text:
We've Nationalized the Home Mortgage Market. Now What?
The home loan market was nationalized in a slapdash fashion and is now riven by conflicts of interest and competing goals. To solve it, a consensus is forming to head down the path of the least resistance but greatest risk.
At the height of the 2008 financial crisis, the country heatedly debated whether to nationalize the failing banking system. Both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations rejected that path as excessive government intrusion into the marketplace.
Yet since then, with little planning and paltry public discussion, the government has almost completely taken over the American home mortgage market. Banks and other for-profit financial services companies lend money to homeowners, but without the guarantees and other support the government provides, the housing market would barely be functioning now.
The Government Takes Over the Mortgage Market
Percentage of all new mortgages backed by the U.S. government
Note: Data for 2012 is through September. Source: Inside Mortgage Finance
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the taxpayer-controlled housing giants, guaranteed 69 percent of new mortgages in the first nine months of the year, up from about 27 percent share in 2006, according to Inside Mortgage Finance. Meanwhile, the Federal Housing Authority and the Department of Veteran's Affairs currently back another 21 percent of mortgages, up from just 2.8 percent in 2006. Altogether, 9 of every 10 new mortgages are backed by the U.S. taxpayer, up from three in 10 in 2006, when the government share hit a decade-low, according to the publication.
"It is creeping nationalization," says Jim Millstein, an investment banker who worked in the Obama administration's Treasury Department as the Chief Restructuring Officer.
The problem isn't just that the market is nationalized. It was nationalized in a slapdash fashion so that now it is riven by conflicts of interest and competing goals.
The possible solutions are well known and have been for years. But during its first term, the Obama White House made a tactical decision — politically astute but tinged with calculation, some say — not to push for change. Now with the election over, a bipartisan centrist consensus is forming to head down a path that offers the least resistance but could be the most dangerous: returning to what existed before the housing market imploded.
After taxpayers pumped $187.5 billion into them starting in 2008, Fannie and Freddie exist today in a limbo state, under government "conservatorship." They aren't fully private, profit-seeking entities, but neither are they explicit arms of government policy. They act both as profit-seeking businesses and as public agencies.
Freddie and Fannie's main business is insuring mortgages, and they back $5 trillion or about half of the American mortgage market. They buy mortgage loans and bundle them to create mortgage-backed securities, earning fees. If a borrower stops making mortgage payments, Fannie and Freddie step in to continue the flow of payments to the mortgage-backed securities investors. The two companies also invest in mortgage-backed securities.
But Freddie and Fannie are also chartered by Congress to implement public policy goals, such as keeping home ownership available for Americans.
The goals of making a profit and enacting public policy create a deep-seated conflict of interest. Under conservatorship, the conflicts and problems have become amplified.
In recent years, Freddie Mac made it harder for homeowners to refinance their high-rate mortgages for fear it would cut into the company's profits and hinder its ability to repay taxpayers.
Under conservatorship, Congress has been tempted to milk the companies. Loathe to raise taxes and eager to cut them, Congress has used Fannie and Freddie as a private kitty, raiding them for cash. In 2011, Congress siphoned off 10 years' worth of part of Fannie and Freddie's guarantee fees to fund a mere two months of a cut in the payroll tax. Recently, the House passed an immigration bill that is funded by their guarantee fees.
"It's a sign of weakness for this country if we can't make hard decisions without using the GSEs" — Washington-speak for Freddie and Fannie — "as piggy banks," says Dave Stevens, the head of the Mortgage Bankers Association and former official in the Obama administration.
The companies are regulated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which clears all their major business decisions. That has added to the muddle: The FHFA's acting director Edward DeMarco controversially has interpreted its main goal as preserving the assets of Fannie and Freddie and de-emphasized its mission to "support housing finance and affordable housing, and support a stable and liquid mortgage market," as it puts it on its website. Earlier this year, the FHFA decided against forgiving principal on delinquent mortgages, arguing that the benefits were too small and the risks unknown. The decision drew a rebuke from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
The longer Fannie and Freddie stay in purgatory, the more likely they are to suffer from key departures of executives, who are frustrated that they cannot make their businesses' key decisions. The worry is that important areas of their businesses erode, such as their risk management, raising the possibility of sudden, large losses for taxpayers.
Few Democrats, Republicans, housing advocates and economists want to preserve the current situation. Yet while there are dozens of congressional bills, think-tank plans and an Obama administration white paper with proposals to resolve the mortgage giants, there has been little change.
During its second term, the Obama administration has vowed to overhaul how Americans buy their homes — and the central problem is what to do about Fannie and Freddie. Wind them down? Return them to private company status? What role should the government play in the mortgage market, and how big?
Political Machinations Lead to Paralysis
Conservatorship wasn't supposed to last four years. Hank Paulson, Bush's Treasury secretary, took the emergency measure in September 2008, right before Lehman Brothers collapsed. Internally, the administration considered it a short-term solution. In the midst of a much-worse crisis hitting the entire financial system, however, it did not plan an exit.
The Obama administration spent the bulk of 2009 stabilizing the financial system in the aftermath of the panic. Then it confronted the housing crisis, though it has received consistent and bipartisan criticism for its ineffective programs.
The pace of discussions about resolving Fannie and Freddie picked up in 2010. Even though the private sector mortgage market had just failed disastrously in 2008, the most influential voices in the Obama administration's first term advocated returning to a limited government role.
At a meeting in December 2009 with progressives who were pushing for a more active administration role in the housing crisis, Larry Summers, then the director of the National Economic Council, challenged them. "He would ask why housing is different from anything else — than widgets," recalls Andrew Jakabovics, a housing specialist who worked at HUD after having been at the Center for American Progress, a Democratic think tank in Washington that played an active role in advising the administration on housing policy.
It was a classic Summers interrogatory, and the attendees were left unclear whether he was provoking them to think more deeply about the market or reflecting his sincere belief. Internally, when Summers hosted meetings on the issue, he would split the group into the "hawks," who were pushing for a more laissez-faire approach, and the "doves," who favored strong government intervention, according to a person who was involved in the meetings. Summers did not respond to questions about his role in these discussions.
In February 2011, the administration issued a white paper outlining options to remake the American housing finance market, with three options to fix Fannie and Freddie.
Option 1: Largely privatize the market, unwind Fannie and Freddie and remove the government almost completely from the housing finance market.
Option 2: Provide some form of government guarantee for mortgages only in times of crisis.
Option 3: Restore Fannie and Freddie much as they were before the crisis, though with significant protections for taxpayers and with measures to attract private capital into the market.
Many criticize the Obama administration for not choosing one of these options. "Treasury punted," says David Min, a law professor at University of California — Irvine. Phillip Swagel, a former official in George W. Bush's Treasury Department, called the lack of progress on the issue "a failure of the Obama administration."
Privately, the administration came to favor some version of Option 3. But after the Republicans took Congress in the 2010 midterm elections, the administration made a political calculation not to push any specific solution, according to several people familiar with the administration's deliberations.
The Republican Party, the thinking went, is split on Fannie and Freddie. One faction, the tea party and others with a free-market philosophy, want the government out of the mortgage market. Another is made up of small community bankers, realtors and local developers, who would like to see Fannie and Freddie restored to something resembling the way it was before in order to keep the mortgage market flowing and to allow smaller banks to compete with the giant firms.
The big banks make up a third faction. They would like to see the government's role limited to a guarantee. That would allow them to continue to dominate the mortgage origination business without contending with the market power of government-sponsored entities. Before conservatorship, Fannie and Freddie had enormous influence over what kinds of loans banks would offer, which had the effect of restricting bank activity.
Backing a specific plan would have united the opposition against it, the administration felt. "We had deep research on the subject and long, lengthy, fully baked recommendations," says a person involved in the efforts. "The view was any position we took was going to bring out attacks from conservatives and the anti-Obama-ites. It would have polarized the debate."
Democrats also blame Republicans for making intransigence their overarching tactic during the first Obama administration. "The political reality was there was no way to bridge that difference. Could Treasury and the administration have reached out more? Sure, but I'm not sure they would have gotten anywhere. And it would have given them [Republicans] something to be against," says Min.
For their part, Republicans say that the Obama administration didn't reach out to them to discuss options or hear their ideas.
And of course, Democrats have factions as well, though they are less pronounced. The progressive wing wants to push the government to make sure there is sufficient backing to make housing affordable for more families.
Meanwhile, Fannie and Freddie had become politically toxic. Peter Swire, a law professor at Ohio State who was a special assistant for economic policy under Summers in the Obama administration, recalled driving through rural North Carolina during Christmas in 2009. Local talk radio was dominated by diatribes against Fannie and Freddie as symbols of what was wrong with the bailouts. "How the heck do you do any policy work when the topic is so radioactive?" he says.
And so, after the administration issued its white paper in 2011, little happened in Congress or the White House.
Back to the Future
In the meantime, the FHFA is making a series of small decisions that ultimately could shape the future of Fannie and Freddie.
In working to increase the profitability of Fannie and Freddie, the FHFA is restricting mortgage credit and sometimes interfering with homeowner rights, critics say. Recently, the FHFA announced that it was considering a plan to raise its guarantee fee in five states which have high foreclosure costs. One reason for that: These are states where judges oversee foreclosures, which housing advocates argue can provide transparency and due process for homeowners. Without judicial foreclosures, it is unlikely that the banks' "robo-signing" abuses would have come to light back in 2010. In effect, these critics charge, the FHFA is punishing homeowners for living in states that provide crucial judicial oversight of the banks.
In another move, the FHFA has forced banks to put back on their own books the risk on mortgages that Fannie and Freddie have guaranteed. Fannie and Freddie have done this in cases where they later discovered that the firm that originally made the loan violated the terms of its contract. These aggressive "putbacks" have made banks wary of making new mortgage loans, say analysts.
These policies have the effect of working at cross-purposes to other arms of the government, such as the Federal Reserve, which is pushing down rates to increase lending. "The Fed is trying to open up the spigot to bring water to fight the fire. The FHFA is squeezing on the hose, holding credit standards that are tighter than any time in the last 20 years," says Christopher Mayer, a housing economist from Columbia University.
Today, Washington observers think that conventional wisdom is coalescing around something resembling Option 3, a return to the hybrid of a private and public finance market. The view is that private capital is needed in the market. But without a government role, the housing market would wither. Many believe that the 30-year mortgage, a pillar of the American Dream of homeownership, might cease to exist, since banks might be reluctant to offer a loan to be paid back over such a long period without some kind of government insurance.
This time around, private investors would be on the hook for the initial losses and Fannie and Freddie would not in theory charge too little for their insurance, as they did in the lead-up to the crisis.
Given that, Swagel, the former Bush appointee, contends that there is plenty of overlap between the mainstream Democratic and Republican views. A conservative, he agrees that the government should play some role in housing. "That's what the government is there for. Just do it explicitly and do it well," he says.
Swagel argues, contra more hard-right Republicans, that a fully private housing finance market is an illusion. Housing is so important for the economy that the government will inevitably bail it out in a serious crisis. Therefore, even if the government was somehow removed from the market explicitly, the backing would be there implicitly. Conservatives have an interest in pushing for the government to charge the right price for its insurance and to minimize its role.
Such views suggest there is a compromise available for the reaching. "This is one of these areas where a consensus should happen," Swagel says.
But some people, especially outside the Beltway and Wall Street, think twice about reverting to a large private-market role, given that profit-seeking led to the subprime debacle. While hardly anyone is pushing it, there is an Option 4: Expanding the government's role in the mortgage market, perhaps by having the government back home loans more directly. It could be done by a government corporation, akin to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which has a measure of independence from congressional or executive branch interference, but wouldn't seek profit. In that way it would avoid the conflicts inherent in the Fannie and Freddie public/private hybrid model.
"Profit-seeking is what gets banks and financial institutions into trouble. The government can get into trouble too, but it seems it gets into less trouble," says Susan Woodward, the former chief economist of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Moreover, "It's very hard for government to do something that hurts consumers."
David Scharfstein, a professor at Harvard who served in the Obama Treasury, worked on the white paper pushing Option 2, limited guarantees for mortgages only when a crisis strikes. He worries about Option 3, which he calls a "re-do of Fannie and Freddie."
But the forces backing it are powerful. "It's striking — and very unusual — for the housing industry, Wall Street, and consumer groups to all be advocating essentially the same policy," he says.
That doesn't happen much and when it does, he says, look out. His fear is that private for-profit entities would want to grow and expand their market share. They would lobby to reduce the amount of capital they have to reserve for an emergency, and to lower the fees charged for mortgage insurance so they could compete on price. If another crisis hits, lower capital reserves and lower fees would make them far more vulnerable to going bankrupt, leaving the taxpayer to bail them out. "It should be a private market or the government. But the government backstopping private entities," Scharfstein says, "is the worst possible combination."
28 comments
"Victory means having an exit strategy"—and there was none…. Now why does that seem oh-so-familiar?
Nobody can serve 2 masters. Period.
There is no such thing as a "hybrid" business model, such as FNMA. You cannot be a "profit-seeking" entity… while also being a "public-serving" entity. These are obviously conflicting goals/interest.
It's like trying to lift a bucket up, while standing in it.
And so the housing market continues on its unsustainable path, helped along by the GSE's. There seems to be no way back, and no real way forward. The housing market stagnates, for lack of a better description. There are lots of optimistic predictions about how the market is moving upwards, but they always compare this year to last year. The whole market is moribund in my estimation. And I will let my house slide into foreclosure, because I'm underwater and have no hope of getting another mortgage. Someone else will buy it for a more sensible price, but I'm not offered that option, Mr DeMarcos.
This article is missing a lot of facts. Allow me to fill in the blanks:
1. After the GSEs were placed into conservatorship, the FHFA ordered the delisting the GSEs' common and preferred stock from the New York Stock Exchange, even though the exchange never requested the FHFA to proceed with this action. Companies and individuals that held Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stock were wiped out. The GSEs are now OTC traded, even though they are, for all intents and purposes, government agencies.
2. The Obama administration quietly disconnected the GSEs from the federal budget. Thus, the GSEs are able to absorb hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer funds without creating a blip on the budget.
3. GSE reform was presented by House Republicans as part of the Dodd-Frank Act, but was rejected by the Democratic majority in Congress in 2010.
4. The FHFA has been without a formal director since August 2009. The administration did not offer a nominee - Joseph Smith, the former NC banking commissioner - until late 2010, but his nomination stalled in the Senate and he withdrew. Since then, the administration made no effort to offer another director. Edward DeMarco has been "acting" director for more than three years.
5. Rather than struggle to staff the GSEs, the FHFA has successfully brought in executives that currently enjoy compensation packages higher than the president's annual take-home pay.
6. In May, the GAO issued a report citing the FHFA for "vulnerabilities" relating to the agency's ability to identify and authenticate users of its computer system. No other regulatory agency has been cited for such security problems.
Thank you.
Phil Hall
What happened? 2001-2009
Repeal of Glass-Steagall and Modernization of Commodities Markets
and Neo-Con Imperialists=disasters
Took a 240B surplus at 9-30-01 to a 1450 Deficit at 9-30-09.
Took an 1830 Budget on 9-30-01to 3520B on 9-30-09
Borrowed 6100B in 8 years—- debt—-5800B on 9-30-01to 11,900 on 9-30-09
Initiated two wars that cost 2000B
Passed a rich mans tax cut that lost 1900B revenue in 8 years
Now we owe 16,000B thanks to those guys.
So we are at a position where Russia stood in 1917. So where do we go from here.
i think there is no chance for a private version of housing market as we had it for decades. it didnt exist before F&F. and if they were gone it would still not exist. the private sector doesnt do long term loans to consumers. 10 years is about as far as they will go. and if you look back before F&F you find that we had 10 year mortgages, that were renewed every 10 years, or had to be paid off. which of course lead to low housing prices as most couldn't afford to pay off such a note if it wasn't renewed
Here are just 2 of the many funny lines from the above article:
1. "[W]ithout a government role, the housing market would wither."
2. " 'It's very hard for government to do something that hurts consumers.' "
James Grant writes in "Money of the Mind: Borrowing & Lending in America from the Civil War to Michael Milken" (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1992, p. 352.)
"Mortgages with federal support of one kind or another, as a percentage of residential mortgages outstanding, rose from 7.7 percent in 1970 to 18.8 percent in 1980 to 38.2 percent in 1989."
None of this matters anymore. China has a lien on America that can't be paid. Get prepared to serve them.
Fannie and Freddie are private companies even during Conservatorship.
They should be allowed to get rid of the government.
Who Dug the Deep Hole? Who Fumbled the ball?
Numbers rounded
Clinton left Bush an 1800B Budget
Bush Left Obama a 3500 Budget
Clinton left Bush a 240B Surplus as far as the eye can see
Bush left Obama a 1400B Deficit as far as the eye can see
Clinton left Bush 5,700B of Debt
Bush left Obama 11,800B of Debt
Clinton left Bush a 237,000 net new jobs created per month
Bush left Obama a 31,000 lowest number since Hoover.
Clinton left Bush 17 Million Manufacturing Jobs
Bush left Obama 11 Million Manufacturing Jobs
Clinton left Bush a 10,800 Dow
Bush left Obama an 8028 Dow
Clinton left Bush Peace on Earth Good Will From Most Men
Bush left Obama Hell on Earth Two disastrous wars. Enmity of 1500 Million Muslims
Clinton left Bush a President most highly rated of any peacetime President in Asia, Africa, Europe.
Bush left Obama the most hated President in history
Bush left Obama an Housing Tsunami and Financial Volcano
Bush left Obama, in 2008, an 8500B Bail out commitment Yes! 8500 not just 700
Bush left Obama his Takeover of Fannie/Freddie, AIG, and first bailout of Chrysler
Bush increased maximum loan by Fannie/Freddie from $153,000 in 2000 to $300,000 then to $729,000
That is how F&F got stuck with so many toxic mortgages. Bush gift to Big Bank pals.
Bush increased FDIC maximum deposit coverage from $100,000 to $250,000. Help the rich.
"Without a government role, the housing market would wither." An astounding line. In ye olde days, when government had no role there was still a housing market. Maybe not perfect, but non-withered. Twixt then & now, housing has apparently become a vampire, reliant on government for an un-dead existence.
In ye olde days, the govt was "giving away land"—because there were still areas of the country that needed to be developed. That "free land" is what brought people to those areas. That ended in the 1980s, so the only option now is to *buy*. Which means the only choice today is *where* to buy—not "if" (because the decision to acquire land/property has already been made). So, unless you are buying extremely cheap land (which means it has no economic production value), you are forced to pay a high price for whatever you buy—and that typically means taking out a loan/mortgage to buy it. The only issue is the term.
Both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations rejected that path as excessive government intrusion into the marketplace.
Whereas propping them up with trillions of taxpayer dollars to loan back to said taxpayers at interest, that's not intrusive at all.
Preventing the state Attorneys General from investigating NINA (No Income, No Assets) loans, not intrusive.
What they mean is that nationalizing the banks would benefit the citizens (especially since loaning people money at interest is a far more effective way of raising revenue than taxation), whereas nationalizing the mortgage market has no benefit. Private profits, public debts.
Think about it: Guaranteeing mortgages benefits who, exactly…?
What I find most interesting, here, is that nobody in the housing industry or the government is acknowledging the bubble. The goal is to get housing prices as high as they were at the bubble's peak (surely a mixed metaphor, but you know what I mean), whereas the land and the houses aren't worth nearly so much to anybody, especially when the rest of the economy (like, say, jobs) hasn't recovered.
The author left out the fourth option. That is to give the GSE business to Wells and the other banksters who want it. But then give a blanket government guarantee to all loans forever. That is the Bernanke Backstop.
That is what the banksters want.
So tax money is being used to jack up real estate and there by keep the low income house-less or in debt. if anything the government should in the business of limiting asset bubbles.
Excellent. This author impresses me each time.
Banks are using GSE's because they NEED the govt guarantee—not because it's a "nice-to-have". This is so because banks (virtually all home lenders today) can not get comfortable underwriting non-guaranteed loans… stilll…. over 4 years after the wheels fell off.
Anybody rushing to kill these GSE's and just pop into place some substitute pool of hungry, aggressive private (non-GSE) home lenders simply doesn't get it. Look at Govt-backed market share of new orig's this year… it's like 95%
The statement, "After taxpayers pumped $187.5 billion into them starting in 2008, Fannie and Freddie exist today in a limbo state…" is a bit incomplete.
F&F have paid back dividends, on a net basis,of $46 billion thru 6/30/12, and, based on projections FHFA projections that have proved to be conservative, another $65 billion is expected to be paid back by YE 2014. Since all profits are swept back to he government, F&F can never redeem the government's deferred stock.
WB: Banks are willing to write loans—but only if the security (established value) is actually in the property.
Because the housing market still has a HUGE overhang of not-yet-foreclosed houses, the entire market remains unstable. In order to not upset the applecart even further, the remaining solvent banks *can not* afford to take on major risks such as home loans they would hold in their own portfolios. Rather, they only write loans that can be resold to either FM—so they can make a profit on each transaction but also try for the ongoing servicing fees ($$$).
Jerry: if "willingness" never shows up in new lending volumes, is it worth talking about? (ie ..banks are also willing to lend…but only if borrower has a job..etc).
Agree that property values are unstable, and i fold that into difficulty to underwrite risk and approve loans.
A Bigger point is how the private MBS/CDO "bid" for new nonconforming product loans is simply gone. Banks essentially choose btw GSE coverage or a loan they'll hold on b/s.
but i doubt the 90% GSE market share implies some bizarre and unlikely scheme to eventually "natiinalize" US home lending. No. More likely, the GSE's are marching under orders to play lender of last resort.. Because the market needs a lender of last resort. If private finance alternatives were avail, surely we'd see some signal of enthusiasm across bank balance-sheet lending, If not the return of a nonconforming MBS "bid". People might hate the implications of GSE market share, but shutting them down now could still be worse.
In the 20th century, people put 20 percent down and the housing market was stable. Now, the hedge funds pay cash and the rest put 3 percent down and the market is inherently UNSTABLE.
A guy buying with a standard 20 percent down 30 year loan is a sitting duck. Boycott mortgages.
WB, the banks want to be the new GSE's. That is the Bernanke Backstop.
But the bank boards may ask to discuss the endless, massive losses these GSE's keep booking quarterly and that meeting's gonna run through dinner;). Hard to take your point because of that truth, but suppose the Federal Govt could sweeten a deal sufficiently to make that happen… dont know. Thx though.
Yes, WB, it has been reported that the banks want the GSE business. And it has been reported that the biggest TBTF lender, Wells Fargo, wanted guarantees on all loans or has threatened to do away with the 30 year mortgages.
And that is another good reason not to lock oneself into a 30 year prison of debt.
I refinanced my tiny little 748 sq foot house (built in 1950…so nobody can accuse me of trying to live beyond my means) last summer to take advantage of the lower interest rates and was encouraged to do so by Wells Fargo, who owned my loan.
After a month I got a letter than Freddie Mac took over my loan. It bothered me, because I was buying my house without any government help at all. They told me my house was worth less than I owed. Apparently, houses in my neighborhood have gone down in value because of the massive Derivatives Scandal that was perpetrated on the housing market.
Today I got a letter from the Assessors office and they said my house is worth $22,000 less than before. It's gone down about 26% of its original value when I bought it.
I don't feel I want to put anymore money into this house. I know this is likely the desired outcome by a group of Elite-Controller Globalists, and I shouldn't go along with their devious plans, but they got us now between a rock and hard place.
Forgot to mention a main point I wanted to make:
You know how the Government has made it impossible for people to put Student Loan debt on a bankruptcy? Well, what is to say that they won't do something similar with these home loans? We could end up stuck with a devalued house and unable to ever get out of it.
The next few years I'm saving money and then I'm relocating to a less corrupt nation. I have two already picked out and know people in both.
Good luck to everyone.
I write in my ebook, Personal Finance:Strategic Default, that people should never borrow with a recourse loan. If the lender chooses, it is very difficult to get out of that loan. Even non recourse loans have dangers, like when you take out a heloc and it is a recourse loan.
And things change in 30 years. I think buying with a 30 year mortgage may not be sensible.
Another thing that smells about all this is the PMI insurance which protects the lender from a defaulted loan.
The lenders are getting protection from the government, and then in many situations, where the buyer did not have 20% down, they can charge this PMI insurance (which can be a hefty chunk of money over time).
It's like this: The same people who manipulated the law makers to ease up on regulations, are the same people who had stakes in the major banks and investing houses that soaked the Mortgage industry, as well as the American people, and whom are NOW behind the "clean up" tasks.
Why should I keep paying PMI? The whole thing appears to be a huge Scam, like a pyramid scheme, and whoever has a mortgage now, is holding the bag.
Commenting on this story is closed.
The taxpayer-owned mortgage giant made investments that profited if borrowers stayed stuck in high-interest loans while making it harder for them to get out of those loans.


text:
A story of romantic love in Holland during the Renaissance, this historical novel describes the murder of John de Witte and his brother Cornelius under the hands of tyrants. And the black tulip? A symbol of justice and the end of oppression.
Language: English
Published in: 1850
Word count: 73,660 words (≈ about 5 hours)
Source: Gutenberg
Copyright: Public Domain

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Marine's Gran Finale — By Diane M. Byrne — October 2002
Gran Prelude
|Despite her name, Gran Finale marks several firsts for Delta Marine.
While Delta Marine opened its doors in Seattle about three decades ago, 1975 was a particularly significant year for the builder. That's when the yard, up to then a builder of fiberglass commercial fishing vessels to about 50 feet, developed its first deep-draft commercial fishing boat, this being a 58-footer. A stalwart presence on the Pacific coast of North America, she marked a new direction in boat design, tooling requirements, and construction techniques.
Delta successfully applied the lessons learned from that project for the next two decades, launching a number of other commercial vessels but also entering the yacht-construction arena with long-range motoryachts that echoed the commercial boat's styling. Two of the most famous names to emerge from its shed were Zopilote and Princess Gloria, both of which traveled extensively.
Even though the yard's commercial construction days are long behind it and the number of motoryachts on its delivery roster has grown as much as their length and complexity--some shallow-draft, some classic-looking, and some expedition-style--Delta hasn't left behind the spirit that let it forge ahead all those years ago. It has once again changed direction in engineering and construction techniques with Gran Finale, a modern-looking 147-footer. In fact, this speedy--and yes, even sexy--lady pushed Delta to try a few things it had never done before.
Take a good look at her profile. Gran Finale marks the first time Delta didn't employ at least some hand-lofting. The abundance of contours you see, from the sleek hull to the "shark gill" engine-room air inlets to the sculpted arch, were generated in-house by a 3-D modeling program with the collaboration of the Delta Design Team and Juan Carlos Espinosa, the Florida-based stylist and interior designer who also spearheaded the decor and styling of the owner's previous yacht, a 66-footer named John's Rendezvous. The 3-D models were in turn forwarded at the owner's request to nearby Janicki Machine, which manufactures plugs and molds for a number of builders using a five-axis milling machine. While Delta had worked with Janicki for the tooling of select parts of previous yachts, it had never constructed an entire vessel through this process.
Taking it a step further, all of the molds except the one for the hull were intended to produce only one part, "as the client wanted to ensure this was a unique design," according to Jay Miner, Delta's chief naval architect. Therefore, after layup was complete, each was destroyed; the hull mold was an exception because "we have a strong belief that the hull design should be utilized for future projects," Miner explains.
That hull resulted from several tank tests of three different designs, including two created by other yards when the owner was shopping the bid package, created with the input of Ken Keefe, president of KKMI Yacht Sales in California. (Keefe also advised the owner throughout the construction process.) The owner knew what he wanted: low sound levels and a good turn of speed. While many custom yacht owners specify that their yachts should be quiet, some methods of sound reduction add unnecessary weight. At Gran Finale's owner's request, the yard yard worked closely with Willem Van Cappellen, one of the marine industry's leading acoustic consultants. Besides employing traditional methods like "floating" the interior, filling stanchions with sand, and soft-mounting machinery, Delta double-soft-mounted systems particularly prone to noise generation and used epoxy paste to damp areas above the propeller planes, bulkheads, and decks. It also filled cavities with open-cell foam and applied an aluminum "envelope" over the engine room boundary, which Miner says weighs "a fraction of customary engine-room treatments."
Next page > Gran Finale continued > Page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
This article originally appeared in the January 2003 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.


text:
SAINT LEO, Fla. – The inaugural women's lacrosse team said hello to the Saint Leo University campus with plenty of support from the community as they took to the field in their first ever home game on Friday evening. The Lions matched up against Lindenwood University in their home opener at University Field, eventually dropping to the visiting Lions by a score of 23-5.
Saint Leo drops to 0-2 on its young season, while LU opens their 2012 campaign with a mark of 1-0.
Sophomore attackman Stephanie Marran tipped her hat to the crowd in high fashion, scoring four of the team's five goals on the evening. Alyssa Viscomi notched the first goal of her collegiate career thanks to an assist from Alix Murray to round out Saint Leo's scoring efforts on the evening.
Brittany Millsap and Nicole Sirota-Plotnikov once again split time between the pipes for the Lions. Millsap made six saves on the night, including four in the first half, while yielding 15 in 39 minutes of action.
Marran and Joanna Chadwick both earned three ground balls on the night, with Kasey Tanner, Kelsey Cunningham, and Callie Porcher close behind with two apiece. Porcher added a caused turnover to her defensive stats on the evening, while Marran won a game-high seven draw controls to help the Lions' efforts.
Lindenwood was headed up by Kara Cashen, who tallied a game-high five goals in LU's first contest of the season. Cashen added an assist to her goal total for six points on the night. Matching Cashen's point total on the evening was Lexi Crusha, who notched three goals and three assists.
Saint Leo pulled out to an early lead thanks to a goal from Marran at the 27:50 mark in the first half, but Cashen and Justiene Groothuis knotted up the score at 1-1 just a minute later. Lindenwood sprinted out to an 8-1 advantage over the ensuing 12 minutes before Viscomi could stunt their streak with a goal with 14:10 on the clock before the half.
Both teams traded blows in the next few minutes, setting the score at 9-3 with 12:55 before the half, but Lindenwood once again found a scoring streak and notched six unanswered tallies to close out the first period with a score of 15-3. Lindenwood outscored Saint Leo 8-2 in the final stanza, closing out the game with an 18-goal advantage.
Saint Leo trailed the shot count 37-14, as well as in the ground ball battle 29-17. The Green and Gold won 11-of-30 draw controls, and were 2-for-5 on free position shots.
The Lions return to action on Friday, February 24, when they travel to Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C. Game time against the Indians is set for 6 p.m. For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo women's lacrosse team, visit saintleolions.com.


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To match your new floors!
Please note the nominal thickness of the wood and bamboo (not laminate)
grills is 5/8". It can be used with any floor that thick or thicker, but
not thinner.
Flush-mount floor grills are not recommended for floating floors.
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These look very nice but they have no mechanism to adjust flow of air. And the "guides" on the bottom are so small and shallow that they move constantly showing raw edges of flooring. Overpriced for what you get.
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A:It is the size of the vent hole not the total vent cover dimensions.


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The ins and outs of preparing your vegetable garden
A fun seed starting project using a hollowed out lemon rind.
Ashton Ritchie shows you how easy it is to grow vegetables by building a simple raised bed with bales of straw and potting mix
With spring around the corner, a gardener can get a bit anxious to start planting. But not all vegetables are as eager to get into the cool ground and start growing.
Plants That Grow Great Together
Your garden is easier to plant and weed when you have raised beds.
Growing healthy tomatoes is easy
Make salsa with your own fresh-from-the-garden vegetables and herbs
With the right plants and conditions, you can plant and enjoy fresh herbs in winter
Find a sunny spot big enough for some pots and an array of fresh vegetables can be yours.
The vegetable everybody loves is easy to grow
This versatile veggie makes all the difference in many meals
For gardens or containers, you have lots of varieties to choose from.
Grow a delicious staple in your garden
Enjoy your produce for months after you pick it
This is one vegetable that really produces
Find out how to grow the biggest pumpkin on your block
Use them in stews, salads, and stir-fries for added deliciousness.
Make your garden grow 3 (or 4) seasons!
It looks good on your plate, and in your garden
Get step by step directions for adding a fruit tree to your landscape.
Treat it right, and your plant keeps on producing
Canning is a great way to enjoy your harvest months later.
It looks great in fall gardens, and tastes good, too
Plant it once, and it keeps coming back, year after year
Add some kick to your gardening with this attractive, tasty plant
These veggies are easy to plant, too
Please your taste and your eye
Home-grown garlic is a wonderful addition to your meals.
If your area stays cool, this veggie is for you.
Enjoy different flavors from different parts of the plant.
You can plant this popular vegetable in the spring or fall
Learn different ways to seed your vegetable garden
Learning how things grown and where food comes from can be fun
What to look for when it's time to harvest broccoli


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As your partner, the Career Management Center assists you in connecting with our students. We provide support throughout the process.
If you are new to the recruiting process, we recommend the following procedures:
For more information, please contact: Yolander Albert, Director of Recruiting and Employer Relations
Career Management Center
Jones Graduate School of Business
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Houston, TX 77005
713-348-3926 firstname.lastname@example.com


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A CGA has expertise in a number of areas, including finance, taxation, business strategy, auditing, management and business leadership
This story is part of the Globe Careers' series looking at specific jobs, with their qualifications, descriptions, responsibilities and current salaries. For more, see our Salaries series.
Certified General Accountant (CGA)
(George Doyle/Getty Images)
Starting at about $55,000 a year, and it can climb well into the six-figure range, depending on the role. CGAs rank in the top 5 per cent of all Canadian earners, and many of them are C-level executives, according to the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada (CGA-Canada).
(Hemera Technologies/Getty Images)
The CGA program is the only Canadian accounting course you can enter without a degree, but a bachelor's degree must be completed before entering Professional Applications and Competence Evaluations (PACE), the two-year certification program. The cost of the higher certification levels, not including the bachelor's degree, is approximately $650 a year, plus additional course fees of $1,100 to 1,500 per course (depending on the province or territory).
(Andres Rodriguez/Getty Images/Hemera)
By the numbers:
Depending on where you're at with your career, age varies and there are slightly more female CGAs than male. As of 2012, newly certified general accountants were 54 per cent female.
(AIMSTOCK/Getty Images/iStockphoto)
The job:
A CGA has expertise in a number of areas, including finance, taxation, business strategy, auditing, management and business leadership. "CGAs don't just crunch numbers. They make decisions, help orchestrate deals, provide strategic advice," says Lyle Handfield, vice-president of international and corporate affairs at the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada (CGA-Canada).
(Jacob Wackerhausen/Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Job prospects:
Given the broad range of industries where you can find CGAs, the job prospects are good. "Becoming an accountant gives you the skills and freedom to find a rewarding job at any organization, anywhere in the world," says Mr. Handfield, calling accountants "the financial heart" behind most businesses. Mutual recognition agreements between Canadian accounting organizations and foreign accounting bodies mean accountants have opportunities to work internationally.
(Jupiterimages/Getty Images)
It's not easy to get a CGA designation. There are tough exams to pass. A love for math and problem solving is a must. Once you land in the profession, you need to stay on top of the current requirements and developments in your field.
(MorePixels/Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Why they do it:
CGAs hold diverse positions in businesses across Canada and around the world, Mr. Handfield says. "There's no limit to the places you can go or the industries you can work with an accounting designation." They're also well respected. "Employers value and respect the CGA designation and recognize it for its rigorous technical and skills training."
(VikZa/Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Most people think accounting is boring. But according to Mr. Handfield, the work of an accountant is just as diverse as the people, and it can be practiced in fields such as film and television, non-profit organizations, consumer products, education, and information technology. "There are endless possibilities with an accounting designation," he says.
(Comstock Images/Getty Images/Comstock Images)
Give us the real scoop:
Are you a CGA in Canada?
Write a note in the comments area and tell us what you would tell others who are interested in the profession, or e-mail your comment to email@example.com
Want to read more stories from our salaries series? Click here:
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:: Survey of Conflict Management
Spring 2014
@UH Manoa Outreach
|Credit Hours:
Brian Jarrett
|Course URL:
|Instructional Mode:
|02/03/2014 - 05/16/2014
|Schedule Notes:
|This is an online course offered via Laulima. After registering for the course, students may access the class at https://laulima.hawaii.edu. Students are required to use their UH account (email@example.com) for the duration of the course.
|Course Prerequisites:
|any social science 100- or 200-level course or consent.
|Course Description:
|Survey of contemporary conflict management and resolution: negotiation, mediation, conciliation, ombuds, fact-finding, facilitation techniques, arbitration, and litigation.
|Technical Requirements:
|The Internet allows students to take a course at home using a personal computer. Familiarity with using a computer and basic Internet skills (browsing, sending e-mail, saving/sending files) is required. Students must have a computer with Internet access. Depending on the online course, students may be required to log in at a specific day and time or at anytime. Students taking an online course should always contact their instructor after registration or prior to the first day of class to get detailed information regarding the course.
Minimum Computer Hardware/Software Requirements:
It is also required that you obtain a UH Email account. Please go to the following URL for more information: http://www.hawaii.edu/askus/563
It is also required that you obtain a UH Email account. Please go to the following URL for more information: http://www.hawaii.edu/askus/563
|Additional Notes:
|Tuition for extension term classes is charged per credit and is NOT included in Fall/Spring semester tuition. Students receiving UH Manoa financial aid should contact Financial Aid Services (808-956-7251 or email@example.com) before registering for extension term classes to assure that their financial aid package will cover these classes.
|Monday, December 2, 2013 14:37:05


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Qualcomm Chief Executive Paul Jacobs has often criticized current immigration law, saying it makes it hard to hire talented, foreign-born engineering graduates when the company recruits at U.S. universities.
On Tuesday, Jacobs got the chance to make that pitch directly to President Obama as one of about 10 business leaders invited to the White House to discuss immigration reform.
Jacobs joined chief executives from Motorola Solutions, Goldman Sachs, Yahoo, Marriott, Alcoa, United/Continental and other firms in the private meeting with the president, who has made immigration reform a priority of his second term.
Jacobs was unavailable Wednesday for an interview. But Qualcomm issued a statement saying the San Diego company supports comprehensive changes to the nation's immigration laws.
""Highly skilled immigrants are critical to innovation and are important contributors to economic growth in the United States," said Jacobs. "As a company that employs and hires thousands of engineers, we believe it's critical that we do everything possible to welcome the most talented inventors to our shores by updating immigration rules that disadvantage U.S. companies."
Qualcomm's gripe with current law centers on caps and restrictions on temporary work visas and permanent green cards for foreign workers.
For example, one rule forbids spouses of workers with temporary visas from seeking jobs in the U.S., said Alice Tornquist, Qualcomm's vice president of public affairs based in Washington, D.C. Caps on the number of green cards issued each year can result in foreign-born graduates of U.S. universities waiting years – sometimes a decade – to be cleared to work here permanently.
Supporters of reform say these hurdles discourage not only foreign born, highly skilled workers but also non-citizen entrepreneurs from founding companies and creating jobs.
"We don't know to what extent we're losing talent, brilliant people, who just decide upon graduation not to pursue employment in the United States," said Tornquist. "We're making it impossible. So to some degree, people are probably just leaving because it's not worth their while."
A bill recently introduced in the Senate raises caps on annual temporary work visas and exempts certain jobs from the green card limits in fields such as science, technology, engineering and math -- or STEM.
"So a STEM graduate from a U.S. university with an advanced degree -- master's or above – with a job offer in a science, technology, engineering or math field, would get a green card without waiting," said Tornquist.
Critics of loosening rules for highly skilled immigrants say many U.S. citizens with degrees in science, technology, engineering and math can't find jobs in those fields, said John Skrentny, a sociology professor and director of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at the University of California San Diego.
"For example, about 15 million Americans have STEM degrees, but only 5 million work in STEM," he said. "Where do these STEM workers go? It's not clear."
American computer programmers have complained that they are replaced by cheaper foreign workers here on temporary work visas, added Skrentny. "Some also argue that employers refuse to train or re-train American workers and prefer to simply import foreigners who have the needed skills," he wrote.
Lawmakers last tackled comprehensive immigration reform in 2007. Those efforts largely failed. Qualcomm is hoping for a better outcome this time.
"We really look at this opportunity, with comprehensive immigration reform, as the best chance to get the changes that we think are needed," said Tornquist.


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Rota Water-Resistant Nylon Backpack
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Padded laptop zipper pocket at back w/ multi-purpose velcro pocket inside
- Laptop pocket: 12" width x 16" length
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- Large pocket: 11" width x 12" length
- Zipper pocket: 7.5" width x 8" length
- Small multi-functional pocket with organizer: 7.5" width x 7" length
- Laptop sleeve pocket: 12" width x 14" length


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We're joking, of course, but that is kinda what President Joe Solmonese implies in a mass e-mail this morning. Here's an excerpt:
We have staff on the ground around the country and plans to deploy even more. We're bolstering state groups, even as we fight against hostile federal bills and amendments. But to make it work, we need 2,011 new members like you – that works out to just 32 more from Texas – to join HRC in the next week. Once you do, we'll stop sending reminders and get back to the work of securing equality.
Solmonese goes on to reiterate his warning that if you don't join, you'll continue to receive these e-mails:
Be part of the civil rights battle of our day. Fight for marriage. Join now — and we won't send you any more emails for the remainder of our membership drive.
On a serious note, the e-mail comes under the subject line "The next Prop 8," and it notes that lawmakers in New Hampshire are set to try to repeal same-sex marriage. It also says "hateful groups" are trying to ban same-sex marriage in Indiana, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Iowa and West Virginia. There are now 20 state legislatures with anti-LGBT majorities, Solmonese says, which is twice as many as are under pro-equality leadership.
And if that isn't reason enough to join HRC, check out the USB car charger above that's offered with a new membership, which can be had for as little as $35.
If journalism ethics didn't discourage us from supporting individual LGBT groups, Instant Tea would be tempted. Then again, we'd stop receiving these fun e-mails. But seriously, maybe you should join so that HRC will start working again. Full e-mail after the jump.


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Sign Up
To serve as a chaplain or chaplain aide is a unique opportunity for ministry. While serving in these offices, you will have the opportunity to help Scouts as they grow, both physically and spiritually. Some techniques to be used are modeling, mentoring, and offering faith-based experiences.
Use this manual to help you become better oriented to the duties, responsibilities, and opportunities of chaplaincy service in Boy Scout troops. In it, you will find helpful information and resources to help you better perform your duties.
The Boy Scouts of America maintains that no member can grow into the best kind of citizen without recognizing an obligation to God and, therefore, recognizes the religious element in the training of the member, but it is absolutely nonsectarian in its attitude toward that religious training. Its policy is that the home and organization or group with which a member is connected shall give definite attention to religious life. Only persons willing to subscribe to this Declaration of Religious Principle and to the Bylaws of the Boy Scouts of America shall be entitled to certificates of membership.
The troop chaplain is an adult who may be a troop committee member, the executive officer of a religious chartered organization, or serves in another leadership capacity. It is customary that the religious leader, or an appointee of the chartered organization, will serve as chaplain if the troop is operated by a religious organization. A troop not operated by a religious organization may select a chaplain from local members of the clergy.
The chaplain should
After housing and schooling needs are met, one of the first contacts a new family has in the community is with a Scouting unit. As new troop members are registered, you will learn of their religious preferences or interests and can extend an invitation to join your congregation in worship, or you may direct them to other opportunities for worship in the community. At no time should the chaplain proselytize.
When present, members of the clergy or chaplain aide may be asked to lead the troop or other Scouting units in prayer. If the group consists of members with mixed beliefs, or if the beliefs of the group are unknown, then prayers should be of an interfaith content. However, if the group is of like belief or the unit is chartered to a religious organization, then it is entirely appropriate to offer belief-specific prayer.
The chaplain is in an ideal position to promote the religious emblems program and encourage Scouts to complete the requirements for the emblem of their faith. Many troops include Scouts of various faiths; therefore, a knowledge of all emblems is helpful. Since procedures vary among different faiths, the Duty to God brochure, No. 05-897A, is a helpful reference. In addition, call your local Boy Scout service center or the council religious relationships committee for help in identifying ways to promote the religious emblems program and emblem recipient recognition ceremonies.
The chaplain aide is an approved youth leadership position in Boy Scout troops. The responsibilities of this position include encouraging the spiritual growth and awareness of each member of the troop and assisting the troop chaplain (and adult committee members).
The chaplain aide should
When present, members of the clergy or chaplain aides may be asked to lead the troop or other Scouting groups in a prayer. If the group consists of members of mixed beliefs, or if the beliefs of the group are unknown, prayers should be of an interfaith nature. However, if the group is of like belief, it is entirely appropriate to offer belief-specific prayer.
Since troops often camp on weekends, Scouts and leaders may not be able to attend their regular worship services. A troop worship service should be conducted and all encouraged to attend. The troop chaplain aide and the troop chaplain (or other designated adult) should conduct these services.
On occasion, a troop may experience the loss of a Scout or leader. It is a difficult time for everyone. At the request of the family or with the permission of the family and religious leader, Scouts may participate in the funeral and memorial service to celebrate the life of the Scout or leader. Some things that may be appropriate include:
The primary concern is for the family and its preferences. The involvement of the troop or Scouts in the troop is at the discretion of the family and its religious leaders.
This outline is merely a guide. The wishes of the Family and spiritual advisor take precedent.


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Now toddlers can jump-jump-jump, too! We took our best-selling preschoolers' Safety Trampoline and scaled down for little ones. Our toddler trampoline is built for safety, with a hold-on grab bar, soft grip handle, padded edges, and our signature, screw-on legs (so much sturdier than folding legs). The "sweet spot" is marked, guiding kids where to stand. More than a kid-pleasing energy buster, our mini trampoline builds balance and coordination. Easy assembly. For ages 1-3, up to 35 lbs. Designed by OneStepAhead!For more information, click here.
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She said after the SP that she didn't know what happened with her 3F--that makes me think that her problem is technical, not mental. No "I was nervous" or "I got caught up in the moment." I could be wrong, but the fact that it's the 3F and none of the other jumps (until the FS, where she was clearly insecure) suggests a tiny detail that somewhere, somehow got overlooked.
Also, I refrain from making huge umbrella statements like "she is not mentally tough enough" over the results of one competition. I like to keep in mind that an entire thread was dedicated to questioning Gracie Gold's ability to handle pressure after Skate Canada, and she made all of her career-harbingers look foolish after CoR.


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Did you know?
There are more than 30 000 maize farms in the Free State
Fouriesburg in the eastern Free State is where you will find the Mont Plaisir Guest Farm horse trails.
This peaceful farming area offers the ideal weekend getaway for anyone who enjoys the outdoors. Surrounded by vast fields of maize – the area forms part of South Africa's so-called 'maize triangle', where a substantial proportion of the country's maize is grown – it is also perfect for those who enjoy exploring on horseback.
Guests can embark on a two-day horse-riding expedition, which includes a night at a campsite on the farm. Those who haven't ridden before can also take a two-day training course and, provided they are confident enough after this, can then embark on trail rides.
For those whose interest lies in archaeology, the sandstone hills of the region are home to a variety of rock art dating back centuries. Game spotters are also in for a treat: a variety of antelope, zebra and wildebeest can be spotted while riding through the grassy terrain.
The colours of the landscape in Fouriesburg vary considerably between seasons, with bright green summers and golden brown winters. Watching steam rise from rivers and dams on winter mornings is an enchanting experience, one that you would do well to capture on camera.
Mont Plaisir Guest Farm offers various forms of accommodation, including a farmhouse, field cottage, rondawel (round house) and a chalet. There is more accommodation available in Fouriesburg.
Other activities to consider in the Fouriesburg area include fly-fishing, hiking, mountain biking and even asparagus tours.
Travel tips & Planning info
Who to contact
Mont Plaisir Guest Farm
Tel: +27 (0)78 894 9368
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
How to get here
From Johannesburg take the N1 south toward Bloemfontein, turning off on to the Fouriesburg road (R70) and follow the signs to Mont Plaisir. From Bloemfontein, take the N1 north and then the R70.
Around the area
Afri Ski, one of the very few ski resorts in Africa, is a 65km drive from Fouriesburg. 4X4 trips can be arranged from Mont Plaisir Guest Farm to the snowy slopes. The Golden Gate Highlands National Park is also a short drive away.
Get around
Given the rural location of Fouriesburg, you will need your own vehicle.
What will it cost
A two-day cross-country ride at Mont Plaisir costs R800 per person, which includes meals and accommodation. A two-day training course costs R240 per person.
Length of stay
Mont Plaisir is perfect for a weekend getaway.
What to pack
Warm clothes are essential for the winter months between April and September. And always bring plenty of sunscreen and hat, no matter the season.
Where to stay
Mont Plaisir Guest Farm has a variety of accommodation options available.


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1) During and after this game, I thought about a lot of stuff that didn't completely have to do with the game. For instance, no matter how much we think we know, we don't know. Example: Many of us thought Washington would be a much easier matchup that Ottawa. Many of us thought, well, the Rangers will have a much less physical series against Ottawa while Philly and Pittsburgh are beating the crap out of each other for seven games; and then we thought the same about Devils-Flyers. And here are the Rangers playing their second seven-game series, each with two OT games, while the rested Devils (who had a physical bye in the first round) await.
2) And another thing. I wondered if these playoffs — which might turn out to be like nothing we've ever seen before in history — might make next year's trade deadline different. Because, right around the deadline, Phoenix and Washington were thinking about being sellers instead of buyers. I know the Capitals were going to sell if they didn't think Nick Backstrom and Mike Green would be healthy this year. Look at those teams now. And Buffalo did sell and missed the playoffs on the final day. Who's to say the Baby Buffaloes wouldn't still be playing if they hadn't sold and just got in? Oh, and the Rangers got John Scott.
3) I'm pretty sure (very educated guess) that John Tortorella's fines have muzzled him, because when I asked him about the icing before the Jason Chimera goal, before the timeout before the Chimera goal, he didn't want to discuss it. I wasn't asking him to criticize the officials. I just asked if there was some confusion or thinking that it shouldn't or might not have been an icing.
4) Because Stu Bickel had played the puck toward the blue line, and there was a Ranger there, with Roman Hamrlik, and the puck went right through Hamrlik's skates and down the ice. How can that be icing? Did I miss something? Also, the NHL's official play-by-play sheet said that play was reviewed? Has anybody ever heard of an icing being reviewed? If somebody did review it, well, they'd better stop reviewing such things, because they effed that up. And how about the long-time hockey writer from Canada asking Tortorella what the timeout was about — when it was obviously because they iced the puck and his players were gassed?
5) I'm not trying to coach (Pat Leonard reference), and I'm not second-guessing, and I certainly don't want to sound like one of you guys who love to talk lines, because I don't. But I just don't like the Rangers' lines the way they are. I don't mind Chris Kreider on the fourth line because the kid's had some struggles lately. I just think, in my humble opinion, that Ryan Callahan should be playing with Derek Stepan, who had a pretty decent game … and I don't care who's on the left, though Artem Anisimov makes sense, especially when you need some secondary scoring. And I think, in so many cases this year, especially the Ottawa series, that Brian Boyle with Brandon Prust, and usually Ruslan Fedotenko, gives them so many good minutes and such a good forecheck. Maybe there's a matchup situation I'm not seeing. But I didn't care for the lines they used last night.
6) That Alex Ovechkin goal? If Callahan doesn't blow a tire, that probably never happens and maybe it's a totally different game.
7) This has got to be the longest the Rangers have gone without a fight. Not that Prust wasn't trying to rile up the Capitals. He speared The Great Eight in the ovechkins, and he shoved around Jason Chimera, who embarrassed himself by diving backward … though the officials embarrassed themselves more by falling for it.
8) Yes, the Capitals have exploited Henrik Lundqvist's glove in this series. But it's been some pretty good shooters who solved it. And these deep-in-the-net, butterfly guys are always susceptible to glove shots … just like bad-angle shots.
9) Going back to the icing that led to the second Washington goal: That's a lousy break, because it shouldn't have been icing; then after the timeout, Richards lost a draw. Then John Carlson's shot hit the toe of Nick Backstrom's skate boot and hopped right to Chimera … who now has five of his seven career playoff goals against the Rangers.
10) Matt Hendricks is Washington's MVP in this series for my money. Ironically it was he who lost the draw on the GWG in Game 5. But he's done everything else, including shut down Marian Gaborik's line for long stretches, and kill penalties (the Rangers helped him) and won so many faceoffs. And squished people. Like a clean Chris Neil/Zenon Konopka combo platter.
11) Did you see Mike Green cough up the puck right over the glass because Boyle was coming?
12) Tortorella ripping the effort, to me, is him already coaching Game 7. Because I didn't think it was about effort. Maybe in a few cases. Do I think this was their best game. Certainly not. But overall, it was Washington's ability to score on the PP, and the Rangers' inability to do the same. Tortorella did agree that the four-minute power play "sucked. It killed us. It sucked."
13) You guys missed some near fisticuffs between yours truly and a radio clown in the tight quarters of the visiting lockerroom (my second such close encounter of the playoffs). Unfortunately I had just turned off my recorder. Well, maybe fortunately considering some of the vocabulary I used. I would have been banned from the blog.
14) Finally, and maybe this should have been No. 1 … we all saw first hand how difficult it is when all these teams are so even, for a team to match the desperation of the team that's actually in a more desperate situation. We've seen it time and time again in these playoffs. That said, I expect the Rangers will not not have to manufacture desperation and will win Game 7. But not easily.
15) Just wanted to see if you're still paying attention. That's a photo of the last time the Rangers clinched a spot in the Eastern Conference final. And the last time that guy played was the last time they had a good power play.
My Three Rangers Stars:
1) Derek Stepan.
2) Brandon Prust.
3) Henrik Lundqvist.
Gravy's Three Rangers Stars:
1) Dan Girardi.
2) Henrik Lundqvist.
3) Ryan McDonagh.
AP photos, above.


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Looking Back: Katie Holmes
There's something still very much now about '60s era shapes, like the Victoria Victoria Beckham dresses shot in ELLE's January issue.
We second that for the iconic silhouettes of the '50s. Donna Karan's glamorous hourglass shape screams siren and would look appropriate on any of today's startlets.
Best Fashion Newsmakers of 2012


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Looks like it's that time of week again folks; time for the Weekly Saturday Polls!
It's Yes-Man here again, like last week. And the week before that. And the week before that... anyway. I've been feeling a bit under the weather recently. You know, common cold. They call it common but I find I only get it once a year or so... speaking of which, they can cure deadly diseases but they can't cure a cold. Ridiculous, am I right? Anyway, what do I usually talk about before the polls? Give me a suggestion or something, folks, because I'm really at a loss for words and I'm sure this is awkward for all of us. If you think you know what the people want to hear before the poll, just tell me on my talk page... otherwise I'll bore you with the details of my week.
Last Week's Results
For those of you who didn't fall asleep from boredom after my riveting story about the common cold, take a look at last week's results. We were asked the question What is your favourite Fallout series faction?
The results are as follows:
- In third place are the Followers of the Apocalypse with 21 votes! I could never dig the punk rock hairstyles, personally.
- In joint second place are the NCR and the Enclave, both with 28 votes! I wonder, which is the greater evil...?
- And in first place with a staggering 53 votes are the one and only Brotherhood of Steel! Who else saw that coming from a mile away?
Special thanks to the one and only J for helping me with the results. Keep up the amazing edits, man. Only 20,000 more to go and you've reached 100,000!
Moving on, this week we've got two polls. That's right, I'm spoiling you with choice. I got a great suggestion from Stars and Stripes Forever, but I already had a poll idea in mind. So I've decided to use both questions this week. You know those arguments about "Who's faster, the Flash or Superman", and so forth. Well, I got something along those lines for you this week. Drumroll please...
Poll:Which player character would win in a fight
And here's the second poll for you. This is less opinion, more personal experience (also gives me a chance to experiment with the alternate poll system). Without further ado...
There you go. Tell us which player character would win in a fight, and also tell us what skill you levelled up to 100 first. I always level up speech first; I find it one of the most useful skills in the game, other than lockpick and science. Now, I need to stress something. Listen up, because this stuff's important:
When voting on which player character would win, base it on your player character. However, that does not mean that the Lone Wanderer would win because he has Liberty Prime, nor does it mean that the Chosen One would win because he has a Gauss Rifle and Enclave armour. I want to know which character you thought achieved the greatest feats in their game, and which of your characters do you think is the most capable in a fight. Personally I'd have to go with the Courier, considering he can take down three armies and seize control of Vegas (at least, in my Independent playthrough).
Now a few things to wrap up until next week. First off I'd like to say thank you to a certain anonymous user who left a lovely message on my talk page. I certainly will keep fighting the good fight, thanks for your message. Also, I'd like to get some feedback on the polls; specifically if you prefer my poll system or MysteryStranger's. It has become apparent that although my poll format is more aesthetically pleasing, it's prone to many glitches (some of which I've experienced myself). And overall I'd like to know if you're enjoying the polls and if there's anything you'd like me to add or remove.
Also, does anyone actually read what I write after the poll? Just curious...
Until next week, have fun everyone. If you have any crazy ideas for a fun poll, just tell me about it on my talk page, or catch me in chat. I'll be here every Saturday so be patient!


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Cook This Now: The Friendliest Chili Recipeby Debra Puchalla in Books, November 7th, 2011
I'm a noncompliant chili chef. I spot a chili recipe, break out the stockpot and handily ignore most of the instructions, unable to keep myself from throwing anything and everything into the mix. Thank goodness food writer, cookbook author and sometime Iron Chef America judge Melissa Clark has come along with a recipe to show me, bite by bite, the merit of chili discipline. A handful of ingredients, well prepared, rather than a whole spice rack of cacophony, are her shared secret.
Bringing a Melissa Clark recipe into your kitchen is like inviting that friend over who always has delicious ideas and solid advice delivered without an ounce of airs. Her cooking is straightforward and smart, at once elegant and inviting. I've "known" Melissa, oh, for about a decade, though we've never met in person. She wrote food stories I edited at Martha Stewart; she writes my favorite New York Times Dining column, A Good Appetite; I follow her Tweets; we're Facebook friends. This is all to say I like her style, love her recipes and call her a friend even though we haven't had the pleasure of sharing a table.
Like lots of food fans, I eagerly awaited her new cookbook, Cook This Now, and last weekend invited friends to a supper of her Spicy Three-Meat Chili and a batch of Alex Guarnaschelli's Cast Iron Skillet Corn Bread. (I think we were the only folks in New York who were excited for the stormy weather, which made the cozy foods even more welcome.) Of the 120 recipes in Melissa's book, I hankered to make the chili because it sounded comfy yet easy enough for an already-packed afternoon. It's a simple combination of meat, peppers and onions, garlic and a trio of tomatoes — plus chili powder — that together add up to more than you'd expect from their parts.
The base of Melissa's chili is three pounds of meat, one each of beef, veal and pork (throughout the book she encourages substitutions and swaps; here ground turkey or just a combo of beef and pork would work equally well, she says). I hesitated to brown the meats one at a time as she suggested, wondering if the time would be worth it. "Cooking the meat separately," she says, "is just an easy way of making sure the pot doesn't get overcrowded. If the meat doesn't brown properly, the chili won't have as deep a flavor." Ten minutes? Worth it — each meat brings its own layer of taste and partners with the aromatics for a chunky, classic bowl of chili.
It was after the chili simmered and had the kitchen smelling of nice spice that my tendency to improvise got useful. The beauty of Melissa's dish is the infinite ways you and your guests can make it your own. I shredded some Jack cheese, sliced some grape tomatoes, tore some cilantro leaves and cut up some scallions so everyone could add on their own garnishes, along with sour cream and hot sauce. All told, the chili took little more than half an hour to prepare. I made a spinach salad and set the table with the toppings, some rice and Alex's rich, super-moist buttermilk cornbread on the side.
Organized in a month-by-month format, the book includes just the right recipes for every season, relying on familiar favorites given life and personality with Melissa's own touch. "These are exactly the kinds of recipes I love — easy (this being imperative), relatively healthful, seasonal and with lots of flavor," she says. I couldn't agree more, and I can't help but look forward to cooking more from her book. I hear from my friend and blogger Sassy Radish that the Stir-Fried Chicken With Oyster Mushrooms is not to be missed (nor is Olga's post, a delightfully written love note to Melissa's work and their friendship). As November's temperatures dip, I also have my eye on the Ham Bone, Beans and Greens Soup recipe that Faith Durand at The Kitchn wrote about last week — it sounds like a steamy antidote to the chill in the air.
The other relief to such coolness, of course, is coming together for a satisfying meal — in this case with chili and folks close to me in my own kitchen, as well as at the broader table of friends in the food community, paths crossing, glasses clinking, all brought together even when we're miles apart.
From COOK THIS NOW by Melissa Clark. Copyright © 2011,
Melissa Clark, Inc. Published by Hyperion. Available wherever books are sold. All Rights Reserved.
Serves 8
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound ground beef or bison
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus additional to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, more to taste
1 pound ground pork
1 pound ground veal
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 to 2 jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped, to taste
3 tablespoons chili powder, plus additional to taste
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, broken up with a fork
3 cups cooked kidney beans or 2 (15 ounce) cans, drained and rinsed
Chopped fresh cilantro, for serving
Lime wedges, for serving
1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook, breaking up with a fork, until well browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Season the meat with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Remove the beef with a slotted spoon and transfer the meat to a paper towel–lined platter. Repeat the cooking process twice more with the pork and veal. Season each with 1/2 teaspoon salt.
2. Add the tomato paste to the pot. Cook, stirring, until the paste is golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the peppers, onion, garlic, and jalapeño. Cook until the vegetables are softened, 7 to 10 minutes. Stir in the chili powder and a pinch of salt; cook 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, beans, 2 cups water, and the remaining salt. Return the meat to the pot. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Ladle the chili into bowls. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with lime wedges.
More Tips from Melissa
• This chili freezes well.
• Try the chili over brown rice, either coconut or plain.
• Don't underestimate the power of good-quality chili powder. I usually use a mix of mild and hot New Mexico chili powders, but there are so many kinds to choose from, from mild anchos to super-spicy chile de arbol, and since the art of serious chili making is really all about achieving that perfect blend, you should feel free to experiment. If you want to go whole hog, you can even buy dried whole chiles and grind your own in a spice grinder.
• If you get to the bottom of your chili leftovers and want to stretch them to feed your whole family one more time, stir in some cooked elbow macaroni or rinsed, canned hominy.
• If possible, buy your ground veal at your farmers' market instead of the supermarket. If you really can't do veal, then just do half pork and half beef, or all pork or all beef, or even turkey if you like. As long as you've got 3 pounds of ground meat of some type, the recipe will come out fine.


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Lieutenant Commander Kirsty Flegg hugs her two sons, Jack, 6, and Toby, 4, on Friday, in Glasgow, Scotland, following her deployment on HMS Defender. The Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer has returned to the city where it was built and will be open to the public on Saturday.
© The Financial Times Ltd 2016 FT and 'Financial Times' are trademarks of The Financial Times Ltd.


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Patagonia Jalama Pack 28L
The ultimate wet/dry backpack separates wet gear with a waterproof divider while keeping your laptop and other essentials dry and organized.
- Strong, lightweight body and base are made with 100% recycled polyester with a DWR (durable water repellent) finish
- Massive main compartment has waterproof barrier to keep wetsuits and booties contained; secondary compartment with internal organization has plenty of options for electronics and supplies, along with a secure lanyard for keys; raised, padded laptop pocket protects most 17" laptops
- Exterior lash points; small pocket for sunglasses and electronics; stretch-woven pockets hold a wide range of water-bottle shapes and sizes
- Open, highly breathable mesh shoulder straps and back panel; adjustable sternum strap
- Top-mounted, reinforced haul handle
- 907 g (2 lbs)
Size Chart
Body: 7.5-oz 450-denier 100% recycled polyester plain weave.
Base: 7.85-oz 450-denier 100% recycled polyester ripstop.
Lining: 3.3-oz 200-denier 100% polyester.
Stretch pockets: 9.4-oz 66% nylon/34% spandex.
All treated with a DWR (durable water repellent) finishView The Footprint Chronicles
Water Resistant
DWR (durable water repellent) fabric finish repels light rain and snow and decreases dry times. When DWR is used in conjunction with a waterproof/breathable barrier, the DWR finish keeps the outer fabric from becoming saturated so that the breathable barrier can do its job.
Recycled Polyester
In 1993, we adopted fleece into our product line made from post consumer recycled (PCR) plastic soda bottles. We were the first outdoor clothing manufacturer to do so. PCR® clothing was a positive step towards a more sustainable system – one that uses fewer resources, discards less and better protects people's health.
Today, we're able to utilize more sources for recycled polyester and offer it on more garments such as Capilene® baselayers, shell jackets, board shorts, and fleece. We now recycle used soda bottles, unusable manufacturing waste, and worn out garments (including our own) into polyester fibers to produce many of our clothes.
Using recycled polyester lessens our dependence on petroleum as a raw material source, curbs discards and reduces toxic emissions from incinerators.
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Lee Pace, who played Garrett in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 and appears in The Hobbit trilogy as Thranduil, is close to nabbing a major role in Disney and Marvel's The Guardian of the Galaxy.
Pace is in final negotiations to star as Guardians of the Galaxy's villain. Marvel hopes the superhero film set in space will be their next Avengers franchise.
Guardians of the Galaxy will be directed by James Gunn. He recently said that the film's production would be casting out of England, so it's no surprise that Pace – a British actor – was chosen.
The space thriller is expected to take place outside of our galaxy in order to give the story's plot line a unique perspective from outer space films we've seen in the past.
Just last week we learned that The Walking Dead star Michael Rooker will play Yondu. We also know Chris Pratt will play Star Lord, Zoe Saldana will play Gamora, and Dave Bautista will play Drax the Destroyer. In addition, Ophelia Lovibond is involved, but her role is unknown at this time.
Guardians of the Galaxy follows a futuristic, alien superhero team protecting the galaxy from evil, lead by Peter Quill. The team first appeared in Marvel comics in 1969, but weren't given their own series until the 1990s. Check out our latest news on Guardians of the Galaxy, as the film will hit theaters August 1, 2014. and Disney plans an August 1, 2014 release date.
Source: Lee is a Villian? What???


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There's so much going on in Talk and the comments week to week that we almost can't keep up. If you're in the same boat, here's a small selection of topics and responses that have piqued our interest this week.
The Food Lab: How To Make The Ultimate Turducken
"up till now, I've been staunchly opposed to turducken, based on two points: it's never properly executed (just wretched excess), and the name of the dish contains the word "turd." :-) this turducken method has finally changed my mind! and the slideshow is a work of art. kudos to you."— deedle
"The most difficult part of a turducken is boning out all the birds."
"No "that's what she said" jokes?" — kimcheater
Favorite handy kitchen tips/tricks?
"When cooking savory eggs, dust in a little powdered onion (if the dish doesn't already have alliums in it).
Use just a tiny amount. If you can taste onion in the dish, you've used too much.
The sulfur compounds in onions reinforce the sulfurs in eggs to make them taste "eggier".
When I serve something as nominally simple as scrambled eggs with this addition, people ask me where I buy my eggs."—Littauer
"Half a pomegranate , smack it upside down over a bowl with a hefty spoon or bottle to get the seeds out. Fill the bowl with water, skim off the floating pith, drain and rinse in a colander.
To wash super silty greens/herbs, put them in a bowl with water. Swirl the greens around then take them out. Most of the dirt will sink. Empty and refill the bowl. Repeat. Spread on cookie sheets until dry.
Instead of steaming cabbage for cabbage rolls, stick the whole head in the freezer for at least 12 hours. Thaw. The cabbage turns out limp and floppy like it is cooked without loaing nutrients. Super simple to peel off the leaves and roll.
Nutmeg plus thyme tastes like basil!"— wednesdayvail
Thanksgiving Breakfast Ideas
"This awesome pumpkin granola was recently posted to the site. You could make it ahead of time and have it to serve with yogurt or milk. You probably don't need much else than what you have as people will not want to fill up by 2:30."— hmgreen616
food ya just do NOT like??
"I'm waiting to hear of people eating things like kiviak, hakarl, seal excrement, tiger penis, something really umm different.
I don't like any of the brains I've eaten. I believe I've had sweetbread when I was really young and didn't like that either. Shark isn't particularly tasty to me. Gefilte fish, pickled herrings, durian (again), sure there's more but blanking on food atm."— NutBound
Screwed up my prime rib - can it be saved
"So, let me get this straight.......you ended up with ribeye steaks instead of prime rib? Ribeyes are my very favorite but I buy prime rib steaks (sliced and boneless) for small group gatherings. The prime rib steaks, I can buy in twosies and cook them in high heat in the oven wrapped in very large lettuce leaves to retain the moisture and keep it pink to rare. However, ribeye steaks are seared on the outside and kept rare on the inside. It just sounds to me as though you have some wonderful meals ahead of you! Enjoy and enjoy...I wish that I could share."— bleu
DIY Cultured Buttermilk
"You can freeze buttermilk in an ice-cube tray. That way you don't have to buy a new carton of buttermilk whenever you want to make creme fraiche or your own buttermilk."—candide


text: Mary was a wonderful person,grandmother. She was married to John Masciandaro They had 3 children Helen,John,Patricia. They raiased their family on Long Island New York in a Town Called Cold Spring Harbor til they moved to Florida -first Pompano Bch,then Light House point and finally finished out their years in Boca Raton.


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Poseable Mickey & Minnie Dolls With Heart-Shaped Stand
Mickey and Minnie dolls with fabric clothing are handcrafted, hand-painted, fully poseable and self-standing with hinges. Licensed by Disney.
Measure approximately 12" H, not including display base
From The Ashton-Drake Galleries
- Price:
- s&s◇
Some couples stay in our hearts forever! Since they appeared in the 1928 animated classic Steamboat Willie, Mickey & Minnie have delighted fans of all ages - all over the world. You can celebrate their love story with this fully poseable hinged Mickey & Minnie Doll Collection. The Ultimate Tribute to True Love begins with Issue One, Mickey Mouse. Soon your collection will be complete with Issue Two, Minnie Mouse, each issue to arrive separately.‡
This Disney collection is inspired by Carolyn Geis Clark's classic 1930s original hand-made Mickey & Minnie dolls. Each fully poseable, hinged doll in this collection is handcrafted and hand-painted, and is dressed in real fabric clothing. These self-standing dolls each rest on separate halves of a big red heart display base that is adorned with vintage images of Mickey and Minnie through the years. Strong demand is expected for this Disney collectible from The Ashton-Drake Galleries, so order now!
Fine collectibles. Not intended for children.
- Fully poseable hinged Mickey & Minnie doll collection showcases the ultimate tribute to true love, a first-of-a-kind available from The Ashton-Drake Galleries
- Licensed by Disney
- Inspired by Carolyn Geis Clark's classic 1930s original hand-made Mickey & Minnie dolls, the very first ever made
- Each fully poseable hinged doll in this Disney collection is handcrafted and hand-painted for attention to detail, and is dressed in real fabric clothing
- Self-standing dolls each rest on separate halves of a big red heart display base that is adorned with vintage images of Mickey and Minnie through the years
- Makes a loving addition to your Disney collection or a unique gift for a Disney collector
- Editions are limited to 295 casting days, so order now
- Measure approximately 12" H; 30.4 cm H; not including display base
- Reserves the entire Mickey & Minnie Ultimate Tribute Doll Collection in your name so you never risk an increase on the price of other collectibles in this collection or miss a single issue in this collection
- ‡Each issue will be shipped to you for your review, about one every other month or two (pending availability), at the same low issue price and charged to the credit card on which your order was placed. No need to order each one separately
- You may cancel your collection at any time with no obligation
- "Issue One - Mickey Mouse," will be followed by "Issue Two - Minnie Mouse"
© Disney.
©2009 The Ashton-Drake Galleries. All Rights Reserved.


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One of Ellen's favorite people and one of the funniest stars on television, DAVID SPADE is here! From "Saturday Night Live" to "Just Shoot Me" to his hilarious films, David has a masters degree in making us laugh! He's been a part of some of the most memorable moments on the show, like when Ellen scared him with a birthday cake, and when he played Ellen's evil twin on "As the Tide Turns." Don't miss what he and Ellen are up to on this show!
Plus, the dynamic duo strikes again! The UK's most adorable little girls, SOPHIA GRACE & ROSIE, have made it back to the states, and have a video to show Ellen of their adventure -- it's too cute and too funny to miss!
Then, THE LUMINEERS were nominated for two Grammy Awards, and they're here to perform their huge hit, "Ho Hey,"!