Think the Crash Was Caused by People Who Didn't Read the Fine Print?

The real economists don't. True, worthless loans were written by greedy people who took the loans signed by hopeful folks who didn't read the fine print, or just lost their jobs and couldn't pay the mortgage, or whatever, and those greedy loan people pretended that the loans had value far exceeding their true worth.

Those greedy bastards sold the paper to Freddy Mac and Fanny Mae who then took bundles of those worthless mortgages and created worthless securities that were then used to fund stock brokers, hedge fund managers and con men who sold me and you worthless stocks which then tanked like a son-of-a-bitch and took our portfolios, Roths and 401Ks with them.

Here's the real explanation for the whole debacle: This is simply a lack of oversight and a culture fomented by fat-cat Republicans of 'anything goes' and anybody who doesn't like it "is a communist or a socialist or in with Castro or, dammit HILLARY CLINTON . . . " wheeze wheeze wheeze. (Take it easy there brother, you're lookin' all implodie if you ask me. Deal with it -- the jig is up!)

Note the explanation by these guys:

Alan Greenspan:

"Without the excess demand from securitizers, subprime mortgage originations (undeniably the original source of crisis) would have been far smaller and defaults accordingly far fewer," he said.

"The consequent surge in global demand for U.S. subprime securities by banks, hedge and pension funds supported by unrealistically positive rating designations by credit agencies was, in my judgment, the core of the problem," he stated.

Former Secretary of the Treasury John Snow said:

"A critical lack of transparency in secondary markets left policy-makers and regulators unable to discern the true nature and extent of the systemic risk that continued to build."

Alan Greenspan? The Fed chairman during good and bad? And John Snow? The right's main economic man? (Don't worry, they'll turn on them both.)

The Republicans and the right-wing propaganda machine is trying to sell the idea that people took advantage of the lender's good intentions and forced them to provide loans that were so frickin' complicated that nobody understands the securities made from them, but these little people used their wiles to slip these loans past the loan officers, the banks, the stock market, the institutions that create securities and all the economists of the world, including people like Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, John Snow and on and on and on.

Oh you sneaky little people, how you have deceived the entire financial world with your inability to read the fine print . . . who knew that was all it took? And the way that you little people achieved this subterfuge was by NOT HAVING ANY MONEY! Oh you slick broke people. The rich were so convinced that you had some more cash somewhere!

The righto-wing has a problem with pointing blame away from themselves. This means they will never learn from their mistakes. In a crisis, they will blame anyone else, including their own supporters.

HOWEVER, THE LITTLE PEOPLE DID NOT CRASH THE SYSTEM, YOU LYING BASTARDS! THEY ARE THE VICTIMS. ADMIT IT LIKE ADULTS -- YOUR GREEDY UNBRIDLED MANIPULATION SCREWED THE PEOPLE OF THE U.S. AND ULTIMATELY, YOU HAVE SCREWED YOURSELVES.

McCain -- the Rich Man's Socialist

Gas will continue down until the election. It did last time. It did the time before. There won't be any investigation as long as the GOP is in control of the government.

There will be very little reporting on the fraud perpetrated by those who run the financial systems. Oh, of course there will be a bone tossed to the faithful once in a while, but nothing substantial.

The GOP and its cronies haven't done a damn thing about abortion, gay marriage or all those non-white people running around, irritating the Rush Limbaugh crowd, now have they?

ARE YOU BETTER OFF THAN YOU WERE 8 YEARS AGO?

The GOP is a fraud. Their 'conservative' credentials are a fraud. THEY ARE LYING TO YOU!

They are a fraud and a sham. They do not care about you. They care about thier extremely rich base -- the 'haves and have mores' as W Bush stated. It is a fraud.

Speaking of fraud, McCain's claim of Obama's 'socialism' is completely contradicted by the Economic Policy Institute's assessment of the distribution of wealth created by the tax cuts of 2006:

Wealthiest Americans will receive most of the benefits
from the planned tax cuts

Congress is debating taxes on wealth this spring, specifically whether to cut taxes on capital gains, dividends, and estates. Recently published Federal Reserve data on the distribution of wealth make it clear that most of the benefits from such tax cuts will go to a very narrow slice of the population, the wealthiest of America's wealthy.¹

America's 112 million families had combined wealth of $50.3 trillion in 2004. When those families are ranked by the size of their wealth, however, the top 1%² alone held $16.8 trillion in wealth, more than a third of the United States' total wealth and more than the $15.3 trillion held by 90% of U.S. families. The top 1% had average wealth of $15 million per family in contrast to the $22,800 average wealth of the least wealthy 50% of families or the $313,500 in wealth for families ranked between 50% and 90%.

Homes accounted for more than a third of American families' assets. Primary residences are the asset with the least-skewed ownership, with the top 1% owning primary homes worth $1.9 trillion and the bottom 90% owning $11.8 trillion. That is not the case, however, when it comes to ownership of second homes, a far greater source of wealth for the top 1% ($1.1 trillion) than the bottom 90% ($0.02 trillion).

An examination of other types of assets reveals why cutting taxes on capital gains, dividends, and inheritances favor such a small share of the population. Those three forms of income and wealth are largely associated with three kinds of assets: stock in publicly traded companies, ownership of closely held businesses, and nonresidential real estate. The top 1% of families owned 37% of all stocks, 62% of all closely held businesses, and 47% of nonresidential real estate. Percentages for the bottom 90% were 21%, 10%, and 24%, respectively.

These are the tax cuts McCain wants to double down on. This is socialism on a scale never seen in human history.

And the $700 BILLION the American tax payers will pay to bail out the financial system from those who are the greediest beings in the world?

So who are we bailing out? The ultra-rich at AIG and on Wall Street.

Listen: Those of you who are in the other 99% are not going to benefit from McCain's policies. It is a lie. Think about those who are for it: Rush Limbaugh -- a stupendously rich celebrity and recovering drug addict. George Bush -- a stupendously rich recovering alchoholic frat-boy who disappeared when asked to serve his country. Rupert Murdoch -- a stupendously rich AUSTRAILIAN who mucks around in American politics.

Quite a huge percentage of stupendously rich WHITE men and women are for McCain.

Why not? They've had the benefit of GOP and George Bush's redistribution of what little wealth the other 99% used to have. That is socialism for a very limited social group.

Is your 401 K better off? Is your house value better off? Is your stock portfolio better off? Are your retirement chances better off?

The GOP had the congress for 12 years, and the presidency for the last 8. I doubt that even Karl Rove can effectively blame this on the Democrats of the last 2 years -- they don't have a majority in the Senate and Bush vetoes everything they do.

If you still believe the GOP and the Karl Rovian machine, ask yourself: Why do your finances suck so bad now? Why? Think! It may be hard after so long of letting Rush Limbaugh do it for you, but try to think, damn it! They aren't really for Jesus and they aren't really for YOU!

They have redistributed the wealth of the entire United States TO THEMSELVES!!!

McCain Calls Plumber to Retrieve Campaign from Crapper

Let's talk about Joe the Plumber. Last night I dreamed about John McCain's creepy laugh. He kept saying that "Barack Obama thinks that people making $250000 are rich, bwaaa ha ha ha ha..."

One acquaintance I have that makes $250000 a year has 2 Porches, a Volvo SUV, a condo in Decatur, a rental in Marietta, a home in Lake Tahoe, and just sold a home in Hawaii. He and his wife also go on four or five vacations a year. He's a hospital administrator. Good health insurance too.

No inheritance, just averaging $250000 a year. $250000 a year is 2.5 million dollars every 10 years. Rich is relative, I guess, and John and Cindy McCain have a lot of rich relatives.

If Joe the plumber is getting ready to buy a plumbing company, I'm going to do a guestimate thusly: 20-30 employees, a location, some vans and a good location. A Google search came up with this one:
Plumbing Company for Sale:
Asking price: $6,285,000 (Furniture / Fixtures and Inventory / Stock included)

Sales revenue:$8,572,776

Net profit:$2,313,905-- this is what Joe is hoping to make and God Bless you brother I hope you DO! You go. But you have to agree that a net profit of $2.3 million dollars a year means you're pretty freakin' rich.

Trust me when I say I am one of the last people who believes in redistribution of wealth. The issue to me is that I am ready to un-redistribute the wealth from a privileged very few who have been in control of the US. The current regime is designed to redistribute wealth toward the ultra-rich. Note how much fatter oil companies, military companies, financial CEOs and their cronies are compared to the rest of us (remind me again what business the Bush and Cheney's are in?). I want to ask: are you better off than you were 4 years ago? Are you better off than you were 8 years ago? Probably not.

So yes, Senator McCain, someone who knocks down $250000 a year, to me, is doing pretty damn well, and apparently Joe the Plumber is doing fine.

However, the obvious insane lack of appreciation that John McCain has for all the rest of us who are lucky to pull down enough to barely pay the bills is what separates people like John McCain from people like me.

I actually believe that 'rich' would be enough money to pay the mortgage, enough money to fill the tank, enough money to pay the doctor. Enough money to pay my taxes.

Is that too much to ask? John McCain is so wealthy that he just wouldn't have a clue about the other 96% of the people in the United States of America.

I guess you are what you eat. If Senator McCain wants to live on a diet of Karl Rovian 'conservative' politics, it is no wonder his campaign needs a plumber.

CNN Exploits the Weakness of Your Mind

The fallacies of CNN's broadcast ethics are easy to find -- if you just try. But why do the producers want you to be deceived?

Take the Acorn 'Scandal' as reported by CNN: There are levels of fraud: Voter registration fraud, voter fraud, and election fraud.

In 'voter registration fraud', you sign up Minnie Mouse. It is unlikely Minnie Mouse will actually be allowed to vote, so voter registration fraud is unlikely to cause a problem in itself. If you start a grass-roots Republican organization right now to sign up people to vote, you will get some erroneous names. But they most likely will not be able to vote fraudulently.

'Voter fraud' means someone actually voted fraudulently. Note the 'actually'.

'Election fraud' would indicate that widespread voter fraud has caused an election to be invalid. This requires vast effort and coordination with intent to put someone in office who was not elected by the people.

Just because Acorn signs up every cartoon character on the planet, how do you know that this benefits Democrats? The cartoon world could vote Republican just as easily. Therefore, unless you do not think it is an 'American Ideal' to vote, registration does not in and of itself benefit one party. i.e. this is not a Democratic Scandal.

Why do you think Lou Dobbs named the topic of his piece on Acorn 'Election Fraud'? And then ties to whole thing to Barack Obama?

First, it is a lie. Unless I have time-warped, there hasn't been an election yet, how can there be Election Fraud? So, there is no defense, it isn't smart marketing, sharp-edged production values or anything else. It is a lie.

On the other hand, I have heard very little about the Diebold/Premier ELECTION FRAUD that took place in Georgia (a few blocks from CNN in Fulton County) and there are plenty of people in Atlanta that know what happened. Try searching for Spoonamore and McConnell. Mr. Spoonamore is telling who did it, how it was done and how it is going to happen again. The 2004 and 2006 elections in Georgia were fraudulent.

However, on CNN, Acorn signing up Minnie Mouse becomes 'Election Fraud'.

Lou Dobbs used every wedge issue he could find to bolster Hillary's campaign, and he is at it now promoting McCain. So he doesn't care about Republican or Democrat, he is just anti-Obama.

Anderson Cooper has a very similar 'Voter Fraud' campaign about Acorn and the piece I saw had one 'conservative investigator', and no counter-balancing 'liberal' opinion.

I would like to know how many times on CNN I have seen Reverend Wright say, "God Damn America." He actually said it once. And Barack Obama didn't leave the church at the moment it happened. He should have.

Todd and Sarah Palin have been very close to the Alaska Independence Party, a political party advocating removal of Alaska from the United States. The party's founder, Joe Vogler said, "I'm an Alaskan, not an American." He also said "I've got no use for America or her damned institutions" and "I won't be buried under their damned flag."

Joe Vogler died trying to buy plastic explosives to achieve his goals. Obviously he was very committed to his ideals.

"I won't be buried under their damn flag" sounds a lot like "God damn America."

Todd Palin was a member of that party for over 7 years. Sarah Palin taped a statement to be used at the AIP's 2008 convention. These aren't theoretical terrorists, Joe Vogler advocated bombing US interests to achieve his.

Not that they haven't, but I have never seen CNN mention it. If it has been mentioned, how many times compared to the Rev. Wright's common appearance as a CNN star.

I'll stop at these two examples. I have many more.

What is wrong at CNN? What is wrong with our society that business interests play upon the time-strapped US public and fill them with disinformation that does not seem to benefit the citizens?

Worse, my fellow Americans do not deluge CNN with mail decrying the obvious distortion. Grow a backbone, people. We have work to do in this world.

Sarah and Todd Palin are Reminiscent of the Confederate South

They didn't always call it such a euphemistic name, but I have lived with this brand of 'conservatism' all my life. We'll call it the blame the US Government crowd.

In the 3rd grade in Dublin Georgia, we were regularly called out to the assembly hall and given New Testaments (my wife and I both still have ours) and a long list of the Same Old Testaments that you get from people like Sarah Palin.

You see, the USA is controlled by communist liberal God-Haters. The John Birch Society has it right except they are too left-wing. We're planning on succeeding. The South Didn't Really Lose the War -- we're just laying low 'till times are more amiable to 'us'.

Snicker Snicker -- black people (I can't tell you where the black people in Dublin Georgia were in those days, but they weren't at my elementary school as I remember it. I did find nice 'colored' water fountains behind my Grandfather's butcher shop. I found out later that my great-grandfather had a long-term affair with his black concubine and fathered several children by her. Most of the black people they complained about in Dublin were relatives -- either mine or the complainer's).

The true form of government that was intended by God is FULL-CONTROL by those who are closest to Jesus (we'll let you know who they are) -- and when we take back over, we will take 'our' resources and leave this US travesty which has made us speak nicely of people in other countries, taken our money and property and given it to the inferior wretches elsewhere because the 'bed-wetting-liberals' and the 'money-throwing Democrats' make you take your hard-earned money and give it away to the ... well, you know.

There were two 'church ladies' in Dublin who used to come to the house and preach. Usually the subject was "we didn't see you at the social", and "Are you and your husband having trouble? We noticed you haven't been tithing as much as you were back when ... "

These ladies, in concert with one of my uncles, once violently explained to my grandmother that she was going to Hell due to a failure to appear at some Wednesday night thing. Another problem was my gay uncle -- I'm not sure what they wanted her to do about him. He was "sent away" to Rollins College in Florida.

In my family, the man with the most vehement 'conservative' values was my aunt's husband, MP. I remember Uncle MP standing at the door with his arm up pointing and telling my Grandmother (not his relative by the way), who was trying to escape up the stairs crying, that she was sliding to the fires of hell. This is the same guy who held me face down in my father's coffin after I said that I fully well understood that Dad was dead and I didn't want to sit next to his body at the funeral. MP was a good, God-Fearing man.

As it turns out, the church ladies were lesbian lovers. Their church-leading husbands were likewise a gay couple. They had a sweet little gig. They used their pull as moral leaders to cower anyone who got close to the truth. Apparently, gay marriage would have just queered the deal so to speak. It all came out -- a misstep here and a little slip there, and the truth was pretty well all over town. One word in the Moose Lodge and you're ruined.

The main problem with the US Government, according to the people in Dublin Georgia, was that it exists. You have to pay it taxes. It meddles in your affairs. Like if you don't want to pay that black 'maid' any thing past your three dollars a day, or mention all your 'employees' to the government.

And that UN. That was when the country lost its way down a black hole, according to the Dublinites. Get US Out of the UN -- paid for by the John Birch Society. Here. Let's go shoot some guns. Thank GOD we still have them.

It all sounds like the same old ringing bell to a 55-year-old from south Georgia and I am profoundly tired of it.

Sarah and Todd Palin have been members of a radical anti-USA Alaska-secessionist organization called the Alaska Independence Party (AIP) for nearly a decade. The creator of the AIP advocates using terror -- yes, using explosives if desired, attacking US institutions if necessary. Todd and Sarah say they have pulled out. But Sarah Palin taped a statement to be used in the 2008 convention for the Alaska Independence Party.

If you want to know what the AIP is about, go to their web site. The Alaska Independence Party creator's messages were still up at this writing. His intent was either to succeed from the US or remove the US from interference.

Or you can just re-read above. Same old testament.

Sarah and Todd Palin sound just like the nicest people in Dublin. Down right likable. Most of the time.


Here's a little reading for you from this article:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s article about the Palins' association with the AIP.

AIP's charter commits the party "to the ultimate independence of Alaska," from the United States which it refers to as "the colonial bureaucracy in Washington." It proclaims Alaska's 1959 induction as a state "as illegal and in violation of the United Nations charter and international law."

AIP's creation was inspired by the rabidly violent anti-Americanism of its founding father Joe Vogler, "I'm an Alaskan, not an American," reads a favorite Vogler quote on AIP's current website, "I've got no use for America or her damned institutions." According to Vogler AIP's central purpose was to drive Alaska's secession from the United States. Alaska, says current Chairwoman Lynette Clark, "should be an independent nation."

Vogler was murdered in 1993 during an illegal sale of plastic explosives that went bad. The prior year, he had renounced his allegiance to the United States explaining that, "The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government." He cursed the stars and stripes, promising, "I won't be buried under their damned flag...when Alaska is an independent nation they can bring my bones home." Palin has never denounced Vogler or his detestable anti-Americanism.

Palin's husband Todd remained an AIP party member from 1995 to 2002. Sarah can be described in McCarthy-era palaver as a "fellow traveler." While retaining her Republican registration, she attended the AIP's 1994 convention where the party called for a draft constitution to secede from the United States and create an independent nation of Alaska. The McCain Campaign has reluctantly acknowledged that she also attended AIP's 2000 Convention. She apparently found the experience so inspiring that she agreed to give a keynote address at the AIP's 2006 convention and she recorded a video greeting for this year's 2008 convention. In other words, this is not something that happened when she was eight!

---Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Digg!

Wachovia Bails Out Cash-Strapped Republican Party

In the 'are you kidding me?' category, look at this article from Chris Kromm:

FACING SOUTH INVESTIGATION: How did Republicans get an $8 million bailout from failing Wachovia?
UPDATE: A version of this story is now the top-ranked diary at DailyKos -- go visit for more information and discussion

by Chris Kromm

From the article:

Wachovia Corp., a once-thriving financial giant now teetering on the brink of collapse, confirmed today that it was extending an $8 million loan to the cash-strapped National Republican Congressional Committee for last-minute activities to support GOP House candidates.

McCain and the Kremlin

John McCain Has Quite a Few Kremlin Connections of His Own
McCain's Kremlin Ties By Mark Ames & Ari Berman

This article appeared in the October 20, 2008 edition of The Nation.
October 1, 2008

McCain's Institute Takes Big Money From AIG

While John McCain allows calls of terrorist about his opponent, he was receiving money for his own purposes from the same Wall Street mavens who bankrupted America.

Bankrupt AIG Underwrote McCain's 'Reform Institute'
By Mark Ames

September 19, 2008

John McCain -- no POWs Left Behind?

This is the story that will one day change everything you know about John McCain.

Why Has John McCain Blocked Info on MIAs?
By Sydney H. Schanberg

This article appeared in the October 6, 2008 edition of The Nation.
September 17, 2008

Sarah Palin Hedges Her Bets

We have a vice-presidential candidate who believes in witch craft, creationism and the divine right of her brand of Christians to rule your life. Oh, and if we kill all the species on Earth including those other non-white non-Christians, God will give us a special place in Heaven.

Sermon on the effects of Witch Craft on Christians and why you need protection from a witch protector:


You think this is too radical, wait another 3 weeks. The fire is smoldering.

McCain on the Con Man's Boat

Do you wonder how badly John McCain wants and needs money for his campaign? And what he will do to get elected?

The McCain-Follieri Love Boat
The Maverick and the Celebrity Con Man
By Mark Ames & Ari Berman

September 11, 2008

Oh, and John McCain has his associations too

Remember Iran/Contra? McCain has a quite a few associations he'd rather sweep under the rug.

Here's one:

Contras.

The Devil Incarnate Comes Out

The Hate and Vitriol Emanating From the "Christian" Conservative Republicans Have Never Been Exceeded in my lifetime. It is Biblical.

The faces in the crowd at the John McCain campaign event today were driven to the point of violence. Those who push this slime are starting the destruction of the democratic process and have no control over where it ends. It could result in the end of democracy.

Perhaps someone should tell these particular Christians: You are not bringing God forth. Look at yourself in the mirror. Is that a beatific face? Is that hatred cherubic? Do you see your Savior? Or do you see the devil? You are not bringing back Jesus Christ, you are becoming Jim Jones.

Your leaders have used you. Your leaders want the destruction of the USA, not its salvation. Every precept created by Hamilton, Madison and Jay in the Federalist Papers is being torn down one-by-one.

A person is not safe in their home, possessions, speech, financial affairs or security. The country has been decimated in nearly every possible way, including what little precious resources we have.

You are being watched. And you think you know who is watching. But you have lost control. THEY USED YOU. Some of them even believe they are doing things that are right and good. BUT THOSE WELL-MEANING PEOPLE ARE JUST BEING USED BY SOMEONE ELSE.

You lay down with the dogs of war, politics, xenophobia and hatred, and you expect to wake up in Heaven?

Look around. Look at the world. This is what you have done. Look at this country. Look at the fear and hate and depression. This is what your leaders have wrought.

And the power at the helm at the time of destruction was the Conservative Right-Wing Hatred-Filled 'Christian' Republicans.

My belief is that Jesus would have nothing to do with this -- except to put a stop to it.

What part of these fires do you not smell?

Here We Go Again -- The Conservatives Cry Foul (click here to read Kathleen Parker's article)

Conservative Spokesmen = All Whining, All Excuses, All the Time

Everyone in the free world knew that Gwen Ifill had a book coming out. Since Carl Rove has a 2-3 inch ring binder on her full of facts, it would astound me to find out that the King Of Sleaze in Politics didn't know about Ifill's book.

So I ask myself: Why do they wait until 24 hours before the debate to start complaining?

Two reasons.
1. They might get a postponement of the debate. If so, they might be able to train Palin to give proper answers when the stakes are a little higher than the situations she is used to.
2. It helps them explain why Palin does not perform as well as she should, or alternately, how she performed well DESPITE THE HORRIBLE HANDICAP OF HAVING TO DEAL WITH AN EVIL AND BIASED MODERATOR.

That's what we call an excuse.

When asked why some conservatives were pulling back from Palin, I heard a Republican congresswoman say that 'those are the intellectual conservatives'. I didn't know there were any intellectuals left that hadn't been drummed out of the Republican party. Think and you'll be dealt with severely.

Let's review: The head of the Republican party is George Bush. In 8 short years, we have gone from rich to poor. From peace to war. From friends to enemies. From stable to volatile. From powerful to weak. From nice to hateful. From optimism to fear. To hate. To hate. To hate.

Why would anyone want to question the party and the ideology considering the above successes?

However if anyone questions ANYTHING about the conservative movement or for example wonders if the vice presidential choice may be a problem, death threats ensue. "Shut up and sing, Dixie Chicks, or we'll kill your mothers." These are nice people who care about unborn children. They just don't care about anyone out of the womb.

So today, I decided. I'm really sick and tired of the reactionary right wing's whining, excuses and threats.

We're supposed to feel sorry for them? They are so mistreated. They are downtrodden. All these media elites are just the little people trying to hold the big bad conservative machine down.

Are the conservatives so easily defeated that the mentally and otherwise inferior liberals are able to make the Republican vice presidential candidate look uninformed?

How powerful the liberals are to defeat the conservative plan with just ideas.

Really and truly, John McCain, Sarah Palin and the right-wing conservatives give excuse after excuse, accusation after accusation, and lie after lie because ... what?

Are the Rich-Republican-Right-Wing-Revving-My-Car-in-Neutral crowd oppressed by everyone in the as-yet undefined 'media' , everyone in the 'left' and everyone in the world?

I feel sorry for them. I shed a tear. They are so downtrodden. It is just pitiful.

Did the big bad scary Gwen Ifill give the poor VP candidate a boo-boo? Awww.

Kathleen Parker's article about her treatment since questioning Sarah Palin's credentials is called 'The Omen In My Mail'.