Craig Crawford's Trail Mix

If I'm the putative first here, I'm up way too late - or did you post this early, Craig? No matter. I guess I should turn off the light, so I'll just wish you all a beautiful day such as we've been having out here lately.

I want to repost this link. Broder's excellent piece on the lack of substance this season:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/08/AR2008100802929.html

"This nation is mired in two wars it does not know how to end. It is struggling to escape the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The federal government is staring at record deficits, with no plausible plan for financing the retirement and health-care needs of a giant generation of retirees. Our transportation and education systems need help, and we are dependent on other countries for the energy we use."

gee thanks patsi, great way to start the day~~~~

Good AM All -- Coffee is on...

Craig - great post - and contra to the link posted by Patsi -
HEY DAVID S. BORDER OPEN YOUR EARS....
or are you not capable to understand the concept that this Country can attack multiple issues at one time. John McCain was very clear in his response.

Barack has also been very clear

Mr Border - You are the problem!

The choice is clear for those that take the time to find the listen with open ears...

I have little confidence in much getting accomplished in the next four years, Ping....just hoping Obama has some advisers who are more interested in the country than in his image.

Patsi - we can all agree to that.....
Obama has by far the best campaign to this point...

We must Change to Fiscal Responsibility. Period
Who is that person?

Question - why when directly asked about Ayers does the Obama campaign NOT ANSWER the question? They turn to attack mode and distraction.
Just answer the question and move on otherwise to even a pea brain you look guilty Mr Obama and Mr Talk show rounds Gibbs.
Gibbs attack are so slick - but people will start to feel the sharpness of his tongue

I can't help but think when I see Obama on the tele....... that old cliche of....
"be careful what you wish for"......

oh well.......

An interesting read.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/10082008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/terror_victims_qs_for_barack_132619.htm

What if this should happen?

http://www.investors.com/editorial/editorialcontent.asp?secid=1501&status=article&id=308271974461547

ACORN I

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZjRjYzE0YmQxNzU4MDJjYWE5MjIzMTMxMmNhZWQ1MTA=

ACORN II

http://michellemalkin.com/2008/10/08/the-acornobama-thug-thizzle-new-ohio-grills-acorn-workers/

ACORN III

http://www.nypost.com/seven/10092008/news/politics/nuts__132771.htm

florida bracing for voting storm

http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20081009/CAPITOLNEWS/810090328&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL

ACORN IV

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081009/ap_on_el_ge/voter_fraud

Sen Obama's plans lack specificity??? How dare you say that! He's so far above specifics that only an Obama hater would suggest a need for specificity. Miserable McNut lover.

"What if this should happen?"

http://www.investors.com/editorial/editorialcontent.asp?secid=1501&status=article&id=308271974461547

You mean we don't need Young Pioneers in Chicago, Memphis, Tacoma, Orlando, or Houston?

Would McCain ask Hillary Clinton to be part of his cabinet? Don't laugh it could happen, not only do they have a very good working, and personal relationship, they also "respect" each other.

Is this another way of saying voters may buyers remorse should a terrorist attack take place after Obama was elected?

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14413.html

"An interesting read.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/10082008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/terror_victims_qs_for_barack_132619.htm"

Posted by: Anselm | October 9, 2008 7:28 AM

TERROR VICTIM'S QS FOR BARACK
"WHEN John Murtagh was 9 years old, Bill Ayers' friends tried to kill him.

Obama was only 8 when Murtagh's house was bombed. He has nothing to do with the trauma the Murtagh family went through. But Obama was a grown man when he decided his path to power lay through Bill Ayers' connections."

"What if this should happen?"

http://www.investors.com/editorial/editorialcontent.asp?secid=1501&status=article&id=308271974461547

Posted by: Anselm | October 9, 2008 7:34 AM

Will this be seen as racist?

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/10/07/politics/fromtheroad/entry4507703.shtml

Good morning all
Patsi
Thanks for that Broder W.P. article.I'm voting Obama because the alternative is worse.I just can't believe that McCain and Obama can be so vague about what they will do to fix any of the problems this country has!! Obama says he will give tax cuts to 95% of the tax paying citizens,what utter BS!! Where is the fiscal responsibility???I wish I could be like some here and have a total Obama Love Crush,it must make things easier and HOPEFUL.............

http://www.investors.com/editorial/editorialcontent.asp?secid=1501&status=article&id=308271974461547

Obama's Real Problem With Ayers
INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
"Election '08: At an education forum in Venezuela, Bill Ayers showed the real issue is not his terrorist past. It's the socialist revolutionary agenda that he and Barack Obama want to impose on the nation's schools."

The word 'politics' is derived from the word 'poly', meaning 'many', and the word 'ticks', meaning 'blood sucking parasites'.
--Larry Hardiman

Hey Chloe
If your around,you are missed!

"A USA Today/MTV/Gallup poll published this week said that 61 percent of voters under age 30 favored Obama compared to 32 percent backing Republican John McCain -- which the poll said was the most lopsided ratio of any age group."

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE497AKJ20081008?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews

I believe the young voters will get to the polls this year.....and I am optimistic that this GE has instilled a civic interest in politics for them.

"Obama led McCain 48 percent to 44 percent among likely U.S. voters in the national poll, up from a 2 percentage-point advantage for Obama on Wednesday. The poll has a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points."

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE4961BK20081009?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews

Hopefully we will not even have to consider McInsane's ideas on the mortgage meltdown bailout.

As someone stated last night, there is no clear why to facilitate McCain's mortgage bail out....but who needs to think about the details. I am amazed at the number of McCain signs I see around here....I'd like to show you the house they sit in front of......pretty telling (imo)

......and Obama signs are being stolen nightly!

News Flash: The Media Back Obama

"Its activist role has been the single constant in this eternal election.
The single constant in the eternal election remains the media, whose activist role no one will seriously dispute. To point out the prevailing (with honorable exceptions) double standard of reporting so favorable to Mr. Obama by now feels superfluous -- much like talking about the weather. The same holds true for all those reports pointing to Mr. Obama's heroic status outside the United States -- not to mention the cascade of press analyses warning that if he fails to win election, the cause will surely be racism."

"None of this means that the media's role will go unremembered -- who will forget MSNBC news, voice of the Obama campaign? Never has a presidential election produced more fodder for the making and breaking -- or tainting -- of reputations."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122351645893317913.html

So Craig Crawford thinks it is great idea to take my money to pay for someone else's home that that person cannot afford in the first place. So Craig Crawford believes there is no such thing as personal responsibility. So Craig Crawford believes in "blanking" Americans, just like myself, who are not in debt, who save our money, who play by the rules, who pratice personal responsibility and do not expect others to bail us out when we mess up. Craig Crawford and his elk, McCain, are ruining American.

"Craig Crawford and his elk"

It's Palin and her elk; and, Craig Crawford and his ilk.

This stream of election and socially motivated domestic bailouts does tend to frost this both cars are paid for, the house is paid for, I take care of my family and extended family, American's butt.

The word 'politics' is derived from the word 'poly', meaning 'many', and the word 'ticks', meaning 'blood sucking parasites'.

sturge, our resident etymologist earns today's gold star

We've been voting for president fifty + times in our country's history. Why is it that each election year there seems to be a major snafu with the voting process! It's like a Grand Opening very four years. And why does seem to happen in the same States over and over. Makes you wonder whether we're not any better than any developing nation in this respect. One of these days we'll be having foreign officials monitoring the process so the world will believe the results.

Voter Purges in 6 States May Violate Law

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/us/politics/09voting.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

A cow is of the bovine ilk
One end is "Moo", the other, milk.

--ogden nash

"Thanks for that Broder W.P. article.I'm voting Obama because the alternative is worse."

Agreed Tony, the Republicans need to be ousted, absolutely.

"......and Obama signs are being stolen nightly!"

Better they steal the signs than vandalize, as was done when someone slit the tire under my Vietnam Vets for John Kerry bumper sticker.

Very good post over at Booman Tribune.

"But tempering that joy is a fear that too often those of us living in predominantly white communities fail to recognize, or too readily dismiss, but which the current Republican "pep rallies" led by Sarah Palin have exposed for all to see: the real danger that the dark side of white racism poses to the first African American Presidential nominee of a major party. A danger that the black community, which has long suffered from a history of violence and oppression against them by white Americans, a multi-generational effort that has dehumanized and scapegoated African Americans, feels viscerally in ways that even whites like myself cannot fully comprehend:"

And some more...

"Obama and Biden cannot risk alienating white voters so they have demonstrated a reserve and shown a measure of respect for their Republican adversaries that McCain and Palin, by their own actions on the campaign trail, have not earned nor do they deserve. Their blatant racist and smear tactics in which they have attempted to portray the Obamas as unpatriotic, terrorist sympathizers and the beneficiaries of "affirmative action," are, in fact not only extremely reckless, but they have stirred up a hornet's nest of bigotry and hatred that we have not seen in this country since the days of the Civil Rights era and the assassinations of the Kennedy Brothers, Martin Luther King Jr., Medgar Evers and other prominent liberals and African Americans.

Just this summer we have witnessed two episodes of violence directly tied to to right wing anger and hatred: the murder of members of a Unitarian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee by a gunman with well known right wing leanings who targeted them for their "liberal views." We have also watched as a deranged gunman took out his anger at his employer by killing the head of the Democratic Party in Arkansas. And lest we forget, just over a month ago several individuals with ties to white supremacists were arrested with sniper rifles, ammunition and other military gear in Denver during the Democratic National Convention after bragging of their plans to assassinate Barack Obama."

Read the whole article at link below.

http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2008/10/9/91521/1509

Everybody Tells Me Everything
by Ogden Nash

I find it very difficult to enthuse
Over the current news.
Just when you think that at least the outlook is so black that it can grow no blacker, it worsens,
And that is why I do not like the news, because there has never been an era when so many things were going so right for so many of the wrong persons.

Craig,

McCain's plan was basically laughed at for the following reasons:

1. HERA 3221 had a provision called Hope for Homeowners. The Act creates a new Federal Housing Authority (FHA) program designed to help borrowers in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure. Eligible homeowners may be able to pay off their original (foreclosing) lenders with a fixed-rate, 30-year-term mortgage for up to 90 percent of the appraised value of the property. Eligible homeowners are those who originated their loans before January 1, 2008, spend more than 31 percent of their monthly income on their mortgage, and are currently in danger of foreclosure. Borrowers would have to share future equity with the FHA. The program is completely voluntary; banks may elect not to participate. The program begins on October 1, 2008 and ends in September of 2011.

2. The intent of the recently passed recovery plan was that by having the Treasury scoop up these bad performing MBS, the gov't could rewrite bad loans and work to keep homeowners in their homes.

The FHA plan creates an environment where the homeowner gets immediate relief by having the lender forgive whatever portion of the loan balance to get ratios back in line. When the homeowner sells at a profit, they will pay back the lender. McCain's plan sounds like just throwing money into the wind without any specifics as to who is eligible for relief.

I'm not shocked that McCain wasn't aware of those provisions in HERA 3221 since he didn't bother to vote. Obama didn't vote either but it seems he at least read the bill at some point...or at least someone advising him did.

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=s2008-96

Happy Birthday John Lennon...he would have been 67 today...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njG7p6CSbCU

"Things are never so good they can't get better, and never so bad they can't get worse."

Have a wonderful day everyone!

peace~

Let's get real Craig. Presidential candidates promise lots of things, of which very little they have the power to really enact. It is so easy to say what the voters want to hear -- like when Ronald Reagan promised to balanced the budget in his second term -- right -- did he even come close? did he even try? The way I see it -- Obama has the luxury to be vague (and actually it borders more of the truth, cause they don't know exactly how to get out of this financial mess). Whereas McCain is under more pressure to come up with specifics, of which he can not foresee he will do either. Any which way, the next president will have to deal with many very serious problems of which the financial crisis heads the list. It comes down to faith and which one do you trust the most.

Where are the far left people in the mold of Paul Hill or Eric Rudolph of the far Right.

I'll tell you where they . The left don't have violent people like the far Right does, so therefore there has been no violence against the RFN's.

The far Right is loaded with Racists, Bigots and far more dangerous Terrorists than you will ever see on left. These are the people who have brought our Country to the brink of Third World Status.

They have destroyed our Constitution, decimated our Military, turned our Country into a Third Rate Dictatorship Country that Tortures those in our Custody, Raped and Pillaged our Economy to the edge of Bankruptcy and will continue on this path unless we remove them from Power once and for all.

Beware the Republicans for they are the true evil in our Country and appear ready to start another great War right here in what once was the United States of America.

Welcome to America the Fourth Reich. Brought to you by the Republican Fascist Nazi Party.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/10/mccains-homeowner-bailout.html#comment-156775

theresa43, but a campaign devoid of specific plans is a missed opportunity for getting something through Congress early in your presidency, as you can make the argument that your election proved the public wants it. Like 'em or not, Bush quickly got his tax cuts thru using this argument, on the strength that he campaigned for them. Clinton got his economic stimulus package through Congress early in his first term, having made it a touchstone of his campaign.

God I love c-span. Some maroon just called in raving about Obama's connections to "tourists."

"The left don't have violent people like the far Right does, "

!!!!????!!!!

Did you really say that? I think if you want to look at the history of violence you'll find equal opportunity wackos.

The reason neither candidate has any specifics is that neither has a clue. Lose lose situation.

Jon Stewart is too much! Who thinks this shit up! LOL

On the Palin choice:

"Neither of them is perfect, but if you, out of nowhere, are going to grab a woman out of the woods and make her your vice presidential candidate, what can I do?

"[Sarah Palin] is like Jodie Foster in the movie 'Nell,' " Stewart continued. "They just found her, and she was speaking her own special language.

http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2008/10/09/2008-10-09_sarah_palin_unappealin_to_jon_stewart.html

So how many liberals have murdered Republican politicians?

What were their names?

Patsi,

If you are try to hit the beach in RI or CT during the summer, you would be railing against the tourists too...lol

To those ripping into McCain's homeowner bailout, I don't know whether it's a good idea or not. Today's post is not about the policy, but the politics. The point is that at least McCain is thinking about specific responses to the crisis. It's a sad commentary about our campaigns that only losers risk saying anything definite, that frontrunners are rewarded for silence.

The catch in the McCain proposal has nothing to do with the fake stuff in the current bailout which does nothing for homeowners with distressed mortgages. Since there is no way to unwind mortgage backed securities the claim that the feds would be renegotiating anything is crap.

" What does this mean? It means that John McCain wants to give $100 billion of taxpayers' money to America's worst-behaving mortgage financiers.

"So McCain's idea is to give money to the mortgage lenders, not help the homeowners. No way, no how, no more corporate giveaways McCain. HOLC is this - the government buys the loan at market value, the mortgage lender takes its hit and the homeowner keeps his/her house on new affordable credit terms. That is HOLC. McCain's plan is nonsense."
http://www.talkleft.com/story/2008/10/8/16167/8166

Obama in an ABC interview just took credit for the bailout (or rescue if you are stupid) and claimed people prefer his approach of steady donothingism to McCain's (or Clinton's) approach.

Craig: That's assuming you have the 2/3 majority in house and senate. I see your point, though. Maybe talking about specifics on how to solve this housing, banking and credit mess we are in is so complicated, it takes more than a weekend of problem fixin -- and Barack Obama seems to be doing well without going into specifics. Why change the tactics when his campaign is working. If he wins this election, let us hope that he does come up with real solutions. I just don't think it can be explained in campaign dialogue. And I don't trust McCain/Palin for doing anything that will help the middle class. They can't even say "middle class".

Anon -- there's a difference between left and liberal, between right and conservative. I can't decide who'd be more excited by a facist takeover, you or the facists.

Are you saying Lee Harvey Oswald was a right winger?

"So how come Treasury now says that its first priority is to inject public capital in banks? And where is Paulson getting such authority since there is nothing formally explicit in the Act to allow such recapitalization?

This is a fascinating story that is worth telling in full detail. Here are below those details…"
http://www.rgemonitor.com/roubini-monitor/253956/how_authorization_to_recapitalize_banks_via_public_capital_injections_partial_nationalization_was_introduced_-_indirectly_through_the_back_door_-_into_the_tarp_legislation

Nouriel Roubini's Global EconoMonitor I think he has had excellent commentary on the current financial crisis.

"Since there is no way to unwind mortgage backed securities the claim that the feds would be renegotiating anything is crap."

KGC, this stuff is way beyond my pay grade, but are you saying there's no way to "unwind' these balled up mortgages to sort them out because they've already been packaged and sold as a group, good and bad together?

"I just don't think it can be explained in campaign dialogue."

That's assuming we are morons. I wish to hell somebody would at least try.

I believe if I can wade through "The French Enlightenment and the Jews," I can understand a bit of non-campaign talk.

Rez

Yes.

Craig - Crimson and Clover, Silence is Golden.

Why answer - better to deflect and confuse - The instant easy button soceity we live in is best understood by the Obama Campaign,

Obama is running the better Campaign to this point, So if President is elected based on Campaign and not substance it appears to be Obama to the win,

Unless McCain is really winning the silence game waiting for the right momement - Maybe all of these non answers by Obama and Gibbs will come back to haunt? When is Halloween?

Obama -
The Candidate of CHANGE !!! Constant Change
After all WORDS JUST WORDS.....

Barack Obama Sept. 23 press conference. Transcript

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2008/09/barack_obama_sept_23_press_con.html

"Why the McCain mortgage refinancing plan won't fly"

"A HOLC type solution however, cannot work today because the vast majority (80%+) of residential mortgages are securitized. The government cannot purchase mortgages direclty out of securitization pools
unless it pays face value (100% of the loan amount outstanding) and purchasing MBS doesn't give the government the ability to modify the underlying loans."

"McCain is not proposing to do that. Instead, what he is
proposing looks like the HOPE or Homeonwers Act of
2008 that was signed into law in August, & which is unlikely to have much of an impact because it relies on voluntary mortgage industry action.

Because McCain's plan doesn't recognize the(admittedly complex) problems created by securitization it is simply unworkable."

http://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/2008/10/why-the-mccain.html#more

Is there anyway the gov't can refi the MBS with their holders?

I'm sure i'm over simplifying this stuff because I know vedry little about it.

Yesterday, Craig announced he was gonna run for president. Today, I find out he has elk. You are a fascinating man, Craig.

And here are some figures on the extent of the potential for further mortgage defaults/foreclosure.

Nearly 1 in 6 owners' owe more on a mortgage than their home is worth.

About 75.5 million U.S. households own their homes.

Home values have fallen 30% in some areas, resulting in 12 million households or 16% who owe more than their homes are worth.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122341352084512611.html

I drove past the house of one of my niece's friends last week. I asked my sister, "Is Brin's family moving? I see their house is for sale." My sister said, "They moved over a year ago. They just haven't been able to sell their old house yet."

People steal Obama signs nightly? Isn't stealing signs illegal? I know it is in baseball.

Trx Coreen, That a good article on some of the options especially for someone like me who is ignorant of this biz.

Rez,

I don't think we are the only ones who find this mortgage crisis difficult to comprehend.

No offense to your chosen candidate, (& by the way, I am not a McCain supporter--leaning more & more to not voting for either of them) but neither Obama nor McCain have shown any understanding of just what has happened or how to address it.

Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone. The Government had a hand in it and the whole investigation was a Whitewash. I would not put it past the Republican Party having a hand in it.

Don't forget it happened in Dallas Texas, Oil Country Texas.

Just like the cover up of Prescott Bush's dealings with the Nazi's laundering Hitlers money. That's where the Bush's made their fortune. Off the bodies of Jews murdered by Hitler.

S - ?:
-------
O(1) & A(1) => ?/?

Thx Coreen, I agree about candidates understanding and plans. I' m voting him on most of the other issues, plus i'm one of those yellow dogs (right or wrong).

This rescue/bailout jazz is way over my head and Econ has always been one of my weak suits.

Interesting, from the wsj article: I bet this is typical nationwide.

Stephanie and Jason Kirschenman thought they were being prudent when they agreed in late 2004 to buy a new four-bedroom home in Lodi, Calif., for $458,000. They put a substantial 20% down and chose a loan with a fixed interest rate for the first 10 years. Two years later, they took out a second mortgage to pay off some bills.

At the time, the home was appraised for about $550,000. But a mortgage broker recently estimated its value at well below the $380,000 the family owes on it, says Ms. Kirschenman. "We were quite shocked," she says.

Paulson: “Forget my plan, let’s copy the Europeans”
By: Ian Welsh Thursday October 9, 2008 8:02 am

"Free market fundamentalism in action. Too bad the Democrats didn't insist on getting Buffett shares, and not non-voting crap or that judges be allowed to revise mortgages to allow homeowners to keep their homes. But Obama promised Donna Edwards he'd get bankruptcy reform through as President. I trust that promise will mean more to him than his promise to vote against FISA."
http://firedoglake.com/2008/10/09/paulson-forget-my-plan-lets-copy-the-europeans/#respond

I'm no fan of Prescott Bush or any of his family, but a lot of people did business with Nazis. And the US was reprehensible when it came to the Jews. See: the Evian Conference on the Refugee Question, 1938.

Raleigh, N.C. – For the first time in any of PPP’s Virginia polling this year the race is something other than a two point lead for Barack Obama. He now leads 51-43 in the state.

http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/PPP_Release_VA_1009535.pdf

Most Excellent!

Great columnist;

"So the great new symbol of progress for women has come to this - being used by men to do their dirty work. And enjoying it.

"If Clinton put 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, Palin is singlehandedly replacing the panes."

http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/20081008_Annette_John-Hall__Sarah_Palin_s_negatives_grow.html

Rez,

As to the examples of homes worth less than the loan,
practically what is occuring here (not often) is that if a homeowner with a house worth less than the mortgage is lucky enough to find a purchaser, they must try to get their lender to agree to a "short sale" in which the lender would agree to take less than the loan balance----which is not easy because of the difficulty of actually getting someone to agree to it---& if there is an agreement usually the seller can not walk away with any dollars(profit) from the sale.

Well at least we agree on one thing Patsi.

Craig,

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/10/mccains-homeowner-bailout.html#comment-156784

While I can appreciate the gist of your argument, in this specific circumstance, McCain's policy pronouncement would be akin to someone saying in December 2001 that we need to respond to the attacks of 9/11 and going into the mountains of Afghanistan to find Bin Laden...

Specifics are always good, but how about getting specific without using recently passed laws, for which you didn't vote, as your shiny new idea?

In how many ways?

http://www.liberalrapture.com/uploaded_images/Fraud-721827.jpg

"Yesterday, Craig announced he was gonna run for president. Today, I find out he has elk. You are a fascinating man, Craig. -- Posted by: Corey"

Corey, as i formally told the draft committee, I WILL RUN if nominated, but I WILL NOT SERVE if elected.

One More Elk!

Coreen,
I wonder about the short sale price. That's probably more than the house is worth. Homes are depreciating like cars anymore. The moment you take the keys, the value drops 5-10%.

Obama, McCain Transition Efforts Are Worlds Apart

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/08/obama-mccain-transition-e_n_132976.html

Apparently McCain hasn't put much effort into putting together a transition team. Go figure.

GORDO,

Thanks! I'm one of those lazy asses.I'd rather look at pictures than read any day.

Gordo,

If your "equation" is supposed to mean scandal= Obama + Ayers, please consider that in a political blog, the last thing most of us want to deal with are algebraic equations, even when they are cryptically and poorly constructed such as yours.

If I wanted to deal with that crap again, I would have majored in physics instead of Poli Sci...

But here's one for you to solve...

DFR = G( C+S+D)2

"[Sarah Palin] is like Jodie Foster in the movie 'Nell,' " Stewart continued. "They just found her, and she was speaking her own special language.

"Have you noticed how [Palin's] rallies have begun to take on the characteristics of the last days of the Weimar Republic? In Florida, she asked 'Who is Barack Obama?' Hey, lady, we just met YOU five f-ing weeks ago."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/09/jon-stewart-rails-on-sara_n_133220.html

"like Nell" great line, and spot on!

Hello All.

Recovering from emergency abdominal surgery here, and while watching the Daily Show last night on a crappy hospital tv with horrible headphones, I nearly ripped a stitch or six laughing so hard at the "Mr. Puddles" moment. I can't find a link, but it was the best tv moment of the past week. Thank you Jon Stewart. You made the past 4 days more bearable.

Bethyboo Wrote Oct,9-20085:22 am

If we stole Mexico, it was from Spain. California was originally land inhabited by Indians, or Native Americans. 'Mexico' was stolen from Indians by the Spanish who treated that vast area as a colony. It was never truly ruled by 'Mexicans' because there were only Spaniards and Indians. Granted we butted in and took over land that had been lived on from ancient times, and they were certainly not Mexicans or Spaniards - but what else is new? We moved in and took over, as people have been doing since before recorded time.

To say we stole from a country that was basically a colony of just another colonial European power is, to me, a dreamy view of history.

I'm by no means defending western treatment of Native Americans - god knows it isn't pretty or pleasant.
But I don't think Spain's treatment of the New World deserves defense. Spain wanted money from the New World, and by god, they took it and left messes behind.

!st----Mexicans are Indians, and Spanish-----I was born in Mexico and have spanish blood from my mothers side (Gama-a spanish name) My pop is Indian.

2nd---California was not basically a colony when it was invaded by us, in 1821 Mexico overthrew Spain's colonial rule, It became a SOVEREIGN NATION.

3rd--That California belonged to Mexico did not deter Pres. Polk---he believed it was Americas Manifest Destiny ( he first tried to buy it several times--when Mexico refused---he used the conflict of Texas as excuse for invading,Texas was also illegal aquired) to one day occupy the Continent from Atlantic to Pacific, this ( in my opinion ) catch phrase gave the people(with the help of the Media) permission for expanionism, and divine sanction.

This predestination goes on today-----in the Haitian Islands with the help of the British 5-7 years ago we forced a people that lived one of the islands for thousands of years,( I saw pictures----a true paradise) off that island and made it an air force base, right now i can't recall the name, but it's there, thanks

Gas is $2.74 in West Fort Worth now...fire up the Hummers again!!!

All you FN viewers, did you catch Freddy B last nite?
I'm paraphrasing:

If you're gonna lose, don't go down gentlemanly.
Wow, classy people.

Not unlike another great Goper:

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a McCain confidant, told The Post's David Broder that the campaign would "go down in history as stupid if they don't unleash" Palin.

Headline on SF Gate web site of the SF Chronicle

"Liberals Praise McCain Plan

GOP candidate's mortgage proposal draws praise from the left, scorn from conservatives."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/09/BU9B13DNI7.DTL&type=politics&tsp=1

mornin'.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/10/mccains-homeowner-bailout.html#comment-156789

KC, lol - yeah, LHO was one of those RW commie sypathizers - the concept would make JEH's head explode.

Cook County Sheriff's Dept suspending evictions, good for him!

Patsi said it best...neither candidate has a clue about this financial mess.

Today begins the meltdown of Iceland

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/3165137/Financial-crisis-Icelandic-banks-collapse-threatens-millions-of-taxpayers-money.html

Is this the end of the line? lmao

an elk in every pot!

crawdads unite! you have nothing to lose but your blog

Andrew Sullivan found this picture, and it's just too cool :

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2008/10/08/bassets.jpg

Wow,

China won't torture Gitmo detainees but the US will...what's this world coming to?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27097773/

Some comic relief --

If you had purchased $1,000 of Delta Air Lines stock one year ago, you would have $49 left.

With Fannie Mae you would have $2.50 left of the original $1,000.

With AIG you would have less than $15 left.

But if you had purchased $1,000 worth of beer one year ago, drank all of the beer, then turned in the cans for the aluminum recycling REFUND, you would have
$214 cash.

Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle.

It's called the 401-Keg.

"This is not just a financial crisis; it's an economic crisis. Therefore, the solutions we pursue cannot simply stabilize the markets. We must also deal with the interconnected economic challenges that set the stage for this crisis -- and reverse the failed policies that allowed a potential crisis to become a real one.

First, we must address the skyrocketing rates of mortgage defaults and foreclosures that have buffeted the economy and ignited the credit crisis. Two million homeowners carry mortgages worth more than their homes. They hold $3 trillion in mortgage debt. Nearly three million adjustable-rate mortgages are scheduled for a rate increase in the next two years. Another wave of foreclosures looms.

I've proposed a new Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC), to launch a national effort to help homeowners refinance their mortgages. The original HOLC, launched in 1933, bought mortgages from failed banks and modified the terms so families could make affordable payments while keeping their homes. The original HOLC returned a profit to the Treasury and saved one million homes. We can save roughly three times that many today. We should also put in place a temporary moratorium on foreclosures and freeze rate hikes in adjustable-rate mortgages. We've got to stem the tide of failing mortgages and give the markets time to recover."

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2008/09/hillary_clinton_calls_for_mort.html

this deserves an encore since it's about the topic d'jour

Bear--------------------------------

Got a very small part of it correct. Do you know what this refers to? It's not the association - something else.

My spell checker keeps wanting to change AIG to AIR....it is a sad day when your spell checker knows before you do...

Blonde Wino

Thanks for the mess----just spit out my coffee, since i can't spell worth a darn it strucj me veji funi.

"Craig Crawford and his elk"

It's Palin and her elk; and, Craig Crawford and his ilk.

Posted by: Flatus

LOL with tears -- thanks Flatus for starting my day off with a bang here in Calif.

"Two years later, they took out a second mortgage to pay off some bills."

The other side of the same coin.

They put 20% down, leaving them a mortgage of $366,400. Now that was a smart thing to do, a prudent thing, but they then went back after only 2 years on the mortgage and obtained a 2nd mortage to payoff some bills(?) If this was a straight 10 year mortgage say 5.5%, after 2 years their mortgage balance was approximately, $309,500. If their home correctly appraised at $550,000 they could get a maximum 2nd mortgage of $192,400. Mortgage balance subtracted from the appraised valued, times 80%, = $192,400. Just the principal and interest on both loans total close to $6000, then add in Calif taxes and insurance and you have a monthly mortgage payment approaching $7,500 to $8,000. Now that is on the high end, but I would guess their final payment on both mortgages including taxes and insurance are over $6,000. Had they waited 2 more years before obtaining a 2nd mortgage, the balance on the original loan would be down to $206,000, well below its current value of $380,000. It all has to do with timing and some luck.

as I've stated before..... I'm confused by all the economic stuff.....
but I just got through listening to 2 very fascinating hours on the Diane Rehm Show about this mess..... and what I managed to gleam was that to think of this as a "kitchen table" issue is wrong...... it's a global issue.....

as what BW's link states...... what happens in Iceland matters to..... and does effect what happens at a kitchen table in Missouri.....

I feel totally powerless to do anything other than to take care of my own business as best I can.....

and everyone involved in both hours of the program stated very clearly that both candidates running for president of this country appear to be clueless....

think I'll go buy me a case of 7 Deadly Zins later today..... good wine always makes me feel better.......

Craig.....
what is this I hear....... you've become a member of The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks......

when do we get to see you wearing the funny hat?

Wow, 7.5 trillion with a T in stock value lost in a year.
Overheard on tv

Barack Obama, The Front Man *

"... new McCain ad is titled simply: “Ayers,” which describes some of the actual crimes that Ayers and Dohrn committed ...

... Gov. Frank Keating, a former FBI agent, who appeared on MSNBC a short time ago. Gov. Keating strongly infers and correctly, I suspect, that Barack Obama is the front-man for these radicals."
------------------------------------
Ayers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONfJ7YSXE5w
------------------------------------
http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/10/09/barack-obama-the-front-man-open-thread/

Anslem,

If the people in your scenario were concerned with consolidating debt to get paid off as quickly as possible, they should have done the following:

1. Instead of a ten year note with a PI payment of $3976.40, I would have put them in a 30 yr at 6% for PI of $2196.75. This would free up $1800 in cash flow that could be directed towards paying down these credit cards and other bills.

2. If they decided they still wanted to pull out the extra equity, a 90% Cash out Refi at the same 6% rate would be a loan amount of $411,000 (at the time the conforming loan limit)

PI payment would be $2471.35. Add $250 for PMI making the total payment of $2721.35.

For the instances where I helped a client pay off $100K in credit cards, they were paying on average, $3,000 a month to cover minimum payments. If you add $1,000 for escrows, the $3721.35 would mean that if they consolidated all debt into one loan, their cards would be gone and their total monthly payments was about $700 above just what they were paying for their cards. All interest would be tax deductible.

If we say that they take half of their monthly $3K savings and use it to pay down the mortgage balance and half goes to savings, in 12.56 years, their mortgage is paid off and they would have $216,000 in their savings account.

oh hell, hope this doesn't mean i'll have to replace all the bulbs in the house again... a new twist on the phrase going green..."glowing" green?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/oct/09/energyefficiency.health

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG2ep9oaVEo

topic talked about on this blog a couple a days ago finally makes the news... how's it feel to be in the vanguard, c-listers?

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/10/09/gupta.obama.health.cnn

Big jokes, eh Craig? Our constitution burns, our sovereignty is being subverted, our country is being stolen from under our noses, Republicans revoke the rights that the Democrats will never restore, a police state is being established and you have nothing to say about it. You make a nice little video about the "Declaration of Independence" and ask us all to reflect... Reflect, indeed, as the American ideal which was instilled in us as school-children is dead; you watched it die and said little if nothing. Libertarian my ass. More like a coward. Then again, what should I expect from a pawn of the media establishment?

Perino Confirms White House Won’t Extend Jobless Benefits, Says People Should Just Find A Job»

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/10/08/perino-unemployment/

Let em eat cake!

geez, champ, what got into you?

McCain on the stump

"Go to England, go to Canada, if that's the type of health care you want"

I wish!

Boy the stress of the campaign is really starting to show on McCain people.

Craig,

I think a fan of Bloom County, will remember the Armadillo from Texas, who at the Meadow Party convention famously stated...

"Don't go puttin any prickly burrs up my tailpipe"

Boy McCain is going really heavy on the "pro-life" theme today, 3 weeks before the election, and he's still pandering to his base. Sad.

Um...having just come home from the hospital, let me tell you what I was thinking last night while sitting outside on a warm fall evening last night (albeit -- with an IV pole attached to me).

I am lucky to live in the best country in the world. On Monday, I walked into emergency with excruciating abdominal pain. The only thing I had in my wallet (other than a $20 bill) was my SOCIALIST medical card. By Monday evening, I was having life-saving surgery, having been tested, sonargrammed and diagnosed. My surgeon (who was on-call) happened to be one of the best colo-rectal specialists in the county. The surgery staff were professional, warm and wonderful. The nursing staff (post-op) were so wonderful I'm trying to figure out what I can do (now that I'm home) to tell them so in a concrete way.

I have news for John McCain. Our healthcare plan is the finest in the world. It makes me SEETHE when people who haven't got a CLUE go off on 'national health.' There is no excuse for the millions of uninsured Americans. Just no excuse.

oops..make that "best specialists in the country," not county.

Tylenol, sorry to hear about your medical issue. Glad to hear all is well. Mind if I ask what the problem was. And I do hope "problem" in the past tense. Good luck to you but not required to respond.

Bethyboo---re read this part of you post

To say we stole from a country that was basically a colony of just another colonial European power is, to me, a dreamy view of history

Are you saying that it is ok for European powers to play monopoly with north america,with each other, while ignoring the people that lived here since ancient times?, if not sorry, if so it explains a lot.

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.
THOMAS JEFFERSON

No doubt tylenol...good news you made it through okay...

This is rather humorous... A friend got this from another friend who must think he is not liberal. The poll is for real by the way... Currently split 49% - 49%

Here is the email:

A 'vote' is being taken by NOW on PBS, expecting that their 80% liberal

viewers will dominate. Let's prove that wrong. Send to every non-liberal

you know. Let's get some balance into the voting group. This is the

easiest vote you will ever make. It takes literally two seconds.

Let's turn this around!!!

PBS has a short video on Sarah Palin on their website. Also included is a

poll that asks: Is Sarah Palin qualified to be VP? I logged on a few

minutes ago and 38% percent had voted YES, 60% NO.

Let's turn this around..... You don't have to give your name or email

address in order to vote. It's very simple.

Here's the link:

http://www.pbs.org/now/polls/poll-435.html

AFTER YOU VOTE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO YOUR LIST OF PEOPLE, ASK THEM TO VOTE

AND THEN ASK THEM TO FORWARD IT ON TO THEIR E-MAIL LISTS. LET'S SHOW PBS

WHAT REAL AMERICANS THINK!

******************

Obviously I want everyone who has a opinion on this issue to chime in regardless of their political afflictions... urrrrr, affiliations. So you are all invited to vote NOW and to pass it on to others if you so desire.

ET

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/10/mccains-homeowner-bailout.html#comment-156731

Patsi wrote that? She has described, in a nutshell, practically the gist of everything that is currently going wrong in the country and what we can find ourselves facing in the near future. Well done Patsi !!

The choice is clear for those that take the time to find the listen with open ears...

Posted by: Ping Pong | October 9, 2008 6:52 AM

Agreed ! The clear choice is Obama/Biden come November.

et, that was from an article patsi posted at 6:06 with this note

"I want to repost this link. Broder's excellent piece on the lack of substance this season:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/08/AR2008100802929.html

Tylenol, on that you are right--a single payer system would be the best ticket for the U.S.. We waste a tremendous amount of our resources on a system, while the envy for much of the world, does not care for almost 50-million of its own.

Mr Obama's plan is nonsense. Mr McCain's plan is nonsense. Mrs Clinton's plan is pretty good. Maybe, with the tremendous financial pinch we're now in, we'll go for Mrs Clinton's structuring it much like our Medicare system.

Remember, though, it wasn't all that long ago that many Canadians would put-off their elective surgeries until they were in their winter homes in Florida. That is, until the Canadian government decided to stop reimbursing U.S. providers for treating Canadians.

There are different ways of defining best. People fly in from all over the world to get the extraordinary care at our world-class medical centers. They generally believe they are getting the best available care.

So the challenge is in making that care, in financial terms, available to the citizens who finance those medical centers. IMO, that availability will never occur until we have a true single-payer system.

Assassinated Presidents and their murderers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Presidential_assassination_attempts#Assassinations

Tylenol....
glad you've made it through the surgery...... please take care....

unfortunately, Obama isn't talking about universal healthcare either.....

one thing that really struck me while riding the bus back from skiing Tremblant last March was the beauty of the Quebec countryside..... the fields were covered at that time with Snow geese..... but those fields were intact with modest farms houses on them...... modest vehicles in the driveways.....

if that had been this country....... those houses would have been torn down..... the fields cut up into cul-de-sacs..... and McMansions built all over them with pricey SUVs as adornments......

Canadians really do understand the meaning of "enough"..... and I am proud to claim them as my ancestry......

Dem strategists see landslide in the making

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14413.html

Sounds good doesn't it?

Here G Man,

Here's one right up your alley;

Thousands of Troops Are Deployed on U.S. Streets Ready to Carry Out "Crowd Control"

http://www.alternet.org/rights/101958/thousands_of_troops_are_deployed_on_u.s._streets_ready_to_carry_out_%22crowd_control%22/

Hey all, if anyone happens to be in the neighborhood of Milton, Delaware tomorrow night, would luv to meet you. They have me speaking and signing books:

Friday (Oct. 10) at 7:00 PM EST
Milton Theater, 110 Union Street
Milton, DE 19968 (302-684-3400)

http://www.miltontheatre.org/show_detail.asp?custno=1598

Craig--is it possible to a post a thread, discussing the origination of the unemployment tax, how unemployment benifits became considered taxable income?this information has not been in anyone's radar for yeas, in the atmosphere of today's concerns of how will someone live with less money, it's very important to bring out now to get it repealed--maybe?

This was posted earlier-------keep it in the public's mind, thanks

Perino Confirms White House Won’t Extend Jobless Benefits, Says People Should Just Find A Job»

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/10/08/perino-unemployment/

Rezdog...

I've said this already and everyone thinks I wear a tinfoil hat.

Yes, he will put troops on American Streets and they will shoot American Citizens.

Yes he will put murderous women and children killers like Blackwater on American Streets.

Welcome to America the Fourth Reich.

"Hey all, if anyone happens to be in the neighborhood of Milton, Delaware"

Craig, more about Milton:

"...
And malt does more than Milton can
To justify God's ways to man.
Ale, man, ale's the stuff to drink
For fellows whom it hurts to think:
Look into the pewter pot
To see the world as the world's not.
And faith, 'tis pleasant till 'tis past:
The mischief is that 'twill not last.
Oh I have been to Ludlow fair
And left my necktie God knows where,
And carried half way home, or near,
Pints and quarts of Ludlow beer:
Then the world seemed none so bad,
And I myself a sterling lad;
..."
A.E. Housman
Terence, This is Stupid Stuff

http://www.tetrameter.com/housman.htm#Terence,%20This%20Is%20Stupid%20Stuff

Posted by: anon-paranoid | October 9, 2008 10:06 AM : "So how many liberals have murdered Republican politicians? What were their names?"

Posted by: Patsi | October 9, 2008 10:16 AM : "Are you saying Lee Harvey Oswald was a right winger?"

This is a fascinating topic. Abraham Lincoln was a Protectionist, who fought against States' Rights, promoted Racial Justice, and invented the Income Tax.
John Wilkes Booth opposed Big Government, was a Free Trader, supported States' Rights, and opposed interference with property (slaveholders) rights.

Whether Oswald was a Stalinist or a Mafia flunky, he was a right-winger. Stalin hated lefties, and murdered any that weren't immediately useful to him. He was promoted the worship of history, and made himself the Augurer-in-Chief. If Oswald, like his Dad, worked for the mob, then his hobby of joining both pro and anti-Castro groups can be interpreted as attempts to infiltrate the reds, and to help get the mob back into Havana. Either way, he was a right-winger.

Could man be drunk forever
With liquor, love, or fights,
Lief should I rouse at morning,
And, Lief lie down at night.

But man at times is sober,
And, thinks by fits and starts.
And, when he thinks, he fastens
His hand upo his heart

-Housman

Then again, what should I expect from a pawn of the media establishment?

Posted by: champ | October 9, 2008 12:59 PM

Geez Champ, if you need a little, get a little, but don't take it out on Craig.

Sorry, that's supposed to be 'upon' in the last line, not 'upo'

I wish this thing could read my mind rather than my fingers.

" take care of my own business as best I can....."

Same here Renee.

I have news for John McCain. Our healthcare plan is the finest in the world. It makes me SEETHE when people who haven't got a CLUE go off on 'national health.' There is no excuse for the millions of uninsured Americans. Just no excuse.

Posted by: tylenol | October 9, 2008 1:38 PM

Right on tylenol. One little dispute... the Belgian health care system is one of the best in the world! Maybe we can share the honor. :-)

EuroTom,

Are you insinuating that Champ doesn't get enough Vitamin F ?

Tylenol, I hope you don't actually believe that Obama will give this country health care. No, some of us will die because a bunch of schmucks believed his BS.

Did I miss something?

I'm sure I just saw and heard McCain on TV railing against the bailout legislation that he just voted in favor.

This guy and his beauty queen side kick have gone bonkers. She's under FBI investigation for political corruption. Go figure?

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.
THOMAS JEFFERSON

Posted by Julie Young

That's essentially what my brother-in-law said, Julie. What's the sense in him working as hard as he does to make a good living? He said he might as well quit working.

Craig,

I'm in DC helping out my daughter, who had some surgery last week. I was all set to hop over to Milton, DE tomorrow evening, but Mapquest said it's about a five hour round-trip and I can't leave her alone that long.

So close, and yet so far.

DOW just dropped below 9000!

xrep -- Luv ya pal...but you need to read more.

heads up folks if you have a declared college dependent who recently registered to vote in a state other than where you live......

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/08/education/08students.html

Well x... I actually had to google Vitamin F, which I thought was a joke but then I see there really is such a vitamin (and here I used to work at a Fred Meyer Nuitrition Center). My insinuation was that it's time to get laid. So I'll say Vitamin F**k ...

Rez, is that good news?

Maybe in his administration,pres. Obama can be out of the loop until health care gets done, he then can sign believing he is signing a not present bill, then he can take credit for the Hilary health plan,but still have cover for the next election since he voted not in the loop?

Posted by Julie Young: "The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.
THOMAS JEFFERSON"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Where did Jefferson write this ?

I guess it explains why his plantation was undemocratic.

Patsi,

Read what for instance ?

Perhaps, you just don't like Housman.

"No, some of us will die because a bunch of schmucks believed his BS."

Patsi, you sure have that right. Let no one be surprised that the insurance companies will thrive, as never before, under his plan.

gordo must be moonlighting as cartoonist ramirez.
see image 5 in the trib's editorial cartoons today

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-edcart-multimediagallery,0,5944816.gallery

Milton...a great town in "[s]lower Delaware...

I am off to clean more in my apartment and it's even past my bedtime. Mauro arrives tomorrow and on Saturday and Sunday we will be at the FACTS 2008 event in Ghent Belgium. It's an interesting event and a great mix of people.

If you want to read about it, go here:

http://www.facts-convention.com/fa_index.html

EuroTom,

Yes, by Vitamin F, I meant 'get laid".

NEW THREAD

The Marketsare telling America not to vote for McCain.