By Larry Johnson
closeAuthor: Larry Johnson
Name: Larry Johnson
Email: larry_johnson@earthlink.net
Site: http://NoQuarterUSA.net
About: Larry C. Johnson is a former analyst at the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, who moved subsequently in 1989 to the U.S. Department of State, where he served four years as the deputy director for transportation security, antiterrorism assistance training, and special operations in the State Department's Office of Counterterrorism. He left government service in October 1993 and set up a consulting business. He currently is the co-owner and CEO of BERG Associates, LLC (Business Exposure Reduction Group) and is an expert in the fields of terrorism, aviation security, and crisis and risk management, and money laundering investigations. Johnson is the founder and main author of No Quarter, a weblog that addresses issues of terrorism and intelligence and politics. NoQuarterUSA was nominated as Best Political Blog of 2008.[1] He has worked as a private consultant on issues of international terrorism and security for the U.S. Government and private companies. Johnson has appeared as a consultant and commentator in many major newspapers and news programs.[2]
Contents [hide]
1 Background
2 Views
2.1 1996
2.2 1998
2.3 1999
2.4 2000
2.5 2001
2.6 2003
2.6.1 Plame affair
2.7 2008
3 Notes
4 References
5 External links
[edit]Background
Larry Johnson moved to Washington, D.C. in 1979 to begin work on a Ph.D. at the American University. Although he completed successfully all coursework and comprehensive exams, he did not write a dissertation. In 1978 and in 1983-85 he worked in Latin America on community development projects as a community organizer. Returning to the United States in 1985 he joined the Central Intelligence Agency, thanks in part to a letter of recommendation from Republican Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) that helped to "open doors" for him at the Agency.[3] Johnson entered on duty at the CIA in September 1985 and was a classmate of Valerie Plame. Every member of that class was undercover. After a year in the Career Trainee program, which included a stint with the Afghan Task Force, Johnson was assigned as an analyst in the Middle America Caribbean Division in the Latin American Affairs Office of the Directorate of Intelligence. He received two Exceptional Performance awards and was promoted ultimately to Senior Regional Analyst for Central America.
Johnson remained undercover in the CIA until October 1989, when he resigned from the CIA and started a new job in the Office of Counter Terrorism at the Department of State. Johnson played an instrumental role in launching the Terrorism Rewards program international advertising campaign (working with Diplomatic Security officers Brad Smith and Michael Parks). [4] Johnson also was involved in a variety of crisis management response operations, including the release of hostages from Lebanon and liaison with the Pan Am 103 families. He left government service in October 1993 and started his own business as a consultant.
After leaving government service, Johnson became a frequent guest on many major television news shows when a question of terrorism came up. He was first interviewed by CNN following the capture of Carlos the Jackal. Johnson subsequently appeared on CNN, ABC's Nightline, CBS, the BBC, MSNBC, the Jim Lehrer News Hour, NBC, and NPR. In December of 1999, for example, Johnson was hired by NBC to serve as its terrorist expert for the Y2000 and was in Time Square with Tom Brokaw and Katie Couric ("a lot of fun and the best way to see in the New Year"). Johnson also was hired in January 2002 as a Fox News Analyst and remained under contract until February 2003.
Since 1994 a significant focus of Johnson's consulting work has been with the U.S. military special operations forces in scripting and conducting military counter terrorism exercises. He traveled under orders from the U.S. military to Iraq in May 2006 to work on a short term project.
A registered Republican who supported President Bush in 2000, Johnson became a strong critic of the Bush administration in May 2003 for its conduct of the war in Iraq and, a few months later, for its role in the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame.[5] He was also featured in the 2004 political documentary Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism. Since Robert Novak's controversial disclosure of Valerie Plame as a CIA operative in July 2003, Johnson has contributed to public discourse on intelligence matters, often sparking further controversy. He has been interviewed by both the mass media and the alternative media and published commentaries on a variety of issues, including the Plame affair, the controversy concerning Mary McCarthy, and the resignation of Porter Goss as Director of Central Intelligence.
[edit]Views
This article or section may contain an inappropriate mixture of prose and timeline.
Please help convert this timeline into prose or, if necessary, a list.
[edit]1996
In 1996, Johnson noted that terrorism worldwide was on the decline. "Terrorist incidents [both internationally and in the US] have fallen to levels not seen since the 1970s. Whether measured by the number of incidents, the number of fatalities, or the number of groups, raw statistics demonstrate that the level of terrorist violence has declined since the mid-1980s. In fact, the evidence suggests terrorism was more widespread and deadly 10 years ago."[6]
He also wrote an op-ed piece for the New York Times suggesting that the newer and more deadly terrorist threat to the U.S. was embodied by "networks of terrorists, mostly foreign, working within its borders." Exemplifying this threat was Ramzi Yousef, one of the masterminds behind the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center. In the article, Johnson suggests that enhanced cooperation between intelligence agencies, particularly the FBI and CIA, is mandatory to meet the growing threat of terror networks.[7]
[edit]1998
In 1998, Johnson argued that while overall terrorism was declining, the threat from bin Laden and al-Qaeda should be the focus of American counterterrorism policy:
The nature of the threat posed by Bin Ladin is highlighted by my final chart, number 7. Osama Bin Ladin and individuals associated with him have killed and wounded more Americans than any other group. This chart also illustrates that groups such as Hamas and the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) prior to 1998 have killed more foreigners in the anti-US terrorist attacks. If we take into account the bombings of the US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, Osama's status as the most lethal terrorist is certain.[8]
In addition, he told USA Today that bin Laden had participated in "virtually every major attack of terrorism against the United States" in the 1990s. Johnson underlined the threat posed by bin Laden, saying that he was possessed by "hatred and craziness." If left unanswered, "he would continue to terrorize Americans around the world. He has no compunction about killing women and children. He's a complete egalitarian in his murderous attitude."[9]
[edit]1999
In an interview with PBS's Frontline for its 1999 program, Hunting bin Laden, Johnson discussed Osama bin Laden.[10] According to Johnson, Americans had "tended to make Osama bin Laden sort of a superman in Muslim garb." "Actually," he continues, "Osama bin Laden, in my view, represents more of a symptom of a problem, and the problem is this: the Saudi Arabian government, not just Osama bin Laden but many people in Saudi Arabia, have been sending money to radical Islamic groups for years." Johnson continued:
When you look at who's killed Americans in the last 10 years, the individuals he's supported and backed--I'm basing that upon the initial information that's been released in the indictments and conversations with others in the intelligence communities--Osama bin Laden has been the one killing Americans. No other terrorist group in the world has been out killing Americans except for Osama bin Laden.... Osama bin Laden remains out there as the one really targeting us. So, we recognize that he's the threat. He's serious about wanting to kill Americans, but as long as he's in Afghanistan, as long as he doesn't have access to a cell phone, as long as he can't just hop on a plane and travel wherever he wants without fear of being arrested, his ability to plan and conduct terrorist operations is extremely limited. We have to recognize [that] he would like to do a lot of damage. He would like to kill Americans, but wanting to is different from being able to, having the full capabilities in place.[11]
In the interview, Johnson doubted the ability of members of bin Laden's organization to plan and put their lives on the line:
There's not another Ali or Mustafa out there at this point and Osama bin Laden in my view has not been a very effective organizer or leader. He talks a great game and puts out terrific threats as far as stirring the passions in the United States and maybe firing up the imaginations of some young Muslims throughout the world. But when push comes to shove, can he get a group of people who are together who will say: we are going to plan an operation, we're going to put our lives on the line, we're going to go out and try and kill people and we don't care what the consequence is? It hasn't happened.[12]
Frontline asked:
[Is it] ... fair to say what you're saying is that the president of the United States, his national security advisor, his deputy national security advisor for counter-terrorism, are basically blowing smoke [about the danger posed by bin Laden] and his followers]?
Johnson responded:
They're grossly exaggerating the problem. They are hyping it. They shouldn't be talking about rising terrorism. Instead of saying "terrorism's rising," it's not. "Terrorism is spreading," it's not. "More people are dying from terrorism," not the case. But what they should be saying is, "There's one individual out there that really doesn't like us, and he's made it his mission in life to kill Americans, and we've gotta deal with him." But we need to have a voice of reason in that process instead of putting ourselves out crying wolf, because this is essentially what's taking place right now. They call it the administration that cries wolf.[12]
[edit]2000
Johnson co-authored an article in 2000 with Milt Bearden which focused on the threat posed by al-Qaeda specifically, rather than terrorism trends in general. Beardon and Johnson note that new information emerging about the bombings at Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 points to the threat posed by Imad Mugniyah and Osama Bin Laden will require "a coordinated policy that will employ a full range of covert, clandestine, diplomatic, and military operations," concluding:
The Clinton Administration has shot its bolt on the terrorist problem with small effect, and no last minute show of force will change the record. A new administration can start afresh with a more sharply defined set of terrorism goals – Mughniyeh and bin Laden and their protectors for starters – and bring the full, coordinated force of American diplomatic, military, and intelligence capabilities to bear on the problem.[13]
[edit]2001
After Johnson's testimony to the special forum at the U.S. Senate, Gary J. Schmitt, executive director and CEO of the Project for the New American Century, refers in the Daily Standard (blog) to an op-ed piece Johnson wrote two months prior to the 9/11 attacks, claiming that Johnson argued that the US had little to fear from terrorism.[14]
In an editorial entitled "The Declining Terrorist Threat," published in the New York Times on 10 July 2001, Johnson says:
Judging from news reports and the portrayal of villains in our popular entertainment, Americans are bedeviled by fantasies about terrorism. They seem to believe that terrorism is the greatest threat to the United States and that it is becoming more widespread and lethal. They are likely to think that the United States is the most popular target of terrorists. And they almost certainly have the impression that extremist Islamic groups cause most terrorism.... None of these beliefs are based in fact.... While terrorism is not vanquished, in a world where thousands of nuclear warheads are still aimed across the continents, terrorism is not the biggest security challenge confronting the United States, and it should not be portrayed that way.[15]
Ten days after the 9/11 attacks, after quoting the above passage, Timothy Noah concludes a post in his "Chatterbox" feature at Slate: "Johnson's analysis, we now see, was bold, persuasive, and 100 percent wrong."[16] Johnson defended himself against such attacks:
The rightwing is resurrecting an op-ed I wrote in July 2001. I stand by the full article. It is still relevant today. I am accused, incorrectly, of ignoring the threat of terrorism. In fact, I correctly noted that the real threat emanated from Bin Laden and Islamic extremism. President Bush, for his part, ignored the CIA warning in August 2001 that Al Qaeda was posed to strike inside the United States.[17]
After September 11, Johnson appeared several times on FOX News to address the question of military action against terrorism. On 14 November, he defended the FBI's proposal to interview 5,000 students in the U.S. suspected of having information relevant to the September 11 investigations:
I think they should talk to everyone that they feel they have a need to talk to. I mean, look, this is war. This is not a legal proceeding. This isn't the O.J. Simpson trial. The folks that attacked us -- they murdered Americans. And we've got to recognize that in wartime, we should do things differently.[18]
[edit]2003
In January 2003, Johnson wrote an analysis of the relationship between the upcoming U.S. invasion of Iraq and the threat of transnational terrorism. According to Johnson, Bremer's response was to tell him that "it didn't matter what Saddam did or didn't do, we were going to war."[19] The paper warned that an invasion would "do little to destroy the infrastructure of radical Islamic terrorism responsible for the 9-11 attacks." Noting that Saddam Hussein's regime has been a longtime supporter of regional terrorist organizations such as the PLO, Johnson examines contacts between Saddam Hussein and transnational terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda:
There is no doubt that Iraq is a state sponsor of terrorism—i.e., a country that provides financial support, safe haven, training, or weapons and explosives to groups or individuals that carry out terrorist attacks. . . . According to Central Intelligence Agency data, there is no credible evidence implicating Iraq in any mass casualty terrorist attacks since 1991. . . .
Johnson notes that the period immediately leading up to 2003 saw a rise of activity surrounding terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, suggesting that "Iraq is willing to help a movement that it would otherwise oppose on ideological grounds. Nonetheless," Johnson concludes, "it is important to understand that Iraqi entreaties to Al Qaeda, are most likely intended as a tactic to bolster Iraq’s ability to fight off a U.S. invasion rather than a deep-seated theological and ideological commitment to the terrorist agenda of Bin Laden.[20]
In that analysis Johnson also warns that the U.S.-led invasion was likely to backfire:
In fact there is a serious risk that a U.S. led war against Iraq may crystallize the diffused anger in the Arab and Muslim world — a heretofore unattained goal of bin Laden and his followers — and persuade more Muslim youths to take up the terrorist banner against America and her citizens.... If we decide to invade Iraq we must be prepared for the contingency that our attack will inspire young Muslims to pursue jihad against the West in general and the United States in particular. Just as the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan rallied many Muslims, especially young adults to the cause of jihad, a U.S. attack may enable Islamic extremists to attract new followers.[20]
Johnson also gave interviews on the topic of what to do with captured al-Qaeda leaders; while he did not condone torture, he suggested that a "sleep deprivation and reward system" might be useful for getting information from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed:
I don't see a constitutional right to have eight hours of sleep. You shouldn't subject someone to freezing but they don't get to wear mink coats, either.[21]
In May 2003, Johnson joined members of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) in condemning the manipulation of intelligence for political purposes:
It is a misuse and abuse of intelligence. The president was being misled. He was ill served by the folks who are supposed to protect him on this. Whether this was witting or unwitting, I don't know, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.[22]
[edit]Plame affair
After Robert Novak wrote a column identifying the wife of former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson as a CIA officer, the media invited Johnson to comment on the ensuing scandal because he had been a member of the same Career Trainee class with Valerie Plame Wilson. For example, in October 2003, he appeared on Democracy Now to discuss the Plame affair. He told interviewer Amy Goodman that Valerie Wilson's cover should have been respected whether she was an "analyst" or a "cleaning lady": "if she's undercover she's undercover, period. If the media allows themselves to get distracted with those kinds of curve balls, they ignore the issue."[23]
He told a Senate Democratic Policy Committee in October 2003, "My classmates and I have been betrayed. Together, we have kept the secrets of each other's identities a secret for 18 years. Each and every one of us have kept that secret, whether we were in the CIA, in other government service or in the private sector. But this issue is not just about a blown cover. It is about the destruction of the very essence, the core of human intelligence collection activities: plausible deniability, apparently, for partisan domestic political reasons."[24]
Johnson testified at a special joint hearing of Congressional and Senate Democrats on 22 July 2005 about the consequences arising from the Plame affair.[25]
[edit]2008
In 2008, Johnson emerged as a staunch supporter of Hillary Clinton and a strong critic of Barack Obama. Larry Johnson's blog, NoQuarterUSA, became a rally point for Clinton supporters wary of Barack Obama's qualifications to be president. Supporters of Barack Obama insist that a story that first appeared on Johnson's blog--a report that Republican operatives have a tape of Michelle Obama making racially insenstive comments about caucasians--has been "refuted" Barack Obama's Fight the Smears website.[26]. However, Johnson never claimed to have the tape and reported that the Republican operatives controlling it intended to release the tape sometime after the Democratic Convention in August 2008. On October 21, however, he asserted that the operative in possession of the tape had been instructed by the McCain campaign not to release it.[27]
[edit]Notes
^ http://2008.weblogawards.org/polls/best-political-coverage/
^ Larry C. Johnson, "About Me," No Quarter (personal blog).
^ "Former CIA Official Larry Johnson Delivers Democratic Radio Address," transcript posted on official Democratic National Committee's website for The Democratic Party, July 23, 2005], accessed November 21, 2006.
^ Interview with Larry Johnson, confirmed by his supervisor
^ "Ex-CIA official Blasts Bush on Leak of Operative's Name: Democrats' Radio Address Focuses on White House Aides' Role," CNN July 23, 2005, accessed November 21, 2006.
^ Gail Russell Chaddock, "Why Terrorists Pick On the French," Christian Science Monitor (5 December 1996) p. 1.
^ Larry Johnson, "Terrorists Among Us," New York Times (20 August 1996) p. A19.
^ Terrorism Today
^ Lee Michael Katz, "The Hunt for Bin Laden," USA Today (21 August 1998) p. 1A.
^ See Transcript of original interview with Larry C. Johnson, as broadcast on Frontline in 1999. Cf. "Interview: Larry C. Johnson," for Hunting bin Laden, transcript of interview broadcast on Frontline subsequently on 13 April 2001. See also dedicated PBS webpages for media links: Iraq and the War on Terror, Frontline PBS, online featured programs, accessed 19 November 2006.
^ frontline: hunting bin laden: interviews: larry c. johnson | PBS
^ a b [1].
^ As posted in [2].
^ Gary Schmitt, [ 07/25/2005 "Meet Larry Johnson: The CIA official Turned Democratic Spokesman Has a Pre-9/11 Mindset," Daily Standard (blog), July 25, 2005, accessed November 20, 2006.
^ *Larry C. Johnson, "The Declining Terrorist Threat," The New York Times 10 July 2001: A19.
^ Timothy Noah, "(Not Exactly a) Whopper of the Week: Larry C. Johnson," Chatterbox: Gossip, speculation, and scuttlebutt about politics (blog), hosted by Slate September 21, 2001, accessed November 20, 2006. Note the full context of this quotation:
It is, to be sure, a little bit cheap (and slightly at odds with the usual parameters of this feature) to criticize someone for making an erroneous prediction, particularly after a tragedy. Chatterbox is especially reluctant to tag Johnson because Johnson's op-ed was argued forcefully, backed up meticulously with factual data, and bravely at odds with conventional wisdom at the time of its publication. Add in that Johnson now makes his living as a consultant to corporations about terrorism, and therefore had everything to gain by exaggerating the dangers terrorism poses, and the guy practically looks like a hero. Chatterbox, who two decades ago was an editor for the New York Times op-ed page, would have published Johnson's piece had he still been an editor there this past July. In his capacity at Slate, Chatterbox might well have written up Johnson's prediction, and perhaps even endorsed it.
But boy, is he glad he didn't! Johnson's analysis, we now see, was bold, persuasive, and 100 percent wrong. Sadly, a mistake this embarrassing cannot be ignored. As a fellow skeptic, Chatterbox in all sincerity wishes Johnson better luck next time.
^ Larry C. Johnson, "Johnson vs. President Bush," re-posted and updated by SusanHu at DailyKos (blog) July 25, 2005.
^ FOX News Interview with John Garrett (14 November 2001) Transcript #111405cb.260.
^ [3].
^ a b Larry C. Johnson, "Setting the Record Straight on Iraqi Terrorism," posted in Booman Tribune: A Progressive Community (personal blog) 27 January 2003. accessed 19 November 2006.
^ Qtd. in Toby Harnden, "CIA 'pressure' on al-Qa'eda chief," The London Telegraph 5 March 2003: 16.
^ Qtd. in Nicolas D. Kristof, "Save Our Spooks," The New York Times 30 May 2003:A6.
^ Democracy Now (3 October 2003)[4]
^ U.S. Senate, Democratic Policy Committee Meeting on the CIA Operative Leak, (24 October 2003).
^ Letter to the Senate.[Needs full source citation; see "References" section.]
^ Tumulty, Karen (2008-06-12). "Will Obama's Anti-Rumor Plan Work?", Time Magazine. Retrieved on 20 June 2008.:"a story that apparently first made a big splash on the Internet in late May in a post by pro-Hillary Clinton blogger Larry Johnson"
^ Whitey Tape, API, Phil Berg, and Andy MartinSee Authors Posts (1090) on September 25, 2008 at 12:35 PM in Chuck Schumer, Current Affairs, Democrats, Economy, FDIC, Franklin Raines, Hank Paulson, Home Loan, Housing & Housing Crisis
I am sitting in Europe watching Barney Frank, Charles Schummer, and Chris Dodd, among others, parade across the screen offering to lead the charge to solve the Wall Street mess. With the effort to assign blame for the meltdown in the mortgage market led by the collapse of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae well underway I wondered, what did they do to try to fix this looming problem. So let’s look at who did what over the last two years. The Democrats were in charge of the Congress. Did they try to avert the problem? Did they warn? Did they reign in the abuse? Here are the facts for 2007, you tell me:
January 1, 2007 The International Economy
Fannie and Freddie post-election: the significance of the Democratic victories.
BYLINE: Owen Ullman
A decade ago, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the United States’ two mortgage financing behemoths, were flying high. They were among the most profitable companies in the world, had political connections to the White House and Congress, earned enormous bonuses for their corporate chieftains, and did not have to play by the same rules as other corporations. For all that, they could thank their congressional charters, which established them as Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs).
Those charters, which remain in place, grant them lines of credit from the Treasury, exempt them from local taxes, allow lower capital requirements than banks must meet, and spare them the mandatory disclosure requirements imposed on other public corporations. Most importantly, the implicit guarantee that Uncle Sam would bail them out in a crisis means a lower risk premium of roughly twenty-five basis pointswhen they borrow money. That quarter-point advantage is the basis oftheir lucrative business of buying and securitizing mortgages in thesecondary market.
As they grew larger and richer, critics warned that their lack of transparency and weak federal oversight would get them in deep trouble. Not a chance, they countered arrogantly. Well guess what? Like Icarus flying to close to the sun, the two companies have fallen far andfast onto their–dare we say–fannies.
It turns out the critics were right on the mark about the abuses that could result from lax accountability. Freddie paid a fine in 2003to settle charges that it misstated prior earnings by nearly $5 billion. Last December, Fannie reported that it overstated past profits by $6.3 billion. Meanwhile, federal regulators are trying to recover bonuses the top executives of each company received during the time earnings were misstated. In a suit filed against Fannie on December 18 to recover $115 million in compensation, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) said former Fannie Mae CEO Franklin D.Raines and other executives used numerous ruses to boost the company’s bottom line, and thus their bonuses.
Yet amid all the turmoil, lawsuits, and financial uncertainty befalling the companies, the current management teams at Fannie and Freddie have something to be thankful for in 2007: Democratic control of Congress.
The Democrats are less likely than Republicans to rein in the two companies’ financial practices. For the most part, Democrats like having leverage over the two GSEs so they can prod them to establish larger funds to make housing more affordable to low-income families. It is one of the top goals that the new House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) has promised to pursue.
Frank, who has one of the sharpest minds in Congress, also has predicted that Congress will pass a bill in 2007 to tighten regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That may be his intention, but the political reality is that the Democratic Party has many higher prioritiesto pursue after twelve years out of power. Frank’s counterpart in the Senate, Chris Dodd (D-CT) has not expressed any interest in going after the GSEs. So it is likely that any legislation will remain on the backburner.
18 August 2007 The Washington Post
Higher Caps Urged For Fannie, Freddie; Democrats Seek Bigger Role for Firms
BYLINE: David S. Hilzenrath; Washington Post Staff Writer
Leading Democrats pressed their case yesterday to give Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a larger role in the troubled mortgage markets, arguing that the two companies should be allowed to buy bigger mortgages and more of them.
The market upheaval has shifted a long-running discussion of the government-sponsored finance companies from the esoteric edges of inside-the-Beltway policy arguments to the forefront of the debate over how Washington should respond to a credit crunch. It has given supporters of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fresh ammunition to challenge those who think the companies should be kept on a tighter leash.
Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and a candidate for president, told reporters that regulators should raise limits on the companies’ mortgage investments by 5 percent so they can pump more money into the housing finance system. Together, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac hold about $1.4 trillion of mortgages and securities backed by mortgages.
Dodd was elaborating on a position he staked out days earlier and was firing back at President Bush, who last week said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be reformed before the government considers loosening their restraints.
Dodd said Congress can’t pass a reform bill fast enough to deal with the crisis at hand.
20 September 2007 The New York Times
Fannie Mae to Be Allowed to Expand Its Portfolio
BYLINE: By ERIC DASH
A government regulator gave Fannie Mae permission yesterday to slightly increase the amount of mortgages it can buy for its investment portfolio, a move that analysts say will do little to ease the strain on the housing market.
The moves, along with similar ones for Freddie Mac, should give the nation’s two biggest mortgage buyers a bit more flexibility in managing their portfolios. The changes are also intended to encourage the companies to purchase as much as $20 billion each in subprime loans.
But just two days ago, Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, in a letter to Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts said relaxing the portfolio restrictions on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could prove ”ill advised.”
Wall Street analysts said that Ofheo’s changes would do little to ease the pressures on the housing market. And Fannie Mae, which has lobbied to raise the portfolio limit by 10 percent, and several Democratic lawmakers said yesterday that the moves did not go far enough.
In a statement, Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, the chairman of the Banking Committee and a Democratic candidate for president, called Ofheo’s decision ”timid and inadequate.” He said the administration was ignoring the severity of the subprime mortgage crisis.
Others, however, suggested it could be a way for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to start regaining Ofheo’s trust.
”I actually think this was a smart way of giving the enterprises an opportunity to prove themselves,” said Josh Rosner, a managing director at Graham Fisher & Company who has been critical of Fannie Mae. Under the requirements, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac must provide more frequent and detailed financial disclosures, including a monthly report that should more clearly parse out their purchases of subprime loans. . . .
It also came just two days after Mr. Bernanke sent a letter to Mr. Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, that defended the current portfolio limits and urged Congress to move cautiously if it considers letting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buy mortgages over the current $417,000 limit.
16 November 2007 The Investor’s Business Daily
Freddie Mac’s Woes Come As Dems Try To Expand Lender; Sen. Schumer Not Giving Up; $2 bil loss, weak capital makes it harder to argue for larger Freddie, Fannie
BYLINE: SEAN HIGGINS
SECTION: FRONT PAGE NEWS; Pg. A01
LENGTH: 652 words
Freddie Mac on Tuesday declared a $2 billion third-quarter loss and warned it may have to slash its dividend and curb its mortgage buying to meet capital requirements.
A top Senate Democrat stuck to his solution: Let Freddie and Fannie get bigger. But it may be a harder case to make now. . . .
Big Problem, Bigger Solution?
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement Tuesday that it should surprise no one that the government-sponsored enterprises have been “negatively impacted” by the credit crunch.
“Today’s news does nothing to lessen the critical role that the GSEs must play in providing much-needed liquidity to a struggling market,” Schumer said.
A spokesman for Schumer confirmed he was referring to his own plan to lift the GSEs’ portfolio caps by 10%, at least temporarily.
Leading Democrats had proposed lifting the GSE caps to alleviate the broader housing crunch.
But that was before GSEs looked like part of the problem, reporting huge third-quarter losses.
To reach its mandated level of capital, Freddie Mac has signaled it may voluntarily limit its growth.
That comes as Democrats were gearing up to push the opposite direction. Schumer, and Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., have both introduced bills that would lift the caps by 10%.
Their legislation would take 85% of that increase and use it to help refinance subprime mortgages at risk of foreclosure.
Frank is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, which has authority over GSEs. Schumer is on the Senate Banking Committee. . . .
Republicans Favor Tight Curbs
Privately, a Senate Democratic aide conceded that enlarging GSEs now will be a “tough row to hoe.”
Senate Banking Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., didn’t mention expanding GSEs in a statement on Freddie’s losses.
Republicans have long opposed expanding the GSEs, arguing the risk of a financial crisis is too high.
“Because the GSEs are already large enough to pose a risk to the entire housing finance system, we must focus our efforts on making sure they are well-capitalized and well-regulated, rather than discussing ways to expand them,” Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., the ranking Republican on the Senate banking panel, said in a release.
Freddie and Fannie can borrow at lower rates because Wall Street assumes the federal government would bail out them out in a crisis.
Robert Steel, a top adviser to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, told the Hill newspaper that Congress should focus on comprehensive GSE reform rather than raising the portfolio caps.
Those fears gained greater currency in 2004 when the GSEs were forced to restate past earnings lower. The scandal resulted in the forced departure of then-Fannie Mae Chairman Franklin Raines.
Congress later passed legislation giving the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight more authority over the GSEs.
Bottomline–Frank, Schummer, and Dodd, apart from being some of the top recipients of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac largesse, did little to avert this crisis and in fact appear to have exacerbated it. So count me a sceptic when it comes to trusting these clowns to put together a bailout program. They ignored clear warnings. It is not a matter of opinion, it is a fact of history.
(small, medium and large sizes; for both dogs and cats)
+ 
Everytime I see Dodd and Schumer praised for their swift action and wonderful plans I want to scream.
Over at Talk Left, BTW wants HRC to step up on HOLC…WHAT? She’s been leading those idiots on this point for a long time now - DOES HILLARY HAVE TO CLEAN UP EVERY DEM MESS? Oh, sorry…I forgot she’s a woman and that’s her job.
I meant BTD, of course!
Larry? In Europe huh? Lucky guy!
Wow 3 articles from you on the front page! I haven’t even finished the first one. What’s Europe think of Sarah?
And thanks for keeping us informed! :-]
dayum sorry make that FOUR ARTICLES!!!
you prolific thing you (lol j/k)
Europe? Who can afford to go to Europe these days?
Yes, I find myself wanting to scream regularly. The media fix has long been in. What some inquiring minds want to know is: why Obama? Why the least substantial, least impressive, least effective, possibly most truth-impaired (this takes some doing) Dem around? What the hell is fueling this insane medial putsch???
least effective, least substance, truth-impaired, unimpressive? You answered your own question. Obie is just a puppet, easily led by Dodd, et al and the corporations.
The Dems may be making a huge mistake in thinking that Obama will be their yes man. He has intimate ties to the Chicago Machine and influential people who have agendas of their own. There is sufficient reason to believe Obama agrees with those agendas.
Dean, Reid, Pelosi, Brazile, Schumer, Dodd & the rest of the gang will be thrown under the bus if BO is elected and brings all his cronies to DC.
We shall see.
Frankly, they don’t care.
It’s about their current emotional needs, not the good of the country, party, etc.
Also, the Democrats, especially the North East Liberals, are the party of Finance Capital. The Republicans go along because they instinctively like anything that benefits rich people via deregulation.
That is what I want to know, too!
the color of his skin and a transcendent historical moment is ‘why Obama?’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDou01X5d28
Awesome.
Forasmuch as I hate to admit it, O’Reilly is correct. BOTH sides are corrupt, and if the foreign investors pull out, we’re toast.
From Reuters today:
“BEIJING–Chinese regulators have told domestic banks to stop interbank lending to US financial institutions to prevent possible losses during the financial crisis, the South China Morning Post reported on Thursday.”
And so it begins. China no longer funds our inability to live within our means, or our inability to deny mortgage loans to people who can’t afford them.
Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, and Schumer, along with Barak Obama’s Black Caucus supporters, have brought us to this point.
And John McCain tried to reform this in 2005, only to be shot down by the fat cat Democratic Party.
China has now cut us off, folks.
And that’s where we are, and we know why.
Rush Limbaugh just played a blip from 2003 - Barney Frank responding to Bush’s bill for more regulation for Fannie and Freddie. Frank claims all is well…move along…no regulation needed.
Yes, and Barney Frank helped BLOCK Senate Bill 190, sponsored by John McCain, which called for more regulation of Freddie & Fannie.
Barney Frank is full of sh*t.
Forgot to mention…..S190 was in 2005.
Three years ago.
So, Frank and Dodd were COMPLICIT in allowing the situation to get worse.
Yep. Corruption doesn’t worry about party lines. Never has. They’re a clique unto themselves.
I hate Bill O’Reilly. I do, I really, really do.
Today he is my hero. THAT rant is awesome, it needs to go viral!!! I have sent it to all my friends.
It is to the point and accurate.
Rock On Bill–I will hate you again tomorrow.
You are so funny! This gave me my good laugh for the day because I can’t stand Bill, either. But, once in a while, he does get it right!
There was no bullshit in his screed. None. The wrath was genuine and justified. But beware of course of the lesson of Se7en…
Se7en? Christian Valor?
The best way to do this what I understand is to download the clip and then upload it as a new clip. But I don’t have the technology to do that.
Was it yesterday or this morning I agreed with Dick Morris and couldn’t believe it? Now I am agreeing with O’Reilly. !!!! ???? !!!!!! The world is upside down. Unbelievable. At least on this issue O’Reilly truly is looking out for the ‘folks’, the little gul and gal.
This is the craziest Presidential election I have ever seen. All of my political beliefs have been challenged and turned upside down and inside out. I will never be the same. Neither will America.
Dang!!! The next guy that points the finger is going to have to hit the ER after O’Reilly is done with him. I hate O’Reilly but love his rants. He’s spot on with this one.
Holy fucking shit. Can Bill O’Reilly become my hero? Oh wow. Wow wow wow. And wow wow.
I am wondering if they reached a deal before McCain got there to keep him from taking any credit for making a difference in congress.
I bet Obama put them to task and told them they better get it done to try and make light of McCain putting his campaign on hold.
Still if they come to an agreement this will give the McCain campaign some breathing room.
of course all the media is announcing that they have reached a plan. Repub leaders are saying not so fast - no one has signed on to anything….
What the media isn’t telling you, is that Obama has dropped his request for mortgage help to homeowners facing foreclosure.
AP reported yesterday that Obama had called Pelosi and Reid and told them that even if that was a priority, he was willing to sacrifice that provision in the interest of a “bipartisan” deal.
Ergo….Obama threw the “little guy” under the bus, to get an agreement fast before McCain could get to Washington and get any credit for resolving the problem.
The Dodd/Frank agreement (Obama’s approval) got an oversight board, taxpayer equity, and limits on executive pay.
But the Dodd/Frank “agreement” abandoned the final request: any help for the little guy stuck in houses with bad mortgages.
Threw em under the bus, for his own political advantage.
Surprised? You shouldn’t be.
Capitulation - all day, every day - from No-Nuts Obama.
Save the Rich; “F” the proles.
That’s a big bus. Obama’s got a small nation living under it by now.
You can see that Obama does not care about our country, and can not postpone the debate. GO TO MSNBC AND VOTE
http://www.msnbc. msn.com/id/ 26875530/ ?GT1=43001
Oops.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26875530/?GT1=43001
Yes. Nothing like creating your own chaos and then trying to look heroic as you “rescue” everyone from the mess you created in the first place.
I say, “Give them a bonus! A swift kick in the pants and a boot out of office will do, thank you very much!!!”
The CBC has a large part of the culpability in this mess also. The CBC as a group has started to bug me lately, what if all the other congress critters started there own race groups. Is that ok then?. All the whites joining the Congressional White Caucus would go over big I am sure. The CBC really seems like a racist organization and somewhat of a petulant bully. My 2 cents.
Nobama!!
Those three amigos are part of the problem.
McCain coming to Washington has put the fear of God into them and they are falling over each other to try and cover their collective ass.
There is only room for one true Messiah! The Obamessiah is the true Messiah, not the Macassiah!
“McCain coming to Washington has put the fear of God into them and they are falling over each other to try and cover their collective ass”
One: He is not on one of the responsible committees so fortunately he cannot fuck this one up.
Two: The deal was done and announced before he stepped into his limo. He is the man who was not there but is desperate to be seen, a wannabe.
He’s
(a) superfluous
(b) a showboat
(c) really out of touch
(d) a phoney
(e) all of the above
I am really disappointed in this guy. To think I was thinking of turning to drink, disgracing the family and voting for that goddamn Republican.
The deal is NOT done, dumbass.
Dodd & Frank said the deal was “done” amongst Democrats.
They never even consulted with the House Republicans.
Lotta Democratic posturing based on bullshit, is what’s happening.
What a difference a few short hours and George Bush can make.
“Lotta Democratic posturing based on bullshit, is what’s happening.”
McCain had spent the day trying to get those Republican deal breakers in the House to come around. The deal came apart in the meeting with Bush. McCain playing tail end charlie without a House deal to bring to the table. Ergo your lad was nearly mute.
That is the leadership you can expect, dumbass.
Fuck the horse you rode in on as well. (Please, God, make it a mare)
Oh true.
Yes, yes and *yes*, Larry. The fox/hen house is a fact deliberately overlooked by the media and public at large.
Let me see, 1)the check is in the mail.2) trust me, would I lie? 3) we’ve struck a deal for the American people.
FranK did run a male whore house out of his DC home for awhile.. but he did JACK about protecting us.
GALLUP POLL !!!!ALL TIED UP!!!!!!!
4. as Ive said/let me make this perfectly clear
(the above is a sure sign of a mongo lie to follow)
Que?
I got this as a breaking news email:
– Lawmakers from both parties in House, Senate say they have bailout deal; will take it to Treasury Secretary Paulson.
And yet CNN is not talking about it on the air, weird!
Things come out in real time. You got the news the same time CNN did. Give their writers and producers a couple minutes to catch up. I am no fan of CNN. They suck almost as bad as MSNBO.
They are saying this because the Democrats want to exclude McCain from any role in the plan. Obie is meeting w/Bush at 2:00, so look for the media to come at 2:30 and say Obie has solved everything and Bush is kissing his feet in the Rose Garden.
Look for the media NOT to mention that Obama abandoned the stipulation giving the little guy with a bad mortgage any help by bankruptcy judges adjusting the numbers.
Obama instructed Reid & Pelosi that he was willing to sacrifice that request in the interest of a bipartisan deal.
SOB.
Frank just said live to Erin on CNBC the one sticking point with Bachus is the bankruptcy cram down part he says they have consensus on the rest and are heading to meet with Bush and MAC and the other one in an hour,
Lets see them PUSH for HILLARYS HOLC PLAN!!
Yes please get that in there NOW or it will never come and all this money will be spent wiht no break for the homeowners, including those trying to AVOID bankruptcy!
WE WANT HOLC
WE WANT HOLC
HILL-A-REE
HILL-A-REE
in fact, if I were John McCain I would insist that “Hillary Clinton’s wise HOLC suggestion be implemented” and then go tell the people that, exactly, give Hill credit
yep :0)
I can easily see John doing that, too- well within the realm of possibility
Me too, McCain would give Hill the credit. Barry would just say “what hillary said” and leave it at that.
CNN effectively work for Obama.
What a disgrace these three are.
Now they are forcing Paulson’s cash for trash down our throats.
f**kers.
I love how print media can show their inconsistency. Thank you Larry for doing the job of the liberal press MSM.
Those who control the media (the corporate board rooms) are not liberal, they are authoritarian. These are the same folks who brought us the Iraq war. Granted those who do the grunt work in the MSM tend to think of themselves as liberal and are gleefully going along because they just simply have to have their unqualified idol/symbol in office. We should remember there are decent center leaning liberals who backed Hillary who are getting a bad name by these extreme ideologue leftists.
Anyone who truly believes there’s a liberal press in this country, needs to go back to history 101 and learn to think. There hasn’t been a liberal press since Ronald Reagan’s first run. That’s just a Republican propaganda point.
How many conservatives are employed at MSNBC.
Newsweek has 8 liberal reporters and 2 conservative.
Conservatives OWN MSNBC, and bosses can tell their employees what to write and how to write. The Bosses at MSNBC currently believe that it is in their best economic interests to out-FOX FOX, but from an opposite direction. If the bosses at MSNBC decided tomorrow that this was not a good idea and that they should tack to the right, Olbermann would be relegated to play by play at high school football games, Matthews would go to the hospital to have his twitchy leg fixed, Rachel Maddow would be able to wear flannel shirts and give up make up again, and Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin would be the new anchors at MSNBC.
The fact is that MSNBC is filling the demand for a left-wing version of Fox News. That’s why the “conservatives” who supposedly own MSNBC won’t tinker with it. That’s their niche.
Sounds right to me. Just a different color bigotry. That sells alright.
You are a complete idiot if you really believe that. The press in America, on the whole, is so biased towards the left (ergo, the Democrats) it borders on the unbelievable. I have a degree in Political Science and I have been following national politics closely for nearly 40 years now, and I can assure you that the mainstream press (by that I mean the formal news networks, the news services like the Associated Press, and the major metropolitan newspapers like the NY Times and the LA Times) are solidly liberal in both editorial policy (which is their right) AND their actual reporting! It’s no accident that surveys taken among line reporters regularly show that 80%+ of them consider themselves to be “liberal”
[ADMINISTRATOR: Comment removed for inappropriate content.]
dodd should have been run out of the senate for his shady dealings with countrywide. Instead he is chairing the meeting that might decide how much tax payer dollars his criminal buddies get. What a country!
Larry, even Big Dawg tried to reform Fannie and Freddie back in 1999. Pelosi and company blocked him.
“Going very much against the media meme that the current financial crisis is all George W. Bush and the Republicans’ fault, Bill Clinton on Thursday told ABC’s Chris Cuomo that Democrats for years have been “resisting any efforts by Republicans in the Congress or by me when I was President to put some standards and tighten up a little on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac”
Bill saw it coming. Some Repubs saw it coming. The Democrats are the ones who have blindly protected Fannie and Freddie.
Don’t you just love the irony… Pelosi doesn’t want to drill for oil… Yet she had to trade her private jet in for one with bigger fuel tanks. How many old people in the Northeast will freeze to death in their own homes this winter because of people like this?
Fannie and Freddie are part of the Democratic party’s spoils or graft to loyal constituencies. Low income housing is provided, middle men get rich building it (Rezko) and the bankers have a sure thing since the taxpayers are on the hook for it. They are not going to do away with or limit the goodies to their own guys.
Good point.
Note, Chris Dodd’s committee is the Banking and Urban Housing. Most people just think it’s banking.
“Urban Housing” actually means a bottomless pit for “community developers” like Rezko to get matching federal money for “affordable housing.”
And Fannie & Freddie is where people like Rezko/Chicago pols went to get easy money for their “projects.”
“Community organizers” are the people who stir up the public to insist on that easy money.
Chris Dodd’s committee is tasked with Freddie Mach and Fannie Mae’s oversight.
But the Congressional Black Caucus, as a constituency the Democratic Party needs, made sure there was no real oversight done.
Even after Bush, Greenspan, and McCain warned them.
Chris Dodd should absolutely recuse himself from these proceedings in the Senate. Good grief. At least, he should hang his head in great shame.
Isn’t that something? dodd is out there shaking his fist and throwing thunder bolts like some Greek god. Almost hard to believe he took sweetheart loans from the same cirminals he now rails against. Ha! This is so sick it could not be made up.
Three idiots all. I listened to Frank last night on Fox….nothing he said made me feel better. Dodd is a doddering old fool and needs to be booted from Congress as do the other two! Hillary as well as McCain called for these HOLCs or a Resolution Trust Company (like used for the Savings and Loan debacle) and on the same day! My fear is that Congress will have oversight over the bailout which leaves the whole thing open and ripe for corruption! We need an extra-Congressional oversight group, not beholden to companies who get bailout money nor are they beholden to people like Schumer, Dodd and Barney Frank!
During the runup to the 2006 election, Dems stressed they’d provide needed OVERSIGHT!!
ha!
But as soon as the Dems took control of Congress - Dodd began running for president.
Chris Dodd voted to impeach Bill Clinton. ‘Nuff said.
Chris Dodd should not run again for the Senate. He’s been a lobbyist the past four years. He should just retire and collect one pay check. The one from the financial industry!
I did not know that !!
grrrr, GRRRR I say, GRRRR!!!
go back to your ‘Friends of Angelo’ casa Dodd!!!
offtopic here. sorry……just wanted all to know…..
I am very upset over this. Are Obamacrats really democrats? makes you wonder…
The leftwing blogosphere has a new villain in addition to John McCain and Sarah Palin: Bill Clinton.
They have been suspecting that Clinton has not been giving all out support to Barack Obama including his announcement to Larry King that he wouldn’t begin campaigning for Obama until after October 9 out of respect for the Jewish High Holy Days.
However, the straw that really broke the leftwing camel’s back was Clinton’s statement today to Chris Cuomo on ABC’s Good Morning America defending John McCain’s request for a debate delay until after the financial bailout crises is resolved. Here are a couple of things that Bill Clinton said that drove the left absolutely bonkers:
We know he didn’t do it because he’s afraid because Sen. McCain wanted more debates.
…I presume he did that in good faith since I know he wanted — I remember he asked for more debates to go all around the country and so I don’t think we ought to overly parse that.
This caused a firestorm of anger at both the Daily Kos and the Democratic Underground. So just how angry is the leftwing blogosphere with Bill Clinton? You can get an idea by reading this sampling of comments posted at the Democratic Underground:
SHUT THE HELL UP BILL!!! I can’t stand his ass anymore.
the reality is that his presidency was All About Bill, he screwed interns and progressive values with equal abandon, and he ushered in Republican control of all three brances of the government.
What “Jewish Holidays” was he talking about on Larry King,He said he would campaign for Obama after. The Jewish Holidays, WTF message is he trying to send. This is a man that knows exactly what his words are and mean.
Bill Clinton is a black hole that runs on egotism. I am so sick of tired, old act. Don’t go away mad, Bill. Just go away.
The Daily Kos is also quite angry with Bill Clinton as you can see:
he has now put his legacy and his wife’s future on the line with his comments this week…people will look back and place a lot of blame on him…otherwise Obama wins and Clinton is sent into the dust bowl of history…
now Bill clinton is hiding behind his freindship with McCain as cover for not attacking him. Would he be so charitable if Hillary were the nominee? i think not. The sooner we get both Clintons off the national stage, the better off we all are. I for one intend to rally New Yorkers to defeat Hillary in the next Senate race. Hers ad Bills type have seen their best days, and we should put them out to pasture. We all saw the real side of Bill Clinton during the primaries. He is a two faced little coward who once did some good things for the country, but that was then. What exactly has he done for anyonre lately besides side with Hillary in dragging down the Democratic party? besides, if he is the great all-knowing and powerful campaign person, why didnt Hillary win? Give me a break!!!!
They are not democrats… they are socialists and Marxists. The anointing of Obama as “The One” attests to that. They no longer care what middle America thinks or wants as they have calculated they no longer need them. Thank goodness for John McCain, as he is all that stands between us and them.
What I find interesting is that KOS, Huffington Post and the Americablog owner are all former republicans. I have always been a democrat and will never leave my party, but to have the likes of those turncoats tell me that I need to get out of my party and to tell one of the greatest presidents (both republican or democrat) to leave as well laughable. They need to leave my party and go join the Obamacrats. THEY ARE NOT WANTED OR NEEDED. Just get lost. They backed Obama, now deal with it.
They are not democrats… they are socialists and Marxists. The anointing of Obama as “The One” attests to that. They no longer care what middle America thinks or wants as they have calculated they no longer need them. Thank goodness for John McCain, as he is all that stands between us and them.
*************
This is one of the most powerfully poignant comment I have read recently.
Yes, McCain/Palin is the only hope we have.
Obama/Biden would be a disaster.
Just remember that he who laughs last laughs best. What a day, huh?
I think that Bill doesn’t have it in him to lie day after day and campaign for 0mama. His past couple day’s comments and the appearance with Daddy Bush should get him excused …. thank you GOD!!!!! Now we just have to find a little known non critical disease for HRC.
Why should they expect Bill to campaign for Ohitler? Especially, after Obama and his tribe of thugs tried to destroy Bill and Hillary’s reputation. They’re lucky Bill and Hillary didn’t pull a Lieberman.
They’re still trying to destroy Bill and Hill. Despicable morons.
In this case the paranoid crazies in the blogosphere may be partially correct. Bill certainly does not have his heart in this. Where they are wrong is in dragging him in with their vengeance. It will backfire and further inflame PUMAs into donating more time and cash to McCain. It will also inflame the undecideds, many of which surely admire the Clinton’s. The crazies are their own worst enemies.
Benny, do you really think Big Dawg gives a flying flip what Daily Kooks says about his legacy?
Bwahahahahaha!
My admiration and respect for Bill has increased ten fold for his comments.
I wish he would go full out PUMA and blast the Obamacrats out of our party.
Me too. I love Bill more each day.
The Obamacrats can’t handle the truth. Obambi dodged as many debates as he could and now he is whining because he can’t have things done “His Way.”
I hate to tell you this, benny, but no moderate or conservative, well-informed Democrats give a damm what Kos is saying anymore. Couldn’t care less. He doesn’t exist.
Bill Clinton told the truth, benny.
He has no obligation to tell trashy Obama lies to protect Obama from himself.
Bill Clinton is a STATESMAN.
Barak Obama is a wanna-be.
And Kos can go f*ck himself.
I was listening to NPR at lunch. They are repeating over and over that Obama has been warning about the meltdown but McCain did nothing. What about Mac’s bill to reform Freddie and Fanny? They have also run stories all morning saying that John McCain’s return to Washington was a campaign stunt. That’s a pretty hard call, IMO, because there is an unprecedented crisis and Congress, even Harry REid, asked McCain to come to Washington. I think the Democrats just realized that McCain would look good to voters because he did the unselfish thing and so they immediately started trying to spin it. I’m so sick of the the Democrats yelling that every good thing McCain does is “just purely political!” Well, it IS a political contest, no?
NPR = Nobama Public Relations
Exactly, they get no more $$ from me…
I was so shocked at the NPR’s coverage during the primaries. They ( and other media outlets) do not deserve the public trust anymore than Frank, Dodd and Schummer do.
yeah, going back to work in Washington is done for political reasons…but participating in a campaign debate is not!?!?
I think voters are smart enough to figure that out!
No, only people that behave that way think the way you do.
Oh yeah … and this would be the obama that Gibson had to explain ‘capital gains tax’ to during the PA debate….
Bullshit! FU obassole! You pathological LIAR
Oh, and no one can get around the fact that the Democrats DID NOTHING.
And the 109th Congress did what exactly, help strip the regulations that you want this COngress to address?
Dodd was vetted, Hillary was not?
So much for vetting.
Unbelievable.
Apparently vetted to guarantee that he was corrupt enough.
LOL!
Who was he vetted by, Jim Johnson?
Barney Frank made a political slap in the face to all of those trying to put the fears of America at ease. President Bush needs to talk to Congress and McCain and Obama and Frank said “there is nothing to talk about at the White House” We have it all done. We’ll just report that it’s done.
REALLY?!
Barney is short sighted and should not have tried to gain political points.
I think he knows not what he is getting himself into with partison attacks.
I was listening to a particularly outrageous interview with Barney Frank on XM radio last night as I drove up the coast after business in “the Wood” (no, not Inglewood). As Frank railed against Republican failure to regulate Fannie and Freddie against the very junk loans that he had supported up until a couple of months ago, I couldn’t help but think of the day that I had spend listening to elitist entertainment types running story lines that Barack, a near-destitute, parentless child from rurual Kansas who was constantly being picked on by white bullies, was a gift to America from God.
I finally told one of them, “I may just be an investment guy, but don’t confuse the script with reality,” which outraged him. But, at the end of the day, I make his money into more money, and business is, after all, business.
I use like Barney Frank. But, his extreme partisanship last night was very disappointing. He’s looking out for his own hide.
Retired:
This may be a bit off topic:
How about writing us a column on what we should be doing with our money and investments right now? Or with the gift of hindsight, tell us what we should have done. Thanks!
You should have moved half to gold 2 years ago.
So, Larry, I’m sure that the NY Times,which has decided to look into any ties that McCain campaign staffers have with Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac is on this story, right?
MSNBO will report that from his hotel room in Florida… Obama played the crucial role. Kool-aid will stain the floors at newsrooms everywhere as they all celebrate. The “tingle” will spread far and wide.
And just for laughs, filled up the bathtub and walked across it…
omg, that’s funny Mr. Natural…
All the noise is coming from the 82% that are decided and probably not swayable. Pay attention to the 18% (very large number) who are undecided. How are they viewing all this? I don’t think there is any way on earth they break for Obama. This election will still end up being a referendum on Obama, and the 527s haven’t even fired their first shots yet.
Very true!
And Dodd, Frank and Schumer’s financial expertise is????? Why are they in charge of this boondoggle? Can anyone list their accomplishments please?!
Fannie Mae + Obama
http://obambi.wordpress.com/
Barney Frank is a liar.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgctSIL8Lhs
Harp-
Thanks…
Excellent link.
I just cant imagine how the so-called democrats treat Bill Clinton. One of the most able and successful Presidents ever. Bill Clinton was truly amazing. His presidency was visionary. Now, the democrats treat him like a pariah, like dirt. Its very sad. what has the democratic party come to??? even the repubs have respect for past repub presidents (although they might not like all their policies). The dems really eat their own. Its time for the democratic party to grow up!!! really.
Larry: We need a like or petition or something to send Congress to include Hillary’s ideas in the bailout plan. They say it’s done, I’m afraid it’s not going to be what Hillary says it should be. She has the best plan so far. That idiot from KY–MM–said yesterday he had to accept Bernanke’s plan because there was no other plan. Well, now they’ve got another plan.
I’m writing to Durbin and Obama right now. They know I’m PUMA, it can’t hurt.
Call them here:
Congressional Switchboard (you will be connected to your representative’s and senator’s office):
1-877-851-6437
1-800-828-0498
1-866-340-9281
1-866-338-1015
Larry-
EXCELLENT post.
I too am very skeptical because of the reasons you give,
“Bottomline–Frank, Schummer, and Dodd, apart from being some of the top recipients of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac largesse, did little to avert this crisis and in fact appear to have exacerbated it. So count me a sceptic when it comes to trusting these clowns to put together a bailout program. They ignored clear warnings. It is not a matter of opinion, it is a fact of history:
This You Tube video details in a visual format what your article is saying.
Thanks again Larry-voters need to know the facts…the truth…
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=themouthpeace&feature=iv&annotation_id=event_525530
The link to your article here plus this video (See above link) need to get cross-posted EVERYWHERE.
http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/09/25/foxes-guarding-the-henhouse-the-actions-of-barney-frank-charles-schummer-and-chris-dodd/#comments
People need to know this.
I might be a little off subject, but I just have to point out about how John McCain “trapper” this juvenile into a no win situation. Obama looks bad and when he tells them ” just call me if I am needed” and then whines about the debate being cancelled, when he has been ducking the town hall meetings that McCain has been offering. You would think he would be happy to cancell the debate with the way Hillary wiped up the floor with him. Some people just don’t appreciate anything.Just imagine if Iran was threating to send a nuclear device our way and he needed to react, would he just say to the city ” call me if you need me ” after the bomb hits.
I think Obama is pushing so hard for this debate to happen now, because he knows he will stink, and wants to get this one out of the way.
Also, he and his pals Soros and Axelrod have certain timetables already set up with the campaign, he doesn’t want to get off-track for his next scheduled astrosurfing attack.
All the Democrats are calling for the debate to go forward. Boxer was on Fox mad as a hornet about John coming to Washington. They’re all screaming…We don’t need him! LOL
Everyone knows Obama is not a good debater and has run from John since the convention. Makes me wonder if the fix is in.
Maybe, John suspects that Obama has the questions but can’t prove it. I worry about anything coming from a University, especially after that college kid hacked Sarah’s email.
Please vote. You can see that Obama does not care about our country, and can not postpone the debate. GO TO MSNBC AND VOTE
http://www.msnbc. msn.com/id/ 26875530/ ?GT1=43001
I can’t get your link to work.
Oh, this is crazy…..
All told, for every dollar that Obama paid his average male staffer, his female counterpart made just 83 cents.
As for Biden, his 14 male staffers split a total payroll outlay of $1,077,128.40. So, Biden’s average male employee earned $76,937.74 per annum.
Biden’s 27 female employees divided $1,517,874.47, or $56,217.57, on average.
Among Biden’s top five highest-paid aides, one was a woman. Among the top 20, 11 were women.
All told, for every dollar that Biden paid his average male staffer, his female equivalent made only 73 cents.
This number is significant. Not only does Biden discount women by more than a quarter per dollar paid to men, on average. Biden collides into the standard by which his own campaign berates major companies for alleged pay discrimination.
Beneath the website banner “Fighting for Pay Equity,” Obama-Biden’s women’s issues page complains that, “Despite decades of progress, women still make only 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. A recent study estimates it will take another 47 years for women to close the wage gap with men at Fortune 500 corporate offices.”
Biden actually pays his average female employees four cents less than the level that triggers outrage on his own campaign’s website!
Nevertheless, Obama and Biden have the gall to go after McCain on this topic. The Democrats Monday launched an ad in Ohio in which Lilly Ledbetter, a Supreme Court litigant on pay equity, attacks McCain because he “opposed a law to give women equal pay for equal work. And he dismissed the wage gap, saying women just need education and training.”
But remember…
John McCain pays women very well.
There are more women on his staff and they earn $1.04 for every dollar men earn on his staff.
The skew is that most of the women are his senior staff.
Here is a man who understands that the opinions and views of women are important.
Ladies let us support him. Let us help him to understand our side of the story.
He listens. And because he listens we have Sarah Palin.
We need them. Just like we needed Teddy Roosevelt back in the day.
Change for the better is coming…..
You know, that’s a good point. When Teddy Roosevelt went on prime time national television to support equality for women, oops, wait a minute! Wrong Rooselvelt, wrong party, wrong technology. I mean, even Franklin Delano Roosevelt could use a keyboard…oops, sorry again, right Roosevelt and right party but wrong physical challenge.
God dammit, Biden! Will you please stop switching your talking points with mine?
I like the way China does it - when someone is responsible for some fiasco in China, they immediately resign their position in disgrace and either commit suicide or they’re never heard from again in public.
Where is the accountable in our representatives in Congress and in the business world? NO ONE ever takes responsibility for any kind of failure! Not Bush, not Rumsfield, not Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, not anyone in Congress and not anyone in these businesses that screw everyone over while these executives go on their merry way with their millions of dollars in buy-outs and rewards for their mismangement!
Just once, I’d like to see someone say I didn’t do my job and I’m resigning. I’m sorry.
It’s Congress’ job to OVERSEE these things, but they’re too busy running for reelection and lining their pockets.
Barney Frank and Chris Dodd need to resign!
Resignation at least….prison sounds better to me. THey were criminally complicit.
No one ever asked ordinary people what their dealing were with Freddie & Fannie. Ten years ago I bought a Freddie Mac house that had gone through foreclosure. I saw it in its “as is” condition and made a bid for it. I was told it was going to be rehabbed even though it hadn’t been started and I could only buy it rehabbed. I said I wanted to do it myself and offered them a price which was more than they would net after rehab expenses.
I noticed the local realtor for Freddie Mac and the contractor had a cozy relationship. Long story short, the contractor got paid for rehabbing a house that didn’t need it to make the sale(spray paint over everything including the parquet floor) and I bought it anyway - but that’s when I knew Freddie Mac stunk - and that was my little experience.
America , WAKE-UP to the facts blinding our eyes !
The country is in danger of economic collapse and yet, Obama is all about “ME!!!ME!!!” Why can’t he join McCain in Washington & WORK OUT this mess, his CROOKED WALL STREET CEOS’ backers made? Remember, Dodd, is the top recipient of this crooks’bribe & Obama, 2nd !
OBAMA, WORK IN WASHINGTON AND HELP SOLVE THIS MESS !!
Since you started “working as a community organizer”,there is no day that is really a service for the country BUT TO YOUR SELF-INTEREST !
COUNTRY FIRST !
McCain/Palin ‘08
Hillary ‘12
GOD BLESS AMERICA !!!
If you think Friday’s debate should be cancelled, vote at the poll.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26875530
Ok, I did but that’s MSNBC so you know who’s winning
People need to research “CREDIT DEFAULT SWAPS” to fully understand the crisis. Warren Buffet calls CDSs Financial Weapons of Mass Destruction. This toxic financial instrument has never been regulated. NEVER. CDSs are what is causing the $250B mortgage problem to escalate to a $Trillion plus financial meltdown. On TV yesterday, a reporter asked Barney Fink Frank why the democratic controlled Congress never enacted regulations. This was his friggin’ answer- “We had the regulators before the Committee and they said they didn’t need regulations.” And the reporter let him get away with that answer! The Bush administration said we didn’t need them. Newsflash Fink Frank- Try legislating! That’s what we pay you for. Pieces of sh!t Frank and Dodd. They both make me ashamed to be a New Englander.
Barney Frank is a pass the buck, fast talking, snake oil salesman. Can’t stand him!
I also remember when his boyfriend ran a male prostitution ring out of Barney’s house and no one cared. When you put crooks in charge of the bank why are we surprised when we get robbed?
good contatc info here I swiped from sa prowl:
call your COngress Critters, tell them how you feel,
I told mine I wnat Hillarys HOLC plan or NO DEAL!
Congressional Switchboard (you will be connected to your representative’s and senator’s office):
1-877-851-6437
1-800-828-0498
1-866-340-9281
1-866-338-1015
If I were an incumbent up for election, I would be mighty worried. Most of my friends want to toss ALL of the bums out!
I’ve heard that crap before. Unfortunately most people also think “Throw the bums out! Except for good ‘ol Congresman Joe, of course. He’s always brought home the bacon for our district.”
Let’s face it: Most Americans are perfectly happy as long as they have a roof over their heads, gas in the car, and a new flat-screen TV so that they can drink beer and watch “American Idol”. Asking them to actually educate themselves on what’s going on in Washington and who’s really responsible for it is simply a pipe dream, I’m afraid.
These goofs ( Dodd, Schumer, Reid, Pelosi and mumbles Frank - he sounds like a marble salesman with mouthful of samples) announce ‘we’re almost done!’
Like kids who have spent weeks messing up their room and sit under the threat of ‘No Letterman’ unless this cleaned up - squeal out ‘We’re Almost Done?’
Have an adult - Uncle Bad Temper McCain - take his belt off and stay the Hell in there until it is done properly.
Did you know that Obama’s Campaign is NOT part of the Democratic Party?
September 24, 2008
by PUMA Pundit
Hmmm. I read an interesting article this morning about how Obama’s campaign has chosen to be a separate entity from the Democratic Party, interesting to say the least.
A few excerpts from the article at DBKP.net
Will Election 2008 be remembered as the first contest between Republicans and Obamacrats–or the first between the Obamacrats and the Democrats?
Senator Barack Obama is building a national organization separate and apart from the national Democrat Party apparatus–at least in any state where the outcome of the November election is at all in doubt.
In state after state, the Obama campaign, in a break with tradition, has opened up its own offices–which largely push Barack Obama, and only Obama–apart from the Democrat Party’s own offices in those very same communities.
Obama has, literally, hundreds of these offices dotting the USA.
and
In our weekend visit to Obama offices, we found that local and state Democrat candidates did have a presence at the Campaign for Change offices–but not much of one.
Almost all of the usual campaign giveaways were there: pencils, literature, stickers. They were all on a small table in the back of the room.
That small table represented all of the local, district and state Democrat candidates–combined. The rest of the spacious room was dedicated to Barack Obama. In almost every case, it was Obama without a meniton of running mate, Joe Biden.
The local Democrat campaign office, we were informed, was “down the street, around the corner.”
The Obama campaign and supporters will likely dismiss the separate offices as “smart thinking” and “targeting resources”. But, each office sucks up resources: lease money, campaign materials and manpower. The Campaign for Change offices are staffed by volunteers, but a volunteer sitting behind a desk is a volunteer not knocking on doors.
But in this way, the Obama campaign is sure of one thing: the volunteer on the phone in a Des Moines Campaign for Change office will be talking about Barack Obama–not the local Democrat candidate for County Commissioner.
The Obama campaign is apparently charging fellow Democrats for Obama campaign materials. At a Democrat-sponsored booth at an event in Wheeling WV, local Democratic candidates manning the location complained about this sign of Obamaization. The booth featured many local and state Democrat candidates, but not much Obama signage or literature.
“We had to pay for them,” a lady complained. “They don’t give us anything.”
and of course, in line with the fact that the Obama campaign is short on cash:
Even Obama supporters have to pay the campaign for everything in the offices. “Al”, who we spoke to at a local Obama campaign office, said he had to “pay for the lease out of my own pocket. All of the t-shirts, button, stickers here, I paid for.”
So, if Obama volunteers are paying the campaign for everything and picking up the tab for leases, isn’t this just a smart move?
Each Campaign for Change office becomes a cash cow: it not only pays for itself, it sends money to the national Obama campaign for campaign materials.
And, the staff isn’t wasting time contacting voters about the other Democrat candidates. At Campaign for Change, it’s All Obama, All of the Time.
Preparation H will clear that up in no time.
When the democrats are done with this package and all they want in it we are going to be in a bigger hole than we ever were just wait and see, all they are thinking of at the moment is throwing money here there and everywhere to ensure Obama wins the WH.
These people are the worse, I only hope the Republican give them a hard time for all this crap
Vote in what poll,MSNBC? HELL NO thatpoll is rigged.It make me sick that it went to MSNBC.I HAVE NOT WATCHED MSNBC-CNN FOR MONTHS AND MONTHS STARTING May 08-I can’t stand watching them.I will never watch msnbc again or CNN-even after the election and Campbell Brown needs to get a real job as the rest at MSNBC-
Obama’s court fate was yesterday to prove he was a U.S citenzen…Well again Obama refused to show proff in court-They got a motion but a motion will be file again against Obama to show proff of alot of documents including his birth certificate.So tell me why didn’t Obama want to show his birth certificate in court yesterday 9-24-08? Hello what’s Obama hideing-Better wake up people.Obama could not clear his self up yesterday in court.HELLO…..
We have another site here chat and radio that tells you all about this-Ed takks -lawyers talks- it’s a fight for america.come join us here..to please pass it out.We have millions of listeners and we chat. I like noquarters and this one.This one 7 days a week.Great imformation going on there.
http://www.hcsfjm.com/chat.html
http://www.hcsfjm.com/chat.html
http://www.hcsfjm.com/chat.html
Looks like Obama got called home to washington by his daddy!
I guess the call you so sarcastically referred to finally came huh stupid?
Do these people not see who got us into this nasty mess we are in or is that damn Kool-Aid so potent that they have lost all abilities to reason?
check this out….http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xtNr5-up0U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xtNr5-up0U
Im sorry….
I know I may get grief over this but….
Yesterday Obama said if “They need me they will call me.”
Today he was summoned to Washington by the Prez…and he went running like a little BITCH!
This is who they..Pelosi…Dean..Donkey Brassiere..want us to elect POTUS!
PLEASE!!!!!!!!!
It really is a sickening sight, isn’t it, Larry? The spectacle of Barney Frank and Chris Dodd standing before the TV cameras wearing pious expressions of righteous indignation is enough to make me want to hurl. But ultimately the American public is to blame for mindlessly sending them back to Washington over & over & over again.
Larry, thanks for another great article. Thanks goodness we can actually see and read the truth in the sea of lies the mass news media puts out daily. I say dump the democrats, get them out, they have been the dishonest manipulators of this economy all along. I can’t believe I ever believed in that party. While President Clinton and Senator Clinton should never be equated with the trash that runs the democratic party now, I may have trouble even voting for Hillary again if the same people are still in charge. I am voting straight Republican. I respect Senator John McCain. I trust Senator John Mcain and Gov. Palin to put country first and American people first. I trust Obama to turn us into an islamic nation if there are enough idiots who vote him in. Take a look at his life long buddies and associates. Get a clue.
Hey “Tek” …
Check this out:
http://www.mediaresearch.org/biasbasics/biasbasics3.asp
Guess maybe the idea that the media has a liberal bias is just a little bit more than “a Republican taking point” huh?
Wow that pretty much says it all.
an excellent account of past events. Thank you larry.
Dennis Kucinich is going to be hated by the so-called Dems. He just said that there are situations where it is appropriate for candidates to set aside their campaigns. This is an emergency and they need all hands on deck.
He said many other things (apparent he knows how to discuss the economic system, I like anyone who gets monetary politcy) but his point was clear… put the people first and resolve this issue.
I knew Dennis Kucinich wasn’t totally a wild man
I just heard Barney Frank on tv saying they were making progress and that McCain wasn’t needed, blah, blah, blah. If I remember correctly, Barney Frank was a major player in bringing this crisis upon us. I wanted to tell Barney to just “shut up.”
“The Democrats were in charge of the Congress. Did they try to avert the problem? Did they warn? Did they reign in the abuse?”
Good to see you in Europe. The Euro that Voodo Economics created is taking bites out of your ass as big as a garbage skip. Live and learn. So, how’s the old SEP?
Now to what your cherry-picked quotes were meant to obscure.
Barney Frank and Chuck Schumer were in the House in 1994. Chris Dodd was in the Senate in 1994. Their Congress passed the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act of 1994 which banned the creative financing that just nuked the American financial system. Doubtless this could have been done much earlier since it reflected the experience we had in California with creative financing as early as 1984. It’s just that you East Coast folks are a little slow on the uptake.
Allen Greenspan, despite the usual Delphic utterings about predatory lending, found it to his liking to ignore HOEPA, opining that the market was smarter than he was. His underlings felt it wise to imitate their boss’s example. Now we have real bargains in the Florida, Arizona and Vegas markets. The invisible hand just copped a feel.
The very next year after HOEPA was passed your Voodo Economics colleagues staged the Republican Revolution which gave us such economic landmarks as The Defense of Marriage Act. No doubt about those priorities. Country first.
“sitting in Europe” — oh really? You ignoramus. I’m ashamed my country actually employed you for so long. You’re absolutely pathetic.
Where in Europe?
Barack Obama’s little shop of economic horrors
Barack Obama named Clinton’s Treasury Secretary Larry Summers as his top economic adviser at the White House as head of the National Economic Council.
Larry Summers is one of the people most responsible for the failure of the banking system. He was a strong advocate of scrapping Glass-Steagall. He did this under the encouragement of Former President Bill Clinton who received large contributions from Wall Street. Repeal of this regulatory act led to the repeal of more banking regulations and the spiral into the crisis we are now in. He has named a flaming liberal, Melody Barnes, as director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. These people will be working closely with Barney Frank, Maxine Waters and other Congressional democrats who are culpable in the economic crisis we face today. This is very much like putting the inmates in charge of the asylum.