Shadow inventory continues to decline

From HousingWire:

Foreclosure pipeline drains out

he number of U.S. homes in foreclosure fell 29% in November with 46,000 completed foreclosures reported, a decrease from 64,000 in November 2012, CoreLogic’s foreclosure inventory report found this week.

On a month-over-month basis, completed foreclosures declined 8.3%, from 50,000 in October 2013.

As a whole, the national residential shadow inventory hit 1.7 million homes as of October 2013, accounting for a value of $256 billion, falling 24.6% from $348 billion a year earlier.

In addition, as of November 2013, approximately 812,000 homes in the United States were in some stage of foreclosure, compared to 1.2 million in November 2012, a year-over-year decrease of 34%.

But month-over-month, the foreclosure inventory dipped 4.6% from October to November.

The foreclosure inventory as of November 2013 represented 2.1% of all homes with a mortgage compared to 3% in November 2012.

“Nationally, loan performance continues to improve. The rate of seriously delinquent loans is at a new five-year low, down 26% relative to a year ago,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic.

“The shadow inventory continues to decline as well, decreasing at an average monthly rate of 46,000 units over the last year. Healthy market levels of shadow inventory are around 650,000 units, so there is more to be done, but the trend is in the right direction,” Fleming explained.

This entry was posted in Economics, Foreclosures, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate. Bookmark the permalink.

150 Responses to Shadow inventory continues to decline

  1. grim says:

    Was in the car last night listening to NPR and heard a segment about blood banking and blood arbitrage, the fact that seemingly small blood banks are making millions of dollars selling donated blood to other states/cities. I’m a blood donor, never really considered the for-profit aspect of this. Saw a “we need blood” ad this morning, and my brain immediately superimposed at the end of that: “to sell and profit from.” (Non-profit does not mean no-profit)

    I understand there are laws that prevent paying donors for blood/platlets/etc – big question is who lobbied for these laws? At this point I’d say the fat cats making the money. I’d strongly back a repeal of these state and federal laws.

    Suspect there is probably a strong business model around paid blood donations, since according to the piece, some blood banks can sell their blood for upwards of $300 a pint. Would be extremely easy to manage a paid donor supply chain (think bloody JIT), as well as to undercut many of these blood banks.

    Don’t have the transcript, so I can’t quote, but I believe the folks on Radiolab said to the Red Cross selling blood was a $2 billion a year business.

  2. grim says:

    Peak Oil Electrons – Thought this was interesting, from CBS News:

    Home electricity use in U.S. falling to 2001 levels

    The average amount of electricity consumed in U.S. homes has fallen to levels last seen more than a decade ago, back when the smartest device in people’s pockets was a Palm pilot and anyone talking about a tablet was probably an archaeologist or a preacher.

    Because of more energy-efficient housing, appliances and gadgets, power usage is on track to decline in 2013 for the third year in a row, to its lowest point since 2001, even though our lives are more electrified.

  3. anon (the good one) says:

    @billmaher: Governor Krispy Kreme really bought the farm with this one – America: war, poverty, global warming..whatever, don’t fukc with my commute!

  4. Comrade Nom Deplume, a.k.a Captain Justice says:

    [3] grim,

    And the utilities are biting back

    http://www.cnbc.com/id/101319945

  5. Fast Eddie says:

    Nom,

    That article is satire. Right?

  6. anon (the good one) says:

    this is about y’all weasels

    “THE YEAR OF THE WEASEL

    Just a brief thought about what didn’t happen in 2013, and what did.

    What didn’t happen was the same as what didn’t happen in 2012, or 2011, or 2010. Inflation didn’t take off; bond vigilantes didn’t turn America (or any nation that borrows in its own currency) into Greece, Greece I tell you.
    What did happen was a significant change in what the usual suspects — the people who have been predicting soaring inflation and interest rates, year after year — were saying.

    Did they admit having been wrong? No, of course not. But their excuses shifted.

    Through 2011 and even through 2012, it was still mainly “just you wait!” — inflation was coming any day now, or maybe it was already here but sinister statisticians were faking the numbers. In 2013, however, it became “I never said that!” — declarations that they only said that inflation was a risk, not that it would necessarily happen, so the failure of inflation to materialize was no big deal.

    This is, I’d argue, a significant development, because it gives us a new window into the nature of the disagreement. As late as last year you could view this as a legitimate contest between rival models. But we’ve now seen that one side of the debate not only refuses to take evidence into account, but tries to dodge personal responsibility for getting it wrong.

    This has gone from a test of ideas to a test of character, and a lot of people failed.”

  7. Fast Eddie says:

    What is a “y’all?”

  8. anon (the good one) says:

    what is a “inflation”?

  9. Fast Eddie says:

    When every individual takes personal responsibility for their success or lackthereof, then we can discuss the measures government can take to assist. Until then, you’re nothing more than a political hypochondriac with a social disorder allowing a nanny state to take advantage of your weakness.

  10. 1987 Condo says:

    221k

  11. 1987 Condo says:

    ugh…way off…74,000 rate down to 6.7%

  12. anon (the good one) says:

    not looking good if you are in help desk

    @WSJ: Tablets are going to overtake desktops in 2015. Apple is biting into the corporate world http://t.co/6YBcQBc7bh http://t.co/IBUEsknOwx

  13. Street Justice says:

    16 – You don’t make any sense. It’s really anoying having to scroll past your posts.

  14. anon = second-rate troll

    Do not feed the trolls.

  15. nwnj says:

    You can gain more insight from a steaming pile of dogshlt than you can anon. He’s way, way down the IQ curve.

  16. “So much for the recovery. Moments ago December nonfarms were revealed at just 74,000 a huge miss to expectations of 197,000 – the biggest miss Since December 2009. The drop from last month’s revised 226K was the largest since December 2010. Other notables: the change in private payrolls was a tiny 87K vs expectations of 200K. Mfg payrolls added just 9K vs 15K expected and down from 31K. Average hourly earnings for all employees rose 0.1% vs. Expected 0.2%. The good news: the unemployment rate plunged to 6.7% from 7.0%… For all the wrong reasons – the number of people not in the labor force rose to a record 91,808,000. As a reason for the plunge the BLS says there was a major weather effect seen on the forced part-time series, and notes the decline in healthcare which is rare and part of the sector slowing. Thank you Obamacare. And now bring on the Untaper.”

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-01-10/only-74k-jobs-added-december-huge-miss-expectations-197k-weather-blamed

  17. Want fries with that?

  18. Juice Box says:

    Pinelandgate?

  19. chicagofinance says:

    jobs…..the miss

  20. Fast Eddie says:

    Joyce,

    You asked me yesterday if I was going to stop ranting about jobs and salaries and I said not yet. Did you see the jobs report today? We are nowhere near that corner. Just saying. :)

  21. Fast Eddie says:

    the number of people not in the labor force rose to a record 91,808,000.

    And a lane closure takes the headline. Beautiful.

  22. JJ says:

    The problem is talent individuals like myself can do the work of 20 men. Maybe this is the cause of unemployment.

  23. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    If a property occupier is delinquent on their mortgage for years and years but the bank won’t proceed is that shadow inventory? If it isn’t, maybe we need a new term, perhaps shadow decay? I would characterize shadow decay as all home with negative equity. You can really see it where the suburbs become exurbs and it looks like it’s washing in toward the blue ribbony shores.

  24. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    Back around 1980 my friends and I used to sell plasma at a place in New Brunswick called SeraTec Biologicals. They would take a pint of blood, keep your vein open with a saline IV while the centrifuged out the plasma, then bring your coldish red blood cells back to you (where you signed the same blood bag a second time) and put them back in. I could go there twice a week for $15 each time.

    An interesting check-cashing model occurred at the supermarket across the street. I could take my $15 check from SeraTec over there and they would give me $14.75 cash plus a red plastic quarter which was good for purchases in the store. I would walk right over to the express register and use the plastic quarter to buy a candy bar and I was a happy undergrad.

  25. Street Justice says:

    29 – My brother and I used to do that for beer money. Since you were already low on plasma, it made the beer that much more effective.

  26. Juice Box says:

    re #1 – Grim. – While listening to traffic this AM on 101.5 a guy from blood banks in South Jersey came on to talk about a blood shortages do to the cold weather. Apparently in NJ we normally import blood from the Midwest but do to the cold snap they have had to cut back on fulfilling orders to the Hospitals. They are soliciting for donors ASAP.

    http://www.cjbcblood.org/about.aspx

  27. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    [27] That’s the program, JJ – “From each according to their ability”. It’s the “To each according to their needs” part you might not like so much.

    The problem is talent individuals like myself can do the work of 20 men. Maybe this is the cause of unemployment.

  28. Essex says:

    11. It is how a southerner addresses you before they kick your ass through your teeth.

  29. Essex says:

    27. Granted you have skills. But exactly what they are is a question mark.

  30. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    Do you think the media will stop appending “gate” to alleged coverups when there are no more people working in the news bite industry who were born before 1975?

  31. Essex says:

    “I don’t think [the December payroll report] means anything for the Fed,” said Carl Tannenbaum, chief economist at Northern Trust in Chicago.

    “I’d say we’re looking at a [tapering] pace…of another $10 billion reduction in purchases in January,” he added.

    “This isn’t the happiest economic news but it’s not a disaster,” he said.

    The U.S. added just 74,000 jobs in December, the smallest increase in three years and well below forecasts of 193,000.

  32. Essex says:

    36. Agreed it is silly. But then so is Hollywood’s obsession with remaking every good movie made before 1972.

  33. 1987 Condo says:

    #36…I guess it beats “dome”!

  34. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    [35] JJ could be the Captain of the Love Boat:

    So the house takes on 8 ft of water during the storm, so me and my pal get in his dingy, but we got no compass, no idea of direction. Pretty soon, we figure out we’re on Queens Blvd and there’s this skeezy bar that is barely above the water line so me and my pal tie the dingy to a parking meter and go in. So when we get in, the only people in there are either hookers, carjackers, tweakers or college girls out of class for the weather. My pal makes a beeline for the hookers, but me I’m class all the way so I start working the old routine on the college girls. Well I’m a little out of practice, but old habits die hard so pretty soon I’m inviting the girls out to check my dingy which to them sounds like I want them to come out for a fast rub/tug- hey nothing wrong with that- so this one girl says sure I want to see your dingy so I take her out to the dingy then pretty soon we’re parallel in the dingy trying to get some traction if you know what I mean. Then, the dingy gets untied from the parking meter and were floating down Queens Blvd in a compromising position, but I don’t care I just take each of the girl’s high heels and jam ‘em in the holes where you’d put the paddle handles and we kept playing rub a dub dub boy in the tub until I looked over the side and saw we were in the East River. So at this point I’m figuring I better get this situation under control so I use my mental powers to get us over to the other side of the river, then we got out of the dingy and went for drinks at the Water Club.

  35. Comrade Nom Deplume, a.k.a Captain Justice says:

    [9] Eddie

    Nope, earnest call for socia1ist utopia. Apparently others thought it a spoof as well and verified it with Myerson (a.k.a. anon).

    http://www.cnbc.com/id/101317365

  36. Comrade Nom Deplume, a.k.a Captain Justice says:

    [9] Eddie,

    I see very few soc1alist wannabes in my line of work, however they are there. That said, I know that millennial’s have a lot of the skills employers seek, and with their age, they make better workers demographically due to the fact that they will work harder for less and won’t cost as much on health benefits.

    But if I’m a manager who does not wish to perpetuate or reward this sort of thinking, I would not hire millennials. In fact, with Obamacare taking some of the burden off of businesses (yes, I said that), it now makes more sense to hire older workers. In this economy, they are willing to work for less and with Obamacare, you don’t have to offer expensive health benefits. Just keep your head count under the limit.

    I know that the rap on old guys is that they are not technologically savvy, and that they are set in their ways, or that they would ask for too much comp. But I would much rather hire some guys like myself, who I know I can build into a team, rather then some self entitled, whining, millennial’s.

    In the very near future, I am going to look to expand my law practice. When I do, I’m going to look for those older attorneys who can’t get the time of day from large firms, but who have the drive and intelligence to make a practice succeed, and who are motivated to go out and take Junior’s lunch money and kick his latte-sipping ass to the curb old school.

    (Pardon the typos. The software doesn’t always compensate properly and I don’t feel like correcting it.)

  37. NJCoast says:

    News from the shore-
    Loch Arbour and Allenhurst held an informational public meeting last night to merge the two towns. Loch Arbour is desparate to get out of the Ocean township school system where they have to pay $2.6 million to send 10 kids to the school. Even with Loch Arbour offering $5 million to Allenhurst to wipe them clean of all their debt and would lower their propert taxes by 20%, the concensus among Allenhurst voters was “no way”, they feel they have everything to lose and nothing to gain. There was only one Loch Arbour resident who had three kids in Ocean schools who didn’t want the consolidation.
    There are new bills in the NJ Senate and Assembly to make it easier for towns to consolidate but it is still is convoluted. Apparently towns must submit a consolidation plan and the state will approve/not approve/tweak it and then it goes back to the towns for a vote. One of the last bullet points of the Senate bill was to make the voter mandate optional, which means in the future city councils will be able to make the decision, both town councils insisted they would abide by the voters wishes.

  38. joyce says:

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/erincarlyle/2012/06/27/blood-money-the-guys-who-trade-your-blood-for-profit/

    Doesn’t the guy on the right in the picture look like the frat president from Animal House?

  39. Comrade Nom Deplume, a.k.a Captain Justice says:

    OT alert,

    http://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/tkzv4c1e8v/econTabReport.pdf

    Page 15 on gun ownership–40% of households have a gun. This allegedly represents a trend reversal and jump in percentage but I haven’t confirmed that. Breakdown in data shows that even 20% of liberals admit owning. This suggests that getting comprehensive gun control, while not impossible, would be extremely difficult. Further, any of the more onerous measures that the left wants are highly unlikely.

  40. Comrade Nom Deplume, a.k.a Captain Justice says:

    [45] Joyce,

    Yeah you’re right. It’s Hoover!

  41. Comrade Nom Deplume, a.k.a Captain Justice says:

    [27] JJ,

    “The problem is talent individuals like myself can do the work of 20 men. Maybe this is the cause of unemployment.”

    We laugh, but in a larger sense, JJ is correct.

  42. Comrade Nom Deplume, a.k.a Captain Justice says:

    [18] spine,

    The really annoying thing about anon is not that he is a troll, but that he is a lazy one. Or, I should say lazier than most of his ilk. At least his comrades can come up with their own Snark.

  43. anon (the good one) says:

    @BillMoyersHQ: “Redistribution” is a dirty word, but @RBReich points out that we redistribute upward like crazy. http://t.co/TwOmSatSOq

  44. Comrade Nom Deplume, a.k.a Captain Justice says:

    [51] anon

    Case in point.

  45. Comrade Nom Deplume, a.k.a Captain Justice says:

    Rules? We don’t need no stinking rules!

    http://www.pepperlaw.com/publications_update.aspx?ArticleKey=2823

    Seems that the administration, once again, decided that they didn’t need to follow the law to advance their agenda.

  46. JJ says:

    To be honest. Going back to the 1980s on wall street for your folks, you write a trade ticket throw it in the basket, record the trade in your blotter, trade gets processed, handed over to key punch group, then if physical you get a runner deliver or get security and then branch would get check from customer to pay for it. Then accountants, auditors and back office folk have to check and reconcile manually all these paper, do vault counts, visit branches, do FOCUS reports manually etc.

    Today, a trade is keyed by retail customer directly and is straight though processing all electronic. All that is involved is a some IT folk and a few folks to check system.

    Bottom line the folks remaining are doing the work of 20 men.

    Even more interesting lets time travel to a place in Garden City Long Island most have never seen or would never believed even existed. The Muni Bond vault at DTC which was mainly Bearer Bonds back them and Registered Munis too.

    97% of all Muni bonds were there in physical form. Most were bearer bonds with coupons. That had to be clipped every six months, little coupons put in envelopes sent to paying agents for payment then paid out to customers. Transfer agents to do names changes, whole power of attorney stamps and tons of legal transfer folk. Reorg and Corporate Actions involved collecting massive amounts of paper.

    Both vaults were size of a football field. With 40 foot ceilings. Over one trillion was in the vault. An identical sized corporate vault for stocks was in NYC with corporate stocks and bonds. Can you imaging collecting one billion worth of dividends and interest manually on a JJ issue all composed of 5k bonds and 100 shares of stock. Crazy. DTC back then in 1980s even had 1,000 armed guards to watch this stuff.
    Then they had a fifth vault for MBS.

    Today the vaults are gone. A handfull of little bits of paper exist, the guards are gone, the coupon clippers are gone, the folks working with green eyeshades are gone.

    Best example of technolgy is NYSE when they were a US equities market only in the bubble of 1987 had 3,000 employees fast forward to 2007 and firms like BATs or Direct Edge could process that same volume with around 40 employees. So 3,000 people replaced by 40. Wall Street can afford to pay well as the bonus share pool is shared by so many less people. The secretaries, clerks, runners, data entry, security guards, cafeteria, shoeshine boys, vault, most of operations are all long gone.

  47. JJ says:

    Moody’s Downgrades Yeshiva University Five Notches to B1
    by Robert Slavin
    JAN 9, 2014 5:58pm ET

    Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Yeshiva University debt to B1 from Baa2 Thursday afternoon

    Guess their rating got “jew’d” down.

  48. Comrade Nom Deplume, a.k.a Captain Justice says:

    [54]. JJ

    I foresaw that back in the 80s. I think I discussed here before about a presentation for a new software rollout at State Street. I watched as the PowerPoint changed to show nodes where a bunch of humans existed in the process only to be replaced by computers.

    It was at that point that I decided I should revive my long-held ambition to go to law school.

  49. Libturd in the City says:

    “The Original NJ ExPat, cusp of doom”

    I forgot who told me that the peso was a working replacement for the GSP token and took full advantage of it for a couple of years. I would just collect the pesos when I was in Mexico and would bring them home. I think I still have two or three of the old tokens in my car for posterity sake.

  50. nwnj says:

    I think it would be dicey to use any bogus coins for tolls on a consistent basis. On occastion it’s one thing , but they’re snapping all of the license plates as they pass through now so it wouldn’t be that hard to single out the cheaters over time.

  51. Libturd in the City says:

    JJ is correct Nom.

    This year, one of the departments that I manage has been able to produce more pages with six people than we did with twenty back in 2007. We can thank XML, AppleScript and JavaScript for this. When the massive layoffs came through my company from 2008 to 2010, three of my six remaining workers took it upon themselves (with my gentle prodding) to learn how to script and automate. The funny thing is, the three who didn’t were my leads from way back when and the three who did were my more recent hires. On February 1st, my three leads will lose their lead titles and drop all the way down to tech 1s. And trust me, I’ve given all three of them goals over the last few years to which they chose not complete them. They are lucky they are still here. I always reward those who work harder and make me look good. The problem is, the sorry saps don’t seem to care that their increases have been miniscule. They are just content to have a job.

    The moral of the story is that as long as you strive to learn new things, technology improvements won’t cause you to lose your job. If you just sit back on your fat ass and think the company is going to protect you, well then find a job in the public sector. Anon doesn’t care if you are as productive as a slug.

  52. Libturd in the City says:

    NWNJ…I agree that it worked in the past, but shouldn’t be tried now.

    In the past, you could buy weed from certain toll collectors on the GSP and sports bet daily at the Verrazono Bridge. In the morning on Tuesday or Wednesday you would pick up your NFL parlay form with the Daily News or Post when waiting in the toll line. On Thursday or Friday morning, you handed in your form and bet to the same paperboy. My dad played every week for years.

  53. Street Justice says:

    “Total trade isn’t the only area Beijing has come to dominate. China overtook the U.S. as the biggest importer of oil late last year, amid rising demand for fossil fuels.”

    I’m not really sure this is something China should brag about. Really, in the US, I think I would gladly give up the title of largest importer of foreign oil.

  54. Happy Renter says:

    [1] Re blood banks.

    I caught that segment on the radio last night as well, on the way home from work. I especially liked the story about the blood bank people from New York calling up the blood bank people in Florida and threatening to “bury” them for unloading lower-priced blood on the NYC market.

    Restored my faith in humanity’s ability to corrupt anything and everything.

  55. Street Justice says:

    Nom, I’ve come to believe over the years that cnnmoney is garbage. They’ve been wrong on just about every major economic event in the last ten years. I think they’re more interested in increasing the number of clicks on their website to appease their advertizers than they are actual journalism or market analysis.

  56. HouseWhineWine says:

    42). You get a hard working millennial in the workplace and they are awesome performers. That said, they are “out sick” a lot. So maybe not as dependable in that sense. My team now is a real mix of every decade from the 20’s to the 60’s. Each age category has its pro’s and con’s. We all seem to complement each other. Sure, we have our slackers, but the age seems not to be part of the equation. Personally, I never want to just work with people like me!

  57. Street Justice says:

    China isn’t some economic boogeyman to be afraid of.

  58. Juice Box says:

    re: #66 – China – 36 years with no recession and now with a middle class of consumers bigger than our entire population, sure no worries…..

  59. Street Justice says:

    67 – Their one child policy has put them in the unenviable position of an aging population who’s working age population will not be able to provide entitlements to. A growing middle class who will want higher wages once they and their neighbors have had a taste of it. At some point, higher wages and the combined cost of logistics, could force manufacturers to second guess the decison to manufacture there.

  60. joyce says:

    Then why don’t he, you, and others ever advocate for stopping the causes of the upward redistribution… rather than just saying more taxes more & gov programs, et al, are the solution?

    anon (the good one) says:
    January 10, 2014 at 10:53 am
    @BillMoyersHQ: “Redistribution” is a dirty word, but @RBReich points out that we redistribute upward like crazy. http://t.co/TwOmSatSOq

  61. ccb223 says:

    China has a ton of problems, huge/epic real estate bubble…incredible income inequality (most of population still lives in rural/farming areas), massive corporate corruption (which seems to be part of their ethos – so hard to change) so for all their relatively recent success, there are a bunch of red flags too.

  62. JJ says:

    Right now the best workers are Chinese kids who are single between 23 and 33. They like to work, educated, they dont rush to get married and have kids and unlike most single people (meaning me), are not out drinking and partying and barely coming to work. They are respectful and assume you will do right by them. If you dont do right by them they will still thank you but move on.

    They replaced the first generation Irish/Italian kids from 25 years ago as the best workers.

    Key to running empire is to have a great second in command you can trust. Then have staff you like who like you. Then avoid the drama kings and queens, folks abusing sick days, coming in late, leaving early, going out on medical leave. Then have a few “cube dwellers” folks just happy doing job and doing an ok job. Not bucking for promotion every five minutes. I dont need stress.

    HouseWhineWine says:
    January 10, 2014 at 12:06 pm

    42). You get a hard working millennial in the workplace and they are awesome performers. That said, they are “out sick” a lot. So maybe not as dependable in that sense. My team now is a real mix of every decade from the 20′s to the 60′s. Each age category has its pro’s and con’s. We all seem to complement each other. Sure, we have our slackers, but the age seems not to be part of the equation. Personally, I never want to just work with people like me!

  63. Libturd in the City says:

    There are lots of red flags in China.

    A duh.

  64. Libturd in the City says:

    JJ,

    You just described my team to the t.

  65. ccb223 says:

    68 – no pun intended. funny.

  66. joyce says:

    Like Gross’s latest article saying rich need to pay more taxes due to their riding the credit wave of their generation and beyond… with no mention of ending the credit wave.

    joyce says:
    January 10, 2014 at 12:33 pm
    Then why don’t he, you, and others ever advocate for stopping the causes of the upward redistribution… rather than just saying more taxes more & gov programs, et al, are the solution?

    anon (the good one) says:
    January 10, 2014 at 10:53 am
    @BillMoyersHQ: “Redistribution” is a dirty word, but @RBReich points out that we redistribute upward like crazy. http://t.co/TwOmSatSOq

  67. anon (the good one) says:

    @pourmecoffee: Wonder if that affects their policies. Let me get my pipe and thinking hat. “Half of Congress Are Millionaires” http://t.co/EPOOlfKo6H

    joyce says:
    January 10, 2014 at 12:47 pm
    Like Gross’s latest article saying rich need to pay more taxes due to their riding the credit wave of their generation and beyond… with no mention of ending the credit wave.

    joyce says:
    January 10, 2014 at 12:33 pm
    Then why don’t he, you, and others ever advocate for stopping the causes of the upward redistribution… rather than just saying more taxes more & gov programs, et al, are the solution?

    anon (the good one) says:
    January 10, 2014 at 10:53 am
    @BillMoyersHQ: “Redistribution” is a dirty word, but @RBReich points out that we redistribute upward like crazy. http://t.co/TwOmSatSOq

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  69. Comrade Nom Deplume, a.k.a Captain Justice says:

    Nice to see I’ve kick started a few discussions. Healthy ones too. Keep it coming, for or against.

    Grim was right about the vitriol. Yesterday was pretty nasty. Even the more erudite than usual discussion (for this board, not the participants) btwn Nicholas and Michael broke down into petty squabbling. Too bad as I was enjoying a reliving of my undergrad lectures.

    I was reflecting today on a story about Alexander Hamilton. Political and economic discourse was just as vitriolic back then but they had a solution, one that Hamilton found himself on the receiving end of. And now that media outlets are starting to require commenters to identify themselves instead of hiding behind anonymous socks, dueling may just be poised for a comeback!

    Just imagine if the old Hamilton – Burr dueling site was still open. We could rent it out. The revenues would probably pay off a nice chunk of New Jersey’s debt! Not to mention the sales for the raffle tickets for the right to duel anon! I think we could raise a few thousand right there!

    (Naturally I jest. But I think that we could have a form of nonlethal dueling that could take off. An enterprising local boxing club could sponsor a “dueling day” where folks can pay a fee, sign a release, lace them up and toe the line to settle their grievances).

  70. Street Justice says:

    75 – That’s awesome. Where do I sign up?

  71. Street Justice says:

    Jan 9, 2014 11:15PM ET / Politics

    Is Chris Christie’s Supreme Court War With Democrats Behind Bridgeghazi?

    Sara Morrison

    http://www.thewire.com/politics/2014/01/chris-christies-war-democrats-over-new-jersey-supreme-court-behind-bridgeghazi/356873/

    “The assumed reason for Bridgeghazi is that Fort Lee’s mayor refused to endorse Chris Christie for governor, and the lane closures were meant to punish him. But, as many have pointed out, Christie was a shoe-in to win the election and didn’t even ask the mayor for his endorsement — not to mention several other mayors didn’t endorse Christie and none of their towns were stuck in traffic for four days. What gives?
    Well, Rachel Maddow posited a new theory — and it is just a theory — on her show tonight: that a long-running feud between Christie and state senate Democrats about Supreme Court justice appointments may have been the real reason for Bridgeghazi.”

  72. Happy Renter says:

    [63] “36 years with no recession and now with a middle class of consumers bigger than our entire population, sure no worries…..”

    Not to mention a huge population of un-marriageable young males thanks to said One Child policy and female aborto/infanticide. History can teach us what governments do with an oversupplied, restive male population of prime military age . . .

    No, we’re not whistling past the Asian-fascists . . .

  73. Anon E. Moose says:

    Anon [72];

    Split almost equally among D and R (152/159). Not suprized you chose to omit that fact. Party of the “little man”, indeed.

  74. Street Justice says:

    77 – If this is really why the lanes were closed on the bridge, and it truly was retribution…it was a key battle in the war over control of the NJSC and property taxes….

    On August 12 of last year, Christie announced that he would not renominate another Supreme Court justice — this time, he said, it was because he didn’t want Helen Hoens (who is married to a Christie staffer) to face Senate Democrats who he said would destroy her reputation.
    “I was not going to let her loose to the animals,” Christie said. Later, he added: “What the ramifications would be for that going forward, [Senate Democrats] should have thought about before opening their mouths.”
    The very next morning, Bridget Anne Kelly emailed David Wildstein with “time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.”
    As Maddow points out, Fort Lee’s senator is Loretta Weinberg. She’s a Democrat and she’s also the Senate majority leader. Oh, and Christie once urged reporters to “take a bat to” her back in 2011, so there’s no love lost between them.

  75. Juice Box says:

    re # 78 – Happy Renter – re”whistling past the Asian-fascists”

    “No worries” after all harmony does not allow for discord.

  76. A Home Buyer says:

    81- Street

    I am missing the connection.

    The idea the author is proposing is that CC was trying to punish the Senate Majority Leader for something they may or may not do (the reputation smearing of a republican court justice)? I thought he didn’t fight / force the nomination, and my understanding was that he is trying to break up the court anyway?

    And the justification for his evil dead is that the Senate leader is a Democrat and that is her district… so causing a traffic jam in her district is going to punish her by… angering her voter base against the Port Authority / State who shut down the lanes?

    Was their signs out there saying this project was approved by the Senate Maj. Leader?

    What am I missing here? Am I reading that article wrong?

  77. JJ says:

    It is a good thing these Asian men are all like five foot seven and weight 110 pounds.
    They tried to attack us I would just bring back the draft and drop every Crip and Blood in the prision system in China locked and loaded. Easy 1,000 to one kill ratio.

  78. Street Justice says:

    81 – I assumed the discussion was around the economic power of one country vs another. Not the military aspirations.

  79. Street Justice says:

    Buyer,

    The republican court justice was just a casualty of war after the fact. She’s not really part of the vandetta….

    I usually never watch msnbc, but if you watch the embedded video, starting at about 9 minutes in….(I think), they explain that he did not re-appoint a sitting justice (left leaning and African American) for the first time…..ever…..setting in motion a war over the makeup of the supreme court. He then tried to appoint two people in that justice’s place…and the legislature…in such a rage stonewalled and or denied both appointments.

  80. Juice Box says:

    Soprano’s premiered 15 years ago today..

  81. A Home Buyer says:

    85- Street

    Understood. I remember that happening. But how does creating a traffic jam punish anyone specific, especially the democrats or the maj. leader?

    I see a lane closure and I’m cursing the DOT, and that is about it. Blaming my senator would never occur to me.

    What is the connection / reward for CC for doing this?

  82. Libturd in the City says:

    Remember everyone, it was also NJ’s Democratic Assembly that made CC’s property tax cap leak.

    Both parties suck. Send in your donations. Baa Baa!

  83. Street Justice says:

    Of course, the NJSC has made a series of landmark decisions regarding school funding in NJ. Forcing MOST of the money set aside for school funding to go to NJ’s cities, who coincidentally have abysmal graduation rates. If you remake the Supreme court, you might be able to overturn school funding decisions…so that more of the money can go to suburban and exurban districts…and lower their property tax bills….

  84. Libturd in the City says:

    Indeed, creating traffic really makes little sense as everyone knows that only Democrats take mass transit because they are environmentally responsible and all Republicans drive to work since they are all rich, can afford to park in the city and live to create giant carbon footprints.

  85. Street Justice says:

    Everone remember how the state recently changed the formula they used to calculate graduation rates? And how school districts were scrambling to explain them away? Many districts suddenly had MUCH lower graduation rates as a result….

  86. POS cape says:

    Grim,

    I am a long time blood donor. About 10 years ago there was an editorial in the local paper about how we should donate, it’s charitable, blah, blah, blah. I wrote back that it is charitable only at the donor level, and after that everyone’s making a buck off it all the way up the chain. Any idea what a pint goes for at retail? Very hard to find out.

    They published the letter, and right after that the blood bank started giving $10 gift cards out for a donation. Probably a coincidence, but I like to think I caused it.

  87. Libturd in the City says:

    I was surprised to find out all of the crap they gave away the last time I donated blood. I was at a large memorial party for a close friend’s mom at their ‘active adult’ community clubhouse, where there was a blood drive in one of the other ballrooms. When I heard they were giving away $10, a travel mug, a car first aid kit, a chance to win an iPad as well as a slew of other goodies, I couldn’t resist. Let it be known, I wasn’t the only one from the party who gave.

    Back in the day, you were lucky to get a Twinkie and a dixie cup of orange drink.

  88. Essex says:

    Anyone know anything about Chester, NJ — lots of nice looking places.
    The poor man’s mendham perhaps?

  89. A Home Buyer says:

    90 – Lib

    I am not sure if that post is directed towards my post, and I apologize if I am being dense, but I just do not see the reason behind it.

    I completely agree its an abuse of power if it was done specifically out of malice with no real purpose for it… but how does this create a problem for the Mayor or for the democrats? What is the end game for making a traffic jam?

    I keep reading these articles but no one says what the CC administration had to gain by doing this.

  90. Libturd in the City says:

    Yeah…I have a strange feeling and I maintained this position since day one, that it was not the work of CC himself but of a dumb staffer. Ultimately CC is responsible for the actions of his office, but this just doesn’t sound like him. It’s just too stupid of an idea and the fingerprints would just be too obvious if it was. There’s no denying that he’s a verbal bully. But, this just doesn’t seem like one of his political moves. It’s just too dumb.

    I expect everything that you read about this issue over the next few days, weeks and months to mostly be Democratic spin. You won’t have to search for it though. Nimwit Twitter addict Anon will find it for you and will surely post it here for he is a puppet and can’t think for himself.

  91. nwnj says:

    If the story that we’ve been fed is true, and they shutdown the lanes as retribution for not supporting CC’s campaign, then I wouldn’t assume that it was for the advancement of the administration.

    It could have been for the advancement of individual POS’s who were involved . If the operatives were hoping to be known as good henchmen and wanted to hitch a ride on the way to DC this could have been a chance to raise their stock.

    It’s a piss poor operation and wouldn’t have accomplished much in the way of hurting their foes, but it could have been the best these hacks could come up with.

  92. Libturd in the City says:

    This is a much better theory than Maddow’s, NWNJ. But it doesn’t attack CC enough, so she wouldn’t come up with something like this.

  93. Happy Renter says:

    [84] “I assumed the discussion was around the economic power of one country vs another. Not the military aspirations.”

    Understood. Just pointing out that rarely has military power not followed economic power.

  94. jcer says:

    94, my sister lives in Chester, good schools, nice town, kind of rural. If you work near Morristown or North Jersey it’s good. nice houses, big lots. If you need to commute to NYC, yikes.

  95. Essex says:

    101. Thanks! No need for NYC our livelihood is tied to a massive multinational on this side of the river. Chester looks great. Wife wants a little acreage. I want some fresh air and a three car garage. Win.

  96. nwnj says:

    #104

    They aren’t really fans of big government gun control types out there so keep it in mind.

  97. Comrade Nom Deplume, Guardian of the Realm says:

    [99] lib

    Maddow=Desperately Seeking Narrative

    Back to the salt mine–fundraiser edition.

    Happy weekend, y’all.

  98. Essex says:

    106. Eat a dick comrade!

  99. grim says:

    Chester is a good choice, prices generally lower due to the fact that it’s further out. Some beautiful houses out that way. Some good deals to be had on the Mendham side of Randolph as well. Many folks start out looking in the Mendham/Bernardsville area and migrate out to Chester, etc. Some folks will even go one step further, out to Washington Twp, where prices are better yet.

  100. The Original NJ ExPat, cusp of doom says:

    Nom – As a tech guy, I have some comment (and insight) on this comment:

    I know that the rap on old guys is that they are not technologically savvy

    15 years ago, as a young Director (late 30’s) managing 3 departments I admit to beings a little intimidated by the talent and abilities of a lot of the late 20’s, early 30’s engineers who worked for me. They had great educations and leveraged that learning and were up on the newest technologies and could switch gears in an instant and go in a new direction. Fast forward 15 years and those now early 40’s engineers are still the smartest guys in the room ( from a technical standpoint) and the guys who replaced them (now late 20’s and early 30’s) aren’t even as smart or capable as old guys like me and the guys in their early 20’s are that much dumber still! I don’t see any escalation of talent or ability to complete projects or think outside the box from engineers who were born in the 1982-2002 range. I’d be interested in hearing grim’s younger take on the tech guys behind him. Grim might just be born at the pinnacle of the watershed.

  101. The Original NJ ExPat, cusp of doom says:

    [106] I meant “engineers born in the 1982-1992 range”, not 1982-2002. I’ll say the jury is still out on the 1992-2002 crop, but the first wave isn’t looking too promising.

  102. jcer says:

    the best young tech people work at start ups. I know a lot of good young engineers who exited corp IT/banks to greener pastures, similar salaries, more interesting work, and freedom. If you can’t wear jeans to work and the day starts before 10am, you don’t have the best technical people anymore, there is too much demand right now, not enough supply.

  103. ccb223 says:

    totally agree with jcer

    and would also add Apple and Google, jeans to work and 10am start seems to be the proxy

  104. The Original NJ ExPat, cusp of doom says:

    [108] jcer – All of my experience over the last 15 years has been at startups(two of them, both mature and/or acquired), and I concur. My observations are specifically about the so-called “cream” of the crop. I arrive promptly between 7AM and 11:30 most days. And I still wear jeans every day. My wife occasionally washes them to my great dismay.

    the best young tech people work at start ups. I know a lot of good young engineers who exited corp IT/banks to greener pastures, similar salaries, more interesting work, and freedom. If you can’t wear jeans to work and the day starts before 10am, you don’t have the best technical people anymore, there is too much demand right now, not enough supply.

  105. The Original NJ ExPat, cusp of doom says:

    We have summer internships that we give away as what I see as petty grift, $22/hour for college undergrads their sophomore and junior years. One guy from my church wanted one for his son, but he wanted his son to work remotely, if you can believe that. We hire from Tufts and MIT and have lots of senior management from both schools. Sorry. I still see dumb, compared to what we used to see.

  106. jcer says:

    I think the market is spread thin, supply is low, top schools only graduate so many students each year. You have to pay a lot, have interesting work, prestige, etc to attract the best talent, these kids are starting at 125k out of school now.

  107. grim says:

    Have had good success recently hiring younger folks with a military background.

  108. Street Justice says:

    4:28 p.m. ET – Amid the controversy surrounding access lane closures near the George Washington Bridge scandal for alleged political reasons, documents released Friday show that a traffic study did in fact occur.

    An “early assessment” of traffic patterns on the bridge was conducted. The assessment, which was released on September 12, the fourth day of the lane closures, produced findings that detailed the number of vehicles that used the Ft. Lee section of the bridge, peak traffic hours and what the impact would be if lanes were removed or added.

    http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/01/10/nearly-a-thousand-new-documents-released-in-n-j-bridge-scandal/comment-page-9/

  109. chicagofinance says:

    Obamacare (JJ Edition):

    Shocking X-ray image shows bottle man rammed up own buttocks

    The patient arrived at a hospital in China, complaining of a severe mystery pain. After the stunning X-ray results, he admitted he was behind his own misfortune. He tried fishing the bottle out with a steel wire, which also got lost, and then went to the emergency room with a pierced bowel.

    Bummer. Well, this certainly redefines the old phrase ‘pain in the …’

    The patient arrived at a hospital in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China, this week, complaining of a mysterious, agonizing stomach ache.

    After he claimed he had no idea what was causing the pain, doctors wheeled him in to the X-ray room. He confessed to ramming the object inside his body following the unbelievable results.

    In a bid to fish it out, he had tried using a steel wire, but when that failed and also got lost, he swallowed his pride and went to the emergency room.

    Medics were forced to operate on the patient after finding out his bowel had been pierced, the Daily Star reported.

  110. I said close the FRIDGE! says:

    The Maddow theory that this was aimed at the Senate Majority leader. does actually make sense and the timing seems to back it up. The mayor for not providing an endorsement never seemed to meet the smell test. While those queuing for the bridge may blame the DOT, the local residents are going to vent to the mayor and the congressman. Filling Loretta’s office with angry residents would seem like a nice payback.

    If this does come out that it all comes back to Wallis and the SC nominations that would show that Karma has a wicked sense of humor.

  111. Michael says:

    Nick, I was trying to show both points of view on the topic. I also used that article to help provide an answer to the question you asked….you said empire was not the correct term and I thought this op-ed provided an answer for you.

    “Wait? Were you quoting the comments to the article as proof that your position was right? There are numerous counter examples in the comments that indicate that the U.S. is not an imperialist, empire. I’m not sure that the guy you chose to quote is all together honestly and he is making very loose connections between events. He uses the following example as proof positive that the U.S. is an empire:”

  112. Fabius Maximus says:

    http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/09/us/west-virginia-contaminated-water/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
    So here we have a case that throws up most of the issues I have with Fracking. We have 200K people with their water supply contaminated with a product that they have no idea what will be a safe level to allow people to drink. They know at current levels, it’s pretty nasty.
    I see lots of issues with Fracking. The main ones are what they are using to do it with and where they are doing it. When they drill through aquifers the put in a concrete sleeve to protect the water from contamination. But with Fracking, the process causes earthquakes. I suspect this is where the contamination is coming from. The earthquakes are cracking the sleeves.
    For the Fracking liquid. What’s in it? Well no one knows because the chemical makeup is a “trade secret”. So they pump it into the wells and then with all the contaminated water they ship off to big holding tanks that fall over when places like Colorado flood.
    So this is what it really comes down to for me. I look at places like New York and when they say they want to drill through the Aquifer that supplies the water to NYC I see that as the Rubicon. We saw with Deep Horizon is that they science works great up until the point it doesn’t and the effects of the mistakes are huge. But hey, people are making money and we get cheap natural gas.

  113. grim says:

    118 – What happened there was terrible, but the spill had nothing at all to do with fracking, it’s related to coal mining processes.

    Are you surprised to realize that pretty much all aspects of an energy system predicated on burning dinosaurs carries risk? As well, so does energy associated with splitting atoms. Geothermal (earthquakes and water contamination as well), etc. Layer on the political challenge of the US population generally being opposed to any change to the status quo (How would you feel about a nuclear power plant in Bergen County?). No? Thought so.

    What options would you recommend we explore as viable alternatives? Are you involved with the group that is lobbying to allow drilling off the NJ coast? If not, why not? Why weren’t you out supporting the guy in Wayne who wanted to put up his own wind turbine off Hamburg Tpke? He fought with the township for years. Based on the veracity of the fight against him, you’d think he was talking about building a brothel next to a kindergarten, with a plan to sublet out to a crack house.

    Realize that the enemy is not big business, it’s us.

  114. grim says:

    By the way, we’re coming up with a process to process and redistill our waste alcohol into a product that is usable to reduce our own gasoline usage. Based on our projected output, I might just need to buy a dual fuel e-85 pickup for the shop, and can run it on what is essentially trash.

  115. grim says:

    Looks like I’ll be down in the keys the week of Feb 2nd.

  116. Comrade Nom Deplume, a.k.a Captain Justice says:

    [104] Essex

    Whatever, Sybil.

  117. Fabius Maximus says:

    #119 grim

    Yes I am aware that the spill is related to that other misnomer “Clean Coal”. The parallel comes from the fact that there is billions of gallons of contaminated water that the companies are having a hard time disposing off. In the old days it would be dig a pit a la Pompon Plains or Ramapo. It’s funny when you look at the toxic waste cleanups within a few miles of you.
    We have had two major train fires in the past month. One throws up a very worrying fact that the rail cars were not designed for the high volatility of the shale oil. Add to that the fact that the Balkan Tar sands are so viscous and corrosive that the current pipelines are having a hard time pumping it.
    As for alternatives. I am a big proponent of Nuclear. It can be done safely and the fuel can be reprocessed. I am all for Wind farms, tidal, geo-thermal. Take swaths of the badlands in Utah and cover them with Solar panels.
    The problem is more than just “us”. There is profit to be made. The end game for fracking and NG is export to China. The local benefits we see here today are just the set up. I get your point that all extraction methods have risk. But it’s like that scene in the Deer Hunter. They are playing Russian Rolette, its late in the game and their running out of chambers.

  118. chicagofinance says:

    The water is expensive to obtain, transport and dispose. To the extent it can be reused, there is a strong incentive to do so.

    Nuclear is safe? Talk to Angela Merkel about that one.

    Wind energy? The problem is that the electricity grid has not been engineered to transmit power from where it is produced by wind to where it will be used. Talk to Pickens about that one.

    Bottom line, we need to stop sending petro-dollars to people that want us dead….it is bad calculus….

    Fabius Maximus says:
    January 11, 2014 at 9:46 am
    #119 grim Yes I am aware that the spill is related to that other misnomer “Clean Coal”. The parallel comes from the fact that there is billions of gallons of contaminated water that the companies are having a hard time disposing off. In the old days it would be dig a pit a la Pompon Plains or Ramapo. It’s funny when you look at the toxic waste cleanups within a few miles of you.
    We have had two major train fires in the past month. One throws up a very worrying fact that the rail cars were not designed for the high volatility of the shale oil. Add to that the fact that the Balkan Tar sands are so viscous and corrosive that the current pipelines are having a hard time pumping it.
    As for alternatives. I am a big proponent of Nuclear. It can be done safely and the fuel can be reprocessed. I am all for Wind farms, tidal, geo-thermal. Take swaths of the badlands in Utah and cover them with Solar panels.
    The problem is more than just “us”. There is profit to be made. The end game for fracking and NG is export to China. The local benefits we see here today are just the set up. I get your point that all extraction methods have risk. But it’s like that scene in the Deer Hunter. They are playing Russian Rolette, its late in the game and their running out of chambers.

  119. grim says:

    Take swaths of the badlands in Utah and cover them with Solar panels.

    Thanks for proving my point

  120. chicagofinance says:

    ARod’s 2014 Season < Vigoda

  121. Comrade Nom Deplume, a.k.a Captain Justice says:

    [125] grim,

    Beat me to it. The enviros tune changes real fast when the facility is to go in next door. Just ask the Kennedys. And Fabian says he’s in favor of nuclear but I bet he has a raft of reasons why a new reactor shouldn’t be within 100 miles of his zip code. Nope, he’d rather it be located in a red state.

  122. Comrade Nom Deplume, a.k.a Captain Justice says:

    [127] redux

    And those “badlands” are made up of national parks, Indian reservations, and natural monuments, and even it land is available, it means an entire new transmission infrastructure. Not very green. Still, I don’t dispute that states like Utah should host these projects. They might be very happy someday that major power production is located in their states.

  123. Street Justice says:

    Firearm requests soar
    Fears of fewer cops, more laws trigger boost in gun requests

    http://m.newjerseyhills.com/observer-tribune/news/firearm-requests-soar/article_19f2e830-7940-11e3-a9e5-001a4bcf887a.html?mode=jqm

    By PHIL GARBER, Managing Editor | Posted Yesterday

    WASHINGTON TWP. – Concerns about cuts in police staffing to fears of growing gun controls contributed to a sharp increase in people requesting permits to buy rifles and hand guns in 2013.

    The increases are reflected in area towns and across the state and nation in the aftermath of the December 2012 school massacre in Newtown, Conn.

    Police records showed a 59 percent increase over 2012 in the number of pistol permits issued and a 49 percent boost in rifle permits.

    In 2012, 164 people received permits to buy rifles and one permit was denied. A total of 297 pistol permits also were issued to 1`64 people.

    In 2013, 245 rifle permits were issued and four applications were denied. A total of 471 pistol purchase permits were issued to 245 residents.

    Lt. Mark Niemynski said he routinely speaks with applicants as to why they want to buy rifles or guns.

    “Some people feared cutbacks in police staffing levels and wanted guns for home defense,” Niemynski said. “People were also purchasing guns fearing gun control. They just felt the process would be more difficult if new legislation was passed.”

  124. Godzilla in a straight jacket says:

    For those science geeks out there. After WW2, the original plans of the Atomic Energy Commission under Truman was to built governemnt owned nuclear reactor deep underground in the western desert, which piped in sea-water for cooling and de-salinated water as a by-product along with the intended products of electricity and a hydrogen gas that could be piped out farther to power electricity generating stations.

    They were expensive, but because they did not know what could go wrong, they did not know how to handle the nuclear waste issue, plus if anything went wrong, you evacuated the people, shut the connection points and blow the place up and it would seal itself off deep underground and far and safely away from anyone.

    By the time Eisenhower came in, it was scrapped because big business wanted a piece of the pie and they did not want goverment to own anything.

  125. chicagofinance says:

    FlabMax figures that all the nuclear waste can be dumped on the main boulevards of Tel Aviv……..Iran will be dirty bombing the area soon enough…..once it’s all done, he will be scarfing down potatoes while quaffing Jamieson’s and Riverdancing through a cloud data storage facility…….

    Comrade Nom Deplume, a.k.a Captain Justice says:
    January 11, 2014 at 12:57 pm
    [127] redux

    And those “badlands” are made up of national parks, Indian reservations, and natural monuments, and even it land is available, it means an entire new transmission infrastructure. Not very green. Still, I don’t dispute that states like Utah should host these projects. They might be very happy someday that major power production is located in their states.

  126. Libtard at home says:

    Hey Gary,

    There was an open house on one of the million dollar homes on Ridgewood Avenue in the Ridge today. You would have thought someone was having a wedding by the number of cars lined up on both sides of the Ave. I thought the line was ling when I drove by in the morning around 9:30am. When I drove by around 2pm, it was even worse. I’m not sure where the money is coming from, but judging by the size of the crowd, the money is there and my property values gonna be there too. Limited inventory means higher prices. That’s all there is too this. At least in the smaller towns.

  127. Libtard at home says:

    Strange. I don’t see the house on the MLS? Not sure what the deal is there. Definitely an open house from a major RE agency.

  128. plume (74)-

    Brenna’s hubby proposed to her at the site of the Hamilton-Burr duel. I told her that was an ominous sign of things to come. :)

  129. Fast Eddie says:

    Libtard,

    Ridgewood Avenue in Glen Ridge is one of the most picturesque streets in the Country. If one has that kind of dough and wants to play the haughty role, that is the street to consider. It’s the ultimate trophy house. And because of the rare times one comes on the market, it’s gone just as quickly. I can picture an open auction taking place in the living room of that house. I suspect that house is already sold.

  130. Pocket listing, one day auction, sold.

  131. Fast Eddie says:

    No doubt about it. The problem is, some of these @ssholes in West Essex and Bergen think their house is special and demand top dollar, even though the place is a f.ucking dump. They were non-qualified buyers and now they’re non-qualified sellers. In further news, this Seahawks-Saints game s.ucks.

  132. Fast Eddie says:

    And just like that, the Saints decide to make a game of it.

  133. Juice Box says:

    Chi – I was in a 12k sq ft house down in these woods. These folks are nuts. Your kind of client?

  134. Fabius Maximus says:

    #119 Grim et al,
    I did actually skip over your Bergen reactor comment. I would answer that this way. I would not have a problem with it but logistically it could never happen. Now you might say, well he is just saying that there is no way to back it up. Well I can point to the fact that I am less than 25 miles from Indian Point (which makes Eddie Rays comment moot). You know where I live so you can confirm that. I knew that when I moved here and I do a lot of work with the local emergency services and the OEM so I am aware of the risks and the plans. A few years ago I took a vacation to Lake Anna in Virginia, staying on the hot side of the plant. My buddy was a Chemical engineer and worked in a plant in the UK for years. He explained a lot of it to me. Merkel did not shut the German plants down, due to the specific safety of the plants, it was political pressure after Japan. Putting something in Bergen is not logistically feasible. Even if you spooned it into the Palisades or Mahwah. The no fly zone would shut down the Alpine beacon and EWR would have to rework the approaches. Put it in the Palisades and you impact LGA as well.
    Offshore drilling I don’t have a big deal with. Inshore, you are going to impact the beaches and tourism is a very big risk. It is also a moot point, as CC has shut it down. If the GOP are saying an energy policy it is not good, that is saying something. Just like Deep Horizon, it all looks great until it doesn’t.
    But you do bring up a good point, the transmission grid needs to be addressed. Smart Grid should happen.
    My buddy looked into a wind turbine in Sussex. The logistics were not the issue, but the numbers would not work.
    As for the Badlands, we ran the railroads through them, adding transmission lines should not be that big an issue.
    Chi the UK has been doing the worlds reprocessing for years. I think the Fukishima rods are getting shipped there when they get pulled.

  135. Njescapee says:

    Grim, Key West?

  136. Anon E. Moose says:

    Spine [134];

    Nice view of the city skyline up and down the “Gold Coast”. I used to take dates to the park in Edgewater at the top of the Lincoln tunnel helix — winner.

  137. Libtard at home says:

    Sunday Frist. Off to beat up on the Ramapo Saints.

  138. Fcuking referee screws my Magpies again.

  139. Fabius Maximus says:

    Rudy Giuliani on ABC to talk about CC and the bridge. He gets asked a generic question “when you were mayor how would you have responded to this traffic on the GWB”. In the first 30 seconds he mentioned the IRS twice and even threw in a Benghazi.
    I supposed he has moved on from “Noun, Verb, 9/11”

  140. Fabius Maximus says:

    Interesting discussion point.

    New Jersey Pinelands Gas Pipeline Proposal Rejected By State Agency
    PEMBERTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey agency tasked with protecting the ecologically fragile Pinelands region narrowly defeated a proposal Friday to run a 22-mile natural gas pipeline through it.

    The decision delighted environmentalists, who had turned out by the hundreds to oppose the plan over the past six months. But it disheartened business groups and union members who hoped to get work from the project.

    The application touched off a classic jobs-versus-the environment clash in one of the most ecologically sensitive areas of the nation’s most densely populated state.

    “This is a great victory for the Pinelands and the environment of the region,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “Today the commissioners said the Pinelands are not for sale.”
    “The Pinelands is host to one of the last wildernesses in New Jersey,” added Dan DeRosa of Environment New Jersey. “We’re a tiny state packed with 8 million people, yet we still have wild spaces like the Pinelands.”
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/11/new-jersey-pinelands-gas-pipeline_n_4581015.html?utm_hp_ref=green

  141. joyce says:

    You mean, “Terrorists, terrorists, terrorism, 9/11, terrorists, when I was mayor, terrorism, terrorists.”

    Fabius Maximus says:
    January 12, 2014 at 11:10 am

    Rudy Giuliani … I supposed he has moved on from “Noun, Verb, 9/11″

  142. Street Justice says:

    Wow impeachment? Really?

    By Star-Ledger Staff
    Follow on Twitter
    on January 12, 2014 at 11:12 AM, updated January 12, 2014 at 12:32 PM
    By Steve Strunsky and Ryan Hutchins / The Star-Ledger

    Gov. Chris Christie would face possible impeachment if evidence emerges showing he knew more about the George Washington Bridge scandal, the New Jersey lawmaker leading a legislative inquiry said this morning.

    Appearing on “Face the Nation,” Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex) said the Assembly could move to impeach Christie if something comes to light revealing a direct link between the Republican governor and the September closure of local access lanes leading to the bridge in Fort Lee. Wisniewski, who chairs the Assembly transportation committee, said those closures clearly constituted a crime because public property was used for political purposes.

    “If it becomes known that the governor was involved and he knew about it and he knew about the cover-up, and he was approving the actions taken by his senior staff, that raises serious questions that the assembly ought to look at,” Wisniewski said. “And that ought to be considered in light of what our responsibility is. The Assembly has the ability to do articles of impeachment.”

  143. chicagofinance says:

    un mod?

  144. joyce says:

    Misusing his office? Breaking the law? If those things occurred, you bet your @ss he should be impeached. Did he doing anything wrong in case?… don’t know don’t care. Even if he did, he won’t be impeached. They just throw that word around to make headlines.

    Nobody in the political/banker/connected/protected classes goes to jail anymore.

    Street Justice says:
    January 12, 2014 at 1:28 pm
    Wow impeachment? Really?

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