While the NAHB and the Fed tout their make believe recovery based on wishes and slight of hand, in the real world demand doesn't exist. How can there possibly be any real need for new housing when there are so many sitting empty. And this doesn't even count the houses that should have been foreclosed but haven't been because the banks don't want to recognize the loss.
There is NO RECOVERY and there won't be until all of the debt is washed from the system. We have to face reality and deal with this problem head on. Recognize the truth; our system is beyond repair. Turn off the switch and let it collapse. We'll deal with the pain; and we know it will be really, really bad. There is no good choice or solution here and trying to just keep it creeping along is only delaying the inevitable and causing the certain crash to be that much worse.
We need to admit we are sick, take our medicine like adults and move on for the sake of future generations. It's our moral responsibility and we can't shirk it. And wouldn't Lent be the perfect time for a serious national act of contrition anyway?
"The National Association of Home Builders said Tuesday its housing market index rose 2 points in February, a sign that low interest rates and federal tax credits are boosting demand for new homes.
The builders group said the index reached 17 in February, after falling for two consecutive months.
The increase might signal that builders are feeling better about prospects after data that the job market could be improving. The Labor Department reported last week the number of newly laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits fell to 43,000 — the lowest level in a month.
Interest rates for mortgages are hovering about 5 percent, pushed down by the Federal Reserve's program to buy mortgage-backed securities. Builders say they are seeing the effects of the tax credits of up to $8,000 for first-time buyers and $6,500 for current homeowners who move.
"Builders are slightly more optimistic that the housing recovery is finally beginning to take root," said Bob Jones, the builder's group chairman."
"The “shadow inventory” of bank-repossessed properties, as well as distressed mortgages facing foreclosure, will take nearly three years to clear at the current sales rate, according to a report from the credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P). The analysts add that during this period many servicers will likely shift their emphasis from mortgage modification to loan liquidation.
The “shadow inventory” of homes includes all delinquent loans and real-estate owned (REO) property that has not reached the market. REO property are foreclosed homes taken back by the bank for liquidation. As for the total amount of homes in the shadow inventory, Amherst Securities places the total at 7m. The Royal Bank of Scotland found 2.7m, and First American CoreLogic counted 1.7m.
S&P estimates the inventory to equal a 33-month supply of homes. Analysts added the estimate is actually conservative, as they did not assume homes not showing signs of distress would default and push the overhang of supply even further.
Furthermore, court delays, political pressure and servicing backlogs constricted the flow of foreclosures hitting the market to a trickle. These delinquent borrowers who have not received a foreclosure fuel the “rapidly” growing shadow inventory of properties, according to the report.
“Overall, it is our opinion that recent positive housing reports should not be construed as a sign that the distress in the residential housing market is abating, but rather should be attributed to the temporarily limited supply of homes on the market,” according to the report."
For those that say the War Between the States is ancient history and has no bearing on current affairs, welcome to Missouri!!
"City government leaders renewed their push to place the St. Louis Police Department under local control Monday at a lengthy hearing in Jefferson City.
Supporters of the legislation say returning control of the St. Louis police force to City Hall would increase transparency and accountability. Mayor Francis Slay, who has long campaigned for ending the state control, testified before the House Special Committee on Urban Issues in favor of the bill, saying returning the police department to local control would make for a better department...
The St. Louis Police Department Board of Commissioners has run the department since the Civil War, when pro-slavery officials in the capital wanted control of the anti-slavery city's armory. Kansas City is the only other American city of comparable size with a police department controlled by the state."
The state was given authority over the St. Louis police by the Federal Government after the elected government of Missouri was driven from the state and a Union puppet government had been installed. The purpose was to protect the arsenal at St. Louis. However, this form of Police Board was common in the country at the time. Most had switched to local control by 1900. But not my beloved state of Missouri.
I really need to read up on this issue if I can find some good history about it. My guess is that since by the early 1880's Missouri politics were once again in firm command of the Southern Democrat interests, they may have found control useful since the real hotbeds of Unionism and Republican support could be found primarily in our two largest cities. Control of the police would have been useful in controlling the polls, along with the use of the local muscle, such as Egan's Rats and later on Harry Truman's benefactor, Boss Tom Pendergast.
Anyway, I just thought that it's interesting how history never really goes away. We are affected by it every day of our lives. Those that fail to pay attention to it do so at their own peril. Nearly everything that is happening today has happened before, to one extent or another. If you want to know what's coming you just have to look backwards to see what has happened.
Learn your history to prepare for our immediate future. We are doing nearly the same things that we did after the 1929 crash, things which deepened the depression and prolonged the pain. Why should it be any different this time around?
This video addresses the key problem in the USCCB scandal; should the Church endorse any political party, whether explicitly or implicitly? The answer, in my opinion, is yes; but only in so far as the party agrees with the truth, not because of any political agenda. That is at the core of the problem with the American Bishops. Instead of holding the politicians to the fire and demanding they uphold the truth the Bishops have seemingly decided to change Church teaching to make it more pleasing to the political point of view they and their politician friends adhere to.
I've been reading a lot of Pope Benedict's speeches and papers lately and I gotta hand it to him; he does exactly what he should. He slavishly follows the truth, aggravating those on the left (Progressives, environmentalists, USCCB) and those on the right (Neo-cons, bankers, trad-caths) with his incredibly robust teachings regarding the Catholic faith. Instead of supporting any political agenda he challenges the politicians to support Christ.
Read "Where Liberalism is Headed" atCommentarius de Prognosticis. At the end of his post Ioannes had this to say:
"From this discussion it is readily apparent that there is no longer enough capitol around to build any new nuclear power plants. Such is the legacy of Obamolech and his supporters."
As much as I hate to say it, my guess is that the limited capital available will be used to fund the military to allow the government to keep the people in check as the entire system collapses.
Math doesn't lie. We have created an unsustainable debt and it is going to destroy us. So we're left with two options; we can try to print so much money that we can inflate away the debt or we can default. Either way, we are facing the end of life as we've known it.
Personally I'd rather we man up, admit we can't keep up the charade and default. This would require us to remove ourselves from the world stage, concentrate on the space inside our borders and live within the limits established by the Constitution.
There is no reason we can't survive on our own. It won't be easy, at first. We'll have to learn to accept limits on consumption and become individually much more self sufficient. We'll have to learn to live locally. By this I mean we need to start looking to our neighbors for the goods we can't produce ourselves. As far as transportation goes, the railroads are still here and they can move goods quite efficiently, even using steam. The people will have to go back to walking, riding a bike or using horses for the most part. We will need some local means of exchange, some form of currency and barter, something that we produce ourselves. All currency should be created through labor, not debt as we've done for the last century.
We need to return to a more Jeffersonian model of existence, every man responsible for himself and his family. Government will be mostly at a local level, too, with a good deal more citizen control and interaction. Our lives will revolve around an area that is basically walkable. We won't have to concern ourselves with anything else.
Because that's been the problem; the explosion in central government control begun by Lincoln saw its logical conclusion when Teddy Roosevelt turned us into an Empire. We lost our internal and naturally local focus and started concentrating on the world. Our founders never intended this and in fact warned against it.
By the grace of God the American people will recognize the path we're on and choose to collapse in an orderly fashion. The problem is our political leadership needs to step up and take the lead. We are at one of those pivotal moments in history where a leader can come forward and take us to the promised land. Of course, just like the Exodus, we are going to have to suffer our forty years in the desert.
The sooner we embrace voluntary devolution of our economic system and a return to the American Republic of sovereign states as designed by the Founders the better off we'll be. Unfortunately, instead of Moses we seem to be led by mostly self serving opportunists with no capacity for truth or hardship. Our leaders are not speaking the truth to the people so most are not aware of what's coming and will not accept it if they are told. We've squandered the time we should have used to prepare the people and now it's too late. Greece is us. Everything that is happening in Europe is coming our way, sooner rather than later.
So buckle up and read your history. Go back and look at America in the period 1870-1890. Pay attention to how people lived. There was some hint of modern technology, such as electricity in cities, natural gas and telephones. None of this was widespread but it was available. Most long distance transportation of goods was accomplished through steam powered trains. Most people produced some or all of their own food and most of the daily chores were done by hand. Urban life was segregated clearly between those few with a lot of money and everyone else. Money could buy a significant level of comfort. If you worked in an industrial environment the work was hard and dangerous and didn't pay well. If you lived in a city the chances are that you rented. Homeownership among the common people was not widespread. A middle class existed but nowhere near what we see today.
Rural life was just as hard. Most jobs were done by hand so farms were small and supported the family at a subsistence level. If things went well a farmer might produce a tiny surplus to sell. Rural people lived apart from each other and what social life they had revolved around churches and civic organizations. Many would live their entire lives without traveling more than twenty miles from the place they were born.
If we can manage to retain the knowledge that we have acquired over the last hundred years or so we can quickly better our standard of living over our fore fathers. Just our understanding of germs and disease alone puts us miles ahead. No one understood the importance of cleaning their hands back then. Just that simple change could have added years to their lives and reduced the number of diseases that were suffered.
If we collapse our economy in an orderly fashion I believe that this is the life we are returning to. That is, if everything goes really, really well. With a chaotic collapse we stand a very good chance of slipping all the way back to the dark ages.
The people of America and the world need to wake up to what is coming. I think we're starting to but it may be happening too late.
Pray for guidance, understanding and strength. And pray especially for the safety of us all. There will be a lot of death and suffering in our near future and it will affect the good and the bad alike.
"The bishops of New Mexico have voiced opposition to a bill in the state legislature that would create domestic partnerships for opposite- and same-sex couples, saying it would undermine the “true nature” of marriage and would serve as a foundation for the implementation of same-sex “marriage.” Last week the bill passed the Senate Judiciary and Senate Public Affairs Committee. It needed to pass the Senate Finance Committee before heading for a full vote, KFOXTV.com reports."
"...the term nature is sometimes applied to the collection of distinctive features, original or acquired, by which such an individual is characterized and distinguished from others...
...Nature properly signifies that which is primitive and original, or, according to etymology, that which a thing is at birth, as opposed to that which is acquired or added from external sources."
But from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female.
For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother; and shall cleave to his wife.
And they two shall be in one flesh. Therefore now they are not two, but one flesh.
What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Mark 10: 6-9
Marriage:
The social institution under which a man and woman establish their decision to live as husband and wife by legal commitments, religious ceremonies, etc.
At the risk of being called a homophobe, a term I've never understood because opposition to the homosexual rights movement doesn't logically equate to fear of homosexuals, I have to say that I agree whole heartedly with the Bishops in New Mexico. We absolutely must stop the same sex marriage agenda.
Politically my beliefs tend toward the Libertarian. As long as your actions cause harm to no one else, do as you like. Of course, one must be careful to truly recognize when harm is done. It's awfully easy to filter out the true effects of an individual action when the realization of harm would force a curtailment of activities that appeal to us. Been there, done that. I'm the king of self justification. So, as far as I'm concerned, if you want to engage in homosexuality, and you are absolutely sure that your actions are harming no one else, knock your self out. Just don't expect me to applaud your decision or change my life, laws or belief to accommodate you.
And this is what the same sex marriage debate is really all about. It is an attempt to enshrine in law the acceptance of an act that is unnatural and to most abhorrent. Homosexuality is unnatural because it defeats the primary purpose of the sexual act which is to create new life. Sure, sex serves a number of other very legitimate purposes but it's primary reason is to make kids and any use of it outside of that purpose offends the natural law. It's no different than gluttony. While we have to eat and eating is good, gluttony misuses the act of eating and becomes destructive. Homosexuality and any sexual act not open to the creation of life does the same thing to sex.
Homosexuality is also abhorrent to most people, no matter how hard the gay rights advocates work to create in us a sense of shame for this most basic human instinct. Most people DO NOT want to have any sort of sexual contact with others of the same sex. It does not hold any appeal to us. Really, it's just gross.
The advocates of same sex marriage demand that we recognize their unnatural and abhorrent behavior as normal and healthy. To do this they expect us to raise their disordered life style to the same level of acceptability as traditional marriage. Just as they have attempted to change the nature of sex they demand we change the nature of marriage.
The problem is that you can't change the nature of things. Sure, you can change the name or the meaning of the words that describe something but you can't change the thing itself. No matter how you package it homosexuality will always offend the natural law. Likewise, no matter how you try to redefine it, marriage will always be between a man and a woman. It's the very nature of the thing; it has always been and it will always be. Man made laws can't change that; anymore than changing the name of gravity will stop an apple from falling from a tree.
If homosexuals want some sort of legal recognition of their relationships that's a matter for the states to decide. Just don't call it marriage because it isn't and it can't be. We haven't stepped through the looking glass and the natural law still applies to us. Words have meaning; at least they're supposed to. So come up with a new word for your legal unions and quit trying to use ours for the wrong purposes.
"The Missouri Senate has given first-round approval to a wide-ranging bill affecting county and local governments.
The measure includes numerous provisions on issues that have arisen only in some parts of Missouri. One section, proposed by a senator from Columbia, would allow surrounding Boone County to establish a curfew for people younger than 17. Another section would let counties build jails outside the county seat.
The bill also gives some communities permission to levy or increase taxes on hotel and motel guests.
Senators endorsed the bill Wednesday after considering roughly two dozen amendments. Final approval in the Senate would move the measure to the House."
This is almost a man bites dog story. In an age when government, in particular Washington, seems intent on moving power away from the people it warms my heart to see Missouri doing just the opposite. The closer government is to the people the more likely it is that it will govern well. It's actually surprising that the issues mentioned above couldn't be addressed at the local level without having to change a state law. None of these issues should have ever risen beyond a city or county level. (I would guess that these laws are vestiges of the War Between the States when the Federal Government invaded my state and needed to control local resistance. Boone County was right in the middle of this.)
This allows for competition between cities and counties. Let the people decide what amount of government they want in their lives. If local laws become too onerous people will leave for other less restrictive places. But, if the amount of government is "just right" people will flock to a city or county for the perceived benefits.
This is the way our country was designed to function. That's why the states are sovereign political entities. Competition between states and even between the counties within them create growth and innovation. The homogenized, one size fits all behemoth that Washington has been working to create since the wrong side lost in 1865 has had just the opposite effect.
When I was a kid Route 66 was the road we took when we went somewhere. It was the closest thing to a sideshow at the carnival you could find on four wheels. Every town and county was different. Quirky is the only way to describe it. Weird billboards, bizarre buildings, dancing chickens and people that were real characters were the mainstay. Every time we went somewhere I knew adventure lurked around each twist in the road. The entire highway, which was really nothing more than a ribbon of two lane county highways stitched together to form a path across the country, was a testimony to free market entrepreneurism. That's because the businesses along the way didn't have the whole panoply of alphabet soup agencies from a foreign government approving their every decision. To the extent there was any control at all it came from the town or county these businesses resided in; and it was in the best interest of these local governments to see that these businesses flourished.
Traveling by car lets you get a feel for the places you move through in a way that nothing else can. When I was a kid we traveled through a country of individuals working to achieve a dream. Now, when I travel, I drive down an interstate, efficient to be sure, but bland and gray. Each exit has the full complement of McDonalds and Cracker Barrels, one no different than the next. I'm not traveling through Missouri, Phelps County or Rolla anymore; just America, a one size fits all, everything boiled down to the lowest possible denominator kind of place. All is done in the name of corporate efficiency; every hamburger shaped the exact same way for shipping convenience and prepared in a factory environment by slack jawed automatons so that the taste and texture never varies. And not a dancing chicken to be found.
We've lost our soul here in the USA; and our will to live. As we changed from a Republic to an oligarchy the color drained from our faces as we took on the sorry countenance of sheep being led to the slaughter. We have been convinced that hope lies in a good job at a gray corporation and that the reward is a bigger TV and new car. We no longer believe that hope lies in God and our reward here on earth is freedom. No, we've happily traded our real reward for security; we've trade the carnival ride exuberance of risk for the placid congeniality of safety.
But this is a lie. When we rely on others for our safety we can never be safe. Life is not a safe undertaking and no one can make it so. Americans used to embrace the danger; and the adventure. And I used to see that passion along Route 66, when I was a kid and TV's were black and white but America still had color.
It cost the USCCB a minimum of $1000.00 to join this group. They didn't just mistakenly sign up. Membership was a deliberate act and I'd bet they knew exactly what they were joining. All they had to do was look at the LCCR website or read this press release from 2004 to know exactly where our money was going.
If that wasn't enough, the Bishops could have read this review of the 108th Congress published by LCCR and they would have seen just how far to the left this organization tilts.
Read this article by Deal Hudson for more information.
"Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that the antichrist was coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. Thus we know this is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of our number; if they had been, they would have remained with us. Their desertion shows that none of them was of our number. But you have the anointing that comes from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you not because you do not know the truth but because you do, and because every lie is alien to the truth."
1st John 2:18-21
“The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in times of great moral crises maintain their neutrality”
Dante Alighieri
“Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.”
John Quincy Adams
“Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.”
George Washington
“If once the people become inattentive to the public affairs, you and I, and Congress and Assemblies, Judges and Governors, shall all become wolves. It seems to be the law of our general nature, in spite of individual exceptions.”
Thomas Jefferson
" I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me."
Willard Duncan Vandiver
"The issue is, to use a sporting metaphor, whether in the game of life the government shall captain the national team or shall act as referee."
S. Harcourt-Rivington
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
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