ecwoodrow.com - Faith, Family, Freedom

Mccain Ad: ACORN

2008-10-10T14:54:00.001-04:00

ACLU & Co. Attempt To Open Door To Voter Fraud In GA

2008-10-10T14:28:00.002-04:00

Because Georgians are racists, of course.

Voting rights groups on Thursday sued Secretary of State Karen Handel on behalf of a Cherokee County man who they said has been the victim of a methodical effort to deny him the right to vote.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, seeks to halt the state’s attempts to verify the identities and citizenship of registered voters so close to the Nov. 4 election. Attorneys for the plaintiff, Jose Morales, also want the suit to become a class action.

U.S. District Judge Jack Camp scheduled a hearing for this morning on a request for a temporary restraining order.

The suit comes the day after the U.S. Department of Justice said the state’s actions to verify identity and citizenship appear to violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The law requires states with a history of discriminatory voting practices to get approval from the federal government before making certain changes to voting and election policy.

All of this comes on the same day that a federal court in Ohio say that state's Secretary of State needs to comply with federal law by matching voter registration data with the information in the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles and Social Security Administration databases.

Don't Worry About Wall Street

2008-10-10T10:47:00.001-04:00

Dow Drops 679 Points

2008-10-09T16:41:00.003-04:00

What?! You mean if the Govt starts buying up banks, everyone is going to freak out and investor fear will skyrocket? Say it aint so!

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks tanked Thursday afternoon - with the Dow falling nearly 700 points during the session - as panicked investors dumped stocks across the board.

Bank lending remained tight as nervous institutions continued to hoard cash. Treasury prices fell, raising their corresponding yields. The dollar gained versus the euro and the yen. Oil and gold prices fell.

According to early tallies, the Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 679 points, or 7.3%, after hitting its lowest point since May 27, 2003 during the session.

The Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) index lost 7.6% after touching its lowest point since May 1, 2003. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) lost 5.5% after hitting its lowest point since July 1, 2003.

A key measure of investor fear hit an all-time high: The CBOE Volatility (VIX) index, or the VIX, topped 61.

Conservative Funny Of The Day

2008-10-09T15:37:00.002-04:00

“I was talking to a friend of mine’s little girl the other day. I asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up and she replied, “I want to be President!” Both of her parents are liberal Democrats and were standing there. So then I asked her, “If you were President what would be the first thing you would do?”

She replied, “I’d give houses to all the homeless people.”

“Wow - what a worthy goal.” I told her, “You don’t have to wait until you’re President to do that. You can come over to my house and mow, pull weeds, and sweep my yard, and I’ll pay you $50. Then I’ll take you over to the grocery store where this homeless guy hangs out, and you can give him the $50 to use toward a new house.”

Since she is only 6, she thought that over for a few seconds. While her Mom glared at me, she looked me straight in the eye and asked, “Why doesn’t the homeless guy come over and do the work, and you can just pay him the $50?”

And I said, “Welcome to the Republican Party.”

Her folks still aren’t talking to me.

He's Mad As Heck, And He Ain't Gonna Take It Anymore

2008-10-09T15:22:00.001-04:00

AFA Ends McDonalds Boycott

2008-10-09T13:59:00.003-04:00

AFA has decided to call off the boycott of McDonalds now that it has decided to stay neutral in the Culture War.

Great news! Because of AFA supporters like you, McDonald’s has told AFA it will remain neutral in the culture war regarding homosexual marriage. AFA is ending the boycott of McDonald’s. As you know, AFA called for the boycott in May after McDonald’s joined the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC).

McDonald’s said it’s Vice President, Richard Ellis, has resigned his position on the board of directors of NGLCC and his seat on the board will not be replaced. McDonald’s also said that the company has no plans to renew it’s membership in NGLCC when it expires in December.

In an e-mail to McDonald’s franchised owners, the company said, “It is our policy to not be involved in political and social issues. McDonald’s remains neutral on same sex marriage or any ‘homosexual agenda’ as defined by the American Family Association.”

We appreciate the decision by McDonald’s to no longer support political activity by homosexual activist organizations. You might want to thank your local McDonald’s manager.

Fox News: U.S. Considering Taking Ownership Stakes in Banks

2008-10-09T10:33:00.003-04:00

Because Government takeovers of private business restores confidence, right?

An administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because no decision has been made, said the $700 billion rescue package passed by Congress last week allows the Treasury Department to inject fresh capital into financial institutions and get ownership shares in return.

Don't Be Scared Of The Angry Red Giant

2008-10-08T10:01:00.004-04:00

They're killing themselves.

The recent military incursion into Georgia, brutal as it was, may represent a futile attempt to show force while Russia still has force. The number of young men of military age in the population is crashing -- as is the number of young women who could give birth to future soldiers.

In order to understand this, consider this shocking headline from the St. Peterburg Times [Russia]: "Experts -- 64 Percent of Russian Pregnancies End in Abortion."

[Read More...]

Hell Just Froze Over

2008-10-07T14:26:00.003-04:00

I agree with George McGovern!

HuckPAC: One Month to Go

2008-10-07T12:30:00.001-04:00

Greetings, Team—

We are one month from the elections and as of today, the poll numbers indicate we have our work cut out for us. Americans are angry. VERY ANGRY. The recent bailout controversy has only stirred the seething rage that is bubbling up among taxpayers.

The sad thing about voter anger is that it’s misdirected. While there is plenty of blame and fault to go around for both parties, there really is hard evidence that John McCain tried in vain to get attention focused on the totally absurd lending practices of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that are at the heart of the meltdown. Barack Obama is the second highest recipient of political cash from the big bosses of these entities, and his chief economic advisor Franklin Raines took over $90 million in bonuses from Fannie Mae. That’s right---$90 MILLION. Do you really think that Barack Obama will lead “reform” of a system that he has helped grease?

His radical views on when life begins and his priority of protecting abortion rights over the right to life for the unborn are beyond most of even the most extreme leftists. His work with ACORN, a radical political organization is especially noteworthy in light of the fact that ACORN received over $760 million in “fees” from banks to help push people into “N.I.N.J.A. loans.” (These are loans made to people with No Income; No Job; and No Assets, thus NINJA loans.)

Imagine Obama as President and Democrats holding majorities in the House and with a possible 60 vote margin Senate.

Goodbye, 2nd amendment rights.

Goodbye, protection for the unborn.

Goodbye, tax breaks.

Goodbye, diligence against state sponsored terrorism from rogue governments like Iran, North Korea, and others.

Goodbye, parental rights as a fundamental right to not be supplanted by the government.

Goodbye, holding traditional marriage as one man, one woman for life.

I’m not ready to accept that.

I want you to join me in the final 30 days to push forward with Huck PAC candidates, starting with John McCain and Sarah Palin, down to those running for the state legislature to stand for something. Stand for life, for marriage, for the Fair Tax, for our 2nd amendment rights, Fight for the pre-eminent role of mothers and fathers in raising their children, for lower taxes, for controls on government spending, and Demand an end to the disgusting corruption of Washington that led to this massive economic meltdown.

We want to ask all our HuckPAC supporters to consider giving at least $5 for each of these 5 reasons that this election is important:

1. Protection of Human Life

2. Traditional Marriage

3. Tax policy that doesn't punish people for working, but rewards them

4. 2nd amendment rights

5. Supreme Court and Federal Court judge selection

That would be a $25 contribution recognizing the importance of these issues. Hey, you might have 3 or 4 other issues so feel free to add $15 or $20 if you like !

Naturally, expenses during the month of October are the heaviest we’ll have this year due to the proximity of the elections, but this is the most important appeal we’ll have this year. I hope we can count on you today!

Fighting to the end,

Mike Huckabee

P.S. Over the next 28 days I am going to be releasing journal entries, favorite pictures and videos from the past year and a half of my journeys and voyages across this great country. In order for Huck PAC to release these special moments, we must reach 100 contributions each day for a grand total of 2800 contributions for the next 28 days. These 100 pledges of support each day will show the pundits, the left and the country that the conservative movement is poised to take this election and preparing to continue our momentum into 2010.

New Poll: Do You Support The Bailout Just Passed By Congress?

2008-10-04T09:05:00.002-04:00

Are you for it or against it? Vote in the poll on the right, and discuss your vote here.

HuckPAC: Wall Street Goes Trick-Or-Treating Early

2008-10-04T08:53:00.002-04:00

Dear Huck PACkers-

I wanted to write you to convey my disgust with the passing of this 451 page bailout bill. Wall Street has gone trick-or-treating in Washington a little bit early this October. Wall Street is getting the treats and America is getting tricked. The “Axis of Arrogance” has tried to pull the wool over the eyes of the Main Streeters and in doing so hid a sty full of pork in a bill whose constitutionality is questionable at best. Friends, the folks in Washington continue to treat your wallet as their tip jar and this has to stop.

Just check out a few provisions in this bill:

Sec. 211. Transportation fringe benefit to bicycle commuters.

Sec. 308. Increase in limit on cover over of rum excise tax to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Sec. 309. Extension of economic development credit for American Samoa.

Sec. 312. Deduction allowable with respect to income attributable to domestic production activities in Puerto Rico.

Sec. 317. Seven-year cost recovery period for a motorsports racing track facility.

Sec. 322. Tax incentives for investment in the District of Columbia.

Sec. 325. Extension and modification of duty suspension on wool products; wool research fund; wool duty refunds.

At a time when we are at “ground zero” and on the verge of an all out financial collapse, I am disgusted that these provisions were made.

At a time when Congress had the opportunity to do something to help the American economy, they lived up to their low approval rating. The only thing we can thank Congress for right now is that they are consistent. They are consistently spending money that doesn’t belong to them, consistently expanding pork projects, consistently doing nothing to help rebuild the American economy and consistently hurting the future of our country. Ultimately, they are consistently ignoring their own values, principles and beliefs and as a result, the American People are going to suffer.

Without the bailout there might have been some temporary hurt, but the long term effect will be far worse because of the precedent this bill has set and the “Bail-Aholics” it will create. Within minutes of the bill passing the state of California was already in line asking to be the next recipient of a Government hand out. We are creating an economy where you cannot fail and by doing so disabling our ability to ever truly succeed.

I am afraid this is just the beginning of the bailouts. We must not go silent into the night, we have to continue to fight and stand up against these legislators.

Consider contributing $4.51, a penny for every page of this ludicrous bill to Huck PAC. We will use it to help fund a changing of the guard and restore trust back to our government.

Stay strong in the fight,

Mike Huckabee

Video: What Just Happened?

2008-10-03T15:33:00.001-04:00

Video: Burning Down The House: What Caused Our Economic Crisis?

2008-09-27T11:25:00.003-04:00

Send this video to everyone you know. It has a lot of great information that needs to get out! Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5tZc8oH--o

They've already tried to ban this video, so be sure to view it and get the information.

HuckPAC: "Huckabee"

2008-09-25T15:32:00.000-04:00

All of us have been talking about the show I will be doing for Fox News. I wanted to bring you up to date on what is going on.

The show will be called "Huckabee." I'm sure the name will make it easy for all of you to find it. "Huckabee" will air this Saturday and Sunday at 8 PM Eastern time on Fox News Channel. Please be sure to watch, and let me know what you think. Send this email on to your family and friends and invite them to watch also.

God Bless

Mike Huckabee

Economic Crisis Solved!! (Updated)

2008-09-25T11:10:00.002-04:00

Another alternative to the bailout:

Ladies & Gentlemen:

I'm against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.

Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000.00 to America in a "We Deserve It Dividend Program."

To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U. S. citizens 18+.

Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up.

Divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billion. This equals $425,000.00

My plan is to give $425,000.00 to every citizen 18+ as a "We Deserve It Dividend."

Of course, it would NOT be tax free.

Let's assume a tax rate of 30%.

Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes.

That sends $25,500,000,000.00 right back to Uncle Sam.

But it means every adult 18+ has $297,000.00 in their pocket.

A husband and wife have $595,000.00.

What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?

Pay off your mortgage--housing crisis solved.

Repay college loans--what a great boost to new grads.

Put away money for college--best educated citizens in the world.

Save in a bank--create money to loan entrepreneurs.

Buy a new car--create jobs.

Invest in the market--capital drives growth.

Pay for you parents' medical insurance--health care improves.

Enable deadbeat dads to come clean--or else.

Remember, this is for every adult U. S. citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is currently cutting back. Of course this includes members of the Armed Forces.

If we're going to redistribute wealth, let's really do it...instead of trickling out a puny $1,000.00 (buys your vote?) economic incentive being proposed by one of our Presidential candidates.

If we're going to do an $85 billion bail-out, let's bail out every U. S. Citizen 18+.

As for AIG--liquidate it. Sell off its parts. Let American General go back to being American General.

Sell off the real estate. Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.

Here's my rationale: We deserve it and AIG doesn't.

Sure, it's a crazy idea that can "never work", but can you imagine the coast-to-coast block party?

How do you spell "economic boom?"

I trust my fellow Americans know how to use the $85 billion "We Deserve It Dividend" better than do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington, D.C.

Remember, the plan only costs $59.5 billion because $25.5 biollion is returned instantly as taxes to Uncle Sam.

Ahh...I feel so much better getting that off my chest.

Kindest personal regards,

Update: I should've checked the math on this one, but you'd only get 425 dollars from that type of bailout. Silly viral emails getting my hopes again. :)

Fox News: McCain Suspends Campaign to Help With Bailout

2008-09-24T15:07:00.002-04:00

A very good move on behalf of Mccain, putting "America First":

John McCain announced that he will suspend his presidential campaign on Thursday to return to Washington to help with bailout negotiations. He urged his opponent Barack Obama to do the same.

The Arizona senator also asked the Presidential Debate Commission to postpone Friday’s scheduled debate with Obama so that he can work on the financial crisis bailout plan now on Capitol Hill.

“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,” McCain said.

McCain’s move suggests he’s serious about dealing with the bailout since he had negotiated strongly to make the first of the three debates between the candidates on foreign policy, McCain’s strong suit.

McCain has fallen in recent polls as a result of the economic crisis. The latest FOX News/Opinion Dynamics poll shows Obama has taken a 45-39 percent lead over McCain, in large part because of independents. A Washington Post poll also showed that most voters think Obama has a better approach to dealing with the economy than McCain.

McCain aides said that he did not think the Bush administration’s $700 billion bailout plan, being shepherded by Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, adequately addresses the crisis at hand.

McCain announced his decision shortly after the White House said President Bush will deliver an address to the nation Wednesday night.

Video: Wounded Veterans

2008-09-24T14:48:00.000-04:00

HuckPAC: Bailing On Our Principles

2008-09-24T10:42:00.004-04:00

Posted on 9/22 at HuckPAC.com:

"Frankly, I’m disappointed and disgusted with my own Republican party as I watch them attempt to strong-arm a bailout of some of America’s biggest corporations by asking the taxpayers to suck up the staggering results of the hubris, greed, and arrogance of those who sought to make a quick buck by throwing the dice. They lost, but want the rest of us to cover their bets so they won’t be effected in their lavish lifestyles as they figure out how to spend their tens of millions and in some cases, hundreds of millions in bonuses and compensation which was their reward for not only sinking their companies, but basically doing the same to the entire American economy.

It’s especially disconcerting to see the very people who pilloried me during the Presidential campaign for being a “populist” and not “understanding Wall Street” to now line up like thirsty dogs at the Washington, D. C. water dish, otherwise known as Congress, and plead for help. I thought these guys were the smartest people in America! I thought that taxpayers like you and I were similar to the people at the U. N. who have no translator speaking into their headset - that we just needed to trust those that I called the power bunch in the “Wall Street to Washington axis of power.”

The idea of a government bailout in which we’d entrust $700 billion to one man without Congressional oversight or accountability is absurd. My party or not, that is insanity and I believe unconstitutional.

Will there be far-reaching consequences without some intervention? Probably, but we honestly don’t know since we’ve really never seen this level of greed and stupidity all rolled into one massive move. But may I suggest that letting “Uncle Sugar” step in and bail out the billionaires who made the mess will be far worse and will start a long line of companies and individuals who will demand the same of the government---which last time I checked means that they will be demanding it out of YOU and ME. This is not money that Congress is risking from THEIR pockets or future, but ours. Many if not most of us have already experienced lost value on our homes, retirement accounts, and pensions. Now they’d like for us to assume some further risks so they won’t have to.

What happened to the “free market” idea? Is that only our view when we WIN and when we LOSE, we ask the government to come in and take away the pain?

If you are a small business owner, is this the way it works at your place? When you have a bad month, a bad year, or face having to close, can you go up to Congress and get them to write YOU a fat check to take away your risk?

Some of what contributed to this disaster is too much government in the form of Sarbanes/Oxley. Some is due to the tax structure that created the hunger for companies to “game” the system. Some is the common sense that was ignored like loaning money to people who can’t pay it back.

Wall Street has become Las Vegas east, but at least in Vegas, people KNOW they are gambling and they don’t expect the government to cover their losses at the tables. In Wall Street, they do. And the American taxpayer burdens the responsibility.

If Congress wants to do something, here are some suggestions:

1. Eliminate ALL capital gains taxes and taxes on savings and dividends right now. Free up the capital and encourage investment. This is the kind of economic stimulus the Fair Tax would bring and if Congress is going to lose money, let them lose it with lower taxes, not with public dollar bailouts of private market mistakes.

2. Repeal Sarbanes/Oxley. It has failed. It was supposed to prevent this. It didn’t. Kill it.

3. Demand that the executives who steered their ships into the ground be forced to pay back the losses of their companies. Of course, they can’t, so let them work and give back to the government and they can live like the people they put on the streets or kept there. It makes no sense to put them in jail—that’s just more they will cost you and me. I’d rather them go out and earn money—just not get to keep so much of it this time. I’m not talking about limiting CEO salaries---just those of the people who now are up in Washington begging for help because they ruined their companies.

Attempts by Democrats and Republicans to blame each other is nonsense. They are both guilty and ought to own up and admit it. They all lived off big campaign contributions and the swill of the lobbyists who strong armed them into permission to steal. Enough of blame. Fix it!

This would be a start. If we don’t hold these guys responsible, we are all finished."

I can't say that I agree with all of Mike's points here. Points one and two are fine, but three presents a problem. Mike seems to be falling into the "predatory lending" myth here. I'm sure the CEO's didn't mind getting those huge salaries while their companies got run into the ground, but you can't ignore the fact that so called predatory lending was part of Clinton era regulation, and not just corporate greed. I'd say that the "Huckabee-Ramsey Plan" is the best way to avoid a bail out right now.

Huckabee Alliance: The Huckabee-Ramsey Plan

2008-09-24T09:46:00.002-04:00

Written By Adam Graham at The Huckabee Alliance:

"If you don’t do the Paulson plan, what do you do?

There are several options. The first is to do nothing and let the economy slide into a hole. Not really a responsible option, but one that House and Senate Democrats are looking at if they can’t get enough Republican votes. Senator McCain said it best on this point:

But when he was asked by ABC News’ Ron Claiborne what he would do if the fate of the bill was in his hands, he said Senate Democrats should not use his vote as the determining factor on the success of the bill.

“This issue should be - and their vote should be determined in how we can resolve this crisis and get America going again,” McCain said. “This is a huge crisis. We know, in the words of many experts and mine, this is the greatest financial crisis since World War II. So to somehow, for the Democrats to say that their vote is going to be gauged on my vote frankly doesn’t do them a great deal of credit.

“Their first and only priority should be making sure this economy recovers and get back on our feet again,” McCain said.

True, Senator, but that whole, “country first” thing ain’t their motto. For starters, both campaigns have asked for modifications of the plan. John McCain asked that there be a bi-partisan board to oversee implement of the program, that there be a path to taxpayer recovery of the bailout money, that there will be transparency in the process as to what companies are bailed out, limits on executive compensation set at $400,000 per year for companies that are bailed out, and finally, that no earmarks get included in the bail out.

Obama’s demands are similar except he didn’t specifically raise transparency on the companies being bailed out and didn’t object to the possibility (i.e. probability) of earmarks being inserted into the bill and an insistent that the bill include help for people to stay in their homes.

If the changes Senator McCain proposes were made to the bill, I could live with it. I’m not a big fan of the Senator’s, but I do appreciate the seriousness with which he’s coming at the issue, and I think Senator Obama is closer to the right track than usual. Though, the insertion of bailing out people who are facing foreclosure is actually a bit of a poison bill. The point of the bail out is to stop the economy from having a train wreck and at $700 billion, the price tag is high enough.

Of course, there is a third option to do nothing or to letting the economy go down the tank, based on proposals from the Republican Study Committee, Mike Huckabee, and personal finance guru Dave Ramsey. We’ll call it the Huckabee-Ramsey plan as a compositie of the three ideas:

1) Suspend the Capital Gains Tax for 2 years. Yeah, it’s really expensive and will run a deficit. But guess what, it’ll be a lot less expensive. The RSC says, “By encouraging corporations to sell unwanted assets, this provision would unleash funds and materials with which to create jobs and grow the economy.” Adds Mike Huckabee, “If Congress is going to lose money, let them lose it with lower taxes, not with public dollar bailouts of private market mistakes.”

2) Authorize a temporary change to accounting rules to free the market up. Says Ramsey:

However, it (Sarbanes-Oxley) does make each company each day restate what their assets are worth if sold on the market. This accounting procedure is mark to market accounting–you need to remember that. It’s a good concept and keeps companies from having loaded balance sheets.

However, it’s part of what’s caused this in the news now. Merrill Lynch was sitting with $30 billion are tied up in sub-prime loans with houses. Stupid! They get what they deserve for doing that, and I’m with you on that. Those houses didn’t become worthless all of a sudden because those people couldn’t sell their bonds. Since they couldn’t sell them, they basically gave them away for 22 cents on the dollar. Now do you think all those houses lost 80% of their value underneath that deal? No, they didn’t, so they gave them away for 22 cents on the dollar (about $6 billion total) because there was no market for them. Nobody wants to buy sub-prime bonds because they suck. They’re junk bonds. But at 22 cents on the dollar, it’s a bargain because even if you foreclosed on every one of the houses in there, you’d probably get $20 billion back out of $30 billion, and so the company that bought those for $6 billion got a deal! But there’s no market for them. That’s where these companies are stuck. They can’t sell this stuff, but accounting-wise, they’ve had to mark it down to market and it’s frozen the marketplace.

Economist Wesberry is saying that if we change that one rule and don’t force them to market down to market and just let them hold on to all the stuff, and say just on sub-primes for this period of time you can change that rule — a temporary change — that’ll free the market up. It’s seized right now; it’s frozen. This will thaw it out and get it going again. He says that’ll solve 60% of the problem … and I think he’s right.

That one accounting rule is what made Merrill Lynch sell out. That one accounting rule is what’s driving other ones into the dirt. Would you rather let them change their accounting rule or loan them $700 billion for us to buyout their bad paper?

I think I’ll let them change the accounting rule, thanks. Huckabee goes even further and suggests a repeal of Sarbanes-Oxley, which ain’t a bad idea, but is perhaps beyond the scope of this situation. Ditto to the RSC’s proposed privatization of GSE’s

3) Cover Sub-Prime Mortgages with FHA Insurance

Again quoting Dave Ramsey:

Why don’t we just take the FHA insurance program and extend it across these sub-primes? What that means is that you and I are guaranteeing the lender that they’re not going to lose as much or any money on those mortgages. Now I don’t like guaranteeing them, but I like it better than buying them. In other words, instead of $700 billion in tax-payer debt going out there to bail out these companies, just extend the insurance out. You could probably do that for less than $40 billion. It’s like a 95% savings!

Ca-ching. With suspsending the Capital Gains Tax for 2 years and covering sub-prime mortgages with FHA insurance, even assuming it’s a Zero Sum result on the revenue base (which I doubt), this would probably end up costing less than the bail out and be better for the long-term health of the economy.

The problem is that it makes far too much sense to pass in this current Congress."

Mccain Ad: Jim Johnson

2008-09-23T09:41:00.001-04:00

NYT Predicted Current Economic Meltdown

2008-09-22T10:41:00.004-04:00

On September 30, 1999, this story was written in the New York Times:

"In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.

The action, which will begin as a pilot program involving 24 banks in 15 markets -- including the New York metropolitan region -- will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. Fannie Mae officials say they hope to make it a nationwide program by next spring.

Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits.

In addition, banks, thrift institutions and mortgage companies have been pressing Fannie Mae to help them make more loans to so-called subprime borrowers. These borrowers whose incomes, credit ratings and savings are not good enough to qualify for conventional loans, can only get loans from finance companies that charge much higher interest rates -- anywhere from three to four percentage points higher than conventional loans.

''Fannie Mae has expanded home ownership for millions of families in the 1990's by reducing down payment requirements,'' said Franklin D. Raines [an Obama Advisor], Fannie Mae's chairman and chief executive officer. ''Yet there remain too many borrowers whose credit is just a notch below what our underwriting has required who have been relegated to paying significantly higher mortgage rates in the so-called subprime market.''

Demographic information on these borrowers is sketchy. But at least one study indicates that 18 percent of the loans in the subprime market went to black borrowers, compared to 5 per cent of loans in the conventional loan market.

In moving, even tentatively, into this new area of lending, Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980's.

''From the perspective of many people, including me, this is another thrift industry growing up around us,'' said Peter Wallison a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. ''If they fail, the government will have to step up and bail them out the way it stepped up and bailed out the thrift industry.''

Under Fannie Mae's pilot program, consumers who qualify can secure a mortgage with an interest rate one percentage point above that of a conventional, 30-year fixed rate mortgage of less than $240,000 -- a rate that currently averages about 7.76 per cent. If the borrower makes his or her monthly payments on time for two years, the one percentage point premium is dropped.

Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, does not lend money directly to consumers. Instead, it purchases loans that banks make on what is called the secondary market. By expanding the type of loans that it will buy, Fannie Mae is hoping to spur banks to make more loans to people with less-than-stellar credit ratings.

Fannie Mae officials stress that the new mortgages will be extended to all potential borrowers who can qualify for a mortgage. But they add that the move is intended in part to increase the number of minority and low income home owners who tend to have worse credit ratings than non-Hispanic whites.

Home ownership has, in fact, exploded among minorities during the economic boom of the 1990's. The number of mortgages extended to Hispanic applicants jumped by 87.2 per cent from 1993 to 1998, according to Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. During that same period the number of African Americans who got mortgages to buy a home increased by 71.9 per cent and the number of Asian Americans by 46.3 per cent.

In contrast, the number of non-Hispanic whites who received loans for homes increased by 31.2 per cent.

Despite these gains, home ownership rates for minorities continue to lag behind non-Hispanic whites, in part because blacks and Hispanics in particular tend to have on average worse credit ratings.

In July, the Department of Housing and Urban Development proposed that by the year 2001, 50 percent of Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's portfolio be made up of loans to low and moderate-income borrowers. Last year, 44 percent of the loans Fannie Mae purchased were from these groups.

The change in policy also comes at the same time that HUD is investigating allegations of racial discrimination in the automated underwriting systems used by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to determine the credit-worthiness of credit applicants."

Mccain Ad: Advice

2008-09-19T11:27:00.000-04:00

Here Come The New Politics...

2008-09-18T14:57:00.003-04:00

...same as the old politics.

In a new series of Spanish language ads, the Obama Campaign is dishonestly attacking both John Mccain and Rush Limbaugh. The ads which will air in Colorado, New Mexico, Florida, and Nevada, distort quotes made by Limbaugh and then attempt to tie them to Senator Mccain. You can read the story from Fox News here.

Other than the outright distortion of Rush's statements, there was something else that caught my eye:

"The ad is meant to remind Latinos that while John McCain has one message for them in Spanish, the reality is that he caved to right wing extremists, like Rush Limbaugh and others, on the issue of immigration,” said Obama national co-chair and former Clinton Administration Transportation and Energy Secretary, Federico Peña.

I have two disagreements with this:

1. Unless Right-Wing Extremists = Mainstream America, this statement isn't true. Most Americans were against John Mccains position on the Mccain-Kennedy bill, which is why it failed.

2. Mccain hasn't changed his position on immigration. He still believes that the Mccain-Kennedy bill failed because "American's didn't believe we would secure our borders" (paraphrase).