Fannie and Freddie purchased mortgages, but this had nothing to do with the financial collapse because these agencies were backstopped by the US Treasury which was capable of withstanding the losses.
It is the purchase of mortgages by private banks who then went insolvent and thus froze up the lending system that led to the financial collapse.
In addition the quality of loans purchased by Freddie and Fannie were considerably better than those bought by private banks with much higher FICO credit scores.
Absolutely. This model is 40 years old now and has well-understood limitations. Any competent risk assessment process practice would include compensation for these risks.
I think you left out the woeful performance on the ratings agencies as an important factor in your list of causes.
The "Big Bang" is a very speculative physical theory of the evolution of the universe that most scientists feel does a better job of explaining the observations about the physical universe than other competing theories.
It is in conflict with almost all religious views because it describes an evolution of the universe that is without interaction with supernatural beings, and a series of events over time that is not consistent with any religious accounts of creation.
What you have identified as being consistent with this theory is a hypothesis of prime mover which is not part of this theory or any other scientific theory.
Go into detail? That would take an education of some time. Perhaps you should go to a library and get something. There have been many books on the topic.
Yes, physically there is that restriction, but practically exposure time is now manipulated for artistic effect rather than being tied to frame rate. No good cinematographer is going to give up the chance to use another degree of freedom to control the look of the film.
I've lived in several east coast states - MA, CT, NY, NJ etc. Not one of them taxed basic foodstuffs.
As far as going after entities that are out of state being unconstitutional, here is the story.
The Commerce Clause prohibits states from restricting interstate commerce. Regulation of interstate commerce is up to the FedGov. The question on this is what constitutes interstate commerce from a sales tax point of view was decided in the Supreme Court in 2011 Quill v. North Carolina which ruled that current law is that a company must have a physical presence before it can be required to collect state sales taxes.
HOWEVER the same decision also stated that the Commerce Clause gives the Feds power to regulate that; that is allow states to collect sales tax on some other basis.
Senators Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee) introduced a bill that would allow states to collect sales taxes on internet sales.
This is why Amazon is going around and cutting deals - they can see the handwriting on the wall. The broad exemption to interstate sales tax in e-commerce is likely to end probably after the 2012 elections.
Texas does have one of the lowest per capita state debts, being 45th or so.
It also has an absolutely rubbish education system (49th in verbal SAT) and the largest percentage of minimum wage workers in the US. These crappy jobs of course don't offer health care coverage as often as better paying jobs. The unemployment rate is right at the national average at 8.2%.
While it does lead the nation in job growth, it is also leading the nation in population growth.
And that's despite being wealthy in natural resources like oil.
Einstein showed quite convincing evidence that time and space are part of the universe. Space didn't exist before the Big Bang, and neither did time.
It is the concepts of infinite time and and time before the Big Bang that are nonsense.
Here is the big news: The universe is not infinite. It is finite in both space and time and every other property. When we talk about the Big Bang being the beginning of the Universe that means the BEGINNING, including the beginning of time.
There is no before the beginning of time. Just like there is no outside of the universe. Being able to express these ideas shows only one thing - the English language is not rigorous.
If time were infinite everything that could have possibly happened would have happened, including the heat death of the universe.
Well, it hasn't. So time had to begin somewhere.
Stop trying to impose your daily experiences on the universe and you will be much happier.
If you want to talk about something outside the universe, well, have fun with that.
All perceptions of reality are based on assumptions, such as one that you aren't really just a brain in a jar being fed images and sounds through your sensory nerves.
This is why I made the qualification at the end of my 'truth' definition.
If you are going to belabor this point then there is nothing to talk about because you are not real.
I've been running my own mail server for a decade now. Right now it's on Scientific Linux running on a Atom based machine. I love it because there is no latency for inbound mail, and it isn't dependent on ISP servers for inbound processing.
For outbound I still use my ISP mostly because I don't have a static IP and lots of services reject mail from dynamic IPs.
The idea that the Earth was flat was never accepted by any people who could do basic geometry. This was LONG before formalization of a scientific method. The classical Greeks understood it first because of course they invented geometry which enabled them to make the observations needed.
Anyone who proposes this as a counterargument is completely ignorant of the history of philosophy.
The idea is actually listed as one of 20 most common historical error in a pamphlet published by the British Historical Society in 1945.
Truth is not a judgement. It is something that can be demonstrated with facts that can be verified.
Otherwise truth becomes something that is relative to the observer. You are setting up a system where truth becomes determined by belief, which is a perversion of the idea of truth.
Dictionary definition of truth:
That which is true or in accordance with fact or reality: "tell me the truth".
Nothing is relative or according to belief here. And as such religion is not truth.
There are secondary definitions of truth - but they get into philosophical discussions of the meaning of existence, and as such are not particularly useful in a practical sense.
Who says there has to be a point to anything? What you are doing is setting up an anthropomorphic straw man and then basing a fantastical world view on.... error.
This doesn't repeal the first amendment. It negates the horrible Supreme Court decision on the 14th amendment that gave corporations full ability to throw their money into the political process.
"Pelosi, at a press briefing last Thursday, endorsed a movement announced by other congressional Democrats the day before to ratify an amendment to the Constitution to allow Congress to regulate political speech when it is engaged in by corporations as opposed to individuals."
Unfortunately you got your quote from one of the most radical editorial sources in the US, the IBD.
Nonsense. I've looked at the curriculum in Computer Science. Absolutely minimal basic science. One semester of physics, chem and calc which if you were any kind of high school student you would be able to place out of anyway. How can you do more than lightly scratch the surface in something like semiconductor theory with one semester of physics and no physical chemistry or thermodynamics?
Slashdot Mirror
Fannie and Freddie purchased mortgages, but this had nothing to do with the financial collapse because these agencies were backstopped by the US Treasury which was capable of withstanding the losses.
It is the purchase of mortgages by private banks who then went insolvent and thus froze up the lending system that led to the financial collapse.
In addition the quality of loans purchased by Freddie and Fannie were considerably better than those bought by private banks with much higher FICO credit scores.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/01/17/wall-street-not-fannie-and-freddie-led-mortgage-meltdown.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0805090460/thedaibea-20/
Absolutely. This model is 40 years old now and has well-understood limitations. Any competent risk assessment process practice would include compensation for these risks.
I think you left out the woeful performance on the ratings agencies as an important factor in your list of causes.
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time.
> Hint: It's the hispanics and their anchor babies that increasing the population growth. Learn Spanish.
Nah. People are moving to Texas from all over the US.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2010/06/migration
The "Big Bang" is a very speculative physical theory of the evolution of the universe that most scientists feel does a better job of explaining the observations about the physical universe than other competing theories.
It is in conflict with almost all religious views because it describes an evolution of the universe that is without interaction with supernatural beings, and a series of events over time that is not consistent with any religious accounts of creation.
What you have identified as being consistent with this theory is a hypothesis of prime mover which is not part of this theory or any other scientific theory.
Go into detail? That would take an education of some time. Perhaps you should go to a library and get something. There have been many books on the topic.
And actors with unpleasant voices had trouble when talkies came in.
Tough tittie.
Yes, physically there is that restriction, but practically exposure time is now manipulated for artistic effect rather than being tied to frame rate. No good cinematographer is going to give up the chance to use another degree of freedom to control the look of the film.
This wasn't shot on film. The exposure time in digital has nothing to do with the frame rate.
I've lived in several east coast states - MA, CT, NY, NJ etc. Not one of them taxed basic foodstuffs.
As far as going after entities that are out of state being unconstitutional, here is the story.
The Commerce Clause prohibits states from restricting interstate commerce. Regulation of interstate commerce is up to the FedGov. The question on this is what constitutes interstate commerce from a sales tax point of view was decided in the Supreme Court in 2011 Quill v. North Carolina which ruled that current law is that a company must have a physical presence before it can be required to collect state sales taxes.
HOWEVER the same decision also stated that the Commerce Clause gives the Feds power to regulate that; that is allow states to collect sales tax on some other basis.
Senators Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee) introduced a bill that would allow states to collect sales taxes on internet sales.
This is why Amazon is going around and cutting deals - they can see the handwriting on the wall. The broad exemption to interstate sales tax in e-commerce is likely to end probably after the 2012 elections.
Texas does have one of the lowest per capita state debts, being 45th or so.
It also has an absolutely rubbish education system (49th in verbal SAT) and the largest percentage of minimum wage workers in the US. These crappy jobs of course don't offer health care coverage as often as better paying jobs. The unemployment rate is right at the national average at 8.2%.
While it does lead the nation in job growth, it is also leading the nation in population growth.
And that's despite being wealthy in natural resources like oil.
The site you copied this stuff from has 4 pages of promises not kept and 9 pages of kept promises.
You are NOT providing a balanced picture.
Einstein showed quite convincing evidence that time and space are part of the universe. Space didn't exist before the Big Bang, and neither did time.
It is the concepts of infinite time and and time before the Big Bang that are nonsense.
Here is the big news: The universe is not infinite. It is finite in both space and time and every other property. When we talk about the Big Bang being the beginning of the Universe that means the BEGINNING, including the beginning of time.
There is no before the beginning of time. Just like there is no outside of the universe. Being able to express these ideas shows only one thing - the English language is not rigorous.
If time were infinite everything that could have possibly happened would have happened, including the heat death of the universe.
Well, it hasn't. So time had to begin somewhere.
Stop trying to impose your daily experiences on the universe and you will be much happier.
If you want to talk about something outside the universe, well, have fun with that.
The circular part of the definition is something I dislike about dictionaries. It is not disputable because it is simply a statement about identity.
The second part is the interesting part - truth is based on verifiable facts or reality.
So how can you say something is reality or not? Only by verification. Otherwise it is simply opinion once again.
Truth is based on verifiable facts. That is all.
Religion is not verifiable. Merely opinion.
Opinions about reality cannot be verified. Therefore they are not truth merely some unverifiable statement.
All perceptions of reality are based on assumptions, such as one that you aren't really just a brain in a jar being fed images and sounds through your sensory nerves.
This is why I made the qualification at the end of my 'truth' definition.
If you are going to belabor this point then there is nothing to talk about because you are not real.
I've been running my own mail server for a decade now. Right now it's on Scientific Linux running on a Atom based machine. I love it because there is no latency for inbound mail, and it isn't dependent on ISP servers for inbound processing.
For outbound I still use my ISP mostly because I don't have a static IP and lots of services reject mail from dynamic IPs.
The idea that the Earth was flat was never accepted by any people who could do basic geometry. This was LONG before formalization of a scientific method. The classical Greeks understood it first because of course they invented geometry which enabled them to make the observations needed.
Anyone who proposes this as a counterargument is completely ignorant of the history of philosophy.
The idea is actually listed as one of 20 most common historical error in a pamphlet published by the British Historical Society in 1945.
Truth is not a judgement. It is something that can be demonstrated with facts that can be verified.
Otherwise truth becomes something that is relative to the observer. You are setting up a system where truth becomes determined by belief, which is a perversion of the idea of truth.
Dictionary definition of truth:
That which is true or in accordance with fact or reality: "tell me the truth".
Nothing is relative or according to belief here. And as such religion is not truth.
There are secondary definitions of truth - but they get into philosophical discussions of the meaning of existence, and as such are not particularly useful in a practical sense.
Who says there has to be a point to anything? What you are doing is setting up an anthropomorphic straw man and then basing a fantastical world view on .... error.
We don't know who made the floating guy either.
At least with the big bang we have an understanding of finite time and why the idea of something existing before the big bang is stupid.
It seems to me that the information that the IRS collects on me is far more worrisome than what is implicit in this information.
The difference is safeguards, which are missing here.
This doesn't repeal the first amendment. It negates the horrible Supreme Court decision on the 14th amendment that gave corporations full ability to throw their money into the political process.
"Pelosi, at a press briefing last Thursday, endorsed a movement announced by other congressional Democrats the day before to ratify an amendment to the Constitution to allow Congress to regulate political speech when it is engaged in by corporations as opposed to individuals."
Unfortunately you got your quote from one of the most radical editorial sources in the US, the IBD.
Hmm, it was the conservatives who voted for this travesty.
Obama is threatening to veto it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-threatens-to-veto-cispa-cybersecurity-bill-citing-privacy-concerns/2012/04/25/gIQAkS3khT_story.html
Nonsense. I've looked at the curriculum in Computer Science. Absolutely minimal basic science. One semester of physics, chem and calc which if you were any kind of high school student you would be able to place out of anyway. How can you do more than lightly scratch the surface in something like semiconductor theory with one semester of physics and no physical chemistry or thermodynamics?
Where is Father Guido Sarducci when we need him?