Well once the little brats are breathing on their own, we can listen to the Catholics on how to treat them

 

Nancy loves the little children, all the children of the world…

Nancy Pelosi is singing the praises of the Catholic Bishops and their support for treating the invasion kids swarming across our borders.

“During the break I visited Brownsville, Texas and saw the challenge that we are facing there. Little children, little children coming across the border. … Whatever you think of it, there is a humanitarian need. No one speaks to it more eloquently than the National Catholic Conference of Bishops [sic] in their report on it. … The bishops talk about baby Jesus being, fleeing violence, that’s how they begin — in the beginning of their report. And at the end of their report they say that to send these children back would be like to send them into a burning building.”

“It’s about the children,” she reiterated. “As I said, read the National Catholic Conference of Bishops, they’re so eloquent and beautiful on the subject.”

And what about those same Bishops’ stated concern for those little children’s siblings, still in their mothers’ wombs?

“Ah, they’re just a bunch of sexist men who don’t know nothing – screw ’em.”

While he was drinking beer and playing pool in Colorado, the world continued to turn

Say what?

Just a week after our Commander in Chief learned from the newspapers that German had expelled a U.S. spy , he has now learned that the CIA station chief has also been asked to leave Berlin. I can’t keep track of all the things Obama knew nothing about until alerted by reporters, but they include the gun running scheme with Mexican drug lords, the IRS targeting conservatives, the Benghazi attack and cover up, the IRS cover up, the collapse of Egypt, the Libyan revolution, and now, the collapse of our spy network in Germany. There are plenty more; in fact, almost nothing that’s happened to Obama in his five plus years of incumbency has been known by the man in advance, and none of it has ever been his fault.

I blame Bush, and he does too.

Highview Avenue sale

 

17 Highview Avenue

17 Highview sold for $1.695, going in a bidding war (last spring) for $100,000 over what was asked. The seller was local builder Jimmy Aiello, so I’m guessing he originally bought it to develop the land, and changed his mind. But it’s a nice house (a bit wee, mind you) on a good street, as is, so congratulations to the new owner.

As an aside, this listing is a perfect example of why square footage descriptions on our MLS are so worthless – in 2008, it was sold as having “2,099 sq.ft.”. The buyer finished the basement, sort of, and relisted it as “2,848 ft.”. Big difference on paper, just about zero difference in reality. Don’t go by this number here in town because there’s no uniformity in interpreting the term or measurement.

Carpeting on the floor rates waste pipes above the door – the “new addition” to 17 Highview.

And we have a winner!

 

6 Meadowcroft Lane

6 Meadowcroft Lane, $14,500,000, reports a contract. Readers may remember that this same property had a deal a year ago but the buyer liked another house on Lake more and paid $23 million for that while forfeiting a $1,350,000 deposit here. So the owner not only got that cash, she was able to jump her price from $13.750 in this improving market and did even better. Not better than the $17,400,000 she originally asked back in 2011, but still, patience has been rewarded. If she’s lucky the buyer will walk from this deposit too and she can keep the cash and set it again.

26 Cobb Island Drive

Similarly, 26 Cobb Island, $3.995 has a contract, after failing to sell for $3.850 in 2011. Nice house, severe highway impact, but SOME PEOPLE ARE DEAF!, and don’t care.

Show me the money

 

“And the ice box holds its cool for up to 15 hours!”

Yet another story in our local rag about “green homes” and their desirability. Don’t get me wrong: I’ve got Scots blood in me, and I would always prefer a new furnace that’s 95% efficient over an old one that wastes 45% of its fuel, I’d  super-insulate a  home,  try to capture passive solar energy if I could, and so forth. I’m cheap and don’t like waste, so an energy efficient home has great appeal, to me.

But if you’re considering retrofitting your home, or building new, add these features for yourself, not in anticipation that the next owner will pay extra for them; he won’t, and all the blather from “green home” advocates is just that – blather. You’d think a buyer would be interested in, say, saving $400 a month in heating bills, but my experience matches those of other agents I’ve discussed this with which is, when you mention it, the buyer says, “uh huh, and what kind of granite’s in the kitchen again?”

Off to open houses

A couple that I’d like to see, including a new listing that came on while I was way, 2 Juniper Hill, asking $1.695 million. The property is entirely in Greenwich, and while I suspect a buyer will want to build new, the existing house is in good shape and entirely livable – in fact, someone lives there now (gosh). Nice, meadowy yard, with barns. Just 2 acres, but I believe there’s still a trail riding network in these parts.

Life of the 0.01%

 

“So long, suckers!”

Obama clan heading to Martha’s Vineyard for 15 days, to balance off the 16 days they spent in Hawaii last winter.  A month paid vacation, free accommodations and travel for the entire family, plus golf junkets around the country every other weekend. Nice non-work, if you can get it.

Why the Vineyard? No third world refugees to upset the children.

What the hell kind of game is this?

The loneliness of the short-distance kicker

Two soccer teams, eleven (? something like that) players on each, kick a ball around for two solid hours and the score is zero-zero. Then they each choose one guy to kick the ball at the goalie and presto, game’s over, 4-2. Why the first part of the charade? You could play this game with two players a side and finish it if 10 minutes. Lunacy.

Another reason to avoid Greenwich Avenue for the next three days

Ring of death

Greenwich Sidewalk Sales Days has always been an awful event, with many of us locals choosing to avoid the jammed sidewalks completely, but here’s something else I’ll avoid: anti-gun fanatics are setting up shop near the Havemeyer building. For any of you who care to confront these people (not with a gun, please) here’s a question you might ask them:

The event will also promote the Brady Campaign’s ASK (Asking Saves Kids) initiative, which advocates for parents to ask if there is a gun in a house or other place where their child will visit.

Will they also urge parents to ask if their child’s host has a swimming pool, instruments of death that kill 100X more children than guns? Will they be driven to their friend’s house in a car? Even worse. Are there cleaning solvents kept in unlocked cabinets? Prescription drugs?

Hysteria rules.