Barney Frank says…

The New Neo Posted on by

…”years of irresponsible failure to regulate have led us” to this crisis.

He fails to add the little detail that the “irresponsible failure to regulate” was his own, as Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, when he was the leader of attempt after successful attempt to block Republican calls for better regulation of Fannie and Freddie.

Fox News points it out, but how many people know? And Frank counts on most of the MSM to cover his sorry butt, just as the Boston Globe does here.

Monica Crowley was also on the minute or two of Fox cable news where I just viewed the hypocritical Frank quote. She was spitting mad, as am I. Crowley said,

“They [Frank and Chris Dodd, his Senate counterpart] should be going around Washington with bags over their heads.”

These are my questions about subprime mortgages

The New Neo Posted on by

I know that a certain number of these bad mortgages were made in response to initiatives started in the 90s to allow low-income families who otherwise couldn’t afford homes to own them. But what percentage of the current crisis involves loans of this particular type?

And what percentage involves people who actually have a good income and could afford some sort of decent home but who bought a far more luxurious home beyond their means, counting on refinancing when the value of their home inevitably [sic] went up?

And what percentage involves speculators who bought homes other than primary family residences, hoping to flip and make a quick profit?

And what percentage of each type of mortgagee ended up defaulting?

And is there any way to discover any of this?

It seems that if blame is to be apportioned and remedies found, we need to better know what we’ve been dealing with here.

On intellectuals vs. doers: Palin and Truman

The New Neo Posted on by

I’ve long admired Victor Davis Hanson’s work. In this piece, one of his very best, he nails those who think academic credentials are the true indication of intelligence.

Hanson’s background growing up in rural California, combined with his stellar university career and experience with professorial types, combine to give him an unusual perspective on the comparison between the two worlds and what sort of intellect is demonstrated by those in each sphere.

The impetus for the Hanson piece is the astonishing condescension—and downright contempt—displayed by so many supposedly well-educated people towards Sarah Palin because of her alleged lack of brainpower and her non-elite education. Continue reading →

Democrats and Republicans: losses, explanations, and excuses

The New Neo Posted on by

It’s been shaping up for quite some time now—the Democrat explanation in the event of an Obama loss.

Of course, if Obama should win the election—a distinct possiblity—excuses will not come into play. It will be the Republicans who will have to regroup. But in the case of Republicans I think there will be no mystery: Bush’s enormous unpopularity, and the tendency of Americans to want change after many years of a single party in office, are explanation enough. Some will also feel that Republicans would do better to run a “true” Conservative, whatever that is. Whether correct or not, this is at least a theory that has to do with issues and political philosophy.

When Dukakis lost in 1988 Democrats seemed to be fairly realistic in their reactions, perhaps helped along by the fact that his loss was so definitive. Continue reading →

Neanderthals and baseball

The New Neo Posted on by

I’ve long had a soft spot in my heart for Neanderthals.

The ancient ones, that is, those early humans who’ve gotten a bad rap as powerful heavy-browed vulgarians, but about whose culture we really know very little, and who seem to have buried their dead and perhaps had speech.

In college I took a physical anthropology course in which the professor was strongly in the camp of those who felt Neanderthals had interbred with the more modern Cro-Magnons to produce us. This idea comforted me. For some reason I preferred that a tiny spark of Neanderthal survive than that the entire group, dominant and widespread for hundreds of thousands of years, be totally obliterated leaving no issue whatsoever. Continue reading →

Waiting for Obama

The New Neo Posted on by

Obama is keeping mum on the details of what he thinks of all the financial plans swirling around lately, or what he would propose if he were President in these trying times.

If you’re already an Obama fan you probably think this is evidence of his lofty post-partisan superiority as well as his depth of thought. And perhaps it is. But this would be easier to believe if he didn’t have such a long history of protecting himself—and his status as a blank slate on which people can project their dreams—from commitment. Continue reading →