It’s easy for some to say President Bush and his administration are responsible for the $700B Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac subprime bailout problem we’re facing.  It’s also easy to blame greedy banks, S&Ls, and Wall Street financial corporations…  Similarly, hindsight is 20:20 when it comes to the technical reasons we’re facing the largest mother of all financial bailouts in our nations history and that it was clearly caused by issuing subprime loans to hundreds of thousands of people for homes they could not afford to pay for had they been trying to acquire conventional loans at conventional interest rates like you and me... Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were the two largest offenders but why?  Some of these folks earn so little in food stamps and welfare they can barely rent, but the rules set by the liberals in congress for Freddie and Fannie bent the prudent and time proven loan approval practices so they could.  Ask yourself why?  Was it a Marxist sponsored social experiment with lending policies to pander for votes turned very bad?  I think so!

When a ship is sinking, you must first stop the flooding to save the ship.  Once that’s been accomplished, you look for the cause…  not the symptoms.  Accordingly, a more responsible action is to look at the government policies that led us into this problem and who was responsible for generating those policies.  

So much for Mr. Nice Guy…  Now I’ll start calling a spade a spade!

Pinkie Pelosi’s Politburo has been running rampant through the US congress for almost two years and we are now starting to see the results of her tainted fruits.  For the last few days, Pinkie and her counterpart in the Senate. Dirty Harry, have had House and Senate Congressional Marxists showing their real Communist colors as a badge of true AUDACITY and TEMERITY.  

To be fair…  It didn’t start with Pinkie Pelosi, and I blame the republicans for not calling these communists for what they really are...  It actually started with the Clintonistas as early as 1995 with the help of Janet Reno and Pinkie along with Barney Frank and Chris Dodd who were in with them hook, line, and sinker.  (See where Janet Reno brags about fines against lending institutions in 1997 for using prudent loan approval guidelines that ran contrary to the Clintonista socialist lending programs: START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE)

Over the past few days, these Communists have crafted the largest, mother of all  bailout plans in this nations history calling it a “done deal” without ever involving the republicans in the House.  Then they had the AUDACITY and TEMERITY to infect it with earmarks for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform (ACORN) and blame Senator McCain for blowing their “deal” that was really a "No Deal" long before the White House meeting started.  When it did start, it wasn't McCain that blew the deal, but rather their own chosen one…  the self-anointed abamanoid that walked into the White House reading notes from the “liberal Spin Room” and proceeded to lecture everyone in professorial nuances…  No wonder Dirty Harry and Pinkie Pelosi walked out with a severe case of anal leakage…

By the way, ACORN is also better known as the “Association of Corrupted Organizations for Registration of Non-eligible voters” with convictions for voter registration fraud going back over 10 years and with incitements in 12 states this year alone.

Remember also that two of the people responsible for the oversight of Freddie and Fannie collapse are Congressman Barney Frank, (D-MA), Chairman, House Financial Services Committee and Senator Chris Dodd, (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee.  You might ask WTF Over...  What were they doing with respect to their "Oversight" responsibilities?  I'm all ears...

Dodd’s counter-proposal to the Paulson Plan (Sec. 5. “Rights; management; sale of troubled assets” of the present plan (see START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE) promised a minimum 20% of the ‘profits’ from the Treasury’s sale of bad Fannie and Freddie home mortgage assets to The Housing Trust Fund and the Capital Magnet Fund.”

People…  That means 20% or up to a potential $140 billion dollars of any profits would have gone to ACORN, as the Housing Trust Fund and the Capital Magnet Fund are fronts that were set up by the Communists to fund ACORN.  YGBSM!!!  

Fortunately, House Republicans shamed Pinkie Pelosi’s Politburo into pulling this smelly little turd of theirs out of the bailout punchbowl sometime Sunday morning.

Responsibility, Accountability, Oversight, and Culpability are four words that never apply to the liberal and Marxist Democrats like Congressman Barney Frank, (D-MA), Chairman, House Financial Services Committee, or Senator Chris Dodd, (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, yet these two walk the halls of Congress demanding transparency and oversight over a very bad situation and flawed bailout plan that they were responsible for creating and preventing as leaders of their respective House and Senate committees.

If you think I’m blowing smoke, just Google Barney Frank’s “110th_Final_Oversight_Plan” and Chris Dodd’s actions to block a bill co-sponsored by Senator McCain, the S. 190 [109th]: Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005 that was introduced in January 2005 to regulate Fannie and Freddie…   Unfortunately, this bill died in the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs… the Chairman of that Committee is Chris Dodd, the recipient of the largest donations from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.  BTW…  The chosen one, the obamanoid himself, was number two on the list of democrats receiving donations from Freddie and Fannie behind Dodd…  In any rational business environment, that would be a conflict of interest…  The obamnoid himself thinks so much of the CEOs of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, he appointed Brown and Rains, both former CEOs of Fannie Mae to be his financial advisors on his election team…

Having Franklin Raines as a financial advisor is like having the captain of the Titanic as an advisor on shipping. Raines walked from the doomed mortgage giant with a cool 50 Mil. It is alleged that Fannie Mae CEO's cooked the books for years to show a fake profit which would boost his yearly bonuses. Will we see a senate investigation? Don't make me laugh. The chairman of the senate banking committee democrat Chris Dodd is the “numero uno” recipient of Fannie Mae political contributions. The second highest recipient was ...guess who...first term senator Obama.  Oh yeah, another one of Obama's top advisors, Jim Johnson is also a former CEO of Fannie Mae who walked off with about 35 Mil.  And the Communists want oversight…  Right!

You don’t have to believe what I’m trying to say…  all you need to do is go to Wikipedia and read about the Communist Manifesto for yourself…

“The Communist Manifesto was first published on February 21, 1848, and is one of the world's most influential political manuscripts. Commissioned by the Communist League and written by communist theorists Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, it laid out the League's purposes and program. The Manifesto suggested a course of action for a proletarian (working class) revolution to overthrow the bourgeois social order and to eventually bring about a classless and stateless society, and the abolition of private property.”

Sound familiar?  Big government ends up owning private property and there are no boarders between Mexico and Canada…  Do you see where Pinky Pelosi and her politburo are trying to take us?

All I can say at this point is…  Think… Read…  Then think again before you vote…  

Fortunately for us, the fat lady has yet to sing on this smelly set of messed depends offered up by the Marxists as a bailout plan…  The rational logic of the conservatives in the House has a very real chance of making substantial changes that will protect the voters and truly stimulate the economy despite what Pinky Pelosi, her Politburo, or Dirty Harry and is minions have gushed to the press in their CYA statements on CNN on the mother of all bailout plans…   The vote comes Monday…  at best…  I’m not holding my breath.

Thanks for the time...  For what it's worth, I came to CH.com for help and got it...  Now I'm trying to help fellow cluster headache sufferers with a method of oxygen therapy I developed that really works...  Having said that, I feel very strongly that the present political situation will cause a pain that will be far greater than cluster headaches unless we really understand the situation and vote accordingly.

Take care,

V/R, Batch

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Charlie

Nice post Batch.  

Good post Batch.  Well thought out and well written.  No matter which side of the aisle one is on you gave some excellent food for thought.  I know that if I had used the same type of judgment while running my corporation as the Banking committee, Dodd, Obama, Frank, et.al., I would have been criminally liable for malfeasance.

Jerry

LOL... more of the same ... let's play the blame game.
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with warm regards,
Tony

But it's not really anything new is it?

BACKGROUND ON THE S&L BAILOUT. The failure of hundreds of U.S. Savings and Loans during the 1980s, as detailed in such sources as Stephen Pizzo’s Inside Job1 and Pete Brewton’s Untold Story,2 cost U.S. taxpayers an estimated $500 billion.3   A U.S. House committee concluded that over three-quarters of all S&L insolvencies appeared to be linked to serious misconduct by senior insiders or outsiders.4  In 1988, the comptroller of the currency found that less than 10 percent of recent bank failures had been caused solely by economic factors.5

One indication of the role of criminal conduct in S&L losses was the workings of just one New York figure, Mario Renda, who worked in conjunction with the Mob, according to a sworn federal deposition.6  Renda  brokered as much as $5 billion per year in deposits into 130 S&Ls across the county, all of which failed.7  As Kwitny noted, “many of these deposits were made on the specific condition that the S&Ls would lend money out to borrowers Renda would recommend, who turned out to be local Mafia people or strangers from out-of-state.”8  

The Bush family’s dealings illustrate some of the ways this S&L loot was extracted.  In some loan transactions, money was simply siphoned out fraudulently to outsiders under lucrative arrangements with bank directors; Neil Bush’s record illustrates these type of transactions.  In other instances, as exemplified by Jeb’s S&L dealings, loans were made for speculative investments or ventures without attempts to secure repayment if they were not profitable.  Political connections often helped protect S&L misconduct;9 in the Bush’s case, George senior’s record demonstrated laxity toward the perpetrators, several of whom were in his own social circles.
1. Stephen Pizzo, Mary Fricker and Paul Muolo, Inside Job: The Looting of America’s Savings and Loans. New York: McGraw- Hill, 1989.

2. New York: SPI Books, 1992.

3. LA Times, 7/31/1990, p. 1.

4. Pizzo, Inside Job, p. 305.

5. Ibid.

6. 123-6, 302

7. Jonathan Kwitny, “How Bush’s Pals Broke the Banks,” The Village Voice, 10/20/1992, p. 27.

8. Ibid.

9. Id., pp. 24ff.

NEIL BUSH.  In 1990, federal regulators filed a $200-million lawsuit against Neil Bush and other officers of the Silverado Banking, accusing them of “gross negligence” contributing to its $1 billion collapse.1  “Our conclusion is that Silverado was the victim of sophisticated schemes and abuses by insiders and of gross negligence by its directors and outside professionals,” FDIC Senior Deputy General Counsel Douglas H. Jones said in a statement.2

Bush was reprimanded by the Office of Thrift Supervision for “multiple conflicts of interest” as a paid director of the S&L, including his approval of $132 million in loans from Silverado to two business partners, Bill Walters and Kenneth Good.3  Bush, in turn, had received $550,000 in salaries from a company funded by Walters and Good plus a $100,000 loan from Good that was subsequently forgiven.4  Walters and Good looted an estimated $330 million from Silverado; one Silverado director had shared instructions on how to establish family trusts to protect such secreted funds from repossession by the government.5

A top federal regulator testified to Congress that Washington officials postponed Silverado’s shutdown from October to December 1988, after George Bush’s presidential campaign was successfully culminated.6  The director of the Office of Thrift Supervision asked the Treasury Department to investigate whether political considerations caused the delay, but no such probe was conducted.7  Neil got off paying only $50,000 in a settlement of the $200 million federal suit against him other Silverado directors.8  He didn’t have to worry about his $250,000 legal bill, as Thomas Ashley, a friend of George Bush senior and the head of a banking association that was lobbying the federal government for bank deregulation, formed a legal defense fund to pay the bills.

There's more, but what the heck -- there's enough blame to go around for everyone.....

Hugs BD

Hey Tony, good video but it gave Carter too much credit…  he didn’t have too much influence on the financial industry, and was only able to deregulate commercial aviation in the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978…  I’m not sure what that did for us…  I don’t see Pan Am, TWA, Western, or Eastern Airlines, anymore but what the heck… that’s the airline industry…  He did help make abortion legal…

Barb, you’re exactly right…  Lots of politicians in both parties with dirt on their hands and ill-gotten gains in their pockets…  Too many of them still in office and the most common offense is usually associated with shaky land deals.  

The point I was trying to make dealt with an overt use of congressional powers by the far left to push their socialist and in some cases Marxist agendas.  These folks are easy to spot…  They want bigger government, higher taxes to support their agenda of more social entitlements, open boarders (read no fence), they also want to give illegal aliens social security, in-state tuition, and a host of other benefits including the right to vote (ACORN), all paid for by the real taxpayers.

They have a profound lack of morals and no sense of right and wrong or fairness as long as their actions further their socialist and Marxist agendas.  They not only fail to take action on the misdoings of their own and all too frequently the party faithful and a loving media totally in the tank for anything they do that leads to bringing them to power and keeping them there actually laud the culprits.

What I find most amazing is they insult us with their lies then expect us to accept those lies with no questions asked.  They’ll fart in church (if they ever go) then immediately point across the isle and start complaining.  Clinton plays button-button and kiss the bishop in the oval office with an intern then points his finger at us on TV and says it isn’t so… Jeffords (D-LA) runs a payoff scam then hides the $90,000 in his freezer…  I guess he doesn’t trust banks… Don’t get me wrong…  there’s been wrongdoing on the other side of the isle as well…  you just don’t see them around anymore as republicans and conservatives are quick to remove the guilty from positions of congressional power.

Getting back to the issue de Jour...  This morning we see Barney Frank and Chris Dodd strutting around Congress in lock step with Pinky Pelosi and Dirty Harry like they had no hand in the problem and everything to do with the solution.  These two need to step down from their respective chairmanships and if they don’t, even the liberals need to call for an independent investigation if such a thing exists.   The SEC has already opened an investigation of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

So where are we this morning…  Let’s see…  WAMU went tits up on Friday and Wachovia’s banking services were bought out by Citigroup yesterday…  The only bright spot is crude oil dropped another $6 this morning…  and that may not be a good thing as the DOW was down 300 points in less than 30 minutes after the opening bell.  As Senator McCain said during the debate, this is just the end of the beginning…

Meanwhile, Pinky Pelosi and her politburo have all the votes they need to pass the bailout plan without the help of any House republicans, yet Pinky will not call for a vote and she’s even given her “Blue Dog” democrats up for reelection a hall pass to be off the House floor if it ever does come to a vote.  

Why she won’t call for a vote is simple.  This is a far bigger crisis and more expensive in terms of political capital than going into Iraq and taking down Hussein.  The fact that this bailout plan could fail to achieve the desired short-term effect of preventing a financial meltdown has given Pinky a severe case anal leakage because she knows the wrath of the voters will fall on her and her politburo unless she has House republicans voting in favor of the bailout to share in the blame.

With no real details of the actual plan available, and lots of opposition, I suspect there’s a good chance there will not be a House vote today…  I'm still more interested in the fixes that will prevent these kinds of home loan lending abuses and a real market stimulus like House conservatives going in on the bailout plan under the condition that the Mark to Market rules put in place after the Enron failure be removed, the Bush tax cuts be made permanent and Congress eliminate the capital gains tax for a year or two.  That's playing hardball.

V/R, Batch

This video is well worth watching...  It covers the points I tried to make in my original post and then some...  

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Take care,

V/R, Batch

I thought the thing had already passed in the House, but just saw where it hadn't. Guess I was seeing things.

It's a bad bill and I hope it doesn't pass, but it will. The bad part is if we don't bail out Wall Street it probably won't affect those fat cats there, but we'll still get the shaft on the trickle down. I'm thinking of taking my money out of the  bank and putting it in my mattress for safe keeping... >:(

I wrote my Congressman and Senators and told them what I think - we'll see how they vote ... I think they forget they REPRESENT the guys back home most of the time...

Oh well.... we'll have to see how things come out..

Hugs BD

Well, it looks like it won't pass.... Now what?



eta: corrected due to getting ahead of self

It failed sure nuff... The dow is dropping like wildfire ... May be another Black Friday on Monday... Guess we'll see what comes off... This is the first time I can remember the feds haven't bailed everyone out....

Wonder if we all filed for bailouts what chance we'd have? :)  You know, house payments, electric bills, Charlie's meds..etc....  8-)

Better go get my 3 bucks outta the bank and put it under the mattress for safekeeping....

Hugs BD

Quote:

Well, it looks like it won't pass.... Now what?

Yep, believe the House voted it down.  


Possibly reformulated?


Stock market will react shortly.



*didn't see your post, Barb.  Gotta get that faster DSL.    ;)

Halelujah!

Time to tighten our belts and stock up on toilet paper.  We're all gonna pay the price for these rotten bastards but at least companies that made bad business decisions will be paying too.

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Those who were at the top still have "theirs"?  

Quote:

Those who were at the top still have "theirs"?

Not much we can do about that now.  At least if the companies pay the piper, maybe in the future the stockholders will keep CEO pay packages from getting out of hand.  However, if the stockholders don't do that, there's nothing the Gov can or should do about it.

Democracy - 1
Socialism - 0

Interesting.

Took a look at the Dow-Jones, and there seems to be a loud sucking sound over there.  

I'm betting that there are plenty of lobbyists working overtime, so I'll be surprised if some form of the bill doesn't pass, eventually.  If so, the Dow will bounce back up on the news.  Some players are going to make a lot of money, real soon.   ::)

Best,

George

Now they're analyzing it and passing blame.... good grief... get thru the holiday and come back to work you guys... write up a plan we can live with (think it thru this time!)

Hugs BD

Bob P wrote on Sep 29^th, 2008 at 2:41pm:

Halelujah! Time to tighten our belts and stock up on toilet paper.  We're all gonna pay the price for these rotten bastards but at least companies that made bad business decisions will be paying too.

For me, tightening my belt means not buying toilet paper - I am stocking up on leaves and grass.  

Seriously, folks - capitalism has cycles of boom and bust. This isn't the first, won't be the last.  While the partisans want to blame Clinton, the truth is that wall street was de-regulated, and a thousand Enrons bloomed.

The House failed to pass bailout plan and Pinkie Pelosi is now having explosive anal leakage...  She's out blaming the republicans on the failed bailout vote, yet she couldn't even swing enough members of her own politburo caucus with a majority of seats in the House...  She only got 2/3 of the politburo caucus to vote in favor of the bailout plan…  and 94 Democrats voted against it...   The food fight is on…

Yes, the market was down over the vote, but it really took a dive when Pinkie Pelosi got up to speak after the vote failed.  Now the market is just telling Congress and in particular Pelosi and Reid to get stuffed.   It didn’t like a communist bailout plan any better than a majority of the House including a whole lot of Blue Dog liberals…  Now that all the liberal weasels including Barney Frank have given their pressers licking their wounds and each other in a show of solidarity…  but still pointedly blaming the Republican members of the House for the failed vote, the market is really pissed and was down 690 with 30 minutes to go in the session.  Now that they've ended the presser, the market's easing back up to being down only 590 and that only proves Pinky and her politburo should shut up and go back to work.

Now what we need is a real stimulus package and free market approach that makes the Bush tax cuts permanent, eliminates the capital gains tax, and replaces the current loan approval rules that got us into this trouble with the time tested old rules.  Watch the market when a package like this is voted into law…

I’ve been listening to statements by House minority members that indicate Pinkie Pelosi’s blatant partisan speech before the vote blaming Bush and Republican policies for the present predicament is was what actually turned the tide against the bailout plan from enough votes to pass to going down in defeat.

Katie bar the door…  This is going to be a wild ride

Take care…  the House is still in session.

V/R, Batch

This is fantastic (go ahead, call me bias, but I LOVE Ron Paul)...

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Black Monday all over again.  Dow Jones down -777.68 at market close.

Two words: Buying Opportunity.

The time to buy is when there is blood in the streets.

(Edited for typo)

Ya'll know I don't know how to do the links, but I just read over at MSNBC on one of their breaking stories that the Fed has decided to release some funds (along with some foreign banks) totally about $690 Billion to help EASE the markets...

Now could someone explain to me WHY this wasn't just done to start with if it's so easy to do now? Apparently it's tied to 28 and 90 day loans to banks or something like that. Hell if they're broke what makes 'em think they're gonna get paid back in a month or three?

And congress is gonna meet to give 'em more?  Am I missing something?

Hugs BD

I went to MSNBC and all I could find was that there is going to be new talks on this matter on Thursday.  

If anyone can find what Barb was talking about, please post it.  

This issue is going to effect the job market in all sectors I'd wager.

Good news for those who want to invest and have a little they could risk losing, is that AIG stock is now near penny stock prices at ~2.50 a share.

This is what I found... If they already HAD the money what was Congress voting on?

WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve and foreign centreal banks agreed to pump billions of dollars into the global financial system Monday to unlok tight lending that threatens to unhinge the U S economy.

The Fed said the action is intended to "expand significantly" the cash available to finanacial institutions in an effort to relieve to the worst credit crisis since the Great Depression. In taking the action, the Fed cited "continued strains" in the demand for short-term funding.

Central banks will continue to work closely and are prepared to take "appropriate steps as needed" to ease the crisis and get banks lending again, the Fed said. The Fed announced its decision shortly after the start of trading Monday morning.

Under one new step, the Fed will boost the amount of 84-day cash loans available to U.S. banks. The Fed is increasing the amount to $75 billion, up from the current $25 billion starting on Oct. 6. Banks bid on a slice of the loans at an auction.

That move will triple the supply of 84-day loans to $225 billion, from $75 billion, the Fed said.

Meanwhile, the Fed will continue to make $75 billion worth of shorter, 28-day loans available to banks.

All told, the total amount of cash loans — 84-day and 28-day — available to banks will double to $300 billion from $150 billion, the Fed said.

Moreover, the Fed will make a total of $620 billion available to other central banks, expanding ongoing currency “swap” arrangements with them where dollars are traded for their currencies. That’s up from $290 billion previously in such arrangements.

The Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, the Swiss National Bank and the central banks of Denmark, Norway, Australia and Sweden are involved in those swap arrangements.

The move comes as the U.S. financial meltdown’s tendrils have ensnared banks in Britain, the Benelux and Germany.

By pledging to provide “a very large” cash infusion, the Fed hopes the actions will “reassure financial market participants.”

Later Monday, the House defeated a $700 billion emergency rescue package, ignoring urgent pleas from President Bush and bipartisan congressional leaders to quickly bail out the staggering financial industry.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Here's a fun fact that was pointed out to me by someone else.  This buried in a "Forbes" article last week:

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Why $700 billion dollars?

"It's not based on any particular data point," a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. "We just wanted to choose a really large number."

:o

Best,

George

Omen? Opening Bell Doesn't Sound

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BarbaraD wrote on Sep 29^th, 2008 at 4:48pm:

Ya'll know I don't know how to do the links, but I just read over at MSNBC on one of their breaking stories that the Fed has decided to release some funds (along with some foreign banks) totally about $690 Billion to help EASE the markets... Now could someone explain to me WHY this wasn't just done to start with if it's so easy to do now? Apparently it's tied to 28 and 90 day loans to banks or something like that. Hell if they're broke what makes 'em think they're gonna get paid back in a month or three? And congress is gonna meet to give 'em more?  Am I missing something? Hugs BD

This is what drives me nuts.

If $600 Billion was pumped into wall street by the Fed. Reserve today without Congress approval, what the heck was all the voting about? Why was Paulson upset, and why another vote later on this week? How can this happening become public knowledge? I watched TV all evening, and I’ve heard nobody except Congressman Paul mention this. People should know. >:(

I heard ONE mention on the news this morning by a Congressman about this - that's all. But they're still gonna bail out wall Street with 700 Billion more.

So if I'm understanding this -- the Fed can just release money at will and we have a big deal about a bail out? I'm just a lowly accountant but 2+2 just ain't adding up to 4 here. Maybe I just don't have a congressional calculator or somethin'

Hugs BD

The Birk Economic Recovery Plan

I'm against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG. Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a “We Deserve It Dividend.”



To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+. Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up. So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billon that equals $425,000.00. My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a “We Deserve It Dividend.”

Of course, it would NOT be tax free.

So let's assume a tax rate of 30%. Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes. That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.



But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket. A husband and wife has $595,000.00. What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?

Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved.

Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads.

Put away money for college - it'll be there.

Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs.

Buy a new car - create jobs.

Invest in the market - capital drives growth.

Pay for your parent's medical insurance - health care improves.

Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean - or else.

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ – including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.



If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do it...instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 ('to buy your vote') economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President. If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+!

As for AIG - liquidate it. Sell off its parts. Let American General go back to being American General. Sell off the real estate. Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.

Here's my rationale: We deserve it and AIG doesn't.

Sure it's a crazy idea that can 'never work.'

But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!

How do you spell Economic Boom?

I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion “We Deserve It Dividend” more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC . And remember, The Birk plan only ‘really’ costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.

Ahhh...I feel so much better getting that off my chest.


Kindest personal regards,
Birk

T. J. Birkenmeier, A Creative Guy & Citizen of the Republic

Have you thought of running for congress?  You got my vote.

On the other hand - Have you thought about sending this PLAN to Congress for consideration - like thru the MEDIA... It might get the country stirred up in a way that would really send a MESSAGE to Congress....

Hugs BD

Again, 85 billion divided by 200 million is $425 not $425,000.

Kinda takes the shine off the thing don't it.

That'd buy me a used gas stove and upright freezer.... I'd take it. :D ;)

I heard today that the thing might have slipped through if the press hadn't picked up on the phrase: "Bailout" and stuck it in every scroll and headline. Beat the press?  8-)

Charlie

Bob P wrote on Sep 30^th, 2008 at 2:31pm:

Again, 85 billion divided by 200 million is $425 not $425,000. Kinda takes the shine off the thing don't it.

     Well sheeeeeeeeeeeit.

              Potter

Chanting "You broke it, you bought it"

Thousands of protestors demonstrated agains the proposed $700 Billion bail out plan for the finance and banking industry, yet the national news media in America didn't even report it! Why not? It seems strange that this barely generated a gander from the big news outlets like ABC, CNN, CBS, NBC etc. all of whom have a presence in New York City.

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A little bit of protest stuff showed up on a CSPAN blip and a clip or two on PBS. Not much though.

Charlie

With all of this available information and in an era of tight budgets, why are lawmakers so resistant to reducing waste? One reason is that they see it as a thankless job that would go unnoticed back home. With Congress in session just 80 days annually, reducing waste would take precious time away from most lawmakers’ higher priorities of increasing spending on popular programs and bringing pork-barrel projects home.

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The Defense Department has uncovered its own credit card scandal. Over one recent 18-month period, Air Force and Navy personnel used govern­ment-funded credit cards to charge at least $102,400 for admission to entertainment events, $48,250 for gambling, $69,300 for cruises, and $73,950 for exotic dance clubs and prostitutes.

Quote:

Over one recent 18-month period, Air Force and Navy personnel used govern­ment-funded credit cards to charge at least $102,400 for admission to entertainment events, $48,250 for gambling, $69,300 for cruises, and $73,950 for exotic dance clubs and prostitutes

THAT...along with the most recent CEO's getting an outrageous severence pay for ruining the companys,  makes me ill.  Especially as BarbD has already said, "there is nothing we can do but bend over"

What if.....everyone started a revolt?   Kinda  like they had in Boston a few hundred yrs. ago.  

Linda_Howell wrote on Sep 30^th, 2008 at 8:31pm:

Quote: Over one recent 18-month period, Air Force and Navy personnel used govern­ment-funded credit cards to charge at least $102,400 for admission to entertainment events, $48,250 for gambling, $69,300 for cruises, and $73,950 for exotic dance clubs and prostitutes What if.....everyone started a revolt?

Look up a few posts to "You broke it, you bought it"......Thats a start, no? ;)

Until we can get the ball really rolling, lets have some music, shall we?

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:( Now the Senate will be taking up a vote tomorrow on the same damn bill.

Linda_Howell wrote on Sep 30^th, 2008 at 8:31pm:

Quote: Over one recent 18-month period, Air Force and Navy personnel used govern­ment-funded credit cards to charge at least $102,400 for admission to entertainment events, $48,250 for gambling, $69,300 for cruises, and $73,950 for exotic dance clubs and prostitutes THAT...along with the most recent CEO's getting an outrageous severence pay for ruining the companys,  makes me ill.  Especially as BarbD has already said, "there is nothing we can do but bend over" What if.....everyone started a revolt?   Kinda  like they had in Boston a few hundred yrs. ago.

Well tossing tea into the harbor isn't going to do much.  

Hmmm maybe if each and every taxpayer changed their withholdng status to exempt at the end of 2008 and then refused to file a return for the year come Feb 2010?

Think there are enough prisons to hold us all?

edit to finish my sentance.

Linda_Howell wrote on Sep 30^th, 2008 at 8:31pm:

What if.....everyone started a revolt?   Kinda  like they had in Boston a few hundred yrs. ago.

I used to tell Chewy that one day I was going to snap. I'll stuff my pockets full of shells, grab two shotguns, and just start walking southeast - toward Washington.

He asked if I wouldn't mind swinging through Boston to pick him up.

I told Jess to stock up on cases of bullets.  He said he was going to purchase some this week anyway...

Melissa wrote on Sep 30^th, 2008 at 8:48pm:

:( Now the Senate will be taking up a vote tomorrow on the same damn bill.

And tomorrow the liberals in Portland may burn another soldier, so much for supporting the troops, eh?

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Why do you burn an American soldier?.....Why? >:(

Redd wrote on Sep 30^th, 2008 at 8:51pm:

Well tossing tea into the harbor isn't going to do much.

No, but we could start by tossing about 537 people (and I use that term loosely) into the Potomac.


Quote:

Hmmm maybe if each and every taxpayer changed their withholdng status to exempt at the end of 2008 and then refused to file a return for the year come Feb 2010? Think there are enough prisons to hold us all?

Only trouble with that is that nobody wants to be at the front of the line, because there'd be room for a few of us. But I like the way you think. ;)

"Show me the law...."  

Reminds me of the "voluntary" self performance apprasials at my former place of employment.  

Failure to do one put the employee on probabtion for 3 months till they filled it out or they were canned.  So much for voluntary.... :D

Quote:

because there'd be room for a few of us.

But think of the bottle necks in the court rooms at they try to take each and every one of the American taxpayers to court, while we demand to be represented by a Public Defender at the cost of the Government.  

It would be mass chaos.  Ohhh I feel so EVIL....(pinky at the corner of my mouth)

Redd wrote on Sep 30^th, 2008 at 9:26pm:

"Show me the law...."

There is no law when it comes to the everyday working folk!

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THE NEW WORLD ORDER!

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Ok, here's another way to REVOLT -- what if... several million taxpayers filed a class action lawsuit against the Federal Government and Congress (esp Congress) for Taxation Without Representation.

These guys (Congressmen and Senators) have been shooting their mouths off on TV for days now that they're overrun with phone calls and e-mails against the bailout plan, yet they're going to vote it in. That's Misrepresentation if I ever saw it.

The American people are holding a "tea party" (symbolic) around the country protesting this bill, yet it's going thru just the same -- that's Misrepresentation.

If some group of smart lawyers would get together we might get that $245. up to $245,000 before it's over and some taxes lowered.

Oh well, it's a thought...

Hugs BD

Acorn is getting the first 20% of our money?

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This is from FOX - what do you expect?

I'm not happy with this bill and as one guy said, It's like pulling a car out of a ditch to find it's out of gas and still won't go anywhere.

There's enough blame to go around, so instead of trying to keep blaming everyone why not spend that time to try to figure out what to do about it. To me that would be BEST FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.

Congress is NOT in session - they went home to get reelected - that's ridiculous - they should be doing the job they're getting paid for. They should be at work right now trying to figure out what to do to get this economy back in focus. The people of this country should be demanding it.

We've got 750,000 people out of work in this country - THAT should be #1 priority for our LEADERS - what the hell are they going to do about that? Our economy is heading for a depression (if they haven't noticed - we're already in a recession!). We're sending OUR TAX money to other countries to "feed the poor" when our own people are starving HERE! Our people don't have adequate medical care yet we're worried about the rest of the damn world. I think it's about time we took care of our OWN for a change.

I read T Boone Pickens plan for energy and I'd suggest everyone do that. It makes more sense than what I've been hearing from our candidates for president.

And  what would be wrong with putting some "high" import taxes on anything imported into this country from our "friends" in other countries. Might make "outsourcing" a little more unattractive" and keep some jobs here. And give our farmers a break - quit importing stuff and let us grow our own. We've got the land and the know how - our farms are going by the wayside. Give the farmers some incentatives. We need to get back to "buying American".

There's a lot of things our "lawmakers" need to be doing right now rather than taking a recess.

Hugs BD

And after saving the slimy lenders that contributed to the toxic loans, it turns out that the Republicans this week didn't join in to extend unemployment insurance, which ends very shortly, and just might be something appreciated by the 159,000 workers that lost their jobs while watching the Feds hire a lot of the same jerks who won't have to resign their golf club memberships. If there was ever a time that a little money would be handy; this is it. $112 billion extra dollars spent on Samoan tax cuts, rum manufacturers, movie makers, and toy arrows: No problem. A tad for the auto worker losing his house: Are you nuts! We aren't socialists and with this current mess, we are a little worried that even with our barbell-shaped election districts, we aren't sure of getting the vote. God forbid that the people won't throw a life raft to the very people that poked holes in the boat.

Charlie

Charlie!!  Bashing Republicans while holding Democrats up in high esteem is BULLSHIT!!!

It's funny.  When Republicans are to blame, there are many Pubs that agree, yes, some are to blame.  BUT, when Dems are to blame, sooooooo many Dems say "there is blame to go around on BOTH sides".

What an f'ing double standard!!

I'm thinking of hightailing it out of here until Nov. 5th. ::)

Melissa wrote on Oct 5^th, 2008 at 12:52pm:

Charlie!!  Bashing Republicans while holding Democrats up in high esteem is BULLSHIT!!!

Its easy enough to spot the fucks that did this.....sooooo fuckin easy!

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Sorry, Charlie....up grade your connection.

[size=12]No. the BS on this is disproportionatey on the right. This time they are extreme hypocrites of the worst kind. Also, it's the GOP that has the greatest history of calling anything at all proposed by the Democrats as everything from treason the criminal behavior. The biggest difference in rhetoric between the right and the left is that the left usually acknowledges that others may have a point even though they disagree. The right calls the left agents of the devil that have no business existing on the same planet.

Charlie[size]

I was watching CBS's Sunday Morning this morning and a former Senator was saying on there how there are no moderate parties anymore.  There's only hard left or hard right.

I'd say that you Charlie, are hard left.

BUT, I still love you, cause you're my friend, even though I disagree with you...

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Melissa wrote on Oct 5^th, 2008 at 1:11pm:

I was watching CBS's Sunday Morning this morning and a former Senator was saying on there how there are no moderate parties anymore.  There's only hard left or hard right. I'd say that you Charlie, are hard left.

Well....I've become hard left on a few issues because of the horrible types the GOP sticks in charge of the party to win. Of course health care is my favorite issue. Censorship and loving America but hating Americans is another.

I voted for Ronald Reagan once but only once because the GOP decided to turn into a party furthering far far right politics in order to get back the Congress after 40 years. They discovered that a lot of churchy types don't like to rock the boat and long for 1955. That worked and of course brought out some really despicable characters that use their flock just for elections. The Republicans aren't really much interested in creationism or even abortion, as they would have them think. They drop this stuff like hot potatoes after they use them to win, as nationally, both are significantly minor positions.

Of course because of the GOP's need for all those purists in the party, we get a bunch of Sarah Palins running around embarrassing a man like McCain....although I still can't believe he put up with it. I do believe the theory that the McCain of 2000 wouldn't vote for the McCain of 2008.

It's too bad as the GOP has had some great people but the libertarian wing is not allowed in what's left of the party. I hate what they have become.....just the opposite of their tradition of leaving us alone. It's now a party of intolerance, censorship, and one that likes a dumbed down electorate. There is no civility in politics when ideological purity trumps necessary pragmatism. Because of this, the Democrats have had to dumb down too. Now both waste time on social stuff that for 100 years was left to local politics. There are few adults in Washington. They spend all their time speaking about evolution and Janet Jackson rather than deal with the real world. It's why George Bush and Dick Cheney run all over vowing to force democracy on people that hate the very idea. Should Iran or Iraq get free elections, just what do you suppose they will do with it? They will elect the same bunch of religious lunatics that they have now. They are comfortable with it.

Anyway, I think of myself conservative on some things but liberal on others but forced farther left with each new Republican ticket. It ain't all my fault.

Charlie

You get "forced" further left, so it ain't your fault.

How convenient.

And how absurd.

My beliefs are my beliefs, and I vote according to my beliefs.  I don't let anybody force me right or left.

Charlie, you're left-leaning starting point is what is forcing you more left.  Thank about it.  You could easily apply the word 'despicable' to many on either side.  It's what you choose to acknowledge, and what you choose to feed your brain with, that moves you.  You're going exactly where the left wants you to go.

-Shawn

wrote on Oct 5^th, 2008 at 6:00pm:

You get "forced" further left, so it ain't your fault. How convenient. And how absurd.

Ahhh.  The liberal motto.  

It ain't my fault......<insert excuse here>.

wrote on Oct 5^th, 2008 at 6:00pm:

You get "forced" further left, so it ain't your fault. How convenient. And how absurd.

My my my.   Okay kids:

Being a lefty is good. It's the place to be. You're right. I wasn't forced out but I surely have nothing to be ashamed of getting out a party that is currently headed by people that represent little of what I find admirable in this country...intolerance of contrary thought even within the party itself and political grace are things of the past. This sad state of affairs is especially encouraged by the far right that have made politcs a blood sport. Cross aisle friendships are considered treason by them and all but gone.

My feeding my brain with leftist ideas is nowhere near as silly as the "polls" taken by FOX news after the last debate. The idea that there is something useful in polling people predisposed to watch FOX is what is absurd.

Charlie

Charlie,

You say the "people" of Iraq and Iran don't want democracy?  I wish you had been in Iraq when they voted and stood in line for four hours for the privilege.  I wish you could have been with a friend of mine who tried to save the lives of a couple of kids who were hit with fragments from a mortar round fired at them by a bunch of Iranian "insurrgients" who were trying to disrupt the voting.  Their mother wept before dying, not because she was dying, but because she would not get the chance to vote!  They had over an 88% turnout for the vote, and STAYED IN LINE even though they were being shelled.  We have had as low as 42% turn out for a presidential election, and one year it was something like 28% in a non-presidential election.  Say what you will of what the left media wants to feed you, but the PEOPLE of Iraq WANT their freedom.  Talk to some of our troops who have been there and worked with them rather than listening to the talking heads on TV that regurgitate the party line without ever leaving the Green Zone to create their stories.

You are welcome to your political leanings and beliefs, and I will fight to protect your rights to them, but at least get some real information before coming to your conclusions.  (I am not talking about Fox News either.  I can't stomach any of the alphabet soups anymore.)

Jerry

I'll have to defer to you since you were there. I know the turnout was very high. My thinking was that they would have to vote for more Islamic radical lunatics. I don't know who else would run successfully and that the three groups would present not much real choice.

Also, to clarify what I meant when I said in the other post that "it wasn't my fault." That doesn't refer to my leaving the party going to the left; it refers to the Pat Roberstons and Jerry Falwell types when at first they blaming the World Trade Center bombing on homosexuals and pro-abortion activists as God's revernge. That is what was despicable.

Charlie

Melissa wrote on Oct 5^th, 2008 at 1:11pm:

I was watching CBS's Sunday Morning this morning and a former Senator was saying on there how there are no moderate parties anymore.  There's only hard left or hard right. I'd say that you Charlie, are hard left. BUT, I still love you, cause you're my friend, even though I disagree with you...

Where's the hard right party?  I don't see one.  :-/

Agostino Leyre wrote on Oct 6^th, 2008 at 5:11pm:

Melissa wrote on Oct 5th, 2008 at 1:11pm: I was watching CBS's Sunday Morning this morning and a former Senator was saying on there how there are no moderate parties anymore.  There's only hard left or hard right. I'd say that you Charlie, are hard left. BUT, I still love you, cause you're my friend, even though I disagree with you... Where's the hard right party?  I don't see one.  :-/

I believe the term is neo-conservative. :-?  Charlie is better at explaining the neocons than I am though.

BTW, I consider myself a conservative republican and I am NOT evil!  I swear to God!!! ;)

Actually Mel, I screw up describing neo conservatives. Every time I think I have it, I learn something else.

Hard right for me was Bill Frist. I wouldn't call him a neocon.

Charlie

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Ok then, I am assuming hard right would be those who take certain ideals to the extreme??

Ya know, it's hard to pin down a crazy hard right republican except for the nuts in the mainstream media.  Hell, just the word "republican" is enough to make people go nuts because of all the shit that has gone down the past 8 years.

As for Bill Frist, I agree with a couple things and disagree with a lot of others concerning his views.  

You see, it's all in how you view things.  That's why I hate labels, but based on the majority of my beliefs, I fall into Republican territory.  That doesn't mean I agree on everything some people calling themselves conservatives do.

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OK Mel. I think of Bill Frist as a hard right Republican. There are those that fall into extremes that even many Republicans find scary. Tom Delay, is the classic example. Jesse Helms is banging on that door as well.

Charlie

sorry but, ROTFLMAO Jonny!

Melissa wrote on Oct 6^th, 2008 at 6:24pm:

sorry but, ROTFLMAO Jonny!

:-* .............................  ;)

Unfortunately, Charlie, I was not in Iraq.  They told me I'm to old and fat, and I can only fix half of that. However, I have some very close friends who have served there,(as well as my son), and a couple going back again (voluntarily) who have seen what is going on and what is being accomplished and believe in what we are doing.  If the media will not tell us the truth about what our military is doing in a war, how can we believe them about our politics?  They tell us the Shia and the Sunni cannot get along, but without the Ba'ath Party getting in their way they have developed a plan to share oil revenues FAIRLY between themselves AND the Kurds.  They did this on their OWN, without our intervention.  Sure there is some friction at times, but what do we have going on over here?  

After all the headlines screaming about our Marines raping and pillaging and our men being locked up and convicted by the media ALL but one or two have been exonerated.  Where are those headlines???  In several of these cases the charges put up by the media were libelous, but because of the position of the men in the military they cannot take action against CBS, ABC, NBC, the NYT, and others although they have been shown to have been done with malice.

Bias and taking sides in the EDITORIAL pages is one thing, and I will read them to see what both sides say, but outright DISHONESTY on the part of the media in what they call "News" is wrong.  

All I'm saying is to check out your information thoroughly before making up your mind.  If you did I think you would find that you are actually a lot closer to the "right" than you think, based on what I have read of your postings over the last several years.  You read a lot and put a lot of thought into what you say, and I applaud you for that.  I just think you are getting to much of your information from very dishonest sources.

Jerry

My info is macro rather than from the ground. It's all I have.
I know only a couple kids.....to me they seem like kids anyway that did tours over there. Like so many of them, they aren't crazy about getting into it. I know there's a huge disconnect when they step off the plane and are asked what they want at McDonalds. I can't imagine. I read the other day about vets4vets, I think it's called. Scary stuff.

Even I don't buy into all the supposed atrocities we hear about now and then. That does look like slow news day headline gathering to me.

Charlie

Quote:

Nevada state authorities seized records and computers Tuesday from the Las Vegas office of an organization that tries to get low-income people registered to vote, after fielding complaints of voter fraud. Bob Walsh, spokesman for the Nevada secretary of state's office, told FOXNews.com the raid was prompted by ongoing complaints about "erroneous" registration information being submitted by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, also called ACORN. The group was submitting the information through a voter sign-up drive known as Project Vote. "Some of them used nonexistent names, some of them used false addresses and some of them were duplicates of previously filed applications," Walsh said, describing the complaints, which largely came from the registrar in Clark County, Nev. Secretary of State Ross Miller said the fraudulent registrations included  forms for the starting lineup of the Dallas Cowboys football team.