Monthly Archives: July 2013

1,700,000 Foreclosures Are in the Pipeline.

"A government report says that 1.7 million homeowners are 90 days or more late in their mortgage payments. Fannie Mae and HUD will wind up with these homes on their books, unless they decide to let the homeowners live rent-free. This is shadow inventory. It hangs like the sword of Damocles over the housing market. If the government does nothing, these homeowners will receive a huge subsidy: a tax-free grant equal to their mortgage payment, month after month, year after year. But if it forecloses, what will it do with these empty houses. Then the subsidy goes to operators of the squatters. Will the government kick the can? Probably." Continue reading →

Continue Reading1,700,000 Foreclosures Are in the Pipeline.

OKC hospital posting surgery prices online, creating bidding war

"An Oklahoma City surgery center is offering a new kind of price transparency, posting guaranteed all-inclusive surgery prices online. The move is revolutionizing medical billing in Oklahoma and around the world. Dr. Keith Smith and Dr. Steven Lantier launched Surgery Center of Oklahoma 15 years ago, founded on the simple principle of price honesty. 'What we’ve discovered is health care really doesn’t cost that much,' Dr. Smith said. 'What people are being charged for is another matter altogether.' Surgery Center of Oklahoma started posting their prices online about four years ago. The prices are all-inclusive quotes and they are guaranteed." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOKC hospital posting surgery prices online, creating bidding war

My Statement on Recent Attacks

Today’s article that brought my not-very-hidden radio pundit background to light does not accurately reflect me or my full, or true, views. The role of a radio host is different from that of a political operative. In radio, sometimes you’re encouraged to be provocative and inflammatory. I’ve been guilty of both, and am embarrassed by [...]

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Why did Charlie Chaplin renounce the America which made him world-famous?

"'It is not easy to uproot myself and my family from a country where I have lived for 40 years without a feeling of sadness. Since the end of the last world war, I have been the object of lies and vicious propaganda by powerful reactionary groups who by their influence and by the aid of America’s yellow press have created an unhealthy atmosphere in which liberal-minded individuals can be singled out and persecuted.' - Williamson Daily News – April 22, 1953" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy did Charlie Chaplin renounce the America which made him world-famous?

Oregon Supreme Court Allows Unticketed Drivers To Be Searched

"James Kenneth Watson had been driving through Myrtle Creek when Officer Kris Malek recognized him and decided to pull him over. Officer Malek claimed Watson's car briefly crossed over the yellow painted lane divider stripes. When pulled over, Officer Malek decided not to issue a ticket. He asked for license and registration and began questioning Watson while he waited for dispatch to confirm the license and check for arrest warrants. Deputy Clayton Ruble arrived on the scene and claimed he smelled a 'pretty strong' odor of marijuana that Officer Malek had not noticed. An officer with a drug dog was called to the scene to sniff Watson's car. The dog indicated." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOregon Supreme Court Allows Unticketed Drivers To Be Searched

Who voted for the Reed Amendment in 1995 and 1996?

"The Reed Amendment — which bans people determined by the Attorney-General to have 'renounced citizenship for the purpose of avoiding taxation' — was an amendment to the Immigration in the National Interest Act of 1995. I was aware in a general sense that Republicans had taken back the House and the Senate in 1994, but I’d never really put two and two together until reading this list: Republicans formed a majority among the supporters of the Reed Amendment. Indeed, every single one of the Republican freshmen on the committee who joined the House as a result of the 1994 'Revolution' voted for Reed’s amendment." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWho voted for the Reed Amendment in 1995 and 1996?

What the Libertarian Candidate for NYC Comptroller Would Like to Ask Eliot Spitzer

"'I'll ask his position on prostitution. And if he thinks johns should be arrested and charged just like madams and prostitutes. If he thought it was fair that he was never charged as a john under his new felony law but that I spent four months in Rikers Island from which I returned penniless, homeless, and forced to take sex offender classes for five months with pedophiles and perverts while he returned to his wife in his 5th Ave. high rise without ever being fingerprinted, mug shot, remanded, or charged with a crime under the very law he signed.' 'But my guess is that he will use his vast money he used to pay high-priced prostitutes to try to knock me off the ballot.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhat the Libertarian Candidate for NYC Comptroller Would Like to Ask Eliot Spitzer

Private paramilitaries guard Wisconsin mining site from protesters

The company brought in the paramilitary forces after being confronted by a group of about 15 protesters in June. At least one of the demonstrators, a young woman, was hit with misdemeanor charges for trying to take a camera away from one of the company’s geologists. Gogebic claims they’ve since caught several people illegally camping on their property and did not want to take any chances. The company hired by Gogebic is Arizona-based Bulletproof Securities, which boasts that many of their employees are ex-military. A spokesperson for Gogebic told The Cap Times on Tuesday that they’re considering restricting their drilling sites from public access." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPrivate paramilitaries guard Wisconsin mining site from protesters

Over 700 arrested so far in North Carolina ‘Moral Monday’ protests

"Demonstrators rallied outside the Legislative Building in the first 'Moral Monday' protest since the state Senate approved an unexpected bill last week increasing restrictions on abortion providers. Janet Colm, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood, was among 64 protesters who were arrested when the demonstration moved inside the building. Over the past two months, more than 700 people have been arrested in the weekly protests against the actions of the Republican-led General Assembly. In anticipation for Monday evening's arrests, the Wake County Magistrate's Office more than doubled its staff to help handle the influx of arrests." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOver 700 arrested so far in North Carolina ‘Moral Monday’ protests

Federal judge orders Secret Service to release files on Internet activist Aaron Swartz

"U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued her ruling in response to a lawsuit filed by Wired reporter Kevin Poulsen, who is investigating the reasons for the heavy-handed prosecution that spurred Swartz to commit suicide. Swartz, who helped create the first RSS protocol at age 14 and co-founded the popular websites Reddit and Demand Progress, was charged in 2011 of stealing data from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after he accessed a secure database of academic papers. Prosecutors threatened him with up to 30 years in prison, and Swartz committed suicide by hanging in January, at just 26 years old." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFederal judge orders Secret Service to release files on Internet activist Aaron Swartz