Sunday, June 14, 2009

Our vanishing rednecks


Dee sent this one in.
















Related: Why we love the South.

Shock: ACORN manual shows it lied about 'no quotas' policy


An internal 2004 manual authored by the community organizing group ACORN describes worker quotas for voter registration forms despite the organization's claims that it never employed quotas.

[The manual] advises managers that workers who do not produce a set number of voter registrations per day should be fired.

"If a person performs at less than standard have them come to another training, send them out with a team leader. If they still perform poorly then re-train once more, then fire," the 2004 management document states... "Anyone who performs at less than three voter registrations per hour SHOULD NOT BE ON THE STAFF," the directive states.

A quota system for voter registration drives is barred under state law and has been cited as a major factor in pending criminal cases in Pittsburgh. Seven people, all with ties to ACORN, have been charged by Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr., with violating state election laws and submitting fraudulent voter registration applications. Those cases are pending.

ACORN has been implicated in voter-registration fraud cases in fifteen states and it always claims that rogue operatives are responsible for the endemic fraud.

ACORN's website has not yet been updated to account for the newly discovered manual. Look for those modifications as soon as this story hits Memeorandum or catches the attention of one of the "progressive" blogs.

ACORN's site claims, of course, that it would never, ever use a quota system. That it would never facilitate fraudulent voter registration forms.

In fact, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) beleives that ACORN is responsible for hundreds of thousands of bogus voters.


ACORN appears to be a criminal enterprise. It -- and its many affiliates -- must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. And Congress must scrutinize any delay in these prosecutions.

The sanctity of the American voting system lies in the balance.


Update: ACORN is now rallying for "health care reform" -- i.e., creating a national socialized health service that is simply another payoff for sister unions like the UAW, which are burdened with massive health care debts.

Notes from Krauthammer's Speech Last Week


Notes from an anonymous source, forwarded by Dave W.

To my Friends & Associates:

Last Monday was a profound evening, hearing Dr. Charles Krauthammer speak to the Center for the American Experiment. He is brilliant intellectual, seasoned & articulate. He is forthright and careful in his analysis, and never resorts to emotions or personal insults. He is NOT a fearmonger nor an extremist in his comments and views. He is a fiscal conservative, and has a Pulitzer prize for writing. He is a frequent contributor to Fox News and writes weekly for the Washington Post. The entire room was held spellbound during his talk. I have shared this with many of you and several have asked me to summarize his comments, as we are living in uncharted waters economically and internationally. Even 2 Dems at my table agreed with everything he said! If you feel like forwarding this to those who are open minded and have not ‘drunk the Kool-Aid’, feel free...

...A summary of his comments:

1. Mr. Obama is a very intellectual, charming individual. He is not to be underestimated. He is a ‘cool customer’ who doesn't show his emotions. It's very hard to know what's ‘behind the mask’. Taking down the Clinton dynasty from a political neophyte was an amazing accomplishment. The Clintons still do not understand what hit them. Obama was in the perfect place at the perfect time.

2. Obama has political skills comparable to Reagan and Clinton. He has a way of making you think he's on your side, agreeing with your position, while doing the opposite. Pay no attention to what he SAYS; rather, watch what he DOES!

3. Obama has a ruthless quest for power. He did not come to Washington to make something out of himself, but rather to change everything, including dismantling capitalism. He can’t be straightforward on his ambitions, as the public would not go along. He has a heavy hand, and wants to ‘level the playing field’ with income redistribution and punishment to the achievers of society. He would like to model the USA to Great Britain or Canada.

4. His three main goals are to control ENERGY, PUBLIC EDUCATION, & NATIONAL HEALTHCARE by the Federal government. He doesn't care about the auto or financial services industries, but got them as an early bonus. The cap and trade will add costs to everything and stifle growth. Paying for FREE college education is his goal. Most scary is his healthcare program, because if you make it FREE and add 46,000,000 people to a Medicare-type single-payer system, the costs will go through the roof. The only way to control costs is with massive RATIONING of services, like in Canada. God forbid.

5. He’s surrounded himself with mostly far-left academic types. No one around him has ever even run a candy store. But they’re going to try and run the auto, financial, banking and other industries. This obviously can’t work in the long run. Obama’s not a socialist; rather he's a far-left secular progressive bent on nothing short of revolution. He ran as a moderate, but will govern from the hard left. Again, watch what he does, not what he says.

6. Obama doesn’t really see himself as President of the United States, but more as a ruler over the world. He sees himself above it all, trying to orchestrate & coordinate various countries and their agendas. He sees moral equivalency in all cultures. His apology tour in Germany and England was a prime example of how he sees America, as an imperialist nation that has been arrogant, rather than a great noble nation that has at times made errors. This is the first President ever who has chastised our allies and appeased our enemies!

7. He’s now handing out goodies. He hopes that the bill (and pain) will not ‘come due’ until after he’s reelected in 2012. He’d like to blame all problems on Bush from the past, and hopefully his successor in the future. He has a huge ego, and Mr. Krauthammer believes he is a narcissist.

8. Republicans are in the wilderness for a while, but will emerge strong. We’re ‘pining’ for another Reagan, but there’ll never be another like him. Krauthammer believes Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty & Bobby Jindahl (except for his terrible speech in February) are the future of the party. Newt Gingrich is brilliant, but has baggage. Sarah Palin is sincere and intelligent, but needs to really be seriously boning up on facts and info if she’s to be a serious candidate in the future. We need to return to the party of lower taxes, smaller government, personal responsibility, strong national defense, and states’ rights.

9. The current level of spending is irresponsible and outrageous. We’re spending trillions that we don’t have. This could lead to hyper inflation, depression or worse. No country has ever spent themselves into prosperity. The media is giving Obama, Reid and Pelosi a pass because they love their agenda. But eventually the bill will come due and people will realize the huge bailouts didn’t work, nor will the stimulus package. These were trillion-dollar payoffs to Obama’s allies, unions and the Congress to placate the left, so he can get support for #4 above.

10. The election was over in mid-September when Lehman brothers failed. fear and panic swept in, we had an unpopular President, and the war was grinding on indefinitely without a clear outcome. The people are in pain, and the mantra of ‘change’ caused people to act emotionally. Any Dem would have won this election; it was surprising it was as close as it was.

11. In 2012, if the unemployment rate is over 10%, Republicans will be swept back into power. If it's under 8%, the Dems continue to roll. If it's between 8-10%, it’ll be a dogfight. It’ll all be about the economy.

I hope this gets you really thinking about what's happening in Washington and Congress. There’s a left-wing revolution going on, according to Krauthammer, and he encourages us to keep the faith and join the loyal resistance. The work will be hard, but we’re right on most issues and can reclaim our country, before it's far too late.

I greatly admire Dr. Krauthammer. His work is erudite, entertaining and -- most of all -- written with deadly precision.

I am disappointed, however, that he has not mentioned or written about, so far as I know, Mark Levin's bestseller Liberty & Tyranny.

I hope he does so. It needs more attention and Krauthammer can deliver it.



More toys from our youth that would be illegal today


After writing about the Johnny Seven One Man Army rifle (a toy from the sixties that Chuck Schumer would personally ban), I resurrected this old list. If you can think of more toys that would be completely illegal today, please let me know in the comments.

Jarts! a.k.a. "Lawn Darts." I'm not sure how many thousands of punctured limbs these things were responsible for, but the class-action lawyers must have cleaned up.

Tonka Dump Trucks: fabricated entirely from Ginsu knives by Tonka. They could slice fingers off if slightly mishandled.

Stretch Armstrong: the kind filled with jelly. If these were sold today, a hypo-allergenic, ADD nutcase would swallow the jelly, get sick, and his parents would sue the Chinese manufacturer. The entire episode would be the basis for a 20/20 special hosted by John Stossel; Nancy Grace and Greta would also devote a week of shows to the injustice.

Bow and arrows: remove the suction-cups from the ends of the arrows and -- whhoooooeeee -- you really could put an eye out; and I'm sure some kids did.

Bangsite!: evil-smelling, granular crap that came in an industrial-strength toothpaste tube -- it may have been calcium carbide. Mixing Bangsite with water made an explosive gas. Some kids had Bangsite cannons, heavy cast iron things that were relatively safe to use. Normal kids took a metal baking soda can and punched a nail hole through the bottom. This turned the can into a three-man, crew-served weapon. One kid tipped some Bangsite into the can, spat on it, jammed the lid on, and placed the can on the edge of the curb. Second kid put his foot on the can to brace it. Third kid applied the match to the nail hole. KAF---INGBOOM!!! -- with a burst of flame, the lid goes flying clear across the street. I still cannot believe that my parents knew I was doing this, and let me.

Airplane, ship and tank models: yep, we spent hours in our rooms with model glue... and our parents didn't care a bit. These days, an ambulance would be called and our rooms fumigated for a month.

Flexy Racers: a sled on wheels that was missing only one thing: brakes. These mysteriously disappeared from the market after -- I'm guessing here -- some kid rolled onto the Interstate and got pancaked by an 18-wheeler.

Wrist Rockets: basically a weapons-grade slingshot that fit around your wrist and used massive rubber tubes as the bands. The ammo was indistinguishable from a heavy ball bearing. Slightly less powerful than a .357 Magnum, and slightly more powerful than a .38.

Snow sleds with steel runners: on a decent hill, you could hit 70 MPH and some kids did, may they rest in peace.

Water-air rockets: I don't remember the brand, but this was a rocket that you filled with water and then pumped full of air. Let's just say that after a couple of hundred concussions and numerous missing teeth, it was removed from the market.

I'm sure I've missed dozens. Let me know in the comments if you can think of other noteworthy dangers from our youth.

Updates:

Commenter Airedale remembers Crazy Clackers, "...a string with a golf ball sized glass marble. I use to see those things wrapped around telephone pole lines. They were ninja weapons in the wrong hands....which meant every kind of kid had the ability to give themselves permanent brain damage if they got a bit too curious with these miniature bolos."

Commenter Paul J. recalls the Kenner Mold Master (I had one of those!): "Hot soft plastic you poured into into a mold and made toy guns and vehicles. Rarely came out right but you could reuse the plastic. How many times I burned my fingers I could never say. How I didn't burn the house down who knows."

Exceller observes that a chemistry set and the ubiquitous Slip-n-Slide could be highly hazardous as well.

Update II: After a little research and Tom P.'s comment, I think I actually had a Mattel Thingmaker and not a MoldMaster.

This was a freaking hotplate that allowed you to bake goop in molds. What could possibly go wrong with 300-degree plastic goop?


Linked by: Doug Powers, who reminds us of the brilliant Irwin Mainway. Thanks!

Larwyn's Linx: The real plan -- let the boomers die

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email! You can also follow me on Twitter.

Nation

How to Stop Socialized Health Care: Rove
Dear AARP: the real plan is to let the boomers die: Kaus
Outrageous spending becoming a problem for Obama: Instapundit

Obama Fires AmericaCorps IG Investigating His Pal: JWF
Some Advice for Governor Palin: Doc Zero
Just Make Stuff Up: Hanson

Little Dick Durbin cashed out on inside information: Sun-Times
Canada's ObamaCare Precedent: Deadly Rationing: WSJ
Obamacare video: say goodbye forever to private insurance: GWP

How ACORN is worming its way to billions: Ms Placed Dem
Anti-terror drill tests NYC's defenses against nukes: LAT
Labor strike continues at Vance AFB: BMW

31 Questions for ACORN: Spectator
Understand Saul Alinsky, Understand the Obama Agenda: FSM
The New De-Urbanized Zones: Charlie Foxtrot

The Left's Denials about Von Brunn Ring Hollow: Macsmind
Sotomayor must view herself as wiser than the white males who drafted our Constitution: Ibrahim

Economy

BRICs Launch Assault on Dollar's Global Status: Chosun
Cool tool to flush out illegals: Patriot Room
A real health care plan that could save $5T: AT (Rosenbloom)

World

Iran's stolen election should change Western policies: Rubin
No Moral Equivalence: Persecution of Christians: TAP
Rioting in Tehran and a rival arrested: Fausta

I believe Wafa: Atlas
Obama 'excited' about 'robust debate' in Iran over election (i.e., riots): Rick
Obama's High Commissioner: Glick

Iranians asking for moral support: Klinghoffer

Media

How to get Letterman fired -- and why we must do so: Conservative Lesbian
MSM AWOL as 1,000 protestors greet Dear Leader in Green Bay: GWP
Captivity in Print: Crittenden

Wildfire: MSM shuns #1 bestseller: Equalizer
All the President's Men: The Sequel: Ace
AP: drilling for oil causes earthquakes: S&L

A note on blog traffic: TigerHawk

Sci-Tech

Cancel That Order for Warp Drive Engines: Discovery
The Revolution Will Be Twittered: Sullivan

Cornucopia

Mount Mabu: Undiscovered African Rainforest 'Discovered On Google Earth' (VIDEO): HuffPo
Readership we can believe in: Denny
Trip down memory lane: 20 Miles

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Dance of the Straw-men


He needs scapegoats. And Barack Obama never fails to manufacture them. Consider the rhetorical straw-men that he marshals in speech after speech. Always divisive, always Alinsky-like, always agitating, the masterful community organizer can't help himself.

On Middle East Peace (06-04-2009): "...There are those who would continue and intensify this failed status quo, ignoring eight years of accumulated evidence that our foreign policy is dangerously flawed..."

On Intolerance (06-03-2009): "...to this day, there are those who perpetuate every form of intolerance — racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, xenophobia, sexism, and more..."

On Terrorism (05-21-2009): "On one side of the spectrum, there are those who make little allowance for the unique challenges posed by terrorism, and who would almost never put national security over transparency. On the other end of the spectrum, there are those who embrace a view that can be summarized in two words: "anything goes." Their arguments suggest that the ends of fighting terrorism can be used to justify any means..."

On Notre Dame's Graduates (05-17-2009): "...Your generation must decide how to save God's creation from a changing climate that threatens to destroy it. Your generation must seek peace at a time when there are those who will stop at nothing to do us harm..."

On Science (04-27-2009): "...there are those who say we cannot afford to invest in science, that support for research is somehow a luxury at moments defined by necessities..."

On Cap-and-Trade Taxes (04-14-2009): "...Now, the only though that we can truly spark the transformation that's need is through a gradual, market-based cap on carbon pollution, so that clean energy is the profitable kind of energy. There are those who've argued that we shouldn't attempt, we shouldn't even be thinking, we shouldn't even be talking about such a transition until the economy recovers..."

On Turkey (04-06-2009): "...I know there are those who like to debate Turkey’s future. They see your country at the crossroads of continents, and touched by the currents of history..."

On the G8 and Financial Regulation (04-01-2009): "...this notion that somehow there are those who are pushing for regulation and those who are resisting regulation is belied by the facts. Tim Geithner, who's sitting here today, went before Congress and proposed as aggressive a set of regulatory measures as any that have emerged..."

On the Iranian People (03-20-2009): "...There are those who insist that we be defined by our differences. But let us remember the words that were written by the poet Saadi, so many years ago..."

On Taxes (3-18-2009): "...Here's what the budget does not do. It does not raise the taxes of any family making less than $250,000 a year by a single dime... In fact, 95 percent of all working families will receive a tax cut as a result of our recovery plan. Now, there are those who say these plans are too ambitious; we should be trying to do less, not more..."

On the Stimulus Package (03-06-2009): "...There are those who believe that all we can do is repeat the very same policies that led us here in the first place..."

On Health Care (03-05-2009): "...today, there are those who say we should defer health care reform once again, that at a time of economic crisis, we simply can't afford to fix our health care system as well..."

On Taxes (09-26-2008): "...we all would love to lower taxes on everybody. But here's the problem: If we are giving them to oil companies, then that means that there are those who are not going to be getting them..."

On Abortion: (09-01-2008): "...Choice is about how we lead our lives. It’s about our families and about our communities. It’s about our daughters and whether they’re going to have the same opportunities as our sons. There are those who want us to believe otherwise..."

On Statism (08-28-2008): "...I know there are those who dismiss such beliefs as happy talk. They claim that our insistence on something larger, something firmer and more honest in our public life is just a Trojan Horse for higher taxes and the abandonment of traditional values..."

On Accepting the Nomination (06-03-2008): "...There are those who say that this primary has somehow left us weaker and more divided. Well, I say that, because of this primary, there are millions of Americans who have cast their ballot for the very first time..."

On Good Governance (02-18-2008): "...There are those who would say that you have to be wary about inspiration because you might be disappointed, who say that Obama may make a good speech, but what is really going to make a difference is how you work our government..."

On Allowing Illegal Immigrants to Get In-State Tuition (DREAM Act) (01-31-2008): "...There are those who were opposed to this issue, and there have been those who have flipped on the issue and have run away from the issue. This wasn't directed particularly at Senator Clinton. But the fact of the matter is I have stood up consistently on this issue..."

On John Kerry's Candidacy (07-27-2004): "... there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters, the negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there is not a liberal America and a conservative America — there is the United States of America..."


I'll be frank. I'm sick of his use of Alinsky's tactics. Always dividing, always creating straw-men, always creating scapegoats. Never once appreciating the wonder of individualism, of liberty, of our founders. It is time to turn back the drones and stop the march to totalitarianism.




Linked by: TAB. Thanks!

Pocket Guide to Democratic Statements on Health Care


In Green Bay this week, President Obama expressed an urgent need for health care reform and a willingness to accept any ideas that can help.

Obama said cooperation with Congress is needed in putting together legislation overhauling the country's health care system. He said Thursday that Democrats and Republicans can agree on most aspects of a new health care program, but he conceded there are gaping differences over how large a role the government should play.

The president told his audience Thursday that he doesn't have all the answers and that he doesn't want to simply submit a plan and say, 'It's my way or the highway.'"

He said he's open-minded and "happy to steal other people's ideas."

Yes, let's nationalize one-fifth of the nation's economy by August.

Obama always seems to be in a hurry, trying to ram legislation through without any time for a review. This was the case with the enormous and failed "Stimulus Package" that no one had a chance to read.

And now, Obama proposes to create the largest government entitlement program in world history, despite the fact that government has raped the Medicare "Trust Fund", raped the Social Security "Trust Fund" and offloaded huge Medicaid bills on state governments.

As for Obama's "open mind"? Roll Call Magazine reported this week that interested parties were threatened by Democrat staffers for even talking to Republicans about socialized medicine ("Baucus Aides Warn K Street"). The threatened private groups include representatives of hospitals, doctors and nurses. And the Democrats are threatening them with punishment if they even talk to Republicans.

Top aides to Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) [warned Democrat lobbyists] to advise their clients not to attend a meeting with Senate Republicans set for Thursday... “They said, ‘Republicans are having this meeting and you need to let all of your clients know if they have someone there, that will be viewed as a hostile act,’” said a Democratic lobbyist who attended the meeting.

“Going to the Republican meeting will say, ‘I’m interested in working with Republicans to stop health care reform,’” the lobbyist added. [Republican John] Thune said Democrats are using threats and intimidation to keep unhappy stakeholders silent.

“It is notable that Republicans are really finding their voice, and their level of frustration is building with the stakeholders’ inability or refusal to speak out,” this lobbyist said. “They’re getting frustrated. Republicans are doing it themselves.”

...But with Baucus’ office still warning dissenters that anyone who makes their opposition public could be permanently excluded from future negotiations, the groups representing businesses, health care providers, hospitals and similar stakeholders are still wavering on whether to voice their concerns publicly...

Obama and other Democrat thought-leaders are on record as stating that their real goal is to kill private insurance. Kill it outright. They want to shove it down your throats -- by August -- without review, without transparency and without any impact analysis on the health care industry.

What will be the effects of socialized medicine on the supply of doctors and nurses? Will talented youngsters want to work for a government-run system and make significantly less money? What will happen to the pharmaceutical industry, which currently provides 93% of the world's drug innovations? Or the private hospital system, or private insurers? Or your insurance? And your doctor?

The Democrats don't give a damn. They are secretly planning the takeover of one-fifth of the economy and they want you to shut the hell up about it.

Never mind that they have no way to pay for it, that they're slashing Medicare benefits by $313 billion while proposing $600 billion in new taxes... and that still won't be enough.

So here's your handy, pocket guide to Democratic statements on Health Care Reform:

So call (202-224-2651, 202-224-3121, 406-657-6790, 406-586-6104) or email the cretinous Senator from Montana Max Baucus now and politely tell him these four things:

• You work for us, we don't work for you!
• We want our voices heard on socialized medicine and we want you to stop threatening private parties!
• And our voices say: we don't want socialized medicine!
• And we want a fix for Social Security and Medicare before you even think about killing our health care system!

We demand to be heard or the entire country will mobilize to throw you out of office the next time around!

Be polite but firm. And keep calling and writing.


Linked by: Curmudgeonly & Skeptical. Thanks!

The Fed -- like Fannie and Freddie -- is above the law


I am definitely not one of Ron Paul's fans*, but his bill to audit the Federal Reserve seems a sensible one. Especially after reviewing this testimony before Congress by Elizabeth A. Coleman.

Coleman is the Inspector General of the Federal Reserve. The Fed, a private company with close political ties to the U.S. government (Fannie and Freddie, anyone?), appears to answer to no one.

# Alan Grayson: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Inspector Coleman, you’re the Inspector General for the Federal Reserve, right?

# Elizabeth A. Coleman: That’s correct.

# Alan Grayson: Okay. Have you done any investigation concerning the Federal Reserve’s role in deciding not to save Lehman Brothers, which led to shockwaves that went through the entire financial system?

# Elizabeth A. Coleman: In that particular area, you know, I don’t feel like to comment on specific investigations, but we do not currently have an investigation in that particular area.

# Alan Grayson: All right, what about the $1 trillion-plus expansion of the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet since last September?

# Have you conducted any investigations regarding that?

# Elizabeth A. Coleman: Well, right now, we have a… we call it a review and with the term investigation, we have different connotations.

# We’re actually conducting a fairly high-level review of the various lending facilities collectively, which would include, you know,

# the TOWS, the variety of the different programs that are in process, so we’re looking at them at a fairly high level to identify risks.

# Alan Grayson: Well, I understand that, but we’re talking about events that started unfolding eight months ago.

# Have you reached any conclusions about the Fed expanding its balance sheet by over a trillion dollars since last September?

# Elizabeth A. Coleman: We have not yet reached any conclusions.

# Alan Grayson: Do you know who received that money?

# Elizabeth A. Coleman: For the… we are in the process right now of doing our review and…

# Alan Grayson: Right, but you’re the Inspector General. My question specifically is

# do you know who received that $1 trillion-plus that the Fed extended and put on its balance sheet since last September.

# Do you know the identity of the recipients?

# Elizabeth A. Coleman: I do not know. We have not looked at that specific area at this particular point on those reviews.

# Alan Grayson: (AUDIBLE SIGH)

# Alan Grayson: What about Bloomberg’s report that there are trillions of dollars in off-balance sheet transactions that the Federal Reserve has entered into since last September?

# Are you familiar with those off-balance sheet transactions?

# Elizabeth A. Coleman: You know, I think it may be important at this point to, just to bring up a certain aspect related to our jurisdiction and just to clarify perhaps some of my earlier comments.

# We are the Inspector General for the Board of Governors and we have direct oversight over Board programs and operations

# and we’re also able to look at Board-delegated functions to the Reserve Banks, as well as the Board’s oversight and supervision of the Reserve Bank.

# We do not have jurisdiction to directly go out and audit Reserve Bank activities specifically.

# Nevertheless, in our lending facility projects, for example, we are looking at the Board’s oversight over the programs and to the extent that it extends out to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

# Alan Grayson: Well, I have a copy of the Inspector General Act here in front of me and it says among other things that if you’re responsible,

# you can conduct and supervise audits and investigations relating to the programs and operations of your agency.

# Elizabeth A. Coleman: That’s correct.

# Alan Grayson: So I’m asking you if your agency has in fact, according to Bloomberg, extended $9 trillion in credit,

# which by the way works out to $30,000 for every single men, women, and child in this country. I’d like to know if you’re not responsible for investigating that, who is?

# Elizabeth A. Coleman: We, actually… we have responsibility for the Federal Reserve’s programs and operations, to conduct audits and investigations in that area.

# In terms of who is responsible for investigating… would you mind repeating the question one more time?

# Alan Grayson: What have you done to investigate the off-balance sheet transactions conducted by the Federal Reserve, which according to Bloomberg now?

# Elizabeth A. Coleman: I’ll have to look specifically at that Bloomberg article. I’m not… I don’t know if I have actually seen that particular one.

# Alan Grayson: That’s not the point. The question is have you done any investigation or auditing of off-balance sheet transactions conducted by the Federal Reserve?

# Elizabeth A. Coleman: At this point, we’re conducting our lending facility project at a fairly high level

# and have not gotten to a specific level of detail to really be in a position to respond to your question.

# Alan Grayson: Have you conducted any investigation or auditing of the losses that the Federal Reserve has experienced on its lending since last September?

# Elizabeth A. Coleman: We are still in the process of conducting that review. Until we actually, you know, go out and gather the information, I’m not in a position to really respond to this specific question.

# Alan Grayson: So are you telling me that nobody at the Federal Reserve is keeping track on a regular basis of the losses that it incurs on what is now a $2 trillion portfolio?

# Elizabeth A. Coleman: I don’t know if… you’re telling me that there’s… you’re… missing… that there are losses.

# I’m just saying that we’re not… until we actually look at the program and have the information, we are not in a position to say whether there are losses or to respond in any other way to that question.

# Alan Grayson: Mr. Chairman, my time is up, but I have to tell you honestly, I am shocked to find out that nobody at the Federal Reserve including the Inspector General is keeping track of this.

# Mr. Chairman: All right.

Yes, sir: nobody at the Federal Reserve is keeping track on a regular basis of the losses that it incurs on what is now a $2 trillion portfolio.

Feel better?


*A word about Ron Paul: Paul's supporters include an eclectic group of 9/11 Troofers, virulent racists, anti-Semites, and a host of other nutcases who are out to undermine the GOP and surreptitiously assist the Obama-Pelosi-Reid Democrats. Paul is, as all sensible people know, unelectable. In short, supporting Paul helps Obama and the rest of the Democrat-Statists.


Why We Love the South


Fausta sent this one in.