Largest U.S. Bank Halts Foreclosures in All States

Interesting story, but the longer homes are allowed to avoid foreclosure, which artificially buoys housing prices, the longer it will take for the overall economy to recover (and Harry Reid couldn't give a flying v):

The plan swept states with some of the highest foreclosure levels, including California, Nevada and Arizona, into a swelling crisis over lenders’ flawed paperwork that had been mostly confined to 23 other states that require judicial review of foreclosures.

Bank of America instituted a partial freeze last week in those 23 states, and three other major mortgage lenders have done the same. The bank’s decision on Friday increased pressure on other lenders to extend their moratoriums nationwide as well.

An immediate effect of the action will be a temporary stay of execution for hundreds of thousands of borrowers in default. The bank said it would be brief, a mere pause while it made sure its methods were in order.

But as the furor grows over lenders’ attempts to bypass legal rules in their haste to reclaim houses from delinquent owners, there is a growing expectation that foreclosures will dwindle for months as the foreclosure system is reworked.

Stan Humphries, an economist with the housing site Zillow.com, said what was initially cast as a problem of sloppy record-keeping is rapidly evolving into one that suggests the banks’ procedures for recording loans might not have followed the law.

“The former scenario represents a hiccup for the market, maybe a 30- to 90-day slowdown in foreclosure initiations,” Mr. Humphries said. “The latter scenario is more like hitting a wall.”

The uncertainty is putting the housing market in turmoil and causing vast confusion. Bank of America, for example, said it was not halting sales of foreclosed properties to new owners, but Fannie Mae, the giant mortgage holding company, is doing exactly that with properties it bought from Bank of America.

One real estate agent in Florida said Friday that he had six deals involving former Bank of America properties that had been at least temporarily scuttled. Representatives for Fannie, which was taken over by federal regulators after it failed two years ago, did not return calls.

Real estate agents said the extent of any disruption depended on how long the moratorium lasted, how many lenders ultimately participated — and what people in default decided to do.

“If it’s still January, February, March, and they’re not foreclosing, you’ll see a big effect,” said Jim Klinge, an agent in San Diego. “It’ll be a banker’s holiday, free rent for everybody and a lawyers’ gold mine.”

More on housing at Instapundit.

Bill Whittle's Firewall: 'What We Believe, Part 1: Small Government and Free Enterprise'

Via Gateway Pundit:

And check out Bill's Twitter feed.

Oh My! Barack Obama Ties George W. Bush in New CNN Poll!

Ha!

And with a 4.5 percent margin of error folks might well be more hatin' on The One!

Miss me yet??!!

By 47 to 45 percent, Americans say Obama is a better president than George W. Bush. But that two point margin is down from a 23 point advantage one year ago.

"Democrats may want to think twice about bringing up former President George W. Bush's name while campaigning this year," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

"But that doesn't mean that Americans regret their decision to put Obama in the White House in 2008. By a 50 to 42 percent margin, the public says that Obama has done a better job than Sen. John McCain would have done if he had won. And by a 10-point margin, Americans also say that Joe Biden has done a better job than Sarah Palin would have done as vice president," adds Holland.

According to the poll, 45 percent of the public approves of the job Obama's doing as president, up three points from late last month, with 52 percent disapproving. Fifty-nine percent of independents disapprove of how the Obama's handling his duties, with 37 percent giving him a thumbs up.

In the fight for control of Congress, 52 percent of likely voters say they would vote for the generic Republican candidate in their district if the election were held today, with 45 percent saying they would back the Democrat. The Republican's seven point margin is down from a nine point advantage late last month.

According to the poll, independents say they would vote for the Republican candidate over the Democrat by a two to one margin.

RELATED: "Poll to Perdition."

Marxism, Socialism, Communism, and Obama

From Mike McDaniel, at Pajamas Media:

“I don’t get it,” my friend said, shaking his head. “Obama is supposed to be so smart and such a brilliant politician … ”

“Right,” I said. “So?”

“So everything he has done or wants to do is a disaster! It’s all opposed by the majority of the American people. Even Democrats are running away from him as fast as they can. If he’s such a great politician, why does he keep doing things most people hate? And that’s not the worst part. When people complain, he calls them too dumb to appreciate what he’s doing for them!”

Why indeed. The answer is deceptively simple: Barack Obama, the president of the United States, is a committed, doctrinaire socialist, and because Marxist philosophy is the foundation of socialism and communism, a Marxist. Many Americans are reluctant to accept this idea, despite overwhelming evidence, for two primary reasons: they don’t want to accept that they helped to elect him, and they’re not really sure what socialism and communism are, or what all the fuss about communism was about. After all, the Swedes are socialists — aren’t they all blondes in bikinis with charming accents? ...

Why doesn’t Mr. Obama behave as the brilliant politician he is supposed to be? Why doesn’t he move to the center when it’s obvious that he is collapsing his faux Greek-columned temple around the ears of himself and his party? He’s a socialist. He’s a Marxist. Virtually all of his associates, mentors, and friends have been one or the other or both. Who would even think, let alone say and do the things he has done and that he is absolutely dedicated to doing unless they were a single-minded, dyed-in-the-wool, committed socialist?

Socialists and communists always take the long view, which is a result of their unshakable belief that their beloved philosophy cannot possibly fail, and that the only prescription for what others might mistakenly see as failure is more, and more fervent, socialism or communism. Thus public outrage over discovering that every feature of ObamaCare used to sell it was a lie is merely a failure of “messaging.” The proper message delivered to the masses will convince them! The underlying policy cannot be wrong, nor could the masses fail to appreciate it and “The One” if they were only smart enough to understand the proper messaging.

Interesting, if not a little simple. I like Jonah Goldberg's analysis much more, although no doubt Obama's committed to a socialist project, and in the end all socialist experiments end in the terror. But it needs to be fleshed out and specified much more analytically.

The 'Suicide Crisis' in the Gay Teen Community

I wrote recently with great sympathy for Tyler Clementi, who jumped to his death after a vicious college "prank" resulted in horrible consequences. I don't understand why some people think that posting private intimate relations to an online feed would be humorous. It's takes the actions of genuinely evil people. Yet, as I noted at the time, I'm not in favor of turning Clementi's death, or the deaths of other gay youth, into some broader crusade to expand hate crimes legislation. I'm concerned about online bullying, and I'd support ways to either regulate or criminalize that kind of activity in a narrowly-tailored fashion. But let's be clear: If leftists can leverage recent tragedies they'll be able to continue to nationalize their campaign against traditional values as "hate speech" creating a "hostile environment" for gay Americans. I'm not down with that. As we saw after the passage of Prop 8 in 2008, the left will lauch the most vicious neo-Stalinist campaigns against regular people who support conservative values. (And in conservatism I'm simply indicating what overwhelming majorities consider mainstream.)

Newsweek had an item earlier on the media's propensity to pump up the volume on an assumed "gay suicide epidemic" that is not supported by larger statistical patterns: "Is the 'Bullying Epidemic' a Media Myth?" Mentioned at the piece is the story of Seth Walsh, a 13 year-old in California who recently commited suicide after being subjected to anti-gay bigotry from classmates. And so it's interesting that today's Los Angeles Times features the story of Walsh and his family on the front page, "Gay Teen in Tehachapi Faced Daily Gantlet." It's a sad story, and I pray for the Walsh family. But I'm simply flabbergasted at how boy's death is being exploited by the Times, although I suppose I shouldn't be surprised:

The teasing and bullying began in fourth grade. At first it was because he was different — more comfortable with girls, not interested in sports, neither aggressive nor assertive — and then it was because he thought he was gay. Once classmates found out and the news spread, the abuse became more focused and cruel.

When Judy learned from her daughter that Seth was gay, she became concerned for the challenges that lay ahead of her grandson.

"Life is hard enough," she says, "but this makes it harder."

"Especially in a small town," Jim says.

Jim and Judy Walsh live on the west side of Tehachapi — about 20 minutes away from their grandchildren — in a gated community known as Bear Valley, an affluent enclave in the middle of the mountains where there are almost as many stables as there are homes.

Sitting in their living room, they talk easily about Seth. Jim is 65, a retired school principal. Judy, 69, is a retired teacher who once served on the school board.

They accept that Seth's suicide — along with the suicides of Tyler Clementi, 18, Billy Lucas, 15, and Asher Brown, 13, all within two and a half weeks — is now part of a national conversation about the consequences of being harassed and being young and gay.

RELATED: "Homosexual Urban Legend: 30% Of Teen Suicide Victims Are Homosexuals."

The PLO Murdered Leon Klinghoffer ...

... Twenty-five years ago today.

Leon Klinghoffer at Wikipedia is here, and the "The Death of Klinghoffer" page, with the debate over anti-Semitism, is here.

Where Are the Outraged Feminists? Jerry Brown Gets a Pass on Meg Whitman 'Union Whore' Slur?

Great background discussion is here. But look, is this that big a deal in the scheme of things? No, but it's the left's chirping crickets once again that's killing me. LAT has the quote from Meg Whitman's campaign spokeswoman Sarah Pompei:

"The use of the term 'whore' is an insult to both Meg Whitman and to the women of California. This is an appalling and unforgivable smear against Meg Whitman. At the very least Mr. Brown tacitly approved this despicable slur and he himself may have used the term at least once on this recording."

Folks at the Brown campaign have issued an apology. I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for the outraged screaming leftists. If a Republican had called Barbara Boxer a whore ... well, perhaps we'll be pleasantly surprised?

The White House Community College Initiative

The Long Beach Press-Telegram has the AP wire story, "White House Summit Focuses on Community Colleges." And the sat the White House homepage, "Building American Skills By Strengthening Community Colleges."

My college participated with video submission, at bottom. Jill Biden's a community college professor, which is interesting in light of SEK's recent attack on students and faculty at two-year colleges:

Harry Reid's Viagra Sex Predator Program!

Sharron Angle, pissing off lefties! And ahead in the polls too! (Via JWF.)

Charles Krauthammer Responds to Christiane Amanpour's 'Holy War: Should Americans Fear Islam?'

Bill O'Reilly focuses on Anjem Choudary, who I mentioned previously. These freaks have a free hand in Europe, and, of course, neither O'Reilly or Krauthammer expects the Islamic flag over the White House anytime soon. Yeah, but that Mega Mosque in New York is on track, so we'll be seeing a good deal of "moderate" Islam squeaking in under the wire:

More on Racial Double Standards

Adding some strike-throughs to The Moneyrunner:

You see, James 'Repsac3' Casper Eugene Robinson and his pals have not had much to fear when they slur beat up their opponents or [attempt to] have them fired.

The Gift of Obama’s Foreign Policy

VDH at NRO:

The Obama reset foreign policy has, in an unintended way, brought clarity to America’s traditional role in the world. After 2004, “blame Bush” proved an easy way for Europeans and American liberals to delude themselves into thinking the world’s problems neither predated nor transcended George W. Bush: Tensions arose, America was at fault, Bush was the culprit, presto! Remove Bush, elect his antithesis, and a natural state of calm would return.

But suddenly Barack Obama’s brief tenure has reminded us that, in fact, almost all the world’s crises arose before the Bush presidency and continued during and after it. Examine current American foreign policy toward every region, and one of three general patterns emerges: Either things are no better since the end of 2008, or they are much worse, or the Obama administration has reverted to the Bush way of doing things — despite constant assurances to the world that Bush was at fault, American foreign policy was now reset, and global animosity arose out of past misunderstanding, insensitivity, and American hubris.

Take first our most vocal and overt enemies. Fidel Castro, after a few mixed messages, is still recycling his 1960s anti-American boilerplate. Syria’s Bashar al-Assad is cementing relations with Iran and Hezbollah, and doing nothing to help matters either in Iraq or in the Mideast generally, despite being assured by Obama that he can do business with someone who is not “smoke ’em out” George Bush.

North Korea’s unhinged rhetoric and occasional missile or torpedo shots escalate. Hugo Chávez is becoming more authoritarian and more anti-American the more he need no longer call Bush a devil. Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the world at the United Nations that the United States might well have planned to kill the 3,000 of its own citizens who died on Sept. 11, 2001; apparently the tired American apologies for the removal of Mossadeq nearly sixty years ago still do not register.

Note that in each of these instances, appeasement — failing to support the Iranian freedom protestors, ignoring the abuses of the Cuban and Syrian totalitarian regimes, and keeping silent about the destruction of democracy in Venezuela — has resulted in even more animus, just as appeasement of the unhinged and dictatorial always does. One might almost conclude that dictatorships hate American freedom, the global stature and power of the United States, and our propensity to oppose aggrandizement, and that they do not much care who happens in any given year to be in the White House.

Brilliant.

RTWT.

Sexy Marisa Miller Captain Morgan Trailer

Saw this over at Theo's:

RELATED: At Bob Belvedere's, "A Little Hump Day Rule 5: Karen Hafter."

4 Weeks

Via William Jacobson:

Lou Dobbs Fights Report That He Used Illegal Immigrants

I read The Nation's hit piece this morning. Pretty wide-ranging smear, and eye-opening if true. Dobbs' response is at ABC News:

Lou Dobbs has slammed illegal immigrants and the people who hire them. Now, in the wake of a report from The Nation that Dobbs relied on undocumented workers for years, he's fighting back.

Today on his nationally syndicated radio show, he called The Nation's investigation, titled, "Lou Dobbs, American Hypocrite," "an attack piece" filled with "outrageous claims."

Dobbs went head-to-head with reporter Isabel Macdonald about her assertion that he hired illegal immigrants to maintain his family's homes and horses.

Their conversation quickly turned into a confrontation:

Dobbs: "Did you say that I hired or my firm hired illegal immigrants?"

Macdonald: "I am saying that for years, undocumented immigrants looked after your show jumping horses, and for years, they looked after the grounds at your West Palm Beach estate in Florida. This article is fact-checked 100 percent, it is legally vetted."

Dobbs hammered Macdonald with questions but seemed loathe to offer any explanations himself. He suggested that if the workers he hired were illegal immigrants, he didn't know that.

"I had been told that they were absolutely legal," he said. "And you were told the same thing ... and you didn't mention that in your piece."

The back-and-forth ended abruptly. As Dobbs tried to dismiss Macdonald from the program, she said, "Your listeners deserve better. I'm saying your listeners deserve to know the truth."

His response: "Are you saying they deserve better than going to TheNation.com? Because that's the last thing I think they should do. ... Let's try focusing on truth and reality and straightforwardness, OK?"

For her Nation piece, Macdonald interviewed at least five undocumented immigrants who did work for Dobbs. Some were brought on to help take care of the horse Dobbs' 22-year-old daughter Hillary used in her professional career as a show jumper.

"At the very same time Lou Dobbs was talking on CNN about the possibility of felony charges for employers who hire undocumented workers, there were undocumented workers caring for his $1 million show jumping horses and undocumented workers caring for the grounds of his estate in West Palm Beach," Macdonald told ABC News.

Hmm. Let's just say I'm underwhelmed with that response, and I used to watch Dobbs on CNN before he went a bit too aggro. Anyway, no doubt lefties are having a field day with this, and of course between Dobbs and Whitman, the clamor for amnesty will start boiling again.

Christine O'Donnell Complains of 'Character Assassination'

Picking up a bit more on Christine O'Donnell's campaign. She's got complaints, and I don't blame her. But there's not much time left and she's avoiding the press. Seems like a rookie approach. Always go with the free media, and kill your opponents with the charm offensive. But she looks a little nervous at the clip, so who knows? Maybe it's a good strategy. Political scientist David Wilson at the clip is not discounting her, although like Larry Sabato noted, no professional analyst is predicting an O'Donnell win:

Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball: 'Very Likely Repubicans Take Over the House'

Okay, picking up from my previous post featuring Larry Sabato. He's forecasting a GOP takeover of the House of Representatives. Republicans need a 39 seat pick up. Sabato's suggesting a GOP gain in the low-50s or so, but not "60, 80 or 100 seats." And notice Sabato's discussion of the President Obama's drag on Democrat prospects. Man, this is going to be killer:

Larry Sabato on the 'Unwisely Chosen' Party Nominations

It's an interesting piece, but mainly from a political science perspective. Supporters for Christine O'Donnell, for example, won't love Sabato's statement that "you cannot find many election analysts who believe she will be in the winner’s circle, while moderate Congressman Michael Castle (R) would have defeated Democratic nominee Chris Coons handily to gain a Senate seat for the GOP."

Sabato breaks down some individual contests around the country. I like his discussion of California.

Jerry Brown was a strange choice to be the Democratic nominee for Governor of California in an anti-establishment year. This lifelong politician and former two-term Governor is a throwback to the 1970s and a very different time in the Golden State. The truth is that few promising, fresh candidates even considered a candidacy to run this massively troubled state, and in the end Brown was virtually unopposed for the Democratic nomination. If anyone who might be in charge of California’s hopeless budget and paralyzed governmental system could be called lucky, Brown is fortunate to be running in a state that is now so deeply Blue that this intrinsic partisan advantage may get him elected over Republican Meg Whitman. Yet Whitman is pulling out all the stops, having spent over $119 million of her own money on the campaign, more than any political self-funder in American history. For Whitman, a campaign fundraiser is lunch with her accountant.

Actually, Whitman's spent over $140 million. But who's counting?

Christine O'Donnell: 'I'm You' (Again)

Jim Geraghty has the analysis:

The spot still has that feel of defensive vulnerability. I'm not in Delaware so it's hard to say. Maybe the O'Donnell camp needs to stress this for an additional round, but Geraghty's right that she'd better start getting down to bread-and-butter issues. That, and let's get on with some attack ads (see Allahpundit on that). Research shows that voters often get the most informational "meat" from them, especially if they're accurate. (And I'm mindful of not going too far with this. Alan Grayson's been over-the-top, but in California the ads for the governor's and Senate races have been an effective source of information for voters.) As for O'Donnell, folks have probably decided by now if they like her. If she runs this personal "I'm you" style spot again, there's gotta be some additional "ummph" to it.

The Krystal Ball Smear Campaign

WaPo has the story, "Krystal Ball: Bloggers who posted my photos are 'sexist and wrong'." Seattle Weekly asks: "Who Hasn't Wrapped Their Lips Around a Nasal Dildo?" And Gawker has the full slideshow, naturally. Ms. Ball is a Democrat, so it's payback time. R.S. McCain's on the case: "I’m Pretty Sure Christine O’Donnell Never Sucked a Dildo on a Reindeer’s Nose" (via Memeorandum). JammieWearingFool has more.