Tuesday Open Discussion

Posted on February 16, 2010 by grim

Open discussion, flying down to Nashville this morning.

You know the drill, keep it clean.

This entry was posted in General. Bookmark the permalink.

450 Responses to Tuesday Open Discussion

  3. PGC says:
    February 16, 2010 at 6:39 am

    UK inflation accelerates to 3.5%
    Mr King has had to write to the chancellor, to explain how the dog ate his homework.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8517156.stm

  4. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 6:53 am

    England is toast. They should just lie back and enjoy it.

    Slip into oblivion…black hole sun, won’t you come…

  5. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 6:54 am

    Next up, Portugal and Spain.

    Thanks for dumbing down the Greek currency swap thingy, Chi. I get it now…but I don’t like it.

  6. fly-over says:
    February 16, 2010 at 7:08 am

    RE Printing currency from the previous thread.

    I thought I had heard a while ago that there are certain banks in the US that retain the rights to issue currency. If I recall correctly, it was because they predate the federal reserve act.

  7. meter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:02 am

    @6 –

    Why do I have a sneaking suspicion that GS would hire an army of geneologosts to make its case for that sort of lineage.

  9. All "H-Train: Hype says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:15 am

    Clot (4):

    Best part of the article was that they called the spike in inflation “temporary”.

    Yeah, right. It will temporary for the next 10 years.

  11. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:23 am

    hype (9)-

    Too bad all attempts to reinflate will ultimately fail.

    Any nation that prints money ad infinitum will eventually succumb to deflationary debt destruction and pandemic depression.

  12. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:24 am

    Cindy (10)-

    In NJ, all the builders throwing up 55+ housing are busy petitioning the local gubmints to allow them to open up the housing to all ages.

    The 55+ market is toast in NJ. No senior in his right mind would ever retire here.

  13. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:26 am

    Can’t get excited about Olympics. Seems like a giant, desperate singles’ weekend.

  14. Cindy says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:36 am

    12 – Clot

    Interesting – They mention the shadow inventory @ #8 then talk of builders focused on the needs of the 55-plus crowd @ #10.

    First, these folks need to sell their overpriced place so they can buy the smaller square footage, close to the services they desire.

    Sounds like a process to me.

  15. Cindy says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:42 am

    http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/02/volcker-let-big-financial-firms-fail/

    TBP –

    Volcker, Let the Big Financial Firms Fail”

    “Volcker continues to argue for reinstating Glass-Steagall – separating investment firms engaged in market speculation from commercial, deposit-taking banks.”

  16. Mr Hyde says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:43 am

    Schump

    55+ construction?

    And what exactly are they going to use to pay for this when their 401K’s are getting bled dry.

    The retired/soon to, segment is now having to work longer in order to make up for losses in retirement savings or the lack of said savings at the same time health care costs are going up and incomes are falling.

    Hmmm, sounds like a prime segment for new construction to me. Wasnt that whole 55+ crowd supposed to be fueling the 2nd/3rd home boom? Hows that working out?

  17. frank says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:45 am

    Property Boom Returns to London’s City, thank you Omama for talking our banks down, to make sure they don’t create new jobs in NY.

    London’s banks and other financial institutions are leasing floor space at a rate not seen since the top of the last market boom.

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704431404575067073107666344.html?KEYWORDS=london

  18. Cindy says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:45 am

    http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/opinion/16paulson.html?pagewanted=1&ref=opinion

    Here is an Op-Ed by Henry Paulson from the NYT titled:

    “How to Watch the Banks”

    HAHAHAHAHA

  19. Mr Hyde says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:46 am

    Cindy,

    And who is going to buy the Toxic Chinese Mcmansions with radioactive granite, that the 55+ crowd is trying to sell?

    If a bank actually applies even bare bones lending standards, there is no one to lend to.

    Who wants to pay to maintain said 3000sqft monster

  20. frank says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:47 am

    Need a job?? Move to London, where the jobs are.

  21. goonsquad says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:48 am

    I asked a question yesterday about why Glen Ridge is superior to Montclair and I was mainly talking about taxes. Gator and Grim noted that Glen Ridge has no debt. How does one come to find out this type of information about towns, other than reading this site? I ask from a purely practical perspective, since I’m looking to buy my first house at some point in the coming months/years and have very little perspective on why some towns taxes are astronomical and others are merely high. The tidbit about GR having no debt leads me to assume they should have lower yearly increases in the coming years whereas Montclair or Maplewood will have higher.

  22. Cindy says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:49 am

    19- Kettle

    I haven’t the foggiest idea. They may need to do some of the “subtraction accounting” referred to in the article yesterday about white elephant malls.

    I’m feeling pretty cozy in my 1100 sq. ft., close-to-town place about now.

  23. Mr Hyde says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:52 am

    Cindy,

    Over the weekend i was reading about the issue of banks foreclosing on properties in CA that had a mortgage fraudulently taken out on the home by a 3rd party ( not the home owner).

    Have you heard much about that.

  24. Nomad says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:53 am

    For all of you bond mavens out there, can you suggest a good online broker where I can buy fixed income? I have been to the Zion’s site but not sure how their inventory stacks up against others. I understand the basics of fixed income and would not be doing anything that would be considered exotic.

    Thanks,

  25. Mr Hyde says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:54 am

    Cindy,

    I say we convert the malls into indigent housing. Then when everyone falls off unemployment, we can provide housing and put an empty building to use.

    Think of it as the american version of a soviet housing block

  27. SG says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:59 am

    What Citigroup knows that you don’t

    Citigroup Inc., our taxpayer-funded national bank, is readying a new credit derivative, the CLX. Basically, the CLX is systemic risk insurance that will pay out in the event of a financial crisis. The basic premise is to allow investors to hedge against a spike in funding costs.

    According to Risk Magazine “the CLX is constructed as a sum of the Sharpe ratio — deviations from the mean divided by volatility — of various market factors, such as equity volatilities, Treasury rates, swap spreads, corporate bond swaption-implied volatilities, and structured credit spreads. Citi will make the CLX tradable by using fixed historical values for the mean and volatility parameters, eliminating the need for costly recomputation from lengthy time series.”

    So, who trust Citi to do all this correctly?

  28. frank says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:03 am

    Where’s the recession??

    Simon Property Offers $10 Billion for General Growth

    http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=afrKIY.97dCU&pos=1

  29. Cindy says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:04 am

    23 – Kettle – Haven’t heard about that.
    Here’s a good one about the CA water story: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/congress/story/84511.html

    Also – @ 25…

    How about converting those malls into child-care centers/ over-55 recreation centers. You see, the old folks take care of the kids and have a game of chess or play bridge now and then….

  30. chicagofinance says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:07 am

    24.Nomad says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:53 am
    For all of you bond mavens out there, can you suggest a good online broker where I can buy fixed income? I have been to the Zion’s site but not sure how their inventory stacks up against others. I understand the basics of fixed income and would not be doing anything that would be considered exotic.
    Thanks

    Fidelity and Schwab are just fine….I would open an account at both.

    In my opinion, Fidelity does the best job of giving you up to the minute marks and intraday closing prices….you still really need to know what you are doing IMHO, but there is still a limit to how badly you can f- it up. Also, they will likely restrict your ability to buy junk, junk defined by credit rating not price…..

  31. Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:08 am

    Frank:

    Abercrombie & Fitch 4Q profit slips on charges

    Say it ain’t so. How’s the hot dog cart these days? I hope your toes aren’t too cold.

  32. chicagofinance says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:09 am

    30.chicagofinance says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:07 am
    Fidelity and Schwab are just fine….I would open an account at both.

    To clarify: so you get multiple bids on the same instrument….a third mark from a wholesale platofrm would be even better, but likely overkill for your purposes….

  33. chicagofinance says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:10 am

    30.chicagofinance says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:07 am
    In my opinion, Fidelity does the best job of giving you up to the minute marks and intraday closing prices…

    eeeekk: intraday — prices…

  34. chicagofinance says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:12 am

    AC is just fine…go to the Borgata…if you go cut rate, you get cut rate….we are getting an observed data point from Stu/Gator….if you show up at a craps table with a 20% off coupon, you can’t complain about what you get……

  35. Mr Hyde says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:18 am

    Cindy,

    Water is the new Oil.

    San Joaquin valley is having increasing issues with saltwater intrusion into its aquifers due to excessive drawdown of those aquifers.

    The politicians and locals all sound like they are acting like short term lemmings, headed for the cliff.

  36. Mr Hyde says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:22 am

    Cindy,

    the really amusing contradiction is that as the mineral content increases in the water used for irrigation, the farmers can end up “salting” their own fields over time. The common solution is to essentilly “flush” the fields with enough fresh water to remove the mineral build up. Thats kind of difficult when A) there is not enough surface water supply, B) aquifers are increasingly mineralized and ar elikely to exacerbate the problem.

    The “salting” doesnt happen over night, and can take years, but it will increasingly impact crop yields causing a demand for more water and cause the farmers to use more fertilizers which actually can exacerbate the issue.

    this has already happened and killed some farming areas in SoCal

  37. ricky_nu says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:23 am

    Mr Hyde – #19

    mine at 3000 SF, try 5000 SF (seen as a reasonable size by the boomers). 7000 SF for the show-offs.

  38. Mr Hyde says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:24 am

    sorry ricky, my bad.

    I lived in a 3000 sqft home briefly and thought it was huge and had a lot of wasted space.

    I cant image a 5000 sgft home

  39. Mr Hyde says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:26 am

    Cindy,

    we can turn the old Macy’s wing of the dead mall into the daycare center.

  40. Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:26 am

    From the Paulson Op-Ed:

    “Winding down a large institution is difficult and time-consuming. The regulators with this responsibility will need to be trained to do the job. And we must also require all large firms to develop a road map for their liquidation well ahead of any failure.These are not the only necessary reforms — we must also address regulation of derivatives and our over-reliance on credit ratings agencies. Over time, we have to simplify the patchwork quilt of regulatory agencies and improve transparency so that consumers and investors can punish excesses through their own informed investing decisions. We have to examine the many policies that favor homeownership, and recalibrate our support for them. We must also tackle what is by far our greatest economic challenge — the reduction of budget deficits — a big part of which will involve reforming our major entitlement programs: Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.”

    Yup, none of this will occur. Much easier to maintain the government backstop of the rich banksters. Lets continue to reward the pick-pocketers on Wall Street whose risk-taking is destroying our country for all but those who work on Wall Street.

    Anyone else receiving record bonuses? Anyone else selling insurance products and then shorting what the insurance is covering?

    Tea-baggers unite!

  41. jamil says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:28 am

    what are the odds that State Media reports this:
    The nutty killer professor in Alabama “was a far-left political extremist who was “obsessed” with President Obama to the point of being off-putting.”.

    Now if she had been a conservative or Palin fan, do you think State Media had not spent 23 hours a day covering it?

    http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?&articleid=1232943&format=&page=1&listingType=Loc#articleFull

  42. Cindy says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:32 am

    http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2010/02/its-time-for-financial-reform.html

    40 – Stu

    Alan Blinder says we’ll be lucky if anything gets done.

  43. Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:36 am

    ChiFi:

    Borgata is screwing their customers as well. Eventually, the sh1t will get so bad that the casino owners will enrich the offers to get their regulars back. It’s not there yet in AC (except maybe the Hilton), but it is definitely the case in Vegas. I’m receiving free room offers from Aria and I’ve played no more than a theoretical loss of $100 in MGM in total over the last ten years.

    I know AC as I spend way too much time down there. It is really getting bad from a service point of view.

    I will admit that the Borgata, which is half owned by Boyd, is the only class act there. Boyd is the only responsible company in the gaming space. They are my home casino in Vegas and treat my like royalty even though I am a net winner against them over the years. In AC, if you take too much from a casino, they stop sending you offers. Oh well, I guess they’ll never get their money back.

  44. Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:37 am

    Oh Jamil. Shut the F up already.

  45. safeashouses says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:40 am

    Who would have thought moving from Miami to a small town in North Dakota would suck?/off sarcasm

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100216/ap_on_re_us/us_saving_hazelton

  46. safeashouses says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:42 am

    I wonder if we’ll get stuck paying for this debacle in Sydney.

    http://www.smh.com.au/business/lane-cove-tunnel-debt-blows-out-20100215-o2yj.html

  47. Free international call says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:43 am

    escapefromjersey.blogspot.com; You saved my day again.

  50. Thundaar says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:49 am

    43-Stu

    I agree with you that the Borgata is a class act. I have stayed there about 10 times in the last year or two and have never gotten a decent room rate offer. The Trop on the other hand jams my mail box on a regular basis. The rooms at the Trop can be a little scary but I do like their casino and assortment of restaurants….Carmines does a great job.

  51. Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:53 am

    If Boyd buys the 2nd half of the Borgata from MGM, you will see a drastic improvement in their comp system. MGM has a history of milking their popularity until it disappears. Right now, Borgata is the only real game in town. Once Revel opens next year, I expect to see Borgata take a hit. We’ll see.

  52. Cindy says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:56 am

    What is Grim up to in Nashville?
    Ummmmm?

  53. Mr Hyde says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:59 am

    Cindy,

    JB is bailing on us. Anyone taking bets he’s out of the state before 2011?

    of course I’m just bitter that I’m stuck here ;)

  54. whoa says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:00 am

    SPG paying $10b for GGP?! Becomes impossible to deny that commercial real estate has begun v-shape recovery. Also explains why SRS remains below $10.

    Is housing next?

  55. Painhrtz says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:01 am

    Hyde, you and me both buddy, you and me both. I wish pharma would move operations somewhere nice like Vermont or New Hampshire, but that isn’t going to happen. Cindy before you say Cali, no thanks I don’t fit in.

  56. Mr Hyde says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:01 am

    Cindy,

    appropriate lyrics for CA?

    Something you should know about They Paved Paradise Lyrics

    Title: Counting Crows – They Paved Paradise lyrics

    Artist: Counting Crows Lyrics

    Visitors: 74026 visitors have hited They Paved Paradise Lyrics since May 27, 2008.

    They paved paradise and put up a parkin’ lot
    With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin’ hot spot
    Don’t it always seem to go
    That you don’t know what you got till it’s gone
    They paved paradise and put up a parking lot

    They took all the trees, and put em in a tree museum
    And they charged the people a dollar and a half to see them
    Don’t it always seem to go
    That you don’t know what you got till it’s gone
    They paved paradise, and put up a parking lot

    Hey farmer, farmer, put away your DDT
    I don’t care about spots on my apples,
    LEAVE me the birds and the bees please
    Don’t it always seem to go
    That you don’t know what you got till it’s gone
    They paved paradise and put up a parking lot
    Hey now, they paved paradise to put up a parking lot
    Why not?

  57. Juice Box Sean says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:01 am

    re # Simon and GGP.

    Why doesn’t Simon dump another billion into Xanadu and finish the dump already?

  58. Mr Hyde says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:05 am

    Whoa

    commercial real estate has begun v-shape recovery

    HAHAHAHAHAH ROFLMAO!

    When you are backstopped by the FED and the US treasury, you better look good. What happens when the plug gets pulled? AT some point the bond market may very well force that to happen.

    Hey Whoa,

    Look! a V-shaped revcovery!
    http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cache:590msmjSFGkJ:stockcharts.com/charts/historical/djia19201940.html+dow+1930+chart&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a

  59. Mr Hyde says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:07 am

    Pain,

    NH or VT? How about we start a firm? would love to be in either one. WOuld have to bribe the Mrs. though

  60. whoa says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:11 am

    Seems like everybody who is successful these days is successful because the government is helping them.

    Actually, the reason SPG is successful and bankrupt GGP is worth 10 figures is because the real estate apocalypse agreed by njrer groupthinkers isn’t playing out as they predicted.

  61. Cindy says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:11 am

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONEYGU_7EqU&feature=related

    56 – Kettle –

    LATE! but couldn’t resist this for your listening pleasure….

    Have a great one….

  62. Comrade Nom Deplume says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:18 am

    [190] [prior thread] clot

    “Come to think of it, if I suddenly ran into the first girl I ever slept with, she’d probably punch me in the nads.”

    My first recently friended me on Facebook (found my page via mutual h.s. friends). As it was about 30 years ago, it took me over a week before I remembered how I knew her (pun intended).

  63. Comrade Nom Deplume says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:20 am

    [59] Hyde,

    Lemme know if you need a general counsel. The wife would fit that bill nicely, and we would definitely NOT have to twist her arm to move to NH or VT.

  64. chicagofinance says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:25 am

    Getting a Q from a client…anyone with a quick source and/or answer……

    Do you know a source that can tell me what percent of S&P500 companies had top line growth in 2009?

  65. Mr Hyde says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:28 am

    Whoa

    group think? The general opinions on this blog are fairly well backed up with data. This blog has been derided as incorrect doomers since 2005. Yet here we stand in the midst of a monster housing bust.

    The calls of a coming RE bust were based on data not wishes. Exactly what data do you offer that counters the arguments on this blog? Are there suddenly entire new segments of buyers rich with cash besides government funded deals? Are foreclosures and unemploymet at record lows? Are tax reciepts at all time highs?

    How exactly does a pig fly besides with an acme rocket strapped to it’s backside? We all know what happens when you fire an acme rocket.

    Just remeber, don’t look down and all is fine

  66. NJGator says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:31 am

    Nom 62 – That is not so bad. At the rehearsal for Stu’s sister’s first wedding 10 years ago, his dad actually came up and introduced himself to Stu’s mom. Now granted, he hadn’t seen her in about 25 years, and the divorce was very bitter, but she was still pretty pissed that he didn’t recognize her after years of marriage and 4 kids.

  67. Veto That says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:33 am

    This article is just for fun…

    Doing the Dead Cat Bounce

    Russell predicts that Dow 1,000, the number at which the Dow began its rally in the 1970s, may not be out of the question.

    http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/108837/dead-cat

  69. Veto That says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:36 am

    Chi, bloomberg or factset should be able to handle that… although some of their as reported numbers might be adjusted in their own ways so dont mix data from two different databases is my only suggestion.

  70. Mr Hyde says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:36 am

    Veto,

    right there with S&P below 600

  73. Painhrtz says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:39 am

    Hyde – I have thought about it all the time I technically just need an airport to do my job. Wouldn’t be a problem for my wife, and I have always wanted live free or die on my license plate. Beats the hell out of the Garden state

  75. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:44 am

    Cindy (14)-

    Sounds like a massive fail to me.

    “Sounds like a process to me.”

  76. Mr Hyde says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:44 am

    SG

    Property bubbles dont generally pop, but deflate over a period of years. You can try and call a peak but thats WAG at best

  77. Mr Hyde says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:46 am

    Schump,

    We now know GS helped Greece sell their soul. How long before we hear the same thing about Ireland, Spain, or a few of the eastern EU nations?

  79. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:46 am

    hyde (16)-

    So ridiculous, it’s laughable. Seems like a regurgitation of an article written in 2004-05.

    The boomers are tapped out. They will all be working until the day they drop dead (at work). The ones who are dying now are leaving nothing to the next generation, either. Just another pool of wealth, shriveling and drying.

    Anyone at retirement age in NJ who even has the luxury of thinking about retirement…well, the first thing they do is leave NJ.

  80. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:49 am

    frank (28)-

    Today’s installment of “Beavis, Meet Butthead”.

  81. Happy Daze says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:50 am

    From Barrons”
    http://online.barrons.com/article/SB126601916200745375.html?mod=googlenews_barrons

    There’s Greece – and Also Some U.S. States

    BRACE YOURSELF FOR THE SECOND WAVE — the wave of sovereign defaults that typically occurs a few years after a financial meltdown.

    …

    There are credit-default swaps on 50 countries, and all but three have seen widening spreads, notes James Bianco, CEO of Bianco Research. “The whole planet’s ability to pay its debt is being questioned,” he says.

    The risk is that these smaller “subprime” countries and states drag down their larger “prime” counterparts. If the U.S. and Germany need to step in to support their leveraged underlings, they may risk their own debt ratings and funding costs if investors start to question their credit quality.

    Exacerbating the situation is the financial tightening in China, which will slow growth in one of the few areas of the world that is growing. “If China is the engine of growth, a Chinese tightening will slow world growth and hurt the countries that need to increase revenue,” Bianco says. The thinking is that the world needs bubble-like economic growth to generate the revenues required to service its debt.

  82. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:51 am

    hyde (36)-

    Just sowing the seeds for a future CA dust bowl.

    Once all the money is gone, then we start starving to death. The march to oblivion is relentless, and it ain’t gonna stop, folks.

  83. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:53 am

    Mardi Gras is for losers and drunks.

  84. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:54 am

    Cindy (52)-

    Cutting a record with Taylor Swift.

    Bet the title is “Chest Hair”.

    “What is Grim up to in Nashville?”

  85. lostinny aka The Tan-Trum says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:56 am

    83 Clot

    Cranky. Have a drink and chill out.

  86. Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:56 am

    ChiFi:

    You owe me a dinner at Borgata.

    http://www.zacks.com/commentary/13570/Earning+Season+Still+Going+Strong

    “While the data is still relatively thin for 2011, and thus should be taken with a grain of salt, further growth of 16.1% is expected for total earnings next year. ***As for the top line, after a 9.5% plunge in 2009***, revenues are expected to grow by 6.1% in 2010, followed by 6.9% growth in 2011.”

  87. lisoosh says:
    February 16, 2010 at 11:00 am

    whoa – is that you Pret/lurkerd?

  88. Comrade Nom Deplume says:
    February 16, 2010 at 11:05 am

    [66] gator

    OUCH!

  89. chicagofinance says:
    February 16, 2010 at 11:05 am

    stu: you b!tich….can I buy you dinner at the Capital Grille instead when I meet JJ?

  90. chicagofinance says:
    February 16, 2010 at 11:06 am

    plg = Pret Loves Grim?

  91. Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
    February 16, 2010 at 11:10 am

    ChiFi,

    “can I buy you dinner at the Capital Grille instead when I meet JJ?”

    Sure, as long as there are no caramelized onions involved.

  92. Comrade Nom Deplume says:
    February 16, 2010 at 11:12 am

    [73] pain,

    Definitely. I never gave up my NH plates, even though that was 3 or 4 registrations ago.

    Would love to breathe the free (and clean) air of the Sovereign State of New Hampshire on a regular basis again.

  93. chicagofinance says:
    February 16, 2010 at 11:15 am

    creamed spinach OK?

    Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
    February 16, 2010 at 11:10 am

    ChiFi,

    “can I buy you dinner at the Capital Grille instead when I meet JJ?”

    Sure, as long as there are no caramelized onions involved.

  94. Comrade Nom Deplume says:
    February 16, 2010 at 11:15 am

    [73] pain

    And flying out of Manchester is easy and relatively cheap.

    Mass. residents find it a good alternative to Logan Airport, and when we lived in DC, my mother used to fly down from Manchester even though she could take a subway to Logan.

  95. chicagofinance says:
    February 16, 2010 at 11:25 am

    In case any of you missed this one….

    chicagofinance says:
    February 13, 2010 at 11:13 pm

    In Depth February 11, 2010, 5:00PM EST

    Lovable Lloyd
    What can we do to make normal Americans more properly appreciative of Goldman? A few ideas…

    By Michael Lewis

    BW Magazine

    Lovable Lloyd
    Executive Summary
    The Bloomberg BusinessWeek/YouGov Optimism Meter
    This Issue
    February 22, 2010

    TO: Lloyd Blankfein
    RE: Winning the Public Relations War

    Our predicament is dire. Ordinary Americans wish to control not just our pay but our core values: We at Goldman Sachs have long stood for the right of every prop group to trade against its firm’s customers. If we abdicate that right, who are we, deep down? In just the past few days many of us on the Goldman trading floor have wrestled with that question. We believe that rather than rethink our core values we should rethink our relations with the American public. Hence this memo. Your recent nonverbal signals—your habit of passing directly behind my trading desk en route to the elevators, your selection of the urinal adjacent to my own—convince me that you value my thoughts. As it happens, I have recently conducted a thorough study of the culture of mortals—or, as you refer to them, “The Morts.” Please take the following ideas in the spirit in which they are intended: a team spirit. There is no “I” in Goldman Sachs, or in me. Nor will there ever be.

    GIVE THE MORTS A SMALL, PERHAPS EVEN ILLUSORY, STAKE IN OUR UPSIDE.
    We have all seen the effects on the hearts and minds of our government officials and business leaders when they sense that our prosperity might one day be theirs. In the past year Warren Buffett has gone from being a leading critic of Wall Street to the greatest defender of Wall Street bailouts. Him we needed to pay hard cash—most accept less. That’s perhaps the most curious trait of these ordinary Americans: You don’t need to give them any money to lead them to hope that you might. Take Larry Summers, for instance. We both know that we would never actually employ even this surprisingly intelligent Mort in anything but the most humiliatingly ceremonial role. But he doesn’t know that—and thus he has done so much for us.

    Obviously, we can never employ large numbers of ordinary Americans. But if you stop for a moment and think like a Mort you will realize that we don’t need to. We need only harness two more of his many irrational traits: overconfidence, plus a willingness to ignore the odds—as evidenced by everything from his interest in the Lotto to his belief in what he calls “love.”

    Each year, for example, Goldman Sachs might announce a grand national competition, much like “American Idol.” Finalists will appear before a national television audience to be judged by a panel of three rather ordinary looking Goldman executives. On stage they will perform various Wall Street tricks: negotiating with Tim Geithner, lobbying the Senate Banking Committee, designing securities that blow up, selling bonds to Germans, etc. The winner receives a job at Goldman Sachs. Which brings me to…

    GIVE MORTS THE ILLUSION THAT THEY HAVE BEEN ADMITTED INTO OUR REALM, AND CAN NOW TRULY SEE WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO.
    The winner of our national competition, for instance, might easily be attached to a small Web-enabled, head-top photographic device. Thus equipped he would become the eyes and ears of Morts everywhere. As he stumbles around our offices, attempting to understand that which is beyond his comprehension, he will no doubt create what ordinary Americans refer to as “comedy.” Morts love to laugh, to the point where they interpret our most straightforward remarks as occasions for humor. As we do not respond to comedy, it will not disrupt the flow of our business, and we can encourage it.

    Let me say here that I, like every other Goldman trader, have admired the lengths to which you have gone to resemble an ordinary, nonthreatening American. Your conscious decision to forgo muscle definition, along with your persistent hairlessness, has been nothing less than enlightened public relations.

    But there is only so much one human being can do, even when that being is more than human. Our employees along this new interface with Mort culture should reinforce your subliminal message. They should be “normal looking” and trained to mimic the Mort’s strange, emotional responses to external stimuli.

    But the main purpose of any new personal contact with individual Morts is to address what is perhaps our biggest problem: the new belief of ordinary Americans that they now, finally, understand what we do. That our work should be as simple as “facilitating productive enterprise,” or “allocating capital.” They have lost their former awe; we must restore it. Notice that they do not begrudge professional basketball players their vast salaries: They can see that those players are so unlike themselves as to constitute a different species. As our differences lie below the surface, they are harder for the Morts to perceive. Closer proximity to us, and our complexity, will solve this problem. They will soon weary of trying to comprehend what we do and go looking for another outlet for their personal frustrations. Which brings me to my final thought…

    REMIND THE MORTS OF THEIR MORE NATURAL RESENTMENTS.
    At the moment they mistrust us, perhaps even despise us, but their feelings toward us are new and thus shallow. They have had 30 years of training in hating their own government (the ultimate example of Mort irrationality). We must remind Morts that we share a common enemy: them.

    Michael Lewis, a columnist for Bloomberg News, is the author of Liar’s Poker, Moneyball and The Blind Side. His next book, The Big Short, will be published in March.

  96. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 11:33 am

    whoa (60)-

    It is a comfort knowing you are on the other side of my trade.

    Unless, that is, you’re just a fatmouthed troll.

  97. Comrade Nom Deplume says:
    February 16, 2010 at 11:35 am

    [41] jamil

    Nice find. MSM hasn’t reported it probably because it isn’t relevant, and the Herald is the more conservative of the 2 Boston area papers.

    What would be compelling is whether an analysis of stories involving similar crimes mentions the political views of the killers. General coverage is irrelevant; what is relevant is whether the views are reported and whether they were relevant to the crime (e.g., a politcally-motivated crime).

  98. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 11:38 am

    SG (86)-

    Gary Keller is a jackass and a con man. If he said “buy low, sell high”, it would be a more sophisticated message than the babble he spews.

    This information doesn’t merit a one-page memo, much less a book. Even the most mediocre RE companies inculcate basic sales approaches when markets turn.

    Keller-Williams is a pyramid, Ponzi and Amway/MLM disaster. They achieve “growth” by using their offices to stcokpile licenses of brand-new AND experienced-but-failing agents. For the size of their giant offices, they do virtually no business.

  99. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 11:40 am

    plg = Pret’s Lost Gonads

  100. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 11:42 am

    SPG + GGP = TBTF, REIT-style

  101. lostinny aka The Tan-Trum says:
    February 16, 2010 at 11:44 am

    Clot
    Doesn’t Keller-Williams usually overprice homes for sale?

  102. John says:
    February 16, 2010 at 11:48 am

    I can’t take GS seriously since I applied for a job there back in the 90’s and the official reason I was not hired was that I was “overqualified”.

    HA HA, talk about letting me down easy.

  103. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 12:08 pm

    lost (101)-

    Often, they do…since virtually all their agents are incompetent.

  104. Veto That says:
    February 16, 2010 at 12:23 pm

    Lost, now that you mention it, the most overpriced listing in my town is kw. It just sits there.

    I lowballed them 30% off asking one time just to see what they would say and they used the term “appalled” in their response.

    Three price reductions and one year later, they place is still sitting there, still asking at least $130k more than the comps are selling for.

  105. Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
    February 16, 2010 at 12:26 pm

    Nom (97):

    Exactly. There is no relevance to the news story, but such a quote can easily be the story of the day for Beck, Limbaugh and company. Just like how they somehow attributed a shooting outside of a KFC to Martin Luther King Day.

    But go on Jamil. Keep on taking the bait. One day you’ll realize the stupidity of your ways. I only hope that you decide not to go postal (or is the new term Obama) on someone elses @ss.

  106. Veto That says:
    February 16, 2010 at 12:29 pm

    I think i may have been called a ‘bottom feeder’ for low-balling too drastically.

    Maybe one of the best compliments i ever received from a selling agent.

    Thats when you know you are hitting the right numbers.

    In hindsight, im really glad my offer was rejected.

  107. Veto That says:
    February 16, 2010 at 12:37 pm

    i just wish i would have started the bid a little lower.

    Its only when i get the seller’s agent to curse that i really feel my point was made.

  108. Veto That says:
    February 16, 2010 at 12:38 pm

    When i commence the low-balling in the spring, i’m really hoping to catch a slap.

    immediately after the closing docs are signed.

  109. Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
    February 16, 2010 at 12:41 pm

    Veto,

    “In hindsight, im really glad my offer was rejected.”

    Same with us. A home we bid on was almost 20% under asking, but even with that large of an undercut, I still didn’t sleep well until the seller rejected it. Somehow the seller managed to obtain a 3-year rental customer on the same property. It truly drives me up a wall.

  110. Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
    February 16, 2010 at 12:46 pm

    Hey Jamil,

    I figured I would save you some time. I compiled a list of all of your favorite news sources in one easy place for your immediate review.

    http://tinyurl.com/Jamil-List

  111. danzud says:
    February 16, 2010 at 12:47 pm

    Stu,

    I’m staying at Aria in a week and a half. I’ll let you know about it.

  112. Veto That says:
    February 16, 2010 at 12:50 pm

    Stu, my new tactic is a 20% lowball from 2002 comps. That starts the negotiations off with the right tone and immediately adjusts all sorts of attitudes.

    If the agent tries the bidding-war scare tactic, i will remind him that there are no bidding wars right now.

    only sitting wars.

  113. frank says:
    February 16, 2010 at 12:51 pm

    $229,916 to live on top of a loud bar in Hoboken???
    Is this is a foreclosure? Anyone with access to MLS?

    http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/Hoboken_NJ_07030_1116166508

  114. Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
    February 16, 2010 at 12:55 pm

    Danzud,

    I read the reviews already. I think Wynn and Encore are a better bet, but it could simply be freshmen jitters. Have fun and try not to gamble on the strip. Go downtown or off strip for any chance of breaking even. Either that or learn to count cards.

  115. Nomad says:
    February 16, 2010 at 12:57 pm

    Thanks ChiFi.

    I am not going to do any individual high yield stuff, if I had the knowledge perhaps but I don’t so if I go high yield, it would probably be a managed fund (for me OK, for you, I am sure laughable).

    Appreciate your comments.

  116. Veto That says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:01 pm

    Frank, here is another one.
    $400/sq ft will be the norm soon.

    http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/Hoboken_NJ_07030_1113734334

  117. danzud says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:03 pm

    Wynn and Encore a little too far away walking wise from the rest of the strip but then again all the hotels at CityCenter appear to be a good hike from the strip too since they’re so deep in.

    I already know the best NASCAR odds are at the Hilton based on last year and I like the Hilton’s prop bets options better than those on the strip.

  118. still_looking aka Tan-Less says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:09 pm

    OMIFU*CKINGGOD!

    THIS is exactly a day in my work life…

    holy shit!

    sl

  119. frank says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:10 pm

    #116,
    $400/sq ft is the new norm in Hoboken, and that’s my point, where’s the recession?

  120. plg says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:12 pm

    Christie Courting Wal-Mart:

    Gov. Chris Christie revealed Friday that he and Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno have begun making four telephone calls weekly to the heads of major businesses and industries based in or out of New Jersey and telling them they intend to cut the state regulations and taxes they believe are hurting large and small companies in the state.

    Christie said in a radio interview that he spoke Friday morning with Doug McMillon, the CEO and president of Bentonville, Ak.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the nation’s largest employer.

    The governor said he and Guadagno are telling CEO like McMillon, “It’s a new day in New Jersey with less regulations and lower taxes.

    Christie wants to keep a CEO like McMillon happy. Wal-Mart has 46 discount stores, 6 super stores and 10 Sam’s Club stores in the state. The chain pays $31.2 million in state and local taxes, according to Dun & Bradstreet, and collected $131.8 million in sales taxes.

    “Even in these tough economic times we will be cutting taxes for small and big business in the budget coming up as a way to create job growth,” the governor said.

    Christie must present a proposed 2010-11 state budget to the Legislature on March 16. He and the Legislature will be confronting what is expected to be an $11 billion deficit while attempting to bring the budget in at less than $28 billion, the size of the 2009-10 budget.

    http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/state/christie-guadagno-call-wal-mart-ceo-and-others-to-tell-them-new-jersey-is-open-for-business

    For all of you who beleive that “small business” is the economic engine that drives the economy, this is not good. Wal-mart, more than any other company I can think of, has driven small and medium sized business out of main streets across the country and Christie thinks we need more wal-marts?

    Whatever tax revenue Wal_mart has generated for NJ has been far outweighed in social costs to small business, under-paid employees and the death of main streets.

  121. Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:12 pm

    Hilton is still the best sportsbook in Vegas. No drink tickets necessary and the lounges are comfortable. It’s also the only sportsbook in Vegas that has full pay video poker.

  122. Veto That says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:14 pm

    “$400/sq ft is the new norm in Hoboken, and that’s my point, where’s the recession?”

    If Hoboken was about 600-700/sq ft in 2006 then the recession is in Hobo, no?

  123. Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:18 pm

    Veto,

    You are trying to describe economics to a man who peddles Sabretts and pretzels for a living.

  124. Comrade Nom Deplume says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:20 pm

    [105] Stu

    I think Jamil’s point was that, were the shooter a Bush or Palin supporter, that fact would have been prominently made notwithstanding its irrelevance.

    This point resonates when one learns that certain facts are left out of stories. For example, a story on CNN today made Mitt Romney look rude for asking a passenger to put his seat upright, but another version of the story suggested that the plane was still on the ground, meaning that the seat was supposed to be upright. And then there’s the story of my former colleague, Mary Smith, whose appointment was held up in Congress over a lack of experience. Even though this story is months old, only recently did MSM report that she was on Obama’s transition team, and it has NEVER reported that she worked on his Senate campaign (she did, so she tells me).

    These are 2 examples of possible selective reporting omissions that could illuminate, and perhaps color, how the subject of the article is perceived. In one case, a selective omission made Romney look rude, and another selective omission made it less likely that Smith’s appointment would be viewed as cronyism.

  125. Veto That says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:21 pm

    Stu, frank,
    Is 119 a trick question?

  126. frank says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:22 pm

    i sold 6 hot dogs today.
    where is the recession?
    thats my point.

  128. Happy Daze says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:23 pm

    113 Frank

    The place for 229k is only 400 sq ft!
    IMHO the only thing going for it is that bar (Gaslight) isn’t one of the rowdier ones around town.

  129. Veto That says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:24 pm

    franky – do you own in hoboken? or rent?

  130. Comrade Nom Deplume says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:26 pm

    Wonder how Becky Quick would take the news of her impending replacement?

    “Can’t Barbie keep a job?

    The answer from Mattel CEO Robert Eckert is an enthusiastic, “No!”

    Mattel recently asked its fans to vote on Barbie’s next career, and after more than half a million votes were tallied, the winner was…news anchor.”

  131. Comrade Nom Deplume says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:28 pm

    [127] stu

    What we need are the “half smokes” that the vendors in DC sell from their carts.

    Bigger and spicier than a conventional hot dog, so you don’t feel compelled to order 2 or 3.

  132. John says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:29 pm

    The 20 something pumped up wall street traders need a new anchorwomen in the morning to “take the edge off”. before morning bell.

  133. NJGator says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:30 pm

    Stu 109 – You glorify yourself. Our original bid was only 9 1/2% off of list – hardly a low ball. Our best and final offer was only 7.5% below list. Eminently reasonable.

    I hope that the sellers enjoy being landlords and found good responsible tenants. One can do a whole lot of damage to a place in 3 years.

  134. Veto That says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:30 pm

    Wow, this one wont even brush her hair, yet she wants to sell you a house.

    http://juliannesiciliano.com/home-.asp

    I dare someone to put their contact info into the section that says: “Get This Week’s Local Market Conditions”

    and then share with the board of course.

  135. plg says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:31 pm

    Comrade,

    You make a good point, but I think there is a distinction to be made between violence inspired by an Obama supporter and a Palin supporter.

    Obviously this is all conjecture and in fact this shooter was motivated by emplyment concerns, so I this is all theoritical. But the key distinction here is that Palin and the tea partiers seek to incite anger and incendiary language. Therefore, if one of those supporters commited a violent act, whether politically motivated or not, that would HAVE to be a consideration. In contrast, Obama has sought to tone down the partisanship and personal attacks and uses much less incendiary language.

    In other words, sometimes political views are relevant to violence and sometimes they are not.

    BTW, this all reminds me of the mutilation wacko hoax:

    http://www.neoconnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/cut.jpg

  136. chicagofinance says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:35 pm

    Do not buy a high yield bond ETF is all then…..

    Nomad says:
    February 16, 2010 at 12:57 pm
    Thanks ChiFi.
    I am not going to do any individual high yield stuff, if I had the knowledge perhaps but I don’t so if I go high yield, it would probably be a managed fund (for me OK, for you, I am sure laughable). Appreciate your comments.

  137. frank says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:35 pm

    NAHB Housing Market Index: +2 to 17, rebounding from a seven-month low.

    Buy a home now before it reaches 34.

  138. chicagofinance says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:36 pm

    Did a bomb go off in the JPM office in Athens?

  139. frank says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:37 pm

    Do you own in hoboken? or rent?

    Neither, I lived across the street from Gaslight for 5 years.

  140. chicagofinance says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:38 pm

    Breaking News

    * Greek police say a bomb exploded Tuesday evening outside an office of JPMorgan Chase in Athens, the Associated Press reports. No one was hurt.

  141. Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:38 pm

    Nom,

    I understand what you are describing and agree that this is often the case. Unfortunately, I do not think that the MSM is so pro lefty to the extent that Jamil claims it to be. In the area in which we live, I agree that the press leans left with some exceptions. Ocean County for example, has the Asbury Park Press. Ocean County is pretty Republican the last I checked. What sells papers and and newscasts (ad revenue) are stories that the audience wants to hear. In this area that is pretty damn blue, it only makes sense to publish what Dems want to hear. The same holds true in the red states. Go down to Texas and pick up a local paper in any town besides Austin. It will be nothing but conservative drivel. Even airports in the majority of the country show Fox News where JFK/Newark and LaGuardia show MSNBC.

  142. frank says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:38 pm

    #126,
    I sold 6 mortgage bonds at 5% yield today. Where’s the recession?

  143. Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:40 pm

    “Greek police say a bomb exploded Tuesday evening outside an office of JPMorgan Chase in Athens”

    Hey…is Clot Greek?

  144. Veto That says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:40 pm

    “JPMorgan Athens”

    chi, prob an inside job to destroy the documents/evidence.

  145. chicagofinance says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:40 pm

    Stu: What bugs me is not that Fox News is on, but rather the fact that the volume is generally blasted as if what is being broadcast is so important that you can’t afford to miss a second of it.

    Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:38 pm
    Even airports in the majority of the country show Fox News where JFK/Newark and LaGuardia show MSNBC.

  146. Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:41 pm

    “I sold 6 mortgage bonds at 5% yield today. Where’s the recession?”

    Did the customer want saurkraut or onions?

  148. frank says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:44 pm

    #146,
    I want to buy your REO’s next, on which corner are you selling them?

  149. Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:44 pm

    ChiFi:

    I love when there is a plane crash being reported on the airport feeds.

    It’s always fun to watch the nervous flyers squirm.

    Gator…What were the original numbers on that house. I thought it was like 580 and we offered 510 originally. My memory really does blow. Must be that funny math.

  150. NJGator says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:44 pm

    Chifi 145 – I think you just described my father’s living room.

  151. Veto That says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:47 pm

    5 bed/3.5 bath East Windsor
    This type of comp killer makes my eyes tear a little.
    Bought in mid 2002 for 340k and asking 370k for it today.
    After commisions thats solid 2002 territory.

    http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2-Primrose-Ln_East-Windsor_NJ_08520_1108054044?mp=1

  152. chicagofinance says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:50 pm

    Vito: I thought your area wasn’t receding?

  153. Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:54 pm

    We haven’t heard from Sastry in a while. I wonder how his property value is holding up?

  154. John says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:55 pm

    It is very appropriate that the realtor sells houses in Middlesex NJ, because I can’t tell if that is a man or a women.

    Veto That says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:30 pm
    Wow, this one wont even brush her hair, yet she wants to sell you a house.

    http://juliannesiciliano.com/home-.asp

    I dare someone to put their contact info into the section that says: “Get This Week’s Local Market Conditions”

    and then share with the board of course.

  155. Veto That says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:55 pm

    Chi, E Windsor is not my area.
    but my town is receding too, just at a much slower pace. Still, 2002 pricing is pretty much as low as ive seen in any town throughout my whole bubble sitting career.

  157. NJGator says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:59 pm

    Stu 149 – Original ask was $579k. You wanted to offer $510k but the realtor told you that you were on crack. Our initial offer was $525k. Even $510k would only be 12% off list.

    You only lowballed in your dreams.

  158. Veto That says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:07 pm

    Stu, stop exaggerating.
    face it, you wanted to pay full price.
    Gator wouldnt let you.

  159. Mr Hyde says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:11 pm

    Veto,

    a new Youtube phenomenon! we get those little spycam’s that go in hats or buttons then go around to realtors and lowball 20% off 2002 prices.

    It could be a hit!

  160. NJGator says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:15 pm

    Nom – You’re right. He’s an article about former Governor Brendan Byrne (D) getting mugged today in London and the Star Ledger has done nothing to present the attacker’s point of view. They even quote Byrne as calling him a “nut”. Obviously a left-wing media conspiracy at work here.

    Former N.J. Gov. Brendan Byrne is mugged, punched in face while in London

    Former Gov. Brendan Byrne was mugged today in London by an assailant who punched him in the face as he and his wife walked to the theater.

    “Some nut came out of the blue and punched me in the jaw, and was immediately arrested,” recounted Byrne, 85, who was on vacation with his wife, Ruthi.

    An ambulance arrived and treated him, but he refused to go to a hospital.

    “I think I’m alright. I have some cuts on my face,” said Byrne. “I never fell down, like when I fought Muhammad Ali.”

    http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/02/former_gov_brendan_byrne_is_mu.html

  161. Veto That says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:18 pm

    Hyde, that could get really funny.
    i just wonder how long before we get arrested doing that?

  162. Mr Hyde says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:21 pm

    Veto,

    dont worry, we will have Nom on speed dial.

    besides whats illegal about that?

  163. Mr Hyde says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:23 pm

    Veto,

    we could go together and infront of the realtor debate whether or not to offer 20% or 30% off of 2002.

    You could make even juicier by choosing your targets and then debating how under water the home owner is based on public records of their helocs.

  164. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:24 pm

    Veto (134)-

    I was not aware hippos could obtain NJ RE licenses.

  165. Veto That says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:25 pm

    Ket, for the low-ball clips, we should submit the offers like ben affleck in the good will hunting job interview.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JBvfZTx-vs

  166. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:26 pm

    plg (135)-

    I promise to restrain my future calls for violence to be directed only at you.

    Fatwa on plg. Gimme his head on a plate.

  168. Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:32 pm

    “Stu, stop exaggerating.
    face it, you wanted to pay full price.
    Gator wouldnt let you.”

    Au contraire.

  169. Veto That says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:35 pm

    “You could make even juicier by choosing your targets and then debating how under water the home owner is based on public records of their helocs.”

    It would not only be really funny to make this show, but id also like to watch it. It will be like Punk’d for real estate except we are dead serious.

  170. Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:37 pm

    Clot,

    As long as you are calling for a fatwa on PLG, I have chosen your first virgin if you decide to go the martyr route:

    http://tinyurl.com/fatwa-virgin

  171. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:37 pm

    What it won’t do is get you any closer to actually buying a house.

  172. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:38 pm

    stu (170)-

    That’s just wrong.

  173. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:38 pm

    I’d even drop my demand for a virgin.

    Anna Kournikova would do just fine.

    I don’t ask for a lot.

  174. plg says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:42 pm

    Shumpeter,

    Were you the one who planned the “B” hoax on that pooor girl’s face?

  175. Mr Hyde says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:45 pm

    Veto 165,

    got a spy cam? we could use the hippo as our first victim.

  176. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:46 pm

    No, but I’d like to stamp “idiot” on your forehead.

  177. Veto That says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:47 pm

    Cranbury NJ – 5 bd / 4.5 bth
    Bought in 2005 for $1,250,000
    Taxes $20k
    Asking $1,125,000 today

    http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1-Cubberly-Ct_Cranbury_NJ_08512_1110702018

    Ket, for the you tube clip, you and clot go in and submit an offer for $530k, but then the entertainment is when you argue with them about it and try to convince them.
    Meanwhile, they are all red in the face.

  178. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:47 pm

    #176 is to plg’s #174.

  179. Barbara says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:50 pm

    the more underwater they are, the less likely they will accept your low ball. Have you guys been reading this blog for the last two years?

  180. Barbara says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:52 pm

    everyone on here who is serious about buying will be buying a house via reo or auction.

  181. Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:54 pm

    I know what might work Barbara. Offer to share an 8-ball before you offer the low-ball.

  182. Veto That says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:57 pm

    “everyone on here who is serious about buying will be buying a house via reo or auction.”

    yes but can you video this and clown the realtor in the process? thats really the question.

  183. chicagofinance says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:57 pm

    Done. Visual proof. With a Heisman Pose no less…….

    Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:26 pm
    Fatwa on plg. Gimme his head on a plate.

    http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/fun_eral_games_mJmNmzTeYJV8JV0hMdH1GN

  184. plg says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:57 pm

    Shumpeter,

    Where do you come up with such witty ideas?

    Stick with real estate. You are much better at that than coming up with witty insults.

  185. Barbara says:
    February 16, 2010 at 2:58 pm

    stu,
    hehe

  186. Comrade Nom Deplume says:
    February 16, 2010 at 3:07 pm

    [141] stu

    I thought CNN had the airport concession? That’s the only one I seem to recall (except when there’s a big game on–I flew on Super Bowl Sunday and all the airport TVs were on that).

  188. Comrade Nom Deplume says:
    February 16, 2010 at 3:08 pm

    [184] plg

    I call for a Schumpeter-plg cage match at the next GTG.

    Hopefully it will be a lot spicier than the all-too-civil discussion that PGC and I had.

  189. Comrade Nom Deplume says:
    February 16, 2010 at 3:11 pm

    You know that the gloom and doom talk is getting to be part of the culture when something like this comes up.

    a partner here asked a few of us for topics for an upcoming banking seminar.

    One of the other partners replies “the final collapse of America’s banking system and our new barter economy!”

  190. Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
    February 16, 2010 at 3:12 pm

    “I thought CNN had the airport concession?”

    Keep an eye out for it when you travel in the future. Especially if you travel through the breadbasket.

  191. Comrade Nom Deplume says:
    February 16, 2010 at 3:23 pm

    [135] plg

    IMHO, notwithstanding Jamil’s concern, I do not see a trend to reporting political views unless it is relevant to the story. If politics is a motivation, it should be reported, and is typically reported, and if not a motivation, then it isn’t. There, at least, I depart from Jamil in conflating a potential media bias with a demonstrable one.

    However, I think that your take on the news comes pretty close to suggesting that violent acts committed by right wing types are more likely to be politically motivated (and thus, reporting of political views is relevant) than left wing types. Not only is that unsupported, it comes dangerously close to perpetuating, by inverse implication, an un-PC stereotype concerning crime and the motivations of the perpetrators.

  192. Comrade Nom Deplume says:
    February 16, 2010 at 3:25 pm

    [190] stu

    With everything else I have to deal with when travelling, I have to take note of what’s on the airport monitors now?

  193. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 3:25 pm

    plg (184)-

    STFU and kill yourself.

  194. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 3:27 pm

    plume (188)-

    No fun in beating the crap out of some girlyman who balls up in the fetal position and om’s for peace.

  195. Comrade Nom Deplume says:
    February 16, 2010 at 3:28 pm

    [193]

    Okay, that is definitely spicier.

    If there is a plg-clot cage match GTG, I promise to show up and “moderate” it (with a police baton).

  196. Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
    February 16, 2010 at 3:32 pm

    “I call for a Schumpeter-plg cage match at the next GTG.”

    Can Jamil be Schumpy’s manager?

    Also, I feel that Frank should be in charge of the recessions, I meant concessions.

  197. plg says:
    February 16, 2010 at 3:33 pm

    I don’t beat up angry confused old men.

    It’s just not fair.

  198. Veto That says:
    February 16, 2010 at 3:34 pm

    lol stu,
    where’s the concession?

  199. plg says:
    February 16, 2010 at 3:35 pm

    Comrade,

    “Not only is that unsupported, it comes dangerously close to perpetuating, by inverse implication, an un-PC stereotype concerning crime and the motivations of the perpetrators.”

    Which stereotype is that?

  200. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 3:37 pm

    plg (197)-

    Wow. That is some lame material.

    You aren’t even worth the effort a good beating takes.

  201. Shore don't like parasites Guy says:
    February 16, 2010 at 3:38 pm

    The list is incomplete, as it lacks RE agents, no offense to the non-insidious ones that haunt this space:

    http://abcnews.go.com/Health/PainNews/bed-bugstapeworms-bot-flies-terrible-parasite-infections/story?id=7857640

  202. Shore Guy says:
    February 16, 2010 at 3:41 pm

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8518481.stm

    Sounds lie a reasonable method of dealing with terrorists.

  203. Shore Guy says:
    February 16, 2010 at 3:42 pm

    like

  204. Ben says:
    February 16, 2010 at 3:44 pm

    HGTV was pretty amusing yesterday. Some couple didn’t have 10% to put down on the 350k house they wanted so they spent a week calling every mortgage broker in the entire state trying to find someone dumb enough to finance their stupid purchase with only 5% down. Eventually, they got it. I’m pretty sure they’ll lose the house the second one of them loses their job because that $500 safety net they set up for themselves will go towards a month of a food at best.

  205. Shore Guy says:
    February 16, 2010 at 3:52 pm

    Didn’t Tom Petty sing a song called Lowballing?

    Now I’m, loballing
    Yea, I’m lowballing
    Yes, I’m lowwwww, low-ball-inggggggggggggggggg

  206. Shore Guy says:
    February 16, 2010 at 3:54 pm

    I love this from that Cranbury listing:

    “hardwood floors throughout the 1st level”

    So, over a million for the place and there are no hardwood floors upstairs? Yeesh.

  207. Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
    February 16, 2010 at 3:55 pm

    Wasn’t it freebasing that was Tom Petty was singing about?

  208. Mr Hyde says:
    February 16, 2010 at 3:56 pm

    Shore

    isnt it a little sloppy if the hit team is ending up on BBC news?

  209. Al "The Thermostat" Gore says:
    February 16, 2010 at 3:57 pm

    135.

    If there is violence you can be assured it wasnt due to the average American citizen.

    There will be a false flag within the next 6 months. The dept of homeland security has guaranteed it.

    Regarding the media. Look who those clowns work for. Rupert Murdoch employs Glen Beck.

    “Ninety-five percent of the work of the intelligence agencies around the world is deception and disinformation,” German intelligence expert Andreas von Bülow told me in December 2001. This deception is widely propagated in the mainstream media creating an accepted version of events. “Journalists don’t even raise the simplest questions,” he said. “Those who differ are labeled as crazy.”

  210. Shore Guy says:
    February 16, 2010 at 4:00 pm

    CCTV is everywhere nowadays. Fact remains the Mossad got the guy, and we would all be beter if we had more teams like this taking out people like the guy who are causing serious trouble for the world.

    I once knew a former Mossad operative. Nice guy. Heck, for that matter, the CIA people I have known have also been great people.

  211. Stu aka The Sausage Party says:
    February 16, 2010 at 4:02 pm

    Well some of them are crazy. Especially that Clot dude.

  212. Shore Guy says:
    February 16, 2010 at 4:04 pm

    “‘Journalists don’t even raise the simplest questions,’ he said. ‘Those who differ are labeled as crazy.'”

    This is very true. Editors have gotten very bad and most “journalists’ are not very sharp. The other thing that has happened is that journalists are afraid of losing “access” and easy feeds of stories from policymakers. Much of what comes to us as investigative journalism (almost a completely lost art anymore) is actually fed to the media by policymakers.

  213. confused in NJ says:
    February 16, 2010 at 4:04 pm

    TOBACCO SMOKE ENEMA (1750’S – 1810’S)

    The tobacco enema was used to infuse smoke into a patient’s rectum for various medical purposes, primarily the resuscitation of drowning victims. A rectal tube inserted into the anus was connected with a fumigator and bellows that forced the smoke towards the rectum. The warmth of the smoke was thought to promote respiration, but there were doubts about the credibility of tobacco enemas, hence the popular phrase “blowing smoke up one’s a _ _”

    This Old Tool has been reintroduced by Congress in Washington D.C.

    Are you starting to feel it yet?

  214. Shore Guy says:
    February 16, 2010 at 4:06 pm

    The Bush administration used to go nuclear on journalists who told the truth but who cut too close to the bone for their liking. For years, in fact, the NYT was not allowed to send a reporter to cover the SECDEF on his trips, and many of them were impossible to get any alternative transportation to the location.

  215. Bystander says:
    February 16, 2010 at 4:15 pm

    plg,

    Treading dangerously, man. Go rewatch the ending to the Silence of the Lambs. I’ve seen the recipes on this site.

  216. Al "The Thermostat" Gore says:
    February 16, 2010 at 4:20 pm

    210.

    Those “teams” have no loyalty to the US. If you believe they do then the mainstream news has accomplished their objective.

    McCain- pro war
    Obama- antiwar then expands it. Iran being set up for attack.
    Ron Paul- anti war labeled a “cook”
    Palin- pro war

    Now if you look at who controls the media. You will also find who controls the political parties.

  217. Comrade Nom Deplume says:
    February 16, 2010 at 4:27 pm

    [199] plg

    That violent crimes committed by conservative whites are motivated by different reasons than those by, say, urban minorities. Thus, in the former, the motivation is misguided patriotism, while in the latter, the motivation is theft.

    Since few are motivated to political violence (it just doesn’t happen here often, and when it does, it is just as likely to be G-7 protesting anarchists), and such cases are noteworthy for the motivation as well as the infrequency, the suggestion is that conservatives (read white) commit a few crimes for altrustic reasons while minorities commit many for selfish reasons.

    Surely you are not suggesting that, are you? That’s a logical fallacy, and it’s also heresy in liberal circles.

  218. theo says:
    February 16, 2010 at 4:31 pm

    I’ve been told that Bertelsmann runs the world by a cook or two.

  219. Veto That says:
    February 16, 2010 at 4:44 pm

    there must be a glitch in yahoo finance. when i look at the screen i see this:

    Dow – up 1.68%
    Nasdaq – down 99.99%

  222. Veto That says:
    February 16, 2010 at 5:06 pm

    I can watch this all day.

    Customer tackles bank robber.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM8MtCPxyaU

    Doesn’t the customer know the banks is insured?

  223. Shore Guy says:
    February 16, 2010 at 5:49 pm

    “Ron Paul- anti war labeled a “cook””

    Cook or kook?

  225. jamil says:
    February 16, 2010 at 6:02 pm

    124 Comrade: “I think Jamil’s point was that, were the shooter a Bush or Palin supporter, that fact would have been prominently made notwithstanding its irrelevance.”

    Yes. To be honest, I knew some low-IQ liberal whose mother was drinking while pregrant would take the bait.

    Anyway, I naturally agree with your point, but it was just funny when every incident involving Palin supporter would be endlessly highlighted on State TV. This reminds me of Anthrax killer. State Media and liberals on this forum maintained that the killer must be right-winger. Dept of Homeland Security wrote memos how right-wingers and veterans are likely terrorists etc. When it turned out that the Antrax killer was fanatical leftist atheist who hated christians, State Media lost interest. If it does not fit the Narrative, it is not worth reporting. Last week some nutty was arrested for having illegal weapon. Yes, State Media dutifully reported that he was Palin supporter.

  226. relo says:
    February 16, 2010 at 6:10 pm

    Considering giving daughter FB access. Safety tips, anyone?

  227. Comrade Nom Deplume says:
    February 16, 2010 at 6:20 pm

    [225] jamil

    re: Palin supporter. If that fact was not relevant to the basis for the story, I agree. But the question remains whether it is an outlier or part of a trend where MSM reporters highlite such irrelevant facts.

    Further, I agree with stu that the outlet, to the extent that it nudges, does so for marketing reasons, not ideological, so any perceived ideology is a faux one. A news organization doesn’t have an agenda, but its people may. So I do think that the nudging begins with the individual reporter.

    And ever since 2000, there have been reporters that have openly flaunted their ideology, and, more disturbing, there are supporters that castigate reporters for reporting news and not attacking their ideological enemies. Remember when the left jumped on the media for shining an unfavorable light on Gore’s potential presidency?

    The one benefit to openly ideological news camps is that it insures better overall coverage. For example, Fox will cover stories that MSM won’t, and WSJ will cover a story well ahead of MSM sometimes. Provided that there are facts, those can be filtered out from the noise, and you get a better picture of the world. That is probably why so many here profess to visiting multiple newssites. For that reason, I even watch MSNBC at times, though the layer of propaganda there is thicker than at other similarly slanted outlets, and their condescension makes them a little hard to take in anything but small doses.

  228. PGC says:
    February 16, 2010 at 6:21 pm

    #191 Nom

    ” violent acts committed by right wing types are more likely to be politically motivated ”

    I think there is some truth in this. Left wing are more focused on social issues, the right wing are more focused on rights of the individual (first/second ammendment). When it gets to the violent extreams the left are hitting vivisection labs, and the right are hitting gvmt buildings.

  229. skep-tic says:
    February 16, 2010 at 6:24 pm

    that Bayh dude is pretty smart. he is going to look principled for dropping out of a race that he could have easily lost. when the Dems go down in flames in the fall, he will be left standing. he keeps his image as a centrist (however much truth there is to it) intact should he want to run for prez in 2016 or anything else in 2012.

  231. chicagofinance says:
    February 16, 2010 at 6:37 pm

    chicagofinance says:
    Your comment is awaiting moderation.
    February 16, 2010 at 6:37 pm

    watch plg achieve orga$m….

    Associated Press

    NEW YORK—The federal government will award $83.3 million in stimulus money to transform New York City’s main post-office building into a rail gateway.

    Sen. Charles Schumer said Tuesday that the funding from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act means that the first phase of the long-delayed project can go forward this year. The new station is to be named after the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

    Phase I of the project will include infrastructure improvements like new escalators and elevators for better access to train platforms.

    It should be completed by 2015 and is the prerequisite to Phase II—actually moving the train station from the site it shares with Madison Square Garden to the Post Office building across the street.

    Phase II will cost $1 billion to $1.5 billion and must be funded separately.

    Copyright 2010 Associated Press

  232. gary says:
    February 16, 2010 at 6:39 pm

    Evan Bayh lettin’ it all hang out!

    In an interview on MSNBC this morning, newly retiring Sen. Evan Bayh declared the American political system “dysfunctional,” riddled with “brain-dead partisanship” and permanent campaigning. Flatly denying any possibility that he’d seek the presidency or any other higher office, Bayh argued that the American people needed to deliver a “shock” to Congress by voting incumbents out en masse and replacing them with people interested in reforming the process and governing for the good of the people, rather than deep-pocketed special-interest groups.

  233. PGC says:
    February 16, 2010 at 6:40 pm

    #217 Nom

    Not quite sure what your point is here. Is it minorites deal crack and white trash deal crank? Both are dealingf drugs and are not politically motivated.

    G20 anarchy i would say is an outlier and not really US based. The supremicists are an established problem. Is there a a violent left wing political organisation (aside from PETA) that match them in size?

  234. njescapee says:
    February 16, 2010 at 6:44 pm

    so taxpayers from across the US get the honor of paying to move the Penn staion facility one block away to the old GPO. at a potential cost of $1.6B. oh and rename it Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan… wow,

  235. relo says:
    February 16, 2010 at 6:44 pm

    Wonder what the lock up was? Bet they’re imposing gates too. I am in the wrong biz. Accountability is for suckers.

    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748703562404575067781519982788.html

  236. jamil says:
    February 16, 2010 at 6:54 pm

    PGC: “The supremicists are an established problem. Is there a a violent left wing political organisation (aside from PETA) that match them in size?”

    What organisations are you talking about. KKK has been dead for years, except that one Dem Senator in Senate.
    And remind me how many people have those established supremicists killed?
    Weather Underground (btw, Obama chose to launch his presidential bid on the house of the leader of WU) killed a lot of people and tried and failed in one incident to kill 300 people (cadets and their dates) in the 1960s. Similar left-wing organisations (sometimes with islamic fascist movemements) have carried out dozens of terror acts. In Europe, lefties murdered leading (conservative and gay) candidate for prime minister before the election etc etc.
    Leftist demonstrations always include people from communist, latino and islamic supremicists groups (Hamas, Hezbollah front-orgs). Black supremicists (Black Panthers) openly carried out voter intimidation in Philly and Obama DOJ let them off the hook.

    I think claiming that right-wingers pose the violent problem is pretty nutty.

  237. confused in NJ says:
    February 16, 2010 at 6:55 pm

    232.gary says:
    February 16, 2010 at 6:39 pm
    Evan Bayh lettin’ it all hang out!

    In an interview on MSNBC this morning, newly retiring Sen. Evan Bayh declared the American political system “dysfunctional,” riddled with “brain-dead partisanship” and permanent campaigning. Flatly denying any possibility that he’d seek the presidency or any other higher office, Bayh argued that the American people needed to deliver a “shock” to Congress by voting incumbents out en masse and replacing them with people interested in reforming the process and governing for the good of the people, rather than deep-pocketed special-interest groups.

    How about that, an Honest Senator.

  238. meter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 6:57 pm

    “For example, Fox will cover stories that MSM won’t, and WSJ will cover a story well ahead of MSM sometimes.”

    Perhaps MSM means something other than what I think it means (or implies), but I find it curious that you exclude Fox and the WSJ from the MSM classification.

  239. meter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 7:02 pm

    @236 –

    “Leftist demonstrations always include people from communist, latino and islamic supremicists groups (Hamas, Hezbollah front-orgs). ”

    You don’t even understand what leftist means, you dolt. Islamic supremacists are, in a global context, as CONSERVATIVE a group as exists on the friggin’ planet.

    Apologies (not really) if that completely shatters your insular worldview.

  240. Al "The Thermostat" Gore says:
    February 16, 2010 at 7:38 pm

    “Greek police say a bomb exploded Tuesday evening outside an office of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) in Athens, The Associated Press reports. No one was hurt, the AP says. The bomb went off after a warning call to an Athens newspaper.”

    http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/02/bomb_explodes_at_jp_morgan_bra.html

  241. plg says:
    February 16, 2010 at 7:48 pm

    NJ Transit union leader warns of fare hikes of up to 30 percent, service cuts, employee furloughs – NJ.com

    A bombshell letter from a NJ Transit union head to members warns of fare hikes of up to 30 percent, cuts in service and possible employee furloughs.
    The letter sent out on Sunday by Patrick Reilly, a former conductor who is general chairman of the United Transportation Union, followed a meeting Friday between union leaders and new NJ Transit executive director James Weinstein. During the meeting, Reilly said, Weinstein detailed Gov. Chris Christie’s “aggressive” cost-saving plan for NJ Transit.
    “The plan comprises of fare hikes of between 20%-30%, and service reductions that are currently being worked on,” Reilly wrote. “The service reductions could force the carrier to furlough some of its employees. Executive Director Weinstein stated that specific details will be forthcoming within the next two weeks.”
    Reilly wrote that the service reductions would likely take effect in June. NJ Transit already cut nine train runs last month.
    “I think the new governor is trying to scare everybody from riding the trains,” Reilly said in an interview today.
    Christie last week said his administration would withhold nearly $33 in NJ Transit subsidies. He called the agency a “political patronage pit” and said it could cut costs before raising fares.
    NJ Transit spokeswoman Penny Bassett Hackett said Weinstein is expected to speak in detail about the “budget challenges” at today’s 2 p.m. public meeting of the NJ Transit board of directors at 1 Penn Plaza East, across from Newark Penn Station.
    “The budget plans have not been finalized and there will be a process, including public input, for how best to balance the budget,” she said.
    Calls seeking comment were not returned today by the governor’s press office.
    The last NJ Transit fare increase was in June 2007, when fares for buses, trains and light rail went up an average of 9.6 percent. That followed increases of 11.5 percent in July 2005 and 10 percent in April 2002. There was a nearly 12-year period without an increase between July 1990 and April 2002.
    Even before Christie’s announcement last week, his Subcommittee on Transportation reported last month that NJ Transit, the nation’s third largest public transit system, faced a $200 million deficit in the fiscal year 2011 budget that runs from July 1 of this year to June 30, 2011.
    Reilly and other union leaders at Friday’s meeting with Weinstein took offense at Christie’s characterization of “rich union contracts” at NJ Transit. The union represents conductors and assistant conductors.
    “The statements were out of line,” Reilly wrote. “We stated our position that the Union contracts are negotiated and are far from the ‘Rich Union Contract’ that was stated by the Governor. In fact, I pointed out that in comparison to the four commuter railroads that service the New York metropolitan area, we are the lowest paid.”
    Reilly said the governor is making the cuts at the same time that NJ Transit’s ridership is strong.
    Zoe Baldwin, New Jersey’s liaison with the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a transportation policy watchdog dedicated to reducing car dependency, said that if the fare increases go through, “It makes it clear that the state is leveraging our transportation future on the backs of transit riders who are often the least able to alter their travel patterns.”
    Reilly said investments by federal and state governments in the last several years have made NJ Transit a premier agency. He said the agency has state-of-the-art equipment and track that is second to none compared to any other commuter railroad in the area.
    “It seems like the new governor is coming in with an edict to put us into the junk business,” he said. “It’s a premier organization. It’s well-respected by all other transit agencies. Any service reductions are going to hurt the public.”

    http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/02/nj_transit_union_head_warns_of.html

  242. njescapee says:
    February 16, 2010 at 7:52 pm

    How many of you in the private sector work for a “premier organization?”

  243. plg says:
    February 16, 2010 at 7:52 pm

    The NJ transit cuts are a huge mistake. Public transportation is the lifeblood of this state.

    Christies says NJ Transit is a “political patronage pit?” Where is the evidence of that? I see that the PVWC has a lot of patronage, but NJ transit? It is a mode of transportation for people, not some patronage pit. These cuts are not felt by the Union or anyone except the riders.

    This hurts the state’s competitiveness and will also hurt property values. It is precisely the wrong policy at the wrong time. Meanwhile Christie is lobbying Wal-Mart for more business. So we cut down on public transportation and bring in more Wal-Marts! What a disaster.

    So Christie closes the budget gap by taxing the poor.

  244. jamil says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:02 pm

    156 “is a bomb blast in athens really uncommon news?”

    anybody guess if this was a product of conservative or leftist group?

  245. jamil says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:05 pm

    239 meter: “You don’t even understand what leftist means, you dolt. Islamic supremacists are, in a global context, as CONSERVATIVE a group as exists on the friggin’ planet.”

    You tell me, then, why leftists always work hand in hand with islamic fascist groups and conservative groups never will? Hezhollah front group even has a leftist congressman from MN. Try inviting Israeli Ambassodor to speak at some American University and see what leftists and islamic student groups are doing hand in hand. Maybe self-hatred is part of leftist identity, though.

  246. plg says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:13 pm

    Jamil,

    “leftists always work hand in hand with islamic fascist groups and conservatives never will”

    You should ask Bandar Bush about that?

    http://www.pjvoice.com/v17/photos/bandar.jpg

  247. Yikes says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:20 pm

    any wonder how long it’ll be before more places move to this?

    http://herald-zeitung.com/story.lasso?ewcd=0184f591839b40f8&-session=HeraldZeitung:428824710546a2586DloO1FC4BCB

    Having four non-related roommates could soon be illegal in New Braunfels.

    The New Braunfels Planning Commission will hold a workshop Tuesday to discuss placing further restrictions on the number of people not related by blood who are allowed to live in single-family homes.

    What has been referred to in other cities as a “living in sin” law stems from complaints from residents that their unruly, generally college-age neighbors are causing a public nuisance in local neighborhoods.

    To address those concerns, the commission has considered only allowing three unrelated people to live in a single-family home.

  248. sample taker says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:20 pm

    wow the nonsense meter is registering hi today

  249. frank says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:23 pm

    NJ Transit is a big waste, where else can you make $60K/year + benefits for driving a bus 3 hours a day?

  250. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:23 pm

    escape (242)-

    I operate the premier organization in RE that specializes in picking clean the carcasses of dead debtors and their shitbox dwellings.

    “How many of you in the private sector work for a “premier organization?”

  251. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:25 pm

    plg (243)-

    Show your displeasure, and go lay down on the Secaucus line at 8 AM tomorrow. I’ll bring you a bagel.

    “The NJ transit cuts are a huge mistake. Public transportation is the lifeblood of this state.”

  252. Morpheus says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:25 pm

    236:
    Now I know Jamil is full of S**t.

    KKK dead? Not really. (yes, those morris dee lawsuits really killed the movement. . sarcasm now off)

    next you will tell us the white supremicist movement is also dead.

    really, PLG and you are quite tiresome. And your comments about fetal alcohol syndrome are in poor taste.

  253. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:28 pm

    Bang back NJ Transit workers to about 42K/year, 45 hour week, no pension/401k instead and co-pays for insurance.

    We’re paying Ralph Cramden like he’s an educated knowledge worker. Big mistake.

  254. Morpheus says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:30 pm

    In jamil’s world, left wing extremists are terroists while those on the right wing are patriots.

    GIVE ME A F**KIN BREAK!!!

  255. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:30 pm

    Why can’t jamil and plg just square off now?

    I’m happy to just step aside and marvel at the mushroom cloud.

  256. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:31 pm

    C’mon jamil…gimme some McVeigh love. You know you want to.

  257. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:37 pm

    Back to the industrial-grade assclowns, Eraserhead and Dimon:

    “Inquiring minds are reading the Financial Times article Fed carries losses from Bear Stearns portfolio to spot lies made by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner (then president of the New York Fed) and Jamie Dimon, current CEO of JPMorgan Chase.

    The US Federal Reserve is sitting on significant paper losses on the real estate assets it acquired in the Bear Stearns rescue, with much of the red ink coming from debt used to back some of the most high-profile buy-out deals of the bubble years.

    Among the debts weighing on the central bank’s portfolio are those used in financing the acquisitions of Hilton Hotels, which is being restructured, and hotel operator Extended Stay, which is in bankruptcy, people familiar with the matter say.

    The Fed holds these and other real estate assets in a vehicle known as Maiden Lane I, which was set up to pave the way for JPMorgan Chase’s purchase of Bear.

    The assets in Maiden Lane I – all of which came from Bear’s mortgage desk – were originally valued at $30bn when a final agreement on the portfolio was reached in June 2008 by the New York Fed, its advisers at asset managers BlackRock and JPMorgan.

    Conflict of Interest

    Please note the above conflict of interest. JPMorgan Chase was advising the Fed on the value of securities it was dumping on the Fed. Geithner had to realize this conflict of interest existed but purposely did nothing about it.”

    http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/02/geithner-and-jpmorgan-ceo-jamie-dimons.html

  258. sample taker says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:41 pm

    yeah yeah heard it all before
    get on with it

  259. Stu says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:41 pm

    Jamil won’t answer you plg. The truth is only what suits him. He is so stupidly ignorant that he feels the teabaggers are actually helping save the country and to this day believes Sarah Palin is the second coming of Christ. Sad thing is, the Republican Party is hijacking the tea baggers so they can try to reclaim power and make the same pro-corporate decisions being made by the so-called lefty socialist Obama.

  261. njescapee says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:53 pm

    Stu, why are you so hard on those poor old geezer teabaggers. Gotta say they have been keeping pressure on local pols down here to keep govt spending in check. I see that as a big positive. Dude, the nature of our government is to spend every dime we have and then some and still have nothing to show for it.

  262. Al "The Thermostat" Gore says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:57 pm

    The longer people buy into the whole left/right BS the more unsolvable the problem becomes.

    I personally am at the point of not giving a sh#t. Let me shake the parasites off my back and I will live poor and happy in the Carribean. If you want to turn the country into a bankrupt, 3rd world, freedomless sh#thole keep the game going.

    And Israel is one of the parasites on my back.

  263. plg says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:00 pm

    Stu,

    Yes, I should have known.

    At some point, when Obama is out of power, the tea baggers will recede and the Republicans will get on with eroding the constitution in the name of corporate profits.

    The tea baggers are a creation of the right designed to demonize Obama the way the right demonized Clinton in the 90s. Only difference is Obama doesn’t cheat on his wife, so the right had to abandon all the talk of “family values” and integrity and replace it with talk about socialism.

    Remember when the Republicans always talked about family values and integrity? That was before Larry Craig was tappin dudes in airport bathrooms and that congressman was diddling congressional pages. Woops!

    For the Republicans it always has to be some personal demonization because they lose on policy every time.

  264. Al "The Thermostat" Gore says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:08 pm

    263.

    What policies has your Communist master passed?

    His proposals

    Cap n Tax
    Amnesty
    2000 page socialized healthcare
    Banker baiouts
    Civilian Security Force “just as strong, just as powerful as the military”

    Yup, good thing for tea baggers. They may be half asleep but thats better than sharpening the blade designed to kill you.

  265. Stu says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:19 pm

    I’m definitely aligned with Al here. There is little difference between the two parties. Unfortunately, both teams will continue to claim otherwise to fool the Jamil’s and the Plg’s.

    Send in your tax deductible political contributions right away!

    I wonder how much Thomas Jefferson and Honest Abe raised?

  266. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:20 pm

    None of this matters. We’ve all been complicit in turning our country into a Third World jerkwater. Now, it’s end of the empire time.

    Once the empire starts to go, you can never get it back. Just ask the British.

  267. Schumpeter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:20 pm

    jamil & plg are both dupes.

  268. njescapee says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:24 pm

    we don’t need no stinkin empire

  269. plg says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:30 pm

    Do I think Obama is perfect?

    One thing that is unfair is the bank bailouts. Obama gets tagged with the “banker bailouts” and it is unfair. The bank bailout occurred on Bush’s watch. That is just a fact. It was proposed and supported by Paulson, Bernanke and about every economist on the planet. I don’t know what to make of that, but I know it wasn’t some Obama creation!

  270. Stu says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:36 pm

    But what about the Porkulous? The economic stimulus bill was absolutely pathetic. The only good thing that can be said about it is thank god it wasn’t larger. I’m still waiting for those birds we saved in the San Francisco Bay to turn the economy around.

    And don’t get your panties all bunched up Jamil. We spent more dollars retaliating against Iraq for not attacking the WTC then we did on the Porkulous.

    Go watch that Katie Couric interview again.

  271. Essex says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:43 pm

    Porkulous is a great name for a band.

  272. skep-tic says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:43 pm

    once the U.S. goes down, the whole word will be a free-for-all. The Carribean will be like “The Road” with cholera on top. I voted for Mr. O because Mc is a little unstable and P-alin is a joke (but hot), but O is turning out to be extremely dangerous for this country. I do not think he is a bad guy on a personal level; I just do not think he understand that he is very quickly pushing us over the edge on a fiscal level. He does not get it. Although they are nutty, the value of the tea party movement is to cause him to acknowledge in some small way that he does not have a blank check. Without them we might be getting another $1T stimulus bill this month.

  273. Al "The Thermostat" Gore says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:46 pm

    270.

    Hillary is over there banging the war drums again. During the 8 year Iran/Iraq war the Iranians lost over a million people and didnt give up an acre of land.

    Obama is right about one thing. His lukewarm reception to Israel. Lets see if he sells out to his puppet masters.

  274. njescapee says:
    February 16, 2010 at 9:50 pm

    I remeber Primus had a a tune called Pork Soda. was pretty cool.

  275. plg says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:02 pm

    The argument that the stimulus bill has “failed” because times are still tough has always been dimwitted. There was never any chance that it was going to miraculously end the recession, only that it might make it a little shallower than it otherwise would have been. So far, it appears to have done exactly that.

    Ofcourse the stimulus bill is pork, that is kind of a weak argument. All government spending is pork, unless it is in your district, then it means roads, bridges, tunnels, policemen, etc. So to argue the stimulus bill was pork, is sort of redundant. This is why almost every republican congressman who voted against the bill are at the ribbon cuttings.

    Ofcourse, we all forget that the stimulus included a few hundred billion dollars in tax cuts, which every Republican should love. Ofcourse they hate that too!

  276. meter says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:14 pm

    “Bang back NJ Transit workers to about 42K/year, 45 hour week, no pension/401k instead and co-pays for insurance.

    We’re paying Ralph Cramden like he’s an educated knowledge worker. Big mistake.”

    Amen. These losers can’t make change on the train without a sigh and an eyeroll. Tough job.

  278. NJGator says:
    February 16, 2010 at 10:25 pm

    Meter 276 – Make change? I have yet to find a single NJT conductor who will upcharge my 4 zone ($5/ride) ticket from Glen Ridge to ride all the way down to Aberdeen-Matawan ($12/ride).

    A few years ago, when I would occasionally ride the bus from Manalapan to NYC, I caught the Gordon’s Corner deli owner selling tickets from a discounted multi trip ticket as one way tickets to passengers at full price. Those 10 trips were discounted something like 20 or 30 percent, and he was pocketing the difference. When I called the NJT 800 number to rat the owner out, I had to speak with 4 different people before I could get someone to understand that he was cheating NJT out of tons of revenue. No one seemed to care.

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  281. skep-tic says:
    February 16, 2010 at 11:05 pm

    the stimulus is/was/will be a joke. it is premised on the idea that the gov’t can spend money more effeciently than the people they tax. a real stimulus would have been a tax holiday. What we have instead is a litany of pet projects, some of which may be valuable and many not. no matter what you call it, we couldn’t afford it, no can we afford the foreign wars or entitlement programs we’ve already got. We are the push of a button (the Chinese character for “sell”) away from utter economic collapse.

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  284. Al "The Thermostat" Gore says:
    February 16, 2010 at 11:47 pm

    “I used to think it would take a global financial crisis to get both parties to the table, but we just had one,” said G. William Hoagland, who was a fiscal policy adviser to Senate Republican leaders and a witness to past bipartisan budget summits. “These days I wonder if this country is even governable.”

    I agree with his sentiment. I wonder if this is why so many politicians are quitting.

  285. Al "The Thermostat" Gore says:
    February 17, 2010 at 12:55 am

    Was this anyone on the NJReReport blog?

    AC TRANSIT BUS FIGHT I AM A MOTHERF#CKER
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  286. cobbler says:
    February 17, 2010 at 3:10 am

    skep [281]
    Tax cuts stimulate growth well once it had already started. If you cut taxes in the depth of the recession (especially when solvency of everyone and everything is under question) you need to somehow force people to spend money rather than save it, otherwise you trade personal debt for govt debt without any economic improvement. Local “currencies” are actually the most effective stimulus (huge multiplier – like you get say 5% of your property tax back but in “tokens” you can only spend with the local merchants, and which expire in 3 months) – but they are used in only few towns, and not on a tax rebate basis but for discounted purchase price.

  287. Essex says:
    February 17, 2010 at 4:39 am

    285….damn!

  288. PGC says:
    February 17, 2010 at 6:23 am

    Jamil,
    I love how you have to reach tback to the 60’s or to Europe and the world to get your left wing examples. As for the Watchmen, there were enough on the right heading out to ‘crak a few hippie heads’

    Morpheaus
    plg = him
    PGC = me

    PLG = confusing

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    Overall, things are not as bad over here as expected. They are taking their lumps from the financial crash. Cost of living is up but not that bad. Houses are still selling.

    I came across a very interesting fact. 70% of the Irish economy is based on food and drink export. The problem is that 50% of the export is to the UK and while volume is stable, the soft pound is really hurting them. Ireland has always had a protectionist stance. They have run the Guaranteed Irish label for years and the gmvt are running a big ad campaign to put an extra Irish product in your shopping bag every week.
    The Irish call centers and IT industry is still strong so overall this place is not in bad shape.

    I had wondered why my Hedge fund buddies were over here every few weeks and I suspected it wasn’t just for the golf.

    Clot, it is also nice to get to sports commentary that doesn’t involve Tommy and his Onion bag. Bad part was that family commitments meant I missed the firstr hour of the Utd Milan game.

  290. PGC says:
    February 17, 2010 at 6:37 am

    Greetings from Ireland. At the moment I am in a fairway side condo at a 5* golf resort. Scored a great deal on flights accommodation and a minivan.
    Overall, things are not as bad over here as expected. They are taking their lumps from the financial crash. Cost of living is up but not that bad. Houses are still selling.

    I came across a very interesting fact. 70% of the Irish economy is based on food and drink export. The problem is that 50% of the export is to the UK and while volume is stable, the soft pound is really hurting them. Ireland has always had a protectionist stance. They have run the Guaranteed Irish label for years and the gmvt are running a big ad campaign to put an extra Irish product in your shopping bag every week.
    The Irish call centers and IT industry is still strong so overall this place is not in bad shape.

    I had wondered why my Hedge fund buddies were over here every few weeks and I suspected it wasn’t just for the golf.

    Clot, it is also nice to get to sports commentary that doesn’t involve Tommy and his Onion bag. Bad part was that family commitments meant I missed the firstr hour of the Utd Milan game.

  291. Schumpeter says:
    February 17, 2010 at 6:54 am

    PGC (289)-

    Too bad on the Manu game. Ronaldinho actually played the first half like he still gives a damn.

    I don’t think either of these teams will be there for the final. Milan is old and weak, and Man U has no options other than crossing the ball onto Rooney.

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    Al “The Thermostat” Gore says:
    February 16, 2010 at 8:57 pm

    “The longer people buy into the whole left/right BS the more unsolvable the problem becomes.

    And Israel is one of the parasites on my back.”

    Why don’t you provide a list of 10 of the “parasites on your back”

    Listing one has me drawing conclusions as to what type of person you are and I don’t want to make any false assumptions.

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