “But the White House has indeed been caught not telling the full story.” Nuance you see.
– “Hey….your house is on fire…..”
– “Stupid Reich winger, you just hate Obama because he’s black….”
– “No really….I read it in the New Yorker.”
– So then, she’s jealous, or what?
Because of the Brooks Orpik !
– Speaking of mother’s day……
– Even with the recent revelations, the commie media will kick and scream to the last breath. I still think it will be a private citizen that takes down the Teflon Queen. Just like the Boston Marathon boat dude, where 9000+ cops couldn’t find the local donut shop..
Kermit Gosnell. http://www.phila.gov/districtattorney/pdfs/grandjurywomensmedical.pdf
Planned Parenthood.
Constitution Center. http://www.ppspdirect.org/spring-gathering.asp
No fucking words.
Makes me physically ill.
Obama blatantly lying during the debates.
Obama having the nerve to speechify in Mexico about all the illegal guns in Mexico that come from the US.
I have to give the administration credit: they do know how to turn the lying up to 11.
Record High Stock market but no jobs/Dow driven by cheap money from fed.
Benghazi.
Fast and Furious.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2013/05/03/obama_blames_us_for_gun_violence_in_mexico_pushes_for_gun_control.html
Gosnell.
This is not America.
This is not America.
Ball of confusion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVbCuY8mECo
Record High Stock market but no jobs/Dow driven by cheap money from fed.
What is either funny or sad is that I don’t know anyone who actually believes in this market. If there is no confidence, how is it this high?
It’s really hard not to get all conspiracy theory when there’s a stock market with no visible means of support out there. Funny money from the Fed seems like it would only do so much…
Blake, the assholes in charge took 11 and moved it exponentially past the nth degree back in 2008 when they claimed power over the rise of the oceans.
We’re still playing catch-up.
With blinders on.
The market is high because there is no other place left to “invest.” Everything else is maxed out.
They are playing a game of chicken. At some point the whole thing will collapse, and the “winners” will be the people who get out before the collapse.
mondamay says May 12, 2013 at 7:36 pm
Record High Stock market but no jobs/Dow driven by cheap money from fed.
What is either funny or sad is that I don’t know anyone who actually believes in this market. If there is no confidence, how is it this high?
Well, yeah. Why is it so high?
No interest rate “loans” from Central Banks to banks buying stocks and bonds.
Dude! Here’s 20 billion dollars. Interest free. No vig.
Buy stocks, bonds, whatevever.
Buy 20 million copies of Shocking Blue’s cover of Venue for all I give a fuck.
Mr and Mrs America sez: Gee whilickers, my 401(k) is kicking ass, almost like its 2007 0r 1999. Obama is the b-e-s-t best!
The way to visualize this is to imagine the size of the total US market capitalization as compared to Fed actions. The private equity markets dwarf the government’s stupid tinkering instruments. They don’t have the ammo. Those $65 billion dollar Fed moves? They’re less than half a percent of only the equity markets. They’re trying to steer a canoe with a toothpick.
So, you look to cranky’s analysis. Where else can you get a reasonable return on investment? Savings? Bonds? Land? Precious metals? They’ve all had their moments but the returns have been between nonexistent to whipsaw.
What you get then is an upswing because everyone else is appraising the other available avenues the same way you would.
link
The truly irrational thing we’re seeing is a relative scarcity of people locking in houses at historically low rates when it’s tax deductible and fulfills that whole shelter need of human survival.
house prices here in failifornia have plenty of room to fall yet
because even at zero rate houses are overpriced.
What HF said.
Thought I’d never say that.
Overpriced in today’s dollars or overpriced in tomorrow’s dollars? Because you’re buying with the former and paying with the latter.
If you want an inflation hedge, that’s it.
(Clearly different areas have different housing prices. For vast swathes of the country though, you’re not looking at bubble prices any longer.)
bh
we’re seeing is a relative scarcity of people locking in houses at historically low rates
Several things going on … at least in places like CA, FL & NV where most homes purchased from 2004-2011 are underwater.
Banks are just not lending – unless you have 800+ credit PLUS 20% down. Current owners are underwater, have no equity and banks consider one’s current house as a liability regardless of your payment history.
The only “hotness” in the resale market (foreclosures, shortsales) is that investors (many outside the country, especially China) are offering all cash. They are snapping up properties and turning them into rentals. #3 daughter is house hunting and hasn’t even come close to putting in a bid because of such buyers.
Hubby and I are still 40% underwater, but at least our mortgage is less than moving into a rental AND we (at this moment) can deduct interest & property taxes.
if I were committed to staying in california I would probably be looking to buy
but hitching one’s wagon to a dying falifornasaurus is not the way of the samurai
*failifornasaurus * I mean
Those points are well taken, D. As are the mentions of housing still being too pricey in some areas.
I mentioned the “relative” scarcity but I think the “relative” modifier wasn’t explicit enough. I mean to say that given these factors that people are bringing up, the rate of home purchasing still seems lower than I’d expect.
Perhaps there’s a certain across-the-board batten-down-the-hatches effect going on here. If I was a CFA though, I’d be banging on and on to my clients about buying a house they could afford now if they were currently renting.
Make that a CFP and not a CFA in this instance.
not buying a house in california still stands as the way bestest investment I ever made if you look at it over a ten-year window
I’d never argue that you should buy at an asset classes’ high.
Or in California.
I find it telling that in spite of weak housing markets and all, Our house has jumped in value by almost 40% over the last 6 years (according to the county property assessor, whose next statement is “Now pay up!”).
How many of the people who would, in theory, lock in a house at these historically low rates are prevented from doing so because of bad credit ratings resulting from any number of causes.
Not the least of which is having previously bought into the housing bubble.
I bought a house in California, and don’t feel nervous at all. I fact, as bh alluded, there’s probably been no better time.
Besides, say you’ve been responsible and saved money, what the hell better investment is there? We already know how the stock market is a fantasy. Interest is less than inflation, so buying bonds or leaving it in a savings account is just pissing it away.
At this point, I don’t see a down side to buying, as long as you don’t pay more than the appraisal. The house I bought is twice the price of the one I bought in 1996, and the payment is nearly identical thanks to the ridiculously low interest rates.
That’s the way to think about these things. There is no other quantifiable way to do so. You’ve sold a loan (those mortgage payments) and gained physical collateral (the house). The other possible nominal values of the house whether by an appraiser or by the tax man aren’t based on a transaction made in the market. The transaction that really happens is the trade between your ability to service debt against their purchasing a piece of property they retain the ability to repossess.
Lbascom,
No downside? What about moving? *rolls eyes toward the ceiling, whistling innocently as he saunters off*
this article isn’t even 6 months old Mr. Lee
Always listen to bh. Always.
Of course, JD. In all instances except for when I’m wrong. In those cases, I’d maybe recommend those clever Chinese cookies or smoking some salvia and seeing what Gaia has to say.
What’s a “second line”? Nawlins for “parade”?
I took it as meaning secondary as opposed to the main one, main line, second line. But that is just my own guess.
– Apparently life in the “second line” is vastly more exciting.
I’m de-lurking here. Mind if I join you? Been reading faithfully since Jeff said something Homeric at Baldilock’s and I was enchanted. I can’t hardly wait to see what you all will say next. It’s damned edifying.
I can still be shocked though. It’s wearing me down to a frazzle.
I want a shotgun for my birthday. There be varmints.
Carry on, you do me good. And thanks for all the wit and humor.
Quit trolling grieferfeet, Darleen, or he’ll go off on another cowardly Meghans daddy gaymarriage abortion grieferfest.
You’ve never seen Space Oddity performed in space before? You have now.
They’re trying to steer a canoe with a toothpick.
Brilliant turn of phrase, bh. Reminds me of the entirety of Pravda’s output, this piece from Dionne a case in point.
Oy Ve Maria,
Glad to have you aboard and yeah, I know what you mean about being worn to a frazzle by the constant lies of the administration.
Just clicked SW’s link and saw this poll on the sidebar: “Should firearms manufacturers be allowed to market guns to young children?”
Truly, it is a remarkable parallel dimension the WaPo inhabits.
shoe fits dept.
Dems: GOP Leading Benghazi ‘Witch Hunt’ Against Hillary
IRS Warned Employees Not to Target 501(c)4 Donors in 2011
Hubby and I are still 40% underwater, but at least our mortgage is less than moving into a rental AND we (at this moment) can deduct interest & property taxes.
A friend of mine is a (liberal) realtor, and she was touting that housing prices were up 5%!!!! Isn’t that awesome.
To which I pointed out that people who lost 40% or more in the value of their home only have to wait 8 years until they’re back where they started from.
Happy days are here again.
not shocking
McRINO: We Should Give Obama “The Benefit Of The Doubt” On Benghazi…
http://www.wnd.com/2013/05/navy-seals-sacrificed-to-political-correctness/
So, the spin that I’ve been hearing on Bengazi is that the horrible republicans are defaming the memory of these brave dead Americans because it was the military who decided that since the original attack was fought off, there was no need for rescue.
The IRS thing is, honestly, not going to go anywhere. The Clintons audited everyone who pissed them off, and threatened everyone who might have thought of pissing them off. Blatantly. Nothing came of it.
Also, Happy Mother’s Day to all you mothers. My wife spent Mom’s day in bed, since for some crazy ass reason she signed the two of us up to be chaperones at my oldest son’s after-prom. An after-prom is like a parent-sponsored party for the prom-goes that goes all night, after the prom (no shit, right?). It was completely new to me when I first heard about it last year, I thought it was some sort of church thing to keep the kids from getting nasty, but it was actually a pretty big deal. For the kids too, from the dirtbags and nerds to the jocks and “cool kids”, almost every couple who went to the dance went to the after-prom at the school. There was tons of shit for the kids to do, and a hypnotist show at 3am. I think I would have liked it better than the lost weekend in a shitty hotel room in Atlantic city that I had after my prom. So I was up all night, and had to be a single parent for the other three kids on Sunday, so I’m tired and have lost my will to work today.
I saw the parents of one of the SEALs interviewed. There is a cover-up, for sure.
The dad has a bitchin’ molan labe tattoo. The only appropriate tattoo I’ve ever seen.
Aaron Blake:
Notice that it seems not to occur to Blake to pause to ask himself (or anyone) whether there may happen to be a correlation between his (possibly simply faulty; possibly motivated by his own oppositional stance; possibly not) observation of “wan[ing]” Tea Party influence on the one hand, and an assault on Tea Party groups by the IRS on the other.
No. Can’t be bothered.
I said this two years ago: the Tea Partisans know they’re fighting a long war. They know it takes more than one or two election cycles to win a long war. They know that not every battle is going to go their way.
They also know you can’t win battles if you don’t fight.
They also know you can’t win battles if you don’t fight.
Well, a lot are considering opting out and/or walking away from the system; ‘going Galt,’ if you will. If that’s fighting, it’s a pretty passive-aggressive form.
Squid,
I wonder what the Galters are going to do when they find out the system won’t let them go?
Just want to be clear about what may be the correlation suggested above: it isn’t so much a matter of intention or will or the like (though it may be that too, to the extent that people are dissuaded from risking their personal lives), as I see it, but a diversion of limited resources which could be more efficiently directed to growing the ranks of the associations, rather than devoted to fending off the IRS, or paying for legal counsel.