Day: March 7, 2009

Random Thoughts

It has been a hectic couple of weeks and most of my notes have made it into posts but there is always something that will not make it.

1–Octomom has been offered 7 figures for the tape of the birth of the 8 puppies.

2–I read recently that some banks were charging large fees to cash unemployment checks.

3–Perpetual candidate, Alan Keyes has called Obama a “radical communist”.  He is a Repub that could explain his ignorance.

4–Blago to get 6 figures for a “kiss and tell”  book on his choices for the Obama seat in the Senate.

5–Blueprints for the president’s chopper, Marine One, has been found on a website in Iran.

6–The US is spending more money on AIG than it has on a war.

7–NBC polls shows that if people were given money by the government that they would save it, not spend it.

8–Obama’s plan for the housing crisis will assist 1 in 9 home owners…that is about 11% of the people with mortgages.

9–It is March and yet another Nicholas Cage movie.

10-The Iowa House has approved a bill changing the name of the Department of Elder Affairs. If the legislation is signed by Gov. Chet Culver, the agency will be known as the Department of Aging — or DOA.

Silliness just keeps getting deeper and deeper.

Ugly Side Of The Stimulus Plan

Billions upon billions are flying out of Washington and little is making it to the people who need it and now a whole new industry has grown up around the people’s concern for their future and their livelihood.

With big banks and automakers getting government bailouts, it’s no surprise that consumers would want a hand, too.

Scammers are capitalizing on that.

Some are hard at work trying to trick individuals into paying for access for government grants, and the Federal Trade Commission is urging consumers to be careful.

Phony Web sites and scam e-mails have “mushroomed up overnight,” offering to help consumers qualify for economic-stimulus payments, said Eileen Harrington, acting director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, during an online news conference yesterday.

The sites ask consumers to provide personal details or a small payment to cover shipping to get information on how to apply for grants. But scammers then use the information to drain the consumer’s bank account or commit identity theft. E-mail solicitations with the same theme load spyware onto consumers’ computers when they click on a Web link.

“Scammers are using the stimulus bill as a more appealing lure to prey on their victims,” Coughlin said. “These offers are very enticing for families in financially desperate situations, and scammers are taking advantage of that.”

What Is Rush’s Role?

Does conservative talk show host, Rush Limbaugh have a part in the future of the GOP?  Or is he just a windbag that likes hearing the sound of his own voice?  Just what is his role in this comedy special?

Limbaugh in recent days has made no efforts to step out of the spotlight. He had a banner headline across the top of his Web site that read: “Hilarious: Democrat Party Launches Yet Another Anti-Rush Web site” and linked to the site.

And on Wednesday, Limbaugh challenged Obama to a verbal showdown, calling on him to visit his talk show for an “intelligent, open discussion” on issues like health care and taxes.

Limbaugh also accused the White House of orchestrating an attack on him, telling his listeners that the Obama team is demonizing the radio host since President George W. Bush left office.

There’s a reason White House aides have dubbed conservative radio ranter Rush Limbaugh the new face of the GOP – polls showed he’s a big, fat target of opportunity.

Only a tiny fraction of voters younger than 40 – 11% – have a positive view of the talk king, a survey James Carville and other Democratic advisers to President Obama took last fall found.

That – combined with Limbaugh’s more recent wish to see Obama “fail” – was all the White House needed to launch its coordinated campaign this week to cast Limbaugh as the hydra-headed leader of the temporarily headless GOP.

Extension Of The No-Eviction

Government-controlled mortgage finance company Fannie Mae said Friday it is extending a halt to evictions on foreclosed properties through the end of this month as it implements pieces of the Obama administration’s plan to help struggling homeowners.

Fannie Mae’s extension comes two weeks after the company announced its moratorium on foreclosure-related evictions, which initially was to run through Friday.

Fannie Mae on Friday also issued foreclosure sale requirements in response to Obama’s Making Home Affordable program, intended to help 9 million struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure. A foreclosure sale may not occur on any Fannie Mae loan until the loan servicer verifies that the borrower is ineligible for loan-modification criteria set in Obama’s plan, and other foreclosure prevention alternatives have been exhausted, Fannie Mae said.

More than 2.3 million homeowners faced foreclosure proceedings last year, an 81 percent increase from 2007, and analysts say that number could soar as high as 10 million in the coming years, depending on the severity of the recession.