All Forum Posts by: Mike McKinzie

factcheck.org?? Then I might as well send you to:
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/today.guest.html
http://www.hannity.com/
http://www.lauraingraham.com/

Factcheck defends ACORN, Pelosi, Barney Frank, Harry Reid, etc....

You want some REAL facts regarding the National Deficit? Here they are:
Our first National Deficit reached $75M after the Revolutionary War. In 1836, President Andrew Jackson got it down to $33,513.05 but he got it back over $1M in 1838. The Civil War took it over $1B for the first time. World War 1 took it over $10B for the first time. World War 2 took it over $250B for the first time. President Reagan took it over $1T for the first time. Now here is the real kicker, in 1992, it was $4T and change. In the year 2000, it was $5.6T. And the left claims that President Clinton BALANCED the budget! HAH! Every year Clinton was in office, the National Debt went UP. Granted, it went up slower under him, but it NEVER balanced. In September, 2008, the National Debt was $10T, today it is nearly $12T. Most estimates put the National Debt somewhere between $16T and $20T in 2012. Congratulations Obozo, you created MORE National Debt then all the presidents before you, COMBINED.

But here is the other part of that, "How is the National Debt spent?" If $100,000 is spent on a Hummer, the Hummer factory creates jobs. The Government becomes a 'spending consumer', helping the economy. But if $100,000 is given to ACORN, the government gets NOTHING in return, the Government becomes Santa Claus. A healthy economy is based on a 'fairly equal trade - goods/service for cash.' This is based on whether the private sector or the public sector is the customer. Although there is a place for CHARITY, charity does not make for a good economic model. The government should be wise with it's money, I think that is what those on the RIGHT are most concerned about. Bailing out GM is not the same as buying vehicles from them. If GM can't turn a profit, let them fail. Another car company will rise. My grandfather shopped at Sears, my father shopped at K Mart, I shop at Wal Mart, that is the way a Free Enterprise system is suppose to work. But the looney left would have said, "NOOO, we have to SAVE SEARS!" Sorry, but not in my ideals.

Franklin Roosevelt said, "A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned to walk forward." to which I reply, "A liberal is a man with a perfectly good brain who, however, has never learned to think for himself."

PS: My facts come from the US Treasury Department.

Absolutely correct J Scott, this is what Hitler SAID. Now, what did he DO? Just like what Obama SAID and what he is doing. I could SAY that I am pregnant, but being a 49 year old male makes that highly improbable. BUT, I said it! All through history, people have SAID things that equate to a pile of Bovine Excretement. ACTION is what counts.

Now, what did Hitler DO? What is Obama DOING?

The founding of the United States was based on many Christian Principles but also giving everyone the FREEDOM to follow whichever faith they desired.

I will go to my grave believing that the ONLY reason Obama got elected was because of his race. He got a boost from the "Bush Haters", but he beat out Hillary Clinton because of his race. There are millions of people out there today, thinking to themselves, "What did I do voting for that clown?" In no way am I saying that McCain would have done a better job, but he sure couldn't have done any worse. Sarah Palin would have done a better job, but that is for another thread. At least she had to balance a town budget, Obama has never even balanced a Lemonade Stand budget.

My horror stories include murder, a 2 year old drowning, DEA, cultivating marijuana, burning down, INS, physically assaulted/threatened, etc... My worse clean up, I had to take a garden hose into the house to wash it out. Pulling down wallpaper and being rained on with cockroaches. Walking out of a rental with "fleas to the waist". Having the tenant use the living room as a golf driving range. And on and on and on.

True J, but no one parties like they do in Washington!

Why don't we just say there was a bunch of people unhappy with the job Washington is doing for the people?

I have been out of the game, so to speak, since the late 1990's as a Realtor. But before that, I was involved with over 5,000 transactions as either the Seller or Buyer representative. Maybe the current lending environment is different, I am going off 20 years ago. But I will go to my grave with the utmost belief that an Appraisal is NEVER the value of the property. How many of us can produce an Appraisal from 2006 or 2007 for a house that would be a complete joke today? Only one entity establishes the value of a piece of property, and her/his name is B-U-Y-E-R. For instance, let's say a SELLER goes and get an appraisal for their house for $100,000 and they list the house for sale with a Broker for $100,000. And it does not sell for a year. Guess what, the house is not worth $100,000, even if the Appraisal said so. Buyers said "NO WAY." An appraisal is used only to establish how much the bank will lend.

Now as to a second trust deed, the bank may consider that part of the debt against the property and the second would need to be done outside and after the sale is complete. You need a lot of trust in your buyer to do that. Again, my last three deals were 2 all cash and another 20 percent down, so I am a bit rusty on how much banks control the transaction. I believe the OP said they would do a second, which works if Seller and Buyer agree.

An appraisal has absolutely nothing to do the value of a house. It only tells the buyer and seller how much the bank/lender is willing to loan on a house. If the appraisal comes in at $50,000 and the buyer is putting 20% down, $10,000 and borrowing $40,000, what happens above the $50,000 is none of the lenders business. If the buyer comes in with $20,000, the lender is still only going to lend the $40,000. As a matter of fact, the lender likes the higher sales price, it makes their equity position that much stronger. Although they are lending at a 80% to appraisal value, their true Loan to Value is 67% (assuming a $60,000 sales price) Whether the value over the appraisal value is paid with cash, a second or box seats to a Knicks game, the lenders position is unchanged. Someone mentioned the lender might look at the payment on the second, but lets face it, the payment on a $5,000 Second is not much. Amortize it at 7% for 10 years, and the fully amortized payment is only $58.05. Interest only would be $29.17.

I don't like saving up on food. My parents still have food stored in their house for the Y2K "emergency." Would you eat that? Since I live high in the Rocky Mountains, I have a year round supply of water, food (deer, elk, fish, wild berries, etc...). The only thing I need is guns and ammo, and I have PLENTY of that! Well, I do have a few other things too. Several bottles of Propane, camping stoves, sleeping bags, generator, firewood, etc... Being remote, we lose power all the time 20-30 times a year. Two years ago, we were out for 5 straight days, no problem. I love roughing it. I can live in the wilderness with nothing more than a gun, knife, sleeping bag, tent and water disinfecting pills (giardia is nothing to mess with).

J Scott, you want to know "Why Christianity". Couldn't you just as well have asked "Why Islam?", "Why Buddism?", "Why Hinduism?", "Why Scientology?", etc....

It all comes down to CHOICE. The only thing we are given at birth is our mother and father. After that, it is pretty much all a matter of choices. We can even chose to change our name. We chose what to wear, what to eat, whom to marry, what to drive, etc.... Some decisions are very basic, like beef or chicken for dinner or what shirt to wear. Then some decisions have a larger impact, such as what major in college, who to marry or to have children. We have a myriad of choices of what investments to make. Then there are the eternal decisions we make. And since we cannot travel beyond this life to explore and come back to make a decision, we have to go with what might be considered 'circumstantial' evidence. People who have died and were brought back within seconds or a few minutes have reported seeing something 'on the other side.' Other people have reported seeing spiritual beings during the course of their life, how much is true is any one's guess.

But if you want to know Why Christianity for me, I would say it is the sum total of my studies, my teachings, my life's experiences. I do not want to attack anyone else's beliefs, but I find gaping holes in the fundamental's in most religions. I even find gaping holes in some denominations of Christian Religions. Let me give a few simple examples. Mormon's teach that drinking anything with caffeine is wrong. Yet the Bible says that it is NOT what goes into a man that causes him to sin, but what comes out of a man, ie. his actions. Catholics believe it is ok to pray to dead saints and others. Yet Jesus states very clearly in the Bible that you are to pray to NO ONE but God. Baptist's believe that once you are saved you cannot lose your salvation but the Bible clearly states that God can erase your name from the Lamb's book of life. The faith I was brought up in states that drinking alcoholic beverages is a sin yet Jesus turned water into Wine. I don't think Jesus would make an item of sin.

The problem with God's plan is that man keeps getting involved for his own end and own benefit. Every religion on earth is MAN MADE.

Jesus being born, walking the earth, being crucified and then raising from the dead three days later is extremely well documented, both in religious and secular writing. The Roman Historian, Josephus, writes very clearly of these events. His coming was well documented in prophesitical writings that are verifiably thousands of years older than his birth. No other so called religious leader, whether Mohammed, Buddah, or even Joe Smith, has as much irrefutable evidence as to their deity than Jesus Christ.

Why Christianity? It's my choice.

Which is more difficult to believe, that the Universe just appeared or that an Intelligent Being, whose existence is beyond the limits of the universe, created it? By nature, humans have a very difficult time coming to terms with anything that goes beyond their own existence. It would be like an earthworm trying to understand the internet. We are locked into two laws, time and space. We cannot exist in more than one time and in more than one place at any given moment. One can also argue that our actual existence is also limited to the Table of Elements and we are mostly water, Hydrogen and Oxygen. If God is NOT held to these physical laws, then how can we even begin to explain or understand God?

Someone said that Christian's believe that the world is 6,000 years old. Not all Christians, and I believe it is the Baptist Denomination that espouses this quite strongly. Personally, I believe the earth is somewhere between 4 and 6 Billion years old. The six days of creation in Genesis is poorly translated, and do not mean a 24 hour day. The Hebrew is a little unclear but a more closer translation to the word "day" should be "a period of time" in Genesis. The Bible states that to God, a day is a thousand years and a thousand years is a day, which really means that time is of no consequence to God. Personally, I believe that the Universe is billions of years old and that there is sentient life on many other planets, maybe even billions of planets. It is only the arrogance of man that makes him want to believe he is the only living being in the universe. If there is other life, God has His reasons for their existence, just as He does for ours. In the end, we will stand before God, alone, and will have to answer for our thoughts, actions and beliefs. If our total existence ends when we die, that is rather depressing, don't you think?