A Final Destination Experience

Every now and then something happens that makes you wonder if some things are meant to be, or not. Today I decided to not stay in the computer lab after school so I left an hour early. It was an uneventful ride home until getting stuck behind a stalled bus on Peoria Avenue just past the I-17. The frustration lasted about 30 seconds but I was able to go around it when traffic cleared. I got to the intersection of Peoria and 19th Avenue and noticed cars blocking my lane. The accident had just occurred and I was the first in line. No one had gotten out of the vehicles, the airbags were still deployed …. and one of the cars was sitting in the left lane, right where I would have been stopped for the light.

The No-Nonsense Bailout

$50 Billion in Cash Headed for Paid-Up Homeowners

by Scott Ott for ScrappleFace · 120 Comments

(2009-02-17) — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner this week will unveil a plan to address the nation’s housing crisis by making $50 billion in direct payments to the 91 percent of homeowners who currently pay their mortgages on time.

The plan is an 11th-hour revision of the original scheme which would have allowed government-backed renegotiation of loans between banks and delinquent or foreclosed homeowners.

“We want to invest in what works,” said Mr. Geithner. “It suddenly dawned on me that rewarding people who bought more house than they could afford, and backing banks that made risky loans, would just throw good money after bad. But the vast majority of Americans make sensible mortgage decisions, so when we put cash in their hands they’ll use it in ways that will reinforce a sound, sustainable economy.”

Only about nine percent of mortgages are delinquent or in foreclosure, Mr. Geithner noted.

“The best thing for these folks is to get them out of the McMansions and into modest homes or rental units they can afford,” the Treasury chief said. “If we bail them out now, then we just send a signal to the banks that Uncle Sam stands behind every foolish, risky or evil thing you do. We would effectively nationalize the banks while subsidizing people who think the American dream is a birthright payable upon demand.”

Asked by a reporter why the federal government should get involved at all, taking out a $50 billion loan to try to stabilize credit markets, Mr. Geithner said, “We’re just following the great Democrat example of Franklin Roosevelt during the Depression.”

“FDR knew that it doesn’t matter whether what you do will work, or even make sense,” he said, “What matters is that people think you care, and they see you doing something. Borrowing money against future tax receipts is something we can do, and we do it well.”

Why Not Try This?

Since we’re talking huge amounts of money, enough to pay off 90% of the mortgages in America, why not just hand out checks to those of us who have a mortgage with the understanding (hell I’ll even sign something) that we will pay off our mortgages. No need to “bail out” those in foreclosure, prop up banks, keep track of thieves or spend money on a bunch of pork projects. Toxic assets covered, crisis averted, income freed up for more buying, banks flush with cash to loan, everyone is better off. Now that would be a stimulus!

The Stimulus That Isn’t

There really isn’t much more to say, because they wouldn’t let us see it.

It’s law, so enjoy the downward spiral. It took a less than a month to get a good picture of what “hope and change” is all about.  2009 may be a lost year but 2010 will be payback.

Time to Chill

Finally a slight feeling of euphoria. Global warming is a hoax, we aren’t going to die because of CO2 so all that wasteful spending is unnecessary. The economy is weak but fixable, no need for the the Spendulus. The Kool-Aid may be in the glass but we don’t have to drink it. People are beginning to get it! I think the stock market is reflecting the feeling that it all aint gunna happen. The Republicans (and a lot of Democrats) are beginning to get some focus. We need to make it crystal clear that we won’t be railroaded into idiotic decisions.

Frog Rock

I don’t know how many times I have gone up Yarnell Hill but today I happened to look to the left and there it was, Frog Rock. Now how could I have missed it? About 100 yards down the road on the right is The Frog Rock Cafe, could that be related?

After the big discovery it was time to kick back and have a cup of coffee in Peeple’s Valley. The trip back was just as interesting. I darn near hit a couple of donkeys on Carefree Highway. The four-legged kind. I stopped as quickly as I could to take a picture (If it had of been J the camera would have been ready) but by the time I got my camera out they were hiding somewhere in the brush. While I was waiting for them to surface I saw a couple of hunters and they told me, “They’re all over out here.” Well I’d heard that but have never actually seen any and didn’t see those ones again either. Another thing to watch out for while riding, I guess.

A Cold Shoulder

Hundreds attend global warming protest ….. and they look pretty mad!

Elections Have Consequences

This is why Barry should have never been elected. We are being inundated by climate scare tactics designed to further destroy our economy and forever create a socialist state. People will buy into this because the media is the Democrat party. Oh we got our “historic” new president and a bunch of fools following him off a cliff. Just give him a chance, they say. I did. One week is all it has taken to prove to me that he absolutely can’t be trusted and is destined to be the all time worst president we have ever had. I’m sorry friends and family but between letting terrorist free, buying into global warming, pushing a huge pork laden so called stimulus bill designed to buy votes, paying for abortions, putting a tax cheat in charge of the Treasury Department and Hillary at State there isn’t much good to look forward to the next couple of years except one hell of a fight.

Vicki’s Birthday

When I woke her up this morning at 7:00 and asked her if she wanted to go out for breakfast or dinner she answered, “I want to go back to sleep.” She didn’t get the chance because Brad, Jackie, Alana, and Sammy stopped by with cinnamon rolls and presents.

After opening presents and having rolls and coffee she did what makes sense on a beautiful day, go outside and read, which leads to falling asleep.

We went out for dinner (Dale, Donna, Wally, Peggy, Howard, Michele, Brad, Jackie, Alana, Elizabeth, Ric, and Vicki) at Villa De Los Antos and came back for cake and coffee. Happy Birthday Vicki!

What Ever Happened to "Appropriate Technology"?

It's deja'vu all over again. If you can remember the periodical "Mother Earth News" you know what I'm talking about. Ben Franklin Stoves to heat the house, Volkswagens with batteries driving electric starter motors, passive solar collectors, wind generation, large home gardens, a woodlot, earthworks to modulate home temperatures, earthworm bins for fertilizer, mulching, picking pests off vegetables by hand. I could go on and on, after all, I was a subscriber.

Of course, now it's high tech, but the same. The problem was that it was too much work, the power was insufficient, didn't work well, and not cost effective. But now that we only have 4 years to live .... it's all doable... again. Back then the wind generators were small enough to fit on your micro-farm. The heat generated by the sun was used in a way that was more efficient (heating water) not converting to electricity and wood was considered a renewable resource. Your house was built underground (and you didn't have to deal with city building codes) so heating and cooling was minimal. It was almost like returning to cave dwelling.

Here we are again in the 70's with our new generation of (metro)hippies, a black Jimmy Carter and this time without our Franklin stove.

I Don't Know if I Should Voice It

I had the Inauguration on a live feed today for my computer classes so that the students could listen and watch it in it's entirety, oaths, prayers, and speeches without commentary. What I was left with was a sadness that seems out of place.

The rambling poem and the sometime inspiring sometime insulting benediction created a feeling in me of foreboding. Obama's speech was not the type that a commander would give his men going into battle but a disjointed list kind of like a State of the Union but without applause lines. I feel sorry for those who put their trust in him and I don't want to feel that way, they are my friends, my family, and my country.

And Another Great Day for a Ride

I was talking to a friend who has been chipping ice off of his toothbrush up in the frozen wasteland of Illinois and wanted to cheer him up a little. So this one's for you TJ.

It was a clear frigid 52 degrees this morning when I headed out the door at 7:30. On the way out to Cave Creek the roads were full of motorcycles and bicycles. The royal blue sky made the sun feel even warmer.

After a brisk 100 mile ride through scenic country on a twisty two-lane to Bartlett Lake I sipped coffee enjoying the view at an overlook. The ride home was a pleasure as the temperature rose to 70 degrees.

When I arrived home the scent of freshly fried chips and home-made salsa greeted me. And it isn't even noon yet.

Where Do We Go From Here?

In America we have an utopian "gene" that resurfaces occasionally. All it takes is some distance from pressing problems and a group of believers. The experiments fail for the "simple" reason that the desire for personal freedom will not die easily. It's "human nature". The second or third generation buys out. The problem has been attacked by the current group of believers by taking over the school system and the information media. They have been able to secure at least a majority of the population .... for a while. The only way they may succeed is to take away enough freedoms that the average person can't see the horizon, so to speak. No dissension, "the science has been settled".

I think that reality will rear it's ugly head and bring us back. A few terrorist attacks, very cold winters, a little bit of financial suffering, and hopefully all this wishful thinking will fade away or may be swept away. For instance, what would happen if terrorists put bombs in a bunch of soft targets, shopping malls, baggage check-ins or public plazas? How about freezing temperatures where no amount of "green" energy will suffice? What about bailout after bailout that doesn't work? What about taxation that punishes those who produce and feeds the seed for the next crop (money that would have been invested rather than spent) to the takers? One or more of these will probably happen. And soon.

Then we can get back to raping the planet. You know, raising the standard of living, growing enough food, producing enough energy, improving medical care, creating wealth rather than redistributing it, creating new jobs, cleaning up pollution, increasing lifespans. A return to the bad old days.

The Vulture Gold Mine

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Just Thinking

I spoke to one of my sons today about government's financial games that often lead to unintended consequences. In particular, for those or you old enough to remember, the tax breaks for interest paid. Remember when any interest on loans was non-taxable probably as an incentive to get the economy moving? It didn't take long for people to run up all kind of debt so the politicians decided to focus just on getting people into homes so they removed the break on all interest and allowed it only on a home and a vacation home too (if I remember correctly). The idea was that if people were owners they would be better citizens, I guess, and it would raise tax revenues because all debt wouldn't be subsidized by tax breaks.

The unintended consequence was the invention of "home equity loans". People turned their home into a cash cow by transferring all debt in the belief that property values couldn't decrease causing the building boom and equity borrowing to skyrocket. The politicians saw some people being left behind so they made credit easy by requiring a percent of loans to be made in various high-risk areas which weakened the lending institutions triggering the lending crash (Another unintended consequence).

At the same time workers were needed to build all the homes so a deal was crafted that for humanitarian reasons (really economic) the border was allowed to become porous filling the needs of employers and the politicians. Unfortunately the unintended consequence was that American citizens lost jobs to those willing to work for much less. They had no intention of staying here but were mining America to send the money back home which drained off billions of dollars that American workers would have spent here. On top of one consequence was another, when the market crashed those workers either left with the money they had made or had children while they were here and those new citizens are now in our public schools being educated at taxpayer expense in many cases living with parents who are without formal education and are in the process of becoming citizens or living here illegally.

Now we have thousands of homes that no one can afford. The people who built them are gone and the ones who are here don't have the education to hold jobs that could support the payments.

Are we better off? Should government be in the "business" of economic manipulation? Check out the latest scheme here.

Final Ride of the '08

It has become almost a tradition to take a ride on the last day of the year and this is no exception. Last year I went to Canyon and Apache Lakes and up to the Reavis trailhead. This year it had snowed so a trip to see what was left of it at Crown King sounded like a good half-day excursion. It was a fairly cold morning so I bundled up with the new jacket Vicki bought me and headed off for Bumble Bee.

It was clear and crisp as the asphalt turned to dirt. Bumble Bee looked clean and inhabited but Cleator seemed more worn than the last time. As the trip progressed the road became a muddy bog in places but still passable. Cars and trucks didn't fly down the road as is typical but carefully chose their paths. There were large puddles on the road as well as ice and snow. In Crown King it was just as I had left it last year after the snow, a muddy mess. The road are all dirt in the summer and mud and ice in the winter.

Just after ordering breakfast the owner (she also works as the waitress) came in upset and I could hear talking going on in the kitchen. I guess the owner of the building (such as it is) decided the rent was going to be increased so the owner of the restraunt served me and let her staff leave. She said that she couldn't make it if the rent increased so she just shut down. I was the last that day to eat, at 10:30 AM. Happy New Year!

The trip back was a whole lot less eventful and at least the cows stayed off the road.

Light Rail

They finished the new light rail this month and were allowing free rides. Vicki had to work so Michele and I decided to go from beginning to end. Well it ends in Mesa so instead we got off at Mill Avenue in Tempe.

We got on right away, no waiting but by the time we returned 3 hours later there was a huge line at Christown (where it starts).

I guess we must have just missed the first crash while we were riding around today.

Some New Gear and Interesting People

The leather jacket I have been using is nice to look at but leaks a little too much air and is heavy so I looked around for something warm, air tight, water proof, armored, and light. LeatherUp.com had just the ticket so for Christmas Vicki got me one. I gave it a good workout this morning and it was pretty darn good.

It wasn't raining but it was cold and overcast, probably near freezing with windchill. The balaclava helped around the neck and face and wearing my leather pants made it quite comfortable.

While on the ride to Bartlett Lake I met a couple of guys, one on an '85 Goldwing and the other in a SUV. We may have been the only ones out there. The guy with the Wing bought it used with 25K miles on it for $2,900 and uses it for long hauls and his Guzzi for commuting to work. The Guzzi has over 100K on it but he finds it annoyingly loud on the road. The guy in the SUV is recovering from a motorcycle wreck he had in November. He was on a Road Star when a Passat (he said, "piss ant") turned left in front of him doing about 45. His bike was totalled as was the car. Luckily he had at the last minute (because it was getting cold) decided to put on all of his gear. Even though he was wearing a full-face flip up helmet he still broke his nose in 3 places (I didn't even know that was possible) and damaged his 4 lower teeth enough so that they will have to be removed. He broke a wrist, dislocated his hip but only suffered a little road rash due to the car tearing his jacket as he flew over it. He planted his helmet in the windshield of the car and according to witnesses did 3 flips after clearing the car. Lucky guy!

The Coming Obamination of America

There are basic differences in this country that some can’t fathom. Why would we pass legislation that can’t be paid for? Half of the country believes that the government should be a husband to the widow (or divorced), father to the fatherless (or parentless), protector of the weak (or lazy), a provider for the poor (or a least less wealthy), teacher, doctor, retirement advisor, realtor, and underwriter of last resort. The other half doesn’t want these things and doesn’t want to pay for them. It is a case of having to live with an oniomaniac. But that’s who is running the place. They have the family credit card and the ability to print money.

The plan is to steal (by taxation and devaluation) the wealth of those who have carefully attempted to create it and redistribute it to others. Consider that the “solution” to the foreclosure crisis is to decrease the principal and interest rates of those being foreclosed on (usually with little wealth of their own at risk). They will be handed the advantages of those who have sacrificed and invested their own money (lower payments due to less owed). The message is clear, “Be as irresponsible as you want; there is no advantage to saving or planning.” Worse than that, I predict Obama won’t address the cause of this whole thing, the housing meltdown, except to blame it on Republicans. The guys in charge will still be there.

The bailout of American car companies is a prime example of the differences. Why should tax money be used to pay off a bad agreement by a private company and a union? The message again is clear, “If there are enough people (constituents) involved those who are trying to be responsible (non-constituents) will be forced to pay the bill.”

To make things even worse Obama and those supporting him in the middle of a financial downturn want to waste money on the fraud of global warming. They refuse to consider solutions to our energy needs that even have a chance of success (nuclear, clean coal, domestic oil production) and insist on throwing money away, or worse, increasing the cost of energy to all Americans by denying access to cheap energy. They promise mythical “green” jobs in exchange for real ones.

I predict that it won’t take until 2010 for the lapse in judgment to become apparent to a majority of Americans because these wastes of money won’t work. But I have been wrong before about the wishful thinking and depth of ignorance out there involving basic economics.

BTW I was discussing AGW with my science teacher friend and he is becoming pursuaded that it is not true. But, he argued, changing over to alternative energy could be a good result of it anyway. Manipulation of people by fear based on lies is not, in my opinion, the right way to make decisions. It will ultimately destroy trust and that is what holds this whole thing together.

“America is divided into two parties: a stupid party and an evil party. When they both act stupid and evil, that’s called bipartisanship.”—- Author and public speaker Dinesh D’Souza from Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, when his elderly mother asked him to explain bipartisanship to her.

Finally a Break ... And a Chance to Think

School's out for the next two weeks and I can think again. Christmas time, the new year, and time off allow for a chance to reflect and boy what a mixed bag that is.

The cold weather is so refreshing it almost makes me want to be snowed in up in the mountains, but only if I can escape on one of my bikes. Is there a conflict?

Reflection sounds good as long as I don't have to think about all of these insane bailouts, but how can that be avoided? The huge Ponzi scheme that crashed (and the government is going to bail out) just makes me think about the much larger one we call Social Security that is scheduled to crash in the future, but don't worry, the government can bail it out. That was a joke that not many people get yet. On the bright side, if the government prints a bunch of money to cover every one's losses the inflation will make what we owe worth less. Unfortunately, I don't have a fireplace so I can't use it to heat my house. Why don't we just print enough so that the government can hand each family $100,000 a year and do away with all this capitalism stuff? Really, it's just that simple.

And then there's the darkness crisis to consider!

Animals have begun to check out due to despair over global warming, but thankfully Santa was saved in time.