I had been sitting on it for a couple days, but Slate had an article on it Thursday that I saw in the course of our other discussions, so I wanted to go ahead and post the older one before someone came along with the White Houses official (but badly inaccurate) statement that this is a big helping hand to homebuyers. It is not, of course; it is a big additional helping hand to banks that knowingly made bad loans. Homebuyers are largely left twisting in the wind but, as the article you linked notes, banks who committed felonies in knowingly making loans to unsuspecting borrowers get immunity from prosecution.

Perhaps the best part is the point noted at the below linked Swampland article: ANYONE who has missed a mortgage payment is ineligible for the interest rate reductions. As Times writer puts it, "only those who can still afford to pay the higher rates on their houses will get relief from this part of the fund." Obama is once again helping no one but felons and/or people who do not need it, but calling it populism. This is not an attempt to help homebuyers, it is an attempt to get re-elected.

EDIT: Oh, and via your link I also saw a Kos piece about a Republican Representative cutting to the chase on letting employers/insurers deny any and all insurance coverage based on "moral objections." Like I say, until/unless we have a public option this will be the norm.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/02/10/1063691/-GOP-Sen-Roy-Blunt-to-introduce-bill-allowing-employers-to-deny-coverage-for-any-health-service