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Closing Arguments: Should You Be Allowed To Protect Property With Lethal Force?

June 30, 2008 11:06 PM

We recently brought you the story of Joe Horn, a 62-year-old Texas man who killed two men he says were robbing his neighbor's house. Under the so-called Castle Law, Texas residents are granted broad protections to protect their property -- even with lethal force. And today a grand jury declined to indict Joe Horn. But what do you think? Should it be legal to protect your property, or your neighbor's property, with lethal force?

June 30, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (214)

Closing Arguments: Did the Court Get It Right?

June 27, 2008 11:13 PM

The District of Columbia versus Heller was arguably the most controversial case the United States Supreme Court has decided this year. For the first time in 70 years the high court issued a definitive reading of the Second Amendment and the majority argued that indeed the amendment does grant Americans the individual right to own firearms. The Court's ruling struck down Washington, DC's total ban on handguns -- and may put many other local gun-control laws in jeopardy. But does it make Americans safer or less safe? Did the Court get it right?

June 27, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (183)

Closing Arguments: Does Win Make the Celtics the Best Sports Franchise Ever?

June 18, 2008 12:44 AM

Tonight the Boston Celtics did what no other team in NBA history has ever done: clinched its 17th title, with a stunning 39 point victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. So does this cement the Celtics' place as the greatest sports franchise of all time? Even better than the New York Yankees, the Dallas Cowboys, or the the Detroit Red Wings?

June 18, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (18)

Closing Arguments: How Will Bush's Disapproval Ratings Affect McCain's Chances?

June 16, 2008 11:18 PM

A new ABC News/Washington Post poll highlights a discouraging situation for President Bush and possibly for the Republican party. According to the new figures, George W. Bush's disapproval ratings have reached a record for any president since 1938. 68% of Americans disapprove of the job he is doing. That tops Truman's 67% and Nixon's 66%. How do you think President Bush's disapproval ratings will affect John McCain's chances in November's general election?

June 16, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (77)

Remembering Tim Russert

June 13, 2008 7:57 PM

What Tim Russert did was put passion into political journalism at a time it was sorely needed. He loved the game, he loved the tactics and strategy--but he also loved the substance of our politics, the real debates over the real choices we face in coming to grips with our real problems. His enthusiasm for what matters in politics, which stemmed from his palpable love for our country, was a rare quality. And it remains an inspiration.

-Terry Moran

June 13, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (25)

Closing Arguments: Your Take on the Court's Gitmo Ruling?

June 12, 2008 11:53 PM

In what observers are calling a stunning rebuke of the Bush administration, the Supreme Court today said that foreign terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay do have a Constitutional right to challenge their detention in court. Writing for the narrow 5 - 4 majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy said the President and Congress can't, "switch the Constitution on and off at will.” But in a stinging dissent Justice Antonin Scalia wrote that the decision would, "almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed.” So, what do you think? Do you agree with Justice Kennedy -- or Justice Scalia?

June 12, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (171)

Realty Check: Timeshare Pain

June 12, 2008 4:32 PM

Oh, my poor Aunt Liz. I could not sleep last night because I literally could feel her pain. We’re a big, close-knit family -- four sets of aunts and uncles, all with one to three children and attendant grandchildren. So… several years ago, when the aunts and uncles (including my parents) were on vacation in Daytona Beach (Daytona Beach? I thought that was for kids, not for septuagenarians!), there they were, holding hands, walking the beach, thinking, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could all come here together every year?”

Well, lo and behold, there was a timeshare salesperson just waiting to make that dream come true. So in they went to Wyndham Ocean Walk, and they bought 405,000 Fairfield points. Now here is where all this loses me -- you really do need to speak a Martian language to understand all the timeshare terms. But I’ll try to explain as best I can,in English. Depending on the time of year, the popularity of where you buy, the wind direction (kidding), 405,000 points will get you two or three weeks a year at a pretty nice resort. Sounds great so far. Except that they paid about $55,000 for it, upfront, in cash from their hard-earned savings. Those savings were seriously hard-earned -- most of these folks were school teachers, school principals, and civil servants. That’s a lot of savings. But that wouldn’t be so bad if you got those dream vacations every year in those beautiful resorts and never had to pay another penny for it. But no, because a timeshare is considered real property, there are property taxes to be paid, on their unit to the tune of almost $500 a year. And maintenance on "your" unit -- $160 a month. For life.

“We got carried away,” Aunt Liz says now. “It was a spur-of-the-moment thing.” She and her husband, Uncle Joe, had purchased a unit previously in Edisto, South Carolina, but caught a quick case of buyer’s remorse and rescinded within three days. Phew…disaster averted. That time.

Uncle Herbie and Aunt Ruth have a timeshare in Cancun. Aunt Geral and Uncle Grover have one as well. And my parents,they are the King and Queen of Vacation Rentals! They have SIX WEEKS worth of timeshares, purchased as a block at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. Add that to all the "bonus" weeks they get, and they are happy retiree timeshare owners. They vacation about eight weeks a year (retirement will do that for you), and stay in fabulous places virtually anywhere: Branson, Lake of the Ozarks, St. Maarten, Palm Springs, Vegas, Florida, Hawaii, the afore-mentioned Edisto, and my own personal favorite, a fly-infested farmhouse in the Scottish highlands that was absolute bliss (once we ran out and bought flyswatters and waged all-out war).

But that penthouse unit at Ocean Walk and the beautiful sand of Daytona Beach proved irresistible. Things were working out pretty well for a while. I have to say I’ve even enjoyed some nice vacations courtesy of their timeshare -- the two weeks the family spent at that really nice yellow cottage in Edisto was great. Thanks, Aunts and Uncles! But everything has to be put in one couple’s name, so all expenses can be pulled out of one account. That fell to Aunt Liz and Uncle Joe. And then, as with many groups, things fall apart. One group can’t go when the others can. Someone wants to take their children and grandchildren, and they have more than the others so there’s not enough room unless they get the place to themselves for the week. People lose interest in that one vacation spot every year.

Sunset was dimming on the Daytona timeshare. And for Aunt Liz, tragedy. Uncle Joe died New Year’s Eve 2006. She no longer wants, needs, or uses her timeshare. Or, I should say, she uses it even less now than she did before. “We knew we were not timeshare people,” she says. “We were not good at planning ahead, and you don’t ever get the place you want at the time you want to go if you don’t plan ahead. And we wanted to be spontaneous.” But the maintenance fees are still coming out of her bank account, being reimbursed later. So now they are DESPERATE to sell this “albatross.” And of course -– no surprise -- there are no takers. Oh, sure, there probably are plenty of people still walking into the Wyndham Ocean Walk and other timeshare offices, plunking down thousands of dollars for points and weeks, even in this tightening economy. But a USED timeshare? The market is tiny. Virtually non-existent. And those who know about it know they can get a timeshare for PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR. Pennies!

I asked Aunt Liz and my dad how their attempts at selling the timeshare have gone. Not well, they say. “Some companies want you to pay $500, $600, $800 upfront with no guarantee that they can sell it,” Aunt Liz tells me. “I ask if they will offer it for half price, they say no, they’re not allowed to do that. Ha!” she says. “If they thought they could get that they would list it at that amount. But they try to get you to pay that upfront fee by saying they can get you $30,000 for it when they know that’s a lie.” Aunt Liz is a feisty 70-something. That’s why she’s a hit with all the nieces and nephews. But sometimes she needs reeling in. So when she suggested that her next move might be to stand outside timeshare sales offices, wearing a sandwich board that reads, “Honey, you can have mine for half price!” we have to talk her out of that. “I’m about ready to walk away from it,” she says.

Tomorrow: Why that would be a disastrous mistake...

-Vicki Mabrey

June 12, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (3)

Realty Check: Friends in High Places

June 11, 2008 5:43 PM

While I'm hearing tales of frustration from friends trying to get a mortgage – boy, have those bank vaults slammed shut recently! – we get news today that Jim Johnson, freshly-minted member of Democratic candidate Barack Obama's Vice Presidential search committee, is resigning because it looks like he was a member of a suddenly-unpopular club:  the "Friends of Angelo." 

Angelo, of course, being Angelo Mozilo, the perma-tanned CEO of the nation's largest lender, Countrywide. 

The Wall Street Journal reported last Saturday that Mozilo may have given Johnson a good deal on a mortgage or two or three.  No exact details given – and I haven't received a callback yet from either Johnson or a Countrywide spokeswoman – but it was enough to make Johnson resign, issuing a statement this afternoon that reads, "I would not dream of being a party to distracting attention from that historic effort," he said.  "I believe Barack Obama's candidacy for President of the United States is the most exciting and important of my lifetime."

Johnson also adds that he has done nothing wrong, calling press accounts "blatantly false statements and misrepresentation."

For his part, Obama has denounced Countrywide repeatedly for its role in the subprime mortgage crisis, so it's easy to see why even a whiff of scandal or back-room dealing or even too-close a handshake is enough to knock Johnson off the team. 

But it just makes you wonder if there's some big club of kingmakers, all scratching each other's backs, giving each other sweet deals, that the rest of us muggins, putzes, simpletons, simple folk (whatever you want to call those of us on the outside looking in) can only dream of. 

Reminds me of when Ameriquest was the biggest lender in America, when it was forced by the Attorneys General of every state in the union (and the District of Columbia, just for good measure) to make a $325 million settlement for all the borrowers it had 'not' wronged (since Ameriquest paid but admitted no wrongdoing).   We reached out to Deval Patrick, who at the time was running for Governor of Massachusetts, to ask why, when he was with the Justice Department, Ameriquest was under scrutiny, yet once he left that job, he joined Ameriquest's board.  We're still waiting for an answer. 

Also reminds me that just a couple of weeks ago, the LA Times ran a story about a leaked Mozilo e-mail.  Seems Mr. Mozilo, upon receiving an e-mail from a customer facing foreclosure, inadvertently hit 'reply' instead of 'forward,' and -- oops! – this response whizzed right back to said borrower:  "This is unbelievable. Most of these letters now have the same wording. Obviously they are being counseled by some other person or by the internet. Disgusting."

"Disgusting."

You can say that again.   

-Vicki Mabrey

June 11, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (5)

Closing Arguments: Global Warming or Lousy Weather?

June 11, 2008 12:19 AM

The east coast tonight is being pounded by thunderstorms, the Midwest has been hit by terrible flooding, and only halfway through tornado season it's already the deadliest season in a decade. So, what is going on? Do you think global warming is already making our weather more severe? Or is this just lousy weather?

June 11, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (62)

Realty Check: Do the Math

June 10, 2008 1:55 PM

Ever since I wrote about Ed McMahon, my friends have been urging me to check out Evander Holyfield, the boxing legend whose house -- for about 10 minutes -- was scheduled to go up for auction.  Seems Holyfield owes a little back child support and hasn't quite settled up on some landscaping he had done at his 235 acre estate in Fayette County, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta.  A notice in the newspaper alerted us all to the fact that his super-sized mansion was scheduled for auction July 1st with a scheduled price of $10 million. 

Holyfield now tells Atlanta Journal-Constitution sports columnist Jeff Schultz that he’s all right and the house is safe. 

“I’m fine,” Holyfield tells Schultz.  “Everything’s great. The thing, I just don’t want to react to all of this stuff because, in the end, people will believe what they want to believe. I realize the situation I’m in. But the whole thing is, I’m not broke -- I’m just not liquid.” 

“I’m just not liquid.” 

Gosh, it’s easy to see why.  The numbers are just staggering.  Take a look, then I’ll leave you alone with a scratch pad to do some "ciphering" (as Jethro Bodine used to say on the Beverly Hillbillies): 

Age:  45

Estimated lifetime earnings:  $250 million, give or take a mil or two

House:  54,000 square feet

109 rooms (no, 109 is NOT a typo)

17 bathrooms

3 kitchens

1 bowling alley

$550,000 landscaping job he’s being sued for

$1.2 million annual upkeep

11 children

3 wives  (1 current, 2 exes)

$500,000 child support payments annually

Even with 11 children (and I’m gonna go out on a limb here and guess that not all of them live with him), does one really need 54,000 square feet?!?   109 rooms??  Don’t you wonder if he even knows where all of those rooms are?  Wouldn't you need a map to find your way around your own house???

By all accounts –- well, by all accounts except one (the ex-wife who’s suing for back child support) –-Holyfield is a devoted and caring father.  So his kids sure do not need to see their dad with all 109 rooms worth of stuff set out on the curb there on Evander Holyfield Highway, and his house going under the auctioneer’s gavel on the steps of a Georgia courthouse.

But it reminded me of something Russell Simmons told me when I interviewed himafter one his Hip Hop Summit get-your-money-straight seminars. Simmons was asking if people really need such big houses that they get themselves into financial trouble:  “No matter how big your house is,” he told me, “you can only sit your a$$ in one seat at a time.” 

Yes, I do note the irony here, but ain’t that the truth??

-Vicki Mabrey

June 10, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (1)