DC sent this one in.
I was so depressed last night so I called Lifeline.
Got a freakin' call center in Pakistan.I told them I was suicidal.
They got all excited and asked if I could drive a truck.
These past two years we've seen the most disfunctional, unpopular and irresponsible Congress in our lifetime. The Worst. Congress. Ever.
For the first time in US history this Democratic-led bunch abandoned our men and women in uniform on the battlefield by voting against funding war operations. They voted to lose a war.... Damn the consequences.
We've also seen gas prices more than double and the economy collapse as Democrats continue to offer no answers and no relief! We've seen Democratic politicians caught in scandal after scandal. We've also seen the Democratic leaders turn their heads the other way.
And, just this week we heard the most vile speech by a House Speaker we have ever witnessed in our country's history...
The accompanying map depicts "The No Zone." This is the region surrounding the United States where Democrats have blocked oil exploration for decades.Democrats oppose drilling in deepwater, even though Hurricanes Katrina and Rita proved that modern offshore drilling platforms pose virtually no pollution risk. Democrats oppose exploration in a tiny, postage-stamp sized region of Alaska. As for new refineries or nuclear energy, well, the Democrats oppose those, too. The net result of Democratic behavior is that America will become increasingly dependent on foreign oil. While alternative energy sources remain an admirable goal, they are decades away from becoming serious alternatives to oil.
...Biden is one of the tort bar's staunchest allies in Congress, blocking reform at every opportunity while trying to defeat conservative judicial nominees. His quid pro quo with SimmonsCooper in Delaware helps explain why asbestos suits continue to weigh down the courts even after tens of thousands of cases have been shown to be invented. The "change" lawyers will believe in if Mr. Biden makes it to the White House is cold, hard cash...
Among the groups denouncing the [Bush] proposal [to strengthen oversight of Fannie and Freddie] today were ...Congressional Democrats who fear that tighter regulation of the companies could sharply reduce their commitment to financing low-income and affordable housing.
”These two entities — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — are not facing any kind of financial crisis,” said Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. ”The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.” ...Representative Melvin L. Watt, Democrat of North Carolina, agreed.
In case you thought there was some limit to how blatantly Democrats would betray their own country, this was passed out at the pro–illegal immigration rally in Dallas yesterday......The less than subtle suggestion that Texas belongs to Mexico is sure to win hearts among the MEChA set, which holds that the Southwest should be wrested away from the Gringo through massive immigration followed by ethnic cleansing.
Our politicians are lucky that most Americans are too busy to follow their antics, because voters would surely howl over Nancy Pelosi's trade priorities this week... the same "fair trade" crowd that bemoans the U.S. trade deficit wants to have only one-way free trade with Latin America -- free for them to sell to us, but not for us to sell to them. Has anyone told the UAW about all those Caterpillar machinery exports to Colombia that Democrats are blocking?
[Obama's Global Poverty Act bill] efers directly to a United Nations declaration called the Millenium Development Goal, which calls "for a 'redistribution (of) wealth and land,' cancellation of 'the debts of developing countries' and 'a fair distribution of the earth's resources.'"It effects a "tax on the rental value of land and natural resources," a "royalty on worldwide fossil energy production - oil, natural gas, coal," "fees for the commercial use of the oceans, fees for airplane use of the skies, fees for use of the electromagnetic spectrum, fees on foreign exchange transactions, and a tax on the carbon content of fuels."
With the introduction of a new "Intelligence Authorization bill", Democrats intend to divert funds from national security intelligence efforts in order to consider "the effects that climate change has on national security." In other words, Democrats view global warming as a threat that justifies stripping funds away from fighting terrorism.
The FEC has compiled a separate database of potentially questionable overseas donations [to the Obama campaign] that contains more than 11,500 contributions totaling $33.8 million. More than 520 listed their "state" as "IR," often an abbreviation for Iran. Another 63 listed it as "UK," the United Kingdom.More than 1,400 of the overseas entries clearly were U.S. diplomats or military personnel, who gave an APO address overseas. Their total contributions came to just $201,680. But others came from places as far afield as Abu Dhabi, Addis Ababa, Beijing, Fallujah, Florence, Italy, and a wide selection of towns and cities in France.
Until recently, the Obama Web site allowed a contributor to select the country where he resided from the entire membership of the United Nations, including such friendly places as North Korea and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Unlike McCain's or Sen. Hillary Clinton's online donation pages, the Obama site did not ask for proof of citizenship until just recently....
In July and August, the head of the Nigeria's stock market held a series of pro-Obama fundraisers in Lagos, Nigeria's largest city. The events attracted local Nigerian business owners. At one event, a table for eight at one fundraising dinner went for $16,800. Nigerian press reports claimed sponsors raked in an estimated $900,000. The sponsors said the fundraisers were held to help Nigerians attend the Democratic convention in Denver. But the Nigerian press expressed skepticism of that claim, and the Nigerian public anti-fraud commission is now investigating the matter.
In June, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi gave a public speech praising Obama, claiming foreign nationals were donating to his campaign. "All the people in the Arab and Islamic world and in Africa applauded this man," the Libyan leader said. "They welcomed him and prayed for him and for his success, and they may have even been involved in legitimate contribution campaigns to enable him to win the American presidency..."
[O]n July 31 that donors from the Gaza strip had contributed $33,000 to the Obama campaign through bulk purchases of T-shirts they had shipped to Gaza.... A pair of Palestinian brothers named Hosam and Monir Edwan contributed more than $31,300 to the Obama campaign in October and November 2007, FEC records show. Their largesse attracted the attention of the FEC almost immediately. In an April 15, 2008, report that examined the Obama campaign's year-end figures for 2007, the FEC asked that some of these contributions be reassigned. The Obama camp complied sluggishly, prompting a more detailed admonishment form the FEC on July 30. The Edwan brothers listed their address as "GA," as in Georgia, although they entered "Gaza" or "Rafah Refugee camp" as their city of residence on most of the online contribution forms.... The latest Obama campaign filing shows that $891.11 still has not been refunded to the Edwan brothers, despite repeated FEC warnings and campaign claims that all the money was refunded in December.
A ...review of the Obama campaign finance filings found that the FEC had asked for the redesignation or refund of 53,828 donations, totaling just under $30 million.
But none involves the donors who never appear in the Obama campaign reports, which the [Center for Responsive Politics] estimates at nearly half the $426.8 million the Obama campaign has raised to date.
Mr. Cohen, I enjoyed your column in today's Washington Post and was particularly taken by your statement that "[h]ard times are hard on truth." By this measure, The Washington Post must be enduring some very hard times indeed. While the Post treats its readers to articles about an advisor for John McCain lobbying for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the paper makes no mention of the fact that Barack Obama received more money from lobbyists and employees of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac than any other member of Congress, except for Christopher Dodd.
http://www.opensecrets.org/ . And it took Senator Obama only three years to raise more money from these institutions that many of his colleagues were able to raise in ten years.news/2008/09/update-fannie- mae-and-freddie.html Similarly, the Post (and most of its columnists) tell readers that the current financial debacle is the result of deregulation of the financial services market, suggesting that the problems we currently face are properly placed at the doorstep of President Bush and conservative philosophy. But The Washington Post fails to mention efforts by the Bush Administration to rein in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. For example, the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005 (S. 190), of which Senator McCain and three other Republicans were co-sponsors, would have regulated the secondary mortgages market and placed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under tighter regulatory oversight. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ query/D?c109:1:./temp/~ :: The bill went nowhere. It was reintroduced in 2007 (S. 1100) and referred to the Senate Banking Committee chaired by Senator Dodd. Again, the bill went nowhere. Despite these and other well-intentioned efforts to address the current crisis before it actually became a crisis, The Washington Post (and most of its columnists) apparently do not want to burden their readers with such facts.c1094zZ77z Instead, readers of the Post are treated to a puff piece about Barney Frank, claiming that he is the "real deal" and that his "sense of urgency" in solving the current financial crisis is "palpable." Libby Copeland, "Rep. Barney Frank Dives Right in on the Bailout," Washington Post (Sept. 27, 2008). Yet, the Post makes no mention of Rep. Frank's persistent opposition to efforts to tighten regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that would have avoided, or at least lessened the disaster that our economy is currently facing. In fact, in 2003 during debate on H.R. 2575—THE SECONDARY MORTGAGE MARKET ENTERPRISES REGULATORY IMPROVEMENT ACT, which would have created a "strengthened regulator" for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, this is what Rep. Frank had to say: "I think it is clear that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are sufficiently secure so they are in no great danger... I don't think we face a crisis; I don't think that we have an impending disaster. ...Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do very good work, and they are not endangering the fiscal health of this country." http://commdocs.house.gov/
committees/bank/hba92628.000/ . Obviously, Mr. Frank was wrong (as were other prominent Democrats leading the "financial recovery" effort, including Senator Dodd), but you wouldn't know that from reading The Washington Post .hba92628_0f.htm People buy newspapers to get the truth, in both good times and bad. When people can't get the truth, they look to other sources of information, which likely explains the continued decline in subscribership to The Washington Post.
The nation's largest provider of mortgage funds, moving to increase homeownership among minorities and low-income citizens, unveiled a program Thursday to loosen lending standards for people with "slightly impaired" credit...
It is designed to provide homeownership opportunities for "many borrowers whose credit is just a notch below" qualifying for a loan, said Franklin Raines, Fannie Mae's chairman and chief executive.
[Clinton administration] Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Andrew Cuomo today announced a policy to require the nation's two largest housing finance companies [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac] to buy $2.4 trillion in mortgages over the next 10 years to provide affordable housing for about 28.1 million low- and moderate-income families.
Cuomo said the historic action by HUD raises the required percentage of mortgage loans for low- and moderate-income families that finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac must buy from the current 42 percent of their total purchases to a new high of 50 percent -- a 19 percent increase -- in the year 2001.
Concern among securities industry watchdogs is growing as the two largest U.S. stock markets move closer to for-profit status. The fear is they will have difficulty separating their regulatory obligations from their desire to make money.
It's one of the hidden success stories of the Clinton era. In the great housing boom of the 1990s, black and Latino homeownership has surged to the highest level ever recorded. The number of blacks owning their own home is now increasing nearly three times as fast as the number of whites; the number of Latino homeowners is growing nearly five times as fast as that of whites. These numbers are dramatic enough to deserve more detail...
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo today announced higher Federal Housing Administration home mortgage loan limits for communities around the nation, implementing a Clinton Administration initiative that will enable thousands more American families to become homeowners each year.
"These higher loan limits will unlock the door to homeownership for hard-working families, transforming homeownership from an impossible dream into a sweet reality," Cuomo said...
The Clinton Administration wants to raise the limit on home mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration from roughly $170,000 to $220,000. By insuring mortgages made by private lenders, the F.H.A. makes the loans risk-free, a bountiful gift to mortgage lenders and real estate agents throughout the country...
...here’s the cincher: $32k. For the same price as the aforementioned awful MINI Cooper Clubman S, you can have one of the world’s finest-handling sports cars. Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying that the RX-8 R3 handles well for a $32k car. I’m saying it handles better than a $320k car. Or, more importantly, whatever you’re driving.
A READER AT A MAJOR NEWSROOM EMAILS: "Off the record, every suspicion you have about MSM being in the tank for O is true. We have a team of 4 people going thru dumpsters in Alaska and 4 in arizona. Not a single one looking into Acorn, Ayers or Freddiemae. Editor refuses to publish anything that would jeopardize election for O, and betting you dollars to donuts same is true at NYT, others. People cheer when CNN or NBC run another Palin-mocking but raising any reasonable inquiry into obama is derided or flat out ignored. The fix is in, and its working." I asked permission to reprint without attribution and it was granted.
UPDATE: The Anchoress hears similar things. And reader Eric Schubert: "The Edwards debacle was proof enough of where the heart of the MSM lies, and lack of curiousity of the press about Edwards probably cost Hillary the nomination. And that shameful episode offers a warning to the MSM. What if Obama does have a skeleton in his closet (such as a shady deal or outright bribe) that is revealed after he wins the election? While the chance of this scenario is remote, imagine the backlash against the MSM if it could be shown that a reasonable investigation by the MSM would have easily revealed this secret to the public prior to the election?"
ANOTHER UPDATE: Rand Simberg isn't so sure: "Where was the backlash against this about Bill Clinton in 1992? They just seem to continue to get away with it." Well, yes and no. Their reputation and readership/viewership keep falling. And layoffs keep happening. I think they're willing to pull out all the stops because they realize this is the last election where they have a chance at swinging things this way. No point saving your credibility for the future when you don't have a future, I guess . . . .
You know, even after a tough day, nothing lifts my spirits like this chart!
Nasdaq said Tuesday afternoon that it has cancelled certain trades made on shares of Google Inc. (320.50-60.50-15.88% 5:39pm 09/30/2008 minutes before the closing bell Tuesday. In a statement, the exchange said it will cancel all trades on the stock at or above $425.29 and at or below $400.52 that were executed between 3:57 and 4:02 Eastern. The exchange also said it will be adjusting the Nasdaq Official Closing Cross (NOCP) and all trades executed in the cross to $400.52. The decision came after data late in the trading session seemed to indicate that shares of Google - which were trading up about 8% for most of the session - fell between 10-16% in the final minutes before the closing bell. The statement from Nasdaq did not gie [sic] a reason for the other trades.
It shows after-hours trading occurring at $411, which seems a bit more like it.
Governor Mitt Romney, proven turnaround specialist.
Update: Linked by Vanity Fair's James ("Extra Lipitor with those Nachos") Wolcott -- renowned "misogynist and antisemite" who calls the idea "desperate and dumbass." Though not nearly as desperate and dumbass as naming disgraced Fannie Mae executives your economic advisers.
The transcript of Pelosi's speech -- which blamed the mortgage meltdown on Bush, Rethuglicans, Cheney, Rove, Reagan, Sarah Palin, radio talk-show hosts, bible-wielding Pennsylvanians and Walker Texas Ranger -- is something for the ages. It was as ill-timed and as dishonest a speech as has ever been given in the halls of Congress.SPEAKER PELOSI: Madam Speaker, when was the last time someone asked you for $700 billion?Roughly the same time I asked someone to give me $18 grand, which is the amount Pelosi accepted in donations from Fannie and Freddie last year -- more than any other single person.
It is a number that is staggering, but tells us only the costs of the Bush Administration's failed economic policies-policies built on budgetary recklessness, on an anything goes mentality, with no regulation, no supervision, and no discipline in the system.Correct. We know it didn't have anything to do with Clinton operatives Franklin Raines, Jamie Gorelick, Jim Johnson and others instigating an accounting fraud at Fannie Mae while sucking out $200 million in salaries. Or Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Maxine Waters and a host of other Democratic Congressional muckety-mucks who blocked every attempt at reform. Or Democratic front-group ACORN's phony allegations of redlining that forced banks to underwrite ever riskier loans. We know the meltdown had nothing to do with any of those things!
Democrats believe in the free market, which can and does create jobs, wealth, and capital, but left to its own devices it has created chaos.That chaos is the dismal picture painted by Treasury Secretary Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke a week and a half ago in the Capitol. As they pointed out, we confront a crisis of historic magnitude that has the ability to do serious injury not simply to our economy, but to the American people: not just to Wall Street, but to everyday Americans on Main Street.
It is our responsibility today, to help avert that catastrophic outcome.Kinda like how "Great Society" helped win the war on poverty. That was a big Democratic responsiblity that worked out swimmingly!
Let us be clear: This is a crisis caused on Wall Street. But it is a crisis that reaches to Main Street in every city and town of the United States.It is a crisis that freezes credit, causes families to lose their homes, cripples small businesses, and makes it harder to find jobs.
It is a crisis that never had to happen. It is now the duty of every Member of this body to recognize that the failure to act responsibly, with full protections for the American taxpayer, would compound the damage already done to the financial security of millions of American families.
Over the past several days, we have worked with our Republican colleagues to fashion an alternative to the original plan of the Bush Administration.
I must recognize the outstanding leadership provided by Chairman Barney Frank, whose enormous intellectual and strategic abilities have never before been so urgently needed, or so widely admired.Wait a second! Is that the same Barney Frank who fought off the Bush administration's two dozen attempts at reining in Fannie and Freddie saying "I think it is clear that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are sufficiently secure so they are in no great danger... I don't think we face a crisis; I don't think that we have an impending disaster. ...Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do very good work, and they are not endangering the fiscal health of this country... I don't see any financial crisis.
Why, yes. I think that is the same Barney Frank! Well done, B!
I also want to recognize Rahm Emanuel, who combined his deep knowledge of financial institutions with his pragmatic policy experience, to resolve key disagreements.Is that the same Rahm Emanuel who "who served on the board of Freddie Mac and... opposed every reform proposed by the Bush Administration"? The same Rahm who reportedly fast-tracked illegal aliens through the voter registration process to promote vote fraud? And has blind trusts valued at between $6.5 million and $28 million (the hallmark of an honest politician)? That's deep knowledge of financial institutions!
Secretary Paulson deserves credit for working day and night to help reach an agreement and for his flexibility in negotiating changes to his original proposal.
Democrats insisted that legislation responding to this crisis must protect the American people and Main Street from the meltdown on Wall Street.The American people did not decide to dangerously weaken our regulatory and oversight policies. They did not make unwise and risky financial deals. They did not jeopardize the economic security of the nation. And they must not pay the cost of this emergency recovery and stabilization bill.
So we insisted that this bill contain several key provisions:
This legislation must contain independent and ongoing oversight to ensure that the recovery program is managed with full transparency and strict accountability.Is that kind of like the oversight that Barney Frank, Maxine Waters, David Scott, Gregory Meeks, Franklin Raines and a host of other Democrats fought tooth and nail for the last eight years? That kind of oversight?
The legislation must do everything possible to allow as many people to stay in their homes rather than face foreclosure.
The corporate CEOs whose companies will benefit from the public's participation in this recovery must not benefit by exorbitant salaries and golden parachute retirement bonuses.Say, CEOs like Franklin Raines ($90 million salary) and Jim Johnson ($21 million) who drove Fannie Mae into the ground while cooking the books to make their bonus numbers? And then took jobs advising Obama on housing? Those kind of CEOs?
Our message to Wall Street is this: the party is over. The era of golden parachutes for high-flying Wall Street operators is over. No longer will the U.S. taxpayer bailout the recklessness of Wall Street.Great. But when do we get to stop bailing out the criminals and Democrats (but I repeat myself) who raped and pillaged Fannie Mae in the name of "economic fairness"? Like Barney ("I don't see any financial crisis") Frank?
The taxpayers who bear the risk in this recovery must share in the upside as the economy recovers.Do we get to share in the profits with the crooks at ACORN? Those guys are really good at paying for votes with crack cocaine, making up names of voters, cajoling the dead to vote, and convincing illegal aliens to register.
And should this program not pay for itself, the financial institutions that benefited, not the taxpayers, must bear responsibility for making up the difference.
These were the Democratic demands to safeguard the American taxpayer, to help the economy recover, and to impose tough accountability as a central component of this recovery effort.Why start now? You could probably get away with a few more years of ripping off taxpayers just like Franklin Raines, Jamie Gorelick and Jim Johnson did.
This legislation is not the end of congressional activity on this crisis. Over the course of the next few weeks, we will continue to hold investigative and oversight hearings to find out how the crisis developed, where mistakes were made, and how the recovery must be managed to protect the middle class and the American taxpayer.Yes. We're all eagerly awaiting the investigation into the root cause of the crisis.
With passage of this legislation today, we can begin the difficult job of turning our economy around, of helping those who depend on a growing economy and stable financial institutions for a secure retirement, for the education of their children, for jobs and small business credit.I guess we'll have to take a raincheck on the Tang, Mattie. I mean, Nancy.
Today we must act for those Americans, for Main Street, and we must act now, with the bipartisan spirit of cooperation which allowed us to fashion this legislation.This not enough. We are also working to restore our nation's economic strength by passing a new economic recovery stimulus package- a robust, job creating bill-that will help Americans struggling with high prices, get our economy back on track, and renew the American Dream.
Today, we will act to avert this crisis, but informed by our experience of the past eight years with the failed economic leadership that has left us left capable of meeting the challenges of the future.
We choose a different path. In the new year, with a new Congress and a new president, we will break free with a failed past and take America in a New Direction to a better future.The only "new direction" you're gonna get, honey, is a AAA TripTik for your ride back to Frisco after your ass gets fired.






Here's some testimony from '03 and '04 that relate to the oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that should make you cry. But these people are smiling, laughing even, about $700 billion in taxpayer money they'll use for a bailout of the GSEs they failed to control.![]()
Which incident(s) are you reporting? (Check all that apply)
They mocked, questioned or satirized Obama (with or without styrofoam Greek columns).
They mentioned Obama's questionable citizenship/elibility for the presidency.
They mentioned Obama's questionable religious background.
They mentioned Obama's 20-year affiliation with a racist, anti-semitic Church.
They mentioned Obama's many affiliations with extremists and those tied to terrorists.
They mentioned Obama's career was launched and orchestrated by terrorist Bill Ayers.
They mentioned all of Obama's missing records (medical, collegiate, birth certificate, etc.).
They described Obama's blatant lie about infanticide that was even recanted by his handlers.
They described Obama's many ties to Fannie Mae executives and the mortgage meltdown.
They showed me pictures of Obama's stunning results as a "community organizer" and state senator.
Who are you reporting? (Check all that apply)
My parents
My sibling
Neighbors
My boss or co-worker
A friend or acquaintance
A radio talk-show host
Sean Hannity
Governor Matt Blunt
A wingnut blogger
Other
How did you find about their relationship to these untruths? (Check all that apply)
They sent me a chain email
They sent me a link to a wingnut or Rethuglican website
I happened to notice it on their laptop while sitting behind them on a bus, train or plane
I overheard them whispering
I installed a key-logger on their computer
I read their blog
I installed a network sniffer that monitors all traffic coming into and out of the neighborhood
I went "war-driving" and/or employed wireless monitoring tactics
How long would you recommend that we detain the subject(s)? (Check only one)
Until after the election
Until 2012
Until 2016
Until they graduate from Re-education Camp
Until prisoners start starving in the O'Gulags
Do not set release date
How dangerous is/are the subject(s)? (Check one)
Harmless/crackpot
Mildly annoying
All bark, no bite
Typical Pennsylvanian who clings to guns and religion
Other NRA member
NRA member with concealed-carry permit (a CCW)
Lifetime NRA member with three or more firearms, a CCW, and a Class III permit
Typical Texan
Chuck Norris
Email your completed form to Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce or County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCullough (or email him here).
KMOV TV (St. Louis) reports that two prominent government officials have formed a "truth squad" at the behest of the Obama campaign. Obama is asking Missouri law enforcement "to target anyone who lies or runs a misleading TV ad during the presidential campaign." I am not making this up. Governor Matt Blunt of Missouri announced the following on Saturday:
...The chart puts Barack Obama at the epicenter of an incestuous stew of American radical leftism. Not only are his connections significant, they practically define who he is. Taken together, they constitute a who's who of the American radical left... Conspicuous in their absence are any connections at all with any other group, moderate, or even mildly leftist. They are all radicals, firmly bedded in the anti-American, communist, socialist, radical leftist mesh...If you get an e-mail with "Nude Photos of Sarah Palin" in the subject line, do not open it. It might contain a virus.
If you get an e-mail with "Nude Photos of Hillary Clinton," do not open it.
It might contain nude photos of Hillary Clinton.
While leaving a $200 - $500 a ticket speaking engagement in Canada on Friday, the Edmonton Sun caught Bill Clinton holding hands with an unidentified woman.