The answer to the banking problem

After the defeat of the “bail out” yesterday, many people are asking what should we do. One thing that would do a lot of good is to raise the amount the FDIC insures for customers that deposit money in banks. This will stop the run on banks, many are already seeing people take the money of of the banks to the level that the FDIC insures. But if you raise or eliminate the amount of money that is insured, people will not take money out of banks and will keep the money in the banks so they do not go under.

Another thing that should be done is get rid of the capital gains tax or cut it in half. This will have more people invest in the stock market and will not punish people from investing money and infusing money into the market.

Another thing that should be done is lower the corporate taxes so more money can be used to make jobs. This will get more people back to work. We have the second highest corporate tax in the world, this is ridiculous ion this time and go against what this country was founded on.

And there should be a “work out” to get the people that are defaulting or not paying their mortgages to an amicable resolution. They can lower the rates that they are charged and make the time to pay the money back longer and not enforce many penalties. This will be a win win situation for both the people that were in over their head in buying a home or were lied to or hoodwinked by crooked mortgage companies into buying ARMs . This would be the same as how many credit card companies get resolution from customers that loose a job or got into credit debt.

And what about the failing banks. Well, let them fail and go into bankruptcy. Why should the taxpayers bail out the banks when the taxpayers did no wrong. That is the real reason the “bail out” deal failed. Too many CONgressman were getting flooded by constituents telling them not to bail out the fat cats that mostly made a killing on the backs of the regular folks.

Here is a good article from CNN, of all places, about why we should not bail out the banks .

Editor’s note: Jeffrey A. Miron is senior lecturer in economics at Harvard University. A Libertarian, he was one of 166 academic economists who signed a letter to congressional leaders last week opposing the government bailout plan.


The current mess would never have occurred in the absence of ill-conceived federal policies. The federal government chartered Fannie Mae in 1938 and Freddie Mac in 1970; these two mortgage lending institutions are at the center of the crisis. The government implicitly promised these institutions that it would make good on their debts, so Fannie and Freddie took on huge amounts of excessive risk.

Worse, beginning in 1977 and even more in the 1990s and the early part of this century, Congress pushed mortgage lenders and Fannie/Freddie to expand subprime lending. The industry was happy to oblige, given the implicit promise of federal backing, and subprime lending soared.


The obvious alternative to a bailout is letting troubled financial institutions declare bankruptcy. Bankruptcy means that shareholders typically get wiped out and the creditors own the company.

Bankruptcy does not mean the company disappears; it is just owned by someone new (as has occurred with several airlines). Bankruptcy punishes those who took excessive risks while preserving those aspects of a businesses that remain profitable.


So what should the government do? Eliminate those policies that generated the current mess. This means, at a general level, abandoning the goal of home ownership independent of ability to pay. This means, in particular, getting rid of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, along with policies like the Community Reinvestment Act that pressure banks into subprime lending.—CNN

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OBAMA’S STRANGE BEDFELLOWS

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Dhimwit of the Month Honors

IT is also time for the Reigion of Peace’s Dhimwit of the Month Honors also.  And this months winner is Sally Lopez.

Dhim·mi (dîm-mî or zîm-mî) – An Islamic term that refers to a subjugated non-Muslim person living in a Muslim society.  Second-class status is confirmed by the legal system and dhimmis do not share the rights of their Muslim rulers.  (ex. of use: “Hey Jimmy, if you want to be a dhimmi, then you’d better learn how to shimmy.”) Dhim·wit (dïm-wît) – A non-Muslim member of a free society that abets the stated cause of Islamic domination with remarkable gullibility.  A dhimwit is always quick to extend sympathy to the very enemy that would take away his or her own freedom (or life) if given the opportunity.

September 2008 Dhimwit: Ms. Sally Lopez

Sallylopez

Sally Lopez survives her brush with reality.

Our dhimwit nominees are usually chosen from the ranks of misguided government officials or public celebrities.  Occasionally, however, an “ordinary” person comes along who just can’t be ignored.  This month, Sally Lopez of Lemoyne, Pennsylvania is that individual – and we’re pretty sure that she will appreciate the attention.

Here’s a question, let’s say that you get something through the mail with which you disagree… a political advertisement or commercial propaganda, for example.  What would you do next?

Well, most truly “ordinary” people would simply throw it away and forget about it.  A few might actually write the sender to have themselves taken off the mailing list or perhaps send back their own opinion in less-than-tactful fashion.

But it takes a special kind of person (or at least someone who thinks they are special) to call up the local newspaper and request a photographer.  And this is exactly what Ms. Sally Lopez did when she found a copy of the anti-Jihad DVD, Obsession: Radical Islam’s War against the West, in her mailbox.  According to the Patriot News article:

Lopez said she was offended by the DVD…. “My thing is, I’m not stupid.   There are definitely radical Islamic cells all over the world, but we also have the Aryan Nation, the [Ku Klux Klan], all kinds of hate groups out there.  They’re just instilling fear in us. I’m tired of living in fear.”

The poor dear is offended that someone is trying to warn her about Islam and its merry band of sociopaths.  Why?  Well, the reasoning is a bit sketchy.  It seems that there are other hate groups out there as well, so there’s no point in hearing about the only one that happens to be piling up dead bodies by the hour…

At this point, it’s probably understandable why Ms. Lopez felt it necessary to tell us that she isn’t stupid.  She may very well be the sort of woman who skips regular breast examinations because there are “all kinds” of other things that can kill you.  (But don’t call her stupid).

Our guess is that she did not watch the DVD and knows little about it outside of the title and description  For one thing, Obsession is a wonderful documentary that justifies itself.  Then there’s the small matter of the fact that the envelope (which appears unopened in the picture) wasn’t really addressed to her.

Did we forget to mention that?  Yes, actually the DVD was mailed to her daughter’s husband, who isn’t even living in the house.  Ms. Lopez is apparently every man’s nightmare – the mother-in-law who makes the business of others her own and doesn’t seem to care if the world knows it.

Of course, it isn’t the content of the DVD that upsets this woman, despite her contrived indignation.  Like other sanctimonious types, Ms. Lopez is simply anxious that others understand what a tolerant and generous soul she is, so willing to accept people of other religions and defend them from offense.  (Perhaps her son-in-law should consider converting).

At the end of the day, our nomination of Sally Lopez is really more of an indictment of the many people in the West who are too consumed by self-righteousness to pay attention to what the Qur’an says about them and their way of life.  For now, they can afford this state of blissful ignorance…

Their children probably won’t have the luxury.

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Porker of the Month

Yes it is that time again.  Time for the Porker of the month from the CAGW.  And this months winer is Sen Carl Levin.

PorkerSen. Carl Levin
(D-Mich.)
Washington
Office Phone:
202-224-6221
Fax: 202-224-1388
Levin

CAGW Names Senator Carl Levin Porker of the Month

Washington, D.C.Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today named Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) its September Porker of the Month for attempting to give earmarks contained in committee reports the force of law.  The provision is included in S. 3001, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009.

Currently, earmarks listed in committee reports do not have the force of law; only those included in the statutory language have that status.  Traditionally, members of Congress have included earmarks in committee reports knowing they are not the law, but have expected federal agencies to treat those spending items as if they had the force of law.  President Bush issued an Executive Order on January 29, 2008 instructing government agencies not to fund any earmarks contained in report language, or based on any non-statutory source, such as phone calls from members of Congress.

This means that beginning with this fiscal year’s authorization and appropriation bills, agencies would be under no obligation to fund earmarks contained in committee or conference reports.  In a brazen attempt to gut the executive order, Sen. Levin inserted a provision (Section 1002) into the defense reauthorization bill that would incorporate the earmarks listed in the committee report into the statute itself, making the earmarks “a requirement in law.”  The earmarks would be “binding on agency heads in the same manner and to the same extent” as if they were written into the bill.

This provision continues a practice of using committee reports to hide earmarks and make them difficult to eliminate by offering amendments to authorization and appropriations bills.  It certainly does not qualify as “reform” of the earmarking process.  It would prevent open debate and votes on earmarks and reduce transparency and accountability.  The “incorporation” language sets a precedent for other fiscal year 2009 legislation.  If it is not removed from the bill, it would demonstrate that the Democratic leadership of Congress has no intent of ever getting earmarks under control.

Considering Chairman Levin’s history of requesting earmarks, his bill language is not surprising.  In fiscal year 2008, Chairman Levin requested 255 earmarks for a total of $301.4 million, which made him the eleventh biggest porker in the Senate.

The earmarks in S. 3001 total $5.9 billion, and include the following:  $6.5 million for expandable light air mobility shelters, $5 million for a hydrokinetic power, and $2 million for thin film amorphous solar arrays.  While earmarks generally are a waste of tax dollars, they are most outrageous when included in a bill that is intended to defend the national security of the United States.

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) had planned to offer an amendment to strike Section 1002 and preserve the current status of earmarks in committee language so they will continue to be just that language, not the law.

For attempting to circumvent the January 29 Executive Order and make it easier to earmark the taxpayers’ money, CAGW names Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.) its September 2008 Porker of the Month.

Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation’s largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.  Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers, government officials, and political candidates who have shown a blatant disregard for the interests of taxpayers.

####



For more information, contact:    Leslie K. Paige
202-467-5334
lpaige@cagw.org

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Obama’s thought police.

Obama’s thought police, or “Truth Squads” are goignto try and prosecute people that supposedly lie about Barak Obama.  This is just an atrocious act by “St. Louis County Circuit Attorney Bob McCulloch, St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer, and Obama and the leader of his Missouri campaign Senator Claire McCaskill. How much longer will Obam;a thugs get away with this???

Here is Roy Blunt’s response:

JEFFERSON CITY – Gov. Matt Blunt today issued the following statement on news reports that have exposed plans by U.S. Senator Barack Obama to use Missouri law enforcement to threaten and intimidate his critics.

“St. Louis County Circuit Attorney Bob McCulloch, St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer, and Obama and the leader of his Missouri campaign Senator Claire McCaskill have attached the stench of police state tactics to the Obama-Biden campaign.

“What Senator Obama and his helpers are doing is scandalous beyond words, the party that claims to be the party of Thomas Jefferson is abusing the justice system and offices of public trust to silence political criticism with threats of prosecution and criminal punishment.

“This abuse of the law for intimidation insults the most sacred principles and ideals of Jefferson. I can think of nothing more offensive to Jefferson’s thinking than using the power of the state to deprive Americans of their civil rights. The only conceivable purpose of Messrs. McCulloch, Obama and the others is to frighten people away from expressing themselves, to chill free and open debate, to suppress support and donations to conservative organizations targeted by this anti-civil rights, to strangle criticism of Mr. Obama, to suppress ads about his support of higher taxes, and to choke out criticism on television, radio, the Internet, blogs, e-mail and daily conversation about the election.

“Barack Obama needs to grow up. Leftist blogs and others in the press constantly say false things about me and my family. Usually, we ignore false and scurrilous accusations because the purveyors have no credibility. When necessary, we refute them. Enlisting Missouri law enforcement to intimidate people and kill free debate is reminiscent of the Sedition Acts – not a free society.”

Bufoon at D=S has written a little letter you can send to your elected officials.:

Dear Elected Representative of the People of the United States of America.,

I will not insult your intelligence by repeating the long list of CRIMINAL ACTIVITY performed on a daily basis by the members of the socialist(D) party, headed by Obama whose very eligibility for President is questionable.

Reminder:  You were ELECTED to uphold the Constitution of the United States and to represent your constituents in a timely, lawful and professional manner.  Would you like to be in office next election cycle?

We the citizenry have had enough of watching this criminality go unquestioned.  The media is complicit and useless to bring these matters to light.

How long will you allow this activity to go on?

I look forward to your prompt response

Signed

You

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Obama’s thought police.

Obama’s thought police, or “Truth Squads” are goignto try and prosecute people that supposedly lie about Barak Obama.  This is just an atrocious act by “St. Louis County Circuit Attorney Bob McCulloch, St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer, and Obama and the leader of his Missouri campaign Senator Claire McCaskill. How much longer will Obam;a thugs get away with this???

Here is Roy Blunt’s response:

JEFFERSON CITY – Gov. Matt Blunt today issued the following statement on news reports that have exposed plans by U.S. Senator Barack Obama to use Missouri law enforcement to threaten and intimidate his critics.

“St. Louis County Circuit Attorney Bob McCulloch, St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer, and Obama and the leader of his Missouri campaign Senator Claire McCaskill have attached the stench of police state tactics to the Obama-Biden campaign.

“What Senator Obama and his helpers are doing is scandalous beyond words, the party that claims to be the party of Thomas Jefferson is abusing the justice system and offices of public trust to silence political criticism with threats of prosecution and criminal punishment.

“This abuse of the law for intimidation insults the most sacred principles and ideals of Jefferson. I can think of nothing more offensive to Jefferson’s thinking than using the power of the state to deprive Americans of their civil rights. The only conceivable purpose of Messrs. McCulloch, Obama and the others is to frighten people away from expressing themselves, to chill free and open debate, to suppress support and donations to conservative organizations targeted by this anti-civil rights, to strangle criticism of Mr. Obama, to suppress ads about his support of higher taxes, and to choke out criticism on television, radio, the Internet, blogs, e-mail and daily conversation about the election.

“Barack Obama needs to grow up. Leftist blogs and others in the press constantly say false things about me and my family. Usually, we ignore false and scurrilous accusations because the purveyors have no credibility. When necessary, we refute them. Enlisting Missouri law enforcement to intimidate people and kill free debate is reminiscent of the Sedition Acts – not a free society.”

Bufoon at D=S has written a little letter you can send to your elected officials.:

Dear Elected Representative of the People of the United States of America.,

I will not insult your intelligence by repeating the long list of CRIMINAL ACTIVITY performed on a daily basis by the members of the socialist(D) party, headed by Obama whose very eligibility for President is questionable.

Reminder:  You were ELECTED to uphold the Constitution of the United States and to represent your constituents in a timely, lawful and professional manner.  Would you like to be in office next election cycle?

We the citizenry have had enough of watching this criminality go unquestioned.  The media is complicit and useless to bring these matters to light.

How long will you allow this activity to go on?

I look forward to your prompt response

Signed

You

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Here is a good article about the Catholic Organization that hired Obama as a Community Organizer.   A majority of Catholics would be appalled at where there donations go to.  It is no wonder Obama joined a Black Liberation Theology Church.   It pretty much goes along with the organization that hired him to agitate the government.

Obama, ACORN, and Catholic Action

A the “Catholics for Obama” blog, the thesis that Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin is smearing Catholic Action is bruited. Unsaid there is the connection between the bishops an Alinskyian organizing that fostered Obama’s political career.

By Stephanie Block

Over at the Catholics for Obama blog, the headline screams, “Palin Continues to Smear Catholic Action.” This preposterous thesis has been crafted from her comments about Barak Obama’s past as a community organizer.

….

Over the past 30 years, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development has given millions of dollars from Catholic donations to these groups. That’s a lot of money going to train people in a very distinctive way of looking at the world and its problems.

Alinsky’s writings contain a number of disturbing premises:

“The third rule of the ethics of means and ends is that … the end justifies almost any means.”

“The seventh rule of the ethics of means and ends is that generally success or failure is a mighty detriment of ethics. … There can be no such thing as a successful traitor, for if one succeeds, he becomes a founding father.”

“The tenth rule of the ethics of means and ends is that you do what you can with what you have and clothe it with moral garments. … Moral rationalization is indispensable at all tunes of action whether to justify the selection or the use of ends or means.”

“An organizer working for change … does not have a fixed truth — truth to him is relative and changing.”
Book cover of
The book from which those “rules” are taken is called Rules for Radicals and it opens with the disturbing lines: “What follows is for those who want to change the world from what it is to what they believe it should be. The Prince was written by Machiavelli for the Haves on how to hold power. Rules for Radicals is written for the Have-Nots on how to take it away.”

In The Prince, Machiavelli makes it clear that he believes the moral law does not apply to leaders. He says, for example: “So you see a wise ruler cannot, and should not, keep his word when doing so is to his disadvantage, and when the reasons that led him to promise to do so no longer apply. Of course, if all men were good, this advice would be bad; but since men are wicked and will not keep faith with you, you need not keep faith with them…But it is essential to know how to conceal how crafty one is, to know how to be a clever counterfeit and hypocrite.” (54) Elsewhere, he writes: “So a ruler…should do what is right if he can; but he must be prepared to do wrong if necessary.” (55)

This is Alinsky’s model, rewritten for “the people.” It’s the antithesis of Catholic teaching. It cannot, therefore, be used to promote Catholic Action.

Contemporary Alinskyian networks, far from repudiating Alinsky, have built upon his work: Mary Beth Rogers writes, “All participants in the Industrial Areas Foundation [the first Alinskyian network, founded in 1940] national training programs are given a reprint of a 1933 article by John H. Randall, Jr. titled ‘The Importance of Being Unprincipled’. …The thesis is that because politics is nothing but the ‘practical method of compromise,’ only two kinds of people can afford the luxury of acting on principle…everyone else who wants to be effective in politics has to learn to be ‘unprincipled’ enough to compromise in order to see their principles succeed.”
Civic action predicated on “truth by consensus” is the antithesis of Catholic truth. It cannot, therefore, be used to promote Catholic Action.

Catholic social teaching has never supported socialism. In fact, Pius XI writes “No one can be at the same time a sincere Catholic and a true socialist.” The work of Alinskyian organizations cannot be considered – by any stretch of the imagination – to be Catholic Action.

By funding the Alinskyian networks, Catholics have become practical allies of the very groups they profess to oppose in the public square.
The second political problem with the CCHD collection is much worse, however. Not only does CCHD fund people whose goals are antithetical to Catholic Action but it provides the vehicle through which Catholics are systematical educated to work against Catholic Action.—-Spero News

Read the whole article.   It is an eye opener for Catholics and also the general public of what Obama’s days as a Community Organizer was.   This was followed by Ayers and Obama’s Annenberg Foundation’s  organization that tried to take over the Chicago School System.    They wanted to join groups such as ACORN and other Alinskyian organization with the schools in Chicago.   So they could have their own socialistic school programs to indoctrinate the kids in Chicago.   Alinski would be proud.  And as we have found out, Alinksy’s son admires Obama’s use of Alinsky’s oraganization in the Obama Presidential Campaign.

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Breaking News

McCain will suspend his campaign and will go back to the Senate and debate the bail out bill.

H/T to Leslie Carbone

FOX News is reporting that John McCain has realized that the Bush Administration’s outrageous plan to burden the taxpayers with a bail-out for irresponsible banks and borrowers cannot pass Congress. Sen McCain has requested a delay of this Friday’s presidential debate, plans to suspend his campaign tomorrow night and return to Washington for bail-out talks, and has challenged Barack Obama to do the same.

Here is McCain via Drudge

 

MCCAIN: America this week faces an historic crisis in our financial system. We must pass legislation to address this crisis. If we do not, credit will dry up, with devastating consequences for our economy. People will no longer be able to buy homes and their life savings will be at stake. Businesses will not have enough money to pay their employees. If we do not act, ever corner of our country will be impacted. We cannot allow this to happen.

Last Friday, I laid out my proposal and I have since discussed my priorities and concerns with the bill the Administration has put forward. Senator Obama has expressed his priorities and concerns.This morning, I met with a group of economic advisers to talk about the proposal on the table and the steps that we should take going forward.I have also spoken with members of Congress to hear their perspective.

It has become clear that no consensus has developed to support the Administration’ proposal. I do not believe that the plan on the table will pass as it currently stands, and we are running out of time.

Tomorrow morning, I will suspend my campaign and return to Washington after speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative. I have spoken to Senator Obama and informed him of my decision and have asked him to join me.

I am calling on the President to convene a meeting with the leadership from both houses of Congress, including Senator Obama and myself. It is time for both parties to come together to solve this problem.

We must meet as Americans, not as Democrats or Republicans, and we must meet until this crisis is resolved.I am directing my campaign to work with the Obama campaign and the commission on presidential debates to delay Friday night’s debate until we have taken action to address this crisis.

I am confident that before the markets open on Monday we can achieve consensus on legislation that will stabilize our financial markets, protect taxpayers and homeowners, and earn the confidence of the American people. All we must do to achieve this is temporarily set politics aside, and I am committed to doing so.

Following September 11th, our national leaders came together at a time of crisis. We must show that kind of patriotism now. Americans across our country lament the fact that partisan divisions in Washington have prevented us from addressing our national challenges. Now is our chance to come together to prove that Washington is once again capable of leading this country.

Developing…

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