Archive for March, 2008

Apparently, the economy and foreclosures are no longer the only thing Countrywide executives have to worry about now.

Countrywide Financial Corp (CFC.N) shares dropped 14 percent to a 13-year low on Monday following reports the largest U.S. mortgage lender was being investigated by the FBI for possible securities fraud.

…

Countrywide is being investigated over whether it misrepresented its financial condition and the quality of its loans in securities filings, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times over the weekend. The papers cited people with knowledge of the case.

I can’t imagine any reason why people might think that the powers that be at Countrywide would not be telling the truth when it came to their financial condition. Duh. They were allowing people with virtually no income buy houses worth three times as much as mine, eventually someone was going to notice something.

If they’re guilty, I hope they all get what’s coming to them for what they have done.

Just over a month ago we were saddened to learn that our devoted friend and family member, Flash, had bone cancer.

There is no more sobering word in the English language than the word cancer.

I still remember the day he picked our son out of the bunch of us. We had been looking for the “perfect” family dog for months and had decided to spare no expense in finding the perfect companion to grow up with our children. We contacted a local breeder and went to meet with her and the puppies.

When we arrived we were introduced to Flash’s mother, Pele, and his father, Banner. We got to see their temperaments in action, and we were amazed at them both.

Pele

Banner

We also learned that Banner was the son of Faera’s Future Classic, call name “Thunder”. Thunder is a champion Golden Retriever whose bloodline is well known and whose offspring have produced numerous “assistance” dogs around the country.

Thunder

Magic happened when we got to meet the puppies. Let me just say now, that if we had a bit more money at the time we would have come home with two, or maybe even three, of them. We sat on the front lawn watching the puppies play and one of them walked up to our oldest son and laid down in his lap.

The puppy was making it clear that he picked our son. We played with him a bit and moved him over to the side so we could all play with one of the other puppies, but within moments he was pushing his way back through the crowd and into our son’s lap.

The choice had been made. We paid a deposit and we waited three more weeks to bring him home. That was the day our lives changed forever.

When we arrived to pick him up, the breeder brought him out to us and he immediately ran up to our son. He remembered him, that was very clear. Because he had picked our son we decided to let him name the new addition to our family.

His name was Flash. There were two reasons for this name. One, was the lightning bolt shaped mark on his forehead, and the other was for the superhero. Hey, when you are four years old, it’s important to pay homage to your superheros.

From the moment we walked in the door, I knew this dog was hard headed. Once he got something in his mind, he wasn’t going to change it, and you knew it. He made it clear early on that he wanted to be in charge, so I spent the next few years letting him believe he was.

For nearly six years he has been a devoted friend, an energetic playmate, a trusting guard, and most of all a loving family member. He was always cheerful, he was always happy.

Flash Dance

Our vet recommended seeing a specialist who could confirm the cancer diagnosis, and let us know what the options were. As we walked out of that specialist’s office, my wife and I knew what was coming, but neither one of us wanted to face it. We drove home and reviewed our options. No matter what we decided we knew we had to do the right thing for Flash.

It turns out, he made the choice for us. Three nights ago, when I went downstairs to let the dogs in, he was nowhere to be found. It was getting dark and I had to grab my shoes and a flashlight. It took me 15 minutes to find him in the backyard. He was laying in the wooded area behind our home. It took most of his energy to get up, and he slowly limped into the house.

For the next two days he did nothing but lay in his bed by the front door. He could barely walk to go outside to do his business, and once he did he came right back in and laid on his bed.

Two weeks ago, I told Flash that he needed to let me know when it was time. I begged him to tell me when he had had enough. Yesterday, he told me. There was something in his eyes and the way he cuddled into me. There was a message there. He was telling me that he wanted to go. He made it clear that he was done.

I didn’t want him to be done. I still don’t want him to be done. I want to play ball with him. I want to take him for walks through the neighborhood. I want to feel his warmth at my feet. I promised him I would do the right thing when the time came, and I did. But right now, all I want is my friend back.

Just over a month ago we were saddened to learn that our devoted friend and family member, Flash, had bone cancer.

There is no more sobering word in the English language than the word cancer.

I still remember the day he picked our son out of the bunch of us. We had been looking for the “perfect” family dog for months and had decided to spare no expense in finding the perfect companion to grow up with our children. We contacted a local breeder and went to meet with her and the puppies.

When we arrived we were introduced to Flash’s mother, Pele, and his father, Banner. We got to see their temperaments in action, and we were amazed at them both.

Pele

Banner

We also learned that Banner was the son of Faera’s Future Classic, call name “Thunder”. Thunder is a champion Golden Retriever whose bloodline is well known and whose offspring have produced numerous “assistance” dogs around the country.

Thunder

Magic happened when we got to meet the puppies. Let me just say now, that if we had a bit more money at the time we would have come home with two, or maybe even three, of them. We sat on the front lawn watching the puppies play and one of them walked up to our oldest son and laid down in his lap.

The puppy was making it clear that he picked our son. We played with him a bit and moved him over to the side so we could all play with one of the other puppies, but within moments he was pushing his way back through the crowd and into our son’s lap.

The choice had been made. We paid a deposit and we waited three more weeks to bring him home. That was the day our lives changed forever.

When we arrived to pick him up, the breeder brought him out to us and he immediately ran up to our son. He remembered him, that was very clear. Because he had picked our son we decided to let him name the new addition to our family.

His name was Flash. There were two reasons for this name. One, was the lightning bolt shaped mark on his forehead, and the other was for the superhero. Hey, when you are four years old, it’s important to pay homage to your superheros.

From the moment we walked in the door, I knew this dog was hard headed. Once he got something in his mind, he wasn’t going to change it, and you knew it. He made it clear early on that he wanted to be in charge, so I spent the next few years letting him believe he was.

For nearly six years he has been a devoted friend, an energetic playmate, a trusting guard, and most of all a loving family member. He was always cheerful, he was always happy.

Flash Dance

Our vet recommended seeing a specialist who could confirm the cancer diagnosis, and let us know what the options were. As we walked out of that specialist’s office, my wife and I knew what was coming, but neither one of us wanted to face it. We drove home and reviewed our options. No matter what we decided we knew we had to do the right thing for Flash.

It turns out, he made the choice for us. Three nights ago, when I went downstairs to let the dogs in, he was nowhere to be found. It was getting dark and I had to grab my shoes and a flashlight. It took me 15 minutes to find him in the backyard. He was laying in the wooded area behind our home. It took most of his energy to get up, and he slowly limped into the house.

For the next two days he did nothing but lay in his bed by the front door. He could barely walk to go outside to do his business, and once he did he came right back in and laid on his bed.

Two weeks ago, I told Flash that he needed to let me know when it was time. I begged him to tell me when he had had enough. Yesterday, he told me. There was something in his eyes and the way he cuddled into me. There was a message there. He was telling me that he wanted to go. He made it clear that he was done.

I didn’t want him to be done. I still don’t want him to be done. I want to play ball with him. I want to take him for walks through the neighborhood. I want to feel his warmth at my feet. I promised him I would do the right thing when the time came, and I did. But right now, all I want is my friend back.

This is something I have wondered for quite a while.

I know in a normal market it doesn’t make sense to reduce the principal on a mortgage, but in the case where millions of people are forced into foreclosure in any given month, it just makes sense to do so.

I tell you one thing, if the mortgage company (Countrywide) would have worked with a relative of mine, she wouldn’t have been forced to walk away from the house. But they couldn’t even be bothered to open the registered letter she sent them explaining her circumstances.

Banks may have to swallow reductions in the principal of some troubled home loans to ward off greater losses that could result from outright default, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Tuesday.

Warning that mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures are likely to rise, with more declines in house prices, Bernanke called for active measures from both the public and private sectors to stabilize housing markets.

“This situation calls for a vigorous response,” Bernanke said in a speech to the Independent Community Bankers of America, referring to government and private-sector initiatives to slow the rate of home loan failures.

“Measures to reduce preventable foreclosures could help not only stressed borrowers but also their communities and, indeed, the broader economy,” he said.

Doesn’t it make more sense to lose a little bit on the value of the loan than to lose the entire amount outright and have almost no possibility of recovering it anytime in the foreseeable future?

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Were you shocked to hear that the Hells Angels wanted to kill Mick Jagger. I was, although I was even more shocked at how they tried to carry out their plan.

Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger escaped an assassination plot hatched in 1969 by the Hells Angels, a new British Broadcasting Corp. documentary has claimed.

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Jagger had vowed not to use Hells Angel members as bouncers following the death in December 1969 of an 18-year-old fan at a notorious free performance at Altamont Speedway in Northern California.

…

In return, gang members hatched a plan to kill Jagger at his holiday home in Long Island, New York, the BBC claimed.

…

Mangold said the men tried to reach Jagger by sea. “The boat was hit by a storm and all of the men were thrown overboard,” he was quoted as saying. They all survived but made no other attempt on his life, Mangold said.

Doesn’t this just prove that Hells Angels should just stay on dry land and ride motorcycles or something? I wonder how many of them were wearing leather jacket when they plunged into the sea?

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How many times can Ford cut production before they stop making cars?

Ford Motor Co (F.N) said on Monday it would eliminate shifts at four U.S. plants and lay off some 2,500 workers — or almost 5 percent of its remaining work force — as part of an effort to cut costs and return to profitability next year.

The layoffs come at a time when the No. 2 U.S. automaker is offering buyouts and early retirement incentives to all 54,000 of its U.S. factory workers as it attempts to recover from a $2.7 billion loss in 2007.

Ford said it would run its Chicago and Louisville, Kentucky, assembly plants on one shift rather than the current two shifts starting this summer.

They cut almost 34,000 workers in 2006. They are offering early retirement to 54,000 more employees, and they’re trying to bribe even more to leave. What are they going to do if everyone decides to take the incentives? That certainly won’t save any money.

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Who in the hell takes off their hat and coat when they are planning to rob a convenience store? WTF?

The robber of a convenience store left behind an unusual clue — a W-2 form. The man robbed a Git-N-Go store in Des Moines early Friday after telling a clerk he had a gun. He left the store with about $115 but at some point took off his hat and jacket.

When police responded, they found the tax form in the coat pocket.

Officers checked the name on the form and found a listing for a 25-year-old with a suspended driver’s license who is on probation for theft. The man’s description matched information provided by the clerk.

Police are still looking for the robber.

I don’t know which is more stupid. The fact this guy left his shit behind, or the fact that after knowing who he is the cops still can’t find him. It’s not like he’s smart enough to hide somewhere. Just look for the guy that’s always leaving a trail of things behind him.

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