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NPR's inane misplaced sympathy for a housing speculator.

The description of the story -- titled "Immigrant Confident Housing Market Will Come Back" -- give no hint of disapproval:

Emmanuel Njoku thought he was living the American dream. During the housing boom, the Nigerian immigrant built a portfolio of 16 properties in Prince Georges County, Md. Now his family has lost a $1.5 million home, and he faces foreclosure on half a dozen other properties. But he says he hasn't lost faith in the dream.

You've got to listen to the audio to fully appreciate the mushy-headedness of that description. The reporter, John Ydstie, never challenges the man -- whose annual income from his job is $20,000 -- to take responsibility for his absurdly risky decisions. Njoku's an immigrant who believes in "the American dream" -- which apparently means taking all you can get and blaming others when huge risks don't pan out. People like this deserve to go bankrupt. Obviously.

Don't give this man or anyone like him any of our tax money. Why should he be helped to live in a $1.5 million house? Try to picture the collection of characters NPR considered before deciding Njoku was the one to do a big human interest story about.

Full post as published by Althouse on November 03, 2008 (boomark / email).