Crisis Open Thread [Video Update + Susan Update]

By Obama’s Definition, British Prime Minister Brown Unable To Multitask!

Personally, I always thought the mark of governmental leadership was the ability to prioritize, not to multi-task. However, it appears that to Senator Obama a Foreign Policy Debate holds the same level of prioritization as the meltdown of US financial system. Senator Obama has repeatedly stated that this is the largest financial crisis that this nation has faced since the Great Depression, yet it also appears that he is not willingly to be on the front-lines, let alone cast a vote on what could be the most important piece of financial legislation since the Great Depression.

Senator Obama stated that a President needed to have the ability to multi-task and thus the debates should go on. Of course, to buy into that belief you would also have to accept that the two are somehow related or equally important. For 4 months Senator Obama has refused to participate in unscripted town hall meetings with Senator McCain. Town Hall meetings in which average citizens, not a paid moderator, would be allowed to form and ask questions. Yet, today his surrogates want to portray McCain as trying to avoid debate. It’s not quite a legitimate argument when even President Clinton, who know first hand how to behave Presidentially, stated that McCain’s choice was sound.

But if we are to accept Senator Obama’s view of multi-tasking, then we should also apply those standards to every political leader. For instance, British Prime-Minister, Gordon Brown, had a full day of high level diplomatic meetings scheduled at the United Nations today. Yet, Prime Minister Brown altered his schedule, cancelling some meetings in order to pay a visit to the New York Federal Reserve to discuss the turmoil in the global markets. At the same time Prime Minister Brown’s office announced that he cancelling his scheduled return to London on Friday in order to hold an emergency economic meeting with President Bush.

Why?

Shouldn’t Prime Minister Brown be able to handle multiple events at one time. Why alter his schedule, cancel meetings and postpone a trip home, when he could easily have talked to the President via phone, or video conferencing, or telegram for that fact???

If we applied the same standards to Prime Minister Brown that the media and Obama surrogates apply to him, the Prime Minister Brown is doing the wrong thing and apparently isn’t capable of handling multiple “tasks”.

Or…

Perhaps it’s that Prime Minister Brown, like all good leaders, understands that Governing is not about multi-tasking, it is about prioritizing. It is about suspending a campaign as a hurricane makes landfall, rather than singing Motown and waving to the crowd at a labor day parade even as that hurricane makes landfall. It is about not abrogating your sworn duties as a United States Senator because you have a 50% of rising to the presidency.

Prime Minister Brown clearly gets it, President Clinton clearly gets it, Senator McCain clearly gets it, so who is left?

J Brown
September 25th, 2008

CNN breaking news email I received:

Sen. John McCain will participate in tonight’s presidential debate.

Reid has another flip flop today, saying he didn’t mean that he needed McCain, but that he needed his WORDS.

He needed McCain’s “words, just words”.

At this point I’ve got a few choice words for Harry.
Has he shown leadership regarding ANYTHING at all?

Harry Reid is a piece of shit.

He talks about not interjecting politics into the situation, and in the next breath rips on McCain.

WTF???

John McCain is doing his JOB. Why is he being criticized for it???

He contradicted himself the entire time. Bashed John McCain, with innuendo and outright lies, but couldn’t bring himself to say his name.

Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi need to go. I don’t know when they are up for re-election, but I will donate to anyone who runs against them.

Throw the bums out!!!!!

Anyone recall Phil Murphy posting here lately? Yeah the Obamabot?
Here’s what I got on him. He is part of the corrupt DNC and sent me this in an email that my address was sold to the DNC by Hillary. Why do these people always beg for money?

Dear x,
I’m Phil Murphy, Finance Chair of the DNC. I’m responsible for making sure our Party has the funds it needs to stay competitive.
I wanted you to see these two clips that were posted on Politico.com this week…
John McCain will raise over $7 million tonight at a high-dollar New York fundraiser, his largest one-event haul yet during the campaign, according to sources familiar with the expected haul.
McCain raises over $2 mil in Michigan … So said John Rakolta — a former national finance chair and ubiquitous presence around Mitt Romney during the primary — last night at the suburban Detroit funder for the GOP nominee.
In the past 48 hours, John McCain raised over $9 million for his campaign and the Republican National Committee. While we’re choosing our nominee, the Republican machine is working their way across the country, raising money and expanding their bank accounts.
What are they going to do with that money? Attack. As soon as we have our nominee, they’ll unleash a flood of expensive negative attacks to try to define our candidate.
that’s why we have to be ready for anything — we can’t let them Swift Boat us right out of the gate.
Can you make a contribution to offset the $9 million John McCain has raised the last 48 hours? We need to be able to defend our candidate from the Republican machine as soon as it kicks into gear:
http://www.democrats.org/NoSwiftBoat
Everywhere John McCain goes his handlers are organizing fundraising receptions, catering to special interests and lobbyists. It’s straight out of the George Bush and Karl Rove playbook.
While our primary continues, we can’t afford to let John McCain and the Republican machine get a financial advantage. Help us and our nominee stay competitive.
Thanks for your support.
Phil Murphy

It was a phony scare perpetuated by Poopelosi and Raunchy Reid. Mainstreet is fine. Many banks are fine. This is a crock to make Oblunderhead look good.

Spending my money like a drunken sailor on a Saturday night.

Jesus. This is ridiculous. Are they so out of touch with regular people that they think this is going to help the problem?

More spending. Just what we need. I’m so disgusted and discouraged right now.

The freakin’ auto industry? Yeah, ya wanna’ know how to help the US auto industry? Tell them to make a product people want to buy. Christ, Toyota can’t stock enough hybrids and I’m on a fourteen month waiting list for a Smart car. And get this, used Smart cars are actually selling for the same price as new ones because the demand in some areas is so high. But hey, 0% financing on the mega mammoth American SUVs. Knock yourself out, folks. Bail out the dumbshits who didn’t see this one coming? Why should the American tax payers bail out companies too stupid to survive in a free and open market?

BTW I’ve now seen why submissions can take so long. I don’t know if it’s always like this for this reason but the sluggishness is constant. And what I’ve been able to see peering into the pipeline is there is a bottleneck at Amazon – due to some ad on these pages. Perhaps somebody’s got something set up wrong.

The old saying is if you stand all the economists in the world together in a straight line they won’t reach a conclusion.

He is the first member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to serve as a Senate Majority Leader.

Oh goodness. Oh shit. I mean, oh poo.

Missionaries in Kenya know Obama

Thought you’d find this interesting. Celeste and Loren Davis are Missionaries in Africa and can shed some firsthand light on one of our Presidential candidates.

Thanks for sending out an alert about Obama. We are living and working in Kenya for almost twelve years now and know his family (tribe) well. They are the ones who were behind the recent Presidential election chaos here.

Thousands of people have been displaced by election violence (over 350,000) and I don’t know the last count of the dead. Obama, under ‘friends of Obama’ gave almost a million dollars to the opposition campaign who just happened to be his cousin, Raila Odinga, who is a socialist trained in east Germany .. He has been trying to bring Kenya down for years and the last president threw him in prison for trying to subvert this country! December 27th elections brought cries from ODM (Odinga Camp) of rigged election. Obama and Raila speak daily. As we watch Obama rise in the US we are sure that whatever happens, he will use the same tactic, crying rigged election if he doesn’t win, and possibly cause a race war in America

What we would like you to know is what the American press has been keeping a dirty little secret. Obama IS a Muslim and he IS a racist and this is a fulfillment of the 9-11 threat that was just the beginning. Jihad is the only true Muslim way. We have been working with them for 20 years this July!

He is not an American as we know it. Please encourage your friends and associates not to be taken in by those that are promoting him. It is world wide jihad. All our friends in Europe are very disturbed by the Muslim nfiltration into their countries.

By the way, his true name is Barak Hussein Mu hammed Obama. Won’t that sound sweet to our enemies as they swear him in on the Koran!?

God Bless you.

Pray for us here in Kenya . We are still fighting for our nation to withstand the same kind of assault that every nation, including America , is fighting. Takeover from the outside to fit the new world order. As believers, this means we will be the first targets. Here in Kenya , not one mosque was burned down, but hundreds of churches were burned down, some with people in them, burned alive.

Jesus Christ is our peace, but the new world order of Globalism has infiltrated the church and confused believers into thinking that they can compromise and survive. It won’t be so. I will send you a newsletter we sent out in February documenting in a more cohesive manner what I’ve tried to say in a few paragraphs.’
**************
**************
Facts are facts!!
I hope this makes you think a little bit.
How anyone can dispute historical data is beyond me?

George Bush has been in office for 7 years and 8 months. The first six years the economy was fine, and moving at a stable predictable rate. Even after Sept. 11 rocked our economy, we continued to grow economically= 2 0and move forward.

About two years year ago:
· Consumer confidence stood at a 2 1/2 year high;
· The Dollar was strong;
· Regular gasoline sold for $2.19 a gallon;
· The unemployment rate was 4.5%;
· Most businesses were thriving in our country;
· The DOW JONES hit a record high of 14,000+, and American’s were buying new cars, taking cruises, buying second homes and vacations houses, we were living large!…;
· The USA was still respected and recognized for our global commitment!;
· T he Dollar was strong, and the world wanted to invest in the good old USA;
· Many did not agree with our tactics, but the world saw a unified America, never seen since world war II.

But American’s wanted ‘CHANGE’! So; in 2006 they voted in a Democratic Congress & yep; we got ‘CHANGE’ all right.

In the PAST YEAR and some months:
· Consumer confidence has plummeted;
· Gasoline got to over $5 a=2 0gallon, and we have not seen the end yet!;
· Unemployment is up to 5% (a 10% increase)and rising;
· Americans have seen their home equity drop by $12 T RILLION & prices are
still dropping;
· 1% of American homes are in foreclosure, more to come;
· As I write, THE DOW is probing another low at 11,508;
· $2.5 TRILLION DOLLARS have evaporated from our investment portfol ios;
· The Dollar is at our history’s weakest margins;
· The current US Congress (Led by Nancy Pelosi & Joe Biden) made it a partisan agenda to stall, block, and fight any project of law that could help the incumbent party in any way!
· Congress has since received the LOWEST public approval record
in history! Lower than that of their one and only nemesis which they have set out to destroy with rhetoric=2 0and lack of support; Our President.

YEP, IN 2006 AMERICA VOTED FOR CHANGE!…AND WE SURE GOT T!!!….Only in America can our own government institution bring us down to our knees as our Congress has in 18 months!

NOW OBAMA, SAYS HE’S REALLY GOING TO GIVE US CHANGE!!….
· Increase Income Taxes;
·Increase Capital Gains Taxes;
· Reinstate the Inheritance Taxes to higher levels;
· Withdraw our forces from Iraq (Possibly reversing our hard won victory);
· Nationalize Healthcare (Now I know I’ve heard this before? Yes Michael Moore!) neither have a clue, it just sounds good!;
· &nb sp; Reduce Military spending (Clinton set us back 10 years;20this clown will have us asking the UN to protect our interests by the time he gets through!);
· Wants to “To Talk” and “Understand” our worst enemies, and does not want to seem insensitive by wearing our flag;
· He is going to achieve all this by crossing “Party Lines”!!! An inexperienced Democrat President, with a failed Democratic Congress in power at the same time? Why would he need to cross any lines? Obama must think that we are all really stupid!
· JUST HOW MUCH MORE ‘CHANGE’ DO YOU THINK YOU CAN STAND???…. .

Tags: missionaries, kenya, obama
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Barack Obama’s truth squad? OMG! He has public officials and cops to go after people who post TV ads. O boy! Wake up people.

Can you put a link – thanks.

And they wonder why we don’t trust them…

I am glad you brought up the subject of JP Morgan. I was just beginning to wonder about them myself. They really seem to be profitting on these firesales now.

It would be nice if some untainted journalist out there could inform us a little bit more about JP Morgan Chase, its board of directors, and its CEO, Jamie Dimon, named by Fortune (I think) as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

From every one of the little bits and pieces of information I’ve been able to scavenge, that institution firmly supports Obama’s candidacy, even though they are probably aware of all of his questionable activities and associates.

I wil be keeping my eye out for more info on these guys.

Only problem with that is other banks will have access to the funds…ones who have done nothing wrong from what I understand.

^^^ TROLL ALERT – DO NOT FEED ^^^

^^^^ TROLL ALERT – DO NOT FEED ^^^^

Read the entire article. Were those statements coming from McCain or from Politico? I am unsure but thought they were coming from Politico. OMG has the world turned upside down? Can we hope that there is fairness at last?

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/13970.html

Bush Called For Reform of Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac 17 Times in 2008 Alone… Dems Ignored Warnings Sep 26, ’08 8:00 AM
for Debby’s network

Sunday, September 21, 2008
Bush Called For Reform of Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac 17 Times in 2008 Alone… Dems Ignored Warnings

For many years the President and his Administration have not only warned of the systemic consequences of financial turmoil at a housing government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) but also put forward thoughtful plans to reduce the risk that either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac would encounter such difficulties. President Bush publicly called for GSE reform 17 times in 2008 alone before Congress acted.

Unfortunately, these warnings went unheeded, as the President’s repeated attempts to reform the supervision of these entities were thwarted by the legislative maneuvering of those who emphatically denied there were problems.

The White House released this list of attempts by President Bush to reform Freddie Mae and Freddie Mac since he took office in 2001.
Unfortunately, Congress did not act on the president’s warnings:

** 2001

April: The Administration’s FY02 budget declares that the size of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is “a potential problem,” because “financial trouble of a large GSE could cause strong repercussions in financial markets, affecting Federally insured entities and economic activity.”

** 2002

May: The President calls for the disclosure and corporate governance principles contained in his 10-point plan for corporate responsibility to apply to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (OMB Prompt Letter to OFHEO, 5/29/02)

** 2003

January: Freddie Mac announces it has to restate financial results for the previous three years.

February: The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) releases a report explaining that “although investors perceive an implicit Federal guarantee of [GSE] obligations,” “the government has provided no explicit legal backing for them.” As a consequence, unexpected problems at a GSE could immediately spread into financial sectors beyond the housing market. (“Systemic Risk: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Role of OFHEO,” OFHEO Report, 2/4/03)

September: Fannie Mae discloses SEC investigation and acknowledges OFHEO’s review found earnings manipulations.

September: Treasury Secretary John Snow testifies before the House Financial Services Committee to recommend that Congress enact “legislation to create a new Federal agency to regulate and supervise the financial activities of our housing-related government sponsored enterprises” and set prudent and appropriate minimum capital adequacy requirements.

October: Fannie Mae discloses $1.2 billion accounting error.

November: Council of the Economic Advisers (CEA) Chairman Greg Mankiw explains that any “legislation to reform GSE regulation should empower the new regulator with sufficient strength and credibility to reduce systemic risk.” To reduce the potential for systemic instability, the regulator would have “broad authority to set both risk-based and minimum capital standards” and “receivership powers necessary to wind down the affairs of a troubled GSE.” (N. Gregory Mankiw, Remarks At The Conference Of State Bank Supervisors State Banking Summit And Leadership, 11/6/03)

** 2004

February: The President’s FY05 Budget again highlights the risk posed by the explosive growth of the GSEs and their low levels of required capital, and called for creation of a new, world-class regulator: “The Administration has determined that the safety and soundness regulators of the housing GSEs lack sufficient power and stature to meet their responsibilities, and therefore…should be replaced with a new strengthened regulator.” (2005 Budget Analytic Perspectives, pg. 83)

February: CEA Chairman Mankiw cautions Congress to “not take [the financial market's] strength for granted.” Again, the call from the Administration was to reduce this risk by “ensuring that the housing GSEs are overseen by an effective regulator.” (N. Gregory Mankiw, Op-Ed, “Keeping Fannie And Freddie’s House In Order,” Financial Times, 2/24/04)

June: Deputy Secretary of Treasury Samuel Bodman spotlights the risk posed by the GSEs and called for reform, saying “We do not have a world-class system of supervision of the housing government sponsored enterprises (GSEs), even though the importance of the housing financial system that the GSEs serve demands the best in supervision to ensure the long-term vitality of that system. Therefore, the Administration has called for a new, first class, regulatory supervisor for the three housing GSEs: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banking System.” (Samuel Bodman, House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Testimony, 6/16/04)

** 2005

April: Treasury Secretary John Snow repeats his call for GSE reform, saying “Events that have transpired since I testified before this Committee in 2003 reinforce concerns over the systemic risks posed by the GSEs and further highlight the need for real GSE reform to ensure that our housing finance system remains a strong and vibrant source of funding for expanding homeownership opportunities in America… Half-measures will only exacerbate the risks to our financial system.” (Secretary John W. Snow, “Testimony Before The U.S. House Financial Services Committee,” 4/13/05)

** 2007

July: Two Bear Stearns hedge funds invested in mortgage securities collapse.

August: President Bush emphatically calls on Congress to pass a reform package for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, saying “first things first when it comes to those two institutions. Congress needs to get them reformed, get them streamlined, get them focused, and then I will consider other options.” (President George W. Bush, Press Conference, The White House, 8/9/07)

September: RealtyTrac announces foreclosure filings up 243,000 in August – up 115 percent from the year before.

September: Single-family existing home sales decreases 7.5 percent from the previous month – the lowest level in nine years. Median sale price of existing homes fell six percent from the year before.

December: President Bush again warns Congress of the need to pass legislation reforming GSEs, saying “These institutions provide liquidity in the mortgage market that benefits millions of homeowners, and it is vital they operate safely and operate soundly. So I’ve called on Congress to pass legislation that strengthens independent regulation of the GSEs – and ensures they focus on their important housing mission. The GSE reform bill passed by the House earlier this year is a good start. But the Senate has not acted. And the United States Senate needs to pass this legislation soon.” (President George W. Bush, Discusses Housing, The White House, 12/6/07)

** 2008

January: Bank of America announces it will buy Countrywide.

January: Citigroup announces mortgage portfolio lost $18.1 billion in value.

February: Assistant Secretary David Nason reiterates the urgency of reforms, says “A new regulatory structure for the housing GSEs is essential if these entities are to continue to perform their public mission successfully.” (David Nason, Testimony On Reforming GSE Regulation, Senate Committee On Banking, Housing And Urban Affairs, 2/7/08)

March: Bear Stearns announces it will sell itself to JPMorgan Chase.

March: President Bush calls on Congress to take action and “move forward with reforms on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They need to continue to modernize the FHA, as well as allow State housing agencies to issue tax-free bonds to homeowners to refinance their mortgages.” (President George W. Bush, Remarks To The Economic Club Of New York, New York, NY, 3/14/08)

April: President Bush urges Congress to pass the much needed legislation and “modernize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. [There are] constructive things Congress can do that will encourage the housing market to correct quickly by … helping people stay in their homes.” (President George W. Bush, Meeting With Cabinet, the White House, 4/14/08)

May: President Bush issues several pleas to Congress to pass legislation reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before the situation deteriorates further.

“Americans are concerned about making their mortgage payments and keeping their homes. Yet Congress has failed to pass legislation I have repeatedly requested to modernize the Federal Housing Administration that will help more families stay in their homes, reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to ensure they focus on their housing mission, and allow State housing agencies to issue tax-free bonds to refinance sub-prime loans.” (President George W. Bush, Radio Address, 5/3/08)

“[T]he government ought to be helping creditworthy people stay in their homes. And one way we can do that – and Congress is making progress on this – is the reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That reform will come with a strong, independent regulator.” (President George W. Bush, Meeting With The Secretary Of The Treasury, the White House, 5/19/08)

“Congress needs to pass legislation to modernize the Federal Housing Administration, reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to ensure they focus on their housing mission, and allow State housing agencies to issue tax-free bonds to refinance subprime loans.” (President George W. Bush, Radio Address, 5/31/08)

June: As foreclosure rates continued to rise in the first quarter, the President once again asks Congress to take the necessary measures to address this challenge, saying “we need to pass legislation to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.” (President George W. Bush, Remarks At Swearing In Ceremony For Secretary Of Housing And Urban Development, Washington, D.C., 6/6/08)

July: Congress heeds the President’s call for action and passes reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as it becomes clear that the institutions are failing.

In 2005– Senator John McCain partnered with three other Senate Republicans to reform the government’s involvement in lending.
Democrats blocked this reform, too.

More… Not only did democrats not act on these warnings but Barack Obama put one of the major Sub-Prime Slime players on his campaign as finance chairperson.

UPDATE: The media is not reporting that the failed financial institutions are big Obama donors.
Hat Tip Larwyn

Labels: Campaign08
SOURCE

Do you have a job? How do you function on a daily basis?

Did you think of getting a lawyer before you stopped making payments?

The people who are excited about Palin don’t care one way or an other they see a media bias so what ever the media says they take the opposite view. Palin brings the republican base for McCain, that is really all that really matters. They will adore her regardless what some Pundit writes in a column.

287 289 banks have failed in the last 2 years. What changed? Why everyone crying now?