Hulver's site || fascist Nazi editor atreides HQ

Diaries
Everything
Who's Online?
FAQ / Help

Friday Wrapup

By Bob Abooey (Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 01:49:11 PM EST) (all tags)

The B.A.D.^tm

Taking it hard to the hole since 1977...

Why would anyone care where the leader of the Red Cross puts his weenie as long as it's consensual??? What the hell is wrong with our country anyways? Are the right-wing religious nutters winning?

I get a big kick out of the growing battle between Rudi "I married my cousin" 911 Guliani and Mitt "I hire illegal aliens" Romney. IS THIS REALLY THE BEST THE GOP CAN OFFER??? Maybe they can field a candidate who actually married his cousin who happened to also be an illegal alien? That would be real cool!

And this sums up my feelings exactly.

To wit: And what about people who saved up for down payments and got responsible mortgages? This policy seems like a slap in the face to them. They're suckers. They should have been irresponsible with their debts and bought unaffordable houses with 2/28 subprime ARMs instead of being responsible, right? Is it good policy to reward subprime borrowers and make prime borrowers feel like schmucks?

Amen my brother. Amen. I think the government should step in and bail out all the people who eat unhealthy food at McDonalds. Those poor victims, they're forced to eat all the unhealthy food because McDonalds makes it taste soo good. Indeed, we should have legislation that prohibits stupid people from eating fast food. In fact I'm off to write my Congressman to that effect right now!

Brett Farve. Hurt. Right before the playoffs. Fucker. Now I'm looking at starting Jeff Friggin Garcia. Meh.

Also - can any of you smelly tree hugging long haired unkempt hippies tell me which loonux distro would work best on a sparc64 platform with SMP?

Right. Have a most pleasant weekend ya smarmy bastards.

< A Day in the Life | BBC White season: 'Rivers of Blood' >

Login

Poll

Votes: 12
Results	\|	Other Polls

Related Links

- Red Cross puts his weenie
- "I hire illegal aliens"
- this sums up my feelings exactly
- Bob Abooey's Diary

Google

Comment Controls

Friday Wrapup | 34 comments (34 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback

Solaris 10 runs kde by georgeha (2.00 / 0) #1 Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 02:03:58 PM EST

at least ours does.

: Ugh by Bob Abooey (2.00 / 0) #2 Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 02:09:39 PM EST

I'll likely run Gnome or CDE on Solaris 10, I'm no fan of the Krap Desktop Environment.
I downloaded Solaris 10 and FreeBSD for the Ultra but want to try a looniux disto too. Hell - this thing is so fast I can probably run Solaris and loonux at the same time!!
Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob
How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.
[ Parent ]

From the WaPo by wiredog (2.00 / 0) #3 Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 02:23:40 PM EST

Achenblog on the Republicans:

Mitt Romney. He appeared to need GPS to find his core beliefs.

Romney was at his worst on the torture question. McCain, who clearly despises Romney and can't believe that this invertebrate is beating him in the polls in Iowa and New Hampshire, has a couple of natural foils in Romney and Ron Paul. McCain surely feels that Romney wouldn't need to be waterboarded to be persuaded to change a position -- just wave a wet napkin at him and he'd break.

And more

The Democrats, to be sure, aren't holding hands around a campfire. No one has ever accused the Democratic front-runner of being cuddly. Edwards tried to flay a little hide off of Clinton recently, but he's too pretty to be a truly nasty man. As for Obama, who was it who came up with that great line about "he has an instinct for the capillary"? Dodd and Richardson are your favorite drinkin' buddies. Kucinich couldn't instill fear in a squirrel. Even Biden has turned into your funny, eccentric uncle. And more generally, a number of the core Democratic issues are nurture-oriented, touchy-feely sorts of things [see writer's heroic refusal to use "Mommy Party" label], while the Republican core issues are more oriented toward things like -- how to phrase this delicately -- well, killing people. Guns, war, the death penalty, torture, fire and brimstone, eternal gnashing of teeth in the molten fires of Hell, and so on.

It's the Hell party vs. the Heck party. Something like that.

There is no relationship on the Democratic side that seethes with the level of hatred that you can discern between McCain and Romney. McCain would sooner vote for Noam Chomsky than Romney. McCain's whole pitch is authenticity; Romney's as authentic as a Twinkie. The real contest between McCain and Giuliani is over who can hate Romney more.

Earth First!
_{(We can strip mine the rest later.)}

: Aye by Bob Abooey (2.00 / 0) #7 Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 02:48:37 PM EST

There's no question that the Republicans are far more entertaining right now, which is a surprise given that the Dems have a broad and a negroe as the front runners right now.
Well, unless you consider Dennis "Women are from Venus and Cleveland Congressman are from Mars" Kucinich, but he's entertaining on a totally different level so he really doesn't count.
Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob
How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.
[ Parent ]
: None of those descriptions by cam (2.00 / 0) #19 Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 06:32:01 PM EST

had anything to do with policy or past service.
cam
Freedom, liberty, equity and an Australian Republic
[ Parent ]

RedHat/Fedora by wiredog (2.00 / 0) #4 Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 02:29:45 PM EST

They used to test all their stuff on SparcStations. Don't know if they still do, or what version you'd want.

Earth First!
_{(We can strip mine the rest later.)}

Ah by Bob Abooey (2.00 / 0) #5 Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 02:40:11 PM EST

Aurora Loonux looks to be an offshoot of the Red Fedora brand.

I'll give it a go. Red Hat made Loonux 5.0 which was my first loonux install in 1997 (had to do it by hand as my cd player wasn't supported!) so this will be like going down memory lane, sort of.

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob

How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.
[ Parent ]

Meh by Bob Abooey (2.00 / 0) #6 Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 02:43:14 PM EST

On second thought I'll pass on that as it's 8 friggin CD's. 8 CD's for Christs sake for friggin loonux!

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob

How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.
[ Parent ]

That would strain your dial up by georgeha (2.00 / 0) #8 Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 02:50:17 PM EST

[ Parent ]

Well by Bob Abooey (2.00 / 0) #10 Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 03:03:45 PM EST

Truth be told I'm having my friend download them for me.

He's got a T1 turbo connection or something crazy like that at work so he can download crap in nothing flat for me! I just don't want to be bothered with burning all those CD's. 5 for Solaris was bad enough.

In fact if anyone wants to purchase Solaris 10 CD's or DVD's let me know - I'm selling them for $299 for the set for a limited time only.

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob

How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.
[ Parent ]

I could cover our house in our spare Solaris by georgeha (2.00 / 0) #12 Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 03:16:41 PM EST

CDs and DVDs.

[ Parent ]

How far back? by Bob Abooey (2.00 / 0) #18 Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 05:03:47 PM EST

Do you have any versions of SunOS?

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob

How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.
[ Parent ]

8 would be easy, I might be able to get 6 or 5 by georgeha (2.00 / 0) #20 Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 06:40:06 PM EST

though they're not complete SunOS, most of the developer tools are missing.

It's moot anyhow, you don't want to give up your real life address.

[ Parent ]

: I've got 7 and 8 by Bob Abooey (2.00 / 0) #22 Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 09:19:25 PM EST

I'd like to get some of the older versions too. I'm sure I can get them off ebay for a couple bucks.
Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob
How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.
[ Parent ]

odds and ends by lm (2.00 / 0) #9 Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 02:58:24 PM EST

On Mark Everson: Dorking subordinate employee is an abuse of power. No one would have cared who he inserted his pecker so long as he didn't have the authority to fire the insertee.

On mortgages: I'm against the bail out but you're pointing the finger in the wrong direction. It's the mortgage brokers, mortgage banks, appraisers, security ratings firms and investment banks that designed a bubble that was bound to burst sooner or later. The best solution I've heard is to force the foreclosing banks to rent the properties to the foreclosees at fair market rates so long as the former mortgage holders can afford to make payments.

There is no more degenerate kind of state than that in which the richest are supposed to be the best.
Cicero, The Republic

res by Bob Abooey (2.00 / 0) #11 Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 03:15:02 PM EST

re the one: He didn't fire her though, no? That's like saying you should be put in jail because you might beat your wife.

re the two: I just don't get that. If fraud was committed then let the legal system take care of those people. Meanwhile where's the personal responsibility? I used to get pre-approved credit cards with insane limits on them sent to me while I was an unemployed looser attending the Uni. I had enough sense to toss them in the trash. By your rationale we should incarcerate all the people who own fast food restaurants because they're shortening the life of the people who eat that crap.

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob

How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.
[ Parent ]

no no by sasquatchan (4.00 / 1) #21 Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 07:50:04 PM EST

he should be put in jail because he is a man, and might molest children next to him on the plane.. Ya gotta keep up with the times here, bob.

[ Parent ]

: Aye by Bob Abooey (4.00 / 1) #23 Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 09:22:04 PM EST

He would have turned out much better if only he'd joined the wrestling team in high school.
Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob
How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.
[ Parent ]

No one said he should go to jail by lm (4.00 / 1) #24 Sat Dec 01, 2007 at 10:08:06 AM EST

Being fired is a good remedy. Aside from which husbands don't have the same level of authority over wives as CEOs do over employees so your analogy fails. It's nothing like putting a man in jail just because he has the potential to possibly beat his wife. For a CEO to begin a sexual relationship with a subordinate is an abuse of power. If he really wants her that much, he can go get a new job and then try to get down her pants.

Some of the consumers in the sub-prime mortgage mess are certainly morally culpable. But the fact remains that all sorts of moral failures took place at different levels in the industry.

Mortgage brokers inadequately explained how various loans worked. In some cases, they also perpetuated fraud but there is a lot of room to give entirely misrepresentative understandings of various mortgage products without crossing the legal line to fraud.
Mortgage underwriters approved mortgages they knew would fail. This may be stupidity but it isn't fraud.
Mortgage banks paid for evaluations of mortgage backed securities from rating analysts who only get paid if the banks like the ratings. No fraud here. It's unethical, but it isn't illegal.
Investment banks bought these securities despite knowing that the ratings were garbage. No fraud here either.

So you've got a whole chain of unethical behavior going on. The consumer signing on the dotted line is a very small part of the problem. And, I would argue, in most cases the consumer either doesn't have the intelligence to really understand the risks or hasn't been given adequate education regarding finances. As a WAG, I'd estimate that about a quarter to a third of the people getting screwed on these mortgages really knew what they were getting into. But, more importantly, the other moral decisions involved were made by people who knew better. The tremendous negative fallout that is happening right now is the direct result of banking and investment policies decided upon by people who fully understood what was going on. Hence, the primary moral blame belongs squarely on their shoulders.

There is no more degenerate kind of state than that in which the richest are supposed to be the best.
Cicero, The Republic
[ Parent ]

reing the res by Bob Abooey (2.00 / 0) #26 Sun Dec 02, 2007 at 09:56:26 AM EST

One - I was exaggerating to make a point. It's what I do. That said I'm not budging a bit on that one. Unless he's abusing his power then he shouldn't be penalized just for being in a position to abuse it.

Two - I'm willing to assume all 4 of your points are true. That doesn't change my stance at all because from my perspective the whole capitalistic system is based on companies using "tricks" (otherwise called lies otherwise called marketing) to get people to buy their stuff so they can make money and none of those companies care if you can afford what you're purchasing as long as they get their money.

The fact remains that people bought homes they couldn't afford because they were either willfully ignorant or too stupid to know the difference between being able to make the initial monthly payment and being able to afford the house.

I don't think you need to be too bright to know that an ADJUSTABLE RATE mortgage has the potential to go up, and almost certainly will. I also don't think you have to be too smart to spend 2 minutes on google to find the standard formula for how much you can afford.

Anyone who bought a house with with a no-money-down-sub-prime-ARM and claims they had no idea what they were getting into is dumber than a box of rocks or completely full of shit, I don't see any way around it.

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob

How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.
[ Parent ]

ignorance isn't an moral failing by lm (2.00 / 0) #27 Sun Dec 02, 2007 at 03:11:12 PM EST

Taking advantage of other people's ignorance is a moral failing.

On the other issue, you're being willfully ignorant. Having a sexual relationship with a subordinate is not a potential abuse of power. It is an actual abuse of power. There can be no true freely given consent in such an unequal relationship.

There is no more degenerate kind of state than that in which the richest are supposed to be the best.
Cicero, The Republic
[ Parent ]

Soooo by Bob Abooey (2.00 / 0) #28 Sun Dec 02, 2007 at 08:54:16 PM EST

You think they're all victims then? All those poor people who went, of their own free will, into those mortgage brokerage places and of their own free will signed the dotted line for documents they either didn't understand or didn't care to understand are all victims?

Boy - we've sure got a different viewpoint on the subject of personal responsibility.

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob

How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.
[ Parent ]

Okay, let's talk about personal responsibility by lm (2.00 / 0) #29 Sun Dec 02, 2007 at 10:13:57 PM EST

I'd say that to be a morally responsible agent that a person has to (a) have sufficient intellect to be morally cognizant and (b) has to be sufficiently educated in morality.

So in this particular instance, it means that the people in question have to (a) have sufficient intellect to understand how these loans work and (b) have been properly educated in finance to the point where they comprehend how these loans work.

There is a segment of society who meet these criteria. Most of them choose not to take these loans. Some do. They are part of the problem. But I'd be surprised if most of the people taking these loans meet the criteria.

The real problem is the choices of several groups of people who not only have sufficient intellect to know better but have also been well trained in finance who have designed these programs to prey on those who are ignorant, stupid or both. For example, before one of these loans can be approved, some of the following has to happen:

A mortgage broker sold a product that wasn't right for an individual to that individual.
A mortgage underwriter approved a mortgage to an individual that, statistically speaking, was likely to default.
An appraiser overstated the value of the house.
A mortgage banker paid a securities ratings firm, insisting on a good rating for a bundle of loans known to be likely to be defaulted on.
A securities analyst gage a good rating to this bundle of loans because an accurate rating would have resulted in not being paid.
Investment banks bought these bundles of loans knowing that they were bad.

Here's six different stops on the railway leading to this train wreck where the train could have been stopped by people who knew better. The problem isn't that stupid people and uneducated exist and make bad decisions, that's just a fact of life. The problem is that people who knew better took advantage of that. Answer me this, why hasn't their been a nation-wide housing shake up like this in almost a hundred years? Are people growing more stupid, more uneducated, and/or more greedy? I doubt that very much. Human nature doesn't change much. What has changed are bank regulations (or more accurately the lack thereof) and an increase in poor corporate governance.

Or put another way, who has more personal responsibility for the way this brouhaha might personally affect you, the guy who took out a single loan he couldn't afford or the guy who approved a couple hundred of loans that he knew the borrower would be unable to pay?

There is no more degenerate kind of state than that in which the richest are supposed to be the best.
Cicero, The Republic
[ Parent ]

We've come full circle here by Bob Abooey (2.00 / 0) #30 Mon Dec 03, 2007 at 10:38:23 AM EST

And I've already agreed with you on those points and I've already stated my response which I'll restate again: my car will go 110 mph, therefore you claim it's Honda's fault if I get a speeding ticket, I say it's MY fault because I'm responsible for knowing the speed limit and for understanding that just because my car will go 110 it doesn't mean I have to drive that fast.

Also - The US has experienced two years of negative savings (first time since the depression according to NPR) so one could say that people are indeed getting more stupider.

In fact I'll wager that a majority of the people who have a house go into foreclosure were also leasing an SUV at one point over the past few years. I have no data to support that, it's' just a hunch.

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob

How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.
[ Parent ]

If your serious about the Honda analogy ... by lm (2.00 / 0) #31 Mon Dec 03, 2007 at 12:18:50 PM EST

... you're arguing that there should be no speed limits because everyone should personally accept responsibility for how fast they are driving. Rather than the state enforcing minimum education and competency requirements as it does now, you appear to think that anyone should be allowed to drive so long as they take personal responsibility for the results of their actions.

There is no more degenerate kind of state than that in which the richest are supposed to be the best.
Cicero, The Republic
[ Parent ]

We're getting close by Bob Abooey (2.00 / 0) #32 Mon Dec 03, 2007 at 12:51:21 PM EST

I'm all for having laws. I've stated if the laws were broken (and I don't doubt some were) then the offenders should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Same with speeding - I'm quite alright with having legal limits for how fast we can drive.

My Honda analogy speaks directly to me having the means to purchase a product and not be responsible (drive 110 or take out a no-money-down-sub-prime-ARM) because the manufacturer of the product specifically and intentionally made it easy for me to do so. In that case, yes, I think it comes down to personal responsibility.

It's no different than the Payday loan companies or many of the credit card companies who prey on people. I think those companies are slimy and not morally taking the high-ground, but ultimately they are only able to do it because people aren't fiscally responsible. It's always someone else's fault.

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob

How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.
[ Parent ]

I'm not convinced by lm (2.00 / 0) #33 Mon Dec 03, 2007 at 03:02:21 PM EST

The assertion that Honda specifically and intentionally designed a car to be operated at unsafe speeds is rather dubious. That some mortgage vendors specifically and intentionally designed some products that they knew could not be paid back is not.

There is no more degenerate kind of state than that in which the richest are supposed to be the best.
Cicero, The Republic
[ Parent ]

: Of course they do by Bob Abooey (2.00 / 0) #34 Mon Dec 03, 2007 at 04:13:24 PM EST

They don't put any sort of speed limiter device on it. The Speedometer goes up to 140. I'd say it's obvious they designed that car to be able to go at least 110. Sure - they may not want you to drive it that fast, but they certainly built it to go that fast.
Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob
How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.
[ Parent ]

Mortgages by ucblockhead (2.00 / 0) #13 Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 03:21:48 PM EST

I'm of two minds. On the one hand, yeah, I'm a bit irked that some idiot who took the shitty loan because he was too deluded to read the fine print is going to pay less than I am, because I stupidly took the ultra-safe fixed-rate loan with payments well under my salary.

On the other hand, all those idiots will drive the price of my house down if the bank forecloses and worse, if all those idiots go broke, they'll stop buying 46" LCD TVs and my own job will be less secure.
----
_{ウセーバラケダ}

That's the rub by Bob Abooey (2.00 / 0) #14 Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 03:40:18 PM EST

If you don't bail them out then you have decreasing property values (empty houses etc) which leads to a decreased tax base which causes all sorts of problems.

Frankly I don't think owning a home is the right of a US American citizen, I don't get how some of these people think. I say if we're going to bail them out them make them pay (you and I are already paying for it yet they get off scott free????), like maybe make them indentured servants or something like that.

Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob

How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.
[ Parent ]

too bad for me by alprazolam (2.00 / 0) #15 Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 04:21:23 PM EST

those rubes don't buy million dollar infrared detection and target acquisition systems.

[ Parent ]

: You should be thankful by ucblockhead (4.00 / 1) #16 Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 04:28:27 PM EST

Target acquisition systems are a recession proof industry!
----
_{ウセーバラケダ}
[ Parent ]
: Well by Bob Abooey (4.00 / 1) #17 Fri Nov 30, 2007 at 04:40:52 PM EST

If you offered some better financing options I'd be interested in buying a couple of those.
Warmest regards,
--Your best pal Bob
How's my blogging: Call me at 209.867.5309 to complain.
[ Parent ]

That is true ... by lm (4.00 / 2) #25 Sat Dec 01, 2007 at 10:12:19 AM EST

... but I think you're forgetting that without the ability to use an overvalued house as an ATM machine, people wouldn't have been buying nearly as many of those large screen tvs over the past decade. Your employer has profited from this mess. Now they're going to lose from it. Over the long term, it will probably average out.

There is no more degenerate kind of state than that in which the richest are supposed to be the best.
Cicero, The Republic
[ Parent ]

Friday Wrapup | 34 comments (34 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback