idrankwhat

I can only imagine that Bush will have the same reaction as Nixon did on the Presidential Commission on Marijuana report. Bush will scream hogwash and stay the course... It will be interesting to see how he handles this. "Uncle Jimmy" goes way back with the Bushies both family and business wise. W's circle of wagons is getting smaller and smaller. I'm seeing Rummy, Cheney and Bush all huddled together defiantly these days (it's only a flesh wound....I am INVINCIBLE) Of course W has already stated that he prefers to take his advice from " a higher father" so you're probably not too far off target.

Nice article. Unfotunately, its analysis only compares August numbers to other months over the past year. Tip of the iceberg? Maybe. But the article doesn't say anything, either way. I like those articles better. They just tell you what happened.

Besides missing the point (that debt is not ownership) this is a nice derogatory blanket statement. I'll call it "Dem Bash Fishing".

WOW!! Are you saying we target civilians? We call it "collateral damage" and "acceptable loss". But one could certainly make the argument that by giving Israel cluster bombs so that they can litter the Lebanese countryside with thousands of them over the last 72 hrs before the cease fire that yes, we have no problelm targeting civilians.

Like it or not, it is the standard that widely accepted. Rising home ownership is considered a sign of a good economy. This is the point I was trying to make. If you "own" the house you don't have this problem: NATIONAL FORECLOSURES INCREASE 22 PERCENT IN AUGUST By RealtyTrac Staff Foreclosures Up Nearly 50 Percent from August 2005, 38 Percent Year-to-Date IRVINE, Calif. – Sept. 13, 2006* – RealtyTrac™ (http://www.realtytrac.com/), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its August 2006 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows 113,300 properties nationwide entered some stage of foreclosure during the month, a 22 percent increase from the previous month and an increase of nearly 50 percent from August 2005. The report also shows a national foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 1,021 U.S. households, the second highest monthly foreclosure rate reported year to date. RealtyTrac publishes the largest and most comprehensive national database of pre-foreclosure and foreclosure properties, with nearly 650,000 properties from more than 2,500 counties across the country, and is the foreclosure data provider to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate, The Wall Street Journal’s Real Estate Journal and Knight Ridder Online. “After spiking early in the year U.S foreclosure activity has been relatively flat over the last few months. But foreclosures ramped up significantly in August, pushing the national foreclosure rate close to its highest level of the year so far,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “And with home price appreciation continuing to decelerate and billions of dollars in adjustable rate mortgages projected to reset in the next few months, this month’s increase could be the beginning of an upward shift in the foreclosures market.” Colorado, Nevada and Florida post top state foreclosure rates Colorado foreclosure activity spiked nearly 60 percent from the previous month and the state documented the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate for the sixth month in a row, with one new foreclosure filing for every 301 households. The state reported 6,079 properties entering some stage of foreclosure during the month, more than twice the number reported in August 2005 and the seventh highest number reported by any state. With one new foreclosure filing for every 430 households, Nevada posted the nation’s second highest state foreclosure rate for the third straight month. The state reported 2,016 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, a 24 percent increase from the previous month and more than three times the number reported in August 2005. Florida foreclosure activity jumped to its highest level of the year so far, with 16,433 properties entering some stage of foreclosure in August — the most of any state and an increase of more than 50 percent from the previous month. The state’s foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 445 households ranked as the nation’s third highest state foreclosure rate. Other states reporting foreclosure rates among the nation’s 10 highest were Georgia, Texas, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Utah. Five states account for half of nation’s foreclosure activity The five states with the most new foreclosure filings — Florida, Texas, California, Ohio and Illinois — accounted for 50 percent of the nation’s foreclosure activity in August. Texas reported 14,272 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, the second most of any state and an increase of nearly 9 percent from the previous month. The state’s foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 564 households was 1.8 times the national average. With 12,486 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, California foreclosures increased nearly 25 percent from the previous month, and the state’s foreclosure rate — one new foreclosure filing for every 978 households — registered slightly above the national average for the third month in a row. Ohio reported 7,468 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, a 36 percent increase from the previous month, and Illinois reported 6,909 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, an increase of more than 37 percent from the previous month. Highest metro foreclosure rates in Colorado and Florida Greeley, Colo., posted the highest foreclosure rate among the nation’s 252 largest metropolitan areas, with one new foreclosure filing for every 136 households — more than seven times the national average. The Greeley metro area comprises one county, Weld, which reported 488 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, a 39 percent increase from the previous month. Fort Lauderdale, Fla., documented the nation’s second highest metro foreclosure rate — one new foreclosure filing for every 174 households. Broward County reported 4,263 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, an increase of more than 160 percent from the previous month. Miami and Denver documented identical foreclosure rates of one new foreclosure filing for every 196 households. Miami reported 4,355 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, and Denver reported 4,506 properties entering some stage of foreclosure. The RealtyTrac Monthly U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides the total number of homes entering some stage of foreclosure nationwide and by state over the preceding month. Data is also available at the individual county level. RealtyTrac’s report includes properties in all three phases of foreclosure: Pre-foreclosures — Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Foreclosures — Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank).

Are you calling our politicians terrorists? So would the terrorists be considered "patriots" if they released a video tape where they stated the civilian deaths as "regrettable", or "birth pangs"?

Thank you. Will it work? Nah. Someone should run a tally on who is keeping this nauseatingly long thread going.

Well, you were just more precise and said the exact same thing. I just have to call bull, again. For the same reason. Both parties are very skilled at this and no one has been lagging any significant amount. Go look at the last ten presidential elections and see all the "timely" surprises popping up on both sides of the aisle. Total housecleaning - right now. Complete, non-partisan, etc I can't say it's equal due to the historical campaign $$ war chest advantage that the R's typically enjoyed. But that aside, I agree whole heartedly. We need a complete DO-OVER. Just think how much cheaper things would be if those corporations didn't have to send so many lobbyists to DC.

The Libs didn't seem to recognize a problem when Bush inherited the Clinton hangover in 2000. I recognized it. Anyone who knows anything about airplane stability could have seen that one coming Any climb like that is unsustainable and a negative correction is necessary if you want to keep flying. My problem with Bush's handling of it was his negatively stable approach. His first reason for a tax cut was that he wanted to "give the people back their money because the government has taken too much" when referring to the budget surplus. He wanted a tax cut for whatever reason and he also wanted to increase spending in pretty much all areas of government, including areas that didn't exist before he showed up. And for the record, I also said that the next president after Reagan was going to take a major hit due to Reagan's prolific use of the national credit card.

You're just splitting hairs. Nationwide housing numbers (that are used to assess the relative strength of our economy) have always included homes with liens. And I don't think it's appropriate. It's not ownership, it's debtorship (if that's even a word). The reason that the numbers are high (besides speculation in the market) is because of the drastic drop in interest rates. That spurred the housing market, that kept our economy afloat while simultaneously driving up market prices to what is probably an artificial high. The down side comes when the interest rates climb, adjustable rate holders have to refinance at a higher rate. Now they have a higher mortgage payment that they may or may not be able to afford and their taxes have gone up due to a significant reassessment. This is another reason why I don't know why anyone would want to be elected president in 2008. Most of the fiscal policies recently put into place are due for a crash about midway through that term. Whoever's in the WH is going to inherit the hangover, both domestically and internationally.

Do you see a difference between a terrorist and a guerrilla? Not really, no. Maybe the hat.

Point of order: That figure is deceiving. Holding a mortgage is not ownership. We should expect those numbers to drop as the interest rates rise and force more foreclosures.

Well there you go again, what's with the high expectations? In order for the average citizen to disseminate the......ooooohh...... Wait! I have to run, the morning news is showing a recap of a re-run of Survivor!! "Tactice"? Tactic of practicing or practicing tactics?

That's a tough one to pick. Who is a "terrorist"? Radical Islamists? Christian Crusaders? Israeli settlers? Palestinians? Founding fathers of the US? US nation builders? Cecil Rhodes? French Revolutionaries? Native Americans?....that's the short list to choose from.

There certainly seems to be a pattern here. It's got me wondering, exactly how long do "last throes" last? Hmmmm....wait a minute.....I think Rummy gave us a clue here. He said "It is unknowable how long that conflict will last. It could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months." Six...Six...Six.........mmmmmwwwwwaaaaaaahahahahahahhahaaa!!!!

There's no silence. I've heard and read plenty about the record breaking earmark feeding frenzy at our expense. But it doesn't seem to get much play in the "liberal" media. But is this actually an attempt to slam the Dems because they're not keeping the majority party, who controls all three branches of congress and consequently sets the agenda, in check?

About 35,000 die every year from flu. Maybe we should start up a $40 billion/yr dept. of Homeland innoculation and then go and invade China. No wait, that almost makes sense......ok, invade Venezuela!

In other words, you think the Democrats are using Rescumlican tactics with great success. I can see why that would be quite annoying to righties. You ought to see how upset they get when a democrat raises almost as much campaign money as they do. Fighting on even ground? Why that's damn near communist!

It is anything but, "junk science". Yea, but you're forgetting that marijuana can be grown cheaply and by anyone. What good is a drug like that to a pharmaceutical company who would prefer to synthesize an expensive, inferior product that may not be as safe as the natural extract? What an affront to capitalism! I mean how can you possibly deny those companies the means with which to raise the revenues necessary to install our political leadership? Those execs and politicians have to eat, feed their children, pay for health care, not to mention the property taxes on their seven homes. Jeeez! Next you'll be suggesting that the cotton industry was in cahoots with the government all along to keep THEIR inferior market on the top shelf, and the middle shelf, and the bottom shelf

Not necessarily. It depends on the vendor. I will gladly pay more for a product if, by paying less, I'd be supporting an entity whose policies run counter to my own. I don't think it's right to profit, through savings or investment, from a business which thrives off of the things that I find reprehensible. That's why my investments were not shifted towards certain defense contractors a few years back. I knew they were going to do very well with a war loving Pres and VP, and they have. So I had to get more creative. Did I get as wealthy by making that choice? No, I just did ok. But I can live with myself because my ideals mean more to me than money. And I know that that separates me from many other people. I can live with that too.

As it was in the 1990's but the Dems didn't seem to have a problem with counting it then. What is significant is the deficit is only 1.9% of GDP whereas the last 40 years it has averaged 2.3%. When you factor in the money spent after Katrina, I'd say that's quite remarkable. Did the previous administrations use "emergency" budget requests asliberally

Or maybe many of us just see it as a distraction from the real issues in this election. Just like the non-story about Foley which will disappear from the headlines after the election. Too bad these stories aren't getting as much coverage. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,220145,00.html http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15220076 The Dow generally has positive growth. Record highs are fairly common under either party's control. Those of us that remember the record budget surpluses from before W. aren't very impressed with a $248 billion dollar budget deficit. It always amazes me that the party that claims they stand for personal responsibility can't seem to balance a budget by themselves. Or maybe we could talk about how well things are going in Iraq? Tax revenues increased 11.8% while spending only increased 7.4% and somehow you view that as bad? WOW!!! Do you realize that the current accounting counts the "extra" money coming in from social security as "income". That's one example.

Or maybe many of us just see it as a distraction from the real issues in this election. Just like the non-story about Foley which will disappear from the headlines after the election. Too bad these stories aren't getting as much coverage. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,220145,00.html http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15220076 It's true. I'd rather talk about these sorts of issues in an election year than the typical crap that fills the airwaves. Unfortunately I can't spend much time on it today. But I will say that on the deficit issue that that argument for things "going well" is based on fuzzy math.