Letters to the Editor
Kevin C
Published Letters: 140 Editor's Choice: 23
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Chief Priest of the Order of the Shrill
[Read the article: Paul Krugman flies to outer space]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm not sure what that makes Maureen Dowd--the Messiah of the Shrill? And Frank Rich is kind of off his rocker too.
Look, at least Krugman tries to make his point based on analysis of policies and, as far as I recall, doesn't focus on Naomi Wolf, earth tones, making up slanders like the Gore-Love Story slander, and the numerous other crimes against our discourse that the "liberal" columnists at the NYT engage in.
Oh, I almost forgot Gail "Candidates talking about issues are boring" Collins.
Please, give the man a break--he works with lunatics.
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What they have learned
[Read the article: Homeowners learn a home equity lesson]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm not sure it is as bad as all that--as bankruptcy judges can cram down mortgages on second homes and investment property can they do it on home equity loans?
I think it is fairly obvious that people aren't going into default on their home equity loans for trivial reasons. I'd think it is most likely to stay current on their primary mortgage. So this may be a completely rational choice when faced with a set of fairly bad options.
The industry let people get in over their heads due to huge amounts of liquidity sloshing around the system. It was obvious to anyone with half a brain that the amount of liquidity in the system wouldn't last forever. So if lenders get burnt, it's primarily their own fault.
And if borrowers have to make tough choices, they should also need to bear some responsibility for leveraging up. Bankruptcy is tough, but it isn't the end of the world in this country. Admittedly it is tougher now that the credit card companies got their hands on the law, but we don't live in a world of debtor's prisons anymore.
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Spitzer shows the limits to hard charging for the sake of hard charging
[Read the article: New York Gov. Spitzer resigns]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The unnecessary perp walks without charging (or likely being able to charge) individuals, the spying on Joe Bruno to get a political leg up on him, the general desire to bash heads in Albany...
You may be able to pull that kind of thing off--but you better be pretty sure that your own house is in order. I mean trying to bring down a political rival for improper use of state transportation dollars when you are patronizing an escort service? That's pretty ballsy there.
Oh well, the man has managed something--he has managed to undo the progress made in the last few weeks towards the Democrats capturing the State Senate (by removing the Lt. Governor as the tie-breaking vote) and put Joe Bruno in charge of the state every time Paterson leaves the state.
Good jorb Elliot, you egomaniacal failure.
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After some admittedly brief research
[Read the article: Homeowners learn a home equity lesson]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It looks like the cramdown point is mixed, but could be very good for the homeowner in at least one case. Apparently in NY (where I live) if the first mortgage is higher than the value of the house (i.e. there's no equity for the home equity line to attach to) the claim to the home is GONE in bankruptcy. The 2nd mortgage/home equity loan goes into the pool of unsecured debt. So the choice to not pay in that case is pretty clear cut.
Just another lesson in what can happen to lenders and borrowers if they assume that the only way the value of collateral can go is up (and at a high rate).
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The sword of righteousness
[Read the article: New York Gov. Spitzer resigns]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I think a more crude lesson is "don't swing the sword of righteousness if your d-ck is in the way."
That's right, alpha males, keep it in your pants despite your evolutionary urges to be the head of the monkey troop and have sex with all the females.
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It's sad--but I hope all three of them are lying
[Read the article: This Modern World]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]For example, I hope Clinton and Obama are lying about renegotiating NAFTA. I also hope McCain is lying about liking Scalia type judges and the religious right.
Of course, it is depressing hoping that people are just pandering instead of sincerely changing their views to positions I think are stupid.
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Yay, netroots
[Read the article: Daily Kos writers' "strike" gets ugly]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I smell success--like the job you did electing Ned Lamont.
I love sanctimonious latte liberals and so does the electorate. Yay to 4 more years of Republican (mis)rule.
Seriously, it is the obnoxiousness of Obama supporters that make me want to vote McCain.
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There are rural/resort gay clusters outside of cities
[Read the article: I'm a gay man in a small town working at a gas station. So?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]New Hope, PA is one. There are groups of gays in the Hamptons, there's Provincetown, etc. Unfortunately for the resort ones, you get the urban gays and you may end up with Eva Gabor in Green Acres as your spouse.
So maybe the LW should look for a popular, rural gay spot in the general vicinity and go spend a weekend at a bed and breakfast--or maybe get a temporary job for the season in a resort area. Who knows, he may meet someone he clicks with in the daily banter.
As for the gardener, it could be a situation that clicks or it could be a lot of effort that leads to heartbreak. Even if the guy is so inclined, he may not be at the same place in his life. I'd suggest at least checking internet personals, etc. to find someone who at least is ready to date. Trying to feel out whether someone is interested in a relatively high risk situation (i.e. not in a milieu where everyone is understood to be looking for the same thing), can be very frustrating. Trust me, having spent months being friends, finally breaking through to "something more," and then having the guy freak out on you is heart wrenching.
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This was going to come out as an issue sooner or later
[Read the article: The crazy uncles in Obama's attic]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It is hard as a black liberal to run as a post-racial non-partisan candidate. Just like it was hard for a moderate republican former governor of MA to run as a consistent right wing conservative.
As such, I think it might have been a tactical mistake to try to run above the fray with "new politics" handcuffs on. I've always expected the swift-boating to start--and I'm not sure you can adequately combat the RNC and the media's traditional Democrat smearing without getting down in the mud with them and fighting.