Brain Droppings

Michelle Bachmann (via Redstate) on the Tea Party Caucus: "We are not the mouthpiece for the Tea Party we are the earpiece for the Tea Party. Our goal is not to run the Tea Party out of Washington, that would be a disaster in the making."

That is an important distinction that I am happy to hear Bachmann make.

Even though Melissa Bean won by about 20 points in the last election, I had a hard time believing Illinois 10 would not be a tough district for the Dems to keep in 2010. Well now it is.

The decisions, which were confirmed by party strategists on Tuesday evening, bring even more clarity to the battlefield on which the two parties will fight for control of Congress over the next three months as Republicans work to reclaim the majority.

The latest wave of races include these Congressional districts: Ark.-1, Ark.-2, Delaware-at large, Fla.-25, Hawaii-1, Ill.-10, Ind.-08, La.-2, Mass.-10, Md.-1, Mich.-1, N.H.-1, N.H.-2, Ore.-5, Pa.-7, Pa. 15, Tenn.-8, Wash.-3, Wis.-7, W.Va..-1.

In the coming weeks, Democrats intend to announce at least one more set of districts.

via Instapundit, Mickey Kaus:

"Journolist was a terrible idea from the start, not so much because it enabled the promotion of “lock-steppedness” and a progressive party line across media organizations (though Salam more or less concedes that it did), or because it fostered an “us vs. them” mentality (which it also obviously did). It was a bad idea, mainly because it took a process that could have been public, democratic and transparent and gratuitously made it private, stratified and opaque."

It seems to me that the goal of the Journolist was to influence hearts and minds while concealing motives. It was a good idea for them and it worked.

As of July 15, RealtyTrac listed 28,829 properties which had been foreclosed and repossessed by lenders. Some have been owned by the bank as long as 2½ years without having been placed on the market. Roughly half have been repossessed by the lender since late January 2010.

This year, banks in the Chicago area have foreclosed on a huge number of expensive homes. RealtyTrac lists 2,650 repossessed homes for more than $300,000 and 169 for more than $1 million.

Here is where it gets really interesting. Out of 28,829 repossessed properties, there were only 1,292 listed by lenders as "for sale." The vast majority of these available homes were inexpensive. A mere 29 homes over $300,000 were for sale. In other words, the banks have withheld from the market 2,621 properties listed at $300,000 or higher. [Emphasis added.]

Labels: Buyers remorse, housing recovery

New Guitar Hero Game:



Must credit Pratt in the comments (#12) for the post title.

Bill C: Awesome.

Illinois: "Illinois is borrowing money it will have to repay eventually to repay the pension money it already spent to pay for other spending it couldn’t afford then and can’t afford now. If you’re wondering where Barack Obama developed his fiscal finesse, you don’t have far to look."
via Instapundit

This is a necessary condition for a major market bottom. I would prefer to see more capitulation and you probably will if the market goes under 9,000 and stays there. Right now I am waiting to see if the market continues its move off the low set on July 6th. We are at an important area, a sustained move above 10,200 would mean a possibly much higher prices.

Labels: Stock, Trade

That caused the car to think it was being stolen which is why it stopped running at WalMart on Saturday. Now it has to be towed from the mechanics to the dealership where they will make a new key and reset the computer. I don't know the total cost but it is north of $300.

At least he doesn't swallow pills or drink Drano.

I was there too, I feel your pain.

This is a documentary by a Clinton supporter looking at the strong armed, and possibly illegal tactics of the Obama campaign during the 2008 primaries. It's been up at Hot Air for a day or two which means that most people who read this blog have seen the link but if you haven't gone to the website and watched the video it is worth your while.

Labels: 2008, Barack Hussein Obama, Hillary Clinton

Keith Olbermann stormed out of the DailyKos because he was criticized on June 16th. As of today the Kos Kids have payed enough homage to him so he has returned.

Needless to say, the overwhelming number of comments to my last diary divided into agreement with support, disagreement with support, or anger/frustration/namecalling - still with support. I did not write what I wrote to provoke a reaction but if I had, that would have been the spectrum I would have hoped for. [Emphasis added.]

You get the feeling he needs that stroking in order to keep writing. More like he is asking for it as a condition for him to stay at DailyKos. What's the over/under for when Keith has another hissy fit and leaves again?

Labels: funny

Now I really want to.

Labels: Stupid things Bill wants to do

Thela Hun Ginjeet!

Interesting question. In summary, options for LeBron James' next team and their income tax implications on a 5 year, $96 million contract:

New York, $12.34 million in taxes.
New Jersey, $10.32 million.
Cleveland, Ohio, $5.69 million.
Miami, Florida. $0.

I would have a lot more respect for LeBron if he used some of his allotted hour tonight to explain the tax implications of his decision to choose Miami, if that is his choice.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi even enlisted Mark Zandi — a former economic adviser toRepublican John McCain’s presidential campaign — to make the case to her caucus for more spending. Zandi’s warning Tuesday: boost aid to the states or risk a “double-dip” recession — which House Democrats clearly understood could cross-check their chances of retaining the majority in November. [Emphasis added.]

It has always been my belief that the deflationary depression we are in cannot be stopped, only mitigated. Like Japan, Obama seeks to borrow for the future to prop up the economy now spreading the pain out of years rather than tearing off the band aid. The quote above is just a reminder that the McCain administration would have tried the same tactic and it would have been a huge disaster for the Republicans because they would not have gotten the favorable media coverage that liberals enjoy.

Imagine constant heartbreaking stories about people whose dreams are shattered by prolonged unemployment and the heartless, old, clueless John McCain.

Labels: John McCain