Arkansas Blog

Matt Damon made a comment about how absurd it was that Palin could potentially be our president, comparing it to a "bad Disney movie."

Collegehumor.com made a spoof of this movie and it is HILARIOUS.

Check it.

Forget the rest of the debates. Don't watch another commercial. If this is who McCain feels is the most qualified person on the face of the earth to step in should he fall out - that's all I need to know. Thanks, but no thanks, Mr. McCain.

The first YouTube election! Everything anybody's ever said returns to bite them in the ass!

But here, from McCain today, is this senile old puppet controlled by the same strings who animate Bush, claiming Venezuela is in the Middle East.

America's already HAD eight years of Stupid and look where it's got us.

Norma, I suspect that was a classic "taken out of context" quote. I would guess he was referring to another middle east country he mentioned before the clip starts.

Would someone buy that woman a another change of clothes? She's been wearing that same outfit as long as we've known what a Sarah Palin is. I cheat and wear my socks 2 or 3 or 11 times before I find another pair, but most of the time I don't wear socks so they're only on for an hour or 2 every few days. But gees.....Sarah......CHANGE YOUR CLOTHES EVERY DAY PLEASE!

Flat nonsense, eark. McCain's comment was COMPLETELY in context. The opposite of what you state.

McCain used the word "other" -- as in "other Middle East countries." Venezuela is not an "other" Middle East country.

Your comment sounds like another apologetic Republican comment trying to put lipstick on a tired old nap-deprived blithering idiot.

McCain's not fit for service. And CERTAINLY Palin isn't. The odds are one in four McCain will die in office -- only he won't release his all-important medical records. Why not?

You can "suspect" and "guess" all you like about what's happened outside the frame, eark.

For all you know, I might "suspect" McCain just shot and field-dressed a moose before sitting down to chat.

Guessing and Suspecting are pointless exercises in Imaginary Apologetics.

McCain's repeatedly senile VIDEOTAPED comments are increasingly alarming to anybody with eyes and ears.

Is this chick for real?

If you can say "Amen" to this then say "Amen," as I do. Do the clicky

"McCain used the word "other" -- as in "other Middle East countries." Venezuela is not an "other" Middle East country."

Norman--was this as funny as Obama's "57 states" comment?

Obama just jumped on McCain's gambling problem with the first TV ad to address McCain's gaming addiction.

See clicky.

Of course, you already knew that -- from my first-hand account of the night I screwed John McCain last year.

Which is here:

http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/norma/

Yes, we A-T bloggers and commentators are firstest, factiest, fiercest and funniest.

And we're going all-in during Thursday night's debates!

P.S. Notice how lovely the blog's become since Max weeded it?

Norma, I know you, jazzy, zelda, Tina and the other ladies (?) of the board would love helping this young couple. Get the info by clicking on Cato.

The following article is found in the NY Times and represents the smoking gun in our economic mess:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

September 30, 1999

Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending
By STEVEN A. HOLMES
In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.
The action, which will begin as a pilot program involving 24 banks in 15 markets -- including the New York metropolitan region -- will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. Fannie Mae officials say they hope to make it a nationwide program b! y next spring.
Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits.
In addition, banks, thrift institutions and mortgage companies have been pressing Fannie Mae to help them make more loans to so-called subprime borrowers. These borrowers whose incomes, credit ratings and savings are not good enough to qualify for conventional loans, can only get loans from finance companies that charge much higher interest rates -- anywhere from three to four percentage points higher than conventional loans.
''F! annie M ae has expanded home ownership for millions of families in the 1990's by reducing down payment requirements,'' said Franklin D. Raines, Fannie Mae's chairman and chief executive officer. ''Yet there remain too many borrowers whose credit is just a notch below what our underwriting has required who have been relegated to paying significantly higher mortgage rates in the so-called subprime market.''
Demographic information on these borrowers is sketchy. But at least one study indicates that 18 percent of the loans in the subprime market went to black borrowers, compared to 5 per cent of loans in the conventional loan market.
In moving, even tentatively, into this new area of lending, Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic tim! es. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980's.
''From the perspective of many people, including me, this is another thrift industry growing up around us,'' said Peter Wallison a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. ''If they fail, the government will have to step up and bail them out the way it stepped up and bailed out the thrift industry.''
Under Fannie Mae's pilot program, consumers who qualify can secure a mortgage with an interest rate one percentage point above that of a conventional, 30-year fixed rate mortgage of less than $240,000 -- a rate that currently averages about 7.76 per cent. If the borrower makes his or he! r month ly payments on time for two years, the one percentage point premium is dropped.
Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, does not lend money directly to consumers. Instead, it purchases loans that banks make on what is called the secondary market. By expanding the type of loans that it will buy, Fannie Mae is hoping to spur banks to make more loans to people with less-than-stellar credit ratings.
Fannie Mae officials stress that the new mortgages will be extended to all potential borrowers who can qualify for a mortgage. But they add that the move is intended in part to increase the number of minority and low income home owners who tend to have worse credit ratings than non-Hispanic whites.
Home ownership has, in fact, exploded among minorities during the economic boom of the 1990's. The number of mortgages extended to Hispanic applicants jumped by 87.2 per cent from 1993 to 1998, according to Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. During that same period the number of African Americans who got mortgages to buy a home increased by 71.9 per cent and the number of Asian Americans by 46.3 per cent.
In contrast, the number of non-Hispanic whites who received loans for homes increased by 31.2 per cent.
Despite these gains, home ownership rates for minorities continue to lag behind non-Hispanic whites, in part because blacks and Hispanics in particular tend to have on average worse credit ratings.
In July, the Department of Housing and Urban Development proposed that by the year 2001, 50 percent of Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's portfolio be made up of loans to low and moderate-income borrowers. Last year, 44 percent of the loans Fannie Mae purchased were from these groups.
The change in policy also comes at the same time that HUD is investigating allegations of racial discrimination in the automated underwriting systems used by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to determine the credit-worthiness of credit applicants.

No, FromThePines, McCain's comment was not as "funny" as Obama's.

Obama's comment WAS funny because it was an obvious misstatement, which anybody can make, McCain included.

Only an idiot thinks there are 57 states in the Union, and Obama's educational background and achievements (unlike Obama's) are not those of an idiot. Everybody but the right wing slid right over it, because they understand even the smartest and most educated can make statistical slips and occasional mispronunciations.

But nobody's confusing McCain's and Obama's intelligence, education or age.

McCain's misstatement(s) is of a completely different order, in that his brain syntactically links Venezuela with the Middle East by his use of the phrase, "other Middle East country."

Or McCain's previously stated ignorance that Spain is aligned with the U.S. and is a NATO ally.

Or . . . well, on and on.

McCain, simply, doesn't know what he's talking about. And because he doesn't, he's willing to repeat the outright lies his team spoon-feeds him.

These are the gaffes of an old man unfit for the office of President.

Singly, they might be forgiven. Collectively, and primarily over the past year or two, they are a vivid illustration of quite natural mental deterioration that accompanies age and which is dangerous in "the Most Powerful Man on Earth."

And that's NOT funny.

I'm having a senior moment.

Which party has been in control of the White House for eight years now?

Can anybody out there help me remember?

Oh Gawd, StrangeGlove is back. He has managed to somehow screw a square block into a round hole. Again! Please someone give him a little gold star for his refrigerator and remind him to read what MuddlingThrough posted.

It's the DisasteR Party Muddling.......

Thanks, DBI and Traveler.

Was not sure after reading Mr. Strangelove's post.

Every workplace I've ever been in, the tactic of trying to blame the predecessor for problems you fail to solve works for, oh, a week or so. And then people expect those in charge to take charge and solve the problems.

Wonder why we should think differently about the POTUS.

Eight looong years, and look where they've gotten us. Pines? Strangelove? Wonder where you think they've gotten us, these eight looong years?

Are we better off or worse off than we were before the eight looong years began?

Cato -

Bristol and Levi are, of course, dear friends and I'm in AGONY over what to get them. Plus I'm preparing for my trip to St. Louis for the debates Thursday. I'm leaving tomorrow. But --

I think their registering at J.C. Penney is so adorably Alaskan! Nobody understands better than I how rubbing noses can get out of hand, until one thing leads to another and you skip your period.

But I'm confused, so HELP me! It this a wedding gift or something appropriate for a baby shower?

A blender or a Bedtime for Baby Gift Basket? In pink or blue?

Sarah Palin. The gift who keeps on giving.

The Katie Couric CBS interview with Republican VEEP Candidate is becoming a nosegay of nose-dives.

Here Sarah, the Good Witch of the North, waxes light on Supreme Court rulings in her lifetime.

Only one she knows? Roe v. Wade. Any OTHER Supreme Court rulings of importance? Dead silence.

This clip is airing shortly, but the A-T blog links you early!

Being sort of close to the real estate bidness, my lovely better half came across this on japanrealestate.com

China Property
Find a complete realtor list of Texas homes for sale. Free real estate listings search in your area. MLS, new homes and foreclosures. homegain.com

There is a lot more all you have to do is look. They pretty much own us already. I have already ordered my video on "How To Use Chopsticks", "Rice Planting The Old Fashioned Way" and "Cat or Dog - Dinner or Pet?"

September 30, 2000

Fannie Mae Tightens Credit On Mortgage Lending
by Ralph Merser

Fannie Mae, a mortgage repurchase company, announced today a tightening of credit standards for mortgages it acquires from lending institutions. A recent study by Fannie Mae revealed original lenders were employing deceptive tactics when explaining loan terms to potential customers. This continued practice will likely result in too many subprime loans being issued and assumed by the Association said Darrel Rand, a Fannie Mae spokesman.

Deceptive loan practices have been increasing as local banks and other institutions have sought to participate in the real estate boon. Such loans are then "cashed out" by Fannie Mae to allow local banks and mortgage companies to free up capital into other real estate investments.
.

Frankly, considering the destruction that has been caused to the American economy by the democratic party in order to buy black and hispanic votes, I don't really care in Palin gives good interviews.

Norma, I am in suspense about the upcoming wedding which features Levi and Bristol and am real proud you are so close to them, assuring you have inside information about the gala event. So, please fill us in if it's a given that Bristol will be decked out in white for this blessed event and if the mother of the bride will be in matching white. What say, thee Norma. Don't keep us in suspense. Thanks.

She is dumb as a box of rocks, and so are you strange.
But, I wish you nothing but blue skies, abundant wealth, and good health.

That's how I roll.........
kiz

Norma, you silly drag queen, I'm a liberal.

Any intelligent person would realize that he could have been referring to a previous sentence. Of course, he very well might not have too.