House of Pain: 2008 was definitely a bad year for the housing market. I myself felt the pain with my housing value going down over $50,000, OUCH! that hurts. I currently happen to live in a state (Michigan) where the entire economic structure is in shambles but that's another post for another time. Recent studies show the top 5 states that are really feeling the decline are Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Massachusetts, and Ohio. But don't think because your state wasn't listed in this latest survey that your safe. The reality is that we are all hurting. The median of home prices throughout the entire United States continue to fall so the stress of what seems to be a never ending steady decline in our country's housing market is upon us all. Back in August, 2008, the National Association of Realtors said the median sales price of an existing home fell 9.5% to $203,100, the largest annual price decline since records began in 1999. And guess what folks... it hasn't recovered much at all. So the cold reality is that we as home owners have to really tough it out and hope that a viable solution works but the honest truth is all we want is an inclination of our housing values to get back to where it was before this whole mess started. Now I can go into specifics on why I think the our housing market declined so dramatically but again, that's another post for another time. So enter our government which proposes to launch a housing bailout that started at $700 billion which was vetoed and with another effort swelled to $840 billion which was then passed. And the latest reports indicate that a stimulus package is set to be in place that will exceed the $1 trillion mark. As an average guy, the reasoning behind the increase of the dollar amount for the housing bailout makes no sense to me, and I know I'm not alone on that point. But what will make sense is if the plan works to bring our housing values at least back to where it was before this whole declining mess started. And one can only hope that the Executives of these lending companies use the money the right way, as in helping towards the solution, rather than trying to create deeper pockets for themselves which would be contributing to the problem.
History is made, our nation's first African American President: Agree or disagree? Personally I didn't vote for the guy, nor did I vote for the other guy. You see, my belief is that I cannot put my seal of approval on a Presidential candidate that I'm not completely sold on. Now I know what you're probably thinking, "Come on, is anyone ever completely sold on a Presidential candidate?" or "You're the reason why our voting system is all screwed up, because you didn't vote." My reply to such questions is simple... I exercised my constitutional right to not vote, just like it's your right to vote. But this post isn't about what is right and wrong about how people vote (or not) but rather about President elect Barack Obama. My personal opinions about President Obama is that he is very well spoken man. Unlike our previous President, Obama doesn't stumble over his own words and he delivers his message in a very convincing manner and I must say that makes me feel good knowing our nation's leader is confident, prepared and composed with whatever subject matter he is talking about. Obviously the Presidency is bigger than any one man and Obama's support system will have a very important role in resolving our nation's biggest issues; the housing crisis, our troops overseas, our overall economical status, and unemployment just to name a few. President George W. Bush's legacy will be forever defined with his success, or lack thereof, with the war in Iraq. In my opinion, President Barack Obama's legacy will be defined with how he handles the overall economical status of the United States. We currently live in a time where to many arrows point down; housing market, auto industry, unemployment, stock market, and retail. Obama's Presidency will be successful if he can point those subject arrows up or at the very least, point the subject arrows even which we all can agree is far better than pointing down. I'm a person who is color blind when it comes to skin color so the whole "Change is now" and "History has been made with our nation's first African American President" doesn't mean a whole lot to me. What does mean a lot to me is content and how President Obama handles what I believe is some of the toughest issues ever faced by a President of the United States.
Bernard Madoff redefines the word "Scam": The alleged $50 billion ponzi scheme. Come on people, let's face it, there is nothing "alleged" about this scam... we all know he did it and for the many investors who lost their money with Madoff, that should be enough living proof for you. But in this judicial system of ours, Bernard Madoff is entitled to his day in court which he will surely get. It's a bit of an understatement to say "our hearts go out to the victims of this scam" because unless you truly are a victim of this scam, we have no idea what it means to be living through this financial misery. I have followed this story very closely and it never cease to amaze me the details of the new articles or reports. For a man who was financially stable with his legitimate earnings makes no sense why he would orchestrate such a gigantic scam. Madoff, 70, remains free at his Manhattan apartment on a $10 million bond. In my humble opinion Madoff isn't alone with what is now known as the biggest ponzi scheme to date. Madoff's sons (Mark and Andrew) who alerted prosecutors that their father mailed them jewelry, watches and other items in violation of an asset freeze has not been charged with any wrongdoing. Now I'm not saying his sons are involved but it's hard for me to believe that Bernard Madoff could have pulled this off on his own. Sources have identified $830 million is liquid assets in Madoff's defunct brokerage firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. These assets may be subject to recovery by Madoff's customers which we all hope can happen. Imagine this folks, possessing a statement from Madoff's firm stating your value is $1 million one day and finding out the next day that you no longer have that $1 million dollars because that document is now false. And Madoff's clients consisted of more than just high profile companies and people who had the extra money, his portfolio included many average working people who saved and entrusted Madoff with their life savings. Obviously this incredible story is far from being over and I can only imagine how big of a blockbuster movie this will turn out to be if/when it makes it to Hollywood.
Eight is Great: Just as Michael Jordan was the greatest to ever play the game of basketball, Michael Phelps is the greatest to ever enter the pool. I mean 8 gold medals in 8 events, that's the definition of perfect. Some may beg to differ the "great" status but in my opinion Michael Phelps is #1 in the sport of swimming. I'm usually not a huge Olympic fan but I found myself checking the schedule of the 2008 Olympics so I can witness in real time the history that Michael Phelps made with each event. Those couple of minutes (or less) that Phelps swam in each of his events where truly breath taking and exciting. It is still undetermined if Phelps will compete in the 2012 Olympic games but if he does I sure will be watching. Even if he doesn't match his success of 2008, he's still in my book the greatest swimmer and it would be a pleasure watching him compete again. The pride and joy he brought Americans ranks up there with the greatest moments of United States Olympic history. So if still don't agree with Phelp's "greatest swimmer" status, who else can you say walked away with 8 gold medals in any one year's Olympic games?
The Dark Knight was all about the Joker: It's a tragedy what happened to Heath Ledger, may his soul rest in peace.The film directors finally got it right with The Dark Knight. As much as I enjoy Batman, this movie was about all about the Joker. The Joker by far was the greatest presence in this movie and dictated all the events that happened in the movie. Heath Ledger did an amazing job as the roll of the Joker. Although I thought the movie was a bit long it still kept me interested throughout the ending. It's only a shame that we will not see Heath Ledger star in another Dark Knight movie, if there even will be one. Honestly, I will never put it past the film production companies who say this is the last movie because if the money is right, they will find a way to create a new story. I don't want to take anything away from Christian Bale (Batman), and I thought Aaron Eckhart played a very good Harvey Dent (Two-Face) and I can't forget about my man Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox) but again this movie was all about Heath Ledger as the Joker. I've watched all the Batman movies and in my opinion you can throw all of them away and simply keep The Dark Knight.
1 comments:
Great article! We will definitely have high expectations for Pres. Obama
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