TC the Terrible

Nappy-headed ho’s may be the end of Don Imus. Does that really matter ? More important, if Imus is fired will it bring an end to bigotry, racism, or the presence of nappy-headed ho’s? Hell no. But that’s not the point is it?

Imus has a very small audience compared to other syndicated radio shows. It’s even smaller when compared to morning television news shows. So his impact on the world is not really that great. Odds are you have friends with more people on their MySpace buddy list than are listening to Imus at any given moment.

He used to be funny. But then he got old. And he got sober. Both are noble things but both tend to be boring too. The combination did him in.

Now he’s got a two week vacation coming his way. And the girls he insulted are going to get a chance to beat the shit out of him. Al Sharpton and Al Roker are calling for his head on a platter. But should they? I don’t think so.

See boys and girls, this is what us old people call the edge of a slippery slope. If we start clamping down on one bigot, then we have to clamp down on all of them. Which at first may seem ok, because it would keep Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton off the air waves too. Most of us would be willing to trade an Imus for those two, and would throw in the cab fare to boot.

But then we get past the obvious bigots. That’s where the problems would kick in. How long would it be before three chicks in New York decide they don’t like my content and get me pulled? Or how long until we have to a government that yanks programming from public broadcasting because it offends the Southern Baptist congregation in Tuskegee Alabama? Do you see where this is headed?

What the nation really needs is fewer thought police and more straight shooters. We need to get back to saying what we mean and then standing behind it. If Imus really thought that the Rutgers team looked nappy headed then why the hell should he have to apologize?
Please don’t talk to me about the harm it did to these girls. They are going to face much worse when they hit the work force and a good hook shot isn’t going to cash the checks. All they can hope for is the work place beat down is as open and honest as the one they got from an old white guy on the radio.

Imus should tell Sharpton, Roker, Jackson, et al to take a leap up his ass. Or admit that he only says what he does to jolt people into listening to his radio show. If it’s the latter he should quit and spend time on his ranch.

Housing bubbles burst. That’s a part of reality that homeowners are used to and we’ve discussed that here before. This new wrinkle at least makes it interesting.

It turns out that getting a higher appraisal for a home than its actual value is a crime. Did you know that? Me either, because I can give you the name of some appraisers in Memphis that are very generous with the value of a home when a few extra thousands are needed to make a deal work. Not that I’ve ever done that before or anything. I’m just saying I know people that can help if that’s something you are interested in.

The problem here is the lax attitude of mortgage brokers when it comes to writing a home loan. They are not doing the normal due diligence for simple things like verifying income and citizenship before writing the loan. I remember it taking months to get the paperwork right the first time I bought a home. We had to start shopping for a home almost a year out. Recently THE WOMAN and I decided that the market in NOVA had hit as far bottom as it was going to and started looking for a place to buy. We’ve gone from “Let’s look around.” to closing in less than sixty days. And the bulk of that time was to let the current owners get some things fixed before we take possession. It could have gone quicker if we had pushed the deal.

Two things are at work here. If the broker doesn’t care enough to check your income before writing the paper they should go to jail with you. They are just as complicit as you are in the crime. Second, if you are dumb enough to allow someone else to use your credit scores/report then you deserved to be jail raped with out a reach around. Period.

There are people that have hit a run of hard times and a flexible attitude in lending helps good people get started again. Everyone always wants good people to come out on top and that’s what Freddie Mae and Mac are there to do. They’re from the government and are here to help. Too many times it’s simply people wanting to buy more house than they can really afford, or don’t have good enough credit to get a rate that they like. Screw them. At some point in your life you have to begin to make amends for your sins.

If your credit sucks, maybe you should consider moving into a Section 8 housing project and paying your bills on time for a few years. Or find a nice corner and a cardboard box. It may be what you deserve.