News of things to come

Yahoo - Reuters - Global super rich eye office blocks over mansions as wealth hits $20 trillion. Suddenly the super rich are buying more and more commercial properties at a time when commercial properties are losing value; but, it is better to own real assets then hold paper money. Remember this, when they did the bail ins in Cyprus, they didn't take property or assets, they just confiscated your cash.

The Washington Times - Cop-killer case sinks Obama Justice nominee. A nominee to be in the civil rights division of the Department of Justice. He was turned down by the senate because he defended a "cop killer". That is what defense attorney's do. John Adams, our second president (who, by the way, always opposed slavery) was the defense attorney for the British soldiers who shot Americans in the Boston Massacre. Adams also helped write the Declaration of Independence. How can we trust someone to lead the legal system if they refuse to defend people in court so they can get a job for the Justice Department?

When I was in law school, I had a family friend who was a relatively famous attorney. One day he invited me to his beach house for the weekend and took me out for a lovely dinner (in fact, when I graduated, he allowed me to use his beach house for a family celebration). At dinner I mentioned that I was not interested in being involved in defense work and he asked me if I believe in the idea of due process. He asked how we could have a fair legal system if only bad attorneys were defense attorneys and said that it was not an attorney's job to decide guilt or innocence; but, the judge and jury's job. What kind of legal system would we have if your attorney acted as your judge? Think about it.

Occupy.com - Web of Debt - The Stone that Brings Down Goliath?
. I wrote about this when it first came up but I don't remember what I said, it doesn't matter. The short of it is that one city has determined that it can take over properties with bad mortgages through the use of eminent domain from the banks. Many people love this idea; but, they miss the point as did the article. You cannot take from the banks that which they do not own. The banks do not own the mortgages. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (both government entities now) own over 60% of all the mortgages and the Federal Reserve most of what remains. Cities, states and counties cannot use eminent domain against the Federal government, it is all a joke. While the left and the right argue over the right of cities, counties and states to use eminent domain to take over these properties to "help homeowners", it is irrelevant as the Federal government owns the properties and does not need the same chain of title.

Yahoo - 5 futuristic ATM features we can't wait to check out. The article makes me sick. Basically it is all about how losing your privacy and having to use biometrics to access money is a really exciting and fun thing to do.

The Blaze - Obamacare Architect: ‘Be Prepared to Kiss Your Insurance Company Good-Bye Forever’. Firstly, Glenn Beck is just another Ayn Rand type moron to me, an extremist. His organization is bemoaning the fact that medical insurance companies will change and cheaper ones will replace them. The reason medical costs have risen so much is because medical insurance companies wanted them to so that they could charge more in premiums, it was not to their advantage to keep costs down, only to push higher premiums and co-payments and that is why they allowed costs to raise.

NY Times - DealBook - In Banking Overhaul Fight, a Ruckus Over an Obscure Product. The article, like many others is so uninformed on the big issues. The article claims that JP Morgan and two other big banks own 71% of all Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLOs)which is basically subprime loans to small businesses bundled in groups. The banks hold them and created them; but, usually sold them to pension funds and other countries or hold them at face value (rather than marked to market - current valuation) as an asset in lieu of holding real assets. It is an accounting trick.

New York Times - Study Gives Hope of Altering Genes to Repel H.I.V.. We can change your genetics now, we are god or foolish.

If we love more than we hate, if we forgive more than we accuse, have we not added to the totality of love and forgiveness? The universe is big and we are small; but, we do contribute to the overall experience of the universe. We can add love and forgiveness or add hate and condemnation. Jesus said to love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. Don't hate your enemy, don't hate those who abuse you, don't hate.