Bush Impeachment Hearing

[Hallen]

the republican way

Good argument. Republicans suck. But not quite so much as the demorats. They all play to the lowest common denominator and until real people who really do understand their world beyond the hype of the popular media start yelling as loud as cooks on either side of the spectrum, you are going to get a warped and divided government. Which seemingly is exactly what the politicians want because they can then count on the sheeple always voting for them no matter how stupid their agenda really is.

So, which do you want to be? A stupid Sheeple or an educated and rational American? If it is the latter, start using your mind and stop taking things for granted. And most importantly, really analyse everything said in the popular media, blogs, or by your opinionated friend. I think that if you really do that, you will start to see that things aren't exactly as the media and the politicians want you to believe them to be.

Oh, and the reason that I said the Democrats were slightly worse... because in my opinion they have a tendency for more government regulation of commerce when it is uncalled for and end up causing more damage for all of us and they have a tendency to continually increase governmental functions removing more responsibility from the individual and move it to the government. But that is just my opinion.

It was said earlier in this thread. I just want to live my life unmolested, work to earn my money and make a decent living for me and my family. I don't need riches and I don't want to spend my life in the pursuit of Bill Gate's fortunes. I just want to be comfortable and happy. Does that sound like a rabid, lunatic right wing war mongering, baby killing, elitist to you? You might be surprised to find out that most people fall into this category, democrat and republican. There are just some small differences about the role of government that really gets in the way.

Just think about this: If the government through its relationship with the Fed were not in control of the money supply, and the government were not enmeshed in normal business activities (legislated regulations forcing the free market to do things it normally wouldn't), would lobbyists have any power anymore?

[Hallen]

The sad part about this whole housing mess is that it was caused by rampant housing price inflation driven by, to a large degree, speculative house flippers. But the ultimate tipping point comes because of the Fed. Fiat money, fractional banking, and the Fed trying to "fix" other problems, all combine to cause a major margin call that nobody can meet because they don't have the reserves. Federal lending laws don't help either.

Don't forget, the real reason the economy hasn't bounced right back is the oil prices. It is what is driving up the cost of everything and making people nervous about any kind of spending. That oil price spike is driven by our own stupidity in not investing in alternative energy and not tapping what we already have, thanks again to the demorats. But mostly it is due to OPEC. Sure, US oil companies are more than happy to accept higher revenues, but they will make money either way. OPEC are the ones that are artificially restricting the supply causing the higher prices. They have not increased output in years and years. They are not even outputting oil at their maximum rate right now. Part of the problem is the fact that we have stabilized Iraq. If Sadam were still there threatening his neighbors, the OPEC nations would be much less willing to screw us over. If the US had the production capability to cover a larger portion of the world's needs, then all the oil consumers like China, Japan, and Europe would be buying oil from us right now at lower prices, our economy would be booming and the OPEC nations would have to lower prices to get their market share back. Simple.


BTW, I don't see anybody denying anything. Refuting bad assumptions and clarifying out of context news stories is not denial. It is really thinking about things and analysing the situation based on fact.

[Aptyp]

Fixed that for ya to reflect reality. ( man I had to snip a shitload out of that post to get to the truth )

the republican way

[Lair]

Contradicting

Contradicting what? It's a great neighborhood, and the price is way under market because the people who bought it gutted it and now they just want out. They bought it to rebuild for their parents, and one of the parents died.

That's the only reason they're dumping it. It's a bargain in that neighborhood. If I trusted the market to rebound, I'd buy it and sit on it.

[atomic]

I have friends who are developers, and they are losing their asses. One of them is sitting on 14 new homes that are all $500K +. Prices in my city have dropped like a rock, and inventory is stacking up. There are two new DR Horton developments close to me that are at a standstill.

Typical builder/developer, building homes beyond what most average Americans can afford.

Moral to the story is not ALL housing markets are doom and gloom right now... Granted the market is tougher now than 3 years ago, you just have to KNOW where to concentrate on for how the current market is trending.

I looked at a flipper last week in a great neighborhood that someone started on and bailed out of. It's only $99K, but I'm afraid to jump on it because the prices in the hood have dropped to an average of $160K - down from $200+ last year.

Contradicting

I don't think we've seen the bottom yet.

In the speculative markets of OVER valued homes, probably so...





:up:

[Lair]

MX is some dangerous shit. I quit racing in '04. but i still ride and hang out with some racers.

I went to the Nat'l Amateur Championships up in Tennessee last week, and one of the guys in the 35+ class got killed after he crashed and got hit by another bike. That's one of the reasons I quit racing. The tracks have gotten insanely difficult, and the bikes are faster than ever. I see ambulance rides all the time.

All the manufacturers had their dirtbike product lines oin display last week. The WR motards are sweet in the flesh.

[z31maniac]

Stillwater is pretty decent for a college town, but I'm still trying to get out!

I haven't been "inside" but I've driven by numerous times on my way to OKC.

I've only ever owned sportbikes and haven't been on a dirtbike since I was like 11. A close friend of mind, Tyler McDonald, races in the CMRA and AMA and he hurt himself way more often and much more seriously riding dirt than he ever has road racing.

I want a WR450F Motard REALLY bad!

[Lair]

What because something that can't withstand 100 mph winds is strong?

Weak ass attempt at sarcasm/insult, as obviously my point was that our housing market hasn't tanked like the speculative markets. In fact, it continues to go higher and construction hasn't stopped.

Stillwater is a cool little town. I went there to hang out with a group of internet dirtbike goons in '02, '03, and '04. Have you ever been out to Cooperland?

(That's National Vet Motocross champ Doug Dubach standing behind me - he was nice enough to offer us a couple of free classes.)

[Lair]

Thanks, Piney. I can always count on you to get to the truth - and sometimes you even cough up a funny picture.

You're the greatest.

Seriously. :up:

[z31maniac]

That's because you guys define strong as anything that can withstand a tornado.

What because something that can't withstand 100 mph winds is strong?

Weak ass attempt at sarcasm/insult, as obviously my point was that our housing market hasn't tanked like the speculative markets. In fact, it continues to go higher and construction hasn't stopped.

[Pinepig]

I don't think .

Fixed that for ya to reflect reality. ( man I had to snip a shitload out of that post to get to the truth )

[Lair]

The housing market problems are mainly in over valued markets in the country (LA, Las Vegas, Florida, etc...) Home sales here HAVE NOT DROPPED even 1% in value. Home sales here sometimes results in them staying on the market for an extra 2-3 months to sale. Mainly due to the credit crunch the country is in at this moment where most people either stay under the FHA cap of $271,000.00 to buy with little to NO money down, or they come up with 20% down payment with a FICO of 720+ for the jumbo loan homes. NO stated DOCS loans are far and few these days but are still out there, mainly mortgages used in today's market require full 3 year+ DOCS (which they should require).

I am still making money in this market in home sales & mortgages, amoung other ways of making money in this market. :finger:


:up: :up:

I have friends who are developers, and they are losing their asses. One of them is sitting on 14 new homes that are all $500K +. Prices in my city have dropped like a rock, and inventory is stacking up. There are two new DR Horton developments close to me that are at a standstill.

I looked at a flipper last week in a great neighborhood that someone started on and bailed out of. It's only $99K, but I'm afraid to jump on it because the prices in the hood have dropped to an average of $160K - down from $200+ last year.

I don't think we've seen the bottom yet.

[rwh11385]

Seems like Robert needs to get in touch with the "liberal media" and tell them that all the broken records mean nothing. I'm sure they'll be pleased to hear from an economist of his stature (assuming he works as some sort of economist - he still hasn't seen fit to tell us exactly what he does).

They probably are told often that the "news" they report, however accurate in the figures, are misleading without the proper context. But they aren't out there to sell the truth, they want eyes on the TV or clicking on the articles... so they spin things for doom and gloom.

I feel that after the 2000 election "chaos" and 9/11, they are used to being on the air all the time... why the hell do we need several political / national news shows all day? They have to fill the time somehow and get people to watch, so they make everything seem important. Did you see them sitting around trying to call the primary outcomes for 12 hours straight?? If anyone has something shocking to say, they will put them on. Someone saying comforting news would make people less anxious and less determined to watch more news.

[s0urce]

Yup, housing is still plenty strong here in the "flyover states."

That's because you guys define strong as anything that can withstand a tornado.

[z31maniac]

Yup, housing is still plenty strong here in the "flyover states."