tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-117312382011-04-21T22:26:12.523-04:00A blog for honest, reality-based discussions on politics, society, and culture.Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.comBlogger21791100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-53430963603337308472007-12-17T07:26:00.000-05:002007-12-17T07:31:23.793-05:00

This should be good in an election year: Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- The world economy is facing the risk of both recession and faster inflation.Global growth this quarter and next may be the slowest in four years, while inflation might be the fastest in a decade, say economists at JPMorgan Chase & Co....``What lies ahead is a period of stagflation -- slow or no growth combined with rising inflation -

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-5762673485989271132007-12-03T07:22:00.000-05:002007-12-03T07:46:18.871-05:00

Four articles this morning would lead one to believe the country is either in a recession or headed for one - and it's going to be a doozy.First, Bloomberg News reports that corporate profits for the third quarter are already in recession: Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. corporate profits are in a recession, and the entire economy may not be far behind.Slower sales and higher energy and labor costs

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-28285164207800623322007-11-24T18:17:00.000-05:002007-11-24T18:18:56.979-05:00

I have been busy with life, work, and other things and haven't been able to update the blog lately. I will be returning to regularly scheduled blogging in a short while.

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-54241183161461901692007-11-13T20:06:00.000-05:002007-11-13T20:15:42.132-05:00

Wow - the dirt surrounding the Rudy Giuliani campaign just gets worse and worse:Judith Regan, the book publisher who was fired by the News Corporation last year, asserts in a lawsuit filed today that a senior executive at the media conglomerate encouraged her to mislead federal investigators about her relationship with Bernard B. Kerik during his bid to become homeland security secretary in late

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-10191273238743823332007-11-12T21:02:00.000-05:002007-11-12T21:16:55.255-05:00

You know, I looked at E*Trade's online bank awhile ago. They were offering the highest interest of any online banks at that time and I was thinking about opening an account. But then I read how they were having some subprime mortgages issues and decided to look elsewhere.I'm glad I did:Shares of E*Trade lost more than half of their value after the company said it expected additional asset

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-32079128292461512042007-11-07T07:37:00.000-05:002007-11-07T07:46:59.635-05:00

Here we go:HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Crude oil topped $98 a barrel and gold futures rose as high as $848 an ounce Wednesday after comments from a senior Chinese official suggesting China should consider diversifying some of its foreign reserve holdings sent the dollar to fresh lows.Gold prices spiked to multi-decade highs on safe-haven buying amid concerns that higher oil prices and dollar

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-76237983620265201852007-11-03T21:30:00.000-04:002007-11-04T10:00:45.934-05:00

From the Washington Post:Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson has been crisscrossing the country since early this summer on a private jet lent to him by a businessman and close adviser who has a criminal record for drug dealing.Thompson selected the businessman, Philip Martin, to raise seed money for his White House bid. Martin is one of four campaign co-chairmen and the head of a

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-71899443778217467922007-11-01T07:44:00.000-04:002007-11-01T07:57:07.226-04:00

Mayor Bloomberg always says how business holds people accountable for their actions and we need to add some of that accountability to public education.I wonder if he means this kind of accountability?A crisis at Bear Stearns Cos. this summer came to a head in July. Two Bear hedge funds were hemorrhaging value. Investors were clamoring to get their money back. Lenders to the funds were demanding

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-7349567892348780562007-11-01T07:08:00.000-04:002007-11-01T07:41:12.404-04:00

Oil hit more than $96 a barrel in overnight trading and Bloomberg News says traders are betting it's going to go as high as $100 or $125 a barrel before the end of the year: Nov. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Oil traders increased bets that December futures will reach $125 a barrel because of possible disruptions to Middle East supplies and rising demand.Traders held call options to buy 2,526 contracts, each

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-45190593425549972642007-10-31T20:58:00.000-04:002007-10-31T21:10:28.528-04:00

Not good:NEW YORK (AP) -- The dollar skidded to a new low against the euro Wednesday while the British pound broke through $2.08 after the Federal Reserve lowered a key interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 4.5 percent.The Canadian dollar bought more than $1.06 for the first time since 1957.The 13-nation euro soared to $1.4503, its fourth new high in as many trading days, while the

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-12609631457210126752007-10-31T12:44:00.000-04:002007-10-31T19:58:03.485-04:00

The financial markets are expecting at least a 25 bps interest rate cut from the Fed today.But why?Third quarter GDP was released today and the numbers showed the economy grew at the fastest pace since early 2006.Consumer spending was higher than expected for the quarter.The ADP employment numbers were higher than expected.While housing is awful and inventory near all-time highs, I just don't see

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-16685870496759058572007-10-29T07:34:00.000-04:002007-10-29T07:54:08.791-04:00

Oil hit $93 in overnight trading.The Wall Street Journal says oil is now closing in on the inflation-adjusted highs hit in early 1980 (depending on the adjustment, a then-$38 barrel of oil would be worth US$96 to $101 or more today.)The Journal also says oil could face resistance in clearing the $100 a barrel milestone:Expectations for tight year-end supply and other factors that have driven

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-67702449650922550802007-10-28T21:11:00.000-04:002007-10-28T21:16:39.334-04:00

First, oil:Oct. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose to a record above $92.50 a barrel in New York after Turkey's Foreign Minister said his government is considering ``all options'' including military action to deal with Kurdish rebels operating from Iraq....Crude oil for December delivery rose as much as 68 cents, or 0.7 percent, to an all-time high of $92.66 a barrel in after- hours electronic

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-74521313511256126102007-10-28T18:49:00.000-04:002007-10-28T18:50:15.738-04:00

The NY Daily News reports today that Mayor Bloomberg's top aides were aggressively lobbied by former Bloomberg aide Anthony (Skip) Piscitelli just days after Piscitelli left city government to join the city's most influential lobbying firm, Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker.The Daily News spent six months investigating Piscitelli's lobbying of pending legislation for clients that

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-48325750378578272322007-10-25T22:37:00.000-04:002007-10-25T22:46:23.320-04:00

Yikes:HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Asian commodity stocks rose early Friday as crude oil and metals prices continued to rally, lifting shares of resource firms such as BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto in Sydney, Inpex Holdings in Tokyo and Cnooc in Hong Kong.Crude oil for December futures rose as high as $91.10 a barrel in electronic trading, after ending at a record high of $90.46 a barrel on the New

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-69636531892943928562007-10-24T21:31:00.000-04:002007-10-25T13:04:34.383-04:00

Just getting worse:The National Association of Realtors reported yesterday that sales of previously occupied homes in September dropped 19% from the same month a year ago to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million units. The trade group blamed disruptions in the mortgage market.Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal's quarterly survey of housing-market conditions in 28 major U.S.

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-86691126342852776642007-10-22T07:22:00.000-04:002007-10-22T07:57:06.164-04:00

The NY Daily News reports that Mayor Moneybags is playing games with his traffic congestion pricing plan numbers.The mayor is selling the plan - which will charge cars $8 and trucks $21 to drive into Manhattan below 86th Street on weekdays between 6 AM and 6 PM - as a boon to mass transit.He claims his congestion pricing plan will raise at least $390 million a year for mass transit.He says this

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-30845098360016278092007-10-21T20:51:00.000-04:002007-10-21T21:06:28.066-04:00

Gee, this could be a problem:For all the pain in the mortgage market, investors who hold bonds backed by risky home loans have continued to receive their monthly interest payments — until now.Collateralized debt obligations — made up of bonds backed by thousands of subprime home loans — are starting to shut off cash payments to investors in lower-rated bonds as credit-rating agencies downgrade

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-40825855260937028102007-10-21T20:25:00.000-04:002007-10-21T20:40:51.407-04:00

From the WSJ:The real-estate slowdown that hit the U.S. is spreading to Europe.Home prices in some of Europe's hottest markets are falling after a decade of double-digit-percentage price increases. The reasons resemble those across the Atlantic: higher interest rates, faltering confidence and tighter lending standards....Home prices in Spain more than doubled over the past 10 years, but the

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-34396243181148728722007-10-19T17:48:00.000-04:002007-10-19T18:06:47.959-04:00

Today is the 20 year anniversary of the 1987 stock market crash. Wall Street didn't fare so well today either (though losses were nowhere near '87 levels):The credit-market crisis came zooming back into investors' consciousness on the 20th anniversary of the Black Monday stock-market crash, sending shares plummeting amid uninspiring earnings reports and high oil prices.The major indexes all

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-79314880867256711712007-10-18T21:29:00.000-04:002007-10-18T21:40:56.828-04:00

90 dollar oil:NEW YORK - Oil prices surpassed $90 a barrel for the first time Thursday as the falling dollar drew new foreign investors and speculators to dollar-denominated energy futures.Light, sweet crude for November delivery hit $90.02 in electronic trading Thursday evening before returning to around $89.60. Earlier, prices had risen $2.07 to settle at a record $89.47 on the New York

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-87954893436037259582007-10-17T06:18:00.000-04:002007-10-17T06:59:52.754-04:00

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meets later this month to decide whether to further cut rates to stave off problems to the overall economy from the credit crunch and the housing bubble burst.Wall Street still expects at least one more rate cut this year either at the October or December FOMC meetings.The Financial Times reports that Fed chair Ben Bernanke said in a speech on Monday that

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-55545861980512600652007-10-16T07:02:00.000-04:002007-10-16T07:52:20.179-04:00

After Ben Bernanke cut the Fed's benchmark rate back in September, we kept hearing from all of the shills on CNBC and elsewhere that all was well with the economy, the credit crunch was over, the weakening dollar wasn't a big problem and although the housing bubble burst was problematic, the overall economy would be fine.Both the Dow and the S&P hit all-time highs last week despite some fairly

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-89322996728846084102007-10-14T10:23:00.001-04:002007-10-14T10:23:58.399-04:00

The New York Daily News reports today that the New York City 2009 mayoral race is already well under way, with City Controller Bill Thompson, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr., and Congressman Anthony Weiner all quietly working behind the scenes to drum up endorsements and woo support from key constituencies.One man not mentioned in the Daily News

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-29694717940548283652007-10-13T08:26:00.000-04:002007-10-13T09:16:45.107-04:00

A huge story if true:A former Qwest Communications International executive, appealing a conviction for insider trading, has alleged that the government withdrew opportunities for contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars after Qwest refused to participate in an unidentified National Security Agency program that the company thought might be illegal.Former chief executive Joseph P. Nacchio,

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-27071191705799978342007-10-12T07:43:00.000-04:002007-10-12T07:54:13.942-04:00

Barry at The Big Picture looks at the number of dollars the Fed has put (printed) into the system and finds that the money supply has grown by 24% at an annualized rate.Of course many of these newly printed dollars have found their way into the equity and commodity markets - the Dow and the S&P are near all-time highs. Oil and gold are also near or at all-time highs.The consequences for the

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-8422518719034672642007-10-11T07:29:00.000-04:002007-10-11T07:30:39.222-04:00

The Washington Post reports today that the Government Accountability Office has found that the first federally funded K-12 school voucher program designed to send low income children in Washington D.C. to "better-performing private schools" has allowed students to take classes in "unsuitable learning environments" and from teachers without bachelor's degrees.The GAO report scrutinized the $12.9

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-38662921801599111922007-10-10T07:16:00.000-04:002007-10-10T07:18:52.606-04:00

Preznut Bush held a press conference yesterday with civil rights leaders to urge Congress to reauthorize his signature No Child Left Behind education law.The Washington Post reports that Bush says he is willing to compromise on some formulations in the law in order to get it reauthorized.When asked if he was willing to compromise on standardized testing mandates, he said he wasn't.When asked if

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-57034096462926645072007-10-09T06:13:00.000-04:002007-10-09T07:06:06.508-04:00

The Wall Street Journal reports that Sprint Nextel CEO Gary Forsee stepped down from his post today after rumors spread that the board of the company was looking to replace him.Sprint Nextel warned investors yesterday that the company continues to lose high value subscribers and won't meet its financial targets for annual revenue this year.As CEO of Sprint, Forsee oversaw the $35 billion dollar

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-27251778122230429212007-10-08T11:50:00.000-04:002007-10-08T12:00:31.721-04:00

I'm a Gen X-er. When I was a kid in school, we celebrated Columbus Day by making little models of his ships and reading stories about what a "great man" he was.Of course, in those days red meat, milk and sun were still considered healthy for you too.These days, Columbus Day is more often observed with lessons like "Should We Celebrate Columbus Day?" than days given over to making paper models of

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-84987818328858432012007-10-07T09:54:00.000-04:002007-10-07T09:55:13.004-04:00

Many state officials justify running state lotteries by saying that much of the money from the lotteries goes toward education. Of the 43 states that run lotteries, 23 earmark all or some of the lottery money to education.But the NY Times reports today that as little as 1%-5% of the total revenue for K-12 education in states that earmark lottery funds for education actually comes from the

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-18699515325758973342007-10-06T09:16:00.000-04:002007-10-06T09:21:39.990-04:00

And this would be good how?WASHINGTON — Consumers have boosted their borrowing at the fastest pace in three months, turning increasingly to their credit cards to replace home equity loans as a source of ready cash.The Federal Reserve reported that consumer credit rose at an annual rate of 5.9% in August, the biggest increase since a 7.9% jump in May.The increase was led by an 8.1% leap in

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-56529041697310347382007-10-06T08:32:00.000-04:002007-10-06T09:02:25.799-04:00

So many Family Values Republicans lead double lives.On the one hand, they espouse traditional marriage, abstinence, overt religious values, etc., while on the other hand they solicit prostitutes, try to schtup underage male pages and troll public restrooms looking for oral sex from men (although they are not gay and have never been gay.)You can imagine the mental gymnastics it must take to

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-26667554267293492512007-10-04T18:33:00.000-04:002007-10-04T18:37:36.131-04:00

I mean Republicans:WASHINGTON -- By a nearly two-to-one margin, Republican voters believe free trade is bad for the U.S. economy, a shift in opinion that mirrors Democratic views and suggests trade deals could face high hurdles under a new president.The sign of broadening resistance to globalization came in a new Wall Street Journal-NBC News Poll that showed a fraying of Republican Party

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-83719916045917627512007-10-04T16:32:00.000-04:002007-10-04T17:03:47.577-04:00

The press is starting to follow up on the Bloomberg gender discrimination lawsuit and pin Mayor Moneybags down on some of the discrepancies in his story:Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg acknowledged today that he discussed allegations in a federal lawsuit that his company mistreated pregnant women with the company’s management, seemingly contradicting a statement he made when the suit was filed last

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-36219877802858048372007-10-04T07:59:00.001-04:002007-10-04T07:59:59.616-04:00

Gee, what will David Broder say about this?The three women involved in a federal suit against Bloomberg LP that charges gender discrimination are now saying Mayor Bloomberg and other top managers at the company created a culture hostile to pregnant women and new mothers.The women filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Manhattan yesterday to add to the lawsuit filed last week by the federal

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-2886077097625815592007-10-03T17:11:00.000-04:002007-10-03T17:32:29.784-04:00

First Read reports that the American Federation of Teachers union has decided to publicly endorse Hillary Clinton for president.This endorsement of Clinton is not a big surprise. Clearly Obama hurt his chances for union support when he told both AFT and NEA members that he supports merit pay for teachers based upon standardized test scores. While Edwards has worked very hard for labor support,

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-38072751756033807702007-10-03T06:43:00.000-04:002007-10-03T06:48:34.048-04:00

Bad news for Obama on the front cover of today's Washington Post:Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has consolidated her place as the front-runner in the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination, outpacing her main rivals in fundraising in the most recent quarter and widening her lead in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.For the first time, Clinton (N.Y.) is drawing support from a majority

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-27336289719953659022007-10-02T18:33:00.000-04:002007-10-02T18:46:02.511-04:00

Now Hillary's beating Obama in the money game too:Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) -- New York Senator Hillary Clinton raised $27 million in the third quarter, topping all her Democratic rivals for the presidential nomination....Clinton's take beat the $20 million reported yesterday by her closest competitor, Illinois Senator Barack Obama. Her total included $22 million that can be used for the primary

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-34894436301790063732007-10-02T16:29:00.000-04:002007-10-02T16:31:46.435-04:00

CNN.I stopped watching the channel about three months ago. Every once in a while I put it on for about five minutes to remind myself why I stopped watching it.CNN - the dumbest political team on TV.

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-86657986474416525952007-10-01T16:00:00.000-04:002007-10-01T16:14:41.866-04:00

Bubblicious!NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks rallied Monday, pushing the Dow to record heights to start off the fourth quarter, as Wall Street showed optimism after Citicorp warned of a steep drop in profits that the worst of the credit crunch is over and that further interest-rate cuts are ahead....After crossing the 14,000-level for the first time since late July early on, the Dow Jones

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-46789978905383851642007-09-30T16:07:00.000-04:002007-09-30T16:16:48.975-04:00

This story is music to my ears:Alarmed at the chance that the Republican party might pick Rudolph Giuliani as its presidential nominee despite his support for abortion rights, a coalition of influential Christian conservatives is threatening to back a third-party candidate in an attempt to stop him.The group making the threat, which came together Saturday in Salt Lake City during a break-away

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-16960573528211407712007-09-30T08:22:00.000-04:002007-09-30T10:45:33.429-04:00

Leonard Brown, a veteran physics teacher at Cardozo High School, languishes in the New York City Department of Education Rubber Room these days after he was charged with "having made physical contact with a student" during a science demonstration when he asked her to push her hands up against him with all her weight.Brown writes that he has been using this lesson for the past 18 years to

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-11412287334179604202007-09-29T07:56:00.000-04:002007-09-29T08:05:42.616-04:00

Is this just a blip on the radar or a sign of worse things to come?ING Direct, a subsidiary of the Dutch financial group, is to take over the customers and insured deposits of NetBank, an online lender with $2.5bn (£1.2bn) in assets that was shut down on Friday by the US government following losses on subprime mortgages and other loans.The closure marks the largest US bank failure since the end

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-41864115535930475362007-09-28T18:07:00.000-04:002007-09-28T18:19:34.125-04:00

Winner of the "no kidding" award of the day:Commodities had the biggest monthly gain in 32 years, led by wheat, crude oil and gold, as the dollar's slump enhanced the appeal of energy, grains and precious metals as a hedge against inflation.The 19-commodity Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index was up 8.1 percent this month, the most since July 1975. Wheat climbed to a record in September amid a global

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-65135333725602033252007-09-28T07:14:00.000-04:002007-09-28T08:16:57.741-04:00

Many in the mainstream media have fallen all over themselves to praise the possibility of an independent run for the White House by Mayor Moneybags.David Broder, the "dean" of Washington journalism and a man who is considered the weather vane of conventional political wisdom, has been pushing a Bloomberg candidacy for quite a while now.The conventional wisdom is that Moneybags, seen as "Mr.

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-66560157237921150522007-09-27T06:26:00.000-04:002007-09-27T07:03:38.845-04:00

Preznut Bush held an education photo op yesterday with Mayor Moneybags, Uncle Joel Klein, First Lady Laura Bush and a bunch of New York City school kids.Bush extolled his record as "Education President" and demanded the Congress extend the No Child Left Behind law.Bush said the recently released results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests that showed fourth and eighth grade

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-67082778047310358932007-09-26T07:04:00.000-04:002007-09-26T07:48:26.463-04:00

The Department of Education in Washington released the results of nation-wide math and reading tests for fourth and eighth graders from 2005 - known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress - yesterday.The NY Times reports that nationally math scores rose while reading scores did not, with eighth grade reading scores actually declining.In New York State, however, students perform poorly

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-25131278426813722722007-09-25T07:02:00.000-04:002007-09-25T07:53:27.761-04:00

The LA Times runs a story today about Academia Avance, a Highland Park charter school that former teachers, former office workers, a former principal, and parents say has serious problems with financial impropriety, gross mismanagement and academic shortcomings.The founder of Academia Avance - Ricardo Mireles, a former technical specialist for the Metropolitan Transit Authority and LA Unified

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-42254052912311283102007-09-24T19:28:00.000-04:002007-09-24T19:34:27.937-04:00

Let's see, GM workers are staging their first strike since 1970.The U.S. dollar achieved parity with the Canadian dollar for the first time since 1976.Oil is nearing Seventies prices, adjusted for inflation.The bond market is worried about inflation/stagflation.The FBI says violent crime has risen at an alarming rate the last two years.The U.S. is stuck in a war it can't win and it can't seem to

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-16778327891939397092007-09-24T07:33:00.000-04:002007-09-24T07:54:51.387-04:00

Post-rate cut, the Wall Street Journal says the bond market's got 'em, although not so much the stock market. The Dow is just 180 points off its all time high. Even so, the Journal says some money managers believe the Fed will have to raise rates in the spring to offset the inflation they stoked with last week's mostly unexpected 50 bps rate cut:Until the credit crisis struck, the Fed had

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-8323415350234453872007-09-22T12:45:00.000-04:002007-09-22T12:52:36.572-04:00

Think these two headlines are related?U.S. Stocks Surge the Most Since March After Fed Cuts Rates Treasury 10-Year Notes Fall Most Since March 2006 On Inflation ConcernsLooks like the bond market has picked up the slack from the Fed on inflation worries.

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-66452006157543330192007-09-22T09:33:00.000-04:002007-09-22T09:41:39.259-04:00

Despite the anger from the left over the Dems' inability to end the war, as long as an intractable preznut has 41 senators willing to vote w/ him in the Senate on the war, the war will not end.The Webb amendment was the best shot to end the war. It failed - only garnering 57 votes on the cloture motion.John Warner, the so-called moderate Repub who looks out for the military men and women, voted

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-23994806052908206772007-09-22T07:36:00.000-04:002007-09-22T08:30:38.617-04:00

The NY Daily News reported yesterday that parents of students attending one of the mayor's small schools - the Information Technology High School in Long Island City - held a news conference along with two City Council members from Queens to protest that the school site "occupies a former metal-plating warehouse contaminated with lead and petrochemicals."The Daily News goes to report that Mayor

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-88319591662413326422007-09-21T06:59:00.000-04:002007-09-21T07:29:22.725-04:00

Ron Paul asked Ben Bernanke a question yesterday at the House Banking Committee hearings on mortgage problems:“I want to follow up on the discussion about moral hazard. I think we have a very narrow understanding about what moral hazard really is. Because I think moral hazard begins at the very moment that we create artificially low interest rates which we constantly do. And this is the reason

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-48283842308045811952007-09-20T17:39:00.000-04:002007-09-20T18:18:50.002-04:00

Larry Kudlow and some clown from NRO just told me on Kudlow and Company that there is no inflation, so I shouldn't worry about headlines like these at Reuters:Oil hits high over $84U.S. dollar sinks to lifetime low vs euroGold hits 28-yr high on dollar fallInflation fears end rally, sending stocks downI guess since there's no inflation, I shouldn't worry that the U.S. dollar is now on par with

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-77519070869551758922007-09-20T07:45:00.000-04:002007-09-20T07:52:22.083-04:00

We already know that Mayor Moneybags and Chancellor Klein manipulate test scores. The Daily News reported that back on September 4th.We also know Moneybags and Klein manipulate the physical and sexual abuse complaints on city school buses. The Daily News reported that on September 16th.As NYC Educator posted here, today we learned from both the NY Times and the NY Daily News that Klein and

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-43431393101168242182007-09-20T06:49:00.000-04:002007-09-20T07:43:52.385-04:00

We already know that Mayor Moneybags and Chancellor Klein manipulate test scores. The Daily News reported that back on September 4th.We also know Moneybags and Klein manipulate the physical and sexual abuse complaints on city school buses. The Daily News reported that on September 16th.Today we learn from both the NY Times and the NY Daily News that Klein and Bloomberg are also underreporting

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-37590707805632092642007-09-19T06:53:00.000-04:002007-09-19T07:48:35.561-04:00

When the Fed cut its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 4.75% yesterday, the immediate assumption was that long-term interest rates will fall and help out homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages set to reset to a higher interest rate.But the LA Times says that may not be the case:The Federal Reserve's interest-rate cut will help many people save money on home-equity credit lines and

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-85936666096838155572007-09-18T18:14:00.000-04:002007-09-18T20:50:30.312-04:00

Wall Street reacted with glee today at Ben Bernanke's "Miracle of the 50 Basis Points Interest Rate Cut With Maybe More To Come."Most of the shills on CNBC loved the move too and cooed for more cuts in the future.City National Bank chief investment officer Richard Weiss says the markets today got “everything they wanted and more.”Jon Evans, chief executive of Atlantic Central Bankers Bank, said “

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-89916835386001364962007-09-18T16:11:00.000-04:002007-09-18T18:14:46.229-04:00

Cheap money for all!!!! Wheeeeee!!!!!!! Cheap money for everybody!!!!!!! Wheeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!Bernanke lowered the Fed's benchmark interest rate to 4.75% and the discount window rate to 5.25%.Wall Street roared with approval. The Dow ended up more than 335 points, the Nasdaq was up 70 and the S&P closed up 43.In the Fed's statement, Bernanke said recession concerns trumped inflationary

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-64737614855441767522007-09-18T06:47:00.000-04:002007-09-18T08:03:45.966-04:00

The NY Times reported on Saturday that Mayor Michael Bloomberg tried to have firefighters involved in the deadly August 18th fire at the toxic Deutsche Bank Building "debriefed" by city lawyers before the they talked to prosecutors in District Attorney Robert Morgenthau's office about the incident.Prosecutors believe the city may have been trying to scare the firefighters into silence about the

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-89758683410771936762007-09-17T07:40:00.000-04:002007-09-17T07:51:05.328-04:00

Problems at Britain's fourth largest mortgage lender continue from last week:LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Shares of U.K. mortgage lender Northern Rock dropped as much as 34% on Monday, retreating further following reports that nervous customers, worried the bank would go under, have pulled out 2 billion pounds ($4 billion).Shares of Northern Rock, down 33% at 296 pence in mid-morning trading, have now

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-22254812328440726392007-09-17T06:50:00.000-04:002007-09-17T07:55:15.870-04:00

Wall Street is eagerly awaiting the Fed meeting tomorrow, hoping Ben Bernanke will cut 50 basis points from the Fed's benchmark interest rate and signal that more cuts will be coming down the road.The Fed Fund Futures are pricing in a 42% probability of a 25 point interest rate cut versus a 58% probability for a 50 point rate cut from the current 5.25% rate.If the Fed does cut rates, this will be

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-54347233985754041942007-09-16T08:43:00.000-04:002007-09-16T09:32:18.053-04:00

Yesterday the NY Times reported that Mayor Moneybags Bloomberg tried to have city lawyers "debrief" firefighters involved in August 18th's deadly Deutsche Bank Building fire before the firefighters spoke to prosecutors in the district attorney's office. Prosecutors are concerned that Bloomberg and Fire Department officials are trying to cover-up malfeasance by city officials and/or limit the

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-77606748550880785662007-09-15T21:24:00.000-04:002007-09-15T22:40:35.553-04:00

Mayor Bloomberg is big on accountability, as long as he and his political cronies are not the ones being held accountable.In the case of the Deutsche Bank Building fire investigation, Bloomberg said he is making sure every city employee cooperates with the investigations into the disaster that killed two firefighters back on August 18. But the NY Times reports today that Fire Department

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-6818671838382297912007-09-14T21:44:00.000-04:002007-09-14T21:58:50.352-04:00

There's nothing like a little after-the-fact criticism when it can't do any good. Uncle Alan Greenspan is engaging in plenty:Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan criticized President George W. Bush for pursuing an economic agenda driven by politics rather than sound policy, with little concern for future consequences....``Little value was placed on rigorous

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-17793712231629855052007-09-14T08:14:00.000-04:002007-09-14T08:35:53.415-04:00

This can't be good: Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Hundreds of Northern Rock Plc customers crowded into branches in London today to pull out their savings after the mortgage-loan provider sought emergency funding from the Bank of England,``It's scary,'' said Peter Pye, 60, a retired university lecturer standing in a line of about 30 people outside the Moorgate branch in the financial district. ``I have

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-12607734526083545342007-09-12T17:11:00.000-04:002007-09-12T17:29:36.707-04:00

$80 dollar barrels of oil.Spiking agriculture prices.Dollar at an all-time low.Heckuva an economy, Bushie.

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-82830180686174514062007-09-12T07:30:00.000-04:002007-09-12T08:07:25.600-04:00

Pundits keep saying that the Iraq war will be the big issue in the '08 campaign.I wonder if it won't actually be the economy:The nation's economy will be so sluggish well into next year that any major hiccup could tip it into recession, UCLA's latest economic forecast predicts.The end of easy credit and a further decline in home construction are sending the economy into a "near-recession," with

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-54214804302072755872007-09-12T06:43:00.000-04:002007-09-12T06:55:44.109-04:00

From McClatchy: WASHINGTON — They sat behind burgundy-covered witness tables for more than 16 hours of testimony and answered hundreds of questions about the Iraq war, some of them pointed, some of them softballs.But there was one question that Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad, couldn't, or wouldn't, answer.It was

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-33817654304875322322007-09-11T19:29:00.000-04:002007-09-11T19:44:59.976-04:00

If the war in Iraq is making Americans safer, that is:In the hearings' most stunning moment so far, Sen. John Warner (R-VA) asked Gen. Petraeus if success in the Iraq war will make America safer. His response -- by far the most surprising moment of the hearings -- was a blunt "I don't know." This is the first time that any general officer, let alone the commanding general in Iraq, has ever

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-45547293624189634152007-09-10T19:39:00.000-04:002007-09-10T20:20:47.660-04:00

I didn't watch any of the Petraeus/Crocker testimony. I listened to a bunch of Joy Division cds instead. But I've read the accounts of the testimony in the Post and the Times and here's what I've learned:1) Petraeus says the military objectives of the surge "are in large measure being met."2) Petraeus says there can be a reduction of U.S. forces in coming months without jeopardizing gains made

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-33243927450089590932007-09-10T07:35:00.000-04:002007-09-10T07:45:10.670-04:00

Americans STILL hate this war, no matter how the shills on the TV spin it:WASHINGTON — On the eve of critical testimony to Congress by Gen. David Petraeus, most Americans are skeptical of what he will say and support setting a timetable to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq regardless of the military situation there.A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday and Saturday finds that a White House push to

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-51864518262930556842007-09-09T15:20:00.000-04:002007-09-09T15:46:50.088-04:00

This morning on CNN I learned from Wolf Blitzer, Ed Henry and the gang that Democrats are in disarray over the Iraq issue, the president and Republicans in Congress have the momentum going into this "pivotal week" when General Petraeus will issue his report on surge policy progress to Congress and the American people are starting to come around to the preznut's way of thinking on the war.Cokie

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-16258691069570210822007-09-09T08:04:00.000-04:002007-09-09T09:38:32.509-04:00

The New York Times reports today that some states are beginning to look for patterns of cheating on standardized tests in public schools.The theory goes that all the pressure to do well on standardized tests from the No Child Left Behind law has caused some teachers and/or administrators "to improve their schools’ standings" on standardized tests through what is euphemistically known as "adult

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-4816453869903964122007-09-08T17:19:00.000-04:002007-09-08T17:36:01.459-04:00

Gee, I wonder how the markets would have reacted to this story yesterday?WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The Federal Reserve might not have to resort to a cut in its target federal funds rate to address the financial market turmoil and credit crunch, said Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank president Charles Plosser on Saturday."I believe disruptions in financial markets can be addressed using the

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-12862219962668988702007-09-08T07:37:00.000-04:002007-09-08T07:47:37.734-04:00

This website, TheRealRudy.org, takes apart some of the mythology surrounding Rudy Giuliani and 9/11.Still, I don't know what all the fuss is about Rudy and his alleged pre-9/11 mistakes.I mean, what's wrong with locating NYC's command center in a terrorist target so that you can take your girlfriends there for some quality time?Heck, Kissinger used to take his dates to the "War Room."You do what

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-66311129464632685832007-09-07T17:19:00.000-04:002007-09-07T18:34:08.483-04:00

I know the markets long ago priced in a Fed funds rate cut of at least 25 bps, but while retail sales numbers, the monthly job numbers and the Fed beige book showed a fairly lukewarm but still growing economy, I wasn't convinced Uncle Ben was going to shower The Street with cheap money.After today's release of the dismal August job numbers (the economy lost 4000 jobs, the first loss in 4 years),

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-43841593201201291332007-09-06T21:41:00.000-04:002007-09-06T22:05:10.095-04:00

Osama is releasing a new video tape of himself in time for the sixth anniversary of 9/11 - and this time he's sporting a brand spanking newly dyed beard.Remind me again why Bush never got Osama?Oh, yeah - I remember.Cuz' he wanted to attack Iraq instead.How'd that work out?Not so well, but the talking heads on TV all say that the reappearance of Bin Laden helps Republicans.Why - cuz' they can

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-72422739910335704792007-09-06T06:44:00.000-04:002007-09-06T07:08:49.007-04:00

The Daily News reports that Chancellor Klein has been shamed by reports the score increases made on the 2005 fourth grade math test were phony into making the tests and the methodologies of city tests available to an "independent outside audit bureau" -- but there's a catch:Schools Chancellor Joel Klein will give math and reading test scores and other school documents to a new audit bureau being

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-57008300966796682202007-09-06T06:41:00.000-04:002007-09-06T06:44:11.586-04:00

The Daily News reports that both the mayor and the governor acknowledged difficulty levels for state tests change from year-to-year:"Tests go up and down in terms of difficulty so all you can really do is use them in a relative sense," Bloomberg said....Although Bloomberg frequently trumpets annual jumps in city scores, yesterday the mayor said the tests are best used for comparing students with

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-85485599034839886992007-09-05T20:02:00.000-04:002007-09-06T06:18:20.635-04:00

...I just can't vote for.I just can't.Sorry, Oprah.Sorry, Obama.Ahh, actually I'm not that sorry.I wasn't going to vote for Obama anyway.

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-34048381877436971582007-09-04T21:24:00.000-04:002007-09-05T06:44:14.585-04:00

From the Associated Press:WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush's senior advisers on Iraq have recommended he stand by his current war strategy, and he is unlikely to order more than a symbolic cut in troops before the end of the year, administration officials told The Associated Press Tuesday.Bush isn't pulling out of Iraq.Dems don't have the votes in the Senate to override a veto.Repubs in the

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-8743096317415429942007-09-04T07:34:00.000-04:002007-09-06T06:38:05.157-04:00

Just yesterday I wrote a post noting that the higher test scores in NYC public schools that Mayor Moneybags and Chancellor Klein have been boasting about as proof their education reforms are working are a sham. They're a product of in-house grading (with lots of top-down pressure being placed upon teachers to make sure test scores increase), kid glove rubrics (wherein the state and/or the city

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-17737404174728880792007-09-03T13:30:00.000-04:002007-09-03T13:30:03.070-04:00

Here in New York City, we're all about data.Mayor Moneybags Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel Klein have instituted their third reorganization of the New York City public school system in the last five years and whereas in the past it was all about "sameness" (as in all classrooms will have the same reading rugs and reading libraries, all bulletin boards in all schools will have the same measurements

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-14921034533373058722007-09-02T10:57:00.000-04:002007-09-02T11:40:26.419-04:00

War supporters and administration shills like to say that violence is down in Iraq ever since the preznut surged the number of U.S. combat troops in country earlier this year. They point to lower civilian fatalities in Baghdad and decreased violence in Anbar Province as measures of that success. But the LA Times looks at the current violence and fatality stats in Iraq and says not so much:

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-61601094735218423872007-09-01T08:19:00.000-04:002007-09-01T08:50:27.531-04:00

Tom Petruno analyzes the preznut's proposal for mortgage relief for an extra 80,000 homeowners, says its probably a Republican attempt to avoid larger government-scale relief and notes that the larger government bail out is probably going to come anyway:History suggests that a larger-scale government intervention is exactly what we're going to get....A few hours after President Bush spoke, the

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-57024912702901545012007-08-31T07:39:00.000-04:002007-08-31T07:52:21.111-04:00

As much as I feel for some of the people who are facing foreclosure because they can't afford their resetting mortgages, I'm not sure a government bail out helps in the long run:LONDON (Reuters) - World stocks surged on Friday on hopes the U.S. government and central bank will act to alleviate a crisis in subprime, or poor credit quality, U.S. mortgages and ease a global bank lending squeeze the

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-74796328755979947092007-08-31T06:42:00.000-04:002007-08-31T07:18:46.525-04:00

Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas and current GOP presidential candidate, is intelligent, articulate, funny, and self-deprecating. He plays bass, loves the Stones and handles the media well.I have never understood why the GOP faithful have basically been ignoring him for much of the campaign, given that he is also a bona fide conservative, he's born again, he doesn't believe in

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-73258542231964115332007-08-29T10:34:00.000-04:002007-08-29T11:01:17.413-04:00

Mayor Moneybags and Chancellor Klein have embarked upon their third Department of Education reorganization in the last five years.As such, everything in the system has been thrown into flux.The old superintendent offices are long gone, the central office at Court Street has been turned into condos and the office at Tweed doesn't respond very promptly to questions at the school level (though they

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-61063172347014263802007-08-28T20:06:00.000-04:002007-08-28T20:24:17.916-04:00

...you are a social conservative and you make the following denial to the press corps:"I am not gay, I have never been gay, and I did nothing wrong in that Minneapolis airport bathroom..."Repubs have thrown Senator Larry Craig to the wolves because they are afraid Craig's public humiliation will do to them in '08 what Mark Foley's scandal helped do to them in '06:Craig’s defiant news conference

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-10405616995540320032007-08-28T09:45:00.000-04:002007-08-28T10:06:03.311-04:00

Yesterday we learned from the National Association of Realtors that the the supply of existing homes for sale is at a 16 year high. Inventories of homes for sale increased 5.1% from June to July to 4.59 million. This is about a 9.6 months supply at the current sales pace.Today we learn from the Case-Schiller home price index that U.S. home prices fell 3.2% in the second quarter compared to a

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-38095771769244345842007-08-28T08:56:00.000-04:002007-08-28T09:33:19.762-04:00

Reading over the Idaho Statesmen article about Senator Larry Craig's arrest and guilty plea for disorderly conduct in Minnesota airport bathroom, I can't help but feel pity for this closeted gay man who has spent his entire life hiding who he is so he could get elected to various public offices in one of the most homophobic states in the nation.Still, the fact that Craig record includes "a series

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-62111873986797266182007-08-27T10:27:00.000-04:002007-08-27T10:59:38.876-04:00

From Marketwatch:WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Inventories of unsold single-family homes increased 2.2% to 3.85 million in July, sending the inventory in relation to sales to the highest level in 16 years, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday.Resales of single-family homes and condominiums fell 0.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.75 million. The results were stronger than

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-42583273428137878482007-08-27T08:28:00.000-04:002007-08-27T09:00:58.531-04:00

Rumors were swirling over the weekend that Attorney General Gonzales was going to be out of his job and that Michael Chertoff was going to replace him.Dunno if Chertoff is going to be picked to replace Fredo at DOJ, but Gonzales is gone:WACO, Tex., Aug. 27 — ­ Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, whose tenure has been marred by controversy and accusations of perjury before Congress, has resigned

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-60446664215861558702007-08-26T08:39:00.000-04:002007-08-26T10:33:19.301-04:00

If he actually believes some of the shit he's slinging on the campaign trail, Rudy Giuliani is one dangerous motherfucker:MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (AP) — A Democratic president would raise taxes and ravage the U.S. economy, Republican presidential primary candidate Rudy Giuliani said Saturday.The former New York City mayor said he would lower taxes, make permanent President George W. Bush's tax

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-86065769468894786582007-08-25T11:54:00.000-04:002007-08-25T12:05:14.995-04:00

Right-wing rocker Ted Nugent tells Obama to suck on his machine gun:Gee, wouldn't it be nice if Mr. Nugent would take his sweaty machine guns and go over and physically support the war in Iraq that he so strongly supports politically rather than hit Obama and HRC with thinly-disguised assassination threats. And I don't mean by playing a concert or two, I mean by signing up for multiple 15 month

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-54779802449749846952007-08-24T22:20:00.000-04:002007-08-24T23:10:58.948-04:00

Friday night edition of cat blogging. This cat could use a home. Cunning Realist found her uptown at 135th Street. Details here.My girlfriend is allergic to cats so we can't take her, but I do hope this story has a happy ending.Peace.

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11731238.post-48562790283257479992007-08-23T09:29:00.000-04:002007-08-23T10:08:43.583-04:00

Back before the subprime mortgage mess exploded this summer, we kept hearing from Fed officials and Bushies at the Treasury Department and the usual array of shills on CNBC and at the Wall Street Journal that the problems from subprime were "well-contained" and would not hurt the overall economy.And then the summer hit and we learned that:* Two Bear Sterns hedge funds had lost all but 9% of their

Reality-Based Educatorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05575623297528939722noreply@blogger.com13