Comments on: What the Government bail-out

By: TheOtherMike

TheOtherMike — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:30:13 +0000

“Oh, and for the record, I never voted for Bush. I voted for Nader twice.”

So in other words, you voted for Bush once, and wasted your vote the second time (assuming you live in Florida, anyway… if not, your vote was wasted both times).

By: Steve

Steve — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 13:12:13 +0000

You probably have, but it seems fairly true, so I paraphrased and repeated it here.

I’ve only been to a strip club a couple times in my life, it’s fun once in a great while. I wouldn’t spend money there on a regular basis.

By: Scum

Scum — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 20:01:57 +0000

I know, but I couldn’t find the actual screen caps or find it up on youtube.
I’m sure it used to be up there, but I think the studios are all cracking down on posting their materials.

By: rhorho

rhorho — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 18:29:01 +0000

I was told I could afford a loan that was 8 x my annual gross
income, but the industry standard is anywhere from 2-6 x
annual gross income.

If I understand correctly, according to the old-school 28/36
ratio, your house payment should be 28% or less of your
monthly gross income, and your overall minimum payments
+ house payment should be no more than 36% of your
monthly gross income.

By: Casez

Casez — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 17:52:44 +0000

He seriously looks like my physics teacher……….
weird……

By: Uncle Fester

Uncle Fester — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 17:43:59 +0000

The bank should know better, after all they are bankers, they handle money for a living.

They mostly do… what that banker was doing was trying to take you up the arse, dry… which is what they do… they can’t help it…

By: Uncle Fester

Uncle Fester — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 17:38:53 +0000

I think the problem was less unsecured loans and more the
financial institutions selling on higher risk debt as a AAA rated
investment with tacit approval of pet ‘independent’
“regulators”. Typical scheme was Institution A sells Institution B a AAA rated package of investments. Post sale the package was then loaded with things that should never have had a AAA rating, but, “temporarily”, did. Along came an audit and suddenly AAA rated investments are being dropped three to five points in hours, when, typically, a rating won’t vary by more than a point up or down in a 30-90 day period… some (most) don’t vary more than a point for their lifetime)
It was the Casino stuffing the Casino that caused the ‘lack of confidence’ since no one knew where the crappy stuff was, and who would be holding the bomb when it stopped ticking.
It’s interesting to see the number of Ponzi schemes that are now coming to light.

By: Uncle Fester

Uncle Fester — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 17:31:53 +0000

Near slave labour in hamster style wheels…

By: Uncle Fester

Uncle Fester — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 17:29:34 +0000

The myth of infinite growth with finite resources.

By: Uncle Fester

Uncle Fester — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 17:28:13 +0000

I think the phrase ‘None of your business’… but I can only assume you’re like ubr, just another croupier in the world’s biggest roulette game…

Articles of faith and bones of saints… nothing like it for gulling the rubes.

By: Uncle Fester

Uncle Fester — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 17:25:22 +0000

I know he’s not AF, just a ‘Financial Advisor’ (pronounced ‘Con Man’)

By: Uncle Fester

Uncle Fester — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 17:23:44 +0000

Nice set… but it wasn’t Doctor Hibbert who had The British Book of Smiles, it was the Quack dentist whose name escapes me…

It has one of my favourite Simpsons’ scenes ever

Photographer: 2C’mon simle of the camera…”
Lisa smiles

Photographer: (recoiling in horror) “*Gasp* There is no God!!!”

By: jerseygirl in GA

jerseygirl in GA — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 12:28:03 +0000

Condi is a brilliant and smart woman who is loyal to the wrong people. I find it very sad that her intelligence was wasted. At least Colin Powell woke up!

By: jerseygirl in GA

jerseygirl in GA — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 12:23:51 +0000

ummm… read the existing comments FIRST so that you do not look like a moron. (I guess that makes you a liberal too, according to your own definition!)

BTW, you are a double-moron for not recognizing that the photo is photoshopped. Since you think you are so smart, you should have recognized this right away!

By: jerseygirl in GA

jerseygirl in GA — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 12:19:52 +0000

I agree… I thought this was a reference to the spy revelation scandal. On that case he should be arrested and tried!!! I feel he was involved and did compromise national security. But instead, he is a commentator on Fox (fair and balanced my ass) and wrote an editorial about Bush in the Wall Street Journal a few weeks ago. BLAH!

By: froofrou

froofrou — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 01:17:03 +0000

Oh, I didn’t take it as you being b*tchy! I took it more as frustration for the broken system, not as directed at me *hugs*

By: Matador

Matador — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 21:47:43 +0000

Nice copy-paste, but if you were responding to me I’m pretty sure I never once mentioned homeowners in my post. I called out CEOs Franklin Raines and Jim Johnson for accounting fraud as well as Barney Frank for denying there was even corruption to begin with.

By: Matador

Matador — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 21:39:23 +0000

Actually I thought it was pretty clever and amusing, despite the ’shop, even though I could be accused of being a Right Wing Conspirator.

By: rhorho

rhorho — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 20:35:44 +0000

Childishness is a useful outlet for expression of impolite
emotion. I giggled waaay too much at a caption recently.
The photo showed Cheney in a wheelchair, being pushed
by a woman with a sarcastic expression on her face. Her
thought bubble read, “Where’s a cliff when you need one?”

By: Militant Moderate

Militant Moderate — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 20:25:56 +0000

Pfeh. Photoshop talent wasted.

Now if they’d have been able to pull it off with Anne Coulter, THAT would be much more impressive (from an artistic standpoint, of course).

By: Scum

Scum — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 20:25:22 +0000

Even if you did avoid it, I’m sure you’ve seen some of the pics up here of him boarding the ‘copter or of new administration waving ‘bye’ as it took off. Possibly you’ve also seen video clips of the crowd singing/chanting:
“na na na na, na na na na. Hey hey, good bye” as it flew overhead.
-
Petty and childish, yes, but still funny as hell and so appropriate. Sometimes you just have to let out that inner child-ishness.
-
Anyway, that’s how I interpreted hotsauces comment.

By: Kuromisa

Kuromisa — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:35:13 +0000

I believe I heard that on Comedy Central once.

By: froofrou

froofrou — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:33:03 +0000

I can’t do that, because it isn’t that simple. I’ve admitted that. I’m just trying to distill it down to something that’s a little easier to understand. I can (if you’ll give me a little bit) give you sources that Barney Frank fought against regulations for Fannie and Freddie.

By: Tessie

Tessie — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:13:39 +0000

Reminds me of the scene in The Sopranos where Furio smacks the hell out of the guy on the golf course, then calmly says, “There was a bee on-a you hat”.

By: Tessie

Tessie — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:10:14 +0000

@Steve and TeeBee above:
`
Is there a formula or rule of thumb that expresses housing cost relative to income? There used to be an old rule that if you were a renter, your month’s rent should be equal to one week of your take-home pay. I know, good luck doing that now, but still… Is there a rule that anyone knows of to the effect of your house [insert ratio here] your annual salary, or your monthly house payment [insert ratio here] your take-home? Cause if there is, I’ve never heard it.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:09:16 +0000

It’s not even a good photoshopping… Karl Rove is noticeably chubbier.

however, even if it weren’t photoshopped, not only would it still not make cents, but it’s still not a funny caption. …and I’m certainly not a Karl Rove fan.

Perhaps if it were a picture of Paulson getting dragged away in cuffs?

I usually find the least funny of these at least mildly amusing. Unfortunately this just doesn’t have it.

By: Tessie

Tessie — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:04:02 +0000

Gives UPS a whole new meaning.

By: Tessie

Tessie — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:03:05 +0000

“Men go to strip clubs because it’s the one place where gorgeous women will flock all around us competing for our attention”
`
And what do women get? Romance novels. Feh.

By: Tessie

Tessie — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:57:48 +0000

Wasting a billion dollars a minute in Iraq is not my idea of a bargain, either.

By: TeeBee

TeeBee — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:41:31 +0000

I just bought my first house in October and I was shocked to head how much my lender, a friend of my family for many years, told me I could “afford”. Then I added up my car payment, heat, electricty, cable, food, alcohol requirements, hand sanitizers, lubricants, etc and decided that my lender was full of tihs and told him what I wanted to spend. He kept telling me to go for more and check out these numbers! I bought my house for my price and I can still afford to drink…

The way I see it, if you are about to spend anywhere from $100,000 to $500,000 on something, you better be able to balance your effing checkbook and you should have already figured out that loan officers are the car dealers of the housing industry and trust them only as far as you can punt them.

rhorho, you and I thought about our situation before jumping in, which is simply common sense. Common sense is entirely uncommon and to the guy that bought three houses for $300k each, you are a douchebag, eff you painfully.

By: dissimilitude

dissimilitude — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:35:37 +0000

You know, I don’t think I’ve ever heard it explained that simply and candidly. Thanks!
*feels one step closer to understanding the mystery that is the opposite sex*

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:33:32 +0000

Women don’t understand strip clubs. Every guy that has ever been nice to you is just trying to get in your pants. I bet guys hit on you daily.
-
Men go to strip clubs because it’s the one place where gorgeous women will flock all around us competing for our attention(money). They come up to us, buck naked, and put a hand on our shoulder, or thigh, and whisper into our ear “Would you like a lap-dance darling?”
-
And for one brief moment we have the power, and can answer “Nope!, you’re not my type!” and then the next beautiful stripper is right there for us to reject! We then continue that process until we find the one girl in the club who is EXACTLY our type.
-
Strip club is an exact reversal of the traditional bar scene. Instead of men making advances on women, it’s opposite. The difference is simply less clothing, and the men are still the ones spending the money.

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:55:41 +0000

That’s how we handle Wisconsin mosquitos. Scientists believe that mosquitos in this region are the closest living descendants of pterodactyl!

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:51:41 +0000

I just purchased a home in July, and I too was “qualified” for a much larger loan than I could actually make the payments on. What confused me is that the same lending institution also carried my auto loan, and knew how much my weekly payroll deposits were. They had to have known that I couldn’t pay a mortgage that large, where did they expect me to get the money?
-
Fortunately I purchased something well within my means, but I understand how someone would take the word of a banker without taking the time to do the math. Some people are just bad at managing money, and don’t realize how much they spend each month.
I don’t think it’s the borrowers fault. The bank should know better, after all they are bankers, they handle money for a living.

By: dissimilitude

dissimilitude — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:45:06 +0000

Yes, the ephemeral pleasures of the rented flesh…although I have to admit I don’t entirely understand that, but I just view it as one of those charming differences between men and women.

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:43:27 +0000

It is, now that it’s back where it belongs.

By: dissimilitude

dissimilitude — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:42:21 +0000

So I’m told.

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:41:29 +0000

At lest you get an instant (if brief) return on that investment!

By: DeathWyrmNexus

DeathWyrmNexus — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:39:28 +0000

O_O… But I never played the game, how did I get a blue screen of death!? That must be why those guards hit me with nightsticks when I was in that store without pants…

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:37:46 +0000

or hamster wheels.

By: DeathWyrmNexus

DeathWyrmNexus — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:36:26 +0000

And I bet it’s a nice butt too.

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:35:01 +0000

Fester – I’m pretty sure the word “diverse” means that it encompasses world funds, not only US funds. I’m curious as to how the Great and Wise Fester invests his money. Did you bury it in a mayonnaise jar in your garden? I suppose you wouldn’t expect losses that way, but gains are unlikely as well.

I myself have only 50% of my pension in US investments, the rest are world funds, overseas commodities, etc. I ‘lost’ $25,000 myself this year. Everything suffered nearly the same 40% decline, not just the US portion of my investments.
-
Thankfully I haven’t actually lost anything, as I have no intention of retiring any time soon. The silver lining is that I can use this as an opportunity to buy more shares at these great sale prices!

By: PortlandMark

PortlandMark — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:20:15 +0000

So, you don’t think much of Hasselbeck either?

By: dissimilitude

dissimilitude — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:20:04 +0000

Amarillo? Well, at least you didn’t end up in Lubbock.

By: PortlandMark

PortlandMark — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:18:51 +0000

Froo, could you please provide a link that shows how one democratic congressman pushed through legislation against the combined weight of a Republican house, Republican senate, and Republican president? I believe I smell some cognitive dissonance.

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:18:03 +0000

I’m enjoying my time in Amarillo by the way, now that the hangover has subsided!
I found a fantastic BBQ joint…yummm!
*looks around*
Which way to…anywhere?
Rho…did you send me to the middle of nowhere!?!
-
Oh well, at least it’s above 0 here!
*dons flip-flops and buys a 6 pack of cold brews*
*strolls down the street looking for a hammock*

By: dissimilitude

dissimilitude — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:22:38 +0000

I have direct deposit for my second job, but they don’t offer it on my main job, which drives me NUTS. Every two weeks I have to haul my butt to the bank.

By: Uncle Fester

Uncle Fester — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 14:42:20 +0000

Apropos of nothing post – WIN!

By: Uncle Fester

Uncle Fester — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 14:40:54 +0000

Oh, right… sorry… I avoided it like the plague… but I can guess who.

By: herb

herb — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 14:38:35 +0000

Really? Is this about Wanda?