Is now the time to start haggling?

As much as my father loved to haggle (and he was a shameless haggler born out of stinginess - "ahhh, that's my quarter he's asking for") I really didn't like it growing up. When he would go into haggling mode we all wanted to hide under a rock and avoid embarrassment. It was always full of theatrics and heated discussion, but often he came away with something less than the listed price.

Diving in to the game came late for me and really only started when Joelle and I were backpacking in Southeast Asia where everything was negotiable and the price wasn't really the price, but a suggested starting point. By the time we reached Laos I was getting the hang of things and when I exchanged $100 for local currency, I was handed a stack of bills that needed to be stuffed into my day back as opposed to my wallet because the largest bill available was only worth US$0.50. Looking at that pile, I just had to make it stretch because it looked like *something* so I could not bare to part with it easily. Within days I couldn't resist and was arguing over the equivalent of a quarter.

Years later Joelle and I have it down to an art with the classic "good cop, bad cop" routine with the "good" or "bad" changing depending on the setting or who spots an item first. We always use this when we hit a brocante though a week ago a seller ruined the fun (momentarily, at least) when he discounted straight away. It was the reverse of this famous scene but looking at our find and our full wallet we lived with the pain of no fight.

As this Guardian article suggests, you need to choose your target wisely but there are plenty of opportunities to haggle. Most of our big appliances come from smaller private retailers where haggling is part of the game. For the rest, it's Craigslist where haggling is just part of the game. Groceries are more difficult but the open air markets (farmers markets, perhaps in the US) tend to be good hunting grounds, especially just before closing time. Read the rest of this post...

GOP congressman says Congress must investigate the Bush administration

Mickey Edwards:

There should be a thorough investigation of the ways in which the current Administration may have disregarded the Constitution (examples: under the Constitution, the suspension of habeas corpus rights -- for anybody -- is flatly prohibited; the Constitution gives to the Congress, not the Executive, the sole authority to determine the treatment of captives; surveillance of American citizens requires a warrant). But that investigation should -- no, must -- be carried out not by an independent commission but by the Congress, just as Harry Truman, a Democratic Senator, investigated the War Department in a Democratic Administration and just as a Congress controlled by Democrats investigated the Watergate break-in during a Republican Administration. Party considerations must not trump legislative responsibility. The Congress has the obligation to examine whether laws were broken or new laws are needed. Members of Congress have taken an oath to defend the Constitution. During the Bush Administration, the Congress receded further and further into irrelevancy; it is up to its new members to ensure that it regains its position as the First Branch of government. The original post begins with the wrong premise: the competing forces in this drama are not Republicans and Democrats but the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch and it's high time that the legislative branch re-established itself as a separate, independent and equal check on the presidency.

Read the rest of this post...

My friend David Lee on the need to stand up to religious bigots

David gave this speech 5 years ago. Seems quite relevant today.

I used to think of a leader as someone who heeds the call to pick up a sword and lead the charge. For me it has usually been a little different. Picture a group of people in a line. When volunteers to lead the troops are asked to take a step forward I usually stand firmly in my place. Then I turn around only to find that everyone else has taken a step backward. That’s how I come to leadership. The Laura Schlesinger incident of a few years ago is a good example. Early on no one, not one gay person, who worked at Paramount—and, trust me, the place is crawling with us—objected openly to their own studio producing her TV show. Of course, I said to myself, “Boy, what we need is somebody to stand up to Paramount, somebody the suits can’t fire, somebody they have to pay attention to.” Then NBC picked up FRASIER for another three years and all of a sudden I fit my own description. I think I muttered something leader-ish like “Oh, shit” and soon found myself outside those famous Paramount gates with a picket sign and bullhorn.

I now find myself in a similar position around another subject: the anti-gay bigotry of some of our major religious institutions. I keep looking around for someone, anyone to say something, anything in response to the incessant bile about of gay and lesbian people that is spewed forth daily by the some of the world’s so called spiritual leaders. I keep looking around for someone to finally say “Enough. This has got to stop!” And what I see when I turn around is a bunch of folks who have taken a step to the rear. Sadly and shockingly our major gay political groups are the most conspicuous in their silence.

And so I mutter “Oh, shit” and forge ahead.

First, let me make it absolutely clear that this is not an attack on religion. I am on a spiritual path myself. I’m sure many of you are too. What I am attacking is homophobic bigotry that justifies itself in religious belief. And the free pass that we in the gay community have given much of this stuff over and over again.

Folks, the time for polite silence is finished. We have got to start defending ourselves when attacked. And we are under a massive attack.

The Mormon Church is the fastest growing cult in the world. Every year they send out 30 to 40 thousand new missionaries. They are not trying to convince people that gays and lesbians are cool. As late as the last decade this group was attaching electrodes to gay men's testicles trying to shock them back into the hetero fold. There is a task to be tended to here, yet the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has said nothing.

Evangelical Christians and Southern Baptists-the largest religious group in the US-- are snatching up television stations by the handful. They are not doing this so that they can air Queer Eye. Have you watched these guys? We are defamed loudly and repeatedly by bible thumping bigots and yet the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation is silent.

My writing partner, David Angell, with whom I produced CHEERS and created WINGS and FRASIER, and his wife Lynn, were in the first plane to hit the World Trade Centers on 9/11. I received, in my grief, an e-mail that began with the following words: Islam Is Not the Enemy. As an American I had to agree. Despite my personal loss, I knew that it was proper and good to discourage an unfair backlash against innocent Muslims after 9/11. As an American I understand that Islam is not the enemy. But what about as a gay man? Have we have forgotten that there is no sect of Islam worth noting that even tolerates homosexuality, and in countries where Islam predominates punishment can be anything from imprisonment, to torture, to disfigurement to death. Islam may not be the enemy of my country, but I'd be hard pressed to find a bigger enemy of gay people. Human rights transgressions are being carried out daily its name, but what do we hear from the Human Rights Campaign?

Nothing that I know of.

The number of Catholics in this country is increasing by leaps and bounds, mostly by immigration. The leader of this sect now sends "instructions" (his word) to Catholic politicians on gay issues. He has told them that it is their “moral duty” (his words again) to oppose any gay rights reforms. This is absolutely outrageous. The sovereign head of another country giving instructions to our government officials. Yet have you heard one word from our national organizations? Has anyone quizzed these Catholic congressmen, senators, judges and justices about whether they intend to follow these orders from the Vatican?

I’d love to hear if they have.

Don’t get me wrong. The NGLTF, GLAAD, and HRC are amazing vibrant organizations who have made tremendous contributions to the cause. But on this issue these groups are asleep at the switch.

Why?

Here’s what I think.

We as a group have become tolerant of intolerance.

Whenever anyone justifies their bigotry with what I call DHRB (deeply held religious beliefs) we roll over as if that were the end of the discussion.

We have confused respecting a persons right to hold whatever religious beliefs they chose with respecting those beliefs. The truth is there are plenty of DHRB that are simply not worthy of our respect. Can we start with the ones that have no respect for us? Can you imagine an African American respecting someone’s DHRB that the Bible justifies slavery? The right to believe it, yes. The belief itself? No way.

We are terrified to call a bigot a bigot if the bigotry is a result of DHRB. We are horrified that we might be accused of attacking someone’s religion. As if attacking bigotry hiding behind the skirts of religion and attacking religion were the same thing. The church homophobes have it easy on this one. They say the most vile, cruel, untruthful things about us, usually to raise funds, and then use their tax exempt dollars to promote anti-gay legislation. If we dare to defend ourselves we are accused of assaulting their faith. They even use the word “bashing”. What an insult. Try telling Trev Brody or any of the thousands of other gays who have seen the wrong end of a baseball bat, that someone taking issue with your religious views is equivalent to their experience.

Why are we not talking about this? Is there no one who has the guts to stand up to these bigots? Is no one willing to say forcefully that homophobic DHRB have no place or value in a civilized 21st century? What happened to the gay movement’s "bad cops"? We seem to have evolved into nothing but a bunch of flabby "soft cops."

I find myself missing those bad cops from a decade ago, the Act Up folks.

More than anything we need to be reminded once again that “Silence Equals Death.” It is as true about homophobic religions as it is about AIDS.

We have got to start talking about religion. All of it. The good guys—and there are many--and the bad guys. It must be a compassionate discussion but we must not in our compassion shy away from the truth. Yes, it is a dynamite issue. Yes, people will take offense. Yes, the opponents are formidable. But I hope respectfully that the NGLTF, GLAAD, the HRC and our other leaders will jump into the fray. I hope that when the call comes for volunteers to lead the charge, they do not take a step backward.

Read the rest of this post...

Whistleblower claims UBS overcharged real estate funds

Phil Gramm's company makes the news in a not-so-good way yet again. Via MarketWatch:

Swiss bank UBS has been accused by a former employee of charging inflated fees for a real estate fund that it ran, according to a report published Monday. Bloomberg said that Richard Trusz, previously managing director at UBS Realty Investors LLC, said in a court filing that he argued with his bosses about returning the fees. Trusz is suing UBS for wrongful termination under Connecticut's so-called whistleblower law. The lawsuit said UBS Trumbull Property Fund, a private real estate investment trust, inflated property valuations by as much as $100 million in late 2007 and early 2008. Higher valuations on the underlying properties would increase the fees that UBS could charge its clients -- the fund charges 0.6% to just under 1% of assets, said Bloomberg. UBS denied the charges, reported Bloomberg.

Read the rest of this post...

ABC's TIME's Mark Halperin is vewy vewy angwy that the media was mean to John McCain

Yeah, that would be the same media that John McCain called his "base" because they were such pro-McCain sycophants. Joe Sudbay has long considered Halperin a tool, and this just proves it (again). McCain decided that attacking, ignoring, degrading and maligning the media - media who loved him - would be his number one campaign strategy in the final months of the election. McCain refused to hold a single press conference past mid-August. He refused to let Alaska's blithering idiot hold even one. Yet the media is to blame for John McCain's loss. Then again, maybe Halperin is thinking with his little starburst when he should be using his big one. Read the rest of this post...

Invitations to Charlie Crist's wedding are in the mail!

According to the Miami Herald "A card enclosed in the invitations reads: 'No gifts please, due to Florida law.'' "

Oh that's right, Florida law now bans gay marriage. Read the rest of this post...

Those wacky Canadian socialists

Canadian reader Cynthia writes about their wacky health care system up north - you know, one of them there communist medical systems:

I just thought I would write you and tell you what it is like as a Canadian with Health care. I am 53 yrs. old, female and I am a Registered ER nurse. I am married, with 2 grown children. For all my life, I have never known a time where I could not go to a Doctor, a hospital, or a clinic, or a specialist. I have never had to worry about paying up front.

We do pay taxes, but then so do Americans and get no Health care for the taxes they pay. I have seen during my career, many Americans and illegals (we get them too!) come to Canada to get Health care. They think it is free, but far from it. They forget that we pay taxes for it. I have one good friend who was born in Detroit, and lived in Toronto, and then moved to Texas. While there, she got pregnant. She moved back to Canada to have the baby, as she told me she could not afford to have it in Texas. She still lives here now. Do I think I live in a Socialist country? Not anymore Socialist than the U.S. We are a democracy, just like the U.S., we have "Fat Cats" on Bay Street in Toronto just like your Wall Street. We have capitalism, just like the U.S., we have poor, middleclass, and rich, just like the U.S., I have heard so many republicans put down Canada and England's health care system, and say we are Socialist countries. Well, we are exactly like the U.S., except that we get Health Care for our tax dollars, whereas, the U.S. citizens get taxed, but no Health Care for that tax.

I think every American should "rise up" and DEMAND a universal Health Care system. Why should Americans pay Insurance companies that more than not, find ways not to pay for a "sick" person. I find that disgusting! We all want to be healthy, and be able to go to a Doctor and a Hospital and receive care without going "Bankrupt", and it would even be better to pay a little more tax to the government than to pay taxes and Health care premiums to Insurance companies who are only in it for the money. So, no matter what they say about our Canadian Health Care system, I have to say, I feel great that if I have to pay taxes, at least I am getting something for the tax that I pay. No one in the U.S. should be without Health care, and no one should have to go bankrupt and worry if they can pay premiums. I do hope that President Obama ends up putting in a "Universal Health care program", I think it is every American's right!.

Get sick and not worry about going bankrupt? Do they want us to give up apple pie too? Read the rest of this post...

Fallen evangelical preacher Ted Haggard is back, now he's a Christian insurance salesman

Oy.

Read the rest of this post...

UBS in need of more cash

Switzerland's answer to Citigroup. Why don't they ask their good friend Phil Gramm? Heck, he still thinks it's everyone who doesn't understand, that the subprime business was fantastic. If UBS was dumb enough to fall for that huckster and pay him millions, they deserve what they get.

UBS is likely to need a fresh capital injection from the state after the Swiss bank's shares lost nearly 50 percent this month, a top Swiss bank regulator told SonntagsZeitung newspaper on Sunday.

Daniel Zuberbuehler, Director of the Swiss Federal Banking Commission, said a takeover of UBS was not likely despite the fall in shares and ruled out a merger with domestic peer Credit Suisse.

"When you look at the share development, it is really an open question whether the rescue package is sufficient," Zuberbuehler was quoted as saying in an interview with Swiss Sunday newspaper.

"If more happens, it (UBS) would need willy-nilly a further capital increase," he added.

Risky investments at UBS' investment banking division forced it to make nearly $49 billion of writedowns and prompted Berne to announce on Oct. 16 it would inject 6 billion Swiss francs ($4.88 billion) into the world's biggest wealth manager to prevent its collapse.

When are these banks going to pursue the people at the top who ran this junk through the company and cashed in? Read the rest of this post...

Someone needs to ask CNN's TJ Holmes how he feels about "whites-only" dating services

Idiot.

Read the rest of this post...

Peter Schiff, guy who predicted housing bubble, says we're really f'd

Read the rest of this post...

Princeton Proposition 8 to protect traditional sidewalk values

From some wonderful students at Princeton:

CAMPAIGN TO REMOVE FRESHMEN FROM SIDEWALKS IN SECOND SUCCESSFUL WEEK
11/24/08--Princeton, NJ

A group of students at Princeton University would like to eliminate the right of freshmen to walk on campus sidewalks. Stating that they would like to "preserve traditional sidewalk values" that define a sidewalk as a "pathway for sophomores, juniors, seniors, graduate students, faculty, staff, and other members of the university community," the group, which is acting in support of a measure termed "Princeton Proposition 8," is now entering its second successful week of demonstration.

The students emphasize that they are not "froshophobic" and that some of their best friends are freshmen, but they maintain that freshmen on the sidewalk degrade the sacred institution of sidewalks, and jeopardize the validity of upperclassmen's own perambulation. It also makes some of them uncomfortable. They are very excited that California's Proposition 8 has set a clear precedent for a majority to eliminate a minority group's civil rights, and they see it as a perfect opportunity to utilize this development for their own gain.

The demonstration, which has featured signs, chants, and original music, has collected almost 500 signatures for a petition in support of Princeton Proposition 8, including those of many professors and even University President Shirley M. Tilghman. A video report of the protest produced by the University's 'Daily Princetonian' has received 21,000 views on YouTube in just two days. It has also been featured on dozens of regional and national blogs including Campus Progress Action's Pushback, DailyKos, and Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish. The organizers of the demonstration have also begun outreach to other universities.

The demonstration will continue at the plaza in front of Firestone Library on the Princeton campus between 9:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Monday 11/24 and Tuesday 11/25.

The Princeton Proposition 8 campaign aims to secure the definition of Princeton University sidewalks as a means of pedestrian transit for sophomores, juniors, seniors, graduate students, faculty, staff, and other members of the university community, but supports the elimination of the right of freshmen to walk on sidewalks.

Only walking on sidewalks by sophomores, juniors, and senior students is valid or recognized at Princeton.

###

Contact: Christopher Simpson
cjsimpso@princeton.edu

Read the rest of this post...

Monday Morning Open Thread

Joe is in NYC with his boyfriend Carlos and Petey the wonder dog, so on the off-chance that he's not up at 7am blogging (but hey, this is Joe we're talking about), I'm doing the open thread and giving Joe a much-needed day off (it's like "The Year Without a Santa Claus," but for bloggers). It's Thanksgiving week, but it's also transition time and, oh yeah, the economy is melting down, so while the news might normally be slow, I'm expecting some interesting news as the week progresses. I'm off to Chicago later in the day to spend Thanksgiving with my family (if you see me at O'Hare, say hey), and will do a little Carmela the wonder dog blogging from there, hopefully tonight or tomorrow. And now on with the news. Read the rest of this post...

UK to cut VAT for holiday season, raise taxes on top earners in 2009

It's not something that could necessarily work in the US because taxes (of this kind) are done at a state level but it's an interesting idea. Over here we've noticed nervous sellers already and in general people are cutting back on holiday spending. With the crisis we're in a tough spot in that we need people to save money to help keep cash in banks but at the same time, our economies rely on spending and lots of it. A massive dry spell of shopping is not going to help so maybe somewhere in the middle isn't such a bad idea. Cutting a few points is not going to bring the end to the tax revenue stream but might help during this very rough patch.

Plans to raise the top rate of income tax for high earners from 40p to 45p in the pound will be announced today as Gordon Brown makes a decisive break with the policies of the Blair era.

In his crucial mini-Budget, the Chancellor Alistair Darling will say that the higher rate would be introduced after the next general election – so as not to break Labour's manifesto pledges since 1997 not to raise income tax rates. The proposed new top rate is expected to apply on incomes above £150,000.

Mr Darling will that "fair" tax increases will be needed to bring the public finances back into balance in the medium term.

He will disclose that government borrowing will rocket to almost £200bn over the next two years to fund an £18bn "fiscal stimulus" – including tax cuts – designed to ensure a "short and shallow" recession.

Read the rest of this post...

UK banks dragging down business

As I've said in the past, the banking industry would screw every if the tables were turned in this credit crisis fiasco and behold, they are. Governments have been much too easy on this bunch as trillions are handed over with few questions and few strings attached. So how do the banks react? Predictably. This may be from the UK but I have a hard time believing the same is not happening elsewhere.

High-street banks are continuing to hit businesses with punitive interest rates for loans and overdrafts and are resorting to more severe measures to ensure they are paid.

Some are demanding that owners of small businesses put up personal assets as collateral in return for a business loan. Others are changing conditions of loans by sending emails rather than meeting in person, and giving borrowers just 48 hours to comply with unilaterally-rearranged overdraft and lending agreements.

The Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson, said he was alarmed by the banks' behaviour: "That is not the sort of constructive relationship that is sustainable between banks and businesses.

"I want a constructive relationship with them, of course, but they have to know they are going to be tested and judged by what role they play to help Britain and British business get through this economic storm."

The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, also heaped the pressure on misbehaving banks. "There is a loss of confidence in the banking system and they are increasing that loss of confidence by not acting the way banks usually do," he wrote in a Sunday newspaper.

Oh there's a lack of confidence alright. Read the rest of this post...

Citigroup received massive $300 billion last night from government

That was an amazingly fast fall from grace. Last night there were plenty of rumors about options being weighed, none of them very positive. It was only a few weeks ago that Citi was throwing lawsuits around because Wells Fargo had the audacity to purchase Wachovia with their own money instead of taxpayers funding their purchase. Can you imagine how much more this would have cost if that sale went through? Here's another management team that needs to be sent packing, without bonuses or whatever freebie they think they deserve. It's also time to go back at previous bonuses that have been paid out to the likes of Charles Prince and reclaim that funny money.

The problem continues to be a lack of faith in the markets and for good reason. Would you trust your own money in this market? Without trust there is nothing.

The U.S. government has agreed to guarantee over $300 billion of Citigroup's troubled assets -- loans and securities backed by residential and commercial real estate and other such assets -- with conditions attached. These conditions are being hammered out.

In addition, the U.S. Treasury will invest $20 billion in Citigroup from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in exchange for preferred shares with an 8 percent dividend. Citigroup will comply with enhanced executive compensation restrictions and implement the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp's mortgage modification program. This is on top of the $25 billion that the government gave Citi in October.

In a late-night announcement after a weekend of talks about what to do to help Citi, Treasury also said it and the FDIC will provide protection against losses in a pool of about $306-billion worth of loans and securities on Citigroup's balance sheet. Treasury said the U.S. Federal Reserve stood ready to backstop any additional risk in the asset pool through an offer of a non-recourse loan.

"With these transactions, the U.S. government is taking the actions necessary to strengthen the financial system and protect U.S. taxpayers and the U.S. economy", the Treasury, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said in a joint statement.

Read the rest of this post...