Posts Tagged Thursday

New Fiscal Crisis Talks Set, but Hopes Are Low – NYTimes.com

Posted by Michael B. Calyn in Economy, GOP on December 28, 2012


In Flurry of Activity, Only Muted Hope for Fiscal Deal

By JONATHAN WEISMAN

Published: December 27, 2012 

 

WASHINGTON — President Obama will meet with Congressional leaders on Friday, and House Republicans summoned lawmakers back for a Sunday session, in a last-ditch effort to avert a fiscal crisis brought on by automatic tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to hit next week.

T.J. Kirkpatrick for The New York Times

Senator Harry Reid arrived at the Capitol on Thursday in Washington.

 

Republicans expressed a flicker of hope Thursday that a deal could still be reached to at least avert most of the tax increases on Jan. 1, to prevent a sudden cut in payments to medical providers treating Medicare patients and to extend expiring unemployment benefits. But both parties’ leaders said time is running out.

“Here we are, five days from the New Year, and we might finally start talking,” said Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate Republican leader.

The overriding emotion Thursday, as senators convened for a rare session between Christmas and New Year’s Day, appeared to be embarrassment. The continuing impasse “demonstrates a tremendous lack of courage here in Washington to address the issues that need to be addressed — at every level,” said Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee.

Lawmakers and aides from both parties cautioned that the burst of activity could be more about making sure the other side gets the blame than any real search for a resolution before the Jan. 1 deadline. Under Senate rules, no deal could run the gantlet of procedural hurdles in time for a final vote before the deadline without all the senators agreeing not to slow progress.

“I have to be very honest,” Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, said Thursday. “I don’t know timewise how it can happen now.”

White House officials continued to put the onus on Republicans to clear a procedural path to a quick vote on a negotiated deal.

“The only way America goes over the cliff is if the Republican leaders in the House and the Senate decide to push us by blocking passage of bills to extend tax cuts or the middle class,” said the White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer. “It’s a question of their willingness to put country before party.”

Republicans said there was nothing preventing Mr. Reid from putting formal legislation on the Senate floor, and to date, no such bill has been written.

But the contours of a fallback deal did come into view Thursday, even as the will to achieve it lagged behind.

Republicans involved in the talks said both sides would probably be able to agree to extend expiring Bush-era tax cuts up to some income threshold higher than Mr. Obama’s $250,000 cutoff but lower than the $1 million sought by the House speaker, John A. Boehner. To that, leaders would probably agree to add provisions to stop thealternative minimum tax from suddenly enlarging to hit more middle class households, and possibly to extend expiring unemployment benefits.

Republicans would be far less receptive to Mr. Obama’s call to temporarily suspend across-the-board spending cuts unless such a suspension was accompanied by significant and immediate spending cuts elsewhere.

But no such deal could be reached without significant, face-to-face negotiations between the president, Senate leaders and House leaders, aides said. McConnell aides said a phone call between the president and the Senate Republican leader Wednesday night was the first outreach Mr. McConnell has had from any Democrat since Thanksgiving.

“It appears to me the action, if there is any, will be on the Senate side,” Mr. McConnell said Thursday afternoon on the Senate floor.

After a House Republican leadership conference call on Thursday, Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the majority leader, announced that House members would return to Washington on Sunday for legislative business, with votes in the evening. Lawmakers were warned that the House might be in session through Jan. 2, the day the 112th Congress disbands. The next day, the 113th Congress will convene, wiping out any unfinished work of the past two years.

Between such glimmers of hope, the talk in Washington on Thursday was anything but conciliatory. Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 House Democrat, said Republicans would use an imminent fight over raising the government’s statutory borrowing limit to fight for big spending cuts, and compared that to taking one’s own child hostage and threatening to kill it.

On the Senate floor Thursday, Mr. Reid excoriated House Republicans for failing to consider a Senate-passed measure that would extend lower tax rates on household income up to $250,000. He urged House members to return to the Capitol to put together at least a modest deal to avoid the more than a half-trillion dollars in automatic tax increases and spending cuts set to begin in January.

“The American people are waiting for the ball to drop,” Mr. Reid said, “but it’s not going to be a good drop.”

 New Fiscal Crisis Talks Set, but Hopes Are Low – NYTimes.com.

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How Boehner’s Plan B Vote Imploded – NationalJournal.com

Posted by Michael B. Calyn in GOP on December 21, 2012


How Boehner’s Plan B Vote Imploded

By Michael Catalini

Updated: December 20, 2012 | 11:29 p.m.
December 20, 2012 | 8:07 p.m.

AP PHOTO/ALEX BRANDON

Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, center, departs after a House Republicans meeting on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012 in Washington. Confronted with a revolt among the rank and file, House Republicans abruptly put off a vote Thursday night on legislation allowing tax rates to rise for households earning $1 million and up.

Rep. Charlie Bass, R-N.H., overcoat in hand, was the canary in the coal mine.

He jetted out of the Capitol basement room where the House Republican Conference holed up Thursday night, walked by a handful of journalists and delivered in a flash the news that House Speaker John Boehner’s Plan B had suffered a mortal wound. Would there be a vote tonight? No, came the reply.

Plan B, the fiscal cliff tax proposal that would extend the Bush tax cuts on income for those who earn $1 million or less and that Boehner said earlier Thursday would pass, failed to win enough support in the Republican Conference. The vote was canceled and lawmakers were free to leave for Christmas. 

The details about the failure, and their scope, flowed quickly after that as Majority Leader Eric Cantor and a phalanx of staffers walked by and confirmed that the speaker’s efforts to persuade members had failed. A statement from the Speaker came quickly.

“The House did not take up the tax measure today because it did not have sufficient support from our members to pass,” Boehner said. 

Inside the meeting, which started at 7:45 p.m., Boehner led the conference in the pledge of allegiance and then the serenity prayer and said they were going to have a short conference. 

“Then he said we’re not going to be here until after Christmas and maybe we don’t come back at all this year, and I hope you all have a merry Christmas,” said Rep. Steven LaTourette of Ohio.

Boehner did not indicate how many votes he fell short of passing the bill, nor was there any attempt to twist people’s arms, said Rep. Joe Barton of Texas.

Another member inside the room said the speaker told them: “The fate of this country shouldn’t be left up to two men negotiating in a locked room.”

Boehner tossed the fiscal cliff football to the White House and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The House has done its job, he argued in a familiar refrain.

“The House has already passed legislation to stop all of the January 1 tax rate increases and replace the sequester with responsible spending cuts that will begin to address our nation’s crippling debt. The Senate must now act,” Boehner said.

LaTourette, though, saw the situation differently and added that this wasn’t just a blow to the negotiations over taxes and spending but a mark on the party itself.

“It’s the continuing dumbing down of the Republican Party, and we are going to be seen, more and more, as a bunch of extremists that can’t even get the majority of our own people to support the policies we’re putting forward,” he said. “If you’re not a governing majority, you’re not going to be a majority very long.”

Members sat stunned by the speaker’s admission, unsure of what it meant for the fiscal cliff negotiations. The speaker pledged to call the president, said one attendee, but few members had high hopes House Republicans could cut a deal or pass legislation. 

“Well, I don’t know that there is a next step. We’re not coming back until after Christmas and maybe never,” said LaTourette, who’s retiring.

 How Boehner’s Plan B Vote Imploded – NationalJournal.com.

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Taking Off: Implications of China’s Second Stealth Fighter Test Flight – China Real Time Report – WSJ

Posted by Michael B. Calyn in Aviation, China on November 3, 2012


Taking Off: Implications of China’s Second Stealth Fighter Test Flight

Top of Form

By Andrew Erickson and Gabe Collins

China’s fighter aircraft development efforts appeared to take another leap forward after local media reported that Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) had successfully tested its J-31 stealth fighter prototype this week. Following the test flight of a Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) J-20 prototype less than two years ago, the test of the J-31 suggests China could eventually become only the second country behind the U.S. to develop two stealth fighter programs – an important development with serious potential implications for the tactical aircraft export market and well as the U.S. military.

Video and photos posted online Thursday show the J-31 prototype conducting an initial high speed taxi run and 10-minute flight test accompanied by a pair of SAC J-11BS fighters. The J-31’s maiden flight represents the second “unveiling” of a significant new fighter aircraft by SAC in less than a year, the other being the J-16, a two seat multi-role variant of the J-11B, similar to the US F-15E and the Russian Su-30MKK.

China’s defense industry can now sustain multiple overlapping advanced programs. SAC alone is currently working on four major fighter aircraft – the J-31 and the J-16 as well as the J-16’s single seat parent the J-11B and the carrier-based J-15, also based on the J-11B.

Like most modern fighter aircraft, the J-31 will likely be a multi-role combat aircraft capable of employing modern precision munitions in both air-to-air and air-to-surface roles. Despite apparent rapid advancement, however, it will take time for the fighter to reach full operational status. As Xu Guangyu of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association explains, “there is still a huge gap between China and the US’ fighter jet technologies because we are still testing both the J-20 and the J-31. It might take another couple of years before we can put them on the production line.”

Mr. Xu’s observation raises an interesting question because it is not yet clear if the J-20 and J-31 are intended to complement each other or be competitors. Some Chinese analysts like former Aviation World deputy editor Bai Wei share the view of Western counterparts that they may be complementary as part of a “high-low” mix, with the larger J-20 akin to the F-22 and the smaller J-31 akin to the U.S. F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

One factor that suggests the J-20 and J-31 could complement one another is that the J-31 could be modified for use on aircraft carriers in a way the larger J-20 is unlikely to be. Sr. Capt. Li Jie of the PLA Navy (PLAN)’s strategic think tank has been quoted in Western media as stating the J-31 prototype “might become a carrier-based fighter jet” because it is smaller and slimmer than the J-20.

Regional Impacts

The prospect of the J-20 and J-31 becoming China’s mainstay tactical strike fighters during the next decade stands to influence regional defense planning and tactical aircraft export markets. Unveiling the J-31 affirms that, save for jet engines, China’s aerospace sector is now in many ways nearly as advanced as Russia’s and suggests that Russian manufacturers will soon be unable to compete with China’s own fighter manufacturers. Beijing is already the world’s sixth-largest arms exporter, and Chinese aircraft export growth would come largely at Moscow’s expense.

This means Russia will need to shift its weapons exports from China to Chinese neighbors such as Vietnam and India. However, given the defense spending cutbacks in the U.S. and Western Europe, Russian firms will have to compete with the likes of Boeing, Lockheed Martin and BAE in a way they never had to when China (which Western defense firms are largely prohibited from selling to by an embargo) was essentially a captive market for Russian weapons exporters. Chinese e increasingly Therefore, the parallel development of the J-20 and J-31 will provide further impetus for China’s aviation industry to master mass-production of modern high-performance jet engines – its last major obstacle to being able to export tactical aircraft.

The J-31 also stands to meaningfully impact decisions on U.S. defense spending, especially if it ends up being produced in conjunction with the J-20 and they end up being complementary to one another. If the J-31 and J-20 both end up in mass production, China could ultimately achieve parity or perhaps even numerical superiority in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of late-generation fighters deployed. There is a rising probability that China’s rapid advancement in indigenous tactical aircraft design will spark a renewed debate in the U.S. over restarting production of the highly advanced but also highly expensive F-22 Raptor.

Bottom Line: China’s Military Aerospace Industry Nearing Critical Mass

It is extremely significant that China may soon join the U.S. as the only other nation to develop two “low-observable” aircraft simultaneously. China’s defense aerospace sector overall may be moving toward an architectural model in which several distinct poles of expertise develop in Shenyang, Xi’an, and Chengdu and then compete with each other on key big ticket projects. Multiple aviation industry bases with significant development and production capacity, including SAC, allow for domestic competition for key aircraft programs. This can minimize the chances of single-point failures jeopardizing development targets, increase efficiency, and maximize the chances of useful breakthroughs.

It is thus not too early to consider the possibility that China’s aviation industry, despite enduring limitations, may already enjoy some key advantages over Western counterparts. As a latecomer, China can draw on knowledge gleaned from industrial espionage, reverse engineering, and study of foreign systems, standards, and specifications, allowing it to save costs by leapfrogging rather than developing every component itself. Meanwhile, it may benefit from lack of legal obstacles to subsidization and technical diffusion through civil-military integration—a lack that Western contractors arguably benefitted from during their Cold War heyday before stricter regulations emerged in the 1980s and 1990s. China’s military aerospace industry is rapidly approaching critical mass. Continuing to add investment to this growing foundation will allow China’s aviation industry to fully harness the flashes of technical prowess shown when new aircraft like the J-31 take flight.

 Taking Off: Implications of China’s Second Stealth Fighter Test Flight – China Real Time Report – WSJ.

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Ryan says his letters in support of stimulus ‘should have been handled differently’ – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs

Posted by Michael B. Calyn in GOP on August 17, 2012


 

Ryan says his letters in support of stimulus 'should have been handled differently'

August 16th, 2012

Ryan says his letters in support of stimulus ‘should have been handled differently’

 

 (CNN) - Vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan responded Thursday to his previous statements that he had not requested stimulus funding after reports emerged that he had sent letters to federal agencies in support of stimulus grant requests made by a Wisconsin non-profit.

Ryan, who represents Wisconsin in Congress, denied that he had requested stimulus monies in an interview this week with an Ohio television station as well as in a 2010 radio interview, statements which were contradictory to the letters he wrote as well as his opposition to the stimulus program.

 

In a paper statement on Thursday, Ryan said, “After having these letters called to my attention I checked into them, and they were treated as constituent service requests in the same way matters involving Social Security or Veterans Affairs are handled.

“This is why I didn’t recall the letters earlier, he continued. “But they should have been handled differently, and I take responsibility for that. Regardless, it’s clear that the Obama stimulus did nothing to stimulate the economy, and now the President is asking to do it all over again.”

In an interview with CNN affiliate WCPO on Thursday, Ryan said, “I never asked for stimulus,” but declined to comment on reports that he did, saying he had not read one such report raised by the interviewer.

He said on a Boston-area radio station in October 2010 that he is “not one of the people who votes for something then writes to the government to ask them to send us money.”

“I did not request any stimulus money,” he said. The station, WBZ, posted audio of Ryan’s 2010 comments to its website on Thursday.

In several letters obtained by CNN from a Democratic source, Ryan wrote to Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis “writing to express my support for” grant applications submitted by organizations including the Energy Center of Wisconsin.

Energy Center communications director Leslie Post told CNN that Ryan wrote letters on behalf of two projects in which the center was involved. The center received a total of $240,000 in grants primarily for a hybrid geothermal heating project. Post said Ryan did not write letters on behalf of a third project in which the center was involved but not the primary grant recipient.

The letters, grants, and radio interview were reported this week by The Boston Globe and The Wall Street Journal.

In the letters, Ryan wrote, “I support the Energy Center of Wisconsin and its partners’ grant application for the Recovery Act – Training Program Development for Commercial Building Equipment Technicians Building Operators, and Energy Commissioning Agents/Auditors. I would appreciate it if you and the appropriate DOE would ensure that it is given your prompt and full consideration, consistent with all laws and regulations.”

The grant referred to was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 – the stimulus program which Ryan and other Republicans opposed.

Members of Congress regularly serve as advocates for those in their districts, as Ryan’s official House website explains: “One of my most important jobs as your Congressman is to assist those I represent by serving as a direct link to the federal government, helping constituents navigate the bureaucratic maze, and cutting through the red tape to obtain answers from federal agencies.”

 Ryan says his letters in support of stimulus ‘should have been handled differently’ – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs.

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Romney Stares Uncomprehendingly At $1 Bill | The Onion – America’s Finest News Source

Posted by Michael B. Calyn in Humor/Parody, The Onion on August 4, 2012


 

Romney Stares Uncomprehendingly At $1 Bill

 

POCATELLO, ID—A $1 bill somehow made its way into the hands of Mitt Romney during a campaign stop Thursday, reportedly causing the Republican presidential candidate a moment of uncomprehending fascination. “What am I looking at here? What is this?” said Romney, squinting at the bill as he turned it over and over in his hands. “It almost looks like money, but it’s missing the zeroes. Huh. Do people try to buy things with this?” Romney finally crumpled up the bill and threw it away, chuckling as he told reporters that “whoever thought that one up must be a real wiseacre.” 

Romney Stares Uncomprehendingly At $1 Bill | The Onion – America’s Finest News Source.

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David Duval Still Shilling Nike Golf Products Years After Contract Runs Out | The Onion – America’s Finest News Source

Posted by Michael B. Calyn in Humor/Parody, The Onion on June 29, 2012


David Duval Still Shilling Nike Golf Products Years After Contract Runs Out

JUNE 28, 2012

CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, CO—Even though his sponsorship deal with Nike expired more than eight years ago, former world No. 1 golfer David Duval is still appearing on courses and in stores actively promoting the brand’s products to anyone who will listen, sources confirmed Thursday. “He’s in here about twice a week putting a Nike VR Pro driver in somebody’s hands and asking them to take a few swings,” said local Sports Authority manager Aaron Camacho, adding that Duval hangs around the store’s golf aisles in his full Nike gear for hours at a time. “We’ve thought about kicking him out, but he’s used and read about these products more than any of us on staff, and to tell you the truth, he’s purchased more of our Nike stuff than any other customer.” Though Nike officials have reportedly thanked Duval for his loyalty and sent him free products in an effort to persuade him to disassociate himself from the company, he continues to be seen in public wearing a threadbare Nike shirt adorned with the brand’s patch honoring the victims of 9/11.

 David Duval Still Shilling Nike Golf Products Years After Contract Runs Out | The Onion – America’s Finest News Source.

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What follows the Holder contempt vote? – CNN.com

Posted by Michael B. Calyn in Congress, Politics on June 28, 2012


What follows the Holder contempt vote?

By Alan Silverleib

updated 8:40 AM EDT, Thu June 28, 2012

Watch this video

 

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

·         The House will likely vote Thursday to hold Attorney General Holder in contempt

·         Recent history indicates the contempt vote won’t have serious legal consequences

·         Democrats say the contempt vote — tied to Operation Fast and Furious — is all about politics

·         Republicans say the contempt vote is about proper legislative oversight

 

Washington (CNN) – Washington’s uproar over the infamousOperation Fast and Furious gun-running sting will likely hit its political climax Thursday as the House of Representatives votes to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt.

But beyond the political symbolism of such a vote — no attorney general has ever been held in contempt by Congress — what exactly does it mean? Where does the case go from here?

If modern history is any guide, it won’t go very far.

Holder contempt vote sign of ‘broken’ Washington?

The GOP-controlled House is actually set to hold two votes: one for criminal contempt and another authorizing civil action.

The criminal contempt charge would refer the entire dispute to District of Columbia U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen, who would then decide whether to file criminal charges against Holder or others, based on the Justice Department’s refusal to hand over information sought by House Republicans.

If you sense a possible conflict of interest here, you’re not alone. Machen was appointed to his job by President Barack Obama. Holder’s his boss.

Most legal observers expect Machen to do nothing. They note that President George W. Bush’s Justice Department refused to take any action after a Democratic-controlled House voted in early 2008 to hold then-White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and then-White House Counsel Harriet Miers in contempt for actions relating to the controversial dismissal of several U.S. prosecutors.

They also note Obama’s use of executive privilege to prevent the release of certain documents in the Fast and Furious case — a move which typically makes executive branch officials immune from criminal prosecution.

House Republicans are well aware of this recent history, which helps explain the separate measure authorizing a civil action. That resolution, according to a GOP spokesman, would allow the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to file a lawsuit asking the courts to examine the Justice Department’s failure to produce certain subpoenaed documents, as well as the validity of the administration’s assertion of executive privilege.

The committee is led by GOP Rep. Darrell Issa of California, Holder’s chief congressional nemesis.

Specifically, Issa’s panel is seeking documents showing why the Justice Department decided to withdraw as inaccurate a February 2011 letter sent to Congress that denied any major flaws in Operation Fast and Furious.

Holder has repeatedly refused to turn over materials containing internal deliberations, and asked Obama last week to assert executive privilege over such documents.

Executive privilege: A rocky legal and political road in U.S. history

The goal of the civil action — beyond continued political embarrassment to a president in the middle of a tough re-election campaign — would be to compel Justice Department officials and their political allies in the White House to hand over the documents in question.

But Cornell University law professor Josh Chafetz, a legislative expert and former federal clerk, says any judicial proceedings relating to the civil action will likely take years and outlast any political interest in the case.

“Just by going to court, the House guarantees it loses. Even if (the House) wins, it’s going to be years from now,” Chafetz told CNN. “This Congress will be out of office and Obama may be out of office. If they wind up going to court, it will actually be to the great detriment of the House’s oversight role.”

Chafetz noted that House Democrats also pursued the case against Miers and Bolten in court, finally reaching a compromise settlement after Bush left office in 2009. By that point, few people cared.

The Democrats “got some of the documents they wanted and some of the testimony they wanted,” he said. “But the timing was so unfortunate for the House, and that’s what’s happening this time.”

Stan Brand, a top Washington lawyer and former general counsel to the House under Speaker Tip O’Neill, predicted “two or two-plus years of protracted, arduous litigation.”

“We’ll hear about it again in 2014,” he told CNN. “I think it’s fine to go to court and try to vindicate your interest, but this isn’t going anywhere.”

Fast and Furious, a so-called “gun-walking” operation, allowed roughly 2,000 guns into Mexico with the goal of tracking them to Mexican drug cartels. Two guns found at the scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s fatal shooting were linked to the operation. Guns from the operation have also been linked to an unknown number of Mexican civilians’ deaths.

Republicans say the documents they seek are needed to get to the circumstances around Terry’s death. Democrats are crying foul, and insist the GOP probe is all about politics.

“House Republicans have made the strategic choice to try to score political points,” White House press secretary Jay Carney argued Wednesday. They are “focusing their time and attention on a law enforcement operation from 2009 that was botched and that everyone agrees was botched.”

The Republicans have “made that choice rather than focusing on jobs and the economy.”

For their part, House GOP leaders insist they are merely holding the executive branch accountable for its actions — a core constitutional function of Congress.

The Justice Department has “acknowledged that it made false claims to Congress about this reckless operation,” House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said last week. “The Obama administration, however, (has) stonewalled Congress’s legitimate oversight responsibilities. … The American people deserve the truth and the administration has an obligation to turn over the relevant documents right now.”

Political analysts are sharply divided over the merits of the GOP’s case and its potential political fallout.

“I think, for a lot of Americans who don’t understand the complexities and really don’t care about … this, I think it is one more illustration, as if we needed any more, that Washington is broken,” veteran political analyst David Gergen said earlier this month on CNN.

“If people conclude yet once again those guys really cannot run the country, it is very discouraging.”

 What follows the Holder contempt vote? – CNN.com.

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Romney Stares Uncomprehendingly At $1 Bill | The Onion – America’s Finest News Source

Posted by Michael B. Calyn in Humor/Parody, The Onion on June 22, 2012


 

Romney Stares Uncomprehendingly At $1 Bill

JUNE 22, 2012  

POCATELLO, ID—A $1 bill somehow made its way into the hands of Mitt Romney during a campaign stop Thursday, reportedly causing the Republican presidential candidate a moment of uncomprehending fascination. “What am I looking at here? What is this?” said Romney, squinting at the bill as he turned it over and over in his hands. “It almost looks like money, but it’s missing the zeroes. Huh. Do people try to buy things with this?” Romney finally crumpled up the bill and threw it away, chuckling as he told reporters that “whoever thought that one up must be a real wiseacre.” 

 Romney Stares Uncomprehendingly At $1 Bill | The Onion – America’s Finest News Source.

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Woman, Gay Best Friend Go On Another One Of Their Little Adventures | The Onion – America’s Finest News Source

Posted by Michael B. Calyn in Humor/Parody, The Onion on June 21, 2012


Woman, Gay Best Friend Go On Another One Of Their Little Adventures

JUNE 21, 2012

The fun-loving duo in the midst of another one of their crazy escapades.

PASADENA, CA—With the intention of letting loose, hitting the town, and maybe even “getting into a little mischief,” Christine Fehrman, 33, and her closest gay friend Paul Daganais, 28, have embarked on yet another one of their special little adventures, sources confirmed Thursday.

The latest in an ongoing series of spirited, anything-goes escapades, the day reportedly began with its usual hour of preparation at Fehrman’s apartment, where the pair cycled through dozens of potential wardrobe combinations, covering the floor with clothing and accessories Daganais emphatically rejected as “not fun enough.”

“After the amazing time we had last weekend eating crostini and browsing through Forever 21 together, I was just counting down the minutes until Paul’s car pulled up and we could do it all over again,” said Fehrman, adding that, as usual, she planned to document every step of the ever-so-precious trip with Instagram. “He’s one of my only guy friends I can just forget about everything and be crazy spontaneous with.”

“One minute we could be eating lobster rolls at a food truck, and the next we’re kicking off our shoes for barefoot cartwheels in the park,” she continued. “You just never know where the day is going to go with Paul.”

According to sources, in what has become a standard ritual during their carefree little excursions, the two got in the mood en route to their first engagement of the day—brunch at a Peruvian café Fehrman saw advertised on Groupon—by rolling down the windows of Daganais’ car and unself-consciously singing along to a playlist that alternated between Adele and Florence + the Machine.

Following brief back-and-forth banter about what it would be like if they dated, the two were overheard discussing whether to stroll by a nearby street fair, split a couple of mini éclairs, or get lemon-walnut foot scrubs at the local day spa, saying they didn’t want to rule out the possibility of ducking into an expensive boutique so they could try on floppy hats and sunglasses “just because.”

Sources estimated that over the six hours they spent together, Daganais playfully called Fehrman a bitch 9 times, while she called him a slut 14 times—a tally believed to be about average for one of their little Saturday to-dos.

“Fair warning, everybody better watch out, because [Paul] and [Christine] are on the loose again,” said Daganais, using nicknames the self-described best friends in the world had made up for each other during one of their previous fancy-free romps. “Maybe this time we’ll stumble upon the perfect little cheese shop, or start a spontaneous two-person dance party at the mall, or waste $20 doing silly poses in a photo booth—who knows?”

“As usual, we’ll probably figure out where we’re going once we get there,” he added.

After riding through the park on rented bicycles, sampling artisanal cocktails at a local bar, and talking trash about the despised boyfriend of their mutual friend Charlotte while simultaneously expressing concern for Charlotte’s troublesome relationship hang-ups, the pair reportedly wound up at a hidden gem of a restaurant they’d been talking about all week, where they enjoyed beet and goat cheese salads, both ordering dressing on the side.

“We don’t always achieve what we set out to do, but that’s part of the fun for me,” Fehrman said. “Really as long as Paul and I are spending time together, we could be trapped in a cave for all I care.”

Expecting to be famished and exhausted by the end of their daylong frolic, Fehrman and Daganais said they planned to return to one of their apartments, whip up a batch of their favorite double-chocolate-chip cookies, and cuddle on the couch in front of Strictly Ballroom, as they always do at the end of these things.

 Woman, Gay Best Friend Go On Another One Of Their Little Adventures | The Onion – America’s Finest News Source.

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Housing market recovery on track, despite bumps – Economy Watch

Posted by Michael B. Calyn in Economy on June 21, 2012


Housing market recovery on track, despite bumps

Steven Senne / AP

A for sale sign hangs in front of a home, in Milton, Mass.

By Bill Briggs

A backward baby step in home sales last month is little more than a momentary bobble amid what appears to be an otherwise mending U.S. housing market, many industry analysts and some Realtors agreed Thursday. 

While purchases of previously owned homes slipped by 1.5 percent last month as compared to April, many experts brushed off the decrease by pointing to a vastly limited stock of available listings — especially a dearth of more-upscale houses in nicer neighborhoods. What’s more, that lack of inventory seems to be helping shove values higher; the national median home price was up nearly 8 percent in May when compared to the same month last year. 

While any possible residential revival is sure to kick out a few more sour notes this year, analysts said, Thursday’s fresh clump of housing stats pile a bit more evidence on the case for a larger realty recovery. 

“The bigger picture is that sales are still up almost 10 percent year over year,” said Jed Kolko,  chief economist for Trulia, a real estate website. ”So the combination of declining sales (in May) but rising prices means that supply is tightening — not that demand is weakening.” 

According to NAR, purchases of previously owned U.S. homes dipped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.55 million in May from 4.62 million in April. 

“The slight pullback in monthly home sales is more likely due to supply constraints rather than softening demand. The normal seasonal upturn in inventory did not occur this spring,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “Even with the monthly decline, home sales have moved markedly higher with 11 consecutive months of gains over the same month a year earlier.”

Indeed, the common buzzword being bandied about lately among many Realtors with equal parts hope and hate: inventory.

Nationally, total housing inventory at the end of May dropped 0.4 percent to 2.49 million existing homes available for sale, NAR reported. That represents a 6.6-month supply of available homes at the current sales pace. In April, there was a 6.5-month supply. 

Across the country, listed inventory is 20.4 percent lower than a year ago at this time, when a 9.1-month supply existed. Compare that to the peak of the market in July 2007 when unsold inventory hit a record of 4.04 million homes.

“Because new inventory is down year on year, that means there are fewer homes (for buyers) to choose from,” Kolko said. “That can hold back sales. You can’t sell homes that aren’t on the market.”

According to a survey released last week by Realtor.com, in 144 of 146 metro markets the inventory of listed residential properties dropped during May compared to the same month last year. 

In Sacramento, existing inventory at the end of May was 1,413 single-family homes – compared with 4,111 homes the same month in 2011, said Brian McMartin, a broker associate with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, Mason-McDuffie.

That shortage is ramping anxiety and anger among Sacramento agents and buyers because the demand to buy there is gaining energy, McMartin said. 

“At that rate, we have less than a month of inventory left, assuming nothing else came on the market,” McMartin said. “Sales here are up but not exponentially. We have an inventory issue.

“We have buyers frustrated, getting outbid left and right, making five, 10, 20 offers, having to overbid.”

The inventory shortage apparently is helping push up prices following the worst housing slump since the Great Depression, Yun said. The national median price for a home resale rose to $182,600 in May, according to NAR. That’s 7.9 percent higher than the same month one year ago, and the highest since June 2010. The last time the American housing market posted three consecutive monthly price increases, year over year, was March to May of 2006.

A report Thursday by the Federal Housing Finance Agency also showed that U.S. home prices rose 0.8 percent in April from March in a sign of property-market stabilization, agency analysts contend. 

Kolko pointed to modest job gains, record-low interest rates, and the inventory scarcity as vital elements fueling the boost in home prices. 

“But the important question,” he added, “is why is inventory declining?”

 

Some would-be sellers probably are waiting to plunk for-sale signs in their yards because they aren’t convinced the housing market truly has hit bottom, experts theorize. 

In Cuyahoga County, anchored by Cleveland, listings are down 5.7 percent for the year. Meanwhile, at one of greater Cleveland’s biggest realty firms, Russell Real Estate Services, sales gained 11.5 percent in May over the previous month and 9.4 percent for the year, said Ron Russell, CEO of the company. The uptick there seems to be driven primarily by more upscale consumers. 

“Many of our clients tell us they’re ready to go from two garages to three, and that they’re tired of living in a 1,500-square-foot home and want 3,000 square feet,” Russell said. ”If sales are up and inventory is down, inflation is here.” 

That price inflation already is showing up in the dollar volume of sales throughout Cleveland. Citywide, volume was up 31.1 percent in May and dollar-volume has climbed 21.3 percent for the year, Russell said. 

Still another factor impacting inventory, Kolko said: the jagged cycle of foreclosure filings within individual markets, and the differing rules within some states as to how (and how fast) foreclosures are processed. In New York and New Jersey, for example, foreclosures must be handled judicially, meaning lenders must take borrowers to court to force foreclosure. That process often takes far longer to complete.

Last week, RealtyTrac released fresh figures showing that foreclosures nationally rose by 9 percent in May from the previous month, to 205,990 total properties ticketed for bank repossessions, scheduled auctions, or default notices.

Kolko agrees with the notion offered by RealtyTrac that May’s increase in foreclosure activity was ignited by lenders finally churning through a backlog of foreclosed homes and not by a new wave of homeowners who are falling behind on their mortgages. 

In time, as lenders chip away at the foreclosure glut, that should invigorate the housing market by clearing the system of these distressed homes. That means less overhang, tighter supplies and, thus, increased demand, experts believe. 

Distressed homes, including foreclosures and short sales sold at massive discounts, comprised 25 percent of the May existing-home sales — a 28 percent drop in April and a 31 percent decline from May 2011, NAR reported Thursday.  

In states where foreclosures must be handled by the courts, the pipelines for getting those homes back onto the market remain clogged, Kolko said.  

But in states like California where foreclosures are primarily administered out of court, “many of those foreclosed homes already have been through the process and have been sold.” 

In Sacramento, where one in every 234 housing units was in foreclosure during May, according to RealtyTrac, broker McMartin said local real estate experts have been claiming for years that a massive surge of foreclosures is about to flood the market and ease the inventory shortage. If Kolko is correct, of course, that already has happened. 

“The buzz we keep hearing is that the banks are going to release all this (formerly distressed) inventory,” McMartin said. “We hear that same story every six to 12 months, or a different variation of it. It never materializes. I no longer have faith in that happening.” 

Despite the air-tight supply of listed homes in Sacramento, the median home price there was $168,750 in May, down from a peak of $392,750 in August of 2005, McMartin said. 

“That brings us back to exactly 10 years ago when the median price was $169,718,” McMartin said. “Around here, we call it ‘the lost decade.’” 

 Housing market recovery on track, despite bumps – Economy Watch.

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