Drive-Bys

My girl Carol continues to give Chicago voters no reason to vote for her:

Now that former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun has changed her mind and released her federal income tax returns Tuesday, we not only have a clearer understanding of why she wanted to put it off until after the mayoral election but also what may have motivated her to come out of political retirement in the first place.

Simply put, it looks like she needs a job, and these tax returns aren’t going to help her get one on the 5th Floor of City Hall.

Following in the footsteps of Bill Brady and Alexi Giannoulias, Braun neither paid nor owed any federal income taxes for either 2008 or 2009, her returns show.

Business losses wiped out what little income she reported during those years. Unlike either of those other two non-tax-paying candidates, though, there’s not much evidence to suggest Braun has any underlying wealth.

It doesn't indicate any underlying sense of good judgment, either. In fact,

Braun’s tax returns, coupled with the fact she lives in a house encumbered with about $2 million in mortgages (which she has on the market for $1.9 million), would suggest an individual facing serious financial distress.

What does my Magic Cheezburger have to say to Ms. Mosely Braun about these revelations?

"UR DOIN IT WRONG"

This leads me to two questions:

First, when is Jesse Jackson going to figure out she's not likely to be elected and withdraw his support?

According to the trusty Magic Cheezburger: "SOOOON"

Alas, poor Jesse! Once again deprived of the position of Chief Behind-the-Scenes String-Puller of Chicago. And he was just... so... damned... close this time, too.

Second, how much campaign cash has Girlfriend raised already and what does she intend doing with any funds left over if she loses or withdraws from the race? Well, as she's said in the past:

"With this fund-raising being as successful as it is, as God is my witness, I will not go hungry again." -- Moseley-Braun

Oh, Carol! You are the gift that keeps on giving!

(And Danny Davis must either feel like a first class idiot for giving it up for this twit, or like a first class sugar daddy who's managed to pay off her bills with the black community's campaign cash.)

Update: If the Chicago mayoral candidates were cats. Heh.
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This kick board...

... must be an official product of the...

Just saying...
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Doesn't everybody want a super suit?


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I've got to admire a guy who'll tell you the unvarnished truth, even when it's painful:

The faster foreclosures happen, the better it might be for the real estate market, a study from Old Dominion University suggests.

Two researchers used modeling and simulation to examine the lingering impact of foreclosures.

Really?

"The neighbor who is paying the mortgage finds out about their neighbor who isn't, and it creates something called the moral hazard problem," Seiler said. "The paying neighbor asks himself why he should continue paying his mortgage when his neighbor stopped paying a year ago and nothing bad has happened to him. It creates an incentive for people to do a bad behavior, one that's harmful to others in the market. This problem is quickly getting out of control and someone needs to step in."

Seiler likened it to taking off a Band-Aid. It hurts to pull it off quickly, but then it's over. Pulling it off slowly lengthens the pain.

This flies in the face of government programs to slow or stop the foreclosure process and keep people in their homes.

Ouch, indeed.
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Giggle of the Day or Ear Worm of the Day? -- You tell me:


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If you've got to go to the dentist (and I did), this view is a small compensation:

The Jay Pritzger Pavilion, the Bean and the McCormick Tribune Plaza and ice rink, the Lurie Garden and Lake Michigan, all in one shot. Sweet!
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