No matter the reason or validity of the conflict, the ultimate sacrifice paid by our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, and our friends is worthy of our honor, respect, and acknowledgment.

On this Veteran's Day 2011: Rest in peace to all who have fallen and comfort to the family and friends they left behind.

Sorry if this has already been posted, but I was very encouraged to see that this was sent to me by someone who is fairly conservative. Whether responding to this e-mail, and the subsequent blog posting will help is beside the point. You should know that I live in a heavily conservative section of the Bay Area, the type of women that I think the Palin nomination was intended to attract and this indicates to me the disillusionment that a lot of traditional conservatives are feeling now.


Friends, compatriots, fellow-lamenters,

We are writing to you because of the fury and dread we have felt since the announcement of Sarah Palin as the Vice-Presidential candidate for the Republican Party. We believe that this terrible decision has surpassed mere partisanship, and that it is a dangerous farce on the part of a pandering and rudderless Presidential candidate that has a real possibility of becoming fact.

Perhaps like us, as American women, you share the fear of what Ms. Palin and her professed beliefs and proven record could lead to for ourselves and for our present or future daughters. To date, she is against sex education, birth control, the pro-choice platform, environmental protection, alternative energy development, freedom of
speech (as mayor she wanted to ban books and attempted to fire the librarian who stood against her), gun control, the separation of church and state, and polar bears. To say nothing of her complete lack of real preparation to become the second-most-powerful person on the planet.

We want to clarify that we are not against Sarah Palin as a woman, a mother, or, for that matter, a parent of a pregnant teenager, but solely as a rash, incompetent, and all together devastating choice for Vice President. Ms. Palin's political views are in every way a slap in the face to the accomplishments that our mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers so fiercely fought for, and that we've so demonstrably benefited from.

First and foremost, Ms. Palin does not represent us. She does not demonstrate or uphold our interests as American women. It is presumed that the inclusion of a woman on the Republican ticket could win over
women voters. We want to disagree, publicly.

Therefore, we invite you to reply here with a short, succinct message about why you, as a woman living in this country, do not support this candidate as second-in-command for our nation.

Please include your name (last initial is fine), age, and place of residence.

We will post your responses on a blog called "Women Against Sarah Palin," which we intend to publicize as widely as possible. Please send us your reply at your earliest convenience. The greater the volume of responses we receive, the stronger our message will be.

Thank you for your time and action.

VIVA!

Sincerely,

Quinn Latimer and Lyra Kilston
New York, NY
womensaynopalin@gmail.com

http://womenagainstsarahpalin.blogspot.com

I would've posted this over in the viper pit, but they don't seem to have much of a sense of humor lately.

I am a mortgage professional. I have worked as a licensed broker and an institutional loan officer. In light of the current state of affairs in the housing market, I have come to believe that there is a general lack of understanding in how Adjustable Rate Mortgages actually work. I have written the proceeding explanations based on my knowledge of the past and current mortgage market. As I am in California, I have used examples of products that are available here. Your state may have variations, but I believe the core principles apply. Always consult a knowledgeable advisor when making any decisions about your specific mortgage management strategy.

There are several types of "ARM" mortgages. The most common is the "Fixed Rate ARM", usually executed as a 3, 5, 7, or 10 year fixed rate term. These loans are typically indexed to the MTA, LIBOR or CMT indexes. The adjustment happens at the end of the "fixed" term, and is usually a 1 year adjustment, "fixing" the new rate at the current index value plus a preset margin. There have been abuses using these types, typically with the so called 2-28s and 3-27s, where the borrower is given a "prepayment" penalty that exceeds the fixed rate period, and are "trapped" when the adjustment happens. These loans were often used in the so-called "Sub-Prime" market, and enabled borrowers that would not qualify on a normal home to purchase. However, based on the homeowners needs, the regular ARM loans can be a valuable mortgage management strategy as the interest rates are typically lower than the traditional 30 year fixed.

The second type of ARM, is the "One Month" type, and as the name implies they can ad do adjust every month according to the value of the index they are tied to. These loans typically have a significantly lower rate than the 30 year fixed, and as a mortgage strategy are used in a "bridge" scenario where the borrower anticipates either selling or refinancing the property quickly. The obvious drawback to this type of mortgage is the volatility of the market, and the possibility for a rapid increase in the rate and corresponding payment. These loans are really for the savvy borrower, to be used as a mortgage management strategy. Again, these loans were abused and a lot of first time home buyers were placed in these loans as a way to qualify for more than they could afford.

The last type of ARM is the so-called "Option ARM" or "Pick-a-Pay" loan. These loans are without a doubt the most misunderstood, and abused loan in the mortgage industry. Without going into the history of this loan's development, basically what these loans offer is four different payment options. The first being a 30 year amortized payment, the second a 15 year amortized, the third an interest only an the fourth a "Minimum Payment" Let me break these down:

"30/15 year Amortized" - This payment is calculated using the "fully indexed" rate (The "Index" the loan is tied to plus the preset "fixed" margin) and amortizing it over a 30/15 year period. This so-called “fully indexed’ rate is the real interest rate that is accruing against the unpaid principal balance. This feature of the loan is where a lot of people came to believe, either through deceit on the part of the loan agent or ignorance on their part, that they had a 30/15 year fixed loan.

“Interest Only” – Pretty straight forward, the payment is calculated using the “fully indexed” rate multiplied by the current principal balance and dividing by twelve. This is the same way a “fixed rate” ARM interest only payment is calculated. The difference is that the “fully indexed” rate will change month-to-month depending on what the “index” is at.

“Minimum Payment” – Okay, here we go. This option is what most people don’t understand and what has gotten most people into trouble. Essentially this payment is pulled out of thin air, and has no relationship to the “fully indexed” rate at all. What the lender does is to come up with an arbitrary interest rate, let’s say 1%, and apply that rate to the original loan amount, amortizing it over 30 years. This results in a situation called “negative amortization” as the “minimum” payment does not meet the interest that is accruing at the “fully indexed’ rate. In the early months of the loan, this difference is not too large, so a lot of people miss the fact that their principal balance is growing. Continued use of the minimum payment however, increases the principal balance, and the corresponding interest accrued against the principal balance.

The minimum payment has some “safety” features (although who exactly is getting the “safety" is debatable). First, the minimum payment can adjust every year to a maximum of 7.5% of the original payment amount (to attempt to minimize the negative amortization) and second, there is usually a principal balance limit of 110% of the original loan amount before the entire principal balance is “recast” into a straight 30 year fixed loan.

The minimum payment feature is a useful tool for cash flow (a lot of investors used this loan), and in a rising market is an attractive feature. In a declining market, obviously the increase in principal balance and the decrease in home value can eat up a lot of equity, so again, this type of loan should be considered after careful examination of the transaction. Unfortunately, this was not the case in many instances, and a lot of people used this loan to qualify for property that they could not really afford, and some bought speculating that their property would appreciate enough to cover the increase in principal balance.

I hope this give you a little better understanding of Adjustable Rate Mortgages, and how they are used.

Is it just coincidence that on the same day the jobs report comes out saying that the unemployment rate hit 5.5% in May, that a Morgan Stanley energy analyst says oil will hit $150 by July 4th? The combination of these two tidbits of information were most certainly responsible for both the nearly $11 spike in oil and the nearly 400 point drop in the Dow.

This is akin to yelling FIRE! in a crowded theater. You got to know you're going to cause a panic. At what point is enough going to be enough? Does oil have to hit $200 a barrel before it becomes evident to even a republican that we're being taken for a ride?

You can talk about peak oil, alternative energy and the ecology all you want (I'm for improvement in all of those areas), but the fact remains that oil is NOT worth $150. At best it should be trading at about $60. The simple truth is that the commodity is being manipulated for the enrichment of a very small segment of society at the expense of everyone else.

Boycotting your local station for a day or two will not (contrary to the e-mail urban myths floating around) do a thing except hurt the local operator. There needs to be a loud and continuous demand that this blatant manipulation be addressed. Call your congress rep soon and often to let them know that this issue can not be ignored any longer.