http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_02/b4066046083770.htm

is an interesting article about how the city of Buffalo is trying to deal with the decay of homes that are abandoned during foreclosure. It really jumped out at me how banks aren’t in the real estate business and don’t really want the collateral. I’d imagine that by the time time everything is over with the bank losses money when there’s a foreclosure on a mortgage that’s close to a recent sale price.

I’m more pro-private property and markets than a lot of the commenter’s here but I like what they’ve done here.

Crip Chick’s post on a girl with cerebral palsy who has a sign, “do not resusicate” on her wheelchair.

bint alshamsa has written on it as well. I encountered the two above links at Brownfemipower’s site.

My blogging’s been slow. But I’m doing or trying to do one on a book I’ve been reading about “preventive policing”. I wasn’t sure where I was going so it took a strange path. I don’t have comments enabled on my blog but it elicited comments elsewhere mostly on a ballot measure that was passed in my city several years ago blaming this, that and the other. It is both the beauty of being a local blogger and one of the difficult and interesting things, especially when you have an elected official renounce your blog as racist at a public meeting which led to anonymous postings with my photo, name and a rant about me being the city’s “most prolific racist”. I think the elected official tossed it out to divert attention away from his own role in undermining civilian review in my city despite his claims that he’s supporting it. But never a dull moment.

But there’s interesting conversations, including those offline about issues as well especially on the issue of civilian review.

Preventive policing

I’m drafting more in my series, hopefully over the weekend.

http://myblasphemousramblings.blogspot.com/

Check it out if you like knitting, art, writing, fashion, and/or Robert Downey Jr.

And Happy Holidays!