Death of the 'Mc Mansion': Huge house era is over

On Thursday August 19, 2010, 2:15 pm EDT

 

They've been called McMansions, Starter Castles, Garage Mahals and Faux Chateaus but here's the latest thing you can call them - History.

In the past few years, there have been an increasing number of references made to the "McMansion glut" and the "McMansion backlash," as more towns pass ordinances against garishly large homes, which are generally over 3,000 square feet and built very close together.

What sets a McMansion apart from a regular mansion, according to Wikipedia, are a few characteristics: They're tacky, they lack a definitive style and they have a "displeasingly jumbled appearance."

Well, count 2010 as the year the last nail was hammered into the McCoffin: In its latest report

The Stunning Decline of Barack Obama

Posted by: Nile Gardiner. Nile is a Washington-based foreign affairs analyst and political commentator. He appears frequently on American and British television and radio, including Fox News Channel, CNN, BBC, Sky News, and NPR.

10 Key reasons that the Obama presidency is in meltdown 

The last few weeks have been a nightmare for President Obama, in a summer of discontent in the United States which has deeply unsettled the ruling liberal elites, so much so that even the Left has begun to turn against the White House. While the anti-establishment Tea Party movement has gained significant ground and is now a rising and powerful political force to be reckoned with, many of the president’s own supporters as well as independents are rapidly losing faith in Barack Obama, with open warfare breaking out between the White House and the left-wing of the Democratic Party. While conservatism in America grows stronger by the day, the forces of liberalism are

Section 8 Housing Expanding to Upscale Neighborhoods

August 2, 2010  Wall Street Journal

Welcome to Paradise - Dawn Wotapka

The houses in Paradise, a community

in Henderson, Nev., are typical of the

upgraded homes some tenants rent using

a government subsidy.

HENDERSON, Nev.—When Shawnetta Newburn left her drug-infested St. Louis neighborhood in search of a better life for her family in Las Vegas, she didn't expect to live in a house with frills worthy of a McMansion.
But Paradise awaited.
That's the name of the gated community where Ms. Newburn, a single mother who makes $10.50 an hour as a pawn-shop cashier, rents a three-bedroom townhouse with soaring ceilings, a gas-fueled fireplace and an oversize walk-in closet in the largest bedroom. The master bath even includes an enclosed toilet room, a feature popular in mini-mansions. 

Will Obama pay down mortgages to save Democrats?

The rumors are continuing to grow louder that the Obama administration is planning to announce a massive stimulus via the housing market later this month. Earlier this week, the word was that the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac might subsidize mortgage refinancing at below-market interest rates. But today, a possibility is being talked

Real America Did Not Sue Arizona

By Christopher G. Adamo

Once again, the despicable conduct of the Obama Administration compels us to do a “reality check,” this time in regard to the lawsuit filed by Eric Holder’s Justice Department against the State of Arizona. Put aside, for the moment, the abject hypocrisy of his selective devotion to the law, wherein criminal actions are ignored or dismissed if committed by such thugs as King Samir Shabazz of the New Black Panthers against common citizens attempting to vote, while decent and honorable efforts to

Ford shares surge on Volvo sale. Rating increased.

By Alan Fein

(AXcess News) New York - Shares of Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) surged following news of its sale of Volvo to Geely for $1.8 billion.  Rating agency Standard & Poor's raised Ford's rating two notches to "B+" as a result.

Geely paid Ford $1.3 billion in cash on Monday and