Now We Are Getting Somewhere

McCain's new ads:

Yo, Hey You, Barack, Over Here

Remeber me, your ole buddy the Teleprompter?




From Iowahawk.

Newt's Plan

Newt is making more sense than Obama and McCain.

Bailout Politics

Thomas Sowell is always a good read.

Among the Congressional “leaders” invited to the White House to devise a bailout “solution” are the very people who have for years created the risks that have now come home to roost.

Five years ago, Barney Frank vouched for the “soundness” of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and said “I do not see” any “possibility of serious financial losses to the treasury.”

Moreover, he said that the federal government has “probably done too little rather than too much to push them to meet the goals of affordable housing.”

Earlier this year, Senator Christopher Dodd praised Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for “riding to the rescue” when other financial institutions were cutting back on mortgage loans. He too said that they “need to do more” to help subprime borrowers get better loans.

In other words, Congressman Frank and Senator Dodd wanted the government to push financial institutions to lend to people they would not lend to otherwise, because of the risk of default.

And that folks is the root of the current financial crisis.

Sarah-Cuda Does Couric

Watch how Couric squirms, her body language says it all -- Watch them feet twitch. Couric doing her best, down the nose "Gibson". Do all these liberals look this funny?

Chuckle about why they call Sarah "Sarah-cuda"

Democrats In Their Own Words

This hearing is from 2004. Democrats fighting tooth and nail to keep Fannie and Freddie from being reformed before they blew up and are now threatening the world's financial structure. In the hearings Democrats tell us "nothing is wrong," beat up on the would-be regulators, and tell us that Fannie and Freddie are operating exactly as they want them to act.

We see Maxine Waters (DEMOCRAT) accuse the regulators of “…trying to fix things that are not broke.”

We see Gregory Meeks (DEMOCRAT), Arthur Davis (DEMOCRAT), Lacy Clay (DEMOCRAT) and Barney Frank (DEMOCRAT) defending Fannie and Freddie’s accounting practices.

And then we have the testimony of Franklin Raines, CEO of Fannie Mae testifying that the real estate backed assets he holds are “so riskless” that he should be able to leverage his assets 50 to 1.




Democrats, doing what they do best, obstructing and shafting the American people.

Frank Raines was convicted of cooking the books at Fannie Mae and had to pay a near $30 million dollar fine.

Meanwhile, the time bomb kept ticking away ...




Anyone know where Obama was? Oh yeah, right he was in the Senate for 143 days, then he started his endless campaign for President of Kenya. Oddly enough, Kenya is getting in the middle of the al Qaeda terror business.

Just How Is It Going For Those MRAPs

Not much news on the MRAPs these days, you can probably figure why. There is no news because things are going very well thank you. The vehicles are working out superbly, the deliveries are going well, the troops are extremely pleased with their new rugged bomb resistant vehicles. So much so, that variants are springing up for meeting every need. That's what is cool about what is "basically a truck". Allies are scrambling to get in line to buy for their troops.

Latest MRAP Press Release, marking the 10,000 unit in theater delivery:

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill., Sept. 25, 2008 – U.S. Transportation Command and its supply chain partners achieved a major milestone today as the number of mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles delivered to U.S. Central Command reached 10,000.

The milestone was reached this morning in Southwest Asia when the first MRAP vehicle rolled off an Air Mobility Command C-5 aircraft assigned to Travis Air Force Base, Calif. The C-5 carried four smaller MRAP vehicles, known as Cougars.

Shawn Vosburg, a transportation analyst with the command’s Directorate of Operations and Plans, said the command has leveraged both air and sea transportation since April 2007 to get the lifesaving vehicles into the hands of warfighters.

Until November, MRAPs were delivered by large Air Force and commercial cargo aircraft, including the C-5 Galaxy, C-17 Globemaster III and a commercial AN-124 Condor. November marked the beginning of MRAP sealift, which greatly increased the number of vehicles in the Central Command area of operations. One cargo ship can carry up to 200 times the weight of a C-17 Globemaster III, at a cost of about 10 times less.

The Army's Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command and the Navy's Military Sealift Command both served as vital partners in the undertaking.

On Dec. 31, Transportation Command made good on a promise of Defense Secretary Robert Gates to have 1,500 MRAPs in theater by the end of 2007. On April 5, the command reached another major milestone of 5,000 MRAP vehicles delivered to Central Command.

In the past six months, Transportation Command orchestrated the delivery of an additional 5,000 vehicles into the hands of warfighters, Vosburg said.

"We are on track to exceed the 10,000 vehicle delivery mark, with the additional delivery of almost 600 more vehicles through Oct. 9," he said.

Air Force Gen. Duncan McNabb, TRANSCOM commander, said the deliveries have a direct effect where they matter most. "This delivery milestone is vitally important to the warfighters, because these vehicles save lives," he said.

The general pointed out that the command’s focus goes beyond delivering the vehicles. "We are fully engaged with our military and civilian supply chain partners to accelerate sustainment parts delivery to theater," he said.

McNabb noted that the effectiveness of the program is a credit to the close coordination with the Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., which serves the Defense Department joint program office, commercial partners, and Central Command for theater distribution.

A Massive Economic Stimulus in the Making

After being of the books for nearly three decades, the Congressional ban on outer continental shelf (OCS) energy production expires this evening at midnight. Thomas Pyle, president of the Institute for Energy Research (IER) issued the following statement:

“Given the integral role affordable energy plays in the health and vitality of our economy, the ban on offshore energy has been tantamount to withholding food from the starving. It defies logic, common sense, and the state of our technological capabilities all at once. Its complete repeal could lead to the biggest economic stimulus this nation has ever experienced, and it could not have come at a better time.”

“Unfortunately, many of the environmental laws and regulations concerning offshore energy production are older than the ban itself, and simply do not reflect the technological breakthroughs that have enabled us to produce energy and protect the environment at the same time. These outdated laws - and those who file frivolous lawsuits based on them, threaten to stop forward progress on greater offshore energy production. That’s why it’s critical for the American people to continue their call for increased production of the energy resources they own beneath federal lands. Repealing this ban is just the start.”

Just imagine a world with no Democrats, we would be drilling everywhere, building new refineries, building new nuclear power plants, building new pipelines, building new coal to liquids conversation plants, building new clean coal power plants, building new transmission lines, and last but not least, kicking up research investment in new energy sources. Yes, it can all be done in an environmentally sound manner.

The inevitable result, jobs created everywhere along the energy food chain, the U.S. economy would be kicked into high gear because of the lower costs of all things oil, prosperity everywhere. And for a boost to finances, a majority of the $700 billion we ship off each year to terror states for their oil, would stay in the good old USA.

But alas, sigh, then the Democrats came back.

Why Communism Failed

Front and center, the fellow most responsible for causing the financial crisis, Rep Barney Frank. Looking like a stuffed toadie.

But, notice the smiles on the faces of those that caused the meltdown. Fannie MAe and Freddie Mac, the government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) are a group of financial services corporations created by the United States Congress. These GSEs are at the heart of the problem.

Don't you want to just slap your forehead and exclaim, WOW that's why Communism fails.

Stuck On Stupid

Here is what the moron said:





Would someone explain to me how this is leadership ... This is nothing more than a 7partisan hack, who has no business being in the position she is in. The hysteria is contrived.

Staunch conservative bailout opponent GOP. Rep. Mike Pence weighs in:

U.S. Congressman Mike Pence issued the following statement regarding the failure of the bailout bill today:

“Today Congress took a stand for the American taxpayer and free markets. The American people rejected this corporate bailout and today the People’s House did likewise.

“It is now imperative that Congress come together and develop a response to the crisis facing our financial markets that reflects the American people’s belief in personal responsibility and fiscal discipline.

“There are alternatives to the massive federal bailout that Congress rejected. I look forward to working with my colleagues in both parties to develop a response to this crisis that puts taxpayers first and preserves the essential freedom of the American marketplace.”

Might I say, we add a huge dash of free markets?

Conservative Coburn

Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), a staunch a conservative, issued this statement before the House bill went down to defeat.

“Taxpayers deserve to know that there is no guarantee this plan will work, but there is a guarantee that we will face a financial catastrophe if we do nothing. If banks continue to fail and stop lending the average American could lose their job, be unable to secure a loan for a car, home or college education, and find their life savings and retirement in jeopardy. Our economy depends on having liquid assets available for credit and lending just as an automobile engine needs oil. If those liquid assets stop flowing, our economy will be seriously damaged and will require far more costly and lengthy repairs.”

“This bill does not represent a new and sudden departure from free market principles as much as it represents an emergency response to congressional actions that have ignored free market principles, and our Constitution, for decades. If anyone in Washington should offer their resignation it should be the members of Congress who peddled the fantasy of free home ownership without risk. No institution in our country is more responsible for the myth or borrowing without consequences than the United States Congress.”

“As much as members of Congress want to find scapegoats, the root of this problem is political greed in Congress. Members of Congress from both parties wanted short-term political credit for promoting home ownership even though they were putting our entire economy at risk by encouraging people to buy homes they couldn’t afford. Then, instead of conducting thorough oversight and correcting obvious problems with unstable entities like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, members of Congress chose to ignore the problem and distract themselves with unprecedented amounts of pork-barrel spending.”

“Taxpayers who want to ensure that this doesn’t happen again should send a very clear message to Washington that it’s time for Congress to live within its means and restore the principles of limited government and free markets that made this country great. I will do everything in my power to ensure that this bill does not lead us down a slippery slope of European style socialism and slow economic growth. I will also promise taxpayers that I will do everything in my power to block what I expect will be hundreds of attempts by politicians in Washington to continue business-as-usual borrowing and spending in the next Congress. In a time of crisis, American families have to make hard choices between budget priorities. So should Congress. If politicians want to create new programs they should eliminate duplicative programs or reduce funding for less important programs. The only way we can put this crisis behind us is for Congress to rejoin the real world of budget choices and consequences which, as we have seen in recent days, can be ignored for only so long.”

Some really good points.

A Modest Free Market Proposal

How can the free market fix the problem, it's simple really -- The property that the mortgages are connecting to, does not vanish. It's only the stupid way the Democrats forced banks and mortgage companies to levergae unqualified buyers into the housing market.

There must be something wrong with this crap-a-polosa, for so many Democrats to vote no. Do you think maybe the public isn’t behind another Democratic RTC S&L crash fiasco?

The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 (CRA) and all it's later tentacles, rules and regulations, should be terminated immediately.

I have a suggestion, lets redo the IRS rules for rental investment back to the way they were before the Tax Reform Act (TRA) of 1986 and the subsequent S&L collapse, and watch those houses fly off the shelves. Remember, mortgages connect to real property — And the TRA reform was designed to take away the tax advantages of owning rental property. Isn’t it odd how the Democrats make these changes with no warning and wonder why things go south.

After Democrats got past this debacle, the Tax Reform Act (TRA) of 1986, they moved on to “poor people can own houses to”. Who needs to work and save for a down payment, have a good enough job to pay the mortgage, when uncle sam will do all that for you — Of course, there is a cost.

Like with all things liberal, there always is a cost.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention, after the 1986 bill when the S&Ls failures were getting bad, on October 19, 1987, the stock market fell by more than 22 percent. In 1989, the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 set up the RTC.

Obama Plans To Disarm America

Comrade Obama exhibits very poor judgment when it comes to anything important. He seems like a vacuous waif who practices speech voice inflections but does not think -- Puppet like in his actions. Apparently Comrade Obama wasn't around for the latest successful anti-missile test. Now think for a minute, what would we do if a nuclear tipped missile from Iran or North Korea were headed to the continental US. Under Comrade Obama, apparently he would be 'jive talking' them into understanding the evil of their ways. Apparently Comrade nincompoop knows no boundary to his ass-hattery.

Here is a short summary of the last successful interceptor test:

The U.S. military says it has intercepted a ballistic missile near Hawaii in a test.

The sea-based test Thursday was the military's first since an errant satellite was shot down earlier this year.

A target was fired from a decommissioned amphibious assault ship about 100 miles off the island of Kauai. It was a Scud-like missile with a range of a few hundred miles.

The USS Lake Erie fired two interceptor missiles at the target. It was shot down in its final seconds of flight about 12 miles above the Pacific Ocean.

The Lake Erie is a Navy cruiser based at Pearl Harbor. In February, the ship shot down a U.S. spy satellite in the Aegis defense program's first real-world mission.

The Day The Earth Cooled

The Day The Earth Cooled

By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Thursday, September 25, 2008 4:20 PM PT

Environment: The solar wind is slowing, but Al Gore is still spewing hot air. The Oscar winner is promoting civil disobedience to stop energy and economic growth as the first U.S. emissions cap-and-trade program begins.

Speaking before Bill Clinton's Global Initiative, junk science advocate Gore called on young people to take the law into their own hands because the climate, he claims, is a-changin'. He told the gathering in New York City that "the world has lost ground to the climate crisis" and the time for action is now.

"If you're a young person looking at the future of this planet and looking at what is being done right now, and not done, I believe we have reached the stage where it is time for civil disobedience to prevent the construction of new coal plants that do not have carbon capture and sequestration," Gore said to loud applause.

His comments come two weeks after a British jury acquitted six Greenpeace activists accused of causing property damage at a power plant. The jury felt the "protest" was acceptable because the "protesters" feared the plant would contribute to global warming.

Luddites of the world, unite!

On the same day Gore spoke, scientists involved in NASA's Ulysses project reported that the intensity of the sun's solar wind was at its lowest point since the beginning of the space age — one more indication that the sun, the biggest source of energy affecting the Earth, is getting quiet.

The weaker solar wind appears to be due to changes in the sun's magnetic field, but the cause is unknown. Sunspots, which normally fluctuate in 11-year cycles, are at a virtual standstill. In August, the sun created no visible spots. The last time that happened: June 1913.

The results of the Ulysses spacecraft's mission, according to Jet Propulsion Laboratory project scientist Ed Smith, show that "we are in a period of minimal activity that has stretched on longer than anyone anticipated."

The consequences for Earth are enormous. The lack of increased activity could signal the start of what is known as a Maunder Minimum, an event that occurs every couple of centuries and can last as long as a century. It leads to extended periods of severe cooling such as what happened during the Little Ice Age.

It may already be happening. The four major agencies tracking Earth's temperature, including NASA's Goddard Institute, report that the Earth cooled 0.7 degree Celsius in 2007, the fastest decline in the age of instrumentation, putting us back to where the Earth was in 1930.

The climate is changing, but not in the direction Al Gore thinks. As the Earth demonstrably cools under a weakening sun, a 10-state coalition on Thursday held the nation's first carbon allowance auction to deal with a warming trend that may have ended a decade ago.

They will impose a minor league version of the Lieberman-Warner economy-killing cap-and-trade rationing system in which emissions are limited by a progressively lowered cap. Emission permits are auctioned off by government, making it a cap-and-tax system. Permits can be traded or sold between companies like baseball cards.

The Lieberman-Warner bill would mandate emission cuts of 44% below 2007 levels. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that it would cost as much as $3 trillion a year in lost GDP in an economy of roughly $14 trillion. It dwarfs the current financial crisis. But then, it's for a good cause — right, Al?

The New York-based Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, launched Thursday, strives to freeze CO2 emissions through 2014 and then gradually reduce them to 10% below current levels by 2018. The states participating are Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Like its bigger cousin, it's a job- and growth-killing plan in a time of economic crisis. As the sun slows and the Earth cools, it'll mean higher energy prices during colder and snowier winters.

Al Gore's hippie legions may have to wear their winter coats.

Meanwhile, In Iraq

Iraqi Lawmakers reached another monumental agreement, got it passed and implemented.

Good news is no news these days, especially when it comes from Iraq. So you might have missed the story about the political breakthrough in the Iraqi parliament, which approved legislation to hold a new round of provincial elections early next year.

More here.

Sen Dood Launches Investigation

The situation explained in inder 10 minutes.





Yes there were some Republicans in the mix, they always do this, makes it taste bi-partisan.

Don't Say They Didn't Warn You

The voice of reason ... "It's worse than socialism."






My favorite line from Cavuto: “Capitalism is about success, but it’s also about failure.”


Barney Frank lead the charge --- If you want to see how this all developed from the 1977 Carter era CRA to present, Newsbusters has the scoop.




Transcript follows ---

“My name is Barney Frank. I’m from Massachusetts. I’ll be the chairman of the committee on financial services, which has a fairly broad jurisdiction over banking, insurance, but also housing. In general I want to make clear to people — and I have been doing a lot of arguing about this and some legislating — that we can’t continue to have economic growth that is concentrated in the hands of a few.

In America we are becoming more and more unequal. Some inequality is necessary for a capitalistic system. But we have gone way beyond that. And the average working American person — and we’re talking 80% of the population — has seen an erosion of his or her economic position, rather than advance.

Specifically, I hope to deal in part with the housing crisis part of it. The committee that I’ll be chairing has jurisdiction over housing. And we hope very much to do an increase in the housing stock, so that housing becomes affordable both for low income people but also for people in the moderate income range

And then in the corporate world, I’m supportive. I want our financial institutions to do their job and make money in a responsible way. But I do believe it is time for us to rein in these outrageous corporate CEO settlements in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

They reach a point where it’s not simply envy that makes us upset about them. When Lee Raymond retires from Exxon-Mobile and makes $400,000,000 and then that company stiffs its pension fund, you’re talking about things that have real economic consequences.

You cannot pay a handful of people so many billions of dollars and not have it impinge upon what is available for other people. We’ll be addressing that.”

---

As you can hear, the plan was to make the Jimmy Carter CRA a reality, and to make houses affordable to low income people -- Read that, make loans to people who could not afford to possibly repay them.

And what was it that caused the current problem?

Drill Here Drill Now, Vote Now

Free gas for the winner ....

American Solutions announced a video contest for their “Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less” movement, where the winner would get a year’s supply of gasoline free for their efforts. Newt Gingrich and his staff have managed to whittle down the many entries to three finalists. They need your vote to determine which of these contestants best exemplified the need for the DHDNPL effort:

Cast your vote now! Voting ends at 4 pm ET on Saturday, September 27th, which is Solutions Day, and I believe will be announced that evening.

The foundation of the U.S. economy could crumble, President George Bush said today, if Congress fails to approve a U.S. Treasury plan to take over foundering financial firms, a proposal which the president called “a much-needed 21st-century civil rights act for stupid people.”

“To sustain this shining city on a hill,” Mr. Bush said, “we need to rescue the ignorant, irresponsible folks — from Wall Street to Capitol Hill to Main Street — who got us to where we are today. We must guarantee that no American suffers the soft bigotry of being forced to live with the consequences of his bad decisions.”

Read the rest here.

Who Caused The Current Financial Problem

Doesn't anyone pay attention to anything, anymore ?? Any ...

Red State Update: The Big Bailout

White House Releases Bush's History With Trying To Avoid Financial Meltdown

And every turn in the road, it was met by Democrats stopping the reform proposals.

Just the Facts: The Administration's Unheeded Warnings About the Systemic Risk Posed by the GSEs

For many years the President and his Administration have not only warned of the systemic consequences of financial turmoil at a housing government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) but also put forward thoughtful plans to reduce the risk that either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac would encounter such difficulties. President Bush publicly called for GSE reform 17 times in 2008 alone before Congress acted. Unfortunately, these warnings went unheeded, as the President's repeated attempts to reform the supervision of these entities were thwarted by the legislative maneuvering of those who emphatically denied there were problems.

2001

April: The Administration's FY02 budget declares that the size of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is "a potential problem," because "financial trouble of a large GSE could cause strong repercussions in financial markets, affecting Federally insured entities and economic activity."

2002

May: The President calls for the disclosure and corporate governance principles contained in his 10-point plan for corporate responsibility to apply to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (OMB Prompt Letter to OFHEO, 5/29/02)

2003

January: Freddie Mac announces it has to restate financial results for the previous three years.

February: The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) releases a report explaining that "although investors perceive an implicit Federal guarantee of [GSE] obligations," "the government has provided no explicit legal backing for them." As a consequence, unexpected problems at a GSE could immediately spread into financial sectors beyond the housing market. ("Systemic Risk: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Role of OFHEO," OFHEO Report, 2/4/03)

September: Fannie Mae discloses SEC investigation and acknowledges OFHEO's review found earnings manipulations.

September: Treasury Secretary John Snow testifies before the House Financial Services Committee to recommend that Congress enact "legislation to create a new Federal agency to regulate and supervise the financial activities of our housing-related government sponsored enterprises" and set prudent and appropriate minimum capital adequacy requirements.

October: Fannie Mae discloses $1.2 billion accounting error.

November: Council of the Economic Advisers (CEA) Chairman Greg Mankiw explains that any "legislation to reform GSE regulation should empower the new regulator with sufficient strength and credibility to reduce systemic risk." To reduce the potential for systemic instability, the regulator would have "broad authority to set both risk-based and minimum capital standards" and "receivership powers necessary to wind down the affairs of a troubled GSE." (N. Gregory Mankiw, Remarks At The Conference Of State Bank Supervisors State Banking Summit And Leadership, 11/6/03)

2004

February: The President's FY05 Budget again highlights the risk posed by the explosive growth of the GSEs and their low levels of required capital, and called for creation of a new, world-class regulator: "The Administration has determined that the safety and soundness regulators of the housing GSEs lack sufficient power and stature to meet their responsibilities, and therefore…should be replaced with a new strengthened regulator." (2005 Budget Analytic Perspectives, pg. 83)

February: CEA Chairman Mankiw cautions Congress to "not take [the financial market's] strength for granted." Again, the call from the Administration was to reduce this risk by "ensuring that the housing GSEs are overseen by an effective regulator." (N. Gregory Mankiw, Op-Ed, "Keeping Fannie And Freddie's House In Order," Financial Times, 2/24/04)

June: Deputy Secretary of Treasury Samuel Bodman spotlights the risk posed by the GSEs and called for reform, saying "We do not have a world-class system of supervision of the housing government sponsored enterprises (GSEs), even though the importance of the housing financial system that the GSEs serve demands the best in supervision to ensure the long-term vitality of that system. Therefore, the Administration has called for a new, first class, regulatory supervisor for the three housing GSEs: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banking System." (Samuel Bodman, House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Testimony, 6/16/04)

2005

April: Treasury Secretary John Snow repeats his call for GSE reform, saying "Events that have transpired since I testified before this Committee in 2003 reinforce concerns over the systemic risks posed by the GSEs and further highlight the need for real GSE reform to ensure that our housing finance system remains a strong and vibrant source of funding for expanding homeownership opportunities in America… Half-measures will only exacerbate the risks to our financial system." (Secretary John W. Snow, "Testimony Before The U.S. House Financial Services Committee," 4/13/05)

2007

July: Two Bear Stearns hedge funds invested in mortgage securities collapse.

August: President Bush emphatically calls on Congress to pass a reform package for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, saying "first things first when it comes to those two institutions. Congress needs to get them reformed, get them streamlined, get them focused, and then I will consider other options." (President George W. Bush, Press Conference, The White House, 8/9/07)

September: RealtyTrac announces foreclosure filings up 243,000 in August – up 115 percent from the year before.

September: Single-family existing home sales decreases 7.5 percent from the previous month – the lowest level in nine years. Median sale price of existing homes fell six percent from the year before.

December: President Bush again warns Congress of the need to pass legislation reforming GSEs, saying "These institutions provide liquidity in the mortgage market that benefits millions of homeowners, and it is vital they operate safely and operate soundly. So I've called on Congress to pass legislation that strengthens independent regulation of the GSEs – and ensures they focus on their important housing mission. The GSE reform bill passed by the House earlier this year is a good start. But the Senate has not acted. And the United States Senate needs to pass this legislation soon." (President George W. Bush, Discusses Housing, The White House, 12/6/07)

2008

January: Bank of America announces it will buy Countrywide.

January: Citigroup announces mortgage portfolio lost $18.1 billion in value.

February: Assistant Secretary David Nason reiterates the urgency of reforms, says "A new regulatory structure for the housing GSEs is essential if these entities are to continue to perform their public mission successfully." (David Nason, Testimony On Reforming GSE Regulation, Senate Committee On Banking, Housing And Urban Affairs, 2/7/08)

March: Bear Stearns announces it will sell itself to JPMorgan Chase.

March: President Bush calls on Congress to take action and "move forward with reforms on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They need to continue to modernize the FHA, as well as allow State housing agencies to issue tax-free bonds to homeowners to refinance their mortgages." (President George W. Bush, Remarks To The Economic Club Of New York, New York, NY, 3/14/08)

April: President Bush urges Congress to pass the much needed legislation and "modernize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. [There are] constructive things Congress can do that will encourage the housing market to correct quickly by … helping people stay in their homes." (President George W. Bush, Meeting With Cabinet, the White House, 4/14/08)

May: President Bush issues several pleas to Congress to pass legislation reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before the situation deteriorates further.

• "Americans are concerned about making their mortgage payments and keeping their homes. Yet Congress has failed to pass legislation I have repeatedly requested to modernize the Federal Housing Administration that will help more families stay in their homes, reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to ensure they focus on their housing mission, and allow State housing agencies to issue tax-free bonds to refinance sub-prime loans." (President George W. Bush, Radio Address, 5/3/08)

• "[T]he government ought to be helping creditworthy people stay in their homes. And one way we can do that – and Congress is making progress on this – is the reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That reform will come with a strong, independent regulator." (President George W. Bush, Meeting With The Secretary Of The Treasury, the White House, 5/19/08)

• "Congress needs to pass legislation to modernize the Federal Housing Administration, reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to ensure they focus on their housing mission, and allow State housing agencies to issue tax-free bonds to refinance subprime loans." (President George W. Bush, Radio Address, 5/31/08)

June: As foreclosure rates continued to rise in the first quarter, the President once again asks Congress to take the necessary measures to address this challenge, saying "we need to pass legislation to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac." (President George W. Bush, Remarks At Swearing In Ceremony For Secretary Of Housing And Urban Development, Washington, D.C., 6/6/08)

July: Congress heeds the President's call for action and passes reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as it becomes clear that the institutions are failing.

And during this time Republicans in Congress were also proposing reforms which Democrats blocked.

John McCain warned us this would happen when he cosponsored a Senate bill in 2005 that might have averted the current crisis:

“If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole.” –John McCain, May 26, 2005

Spread the word.

NRA Ads, Bullseye, Obama Runs For The Tall Grass

Who Done It

This clip from Special Report with Brit Hume tonight shows exactly why we're in the mess we're in right now with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In 2005, Greenspan warned us that F&F were heading off a cliff, and the Republicans sponsored legislation to force regulation on both agencies. Who voted and how? All Republicans voted for the regulation, and ALL Democrats voted against it. Including the no More..w-chairman of the oversight committee that oversees that, Chris Dodd.

It should be mentioned that Dodd was the highest paid recipient of Fannie Mae contributions, so is this truly a surprise? What a bunch of hypocrites the Democrats are - and now they are all trying to blame Bush and/or the Republicans

It's a ponsie scheme. Just wait until Social Security goes bust.

Gun Ads For Gun Banner Obama

NRA is currently airing this ad in Pennsylvania and coming soon to a swing state near you. They’re all worth watching. Choose your favorite. Running it as a radio ad, or make your on radio ad with your trusty computer -- Real grassroots.

Rollover Pass, Texas After Ike

A longtime favorite fishing spot taken, for now, by Ike ... Hopefully it will come back.




This areal photo was taken above the Rollover Pass, Gilchrist TX, after hurricane Ike. Rollover Pass was one of my favorite fishing spots when we lived in the Galveston area many years ago. It was a beautiful area to swim and fish.

I doubt the park is still there, nor the sign ...

Trivia: The pass is named for the practice of ship captains from the days of Spanish rule through prohibition, who, to avoid the Galveston customs station, rolled barrels of import or export merchandise over that part of the peninsula. (Handbook of Texas Online)

The pass was opened in 1955 by the Texas Game and Fish Commission to help state fish and wildlife resources and improve the local fishing conditions in the bay. Fish in and around the pass, Trout, Redfish, Flounder, Croaker and many more. Popping cork with live shrimp or jigs were my favorite baits. We liked to wade off the beach on an outgoing tide, for the fish that hung on the sides of the pass. Currents were very strong, wear a life jacket.

Aerial view, the way it was:





View Larger Map

Teleprompter Troubles

Always carry a spare.

Can the Presidential debaters use a Teleprompter?

They're Coming For The Children

Why does Obama want to radicalize your children?

The Chicago Annenberg Challenge was created ostensibly to improve Chicago's public schools. The funding came from a national education initiative by Ambassador Walter Annenberg. In early 1995, Mr. Obama was appointed the first chairman of the board, which handled fiscal matters. Mr. Ayers co-chaired the foundation's other key body, the "Collaborative," which shaped education policy.

...

The CAC's agenda flowed from Mr. Ayers's educational philosophy, which called for infusing students and their parents with a radical political commitment, and which downplayed achievement tests in favor of activism. In the mid-1960s, Mr. Ayers taught at a radical alternative school, and served as a community organizer in Cleveland's ghetto.

In works like "City Kids, City Teachers" and "Teaching the Personal and the Political," Mr. Ayers wrote that teachers should be community organizers dedicated to provoking resistance to American racism and oppression. His preferred alternative? "I'm a radical, Leftist, small 'c' communist," Mr. Ayers said in an interview in Ron Chepesiuk's, "Sixties Radicals," at about the same time Mr. Ayers was forming CAC.

Stanley Kurtz has some answers for you, you would be wise to read his article before voting. More here.

Not only does Obama want your guns, he wants your children to support his version of communism.

Hitchens: Why is Obama So Vapid, Hesitant, and Gutless?

Hitchens nails it, in a piece on Barack Obama’s failure to surge ahead of John McCain even as McCain seems to flounder: Why is Obama so vapid, hesitant, and gutless?

Here’s a swift test. Be honest. What sentence can you quote from his convention speech in Denver? I thought so. All right, what about his big rally speech in Berlin? Just as I guessed. OK, help me out: Surely you can manage to cite a line or two from his imperishable address on race (compared by some liberal academics to Gettysburg itself) in Philadelphia? No, not the line about his white grandmother. Some other line. Oh, dear. Now do you see what I mean?

Where Is Your Speech, Hillary ??

Governor Palin, the Republican nominee for vice president, was scheduled to speak today at a rally in Dag Hammarskjold Plaza to protest the appearance here of President Ahmadinejad of Iran.

Here is her speech in full ---

I am honored to be with you and with leaders from across this great country — leaders from different faiths and political parties united in a single voice of outrage.

Tomorrow, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will come to New York — to the heart of what he calls the Great Satan — and speak freely in this, a country whose demise he has called for.

Ahmadinejad may choose his words carefully, but underneath all of the rhetoric is an agenda that threatens all who seek a safer and freer world. We gather here today to highlight the Iranian dictator's intentions and to call for action to thwart him.

He must be stopped.

The world must awake to the threat this man poses to all of us. Ahmadinejad denies that the Holocaust ever took place. He dreams of being an agent in a "Final Solution" — the elimination of the Jewish people. He has called Israel a "stinking corpse" that is "on its way to annihilation." Such talk cannot be dismissed as the ravings of a madman — not when Iran just this summer tested long-range Shahab-3 missiles capable of striking Tel Aviv, not when the Iranian nuclear program is nearing completion, and not when Iran sponsors terrorists that threaten and kill innocent people around the world.

The Iranian government wants nuclear weapons. The International Atomic Energy Agency reports that Iran is running at least 3,800 centrifuges and that its uranium enrichment capacity is rapidly improving. According to news reports, U.S. intelligence agencies believe the Iranians may have enough nuclear material to produce a bomb within a year.

The world has condemned these activities. The United Nations Security Council has demanded that Iran suspend its illegal nuclear enrichment activities. It has levied three rounds of sanctions. How has Ahmadinejad responded? With the declaration that the "Iranian nation would not retreat one iota" from its nuclear program.

So, what should we do about this growing threat? First, we must succeed in Iraq. If we fail there, it will jeopardize the democracy the Iraqis have worked so hard to build, and empower the extremists in neighboring Iran. Iran has armed and trained terrorists who have killed our soldiers in Iraq, and it is Iran that would benefit from an American defeat in Iraq.

If we retreat without leaving a stable Iraq, Iran's nuclear ambitions will be bolstered. If Iran acquires nuclear weapons — they could share them tomorrow with the terrorists they finance, arm, and train today. Iranian nuclear weapons would set off a dangerous regional nuclear arms race that would make all of us less safe.

But Iran is not only a regional threat; it threatens the entire world. It is the no. 1 state sponsor of terrorism. It sponsors the world's most vicious terrorist groups, Hamas and Hezbollah. Together, Iran and its terrorists are responsible for the deaths of Americans in Lebanon in the 1980s, in Saudi Arabia in the 1990s, and in Iraq today. They have murdered Iraqis, Lebanese, Palestinians, and other Muslims who have resisted Iran's desire to dominate the region. They have persecuted countless people simply because they are Jewish.

Iran is responsible for attacks not only on Israelis, but on Jews living as far away as Argentina. Anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial are part of Iran's official ideology and murder is part of its official policy. Not even Iranian citizens are safe from their government's threat to those who want to live, work, and worship in peace. Politically-motivated abductions, torture, death by stoning, flogging, and amputations are just some of its state-sanctioned punishments.

It is said that the measure of a country is the treatment of its most vulnerable citizens. By that standard, the Iranian government is both oppressive and barbaric. Under Ahmadinejad's rule, Iranian women are some of the most vulnerable citizens.

If an Iranian woman shows too much hair in public, she risks being beaten or killed.

If she walks down a public street in clothing that violates the state dress code, she could be arrested.

But in the face of this harsh regime, the Iranian women have shown courage. Despite threats to their lives and their families, Iranian women have sought better treatment through the "One Million Signatures Campaign Demanding Changes to Discriminatory Laws." The authorities have reacted with predictable barbarism. Last year, women's rights activist Delaram Ali was sentenced to 20 lashes and 10 months in prison for committing the crime of "propaganda against the system." After international protests, the judiciary reduced her sentence to "only" 10 lashes and 36 months in prison and then temporarily suspended her sentence. She still faces the threat of imprisonment.

Earlier this year, Senator Clinton said that "Iran is seeking nuclear weapons, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is in the forefront of that" effort. Senator Clinton argued that part of our response must include stronger sanctions, including the designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization. John McCain and I could not agree more.

Senator Clinton understands the nature of this threat and what we must do to confront it. This is an issue that should unite all Americans. Iran should not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons. Period. And in a single voice, we must be loud enough for the whole world to hear: Stop Iran!

Only by working together, across national, religious, and political differences, can we alter this regime's dangerous behavior. Iran has many vulnerabilities, including a regime weakened by sanctions and a population eager to embrace opportunities with the West. We must increase economic pressure to change Iran's behavior.

Tomorrow, Ahmadinejad will come to New York. On our soil, he will exercise the right of freedom of speech — a right he denies his own people. He will share his hateful agenda with the world. Our task is to focus the world on what can be done to stop him.

We must rally the world to press for truly tough sanctions at the U.N. or with our allies if Iran's allies continue to block action in the U.N. We must start with restrictions on Iran's refined petroleum imports.

We must reduce our dependency on foreign oil to weaken Iran's economic influence.

We must target the regime's assets abroad; bank accounts, investments, and trading partners.

President Ahmadinejad should be held accountable for inciting genocide, a crime under international law.

We must sanction Iran's Central Bank and the Revolutionary Guard Corps — which no one should doubt is a terrorist organization.

Together, we can stop Iran's nuclear program.

Senator McCain has made a solemn commitment that I strongly endorse: Never again will we risk another Holocaust. And this is not a wish, a request, or a plea to Israel's enemies. This is a promise that the United States and Israel will honor, against any enemy who cares to test us. It is John McCain's promise and it is my promise.

Thank you.

Who Are The Thugs

Naming names ...

Financial Crisis -- In The Beginning

Liberals do it every time ... The people in Washington, i.e. Congressmen and Senators, who were supposed to be looking out for you, looking out for America, were looking out for themselves.

Why were the banks giving out home loans to borrowers who were not qualified -- Because the laws passed by Congress forced them to. The banks and others also were allowed by law, to record the bad loans as assets.

It was regulation and laws that redistributed wealth to poor and others who could not afford homes because there were quotas to be met, all forced by regulations and laws, with the probable outcome -- Socialism run amok.

All roads to this crash of the financial system lead through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ...




This all started in the Carter years with the CRA for primarily low income home buyers -- Otherwise known as unqualified buyers. 1977's Community Reinvestment Act(CRA) which required banks and savings institutions to make loans to the lower-income areas in the communities they served. Read that as unqualified buyers, that was the goal, give loans to those who could not afford to repay, it was only fair, don't you know.

Then in the 1990s, the Clinton and Democrat obsession with doing away with the nonexistent process of 'redlining' continued. The sub-prime loans were bundled and shipped off to Fannie and Freddie and others to use as collateral to back up requirements for capital at those institutions.

Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, is the nation's largest community organization of low and moderate income families -- ACORN, who was pushing this practice on all fronts, was street agitator Obama's employer -- Obama was one of the lawyers who represented ACORN in forcing more sub-prime loans. The threats to banks and others who wouldn't take the sub-prime loans on continued. All was fine since FANNIE and FREDDIE were backing up the paper.

In 1999 -- An agreement between the Clinton administration and congressional Republicans, sets the stage for passage of the most sweeping banking deregulation bill in American history, lifting virtually all restraints on the operation of the financial system. The result was the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999.

The certain result of repeal of most of the remaining restrictions of Glass-Steagall it was thought there would be a wave of new money pumped into the unqualified buyer home market -- Most saw this as an area of expansion of market. The Wall Street Journal wrote, "With the stroke of the president's pen, investment firms like Merrill Lynch & Co. and banks like Bank of America Corp., are expected to be on the prowl for acquisitions." The financial press predicted that the most likely mergers would come from big banks acquiring insurance brokerage companies, with John Hancock, Prudential and The Hartford all expected to be targeted.

Short history of the Glass-Steagal Act up until it's repeal in 1999. It took $100s of millions in lobbyist payoffs to Congress people before Glass-Steagall was finally repealed.

Then came the American Dream Down payment Initiative(ADDI - 2003), which essentially made loan qualification, credit checks and other standard procedures when lending money for home mortgages, a form of discrimination. It was then off to the races, the rest as they say is history.

Bush tried to reinstate regulations and increase real capital margins in 2003 and McCain tried in 2005 to blow the whistle on this 'ponsie scheme' of home mortgages, but both attempts were blocked by Sen Dodd and Rep Barney Frank banking committee chairs in the respective Houses. In 2008, there were 18 additional instances of President Bush trying to call attention to the looming crisis before the financial system went off the rails -- But it was too late.

In the end it was all about massive liberal social engineering, the massive desire to get rid of financial controls which prevented home loans to unqualified people -- People that would have no chance of paying the loans back.

Well it has all came crashing down.

Mark Levin has more, from his show.

You Vote For High Gas Prices ??

If you voted for a Democrat, you voted for high gas prices -- You got your wish.

What really happened -- And why you trust the liberal drive by media at your own peril

Obama's Real Problem

Barack Hussein Obama will ban every gun he has the votes for -- Vote Republican and protect your rights.

Barack Hussein Obama's out with a new radio ad designed to deceive hunters, sportsmen and gun owners. The ad claims that gun owners have nothing to worry about, that as president Obama would not affect their Second Amendment rights.

Of course, the ad doesn't mention that Obama supports things like a ban on handguns, an extension of the Clinton Gun Ban, a 500 percent increase in taxes on firearms and ammunition, a ban on the most common hunting ammunition, a ban on gun stores located within five miles of a school or a park, and prosecuting people who use a gun for self-defense in their home.

The ad also doesn't mention the millions of dollars Obama steered towards gun-control groups when he was a member of the Joyce Foundation's board of directors, or his lack of support for increased penalties for those convicted of shooting near a public school.

That's Obama's real record, and that's why he can't tell America’s sportsmen and gun owners the truth.

Follow The Money

There is always a trail to follow. The Democrats piggy bank just went bust.

What Effete Snob Obama Thinks Of Your Rights

"I believe the Second Amendment gives the Federal Government the right to ban gun ownership" -- Barack Hussein Obama

Barrack Obama will ban all the guns he has the votes for

Obama's delusion that he somehow supports the 2nd Amendment is dishonest at best. His insistence that he won't raise taxes is simply a lie in my opinion. Obama is just Jimmy Carter all over again.

The presidential primary season is finally over, and it is now time for gun owners to take a careful look at just where nominee Barack Obama stands on issues related to the Second Amendment. During the primaries, Obama tried to hide behind vague statements of support for “sportsmen” or unfounded claims of general support for the right to keep and bear arms.

But his real record, based on votes taken, political associations, and long standing positions, shows that Barack Obama is a serious threat to Second Amendment liberties. Don’t listen to his campaign rhetoric! Look instead to what he has said and done during his entire political career.

FACT: Barack Obama opposes four of the five Supreme Court justices who affirmed an individual right to keep and bear arms. He voted against the confirmation of Alito and Roberts and he has stated he would not have appointed Thomas or Scalia.

FACT: Barack Obama voted for an Illinois State Senate bill to ban and confiscate “assault weapons,” but the bill was so poorly crafted, it would have also banned most semi-auto and single and double barrel shotguns commonly used by sportsmen.

FACT: Barack Obama voted to allow reckless lawsuits designed to bankrupt the firearms industry.

FACT: Barack Obama wants to re-impose the failed and discredited Clinton Gun Ban.

FACT: Barack Obama voted to ban almost all rifle ammunition commonly used for hunting and sport shooting.

FACT: Barack Obama has endorsed a 500% increase in the federal excise tax on firearms and ammunition.

FACT: Barack Obama has endorsed a complete ban on handgun ownership.

FACT: Barack Obama supports local gun bans in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and other cities.

FACT: Barack Obama voted to uphold local gun bans and the criminal prosecution of people
who use firearms in self-defense.

FACT: Barack Obama supports gun owner licensing and gun registration.

FACT: Barack Obama refused to sign a friend-of-the-court Brief in support of individual Second Amendment rights in the Heller case.

FACT: Barack Obama opposes Right to Carry laws.

FACT: Barack Obama was a member of the Board of Directors of the Joyce Foundation, the leading source of funds for anti-gun organizations and “research.

FACT: Barack Obama supported a proposal to ban gun stores within 5 miles of a school or park, which would eliminate almost every gun store in America.

FACT: Barack Obama voted not to notify gun owners when the state of Illinois did records searches on them.

FACT: Barack Obama voted against a measure to lower the Firearms Owners Identification card age minimum from 21 to 18, a measure designed to assist young people in the military.

FACT: Barack Obama favors a ban on standard capacity magazines.

FACT: Barack Obama supports mandatory micro-stamping.

FACT: Barack Obama supports mandatory waiting periods.

FACT: Barack Obama supports repeal of the Tiahrt Amendment, which prohibits information on gun traces collected by the BATFE from being used in reckless lawsuits against firearm dealers and manufacturers.

FACT: Barack Obama supports one-gun-a-month handgun purchase restrictions.

FACT: Barack Obama supports a ban on inexpensive handguns.

FACT: Barack Obama supports a ban on the resale of police issued firearms, even if the money is going to police departments for replacement equipment.

FACT: Barack Obama supports mandatory firearm training requirements for all gun owners and a ban on gun ownership for persons under the age of 21.

Read the rest, including the footnotes and cross references, at NRA-ILA.

I'm Voting For Sarah

Troopergate Explained

It's all about trying to make something out of nothing ... A Democrat specialty.

The person in question was not fired, the cabinet guy Mohegan was reassigned, instead of taking the new job assignment, he quit. The issue at the heart was budget changes.

The trooper is still on the payroll.

Read more at strata-sphere.com ..

By the way, in case you aren't keeping up, absolutely no charges are going to be filed over the Rep Mark Foley scandal, that never was. Another making it up out of thin air, Democrat wanna be scandal.

Sub Prime Explained

NASA To Discuss Conditions On And Surrounding The Sun

Observations show that in October 2005 the suns magnetic field decreased suddenly, and has not recovered since. It's quiet possible the sun has entered a phase not measured by man before, simply because man did not have that capability.

NASA announces a conference.

WASHINGTON — NASA will hold a media teleconference Tuesday, Sept. 23, at 12:30 p.m. EDT, to discuss data from the joint NASA and European Space Agency Ulysses mission that reveals the sun’s solar wind is at a 50-year low. The sun’s current state could result in changing conditions in the solar system.

Ulysses was the first mission to survey the space environment above and below the poles of the sun. The reams of data Ulysses returned have changed forever the way scientists view our star and its effects. The venerable spacecraft has lasted more than 17 years - almost four times its expected mission lifetime.

The panelists are:
– Ed Smith, NASA Ulysses project scientist and magnetic field instrument investigator, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
– Dave McComas, Ulysses solar wind instrument principal investigator, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio
– Karine Issautier, Ulysses radio wave lead investigator, Observatoire de Paris, Meudon, France
– Nancy Crooker, Research Professor, Boston University, Boston, Mass.

Reporters should call 866-617-1526 and use the pass code “sun” to participate in the teleconference. International media should call 1-210-795-0624.

To access visuals that will the accompany presentations, go to:

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/ulysses-20080923.html

Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live at:

http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio

Moose In Your Shorts

As she continues to sharpen her attacks against her Democratic rivals, Sarah Palin accused Barack Obama of not abiding by his campaign’s own mantra. "Now earlier today our opponent told his supporters to go out and argue with those who disagree with him,” Palin said. “He told them to get in your face, and you know, that doesn't sound like the politics of hope or the politics of change to me.”

CBS News

Cool Toons

Jim Johnson

And who is Franklin Raines ??

Bad Advice, Bad Judgement

This all started in the Clinton years and the CRA for primarily low income home buyers -- Otherwise known as unqualified buyers. The Clinton and Democrat obsession with doing away with the nonexistent process of 'redlining' was driving the push. The sub-prime loans were packaged and shipped off to Fannie and Freddie and others. ACORN, who was pushing this practice on all fronts, was street agitator Obama's employer -- Obama was one of the lawyers who represented ACORN in forcing more sub-prime loans. The threats to banks and others who wouldn't take the sub-prime loans on continued. All was fine since FANNIE and FREDDIE were backing up the paper.

And then ...

You Want Change ???

Self Defense, A Basic Right

Obama/Biden will ban every gun they can get the votes for ....

The McCain campaign, the Republican National Committee and the nearly 4 million-member National Rifle Association are blanketing the country with ads, Web site videos and other broadsides detailing his record - especially in battleground states where gun controls are political poison.

NRA officials told me this week they are mounting the biggest anti-gun control offensive in their history to make sure every gun owner in the country knows that deep down Mr. Obama does not believe people should own guns.

"We are going to spend whatever our members send us," said NRA chief lobbyist Chris Cox. "Obama assumes our members are either stupid or have short memories, or both. What he's going to find out is not only are they a loyal voting bloc, but a savvy voting bloc who don't become bitter by owning guns but become bitter when politicians lie to them or mock their lifestyle."

Source.

Global Warming, All Gone

Have you noticed, the global warming, the Arctic is melting, all those stories have disappeared. Why is that do you think? Probably because the Arctic ice melt season is over, and it didn't melt it grew, the satellite measured global temperature has been dropping. All bad news for the hoaxers, they will have to wait for warmer times to continue the hoax.

Many scary stories have been written about the dangers of catastrophic global warming, allegedly due to increased atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) from the combustion of fossil fuels. But is the world really catastrophically warming? NO. And is the warming primarily caused by humans? NO.

Since just January 2007, the world has cooled so much that ALL the global warming over the past three decades has disappeared! This is confirmed by a plot of actual global average temperatures from the best available source, weather satellite data that shows there has been NO net global warming since the satellites were first launched in 1979.



Furthermore, the state of the surface temperature monitoring network is in dismal shape, and cannot be relied upon for measuring anything with any accuracy. The volunteers over on Anthony Watts Surface Stations website have been surveying and documenting with photographs the ridiculous state the USHCN surface monitoring stations are in.

Meanwhile, the sun remains in a slumber.

CO2 continues to rise, proving no know connection between the trace gas CO2 and the warming, or cooling of planet Earth.

Who Done It ??

A stunning example of the incredible disconnect between the mainstream media and the blogosphere is this video of the interim Fannie Mae CEO, Daniel Mudd, addressing the Congressional Black Caucus, including Barack Obama, at their swearing-in ceremony in 2005. Although this video is spreading quickly in the blogosphere, you have yet to see or hear anything about it in the MSM. As you can see in the video, Mudd talks about the problems of Fannie Mae yet that didn't keep Obama and other Democrats from taking large contributions from that organization or doing anything to try to fix it.

Here is a transcript of CEO Mudd

Good morning members of the Congressional Black Caucus. I am humbled to come here today to reaffirm the friendship and partnership between Fannie Mae and the Congressional Black Caucus. Fannie Mae is determined to keep tearing down the barriers to deliver on the American dream and that means we need to work together with the CBC. So many of you have been good friends to Fannie Mae and our mission. You've been friends through thick and thin. We have indeed come upon a difficult time for Fannie Mae. There is much to be done inside my company and I humbly ask you to help us and to help me. If there are areas where we are missing. If there are areas where we could do better, we'd like to hear it from our friends and I'd be so bold as to say our family first.

It is true that Fannie Mae has lent more money to more minorities and more underserved individuals than any single company in history.

We will work hard inside our company to resolve the serious matters before us to put our house in order and to forge a new future. And all the while you will see Fannie Mae reaching out and listening to the caucus. Over a century of endeavor you have earned the reputation as the conscience of Congress. In many ways I want to tell you today you are also the conscience of Fannie Mae. Keeping us on course to serve those who need serving the most.

Read the rest, this was borrowed from Newsbusters.

Can Obama Be Trusted?

The short answer is no, the details follow ...

Can Obama be trusted? We ask because he's shown a pattern of secretive double-dealing with voters, not just in his talking about small town voters one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco, as Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin pointed out, but particularly in foreign affairs.

It dates back to at least February, when Obama's economic adviser, Austan Goolsbee, secretly told the Canadian embassy that Obama's demagoguery against NAFTA in the primaries was just a Styrofoam-pillar bid to win the Ohio vote.

Obama's pattern of deception continued. In March, Colombian troops raided a FARC terrorist camp in Ecuador and recovered a terrorist computer belonging to a top FARC warlord, Raul Reyes.

Computer e-mails revealed that someone who knew Obama's positions had secretly met with the terrorists and assured them Obama would cut U.S. military aid under Plan Colombia and veto its free trade pact. Both are major goals of the Marxist terrorists aligned with America's enemies.

Subsequent events confirmed this. Obama did come out in favor of shutting Colombia out of free trade. More disturbingly, Obama adviser Daniel Restrepo last week told Colombia's Radio Caracol that Obama planned to convert the military aid Colombia needs to crush terrorists into social aid programs that don't.

That's not the end of it. Now Obama is double-dealing with Iraqi officials to leave American troops in harm's way and prolong the appearance of war long enough to call it a failure and win votes.

The astonishing thing about Obama's deals is they're the very thing Democrats accused Republicans of without a shred of proof.

They accused Richard Nixon of making a secret deal with the North Vietnamese to prolong the Vietnam war enough to presumably win election in 1968.

IBD:

The Coming Debates