Bonus Section 6/24/2010

All right, I just had more to say today and this will go all over the place. Starting with Fannie Mae. That's right, the mismanaged semi private loan company until we the taxpayers bailed them out and now who knows what they are. I can tell you one thing they are, and that is a bunch of douchebags. Today they announced that anyone walking away from their home and mortgage will not be approved for a mortgage for at least seven years if ever again at all. In addition they will now sue you for the difference on what is owed verses what the home sells for in foreclosure. So lets get this straight. The government puts 75 billion dollars aside for the banks to modify mortgage rates for borrowers in trouble. The latest statistics show that of the 75 billion, only 242 million (less than five percent) has been used to restructure loans, because the banks that we the taxpayers bailed out refuse to modify the loans. So people are going into foreclosure and Fannie Mae who we the tax payers bailed out is now going to screw the same people that kept them in business. Thanks a lot Fannie, ShittyBank, Chase and whoever else got bailed out on our dime and then gave themselves big bonuses while once again screwing the average homeowner. We should of let you go down the drain. Then there is the idiot judge from Louisiana who granted an injunction on Obama's moratorium on offshore drilling. Seems the judge owns a lot of stock in Trans Ocean. The same Trans Ocean who operated the rig for B.P. that blew up, causing the current oil spill disaster in the gulf. I believe the judge had a duty to recuse himself due to the conflict of interest, and this judge as far as I'm concerned should be removed from the bench. Why haven't we heard that story on Fox News? And speaking of Fox News, Gretchen Carlson said that being President is just like her job. What? I had to listen to it again just to be sure that's what she said. I stand by my statement of calling her a dumb bitch.

McChrystal is Out

Now this is what I call bittersweet. A general appointed by a liberal (supposed to be) President, who was mired in a cover up controversy over friendly fire in a war that's un winnable. Don't think so. Look at history, Alexander the Great could not hold occupation as far back as 330 B.C. Genghis Khan around 1200 had the whole Asian continent from China to the Mediterranean but the one country he could not conquer was Afghanistan. In the 1800s Great Britain tried three times to occupy but was ultimately thrown out in 1919. In the 1980s the second largest superpower in the world tried unsuccessfully to bring Afghanistan into the Soviet Union and after more than ten years withdrew, do to heavy casualties and the fact that they were going broke because of their invasion. Obama a smart elitist you say, guess he hasn't taken any classes in history. And yes this country is going broke partly because of two baseless wars that have to be funded. Unfortunately as Obama was accepting McChrystals resignation he was appointing General Patreus to head up the war in Afghanistan and made it clear that this was a change in leadership, not a change in policy. All you right wingers that constantly tell me that you don't want your tax dollars going for abortions, well guess what, I don't want my tax dollars going towards war. On the other hand, all you right wingers that blast Obama, you should be happy with his war effort as he is picking up right where Bush left off. Illegal wire taps, kidnapping anyone suspected of terrorism and taking them to Baghram as Guantanomo is to controversial, (to close to our border) Predator drone attacks in Pakistan. There is no defined purpose of this war. Even McChrystal has said that there is fewer than one hundred Al Quaida left in Afghanistan. Someone please define victory here for me. Our drones in the last month have killed two pregnant women in Pakistan just over the border. Doesn't that qualify as an abortion? Why aren't you pro lifers screaming about that? That's right you pro lifers are only pro life when it comes to a fetus, not wars or the death penalty. I think you need to change your name to Pro Life but only on your terms. Getting back to the McChrystal deal. The pundits are all ready blasting Obama for asking for his resignation, but the fact is McChrystal violated Section 88 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Not to mention the fact that to the rest of the world including the Russians, that if he didn't resign it would look like the military is running this country and the President is just a figure head with no power. That goes against how our Constitution was set up. It's time for Obama to rethink Afghanistan and pull out. The money we spend there is crazy. We pay bribes to Afghan tribes to not shoot at our troops and they take that money and buy weapons to shoot at us anyways. All courtesy of our tax dollars. They have no infrastructure at all. They have no basics once you get away from Kabul. No paved roads, no electric, no phones and now water or sewage. Bush said we invaded Afghanistan because that is where 911 was planned. According to the 911 commission it was planned in Germany and the hijackers trained in the United States. And the video of the trainees jumping out of the dirt and swinging on monkey bars, well lets just say we should shut down every kids park in this country then.

Conservative or Not, and the Idiot in the House

So how many of you are conservatives? How many of you think Richard Nixon was a great President. I was young but I remember him and thought he was a great President. My father even took me to a campaign rally at a high school out here in the burbs and put me on his shoulders so I could get a view of the future President himself. His one mistake was that he thought he was above the law when asked to turn over the tapes. Something many politicians these days do on a regular basis. Now they just get an attorney that agrees with them and somehow justify it. Now if you think that Obama is the first President to talk about getting off oil think again. In fact, G. W. Bush in his 2006 State of the Union speech said "This country can dramatically improve the environment, move beyond a petroleum based economy, and make our dependence on middle east oil a thing of the past". June 28, 2000, Bill Clinton said "We need a long term energy policy to maximize conservation and maximize the development of long term sources of alternative energy". Before him George H.W. Bush said on Aug 18, 1998 " There is no security for the United States in further dependence on foreign oil". Before him on February 18, 1981 Ronald Reagan said "We will continue supportive research, leading to development of new technologies and more independence from foreign oil". On July 15, 1979, Jimmy Carter said "This intolerable dependence on foreign oil". On January 15, 1975, Gerald Ford said "New standby emergency programs to achieve the independence we want". And finally Richard Nixon said on January 30, 1974, "We will break the back of the energy crisis, we will lay the foundation for our future capacity to meet Americas energy needs from Americas own energy resources". So there you have it, eight Presidents all thinking the same way about Americas energy situation. Some were hated liberals by conservatives but when a loved conservative such as Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford or Ronald Reagan talked about getting off foreign oil, conservatives were behind them 100 percent. Especially when it came to Reagan. Why is it when a Democrat has the same ideas as a Republican, Conservatives are not behind it. Look at the dumb bitch on Fox News and Friends (Gretchen Carlson) who on Monday said "It would be a good idea if Obama would ask for a little divine intervention about how were going to fix this oil leak". So in his speech on Tuesday, Obama suggested "We pray for that courage, we pray for the people of the Gulf, and we pray that a hand may guide us through the storm to a brighter day". On Wednesday Carlson ripped Obama on Fox and Friends, as being disingenuous coming from a President who does not go to church on a regular basis. I guess you just can't please everyone, or anyone at Fox News if your Obama, even if he takes their advise. Now in the list of Presidents that want to get off oil only one started the process and it wasn't a liberal. Nope, it was Nixon. Nixon created the E.P.A., Nixon signed the Clean Water Act, Nixon signed the Marine Mammal Protection Act. All these things, if he were around today would make him look more liberal than Obama, yet most conservatives still love him to this day. And then you have the IDIOT in the House. Representative Joe Barton (Republican Texas) actually apologised to B.P. for our government shaking them down. (Obama told B.P. to pay for the cleanup). He even called it a 20 billion dollar slush fund. And John Boehner, House minority leader suggested we as taxpayers pay for some of the oil spill cleanup. What an asshole, he says there's no money to extend unemployment benefits yet he can somehow find tax dollars to help B.P. in the cost of the cleanup. I wonder how much money big oil has given to these two assholes to keep them in office?

Educated Religious Fanatics

So I just got back from a weeks vacation in the Southwest and yes I had my passport just in case I was mistaken for an illegal. Anyways while enjoying the pool at one of Vegas's finest I came across an interesting conversation going on amongst two guys and a girl who were all in their mid twenties. I soon realized that they were not together. The girl had just graduated Purdue University and her grandmother had brought her to Vegas for a graduation present. The guys were mechanics working in Alaska on the Pipeline. They work 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off. They were working her pretty hard to pick her up but were getting nowhere. As I started talking to her I realized that intellectually she wanted way more than they had to offer her. So I find out her family owns an investment firm and she was pretty conservative in her views and me being liberally independent brought out some good debate with her. We talked for about two hours in the pool as the shade temperature was 110 that day. The next day while in the pool she spotted me and called me over and soon the conversation turned to her conservative beliefs heading fast towards religion. I was brought up Catholic and I am a strong believer. I just don't adhere to the Catholic Church teachings and rules at this point. So at the end of May one of my follower/debaters in a reply to a post said "Now he knew where I stood on religion" because I said the phrase "Right Wing Religious Nut Job". So that's how he knows what my views on Christianity are? Ok my view is that any mainstream religion has fanatics who take phrases from their books and use them to advance their agenda no matter how radical or improper they are. And I am not afraid to say it, those people are religious nut jobs, wackos or anything else that is not politically correct describing someone who is fanatically crazy. So getting back to Vegas and the girl in the pool, a college educated, well spoken, intelligent human starts talking about Revelations, Rapture and how great the end is going to be with a fiery death. She is all for religious fanatics running this country. Look at the fanatic Muslim governments with religious rule. They all want the bomb, we don't want them to get it and somewhere in between the forces collide. At some point they are going to develop it whether we like it or not and Revelations will come true. She said that that was just fine with her. I can't figure out how someone who is so highly educated is such a nutjob. I personally don't want to die a fiery death. I enjoy life and want to live a long time. If religious people like her and the other wackjobs that feel that death is beautiful and wonderful and want rapture then they should just kill themselves and leave the rest of us alone.

Hypocrite and Liar, You Decide Which is Which

Recently Glenn Beck took a bow telling his audience that Fox was the only one showing footage of the Israeli's enforcing the blockade on Gaza, the specific scene showing the Commandos arriving on the ship, being beaten with poles by the people on the ship, who were delivering the aid to Gaza. I believe he said "Turn on any media outlet other than this one. They're not going to show you this. That video, your hard pressed to see it here in America from media outlets besides Fox. Nobody seems willing to show it. Leaving the question, why." What's he insinuating first of all? But the real kicker is that during the twenty four hours prior to him saying this, the following stations showed the clip he was referring to. MSNBCs Hardball with Chris Mathews, CNN, HLN, CBS, ABC, NBC, PBS, and even Univision showed the clip. Unfortunately Glen Beck fans are loyal followers and believe everything he says to the tee, so here is a clear example of him being caught in a flat out lie. Now to jump around a bit, seems a certain Senate candidate (Richard Blumenthal) of Connecticut a Democrat, lied about his service record in the military, saying he was in Viet Nam. After numerous deferments, he finally was accepted into the Marine Reserves and never actually served in Viet Nam. DIRTBAG, this is a great disservice to the men and women who sacrifice now and in the past to protect our nation. So in comes the respected Orrin Hatch of Utah who does not like this Democrat DIRTBAG. So Senator Hatch introduces legislation to put anyone in jail for misrepresenting his or her military record for the purposes of gaining recognition, honorarium, official office or other position of authority, employment, or other benefit. Sounds like this law is designed with Blumenthal in mind. Now it comes out that Mark Kirk a Republican from Illinois running for Senate misspoke his Service record also. He apologised saying it was just a few times out of the thousands of times he has spoke. He had been saying that he was the Navy Intelligence Officer of the Year. He had never won that award. He had been part of a unit in Italy that won an intelligence award from a group outside the Navy. One of those times was on the House Floor in March 2002 in which he said he was the Navy's intelligence officer of the year in 1998. His T.V. campaign ads said it also. In 2005 his campaign website said that he was the only member of Congress to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom. DIRTBAG, once again a great disservice to the men and women who sacrifice for our country. When Senator Hatch's office was asked if the language in the Bill applied to Mark Kirk, Hatch's office said no. Way to go respectable Senator Hatch. Who is the hypocrite and who is the liar? We know who the DIRTBAGS are.

Oil, Politics and More Interesting Observations

One of the news stories yesterday was about our national debt, now at 13 trillion and counting. You'd think it was Obama's fault the way right wing talk radio has it. Make no mistake it is a Beltway problem of both Democrats and Republicans. Congress should be taking a lot of the blame as they think the taxpayers are an open cash machine. Only they think they won't see it. Ronald Reagan said deficits don't matter. True in his lifetime, because he's not around to see the end results of his tax cuts coupled with his spending spree. In the 1970s a republican strategist named Jude Wanniski came up with what he called the two Santa Clause theory. In it he strategies that when in power Republicans should cut taxes and increase spending to alarming rates, putting it all on the national credit card (The National Debt). This allows two things. One it makes the Republicans look good to the citizens for cutting taxes, and two they spend, which increases jobs across both the private and public sectors. The citizens get the best of both worlds. When the Democrats get into power, the Republicans then use every media outlet available, (Newspapers, Magazines, Sunday Morning T.V. shows, and Right Wing Radio) to scream about the deficit and demand cutting spending immediately. The Democrats then raise taxes, and cut spending to balance the budget. That way the Democrats look like the bad guys. That's what Clinton did, just look at history. Even though we had a balanced budget under Clinton, Republicans take credit for it, saying they were the majority in congress and it was they who balanced the budget. Out of the 13 trillion dollar debt this country has, Obama inherited about 11 trillion of it. The Wall Street bailouts during the Bush administration totaled around 6 Trillion alone. 700 billion to TARP, 300 billion to Citigroup, 200 billion to Fannie Mae, 1.3 trillion to non financial companies for working capitol because the banks we bailed out were unwilling to lend, another trillion in credit for banks to lend out to each other, 600 billion to buy troubled mortgages, 300 billion for the FHA to insure mortgages close to foreclosure, 1.4 trillion for interbank loans from the FHA. That's just the banking part. We also have 3 trillion for Iraq and Afghanistan wars, 1.7 trillion in tax cuts, and 130 billion in medicare drug benefits. That's just the highlights. So the next time you hear Rush or Beck talking about the deficit, ask them where it came from. Not including Medicare and Social Security entitlement programs only account for around twelve percent of the budget and ask any Republican over 65 years old if they are willing to give up those two things and you will certainly hear a no from them. We need to raise taxes on large businesses who pay no tax at all, (BP, Halliburton, and Trans Ocean) and give tax breaks to the mom and pop business owners who are being driven out of business by the large offshore companies that pay no tax, and the tax burden forced upon them to make up for. Don't think so, thirty years of trickle down economics got us to this point. It wasn't any one President, or any one Congress, it was all of them, both Democratic and Republican. Beltway at its best, America at its worst.