Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Grades & Endorsements Now Available On NRA-PVF Site!

October 5, 2008

This year’s elections may well be the most important in your voting lifetime! The stakes are enormously high, and you need to be fully informed. For up-to-the-minute campaign information, and to see what you can do to help elect pro-Second Amendment candidates, members are strongly encouraged to visit the NRA-Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) website, www.NRAPVF.org.

This official NRA campaign site will serve as your one-stop campaign reference guide this election season. The site is loaded with all of the critical information you’ll need to make informed decisions on Election Day, November 4. Included on the site are news stories, articles from NRA’s magazines, NRA-PVF press releases, and a complete listing of NRA-PVF candidate grades and endorsements!

Research trumps rhetoric

October 5, 2008

This is something that all the gun owners that I know were well aware of, but it is nice to have some solid research to back up your beliefs.

NEW STUDY SAYS GUN SHOWS DO NOT BOOST HOMICIDES, SUICIDES

BELLEVUE, WA – The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today applauded a new joint University of Michigan – University of Maryland study that says gun shows do not contribute to higher murder or suicide rates.

“We’ve known all along that gun shows are not the arms bazaars for criminals and lunatics that anti-gunners have claimed,” said CCRKBA Legislative Director Joe Waldron. “This important research has now confirmed that such gatherings are not connected to homicide or suicide rates. The study reinforces earlier research done for the Department of Justice that found less than one percent of armed felons get their guns from gun shows.

“Gun control lobbyists are already claiming the report is flawed,” he continued. “What else would they say about research that demolishes one of their most hysteria-driven platforms? The tide is turning on the gun rights issue, because research trumps rhetoric every time.”

The study, released Wednesday by the UM’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, compared data from Texas and California, two markedly different states. Researchers gathered crime and suicide data from the periods surrounding more than 3,400 gun shows to determine that restrictive regulations had no impact on murder or suicide rates in the month following those gun shows.

“This research punches a gaping hole in the argument by gun control fanatics that a mythical ‘gun show loophole’ contributes to crime and suicide,” Waldron stated. “Thanks to this study, the anti-gun rights lobby loses another cornerstone of its agenda. For years, no matter what the crime, gun banners have invariably reacted by suggesting that added restrictions on gun shows would somehow have prevented it.

“As our friends at the Michigan Gun Owners have noted, we wonder why it took someone this long to conduct such a study,” Waldron noted. “Our hats are off to the UM’s Prof. Brian Jacob, along with the University of Maryland’s Randi Hjalmarsson and Mark Duggan. Theirs is a significant accomplishment.”

Copyright © 2008 Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, All Rights Reserved.

Comrade Barack Hussein Obama

October 4, 2008

Comrade Barack Hussein Obama

By Mark Alexander

In October 1939, a month after Great Britain declared war on Germany in that unpleasantry a few of us history buffs remember as “World War II,” Winston Churchill said of communist Russia: “It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma…” In true Churchill form, he added wryly, “But perhaps there is a key. That key is Russian national interest.”

In other words, if you want to decode “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma,” just consider the underlying “interest.”

A year ago, Barack Hussein Obama was something of an enigma, but his interests are now clear—crystal clear.

I have written at length about Obama’s worldview in a series of essays archived at No ObamaNation. These essays provide a foundational understanding of the danger Obama poses to American liberty (at least the vestigial remains of our Founders’ legacy) based on his words and deeds.

Hundreds of other essays in The Patriot Archive are, likewise, devoted to individual liberty, the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and the promotion of free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. These compositions reflect a vision diametrically opposed to that espoused by Barack Obama.

The prospect of an Obama presidency, supported by a legislative branch controlled by like-minded liberals, and only the slightest conservative margin in the judicial branch, poses a greater risk to American liberty than any domestic enemy in our nation’s great history.

Should Obama defeat John McCain in the only opinion poll that matters this election cycle, the poll on Tuesday, 4 November (merely 32 days from now), that would be a stunning offense of staggering proportions to our national heritage, an offense equaled only by the impending assault against the liberties set forth in our U.S. Constitution following an Obama inauguration.

Yes, Obama has the dubious distinction of being ranked the most liberal of the “useful idiots” in the Senate—apologist for socialist political and economic agendas. And it took him only half a term to achieve that ill repute. That puts him to the left of his primary benefactors, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry. (By contrast, his running mate, Joe Biden, has taken 36 years to achieve his status as the Senate’s third most liberal member.)

But Obama is entitled to his political views.

After all, our Constitution’s Bill of Rights affirms every American’s inherent right to liberty, not just in what we say and write, or how we worship, but also in what we believe and with whom we choose to associate.

And, we know plenty about what Obama believes and with whom he associates. Here is a partial list of key associates: There is his communist mentor Frank Marshall Davis, his terrorist friends William Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, his religious mentor Jeremiah Wright, the ACORN crowd, Leftists Richard Daley, Michael Pfleger, Khalid al-Mansour, Kwame Kilpatrick, Rashid Khalidi and, well, you get the picture.

The problem is that Obama and his ilk believe they are not bound by the plain language of our Constitution, adhering instead to the errant notion of a “Living Constitution,” which they have adulterated by judicial diktat to comport with their worldview. In his view, we should be “One nation under Obama.”

What informs Barack Hussein Obama’s worldview first and foremost?

Obama is the consummate “useful idiot,” a socialist who believes not only that the will of the people should be subject to that of the state, but, likewise, the economy should be state controlled through taxation and regulation.

Obama insists that our economy is “out of balance,” and our tax policies “badly skewed.” To resolve this, he says we need a “tax policy making sure that everybody benefits, fair distribution, a restoration of balance in our tax code, money allocated fairly…”

“Fair distribution”? By this, of course, he means “redistribution.”

Further, Obama asserts that free enterprise is nothing more than “Social Darwinism, every man or woman for him or herself… tempting idea, because it doesn’t require much thought or ingenuity.”

Free enterprise “doesn’t require much thought or ingenuity”? Only in the mind of a lifelong adherent of socialist doctrine could such an absurdly un-American assertion originate.

Obama’s economic plan represents a maturation of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s class-warfare decree: “Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle.”

In fact, Roosevelt’s “principle” was no more American than Obama’s. Roosevelt was paraphrasing Karl Marx, whose maxim declared, “From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.”

English sociologist and historian H.G. Wells, whose last work, The Holy Terror, profiled the psychological development of a modern dictator based on the careers of Stalin, Mussolini and Hitler, said of Roosevelt’s reign, “The great trouble with you Americans is that you are still under the influence of that second-rate—shall I say third-rate?—mind, Karl Marx.”

That admonition is equally true today—even more so.

In 1987, Ronald Reagan commented on useful idiots: “How do you tell a Communist? Well, it’s someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It’s someone who understands Marx and Lenin.”

While Obama and his cadre of elitists both understand and advocate socialist doctrine, their populist support across the nation is not from academic, intellectual or philosophical equals. Their adoring masses can’t begin to articulate why our nation was founded, what our Constitution sets forth, what citizenship entails, or why free enterprise is superior to socialism.

They are, by and large, good people who have been dumbed down by government schools and the Leftmedia. They are not in possession of an ethic that inspires them to put “Country First,” as John McCain and a long list of American Patriots have done. Instead, they follow Obama’s example, asking not what they can do for their country, but what their country can do for them.

They “feel” rather than “think” their way through political issues, and the consequences for future generations of Americans are dire.

Soviet despot Nikita Khrushchev observed that America’s transition from liberty to serfdom would have to be incremental: “We can’t expect the American people to jump from Capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving them small doses of Socialism, until they awaken one day to find that they have Communism.”

Obama’s constituents are checkers players being led by chess masters, and the Democrat brew they have been drinking has been incrementally spiked with socialist booze such that they are completely intoxicated, and don’t know it. Will they sober up before the dawn?

Thursday night, after Joe Biden demonstrated his outstanding credentials as a “useful idiot” while debating Sarah Palin, who demonstrated that she is a citizen, not a Beltway politico, Biden closed with this remark: “This election is the most important of your entire life.”

On this point, and only this point, do I unreservedly concur with Joe.

SOURCE

Economic Crises, facts, fictions etc.

October 4, 2008

The current economic crises is interesting to say the least. Pointing one’s finger at someone else, who is pointing their finger at another, who is pointing their finger at you seems to be the main theme. Politics as usual? Or is there something more sinister about all this? The following is from The Patriot Post:

“[A] wise and frugal government… shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government.” —Thomas Jefferson

INSIGHT

“Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” —Ronald Reagan

“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy.” —Ernest Benn

UPDATE FROM MARK ALEXANDER

Bailout v. Workout—The continuing crisis

If you did not catch our commentary on the current financial crisis, Bailout Basics, I encourage you to read this brief but comprehensive analysis of the current confidence deficit plaguing our financial markets.

By way of update, as we anticipated, the so-called bailout “deal for taxpayers” did not pass the House Monday.

Though the Bill under consideration had substantial support from conservative organizations like our friends at the Heritage Foundation, and other free-market advocates with trade associations, most House Republicans still objected to the bill because it involved the biggest government intervention in the market since the Great Depression, and did not include sufficient market incentives such as significant tax and spending reductions.

But, media reports to the contrary, it was the Democrats who killed this bill. Had House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lined up the 95 liberal Demos who voted against this legislation, including five Democrat committee chairman, half the Congressional Black Caucus and a majority of the Hispanic Caucus, the plan would have passed.

Democrats voted it down because it did not include enough largesse for their constituents, including billions for Leftist organizations, unions, etc. (For example, read “The Meltdown’s Acorn.”)

Responding to the dysfunction on the Hill, there was a significant selloff in the financial markets on Monday. However, indicating that there is still plenty of rational thought in the market, securities rebounded Tuesday as investors went bottom fishing for stocks that were selling well under their earnings potential.

However, there is real danger that the markets will continue to sell off, threatening the livelihood of many Americans.

As President George W. Bush said Tuesday morning, “As much as we might wish the situation were different, our country is not facing a choice between government action and the smooth functioning of the free market. We’re facing a choice between action and the real prospect of economic hardship for millions of Americans.”

Unfortunately, the “deal” that failed on Monday, may have been the best deal possible for House Republicans.

The Senate will convene Wednesday night to consider a similar plan, which also includes a temporary increase in FDIC insurance for large depositors and extensions of expired business tax reductions. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell described the Senate plan as “one of the finer moments in the Senate.”

However, now that House Democrats and their media lemmings have falsely blamed their impasse on Republicans, they are likely to come roaring back Thursday with a proposition “to save America,” including all the largesse they originally wanted. Like pigs at an open trough, nothing attracts big spenders like a crisis requiring emergency spending.

Senate deliberations notwithstanding, Democrats can pass that legislation (as they could have passed the bill Monday) without a single Republican vote, and all their shenanigans have been calculated to ensure the election of Barack Hussein Obama.

Obama and the Democrats have been playing the “economic fear card” for the past four years, using the economy as political fodder for their campaigns. As Demo-gogue Nancy Pelosi framed it: “For too long, this government, in eight years, has followed a right-wing ideology of anything goes, no supervision, no discipline, no regulation.”

As for all the Leftmedia economic fear card play, rest assured, ads like those produced and paid for by MoveOn.org blaming John McCain for the meltdown and now running on Leftwing media outlets like CNN and NBC are nothing more than fabrications wrapped in deceptions embedded in lies.

If there is not an amenable solution by Friday, and if the Republicans have it in them—surely John McCain does—it is time for them to put forward a bold plan of attack and force the Democrats’ hand. We deserve serious debate about the future principles that will guide our economy, and let the people voice their opinion on Election Day, 4 November 2008.

For information about the origins of this financial crisis, I refer you to the following Web pages:

From The New York Times in 1999: Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending “Fannie Mae, the nation’s biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people…”

From the New York Post: Alarms and Denial

Bloomberg Financial News: “How the Democrats Created the Financial Crisis”

YouTube: Democrats in their own words

YouTube: Burning Down the House

YouTube: Obama Ranks Second In Freddie/Fannie Contributions

And a timely endorsement from the Boston Herald: McCain for president: A certain leader for uncertain times

White House: Three page Legislative Proposal for Treasury Authority to Purchase Mortgage-Related Assets

House of Representatives: 109 page LPTAPMR Discussion Draft

Contact President Bush—http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

Contact your Senator—http://www.senate.gov/

Contact your Representative—http://www.house.gov/

House and Senate switchboard: 202-224-3121

UPRIGHT

“It’s incredible how generous you can be with other people’s money.” —Star Parker

“So, yes, our recent financial turmoil does suggest failure—a failure to truly practice capitalism and a failure to accept and believe in the value, appropriateness and morality of a limited government and maximum personal responsibility.” —Larry Elder

“Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do not deserve to be bailed out, but neither do workers, families and businesses deserve to be put through the economic wringer by a collapse of credit markets, such as occurred during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Neither do the voters deserve to be deceived on the eve of an election by the notion that this is a failure of free markets that should be replaced by political micro-managing.” —Thomas Sowell

“Treasury Secretary Paulson, asked about conservative complaints that his rescue program amounts to socialism, said, essentially: This is not socialism, this is necessary. That non sequitur might be politically necessary, but remember that government control of capital is government control of capitalism.” —George Will

“It is an affront to the nation that some of the people who brought on the crisis (and financially and politically benefited from the status quo) were asking the questions at the Banking Committee hearing. They should have been in the witness chair. [Sen. Chris] Dodd said the crisis was ‘entirely foreseeable and preventable.’ Then why didn’t he try to prevent it? He should have been answering questions about the PAC contributions he received from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, (according to opensecrets.org, he’s the Senate’s no. 1 recipient of campaign contributions, $133,900, Barack Obama is no. 3, $105,849), his sweetheart Countrywide Financial mortgage rate and whether they influenced his inattentiveness to the growing mortgage crisis.” —Cal Thomas

Economics, the art of making something utterly simple into something astoundingly incomprehensible…

Are You A Bitter Clinger?

October 2, 2008

I ordered four!

Are You A Bitter Clinger?

Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Who is a Bitter Clinger? According to Sen. Barack Obama, who was
recorded unawares at a San Francisco fundraiser, bitter clingers are
voters who are bitter because of their economic frustration and so cling
bitterly to their Bibles and their guns.

If you are a bitter clinger, Gun Owners of America has a T-shirt for you!

You can proudly proclaim your membership in this class of people so
looked down upon by the elites in our country.

To see the Bitter Clinger T-shirt, and for ordering information, go to:

http://www.gunowners.org/merch9066.htm

STATE SIGNS MOU WITH SOUTHERN UTE INDIAN TRIBE

October 2, 2008

STATE SIGNS MOU WITH SOUTHERN UTE INDIAN TRIBE CONCERNING BRUNOT AGREEMENT

The Colorado Division of Wildlife, the Colorado Wildlife Commission, Governor Ritter and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) concerning wildlife management and enforcement in an area known as the Brunot area.

In 1874, Congress approved an agreement between the United States and certain Ute Indians in Colorado, known as the “Brunot Agreement”.  Under this agreement, the Utes ceded certain land to the United States but reserved a right to hunt on those lands for “so long as the game lasts and the Indians are at peace with the white people.”  The Brunot Agreement covers land now known as the Brunot Area, which roughly extends from U.S. Highway 160 on the south to the southern boundaries of Montrose and Gunnison counties on the north and from the middle of Mineral County on the east to just west of Cortez on the west.

Since 1972, the Tribe has refrained from exercising its rights in the Brunot area but, after a recent decision of the Southern Ute Indian Tribal Council, the Tribe now plans to allow tribal members to exercise their rights under the Brunot Agreement.  Prior to exercising those rights, however, the Tribe and the Division of Wildlife worked together to develop an MOU in recognition of the parties’ shared responsibility for the well-being and perpetuation of the wildlife resources and habitat of the area.  In addition, both parties sought to ensure communication and cooperation in the use of the area by their respective constituents.  Therefore, the parties have agreed in the MOU to maintain a strong and cooperative dialog regarding wildlife, especially related to the harvest of game species and management within the Brunot area.  The Tribe and the State also agreed to recognize and respect the jurisdiction of each other and to work cooperatively in the conduct of law enforcement operations of mutual interest.

“The MOU will help foster sound wildlife management between the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe,” said Tom Remington, Director of the Division of Wildlife.  “We are pleased that in seeking to hunt and fish under the Brunot Agreement, the Tribe has chosen to work with the state in order to protect wildlife in the Brunot area into the future.  It clearly demonstrates the Tribe intends to hunt and fish under the agreement in a cooperative and responsible way.”

The Tribe has managed and operated a professional wildlife management program on its reservation in southwest Colorado for a number of years and will adopt rules for hunting and fishing by tribal members within the Brunot area in a manner consistent with its existing practices.   These rules will set forth the seasons for tribal member hunting, methods of take, species to be harvested and other regulations.  The MOU includes agreement regarding the types of species to be taken and a process by which allocation of rare game species such as moose, bighorn sheep, and mountain goats will be equitably allocated between tribal hunters and hunters licensed by the Division of Wildlife.  There are currently 1,431 members of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe but, on average, only 225 members obtain deer or elk licenses annually for hunting on the Reservation.  Importantly, the Brunot Agreement does not give members of the tribe any rights to hunt on private land in the Brunot area without first obtaining landowner permission and Brunot hunting rights are not transferable to other hunters who do not belong to Ute tribes.

Tom Spezze, Southwest Regional Manager for the Division of Wildlife said “We have had a very good working relationship with the Southern Utes for many years, and we look forward to working closely with the Tribe to accomplish our mutual goal of protecting our shared wildlife resource in the Brunot Area.”

Division of Wildlife staff and Southern Ute Indian Tribe staff will host several open house events to answer any questions concerning the agreement and provide copies of the MOU and maps of the Brunot area. The public may come and go as they choose. The open house events are scheduled for:

Durango, Oct. 14, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the County Extension Offices, Animas room, 2500 Main Ave.

Montrose, Oct. 21, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Holiday Inn, 1391 South Townsend Ave.

Denver, Oct. 29, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Hunter Education Building, Division of Wildlife Headquarters, 6060 Broadway

For more information about Division of Wildlife go to: http://wildlife.state.co.us.

Amendment 46 and Gov. Ritter

October 2, 2008

Bill Ritter gets it wrong yet again. Treating one group of people differently than another is not a moral thing to do, and using the power of the state to enforce laws that do that very thing is immorale.

DENVER – Gov. Bill Ritter announced his opposition to a ballot measure that would ban affirmative action in the awarding of state contracts, employment and admission to Colorado universities, calling it a California import that doesn’t fit Colorado.

Ritter on Monday said Amendment 46 would destroy years of progress in education, health care and work force development. Supporters say affirmative action based on race and gender is no longer needed.

Amendment 46 is similar to initiatives bankrolled by former University of California regent Ward Connerly and approved by voters in California, Washington and Michigan. A similar measure is on Nebraska’s ballot.

Full story here

The 27 Characteristics of the Anti Christ

October 1, 2008

What follows below was stolen from TexasFred, and I attribute it to him, in all his glory! Strong Work MARINE!

Barack Obama will lead this nation to destruction. Just look at what he proposes. We could, by golly, become the new Soviet Union if things work out. It simply goes down hill from there, and I am not talking about a ski run either. Please do not mis-understand me. I am no fan of John McCain either…

1. He comes from among ten kings in the restored Roman Empire; his authority will have similarities to the ancient Babylonians, Persians, and Greeks [Daniel 7:24; Rev 13:2 / Daniel 7:7]

2. He will subdue three kings [Daniel 7:8, 24]

3. He is different from the other kings [Daniel 7:24]

4. He will rise from obscurity… a “little horn” [Daniel 7:8]

5. He will speak boastfully [Daniel 7:8; Rev 13:5]

6. He will blaspheme God, [Daniel 7:25; 11:36; Rev 13:5] slandering His Name, dwelling place, and departed Christians and Old Testament saints [Rev 13:6]

7. He will oppress the saints and be successful for 3 ½ years [Daniel 7:25; Rev 13:7]

8. He will try to change the calendar, perhaps to define a new era, related to himself [Daniel 7:25]

9. He will try to change the laws, perhaps to gain an advantage for his new kingdom and era [Dan 7:25]

10. He will not be succeeded by another earthly ruler, but by Christ [Daniel 7:26-27]

11. He will confirm a covenant with “many”, i.e. the Jewish people [Daniel 9:27] This covenant will likely involve the establishment of a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem [see Dan 9:27; Matt 24:15]

12. He will put an end to Jewish sacrifice and offerings after 3 ½ years and will set up an abomination to God in the Temple [Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15]

13. He will not answer to a higher earthly authority; “He will do as he pleases”[Daniel 11:36]

14. He will show no regard for the religion of his ancestors [Daniel 11:37]

15. He will not believe in any god at all [except for himself] [Daniel 11:37]

16. He will have “no regard for the desire of women”: He will either be asexual or homosexual [Dan 11:37]

17. He will claim to be greater than any god [Daniel 11:37; 2 Thess 2:4]

18. He will claim to be God [2 Thessalonians 2:4]

19. He will only honor a “god” of the military. His whole focus and attention will be on his military. He will conquer lands and distribute them [Daniel 11:39-44]

20. His arrival on the world scene will be accompanied by miracles, signs and wonders [2 Thess 2:9]

21. Either he, or his companion [The False Prophet], will claim to be Christ [Matt 24:21-28]

22. He will claim that Jesus did not come in the flesh, or that Jesus did not rise bodily from the grave [2 John 7]. He will deny that Jesus is the Messiah [I John 2:22]

23. He will be worshipped by many people [Rev. 13:8]

24. He will hate a nation that initially will have some control over his kingdom, but he will destroy this nation [Rev 17:16-18]

25. He will appear to survive a fatal injury [Rev. 13:3; 17:8]

26. His name will be related to the number six hundred and sixty six—but not necessarily in an obvious fashion [Rev 13:17-18].

27. He will be empowered by the devil himself [Rev. 13:2]

Source:
The 27 characteristics of the Anti Christ

Mumbo Jimbo, and letters from Senators

October 1, 2008

I’m not from Texas, but I do support many Texan’s that hold public office Senator Cornyn being one of them. I do take exception to a letter that I recieved in my email today though. How many Senators failed Economics 101? Or 120? Those are Macro and Micro Economics. I’m not picking on either ruling political parties, one is as bad as the other on this one.

Below is political pandering period. Want to fix things? First, go to a solid standard, such as Gold. Transferred SIC.

Sincerely,
Senator Cornyn's signature

John Cornyn
United State Senator

Dear Patrick,

Tonight, the United States Senate will vote on The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. The bill is designed to immediately address the web of complex and broken financial relationships that are choking the economic system, and avoid a systemic financial collapse that would devastate the economy and have severe consequences for all Americans.

My office has fielded thousands of calls on this subject this week. I appreciate so many taking the time and effort to share their thoughts with me on such an important subject. I know many of you are extremely upset about the idea of the government doing any type of bail out for Wall Street, and I completely agree with you. I also regret that the Administration mishandled early communications on this plan, seeming to focus on a bailout of finance industry firms instead of concentrating on the need to protect the interests of Main Street. It is difficult to consider approving any proposal after this uneven performance.

If we do nothing, however, the potential consequences are dire. My concern is not with the Wall Street financier who gambled and lost. It’s with the 60-year-old worker nearing retirement and seeing his savings disappear, and the small business owner who cannot make payroll because his credit line has been frozen, and the untold numbers of employees who could find themselves unemployed.

None of these people should pay for the greed and irresponsibility of a few unethical or greedy individuals. Wall Street needs to be held accountable. I was among those who sought an investigation of the housing finance system two years ago, without success. I renewed that call this week, along with a demand for a criminal investigation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. If there was illegal conduct, it should be pursued.

Before I go to vote, I wanted make certain you know that the bill before us is far different from the three-page “take it or leave it” version that the Treasury Secretary handed us ten days ago. It has been improved from the original proposal.

The proposed legislation contains substantially more oversight. Instead of a blank check, with unlimited discretion for the Treasury Secretary, the bill sets up a comprehensive system of review aimed at preventing further abuses. It sets up procedures for the government – and taxpayers – to recoup a good portion or even all of the expended funds, through warrants and other instruments. If the plan is approved and works as expected, it is now highly likely that the impact will be considerably less than the original price tag.

The bill also deletes most of the more egregious special interest provisions, such as the proposal for profit sharing with left-wing advocacy groups such as ACORN.

It also includes multiple taxpayer protections. It prohibits unjust enrichment by barring a participating institution from selling an asset to the Treasury for more than was paid for it. It also includes strict restrictions on executive pay for affected companies, making the golden parachute for executives of distressed firms a thing of the past. It also requires profits from the transactions be used to pay down our national debt, and not to fund pet projects or to expand the size of the federal government.

The bill also brings some much needed transparency to our government by requiring the Treasury Department to publicly disclose the details of all of their program transactions in monthly reports. Treasury would also be required to issue supplemental reports when it makes a $50 billion commitment to purchase troubled assets. These reports must detail each of the agreements made, any insurance contracts and the nature of the assets purchased and projected costs and liabilities.

As an added benefit for Texas, the bill now includes badly-needed funding for areas hit by Hurricane Ike, plus extension of the tax deductability of sales taxes, and renewable energy credits that represent sound public policy.

Tonight’s vote is not the end of the process, but the beginning. Congress needs to continue to work together on bipartisan reforms to make certain this inexcusable meltdown never occurs again. There is serious debate over who is to blame for this – and there are many candidates, in New York, Washington and elsewhere — but there should be no argument about responsibility if reforms aren’t enacted forthwith. Congress has an obligation to put partisan politics aside and work together in the best interest of the American people.

Backlash to Obama officials squelching political speech

September 29, 2008

Barack Obama’s commisars in Missiouri went overboard when they threatened to use government power to suppress views opposing his stated proposals. As reported by World Net Daily several Missiouri officials, St. Louis County Circuit Attorney Bob McCulloch, St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer, and Obama and the leader of his Missouri campaign Senator Claire McCaskill” were all a part of this blunt attempt at stiffiling free speech.

This is yet another example of why a completely new political party is so desperatly needed if this nation is to survive.

A BIG Hat tip to Texas Fred! For finding this story! 😀