The Wall Street Journal had a piece yesterday that offers a glimpse into the life and profile of a person who received a sub prime mortgage. She had no business receiving one. Her credit was a disaster. She already had creditors coming after her. Yet, a lender gave this woman a mortgage for $103,000.

Democrats like Barney Frank and Maxine Waters pull at the heartstrings and argue that everyone deserves a home. Apartments are homes, too, and I would argue that some people should be living there and paying  rent instead of a mortgage. Not everyone is capable of handling the responsibility of a mortgage. The Democrats don’t see it that way, however. To them a mortgage is a right, even if the consumer can’t pay it back and the thousands of defaults and forclosures created as a result send our economy into a tailspin the likes of which we haven’t seen in our lifetimes.

Here’s a portion of the WSJ article. I recommend you read all of it.

The story of the two-bedroom, one-bath shack on West Hopi Street, is the story of this year’s financial panic, told in 576 square feet. It helps explain how a series of bad decisions can add up to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Less than two years ago, Integrity Funding LLC, a local lender, gave a $103,000 mortgage to the owner, Marvene Halterman, an unemployed woman with a long list of creditors and, by her own account, a long history of drug and alcohol abuse. By the time the house went into foreclosure in August, Integrity had sold that loan to Wells Fargo & Co., which had sold it to a U.S. unit of HSBC Holdings PLC, which had packaged it with thousands of other risky mortgages and sold it in pieces to scores of investors.

Today, those investors will be lucky to get $15,000 back. That’s only because the neighbors bought the house a few days ago, just to tear it down.

At the center of the saga is the 61-year-old Ms. Halterman, who has chaotic blond-gray hair, a smoky voice and an open manner both gruff and sweet. She grew up here, working at times as a farm hand, secretary, long-haul truck driver and nurse’s aide.

In time, the container of vodka-and-grapefruit she long carried in her purse got the better of her. “Hard liquor was my downfall,” she says.

Hat tip @betancourtc

Wow, there are many benefits to being a Kennedy.  One in particular was that she was not required to disclose her finances while she worked for the New York City public school system, even though others who worked for her had to as well as the other thousands of school employees:

City officials have offered a variety of explanations over the last few weeks why Ms. Kennedy did not have to meet this filing requirement despite her title and the responsibilities she has cited in her efforts to convince the public that she has the experience to take Hillary Rodham Clinton’s seat in the Senate.City officials have most often pointed to Ms. Kennedy’s decision to accept $1 a year in salary. More recently, Joel I. Klein, chancellor of New York’s schools, has explained that Ms. Kennedy was ultimately exempt from the filing requirement because the department did not deem her to be a “policymaker.”

On Friday, Ms. Kennedy’s spokesman, Stefan Friedman, declined to comment on the issue.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, a billionaire who is paid $1 a year by the city, is required to file disclosure forms each year. At least three of his appointees who have worked for nothing over the years have also filed — a sometimes awkward process, but one intended to serve as a conflict-of-interest safeguard for city officials and the public.

Transparency, transchmarency. She’s a Kennedy, so she’s above the law. Everyone knows that. Gawd. What’s wrong with these people? They actually think she has to follow the same rules as the rest of the rabble? Tut, tut.

Israel has sent ground troops into Gaza. From CNN:

Israeli troops began moving into Gaza on Saturday night, intent on taking out Hamas rocket-launching sites, Israel Defense Forces said.

“We have just a short while ago launched the second stage of the operation against Hamas infrastructure,” IDF spokeswoman Maj. Avital Leibovich told CNN.

“The goal is to try and take over some of those launching areas that were responsible for the many launches — the thousands of launches, in fact — toward the Israeli civilians,” she said.

I fully support Israel’s defense of its country, people and interests. It bugs me to no end when leaders of other countries tell Israel to practice restraint when their enemies are lobbing grenades and rockets into Israeli towns. Whenever Israel agrees to a ceasefire, it’s always Hamas or Hezbollah who break that ceasefire.

Nonetheless, the Israelis have their work cut out for them and will be engaged in battle for some time, according to a report from the Jerusalem Post:

The IDF warned that terrorists using civilians as human shields would bear full responsibility for their fate. The IDF spokesperson emphasized that “anyone who hides a terrorist or weapons in his house is considered a terrorist,” adding that “the residents of Gaza are not the target of the operation.”

The army reiterated that the operation was in line with “decisions of the Security Cabinet,” saying that this stage of the operation was “part of the IDF’s overall operational plan, and will continue on the basis of ongoing situational assessments by the IDF General Staff.”

The cabinet also approved the call-up of thousands of reservists, mostly from combat units, but also from the Home Front Command.

Army spokeswoman Maj. Avital Leibovich said it would be an extensive operation. “We have many, many targets,” she said, adding that Hamas has been digging smuggling tunnels and other facilities. “To my estimation, it will be a lengthy operation,” she said.

Most of the world will no doubt accuse Israel of acting disproportionately to Hamas’ actions, but at some point Israel has to stand up and defend herself once and for all. I hope the leaders of Israel stick to their guns and follow through with their actions of shutting down Hamas’ terrorist bases before backing off.

For an honest take on Hamas, read this post at Stop the ACLU. A son of a Hamas leader converted to Christianity and is now speaking out against Hamas.

Update: Victor Davis Hanson comments on the UN’s antagonism to an Israeli state and makes an interesting comparison between Gaza and Tolkien’s Mordor:

There is something especially nauseating about the latest Middle East war — scenes of worldwide Islamic protests with photos of Jews as apes, protesters (in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida of all places!) screaming about nuking Israel and putting Jews in ovens, parades of children dressed up with suicide vests and fake rockets, near constant anti-Semitic vicious sloganeering, Gaza mosques stuffed with rockets to be used against civilians — all to be collated with creepy Hamas rhetoric about the annihilation of Israel. This is the world in which we now live…

Again all very creepy — the stuff of Tolkien’s Mordor. It is now clear that the so-called and much praised “international community,” the hallowed U.N., the revered EU, all pretty much are indifferent to the survival of a democratic Israel, or are actively supportive of its terrorist Hamas enemy. Only the U.S. (for now) stands by a constitutional state in its war against a murderous terrorist clique, with annhilation its aim and religous fascism its creed.

I’m just going to come out and say it: that this mom is still breastfeeding her six year old is not normal. If this family lived in a Third World nation in which there was virtually no food supply and breastfeeding was the only food source, I would completely understand the mom’s instinct to feed her child. But to breastfeed a six year old child simply for the purpose “soothing” him is bizarre. What’s wrong with a hug or a cuddle? What’s wrong with encouraging a kindergartener to use his own faculties to deal with frustration? The fact that this mom is encouraging him to use her breasts as his only comfort mechanism tells me she’s got some issues with letting her kids grow up and become independent from her. This goes way beyond breastfeeding an infant.  This has entered the realm of psychological maladjustment.

From what I understand, there aren’t any studies that measure the long term impact of long term breastfeeding but logic tells us these kids will probably have issues. For example, when the 12 year old - she’s almost a teenager, for Pete’s sake - still wishes she could still suckle at her mom’s breasts, there’s a problem here.

I feel sorry for the kids’ future spouses because the kids are being taught to rely someone else to comfort them when they have a problem or frustration.  Think about it. When a mom continues to clean her kids’ rooms or do their laundry when they’re old enough to do it themselves, she’s training her kids to treat their future spouses like maids. What do you think breastfeeding to sooth a six year old when he should be able to sooth himself will do?

Unbelievable. So much for the sucking sound we heard a few days ago. What an amazing save. But the woman’s a dolt.  She’s as articulate as a box of rocks, so her recovery is certainly none of her doing.

Officials say the daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy will be the governor’s choice to fill the New York Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Two people close to Gov. David Paterson tell The Associated Press they believe Caroline Kennedy will be his choice, but the governor cautions he’s still looking.

The New York Times reports that during a New Year’s Day open house at the executive mansion, Paterson said “It ain’t nothin’ till I calls it.” The quote recalls a statement once made by legendary baseball umpire Bill Klem.

So, who’s pulling the strings here? Uncle Teddy? A sick and dying Massachusetts senator just doesn’t have the same pull as a sick and undying one, even if he’s a Kennedy.  Bloomberg is a Kennedy supporter, but can he, mayor of New York City, muscle the governor? No. Besides, there are more arms being twisted than just the governor’s in order to get this to happen.  As Hot Air pointed out, the New York assembly speaker is now suddenly pro-Princess when he was previously anti-Princess only one week ago. So, who’s behind the Princess’s apparent appointment even though she’s proven herself to be woefully unimpressive and ill-prepared? Who else but Barack Obama.  She was an early Obama supporter and he wants her in the Senate as payment for her support. No one else in the Democratic party has the pull he does. Besides, he must have felt the need to move fast for fear he’d have two Clintons to contend with.

Ace quips:

His choice couldn’t come a moment too soon, with Princess Caroline embarrassing herself on a daily basis. If he let the public get to know her any further, she’d be done.

I’ve been to Times Square. When I worked for Libbey Inc. back before I had kids, we always stayed in the Renaissance Hotel in Times Square when we attended the International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant trade show. Let me tell you, it’s not a big place. I still can’t believe 1 million people fit in there every New Year’s Eve. You couldn’t pay be enough to get me to be there with all those people.

As I said, Times Square isn’t a very big place. If you want to see for yourself, you take a look at this webcam of Times Square here that gives you an idea of how small the area is. Imagine 1 million people crowding in there. Now imagine how much garbage that results from those 1 million people.  According to the AP, 1 million people produce about 40 tons of trash.

One million revelers packed into Times Square plus a ton of confetti and countless noisemakers equals a whole lot of garbage — about 40 tons, according to the city Department of Sanitation.

Cleanup crews hit the streets shortly after midnight Thursday following the 2009 ball drop. Sanitation spokesman Keith Mellis said 163 people worked until 8 a.m. to sweep up the party trash, and a new shift started at 11 a.m. to tidy the area.

Because of the wind — nearly 25 mph gusts throughout the city — the department wasn’t quite sure how much trash was strewn about, but Mellis expected a little more than last year’s 40 tons. The Times Square Alliance, which puts on the event, said about 1 million people attended.

I can’t imagine cleaning up that mess. I wonder how the environmentalists feel about all the trash created from such a massive group of people and the landfill space that it took to dump that gargabe. Let’s not forget the fireworks display and all the acrid smoke released into the air. That doesn’t sound very “green” to me. What’s funny is that organizers of the New Year’s Eve bash in TS are touting their new energy efficient ball. I don’t think the energy savings with the new ball will compensate for the impact of the mess that resulted.

But the lights on the ball are very cool. If  you missed the ball drop as we did last night, you can watch it here.

I just don’t know what to say except that there is medication that helps insanity like this. I recommend this person at Kos start taking some as soon as possible:

Sooo, what if she actually didn’t have a baby at all, and they just scrambled around, and adopted a baby, from another woman/girl. Now that’s crazy thinking, but come on, Sarah Palin isn’t worried about a little thing called the truth.

Hat tip: Ace

That’s Caroline Kennedy’s senate hopes going bye bye.

Princess Caroline is about as articulate as a valley girl. Take a look at how many times she says “you know” in one short interview.  It’s a lot, you know. Her comments are riddled with so many “you knows” that it’s almost impossible to discern the points she’s trying to make. Listening to her reminds me of a line from Billy Madison:

Mr. Madison, what you’ve just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

Hot Air notes that the princess’s InTrade number are falling rapidly.

Update: Michael Goodwin writing at the Daily News says in his piece titled “Say Goodnight Caroline: How JFK’s daughter flubbed the audition to become the next Senator Kennedy” (a subtle throwback to Gracie Allen’s portrayal as an airhead) says she’s simply not qualified:

That truth is that Kennedy is not ready for the job and doesn’t deserve it. Somebody who loves her should tell her.

Her quest is becoming a cringe-inducing experience, as painful to watch as it must be to endure. Because she is the only survivor of that dreamy time nearly 50 years ago, she remains an iconic figure. But in the last few days, her mini-campaign has proved she has little to offer New Yorkers except her name.

Her handlers and family enablers insist she feels no entitlement to the Senate job, yet there is no other possible reason to give it to her. Her name is the sole reason she even dares go for it. Camelot must be Gaelic for chutzpah.

New York can do better.

I wonder because the Detroit Lions have reached a level of badness that has never existed before in the NFL. How bad? Well, today, for the first time ever in NFL history, the Lions finished the season 0-16. No team has ever lost so many games, and it’s the first time since 1976 that a team has gone without a win when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went 0-14.

If the Lions don’t do something to turn their team around next year, the commissioner will be forced to penalize the team, the Lions’ owner, William Clay Ford, and his management to get them to change the way they do things.   They need an entirely new organization, really. Keep a few really good players, but fire the rest of them as well as the management and start over.  I bet the Lions could have walk-on tryouts and get a better team than what they’ve got now.

Ryan Terpstra said it right today at the end of today’s game:  I’m a Detroit Lions fan. My favorite time of the season is the off-season.

Indeed.