Yes, I know. The numbers were horrible. Terrible. Almost inexcusable. But I'd like to offer ailing homebuilder Lennar (NYSE:LEN) at least a polite golf clap for avoiding the gawd-awful headline spin that accompanies so many other earnings releases.

None of that "important progress made in right-sizing ... blah, etc., and so on." Instead, Lennar opened with brutal facts like these: Revenues of $2.3 billion -- down 44%. Deliveries of 7,636 homes -- down 41%. New orders of 5,804 homes -- down 48%; cancellation rate of 32%.

It may not be pretty, but at least it's honest, unlike so much of what went on during the housing bubble.