8/1     McCain goes negative
        http://nymag.com/news/politics/powergrid/48928
        \_ What else are the Republicans going to run on? Their good
           stewardship of the American economy over the last eight years?
           Their fresh new ideas? The Iraq War? What other choice do they have?
           \_ Economy was fine until Dems took over congress (though I'm not
              stupid enough to blame a president or even congress for the
              economy).  The Fed is the real problem.
              \_ really?  i thought the problem was basing our economy
                 so heavily on service fees for bundled debt products.
                 I don't think that's a Dem/Repub thing
                 \_ Deregulation, which is primarily a Republican thing,
                    is what led to the explosion of financial services. That
                    and the laissez-faire attitude of The Fed (more
                    Republicanism).
                    \_ No, forcing companies to lend to groups traditionally
                       not receiving loans is what caused the problem.  Fannie
                       and Freddy buying up bad loans was the other problem.
                       Fannie & Freddy being backed by the government is what
                       allowed them to be so irresponsible.
                       \_ Wow, I hadn't realized there was a fantasy-land
                          version of the credit crunch!
                       \_ I don't think that this really explains the whole
                          story, but it is likely that Bush's American
                          Dream Downpayment Initiative, his Single-Family
                          Affordable Housing Tax Credit and his Self-Help
                          Homeownership Opportunities Program, all had an
                          impact on lower income home ownership rates, which
                          is what they were intended to do. The GOP also pushed
                          for banks to loan to more low income people in low
                          income neighborhoods, sorry I don't know the name
                          of the specific Acts that did this. But a bigger
                          factor was the explosion of unregulated credit, in
                          the form of CDOs, SIVs and the like that flooded
                          the market with easy credit. The money supply is
                          the market with easy money. The money supply is
                          the responsibility of The Fed and regulating
                          banks is the responsibility of Congress and The
                          White House, but because of their philosophy, they
                          decided to let "the market sort it out" which is
                          what we are suffering through right now.
              \_ I'm sorry you don't know your ass from a hole in the ground
                 but can you please go drool somewhere else?  Thank you.
              \_ Do you mean Greespan, who was appointed by Reagan, or
                 Bernanke, who was appointed by Bush? Somehow, I thought
                 that these record deficits might have something to do with
                 why our economy is underperforming, but perhaps you have
                 a different theory.
                 \_ Greenspan let the tech bubble last too long, then applied
                    too much pressure to kill it.  Bernanke should stop
                    printing money like it's going out of style.
                    \_ Could you not use "printing money" as a euphamism for
                       "loose monetary policy". Gives me the willies.
                       We're not Zimbabwe.

8/1     Gavin Newsom.  Lets illegals past the legal system so they can kill
        families, but fines people $1000 for not sorting their trash.
        \_ You are so cute when you froth.

8/1     America's Most Overpriced ZIP Codes (SF #6)
        http://preview.tinyurl.com/6y7264
        \_ I am curious, are you predicting that SF real estate is going to
           fall more than the median for the next few years? Cause I sure
           don't think that will happen.
           \_ Me? I don't know. I'm posting a Forbes article. Maybe it won't
              grow as much as the median? An investment's worth is usually
              considered for its growth potential. Do you think housing
              "P/E" is irrelevant?
              \_ I think in the long run, housing in SF is a better
                 than average real estate investment. I am not so sure about
                 that specific zip code listed (The Sunset). Rents are shooting
                 up right now, so it should improve the P/E situation, but I
                 think that different regions of the country have different
                 P/E's and will continue to do so, for very good reasons.
        \_ San Jose is 10th. I should have bought a property in Sunnyvale
           and San Jose 10 years ago. Every one of my city friends says
           it's a dump but the suburban loving ones bought it long time
           ago and never looked back. ARGHHHHH FUCK my city friends.
           \_ Well, 1998 isn't now. I doubt SJ was in the same price vs. rent
              class then. (to be fair, "SJ" and "SF" are too broad when this
              article is referring to specific zip codes)
           \_ Why didn't you buy a house in the city 10 years ago then?