SwingingFromCenter's Comments (154)

“Kind of old news, but always liked the vids.”

“Floyd vs. Manny would never happen for one reason: Manny wouldn't stand a chance. Floyd's defense is as such to where you can never actually hit the guy. There's a reason he's never been legitimately put on the canvas.”

“Where you fail in your logic is that there is a genetic predisposition towards being straight or not. If someone is genetically predisposed to not be straight, then it is unconscionable and unlawful to restrict that person's right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness", if their definition o fhappiness is to have a family with a partner that they find amenable as a life mate.”

“Simplistic thinking from a simpleton. Note what I said. I find it hard to believe that ALL they needed was money.”

“I hope 1 fails. I really do. But optimism and hope don't alter reality, and reality says nobody knows. This piece is a good analysis, but trying to divine which way this thing is going to go is little more than speaking with spirits to learn next week's Powerball numbers.

I jsut find it hard to believe that all "the movement" needed to get these things passed was money.”

“Yeah, it stinks how they did it. But they did it and no amount of screaming is going to change it. Those of us with brains larger than that of a pea said this exact thing was goin to happen when the TARP money started being handed out like candy. We knew that money that was being given out so that these places could disperse money TO THE PEOPLE would instead just buy the remnants of their disaster for pennies on the dollar, wait for the values to reinflate, and then pocket the cash. And that's exactly how it went down.

And the government let it happen. Not Republicans. Not Democrats. Government. They all had a hand in it.”

“This just in: We still don't have a health care plan!

This just in: We're still in Afghanistan!

This just in: The housing market is still in the toi.let!

This just in: Democrats are still spineless, and Republicans are still cra.zy!

Same story, different day. When something big happens or changes, let me know. Until then, I'm tired of hearing it.”

“Maybe it's because we've heard "stories" on all the "more important" things ad infinitum, and we're burned out on them? I didn't much care for this balloon story either, but it at least it was something different than the same stuff I hear every day.”

“Wait, so you're saying you shouldn't be held responsible because nobody told you to seek legal advice? You needed to be TOLD that to do it?”

“But that's not what they're asking for. They're asking for the PRINCIPLE on their loan to be reduced. Not to have their payments stretched out, they want to be essentially given 50 grand or a hundred grand or whatever it is they want to pay for their home's lost value.”

“They're only "victims" because their conscious or ignorant gamble didn't pay off.”

“2 years ago at the peak of this thing, all of you renters-tu­­­rned-buy­e­r­s were laughing all the way to the bank, buying too much house for what you could afford on those silly "interest only" loans that clearly said your payments would triple after 2 years. You cackled with glee as you took out home equity lines of credit on your "investment", putting yourselves even more in debt as the value of the house skyrocketed. You all went out and spent, spent, spent! buying new BMW's, fishing boats, stainless steel kitchen appliances and vacations, thinking you had struck gold. Sure, the payments were gonna triple after 2 years, but you'd just refinance at that point or else flip the house. After all, you weren't middle class anymore! You had gamed the system into letting you into the upper class with those of us who worked our tails off.

Now, 2 years later as your mortgage has gone sour, your house is upside-down and your monthly mortgage payment is more than you've EVER earned in a month (supposing you're even still working), you cry foul and say it was unfair and everybody tricked you, you didn't know better. You hold out your hands looking for more free money while decrying the fact that the banks are doing the same thing you're doing.

And the worst part is, you expect those of us who were responsible to be the ones to bail you out. Can't have it both ways”

“Most of these people didn't hire attorneys, which is why I have zero sympathy for them. They just saw shiny new toys and a bright new house that could all be theirs with the flick of a pen, and they happily signed without asking any questions.

Their own fault.”

“Yeah, the answer was to reward people who bought more house than they could ever reasonably afford by letting them KEEP their house. Riiight.

Rewardin bad decision making: An American tradition!”

“Wrong. Most foreclosures today are because people bought too much house on ARM's that were "interest only" for 2 years and then the payments tripled. People either didn't read their paperwork or foolishly thought that they'd be able to flip the house after 2 years.”

“Maybe they should have read their documents prior to signing, and evaluated whether they could really afford the house they were buying.

Distressed homeowners, with few exceptions, did this to themselves.”

“Yet you still tried.

Don't worry. I'm actually in the vaunted tax bracket you fi.ght so hard to defend, but will never actually find yourself in. You can take solace in the fact that you "think" you've talked down to someone who by your own metric is your superior.”

“Nothing important. Maybe you should keep up.”

“Oh really? So you're saying that there are no qualified IT professionals for a myriad of jobs in the Bay area, Seattle, San Diego, etc. right now? Really? That's what you're goin to claim?

Because IT unemployment in Seattle is 15% right now, and it's home to the 6th best computer science program in the country in UW. IT unemployment in Frisco right now is pushing 20%, and it's home to the no. 3 program in Stanford. Meanwhile, the H1(b)'s that have "Master's Degrees" come from countries that hand them out like candy after only 2 years. Wanna try again, skippy?”

“The reality is there will never be effective change on the economic front.

Throwing money at the problem isn't a solution--it's a means to abu.se the system.

The only real change that can be made to create jobs is to:

1) Get rid of the H1(b) program. This is the biggest thing. These are high paying, white collar jobs that are being exported at this point. And corporations are abusing it with impunity because they can.

2) Stop giving companies incentives to ship manufacturing jobs overseas. Get rid of the loopholes that most of them use to create off-shore tax havens. Start FINING them (heavily) for sending jobs overseas that can be done in-house.

But neither of these thing will ever happen, because we have the best politicians that money can buy--and as we all know, money does just that.”

“I turned in my Google badge because it was time to retire. At the ripe old age of 31.”

“I don't see the connection, personally.”

“With all that's going on, this doesn't rank anywhere near the top of the list of things that should be prioritized.”

“Maybe they shouldn't think they have some sort of right to "sanctuary" by coming here.”

“I would imagine it was because the case was filed in the wrong jurisdiction. In California, lawyers can't appear in small claims. However, corporations must be represented by lawyers in court actions. Google was in a catch 22. They probably wouldn't have cared if this guy hadn't gone and tried to create an uprising.”