Jingle mail goes mainstream

Front page center on CNN Money: Troubled homeowners: Can't pay? Just walk away

HT: JJ

Farewell, Republican Party

I was registered Republican just long enough to cast my vote for Ron Paul. That's enough for me.

If this is a McCain - Huckabee Republican Party, I want nothing to do with it.

I'm re-registering as an independent tomorrow, and I'll vote for Hillary or Obama over either one of those guys.

On the plus side, the electoral massacre that's going to happen in November will probably cause the Republican Party to repent and turn to young, energetic, principled reformers. Pence? Flake? Coburn? DeMint? Sessions? 2012 calls.

Please send helicopters

Nasdaq down 3%.

Where are you, Ben Bernanke? You have no idea how bad it is out there! NO IDEA!!!

Super Tuesday

If you're a Ron Paul supporter, get out and vote!

If you're a Hillary or McCain supporter, your primary is Wednesday.

One update -- I said earlier that California was lost to McCain. Now it's too close to call between McCain and Romney.

The media are starting to catch on

The San Francisco Chronic:

STIMULUS PLAN A SCAM TO BENEFIT THE RICH

Congress is about to sell us the biggest fraud in American history. [...]

As part of the [stimulus] bill, Congress is set to rush through an increase in the mortgage loan limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (and Federal Housing Administration insurance, too) - from $417,000 to $729,750 - the first step toward a massive financial disaster in which taxpayers will end up paying through the nose.

Something is happening here but you don't know what it is... or do you, Mr. Jones?

The usually clueless mainstream media is waking up to the fact that the government is about to start guaranteeing jumbo mortgages for fraudsters, bailing out Wall Street and setting itself up for a bailout that will make the S&L crisis look like a picnic.

Toilette & Douche

Managers and business owners, do you pay for advice from Deloitte? Why not go ask some homeless guy on the corner for advice instead? Surely it wouldn't be worse than this:

Economist's Corner: The Housing Bubble Myth

Issue: July 2005
By Carl Steidtman, chief economist and director, Consumer Business, Deloitte Research

[...]

When you strip away all of the white noise around a housing bubble, what you find is a robust market for housing that is undergoing several profound changes all of which manifest themselves in higher home price indexes, none of which adds up to a housing price bubble.

If that's the wisdom of their chief economist, what does that say about the mental capacity of the line-level flunkie you're paying for advice?

HT: HousingPanic.

If you like warrantless wiretapping...

...then you'll love this. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week about an item in Bush's forthcoming budget proposal: "an estimated $6 billion to build a secretive system protecting U.S. communication networks from attacks by terrorists, spies and hackers."

Protecting private computer systems would likely require the government to install sensors on private, company networks, officials familiar with the initiative said. Amid divisiveness about other government-surveillance programs, having the government monitor Internet traffic, even in the name of national security, will be a hard sell to Congress and the public.

...

Former officials said the final price tag is approaching an estimated $30 billion over seven years, including a 2009 infusion of around $6 billion, though those numbers could change significantly as the plan develops.

...

Current and former officials said the effort could be scaled back to primarily protect government networks. They would then do what is possible to help the private sector improve its security. [Director of National Intelligence Mike] McConnell has said 95% of the problem lies with the private sector. [emphasis added]

Right. Like the gubmint knows more about computer security. Even a lefty like me isn't buying that one. On the other side, Varones and his ilk, I assume, ought to be outraged about the price tag and the privacy implications. Regardless, Bush is using the same top-secret playbook to get this one through:

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson...said he was particularly irked to learn that Mr. Bush had signed a classified directive that outlines how the White House proposes to bolster security of government networks weeks ago but "has refused to share [the directive] with Congress."

White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said the White House is giving "careful consideration" to Mr. Thompson's request for the Jan. 8 directive...

Uh-huh.