Monday Roundup

Real incentives for real people: Why pay your mortgage payment?

Should you keep paying your mortgage?

If you have significant equity in your home, absolutely.

If you don't, it's getting harder to answer that question, especially when our government keeps giving people who owe more than their homes are worth so many reasons not to pay.

Global Warming caused by statisticians: October hottest on record because it was September!

The reason for the freak figures was that scores of temperature records from Russia and elsewhere were not based on October readings at all. Figures from the previous month had simply been carried over and repeated two months running.

Deal Reached on Iraq

The final draft of the agreement, reached after months of negotiations, is designed to meet Iraqi concerns over its sovereignty and its security needs as it continues to grapple with a diminished but persistent insurgency.

It provides for the departure of U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of 2011 and gives Iraq the right to try U.S. soldiers and defense contractors in the case of serious crimes committed off-duty and off-base. It also prohibits the U.S. from using Iraqi territory to attack Iraq's neighbors, like Syria and Iran.

Proponents of the security pact with the Americans, including al-Maliki's interior and defense ministers, say a continued U.S. military presence is needed until Iraq's nascent security forces are capable of taking charge of security in the war-devastated nation.

Washington Post: We're not baised, we just lack diversity:

It pains me to see lost subscribers and revenue, especially when newspapers are shrinking. Conservative complaints can be wrong: The mainstream media were not to blame for John McCain's loss; Barack Obama's more effective campaign and the financial crisis were.

But some of the conservatives' complaints about a liberal tilt are valid. Journalism naturally draws liberals; we like to change the world. I'll bet that most Post journalists voted for Obama. I did. There are centrists at The Post as well. But the conservatives I know here feel so outnumbered that they don't even want to be quoted by name in a memo.

Lacking diversity and creating a hostile work environment! We're the Liberals! Let us do for the country what we can't even manage to do where we work!


Remember Iceland? What a REAL economic crisis looks like.

Roundup

Obama is considering Hillary for Secretary of State? Well, to be honest, it would be a much more important role than vice president. I'm neutral-to-slightly-positive about the idea. I think of the Democratic candidates she was most likely to get it right on diplomacy.


First female four-star general takes command. Just remember who appointed her. While Democrats talk about equality for women, the Republicans have been quietly achieving it.


Now for something really important: America abuzz about the Obamas' choice in dogs. He promised his daughters a dog if he won. Now they have to pick one.

Speaking of his daughters, I suspect they're the real losers of this campaign. Perhaps, being younger, cuter, and...let's face it, Obama's daughters, perhaps they'll fare better in the media than Chelsea Clinton or Amy Carter. Those poor girls got utterly savaged at an age when such things can leave lasting scars. Bush managed to keep his daughters out of the spotlight--when they weren't pushing themselves into it. No matter what Obama may or may not do, let's leave his daughters alone, okay?


Obama may want to curtail the effect of Lobbyists, but he's probably alone in his party on this.


Obama to meet with McCain on Monday. I wouldn't expect anything significant to come from this. After all, Obama will meet with anyone, without preconditions.


Newsweek makes the case for bailing out the auto industry. I'm inclined to favor the "let them hang" crowd, but the reality is the economy really can't stand that big a shock right now. The auto industry food chain is much larger than most people appreciate, I think. It might not be a bad thing to postpone the inevitable for a few years.


Stephen Green evaluates the president-elect's administration thus far and is less than thrilled.


Jules Crittenden believes Bush didn't get the memo that he's a lame duck.

Indeed, if anything it appears he'll live on indefinitely as a useful bogeyman.


More on the "plot to demonize Bill Ayers". Frankly, is there anything they can do he hasn't already done to himself? The man is a demon, even if he's retired, toothless, and trying to indoctrinate the next generation. How can a former bomber who feels he didn't kill enough people be anything other than a demon? We're hunting Osama Bin Laden, but we're giving Ayers free air time to pump his book. Where is the justice in that?

...and that's enough for one day.