Summer of 2008 Exxon Mobile reported a record breaking 11.68 billion 2nd quarter profits. Today Exxon Mobile shattered that record when they reported 14.83 billion in 3rd quarter profits. Nice to see that some industries aren't affected by this financial meltdown and impending deep recession, huh. Remind me again why we need to offer tax incentives and government subsidies to these people?
I have a problem with the republican slogan, "Country First". Palin tells us that if she and McCain are elected, these words will be printed on every page of the Federal employee hand book. It seems to me that a lot of bad things can be done to free thinking people under the umbrella of "Country First". In the past, slogans like this that remind government employees that the individual citizen is far less important that the country and the party that rules it. I'm reminded of John Lennon's "Imagine". My choice of a slogan printed in the handbook would be "We the people First".
Here's a Jefferson quote the Left often uses: "A Bill of Rights is what the people are entitled to against every government, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference."
Here's one the Right is fond of: "A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor and bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government."
Here's the one I like: "A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine. "
Our fore fathers, like the Romans before them feared the 51% and didn't think it was a good idea to give the unwashed, uneducated masses too much power or "say" in their own governing so, they devised something called a representative democracy. The unwashed and uneducated could vote for someone they felt best looked after their interests. Just in case that individual didn't stay true to his constituency, we have the three separate branches as a sort of check and balance. Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. No one branch has controls the power.
No one branch nor one party, however it may not be that way anymore. Over the past 6 years the Judicial (the Supreme Court) had two new appointees, both staunch conservatives, giving the deciding vote to Head Justice Roberts. Justice Roberts, according to a 16-page financial disclosure form Roberts submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee prior to his Supreme Court confirmation hearings, his net worth was more than $6 million, including $1.6 million in stock holdings. I don't have a problem with Roberts earning a 6 million his 50th birthday, but I do have a problem with the fact that he held positions in Republican administrations in the U.S. Department of Justice and Office of the White House Counsel. He's a wealthy Republican insider that has defended big business on several occasions when he was a practicing attorney. And most recently upheld Exxon's right to gouge billions in profits from the very people whose tax dollars subsidize that company.
Let me just wrap this one up with one more Jefferson quote: "Experience demands that man is the only animal which devours his own kind, for I can apply no milder term to the general prey of the rich on the poor. "
DaG Out
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Thank you uncle Jimmy for this FWD
Dear Red States:
If you manage to steal this election too we've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us. In case you aren't aware, that includes California , Hawaii , Oregon , Washington , Minnesota , Wisconsin , Michigan , Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California. Now we realize that there are many of you who vote blue but, find yourself living in a red state. Here's your chance to leave all that frustration behind. For a limited time, New California will accept refugees from the red states as long as they promise to value education, an informed electorate, and demand real news from the 4th estate. It also helps grease the wheels if you wear a button that's says "Sean Hannity is a pig". However, if you choose to not take advantage of this one time offer and remain in those red states:
You get Texas , Oklahoma and all the slave states. We get stem cell research and the best beaches.
We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood.
We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom.
We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss.
We get 85% of America 's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama .
We get two-thirds of the tax revenue, you get to make the red states pay their fair share.
Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22% lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms.
Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq , and hope that the WMDs turn up, but we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's Quagmire.
With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80% of the country's fresh water, more than 90% of the pineapple and lettuce, 92% of the nation's fresh fruit, 95% of America's quality wines, 90% of all cheese, 90% of the high tech industry, 95% of the corn and soybeans (thanks Iowa!), most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools plus Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT.
With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88% of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92% of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100% of the tornadoes, 90% of the hurricanes, 99% of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100% of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia.
We get Hollywood and Yosemite , thank you. Additionally, 38% of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62% believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the war, the death penalty or gun laws, 44% say that evolution is only a theory, 53% believe that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61% of you crazy bastards believe you are people with higher morals then we lefties.
Finally, we're taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed they grow in Mexico
Peace out,
DaG and the Blue States
Note: The above post is satire and not to be taken seriously. I am not a secessionist, that's Todd Palin's bag.
If you manage to steal this election too we've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us. In case you aren't aware, that includes California , Hawaii , Oregon , Washington , Minnesota , Wisconsin , Michigan , Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California. Now we realize that there are many of you who vote blue but, find yourself living in a red state. Here's your chance to leave all that frustration behind. For a limited time, New California will accept refugees from the red states as long as they promise to value education, an informed electorate, and demand real news from the 4th estate. It also helps grease the wheels if you wear a button that's says "Sean Hannity is a pig". However, if you choose to not take advantage of this one time offer and remain in those red states:
You get Texas , Oklahoma and all the slave states. We get stem cell research and the best beaches.
We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood.
We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom.
We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss.
We get 85% of America 's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama .
We get two-thirds of the tax revenue, you get to make the red states pay their fair share.
Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22% lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms.
Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq , and hope that the WMDs turn up, but we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's Quagmire.
With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80% of the country's fresh water, more than 90% of the pineapple and lettuce, 92% of the nation's fresh fruit, 95% of America's quality wines, 90% of all cheese, 90% of the high tech industry, 95% of the corn and soybeans (thanks Iowa!), most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools plus Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT.
With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88% of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92% of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100% of the tornadoes, 90% of the hurricanes, 99% of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100% of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia.
We get Hollywood and Yosemite , thank you. Additionally, 38% of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62% believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the war, the death penalty or gun laws, 44% say that evolution is only a theory, 53% believe that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61% of you crazy bastards believe you are people with higher morals then we lefties.
Finally, we're taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed they grow in Mexico
Peace out,
DaG and the Blue States
Note: The above post is satire and not to be taken seriously. I am not a secessionist, that's Todd Palin's bag.
Double Standard
If you are one of those who do not think that we are being manipulated the powerful elite: I give you oil prices below $65. Weren't we told just last week that "Drill Baby Drill! was the best way to help bring down the price at the pump? Today I saw gasoline for $1.93 a gallon. Now, we haven't discovered vast new supplies of crude to explain this, Opec hasn't flooded the market, and the oil companies didn't start feeling guilty about gouging us over the last year. Nope, the only thing that has changed is those speculators that artificially pushed up the price per barrell are in the process of receiving nearly a trillion dollars from the United States treasury. Oh yeah, and the election is next week.
$700 + billion of your and my money needed to bailout failed financial institutions, of which $70 billion of it went to pay million dollar bonuses to the executives, $440,000 for AIG executive vacations, $250 billion more given to banks to help fund the buying out and mergers of smaller banks. A move that will ensure less competition among the banking industry, costing you and me more in bank services and interest rates. $25 billion for GM, Ford, and Chrysler. Is there no credit limit to the tax payer backed credit cards? Is there no interest rate? No APR? Where can I apply for this card?
Haven't we been told that we live in a capitalist society? Isn't the market place supposed to determine the success or failure of businesses? Why is the double standard being applied here? When a democrat encourages congress to cut checks for unemployment benefits. health programs, or welfare, it's called 'socialism" and "redistribution of wealth." These democrat Marxist want to take money out of the wallets of hard working Joe the Plumber and spread it to those who don't even pay taxes.
It's not the case when the Repubs want the checks cut. Oh no, McCain defended the bailout weekend on "Meet the Press" saying, "Because we are in a financial crisis of monumental proportions. The role of government is to intervene when a nation is in crisis."
Senator McCain, doesn't call it socialism or the redistribution of wealth, or even seem to be concerned about his latest adopted son, "Joe the plumber". Doesn't senator McCain realize that Joe's hard earned cash is being given to millionaires who have exercised poor judgement in the managing of trillions of dollars?!!
If American car manufacturers are in danger of going under, a large part of it is because of the unfairness of no tariff imports and partly because they are not modernizing their designs to keep up with the changing times . . . .how is giving them our tax dollars going to do anything but keep them a float for another year or so? As far as I can see there is no mention of any changes being made in their operations . . . only the infusion of my tax dollars.
Forgive me if I repeat myself in covering the topics of these blogs but, the ridiculousness of the way our country is being governed, financed, and manipulated has me in such a tizzy that I either have to vent in these posts or start a revolution! I'm just too old to start a revolution. Revolutions are a young man's game. Now if any of you more youthful disenfranchised patriots want to start one, I'd be more than happy to offer my services as a speech writer, protest sign painter, and I'll supply the duct tape to bind any captured P.O.W.s like maybe Paulsen, Bernanke, Greenspan, Frank, Dodd, Bush and anybody in congress that voted for the bail out . . . including McCain and Obama. (I'll suggest that we let Obama go if he promises to never do it again. Can't let McCain go because he's a repeat offender.. . remember the Keating 5)
DaG Out
$700 + billion of your and my money needed to bailout failed financial institutions, of which $70 billion of it went to pay million dollar bonuses to the executives, $440,000 for AIG executive vacations, $250 billion more given to banks to help fund the buying out and mergers of smaller banks. A move that will ensure less competition among the banking industry, costing you and me more in bank services and interest rates. $25 billion for GM, Ford, and Chrysler. Is there no credit limit to the tax payer backed credit cards? Is there no interest rate? No APR? Where can I apply for this card?
Haven't we been told that we live in a capitalist society? Isn't the market place supposed to determine the success or failure of businesses? Why is the double standard being applied here? When a democrat encourages congress to cut checks for unemployment benefits. health programs, or welfare, it's called 'socialism" and "redistribution of wealth." These democrat Marxist want to take money out of the wallets of hard working Joe the Plumber and spread it to those who don't even pay taxes.
It's not the case when the Repubs want the checks cut. Oh no, McCain defended the bailout weekend on "Meet the Press" saying, "Because we are in a financial crisis of monumental proportions. The role of government is to intervene when a nation is in crisis."
Senator McCain, doesn't call it socialism or the redistribution of wealth, or even seem to be concerned about his latest adopted son, "Joe the plumber". Doesn't senator McCain realize that Joe's hard earned cash is being given to millionaires who have exercised poor judgement in the managing of trillions of dollars?!!
If American car manufacturers are in danger of going under, a large part of it is because of the unfairness of no tariff imports and partly because they are not modernizing their designs to keep up with the changing times . . . .how is giving them our tax dollars going to do anything but keep them a float for another year or so? As far as I can see there is no mention of any changes being made in their operations . . . only the infusion of my tax dollars.
Forgive me if I repeat myself in covering the topics of these blogs but, the ridiculousness of the way our country is being governed, financed, and manipulated has me in such a tizzy that I either have to vent in these posts or start a revolution! I'm just too old to start a revolution. Revolutions are a young man's game. Now if any of you more youthful disenfranchised patriots want to start one, I'd be more than happy to offer my services as a speech writer, protest sign painter, and I'll supply the duct tape to bind any captured P.O.W.s like maybe Paulsen, Bernanke, Greenspan, Frank, Dodd, Bush and anybody in congress that voted for the bail out . . . including McCain and Obama. (I'll suggest that we let Obama go if he promises to never do it again. Can't let McCain go because he's a repeat offender.. . remember the Keating 5)
DaG Out
Monday, October 27, 2008
Misguided Fears
When I read that as many as 7 million registered voters have been purged from the swing states, it became apparent that senator Obama need not worry about the shadow government knocking him off. Those power brokers in the military industrial complex who have enjoyed substantial profits, unfettered access to the public coffer, and no bid contracts under the current administration won't have to resort to violence to keep Obama out of the white house. They've got the e-voting machines and the on going voter purging in their arsenal. The termination option is no longer necessary to prevent your opponent from winning.
By DAN FROSCH
Published: October 24, 2008
A national voter group filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Mike Coffman alleging that as many as 30,000 voters had been purged from the rolls in Colorado.
CNN.com has a story up now about up to 50,000 new voters in Georgia having been been purged (even after being informed they were registered, and almost certainly most of them erroneously), with insufficient time to correct the mistake.
A lawsuit has been filed over Georgia's mismatch system, and the state is also under fire for requesting Social Security records for verification checks on about 2 million voters -- more requests than any other state.
In Florida, election officials found that 75 percent of about 20,000 voter registration applications from a three-week period in September were mismatched due to typographical and administrative errors. Florida's Republican secretary of state ordered the computer match system implemented in early September.
This doesn't mean that senator O doesn't have to worry about the lone nut or the skin heads or the KKK but, it doesn't appear that he need fear a government conspiracy type attempt. This is really good news. Lone nuts, skin heads, and the KKK have to get past law enforcement officers and the secret service. Those inbred racists rarely if ever have the intelligence or planning ability to pull off a child's birthday party let alone an assassination plot. The military industrial complex operatives not only have the intel, strategy, and access. They have trained sharp shooters can knock a fly off of a pile of shit at 300 yards. Kinda sucks that the integrity of this country's election process has been corrupted and violated like a teen age runaway turning tricks the streets of some big city, but it beats taking a life.
DaG out
By DAN FROSCH
Published: October 24, 2008
A national voter group filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Mike Coffman alleging that as many as 30,000 voters had been purged from the rolls in Colorado.
CNN.com has a story up now about up to 50,000 new voters in Georgia having been been purged (even after being informed they were registered, and almost certainly most of them erroneously), with insufficient time to correct the mistake.
A lawsuit has been filed over Georgia's mismatch system, and the state is also under fire for requesting Social Security records for verification checks on about 2 million voters -- more requests than any other state.
In Florida, election officials found that 75 percent of about 20,000 voter registration applications from a three-week period in September were mismatched due to typographical and administrative errors. Florida's Republican secretary of state ordered the computer match system implemented in early September.
This doesn't mean that senator O doesn't have to worry about the lone nut or the skin heads or the KKK but, it doesn't appear that he need fear a government conspiracy type attempt. This is really good news. Lone nuts, skin heads, and the KKK have to get past law enforcement officers and the secret service. Those inbred racists rarely if ever have the intelligence or planning ability to pull off a child's birthday party let alone an assassination plot. The military industrial complex operatives not only have the intel, strategy, and access. They have trained sharp shooters can knock a fly off of a pile of shit at 300 yards. Kinda sucks that the integrity of this country's election process has been corrupted and violated like a teen age runaway turning tricks the streets of some big city, but it beats taking a life.
DaG out
Friday, October 24, 2008
Open letter to senator Obama
Dear Senator Obama,
I would like to take this opportunity to offer you my friendship and to thank you . . . for a number of reasons. First the offer of friendship: While it's true we have never before met, I think you should know that we could become great buds. There are people that I had never before met who became my friends. They don't have half as much in common with me as you do. I mean you're a Leo, born in August during the Kennedy administration . . . I'm a Leo, born in August during the Kennedy administration! Your mother was white and your father was black. . . . my mother was white and my father had black friends! Your father was a goat herder . . . my father had a goatee! Your parents were sixties liberals . . . my parents were sixties liberals! Your parents divorced when you were a kid . . . my parents divorced when I was a kid! You like to shoot hoops . . I like to shoot hoops! You graduated at the top of your class at Harvard Law school . . . I went to class and graduated from High School! Your wife's name is Michele . . . my girlfriend's middle name is Michele! You have two kids . . .I have two kids! You're running for president of the United States. . . I ran for student council in Ben Geyer Junior High! I mean it's like were practically the same person!
What you have accomplished in 47 years on this planet is simply remarkable. At a time when mixed race marriages were looked upon with disapproving eyes in this country, your mother and father brought you into this world. Consider yourself lucky to have spent your teen years in Hawaii during the 70's. Some folks here in "Main Street" USA could've made it kind of tough on a kid of mixed race.
When you were still in diapers your father left you and your mother and I bet times were tough. Your mom eventually hooked up with another guy who became your step dad and moved you and your mom to Indonesia. That had to be wild, a 6 or 7 year old born in Hawaii now finds himself living in Indonesia. Just 4 or 5 years later you're sent to live with your grandmother. Again, that must have been very emotional for you as well. Turned out to be a very good thing because like your mother, your grandma valued education and continued fostering your thirst for knowledge.
Since I was very young, I have dreamed of a country where race no longer mattered. Actually I dream of a world where it no longer matters. Much like the comedian George Carlin I want men and women of every race to fuck the shit out of each other so we'll all be of one race. The future race will be caramel colored and it'll be called the human race. Then maybe we can get on with the really important things. Okay now that the groundwork is laid let get to the thanking. Thank you for being so studious and acquiring such a thirst for knowledge. Getting into Harvard is an accomplishment in itself. Graduating at the very top of your class from Harvard Law is cause for a month long celebration with dancing girls and controlled substances. Then to put off a highly lucrative career in order to help those who haven't the clout to help themselves put you right up there with Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. (. .oops, let's not go there.)
Mr. Obama and I soon hope to say President Obama, not enough can be said about the way you have inspired an electorate without negative campaigning. While your opponents and political machine slings more mud than can be found at the bottom of the Mississippi Delta you remain focused on the issues. When you're opponents result to rhetoric designed to evoke violent responses from the crowd, you are quick to quell even the "booing" of your counterpart. Any truly impartial observer sees and hears intelligent answers sans the buzz words and political talking points when you are questioned. How refreshing!
You sir are a prime example of a leader who can keep his cool when all about you are losing theirs. Credit where credit is due . . . never thought a democratic candidate stood a chance in the race for the white house without fighting fire with fire. You've proved me and Thom Hartman (author of Breaking the Code) wrong. If the fix isn't in and the election were held today. . . you would be the next president of these United States. That would be one of the most prideful moments of my lifetime. The birth of my youngest son. My oldest son choosing to take my last name. My mom yelling at a spurned girlfriend of mine who thought my mom would be upset if she knew that I was dating a Hispanic girl. Mom gave the cliche' liberal response, "I don't care if she's pink, purple or polka dotted!!" (even though Mom hated polka dotted people) If this election is stolen from you, it won't rob me of the pride I feel knowing that a huge portion of this country has socially evolved, conquered old prejudices and voted for an intelligent progressive for president. And now my sons are grown and both have voted for you, even my crotchety old libertarian/anarchist Dad is voting for you. Because of you Senator Obama people from all walks of life have taken an unprecedented interest in our political process.
Now this may sound racists but it's not meant that way: I'm not so naive' as to think that a large number of black voters are voting for you just based on your skin color. While I sincerely believe that reverse racism is just as wrong as racism their is one humongous difference here. The pendulum of equality has been on the white man's side for so very long. In order for it to settle at a truly neutral place, it may need to swing the other side for awhile. So, if the brothers and the sisters want to vote for someone because of their skin color. Let it be. More power to them! After all, white politicians who don't agree with the KKK manifest, benefit by the votes the Klan members cast.
You got balls senator! Not since John Wayne as Marshall Rooster Cogburn took on Ned Pepper and his gang in "True Grit" have I seen such bravery. Knowing you will be the target of every white supremacist organization, simple minded hate filled FOX NEWS watching red neck, and shadow government power broker, you entered this race. I'm not a religious man but, I pray for your safety everyday. It would be such a horrible demoralizing and tragic event should another progressive voice be silenced like those in the sixties.
So, in closing . . .what'd'ya say? You and Michele pack up the kids this summer and come over for a swim and I'll grill us some steaks. Seriously, I gotta a really nice gas grill and I know how to use it.
DaG Out
I would like to take this opportunity to offer you my friendship and to thank you . . . for a number of reasons. First the offer of friendship: While it's true we have never before met, I think you should know that we could become great buds. There are people that I had never before met who became my friends. They don't have half as much in common with me as you do. I mean you're a Leo, born in August during the Kennedy administration . . . I'm a Leo, born in August during the Kennedy administration! Your mother was white and your father was black. . . . my mother was white and my father had black friends! Your father was a goat herder . . . my father had a goatee! Your parents were sixties liberals . . . my parents were sixties liberals! Your parents divorced when you were a kid . . . my parents divorced when I was a kid! You like to shoot hoops . . I like to shoot hoops! You graduated at the top of your class at Harvard Law school . . . I went to class and graduated from High School! Your wife's name is Michele . . . my girlfriend's middle name is Michele! You have two kids . . .I have two kids! You're running for president of the United States. . . I ran for student council in Ben Geyer Junior High! I mean it's like were practically the same person!
What you have accomplished in 47 years on this planet is simply remarkable. At a time when mixed race marriages were looked upon with disapproving eyes in this country, your mother and father brought you into this world. Consider yourself lucky to have spent your teen years in Hawaii during the 70's. Some folks here in "Main Street" USA could've made it kind of tough on a kid of mixed race.
When you were still in diapers your father left you and your mother and I bet times were tough. Your mom eventually hooked up with another guy who became your step dad and moved you and your mom to Indonesia. That had to be wild, a 6 or 7 year old born in Hawaii now finds himself living in Indonesia. Just 4 or 5 years later you're sent to live with your grandmother. Again, that must have been very emotional for you as well. Turned out to be a very good thing because like your mother, your grandma valued education and continued fostering your thirst for knowledge.
Since I was very young, I have dreamed of a country where race no longer mattered. Actually I dream of a world where it no longer matters. Much like the comedian George Carlin I want men and women of every race to fuck the shit out of each other so we'll all be of one race. The future race will be caramel colored and it'll be called the human race. Then maybe we can get on with the really important things. Okay now that the groundwork is laid let get to the thanking. Thank you for being so studious and acquiring such a thirst for knowledge. Getting into Harvard is an accomplishment in itself. Graduating at the very top of your class from Harvard Law is cause for a month long celebration with dancing girls and controlled substances. Then to put off a highly lucrative career in order to help those who haven't the clout to help themselves put you right up there with Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. (. .oops, let's not go there.)
Mr. Obama and I soon hope to say President Obama, not enough can be said about the way you have inspired an electorate without negative campaigning. While your opponents and political machine slings more mud than can be found at the bottom of the Mississippi Delta you remain focused on the issues. When you're opponents result to rhetoric designed to evoke violent responses from the crowd, you are quick to quell even the "booing" of your counterpart. Any truly impartial observer sees and hears intelligent answers sans the buzz words and political talking points when you are questioned. How refreshing!
You sir are a prime example of a leader who can keep his cool when all about you are losing theirs. Credit where credit is due . . . never thought a democratic candidate stood a chance in the race for the white house without fighting fire with fire. You've proved me and Thom Hartman (author of Breaking the Code) wrong. If the fix isn't in and the election were held today. . . you would be the next president of these United States. That would be one of the most prideful moments of my lifetime. The birth of my youngest son. My oldest son choosing to take my last name. My mom yelling at a spurned girlfriend of mine who thought my mom would be upset if she knew that I was dating a Hispanic girl. Mom gave the cliche' liberal response, "I don't care if she's pink, purple or polka dotted!!" (even though Mom hated polka dotted people) If this election is stolen from you, it won't rob me of the pride I feel knowing that a huge portion of this country has socially evolved, conquered old prejudices and voted for an intelligent progressive for president. And now my sons are grown and both have voted for you, even my crotchety old libertarian/anarchist Dad is voting for you. Because of you Senator Obama people from all walks of life have taken an unprecedented interest in our political process.
Now this may sound racists but it's not meant that way: I'm not so naive' as to think that a large number of black voters are voting for you just based on your skin color. While I sincerely believe that reverse racism is just as wrong as racism their is one humongous difference here. The pendulum of equality has been on the white man's side for so very long. In order for it to settle at a truly neutral place, it may need to swing the other side for awhile. So, if the brothers and the sisters want to vote for someone because of their skin color. Let it be. More power to them! After all, white politicians who don't agree with the KKK manifest, benefit by the votes the Klan members cast.
You got balls senator! Not since John Wayne as Marshall Rooster Cogburn took on Ned Pepper and his gang in "True Grit" have I seen such bravery. Knowing you will be the target of every white supremacist organization, simple minded hate filled FOX NEWS watching red neck, and shadow government power broker, you entered this race. I'm not a religious man but, I pray for your safety everyday. It would be such a horrible demoralizing and tragic event should another progressive voice be silenced like those in the sixties.
So, in closing . . .what'd'ya say? You and Michele pack up the kids this summer and come over for a swim and I'll grill us some steaks. Seriously, I gotta a really nice gas grill and I know how to use it.
DaG Out
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
That's all I can stands cuz I can't stands no more!
Will somebody please tell Mrs. Sarah Palin that small town America isn't the only place hard working, patriotic, real Americans can be found. Just because someone doesn't agree with your political message doesn't mean that person isn't a real American. On the contrary, the fact that someone exercises their 1st Amendment rights and voices a dissenting opinion is as real as it gets, sister! Those who march lock step to the beat of your divisive rhetoric drum are far more like the brown shirts of Germany in 1934, than real Americans of the 21st century. How horrible it is for the children of this country to witness the corruption of one of the greatest gifts it has to offer, the peaceful transfer of power through democratic held elections. What used to be heated political contests of vision and ideas has been hijacked by the Right and turned into political civil war. (I'm not using the term "civil war" as hyperbole) Right Wing Republicans have claimed Christianity, Patriotism, and the American way as teir own. And their not sharing! According to the new doctrine of the right, it's "Us" against "Them". Echoed in the words of W, "You're either with us or against us." Damn, that's divisive, counter productive, stupid, and dangerous. It didn't used to be this way, Kennedy sought the advise of both Repubs and Dems, knowing that both parties loved their country. You could disagree with each other's policies and ideas but, you didn't accuse someone of being dangerous or evil or not real Americans if they belonged to the other party. ( Unless your name was Joseph) This path we're heading down is going to lead us into a very dark place. Do we really want to go there? Questioning patriotism or loyalty to the country is the protocol of a fascist society and not a democracy.
Now having said all that, attacking those highly paid pseudo pundits and talk show hosts is absolutely fair game. Insulting these guys and gals in no way harms democracy as I don't call into question their loyalty. It's obvious to me that they bow to the almighty dollar.
If you wonder why senator McCain finds himself talking down supporters who say they fear an Obama presidency, it's because of the junk yard dogs like Hannity continually try to equate a Democrat or a Liberal with someone who is A-moral, unAmerican, and a terrorist sympathizer. He has said repeatedly that, "Americans have a lot to fear if Obama becomes president."
I actually heard a local Right wing talk show host say that he knew for a fact that George Bush, Dick Cheney, John McCain, and Sarah Palin love this country more than Barack Obama. It was said with great confidence. This guy needs to resign from the radio gig and go to work as a mentalist . . .apparently he can read minds. Can you say thought police?
Let's not forget the grand daddy of all the right wing wind bags, the fat drug addicted racist ass clown Rush Limbaugh. Rush told his sheep (oops sorry I meant listeners) that Obama is an Arab and not an African American. What a bigot! Obama is not an Arab, nor is he of Arab descent and even if he was who gives a shit?! Interestingly enough Rush just this week after the Colin Powell endorsement told everyone that the only reason Powell endorsed Obama was because of race. He was emphatic about it. I guess he forgot that he told everybody that Obama was black. Maybe Rush thinks General Powell is an Arab as well.
I thought the 2004 presidential race was as bad as it was going to get in this country. The swift boating of a John Kerry, a Viet Nam Vet who received a purple heart mocked at the Repub convention with the band aids. I was wrong this campaign takes the cake.
McCain campaign rep and congress woman Barbara Bachman re-invokes McCarthyism with her comment on last night's edition of HARDBALL. Ms Bachman believes that Obama may hold anti-American views and wishes that the news media would to do an in depth expose' on those in congress who hold those same "Un- American" views. Are you kidding me? I thought this crap went the way of the Edsel. The bright side: Since her ill fated appearance on HARDBALL, the RNC has pulled all her advertising financing for re-election bid. Her Democratic opponent, who was down in the polls, has received nearly a million dollars in campaign donations and has closed the gap. The race is up for grabs. It is to laugh
I just want to finish up with the hypocrisy of Mrs. small town values. I'm not calling into question her patriotism or loyalty merely her hypocrisy.
By BRETT J. BLACKLEDGE, ADAM GOLDMAN and MATT APUZZO Associated Press Writers
11:19 PM CDT, October 21, 2008
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) _ Gov. Sarah Palin charged the state for her children to travel with her, including to events where they were not invited, and later amended expense reports to specify that they were on official business.The charges included costs for hotel and commercial flights for three daughters to join Palin to watch their father in a snowmobile race, and a trip to New York, where the governor attended a five-hour conference and stayed with 17-year-old Bristol for five days and four nights in a luxury hotel.In all, Palin has charged the state $21,012 for her three daughters' 64 one-way and 12 round-trip commercial flights since she took office in December 2006. In some other cases, she has charged the state for hotel rooms for the girls.Alaska law does not specifically address expenses for a governor's children. The law allows for payment of expenses for anyone conducting official state business.
According to The Politico, Palin is living large on the Republican dime.
"The Republican National Committee appears to have spent more than $150,000 to clothe and accessorize vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her family since her surprise pick by John McCain in late August," reports The Politico.
I seem to remember a huge uproar from the right when it was reported that John Edwards got $400.00 hair cuts.
Palin loves to invoke 'Joe the Plumber" as she accuses Obama for his socialist ideas saying things like, . . .with the financial crisis we find ourselves in, this is no time for socialistic ideas like the
redistribution of wealth. I paraphrased the statement.
One of Gov Palin's accomplishments was to put higher taxes on the oil companies in Alaska in 2008 so she could generate revenue for the State. Jacking up the price per barrel for those of us in the lower 48. She then distributed this money to Alaska's citizens in the form of individual rebate checks worth $3,269.00 apiece. Even those non hard working unemployed lazy welfare recipients received a check thanks to good old socialist hating Sarah.
Sarah Palin fires up her supporters questioning Obama's connection to William Ayers saying, --"Our opponent ... is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country."
Here's a few quotes I found: "My government is my worst enemy. I'm going to fight them with any means at hand." "When the [federal] bureaucrats come after me, I suggest they wear red coats. They make better targets. In the federal government are the biggest liars in the United States, and I hate them with a passion." "The fires of Hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government and I won't be buried under their damn flag."
Did William Ayers spew that hatred for the United States of America? Nope. The quote is from Joe Vogler, the raging anti-American who founded the Alaska Independence Party. The very same secessionist party that her husband Todd was a member of as recently as belonged to for seven years and as recently as 2002. In 1993 the AIP made a deal with Iran in which Iran was going to sponsor AIP as a sovereign nation. You don't hear a lot about that terrorist connection do you? Ms Pit Bull with lipstick made a video and sent it to the AIP convention earlier this year and told the members to, "Keep up the good work."
And last but not least, the Vice President is not in charge of the United States senate!!!! If elected you will not have the authority to do anything in the senate other than voting to break a tie!! That's it!!! You don't get to get in there and help write legislation or policy changes!!!! Please, please, please, read the constitution just in case you find yourself a heart beat away from the presidency.
DaG Out
Now having said all that, attacking those highly paid pseudo pundits and talk show hosts is absolutely fair game. Insulting these guys and gals in no way harms democracy as I don't call into question their loyalty. It's obvious to me that they bow to the almighty dollar.
If you wonder why senator McCain finds himself talking down supporters who say they fear an Obama presidency, it's because of the junk yard dogs like Hannity continually try to equate a Democrat or a Liberal with someone who is A-moral, unAmerican, and a terrorist sympathizer. He has said repeatedly that, "Americans have a lot to fear if Obama becomes president."
I actually heard a local Right wing talk show host say that he knew for a fact that George Bush, Dick Cheney, John McCain, and Sarah Palin love this country more than Barack Obama. It was said with great confidence. This guy needs to resign from the radio gig and go to work as a mentalist . . .apparently he can read minds. Can you say thought police?
Let's not forget the grand daddy of all the right wing wind bags, the fat drug addicted racist ass clown Rush Limbaugh. Rush told his sheep (oops sorry I meant listeners) that Obama is an Arab and not an African American. What a bigot! Obama is not an Arab, nor is he of Arab descent and even if he was who gives a shit?! Interestingly enough Rush just this week after the Colin Powell endorsement told everyone that the only reason Powell endorsed Obama was because of race. He was emphatic about it. I guess he forgot that he told everybody that Obama was black. Maybe Rush thinks General Powell is an Arab as well.
I thought the 2004 presidential race was as bad as it was going to get in this country. The swift boating of a John Kerry, a Viet Nam Vet who received a purple heart mocked at the Repub convention with the band aids. I was wrong this campaign takes the cake.
McCain campaign rep and congress woman Barbara Bachman re-invokes McCarthyism with her comment on last night's edition of HARDBALL. Ms Bachman believes that Obama may hold anti-American views and wishes that the news media would to do an in depth expose' on those in congress who hold those same "Un- American" views. Are you kidding me? I thought this crap went the way of the Edsel. The bright side: Since her ill fated appearance on HARDBALL, the RNC has pulled all her advertising financing for re-election bid. Her Democratic opponent, who was down in the polls, has received nearly a million dollars in campaign donations and has closed the gap. The race is up for grabs. It is to laugh
I just want to finish up with the hypocrisy of Mrs. small town values. I'm not calling into question her patriotism or loyalty merely her hypocrisy.
By BRETT J. BLACKLEDGE, ADAM GOLDMAN and MATT APUZZO Associated Press Writers
11:19 PM CDT, October 21, 2008
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) _ Gov. Sarah Palin charged the state for her children to travel with her, including to events where they were not invited, and later amended expense reports to specify that they were on official business.The charges included costs for hotel and commercial flights for three daughters to join Palin to watch their father in a snowmobile race, and a trip to New York, where the governor attended a five-hour conference and stayed with 17-year-old Bristol for five days and four nights in a luxury hotel.In all, Palin has charged the state $21,012 for her three daughters' 64 one-way and 12 round-trip commercial flights since she took office in December 2006. In some other cases, she has charged the state for hotel rooms for the girls.Alaska law does not specifically address expenses for a governor's children. The law allows for payment of expenses for anyone conducting official state business.
According to The Politico, Palin is living large on the Republican dime.
"The Republican National Committee appears to have spent more than $150,000 to clothe and accessorize vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her family since her surprise pick by John McCain in late August," reports The Politico.
I seem to remember a huge uproar from the right when it was reported that John Edwards got $400.00 hair cuts.
Palin loves to invoke 'Joe the Plumber" as she accuses Obama for his socialist ideas saying things like, . . .with the financial crisis we find ourselves in, this is no time for socialistic ideas like the
redistribution of wealth. I paraphrased the statement.
One of Gov Palin's accomplishments was to put higher taxes on the oil companies in Alaska in 2008 so she could generate revenue for the State. Jacking up the price per barrel for those of us in the lower 48. She then distributed this money to Alaska's citizens in the form of individual rebate checks worth $3,269.00 apiece. Even those non hard working unemployed lazy welfare recipients received a check thanks to good old socialist hating Sarah.
Sarah Palin fires up her supporters questioning Obama's connection to William Ayers saying, --"Our opponent ... is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country."
Here's a few quotes I found: "My government is my worst enemy. I'm going to fight them with any means at hand." "When the [federal] bureaucrats come after me, I suggest they wear red coats. They make better targets. In the federal government are the biggest liars in the United States, and I hate them with a passion." "The fires of Hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government and I won't be buried under their damn flag."
Did William Ayers spew that hatred for the United States of America? Nope. The quote is from Joe Vogler, the raging anti-American who founded the Alaska Independence Party. The very same secessionist party that her husband Todd was a member of as recently as belonged to for seven years and as recently as 2002. In 1993 the AIP made a deal with Iran in which Iran was going to sponsor AIP as a sovereign nation. You don't hear a lot about that terrorist connection do you? Ms Pit Bull with lipstick made a video and sent it to the AIP convention earlier this year and told the members to, "Keep up the good work."
And last but not least, the Vice President is not in charge of the United States senate!!!! If elected you will not have the authority to do anything in the senate other than voting to break a tie!! That's it!!! You don't get to get in there and help write legislation or policy changes!!!! Please, please, please, read the constitution just in case you find yourself a heart beat away from the presidency.
DaG Out
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
It's Over, They've Already Stolen 2008
Early voting has begun in several states. It is obvious to me that the fix is in. From Deibold, Premier, and ES & S voting machines flipping votes to massive voter purgings in the swing states, to the "Stepford Wives" election officials and poll workers repeating , "Everything is fine. Everything is alright. There is no need for concern. Have a nice day.", as more and more voters complain of machine errors.
Example #1. October 18, 2008
More W.Va. voters say machines are switching votes - In six cases, Democratic votes flipped to GOP
By Paul J Nyden
Staff Writer
WINFIELD, W.Va. -- Three Putnam County voters say electronic voting machines changed their votes from Democrats to Republicans when they cast early ballots last week. This is the second West Virginia county where voters have reported this problem. Last week, three voters in Jackson County told The Charleston Gazette their electronic vote for "Barack Obama" kept flipping to "John McCain".
Not one voting machine's error has ever been in favor of a Democratic candidate. Not one!!
Example #2 Ohio Secretary of State's website has hacked. This October surprise seems aimed to harrass and intimidate. The bigger concern is that the attacks could threaten sensitive records and functions of the site. And the SOS is taking precautions. In a press release Monday, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner announced that "the state website has been set in a static mode with limited functionality as a precaution." The press release also cites "denial of service" attacks against both phone and email, and which include threats of harm and or death, as well as a suspicious package.
On Oct. 16,2008 Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has asked the United States Supreme Court to protect the voting rights of an estimated 200,000 Ohioans. Because of a politically-motivated lawsuit, eligible Ohio voters could be forced to use provisional ballots if a lower court’s divided decision stands. (Provisional ballots are rarely if ever counted) The State's Supreme Court ruled in favor of Ms. Brunner. The decision by the full court repudiates the lower court's ruling siding with the Ohio Republican Party and ordering Brunner to verify records of about 200,000 of 666,000 new voters this year whose driver's license and Social Security records don't match information in other government databases.
Example #3 October 9, 2008 In response to the New York Times article reporting that thousands of voters have been purged from the voting rolls, The Colorado Secretary of State's office says potentially ineligible voters have been put on "canceled status," which it says isn't the same as taking them off rolls. The republican Secretary of State Mike Coffman adds, "Voters who have been wrongly put on cancelled status can cast provisional ballots, which will be counted if they are found to be eligible."
Mr. Secretary, Whether you put them on "canceled status" or "purged" is splitting hairs, you say potato and I say potato . . .either way these people's votes will not be counted! You are systematically diminishing the number of voters in your state, the majority of which are Democratic!!
Example #4 The "Help America Vote Act" passed into law in 2002 is another example of deception in politics. Much like "The Clean Air Act" that removed the restrictions on toxic emissions placed on businesses during the Clinton administration. The "No Child Left Behind" Act that in fact made less funding available to children's health and medical programs and totally eviscerated the "Head Start" program that helped feed under privileged kids. The Help America Vote Act actually makes it more difficult for a citizen to vote. Due to the debacle in Florida in 2000, this act mandates that all states and localities upgrade many aspects of their election procedures, including their voting machines, registration processes and poll worker training. The specifics of implementation have been left up to each state, which allows for varying interpretations of the Federal law. Those states with Republican Secretaries of State have very successfully used this act to suppress the votes of Democrats.
This lousy Act mandates the purchasing of electronic voting machines that are now in 90 percent of all the voting districts. The voting technology business is dominated by Republican-leaning U.S. and foreign corporations. Today, two Republican-controlled corporations, Election Systems and Software ( ES&S) and Diebold Voting Systems, and a British-based company, Sequoia, control about 90% of the vote count in the U.S.. (Up from 60% just 8 years ago) Many other corporations are also involved in the elections industry. Meanwhile, the long history of exit polling accurately predicting election outcomes has mysteriously become unreliable over the past 8 years. In every curious incident the Republican candidate won. There is no federal agency that has regulatory authority over the elections industry. There are no government standards or restrictions on who can sell and service voting machines and systems. Foreigners, convicted criminals, office holders, political candidates, and news media organizations can and do own these companies.
This is the last blog entry on the evils of the electronic voting. I've devoted far too many posts to this abomination and it's time to address other issues. Let me just tie this up in a nice neat little pissed of bow: Let's just suppose that you bought a computer and every time you entered the Disney web site . . . up popped Milf Hunter.com. Oh, and by the way the computers were made by a company owned by Larry Flynt and Ron Jeremy. How long would it take for congress to demand a recall? What if every time you used your universal remote to change channels and when you pushed the numbers for FOX news . . .up popped MSNBC. Then you find out that Chris Matthews owned stock that universal remote company? You see my point here? It would be the headline of every newspaper and the lead story on every news program. (except MSNBC of course) It astounds me that the Dems in congress allow this monopoly of the instruments of our democracy to go unchallenged. What am I missing here? Do I need to revisit my conspiracy theory that there is only one party and we the people are merely given the illusion of choice? I hope not but, the closer we get to election day, the more election tampering is taking place. It's time for printed receipts so a voter has indisputable proof of who he or she voted for. It's time for voter notification if they've been purged from the voting list. It's time for a moratorium on voter purging less than 90 days out from an election. Voter I.D and registration cross checking needs to be streamlined. If a car dealer, can verify a person's address, social security number, checking account, and credit rating in a timely manner, why can't state election officials? I have such a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that we' re gonna wake up on November 5th and see that they've stolen another one. I hope I'm wrong, because if that happens I'm taking it to the streets where I'll get the shit kicked out of me by some police officer in riot gear or by someone from the 3rd infantry's 1st brigade.
DaG Out
Example #1. October 18, 2008
More W.Va. voters say machines are switching votes - In six cases, Democratic votes flipped to GOP
By Paul J Nyden
Staff Writer
WINFIELD, W.Va. -- Three Putnam County voters say electronic voting machines changed their votes from Democrats to Republicans when they cast early ballots last week. This is the second West Virginia county where voters have reported this problem. Last week, three voters in Jackson County told The Charleston Gazette their electronic vote for "Barack Obama" kept flipping to "John McCain".
Not one voting machine's error has ever been in favor of a Democratic candidate. Not one!!
Example #2 Ohio Secretary of State's website has hacked. This October surprise seems aimed to harrass and intimidate. The bigger concern is that the attacks could threaten sensitive records and functions of the site. And the SOS is taking precautions. In a press release Monday, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner announced that "the state website has been set in a static mode with limited functionality as a precaution." The press release also cites "denial of service" attacks against both phone and email, and which include threats of harm and or death, as well as a suspicious package.
On Oct. 16,2008 Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has asked the United States Supreme Court to protect the voting rights of an estimated 200,000 Ohioans. Because of a politically-motivated lawsuit, eligible Ohio voters could be forced to use provisional ballots if a lower court’s divided decision stands. (Provisional ballots are rarely if ever counted) The State's Supreme Court ruled in favor of Ms. Brunner. The decision by the full court repudiates the lower court's ruling siding with the Ohio Republican Party and ordering Brunner to verify records of about 200,000 of 666,000 new voters this year whose driver's license and Social Security records don't match information in other government databases.
Example #3 October 9, 2008 In response to the New York Times article reporting that thousands of voters have been purged from the voting rolls, The Colorado Secretary of State's office says potentially ineligible voters have been put on "canceled status," which it says isn't the same as taking them off rolls. The republican Secretary of State Mike Coffman adds, "Voters who have been wrongly put on cancelled status can cast provisional ballots, which will be counted if they are found to be eligible."
Mr. Secretary, Whether you put them on "canceled status" or "purged" is splitting hairs, you say potato and I say potato . . .either way these people's votes will not be counted! You are systematically diminishing the number of voters in your state, the majority of which are Democratic!!
Example #4 The "Help America Vote Act" passed into law in 2002 is another example of deception in politics. Much like "The Clean Air Act" that removed the restrictions on toxic emissions placed on businesses during the Clinton administration. The "No Child Left Behind" Act that in fact made less funding available to children's health and medical programs and totally eviscerated the "Head Start" program that helped feed under privileged kids. The Help America Vote Act actually makes it more difficult for a citizen to vote. Due to the debacle in Florida in 2000, this act mandates that all states and localities upgrade many aspects of their election procedures, including their voting machines, registration processes and poll worker training. The specifics of implementation have been left up to each state, which allows for varying interpretations of the Federal law. Those states with Republican Secretaries of State have very successfully used this act to suppress the votes of Democrats.
This lousy Act mandates the purchasing of electronic voting machines that are now in 90 percent of all the voting districts. The voting technology business is dominated by Republican-leaning U.S. and foreign corporations. Today, two Republican-controlled corporations, Election Systems and Software ( ES&S) and Diebold Voting Systems, and a British-based company, Sequoia, control about 90% of the vote count in the U.S.. (Up from 60% just 8 years ago) Many other corporations are also involved in the elections industry. Meanwhile, the long history of exit polling accurately predicting election outcomes has mysteriously become unreliable over the past 8 years. In every curious incident the Republican candidate won. There is no federal agency that has regulatory authority over the elections industry. There are no government standards or restrictions on who can sell and service voting machines and systems. Foreigners, convicted criminals, office holders, political candidates, and news media organizations can and do own these companies.
This is the last blog entry on the evils of the electronic voting. I've devoted far too many posts to this abomination and it's time to address other issues. Let me just tie this up in a nice neat little pissed of bow: Let's just suppose that you bought a computer and every time you entered the Disney web site . . . up popped Milf Hunter.com. Oh, and by the way the computers were made by a company owned by Larry Flynt and Ron Jeremy. How long would it take for congress to demand a recall? What if every time you used your universal remote to change channels and when you pushed the numbers for FOX news . . .up popped MSNBC. Then you find out that Chris Matthews owned stock that universal remote company? You see my point here? It would be the headline of every newspaper and the lead story on every news program. (except MSNBC of course) It astounds me that the Dems in congress allow this monopoly of the instruments of our democracy to go unchallenged. What am I missing here? Do I need to revisit my conspiracy theory that there is only one party and we the people are merely given the illusion of choice? I hope not but, the closer we get to election day, the more election tampering is taking place. It's time for printed receipts so a voter has indisputable proof of who he or she voted for. It's time for voter notification if they've been purged from the voting list. It's time for a moratorium on voter purging less than 90 days out from an election. Voter I.D and registration cross checking needs to be streamlined. If a car dealer, can verify a person's address, social security number, checking account, and credit rating in a timely manner, why can't state election officials? I have such a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that we' re gonna wake up on November 5th and see that they've stolen another one. I hope I'm wrong, because if that happens I'm taking it to the streets where I'll get the shit kicked out of me by some police officer in riot gear or by someone from the 3rd infantry's 1st brigade.
DaG Out
Monday, October 20, 2008
Couldn't have said it better myself
" . . . I know both of these individuals very well now. I've known John for 25 years as your setup said. And I've gotten to know Mr. Obama quite well over the past two years. Both of them are distinguished Americans who are patriotic, who are dedicated to the welfare of our country. Either one of them, I think, would be a good president. I have said to Mr. McCain that I admire all he has done. I have some concerns about the direction that the party has taken in recent years. It has moved more to the right than I would like to see it, but that's a choice the party makes. And I've said to Mr. Obama, "You have to pass a test of do you have enough experience, and do you bring the judgment to the table that would give us confidence that you would be a good president."
And I've watched him over the past two years, frankly, and I've had this conversation with him. I have especially watched over the last six of seven weeks as both of them have really taken a final exam with respect to this economic crisis that we are in and coming out of the conventions. And I must say that I've gotten a good measure of both. In the case of Mr. McCain, I found that he was a little unsure as to deal with the economic problems that we were having and almost every day there was a different approach to the problem. And that concerned me, sensing that he didn't have a complete grasp of the economic problems that we had. And I was also concerned at the selection of Governor Palin. She's a very distinguished woman, and she's to be admired; but at the same time, now that we have had a chance to watch her for some seven weeks, I don't believe she's ready to be president of the United States, which is the job of the vice president. And so that raised some question in my mind as to the judgment that Senator McCain made.On the Obama side, I watched Mr. Obama and I watched him during this seven-week period. And he displayed a steadiness, an intellectual curiosity, a depth of knowledge and an approach to looking at problems like this and picking a vice president that, I think, is ready to be president on day one. And also, in not just jumping in and changing every day, but showing intellectual vigor. I think that he has a, a definitive way of doing business that would serve us well. I also believe that on the Republican side over the last seven weeks, the approach of the Republican Party and Mr. McCain has become narrower and narrower. Mr. Obama, at the same time, has given us a more inclusive, broader reach into the needs and aspirations of our people. He's crossing lines--ethnic lines, racial lines, generational lines. He's thinking about all villages have values, all towns have values, not just small towns have values.
And I've also been disappointed, frankly, by some of the approaches that Senator McCain has taken recently, or his campaign ads, on issues that are not really central to the problems that the American people are worried about. This Bill Ayers situation that's been going on for weeks became something of a central point of the campaign. But Mr. McCain says that he's a washed-out terrorist. Well, then, why do we keep talking about him? And why do we have these robocalls going on around the country trying to suggest that, because of this very, very limited relationship that Senator Obama has had with Mr. Ayers, somehow, Mr. Obama is tainted. What they're trying to connect him to is some kind of terrorist feelings. And I think that's inappropriate.
Now, I understand what politics is all about. I know how you can go after one another, and that's good. But I think this goes too far. And I think it has made the McCain campaign look a little narrow. It's not what the American people are looking for. And I look at these kinds of approaches to the campaign and they trouble me. And the party has moved even further to the right, and Governor Palin has indicated a further rightward shift. I would have difficulty with two more conservative appointments to the Supreme Court, but that's what we'd be looking at in a McCain administration. I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, "He's a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists." This is not the way we should be doing it in America.
I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards--Purple Heart, Bronze Star--showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life. Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I'm troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions.
So, when I look at all of this and I think back to my Army career, we've got two individuals, either one of them could be a good president. But which is the president that we need now? Which is the individual that serves the needs of the nation for the next period of time? And I come to the conclusion that because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities--and we have to take that into account--as well as his substance--he has both style and substance--he has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president. I think he is a transformational figure. He is a new generation coming into the world--onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Senator Barack Obama." - former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell
Thank you General . . . for your endorsement and for making this the easiest blog entry ever.
-DaG Out
And I've watched him over the past two years, frankly, and I've had this conversation with him. I have especially watched over the last six of seven weeks as both of them have really taken a final exam with respect to this economic crisis that we are in and coming out of the conventions. And I must say that I've gotten a good measure of both. In the case of Mr. McCain, I found that he was a little unsure as to deal with the economic problems that we were having and almost every day there was a different approach to the problem. And that concerned me, sensing that he didn't have a complete grasp of the economic problems that we had. And I was also concerned at the selection of Governor Palin. She's a very distinguished woman, and she's to be admired; but at the same time, now that we have had a chance to watch her for some seven weeks, I don't believe she's ready to be president of the United States, which is the job of the vice president. And so that raised some question in my mind as to the judgment that Senator McCain made.On the Obama side, I watched Mr. Obama and I watched him during this seven-week period. And he displayed a steadiness, an intellectual curiosity, a depth of knowledge and an approach to looking at problems like this and picking a vice president that, I think, is ready to be president on day one. And also, in not just jumping in and changing every day, but showing intellectual vigor. I think that he has a, a definitive way of doing business that would serve us well. I also believe that on the Republican side over the last seven weeks, the approach of the Republican Party and Mr. McCain has become narrower and narrower. Mr. Obama, at the same time, has given us a more inclusive, broader reach into the needs and aspirations of our people. He's crossing lines--ethnic lines, racial lines, generational lines. He's thinking about all villages have values, all towns have values, not just small towns have values.
And I've also been disappointed, frankly, by some of the approaches that Senator McCain has taken recently, or his campaign ads, on issues that are not really central to the problems that the American people are worried about. This Bill Ayers situation that's been going on for weeks became something of a central point of the campaign. But Mr. McCain says that he's a washed-out terrorist. Well, then, why do we keep talking about him? And why do we have these robocalls going on around the country trying to suggest that, because of this very, very limited relationship that Senator Obama has had with Mr. Ayers, somehow, Mr. Obama is tainted. What they're trying to connect him to is some kind of terrorist feelings. And I think that's inappropriate.
Now, I understand what politics is all about. I know how you can go after one another, and that's good. But I think this goes too far. And I think it has made the McCain campaign look a little narrow. It's not what the American people are looking for. And I look at these kinds of approaches to the campaign and they trouble me. And the party has moved even further to the right, and Governor Palin has indicated a further rightward shift. I would have difficulty with two more conservative appointments to the Supreme Court, but that's what we'd be looking at in a McCain administration. I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, "He's a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists." This is not the way we should be doing it in America.
I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards--Purple Heart, Bronze Star--showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life. Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I'm troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions.
So, when I look at all of this and I think back to my Army career, we've got two individuals, either one of them could be a good president. But which is the president that we need now? Which is the individual that serves the needs of the nation for the next period of time? And I come to the conclusion that because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities--and we have to take that into account--as well as his substance--he has both style and substance--he has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president. I think he is a transformational figure. He is a new generation coming into the world--onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Senator Barack Obama." - former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell
Thank you General . . . for your endorsement and for making this the easiest blog entry ever.
-DaG Out
Friday, October 17, 2008
WHERE IS THE 4TH ESTATE?
What good will government transparency do when what we see clearly now doesn't get reported?
I'm all for oversight, checks and balances but, over the past 8 years it hasn't mattered one little bit. The corporate media won't report on anything that truly is a danger to our democracy. Oh sure we'll get headline after headline about ACORN workers fudging voter registrations but not one word about the electronic voter machines flipping vote tallies, or the voter caging being done by the Republicans or the swing state voter purgings of Democratic voters that number in the hundreds of thousands.
Over the past 8 years Bush has appointed people to the most influencial offices of our country several without congressional approval, with their only qualification being a loyalty to George Bush. The justice department, the FBI, Homeland Security, FEMA, the CIA, the list goes on and on. Not one word about these appointments ever made the 6 o'clock news. More recently, if you weren't watching MSNB'S Countdown with Keith Oberman I doubt you'd be aware that Obama's counsel sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey asking the special prosecutor to look into the “unholy alliance” between Republican operatives and potentially illegal conduct by law enforcement targeting voter fraud and ACORN. The coordinated “misconduct” by McCain campaign representatives and GOP officials is relevant to the special prosecutor’s work, because these activities may relate to the dismissal of seven U.S. attorneys in late 2006. The letter requests that the special prosecutor’s inquiry “include a review of any involvement by Justice Dept. and White House officials in supporting the McCain-Palin campaign {and RNC's} systematic development and dissemination of unsupported, spurious allegations of vote fraud.
You see this big news, for the first time in my recollection a Democratic nominee has taken the initiative to preemptively do something about the Republican efforts to disenfranchise voters before an election instead of just bitching and moaning after an election. Kudos to the very Obama friendly Keith Oberman and Rachel Maddow for making this story "BREAKING
NEWS" . . . They're kind of like the Left's version of Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reily only funnier, smarter and less likely to incite a riot. The news came down late Friday afternoon but I see no mention of it anywhere this morning. While it remains to be seen whether or not this will result in charges being filed, (remember that Atty. Gen. Mukasey was nominated by Bush and was confirmed by the narrowest of margins) at least Obama is laying the ground work for legal action should we have a repeat of the shenanigans that enabled Bush to steal the 2000 and the 2004 elections.
Oh the Right wing blogesphere is all a buzz about this turn of events: One of the blogs called Obama's legal counsel a "Goon Squad" and another well, here I'll let one of them speak for themselves:
"After a week of shifting stories and clumsy corrections regarding Barack Obama's connections to ACORN, the Obama campaign resorted to their now-customary heavy handed tactic of attempting to criminalize political discourse. Today's outrageous letter to Attorney General Mukasey and Special Prosecutor Dannehy at the Justice Department asking for a special prosecutor to investigate Senator McCain and Governor Palin's public statements about ACORN's record of fraudulent voter registrations (including in this week's Presidential debate) is absurd. It is a typical time-worn Washington attempt to criminalize political differences. For someone who promises 'change,' it is certainly only more of the same."- Free Republic
Gotta love it! "Criminalizing political discourse" No, actually they just called attention to a coordinated effort on the part of a political party's effort to suppress votes. Something that is currently under investigation by a special prosecutor. Six US attorneys were fired because they ruled that they could find no cases of "voter fraud in the 2006 elections. A fact that those on the right seem to forget. Sure there are fraudulent registrations turned in to ACORN but, that is fraud against ACORN, not the American voter. None of the duplicate signature, phony name registrations ever get put on the voter list. The Right Wing knows that but, they prey on the low information electorate that only gets their news from one source. Making a big deal and misrepresenting this story takes any focus away from the true criminal threats to our democracy: Electronic voting machines and the ongoing purging of Democratic voters from the voting lists!!!! If only these two issues received the kind of media scrutiny that "Joe the Plumber" got, I wouldn't have to keep repeating myself. Have a nice day.
DaG Out
I'm all for oversight, checks and balances but, over the past 8 years it hasn't mattered one little bit. The corporate media won't report on anything that truly is a danger to our democracy. Oh sure we'll get headline after headline about ACORN workers fudging voter registrations but not one word about the electronic voter machines flipping vote tallies, or the voter caging being done by the Republicans or the swing state voter purgings of Democratic voters that number in the hundreds of thousands.
Over the past 8 years Bush has appointed people to the most influencial offices of our country several without congressional approval, with their only qualification being a loyalty to George Bush. The justice department, the FBI, Homeland Security, FEMA, the CIA, the list goes on and on. Not one word about these appointments ever made the 6 o'clock news. More recently, if you weren't watching MSNB'S Countdown with Keith Oberman I doubt you'd be aware that Obama's counsel sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey asking the special prosecutor to look into the “unholy alliance” between Republican operatives and potentially illegal conduct by law enforcement targeting voter fraud and ACORN. The coordinated “misconduct” by McCain campaign representatives and GOP officials is relevant to the special prosecutor’s work, because these activities may relate to the dismissal of seven U.S. attorneys in late 2006. The letter requests that the special prosecutor’s inquiry “include a review of any involvement by Justice Dept. and White House officials in supporting the McCain-Palin campaign {and RNC's} systematic development and dissemination of unsupported, spurious allegations of vote fraud.
You see this big news, for the first time in my recollection a Democratic nominee has taken the initiative to preemptively do something about the Republican efforts to disenfranchise voters before an election instead of just bitching and moaning after an election. Kudos to the very Obama friendly Keith Oberman and Rachel Maddow for making this story "BREAKING
NEWS" . . . They're kind of like the Left's version of Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reily only funnier, smarter and less likely to incite a riot. The news came down late Friday afternoon but I see no mention of it anywhere this morning. While it remains to be seen whether or not this will result in charges being filed, (remember that Atty. Gen. Mukasey was nominated by Bush and was confirmed by the narrowest of margins) at least Obama is laying the ground work for legal action should we have a repeat of the shenanigans that enabled Bush to steal the 2000 and the 2004 elections.
Oh the Right wing blogesphere is all a buzz about this turn of events: One of the blogs called Obama's legal counsel a "Goon Squad" and another well, here I'll let one of them speak for themselves:
"After a week of shifting stories and clumsy corrections regarding Barack Obama's connections to ACORN, the Obama campaign resorted to their now-customary heavy handed tactic of attempting to criminalize political discourse. Today's outrageous letter to Attorney General Mukasey and Special Prosecutor Dannehy at the Justice Department asking for a special prosecutor to investigate Senator McCain and Governor Palin's public statements about ACORN's record of fraudulent voter registrations (including in this week's Presidential debate) is absurd. It is a typical time-worn Washington attempt to criminalize political differences. For someone who promises 'change,' it is certainly only more of the same."- Free Republic
Gotta love it! "Criminalizing political discourse" No, actually they just called attention to a coordinated effort on the part of a political party's effort to suppress votes. Something that is currently under investigation by a special prosecutor. Six US attorneys were fired because they ruled that they could find no cases of "voter fraud in the 2006 elections. A fact that those on the right seem to forget. Sure there are fraudulent registrations turned in to ACORN but, that is fraud against ACORN, not the American voter. None of the duplicate signature, phony name registrations ever get put on the voter list. The Right Wing knows that but, they prey on the low information electorate that only gets their news from one source. Making a big deal and misrepresenting this story takes any focus away from the true criminal threats to our democracy: Electronic voting machines and the ongoing purging of Democratic voters from the voting lists!!!! If only these two issues received the kind of media scrutiny that "Joe the Plumber" got, I wouldn't have to keep repeating myself. Have a nice day.
DaG Out
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Isn't it interesting that . . .
. . .in 2005 in the midst of a bull market, George Bush asked congress to privatize Social Security. He warned of the Social Security fund running out. He wanted to "rescue" Social Security. Congress ignored his request.
. . .in 2006 still in a bull market George Bush stuck into the federal budget proposal a plan to privatize Social Security. He would divert $700 billion from Social Security tax revenue to pay for the setting up of the private accounts in financial institutions like Goldman Sachs. Congress again said "No."
. . .in 2008 in the midst of a "financial crisis" George Bush asked congress to give Henry Paulson (former CEO of Goldman Sachs) - $700 billion to "rescue" financial institutions and stabilize the stock market. Threatened with another 1929 type crash, and the possibility of martial law . Congress capitulated and gave him the go ahead.
. . . some people think that the "financial crisis" was caused by the poor minorities who defaulted on their mortgages, and not a planned heist of historic proportions.
. . . Christopher Buckley ( columnist of the uber-conservative publication the National Review and son of founder William F. Buckley Jr.) has endorsed senator Obama.
. . . The price of oil has dropped to about $70 a barrel as November 4th grows near.
. . . John McCain says that he's heard the same hateful things said at Obama rallies that his supporters have been shouting. "Terrorist!" and "Kill him!" have gone unchecked at McCain/ Palin rallies, while at the Obama rallies when his supporters merely "boo" John McCain, Obama immediately admonishes the crowd saying, "No no . . .we don't need that . . . we just need to vote.".
. . . There is a plethora of media coverage on a thousand or so fraudulent voter registrations (that will have zero impact on the election because, a voter's ID must match the registration.) while I've yet to see a mention of the purging of hundreds of thousands of voters in the swing states with no end in sight.
. . . oil companies lobby for the drilling rights in Alaska and off shore while they already lease 68 million acres of untapped land on which they're not drilling.
. . . Republicans are considered the party better suited for a strong national defense and the "War on Terror".
. . . in 1993 during the Clinton presidency - with no prior intelligence warning - terrorists set off a bomb in the garage of the World Trade Center . In 1994 four of the conspirators were arrested and convicted and in 1997 two more were arrested and convicted.
. . . in 2001 during the Bush presidency - Bush was warned in the AUG 6, 2001 Presidential Daily Brief entitled, Bin Laden determined to strike in the United States, that " Bin Laden wanted to hijack a U.S. aircraft" and "FBI information since that time indicates patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks" - a month later terrorists flew airliners into the World Trade Center and not one conspirator or mastermind has been arrested.
. . . Republicans are for less government yet the largest government expansion took place during the Reagan and Bush administrations.
. . . Republicans are for reigning in government spending yet our country's largest deficits have been recorded during the Reagan and Bush administrations.
. . . Republican mouth pieces like Hannity and Limbaugh rail against Democrats and their socialist practices, yet Bush just authored and signed into law the nationalizing of several banks and lending institutions.
. . . both Wall Street failures that resulted in a massive losses and ushered in tough economic times for our country, were preceded by years of deregulation, unchecked greed, speculators driving up the price of stocks beyond their true value, and both happened during a Republican presidency.
. . . even though Bush signed H.R. 4986 reinstating Posse Comitatus (a law that prevents the use of the Army and other branches of the military in a law enforcement capacity within the United States) that the John Warner Defense Authorization bill H.R. 5122 suspended in 2006, Bush attached a signing statement which indicated that the Executive Branch did not feel bound by the changes enacted by the repeal.
. . . The 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team has been called home from Iraq for reassignment here in the states. This marks the first time an active U.S. Army unit will be given a dedicated assignment to NORTHCOM, where it is stated they may be "called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control. NORTHCOM is a joint command center for federal homeland defense and was established to provide military support to civil authorities.
DaG Out
. . .in 2006 still in a bull market George Bush stuck into the federal budget proposal a plan to privatize Social Security. He would divert $700 billion from Social Security tax revenue to pay for the setting up of the private accounts in financial institutions like Goldman Sachs. Congress again said "No."
. . .in 2008 in the midst of a "financial crisis" George Bush asked congress to give Henry Paulson (former CEO of Goldman Sachs) - $700 billion to "rescue" financial institutions and stabilize the stock market. Threatened with another 1929 type crash, and the possibility of martial law . Congress capitulated and gave him the go ahead.
. . . some people think that the "financial crisis" was caused by the poor minorities who defaulted on their mortgages, and not a planned heist of historic proportions.
. . . Christopher Buckley ( columnist of the uber-conservative publication the National Review and son of founder William F. Buckley Jr.) has endorsed senator Obama.
. . . The price of oil has dropped to about $70 a barrel as November 4th grows near.
. . . John McCain says that he's heard the same hateful things said at Obama rallies that his supporters have been shouting. "Terrorist!" and "Kill him!" have gone unchecked at McCain/ Palin rallies, while at the Obama rallies when his supporters merely "boo" John McCain, Obama immediately admonishes the crowd saying, "No no . . .we don't need that . . . we just need to vote.".
. . . There is a plethora of media coverage on a thousand or so fraudulent voter registrations (that will have zero impact on the election because, a voter's ID must match the registration.) while I've yet to see a mention of the purging of hundreds of thousands of voters in the swing states with no end in sight.
. . . oil companies lobby for the drilling rights in Alaska and off shore while they already lease 68 million acres of untapped land on which they're not drilling.
. . . Republicans are considered the party better suited for a strong national defense and the "War on Terror".
. . . in 1993 during the Clinton presidency - with no prior intelligence warning - terrorists set off a bomb in the garage of the World Trade Center . In 1994 four of the conspirators were arrested and convicted and in 1997 two more were arrested and convicted.
. . . in 2001 during the Bush presidency - Bush was warned in the AUG 6, 2001 Presidential Daily Brief entitled, Bin Laden determined to strike in the United States, that " Bin Laden wanted to hijack a U.S. aircraft" and "FBI information since that time indicates patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks" - a month later terrorists flew airliners into the World Trade Center and not one conspirator or mastermind has been arrested.
. . . Republicans are for less government yet the largest government expansion took place during the Reagan and Bush administrations.
. . . Republicans are for reigning in government spending yet our country's largest deficits have been recorded during the Reagan and Bush administrations.
. . . Republican mouth pieces like Hannity and Limbaugh rail against Democrats and their socialist practices, yet Bush just authored and signed into law the nationalizing of several banks and lending institutions.
. . . both Wall Street failures that resulted in a massive losses and ushered in tough economic times for our country, were preceded by years of deregulation, unchecked greed, speculators driving up the price of stocks beyond their true value, and both happened during a Republican presidency.
. . . even though Bush signed H.R. 4986 reinstating Posse Comitatus (a law that prevents the use of the Army and other branches of the military in a law enforcement capacity within the United States) that the John Warner Defense Authorization bill H.R. 5122 suspended in 2006, Bush attached a signing statement which indicated that the Executive Branch did not feel bound by the changes enacted by the repeal.
. . . The 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team has been called home from Iraq for reassignment here in the states. This marks the first time an active U.S. Army unit will be given a dedicated assignment to NORTHCOM, where it is stated they may be "called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control. NORTHCOM is a joint command center for federal homeland defense and was established to provide military support to civil authorities.
DaG Out
Missed Oportunities
Was this a missed opportunity? When Muhammad Ali would cover up and lay against the ropes allowing his opponent to exhaust himself throwing punch after punch, he always came out later in the round to land a few punches of his own. After watching last night's debate I thought that Obama stayed with the rope-a-dope too long. Critics will say that this strategy has been working for him so far, just look at the polls. I have looked at the polls and the only area that John McCain has the lead is in National Defense. The mythological "War on Terror" . . keeping Americans safe and all that hoopla. Obama's desire to stay above the fray is commendable but, appears very professorial as well. Gore and Kerry were both better suited to be president than Bush but, couldn't relate to 1/2 the voters. Ghandi while being able to draw attention to injustice and being morally superior to his those who opposed him, still got his ass handed to him in the end.
Obama said America was tired of this "tit for tat" kind of campaigning, which may be true but, if he'd have given us an example of that such as, "If you're going bring up associations of Ayers, Wright, and ACORN . . . then I could bring up up your associations with the U.S. Council for World Freedom (who supported death squads in Nicaragua), convicted felon G. Gordon Liddy, and The Keating Five. . .but Americans don't want to hear that about that stuff, they want us to talk about the issues." Boom! Knockout!
It's called attacking from a defensive position. When McCain opened the ACORN fraudulent voter registration door, I sat up on the edge of my seat and was waiting with great anticipation that finally someone was going to point out the big media lie . . . bogus voter registrations have absolutely no effect on the outcome of an election, because registrations that are signed Tony Romo and Mickey Mouse are flagged and turned over to the state's election officials. No mail in votes by those names are counted, and Tony and Mickey aren't going to show up to the polls on Nov. 4th. McCain acted as if ACORN was going to rip apart the very fabric of our democracy. Obama missed a golden opportunity to call attention to the real voting crisis. Voter purging not registration fraud is the problem. Election officials purging hundreds of thousands of existing and newly registered voters in every swing state. Voters from predominately Democratic districts. This does have a direct impact on the outcome of an election yet FOX News never mentions voter purgings. They have their "Babe" anchors show up on Oreily and report that ACORN and registration fraud could put the outcome of an election in question. This corruption of our democracy is truly something to be concerned about. Americans should be shouting from the roof tops, every news outlet's lead story should be "Election officials are purging voters!" They are going to steal your right to vote!!! Excuse me I made a mistake, they're not going to steal your vote. They've already stolen your vote!!!
Does John McCain have the temperament to be President? The answer is an unequivocal, "Nope. . . not so much."
Watch senator McCain's facial expressions during Obama's comments and just imagine him as president of these United States. One can only guess how negotiations with Chinese diplomats or Russian leaders would go. I'm sure that McCain's demeanor would just calm the turbulent waters of a critical foreign affairs discussion.
DaG Out
Obama said America was tired of this "tit for tat" kind of campaigning, which may be true but, if he'd have given us an example of that such as, "If you're going bring up associations of Ayers, Wright, and ACORN . . . then I could bring up up your associations with the U.S. Council for World Freedom (who supported death squads in Nicaragua), convicted felon G. Gordon Liddy, and The Keating Five. . .but Americans don't want to hear that about that stuff, they want us to talk about the issues." Boom! Knockout!
It's called attacking from a defensive position. When McCain opened the ACORN fraudulent voter registration door, I sat up on the edge of my seat and was waiting with great anticipation that finally someone was going to point out the big media lie . . . bogus voter registrations have absolutely no effect on the outcome of an election, because registrations that are signed Tony Romo and Mickey Mouse are flagged and turned over to the state's election officials. No mail in votes by those names are counted, and Tony and Mickey aren't going to show up to the polls on Nov. 4th. McCain acted as if ACORN was going to rip apart the very fabric of our democracy. Obama missed a golden opportunity to call attention to the real voting crisis. Voter purging not registration fraud is the problem. Election officials purging hundreds of thousands of existing and newly registered voters in every swing state. Voters from predominately Democratic districts. This does have a direct impact on the outcome of an election yet FOX News never mentions voter purgings. They have their "Babe" anchors show up on Oreily and report that ACORN and registration fraud could put the outcome of an election in question. This corruption of our democracy is truly something to be concerned about. Americans should be shouting from the roof tops, every news outlet's lead story should be "Election officials are purging voters!" They are going to steal your right to vote!!! Excuse me I made a mistake, they're not going to steal your vote. They've already stolen your vote!!!
Does John McCain have the temperament to be President? The answer is an unequivocal, "Nope. . . not so much."
Watch senator McCain's facial expressions during Obama's comments and just imagine him as president of these United States. One can only guess how negotiations with Chinese diplomats or Russian leaders would go. I'm sure that McCain's demeanor would just calm the turbulent waters of a critical foreign affairs discussion.
DaG Out
Monday, October 13, 2008
Two sides to every story
This is one of the Right Wing mass e-mails going around. It wishes the reader to believe that the responsibilty for the loan crisis is the Democrats alone.
Subject: What Caused the Loan Crisis
The email: Note: ACORN is one of the principle beneficiaries of Fannie/ Freddie's slush funds. They are currently under indictment or investigation in many states. Barack Obama served as their legal counsel, defending their activities for several years.
DaG response: ACORN wasn't indicted. 4 ACORN workers were and here's a little about one in Kansas City, MO - The Justice Department has a longstanding policy regarding the prosecution of election law or voter fraud cases: the closer to the election it gets, the more cautious prosecutors should be about bringing indictments. Bradley Schlozman -- the former U.S. Attorney for Kansas City and controversial deputy head at the Civil Rights Division -- broke with the policy. Not only that, but there's evidence that he rushed four indictments to land just before last November's election. U.S. attorneys have passed on pursuing similar prosecutions. But Schlozman, an Alberto Gonzalez Republican appointee who'd worked to push voter I.D. laws while in the Civil Rights Division, leaped at the opportunity. The more you learn about Schlozman's decision to indict four voter registration recruiters for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) five days before last year's election -- Missouri's Jim Talent was battling Claire McCaskill in one of the closest Senate races in the country --, the worse it looks. In a way this is a little of the pot calling the kettle black. As I wrote in a DaG post, the right claim always just before an election, that ACORN is committing voter fraud. ACORN gets accused of forging registrations even though ACORN flags any that can't be verified and turns all of their registrations over to state officials. Now the left reports the purging of voters in historically Democratic districts by Republican election officials. This year alone Colorado has purged over 100,000 newly registered voters, ( Democratic voters surprise surprise) So let's be fair, most if not all of the states where ACORN has supposedly committed voter fraud, require the voter to show ID at the time of his or her vote. If said voter's ID and registration don't match, they are not allowed to vote. On the other hand when you are purged from a voting list, it literally takes state officials, lawyers, court hearings. . .you know the typical slow turning wheels of justice in order to get your name put back on the voting list. Better hurry too because there's only 3 weeks left.
The Email: IMPORTANT!!!!! The following is a condensation of a series from the Investor's Business Daily explaining "What Caused the Loan Crisis": 1977: Pres. Jimmy Carter signs the Community Reinvestment Act into Law. The law pressured financial institutions to extend home loans to those who would otherwise not qualify. The Premise: Home ownership would improve poor and crime-ridden communities and neighborhoods in terms of crime, investment, jobs, etc.
DaG: The Community Reinvestment Act (or CRA, Pub.L. 95-128, title VIII, 91 Stat. 1147, 12 U.S.C. § 2901 et seq.) is a United States federal law that requires banks and thrifts to offer credit throughout their entire market area and prohibits them from targeting only wealthier neighborhoods with their services, a practice known as redlining. The purpose of the CRA is to provide credit, including home ownership opportunities to under served populations and commercial loans to small businesses.
The vast majority of the subprime loans over the last 8 years did not originate from banks or thrifts:
The Email: Results: Statistics bear out that it did not help.
DaG: As previously stated, the act was intended to reduce discriminatory credit practices against such neighborhoods, not to give unqualified buyers loans. Prior to the Act minority loans were turned down just because of their zip code. The Act requires the appropriate federal financial supervisory agencies to encourage regulated financial institutions to meet the credit needs of the local communities in which they are chartered, consistent with safe and sound operation. During the late seventies there was an increase in the crime rate and a drop in investments and jobs in every sector of the population regardless of race or class. We were in the midst of a recession and the energy crisis.
The Email: How did the government get so deeply involved in the housing market? Answer: Bill Clinton wanted it that way.
DaG: As did George Bush Sr. After the savings and loan scandal that John McCain had a large part in,The Financial Institutions Reform Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) was enacted by the 101st Congress and signed into law by President George H. W. Bush. in 1999 due to a $300 million lobbying effort and legislation written by Phil Gramm, bank and lending houses were deregulated. A move that was more about facilitating mergers than creating an efficient regulatory framework.” A year after the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act repealed the old regulations, Swiss Bank UBS gobbled up brokerage house Paine Weber. Two years later, Gramm settled in as a vice chairman of UBS’s new investment banking arm.
The Email: 1992: Republican representative Jim Leach (IO) warned of the danger that Fannie and Freddie were changing from being agencies of the public at large to money machines for the principals and the stockholding few.
DaG: Yup, he did but, Gramm and a lot of other Repubs weren't too interested in what he had to say. Maybe that's why Jim Leach endorses Obama in the up coming election.
The Email: 1993: Clinton extensively rewrote Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's rules turning the quasi-private mortgage-funding firms into semi-nationalized monopolies dispensing cash and loans to large Democratic voting blocks and handing favors, jobs and contributions to political allies. This potent mix led inevitably to corruption and now the collapse of Freddie and Fannie.
DaG : Yes it's true . . . he did. He had Rubin rewrite the rules. My problem with this paragraph is . . .isn't "quasi-private" and "semi-nationalized" really the same thing? So we're blaming Clinton for turning Fannie and Freddie into what they were before. Completely disagree with the last sentence. Deregulation led to the corruption and selling bundled mortgage securities and credit default swaps caused the collapse.
The Email: 1994: Despite warnings, Clinton unveiled his National Home-Ownership Strategy which broadened the CRA in ways congress never intended.
DaG: “In the spring and summer of 1994, Secretary Henry Cisneros met with leaders of major national organizations from the housing industry to solicit their views about establishing a national homeownership partnership. It's purpose was …streamlining transaction costs, expanding creative financing and public gap financing, and making technological improvements in loan underwriting [that] will reduce the costs of homeownership…. Regulatory reforms will allow developers and builders to reduce the costs of land assembly, housing construction, and home rehabilitation, making homeownership more affordable for willing homebuyers who are now priced out of the housing market (The National Homeownership Strategy. Know that 8 years later Bush liked the strategies and encouraged Fannie and Freddie to adopt these practices and in fact increase the funding.
The Email: 1995: Congress, about to change from a Democrat majority to Republican, Clinton orders Robert Rubin's Treasury Dept to rewrite the rules. Robert Rubin's Treasury reworked rules, forcing banks to satisfy quotas for sub-prime and minority loans to get a satisfactory CRA rating. The rating was key to expansion or mergers for banks. Loans began to be made on the basis of race and little else.
DaG: Can't argue with much here. Only point out that 40 % of the loans were given to minorities. That's from Fannie Mae's census report.
The Email: 1997 - 1999: Clinton, bypassing Republicans, enlisted Andrew Cuomo, then Secretary of Housing and Urban Developement, allowing Freddie and Fannie to get into the sub-prime market in a BIG way. Led by Rep. Barney Frank and Sen. Chris Dodd, congress doubled down on the risk by easing capital limits and allowing them to hold just 2.5% of capital to back their investments vs. 10% for banks. Since they could borrow at lower rates than banks their enterprises boomed.
DaG: Repubs and Dems alike are neck high in this thing. The banking industry lobbied to reduce the remaining regulations on its lending practices. They won a repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, a law enacted just after the depression as a way to prevent regular savings banks from doing risky things with depositors’ money. A “Chinese Wall” was put in place between banks and investment brokerages, preventing conflicts of interest and limiting financial institutions’ power over both the lending and borrowing sides of the same transactions. With the repeal of the Act in 1999, banks were now free use their capital to lend money to unworthy borrowers, package those loans, and then underwrite the sale of those loans to other institutions—such as pension funds
The Email: With incentives in place, banks poured billions in loans into poor communities, often "no doc", "no income", requiring no money down and no verification of income. Worse still was the cronyism: Fannie and Freddie became home to out-of work-politicians, mostly Clinton Democrats. 384 politicians got big campaign donations from Fannie and Freddie. Over $200 million had been spent on lobbying and political activities. During the 1990's Fannie and Freddie enjoyed a subsidy of as much as $182 Billion, most of it going to principals and shareholders, not poor borrowers as claimed.
DaG: Oh you mean to tell me that when government gives money to a corporation that the little guys don't get any of it? I'm shocked. Meanwhile, the credit industry spent over $100 million lobbying to change bankruptcy laws. Although a corporation in bankruptcy still has its debts erased, the regulations surrounding personal bankruptcy were changed so that personal debts stay on the books forever. The logic they used to argue for the change was that debtors are smart, gaming the system to buy beyond their means and then declaring bankruptcy at the last minute.
The email: Did it work? Minorities made up 49% of the 12.5 million new homeowners but many of those loans have gone bad and the minority homeownership rates are shrinking fast.
DaG: Remember that the figure is 40% not 49%
The email: 1999: New Treasury Secretary, Lawrence Summers, became alarmed at Fannie and Freddie's excesses. Congress held hearings the ensuing year but nothing was done because Fannie and Freddie had donated millions to key congressmen and radical groups, ensuring no meaningful changes would take place. "We manage our political risk with the same intensity that we manage our credit and interest rate risks," Fannie CEO Franklin Raines, a former Clinton official and current Barack Obama advisor, bragged to investors in 1999.
DaG: McCain spokesman Brian Rogers points to three items in the Washington Post in July and August. It turns out that the three items (including an editorial) all rely on the same single conversation, between Raines and a Washington Post business reporter. A conversation that took place during a photo shoot. Raines said he had taken a couple of calls from Obama "campaign staffers" seeking advice on mortgage and housing policy matters. He is not an advisor to Barack Obama. McCain's campaign manager is Rick Davis. In 2000, Davis became the head of a group called the Homeownership Alliance, a Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac advocacy group. Since 2006, Davis's firm has been paid a $15,000-a-month consulting fee from Freddie Mac. Do you really want to throw stones?
The email: 2000: Secretary Summers sent Undersecretary Gary Gensler to Congress seeking an end to the "special status." Democrats raised a ruckus as did Fannie and Freddie, headed by politically connected CEO's who knew how to reward and punish. "We think that the statements evidence a contempt for the nation's housing and mortgage markets" Freddie spokesperson Sharon McHale said. It was the last chance during the Clinton era for reform.
DaG: Regulation from a Republican controlled congress? Are you kidding me?
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Congressmen Richard Baker and Paul Kanjorski, and a bipartisan group of members of Congress announced the voluntary initiatives in October 2000.
In general terms, both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac agreed to . . .
• issue subordinated debt,
• meet certain liquidity standards,
• enhance their disclosure of interest rate and
credit risk,
• obtain and disclose annual credit ratings, and
• self-implement a risk-based capital standard on
an interim basis.10
The email: 2001: Republicans try repeatedly to bring fiscal sanity to Fannie and Freddie but Democrats blocked any attempt at reform; especially Rep. Barney Frank and Sen.Chris Dodd who now run key banking committees and were huge beneficiaries of campaign contributions from the mortgage giants.
DaG: I don't want to beat a dead horse but once again but the Democrat minority can not block anything in a Republican majority congress, nor do they have the votes to veto.
The email: 2003: Bush proposes what the NY Times called "the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis a decade ago." Even after discovering a scheme by Fannie and Freddie to overstate earnings by $10.6 billion to boost their bonuses, the Democrats killed reform.
DaG: "This Administration will constantly strive to promote an ownership society in America. We want more people owning their own home. It is in our national interest that more people own their own home. After all, if you own your own home, you have a vital stake in the future of our country."- President George W. Bush, December 16, 2003
The President set a goal to increase the number of minority homeowners by 5.5 million families by the end of the decade. Through his homeownership challenge, the President called on the private sector to help in this effort. More than two dozen companies and organizations have made commitments to increase minority homeownership - including pledges to provide more than $1.1 trillion in mortgage purchases for minority homebuyers this decade.
In one speech he told Americans that . . ."a first time home buyer doesn't have to buy a lousy home, if they put their mind to it they can live in a home just as nice as anyone else." Most folks I know bought a "starter home' . . .something they could afford, then as their income grew so did their homes. Apparently the Commander in Chief thought it was a good idea to put people in homes they couldn't afford.
The email: 2005: Then Fed chairman Alan Greenspan warns Congress: "We are placing the total financial system at substantial risk." Sen. McCain, with two others, sponsored a Fannie/Freddie reform bill and said, "If congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system and the economy as a whole." Sen. Harry Reid accused the GOP of trying to "cripple the ability of Fannie and Freddie to carry out their mission of expanding homeownership." The bill went nowhere.
DaG: Maybe if congress and the administration weren't spending a billion dollars a month occupying Iraq, using our military as security guards for companies like Haliburton, giving tax incentives to corporations that ship jobs overseas, maybe just maybe they could have convinced their Republican controlled congress to pass a viable housing bill.
The email: 2007: By now Fannie and Freddie own or guarantee over HALF of the $12 trillion US mortgage market. The mortgage giants, whose executive suites were top-heavy with former Democratic officials, had been working with Wall St. to repackage the bad loans and sell them to investors. As the housing market fell in '07, subprime mortgage portfolios suffered major losses. The crisis was on, though it was 15 years in the making.
DaG: The "crisis" is nearly 30 years in the making and it began with the Republican savior called Reagan. His deregulation, "Freidman" free market capitalism, trickle down economic cancer has now mastisized into the very fabric of society. The "me" decade led to people living beyond their means and a belief that a good American is one who consumes and incurrs credit card debt. Allowing the very credit and financial institutions to govern themselves without oversight only fostered the corruption and ponsy schemes that they knew damn well would eventually bankrupt them. But they didn't care because they knew they would get bailed out by the very people they stole money from. Why do you think that the credit card companies got to write the new babkruptcy laws under the Bush administration? Simple. If average Joe can no longer file bankruptcy . . .they make a much larger profit. They are pushers. Let me give you an example: Credit card companies send pre approved applications in the mail, offer 0 interst for the first 6 months, betting that you will max out your card, and the first time a payment is a day late your interest rate will go to 20 or 30 percent. If their "Big Brother" credit network shows you were late on any payment be it a car loan, another credit card, a house payment, or if they feel you have too much revolving credit, or if it's Wednesday . . . look for an increase in APR. This is very profitable for the credit card companies. They receive monthly payments on just the interest and the principal will never be paid down. That's a good gig if you can get it.
The email: 2008: McCain has repeatedly called for reforming the behemoths, Bush urged reform 17 times. Still the media have repeated Democrats' talking points about this being a "Republican" disaster. A few Republicans are complicit, but Fannie and Freddie were created by Democrats, regulated by Democrats, largely run by Democrats and protected by Democrats. That's why taxpayers are now being asked for $700 billion!!
DaG: Again, it wasn't the CRA iniative put forth by Democrats that brought down Freddie and Fannie. It was opportunism and greed. Dems and Repubs alike can share in the responsibility. Greed has no horse in this race. Greed is the race. Yes Fannie and Freddie were allowed to get "too big for the britches" but, this is what deregulated free market capitalism is all about. I can't believe all these Repubs who used to do nothing but bitch and moan about how bad government rules and regulations were for the economy, now calling for more intervention, regulation and oversight. Kind of reminds of the two brothers that get caught with their hands in the cookie jar and the older brother wiping the crumbs from his mouth says, " I told him it was a bad idea and that we shouldn't do it."
Interesting to note that this right wing propaganda email doesn't once mention predatory lending, Phil Gramm, or Rick Davis's role in the failure of Fannie and Freddie. I've already gone into detail about Mr. Davis role so, let's take a closer look at "Foreclosure Phil" . . . In 1999, former Senator Phil Gramm set out to completely gut the Glass-Steagall Act, and did so successfully, replacing most of its components with the new Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act: allowing commercial banks, investment banks, and insurers to merge (which would have violated antitrust laws under Glass-Steagall).
In closing should anyone else receive these one sided pieces of revisionist history, please take the time to research the supposed "facts". Neither party's hands are unsullied, there is enough blame to go around, however with each passing day it becomes more apparent the the Milton Freidman approach to capitalism only benefits those at the very top of the economic food chain.
"I sincerely believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale." -Thomas Jefferson
"These capitalists generally act harmoniously and in concert, to fleece the people." -Abraham Lincoln
DaG Out
Subject: What Caused the Loan Crisis
The email: Note: ACORN is one of the principle beneficiaries of Fannie/ Freddie's slush funds. They are currently under indictment or investigation in many states. Barack Obama served as their legal counsel, defending their activities for several years.
DaG response: ACORN wasn't indicted. 4 ACORN workers were and here's a little about one in Kansas City, MO - The Justice Department has a longstanding policy regarding the prosecution of election law or voter fraud cases: the closer to the election it gets, the more cautious prosecutors should be about bringing indictments. Bradley Schlozman -- the former U.S. Attorney for Kansas City and controversial deputy head at the Civil Rights Division -- broke with the policy. Not only that, but there's evidence that he rushed four indictments to land just before last November's election. U.S. attorneys have passed on pursuing similar prosecutions. But Schlozman, an Alberto Gonzalez Republican appointee who'd worked to push voter I.D. laws while in the Civil Rights Division, leaped at the opportunity. The more you learn about Schlozman's decision to indict four voter registration recruiters for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) five days before last year's election -- Missouri's Jim Talent was battling Claire McCaskill in one of the closest Senate races in the country --, the worse it looks. In a way this is a little of the pot calling the kettle black. As I wrote in a DaG post, the right claim always just before an election, that ACORN is committing voter fraud. ACORN gets accused of forging registrations even though ACORN flags any that can't be verified and turns all of their registrations over to state officials. Now the left reports the purging of voters in historically Democratic districts by Republican election officials. This year alone Colorado has purged over 100,000 newly registered voters, ( Democratic voters surprise surprise) So let's be fair, most if not all of the states where ACORN has supposedly committed voter fraud, require the voter to show ID at the time of his or her vote. If said voter's ID and registration don't match, they are not allowed to vote. On the other hand when you are purged from a voting list, it literally takes state officials, lawyers, court hearings. . .you know the typical slow turning wheels of justice in order to get your name put back on the voting list. Better hurry too because there's only 3 weeks left.
The Email: IMPORTANT!!!!! The following is a condensation of a series from the Investor's Business Daily explaining "What Caused the Loan Crisis": 1977: Pres. Jimmy Carter signs the Community Reinvestment Act into Law. The law pressured financial institutions to extend home loans to those who would otherwise not qualify. The Premise: Home ownership would improve poor and crime-ridden communities and neighborhoods in terms of crime, investment, jobs, etc.
DaG: The Community Reinvestment Act (or CRA, Pub.L. 95-128, title VIII, 91 Stat. 1147, 12 U.S.C. § 2901 et seq.) is a United States federal law that requires banks and thrifts to offer credit throughout their entire market area and prohibits them from targeting only wealthier neighborhoods with their services, a practice known as redlining. The purpose of the CRA is to provide credit, including home ownership opportunities to under served populations and commercial loans to small businesses.
The vast majority of the subprime loans over the last 8 years did not originate from banks or thrifts:
The Email: Results: Statistics bear out that it did not help.
DaG: As previously stated, the act was intended to reduce discriminatory credit practices against such neighborhoods, not to give unqualified buyers loans. Prior to the Act minority loans were turned down just because of their zip code. The Act requires the appropriate federal financial supervisory agencies to encourage regulated financial institutions to meet the credit needs of the local communities in which they are chartered, consistent with safe and sound operation. During the late seventies there was an increase in the crime rate and a drop in investments and jobs in every sector of the population regardless of race or class. We were in the midst of a recession and the energy crisis.
The Email: How did the government get so deeply involved in the housing market? Answer: Bill Clinton wanted it that way.
DaG: As did George Bush Sr. After the savings and loan scandal that John McCain had a large part in,The Financial Institutions Reform Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) was enacted by the 101st Congress and signed into law by President George H. W. Bush. in 1999 due to a $300 million lobbying effort and legislation written by Phil Gramm, bank and lending houses were deregulated. A move that was more about facilitating mergers than creating an efficient regulatory framework.” A year after the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act repealed the old regulations, Swiss Bank UBS gobbled up brokerage house Paine Weber. Two years later, Gramm settled in as a vice chairman of UBS’s new investment banking arm.
The Email: 1992: Republican representative Jim Leach (IO) warned of the danger that Fannie and Freddie were changing from being agencies of the public at large to money machines for the principals and the stockholding few.
DaG: Yup, he did but, Gramm and a lot of other Repubs weren't too interested in what he had to say. Maybe that's why Jim Leach endorses Obama in the up coming election.
The Email: 1993: Clinton extensively rewrote Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's rules turning the quasi-private mortgage-funding firms into semi-nationalized monopolies dispensing cash and loans to large Democratic voting blocks and handing favors, jobs and contributions to political allies. This potent mix led inevitably to corruption and now the collapse of Freddie and Fannie.
DaG : Yes it's true . . . he did. He had Rubin rewrite the rules. My problem with this paragraph is . . .isn't "quasi-private" and "semi-nationalized" really the same thing? So we're blaming Clinton for turning Fannie and Freddie into what they were before. Completely disagree with the last sentence. Deregulation led to the corruption and selling bundled mortgage securities and credit default swaps caused the collapse.
The Email: 1994: Despite warnings, Clinton unveiled his National Home-Ownership Strategy which broadened the CRA in ways congress never intended.
DaG: “In the spring and summer of 1994, Secretary Henry Cisneros met with leaders of major national organizations from the housing industry to solicit their views about establishing a national homeownership partnership. It's purpose was …streamlining transaction costs, expanding creative financing and public gap financing, and making technological improvements in loan underwriting [that] will reduce the costs of homeownership…. Regulatory reforms will allow developers and builders to reduce the costs of land assembly, housing construction, and home rehabilitation, making homeownership more affordable for willing homebuyers who are now priced out of the housing market (The National Homeownership Strategy. Know that 8 years later Bush liked the strategies and encouraged Fannie and Freddie to adopt these practices and in fact increase the funding.
The Email: 1995: Congress, about to change from a Democrat majority to Republican, Clinton orders Robert Rubin's Treasury Dept to rewrite the rules. Robert Rubin's Treasury reworked rules, forcing banks to satisfy quotas for sub-prime and minority loans to get a satisfactory CRA rating. The rating was key to expansion or mergers for banks. Loans began to be made on the basis of race and little else.
DaG: Can't argue with much here. Only point out that 40 % of the loans were given to minorities. That's from Fannie Mae's census report.
The Email: 1997 - 1999: Clinton, bypassing Republicans, enlisted Andrew Cuomo, then Secretary of Housing and Urban Developement, allowing Freddie and Fannie to get into the sub-prime market in a BIG way. Led by Rep. Barney Frank and Sen. Chris Dodd, congress doubled down on the risk by easing capital limits and allowing them to hold just 2.5% of capital to back their investments vs. 10% for banks. Since they could borrow at lower rates than banks their enterprises boomed.
DaG: Repubs and Dems alike are neck high in this thing. The banking industry lobbied to reduce the remaining regulations on its lending practices. They won a repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, a law enacted just after the depression as a way to prevent regular savings banks from doing risky things with depositors’ money. A “Chinese Wall” was put in place between banks and investment brokerages, preventing conflicts of interest and limiting financial institutions’ power over both the lending and borrowing sides of the same transactions. With the repeal of the Act in 1999, banks were now free use their capital to lend money to unworthy borrowers, package those loans, and then underwrite the sale of those loans to other institutions—such as pension funds
The Email: With incentives in place, banks poured billions in loans into poor communities, often "no doc", "no income", requiring no money down and no verification of income. Worse still was the cronyism: Fannie and Freddie became home to out-of work-politicians, mostly Clinton Democrats. 384 politicians got big campaign donations from Fannie and Freddie. Over $200 million had been spent on lobbying and political activities. During the 1990's Fannie and Freddie enjoyed a subsidy of as much as $182 Billion, most of it going to principals and shareholders, not poor borrowers as claimed.
DaG: Oh you mean to tell me that when government gives money to a corporation that the little guys don't get any of it? I'm shocked. Meanwhile, the credit industry spent over $100 million lobbying to change bankruptcy laws. Although a corporation in bankruptcy still has its debts erased, the regulations surrounding personal bankruptcy were changed so that personal debts stay on the books forever. The logic they used to argue for the change was that debtors are smart, gaming the system to buy beyond their means and then declaring bankruptcy at the last minute.
The email: Did it work? Minorities made up 49% of the 12.5 million new homeowners but many of those loans have gone bad and the minority homeownership rates are shrinking fast.
DaG: Remember that the figure is 40% not 49%
The email: 1999: New Treasury Secretary, Lawrence Summers, became alarmed at Fannie and Freddie's excesses. Congress held hearings the ensuing year but nothing was done because Fannie and Freddie had donated millions to key congressmen and radical groups, ensuring no meaningful changes would take place. "We manage our political risk with the same intensity that we manage our credit and interest rate risks," Fannie CEO Franklin Raines, a former Clinton official and current Barack Obama advisor, bragged to investors in 1999.
DaG: McCain spokesman Brian Rogers points to three items in the Washington Post in July and August. It turns out that the three items (including an editorial) all rely on the same single conversation, between Raines and a Washington Post business reporter. A conversation that took place during a photo shoot. Raines said he had taken a couple of calls from Obama "campaign staffers" seeking advice on mortgage and housing policy matters. He is not an advisor to Barack Obama. McCain's campaign manager is Rick Davis. In 2000, Davis became the head of a group called the Homeownership Alliance, a Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac advocacy group. Since 2006, Davis's firm has been paid a $15,000-a-month consulting fee from Freddie Mac. Do you really want to throw stones?
The email: 2000: Secretary Summers sent Undersecretary Gary Gensler to Congress seeking an end to the "special status." Democrats raised a ruckus as did Fannie and Freddie, headed by politically connected CEO's who knew how to reward and punish. "We think that the statements evidence a contempt for the nation's housing and mortgage markets" Freddie spokesperson Sharon McHale said. It was the last chance during the Clinton era for reform.
DaG: Regulation from a Republican controlled congress? Are you kidding me?
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Congressmen Richard Baker and Paul Kanjorski, and a bipartisan group of members of Congress announced the voluntary initiatives in October 2000.
In general terms, both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac agreed to . . .
• issue subordinated debt,
• meet certain liquidity standards,
• enhance their disclosure of interest rate and
credit risk,
• obtain and disclose annual credit ratings, and
• self-implement a risk-based capital standard on
an interim basis.10
The email: 2001: Republicans try repeatedly to bring fiscal sanity to Fannie and Freddie but Democrats blocked any attempt at reform; especially Rep. Barney Frank and Sen.Chris Dodd who now run key banking committees and were huge beneficiaries of campaign contributions from the mortgage giants.
DaG: I don't want to beat a dead horse but once again but the Democrat minority can not block anything in a Republican majority congress, nor do they have the votes to veto.
The email: 2003: Bush proposes what the NY Times called "the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis a decade ago." Even after discovering a scheme by Fannie and Freddie to overstate earnings by $10.6 billion to boost their bonuses, the Democrats killed reform.
DaG: "This Administration will constantly strive to promote an ownership society in America. We want more people owning their own home. It is in our national interest that more people own their own home. After all, if you own your own home, you have a vital stake in the future of our country."- President George W. Bush, December 16, 2003
The President set a goal to increase the number of minority homeowners by 5.5 million families by the end of the decade. Through his homeownership challenge, the President called on the private sector to help in this effort. More than two dozen companies and organizations have made commitments to increase minority homeownership - including pledges to provide more than $1.1 trillion in mortgage purchases for minority homebuyers this decade.
In one speech he told Americans that . . ."a first time home buyer doesn't have to buy a lousy home, if they put their mind to it they can live in a home just as nice as anyone else." Most folks I know bought a "starter home' . . .something they could afford, then as their income grew so did their homes. Apparently the Commander in Chief thought it was a good idea to put people in homes they couldn't afford.
The email: 2005: Then Fed chairman Alan Greenspan warns Congress: "We are placing the total financial system at substantial risk." Sen. McCain, with two others, sponsored a Fannie/Freddie reform bill and said, "If congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system and the economy as a whole." Sen. Harry Reid accused the GOP of trying to "cripple the ability of Fannie and Freddie to carry out their mission of expanding homeownership." The bill went nowhere.
DaG: Maybe if congress and the administration weren't spending a billion dollars a month occupying Iraq, using our military as security guards for companies like Haliburton, giving tax incentives to corporations that ship jobs overseas, maybe just maybe they could have convinced their Republican controlled congress to pass a viable housing bill.
The email: 2007: By now Fannie and Freddie own or guarantee over HALF of the $12 trillion US mortgage market. The mortgage giants, whose executive suites were top-heavy with former Democratic officials, had been working with Wall St. to repackage the bad loans and sell them to investors. As the housing market fell in '07, subprime mortgage portfolios suffered major losses. The crisis was on, though it was 15 years in the making.
DaG: The "crisis" is nearly 30 years in the making and it began with the Republican savior called Reagan. His deregulation, "Freidman" free market capitalism, trickle down economic cancer has now mastisized into the very fabric of society. The "me" decade led to people living beyond their means and a belief that a good American is one who consumes and incurrs credit card debt. Allowing the very credit and financial institutions to govern themselves without oversight only fostered the corruption and ponsy schemes that they knew damn well would eventually bankrupt them. But they didn't care because they knew they would get bailed out by the very people they stole money from. Why do you think that the credit card companies got to write the new babkruptcy laws under the Bush administration? Simple. If average Joe can no longer file bankruptcy . . .they make a much larger profit. They are pushers. Let me give you an example: Credit card companies send pre approved applications in the mail, offer 0 interst for the first 6 months, betting that you will max out your card, and the first time a payment is a day late your interest rate will go to 20 or 30 percent. If their "Big Brother" credit network shows you were late on any payment be it a car loan, another credit card, a house payment, or if they feel you have too much revolving credit, or if it's Wednesday . . . look for an increase in APR. This is very profitable for the credit card companies. They receive monthly payments on just the interest and the principal will never be paid down. That's a good gig if you can get it.
The email: 2008: McCain has repeatedly called for reforming the behemoths, Bush urged reform 17 times. Still the media have repeated Democrats' talking points about this being a "Republican" disaster. A few Republicans are complicit, but Fannie and Freddie were created by Democrats, regulated by Democrats, largely run by Democrats and protected by Democrats. That's why taxpayers are now being asked for $700 billion!!
DaG: Again, it wasn't the CRA iniative put forth by Democrats that brought down Freddie and Fannie. It was opportunism and greed. Dems and Repubs alike can share in the responsibility. Greed has no horse in this race. Greed is the race. Yes Fannie and Freddie were allowed to get "too big for the britches" but, this is what deregulated free market capitalism is all about. I can't believe all these Repubs who used to do nothing but bitch and moan about how bad government rules and regulations were for the economy, now calling for more intervention, regulation and oversight. Kind of reminds of the two brothers that get caught with their hands in the cookie jar and the older brother wiping the crumbs from his mouth says, " I told him it was a bad idea and that we shouldn't do it."
Interesting to note that this right wing propaganda email doesn't once mention predatory lending, Phil Gramm, or Rick Davis's role in the failure of Fannie and Freddie. I've already gone into detail about Mr. Davis role so, let's take a closer look at "Foreclosure Phil" . . . In 1999, former Senator Phil Gramm set out to completely gut the Glass-Steagall Act, and did so successfully, replacing most of its components with the new Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act: allowing commercial banks, investment banks, and insurers to merge (which would have violated antitrust laws under Glass-Steagall).
In closing should anyone else receive these one sided pieces of revisionist history, please take the time to research the supposed "facts". Neither party's hands are unsullied, there is enough blame to go around, however with each passing day it becomes more apparent the the Milton Freidman approach to capitalism only benefits those at the very top of the economic food chain.
"I sincerely believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale." -Thomas Jefferson
"These capitalists generally act harmoniously and in concert, to fleece the people." -Abraham Lincoln
DaG Out
Saturday, October 11, 2008
McCain's Conscience
There he is! Everybody has been wondering . . . "where is the John McCain of 2000?" "Where is the John McCain that said, "When you run negative attack ads, you have no vision or can't articulate your own vision." Where is the John McCain that called the Swift Boating of John Kerry “Dishonest and dishonorable.”?
Well, my friends ( snicker) there was a sighting of this elusive creature just yesterday at an "America First" town hall meeting. I swear to God. Funny thing though, the supporters of the GOP ticket in attendance seemed none too pleased too hear what that John McCain had to say.
With the McCain/Palin campaign ads and stump speeches growing increasingly negative, their supporters are acting more and more like European Soccer fans or KKK members listening to their Grand Imperial Wizard. The other day Palin told her followers at an "America First" rally that Obama " . . .pals around with terrorists." Later when McCain asked, "Who is Barack Obama?" their supporters shouted "Terrorist!" and "Kill him!" Did either candidate make an attempt to nip this hate filled response in the bud? Nope, Palin and McCain just smiled and smirked. When supporters were interviewed outside the rally, they seemed more and more angry and many of them echoed the "terrorist" comment heard inside.
Then yesterday, while fielding questions at one his town hall meetings, the rabid crowd was caught by surprise when the John McCain of old appeared out of nowhere! When 75 year old Gale Quinnell, told John, "I just "doe" not trust Obama because . . . (and here's where she stammered as she seemed to recall one of Rush Limbaugh's lies or one of the bullet points she'd read in a mass email.) . . . he's an Arab." She was going to continue but, McCain shook his head said, "No.", grabbed the mic from her as she said astonishingly, "No?!" As if to say, "You mean Rush was wrong? or that the fwd: email wasn't true???"
McCain to his credit appeared to finally have had enough of this ignorant hate mongering fueled by the Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and the Michael Savages of the world. He spoke clearly and succinctly to the lady and the other supporters, " No mam. He's a decent family man . . citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues."
Even though an Arab and a decent family man are can be the same person not withstanding, this was an attempt on McCain's part to redirect the racist tone. Later in that same town hall meeting, a man told senator McCain that he was "scared…to bring a child up" under an Obama presidency. The McCain of yester-year showed up again, he said, " I have to tell you he is a decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared of as president of the United States," The crowd booed. McCain went on, "There's a difference between rhetoric and record, but you can still be respectful." Shouts of "No!" and more booing is heard. Now I can't completely switch allegiances: While it does appear on the surface that McCain has begun listening to his conscience and not his Rovian campaign strategist it is important to remember that a lot of the fear and hate mongering literature has come directly from the McCain campaign offices. Ms Quinnell was later interviewed by reporters and told them that she worked in her local McCain/ Palin campaign office and that is where she got the "Arab" information about Obama. It is not so easy to forgive these two candidates for their lack of responsible issue related oratory and their propensity for "Lynch mob" rhetoric that appeals to the lowest common denominator.
I'm going to give Senator McCain the benefit of the doubt, and applaud him for appearing to show disgust for his supporters' intolerant positions, ridiculous fears, and lack of common sense.
The question for next week: Will Alaska's bi-partisan legislative committee report stating that Sarah violated state ethics laws and abused her Gubernatorial powers, have a negative effect on their campaign? Keep in mind that the report also concludes that she acted within her legal authority. Wha . . .??????? I guess ethic's laws don't count. My take is this proves that Palin is qualified to hold office as the heir apparent to the Bush administration. "W" repeatedly abused his powers, broke constitutional law, and still hasn't lost his job. 10 years ago this report would've been a big deal, but in today's political arena it won't amount to a hill of beans.
DaG out
Well, my friends ( snicker) there was a sighting of this elusive creature just yesterday at an "America First" town hall meeting. I swear to God. Funny thing though, the supporters of the GOP ticket in attendance seemed none too pleased too hear what that John McCain had to say.
With the McCain/Palin campaign ads and stump speeches growing increasingly negative, their supporters are acting more and more like European Soccer fans or KKK members listening to their Grand Imperial Wizard. The other day Palin told her followers at an "America First" rally that Obama " . . .pals around with terrorists." Later when McCain asked, "Who is Barack Obama?" their supporters shouted "Terrorist!" and "Kill him!" Did either candidate make an attempt to nip this hate filled response in the bud? Nope, Palin and McCain just smiled and smirked. When supporters were interviewed outside the rally, they seemed more and more angry and many of them echoed the "terrorist" comment heard inside.
Then yesterday, while fielding questions at one his town hall meetings, the rabid crowd was caught by surprise when the John McCain of old appeared out of nowhere! When 75 year old Gale Quinnell, told John, "I just "doe" not trust Obama because . . . (and here's where she stammered as she seemed to recall one of Rush Limbaugh's lies or one of the bullet points she'd read in a mass email.) . . . he's an Arab." She was going to continue but, McCain shook his head said, "No.", grabbed the mic from her as she said astonishingly, "No?!" As if to say, "You mean Rush was wrong? or that the fwd: email wasn't true???"
McCain to his credit appeared to finally have had enough of this ignorant hate mongering fueled by the Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and the Michael Savages of the world. He spoke clearly and succinctly to the lady and the other supporters, " No mam. He's a decent family man . . citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues."
Even though an Arab and a decent family man are can be the same person not withstanding, this was an attempt on McCain's part to redirect the racist tone. Later in that same town hall meeting, a man told senator McCain that he was "scared…to bring a child up" under an Obama presidency. The McCain of yester-year showed up again, he said, " I have to tell you he is a decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared of as president of the United States," The crowd booed. McCain went on, "There's a difference between rhetoric and record, but you can still be respectful." Shouts of "No!" and more booing is heard. Now I can't completely switch allegiances: While it does appear on the surface that McCain has begun listening to his conscience and not his Rovian campaign strategist it is important to remember that a lot of the fear and hate mongering literature has come directly from the McCain campaign offices. Ms Quinnell was later interviewed by reporters and told them that she worked in her local McCain/ Palin campaign office and that is where she got the "Arab" information about Obama. It is not so easy to forgive these two candidates for their lack of responsible issue related oratory and their propensity for "Lynch mob" rhetoric that appeals to the lowest common denominator.
I'm going to give Senator McCain the benefit of the doubt, and applaud him for appearing to show disgust for his supporters' intolerant positions, ridiculous fears, and lack of common sense.
The question for next week: Will Alaska's bi-partisan legislative committee report stating that Sarah violated state ethics laws and abused her Gubernatorial powers, have a negative effect on their campaign? Keep in mind that the report also concludes that she acted within her legal authority. Wha . . .??????? I guess ethic's laws don't count. My take is this proves that Palin is qualified to hold office as the heir apparent to the Bush administration. "W" repeatedly abused his powers, broke constitutional law, and still hasn't lost his job. 10 years ago this report would've been a big deal, but in today's political arena it won't amount to a hill of beans.
DaG out
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Interesting Times
ACORN being demonized by the right. Voter purging being demonized by the left. This is going to get ugly ugly ugly. Trillions of dollars lost in the stock market crash. A black man is the Democratic presidential candidate. A woman is the Republican vice presidential candidate. Trillions of dollars have been lost as the stock market crashes. 180 trillion in derivatives debt. 62 trillion in credit default swaps debt. The planet does not have that much money! That's right . . .the planet!! The world bank says we currently have around 50 trillion in USD. Some say that we have an infinite amount because, money is an idea and not based on actual standards. Our government is considering nationalizing the banking industry. Wow!! Interesting times! This is incredible! We are living in the most interest . . .Uh oh. I forgot. . . .living in interesting times is not a good thing. It's an ancient Chinese curse.
Another possible DaG scenario:
Maybe it won't be the left that take to the streets on Nov. 5th . . . judging by the level of hate speech we've been hearing from McCain/Palin rallies. It seems the Americans most easily whipped into a frenzy are the supporters of the Republican ticket. It's not that big of a stretch to assume that should Obama win, these very angry and vocal people will take to the streets. Many of these people are pick up truck with a gun rack, rebel flag waving, Nascar fan racists who are not real happy with the prospect of a black man living in the white house.
Backed by Republican election officials challenging voter legitimacy and Republican paid lawyers ready to file "voter fraud" law suits, disgruntled McCain/Palin supporters seem to me to be more likely to violently protest this election. The government response will differ slightly. Area's of cities with be sectioned off allowing the angry mobs to wreak havoc. These protesters won't be directly confronted by our military but, parameters will be established and as long as the mobs remain loyal to the will of the republican party they will remain unchecked.
It's scatter shooting time! It's scatter shooting time! (to the tune of "Howdy Doody time")
Oct. 8, 2008
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Federal Reserve on Wednesday agreed to provide insurance giant American International Group Inc. with a loan of up to $37.8 billion, on top of the $85 billion made to the troubled company last month.
Excuse me? This must be a joke right? The same AIG that just got caught spending $440,000 of their first loan on a California vacation for their executives. AIG needs a new acronym. How about . . . PIG?!
By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer Wed Oct 8, 7:40 AM ET
WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve, acting in coordination with other global central banking authorities, cut a key U.S. interest rate by half a percentage point Wednesday to steady a teetering economy.
Isn't bad enough that we are facing the worst economic times since the "Great depression"? Now we have to worry about everybody else's economy. Here's a beginning solution: No more money to the gigantic corporations! Effective immediately, all imports manufactured by foreign cheap labor for American companies are subject to tariffs. No more corporate breaks for shipping jobs overseas.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence agencies conclude in a draft report that Afghanistan is in a downward spiral and they doubt whether the Kabul government can stem the Taliban's rise, The New York Times reported on Thursday.
"W" are you paying attention?! You need to be brought up on war crime charges. How can you sleep nights knowing that your A.D.D. and inability to finish what you started makes you directly responsible for the deaths of 4,000 American soldiers and nearly 1 million Iraqis? Mission accomplished my ass.
NEW YORK TIMES: Tens of thousands of eligible voters in at least six swing states have been removed from the rolls or have been blocked from registering in ways that appear to violate federal law, according to a review of state records and Social Security data by The New York Times. For example, major voter registration drives have been held this year in Colorado, which has also had a significant population increase since the last presidential election, but the state has recorded a net loss of nearly 100,000 voters from its rolls since 2004.
DaG has been warning of this at nauseum. It's nice to see more mainstream media finally looking into it. Now c'mon Associated Press, print media, ABC, NBC, PBS, CNN, and yes . . little miss fair and balanced FOX (who so far has only reported the ACORN voter fraud allegations). . . let's get with the program. Let's go Justice department, this is an illegal practice on a federal level!!!
DaG out
Another possible DaG scenario:
Maybe it won't be the left that take to the streets on Nov. 5th . . . judging by the level of hate speech we've been hearing from McCain/Palin rallies. It seems the Americans most easily whipped into a frenzy are the supporters of the Republican ticket. It's not that big of a stretch to assume that should Obama win, these very angry and vocal people will take to the streets. Many of these people are pick up truck with a gun rack, rebel flag waving, Nascar fan racists who are not real happy with the prospect of a black man living in the white house.
Backed by Republican election officials challenging voter legitimacy and Republican paid lawyers ready to file "voter fraud" law suits, disgruntled McCain/Palin supporters seem to me to be more likely to violently protest this election. The government response will differ slightly. Area's of cities with be sectioned off allowing the angry mobs to wreak havoc. These protesters won't be directly confronted by our military but, parameters will be established and as long as the mobs remain loyal to the will of the republican party they will remain unchecked.
It's scatter shooting time! It's scatter shooting time! (to the tune of "Howdy Doody time")
Oct. 8, 2008
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Federal Reserve on Wednesday agreed to provide insurance giant American International Group Inc. with a loan of up to $37.8 billion, on top of the $85 billion made to the troubled company last month.
Excuse me? This must be a joke right? The same AIG that just got caught spending $440,000 of their first loan on a California vacation for their executives. AIG needs a new acronym. How about . . . PIG?!
By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer Wed Oct 8, 7:40 AM ET
WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve, acting in coordination with other global central banking authorities, cut a key U.S. interest rate by half a percentage point Wednesday to steady a teetering economy.
Isn't bad enough that we are facing the worst economic times since the "Great depression"? Now we have to worry about everybody else's economy. Here's a beginning solution: No more money to the gigantic corporations! Effective immediately, all imports manufactured by foreign cheap labor for American companies are subject to tariffs. No more corporate breaks for shipping jobs overseas.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence agencies conclude in a draft report that Afghanistan is in a downward spiral and they doubt whether the Kabul government can stem the Taliban's rise, The New York Times reported on Thursday.
"W" are you paying attention?! You need to be brought up on war crime charges. How can you sleep nights knowing that your A.D.D. and inability to finish what you started makes you directly responsible for the deaths of 4,000 American soldiers and nearly 1 million Iraqis? Mission accomplished my ass.
NEW YORK TIMES: Tens of thousands of eligible voters in at least six swing states have been removed from the rolls or have been blocked from registering in ways that appear to violate federal law, according to a review of state records and Social Security data by The New York Times. For example, major voter registration drives have been held this year in Colorado, which has also had a significant population increase since the last presidential election, but the state has recorded a net loss of nearly 100,000 voters from its rolls since 2004.
DaG has been warning of this at nauseum. It's nice to see more mainstream media finally looking into it. Now c'mon Associated Press, print media, ABC, NBC, PBS, CNN, and yes . . little miss fair and balanced FOX (who so far has only reported the ACORN voter fraud allegations). . . let's get with the program. Let's go Justice department, this is an illegal practice on a federal level!!!
DaG out
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
BROKEN RECORD
DaG nabit! McCain! Obama! When I predict that you two are going to bring up past associations, why don't you do it?! Now, I had to go back and edit out an entire paragraph from my last post. It makes me look bad. Not one mention of William Ayers or the Keating five. Sheesh! It was very boring. There wasn't one new piece of information from either of you. Viewers could have just replayed the first debate because you two stuck to the script. Oh wait there was two new pieces of information: First, McCain said the government should buy up all the bad mortgages. Bet the Conservatives just loved that little tid bit. Since the government is essentially broke I guess that would mean printing another 2 or 3 billion highly devalued dollars. We also learned that those assholes from AIG spent some $440,000 of bailout money at a lavish corporate retreat in California. Isn't that embezzling? Shouldn't somebody be brought up on charges? Why does this barely get a mention in the media? Oh well, howling at the moon I guess. . . onto bigger and worse things.
Doom and Gloom scenarios:
1.) Sometime before the election there will be national emergency. An Oklahoma City type bombing . . .an assassination. . . . an attack on Iran . . . something. Bush will suspend the elections, curfews will be put in place, and Air America will be taken off the air. Then he'll flee the country with the 700 billion dollars he just extorted from congress leaving Cheney in charge.
2.) On NOV. 5th - The day after. America wakes up hearing that McCain has been declared the winner, even though all the exit polling clearly had Obama on top. Cries of "Election fraud!" echo through the streets, as citizens gather in large unruly crowds. The 1st Brigade and the 3rd battalion are deployed in key cities to quell the riotous crowds. They had a lot of practice doing that in Iraq, and are currently training here in the states. What's to stop Bush from ordering the military into the cities if something like this happens? The constitution? Ha! it is to laugh. The troops will be armed with rubber bullets, tasers, and tear gas. They will quickly erect fences and to make enclosures in order to arrest and or detain as many of the protesters as they can. President Bush will declare Martial Law, nationalize everything and the final stage of the coup d'etat that began in 2000 will be complete. Aaaaahhhhhh!!!!!! Just scared myself.
I certainly hope that the above is merely the rantings of a Doom and Gloom conspiracy minded blogger with 2 adult children and an unnatural obsession with guitars. However, it may be closer to the truth than fiction when you take into consideration . . .
The obvious :
Electronic voting machines. Time and time again these evil devices of deciet are proven to be unreliable yet more than 50% of of all votes are cast on one of these machines. Can somebody please explain to me why this is considered acceptable? As recent as this month, a pre-election check of the voting machines in Santa Fe New Mexico, (heavily Democratic district.) were found to not record a vote for president if the voter selected straight ticket.
The less obvious
Caging: (CNN) — Barack Obama's presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee went to court on Tuesday to block what they said were efforts by Republicans in the battleground state of Michigan to use foreclosure lists to challenge voters at the polls in November.
The epidemic of Voter purging:
States with Republican Secretary's of State have a higher than normal rates of Voter purging. CBS NEWS reported: Red Flag On Purging Voter Rolls
Little-Known, Problem-Ridden Process That Could Endanger Your Vote
Doom and Gloom scenarios:
1.) Sometime before the election there will be national emergency. An Oklahoma City type bombing . . .an assassination. . . . an attack on Iran . . . something. Bush will suspend the elections, curfews will be put in place, and Air America will be taken off the air. Then he'll flee the country with the 700 billion dollars he just extorted from congress leaving Cheney in charge.
2.) On NOV. 5th - The day after. America wakes up hearing that McCain has been declared the winner, even though all the exit polling clearly had Obama on top. Cries of "Election fraud!" echo through the streets, as citizens gather in large unruly crowds. The 1st Brigade and the 3rd battalion are deployed in key cities to quell the riotous crowds. They had a lot of practice doing that in Iraq, and are currently training here in the states. What's to stop Bush from ordering the military into the cities if something like this happens? The constitution? Ha! it is to laugh. The troops will be armed with rubber bullets, tasers, and tear gas. They will quickly erect fences and to make enclosures in order to arrest and or detain as many of the protesters as they can. President Bush will declare Martial Law, nationalize everything and the final stage of the coup d'etat that began in 2000 will be complete. Aaaaahhhhhh!!!!!! Just scared myself.
I certainly hope that the above is merely the rantings of a Doom and Gloom conspiracy minded blogger with 2 adult children and an unnatural obsession with guitars. However, it may be closer to the truth than fiction when you take into consideration . . .
The obvious :
Electronic voting machines. Time and time again these evil devices of deciet are proven to be unreliable yet more than 50% of of all votes are cast on one of these machines. Can somebody please explain to me why this is considered acceptable? As recent as this month, a pre-election check of the voting machines in Santa Fe New Mexico, (heavily Democratic district.) were found to not record a vote for president if the voter selected straight ticket.
The less obvious
Caging: (CNN) — Barack Obama's presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee went to court on Tuesday to block what they said were efforts by Republicans in the battleground state of Michigan to use foreclosure lists to challenge voters at the polls in November.
The epidemic of Voter purging:
States with Republican Secretary's of State have a higher than normal rates of Voter purging. CBS NEWS reported: Red Flag On Purging Voter Rolls
Little-Known, Problem-Ridden Process That Could Endanger Your Vote
"What's wrong with the process is it's happening in secret. It's happening with no accountability," Michael Waldman, the center’s executive director, told CBS News. Another study, by the group U.S. PIRG, released last week, also looked at the issue of voter purging and discovered that 19 states are ignoring a federal law banning systematic purges within 90 days of a federal election. The 19 states include battleground states of Colorado, Ohio and Nevada.
Shorting of voting machines in Democratic precincts: Part of the Ohio debacle in 2004 was directly due to the fact that there weren't enough voting machines in certain polls. Some schools had only two machines to handle 1,500 registered voters. In Columbus alone an estimated 15,000 left the polls without voting because there was a 10 hour wait. Could this have just been an over sight, a simple mistake? Doubtful when you take into consideration which precints were shorted and who's in charge of supply. Yup, you guessed it . . .the predominately black precincts and the man in charge was Republican Secretary of State and chief election official , Kenneth Blackwell. Allegations of conflict of interest and voter disenfranchisement led to the filing of at least sixteen related lawsuits naming Blackwell. He skated on all of them.
DaG Out
A little insight into tonight's fight
Look for McCain to lay the financial failure and Wall Street Bailout at the feet of the house Dems. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd may avoid a direct mention but, look for Speaker Pulosi to get thrown under the bus for not allowing a McCain led piece of regulatory legislation to be brought to the the floor. For your edification I looked up this wonderful piece of regulatory legislation that actually seeks to remove what little lending institution oversight was left after Phil Graham's rape and pillaging.
1/26/2005--Introduced.
Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 to establish: (1) in lieu of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), an independent Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Agency which shall have authority over the Federal Home Loan Bank Finance Corporation, the Federal Home Loan Banks, the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac); and (2) the Federal Housing Enterprise Board.
Sets forth operating, administrative, and regulatory provisions of the Agency, including provisions respecting: (1) assessment authority; (2) authority to limit nonmission-related assets; (3) minimum and critical capital levels; (4) risk-based capital test; (5) capital classifications and undercapitalized enterprises; (6) enforcement actions and penalties; (7) golden parachutes; and (8) reporting.
Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to establish the Federal Home Loan Bank Finance Corporation. Transfers the functions of the Office of Finance of the Federal Home Loan Banks to such Corporation. (Pay close attention to the next two lines.)
Excludes the Federal Home Loan Banks from certain securities reporting requirements.
(The mission of the FHLBanks reflects a public purpose - increase access to housing and aid communities by extending credit to member financial institutions.)
Abolishes the Federal Housing Finance Board. (The Federal Housing Finance Board regulates the 12 FHLBanks that were created in 1932 to improve the supply of funds to local lenders that, in turn, finance loans for home mortgages. The board also has regulatory authority and supervisory oversight responsibility for the Office of Finance. )
I hope Obama or some town hall questioner asks McCain about the level of intolerance and violent racial epithets being shouted at the GOP rallies. Both McCain and Palin have neglected to condemn or redirect such angry utterances. (I've personally watched Obama scold one of his rally enthusiasts for an insulting comment about his opponent. That's class. The GOP rallies are now full of crowds that shout at the press who are covering the event. Treating the press as the enemy of their candidates. Blaming them for Palin's lack of knowledge and McCain's continuous changing of position. Protecting Palin from one on one question and answer opportunities. McCain is inciting his supporters so much so that they're shouting "terrorist!" and "Kill him!" Recently Palin supporters shouted, "Nigger!" and "Sit down boy!" to a news organization's sound technician. As election day grows nearer I fear more and more for Obama's safety. The McCain camp is out of ideas, they are resulting to the lowest common denominators . . . Anger and Racism. This is very disconcerting on many levels: Primarily we as a country are growing increasingly anxious and angry. Inflation on the rise, job losses, 850 billion dollar heist, and the stock market crash. People's retirement savings greatly diminished. When McCain gets angry tonight, he will be identifying with main street America. He, (McCain) will embody the average American psyche. If Obama stays true to form, his calm demeanor may work against him here. Rather than being seen as a thoughtful leader he may come off as dis compassionate egg head.
Obama's in a catch 22 here: If he pulls out all the stops . . . come out guns a blazin' . . .points out and identifies the hate mongering B.S. the GOP is perpetuating, he risks being seen as an angry black man. That would play right into the GOP's game plan of painting Obama as a "dangerous terrorist".
DaG out
1/26/2005--Introduced.
Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 to establish: (1) in lieu of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), an independent Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Agency which shall have authority over the Federal Home Loan Bank Finance Corporation, the Federal Home Loan Banks, the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac); and (2) the Federal Housing Enterprise Board.
Sets forth operating, administrative, and regulatory provisions of the Agency, including provisions respecting: (1) assessment authority; (2) authority to limit nonmission-related assets; (3) minimum and critical capital levels; (4) risk-based capital test; (5) capital classifications and undercapitalized enterprises; (6) enforcement actions and penalties; (7) golden parachutes; and (8) reporting.
Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to establish the Federal Home Loan Bank Finance Corporation. Transfers the functions of the Office of Finance of the Federal Home Loan Banks to such Corporation. (Pay close attention to the next two lines.)
Excludes the Federal Home Loan Banks from certain securities reporting requirements.
(The mission of the FHLBanks reflects a public purpose - increase access to housing and aid communities by extending credit to member financial institutions.)
Abolishes the Federal Housing Finance Board. (The Federal Housing Finance Board regulates the 12 FHLBanks that were created in 1932 to improve the supply of funds to local lenders that, in turn, finance loans for home mortgages. The board also has regulatory authority and supervisory oversight responsibility for the Office of Finance. )
I hope Obama or some town hall questioner asks McCain about the level of intolerance and violent racial epithets being shouted at the GOP rallies. Both McCain and Palin have neglected to condemn or redirect such angry utterances. (I've personally watched Obama scold one of his rally enthusiasts for an insulting comment about his opponent. That's class. The GOP rallies are now full of crowds that shout at the press who are covering the event. Treating the press as the enemy of their candidates. Blaming them for Palin's lack of knowledge and McCain's continuous changing of position. Protecting Palin from one on one question and answer opportunities. McCain is inciting his supporters so much so that they're shouting "terrorist!" and "Kill him!" Recently Palin supporters shouted, "Nigger!" and "Sit down boy!" to a news organization's sound technician. As election day grows nearer I fear more and more for Obama's safety. The McCain camp is out of ideas, they are resulting to the lowest common denominators . . . Anger and Racism. This is very disconcerting on many levels: Primarily we as a country are growing increasingly anxious and angry. Inflation on the rise, job losses, 850 billion dollar heist, and the stock market crash. People's retirement savings greatly diminished. When McCain gets angry tonight, he will be identifying with main street America. He, (McCain) will embody the average American psyche. If Obama stays true to form, his calm demeanor may work against him here. Rather than being seen as a thoughtful leader he may come off as dis compassionate egg head.
Obama's in a catch 22 here: If he pulls out all the stops . . . come out guns a blazin' . . .points out and identifies the hate mongering B.S. the GOP is perpetuating, he risks being seen as an angry black man. That would play right into the GOP's game plan of painting Obama as a "dangerous terrorist".
DaG out
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