Local Governments Don't Get It

Via NBC News:

Governments Mull Radical Solution To Underwater Mortgages: Seize Them

Mario Anzuoni / Reuters

With millions of homeowners still "under water," some local governments are considering a novel solution: condemning their mortgages through the power of eminent domain. 

“Federal programs have not been very successful at all, and the private programs have been of limited help,” said Gregory Devereaux, administrator for San Bernardino County, explaining the government's decision to consider eminent domain, a plan the mortgage industry considers the equivalent of the nuclear option. The hard-hit county's board of supervisors is expected to meet Thursday to consider proposals to help homeowners, including the possible use of eminent domain.

This is patently idiotic and dangerous.

1) It's highly illegal and immoral for any government to step in nullify a contract between two parties when there has been no instances of fraud, let alone force one party to accept terms it did not agree to, basically screwing them out of money.

2) This will set a dangerous precedent for future homeowners, giving incentive to not act with responsibility when making the choice on whether or not to purchase a house.

But what can you really expect from people who have zero respect for or knowledge of economic and contract law?

Lunch Time Links 8/16

Here are today's Lunch Time Links:

Diplomatic Fury As Ecuador Grants Asylum To Wikileaks Founder Assange

Ecuador granted asylum to Julian Assange on Thursday, expressing fury at a threat by Britain to seize the WikiLeaks founder at its London embassy.

 Powerball Ticket Worth $337 Million Sold In Michigan

A winning ticket in the $337 million Powerball drawing has been sold in Michigan. 

The winning numbers in the Wednesday night drawing were 6, 27, 46, 51, 56 and Powerball 21.

The Michigan Lottery says the ticket was sold a Sunoco gas station in Lapeer, about 45 miles north of Detroit. 

There was no immediate word about the identity of the buyer.

 Mortgage Rates Up For A Third Straight Week

Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages ticked up for the third straight week, staying slightly above record lows. Cheap mortgages have helped fuel a modest housing recovery this year.

Former Georgia Coach Charged With Running Ponzi Scheme

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has announced that Jim Donnan, a former University of Georgia head coach is being charged with conducting an $80 million Ponzi scheme which includes other coaches and former players among its victims. 

Seven American Soldiers Killed In Afghan Chopper Crash

Seven American soldiers were killed Thursday when the Black Hawk helicopter they were traveling in crashed in southern Afghanistan, U.S. officials told NBC News. 

Three Afghan soldiers and an Afghan interpreter were also killed, bringing the total number of dead to 11, officials said. 

Two Deputies Killed, Two Wounded In Louisiana Shooting

Two law enforcement officers died and two were injured in a series of apparently linked shootings early Thursday in LaPlace, Louisiana, authorities said. 

The first shooting happened in a parking lot at a steel plant, Sheriff Mike Tregre said. The second happened when officers went to a nearby trailer park to investigate the first shooting and were ambushed by a man armed with what the sheriff described as an assault rifle, he said.

And I have some big news myself!

I've Got Big News

Since April, my ever so lovely wife, decided to make the announcement on Facebook (without telling me), I figured I'd make the announcement here.

APRIL IS PREGNANT!!!

Whew! I've been holding that news in for a while. And before anyone starts asking about paternity, let me cut you off there. According to April, only my grape-sized (at the moment) guy(s) and/or gal(s) could cause her this much misery. She does say the sweetest things.

I am extremely excited. Extremely nervous, but also extremely excited. The time of Noah's pregnancy was far from spectacular for us (I was young, stupid, and a complete asshole), so I'm really happy that I get to go through all the pregnancy stuff this time. 

The best thing so far, though (in my opinion at least), is how Noah has taken to his prospective role of Big Brother with gusto. Everything he does that is him "growing up," he attributes to "being a brother." He's even getting a little bit of practice with his new cousin Brinley. He's excited.

"I'm gonna be a brother. Can someone say 'scapegoat?'"

On a somewhat sad side note (say that fast), my office will be transformed into a nursery. I will miss it when it is gone. We had some good times.

And for those who may have noticed my "guy(s) and/or gal(s)" distinction, well, there was a reason. You see, April is a fraternal twin. We all know that this isn't completely uncommon. As of 2009 there were 33.3 twin births for every 1000 births. What makes this fun for us is that April's mother, Merri, is also a fraternal twin. And the cherry on top of the twin cake is that both April and her mother were the second twin. Since it's been scientifically proven that women with family history of fraternal twins have higher chances of producing more fraternal twins, we are preparing for this. Well, we're trying to. The thought of two babies kind of scares me right now.

So that's my big news. April is pregnant, and I can't wait.

Christie To Give Keynote; Rubio To Introduce Romney

"What if they don't have any food carts?"

via Fox News

Mitt Romney chose Paul Ryan for his running mate, but he's making sure to find major convention roles for the other short-listers.  

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, two of Romney's rumored top choices for the job, will have prominent speaking roles at this year's Republican National Convention. Christie has been awarded the coveted keynote address, while Rubio will introduce Romney on the closing night, sources told Fox News.  

Republicans formally announced Tuesday morning that Christie, who considered a 2012 presidential bid of his own before endorsing Romney, would speak in the prime slot in Tampa later this month. Rubio has been tapped to introduce Romney on Thursday night of the convention. GOP officials tell Fox News Rubio is already on a third draft his remarks.

Still no word if Ron Paul will be getting a slot to speak, but I have little hope that it will happen. Looks like there is need for another counter-convention like in St. Paul in 2008.

As for Christie and Rubio, I'm trying to figure out how a gun control supporting governor from New Jersey and a big government representative from Florida are conservative, but then again, the Republicans nominated Mitt Romney, who gets to own this, and he in turn selected Paul Ryan for his VP, who voted for TARP and the auto bailouts.

I guess the Republicans really don't want the libertarian vote.

Friday Fictioneers: Down By The Beach

By Susan Wenzel

Down By The Beach

"You're right," Charlotte said. "I am bored. I think I'll go for a swim."

"But none of us brought our suits," Rose stated.

"I've got knickers and a camisole on. It's not like I'm naked," Charlotte said, eyes rolling.

Rose stood, arms crossed, as her sister, sans the dress she had been wearing, bolted towards the warm water. Patrick wrapped his arms around her waist and placed his chin on her shoulder.

"What?" Rose asked testily.

"I'll give it thirty seconds before you're in that water, too," he replied smiling. Rose glared from the corner of her eye, but her attention was quickly diverted to Charlotte's laughs.

Rose huffed and started taking off her dress. Patrick could only laugh.

"Oh, shut up, will you?" Rose said annoyed. She looked him up and down, eyebrow quirked, before taking off toward the water.

Patrick rolled his eyes and began shedding his shirt. "There is no such thing a quiet day at the beach when the Landy sisters are involved," he said to himself.

30 Days of Flash Fiction: Day 3 "15/08/1998"

"15/08/1998"

It was nothing but chaos. People in the street were screaming for help, for their God, for anything that would bring them peace. He could see the bodies of those fortunate to have died when the Vauxhall exploded. They didn't have to suffer the fate others would.

He felt a wave of nausea and dizziness hit him, but he scrambled to his feet anyway. Making his way through the rubble, he came upon a teen boy, his ginger hair stained dark from the blood.

The boy's eyes radiated the fear his body could no longer show. The man stooped low down, trying to hear the words struggling from the boys crimson stained lips.

"Help," the boy rasped. "Help me please."

The man didn't know what to do. The RUC were running around, coming from the direction of the courthouse.

He started to yell out, but a grip on his arm made him turn back to the boy. Blood coughed up from the boy's mouth, the hemorrhaging in his body becoming too much.

"No," the man said in vain. "No no no. Stay with me, lad. Stay with me." His efforts were of no use. The light fading from his eyes, the boy stopped trembling, finally coming to peace.

The man sat for awhile, staring at the vast emptiness in the boy's orbs. He tried to rationalize the event. All the death and carnage. All that he saw when this poor boy passed. But he could find no fairness. Nothing was just about it. The revelation made nauseated. The pounding in his head increased until he could take it no longer. He turned and heaved onto the pavement.

A medic stooped in front of him. "Sir, I'm going to need you to come with me," he said. The man looked up, his vision hazy and unfocused.

"What of the boy?" the man asked.

"He's passed, sir. There's nothing we can do for him," the medic replied.

"What about his body? Will his family know?" he asked.

"We'll notify any family he has," the medic said.

"Good. Good," replied the man hazily, the medic pulling him away from the street.

Many weeks after, the man thought back to how that boy had fade in his arms, the lighting going out despite his worthless efforts.

They say 29 people died that day in the Omagh marketplace, but if you told that to the man, he would call you a liar. He'd say another life laid next to that ginger headed boy, wishing that there was fairness in this dark world.

30 Days of Flash Fiction: Day 2 "Un Tranquilo Día en la Playa"

"Mad Dogs" Jack Vettriano

"Un Tranqilo Día en la Playa"

It was fun being out on the beach, Rose thought. Even Charlotte wasn't being too much of a bother. If Patrick didn't mind her joining them, Rose saw no reason to be looking for trouble with her eccentric sister.

They started by looking for shells, but hadn't much luck on that front. Patrick had found a hermit crab shell, but the crab still calling it home hadn't been to keen on going into his pocket. Other than their crustacean friend, it was a never ending supply of broken oyster shells and sand dollars.

It was at this point that Charlotte became restless. She heaved a sigh and took languishing steps. Rose held her tongue until Charlotte started twirling her umbrella into the air.

"Are we boring you, Charlotte?" Rose asked lazily.

Charlotte narrowed her eyes at her sister. "Not like it takes much, and why must you always call me that? Everyone but you seems to get that I prefer to be called Charlie," she whined. "I don't see you going by Rosalyn."

"There are plenty of times where she is adamant about being called Rosalyn," Patrick corrected, staring off at some seagulls.

Rose's jaw dropped, and Charlotte's brow furrowed with puzzlement.

"Patrick!" Rose exclaimed, smacking him across the chest. It was then that Charlotte realized the meaning behind Patrick's words.

"Oh I don't need to know about my sister's..." Charlotte waved her hand through the air as if swatting away an unpleasant pest. "I'm sure it's boring anyway."

Rose scoffed. "I assure you, Charlie, our love life is anything but boring," she retorted arrogantly.

"Okay," Charlotte shouted. "I don't need to know." Rose sported a smug look at Charlotte's retreat. A few moments passed before anyone broke the silence.

"You're right," Charlotte said. "I am bored. I think I'll go for a swim."

"But none of us brought our suits," Rose stated.

"I've got knickers and camisole on. It's not like I'm naked," Charlotte said, eyes rolling.

Rose stood, arms crossed, as her sister, sans the dress she had been wearing, bolted towards the warm water. Patrick wrapped his arms around her waist and placed his chin on her shoulder.

"What?" Rose asked testily.

"I'll give it thirty seconds before you're in that water, too," he replied smiling. Rose glared from the corner of her eye, but her attention was quickly diverted to Charlotte's laughs.

Rose huffed and started taking off her dress. Patrick could only laugh.

"Oh, shut up, will you?" Rose said annoyed. She looked him up and down, eyebrow quirked, before taking off toward the water.

Patrick rolled his eyes and began shedding his shirt. "There is no such thing a quiet day at the beach when the Landy sisters are involved," he said to himself.

Follow me on Twitter @Jake_Collin
Like The Rantin' Arkansan on Facebook: The Rantin' Arkansan 

Friday Fictioneers: The Blight Cometh

Photo courtesy Madison Woods

"The Blight Cometh"

"Is it moving?"

Bill's voice pulled Steve out of his thoughts. The fungal, oozing thing most definitely looked like it had moved. Or had it, thought Steve. He eyed it warily, not getting too close. 

"Did you hear me?" Bill asked. "Is it moving?"

Steve continued staring as he replied, "No. It's not moving." He hurriedly grabbed his camera and started snapping photos.

"If it isn't moving, then what is it doing?" Impatience laced Bill's question.

Steve lowered the camera from his face, and slowly turned towards his brother. "It's growing," he replied quietly.

Bill could only stand dumbstruck as Steve continued taking pictures.

Follow me on Twitter @Jake_Collin
Like The Rantin' Arkansan on Facebook: The Rantin' Arkansan

30 Days of Flash Fiction

Since I started doing Madison Woods' Friday Fictioneers a few months ago (not as consistently as I'd like), I've been wanting to do a big flash fiction project to push myself to write more often.

And now I'm finally going to do it.

The initial plan was to do the entire month of August, but I got caught up in other, more pressing matters, and I didn't have to time to get to it. Luckily for me, August has 31 days, thus "30 Days of Flash Fiction."

I'm just going to write whatever comes to mind. If I have a prompt for the piece, I'll be sure to post it.

If anyone wants to join in, feel free to post their links in the comments section. Use whatever you want inspire you. No subjects are off limits, but if it is explicit, a warning would be thoughtful.

Follow Madison Woods on Twitter @Madison_Woods
Madison's Blog: http://madison-woods.com/
Like Friday Fictioneers on Facebook: Friday Fictioneers
Follow me on Twitter @Jake_Collin
Like The Rantin' Arkansan on Facebook: The Rantin' Arkansan

30 Days of Flash Fiction: Day 1 "Price"

This is an excerpt from a work in progress...

The heat was starting to become oppressive, but the land didn't care. There was no shade or water in sight. The mules were becoming weary and slowed. All of this happening, but we still plowed ahead. We had to get to California. Had to get to the gold.

"James," one my fellow travelers called out. Jacob was his name. A younger man, near my age, traveling from Georgia. Rumor was his father was the Governor. Why he had decided to go West, let alone travel through Texas and Mexico, was something I had never understood.

"Do you need something, Jacob?" I asked, my irritated brogue rearing its ugly head.

"Is the heat causing you to wilt, my friend?" Jacob was also an educated man, which confused me more. He wasn't like myself or the others, poor immigrants or laborers, some even criminals, looking to find their riches in the mountains.

He dressed well, or at least better than the rest in our group, and was always reading a book when we stopped to camp or rest. And he always seemed to be of the cheerful sort, but if you caught him in a moment when he thought himself alone with his thoughts, you could see a deeper pain that seemed to at his insides.

I looked at him for a moment before answering. "Aye," I replied. "Ireland is nothing like this."

"Do you miss it?" he asked.

"No," I stated. "There was nothing for me there. I was nothing there. Famine and the English killing people everyday, and I was the bottom of the heap." We rode quietly for a moment, just the sound of the horses and mules echoing in the desert. "But America is a new start. A new life," I said. "A man can be anything here. There's no fancy families living of their name to keep me down. I can be as important as I want."

Jacob nodded along, listening. "That's why I'm going to California," I exclaimed, pointing towards the west. "To find my riches, go back to Texas, and get the respect I didn't have in Ireland."

I looked back at Jacob. He was pensive, rubbing his hand across his beard. "That life," he said finally. "All that money and respect you so desperately crave? It comes with a great price."

"I'd pay any price not to have my life in Ireland," I replied adamantly.

"Your resolve is greater than mine then," he said, a distant look on his face.

I mulled over that remark. "Why are you going to California," I asked eventually.

I don't know if it was him measuring his response or if he just hadn't truly thought about it, but Jacob took his time answering. "I'm not going to California," he finally let out. "I'm running away from Georgia."

"Why?" I asked, confused.

"Because, James, sometimes the price is too high to pay." With that, Jacob urged his horse into a trot. He rode on ahead of me, leaving me to ponder his words, and, as he put it, wilt in the heat.

Follow me on Twitter @Jake_Collin
Like The Rantin' Arkansan on Facebook: The Rantin' Arkansan