What’s on your mind?
About The Author

BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
What’s on your mind?
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
Since I’ve just posted a ‘happy story’, I should be entitled to link to some bad news now;
We have all seen bonddad & al post about the economy and how it is home re-financing that has boosted consumer spending over the last few years. Looks like those home equity loans have hit a big bump:
I’m no expert on this, but the above sounds like bad news for those counting on economic recovery.
Commerce Dept data show 11.3% decline in new housing sales in Nov. The largest decline in nearly 12 yrs., since Jan 1994.
Not good news.
More Here
Peace
If people are finally getting wise to the idea that spending funds arising from a refinancing of an overvalued residence is not really a good idea (and it isn’t), I’m not sure that this is a bad thing. Yes, business may suffer, but I know too many people that have gotten into trouble going on spending sprees after refinancing. Does every house need granite counters in the kitchen and a new SUV in the driveway? But then again, some would see restraint on spending as unpatriotic. It’s our god-given obligation to carry huge debt, isn’t it?
A couple of things drive mortgage refi applications. Most US consumer mortgages have two important features: you can prepay them without penalty at any time, for any reason (which means you can refinance whenever rates fall), and they usually have a “due-on-sale” clause, which means the first thing that happens when you sell your house is that the proceeds pay off your mortgage, so the buyer has to get a new one.
Mortgage refi rates usually drop when interest rates rise, for the simple reason that you can’t save money by refinancing your mortgage at a higher interest rate. So that’s no big surprise. To a lesser extent, borrowers whose houses have appreciated also refi to cash out some of that equity. The potential effect on consumer spending is in the drop in cash-out borrowing, which is bound to happen as rates rise and refis in general dry up.
Conclusion: the drop in mortgage refi applications is just a result of rising rates (the longer-term trend, not the weekly fluctuations). What we don’t know, but seem to be about to learn, is how much a drop in cash-outs will translate to a drop in spending.
hey i’m just glad to be “back in the saddle” with the internet at home… feels like I’ve got my arm re-attached or something 😉
Other than that, looking forward to a 2006 that’s a lot shinier than 2005 was 😉
Pax
road trip…florida…long drive…car isnt ready…im not ready….one more holiday family dinner tonite then im off to a real vacation.
You sound a tad, umm, agitated.
Tonight the Cornhuskers will be embarrassed on national television. I’ve been looking forward to this since their theft of one half of the 1997 national championship.
Combine that with their enabler’s fall from grace (Phil Fulmer), and it will make one damn good football year, 4 losses or not.
I’d say you were petty and bitter….
but I’m still made about the tripping call in the 1981 playoffs…
and I’m talking indoor soccer 🙂
THAT’S petty and bitter!
THIS is Petty and Bitter =)
the face on that bitter looks too much like Bill O’Reilly to me… shudder
Yikes. You’re right, there is definitely a resemblance.
Good thing I haven’t ever tried that beer. If it were one of my favorites, I’d be crestfallen.
choice of Clinton or McCain…Canada is looking better and better…
I hear ya Cali. Only I just cannot take cold anymore. How about Fiji? Or Costa Rica where land is still relatively cheap? If enough of us go we could start our own little township!
It doesn’t get much colder than Seattle, considering that it’s only 140 miles north as the Pierce-Arrow flies. Or you could live in Victoria, which is even closer. They’re both moderately expensive, though.
Unfortunately I’m not sure they’d take me. I consistently come up short on their self-evaluation immigration test, and I don’t have a metric bucketload of money to invest in the country. So far my backup plans — getting BC to annex Seattle, or barring that, having my daughter marry a Canadian and then bringing us into the country as relatives — haven’t worked out that well either. 🙂
at one point; they’ve got a halfway decent transit system so the spouse could be gainfully employed.
Unfortunately, with the spouse within spitting distance of retirement I think we’re stuck here… 🙁
I am moving to Brazil – partially – in a few weeks. It’s a long story but I will be posting from Pernambuco from a five bedroom house 20 meters from the beach which costs a shade over US$200 a month for rent and I can buy it for less than US$30,000. I lived in Brazil for six months last year and enjoyed it tremendously – great people, great weather, relaxed culture that is not uptight and strict, socialised medicine.
Okay, it has huge problems too. I can go on how bad it is but I can do that about Vancouver since I was born there or Holland where I live now. Home is what you make of it. With an Internet connection I can be anywhere – as can more and more people these days.
the journey itself is home
–Matsuo Basho (c. 1689)
There are plenty of people who would die for a chance to live in a house on the beach in Brazil. I’m not one of them. I’d simply die. Nine years of Austin, Texas showed me that I can’t handle the heat. People ask me why I moved to a place that’s famous for its rain; I tell them part of the reason I moved here was the weather.
Sounds like you got yourself a pretty nice deal, though.
I rusted away my most of my youth in Vancouver. Lovely city – but I’m a sun guy. However, it wouldn’t be so green if it didn’t rain so much.
Nice quote that one tucked away back there.
Once in a while it really hits people that they don’t have to experience the world in the way they have been told to.
– Alan Keightley
Need company? I lived on Kauai for eight years and I adore the tropics. Hate the cold(34 years of Chicago winters)and the only reason I am in SoCal right now is my beautiful grandaughter(and of course my son and daughterinlaw).Keep us posted on Brazil ghandi. Loved your diary today!
and moonchild proved it!
Anybody been on the NSA site lately? I just picked this up on my RSS Wiretap Headline Grabber online.
This is rather promising… from the Huffington Post. The vultures are at the gate George. Covering this up now is like putting a band aid on a compound fracture.
Real jobs for our young people.
A government in Iraq that can unite all the factions, and calm the chaos.
Our Military out of there ASAP.
Public Schools that are equally funded and level the playing field for all Americans.
Affordable Health Care for all Americans.
A reconstructed safety net for our citizens.
An energy policy that makes sense.
No more torture.
No more spying on our own citizens without just cause and a court order.
Enforceable limits on election campaign funding.
Paper ballots.
A government that I can trust to put people first.
A free press that will do its job.
New Orleans and the gulf coast rebuilt, so displaced citizens have a chance to go home again.
A Democratic Congress in 06.
Bushco out of business by 07.
A Democratic President in 08.
Stuff like that.
I’m looking for some computer related stuff and am having a hard time getting proper direction from store personnel so I’m hoping someone here might be ableto advise me.
I want to be able to capture audio and video from TV and also from other analogue and digitial devices and download it to my computer. (I’d also like to be able to watch/listen to tv in a small window on my computer screen sometimes, though this isn’t absolutely necessary).
Then I’d like to be able to edit the video so I can make either DVD’s or send it back to a VCR to make tapes which I can then distribute to friends.
I have a Toshiba laptop with usb and firewire ports and a 60gig hard drive.
Does anyone know if there’s one product I can buy that wil do all the things I mention above? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
video capture
video capture
Thank you for the links ghostdancer.
or these video
I use PCTV to great success – and it works with both NTSC and PAL.
http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSite/us/Products/Consumer+Products/PCTV/PCTV/
Missed Link…
http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSite/us/Products/Consumer+Products/PCTV/PCTV/
Thanks ghandi!
All of the ones g-d linked look pretty good. I went with an ATI video capture card (internal) a looooong time ago with glitched success. It was relatively new then but the basics were good.
Depending on what you need to do you have to look at the analog-digital capability. The Pinnacle software is really good and I saw that listed. If all you have is a laptop then an internal card might be trickier to find, not sure about that. It would save dragging stuff around and they usually come with a tuner built in.
Thank you for the input Rumi.
TigerDirect List of items compared
A developing story about AP reporter in Haiti, Regina Alexandre, who appears to be a part-time ‘consultant’ (?) or ‘field presence’ for the State Department funded NED. One NED grantee in Haiti was quoted saying that Alexandre is the NED contact person in the country. She has written 10 articles on Haiti since May 2004, but apparently has no previous reported bylines. The latest article is dated Dec 25. There’s also at least one article from June 2004 in the NY Times listing her as a contributor. She denies working for NED. No comment yet from AP or the Times.
The story aired yesterday on Dennis Bernstein’s Flashpoints Radio program; the reporter working the story is Anthony Fenton.
direct link
Lebanese-American blogger As’ad Abu-Khalil (AngryArab) was on another segment. Flashpoints has had some great interviews of late, w/ people like James Bamford, Robert Parry, Norman Solomon & Michael Ratner (Center for Constitutional Rights)
Any suggestions for dancing in San Francisco or the South Bay?
but spouse and I just decided to actually go out this year for New Year’s! Going to see Christopher Titus at the San Jose Improv, and booked a room at the Homestead Studio Suites on N. 1st Street so spouse doesn’t have to worry about driving (it’s right on the light rail line). Not just because of possible DUI either (which would be deadly to his career); driving and parking in downtown SJ is a bitch on a non-holiday Saturday…
Police use rape to terrorize women and girls in Haiti
Radio interview with Lyn Duff.
The atrocities in Haiti since US has spread democracy on it are largely ignored by the west, and to be fair, by the east.
This is a grave mistake, as Haiti is an excellent example of what citizens in a number of countries, including the US, may expect, as the policies are implemented more widely. Or as Mr. Danger calls it, “excellent progress.”