Why Didn't We See The Warning Signs Earlier?

From a NYTimes article on the recent troubles in the subprime mortgage market [emphasis mine]:

Now, some would-be buyers like Matthew Hennig are having to put off their dream of homeownership. In early July, Mr. Hennig, an air-conditioner repairman, signed the contract to buy his ideal home, a two-bedroom condo overlooking a swimming pool in a Phoenix suburb.

A day later, however, as he was on the job in a sweltering attic, his loan officer at Fairway Independent Mortgage called to tell him that the $185,000, no-money-down loan Mr. Hennig thought was a sure thing had been denied. Why? He was a first-time buyer with little credit history.

Unlike the professionals on the trading floors of Wall Street who lost billions and now seem shell-shocked, Mr. Hennig has moved on. Mr. Hennig, who earns about $40,000 a year, is now renting a room from a friend and saving up the money for a down payment when he tries to buy again in a year or so. He has also recently opened a charge-card account to bolster his credit score.

And a year ago, he would have been in like Flynn. I wonder why it all fell apart?

Pat Buchanan's War Against Chinese Imports

WASHINGTON - Writer, former presidential candidate and resident whackjob Pat Buchanan thundered against 'cheap, foreign chinese-made citizens'.

"People, haven't we learned enough from the lead paint scare? These reproductions are nothing but cheap chinese knock-offs! We need to ban these imports before they do tremendous and irreparable damage to the body politic."

Consumer groups across the nation expressed concern at Buchanan's recent attacks, noting that eliminating these imports would be blatantly racist, but that 'extensive testing was certainly called for'.

It's All In the Fine Print

* Not really free. It's sort of 'free to be free'. 'Free' in the sense of not being without cost. Yeah.
** Well, it's free if you don't mind spending four hours signing up for credit cards, secret shopper offers and spam email. Oh, and your credit card number too. We won't use it; trust us, it's for 'verification purposes only'.
*** Come to think of it, why don't you sign up for our credit-monitoring service? It's really good; we'll make sure all of those scam artists out there don't take advantage of you. Why, my aunt Martha was really taken advantage of by some jerk who got her credit card number and sold it at www.thepiratebay.com for what was really chump change when you get right down to it and Martha isn't all that wealthy and now she's got bad credit and needs a new car and groceries and a pacemaker.
****Shipping extra.

Tagged!

What do you do when you've been tagged? Well, by a happy circumstance I happen to know...

00: I happen to work for one of the largest food manufacturers in the world. I eat almost nothing that my company makes.

01: I am working on something I call UTOS - the Utility Theory of Stuff.

02: I ruled an underwater kingdom called Verlynia and was married to a selkie named Fiona.

03: I have eaten quiche.

04: I am currently reading 3 books: a history of English spelling, the story of the early Christian church and a history of the sword and sword fighting.

05: I once took a leading role in a musical only after being assured that I would not be required to sing or dance.

06: I have a very nice condo.

07: Pet peeves include people who insist on using the word 'ironic' when they clearly don't understand what it means. I'm looking at you, Morissette!

Thomas Barnett: The Pentagon's New Strategy For War and Peace

Political Madlib

_____________ Leader's Problems are Bush's Problems Too

WASHINGTON - The sinking political fortunes of __________ President __________ leave his defenders in Washington in an awkward spot, shoring up an undemocratic but useful ruler whose close ties to President Bush are part of his problem at home.

_____________ has an uncertain hold on power after months of political turmoil and his own missteps, and his recent attempt to _____________________ horrified his US allies.

Bush's top diplomat got the uncomfortable assignment of calling ______________ at 2:30 am EST to argue against a step that would play in the West as proof that an ugly dictatorship lies beneath _________'s moderate surface.

As President Bush said during a news conference, "In my discussions with President ___________, I have reminded him that we share a common enemy: Extremists and radicals who would like to do harm to our respective societies."

It's a fun game! I bet that in news-speak, they call this a 'Monday page 3', as in "Hey Lenny, can you type another quick 'Monday page 3? Yeah, we got another one.'

If Spammers Mixed Their Messages

• is it you? Lucy here - Save big on V1agra, C1alis!
  
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• Impress Her! En1arge your pen1s & your breasts!
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• Your July newsletter: halfhearted somnambulist
  

I Guess We All Have Bad Days