Coffee Makes Your Boobs Shrink and Other News

Yes you read that right, coffee and big boobs don't mix.
Scientists have recently discovered that women who drink more than 3 cups of coffee a day run the risk of having their breasts shrink. See, just another reason why I don't drink coffee... besides the fact that the mere smell of it makes me want to gag. But there is the proof we may all need to at least get teenage girls out of Starbucks so you can read the paper in peace without all the giggling and girl talk.
Just bring this article along with you and casually leave it on the table, you'll thank me later.

To continue on with the mildly inappropriate articles, another study has recently shown that really stinky, egg rotting smell farts actually help regulate your blood pressure. The unpleasant aroma of the gas, called hydrogen sulfide (H2S), can be a little too familiar, as it is expelled by bacteria living in the human colon and eventually makes its way, well, out. The new research found that cells lining mice’s blood vessels naturally make the gas and this action can help keep the rodents’ blood pressure low by relaxing the blood vessels to prevent hypertension (high blood pressure). So next time you rip a really nasty one and people start to gag, just say you were feeling a little hypertension-like... how can they argue with that?

Um, here's something random for you:
Out or not, this guy REALLY needs to consider changing his name. Just read the first line of THIS NEWS STORY and you'll most likely agree with me.

I know that grandparents love their grandchildren... but enough to carry them for 9 months? Well this grandmother did as she just delivered triplets... her 3 granddaughters to be exact. When her daughter could not get pregnant, she decided that even though she was 57 years old, she could still help out. And help out she did. Grandma, mommy and babies are doing great... but that is going to be a strange conversation when they get older.

Everyone knows that one slightly crazy old person. I always say mine is my across the street neighbor. He is a sweet old man, but he is literally outside ALL day long. Just sitting in the chair. I'm serious, all day long. The only time he goes inside is if it is pouring raining, but if it's just sprinkling, he's still there. I can only hope he is as thrifty as this man, who had a knack for hoarding cash. He was a "wanderer" and spent the years of his retirement driving around and living out of his Chevy truck. But when he was found in a motel room, dead from lung cancer, the authorities were in for a shock as he had about $263,000 in cash in a leather cassette case. The cool thing about it is the rightful heir to this money was his 27 year old grand daughter who hadn't seen him since she was 9 years old. She had been wanting to go to college but wasn't able to, and now she has enrolled part time in school! I like happy endings! So be nice to those crazy old people, you never know what they are hoarding in their cassette cases.

But if you need cash and don't have the patience to wait for an inheritance from an unknown grandparent, you can always start a pot farm in the Utah Mountains! A few hunters who were trying to bag some deer in central Utah stumbled upon a marijuana farm that contained thousands of plants. When the police were called in, the suspects grabbed as many plants as they could carry and took off running... oh I wish I could have seen that! Eventually they were caught. But you've got to give them 10 points for vigilance. I mean, that was probably hard work setting all of that up... if only there were gun laws that prevented hunting and then they would be able to grow their pot in peace. Vote Democrat people! :) (sarcasm implied)

I wonder if they were the ones who hooked up Ms. Teen Louisiana? Ms. Teen Louisiana was arrested and also de-crowned when she and a few of her friends decided to skip out on their restaurant tab. The problem was when the police were called, they found Ms. Louisiana's wallet, along with her marijuana stash.
Ya, not the smartest blonde I've ever known...

But I wonder if she is smarter than THIS guy who was injured while trying to beat the Guinness Book of World Record for the most cars to run over him. He is currently the record holder for 7 cars, but wanted to beat his own record and bump it up to 8 cars. Good news for him! He was injured on the last car, so he has indeed been run over by 8 cars! He is also known for feats such as picking up six people and pulling box cars with his teeth. He has had over 1,000 vehicles run over him throughout his career according to his Web site.

Only in Texas will 2 students be bit by poisonous snakes, in their own school classrooms. The Big Sandy students (shout out to the Leckies) were messing with a cotton-mouth snake that their teacher had mis-identified as non-venomous. They are fine, but seriously...

Speaking of serious... on to a few more slightly serious subjects:

First off, the Project for Excellence in Journalism's reports shows John McCain's media coverage has been 57 percent negative, while Obama's has been 29 percent negative... wow. Big surprise people. I do however like that studies are beginning to show how ridiculously biased our media is. I long for the days when media outlets were considered neutral and only reported news, not opinion based news. The average American doesn't have the time or the desire to do the research themselves on hot topics, so they rely on the media to give them unbiased information, however, there isn't anything unbiased about their reporting. It's really disgusting actually. Although I did receive THIS excerpt from the Howard Sterns show which made me laugh. I'm sure there are uninformed Republicans too, but this was funny!

I'm sure you've heard about the devastating news that Dreamgirl and American Idol Alum star Jennifer Hudson's mother and brother were found murdered in her mother's Chicago apartment. Then to top it all off, her nephew has been kidnapped! They have a suspect, and are thinking it might be a domestic issue... though the suspect has fled and no one is in custody. I couldn't imagine the pain she is going through. My prayers go out to her.

As they also go out to the 4 children found in a dirty, disgusting rattlesnake filled home. The children ages 7, 3, 1 and 6 months were taken away after reports regarding the 3 year old. When authorities arrived they found the disgusting home that had a non-working toilet, dirty dishes piled in a sink, no running water and a child in soiled diapers. The home had animal and human feces inside, with rattlesnakes caged inside of chicken wire and other evidence of poor child care. Hopefully the majority of them will be kept together in foster care... though I'm not hopeful. I couldn't imagine living like that... I feel the sorriest for the 7 year old... poor thing.

Finally, let's talk about the greed of the banking system... don't even get me started on it... but it seems that some of the banks, who recently were awarded 250 billion of the bailout in order for the government to buy stakes in banks. The idea was that banks would use the money to start making loans again. Well it seems that the banks have other ideas. Reports have surfaced that bankers might instead use the money to buy other banks, pay dividends, give employees a raise and executives a bonus, or just sit on it. Insurance companies now want a piece; as well as the auto industry.
The actual payout has yet to happen as no money has left the Treasury yet, but these early rumblings are no bueno. The centerpiece of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act is the "troubled asset relief program," or TARP for short. Critics note that tarps are used to cover things up. The money was to be devoted to buying "toxic" mortgage-backed securities whose value has fallen in lockstep with home prices. But once European governments said they were going into the banking business, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson followed suit and diverted $250 billion to buy stock in healthy banks to spur lending. We'll just have to see how this plays out, but our system is flawed and the people in charge are inherently greedy. It is disgusting.

So there it is! Your random news of the week, all mixed up so it's easier to swallow!

Facts About the Current Housing Crisis

I am sure you've heard things like the "Housing Crisis", "Fannie Mae", "Freddie Mac", recession, depression, credit freeze, etc. being thrown about, but if you've tried to google it, it's hard to find something that just explains it in plain English. I am no expert, so I have just compiled a few articles which you can find the resource HERE, and HERE and HERE.

Fannie Mae (aka Federal National Mortgage Association) was originally founded right after the last depression in the 30's as a part of the New Deal (remember that, think back to US History in High School). It doesn't give loans, but instead it serves as a kind of guaranteeor for loans that lenders makes. In 1999, Fannie Mae came under pressure from the Clinton administration to expand mortgage loans to low and moderate income borrowers. At the same time, institutions in the primary mortgage market pressed Fannie Mae to ease credit requirements on the mortgages it was willing to purchase, enabling them to make loans to subprime borrowers at interest rates higher than conventional loans. Shareholders also pressured Fannie Mae to maintain its record profit. In 2000, due to a re-assessment of the housing market by HUD, rules were put into place that disallowed risky, high-cost loans from being credited toward affordable housing goals. In 2004, these rules were dropped and high-risk loans were again counted toward affordable housing goals.

*translation- Fannie Mae allowed people, who normally couldn't qualify to get a mortgage due to credit rating, no down payment, etc., to all of a sudden get a loan. Then they thought, oh crap, that might get us into trouble so they tried to set up a few rules to restrict it. But then in 2004, they thought those rules were too strict and EVERYONE deserved to get a home loan if they wanted one, so thus we are in the problem we are in right now. People began getting into "high risk" loans, such as ARM loans where after a few years your interest rate goes up. Because these people who should never have really gotten a loan in the first place, were already on their tippy-toes to make their regular mortgage payment, once their interest rate went up they would get foreclosed on. Which all of a sudden put all of these unpaid mortgages into the system and started overloading.
Before you start spouting off on an anti-republican tirade, note it is not entirely Republican's fault just because this happened on George W. Bush' watch (not saying he is completely innocent as free market trade might be a bit like thinking socialism works as well- in theory yes. But in practice people are inherently greedy). Even Bill Clinton thinks it's more on the fault of the Democrats, and I quote, "I think the responsibility the Democrats have may rest more in resisting any efforts by Republicans in the Congress or by me when I was President to put some standards and tighten up a little on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac."
With that said, I think this current housing crisis really isn't Fannie Mae's fault if you ask me. I don't even personally think it's the government's fault. I don't think it's the Democrats fault. I don't think it's the Republican's fault. I think the blame lies with the mortgage lenders and bond rating companie's. They are the ones who approved these loans and secured them, knowing that these people would not be able to afford it once the interest rates went up. It was a greedy, money making scheme that we are now all paying the cost for.

Here are a few more facts about all the culprits who contributed to this downfall:

Mortgage brokers, banks and other lenders provided the funds so that unqualified applicants could buy homes. Brokers don't lend their own money but serve as middlemen, collecting commissions but sometimes without much regard to whether borrowers can make payments. Many banks weren't much better, selling loans to third-party investors while collecting fees. It didn't help that lenders unveiled innovative but risky mortgages, such as negative-amortization and optional-payment loans. Plus, many brokers and lenders never verified a borrower's job status, income or assets because they were passing the risk along.

Before the crisis hit, homeownership seemed more attainable than ever. Because many of the newest home buyers had borderline credit, they could qualify only for risky subprime loans. Many borrowers didn't understand their loan terms, especially the potential for payments to spike when low teaser rates expired. Nor were all borrowers honest, with some studies estimating most subprime applicants lied or omitted key information. Some borrowers may have tried harder to adjust to higher monthly payments but gave up when slumping prices left them owing more than their homes were worth.

Lenders packaged the subprime mortgages they generated for resale to investors on Wall Street, thus transferring risk down the line. These bondlike investments seemed appealing because they offered enticing yields for what buyers thought were low risks during a period of skimpy interest rates. Yet investors far removed from the mortgage-origination process didn't understand the risks they were assuming. Some hedge funds bought these securities with heavy use of leverage and got slammed when the market froze. The Bear Stearns collapse stemmed largely from the firm's hedge-fund exposure.

Many blame the central bank under Alan Greenspan for keeping interest rates too low and for boosting the nation's money supply too much. This created an easy-credit environment that encouraged less-qualified home buyers. It also created a period of such low yields that many investors sought better returns in securities backed by subprime mortgages. Critics also say the central bank encouraged investors to take too much risk because of its implied help in arranging bailouts — the “moral hazard” idea. A precedent was set when the Fed helped rescue a prominent hedge fund in 1998.

U.S. and state banking-oversight agencies, including the Fed here too, are accountable and probably deserve some blame for allowing excesses to multiply, from lax underwriting to the prevalence of mortgages with negative amortization and other risky features. Also, regulators didn't seem especially concerned by the concentration of some banks' lending portfolios in real estate — a problem that plagues Arizona. On the other hand, regulator attitudes are somewhat understandable considering residential real estate had never suffered a national slump like the current one. Few people saw the train wreck coming.

Firms including Standard & Poor's and Moody's rate bonds to help investors analyze the risk and return trade-off. Critics say the rating agencies masked the crisis by giving inflated grades to mortgage-backed securities underpinned by subprime loans. Critics also contend the rating agencies harbored actual or perceived conflicts of interest, because the investment banks that packaged those securities for sale to investors are the ones who paid for the ratings. Of note, the diversification created by linking dozens of mortgages to a given security didn't help lessen risk as expected.

So all of this leads us to the 700 billion dollar bailout we are hearing about.

The first thing to understand is that a bailout plan doesn’t have to cost anywhere close to $700 billion, so long as it’s designed well. The $700 billion number that you see everywhere is an estimate of how much the government would spend to buy deteriorating assets now held by banks. Eventually, the government will turn around and sell these assets, for a price almost certain to be greater than zero. So this $700 billion is very different from $700 billion spent on a war or on Medicare.
“Much of the discussion of the cost of the bailouts is getting it wrong,” David Colander, an economist at Middlebury College, says. “What matters is what price they buy the assets for and the price they sell them for. That’s where the real action is.” For a LOT more info on the bailout in plain english, read the NY Times article I got this from by clicking HERE.

Another thing you need to realize is this is a WORLD problem. Many countries all over the world were doing this exact same thing and now are having to have bailouts just like us. So it's not like our government was the only ones allowing the market to run free, it was all over the world. It was a trend that now most "progressive" countries are trying to pick the pieces up from. Many countries are going to have to insert much more than 700 billion (specifically into banks) to try and save their economy. This is a world-wide crisis, not just an American one.

Just because it's an election year, I am going to go all Republican on you and post this video. It is definitely produced by someone one far right, so of course it's biased. HOWEVER, there are pretty interesting facts in here that are worth taking a look at.

So the bottom line, what does this mean for you?

Well it will mean that the way you get a loan will largely go back to the way you've heard your parents and grandparents got loans. You will need a good credit rating, consistent and steady employment history and you will need at least 10% down. They say that the days of 100% home loans with no money down, roll in all fees are now a thing of the past.

Because of the financial strain, plus all of the Wall Street failures, banks are very wary to give new loans... so thinking of selling your house? You may not want to for awhile. You may want to ride it out for a few more years until everything rebounds.

HOWEVER, for those with good cash flow and great credit, this is prime real estate time for you. Houses are selling for 25% less than what they were selling for even just a year ago, so enjoy your pay day! This time will make a lot of people rich I'm sure.

I hope this helped you understand a bit more of what is going on. Feel free to comment and give me your opinion! I would love to hear it, though nothing you say will convince me that this is entirely the Bush Administrations fault. This crisis falls mainly in the laps of the private mortgage industry.

Intro: The Two Big Topics

You can't even turn on the TV these days and not hear about two things over and over again...
1. The Financial Crisis
2. The Presidential Election

I for one can not wait until the election is over. Once that's over I have a feeling the economy will stabilize a bit.

I mean, it's kind of crazy isn't it?

Congress at first fails to pass the giant 700 billion dollar bailout and our stock market crashes to the merry Great Depression tune. Then it just TALKS about passing it and it goes back up... then crashes some more... all the while Japan and Europe are crashing as well. THEN we read today, that just the fact that Congress is TALKING about finalizing the bill, it goes up with an almost 1000 point jump, which is some type of record for one day... is it just me, or is the market suffering from some sort of medical disorder or something? Actually I did some research and I think the market may indeed be suffering from Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD- you know you've seen the infomercials). Here are the symptoms:

• Depressed mood
• Tension
• Mood swings
• Irritability
• Decreased interest in usual activities
• Lack of energy
• Insomnia or hypersomnia
• Physical symptoms such as bloating and breast tenderness
• Difficulty concentrating
• Marked change in appetite
• Feeling overwhelmed

So yup, we've figured it out. Thankfully they make a pill for it, so no one needs to run out and cash in your 401k, just give it some Prozac and sit back and wait.

But what really bothers me, is I feel this bailout is too much too soon. It's a whole lot of money that they are throwing in to keeping large corporations/banks from declaring bankruptcy. Although I really can see both sides of this.

You may be totally against this bailout and you may think the government shouldn't help. You may not see what the big deal is because you're like, well the FDIC covers my bank... yes that's true. But only up to $100,000. Then you're like, but when will I ever have a $100,000 in my bank... uh never! True, most of us don't have to worry about that... but what about the companies you work for? What happens when they can't pay you because the banks have gone under and they no longer have money in the bank that is secured? Ya, you will be wishing you had a bailout then... but still.

It seems like too much too soon. Especially when you have the guys at AIG who will be receiving 85 billion of that 700 billion. They just took their executives on a "retreat" that cost over $440,000 including over $20,000 in spa treatments... isn't that nice! They were celebrating the fact that they aren't going bankrupt anymore! And gosh darnet they deserve some much needed relaxation.. I'm sure they were stressed (sentence lined in sarcasm).

See that's what I'm afraid is going to happen with this bailout. It will just line more pockets of the greedy people who got us into this mess in the first place. I'm hoping there is going to be strict accountability for this money... but I doubt it.
My dad gave the best summary of why we are in this financial crisis with the banks to me and my sister the other night. Most of it is because of bad mortgages... I am hoping he will write a summary so I can post it here. He explains it in layman terms and I have yet to find such a sure fire explanation than his. So hopefully he'll give us one.

Speaking of banks that I hate, Wells Fargo just was approved to take over Wachovia... I wonder if that means my car loan will be back with Wells Fargo... I hate Wells Fargo. But as much as I hate them, this merger will save thousands of jobs... and that's the point. Any of us can survive an economic down turn, as long as we can keep our jobs. What's going to suck is looking for a job in this economic climate... Although for those of us in the DFW area, we are better than most areas. Our property values have a good chance of actually going up due to the Barnett Shale (natural gas) and the fact that we are not a huge banking economy... so go us! :)

So enough about our economy... on to even more frustrating topics...

The Presidential Election... oh dear God. You know I'll get into this more in the coming weeks... but could we have a worse selection? I mean, I'm Republican all the way and will vote so regardless due to ideological reasons, HOWEVER, McCain? Really?
And despite every media outlets disdain for her, I actually like Sarah Palin. I just like her and as much as you hear likewise, a lot of people like her too. So though I won't be singing John McCain's praises on here (nor will I be bashing him), I will be spouting off a lot of anti-Obama stuff because the guy just rubs me the wrong way, though I do like Biden (despite the fact he doesn't even know what the Vice President's powers are). I would find myself getting behind a Biden/Palin ticket more than anything.
Ok, whatever, this election just needs to be over and soon it will be, so woot-woot! Then we can worry about picking up the pieces of our economy and dealing with the real issues.

But before the election is over we get the pleasure of watching one more Presidential Debate... I am really hoping this one is better than the last one. I just remember watching the debate thinking if McCain says "my friends" one more time and also how OLD he looks... then I watch Obama make absolutely no sense and smile and talk about his "change"... he loves him some change doesn't he? He loves change so much that he is going to change change, can you believe it?!

One of the biggest issues this year is healthcare and I don't like either one of their healthcare plans.
Obama's will put too much strain on an already overextended government who can't manage its current bureaus properly, yet he thinks adding one that will surely drive us deeper in debt (which he'll TRY to make up for by raising taxes) will make it all better. Very few countries that have instituted universal healthcare have been able to maintain quality after making it available to the masses. I don't kid myself to believe that we will be one of those few countries who do. If you have ever been to a government run clinic lately you will agree with me wholeheartedly.

Then you have McCain who wants to help, but I'm afraid it's not going to make much of a dent. Plus he will start taxing health care benefits to give us our $5000, which costs companies more, and may put them over the edge where they stop offering healthcare at all... but then you have Obama who will FINE the families who don't provide healthcare for their kids. Well Senator Obama, most of the people who don't qualify for medicare and don't have private health insurance just plain can't afford even paying a few hundred dollars a month extra. So to fine them would be a disaster... but then as Brad Shull pointed out, there has to be regulation... if there wasn't a law that you had to have car insurance, a lot of people would drive uninsured... it should be even more a priority to provide insurance for your kids... but what if you literally can not afford it, but don't qualify for full government support as SO many people are in this boat.

So you see? Neither has the answer. And not just about healthcare, but about many issues such as taxes and energy... though to me it seems they basically agree on the economy issues...

Well we can look forward to the debate on Wednesday where Senator McCain has pledged to whip Obama's "You Know What"... hopefully he does. I personally think there should be some sort of UFC match on Wednesday. That would cause the masses to tune in... especially after that disaster of a debate last week... BORING!

Well sorry to go on so much about these two issues, but they are biggies and figured they should have their own post. Feel free to comment!