Lindsey

But the difference is that as banks started to more frequently roll up mortgages into CDO's, the risk of defaulting borrowers was shifted away from them. They stopped taking all of the precautions they previously took to avoid lending to borrowers that could not afford to repay the loans. Banks that were less likely to resell the mortgages have experienced lower default rates with their borrowers. They didn't offer larger loans than borrowers could afford. The traditional safeguard remained in place. Yep. So knowing they could sell the mortgages to other dimwits, they offered loans to people who could not pay. People who couldn't afford their mortgages were enamoured with the thought of owning homes bigger than their pocketbooks. I'm hypo-impressed with any attempt to let these borrowers off the hook. They aren't victims. The lenders were greedy, knowing they'd have no liability after they sold the loans. Greed is more evil than dimwittedness, but I'm not sure which is more worthy to be removed from the gene pool. ~linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

Considering the minimum payment for many credit cards, they are not beyond typical students' means to make the payments. It may not be wise to take out the credit, but it is typically within their means. Also, credit cards generally have much higher interest rates than mortgages because the the issuing banks expect a higher rate of default, but still want to ensure a profit on their investment with that higher default rate. That's what those unwise borrowers seem to think too. But somehow, between paying for rent, food, utilities, car payments, gas for the car, ENTERTAINMENT (of various sorts), and whatever other stuff comes up, credit cards and debt seem to start here for a lot of folks. And I think it's been pretty clearly demonstrated that a lot of kids just aren't able to pay....or they don't pay, for one reason or another. Regardless, the money is offered. Cash advances are offered. People love getting stuff and rationalize it easily (with factoids like "being in college makes me a *good* credit risk). Welp...here we are talking about this Freddie Mac CFO shooting himself in the head. ~linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

Point is, though, that we're quite used to getting credit offers that are beyond our means to pay. That doesn't excuse taking advantage of those offers. Can't blame others for our own stupid mistakes. Likewise, if I give a friend who isn't trustworth a loan, I shouldn't be surprised if she never pays me back. ~linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

Credit card payments are due next month. Graduation from college typically takes a few years. That's where those "minimum payments" come in, and that's when kids start getting in debt, owning more than they can afford. Seems they'd get a clue eventually. There's a lot of wisdom in the saying, "Don't count your chickens before they hatch." It was easy for these home buyers to imagine themselves being able to pay their loans too. Fantasy would be a nice place to live if it'd only last through next month's mortgage payment. -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

umers are not accustomed to being offered loans that they will not be able to afford if everything goes as anticipated Bullshit! 20 years ago when I was in college, any kid could get a credit card without any means to pay the loan. LOTS of kids got in credit card trouble. It's the same crew with the same mind-set buying homes on loans they couldn't afford. They didn't look past the ends of their noses. And they ARE to blame for their own mistakes. They're not victims. Victims are people whom hurricanes hit, not people who borrow money they can't pay back. ~linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

Not all defaulters were scumbags. Many, I'd suggest most, were caught by circumstances beyond their control. And even then, $400k is peanuts compared with the thievery of people like Madoff, Lay, Skilling, Swartz, Kozlowski, etc. The circumstances may have been beyond their control, but better planning....even barely-reasonable planning....would've prevented them from being "caught." A lot of people want some standard of living that they can't afford, so they see what they want to see. Instead of looking at their own situations realistically, they sugar-coat it for themselves. Well, they screwed up. Can't blame anybody but themselves. Those who gave the loans were greedy. I think these folks could easily foresee what was likely to happen, but they, too, put blinders on and believed the lies they told themselves. They deserve what befell them. Unfortunately when those folks got what was theirs, the rest of us got it too. There's gotta be a lesson in there...somewhere. ~linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

There are a bunch of posts since yours that I haven't read, but that ol' attention deficit thing is rearing its head...lol...or I'm using it as an excuse. Who knows? But I think that people who are aware of atrocities and have some reasonable ability to prevent further offenses are responsible to do so. If they do not make some attempt, then they should also be held accountable to some degree also. Doesn't matter who they are. ~linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

Of all the Muslims I talk to and work with every day, I've never met a single one who is my enemy or wants to blow any of us up. Instead, we talk about our children, what they're doing in school, how they're coming along with their golf lessons, and how we wish summer would get here. Sometimes we talk about flying, but Ill shut up where that's concerned, because it MIGHT be construed as an attempt to blow somebody up. ~linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

That's Wendy P's sig...wmw999. Don't know what exactly it says, but I'm sure you'll find it. -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

Serious question: do you think South Africa would be better off today if they had prosecuted FW DeKlerk? Do you think that they are better off for having tried to prosecute PW Botha? I think that engaging in prosecution against political leaders for decisions they made in office is likely to be extremely polarizing, and further widen rifts in this nation. It also threatens to become a deeply politicized "trial" where facts take a back seat political beliefs and actual guilt or innocence takes a back seat to the court of public opinion. I think that we are all better off if people who commit atrocities are held accountable...no matter what their status in society. linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

I love Whataburger too! But there is NO burger better than one on the grill in the back yard, with cheese a jalapeno peppers. MMMMM! And a couple grilled ears of fresh corn on the cob. Good Stuff! -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

I think it was kind of a tongue-in-cheek post to begin with, something that people with a little self-esteem are able to do without getting all worked up. -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

I'll have to preface this by saying that I haven't seent he commercials or know anything about Danica Patrick or the Indy, but my first thought is that it might be because of her GENDER that she's getting the attention. If she's the first woman to do so well in this arena, then it's kinda cool, and the attention is warranted, imho. I don't know about women tennis players being paid more for doing less, but I do know that women are HISTORICALLY paid less for doing at least as much. It's nice to see women on equal footing from time-to-time. If it's all about tits and ass, then that's different, but I kinda doubt that that's the situation, given the level of these women's achievement. ~linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

Then it's okay for people to torture Americans, too, if they need information? Are you bothered by it when the tables are turned? -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

I think that was sort of the point. -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

But I still don't think that prosecuting people who lose elections is very good for the nation. I don't think that prosecuting people who lose elections is very good for the nation either, unless what they've done is very horrible and criminal. Then it'd be wrong not to. -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

Could it be that instead of a single thinking organism, maybe there are actual PEOPLE with independent thoughts that might not entirely agree exactly with every one else within that collective group? Nice try. However, the evidence of this forum over the past 3 months is that the right will take any opportunity to bash Obama, even if it means contradicting themselves over the space of a few hours. Well, I've been called a neo-con a time or two in this forum, though that's pretty far from the truth. I didn't vote for Obama, but I think he's a smart man, and I expect he'll do a fine job. Does that even put a tiny dent in your theory? linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

Damn, I guess I'm gonna have to go out and get me a gun. -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

The mission of the group is to get other deserving organizations tax-exampt status. Do you want to operate under their umbrella? I think I'll just keep paying taxes. -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

Nore is anyone saying homosexuals should be persecuted or enslaved. unless they want to be, of course... People who believe homosexuals choose that lifestyle wouldn't compare a life choice to a non-choice such as race. Nore is anyone saying homosexuals should be persecuted or enslaved. I'm willing to bet that a law banning inter-racial marriage wouldn't even make it to the floor. But those days aren't far behind us, even though nowadays it seems kinda far-fetched. The choice is not whether to be black or white, but whom you choose to marry. That IS a choice. And it wasn't long ago that interracial marriage was NOT okay. Heck, a friend of mine and I removed the "Colored" sign above the bathroom reserved for black people at a local gas station *several* years ago. And I'm not THAT old. Anyway, the comparison is legitimite, imho, even though the particulars have changed in today's debate. ~linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

Another question is this, Wendy...should the woman change her name? -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

I prefer her way of answering the question over his response to her answer. She hasn't proven herself to be a "dumb bitch" in my mind, though I don't agree with her. But he has proven himself to be a dumb ass. But who'da thunk? ~linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

LOL! That's funny in some strange way.... linz -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

This is just a blurb from one abstract, but you can find more of this research easily enough. But basically, there are a lot of caveats in the "overweight" debate, and there's not a good health reason to disparage people, across the board, who are overweight. Of course there's never a GOOD reason to belittle people, but some folks are just apt to do that anyway. Obesity Research (2004) 12, 1370–1374; doi: 10.1038/oby.2004.173 Independent Association of Hip Circumference with Metabolic Profile in Different Ethnic Groups -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

or it may simply be because he's an alcoholic. It's what alcoholics do. Addiction is devastating. I hope your brother finds his way out. -- A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail