All real estate investors can expect bad news regarding this 4th quarter of 2009 after Freddie and Fannie requested a $400 billion ceiling in their credit pool.With this increase in available credit for the federal corporations, the Obama administration simply avoids the embarrassment and humiliation of addressing the failures of these institutions in public media, after all they already received more bailout money than any other corporation due to their close ties with government officials.

There is no better example of what happens when the government tries to manage a market than what has happened to these 2 government corporation and the corresponding performance of the housing market. Amid rising defaults, both made unusual disclosures recently, noting that the government’s pressure on them to assist the housing market could cost taxpayers.

But by lifting their credit lifelines, Congress avoided yet another bailout for Fannie and Freddie from an already embattled, bailout-happy Congress.

Consequently, even more tax payer dollars will go to the undeserved executive bonuses that the leaders of Fannie and Freddie will receive, since they got their bailout money before the initial pay guidelines were in place, and the increase in available credit does technically constitute a bailout.

Unlike Citigroup, Bank of America, AIG, Chrysler, and GM, Congress deemed that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had not received “exceptional assistance” and therefore did not have to have their pay decisions scrutinized by the pay czar.

As poorly as these two institutions have performed over the past year, the possibility of their executives receiving their $6 million pay seems ridiculous.

In 2009 the credit lines for each of them were already increased from $100 billion to over $200 billion, and now they are requesting to have that amount doubled again to total more than $800 billion, which is backed only by our governments willingness to pay the interest, with taxpayer dollars. With a combined total of over 100 billion of our taxpayer dollars already doled out to Fannie and Freddie, the government simply allows more money for them.

Typically they buy mortgages from banks and bundle them for re-sale to investors who desire the yield indicated. Together, they own or guarantee almost 31 million home loans worth about $5.5 trillion, or about half of all mortgages, reports indicate. Add in the 100’s of billions of dollars in securitizations remaining to be included in their balance sheets and you can see just how bleak things are for tax payers.

With the added padding of the funny money policies of the Treasury’s newly introduced flexible financing formula, Fannie and Freddie now get more tax payer money founded on a formula which increases their assistance based on the amount of money the lose each quarter. President Obama and this bailout happy congress have continued to boast about their efforts to stabilize the national real estate market through Fannie and Freddie, even while each federal corporation is under conservatorship and has been completely ineffective at it’s mission of preserving home prices.

As a taxpayer, you are left to wonder why all of your money is being spent on a secret bailout for federal corporations whose portfolios only continue to decline in value, by our President whose plans to stop or slow foreclosure have been an abject failure.

With new City Attorneys come new policies. In the City of Seattle, a new policy has been handed down regarding marijuana possession. They aren’t going to be prosecuted any more. As a Seattle criminal attorney I both like and (sort of) dislike this. Read on to find out why.

Before we begin, however, let’s clarify what will and will not be prosecuted. First, it’s only misdemeanor cases. This essentially means any case where the person has on their person under 40 grams of marijuana. Essentially somebody that has enough on them to smoke themselves (or with their friends). No drug czars will be going free because of this.

A potential consequence that immediately jumps out to people, particularly those deathly afraid of drugs, is that marijuana use will begin to run rampant throughout the city. People will start showing up high all over the place, not just in the comfort of their own homes or their favorite dance club. For many, this will restart the drug trade.

While possible, it is unlikely that anyone will see much difference. Though at times untrue, there is still a social stigma attached to smoking marijuana, and its distinctive smell makes it likely that people will refrain, for the most part, from smoking it wherever and whenever they want. People still have to show up for work with a clear mind.

One consequence I see, as a Seattle criminal attorney, is a likely drop in revenues for some people that have been making a tidy living off of these type of cases. All that business will be gone (and the city will be saving a ton of money too). Although I don’t market to this type of crowd or do this much business, for some it could be a pretty big hit.

This also means the loss of many of the fun search and seizure cases that are out there. Seattle criminal attorneys love nothing more than to get a search and seizure case. The cops usually don’t know what they are doing, and there is typically one huge mistake made in every search and seizure case (particularly if the client was smart enough not to give consent).

In the end, this law will have one great benefit, which the City Attorney was looking for - it will save a lot of money, both in investigation, police manpower, and time in the criminal courts. And college kids and dead heads can breathe a sigh of relief.

If you were to look through this article, you are going to get a good introduction into one of the best authors writing suspense fiction books. This man behind the covers is Ted Dekker, who has been making quite a name for himself in this genre, who has several best sellers to his credit.

The whole object of the following paragraphs is to take a moment and introduce you to what many consider to be his finest novels. So, I have included a short list of three best sellers that Dekker has written. Along with the titles, I will include a brief plot synopsis, without revealing too much information about them.

One of the things that you should also know about Dekker, is that he is a Christian author. I might have potentially lost a few of you there. I assure you, though, that this is not convert to Christ fiction works. This is more about the description of inherit evil in the world and the various ways that it can manifest itself to those that least expect to meet with it head on.

You should know that any of the novels that are about to be mentioned are all very high selling ones. There is none that is necessarily better than any other, and therefore you can safely start with any of these and be good to go. You could also opt to partake in one of the several different series that Dekker has written.

The first of these novels is titled: Sinner
This novel is set in a time that is not much different than the world that we live in now. Except in this world, anything faith and Christian related has been outlawed. It has been considered a hate crime and the world is at the mercy of Marsuvees Black, the very personification of evil. Will anyone stand to defend the truth?

Another novel that you should check out is titled: Adam
. In this novel, a behavior psychologist pursues a serial killer obsessively and dies attempting to bring him to justice. He is revived twenty minutes later, but it is the truth that is hidden in the twenty minutes he lost that could save his wife’s life. This will require him to die all over again to have any chance to stop the serial killer.

The last to be discussed is the novel House
which Dekker co-wrote with another impressive author in the genre, Frank Peretti. The story unfolds around two couples who have been unfortunately required to stay in a bed and breakfast due to car troubles. They soon realize that they are locked inside with evil. Then they meet the Tin Man who says that he intends to kill them all if one doesn’t kill another one before sunrise. Terror ensues.

Now you might understand a little better about who Ted Dekker is and the impressive collection of suspense fiction books that he has written for everyone to enjoy. Any of his novels could prove to be a great addition to your library, so feel free to check them out.