SunFyre...words from a seated position

Was Jed Clampett a Canuck?

Surprise, the biggest importer of oil to the United States is our neighbor to the north, Canada. When people think of oil they think of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq. The reality is that we get more oil from Canada than from any of those nations. We also get huge amounts from Central and South America and Africa. In fact, for every Kuwaiti barrel of oil we import, we import 10 from Canada.

Here's the top 10 list of oil importers to the United States in 2007 in barrels per day.

• Canada 1,864,000
• Saudi Arabia 1,453,000
• Mexico 1,410,000
• Venezuela 1,150,000
• Nigeria 1,082,000
• Angola 496,000
• Iraq 485,000
• Algeria 443,000
• Ecuador 198,000
• Kuwait 176,000

I understand people's frustration about the invasion of Iraq, but if you want to see a war that's really about oil, let's attack Canada. The best part is, the Pennsylvania National Guard could probably win that war. If we just colonize all of North and South America, that would immediately fix our domestic oil problem even if we didn't drill in Alaska.

SunFyre is the place for big picture solutions! :-)

Labels: Canada, economics, Oil, politics

The New York Times reported that a woman committed suicide after sending a note to her mortgage company by fax. She was about to be foreclosed upon.

A Massachusetts woman fatally shot herself soon after faxing a letter to her mortgage company saying that by the time they foreclosed on her house that day, she would be dead. The police said the woman, Carlene Balderrama, shot herself Tuesday [July 22,2008], after faxing the letter at 2:30 p.m. The mortgage company called the police, who found Ms. Balderrama’s body at 3:30 p.m.

The auction was scheduled to start at 5 p.m. and interested buyers arrived at the property in Taunton, about 35 miles south Boston, while Ms. Balderrama’s body was still inside, said Chief Raymond O’Berg of the Taunton Police Department. Neighbors said Ms. Balderrama, 53, her husband and her son had lived in the house for about four years.

I have a family member who lost his home recently to foreclosure. I'm not blaming his mortgage company exclusively, however the reality is that they extended his family credit well beyond their ability to pay. They mortgaged 107% of their house to cover closing costs. Their mortgage was at 10.5% interest because they had spotty credit. Furthermore, their payments were based on declared income, not tax records.

You see, he worked in the manufactured housing industry and had been averaging 55 hours per week as a foreman. His 15 hours of overtime at double pay meant he often grossed more than 160% of his regular salary. Even though this trend had only occurred for few months, the mortgage company was eager to overlook the downturn in building that was already on the horizon.

They told him he could afford much more house than he expected, and his real estate agent, armed with a pre-qualification letter, showed him every house she could find at the maximum end of his price range. With high interest, his monthly mortgage was $50 more per month than mine, even though our property taxes were triple his, and our home price was $75,000 more.

When his employer cut him back to regular full time when the housing slump began, he couldn't make ends meet, not even close. His mortgage payment was now 65% of his gross pay, and 80% of his take home. Even another job would not have made up the difference because he was relatively highly paid. He would have had to work an additional 50 hours weekly at a $10/hour factory job if he could have gotten one.

He is partially to blame, no doubt. He made some bad decisions. He felt the windfall during the booming housing market would last forever, and that was completely unrealistic.

However, mortgage companies and real estate agents also made a windfall in the booming housing market and they should have known it wouldn't last. In fact, they did know it wouldn't last, and that's why they were trying to squeeze every nickel out of people before the bubble burst.

What they did to my family member, and millions of other Americans, probably wasn't illegal, but certainly wasn't ethical. And now, our federal government is bailing people out. Most of the money, however is being used to bail out poorly managed companies, not poorly managed households.

His home was sold at sheriff sale for $.55 on the dollar. He's in the process of filing for bankruptcy and divorce. Financial matters stress your budget and your marriage.

The sad thing is, how close he had been to the American dream. At 30 years old he'd been working for a decade. He is a hard worker, and with the exception of a broken leg several years ago, had never missed a day of work in his life. He'd been promoted several times because of his exceptional work ethic and dedication. If this is a man who deserved better advice for his family.

Had the real estate agent sold him a house within his budget, he would still be living there, and likely still married. The mortgage company would still be making a profit. The tax collector would have been able to contribute funds to the school budget. He would it still had 60% of his income to spend in the local economy.

As a nation, we exuberantly bought and built houses. Financial services companies lent us more money than we had, or could expect to have in the near future. Real estate agents convinced us that "flipping" was a good idea, while while travel agent suggested we "cash out our equity" for our next vacation. And investment brokers built mutual funds out of real estate, so we could invest without actually owning any of the land, and move our money out when the market got bad regardless of who was living or working on that land.

I hope that Senators McCain and Obama work together to start holding corporate America to the standards that we hope to instill in the American people, regardless of which one of them becomes president. We have too much at stake to allow corporations with questionable ethics to damage the livelihoods of individuals, and the economy as a whole.

I'm paying my mortgage, every month. I'm paying my credit card bills. We just finished paying off our college loans. I pay my taxes on both property and income. I'm a good American and I've made very good financial decisions. Unfortunately, not only am I living the American dream, but I'm financing the American nightmare.

Labels: Barack Obama, corporate America, economics, John McCain, Money, politics

When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President. Now I'm beginning to believe it.
- Clarence Darrow


Poll: Bullshit Is Most Important Issue For 2008 Voters

Labels: Friday Funnies, politics, quotes, videos

I've received several emails, and many questions from friends, about my feelings surrounding Terri Schiavo. I think people perceive that someone with a life threatening disability, who still has a positive attitude, should spew pearls of wisdom.

Honestly, I am very mixed up about this case. I guess if it was an easy decision, there wouldn't be much talk about it in the news.

Here's just a couple thoughts running through my head, which I'm certain have run through most of your brains as well. Nothing earth shatteringly exciting or insightful, just thoughts.

First, I feel bad for the husband and her parents. Their views are polar opposites, however my impression is that they are all good people who truly loved Terri. In the political debate, both groups of people had been portrayed as monsters, but there are no monsters here.

If Michael Schiavo was a monster, he'd have jumped ship immediately after her brain damage. Perhaps he would have waited until he became involved with his current girlfriend to divorce Terri. He's been offered money, substantial money, to walk away. A monster would have cashed the check.

Terri Schaivo's parents, the Schindlers, aren't monsters either. They love their daughter regardless of her condition. Many parents have stopped loving their children for less, while other parents have continued to love their children through worse situations. They are fighting and hoping, and ultimately fighting to maintain hope. Their biggest shortcomings simply lies in hoping too much for a daughter's return.

Starving to death is a slow and painful demise. My stomach turns to think about it too hard. Try taking a large drink of cool water, then not eating or drinking anything for 24 hours. You would feel miserable in less than a day. I can't even imagine the pain of 14 days. Had she been respirator dependent, death would have been quick coming, and occurred about five years ago, when her first feeding tube was removed.

I read an opinion poll. I wish I could remember the source, but it said 56% of people, when asked, said Terri Schiavo's feeding tube should be re-inserted. However, the same group was asked, if they were in her position, would they want to continue living. 82% said they'd rather not continue living. Lycos has noted huge increases in searches for "living wills", clearly indicating that people have interest in making certain their wishes will be carried out without debate.

Finally, the bottom line...

If it were me, I'd want Kristen to make the hard decisions on my behalf. I trust my wife far more than I trust the Florida Supreme Court, the Georgia Circuit Court, congressional committees, or Jeb, George W., or Laura Bush who all have voiced opinions and had influence.

Ultimately, in retrospect, I support Michael Schiavo, not because I support euthanasia or the right to die, but I support him because he's her husband. I support that he was the person she chose to make tough decisions. He made the toughest decision, and survived the flames of dissenting opinion.

This is usually the spot in my articles where I invite opinions. I encourage people to disagree. I enjoy spirited debate. Not this time. Please keep your opinions to yourself. It's painful to think about, and way too personal. If you must, simply send me an email saying "well written" and nothing more.

Labels: death, disabled people, Family values, News, politics