ddot's rants

Racist Stupidity In Lousianna

2007-09-21T08:46:00.000-07:00

We all know some stupid white kids put up a noose. This made some black kids angry who could not control themselves and had to assault those responsible.

Who would Martin Luther King support in this instance?
Where is the outrage and where should it be?
Who am I angry with?

The outrage is that the legal system is not set up to condemn stupid people for provocation. It is set up to condemn those who cannot control themselves and strike.
The historical references to Rosa Parks sicken me. She was non violent and protested. She along with Dr. King would surely spank those boys for striking another human.

This protest is wrong. Their anger is displaced because it should be against those stupid white kids. If those black kids had acted as intelligent people these rallys would have those white kids tearfully admitting to their failures on national TV and shaking hands with the sainted black boys. Instead, here we are.

Stupid.

I'm angry with the parents of those white kids. However I'm really angry with the black kids who couldn't stop themselves from hitting someone else. I am even more angry with the money hungry NAACP taking a stance that violence is ok because it is an opportunity to fill their coffers.

Prove me wrong.

Ignorance Defence

2007-09-04T14:37:00.001-07:00

Whoopi has said some things I really like, and sometimes she is dead wrong. An example of something I liked: "I'm NOT an "African-American" I'm an AMERICAN"

Now she defends Michael Vick's pit bull fighting because apparently "down south them backward types are all like that" you know: stupid and cruel. Ignorant of the "rest of the country" and how they view dogs.

She's dead wrong. She made me so mad I almost broke the outhouse door and slapped my sister who is also my first cousin. Is that the south she is referring to?

She actually thinks that Michael Vick would look at this picture and think it's ok? That being a hick makes it ok to be cruel? Is that the crux of her argument? Ignorance blinds him to the obvious? Where else can/has that logic been applied Whoopi?

WMD in UN?

2007-08-30T11:16:00.000-07:00

Is a chemical or biological weapon a WMD? Yes. (Leftist crazies will say only nukes are WMDs... of course!)

Did it come from Iraq? At this point all signs say yes.

So the reason we can't find them is because... they were in a filing cabinet in New York city? Who exactly thinks the UN is a competent organization better capable of being a functioning government than our own?

People Really Are Gullible

2007-08-30T11:07:00.000-07:00

Clever and crooked people see the countless lemmings out there and have found a new way to milk their collective fears.

Imagine you are in a grocery store. The manager locks the doors and says he is on the phone with a man who is watching the store and there is a bomb. What would you do? Would you take off your clothes in the store? Would you grab a butcher knife and cut off someone's fingers if the guy on the phone said the manager had to tell someone to do this?

Somebody in this article did get nekkid in the store and another almost cut some fingers off.

Get A GRIP people!!! USE your BRAINS! This ain't Spike TV, this is reality!

The unfortunate answer is I believe that people are stupid enough to believe this. You could really do well with this scam in Utah.

Fire up the Resume!

2007-08-07T12:44:00.001-07:00

Clearly there is opportunity in my industry for those with deep pockets and a steady stream of referral business. I'm great with applications and getting cusomers on board but having to turn down a 740 score borrower because they have a loan amount that is 95% of the appraised value no reserves is just too much for me to stomach. I can see a 540 being turned down but a 740? What is going on?

For those of you shopping mortgages out there be warned. The ones that are quoting you rates that sound high are not making it up. The ones that are low balling the rate are trying to bait and switch you.

This is a scary time in the business like I have never seen. I know you have seen this:

of course today's response from Vernake? Hold the rate? AAARUGH!!!!

National City SOS

2007-08-07T12:40:00.000-07:00

W O W ! !

National City bank has officially suspended all applications and approvals for their Wholesale Equity division. Another one is going down. I say that with some confidence because exactly zero of the companies that have suspended applications recently have been able to start back.

The eye of the hurricane has passed us over and now comes the conforming companies. Conforming meaning fannie-freddie product only. Also means big name banks like National City.

Foreclosure Stormclouds Nashville

2007-07-31T07:12:00.000-07:00

National Association of Reators commercial:
"We don't know enough to know what we don't know" from a customer who says he needed a professional Realtor's help in a real estate transaction. I'm sure you have seen these commercials?

Nothing gets my ire up faster than illogical garbage. Check out this quote from Greater Nashville Association of Realtors:

Local Realtors said the storm clouds have been gathering toward the foreclosure.

“Irresponsible lending” to people who previously wouldn’t have been considered credit-worthy, along with bundling all down payments, closing expenses and other home-buying fees into those loans — on top of the home price — were all warning signs, said Richard Courtney, managing broker for Fridrich & Clark and president of the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors.

“You could see this coming for some time. This is a result of that type of lending,” said Courtney.

Take a deep breath and ask nicely:
"Mr. Courtney have or have not Realtors been protecting their clients who are ignorant of how the process works in these transactions that you have deemed to be irresponsible? If so, what portion of blame are Realtors to carry if you participate in the closing of these irresponsible loans? Did your member Realtors ever push the lender to close as quickly as possible or give them time to find the best loan program for your clients? Are your members willing to give back that 6% to these clients who trusted you to lead them through the process?"

I think based on the advertising claims of the local and national associations there is at a minimum some explaining to do. At the most Realtors are criminally culpable in the process you are deriding with these quotes.

Imus and Liberal Rascism

2007-04-10T09:47:00.001-07:00

Which quote lands someone in hot water?

Quote 1:
"... he only defended Janet Reno because she was attacked by a black guy."
Quote 2:
"...they are a rough looking bunch of nappy-headed hoes."
Quote 3:
"If the Jews want to get it on tell them to pin their yammakas back and come over to my house."

Disgusting slurs in all of those quotes, right? Offensive, right?

I'm not saying these people don't have the right to open their mouths and say something stupid. I'm also not saying I like Imus; point of fact he is a fool and anyone who expects him not to say stuff like this is incapable of learning from history. He gets paid well for having these racist points of view that have been expressed multiple times over the years.

So far only Quote 2 has been forced to be apologized for.

What I am saying is that liberals support of racism is illogical in that they permit Sharpton and Clinton as elected officials to make public racist comments. Yet they get angry when talk show idiots spout off presumably who have previously been given carte blanch to do so in the past?

An Edwards Prayer

2007-03-22T11:23:00.000-07:00

Having seen that Ms. Edwards now has a very bad cancer on her bone. I would like to set aside the ideological differences and let them know my family is sending a prayer to his family.

WE WILL ALL DIE!

2007-03-20T06:28:00.000-07:00

Actually I'm writing about how the gloom and doom of an inconvenient fiction has shocked liberals into a rabid frenzy that is to a point of being incoherent. It's a fact that so far all of us are mortal and will die. Climate change is very unlikely to be the cause of it.

Scientists who study thermodynamics tell us there is no such thing as a global temperature. No kiddin'? That star trek term is real science? You mean 100 billion gallons of sea water and tens of millions of cubic yards of air have a heat enthalpy factor that prevents instantaneous changing of the temperature without massive exchanges of energy? Even a one degree change requires a massive amount of energy for that volume of anything.

NOW do you understand my doubts? I'm not saying roll yourself in pesticides and go swimming in the lake. IE: don't be stupid about chemicals, burning and garbage. I am saying that making us think we are killing our children with this is so outlandish as to be, well, stupid.

Clinton Conspiracy

2007-03-16T06:32:00.000-07:00

When is a conspiracy not a conspiracy but actually good truthful reporting? If you are Hillary Clinton then you call the activities of those reporting the questionable activities spiced with marital problems in her relationship with Bill a conspiracy.

I'd also bet that Hillary says that Nixon and his staff were the conspiracy while Woodward and Bernstein were the good guys because of their reporting?

Am I reading that right? Does that mean that when someone reports the less-than-desirable and possibly felonious facts or truths about a republican that is good reporting ON A CONSPIRACY. IF that report of equally less-than-desirable and possibly felonious facts is done against a democrat then the person reporting is THE CONSPIRACY.

I'll say this for Hillary, she's a very twisted form of consistent. She says firing 93 federal attorneys is "no big deal" when she and Bill did it in 1993. Now that Bush has fired 8 of them it is a scandal?

Time, The Right, And the 4 letter response

2007-03-15T11:08:00.000-07:00

Time magazine is not always wrong. Sometimes they hit the nail on the head. To mix my metaphors they have gone further in that I think they might have pinged a home run ball off of the foul post by accident:

The conservative leadership is lacking and we need another Ronald Regan to reign it in.

Do we get conservative leadership out of McCain? On a good day yes. Too bad he doesn't have too many of those. Juliani at best is 50-50 on being a conservative or a true liberal depending on the topic. Don't get me wrong, I am in agreement with both on their strong support for finishing Iraq correctly instead of leaving it half-done.

My response to Time's article is a 4 letter word.
It begins with F.

FRED

As in Fred Thompson. I think he has what it takes to be our conservative voice and to force the party back to what wins elections. What wins are strong conservative ideals. He's more than just the tough DA on law and order, he is an old-school smart conservative. I know that he scares the democrats.

DRAFT FRED IN 08!

Greeting Card: Sorry To Inconvenience You

2007-03-14T11:43:00.000-07:00

http://www.4exhale.org

I read this article and thought I would just absolutely vomit. Their thinking is very much in line with what I am writing below, even if their tone and attitude is more socially acceptable:

Dear Mom,
I am so sorry I inconvenienced you. It didn't hurt much or for very long. That family that would have loved me will have a shot at another kid. Heaven is nice and Jesus is holding me.
Thank You for Choosing to Abort Me.
Your child.

Subprime Bloodletting Update

2007-03-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

You really should not listen to what you hear on the news. I have been tracking Elaine Ser-whatever-gamas(?) on CBS and have to say her understanding of the information and the presentation of the data she gathers is not at all clear or accurate.

Paraphrase: "These companies closing will hurt subprime borrowers and make them more likely to foreclose."

That implies that the closing of a subprime company does something bad to the existing mortgage. NO, that is not the case. If the borrower fails to pay his loan that will cause foreclosure. A company closing does not cause my loan to foreclose. It is a secured contract that someone else will buy and service.

If Mr. Borrower has a loan that he can't afford maybe he shouldn't have gotten it in the first place. IF the loan is adjustable that's a slightly different tale: it might adjust a MAXIMUM of 2% TWICE A YEAR. Depending on your home size, that might be significant, but as a percentage of income it is relatively flat as the mortgage to income should be proportional.

Also to keep things in proportion, lets review the numbers. IF we listen to the news we think that it has "NEVER been like this and it is like 300% worse than ever before...?"

rates of default October to December:
2003: 4.97%
2006: 4.95%

HEY! WAIT! THAT MEANS THAT IT ISN'T AS BAD NOW AS IT WAS IN 2003?????

I'm only pointing out the obvious fact in the historical perspective. You have heard "default rates jump 20%" from CBS commentators but the difference of .3% of the total (difference between 4.6 and 4.9%). Is POINT 3 PERCENT a huge jump that should make the market crash or is it just a cyclical correction?

Just so you know, point 3% is still a humongous pile of cash if it were in your checking account. For an investment firm point 3 is what they can spend that on long distance calls and Starbucks in three months.

I would also submit to you that all of these companies who are going under have an acceptable margin of default in ranges from 3 to 5% of portfolio. Any overages have to be bought back. Recently we have seen a trend where investors are forcing more buybacks than usual which put many of these companies in financial crisis.

Other very interesting sources
statistical models for mortgages and defaults (circa 2003-4)
very boring paper with some fascinating distributions
http://www.actuaries.org/AFIR/Colloquia/Boston/VanAkkeren_Hansen.pdf
more concise with nice projection models
http://www.phil.frb.org/files/br/br_q3-2006-3_residential_mortgage.pdf

Bloodletting has been applied and fear has gripped the joe blow investor and some under-informed analysts and newsies. I see rationality on the horizon but will it be soon enough to save these people's jobs?

Firing US Attorneys

2007-03-14T10:51:00.000-07:00

The White House orders the termination of US Attorneys who are investigating politicos. This is criminal! This is wrong!

This was done by the Clintons in 1993 as a "routine" action according to Hillary. They fired 93 including the one investigating the Clintons personally! It's really a shame that I haven't heard a peep about that perspective on NPR, NBC, CBS or ABC?

Well Chuck Schumer, what do you think about that?

NEW CENTURY PULSE!

2007-03-08T15:06:00.000-08:00

FACT: As of today, they are not accepting new loans. Stock at $3 and a EITHER a worthless piece of paper or a bargain.

RUMOR: JP Morgan bought them today? If true then a big TOLD YA SO from me.

SI Global Warming

2007-03-08T13:01:00.000-08:00

Thank the good lord that a real authority has finally published the difinitive piece on global warming. I was nursing a budweiser flipping between sports channels on the satelite when I noticed that cover and had to read more.

Yeah, right.

While I do feel for the ski people and the variances in weather that have caused them to not be able to enjoy their pastime I still lack something concrete. Concrete as in PROOF. PROVE to me that climate is supposed to be static! PROVE to me that we could change weather if we wanted to?

Did man change the Sahara into desert from lush tropics or did climate change?
Did man change the antarctic into a frozen wasteland was it a natural process (tectonic shift)?

HERE is an apt way to respond:
Lay a pencil on the goal line of a football field. That field represents our atmosphere. That pencil represents the billions of tons of CO2 we have put into the air. NOW prove to me how that pencil makes a difference in temperature?

It makes us feel good to be green and I'm not saying that's bad. I am saying that the association of the doom-and-gloom end-of-the-world garbage has got to stop.

Media Matters, Shower Time

2007-03-08T10:28:00.000-08:00

Having spent half an hour clicking through this site my head would benefit from a nice hot soapy shower. Let's look at Dick Morris on Hannity's show for a sample-it's linked in my title.

Apparently Hillary does not believe in a Nanny state is what Media Matters is trying to push. If cradle to grave isn't a nanny state on the issue of health care then I need a new definition from someone. However if she did believe in the Nanny state according the commentors that would make her a Christian because of a dozen different quotes supplied by Southparkliberal who was on his way to becoming a Lutheran minister at one point in his life. Here they are:

Mat. 25:34 "Then I, the King, shall say to those at my right, 'Come, blessed of my Father, into the Kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world. Mat. 25:35 For I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me water; I was a stranger and you invited me into your homes; Mat. 25:36 naked and you clothed me; sick and in prison, and you visited me.' Mat. 25:37 "Then these righteous ones will reply, 'Sir, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you anything to drink? Mat. 25:38 Or a stranger, and help you? Or naked, and clothe you? Mat. 25:39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?' Mat. 25:40 "And I, the King, will tell them, 'When you did it to these my brothers you were doing it to me!' Mat. 25:41 Then I will turn to those on my left and say, 'Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. Mat. 25:42 For I was hungry and you wouldn't feed me; thirsty, and you wouldn't give me anything to drink; Mat 25:43 a stranger, and you refused me hospitality; naked, and you wouldn't clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn't visit me.' Mat. 25:44 "Then they will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?' Mat 25:45 "And I will answer, 'When you refused to help the least of these my brothers, you were refusing help to me.' Mat. 25:46 "And they shall go away into eternal punishment; but the righteous into everlasting life."

Wow. A liberal after reading the Bible, okkkkkkkayyyyyy.... All republicans are going to hell? Let's do an exercise whereby we actually analyze what was said rather than pulling out what we want to hear. Read all those lines carefully and answer this question:

Where does it say: "and ye shall fork over taxes so the govmint' can impose this service" as I am reading that "YOU" are the one responsible personally for being giving?

I don't see welfare checks. I don't see homeless shelters. I don't see federal programs. I see personal, direct action.
As in: YOU open your home.
YOU gave me water.
YOU gave me clothing.
I don't see "YOU gave money so someone else could give me these services and you could keep your hands clean."

Come on libs! Where did Jesus say it was up to the federal govmnt for that? I wonder if Edwards house has ever hosted a homeless guy? Are any of you volunteering in children's programs? Are any of you doing more than spouting off?

Of Living and Death

2007-03-07T06:24:00.000-08:00

Today when I opened my Yahoo mailbox the obligatory news headlines were summarized under my mail. Most times I completely ignore these, but the tag line about Ernest Gallo the wine maker passing at age 97 caught my eye.

You see, my dad was into running/jogging in the 70's and 80's and how healthy that is. He read Jim Fixx's book about running and how wonderful it can be for your body. Jim Fixx died at age 52 of a heart attack.

My dad was and still is heavily into nutritional supplements. Did you take your vitamins? I fondly point out that the Herbalife founder Mark Reynolds Hughes died at age 44.

To my dad I pass this note: yes I have curtailed French fries to near zero. I am eating much better than I used to. However I don't fret over this stuff because I don't think I will live one day longer than I am supposed to. I do think that how you live your life is more important than what you eat or how you exercise. I think that having emotional health, good friends and a loving family trumps pills and push ups. Everything else is just a fad.

Then after I romanticized about this, I read the rest of the article about what a gangster this guy was in the wine business? Again I am reminded of how much I have to learn!

Freemont Quits Subprime

2007-03-05T15:05:00.000-08:00

HA! NOBODY wants to see bad things happen but it is fun when I get a prediction right! Freemont is quitting subprime. I've been saying they were next ever since I predicted MLN to go around Christmas (they closed at New Year, a week later).

Let's see...

Option One will survive with almost no subprime product. They will look suspiciously like Countrywide's lending matrix before long. Speaking of Countrywide, I wonder what they will do with Full Spectrum and their BC reps now that they have all A and Alt-A products which they already have retail and wholesale ops for? I'll bet they close them up.

New Century is tanking rapidly...73% off stock price at opening as I type??? but ain't gone yet. I look for them to go private if the stock hits a low-enough point. Their investors will buy in and save it.

Argent is the big question mark for me. How are they staying up? They've had bad paper for a very, very long time...?

There are a number of other companies that will cease operations. The one that is going to be the shocker to all in my opinion is going to be Decision One. Their pockets are deep, but HSBC is fed up with that market and owns them. I do look for regional banks to go into the BC market with small cap lending on borrowers with high residual income and/or deep reserves in 401k programs even if the scores stink.

The bottom is nearing rapidly. Let's see where the ride ends and the uptick starts!

Pit Bull No More

2007-03-05T14:38:00.000-08:00

I am a dog lover. I can't help it; they love you no matter what. I am very fond of Shetland Sheepdogs but almost any dog and I get a long really well. We are rescue friends and have housed over a dozen dogs and found homes for almost all of them. We love almost any dog.

Almost any.

My wife came home one night with a "lab mix" dog she found in the cold rain at Kroger in the parking lot. I took one look at the head and pronounced to my wife that she was nuts and had brought a Pitt Bull! That was in the late winter of 2004.

The Pitt Bull rescue was extremely helpful to us and gave us cash to have her fixed and posted her information on their adoption site. However they are still full from Katrina rescues and had no place to offer. We did try to place her with a lady, who-it turns out- sells Pitts to anyone with $100 and asks no questions. Fortunately we were able to find out she was bad news and got the Pitt back from her and kept her until this weekend.

This dog was a big slug. Her favorite pastime was laying in your lap or in an impossibly small ball next to you. So still and happy. So wonderfully nice and gentle for such a strong dog. She was so sweet except for two instances with one (of our three) cats whom she could not get along with. Twice she picked him up by his face and just held him in her jaws. Both times we were able to free the cat relatively unscathed. We thought it was the exception to the rule but it should have been the warning.

Yesterday I was walking our 3 dogs in the yard with the two Shelties running free and the Pitt on a leash when a strange car turned around in the cul-de-sac. When I got my youngest and most spastic Sheltie back from barking the car and calmed her, the Pitt (who I had on a retractable leash) jumped the just scolded-but then loved on and complimented Sheltie. It was, horribly scary and felt like an eternity, in hindsight it was like under 3 minutes.

Today I have a bandage over a gash in my thumb, multiple bruises and a few punctures and a teatnus shot. The Pitt is put down. The Sheltie is missing some fur but othewise unharmed because her thick fur protected her from the worst of it. Likely also because my thumb was in the Pitt's jaw when she chewed and shook at the neck. I'm quite sure the Pitt could have been more forceful; and that I was stupid in how I grabbed her mouth.

I should have remained calm and offered a treat. My wife should have grabbed the hose and sprayed. My wife did rub her chest and talk gently to the Pitt and that's when she released. Hindsight lessons. Scars are stupid tax.

Before today I would have said it's the owners. Now I know there really is a switch inside Pitt Bulls that can be triggered without warning. I have a 5 year old and did not hesitate to put that dog to sleep. Yet as I write this I have regrets and sorrow. Then common sense tells me that could have been my child and I fight back the lingering doubts about our choice.

GOOGLE FRUSTRATION

2007-03-02T08:27:00.000-08:00

The boss decided that we all needed to use google installer and do our virus software through them. No big deal.

Now I come in this morning to find my Adobe Acrobat uninstalled?? What-in-the-heck?????? I use this program EVERY DAY, MULTIPLE TIMES PER DAY AND THEY UNISTALLED IT WITHOUT MY PERMISSION?!!!

What I'd really like to know is why the heck they did that. Not cool.

GLOBAL WARMING (mars)

2007-03-02T07:08:00.000-08:00

So if I read this correctly, National Geographic says we have global warming on Mars.

I wonder what Al and the other eco purists say about this?

Child Safety Warning

2007-02-26T11:17:00.000-08:00

When is safety bad? When is saving children not worth the cost? What if you could virtually eliminate the number one cause of death and/or injury in the United States for citizens 1-24 years old?

The liberal will leap to the keyboard and say we must do whatever it is-then might smell a rat.
The conservative might think the same thing but will smell a rat.

Ready with your response?

Here is the Census bureau statistical breakdown for 2003. Note transportation and accident statistics for ages 1-24.

excel sheet here

What If I told you that writing a law reducing the speed limit on all roads to 10 miles per hour would virtually eliminate fatal car accidents? This law would reduce those accidents by a margin approaching 98%.

The liberal has to twist their logic to make the argument work. The conservative sees the absurdity of ends without weighing the cost and knows that this proposal is ridiculous. What other laws mandate safety without consideration of the cost?

Clinton Woes Show Smoke

2007-02-26T08:27:00.000-08:00

I genuinely think she is setting us up. She being Hillary. The setup being the only choice she has and that is to dump her schmuck cheating husband and have the fortitude to go into the election cycle as a divorce'.

"But Dave" you think: "Aren't you a Christian!?"

Sure I am. I will tell you that the definitive acceptable Christian measure for divorce is infidelity. We all know that Bill ain't monogamous. Why so many women still flock to this guy and vote for him is way beyond my understanding but they do. Very few women would tolerate what has been proven true, let alone the accusations of rape, in their own spouses.

I say again: Hillary will divorce Bill and be our first female President. She will carry a margin of respect and support beyond reproach if she dumps the schmuck. I've said this for years and know beyond a doubt that it would make her unstoppable.