Mike's Blog Round Up
By Nicole Belle Friday Jul 27, 2007 10:00amEver since Kevin Drum invented it, centuries ago in blog years, Friday Cat Blogging has been a tradition in the reality-based community. So, here's a collection of Friday Felinity, in no particular order, they're all cute, dammit. (After giving image and the name of each cat, I've added a parenthetical that links to the cat's staffperson).
The Mighty Fang (Bad Tux, gold bug stomper).
Tomato and Mahler, and Abishek (kinda) on the laptop screen. (Independent Catholic, a priest for women's ordination).
Datsa (Pen-Elayne, fan and author).
Snowball (Mustang Bobby, Brooks eviscerator.)
Smithers (The Carpetbagger, hopefully a realist as opposed to a pessimist).
Zoey (MEC, at Mercury Rising).
Fluffo (Culture Ghost, historian and graphic polemicist)
.
Then, there's Oscar, who isn't anywhere near Mithras, fortunately.
Guest Bloggitty Goodness: Over at The Mighty Corrente Building, we don't do cats. Yet. Dogs, we have: Check out Chauncy, with Jane Goodall.
Classic blogging: The Man in the Grey Turtleneck calls his shot on Adjustable Rate Mortgages--back in 2004:
Has He Gone Insane?Has the entire country gone insane?
Now I'm starting to get a little scared. More than a little scared, actually. First we have this little tidbit about Alan Greenspan recommending that consumers replace their fixed rate mortages with variable rate ones.
Then I look around and discover that quite a few people have been getting variable rate mortgages.
This is really scary. A lot of people have been concerned about a bursting housing bubble happening once interest rates start to rise. Even if that happens it wouldn't necessarily be such a big deal. But, if a large chunk of our population got suckered into getting variable rate mortgages so they could go from buying a house the couldn't afford to buying a house they REALLY REALLY couldn't afford, the impact of an interest rate rise could be, uh, bad.
Here's the deal. Interest rates go up. Your housing price falls. Your mortgage payment goes up substantially. You can no longer afford to make your mortgage payment. And, since the market value of your house is now less than the value of your outstanding loan, you can't just sell and trade down. Default. Foreclosure. Cardboard box.
As long as most consumers have fixed rate loans, the consequences of increased interest rates and a sudden housing price downturn wouldn't necessarily be so great. But, if people are drinking Greenspan's kool-aid...
Serious!
(All images of cats are copyright by their respective owners.)
P.S. I can't resist linking to Culture Ghost one more time:
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Huh?
My cats are better. :)
Puppy blogging:
http://bp1.blogger.com/_UQPUzwdX51o/RpUhPZkdk_I/AAAAAAAAAEA/aECNMj6Xvoc/...
Has the blog concept has had it's 15 minutes of fame?
It's Saturday.
Bit NOLA @ 5:
It's infinity.
Food for thought
http://www.viewzone.com/milkyway.head.gif
I would highly recommend reading Dr. Bob Bowman's excellent essay re. what a patriot really is, where this country is headed, and how divide & conquer is used to promote globalization, illegal immigration, etc.
http://www.thepatriots.us/
In case you are not familiar with him, he has a Ph.D in nuclear and aerospace engineering, a Vietnam combat veteran, and recipient of many awards. He is traveling, trying to unite [read heal] this country.
yeah these shister bankers tried to suck me off with their variable interest rates , i told them to fuck off!
others who fell for it are in the prosess of moveing their furnuture out right now!
the republican scam continues , house prices fall interest rates go up and the rat bastards increase your property taxes!
new world order...hahaha
its the old world oreder lol
the plutocrats and us their slaves
check this link biggest arms deal ever...to the fascist states of israel, saudi arabia and egypt
our partners in freedom
www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7008036695
republicans are the douchbags of war!
Many people now believe that the Bush administration and the Federal Reserve are intentionally creating an 'Argentina-type meltdown' so they can privatize state owned assets and usher in the North American Union-the future 'one state' alliance of Canada, Mexico and US along with the new regional currency, the Amero."
Now that is sooooo cute...a good tradition worth spreading; mighty fang is really cute!
Breaking: Bush to assume Presidency while Cheney undergoes pacemaker procedure
--WKW
Has the entire country gone insane?
If you already don't know the answer to that good luck. Your going to need it.
“Six years after Sept. 11, this man still roams free — thanks to George W. Bush and his Republican allies. They promised they would be tough. They promised to protect us here at home. But instead they took their eye off the ball, spending $2 billion a week in a futile war half a world away from our real enemy, imperiling our brave servicemen and women, and emboldening those who would come here to kill us. America can no longer afford the party of weakness. Vote Democratic, as if your life depended on it.” We love it. [buzzflash]
L.A. Confidential @ 14:
corporate ownership supercedes any international alliances.
It's CATURDAY! WOOOHOOO!
I can haz good government?
(Sorry, big cat person here!)
ida preferred a follow up on the tillman story. Hard news! Hard news! Hard news! All this Nero-ing. . . f**k Bill O posts f**k music posts f**k Coulter posts give me hard neeeeeeeeeeeeews (please)!
Victory goes to those who fight, even if they sometimes fight dirty. As Westen points out, Republicans make hyperbolic arguments, with few worries about offending voters, because, on balance, “voters prefer candidates who are clear on what they believe, even if it is not what the voters believe.” (Witness Newt Gingrich, a notorious bomb-thrower while serving in the House minority; he wound up building a movement.)
Westen says the Democrats need not fear alienating voters; with the political wind at their backs in 2008, he says, they are well positioned to craft a visceral tough-on-terror message “by using Republicans’ words and idioms against them.”
Can the Democrats aim for the gut? We’ll see. They might bear in mind what Adlai Stevenson said in 1956. The Democratic candidate was leaving a rally when a woman told him, “Every thinking person will be voting for you.” He replied: “Madam, that is not enough. I need a majority.”
this mortage story is huge.I said it around a month ago.That this admin has something to do with this real estate market.I don't know how..but I suspect they have their dirty little hands in there somehow.If people buy a house that's over valued,but don't know it yet.There's nowhere to go but down.Meanwhile the illusion of a strong economy continues.Until..........................sad
mudshark @ 23:
Don't worry they'll create another bubble-balloon when this one finally hits the ground.
Further enslaving the herds.
mudshark @ 23:
Just When You Think Bush Couldn't Make Hell Any Hotter in Iraq, He Does: "Iraqi leader tells Bush: Get Gen Petraeus out." Maybe God is Testing Our Resolve with the Bush/Cheney Presidency. Maybe This is a Test of Our Ability to Remove People Who Commit Mortal Sins From Power. 7/28
the real estate was not the intended target. the banks can take the property in the event of the foreclosure.
combined with the bankruptcy bill, the obvious target for the explosively variable interest rate is the middle-class, who use real estate as a living investment and a tool to remain in or grow upwards in the middle-class. the home was a hedge against inflation, a college tuition assist program and a general hedge against poverty in addition to its function as a status symbol. with the new bankruptcy bill and the exploding mortgage payment from the interest-only var-rate mortgages there will be significant devastation to many of the middle-class.
Rat blogging, maybe? All of them Progressives, I might add.
Just When You Think Bush Couldn't Make Hell Any Hotter in Iraq, He Does: "Iraqi leader tells Bush: Get Gen Petraeus out." Maybe God is Testing Our Resolve with the Bush/Cheney Presidency. Maybe This is a Test of Our Ability to Remove People Who Commit Mortal Sins From Power. 7/28
oops! accidentally inserted in earlier comment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP_tfVGKxdE
Cat Dance
JJohnson @ 20:
Sry. No can has. U can has fascism covered by big shiny flag.
Iraqi leader tells Bush: Get Gen Petraeus out
By Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent
Last Updated: 2:44am BST 28/07/2007
Iraqi leader tells Bush: Get Gen Petraeus out
Stormy relationship: Nouri al-Maliki and Gen David Petraeus
Relations between the top United States general in Iraq and Nouri al-Maliki, the country's prime minister, are so bad that the Iraqi leader made a direct appeal for his removal to President George W Bush.
Although the call was rejected, aides to both men admit that Mr Maliki and Gen David Petraeus engage in frequent stand-up shouting matches, differing particularly over the US general's moves to arm Sunni tribesmen to fight al-Qa'eda.
One Iraqi source said Mr Maliki used a video conference with Mr Bush to call for the general's signature strategy to be scrapped. "He told Bush that if Petraeus continues, he would arm Shia militias," said the official. "Bush told Maliki to calm down."
At another meeting with Gen Petraeus, Mr Maliki said: "I can't deal with you any more. I will ask for someone else to replace you."
MargeAggedon @ 30:
DO NOT WANT!!
I'm more of a dog person, but what's up with the schizophrenic blog round ups? Cats? Someone please get Blue Gal to do the round ups please, I'm getting dizzy with this crap, and I have enough with Tony Snow. Can we have a normal round up please?
[Mike is on tour. I believe Blue Gal could also be referred to as Busy Gal. John has gotten his friends to help out. Sorry if it's not quite your cup of tea, but everyone has their own style. Try to show a bit of understanding, ok? Sitemonitor]
Always want more cats go to visit
Saturday?
No, no, no.
No such thing.
It's Caturday!!!!
So it is written.
Cool....I don't usually visit on Saturdays...
Hey John Amato, how's your cat?
The cats are certainly potential candidates for Attorney General. Oh, love the cat with the Harry Potter book. LOL!
All the cats are adorable. I like the Zoey pic the most
We cats are very politically active. We are planning a take-oveer soon of Washington DC if things do not change very soon.
zevo calamari
I like Fang, he's(?) so black, fireflies follow him wherever he goes.
zevo calamari @ 40:
Just don't hurt Barney. It's not his fault he lives with morons.
I love cats; I'm a Leo and have always had cats. Cats are cool. Do you want to be cool too? Go to your nearest animal shelter and adopt a cat! It will make you feel so good!
@34:
Tony Snow? Ouch!
Kevin Drum, huh? Thanks, Nicole. Now I know who to blame.
Who can I blame fer Journey?
Don't get me wrong- I don't hate cats. I've had roommates who had cats, and I've loved or hated those critters to varyin' degrees.
I'm just not inclined to go, "Aww, what a cute kitty!" when people post pictures of their pets.
What I wouldn't mind seein' is pictures of bloggers- and commentors- sharin' pictures of their kids. Josh Marshall shares pictures of his son(Sam, iirc), that kid's adorable!
Sorry for the poor editin' above. Should read:
What I wouldn’t mind seein’ is bloggers- and commentors- sharin’ pictures of their kids.
me.....give me a good dog any day.......cats are ok but dogs are more fun
meanwhile back on the mortgage topic........so the middle class(those who couldn't get into the real estate market earlier)are going to try to make an adjustable rate work.Until it sky rockets.So they try to lock in a rate to their advantage and do the best they can.Meanwhile the cost of living goes up ie: gas,food,cloths,education,tools but wages don't go up.Now they stand to lose the home they thought they were going to have for life......or die trying........and the bank and other lending institutions just wait.....so they can flip the properties again and again and again.......yep sounds like a repug scam to me......I feel for all the millions of people who are going to lose their shirts because of this admin's bullshit antics.......if their not in on it ...I'll be surprised.....
Lambert: thanks for posting one of my cats. And I'm double-plus thrilled that you selected the other piece,too. I have a lot of stuff in my files that needs to be finished...maybe this week at work.
Thanks again.
Tyree @ #9 -
Do you have any idea how anti-Semitic, homophobic & just plain ignorant your comment is? Please, at least learn how to spell your bigoted slurs properly. It's spelled shyster in English and it usually refers to an unscrupulous lawyer.
Fantod-
tyree's a good guy who's done good service fer the country. He's an experienced troll-fighter here. Please, if nothin' else, please quit playin' spell-checker with him.
If ya wanna go tete a tete concernin' the other matters, that's up to you. But be aware that his heart is in the right place. :)
Dr. Matt @ 2:
Dude, the Constitution sez you cannot waterboard cats! Look it up!
so what string of slurs DO I call a banker?
Sigh.... When will Mike be back with links to good and interesting blogs?
tyree @ 9:
Those are my two favorite words!
@55
Chacon son gout, I suppose... Mercury Rising, Mustang Bobby, the Carpetbagger, Mithras, and a terrific find, new at least to me, Culture Ghost, aren't "good blogs"? You could have fooled me...
Aww... how could you leave out MY cat blogging pictures? My Friday Cat Blogging photos are in a class by themselves. http://pattayajil.blogspot.com/search/label/Cat%20Blogging.
Fantod @ 50:
Are you a thinskinned SHYSTER yourself ?
Tyree has been contributing/troll detecting/ fighting here forever, so leave him alone. Spelling is not that big of a problem - a lot of posters are not kosher w/this. That's your Amerika nowadayas. I am trying to spell right, but am not obsessing, especially about others. have you ever heard of "passive-aggressive" - feel free to google, might help you to loosen up.. Constipation is not a healthy condition, also of the mental kind. Gets people very irritable - you certainly display the signs. One sentence and you've found astounding amount of wrongs - where the heck do you see the "anti-Semitic, homophobic & just plain ignorant...bigoted .." - it is a little vulgarity, but what he ACCURATELY refers to is much more vulgar, so, NO PROBLEMA !! Interesting that on your planet the crooked lawyers ARE scrupulous - could you share w/ us all what planet do you live on, and in which system, how many light years away ??
Vierotchka @ 55:
Can we please get some approx info when ? This IS schizo as another poster said above. If I'd want spinning cats I go smwre else - being a dog person I have no time to chase the puppies on the Internets. . And, the server capacity taken by this crappola and similar lately - of course your servers, butttt..?^%$*.. It is a pity this excellent site becomes too cute/parochial lately for its good. And, OURS - all of us .. The answer that we can go smwre else is a wrong answer ! Doesn't sound like John at all ! John is VERY focused, much of this stuff lately is not focused at all, on anything, flames people up into pathetic endless discussions, or turns them away. We need laughs for sure, any amount is good, but cheap tearjerkers leading nowhere, tons of cats, etc, don't seem to belong here. In addition to the very important mission/ function you perform, you have an important BRAND already, that took a lot of hard work, time and efforts of many people to create. Seems a no-brainer that it should be protected.
Conservatism Repudiated!
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