Free Republic

As President Obama and Congress discuss housing finance reform, we have to discuss the government mortgage guarantee. You know, the one that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac furiously denied, but it turned out that they were wrong. Since 2008, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHA control over 90% of the mortgage market and The Fed has taken unprecedented measures to keep mortgage rates low. Finally, investors are flocking into housing again. Part of the allure is the government mortgage guarantee. Government loves guarantees (and pseudo-guarantees) in the form of social safety nets. Social security, Medicare and other entitlements (that...

As President Obama and Congress discuss housing finance reform, we have to discuss the government mortgage guarantee. You know, the one that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac furiously denied, but it turned out that they were wrong. Government loves guarantees (and pseudo-guarantees) in the form of social safety nets. Social security, Medicare and other entitlements (that are kept off-balance sheet) already amount to $70 trillion. And according to economist James Hamilton, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s share of the off-balance sheet liabilities amount to $4.9 trillion. This is the formerly implicit guarantees for Fannie and Freddie that are now explicit....

About 20 percent of Quicken mortgage applications are for adjustable rates, up from 5 percent earlier this year. Why? As Treasury and mortgage rates started to rise around May 1st, housing affordability has declined. As a result, more borrowers start selecting the lower mortgage rate product hwhich is the 5/1 ARM. armsfrms080913 The spread between the 30 year FRM and the 5/1 ARM is 93 basis points, indicating that the 5/1 ARM is almost a full 1% less expensive. armfrmspread080913 Now, you may say “Why should I use a 5/1 ARM when everyone is saying mortgage rates will rise???” A...

Today, President Obama is meeting with the Greek Prime Minister. Hopefully the President isn’t seeking fiscal tips from Greece! Sadly, unemployment in Greece continues to rise and is at 27.6%. greekunemp Even more sad, Eurostat Unemployment Greece People Under 25 Year of Age is 58.7%. Appartently, Greece is “No Country For Young Men,” like the USA. greekyouthunemo Clearly, unemployment in Greece is a sad and terrible problem. To rub salts in their wounds, Greece’s international lenders are pressuring the coalition government led by Prime Minister and New Democracy Conservative leader Antonis Samaras again to lift a ban prohibiting banks from...

As a former resident of Ohio and a current resident of Virginia, I was stunned to see the growth in insurance premiums under Obamacare. In Ohio the cost of a basic “bronze” plan for a 25 year old will virtually triple to $1,956 a year. A 25 year old will in Virginia will see a 252% increase for the cheapest (or bronze) plan. BRONZEPlans In other words, it is the Unaffordable Healthcare Act. At least for some. How bad is Obamacare? SO BAD that the Administration unilaterally delayed until 2015 the enforcement of a requirement for businesses to provide workers...

Trying to forecast housing demand is complicated by the abysmal slowdown in jobs growth and more and more young people living in their parent’s basement than before. Another complicating factor is the Affordable Care Act (aka, Obamacare). [The American Action Forum is an excellent source of information on Obamacare]. As a former resident of Ohio and a current resident of Virginia, I was stunned to see the growth in insurance premiums under Obamacare. In Ohio the cost of a basic “bronze” plan for a 25 year old will virtually triple to $1,956 a year. A 25 year old will in...

“Ideally, handguns, which account for more than half of all homicides in the United States, should be banned completely, but we recognize that this is not currently politically feasible,” wrote Dr. Karl P. Adler in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). (1) For years the confiscationist left have fought a losing battle in their attempt to repeal the rights of 100 million American gun owners. Even with the benefit of what dedicated gun grabbers undoubtedly considered a God-send–the brutal murder of 20 children in Newtown, Mass–the right to keep and bear arms has been so jealously guarded and...

As high schools and universities turn out more and more students (like George Mason University), I felt it was time to review the economic environment facing the young people in the US, aka “Millennials.” My conclusion? This is no country for young people. At least in the current state of affairs. Let’s start with healthcare premiums under the “affordable” healthcare act. According to a study by the American Action Forum, 45% of respondents who are currently covered report they would no longer purchase health insurance and would instead pay the penalty each year if their premium costs increase 30% in...

Despite lower poll numbers, Obama is more powerful thanks to spineless GOP (Video)

“It is the easiest thing in the world for a man to look as if he had a great secret in him.” ― Herman Melville, Moby-Dick Again, Weiner Rises To The OccasionNo one has ever accused him of having class Now known to young maidens as Carlos Danger He is considered to be a snake in the grass The cyber world unmasks a wanna be rump ranger Everyone knows the crass and homely Weiner Many were ready to give him the benefit of doubt But placing too much faith in a tainted Weiner Only gave him time, to prove what...

The following literary essay recounts my post-shooting thoughts & experiences specific to getting shot by a black, retired New York City police officer. The whole story soon will be revealed. For now, a snippet. Click through if you wish to read the entire piece via Gravel: A Literary Journal.So this is how my life’s going to end. My mind latches onto the sound of footsteps approaching as I lie face down on the filthy sidewalk. I let my mouth droop open, smuggling and releasing puffs of air through my nostrils, appearing—I hope—to look as if I’ve ceased breathing. I...

For your consideration this July 4th, Papa Possum's latest "The Basement Shelf"

The impeach Obama movement may be coming to an overpass near you. A new activist group is attempting to launch summertime demonstrations across the country demanding that Congress act to impeach the president. The protests will feature groups of anti-Obama activists hanging banners across overpasses above the busiest highways they can find.

Combined with compliant media they seem to.Daniel Duquenal (a pseudonym), my favorite blogger there even before he became the last significant English language blogger in Venezuela, offered some comparisons between the current Venezuelan regime and the regimes in Turkey and Syria. The entire article is interesting and well worth reading. However, I found this paragraph fascinating: Chavez never was a model except for its methods to ensure that gangs of thugs seize and retain power while killing democracy with its own weapons. We did have a Taksim of sorts with Plaza Altamira in 2002-2003 but this is over as the reality...

There is far too much subversion for a small Government to handle. The Administration needs to be protected no matter how high the cost.Considering all the matters with which our grand and glorious Federal Government is forced to deal on a daily basis we need more, not less, of it. It cannot be expected adequately to respond to the many vicious attacks coming from the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy unless it expands sufficiently to deal with them. Here, for example, is a vile attack published by one member of that disgraced conspiracy, the Daily Pest Beast. Following the attack in...

you don’t know how it felt to be in the womb but it must have been at least a little warmer than this. you don’t know how intimately they’re recording your every move on closed-circuit cameras until you see your face reflected back at you through through the pulp. you don’t know how to stop picking at your fingers. you don’t know how little you’ve been paying attention until you look down at your legs again. you don’t know how many times you can say you’re coming until they just stop believing you. you don’t know how orgasmic the act...

RAND PAUL/VAN JONES 2016 Here's an easy way to tell when your position isn't a conservative one. When you're standing with Van Jones, your position isn't a conservative one. When you're standing with Code Pink, then your position is not a conservative one. No amount of noise or chest-beating is going to change that.  The Republican Party has taken a severe beating in the last year. With so many hopes down the drain, some will take a victory where they can find it, even if it's a younger version of Ron Paul. There are Conservative sites that are positively...

How deluded dares a despot?     How desperate and bizarre? Sit back and hear the sad tale of     The Bones of Bolívar.

Jobless claims rise, consumer confidence down. Worst economic recovery since 1882. See chartsat link!

2012 was a grim year. There have been many others. May 2013 and all following years be far better! It's pretty much up to us. There have been reasons for sadness.[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0MklIdTiaU?feature=player_detailpage] Video link If we are to survive as a constitutional republic, our hopes and our spirits must remain high even in the face of defeat.[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GowMI4wvmU4?feature=player_detailpage] Video link We all have work to do. This should help us to do it. One of my favorite poets, Rudyard Kipling, wroteIF you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you...

The Huffington Post published a stern rebuke to celebrities attacking the process of fracking one day before the release of Hollywood's most strident anti-fracking feature. "Promised Land," starring and co-written by Matt Damon, pits a small Pennsylvania town against a very big, very evil natural gas company looking to gobble up fracking-friendly land. The film is getting lukewarm reviews at best, with even Time Magazine's liberal film critic Richard Corliss calling out "Land's" unabashed biases. Left-wingers in the mainstream media — by which I mean me — are supposed to lap up a movie that plays to our farm-loving, tree-hugging...

OptimismRevolution   h/t Vince

If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too: If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or being hated don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise; If you can dream---and not make dreams your master; If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim, If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those...

'Bama Claus Is Spreadin' It Roundoriginal music and lyrics by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie, updated lyrics by Rebel_Ace You better vote "D" And never vote "R" To Get Stuff for Free From the Welfare Czar 'Bama Claus is spreadin' it round 'Bama Claus is spreadin' it round 'Bama Claus is spreadin' it round The Union's got a list, Who voted twice; Show it to the press they put it on ice. 'Bama Claus is spreadin' it round 'Bama Claus is spreadin' it round 'Bama Claus is spreadin' it round The Rich they are not Paying We know how...

Give me something brighter Give me something I can see Give me some ambitions Give me something I can be Give me all the love and peace To end these wars Give me something sacred Something worth fighting for It's clear enough to me The ugliness I see Is evidence of who I need Give me an answer Give me the way out Give me the faith To believe in these hard times Give me the answer Give me the way out Give me the faith To believe in these hard times Give me motivation Give me all my heart's...

Even with Jay-Z and Springsteen they couldn't fill it... Regardless of his own million$ and hot wife, Jay-Z remains an angry, race-obsessed weirdo, apparently unaware that over 80% of the world's black millionaires are AMERICAN, and ONLY because of our country's unique opportunity-based society. The guy's apparently too stoopid to understand why even those of dubious talent -like himself- could always make it BIG in America, all they needed was drive and the chance this country offered us all... but we need from this point forward is OBAMMUNISM, right dude?  Dummy.

This is a blood-bought land We are a blood-bought people The LORD purchased our souls Patriots gave us a nation Bold, courageous Declaring self-evident truth They fought, they died For those they loved With unborn millions not forgotten They accepted and paid the purchase price So that you and I could be free Oh, what a supreme shame it would be To fail to pass along this precious gift To our posterity

With a respectful nod to Ernest Thayer, TalkingSides presents... Obama At The Debates The outlook was quite rosy for the president that day The polls showed just a tiny lead but the media had its say So even though there seemed to be no need to play the game To Denver went the candidates to rumble just the same. As sixty million plus tuned in and Lehrer took his seat The expectation was Barack Obama can't be beat Some thought if Mr. Romney could just hold his own a bit He'd live to fight another day if not, this would...

Been into Steve Miller ever since the very first time I heard 'The Joker' on my Philco made-in-Japan pocket transistor radio in Summer of '73... even if I was too young to understand exactly what he was singing about. But it was 1976's Fly Like an Eagle that really put the Steve Miller Band on the map. Although lyrical themes range from redistribution to anarchy, Miller's slick, understated slide-guitar sound and hook-laden songwriting have rendered me a lifelong fan. Besides the eponymous single, two others came from this fine album- 'Rock n' Me' and 'Take the Money and Run'... as the LP...

For 9/11, the 10th year tribute by political satirist Papa Possum.

It's your misfortune and none of my own. I wish. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aTQWC7crW4?feature=player_detailpage] Here is the YouTube link"Dogies," of course, refers to young cows destined to be fattened, eventually to be slaughtered and served for our dining pleasure. I was reminded of a poem by W. H. Auden this morning when it was noted in a comment at a PJ Tatler article. The article deals with the self-revelatory "We all belong to Government" video proudly shown yesterday at the DNC and which the National Committee later attempted, kinda sorta, to disavow. Perhaps I was wrong and so were others in thinking...

Why can't I just eat my waffle Now go eat your peas Can I get a shout out in the white hizzo please I've now been in 57 states and I think one to go When I was in college I enthusiastically did blow I enacted wealth redistribution cause I gutsta get mine I hear the private sector is doing fine If I had a son he would look like me The Cambridge police acted stupidly After the bill is passed you will like what you see Arent you glad you voted for me and I hope you still believe...

A mighty sea, on right and left, or starboard-port you see The waves not high, the wind just swift, seems satisfactory. But straight ahead, the sky is dark, and from the sky are bolts The clouds are turning darker still, the horizon terror coats. The barque is tossed, the wind is sharp, the sea turns to a stew. The hands take hold, the feet are braced, by passengers and crew. Why fret this course, we’ve chosen here, we sail complacently, Why question now, our past provides, we’ll arrive assuredly. Ah yes! for sure, a sigh is let, from all...

The Obama campaign is founded upon the unholy spirits of hate, lies and decay. America must cast the Obama infection out of it's heart before our substance is all spent. America under Obama is diminishing under every blow administered by this Islamo-Marxist-Chicago Gangster. The sordid nature of the Liar In Chief, Obama, has been sealed and hidden away. This unknown, sordid individual connived himself into the seat of power and he uses hate and lies to deceive America again. Hundreds of millions of dollars are being poured into a campaign of evil illusion. The image of the beast of human...

"Meet The Parents....of alias Barack Obama. Black Sunni Muslim father and White Lebanese Christian mother. Born in the ME, raised in Indonesia, became BHO II in 1982." Dr. Ron J. Polland The “Mal-Val” youtube video at the link was posted by FReeper Polarik (Dr. Ron Polland) in August of 2011 and while morphing the image of a woman named “Val” into an image of Obama, he insinuates that “Val” is Obama’s mom. One year later this youtube has only 1,150 views. In July 2012, two FReepers associated the woman, “Val,” in Polarik’s Youtube with Lebanese actress Valerie Sarruf and have...

Seems that clear warnings re. the Democatic Party's actual, undeclared intentions have been falling on deaf ears for over 60 years now...

During the 2008 Presidential campaign, Barack Obama made a briefly reported “gaffe” where he said he’d been in “all 57 states and had one to go, the 58th. It got a laugh from most Republicans and was buried by the mainstream media. Was our President sending a signal to folks who might interpret as intended? Maybe it was just a coincidence, but it took me 4 years for it to click. (REF: Media Research Council – NY Times Watch, 11/15/2011 or Google it) Jump ahead to the 2012 Republican primaries when Rick Perry had a momentary lapse and couldn’t remember...

Meet Sheldon, a feel good, pure-blood Wisconsinite who just wants to ignore the recall.

Today, I’m going to use economics to dissect “The Fairy’s Mistake” by Gail Carson Levine: 87 short pages that can be read in an hour. Levine writes charming fairy tales. “Ella Enchanted”, probably her most famous, is about how the use of power leads to unintended consequences, and why liberty is to be desired above all else but requires hard work and bravery to attain. “The Fairy’s Mistake” is also about unintended consequences.

Prog Spring of 2012 continues. Today we meet OccuPoet Misty Rowan of Minneapolis, who will grace us with one of her poems. Misty came to my attention via this THREAD in DUmmieland, "Our Amazing Occupy Poet!" I watched the video, and yes, I was amazed . . . at what passes for poetry with the OWSies and the DUmmies. And seeing Misty of Minneapolis, I was reminded of Ted of New York. You know, Trust Fund Ted? Ted Hall, Tedward, Edward Twitchell Hall III, Flea-bagger Ted, Our Favorite OWSie. Remember when we introduced you to Ted "Help us now!"...

The Shot heard around the World! This phrase has come to represent the beginning of many historical events - like the American Revolution (1775 - 1783). And its genesis can be traced to Ralph Waldo Emerson's Concord Hymn - "Here once the embattled farmers stood, And fired the shot heard round the world ..." Emerson words immortalized the American Minutemen resistance to the British forces back in 1775, as the British were on a mission to seize and destroy the American militia ammunition and weapons. Emerson's poem marks the Battle of Lexington and Concord (April 19, 1775), the start of...

Wow, this appened right here in southeast Texas. A theater arts department professor, Linda Ozmun, at Lamar University in Beaumont, TX had no problem doing her job. She was teaching kids about theater arts. That was her job and she was doing it just fine. The school wanted more than that though. According to a lawsuit that the terminated professor filed, the school chairwoman Judith Sebesta, and eventually the Dean, told her that she had to attend a vulgar gay pride play, by Tim Miller, or else she would be terminated. The professor is a Christian who did not want...

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Louis Farrakhan, the controversial leader of the Nation of Islam, has accepted an invitation from a coalition of student groups to speak at Alabama A&M University on April 10, The Times' news partner, WHNT News 19, reports. The Alabama A&M Poetry Club and the Alabama A&M Democrats were two of the student groups who invited Farrakhan to speak, according to WHNT. Poetry club president Kris Taylor told WHNT the Farrakhan appearance, which comes on the heels of anti-Jewish comments by the Nation of Islam leader, is intended to "uplift" and bring "positive energy." "There's going to be...

The Trigger Maru I'm the Galloping Ghost of the Japanese Coast by Constantine Guinness, Motor Machinist's Mate First Class (MOMM 1/c), United States Navy I'm the galloping ghost of the Japanese coast. You don't hear of me and my crew But just ask any man off the coast of Japan. If he knows of the Trigger Maru. I look sleek and slender alongside my tender. With others like me at my side, But we'll tell you a story of battle and glory, As enemy waters we ride. I've been stuck on a rock, felt the depth charge's shock, Been north...

"folks faint all the time at my events." - President Obama at recent campaign rally Fake fanaticism or real rapture? Either way would be kind of disturbing. During 2008, Michael Medved on his radio program brought to my attention a strange phenomenon of people fainting at Barack Obama campaign rallies. It was still happening in 2009, 2010; and, well, it is happening again in 2012: For President Obama, the fainting spells are back. A woman listening to the president discuss his energy policy in Maryland on Thursday fainted among the standing-room-only crowd. At a rally at Prince George’s Community College...

CALLS NEEDED NOW! You are receiving this email because you signed up for Santorum Call from Home   CALLS NEEDED NOW! ALABAMA, MISSISSIPPI, HAWAII PRIMARIES TOMORROW   CallFromHome.RickSantorum.com ALABAMA, MISSISSIPPI, & HAWAII GO TO THE POLLS IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS! With tight races in Alabama, Mississippi and Hawaii tomorrow, every vote will make a difference.  Personal calls from volunteers are one of the most effective ways to reach undecided voters. 20 calls today may be the deciding factor tomorrow. Thank you for being a key part of the grassroots effort to help Rick Santorum become our next president! ...

I love my job. I love fighting for what I believe in. I love having fun while doing it. I love reporting stories that the Complex refuses to report. I love fighting back, I love finding allies, and—famously—I enjoy making enemies. Three years ago, I was mostly a behind-the-scenes guy who linked to stuff on a very popular website. I always wondered what it would be like to enter the public realm to fight for what I believe in. I’ve lost friends, perhaps dozens. But I’ve gained hundreds, thousands—who knows?—of allies. At the end of the day, I can...

Our offspring and culture is the most successful feature of the History of Mankind. Ancient Rome and Greece have nothing on Scandinavia of today, nor what we did some centuries after Rome came down. No, I'm not a Racist - and I furthermore am more than a true friend of Italy and Greece. But I do not believe there's a point in denying the fact that Viking Culture has played a major role in shaping the World of today. Have a look at it. Britain, North America, Scandinavia, Germany, etc. in one way or another, all were formed by the...

Bring Spoken Word to CPAC Conservatives constantly clamor that they need to find a way to approach more demographics – particularly minorities and the youth. Yet, when events like the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) come around, you see mainly old, rich, white men speaking on stage for hours and hours. Sometimes, they spice it up with my girl Phyllis Schlafly. Don’t get me wrong, I love listening to speakers as much as the next conservative. However, why not try a tactic that the left uses so well? The arts.Hear me out before you write me off as a right-brained...

Outdoors advocate & defender, Judge Bob Moon, 60 Popular Hamilton County (Chattanooga, Tenn.) General Sessions Court Judge Bob Moon, known for his outdoors advocacy and strict dealings with game law violators, died Wednesday from an apparent heart attack. He was 60. In 2008, Judge Moon made national headlines when he advised a woman who had been pulled from her car and beaten in the head to "purchase a weapon, obtain a gun permit and learn to protect yourself." He will be missed. Richard Simms at Nooga.com.