Looking back on 2008

On this cold an snowy New Years Eve here at the BCP Long Island bureau I thought I take a look back on what got my attention in 2008:

Well let's see there was a writers strike:


William F. Buckley dies

Jeremiah (Wright) was a bullfrog or was he just a good friend of Barack Obama who gave a speech on race in March

In New York City having three kids becomes a status symbol.

Barack Obama pulled some stats out of his butt but, most in the mainstream media never checked him on it.

Tim Russert died

Something was not kosher at a meat packing plant in Iowa and it concerned illegal immigrant workers.

My employer sent me out to Minneapolis to set up communications systems for the Republican convention. Loved that balloon drop


It was bailout mania in September Nancy Pelosi said "The Party is Over" looking back the party had just begun and the money has not stopped flowing since.

Obama downplays his involvement with ACORN and as usual the liberal media does a Sargent Schultz and sees nothing wrong with the connections.

Obama's tax cut plan is a good one

Hope is on the way if today's Washington Post article on how the Obama administration plans to give U.S. taxpayers an immediate tax cut is any indication. What is good to see is that it looks like a very efficient means to get money into the wallets of us taxpayers. Here is the money quote:

"Obama, in the second week of a vacation in Hawaii, continues to work on his economic plan, aides said. He is considering immediate tax cuts of $1,000 for couples and $500 for individuals, which would be delivered through reduced tax withholding from paychecks, a transition aide said. That plan could cost about $140 billion over the next two years, the aide said."

I think this plan is good for a number of reasons because it:

1)Can be implemented fast and with immediate results.

2)Can be implemented multiple times (if needed) without delay.

3)Would eliminate “pork” and costly bureaucratic delivery of checks (from the IRS) since the money will go directly and immediately to U.S. taxpayer’s wallets.

4)Would encourage people to be legally employed and not work “off the books”. Increasing tax revenues that would otherwise be lost.

It's this kind of thinking from the Obama administration that may help the middle class more than any Bush Administration or Pelosi/Reid left leaning Democratic proposals ever did. I say Obama should go for it.

War children is just a shot away....

We dined at a local Indian Restaurant here in northwest DC the other night. I overheard the Indian owner discussing world politics with some customers at another table. It was his view that there would soon be a war between Pakistan and India. This may not qualify as "actionable intelligence" here in Washington. But, you never know.

Christmas Greetings from AIG and the Federal Reserve

This time of year is particularly a dangerous time for us taxpayers. It is a time when those in Washington can slip out bad news but, chances are less people will notice it. The reason for this is because everyone is running around for the Christmas holidays. Even most of the media empties out of this town for the next week or so. Not me. I am looking for the bad news leaked out. I think I found it in today's Washington Post. It concerns AIG and how it was able to get some of those nasty credit default swaps off it's books. Here are the money quotes:"American International Group retired $16 billion in credit default swaps, the contracts that almost caused the company's collapse, after buying the underlying securities with help from the Federal Reserve."

"The fund created by the Fed and AIG to protect the insurer's customers from losses has now purchased collateralized debt obligations with a face value of about $62.1 billion, the firm said in a statement."

"The business guaranteed more than $70 billion in securities created by pools of different kinds of debt, including sub prime mortgages, that plunged in value. The federal government committed $150 billion to bail out AIG and prevent losses at investment banks that bought protection on fixed-income securities from the insurer."

Whoa! AIG only guaranteed $70 billion in securities. But, we taxpayers gave them $85 billion and then another $65 billion in loans? What wrong with this picture?

Merry Christmas: I got yer stimulus right here!

The lobbyist are lining up to get their hands on the next outflow of taxpayer dollars to come out of Washington. It is good to see that their are some people in Washington and I am happy to see that some are Democrats who know that just throwing money out is not the best way to stimulate the economy and be effective. Here is the money quote:"
If we're going to call it a stimulus package, it has to be stimulating and has to be stimulating now. I think there are members of our caucus who are trying to create a Christmas tree out of this," said Rep. Baron P. Hill (Ind.), incoming co-chairman of the Blue Dog Coalition, a caucus of 51 fiscally conservative House Democrats.
The Christmas tree is a good analogy. While it looks pretty for a while in the house. It eventually winds up on the street with all the other trash a symbol of wasted money. Let's hope Dems like Rep. Hill and the Obama administration keep their eye on the money and make sure we taxpayers get the most out of every dollar spent in the "stimulus" bill.

No solace in Solis

President elect Obama has announced Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor. The daughter of Mexican and Nicaraguan immigrants her past record shows she is very pro union. Here are some of the money quotes:

"Solis is viewed as quite liberal and has sometimes been criticized as inflexible in advancing her causes."

"The business community's concern over the appointment is especially great because of a fight coming up next year over efforts to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, the top priority for labor unions. The measure is designed to boost union membership by having employees sign union cards to form unions instead of holding secret ballot elections."

As a union member nobody asked me whether I am in favor of the "Employee Free Choice Act" which basically does away with a secret ballot in union organizing elections. So workers will be at the mercy of strong arm tactics of Union thugs working for unionization votes. With a secret ballot the wishes of workers are protected. I hope Obama and Hilda Solis understand that.

My car is died and Detriot is not looking too healthy either.

Since 1988 I have been driving a 1986 Mazda subcompact. It was a hatxhback, not flashy but, reliable transportation and very good on gas. One August night in 2007 I was driving it home from the Ronkonkoma train station. I turned a corner and the car died. It cranked fine but, just never started again. Since it had only 66,000 original miles on the odometer I knew it still had some life in it even if the body was starting to show it's age. I was planning on buying a new car anyway but, I thought I try and use it for one more year. I had it towed to my house thinking I would try and revive it. I never did make much progress or really spend much time on it. This week I donated it to a children's charity. It was sad to see it being towed off. I knew it still had a few miles in it. But, the reality is I did not have the time to work on it like I thought I would. I had bought a new car brand new which if my driving remains the same may last me until I die. Only a few months before I had spent $600 for a new muffler system for it to keep it going. It nows looks like that was money that was wasted. Meanwhile in Washington the Federal Government has granted billions of dollars in loans to the big three U.S. car makers to keep them going. I just hope that will not be money that was wasted too.

George Bush's Guava moment

At a press conference in Iraq yesterday President George Bush had two shoes thrown at him by an Iraqi journalist. This reminded me of the time of the time th locals in South America pelted Richard Nixon's limo with Guava fruit back in the fifties when he toured there. While the Iraqi man throwing the shoes had pretty good aim I was pretty impressed with George Bush. He may not have a quick mind but, his reflexes were pretty fast as he avoided being hit.

"Stopping" illegal immigration Mexican style

Perhaps the U.S. Government could learn a thing or two from the Mexican Government on how to find illegal immigrants within a country's borders. Here are the money quotes from the New York Times:

"Between January and September, the National Migration Institute, Mexico’s immigration service, deported 350 Americans, some of them lawbreakers who had finished prison sentences in the country, but others merely travelers who were found to be without proper paperwork.
One of them was the scruffy wanderer in his early 40s who goes by the name Crash, eschews regular employment and racks up stories of his adventures.
“I didn’t know you could be deported from Mexico,” he said, requesting that his full name not be used to avoid running further afoul of the law. “I didn’t know it was possible. Now I know.”
He said he had been riding in the back of a pickup truck from Huatulco, a popular vacation spot in the southern state of Oaxaca, to the resort city of Acapulco several weeks ago when the vehicle approached a checkpoint. The authorities asked Crash for his passport. He did not have one.
He said he was taken away and later found himself in a police lineup. He said he had been told that a woman had been robbed in Acapulco by a blond man with a goatee. Looking at the other men in the lineup, Crash said they could have been his brothers, all of them blond and with goatees.
He was not chosen as the robber but said he was sent to jail nonetheless, which was not an altogether unpleasant experience for Crash. “The cell was better than some of the 300-peso hotel rooms I’ve stayed in,” he said. “The only thing was that it had bars.”
He said he spent about a week there while the American Consulate prepared travel documents for him. When informed that he was going to be deported to the United States, he said he initially could not believe it. “I thought to myself, ‘You’ve got to be kidding. This is a joke. You’re deporting me from Mexico?’ "

See how easily it's done? Perhaps someone at Homeland Security would take note of this.

Obama forgot something

From today's Washington Post:
"On the heels of more grim unemployment news, President-elect Barack Obama yesterday offered the first glimpse of what would be the largest public works program since President Dwight D. Eisenhower created the federal interstate system in the 1950s.
Obama said the massive government spending program he proposes to lift the country out of economic recession will include a renewed effort to make public buildings energy-efficient, rebuild the nation's highways, renovate aging schools and install computers in classrooms, extend high-speed Internet to underserved areas and modernize hospitals by giving them access to electronic medical records."

Seems Obama forgot about one public works project already underway that would not only provide jobs but, would also help secure the nation as well. Hey Obama how about finishing the border fence!

No more Kennedys!

Word of the street that another member of the elites is sniffing around for a government job. This time it's Caroline Kennedy daughter of President John F. Kennedy trying to put her butt down into the soon to be vacant Hillary Clinton Senate seat. ENOUGH already! It's time this country moved on and stop putting anymore Kennedy's into office. Though sometimes the policies they come up like Ted Kennedy's positions on illegal immigration are good for a laugh they tend to hurt middle class taxpayers in the long run. So I say no more Kennedys in government please and while we are at it the same goes for the Bushes.

Death of two liberals

There was a double homicide that occurred just before Thanksgiving near the BCP Washington Bureau that I have been following. It is the the gruesome stabbing death of of Michael and Virginia Spevak. Their death was not on the front page of the liberal papers like the Washington Post and the story has pretty much faded from news coverage in DC. However, it is a cautionary tale of how being too liberal can get a person killed in today's world. Despite the best of intentions. The Spevaks were liberal "community activists" who opened their home to people. One of these people remembered their hospitality and help repay them by allegedly sending killers into their home. Here is the some of the details:


"A young woman who had once stayed overnight at the Chevy Chase home of a couple who were killed there last week led two fellow attackers to the house, according to police charging documents released yesterday after her initial court appearance.

Angela Hernandez, 20, told D.C. homicide detectives that she and two friends were riding in a white Toyota on Nov. 20 when she pointed out the home of Michael Spevak, 68, and his wife Virginia, 67, according to the charging papers. One of her companions said, "Let's rob it," the documents state."

Hernandez is charged with first-degree murder and felony murder, federal prosecutors said.

The Spevaks' bodies were found Saturday in their home in the 5300 block of Belt Road NW. Hernandez, arrested late Wednesday, is the second suspect charged in the killings. On Tuesday, police arrested Piero Fuentes Hernandez, 21, of Capitol Heights in connection with the case. He is not related to Angela Hernandez.

The Spevaks were well-regarded in their neighborhood. Michael Spevak, a psychiatrist, saw patients in the family home. Virginia Spevak devoted time to helping youths in the District's foster care system. It was the Spevaks' commitment to foster care that provided the nexus with their killers, the charging documents allege.

Initially, police said, Hernandez said she knew the names of the people who might have stolen the Toyota Scion but denied any knowledge of the killings. She then admitted that she knew the victims, had visited her friend "Anna," the couple's former foster child, at the Spevak home several times and had spent the night there, although she had not been at the home in two years, according to the charging document.

Eventually, the court document states, Hernandez admitting pointing out the home to her two companions, one of whom was armed with a metal "pole type weapon," the other a gun.

According to the account provided by the charging document, Hernandez said she told Fuentes Hernandez to ring the doorbell and ask for Anna. Hernandez said Michael Spevak opened the door, and her two companions forced their way in and dragged Spevak into the house. Hernandez said she left the house and waited in the Toyota. Minutes later, her two companions came out carrying computers, which they put in the trunk before driving away.

"Fuentes Hernandez told police that he is a member of the MC Gang, or Master Criminals, which is an affiliate of STC, or Street Thug Criminals, according to the charging documents filed in support of his arrest. Hernandez told detectives that she has not been initiated into a gang but has friends who are with the MC Gang, STC, and MS-13, according to charging documents in her case."

Three days after the killings, Hernandez and Fuentes Hernandez posed for photographs in a photo booth, copies of which federal prosecutors attached to the Hernandez charging documents.

A legend above the series of photos proclaims "WANTED For Just About Everything." The two are kissing in one photo and sticking their tongues out in another."

How charming! I wonder if they used any of the money from the home of the Spevaks to take those pictures.

Black Friday turns red with blood.

I actually participated in some Black Friday shopping. I rise early and so I decided that I might as well head over to a nearby Office Depot store here in Washington D.C. that was opening at 6 AM. I need a new printer that would work with a new HP laptop I had purchased a few weeks ago. They had a great deal on one multifunction unit for twenty five bucks. I arrived at the store about five minutes before 6AM and there were about thirty people already on line. A store employee came out a few minutes before and handed out papers for some of the sale items like laptops etc. If he had one to give you were guaranteed the item when the store opened. I got my HP printer and was out of the store in about 45 minutes. It was nice and orderly.
Others where not so lucky:

"A stampede of shoppers in a Valley Stream Wal-Mart on Friday morning left one worker dead and at least three patrons injured after an impatient crowd broke down the store doors and trampled the seasonal employee, Nassau police said.
Jdimytai Damour of Jamaica, Queens, was pushed to the ground by the 2,000-plus crowd just before 5 a.m. as management was preparing to open the store, which is located across from the main Green Acres Mall building. Hundreds stepped over, around and on the 34-year-old worker as they rushed into the store."-Newsday

Even worse is what transpired in a Toys R Us store in Palm Desert California:

"Two men pulled guns and shot each other to death in a crowded toy store Friday after women they were with got into a bloody brawl for unknown reasons, witnesses said. Scared shoppers fled but no one else was hurt.
The violence erupted on Black Friday, the traditional post-Thanksgiving start of the holiday shopping surge, but authorities indicated the shooting shortly after 11:30 a.m. was not prompted by shopping frenzy.
Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez said the fight was not over a toy. He said handguns were found by the men's bodies. He would not answer a question about whether the shooting was gang-related."
The victims were identified as Alejandro Moreno, 39, of Desert Hot Springs, and Juan Meza, 28, of Cathedral City."

I wonder if we will ever get the full story of what happened here. At least these two only shot themselves. But, it gives new meaning to the term shop til you drop.

A few seconds of Nature

Thanksgiving

Well there may be some things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving Day.

1)That John (Juan) McCain is not President.

2) That Obama seems to be taking a more centrist position in setting up his administration.

3) That things may be improving in the housing market according to a story in today's Washington Post:

Would-be mortgage borrowers have rushed to refinance their loans and even weighed plans to buy homes following the government's move this week to loosen consumer lending.
With interest rates suddenly plummeting, "the phone is ringing, the e-mails keep coming," said Jennifer Du Plessis, a mortgage adviser at Prosperity Mortgage, the lending arm of Long & Foster. "Real estate agents are hovering outside our office saying: 'I've got another client who wants to refinance.' "

Now if we can only keep Congress and whatever administration from doing something stupid like buying up "toxic assets" aka sub prime loans with good taxpayer money we may actually be seeing light at the end of the tunnel in this economic downturn. This is certainly something to be thankful for.

Song for Citibank with the Paulson Subprime singers

From today's Washington Post:


"The Treasury Department, Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced just before midnight Monday that they will protect Citigroup, one of the nation's largest banks, against potential losses on a $306 billion pool of troubled assets. "


How are we to account for this turn of events? The answer is in this video.

Taking the profit out of Non Profit.

The Washington Post has an article about how the current economic downturn is affecting "non profit" organizations. Here are some of the money quotes:

"After nearly a decade of record growth, U.S. nonprofits are getting hit from all directions. Some foundations are scaling back on awarding grants as endowments shrink in the stock market meltdown. State and local governments -- facing falling tax revenue -- are slashing budgets and cutting back on funding."

"Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The mortgage finance giants have long been the Washington region's biggest corporate benefactors and gave a combined $47 million to charities last year. As a result of the federal takeover, Fannie and Freddie could decrease or halt their giving altogether, reshaping the area's philanthropic landscape. "

It's about time somebody looked at the money trail in the non profit sector. Non profits have been under the radar for so long just like the sub prime problems at Fannie Mae. It's time to take a good look at them and see who deserves to survive and is cost effective in providing needed services and who is just providing a "feel good" job for some liberal elites at taxpayer and donor expense.

Obama picks Napolitano for Homeland Security

Janet Napolitano has been mentioned to head Homeland Security. I am cautiously optimistic about her appointment. She comes from a border state that has more than it's share of illegal immigration problems . So She knows the issue first hand . She was one of the first Governors to declare a state of emergency and put National Guard troops on the border. She was a Federal prosecutor so she respects the law and will make sure they are enforced. Of course she may not be up to speed on the security needs of our coastal ports being from land locked Arizona. But, overall I think it is a good pick for this important office. I guess the only thing now is to complete the vetting process and see who she hangs around with:

Say isn't that Janet Napolitano with Eliot Spitzer? Uh Oh!

Obama and McCain

I was feeling rather good after Obama's 60 minutes interview Sunday night. I went to sleep thinking that Obama would "do the right thing" for the country after the Steve Kroft softball interview. But, my concern was raised on Monday as Obama met with the defeated Juan McCain in Chicago. Even though it was hardly mentioned during the campaign illegal immigration was mentioned in news reports following the Obama/McCain meeting. This is not a good thing. Especially considering that McCain led the charge on amnesty for illegal immigration. As we we found out through the faulty reporting of the New York Times McCain had a financial reason for backing illegal immigration amnesty. Because it involved money for his friends and backers like the Spanish language Univision TV network. Let's hope Obama understands this special interest connection of McCain's.

Meanwhile the Washington Post reports on a new poll regarding illegal immigration. Here are some of the money quotes:
"Americans and Europeans share deep concerns about immigration, with a large percentage worrying that it can bring crime and displace workers "

People on both sides of the Atlantic express sharply negative views of illegal immigration, and roughly half of respondents said they think immigration in general is "more of a problem" than an opportunity for their societies.

"Real anxiety about legal immigration exists, but it is dwarfed by concerns about illegal immigration," the fund said in a statement yesterday. At least 80 percent of respondents in all surveyed countries called for stronger border controls, and more than 73 percent in all the countries called for tougher sanctions on those who hire illegal immigrants.

I hope Obama listens to the numbers in this poll and less to John McCain.

Obama may pick Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State?

As the saying goes "keep your friends close and your enemies closer". I think that is what is going on here with all the rumors of Obama picking Hillary Clinton for his Secretary of State. I think this is a pretty shrewd move on his part.This gets her out of the Senate and makes it less likely she could mount a primary challenge should the Obama administration start to go down in flames. Since she would be part of it she will have to defend it. Another good thing he could be sending her off to who knows where and keep her out of Washington for four years. Just like this:

The TARP plan was always a turd

I guess the good news for us hard working middle class U.S. taxpayers who pay our bills and debts is that Henry Paulson and the Treasury Department are no longer going to be buying the sub prime crap loans under the Toxic Asset Reduction Program. Which in my book should have been called TURD loans because that is what they are. The idea of using our good tax dollars to buy crap loans from the banks who gave them out does not sit well with this and many other taxpayers. I think Hockeymike 374 speaks for many of us taxpayers:


"How can people be so stupid. Does anyone in congress understand that if you reward irresponsible behavior you will get more of it? I feel like an idiot for paying my bills and living within my means. I would say write your representatives but the last time we did that we were punished by making a 700B dollar bill an 850B dollar bill. This is beyond outrageous. The worst part is this will do nothing to solve the problem. NO more bailouts for corporations or the greedy and irresponsible people who bought homes they could never afford."

Sounds like good advice.

Dumbocratic teachers for Obama

Wups there it is. Stupid is not the word for this idiot teacher caught on tape in this European documentary indoctrinating her students about virtues of Obama "change messiah" Obama. This woman does not belong in a classroom.

News media quote of the day or now they tell us!

Just as many of us had suspected one of the more blatant failures of this passed election is that of American Journalism in covering the Presidential campaign fairly or in depth. Washington Post's Ombudsman Deborah Howell has today's quote of the day:

"The Post provided a lot of good campaign coverage, but readers have been consistently critical of the lack of probing issues coverage and what they saw as a tilt toward Democrat Barack Obama. My surveys, which ended on Election Day, show that they are right on both counts. "

Looks like someone will have to break the news to MSNBC's Keith Obamamann and Chris (tingle in the legs ) Matthews that they were not the only Obama butt boys. Now about that coverage or lack of coverage of Ron Paul in the primaries...

Obama gets it wrong. Is he channeling Joe Biden?

President Elect Obama stuck his foot in his mouth during his first press conference following his historic election victory. Here are some of Obama's erroneous money quotes:

"At a news conference in Chicago, Obama said he had spoken with all the living presidents as he prepares to take office in January. Then he smiled and said, "I didn't want to get into a Nancy Reagan thing about doing any seances."The 87-year-old former first lady had consulted with astrologers during her husband's presidency. But she did not hold conversations with the dead."

Obama got this wrong. What was he thinking? Maybe about that other first lady Hillary Clinton?

"In his book "The Choice," Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward described how Clinton consulted with a spiritual adviser who led her through imaginary conversations with her personal hero, Eleanor Roosevelt. Newsweek magazine, which was promoting the book, characterized the visits as "seances," a term that White House officials quickly tried to squelch."These were people who were helping her laugh, helping her think," said Neel Lattimore, Clinton's spokeswoman. "

Perhaps we should chalk this faux paus by Obama to the Biden Effect.

ELECTION DAY

Who will tell Obama's sheeple?

I am trying to decide if I should put this bit of information in the "Hello suckers!" or "I told you so" file. I am just curious who is going to tell all the sheeple who will be voting for Obama on Tuesday:

"Barack Obama’s senior advisers have drawn up plans to lower expectations for his presidency if he wins next week’s election, amid concerns that many of his euphoric supporters are harbouring unrealistic hopes of what he can achieve. "- Times of London

I guess the most of the American media is still drinking the Obama kool aid to report on this story.

Divided we have more debate and responsible government

The Washington Post has an article today about the argument some Republicans are using during there reelection campaign, That is one party rule would allow an unchecked government to run amok. There are even concerns among the Democrats that they could over reach in there legislation. Here are the money quotes:

"In both chambers, liberal stalwarts are eager to turn on the spigot for increased spending on health-care, housing and education programs."

Somebody needs to tell these liberals. It's not about spending it's about governing.

"Democrats will face an early test when it takes up the children's health insurance bill vetoed by President Bush, as one of the new Congress's first tasks next year. The legislation would offer coverage to an additional 4 million children and is being portrayed by Democrats as a first step toward fulfilling Obama's pledge to provide universal health care.
Liberal Democrats are expected to expand the program further, to include children of illegal immigrants. But Hoyer said that would be asking for too much, financially and politically. "

And the American people especially don't want there money to be spent on illegal immigrants who have broken our laws.

"You might be able to do big things that have been blocked by divided government," said David Rohde, a Duke University political scientist. "But the potential pitfall is you can overreach, alienate the opposition party and alienate independents -- sowing the seeds of your own destruction."

Very true. The danger is once the liberal Democrats get near the money they can't won't be able to stop spending it. Much like the Republicans in the recent past.

Idiot bankers and us sucker taxpayers

I was on the Amtrak heading down to Washington D.C. last night when I opened up the Financial Times weekend edition. They had a front page story of retiring Andrew Lahde of the hedge fund Lahde Capital. He was one of the few money managers to have correctly predicted the sub prime crisis. One of his funds made a return of 870 per cent last year. In his farewell letter to his investors he talks about the elite “aristocracy” and the "idiot bankers" who were on the other side of his bets. You know the same ones we middle class taxpayers will be bailing out to the tune of a trillion dollars thanks to the lame brains in like my Congressman Tim Bishop and others. Here are some of the money quotes:

"Saying he was “in this game for the money”, Mr Lahde went on to mock those who traded with him.
“The low-hanging fruit, ie idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking.”
“These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government.
“All of this behaviour supporting the aristocracy only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other side of my trades. God bless America.”

Thank you Mr Laude for confirming what I suspected all along.

Obama, ACORN and the Presidency

At the debate at Hofstra University here on Long Island last night Obama downplayed and tried to dismiss his involvement with ACORN the multinational political organization that is currently at the center of voter registration fraud investigation in a number of states. Here is how Obama addressed his connections with ACORN

"Now, with respect to ACORN, ACORN is a community organization. Apparently what they've done is they were paying people to go out and register folks, and apparently some of the people who were out there didn't really register people, they just filled out a bunch of names."

Except Mr. Obama this has been happening over and over through the years in a number of states. Only now is this rampant fraud starting to be exposed.

"It had nothing to do with us. We were not involved. The only involvement I've had with ACORN was I represented them alongside the U.S. Justice Department in making Illinois implement a motor voter law that helped people get registered at DMVs."

Now this was a little bit of shuck and jive on Obama's part. Because there was no mention of the $832,598 payment made in February by the Obama campaign to Citizens Services Inc., a consulting firm affiliated with Acorn.
The Obama campaign initially reported that the payment was for “staging, sound, lighting” and other advance work when it reported its expenditures with the Federal Election Commission. It filed amended reports in August and September to reflect that those payments were for get-out-the-vote efforts. Also not mentionedwas Obama's training seminars for ACORN workers.

"Now, the reason I think that it's important to just get these facts out is because the allegation that Sen. McCain has continually made is that somehow my associations are troubling."

Troubling I'll say it's troubling watch this video from December 2007 to see what to expect from Obama's presidency and the influence of ACORN. Ask yourself what exactly does she mean by "community values" . Here is exhibit A:

Signs the economy is getting hot.

But, not in a good way. From today's Washington Post:

"Last year, Alexandria residents Yesenia Gomez and her husband, Jose Reyes, fell behind on payments on their 2007 Dodge Caravan. According to prosecutors, a middle school pal of Gomez's, Daybin Rodriguez, told Gomez that he'd burned a car in the past and could do so again.
Gomez decreased the minivan policy's deductible, and a week later the vehicle was found torched in Mason Neck State Park in Lorton, prosecutors said. She and Rodriguez have since entered pleas to destruction of property charges. Charges against Reyes were dropped.

Obama's "elitism" strikes a cord in some voters.

So I'm listening to NPR the other day and and the reporter is asking an Obama supporter about the charge of Obama being an elitist The guy answers:

'Well, don't we want an elite person as President? I'm mean in our military we want an elite fighting force.'

You can't make this stuff up. This answer is as frightening as the McCain supporter who called Obama an Arab.

Eugene Robinson crys the News

In his column on Tuesday Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson and Obama butt boy complains about how the McCain campaign is trying use the "news media" to distract the issues in the campaign. As opposed to say the "news media" bringing their bias and prejudice for Obama into their reporting or not reporting as the case may be. Robinson obviously frustrated that the McCain campaign won't play by his and the liberal mainstream media rules. Here are some of the money quotes:

"we think of ourselves as working in the public interest. We repeatedly remind everyone that our right to do our jobs however we see fit is enshrined in the First Amendment. "

Note to Eugene Robinson: That first amendment does not only apply to six figure salaried columnist at the Washington Post but, also to working class guys sitting at a keyboard at 6:30 in the morning commenting on the news of the day or the news media, Get used to it! Mr. Robinson.

"We love to quote Thomas Jefferson about how he would rather have newspapers without a government than a government without newspapers. "

I suspect that if Thomas Jefferson were alive to day he might say the same thing except because of the continuing failures of the mainstream news media he might phrase it a little differently. Perhaps something like this:

I would rather have a country without newspapers than a country without bloggers.

I think Jefferson would truly understand that bloggers are truly the voices of the American people not columnist at organizations like the Washington Post. I suspect Jefferson would be a blogger too.
Robinson continues:

"But in the Jeffersonian sense, we know that it's not in the public interest to spend the rest of the campaign talking about fringe characters who once crossed paths with Obama, McCain, Palin or Joe Biden instead of debating the economy, the war on terror, health care or any of the other big issues that will define the next presidency. "

Uh, like illegal immigration? Have we heard one peep from the candidates or the news media about this issue? How about when candidate Obama just makes stuff up in speeches as he did in May. Did the Washington Post cover it? I guess since it was Obama and not McCain it was not considered news.

BAILOUT: The taxpayer view

Congress and the bailout: Bad hand or bad idea?

I've got Nancy (the putz) Pelosi's words ringing in my head after she and the other sheep in Congress railroaded through the 900 billion dollar bailout pork bill. She said that the were dealt a "bad hand" like the members of Congress were at a casino. Yep, she and my Congressman Tim Bishop and Senators Clinton and Schumer were gambling alright. With our money! What was the result of their roll of the dice? Today's Washington Post has the money quotes:

"Last week, the nation's political leaders said the financial system would collapse unless they passed a $700 billion rescue package for Wall Street. On Monday, the first day of trading after the plan passed, the financial system continued to melt down anyway. "

The American people told congress that this was a bad idea they did not listen.

Voter fraud, ACORN and the Washington Post

The Washington Post had an article by Alec MacGillis and Alice Crites about voter registration and how it seems to benefit Obama. While it mentioned ACORN:

"Complementing its efforts are organizations that have been registering hundreds of thousands on their own, such as Democracia USA, which registers Hispanic voters; ACORN, the anti-poverty group; and Women's Voices, Women Vote, which targets unmarried women."

There was no mention of the voter registration fraud that ACORN has been caught in. Michelle Malkin has been on the case for awhile and recent testomony before congress has shed more light on the voter registration fraud that is going on in our Democracy.

"Here are the most important questions right now: We know about the thousands of potentially fraudulent voter registration cards turned in by ACORN and caught by officials. But given the size of ACORN's efforts and the fact that the abuses appear to be systemic, we believe it is fair to question how many more fraudulent registrations have not been discovered, Furthermore, as this mega organization with a decades long history of violating the law is turned to get out the vote efforts, we believe it is fair to question how many fraudulent registrations may lead to fraudulent votes or what other activities they are willing to undertake to influence the election. ?

Perhaps if the Washington Post had dug a little deeper they would have exposed this threat to our democracy. But in Obamaworld it seems that liberal news organizations like the Washigton Post have a see no illegal write about no illegal activity view when it comes to Obama and the Democrats.

I was robbed

I had this dream on Friday night. The banks made these sub prime loans to people who could never afford a mortgage. Then President Bush, Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank, my Congressman Tim Bishop, Senator Chuck Schumer, Hillary Clinton and a bunch of other politcians showed up. They went into my wallet and made me and other taxpayers pay the banks back for the subprime loans that they gave out.. Did anyone else have this dream? Thank God nothing like that could never actually happen in the American capitalist system.

Bank, bailouts, extortion and the Senate

Well Wall Street and the banks seem to be using extortion to try and get Congress to have U.S. taxpayers buy up their crap sub prime loans. In the Senate it looks like their lobbyists may have succeeded in getting dumbocrats like Chris Dodd to railroad this through. Meanwhile the banks are using extortion to make the situation worse. By tightening credit the are making the situation worse on purpose/ Nobody is actually asking the question that these banks can not keep up this extortion for long because they are in business to lend money. That's why they are trying to rush Congress to pass this bailout bill before people realize the game they are playing. If they get away with it it will be the biggest rip off the U.S. taxpayers.

Bailout failure: They call it Democracy!

"A bipartisan rebellion in the House killed a $700 billion rescue plan for the nation's financial system yesterday, "- Washington Post

Funny how the Post like some of the polititans in Washington is calling this a "rescue" when the American people overwelmingly know this is a bailout of the idiots of Wall Street. Speaking of idiots. How about that Nancy Pelosi? here are some of the money quotes:

"The Democratic side more than lived up to its side of the bargain," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). "

Bargain my ass! Creating legislation to spend $700 billion of taxpayer money is not a bargain this was a bailout of Wall Street. The American people know it and they let their representatives know it in know uncertain terms.


"What happened today cannot stand," Pelosi said. "We must move forward, and I hope that the markets will take that message."


What can not stand ,Nancy? The will of the American people? Who flooded the offices of their Representatives with calls that this plan sucked? They call it Democracy for better or worse you and everyone else in Washington had better remember that!

BAILOUT: Hola suckers!

Nancy Pelosi said "The Party is over." but, for some the party has just begun. Nowhere in this trillion dollar bailout bill do I see that those sub prime homeowners who will be helped and bailout along with the banks have to prove that they are in this country illegally. Michelle Malkin

pulls back the curtain to show the 800 pound Gorilla sitting in the room where this bailout scam was negotiated here are the money quotes that will cost the American taxpayers:

It’s no coincidence that most of the areas hardest hit by the
foreclosure wave – Loudon County, Virginia, California’s Inland Empire,
Stockton, San Joaquin Valley, Las Vegas, and Phoenix, for starters — also happen
to be some of the nation’s largest illegal alien sanctuaries. Half of the
mortgages to Hispanics are subprime (the accursed species of loan to borrowers
with the shadiest credit histories.

I’ve reported on the rapidly expanding illegal alien home loan racket.
The top banks clamoring for their handouts as their profits plummet, led by
Wachovia and Bank of America, launched aggressive campaigns to woo illegal alien homebuyers. The quasi-governmental Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority jumped in to guarantee home loans to illegal immigrants.

The Washington Post noted, almost as an afterthought in a 2005 report:
“Hispanics, the nation’s fastest-growing major ethnic or racial group, have been
courted aggressively by real estate agents, mortgage brokers and programs for
first-time buyers that offer help with closing costs. Ads proclaim: “Sin
verificacion de ingresos ! Sin verificacion de documento !” — which loosely translates as, ‘Income tax forms are not required, nor are immigration papers.’”

Yes, Nancy Pelosi had it right "The Party is over. But, for groups like La Raza and the illegal immigrants and banks who have these sub prime loans the party has just begun. Meanwhile we American taxpayers are the ones who will be left to clean up the mess thanks to this bailout bill. Hola suckers!

Wall Street is selling it's sh$t! Guess who is buying it?

From today's Washington Post:

Congressional leaders and the Bush administration this morning said they
had struck an accord to insert the government deeply into the nation's financial
markets, agreeing to spend up to $700 billion to relieve Wall Street of troubled
assets backed by faltering home mortgages.

Yes Wall Street is selling it's sh$t and we tax payers are buying it! Hello suckers!

Full details of the plan were not immediately available.

That's because the devil was busy looking at it and try to find a way to climb into it.

There was at least one good piece of news the Republicans seemed to have been able to get the Democrats to drop their demand that suspect "social services" groups like A.C.O.R.N don't get hold of any taxpayer money since their record of corruption and voter registration fraud is one of the under reported scandals in this whole mess. Here is the money quote:

They also agreed not to dedicate a portion of any profits from the bailout
program to an affordable housing fund that Republicans claimed would primarily
assist social service organizations that support the Democratic Party, the
official said

Only time will tell how badly we taxpayers are being screwed by this legislation and those who negotiated it want this passed before the opening bell of Wall Street. So it looks like our time is up!

Bailout Barney Frank to the rescue! Of who?

As the saying goes "Fools rush in where wise men never go" so it was the Democrats and Bush administration officals like Henry Paulson who tried to rush this Wall Street bailout plan cooked up by the banks themselves through Congress this week. Now comes this irritating comment from Bailout Barney Frank in today's Washington Post:

"I am convinced that by Sunday we will have an agreement people will understand." -Barney Frank

Oh we understand Congressman Frank. We understand we taxpayers are about to be screwed by a bailout orchestrated by the banks and financial institutions like Bank of America to save their butts because of the bad sub prime loans THEY made.

No Boo Hoos for WAMU!

As the Washington Post reports:

"Federal regulators last night seized the massive, troubled mortgage lender Washington Mutual in the largest bank failure in U.S. history,"

J.P. Morgan submitted the highest bid in an auction regulators held Wednesday night, buying Washington Mutual's 2,200 branches, its $135 billion in remaining deposits -- and its vast portfolio of troubled investments in mortgage-related securities.

My my how could this have happened? As Diggers Realm reported a while ago here is an example of the kind of sub prime mortgage that Washington Mutual gave out:

"Soledad Aviles, an immigrant from Mexico with a 6th grade education who can't read or write English and makes $9 an hour, was approved for a mortgage of $615, 000 by Washington Mutual. It should be noted off the bat that Washington Mutual is one of many banks that accept the Matricula Consular ID card as proof of identity and which is easily forgable."

"Referred to a local loan broker by a trusted friend, he borrowed the entire purchase price of $615,000 from Washington Mutual at a high interest rate typical of sub-prime loans. The monthly payment, as he says he understood it, would be $3,600 -- steep for a glass cutter who made $9 an hour"-

Gee, What could go wrong here? Meanwhile Congress and the mainstream media continues to ignore exactly who these banks like Washington Mutual were giving mortgages to and why we should not be surprised how things turned out and why these banks deserve to fail and not a penny of taxpayers money should be spent to save them.

BAILOUT: The fix was in...

This BCP post from February is going into the I told you so file. All the hoopla about the administration officials coming up with this plan to buy up the toxic mortgages and bad sub prime debt and make us U.S. taxpayers pay for it is a bunch of B.S. The fix was in many months ago as I correctly predicted in February. It always seemed curious to me why the Bank of America would buy a failed mortgage broker like Countrywide with all it's bad sub prime debt. The answer is now clear Bank of America had a plan to unload that bad debt from the Countrywide purchase on us taxpayers from the begining. With the recently announced plan to have the government spend 700 billion dollars to purchase these subprime loans it looks like they succeeded. Here is exhibit A from my Post in February 2008:



"Bank of America, which is in the process of acquiring Countrywide Financial and has potentially huge exposure, has circulated a proposal to create a new federal agency that would buy vast quantities of delinquent mortgages at a deep discount and replace them with fixed-rate federally guaranteed loans."-New York Times 2/2008



That sounds very similar to what is being railroaded in in Washington this week. Just remember I told you so.

Stupid money and the common sense of mainstreet.

The Washington Post had an article today that looked at the feelings of some people in suburban main street communities who like me are not in foreclosure, who lived with in their means and did not borrow more money than they could afford when they bought their homes. Here are the money quotes:



"Ed Merkle, 58, as he pointed to the "for sale" signs lining his street.
But Merkle, a defense contractor, said he has lived within his means in an era of easy credit. He didn't take on a huge loan even when his bank encouraged him to dream bigger.
"I've been financially responsible with my own money. Why should I now be responsible for the fact that you were not?" he said. "



""If I spent more money than I have, I don't deserve to have somebody bail me out," said John Owens,"



"This may be a Main Street bailout backlash in the making. The details of the financial crisis are still hard for most people to follow -- what with talk of exotic "derivatives" known as "credit-default swaps" and so on -- but the central fact of the matter hasn't been lost on anyone in this Northern Virginia community: The taxpayers are on the hook for the bad judgment of others. "



Backlash indeed! I say bring it on and take it to Washington and Wall Street.

I woke up this morning and...

I woke up this morning and found this note on my pillow.

Somehow I don't think this is good news.

Media bias exhibit A: Jill Greenberg

When the Republicans want to provide evidence of bias in the mainstream media. They need look no further than photographer Jill Greenberg who was hired to do a photo shoot of McCain for an Atlantic Monthly article. Instead of doing the job she was assigned Greenberg went out of her way to make McCain look bad in the photos using various lighting techniques and then bragged about what she had done in her blog. There are many stupid people on the left you can now add Jill Greenberg's photo to that gallery. Here is the money quote:

“I left his eyes red and his skin looking bad…He had no idea he was being lit from below."

An Atlantic staff writer Jeff Goldberg had it right when he wrote that Greenberg had:
“disgraced her profession.”

Meanwhile Atlantic Editor James Bennet said Greenberg behaved improperly and will not be paid for the session. He said the magazine is also considering a lawsuit. As for Greenberg she last night published some of the worst photos of McCain on her website which is appropriately known as manipulator.com. However this idiot has now taken down the photo from her site. So much for the courage of her convictions.

Monday Morning do you know where your money is?

News today that Bank of America is going to buy Merrill Lynch both were participants in the sub prime mortgage meltdown that we tax payers are now paying for. How did this thing start? Bob can explain it.

Socialism comes to Wisconsin Ave.

So much for the Republican idea of free markets. Now that the Bush administration is using our taxpayer dollars to bailout Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the mainstream media refuses to look any deeper than the headlines to find out how this happened. This has all the look of a problem that is attempting to be swept under the rug. Here are some of the money quotes:

"There is no guarantee that the takeover will work, and it comes at a potentially massive cost to taxpayers. The government has pledged to inject money in the companies in any quarter in which they would otherwise be insolvent -- up to $100 billion in total for each company. "

How nice! No guarantee that after spending up to 200 billion that this may not work. If somebody in congress proposed such legislation would Bush sign it?

"Paulson also announced a separate program in which the government will start buying securities backed by mortgages -- $5 billion worth, initially. That will, in effect, subsidize the purchase of homes by lowering the interest rate that buyers must pay for a mortgage."

Why do we taxpayers have to be the only ones to buy these mortgage backed securities? Paulson should have made all those banks and institutions who gave out the loans to unqualified home buyers and illegal immigrants and then bundled them into securities be required to buy these mortgage backed securities on a 50 50 basis. Why not they caused this problem in the first place they need to share the pain of the recovery not just us taxpayers.

U.S. Taxpayers about to get smacked in the Fannie Mae

I traveled from St. Paul to Washington on Friday and opened the paper Saturday to bad news. It had all the earmarks of a taking out the trash news release. News that the U.S. Government aka the U.S. taxpayers were going to take over and bailout the two quasi private mortgage agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This is real bad news that's why it is in the Saturday papers and on a day when a tropical storm was heading up the east coast. Hold on to your wallets as once again more money is flowing out to bailout people like illegal immigrants and others who should not have gotten a mortgage but, should not have been in this country in the first place.
Here are some of the money quotes:

"For years, they played high-profile roles in the political and civic life of Washington, hiring armies of lobbyists to help protect their unique status and, through foundations, giving vast amounts of money to charities large and small. That began changing with a series of accounting scandals beginning in 2003. The housing crisis raised more questions about their structure and operations."

Were was the in depth reporting of the mainstream press when this was going on? Following the antics of Britney Spears no doubt!

"It's a case where market psychology became more important than the fundamentals, and that's why they had to act," said Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee"

Huh? Fundamentals are good but, investors are scared so let the taxpayers pay billions to make sure these "investors" sleep well tonight but taxpayers will be paying for years. I smell something fishy going on.

Report from the Republican Convention

I've been here in St Paul for a week and have not had much time to blog or even do more than some walks around the XCEL convention center. Now that the Republicans have arrived and the convention begining there will be even less time. Things are starting to heat up on a number of levels. Security is getting tighter and we were advised yesterday to hide our credential when leaving the building because there were reports the more radical protesters aka anarchists were macing people and cutting the credentials from around there necks in an attempt to gain access to the convention. Stay tuned to see if they do succeed. I the meantime here are some images I took in the last week:

You knew security was tightening when last week you began to notice things like workers welding the manhole covers around the EXCEL center welding the manhole cover shut.

Last week the convention floor was filled with bags of ballons 100,000 of them before they lifted them up to the ceiling . I think one of the highlights for me at this convention will be when they drop them from the rafters it should be quite a show.

ALERT THE MEDIA!

The media has arrived! That's CNN's Wolf Blitzer with Bill Bennet and Donna Brazil.

Yesterday the delegetes began to arrive. It's about time to get this party started!

Guess where I am going?

A company I work for is sending me to help set up a communication system at the Republican National Convention site in St. Paul. I hope to be able to blog from time to time during the next two weeks from the location. Maybe even meet Juan McCain and tell him what I thought of the Kennedy/McCain Illegal immigrant amnesty bill. Well, it's time to pack and head off to the airport.

Obama/Biden in 08? I don't think so.

Well, the Barrack (the change messiah) Obama has made his pick for VP and it is Joe Biden. A good choice but it would have been better if you hold this team up to a mirror and reverse the choices IMO. None the less I still will not be voting for an Obama/Biden ticket. Mainly because Obama has already come out for granting drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. Biden as a member of the Obama team will have to go along with this reward for illegal behavior. The Obama/Biden campaign seems to have forgotten the Grassly axiom: "When you reward illegality you get more of it!" But, some of us voters have not forgotten their positions like rewarding illegal immigrants for breaking our laws. Putting Biden on the ticket is not enough to sway this registered Dem.

Why am I not surprised

"WASHINGTON — Dropping her opposition to a vote on coastal oil exploration, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Saturday that the House would consider expanded offshore drilling as part of broad energy legislation when Congress returns next month."- New York Times

While Nancy Pelosi and her liberal dumbocrats continue to cave in on issues like this just like they have been doing on everything from the Iraq war vote, wire taping and giving immunity to the telcom companies. With this latest flip flop on offshore oil drilling we will increase and extend our dependence on oil and push back development of new technologies. As for me I spent yesterday doing a preliminary checkout of a new 48 volt solar panel I recently bought. I am not waiting for anyone in Washington to promote any "alternative energy" proposals. Especially not the weasel Democrats.

John Edwards: The lying lawyer Democrat

I get angry thinking that I might have actually voted for the lying lawyer John Edwards after he admitted his having sex with his f&^k buddy aka mistress. I am so sick of these elite Washington pols who screw up and ask for forgiveness after they are caught screwing people other than their spouse. Here are some of the weasel quotes from the lying lawyer John Edwards himself:

"n 2006, I made a serious error in judgment and conducted myself in a way that was disloyal to my family and to my core beliefs."

What an idiot. If you believed them you never would have climbed in the sack with Rielle Hunter. You did not really believe them. Did you?

"I was and am ashamed of my conduct and choices, and I had hoped that it would never become public."

Well I can believe the last part of that statement but, the first is pure BS.

"I am and have been willing to take any test necessary to establish the fact that I am not the father of any baby, and I am truly hopeful that a test will be done so this fact can be definitively established. I only know that the apparent father has said publicly that he is the father of the baby. I also have not been engaged in any activity of any description that requested, agreed to or supported payments of any kind to the woman or to the apparent father of the baby. "

TRANSLATION: As a lawyer I have not personally authorized payments to this woman, or anyone else who might be taking the heat because of my screw up. But, that does not mean that someone else might be doing it.

"It is inadequate to say to the people who believed in me that I am sorry, as it is inadequate to say to the people who love me that I am sorry."

Ya think!

"In the course of several campaigns, I started to believe that I was special and became increasingly egocentric and narcissistic. If you want to beat me up -- feel free. You cannot beat me up more than I have already beaten up myself. I have been stripped bare and will now work with everything I have to help my family and others who need my help. "

Beat you up? No reason to beat you up we the people should just put your picture the Hall of the Lying Sack of Shit Politicians and shut the door.

McCain's VP choice: Bloomberg

Not that I want to help the McCain campaign. But, after watching the cable news idiot pundits discuss all the choices for Vice President for both candidates as if they actually knew something. I thought why not play a hunch myself. If McCain were smart (and I do not think he is) he would pick New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Yeah, I know Bllomberg registered as an independent, But look at Joe Lieberman going on Meet the Press to be spokesman for McCain. This notion popped into my head yesterday when I read that Bloomberg was taking Spanish lessons which is just perfect for an ambitious politican who plans on Hispandaring for higher office in the future. The VP spot would be perfect for Bloomberg and the McCain campaign. It would give McCain a solid lock on the Jewish vote. Not to mention that both MCain and Bloomberg have no problem with illegal immigrants breaking our laws. Best of all for Bloomberg McCain will probably only last one term making Bloomberg a shoe in for a run for President in four years. Stay tuned!

New York Times at it again.

If it's Sunday it must be the New York Times with another liberal tear jerker article about illegal immigrants and down playing the cost of illegal immigrants to U.S. taxpayers. This time it's the story is about an illegal immigrant who changed his name and was involved in a traffic accident here in the U.S. The hospital bills to treat his injuries were over 1.5 million until the hospital sent him back to his family in Guatemala. Of course the lawyers and and church are now involved in suing the hospital over his health care. The Times once home to defrocked journalists who were making up stories now seems to be in the process of making up policy. Calling what the hospital did a "deportation". Hmmm and I thought deportations were the policy of the Federal Government. Or is the New York Times just making this stuff up again.
Here are some of the money quotes:
"The journey to Jolomcú is an arduous one, as Mr. Jiménez’s new legal team discovered when several members — a lawyer, a paralegal, a priest and a bioethicist — first traveled there to meet him."
Amazing what the lure of money from lawsuits will make some people do. Like make "arduous journeys" to foreign countries to find clients.
As usual in the New York Times articles you have to read all the way to the end to see that the "client" is not as brain damaged as the reporting and lawyers might have you believe.
"Much to the surprise of his visitors, Mr. Jiménez, despite his brain injury, could read. He smoothed out the yellow legal paper from Mr. Gaspar and began: “I am sending you some little things. Luis, I hope that you like them.”
At first, Mr. Jiménez read haltingly, then more fluidly. Later, when all his visitors had gone outside, he read the ending aloud again to himself."

I'm sure by the time his lawyers get through with him he will not be able to read at all. We shall see.

And the Democrats are dumber.

You do not have to look to far to see that there is really no difference between the insane position of the Republicans and the Democrats when it comes to offshore oil drilling. It seems when the oil industry speaks about drilling for oil off our coasts even people like Barrack "change" Obama listen. Here is exhibit A:

"Obama said Friday that he would be willing to compromise on his position against offshore oil drilling if it were part of a more overarching strategy to lower energy costs.-CNN

But, back in June Obama was speaking a different tune:

"When I'm president, I intend to keep in place the moratorium here in Florida and around the country that prevents oil companies from drilling off Florida's coasts," Obama told reporters in Jacksonville in late June. "That's how we can protect our coastline and still make the investments that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and bring down gas prices for good."

The fact is if you listen real close neither Juan McCain, the Dumbocrats like Obama or the oil companies are promising that if the oil companies get the moratorium lifted to drill off the U.S. coasts that the oil found will be used to provide energy to U.S. consumers. I will put this little tidbit of information in the "I told you so file" for later use.
Meanwhile back in the oil company board rooms:

"HOUSTON -Oil giants Chevron Corp. and Total SA wrapped up a string of gargantuan, record-breaking earnings reports Friday, a stretch in which six of the major international oil companies topped $50 billion in combined profit for the first time."

Hello suckers! Especially those who think voting for Obama means that there will be a real "change" in Washington.

Republican insanity

I was reading the Wall Street Journal article yesterday about how the Republicans are hoping to use drilling offshore for oil as an issue against the Democrats. Have they gone insane? First it was picking a candidate like Juan McCain who ignores the conservative middle class of the party base in favor of hispandering to the illegal immigrant vote. Now they believe that the American public will vote for them if they give the oil companies what they want which is more drilling offshore. They are just nuts if they pursue this track. They do not seem to understand that oil is not the future. We have as a nation failed to understand this during previous energy crises. That's why we are paying over $4.00 a gallon for gasoline today. Second even if the Republicans allow the oil companies to drill offshore that does not mean that the oil will be used here in the United States. We have been down this road before and it leads nowhere good. As they say the very definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting different results. It seems the Republicans are insane if they think that more oil is a winning issue for them.

Something ain't kosher in Iowa and at the New York Times

The embattled grey lady of newspapers the New York Times has had a series of articles about the immigration raids in May at a "kosher" meat packing plant in Iowa by Julia Preston. It illustrates some of the reasons why the paper is losing it's credibility when it comes to reporting the news. Here are some of the money quotes from today's article:

"POSTVILLE, Iowa — About 1,000 people, including Hispanic immigrants, Catholic clergy members, rabbis and activists, marched through the center of this farm town on Sunday and held a rally at the entrance to a kosher meatpacking plant that was raided in May by immigration authorities."

Hmmm, the usual pro illegal immigrant activists protesting. But, notice no mention of "illegal immigrants" in this first paragraph. I guess the immigration raid in May swept them all up. Yeah right! Why are these "activists" protesting anyway? Read on...

"The march was called to protest working conditions in the plant, owned by Agriprocessors Inc., and to call for Congressional legislation to give legal status to illegal immigrants"

Ah there it is. Everything was fine as long as the illegal immigrants were allowed to violate U.S. laws, commit identity theft and get paid above minimum wage. But, now that the laws are being enforced and the illegal immigrants are being caught it's time to give the illegal workers legal status. Huh?

You need to read until the last three paragraphs to get quotes from people who really know what the immigration raids where really all about.

“It’s a felony when you take someone’s identity, and we think that needs to be out there when you talk about the supposed injustices against undocumented workers,” said Susan Tully of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, an organizer of the counterprotest."

Give the workers legal status after breaking our laws and committing felonies? I don't think so.

Back on land

I have spent the past three weeks on a sailboat away from computers, and mainstream corporate media TV, newspapers and radio. I did not miss them at all. My only communication was with fellow human beings I came in contact with and the marine VHF radio to listen to weather broadcasts. I am slowly working my way back trying to the land of nonsense and the political campaigns of Barack (change messiah) Obama, Juan McCain and the stupidity of those in Washington. It has been a couple of very calm and peaceful weeks. Though I suspect it will not take long more than a few days before I become outraged by the shenanigans of either the Democrats or Republicans.

The problemo Mr. Obama is....

"If the government can bail out investment banks on Wall Street, we can extend a hand to folks who are struggling on Main Street," Obama said

Nice words from Obama looking out for the "little people". The problem is Senator is that some of the people you are bailing out with U.S. taxpayer money may not be here legally and that is a sub prime problemo.

The Hispandering of Obama and McCain

"In back-to-back speeches to Latino public officials, John McCain and Barack Obama position themselves as devoted champions for Hispanics in hopes of luring support from the fast-growing and critical voting bloc."-Reuters

That includes amnesty and a path to citizenship for the illegals who have broken our laws. Hey stupidos! Why would you grant citizenship to people whose first act in our country is to break our laws. A recent poll had the question which candidate do you favor for immigration reform. Obama or McCain. I did not answer because there was no choice for "none of the above". Which is how I plan to vote in November too!

Hola Hamptons

I spent last week out on the beach in Amagansett. There were a lot of changes from my last visit there in the summer of 2007. The Amagansett Farmers market was closed and so was Gordons a long time restaurant in town. But, even more striking was my visit to the IGA Supermarket. Between the workers stocking the shelves to the primarily Hispanic customers. I felt as though I was shopping in a supermarket in Mexico not in the United States. Meanwhile in tawny East Hampton the illegals are line up all along Newton Lane. They sit on the fences right outside the playground. I wonder how long before some East Hampton liberals child is molested by one of these frustrated illegals waiting for work.

Oil suckers.

As I continue to drive in my 38 mpg vehicle. I got some amusement from the news that those who bought SUV's over the past few years now find themselves unable to trade them in. Because these gas guzzlers have nobody buying them. This is good news that perhaps we as a country will finally come down to the reality of "wants and needs". Until that happens those who still say they can not live without an SUV can kiss my gASS tank.

Remembering Russert

I was out working on my sailboat when I heard the news that Tim Russert had died. The local NPR station had just switched from it's classical music format to the nightly broadcast of All Things Considered. The headlines started with "one of Washington's most respected journalists had died". I thought immediately it must have been Helen Thomas the longtime elder icon of the Washington press corp. I was shocked that they started they mentioned Tim Russert.

What made Russert different from many of the other journalists in the mainstream media is his middle class background. There are far to few journalists today who have the sensitivity and common sense of the middle class. Tim because of his growing up in Buffalo the son of a hard working middle class sanitation truck driver understood what it meant to be middle class in America and never forgot it. He was more in tune with that segment of the American public than many of the others in the mainstream media. There are not many others in the media with the same sensibility. With Russert gone politics will not be the same, America will not be the same.

Bloggers: The new Sheriff in town

Howard Kurz in the Washington Post has the story of citizen journalist and blogger Mayhill Fowler who scooped the mainstream media with both Obama's "bitter" comments and Bill Clinton's comments on the Vanity Fair piece. Good for her at getting at the truth of some of these politicians runnoing for office. Here are some of the money quotes:

"Fowler is part of a new breed -- citizen journalist, liberal advocate, agent provocateur -- and her success has stirred questions about her methods."

How dare she get at the unvarnished truth instead of the sugar coated pundent filled one that the mainstream media provides. Stand back MSM there is a new sheriff in town.

"She is one of 2,500 people, from writers to academics to accountants, working with Off the Bus, a $200,000 venture launched by the Huffington Post and New Assignment, the brainchild of New York University journalism professor Jay Rosen. The idea is to unleash ordinary folks on the presidential campaign and give them a technology-powered megaphone"

The mainstream media journalists and editors had better understand they do not have a monopoly on the truth or are not the final word on what is news.

Once again: Enforcement works!

The Washington Post had a front page story yesterday about how Operation Streamline a Homeland Security enforcement program along the U.S. Mexico border is actually yielding some impressive results. It seems our Federal Government is finally getting the message: ENFORCEMENT WORKS! It is about time! Here are some of the money quotes:

Federal law enforcement agencies have increased criminal prosecutions of immigration violators to record levels, in part by filing minor charges against virtually every person caught illegally crossing some stretches of the U.S.-Mexico border, according to new U.S. data.

Officials say the threat of prison and a criminal record is a powerful deterrent, one that is helping drive down illegal immigration along the nearly 2,000-mile frontier between the United States and Mexico.

In testimony to Congress this spring, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said that Operation Streamline "is a very good program, and we are working to get it expanded across other parts of the border" because "it has a great deterrent effect

Federal officials credit the program and other measures for contributing to a 20 percent drop in apprehensions of illegal immigrants on the U.S.-Mexico border in 2007, to 859,000. That figure is on track to drop an additional 15 percent this year.

In areas where it has been applied -- which total about 500 miles, or one-fourth of the border -- Operation Streamline has slowed border traffic more substantially.

It's worked beautifully. Crime has dropped 76 percent in Del Rio, with the lowest level of illegal crossings they have ever seen," said Rep. John Culberson, a Houston area Republican who has worked with two border-district Democrats to promote the program. "Law enforcement is simple if you just enforce the law rigorously."

I tip my hat to Michael Chertoff and all those involved in enforcing this program along with BIG thank you. I am beginning to feel that our Federal Government is finally starting to do something about illegal immigration and it's a good feeling.