Fannie Mae’s Patron Saint. A somewhat damning article about Barney Frank by the Wall Street Journal. Frank has been under fire for his unfettered support of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Los Angeles may restrict outdoor smoking. The city is essentially broke and they are worried about outdoor smoking. Wow.

Obama predicts years of deficits over $1 trillion. Slowing tax revenues usually have to do with overtaxation of your highest earners. More on this later.

A child, her sister and her “boyfriend” were foiled in their attempts to head to Africa and elope. Did I mention they are five, six, and seven years of age?

Salesjerk – Meet the next great TV pitchman — These commercials are fairly common even during early evening television. It is sad but I do find myself wanting to buy one, just to see if it works.

Interesting NY Times article about the costs of text messages and the revenue that they generate.

AT&T is selling refurbished iPhones for $99 until the end of December. If you have been wanting one for yourself or someone you know, now is the time to get one.

Portable OpenOffice 3.0 has been released. If you need an on-the-go editor, this is it.

The Big Picture has posted their “photos of the year“. There are some really stunning shots.