More on the Foreclosed Congresswoman

As mentioned in the comments yesterday Congresswoman Laura Richardson denied foreclosure reports stating "the residential property in Sacramento California is not in foreclosure and has NOT been seized by the bank." Hmmm, perhaps she has a different definition of foreclosure given the latest reports.
According to the WSJ:
The Sacramento home of Rep. Laura Richardson was sold in a public auction two weeks ago for $388,000. The Southern California Democrat bought the house for $535,000 with no money down in January 2007 and owed nearly $575,000 to Washington Mutual when the mortgage was sold earlier this month at a significant loss to Red Rock Mortgage Inc.

Additional details from a recent L.A. Land post from the L.A. Times:
They took a beating," James York, the Sacramento real estate broker who said he bought Richardson's house at a foreclosure auction, told the Daily Breeze.

The Daily Breeze report is based on public documents the newspaper published on its website, and an interview with York. It is at odds with Richardson's statement yesterday, in which the Long Beach Democrat said she had worked out a loan modification with her lender, and would "fulfill all financial obligations" on the property.

The Daily Breeze: "Rep. Laura Richardson lost her Sacramento home in a foreclosure auction two weeks ago, and left behind nearly $9,000 in unpaid property taxes. Richardson, D-Long Beach, appears to have made only a few payments on the house, which she bought in January 2007 for $535,000."

The newspaper's report -- that the house was foreclosed and an auction took place -- appears to conflict with Richardson's statement that the house "is not in foreclosure." (see the entire statement at the bottom of this post). Richardson's office has not responded to a request from L.A. Land for additional information about her mortgage and loan modification. The Daily Breeze reports she declined to be interviewed about the controversy.

The newspaper's report also calls into question Richardson's statement that she had worked out a loan modification with her lender and would fulfill all financial obligations related to the property. The Daily Breeze reports that the house sold for only $388,000, far below the $574,000 that Richardson owed on the property. Further, the Daily Breeze reports that the new owner, York, "assumed responsibility for Richardson's unpaid property tax bill of $8,950.79."

"Tell Laura I'd be happy to have her pay my property tax," he told the newspaper.

Also:
Richardson: Delinquent on $8,950 in taxes

Notice of Trustee's Sale

One of Richardson's first votes upon arriving in Congress last fall was on the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007. The bill helped homeowners by preventing the federal government from charging income tax on debt forgiven in a foreclosure, such as the $200,000 forgiven in Richardson's foreclosure.
Joining 385 of her colleagues, Richardson voted aye.

I just don't get it. Why would she lie about something that could be so easily verified? Will she next say that she didn't realize her home was sold in a public auction two weeks ago? I guess we'll find out...

Video UPDATE!
(Disabled due to annoying AARP commercials)

A Hello Kitty assault rifle that actually exists

Yet another HK update!!!

Another hat tip to Wagga for Hello Kitty lollipop condoms and Hello Kitty Zone in general.

A Hello Kitty assault rifle that actually exists
Awhile back we were treated to a hilarious Photoshop job called the HK-47--an assault rifle decorated with images of everybody's favorite nonpornographic, nontentacled Japanese import, Hello Kitty. We were sad to learn that it was, well, Photoshopped.

Hat tip to Mitchell for this one!
Currently watching Frontline and highly annoyed again...

UPDATE!
Hat tip to Wagga for this latest Hello Kitty find:
Hello Kitty gets claws into UK electronics
Brand developer Comment Retail Services has signed a deal to bring Hello Kitty into the hands of UK punters by way of mobile phone content and branded electronics, reports licensing.biz.
Hello Kitty is Japanese in origin, but has always been popular in the USA. In the UK the brand already adorns clothing and toys, but not much in the way of electronics, and it's sometimes hard to convey to Europeans just how pervasive the cute cat is in Japan.
Jonathan Ross, the UK TV presenter, even decided to hold his wedding in Hello Kitty land in Japan, a ceremony overseen by an enormous talking tree.
We're looking forward to seeing Hello Kitty phones and MP3 players, though personally we'll pass on the vibrator. Greater presence for the brand will also help answer the long-debated question - which is worse, Hello Kitty or Disney? ®

It's Hello Kitty everywhere!

This is an Excellent Time to be a Repo Man!

I'm a Repo Man. by ~Otto-parts

Just in time for National Dog Bite Prevention Week, I'm heading out to a dog behavior class this evening, but I thought this article was worth posting rather than leaving as a comment link:

So many people have so many things they can no longer afford. This is an excellent time to be a repo man.

When a boat owner defaults on his loan, the bank hires Jeff Henderson to seize its property. The former Army detective tracks the boat down in a backyard or a marina or a garage and hauls it to his storage area and later auctions it off. After nearly 20 years in the repossession business, Mr. Henderson has never been busier.

“I used to take the weak ones,” he said. “Now I’m taking the whole herd.”

More from the NYT's Economic Tide Is Rising for Repo Man

The Eternal Return of Hello Kitty

Hello Nietzsche by ~fael097

Must not whatever CAN run its course of all things, have already run along that lane?
Must not whatever CAN happen of all things have already happened, resulted, and gone by?
Thus Spake Zarathustra

And Hello Kitty eternally exists?

Hello Kitty. by =Djabolica

hello hello by `lithiumpicnic


HELLO KITTY by ~tale-like-me

Hello Kitty by ~myzzeriestock

UPDATE: In case you missed it check out The Hello Kitty Bathroom at Edgar's Toilet!

The Fascination of the Pool

The Fascination of the Pool by Suzanne G.

I might be an communist idealist when it comes to how I wish the art world would work, but I’m not exaggerating when I say that it always nearly kills me to walk into galleries and see staff seemingly not care about the art they exhibit and/or lack any knowledge about the artists they represent. It hurts not to be able to work in a field I have vast knowledge of and that has eventually become the essence of my life.

"Negative energy to fill the fuel tank of her spaceship"

The mastermind behind all the mayhem is this innocent-looking little girl, pictured here talking to her robot servant. She's really a crash-landed alien, and desperately needs negative energy to fill the fuel tank of her spaceship, otherwise she can't return home. (negative energy = pain, fear, guilt and any other bad emotions she can milk out of humans)
More absurd Terror Blu insanity over at The Groovy Age of Horror.

Edgar has discovered yet another bizarre Billary find:

Calming one's neurotic dog

These are some fairly recent pictures of Tanuki. As you can see in relation to the cat he is not a big dog, but he still believes he is. In fact, he is certain he is. Unlike Akubi, he also seems to carry a load of angst on his tiny little shoulders which has lead to some aggression issues. The canine behavioralist felt that he needed more intellectual stimulation, so I’ve been giving him food puzzles that Akubi steals from him until the food is gone.
Anyway, my Music to Calm Your Canine Companion CD and related book finally arrived today and it seems to be working! It makes me feel unusually relaxed as well. Here’s a sample of Beethoven / Pathetique Sonata Op. 13 and a complete zipped sample of J.S. Bach / Prelude in C piece.
I would be curious if it sedates anyone else to the degree I've experienced...
If not, I guess I've spent too much time sleeping with dogs.