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18 Aug 2011 22:15

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Politics: Bachmann warns of “the rise of the Soviet Union”

  • What people recognize is that there’s a fear that the United States is in an unstoppable decline. They see the rise of China, the rise of India, the rise of the Soviet Union and our loss militarily going forward.
  • Michele Bachmann • In a radio interview. Anyone fearing the rise of the Soviet Union can rest easy, as the country hasn’t existed since its collapse twenty years ago. Bachmann has previously claimed that America’s founding fathers “worked tirelessly” to end slavery, and that the Revolutionary War started in New Hampshire. Are we unfairly picking on a popular candidate for making a few innocent gaffes? Or is Bachmann’s tenuous grasp on history a legitimate concern for a candidate seeking the presidency? source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Aug 2011 21:32

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Politics: Don’t get Rick Perry cowboy boots for Christmas

  • 90+ gifts received by Rick Perry during his tenure as Texas Governor
  • 22 of those gifts were pairs of cowboy boots source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Aug 2011 11:52

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Biz: Mortgage rates fall to their lowest level in 50 years

  • 4.15% the current rate for a 30-year fixed loan source
  • » To explain why this is important: Mortgage rates tend to go down when people aren’t buying homes, as an incentive to get them to buy. When the economy was doing well back around 2000, this rate was around 8 percent. Now, the rate is so low that the last time it was this low, 30-year fixed loans weren’t even widely available and the numbers were based on 20 or 25-year fixed loans. This particular statistic has been below 5 percent for the entire year, minus around two weeks.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Aug 2011 11:22

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Biz: S&P facing Justice Department scrutiny over mortgage securities ratings

  • what The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether S&P kept the credit ratings on certain bonds backed by mortgage debt higher in an effort to protect the company’s business concerns.
  • why See: The financial crisis, which happened in part due to toxic mortgage securities that had inflated credit ratings. S&P’s ratings played a huge role in this whole mess, BTW. source
  • » And in case you were wondering: This investigation began before S&P lowered the U.S. credit rating, though there’s a good chance it will now be informed by it. Anyway, if you don’t understand the credit ratings issue, here’s a good way to put it: Companies pay the agencies for high ratings.  Kinda like if Warner Bros. paid Roger Ebert to recommend the latest Harry Potter movie. Now imagine if Ebert recommended “Birdemic” based on his financial interests. This would be extremely unethical behavior for journalists. But did S&P do something like that?
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Aug 2011 10:49

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U.S., World: Delayed reaction of the day: U.S. wants Bashar al-Assad to step down

  • For the sake of the Syrian people, the time has come for President Assad to step aside.
  • A statement from president Barack Obama • Revealing that the U.S. wants Bashar al-Assad out as Syrian leader. It’s clear that Assad has been a leader unworthy of U.S. support for a while. Why did it take so long for the Obama administration to flat-out say it? That’s the real question, and one that could’ve crystalized diplomatic opposition against the Syrian leader much sooner. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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