Scott Mintz = Everything That's Wrong With Liberal Yuppies in Obamanation

Scott Mintz is a chiropractor in Los Angeles who bought 4 homes, renting out 3 of them. He is now up to his ears in debt. Rather than declaring bankruptcy, he instead wants the taxpayers of America to bail him out. What a greedy yuppie asshole! You can read the full story and see a video of him here.

Many people had a lot to say about this jerk. The best of the lot was this one:

From Kate I.: "This story amazes me...As a former realtor, I get so angry I have to turn off CNBC when I hear them talking about the housing crisis...What a bunch of baloney. I would venture to guess as much as 40-50 percent of the foreclosures are people just like him. I know several personally who are losing 2 or 3 "investment" (i.e. get rich quick) houses...not their primary residences mind you...the ones they bought because the stupid, greedy, irresponsible lenders let them lie about income, lie about occupying the house as primary residence, and buy with no or little down payment. I sat in many, many closings where everyone around the table, including the mortgage broker, knew exactly what was going on...my fellow realtors were just as greedy, raking in the commissions and hoping to ride the gravy train for as long as it lasted...knowing it would come to a screeching halt! OK, thanks for letting me vent...my blood pressure is getting too high so better end my rant!"

Not All Teenagers Are Lazy & Selfish

Too often these days it seems we all encounter or read about teenagers who are lazy, selfish, or worse. They live their lives with complete disrespect for everyone and everything else. In Vancouver this often takes the form of well to do Asian, South Asian, and White kids who purport to live their lives like Faux Inner City Black Gangstas.

Well, I'm very happy to report that there are exceptions to the rule. Staying with me this summer is an 18 year old Mexican teenager named Danny. I've known him since he was seven but I've never been so proud of him as I have this past weekend. So much happened but here are the highlights:

• We hauled 17 monitors out of storage, including some old 19" ones that were 55 lbs!
• Picked up 19 computers from one of our Vancouver techs, Bruce.
• Delivered 12 computers in Vancouver, Burnaby, and Richmond, to very happy recipients.
• Moved a large dining table and chairs from my uncle's place in Ladner.
  

And through it all Danny didn't complain once, didn't avoid work once, and didn't once ask when we'd be done. What a fine young fellow!



Sidebar: The most amusing part of his time here is the way 95% of people react when I tell them that he's from Mexico. The reaction is consistently the same: A curious stare, followed by an expression of disbelief, and then either asking me if I'm joking or asserting that "he doesn't look like any Mexican person I've ever seen".

My Hopes for Canada in 2008

Here's a brief list of what I'm hoping for from Canadians in 2008:

1. Political Correctness - More than anything else, I'm convinced that political correctness has corrupted our society and any real discussions that we hope to have. When real debate cannot occur for fear of offending someone then no progress can be made on any issue.
   
   
2. Permanent Victims - I look around the world these days and see some pretty terrible things happening. The dawn of the New Year is the perfect time for Canadians to take a moment to consider how incredibly good we have it. Certainly nothing's perfect and there's always room for improvement. But it's long overdue that the overly pampered cry-babies amongst us are called out for the Permanent Victims that they are.
   
   
3. Human Rights Violations - This is a corollary to #2. When one sees people elsewhere in the world being incarcerated or even murdered for voting or running for office or not covering up "appropriately", I find it incredibly appalling how loosely and frequently some Canadians toss around the term "human rights" when they don't get their way. Have they no shame? Don't they realize that their abuse of this word has desensitized its meaning?
   
   
4. Playing the Race Card - I've noticed an increasing number of people playing the race card whenever they come up against the establishment. This is a special case of #2 that takes advantage of #1. For no organization, be they public or private, wants to be labeled a racist. But in Canada in 2007 I very much doubt that racism is the cause. It's just another technique to get your way or cast unwarranted blame at someone else.
   
   
5. A Return to Responsibility - From the very top of our society to its very depths, isn't it long overdue for people to take responsibility when they mess up? It seems to happen so rarely these days - think of the YVR Taser fiasco - and has set such a poor example for our children.
   
   
6. Generosity Instead of Selfishness - This one seems obvious but in order for it to occur, people need to ensure that they're not violating #1 - #5, especially #2 & #5. In fact, I strongly believe one of the factors contributing to increased selfishness - especially in cities - are too many people not taking responsibility for themselves and their actions.
   
   
7. Cel Phone Dysfunctional User Disorder (CP-Dud) - If a man was walking down the street, talking at high volume or even shouting, would you consider him a bit odd? If a woman at the table next to you in a restaurant was giving everyone in earshot the details of her recent yeast infection, would you consider her a bit odd? Why then, do many people consider it perfectly normally to duplicate this behaviour while on a cel phone? In 2008 I plan to use the Amy Alkon method to combat these annoying twits.
   

With that said, I sincerely wish you and your family the Very Best in 2008, most especially: Liberty, Good Health, and Prosperity!

Baby Shower Pandemonium

Dear Prudie is an online "advice" column I subscribe to. Some of the letters get my head spinning. Here's a new example:

Dear Prudie,
My husband and I are expecting our first child in June. I will have at least five showers. I was wondering if it would be acceptable to ask that one of my showers be a "gift card shower" from a particular store. We have picked out baby furniture from a store, and we know that furniture is not an item that an individual can go out and buy alone. We also know the possibilities of duplicate gifts from five showers. Should I just tell the people hosting the shower that if anyone asks what to get, to suggest a gift card from the store, or would it be acceptable to have the theme of the shower be "Babies 'R Us Gift Card Shower"?

—Mother-To-Be

Dear Mother,
If it hasn't been long since the wedding, I assume your friends are still recovering financially from your five bridal showers. To ease your burden of coming up with a theme for each of your "at least" five baby showers, cancel at least four of them. (How is it that someone ends up having five baby showers, anyway?) The theme of your baby shower (singular) is that you are starting a happy new part of your life and your friends want to help you with that transition. The theme is not scoring enough stuff to start your own baby-goods store. As for how to let people know what you'd like—it's customary for the hostess to tell the guests where the mother-to-be is registered.

—Prudie