Obama Caves in to Republican Demands to Extend the Tax Cuts

Or, perhaps we should say the government may forgo the re-imposition of the Clinton Tax Increases? Anyway you cut it, the Dems had to acquiesce to the GOP demands as the public had spoken loud and clearly in relation to how it felt about taxes, the lack of jobs, and the slow economy. Our politicians know when their number is up and it was up the first Tuesday of November when Americans walked to their polling places in significant numbers to change the political landscape of our nation. The uber liberal members of the Democratic Party put up a token resistance, but in the end, even they had to admit that to raise taxes now was a bad idea that would draw nothing but ire from their electorate.

The Dems got an extension to the unemployment insurance, but at a cost. Not just a political cost, but a real cost to our budget. I have not seen where or how Congress is paying for these continued tax breaks and unemployment extensions. We continue to spend like a madman in a whorehouse with a credit card. I am not a Tea Party member. I am a realist. We must put aside political concerns and take charge of our nations spending. There are too many politicians with pet programs like Foodbank Vouchers for the Farmers Market, or anti-drug programs, or other types of outreach programs that flat out don't work. They are less than 40% effective and, yet, the politician who fought for the bill won't let it die!

If you had a car that ran at less than 40% efficiency, you would get rid of it. If your cable TV only functioned 40% of the time, you would look for alternatives. When our pets are sick and can no longer function normally, we put them to sleep. We shoot horses when they can't walk. Hell, doctors provide additional morphine to those near the end of their cancer suffering to allow them to reach the "Big Sleep." Let's put some government plans that don't work out of their misery! Take a look at some of the programs running at less than 40% efficiency. It will surprise you. http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/expectmore/rating/notperform.html

Once you see these non-performing programs, write your congressperson and let them know how you feel about throwing away good money after bad.

# # #

How about my buddy Kim Jong Il and his boy, Kim Jong Un? Those two dummies are heading for a showdown with South Korea and it might not be pretty for them. The Kim's have to cowtow to their military as their political philosophy is "Military First." This means that the military gets the lion's share of the budget, food, and oil. The civilian population is an afterthought. If the Kims were to change their ways and focus on the needs of the general populace, the military would vote them out at the point of a bayonet. North Korea is a military dictatorship and nothing less. These are thugs who only understand force.

A lot of Americans want China to help us control or at least manage North Korea. China has no interest in that whatsoever. As long as North Korea is a thorn to the side of America and South Korea, it continues to be a bargaining chip for the Chinese. If the North Korean issue was solved, then China would lose that leverage with us. North Korea makes China more important from the standpoint as a major power upon which the U.S. will be dependent. Eliminating the North Korean issue diminishes China's importance on the world stage. I am not saying that North Korea is China's only bargaining chip, but, at this time and for the foreseeable future, it is the most useful.

Many ask me, "Hey, Otto, what would happen if the North attacked the South again?" I honestly believe the South Koreans would clean the North's clocks. The South Koreans have some of our best military technology. The North Koreans make it look good in parades, but the South Koreans are the ones who will kick ass this time around. There may be a B-2 Spirit bomber helping them out here and there as well.

Otto Talks Politics-Illinois and California-Dominated by Big Cities

It has been a while since we talked last so I thought I would comment on the upcoming election. There is so much media information and interpretation as well as poll after poll that either confirms or goes counter to some pundit’s predictions; I thought I would run through some of it.

California and Illinois are very similar in that they have a rural population that tends to the right wihle their urban populations move to the left in politics. It must be disconcerting to have your state's politics dominated by the likes of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago. San Francisco is liberal, Los Angeles is clueless, and Chicago, heck, they're old fashioned, they like corruption.

We can start with the Illinois Senate race for President Obama’s old seat. I watched the Democratic Candidate Giannoulias and the Republican Candidate Rep. Mark Kirk on Fox News Sunday in a very balanced interview. They each were able to make their case and defend issues that were brought before them. There are a lot of questions about Giannoulias’ activities at the small family run commercial bank where he served as the senior lending officer. He is not specific on when he left the bank so no one can nail down if he signed off on some loans to people with supposed ties to the mob. But let’s get real here; in lending you look at ability to pay and credit character. If he made a loan to someone with questionable morals, a criminal background, or were suspected of criminal activities, he approved it based on simple lending criteria. There is no “Morals” report for this sort of thing like a credit report. If the loans were properly underwritten, there is no harm and no foul.

He wants to be on the Senate Banking Committee should he be elected. Do we need more bankers on that committee? It seems to me that bankers create rules that are favorable to bankers. Ask the American Bankers Association about that.

Rep. Mark Kirk is currently a U.S. Navy Reserve Intelligence officer. He works weekends at the Pentagon in uniform. He has a strong following in his district with a center/right voting record and has been called a moderate. He has flip flopped on some legislation. The Huffington Post noted that one day he was saying he would vote for the Jobs Bill and when the chance came he voted with the rest of the Republican Party. Can you imagine that politics actually play a role in how a congressional rep votes? The Huffington Post and other more left leaning sources have indicated that Rep. Kirk is a serial embezzler. I have looked into this pretty extensively and there is apparently no smoke to that fire.

Kirk has been in congress a while and understands how things work on the Hill. Giannoulias is the Illinois State Treasurer and has had some good accomplishments that served mostly Chicago and the Chicago area. Illinois is a big state; it is more than just Chicago. I think as a Naval Intelligence officer, Rep. Kirk sees the bigger picture much better than Mr. Giannoulias. In matters of geopolitics and use of our military, Rep. Kirk has the advantage. I am sure Mr. Giannoulias is a fine state treasurer and should probably stay there. My hope here is that Rep. Kirk can see beyond Highland Park (his cong district) and realize he represents the farmers, laborers, merchants, and manufacturers of the entire state.

California Politics

California is screwed up. It is a statement that not many in the country will argue with. The state has a $20 billion budget deficit and the Democratic lead legislature can’t find ways to cut spending. Why? Because they have taken so much money from special interests they can’t cut any programs without stepping on some contributor’s toes.

• Can’t fix the shortfall in funding for government employee union pensions, they took millions of dollars from the unions.
• Can’t fix the welfare system, they have taken millions of dollars from non-profits that are connected to the CalWORKS welfare system or funded as ancillary organizations and the California legislators have accepted contributions from the employees of these non-profits.
• Can’t take out housing subsidies, contributions from contractors, realtors, and developers have seen to that.
• Can’t fix the schools, teachers’ union contributes millions.
  
  Did I say California was screwed up? Maybe it is more like screwed! Want a better example of this? The California Governor’s Race is a laugh riot. Who in their right mind wants to try to govern the ungovernable? The California Legislature is like the local Dog Park. No one is quite sure how they got there but with only two terms you have to learn how to dominate those around you quickly. The scent of urine in the State Assembly is overpowering! Must be all those new members marking their territory.
  
  On paper, Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay, is an obvious choice for the office of Governor. She says she will run California like a business. It seems that Schwarzenegger said the same thing. But he is an actor and she is a real business person.
  
  Jerry Brown, AKA Governor Moonbeam, had two terms as governor from ’76 to ’84. He had a generally lack luster 8 year run that was highlighted by disco, a poor economy and Proposition 13; the proposition that stabilized property taxes in the state. Brown hated Prop 13 and ran vigorously against it. The people of California passed it overwhelmingly. Many also recall how in the middle of one of the worst recessions to hit California he halted freeway construction. Are you listening Organized Labor?
  
  Boxer or Fiorina?
  
  Fiorina has allowed Boxer to define her in this election and that is a shame. Carly Fiorina is probably one of the best Senate candidates to come out of California in a long time. Regrettably, due to her poor campaign and according to the polls, she will not win. Carly did the right thing for HP at a time when HP was overgrown and overspending. Did your HP Tech stock decline? Sure, so did most tech stocks. Get over it. There were a lot of sour grapes about the moves she made at HP. There is no doubt as studies look back on her tenure that she helped HP prepare to be more competitive.
  
  As for those HP folks in Barbara Boxer’s anti-Carly commercial, they were never promised a lifetime job at HP. How about that one lady who says she had to train her replacement? How much did HP pay her to do that? I bet it was a high 5 or low 6 figures. Unless you work for GM as a union assembler, the State of California, or the Federal Government, no one has a promise of a lifetime job.
  
  Senator Boxer has never authored legislation. Never. I find it hard to support a Senator who cares so little for her constituents that she won’t author legislation to help them. She has a pretty good deal in DC voting yea and nay to other’s bills with virtually no responsibility for her state. Her way of helping voters is to review how much government spending she has forced our way. Government spending does not create permanent sustainable jobs. Boxer constantly talks about sustainability, but what she means is sustainability for the environment and government, not for people’s jobs.
  
  HR 4646 – The One Percent Tax
  
  This bill, sponsored by DeFazio and Harkin will take one percent of your savings and checking account initially and then one percent of every transaction you perform. This can either be in the form of a debit card, cash, credit card, hand written check, or automatic payment. They will take one percent of every transaction run through financial institutions.
  
  This will never take off. It will never pass. It was only introduced to tweak the noses of the Tea Party members and get a little Presidential Brown on the noses of DeFazio and Harkin. It is a diversion. While we are complaining about this new taxation, perhaps they can slip a socialized medicine bill on to the floor and get it passed. Oh, wait, they did that.
  
  
  
  
  
  

Politics in August-Fighting the Doldrums

Hillary Says: Make your Vote Count in November!

Don't forget the KFC Hillary Meal: two fat thighs, two small breasts, and lots of left wings. Finger lickin' good?

* * *
Robert Gibbs-Why are the liberals being so hard on this guy? Gibbs is smarmy and needs a decent haircut. But, he is the President's spokeshole. He is an employee. He only says what the administration wants him to say. Press Secretary/Spokeshole is a thankless, virtually powerless job.

* * *
Target Stores Inc. - Liberal organization MoveOn.Org arranged protests at the Minnesota Headquarters of Target to protest Target's donation of $150,000 to a conservative candidate for Minnesota's Governor. They want Target to make an equal donation to a liberal candidate.

Last time I looked it is a free country and the Supreme Court took the gloves off of anyone wanting to support a specific candidate. I understand why left wing/democratic supporters would protest this sort of thing. They are so anti-business that there are few businesses that would consider giving to their candidates without a quid pro quo.

Hey, conservatives! Let's go out and protest the local union hall when they give to their candidate and tell the union to give equally to our candidate! Let's demand SEIU give to the Conservative Caucus or Sarah Palin Fund or some BS like that.

If they don't like Target, maybe they can shop at Walmart! Oh, yeah, they have no use for unions and liberals either.

Hey, SEIU-How many illegal aliens are enrolled with you? Man, if they ever searched your database you would probably lose a third or more of your membership.

* * *
Our President wants to improve our relations with Cuba and allow less restricted travel between our countries. My question to our President would be, "What did Cuba do to deserve a relaxation of tension between our countries? Why are we rewarding Cuba?" It certainly cannot be their adherence to the principles of human rights. Have they allowed truly democratic elections that were not controlled by their government? Are they privatizing any businesses there? no and no. There is no reason to relax any of the restrictions which we placed upon them.

Cuba is a good buddy of that fool, Hugo Chavez. Cuba supports the FARC, or the Colombian Revolutionary Army that mainly consists of violent criminal malcontents and has killed thousands of innocent civilians since its inception. Hugo lets the FARC live in his jungles. Thanks, Hugo! Cuba loves dictators and despots. The President is screwing everything else up this year for incumbent democrats. Let's really tick 'em off with normalizing relations with Cuba.

***
The New York Mosque

Perhaps this is the start of a true bizarro world. Let's put the mosque in New York at Ground Zero. Then we can build a statue to Golda Meir in Tehran, a tribute to the Japanese Emperor at the USS Arizona memorial, a painting of Fidel Castro in Miami City Hall, we can build a U.S. Army Museum at Wounded Knee, and place a statue of Hitler next to Auschwitz. If we are going to allow tasteless BS like this mosque, let's go all out!

BTW-While the mosque is being built, do you think the Mob will take advantage of all that building material and machines? Isn't it cool how construction supplies are easily resold? I will thank the NY Mafia to make it as difficult as humanly possible for them to complete the mosque. A fire in the middle of construction? Someone dropped their cigarette accidentally. The construction foreman broke his leg? He should be more careful. All of our rebar is missing? You better check the inventory.

***
Geopolitics-The flood in Pakistan could undermine a lot of the work we have put into building up the government there. If they are unable to manage the care and supplies arriving to help those flooded, the military could take over again. I hope everyone remembers how poorly that worked for us and our allies in Afghanistan. With the Pakistani military in charge again, who needs Al Queda?

North Korea-Kim Jong Il is Mad-What else is new?

(Photo caption: Hot Mamas from the North Korean Navy's favorite dance troupe prepare to do a group split.)

I know I speak for many when I say that I am simply shaking in my boots regarding Kim Jong Il’s announcement that North Korea will have a “physical response” to the war games and training activities that will be taking place in international waters off their coast. Kim, known in his own miserable backwater of a nation as the “Dear Leader,” is the de facto leader of North Korea and he rules with an iron fist. No velvet gloves here, my friend. Handsome and discerning, he is not. Perhaps a better way to describe the man is ruthless and paranoid. This guy is more paranoid than a meth addict with arrest warrants in an unregistered vehicle coming to a Highway Patrol check point.

A physical response by North Korea could take many forms. It could be that having that many foreign ships near their shores may lead to mass stomach upset. In that case, the physical response might be mass regurgitation by millions of North Koreans. That would put a terrible strain on their sewer system if they had one. Sans sewer systems, it is likely to pack the many drably colored outhouses throughout the country. I pity the poor Koreans del Norte holding back their plume of vomit with one hand over their mouths and another pushing others out of their way as they battle for an open spot in the “People’s Outhouse.” Oh, gosh, think of the dry cleaning bills!

What the Dear Leader is implying by his “Physical Response” is that he will commit North Korean forces to bring death and destruction upon the navies of the U.S. and South Korea. Our forces will be facing the East Sea Fleet, ten combat squadrons comprising some 470 vessels. That sounds impressive until you realize this is a “brown water” navy. Meaning the ships are primarily used for coastal defense and supporting Army operations along the coast. So, most of these 470 vessels are coastal patrol craft not much bigger than WW 2 PT boats. Yes, there is the occasional modern destroyer or guided missile patrol boat, but for the most part, North Korea relies on their submarines for offensive operations.

The South Korean Navy Destroyer, the Cheonan, was destroyed by a torpedo launched from one of these submarines. The Romeo class submarines are of an old 1950’s Soviet design and use diesel/electric motors. It is said that on silent running they are quieter than our own modern nuclear subs thus difficult to find underwater. One must listen carefully for the cavitations of the propellers as they move stealthily through the Sea of Japan. It is not surprising the Cheonan was unaware of the presence of one of these submarines nearby before it met its fate.

The threat of North Korean submarines should not be taken lightly. Though anti submarine warfare has come a long way it is often luck, not skill, which allows us to locate these slippery silent specters of the seas. I understand the North Koreans have highly disciplined crews. Let’s face it; if they screw up, the penalty is death either by a courts martial or the sinking of their sub. That would keep me in line for sure!

Their torpedo boats and guided missile patrol boats also pose their own difficulty when used as an offensive weapon as their speed and maneuverability can create problems for those ships tasked with defending against them. But, then again, if you have the U.S.S. George Washington out there with a full complement of attack helicopters, fighters, and a picket line of defensive destroyers and frigates, maybe it becomes another American Turkey Shoot.

There is a North Korean Air Force with which to contend. Pilot proficiency is based on hours flown and the quality of that flight time. It is stated that North Korean pilots are not as well trained as their counterparts in the south. Estimates state pilot proficiency is 60% at best versus South Korean pilots with many estimates rating North Korean pilots with less than 30% proficiency. They are very limited in how they may conduct operations as they are wholly dependent on others for materials such as missiles, fuel, radar, avionics, etc. The NKAF also supports an extensive anti aircraft system consisting of Soviet era anti aircraft missiles and radar directed anti aircraft guns around their military and industrial complexes. They boast an exceptionally large number of anti aircraft sites. They still use barrage balloons. Some may find this quaint unless you are a ground attack pilot preparing to pull up from a strafing run. The cable extending from a barrage balloon can just as easily take out an A-10 Warthog today as it would take out a Stuka dive bomber in WW2.

With all this talk of death, destruction, and war, maybe there is a better way for us to get along with the North Koreans. Maybe we could go out and buy them some new clothes. When I see the film of their parades and even just film of everyday life there, it seems they all wear the same sort of dreary quasi military uniforms in a lovely shade of olive drab with their little peaked caps with their cute little red stars on them. But let’s face it, after 60 years of wearing the same clothes day after day, year after year, life can take a bleak turn. I mean, where the heck is their fashion sense? Let’s open an outlet mall in Pyongyang! A little color might brighten their mood.

The Communist Scorecard

1963 Communist Goals - Were they achieved?

Communism equalizes the social conditions of life. There is no "I" in communism. It is a team politic. Everyone works for the greater good of the whole or the collective. Individual ego and thought is discouraged as it does not serve the greater good. One must constantly be considering how he or she will benefit the collective today and forever.

It sounds okay. But let's also consider that the only communist countries our world has had were the result of violent revolutions that killed many thousands in some countries and millions of political dissenters in the cases of Russia and China. In practice, communism is heavy handed and brutal. Political dissenters will find themselves in concentration camps known as "re-eduction" camps. If you don't re-educate, you don't get out! Internal exile of political prisoners is common within communist countries. It is not a terribly nice political system in which to live.

How well have the communists done in relation to attaining their goals in this country? The following was entered into the Congressional record by Albert Herlong, Jr. (a Floridian who served in Congress from 1949-69) in 1963. Let's see how the scoreboard looks. It has been a tough battle and the commies have some wins.

Keep in mind, Cuba, Venezuela, and Myanmar call themselves communist but they are nothing more than socialist dictatorships.

1) US acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war - Yep, we called it mutually assured destruction or MAD. They must play soccer; they want a tie rather than a win.

2) US willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war - This works both ways. However, we were willing to kick their collective booties in Korea, Vietnam, and in our support of the Mujahadin in Afghanistan. Let's keep in mind that we didn't so much lose Vietnam as much as we walked away from it. Starting in the late 1960's we moved forward with the Vietnamization of the war; turning the fight over to our Democratic Viet allies and completed the task in 1973. Korea ended in a truce. The Mujahadeen whipped those commies fair and square.

3) Develop the illusion that total disarmament by the US would be a demonstration of "moral strength" - Peace geeks, Code Pink, Peace & Justice Taskforce, etc. There are a lot of fools advocating for the unilateral destruction of our nuclear deterrent force. If we get rid of our bombs, what do we do when Iran and North Korea threaten us? Ask the Russians for help?

4) Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war. - Not successful there. We don't reward the dictatorship of the proletariat with free trade.

5) Extension of long term loans to Russia and Soviet Satellites - See "Fall of Communism-1989"

6) Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination - Nope, not successful. Cuba, Venezuela and Myanmar get little to no U.S. Aid.

7) Grant recognition of Red China, and admission of Red China to the UN. - Win for the Soviets. But is China really "RED" anymore? Their suto capitalist economy will collapse and take a united China with it.

8) Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the Germany question by free elections under supervision of the UN - Oops! Fall of Communism-1989.

9) Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the US has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress - We don't need to test anymore. We know from our computer models our H-Bombs will blow the crap out of anyone.

10) Allow all Soviet Satellites individual representation in the UN - See "Fall of Communism-1989"

11) Promote the UN as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the UN as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo) - Most Americans are wary of the UN. World Government? Not in ours or our grandchildren's lifetimes. With so much nationalistic hubris around the world during World Cup Soccer time, how could we possibly have a world government?

12) Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party - We are the U.S.A. We welcome all political parties. Kinda dumb by some standards, but it's worked for us a lot of years.

13) Do away with loyalty oaths - nope, ain't happening here!

14) Continue giving Russia access to the US Patent Office - See "Fall of Communism-1989"

15) Capture one or both of the political parties in the US - Successfully overtook the Democratic Party in 2008.

16) Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions, by claiming their activities violate civil rights. - Yeah, our appellate court system is rife with social justice nerds. This could be worse if there were a liberal majority on the Supreme Court.

17) Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for Socialism, and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers associations. Put the party line in text books. - Commies win here. They dominate political thought in public colleges all over the country. There are millions of socialist losers teaching our children to hate their country.

18) Gain control of all student newspapers-Big deal. Students are too stoned to read their papers.

19) Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack. - Let's call out our anarchist buds! That G20 sure draws a crowd of those freaks. No one takes violent protesters seriously. They are seen as immature fools.

20) Infiltrate the press. Get control of book review assignments, editorial writing, policy-making positions. - They've done well here but didn't count on Fox News being a fly in the ointment. Had there been no Fox News the past several years, would the conservatives in our government be significantly marginalized?

21) Gain control of key positions in radio, TV & motion pictures. - Commies won for a little while. But conservative talk radio has brought us back from the brink. They still tend to dominate many news orgs and communist reportage is evident to anyone looking for it. Currently, the FCC is rife with socialists appointed by the Obama administration wanting to bring back the "Fairness Doctrine" in broadcasting. It is because liberal radio can't make a dime in markets where there is right wing radio. You want to listen to a bunch of whiners? I don't.

22) Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all form of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings", substitute shapeless, awkward, and meaningless forms. - Oops! American Culture won! We kicked their asses back to Petersburg. The world loves American culture; except for the radical Muslims. Can't please everyone. I guess they are also trying to say that modern sculpture was a commie plot? yeah, maybe, but it is meaningless.

23) Control art critics and directors of art museums. " Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art". - Commies win, but who cares? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

24) Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press. - Nope, didn't work.

25) Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography, and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio and TV. - Nothing I like more than a little obscene porno. Bring it on, you commie bastards!

26) Present Homosexuality, degeneracy, and promiscuity as "normal, natural, and healthy." - The world is changing. If there were a Soviet Union today, they would have Gay communists insisting they should have Gay Marriage. Would there be Gay Gulags?

27) Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity, which does not need a "religious crutch" - There are those who keep trying to discredit the bible and religion. Most notably, the writers of Fox's cartoon sitcoms; the Simpsons and Family Guy. In spite of this, churches of various religions are still well attended. "In god we trust" is still on our currency. We still say "under god" in the pledge.

28) Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the grounds that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state" - Commies won on that one. When I was in grade school, we did not pray at all. I didn't grow up an atheist.

29) Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis. - Well, judicial activists will tell you the Constitution, as a basis of government, is out of date. After 220 years it is still the best document of its kind.

30) Discredit the American founding fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man." - Over the years, the documents these men created, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, have meaning for every man and woman in our great country. Perhaps one day the founding fathers will be forgotten, but their legacy never will.

31) Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of "the big picture:" Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over. - Hahahaha! American Culture wins again! See "The Fall of Communism-1989"

32) Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture - - education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc. - Sound familiar??? That is exactly what our congress with the support of President Obama is doing today. Giant ass'd Healthcare bills anyone? Giant finance regulation bills. What does it mean? More new taxes!

33) Eliminate all laws or procedures, which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus. - We crushed ACORN and the Tea Party is strong. This is still a battle.

34) Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities. - Don't need it anymore. See "The Fall of Communism-1989"

35) Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI - Hahahaha! Didn't work.

6) Infiltrate and gain control of more unions. - Commies win. The commies own the unions.

37) Infiltrate and gain control of big business. - Commies lose.

8) Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand or treat. - didn't work.

39) Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals. - The idea was that a psychiatrist who was indoctrinated would tell you that capitalism is not rational and only communism is rational. They could then commit those they felt were working against the communist cabal and have them committed and out of the way.

40) Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce. - This continues to be a battle for the American family.

41) Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents. - Didn't work. Never happened.

42) Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special interest groups should rise up and make a "united force" to solve economic, political, or social problems. - America was created on protest. What this refers to are the Anarchist fools who take quite protests and turn them into window bashing and burning police cars. Someday, communism will fall in places like Oakland CA, Detroit MI, and Chicago Ill.

43) Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government. - Failure for the commies. See "Fall of Communism-1989"

44) Internationalize the Panama Canal. - Technically, we still control it. No one in Panama goes to the bathroom without our Army knowing about it.

45) Repeal the Connally Reservation so the US can not prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction over domestic problems. Give the World Court jurisdiction over domestic problems. Give the World Court jurisdiction over nations and individuals alike. - Hahahaha! Like that will ever happen. Americans will never give up their sovereignty to a world government.

Green Business and Unions with some Thoughts on Doing Business with Russia

Al Gore, Green Business, and Unions-The Unholy Trinity

How about that masseuse who said Al Gore tried to pick up on her in a Portland OR hotel room? I think it is pretty obvious she was after some money. And if Al was grabbing at her, he has no taste. Who goes after a 54 year old masseuse? She was a wrinkled up slag. If this accusation had any substance, it would have come out back when it happened two or three years ago. How long ‘til she has Gloria Allred as her attorney? Aw, geez!

Pardon me, but who gives a damn about that blowhard, Al Gore, anyway? He won a Nobel Prize based on fake science. The grand European Green Energy scheme he wanted implemented here in the U.S. is melting down in Europe as the governments can no longer afford to SUBSIDIZE the green industry. But that’s their problem.

The U.S. has bigger fish to fry here as we can no longer afford to subsidize unions. Thus, our economies of several states and municipalities are melting down. If something does not happen soon in the way of managing our future state expenditures to unions and their pensions, if we don’t stop kowtowing to them and granting them raises in economies where there should not be any raises, if we knuckle under this year in California and give up our social programs to pay the unionists, our nation is on a oil slicked road to ruin. Unions killed the auto manufacturing business. They are in the process of killing off our airlines. Now, our state and municipal governments are fighting with unions because funding their pay and their ridiculous pensions is way out of hand. That’s the choice our state lawmakers have to make. Do we cut out a variety of social programs and alienate the millions being served by them or do we take the brave step and start taking control from the unions? Do we manage our futures or hand our futures and our tax dollars to the unions?

In California, the state employees union is the strongest, biggest lobby in the state. Not one Democratic member of the state assembly will realistically go up against them and try to save the taxpayers’ money by negotiating on behalf of the PEOPLE rather than on behalf of the union. There are just too many campaign dollars to go around and they like those green backs from the unions. Isn’t that right State Senator Leland Yee? State Assm. Ira Ruskin? State Assm. Jerry Hill?

Now that the American people are getting wise to them, the unions need a new industry to make sure their armies of idiots have jobs. Unions love Green and want to dominate green business as they dominate the auto industry. I am predicting here and now, the Green Industry will flop around like a fish out of water for a long time before it becomes viable. Why??? Unions.

Jose Radzinsky, an immigrant from Uruguay, accidentally started a small solar installation company in San Jose Ca in 1996. His home in the Santa Cruz Mountains had no electricity. Instead of having the local utility extend electricity to his home for $200,000, he installed some solar panels on his home. His neighbors liked it, so he did their homes too. By 2006, he had a going business with 25 employees.

Jose had a cutting edge Green company on the forefront of the Green movement getting great contracts like placing photovoltaic panels on the schools in the Sunnyvale School District. To expand his business, he decided to start a school for training people to become solar panel installation techs. He submitted an application to the state to start the school. That is where Jose’s trouble started.

IBEW, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, appealed the state’s approval of the program. It seemed to the IBEW that they were the only organization in the state with the right to train workers in solar panel installation and claimed the solar industry had no need for this school. The union’s lawyers attacked the program for various technical shortcomings. The small business owner was beset with legal briefs and exhibits filed by the union lawyers.

Soon, other trade unions joined with the IBEW to stop Jose from starting his Solar Tech Installation School. Roofers, plumbers, sheet metal workers and other unions came forward in the proceedings to argue that the training of solar installers is solely in the purview of the unions and not the private business. None of these unions have a solar tech training school. It is just another example of unions throwing their weight around to kill a great idea because it might infringe on their power.

Today the California Apprenticeship Council will rule whether or not Jose can start his school and train people to increase the level of sun power in California’s energy usage. Will they be in favor of the small business owner with a dream for California? Or will they side with the dream killing, nightmarish unions?

Doing Business with Russia

Recently, Russian President Medvedev visited the Silicon Valley in Northern California to ask for help in developing entrepreneurship in Russia. Cisco promised a one billion dollar investment in high tech developments there. Let’s keep in mind that in the 2009 Corruption Perception Index, Russia was rated a 2.2 out of 10. Amazingly, Nigeria scores slightly better than Russia. To be quite colloquial, Cisco’s gonna loose it’s ass in Russia.

There is no law there. Corrupt politicians and police can have anyone arrested, tortured, and held indefinitely. If you are a corporate lawyer and you choose to bring charges of corruption against a politician, you should pack you bags and get the hell out of town as the next knock on your door is the secret police ready to take you in, forever. If they get you, they will send you to a place that makes Gitmo look like the Hilton.

I encourage you to read the story of Jamison Firestone, an American attorney working in Russia and how his firm, which was the law firm to the Hermitage Fund, was treated by the Russian government. http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_15361407

Russian President Dimitry Medvedev is a cute little fella who loves modern technology. The American press is enamored with him because he uses email. Oooo, big deal. He has no power. The Russian President is a figure head. Putin the Prime Minister holds all the power. I doubt Medvedev can go to the bathroom without Putin’s permission.

Random Thoughts on California and Helen Thomas

California Kicks-off Two Big Races

The Primary is over



Governor’s mansion: It is Meg Whitman’s race to lose. If she plays her cards right, focusing on Jerry’s first two terms as Gov and his much less than astounding time as Mayor of Oakland, she could do it. She also needs to play up the disgust of the electorate with the giant union pension contracts that are strangling our cities, county, and state. Jerry Brown never saw a union contract he didn’t love. Even in San Jose, union might is waning. Any missteps by Meg and Jerry gets 4 years, heaven help us all. If that happens, California becomes the New Oakland.

Carly and Babs vie for the U.S. Senate Seat:Someone said the contest between Carly Fiorina and Babs Boxer will be a Cat Fight. Cat Fight? Baby, that’s a WWF No Holds Barred No Referee Cage Match looking for a place to happen. Who will be the first to fling a folding chair during the first debate? “Fiorina’s pounding Boxer, a right, a left, a right again. Fiorina is grabbing Boxer by her 70’s haircut, pulling her down and bouncing her face off her bony knees. Boxer is down! Fiorina goes to edge of the ring to play to the crowd; exhorting cheers. Look out! Boxer is up and has a folding chair!” That would be soooo much fun.

Helen Thomas


I knew she was a pain in the ass to many presidents, but I didn't know she was a Nazi. I was surprised by the cmoplete lack of decorum she showed in her recent comments on Israel (or Palestine as Helen so fondly refers to it).

Rabbi David Nesenoff is an independent filmmaker from Long Island and he runs the website RabbiLive.com. He approached Helen Thomas outside the White House after attending events for Jewish Heritage Day on May 27. He said he was there with his teenage son and a friend. They approached Thomas to talk.

Asked whether she had any comments on Israel, Thomas said, "Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine." She continued, "Remember, these people are occupied and it's their land. It's not Germany, it's not Poland," she continued. Asked where they should go, she answered, "They should go home."

"Where's home?" Nesenoff asked.

"Poland, Germany and America, everywhere else," Thomas replied.

"Those remarks were offensive and reprehensible," Presidential Spokesperson Gibbs said during the Monday press briefing, saying that Thomas's comments "do not reflect certainly most of the people here and certainly not those of the administration."

"Helen Thomas announced Monday that she is retiring, effective immediately," read a statement from Hearst Newspapers on Monday. "Her decision came after her controversial comments about Israel and the Palestinians were captured on videotape and widely disseminated on the Internet."

Thomas said in a statement that, "I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians. They do not reflect my heart-felt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon.’’

After hearing her yesterday, and assessing the commentary she has had in the past and how she has badgered Presidents regarding Israel for years, it is pretty evident that she was a biased ingrate with little regard for Jews. A sad end to such a storied career.

Had her reportage slanted UPI over the years prior to her resignation in 2000? Helen Thomas, former President of the White House Press Corps, leading anti Israel extremist I guess. How has her slanted and skewed view of the world effected younger reporters whom she had taken under her wing? The guys at MSNBC and John Stewart make jokes about there being a liberal slant to the news, as if Fox news and other conservative commentators were nuts or, worse, accusing the media of a liberal conspiracy. “Bias, no way! How foolish.” This is an American wake up call. It behooves us to look upon all mainstream news sources with a critical eye and search out varied sources for our news. If you reglularly get your news from FOX, take a look at CNN or the NY Times. It won't kill you. If you are a regular NY Times or Yahoo News addict, check out FOX or the Wall Street Journal once in a while to see the other side. Let's remember that we live in a big country where opinions are free to grow like leaves on trees. I read NY Times columnist Thomas Friedman a couple of times a week. I even agree with him... sometimes.



Helen Thomas is entitled to her point of view and may express it freely here. However, her soapbox has been yanked from under her feet for all time.



One last thought on Thomas: When she left the UPI in 2000 to become a columnist for Hearst, why was she still accorded the front seat of the White House Press Room? Why was she still allowed to ask the first question at each presidential press conference after leaving UPI? I thought GW Bush did the right thing in bypassing her questions in press conferences starting in 2003. She was no longer a reporter and did not deserve to be among the press corps at the time. Thomas should have gone to pasture, instead, she used her questioning opportunities to go on long accusatory political diatribes. By 2003, it was also apparent by her line of questioning that she was biased against American participation in the Arab world. I don't understand her love for those who would happily commit genocide once more against the Jewish people. I am not a Jew and I am not always the biggest backer of Israeli policies in the MidEast. However, I have to agree with White House Spokesman Gibbs, those were reprehensible and indefensible comments from someone many Americans had grown to trust. If our President really wants to kick some ass these days, perhaps he could start with Helen Thomas.

Some people are like Slinkys, they are more fun when you push them down some stairs.

Disarming America

The California State Assembly has recently passed a new law that would end the open carrying of pistols in the state. Currently, California law allows persons legally allowed to own a weapon to carry an unloaded pistol openly in a holster. Ammunition is to be carried separately from the weapon but can be on the same belt or in a pocket. The new law will end this practice once and for all.

I can hear "yea" and "wheeee" coming from the anti-gunners out there. This is really much ado about nothing. The open carry law has been on the books for many years. It was not until recently that gun rights advocates took to the streets carrying their guns to shed a little light upon the Second Amendment and our right to bear arms. Of course, where there are gun advocates, there are those who feel that private ownership of weapons is barbaric and an affront to a decent society.

The ultimate goal of the anti-gun crowd is to outlaw the private ownership of projectile firing weapons. You would still be able to use a baseball bat to protect your home and family - provided that it is not a metal bat, as those may be outlawed too.

The FBI estimates there are over 200 million privately held guns in 40% of the households in the US. To wrest control of all of these weapons is a gargantuan undertaking. There is a certain percentage who would give up their weapons willingly. But there is also a more significant percentage who would rather have their guns pried from their cold dead fingers rather than give them up willingly. Let's consider how the Weimar Republic of Germany eliminated private gun ownership.

By 1938, the Weimar Republic already had many laws on the books that anti-gunners advocate now. You had to have a special license from the police to own and carry a weapon. The German state police had carte blanch over all ownership decisions. This unlimited police control is the foundation of "Brady II," the gun legislation being promoted by the gun control lobby since 1994. The German Gun Control program was all the Nazi's needed to insure that Jews and others who were not trusted by the state to be good Germans would be disarmed and helpless.

In 1938 Germany passed their special "1938 Weapons Law," stating that Jews could no longer possess firearms. Possesion of a firearm by a Jew would result in death or 20 years of incarceration. In accordance with the new law, Police entered Jewish homes and confiscated pistols, rifles, and even old swords and sabers owned by WWI veterans. On Nov. 8, 1938, the New York Times reported from Berlin, "Berlin Police Head Announces 'Disarming' of Jews," explaining:

The Berlin Police President, Count Wolf Heinrich von Helldorf, announced that as a result of a police activity in the last few weeks the entire Jewish population of Berlin had been "disarmed" with the confiscation of 2,569 hand weapons, 1,702 firearms and 20,000 rounds of ammunition. Any Jews still found in possession of weapons without valid licenses are threatened with the severest punishment.1

On November 9, 1938, the Nazi government initiated "Kristallnacht," where thousands of unarmed, helpless Jews were attacked by government sanctioned mobs. Certainly, if the Jews had firearms, the mobs would have thought twice about destroying their businesses and homes. I have heard some nuts say the Jews did nothing to protect or defend themselves in the Holocaust. What can you do when you have been disarmed and there are masses of people with torches and clubs willing to bash you into the next week? Or quasi military organizations like the SS or the Gestapo armed with automatic weapons comes around to take you away? There was some resistance, but those who resisted were killed or maimed. No, there was little that Germany's Jews could do to defend themselves in the face of State directed genocide.

Of course, at this time in Germany, they had full gun registration. If you were a German citizen and not a Jew, you could still own a gun. However, the German legislature was the first to distinguish between military and sporting arms. So, ownership of pistols and semi automatic rifles were prohibited. Every weapon in possession by the citizenry was recorded.

As the pendulum in the battles of WWII swung to the allies side, Germany was forced to play its trump card. Finally, in 1942, the state went forward and initiated confiscation of all firearms. Paranoia of their leader and others in positions of power drove them to take away all firearms for fear of a popular uprising.

The path to gun control is paved with good intentions. Registering weapons does nothing to keep them out of the hands of those who would use them to harm us. It does give the government a "Black List" to move upon when the time comes for confiscation. As an American gun owner, I do not fear my government. My government, technically, fears me and all the other millions of gun owners.

Rep. Edwin Arthur Hall-NY, Member of the House of Representatives from 1939 to 1953, explained: "Before the advent of Hitler or Stalin, who took power from the German and Russian people, measures were thrust upon the free legislatures of those countries to deprive the people of the possession and use of firearms, so that they could not resist the encroachments of such diabolical and vitriolic state police organizations as the Gestapo, the Ogpu, and the Cheka."9

Rep. John W. Patman-TX, Member of the House from 1928 to 1976, added: "The people have a right to keep arms; therefore, if we should have some Executive who attempted to set himself up as dictator or king, the people can organize themselves together and, with the arms and ammunition they have, they can properly protect themselves. . . ."

One must fear the government that wants to take their gun. Now, the State of California wishes to infringe upon our Second Amendment Right because some ninnies in Starbucks feel threatened by citizens exercising their personal right to carry an unloaded weapon. Schwarzenegger's political career is shot to hell. He is becoming more of a Kennedy daily. I bet that ninny signs the open carry restriction bill.

Arizona - Drawing a Line in the Sand

Arizona passed SB 1070 and raised a real national ruckus. The media describes it as a "National Firestorm" and are making big dollars selling ad time by keeping it as a top story every night. True, there are many who feel the law is wrong, discriminatory, and opens a door to racial profiling. There are many who believe Arizona cops will be playing like the Gestapo, taking unsuspecting Latinos off the street to an uncertain future. When you read the law you discover that police must have a reason to ask for ID, they cannot just "profile" someone and take them into custody. To date, the President nor our Fearless Leader of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, have read the bill. Here, read the bill for yourself: http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/sb1070s.pdf

70% of Arizonans believe strongly in this law. Over 50% of Americans support the law. Over the past 8 years, drug related crime has increased in Arizona. Phoenix has become the kidnap capital of the North America. Mexican druglords run raids to kill rivals and other associates as far north as Phoenix. Ranchers on the border live in fear for the lives of their families as drug cartel couriers armed with assault rifles cross their lands constantly. In April in Pinal County, directly south of Phoenix, there were 64 high speed car chases. 100% of the perpetrators were illegal immigrants.

Here is how Sheriff Babeu of Pinal County described it:
"Last month (April) alone, just in one patrol region, we had sixty-four pursuits. That means people who were driving a vehicle, failed to yield, took off like a bat out of hell, running red lights, creating traffic wrecks, numerous people were killed in these wrecks over the last several months, and who are these people? Not one of them was a U.S. citizen."

How did we get here?

Democrats didn’t want to do anything with immigration as many in their party like the open borders concept. Here is Marcella Aviles, the Executive Director of San Jose's Mexican Heritage Plaza’s take on open borders.: http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_14996692 Some Democrats believe it is criminal not to let Latinos into our country. They are so downtrodden in Mexico and Guatemala et al they crave the many freedoms that America has to offer. They have rights as a human being to decide where they wish to live and they wish to live here. America needs to accept the fact that our population growth will come from the south and our nation will become more Hispanic. There are still others who believe that California, Arizona, and Nevada still belong to Mexico and these people crossing the border are only moving into another state of their own country. The Democrats see power coming from across the border. If these folks can be made into citizens, they will become union members, community activists, and serve to grow the democratic voting block.

The Republicans have had no appetite to do anything about the border until now. For many years, illegal labor helped build the homes and downtowns of San Diego, LA, Phoenix, Tucson, the Bay Area. Big business and the Republicans looked the other way. Big Business, more specifically-real estate developers, have spent a lot of time preventing any immigration legislation. You can’t build brick homes in Texas and pay a union wage! You can’t build a 500 home subdivision and pay prevailing wage to all workers. That is not economically feasible. Homes would be way too expensive. The way to make it work is to have a big chunk of your workforce working below prevailing wages. Thus, the defacto rules were to allow illegals into the country with a nod and a wink to border enforcement.

The growth of illegal immigration has been pretty steady since 1986 when Reagan allowed a “path to citizenship.” Crime has increased dramatically as a result. My best friend is a defense attorney in San Mateo County. Most of his business on the public defender side is illegal immigrants. Thus we pay Public Defenders something like $400 per hour to defend people who should not be here. Their crimes cost us more in insurance payments. Heck, California has the highest uninsured drivers’ premiums in the country. We pay more in taxes to pay for the additional corrections personnel and jail improvements and expansions. That’s not to mention the billions in subsidies spent nationwide on welfare, food, housing, and medical treatments for those living here illegally. Annually, there is legislation in the Cal Assembly to officially make our state bilingual. Is everyone ready to force your kids to learn Spanish in school? Well, teachers love it. That’s at least one more teacher per school for which we can all pay.

Legislation I’d like to see: Place the National Guard on the borders. They take all illegal immigrants crossing the border to a concentration station on the border where they can be fingerprinted, photographed and shipped by bus back across the border. If they are caught again, jail time, then back across the border. Caught smuggling people or drugs? You go to immigrant jail. Not a normal federal jail. It’s more like a Mexican jail, but nastier.

No path to citizenship for anyone with a past criminal record either here or in Mexico or in the miserable country they hail from. Back across the border they go and into our criminal database.

Those wishing to become citizens shall pay a substantial fine for living illegally in our country. Hey, they skated on paying taxes for years, they ought to pay up a bit before we welcome them with open arms. After they pay their fine and complete the other legalities of immigration, they get a green card. Now they must take English and civics classes and have a passing grade of 75% or better to be considered for their citizenship tests. I will not stand to have a bunch of radicals here as Reagan allowed in his 1986 Cart Blanche Amnesty. I don’t want a bunch of Sandinistas and other central American radicals given sanctuary here. They don’t like democracy in their country and they don’t like it here.

What I am getting to is, the Democrats and Republicans are equally guilty of allowing this flow of illegal immigrants into this country for different reasons. If our government fails to provide a safe living environment for those living in our border states, then it is up to those states to protect their citizens. The Federal gov has failed us if states are enacting laws like SB 1070. Arizona is standing up for the rights of its citizens to live in a secure environment. The Republicans have grabbed hold of this issue and have a real tiger by the tail. They have captured the imagination of much of the nation. I hope they do something constructive with it.

TARP Supported Banks Blamed for Lack of Lending in Multi-Racial Communities

May 13, 2010
TARP-Supported Banks Reduced Lending Dramatically, New Data Show National report finds re-emerging redlining patterns in seven cities as banks pull out of prime mortgage lending in communities of color May 13, 2010

CHICAGO-A report released today by a multi-state collaboration of regional research, policy and advocacy organizations documents the dramatic decrease in low-cost home loans made between 2006 and 2008, and highlights that communities of color were hardest hit by the drop-off in lending.

The entire release is available below after Otto's comments.
____________________________________________________

Otto's comments:
The numbers most of these affordable housing advocates use( BTW-they are referred to as researchers in the press release) are the HMDA (Home Mortgage Disclosure Act) numbers. However, the findings they came up with are basically unreal.



Banks do not abandon neighborhoods of color. CRA (the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977) sees that banks serve each neighborhood's credit needs equally and in a colorblind fashion. What is taking place in these neighborhoods is a result of our current economy. In neighborhoods where home values have dropped and unemployment has increased, it is difficult to refinance loans. Many neighborhoods of color had the value of the homes artificially increased due to the "go go" real estate environment we had from 2003 thru 2007. If a neighborhood had a high turn over in home sales, many homes are now valued less than the mortgage they carry. Thus making it impossible to refi.



Also, there are fewer loan options as sub prime lending has basically gone away. Let's keep in mind that many loans in these neighborhoods were sub prime loans where lenders were willing to accept alternative forms of credit and income verification. These alternatives are no longer viable. New regulations and supervisory oversight have eliminated them. Lenders have learned a hard lesson and will not make subprime loans any longer. Lenders must fully underwrite loans. There are no more stated income or "Liar" loans. Loan to value ratios for purchases and refi's has dropped to 80%. Mortgage insurers are pulling out of entire states. All of these factors make it more difficult for anyone, much less a person of color, to refinance their home.



Overall, the bar for borrowers has been raised pretty dramatically. In 2006, a borrower needed a 680 Fico Credit Score to access a prime home loan. As of 2008 and 2009, due to the increases in foreclosures and consumer defaults, most banks raised the bar to a 740 Fico. This locked out many of the borrowers who had previously been able to access loans.



This report fails to mention the significant drop in lending in all neighborhoods. Refinance lending has dropped ridiculously since 2006. That drop is across the board and for all neighborhoods, not just those of color. Home purchases are up, refi's are nearly non existent.



Let's consider who commissioned the report. The organizations listed at the end of the report are not exactly known for being "bank friendly." These organizations have a partisan and adversarial realtionship with banks and have every reason to manipulate certain information to make banks look bad. If these orgs deemed all banks to be fair lenders and each bank provided loans on an even colorblind basis, they would jeopardize their government and foundation funding and cease to exist. I could more easily accept this report if it came from an org that was well known for its evenhanded treatment of banks.



It wasn't that the TARP funded banks reduced lending. It was a function of our economy. There were simply fewer good loans to go after.
_______________________________________________________________________________

Here is the full text of the press release:

TARP-Supported Banks Reduced Lending Dramatically, New Data Show National report finds re-emerging redlining patterns in seven cities as banks pull out of prime mortgage lending in communities of color May 13, 2010

CHICAGO-A report released today by a multi-state collaboration of regional research, policy and advocacy organizations documents the dramatic decrease in low-cost home loans made between 2006 and 2008, and highlights that communities of color were hardest hit by the drop-off in lending.

Read the report: http://bit.ly/p4ymre

The report, Paying More for the American Dream IV, examines the mortgage lending patterns of banks, including the nation's four largest financial institutions, in seven metropolitan areas in the United States: Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York City, and Rochester, NY.

"After inflicting harm on neighborhoods of color through years of problematic subprime and option ARM loans, banks are now pulling back at a time when communities are most in need of responsible loans and investment," said Geoff Smith, Senior Vice President of Woodstock Institute. "We are concerned that we have gone from a period of reverse redlining to a period of re-redlining."

Key findings include:

* Prime mortgage lending in communities of color declined more than twice as much as it did in predominantly white communities. While prime lending decreased between 2006 and 2008 in all seven metropolitan areas, the decline in lending was much greater in neighborhoods where people of color comprised 80% or more of the residents. Neighborhoods of color experienced a 60.3% decrease in lending, compared to a 28.4% decrease in lending in white neighborhoods, where people of color comprised less than 10% of the residents.

* The drop in prime lending for neighborhoods of color was even steeper for refinance loans that allow borrowers to take advantage of lower interest rates or access home equity. Such lending declined by 66.4% in neighborhoods of color, but declined by a mere 13.9% in white neighborhoods.

* Between 2006 and 2008 the share of prime refinance loans made in communities of color dropped 35% whereas the share of these loans made in predominantly white communities increased 11%.

* The nation's four largest banks-Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo-demonstrated similar lending patterns, targeting white communities for new refinance loans while pulling out of neighborhoods of color. Prime refinance lending by these four banks in white communities increased by 32.2% between 2006 and 2008, but decreased in neighborhoods of color by 33.1%.

"It is troubling that banks that took TARP funds made significantly fewer loans in the very neighborhoods most in need of credit," said Barbara van Kerkhove, Researcher/Policy Analyst at Empire Justice Center. "Part of the rationale for giving taxpayer funds to the banks was so they would lend and invest in our neighborhoods."

Recommendations include:

* Expanding and modernizing the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) so financial institutions cannot evade its goal of increasing lending, investment and services in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with safety and soundness.

* Creating a strong Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) to protect families and communities from abusive financial products and to prevent a future crisis from further destabilizing already struggling families and their communities.

* Updating the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) to include additional data necessary to keep pace with changes in the financial services industry and to achieve its stated goal of helping to identify discrimination in lending.

* Prioritizing fair lending enforcement in lending and loan modification programs to ensure that historically redlined neighborhoods are not subjected to continuing redlining practices.

* Repairing neighborhoods hard hit by foreclosure by working to keep families in their homes, mitigating the harmful effects of foreclosure, and significantly increasing investment in neighborhoods so that residents, small businesses and community institutions can thrive.

Collaboration:

The Paying More for the American Dream series is a collaborative effort of the California Reinvestment Coalition, Community Reinvestment Association of North Carolina, Empire Justice Center, Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance, Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project, Ohio Fair Lending Coalition, and Woodstock Institute. This is the collaboration's fourth annual report examining systematic inequalities in the housing finance system and their impact on lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color. The first report, released in March 2007, examined disparities in mortgage pricing by several of the country's largest mortgage lenders that offered both prime and subprime loans. The second report, released in March 2008, looked at the geographic lending patterns of a set of defunct subprime lenders whose loans largely fueled the wave of foreclosures that is currently devastating communities across the country and found that these loans were highly concentrated in communities of color and lower-income communities. The third report, released in April 2009, analyzed and compared the lending patterns of lenders that were covered by the Community Reinvestment Act with lenders that were not covered by the CRA.

# # #

For more information or to arrange interviews, please contact one of the following collaborative organizations:

Charles Bromley, Ohio Fair Lending Coalition
(216) 410-3879

Tom Callahan, Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance
(617) 822-9100

Alexis Iwanisziw, Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project
(212) 680-5100

Tram Nguyen or Kevin Stein, California Reinvestment Coalition
(415) 864-3980

Adam Rust, Community Reinvestment Association of North Carolina
(919) 667-1557 x31

Geoff Smith, Woodstock Institute
(312) 368-0310

Barbara van Kerkhove, Empire Justice Center
(585) 295-5815


Katie Buitrago | Policy and Communications Associate Woodstock Institute
29 E Madison Suite 1710 | Chicago, Illinois 60602 T 312/368-0310 x2031 | F 312/368-0316 www.woodstockinst.org | kbuitrago@woodstockinst.org

Advancing Economic Security and Community Prosperity

###

It seems our government’s thought police are on high alert but Homeland security is asleep at the switch. Last year, Napolitano said the greater threat to us is not from Muslim extremists but from returning military troops forming militias. Let’s see, Jihad Jane, Nidal Hasan, and Najibullah Zazi…..and now to include our new buddy Faisal—The score is Taliban 4 Militia 1 (and that 1 is questionable. Those Hutaree guys sounded like a bunch of idiots, not trained militants. BTW- I don’t know if you have been following it but, the government’s case in the Hutaree deal is a bit shaky. They may have moved too soon.)

VAT & Obama's Next Supreme Court Pick

VAT

Our President is floating the idea of a VAT or Value Added Tax. The idea being that we cannot fix our current deficit and maintain programmatical spending with the current level of revenue. With this type of tax, our government would be allowed to tax consumer goods at each level of production. This could drastically increase the cost of all consumer goods and depress retail sales. A VAT could change the landscape of consumer sales. Our consumer economy, as we have known it, may disappear. What will emerge from this morass of taxation is unknown.

A Value Added Tax starts with the raw materials. Let's use 1% (one percent) as our basis. How many outside manufacturers are there for a new American car? Well, in the VAT world, each manufacturer would have to charge a 1% value added tax for each part it sold to the manufacturer. So that is 1% on the stereo, 1% on the auto glass, 1% on the tires, 1% on the brakes, 1% on the raw materials. You get the idea, right? Oh, let's not forget that all the companies supplying these subcontractors charge a 1% VAT on their materials as well. The stereo manufacturer has to pay for chip sets, CD drives, speaker wire and speakers for their auto stereos. There is a 1% VAT on each of these items.

How much will this "Value Added" add to the price of a typical American automobile? Value is an interesting term. Generally, most American cars are currently considered to be a good "Value." If the costs of American manufactured autos goes up 10% due to increased taxation and inflation, will they still be a good value? If simple items are priced out of reach of the average consuming American family, is the VAT a fair and equitable tax?

Ask any European who lives here what they think of the VAT in their country. You may learn that escaping the unfair VAT is the reason they came to the U.S. The VAT will effect everyone. No one will be able to avoid paying it.

Supreme Court

There was an article today on Yahoo News asking "Why are there 9 justices?" The article gave an interesting history of how the court was shaped during the 19th century until the Judiciary Act of 1869 set the limit at 9 and it has not changed since.

The article failed to acknowledge the Judiciary Reorganization Bill of 1937 also known as the "Court Packing Plan." In this particular case, the Supreme Court invalidated a large part of FDR's New Deal in 1935. FDR wasted no time in his attempt to pack the court with several new justices who saw things his way. The bill would have given the president the power to appoint a new justice for every justice over the age of 70 1/2 up to a maximum of 6. This would have given FDR the power to place up to six additional pro-New Deal justices on the court and change the course of the U.S. history.

This is a fine example of a politician trying to politicize the court to their own ends. According to FDR, prior to his presidency, the Republican Party controlled the Presidency, the House, the Senate, and the Supreme Court. By enactment of the Judiciary Reorganization Bill of 1937, the President could count on better treatment for his administration's economic policies that may had previously been deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Doesn't that seem like stacking the deck and cheating in some ways? "I don't get my way so I change the way the judiciary works." That seemed simple to FDR. He had just been reelected in 1936 with one of the largest electoral majorities ever seen in history at the time. It should have been a slam dunk for him to get this passed. However, there was an extreme backlash from the American public in regard to this bill. In the end, the idea was negatively viewed by the press. The public's view of the bill was generally running from 41% to 49% negative. People who viewed the bill favorably averaged only 39% at best. But the ensuing battle among democrats in the senate with the Republicans watching from the sidelines doomed the bill and any chance of passage died along with the Senate Majority leader at the time, Joseph T. Robinson.

I think what we discovered from FDR's failure to stack the court was that Americans prefer a level playing field.

Certainly, we know that our president will nominate someone who holds most of his same values to heart. Should we assume that our next justice will be cautious of allowing business to function without strong regulation? The new justice may be more inclined to allowing government bureaucracy to grow unfettered. The justice will support women's right to abortion and will not likely favor the 2nd Amendment to the constitution. I don't wish to use generalized labels like "left wing" or "liberal." As with the retiring Justice Stevens, you cannot judge a book by it's cover. A justice may be appointed by a Republican based upon conservative dogma at the time. That justice may have a paradigm change in their personal politics or judicial viewpoint after many years on the bench and find themselves siding with a different group of justices than they had previously.

With SCOTUS, anything can happen. No one expected Pres. GW Bush to have an extra pick after he nominated Justice Roberts. A very short time after Roberts' appointment, Rehnquist died. Roberts then became the Chief Justice and Justice Alito was later confirmed. Several current Justices are over 70 years old. It is early in Obama's administration. Obama could conceivably get one additional pick over the next couple of years.

Thoughts on Domestic Terrorism and Israel

Well, the FBI has put an end to the Hutaree in Michigan and not a day too soon. They wanted to start a Christian Right Revolution by killing cops. They were getting ready to roll when the FBI shut them down. Bravo FBI! There are loons on each end of the political spectrum. Let's hope the FBI is looking both to their right and to their left.

The Hutaree were caught as they could not maintain any secrecy or oeprational control over their program. They essentially blabbed to others and advertised themselves on the web. I thank goodness the FBI was on top of this. These Hutaree guys were a serious threat to innocent people; particularly to the police, the policemen's families, and and those who would be caught in their crossfire. The fine work of FBI criminologists, profilers, and others in the Federal service brought these fellows down. They are now in cells wondering where they went wrong.

Knowing what a fine job the FBI has done in relation to investigating and stopping domestic terrorism, why has the FBI been taken off the Ft. Hood Shooting Case against Maj. Hassan? Is not the FBI charged with investigating and fighting terrorism in this courntry? Why aren't their experts working the case? Why have they ceded the case to the Army's DCI? DCI has zero expertise in domestic terrorism and other terrorist acts on our soil. They are much more suited to investigating drunken officers and sexual harrassment.

Also, why doesn't our current administration call this (The Ft. Hood Killings) an act of terrorism? It is truly the largest taking of American lives on American soil by a terrorist since 9/11. Title VIII, Section 802 of the USA PATRIOT Act defines acts of terrorism and this, according to the Pat Act, is an act of terrorism.

Is our administration so enamored with Islam that we are afraid to call these acts by their true name, terrorism? We need to call a spade a spade. I think our current administration has gone over the top in their obsequiousness towards Moslems. The recent dust up with Israel is a fine example. It seems the Administration never says anything when the Palestinians do something untoward, but let Israel get out of line, they are all over that action.

I once thought that Israel was a fascist country holding the Palestinians down with a Steel Boot over their necks. I will admit that my “Israeli Fascist” thoughts came from a Palestinian girl I dated in the early 80’s. She was hot. Oh, the things we will do to get a piece! We broke up after a while, or more realistically she broke it off with me.

Let’s take a little larger view of the Palestinian/Israelis issue and consider some of their history. The following historical background is from a good friend who is well acquainted with the issues of Israel vs. Palestine: Until the late 70s, Israel was considered the little country that stood up to its big, bad neighbors who wanted to see it destroyed. The Arabs, around that time, realized that they couldn't really defeat Israel themselves militarily, especially when Egypt negotiated their separate peace. It was around this time that the Palestinians began their campaign to get their "homeland" back. The other Arab countries realized that they could use the Palestinians as a proxy to get at Israel. Many funded Palestinian terrorism. The Palestinians at that time were united under Yasir Arafat. As long as he could steal some of the money that Arab supporters gave the Palestinians, he was happy to keep up the fight with Israel. Keep in mind, no one wanted the Palestinians in their country. I believe the Egyptians and the Jordanians kicked them out. The Palestinians had Arab support long as they were sticking it to Israel and they didn't reside in any of their countries.

The whole reason Yasir Arafat stayed in power was because of the Palestinians antagonism toward Israel. He used Israel as a scapegoat to keep himself in power. When the Israeli prime minister during the Clinton administration, Ehud Barak, was willing to trade land for peace, President Clinton was able to get Arafat to sit down and negotiate. When it looked like they were about to have a deal Arafat realized he would lose his reason for holding power and access to the cash he was skimming. He found a way to weasel out of it and that was as close as the Israelis and Palestinians ever came to peace. End of Quote.

So, it has been agreements and frameworks rather than actual peace deals. I do find it interesting that there is very little economic aid from the Saudis, Jordanians, and the rest of the Arab League. The majority of economic aid to the Palestinians comes from the U.S. and the EU. The Arabs talk a good game and they all want to see a solution but are not willing to put up for it beyond weapons. Let’s keep in mind, weapons are cheap compared to economic aid. An AK-47 can be used over and over again and can be parted out when the barrels wear. RPG launchers and rocket launchers are reusable. Cheap! Cheap! Cheap! “C’mon down to Crazy Ahmed’s Gun Palace & Falafel Hut and get your Kalashnikov today. I’ll even throw in 500 rounds of 7.62x39mm ammo on the house! Can I get any crazier? Sign today, kill Israelis tomorrow! Bring in the kids and they can play at our Knesset Shooting Gallery while the parents shop for the latest in weapons and explosive gear. Are your Teens a little too old for the shooting gallery? They can hang out in Hakim Hezbollah’s Intifada Insanity where they can learn to make Molotov Cocktails while reciting the most brutal scriptures from the Koran. You want a peace deal? Peace deals, schmeace deals! Crazy Ahmed has the real deal for you! C’mon down to 4590 Gaza Strip, next to the collapsed hospital. I’m CRAAAZZZYYY!”

Palestinian bumper stickers: My kid is a crack shot at Muhammed Omar Mussof Middle School; My kid killed your honor student; My kid has killed more Israelis than your kid

I loved it when the Palestinians dug a tunnel to Egypt and the Egyptian army shut it down so fast their tiny Hamas heads spun underneath their turbans. ”Hey, I thought they liked us!”

Maybe the Iranians can let the Palestinians relocate to Iran....

The Socialists Among Us

I have some acquaintances who are socialists. No joke. These are folks who are very serious about big government, free healthcare, dynamic regulation, elimination of the military budget, and, especially, the redistribution of wealth through taxation. There is one fellow who advocates the complete elimination of the U.S. Banking system. He would replace it with a People's Equity Union.


The fellow's name is Mike Morin and he lives in Oregon. His website is http://peoplesequityunion.blogspot.com/2009/08/demise-of-supply-side-economics.html.

Mike is one of the premier socialist thinkers on the west coast. He has a strong following and at every turn does what he can to promote socialist ideals. He is very well educated and has worked in both the public and private realms. Mike and I have corresponded and we seldom agree on a course of action for our nation and economy. However, I find him to be a fascinating free thinker who does not let external stimuli deter him from his personally accepted mission of being the evangelist for modern socialist thought.

The People's Equity Union concept is his and it is a very interesting idea. It is the alternative to the status quo. From Mike, "The Peoples' Equity Union would be a worldwide united equity system with cooperating inter-community entities. It would preclude the use of loans, which are fundamentally usurious. It would place the most destitute, the most in need, and all children (which Mike defines as about 25 years old or less) as the highest priority. However, the Plan would include the needs of everybody. As the old Socialist slogan goes, "for all according to their needs, by all according to their abilities"."

Essentially, all banks would become not for profit. Profits made beyond a pre-determined return to the poor workers, would be re-invested in worker/community betterment hybrid businesses (preferably cooperatives).

Much of this depends on massive changes to our economy. Ending what Mike calls the inflationary spiral. So, we must have a 100% stable currency. Any inflation throws off the equilibrium of the concept. Thus, all other countries must also buy into the Equity Unions. Massive re-education programs would be required to eliminate capitalist thought. Keep in mind, all Americans who have been used to making profit in a business or investment and retaining that profit must return their profits to the community. Over time, all business services and consumer products will be provided through cooperatives where everyone in the community benefits.

My main question regarding the re-education program is whether it is voluntary or compulsory? In most of the socialist/communist countries in our immediate past, the re-education was compulsory at the point of a bayonet. USSR, China, North Korea, Vietnam, and Myanmar come to mind. Many of these countries were closed societies at one point in their histories. North Korea and Myanmar are still closed societies, maintaining their distance from the rest of the world and keeping their foot on the neck of the peasant lest he gather himself up and think for himself for once.

This certainly flies in the face of Darwinist Economics. But, then again, our government's actions during the beginning of the crisis flew in the face of the Darwinists. We threw money everywhere to save banks and auto manufacturing. Now, we have nationalized a major insurance company, several banks, and two of three auto makers. We may be on our way to having de facto People's Equity Unions on every corner. Mike's Utopian dream is not over as long as our government continues to move toward nationalization of various industries and businesses.

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Excerpted from Bloomberg.com:

Man Up Obama
Commentary by David Reilly

Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama is starting to look like the second coming of Jimmy Carter. If he’s going to avoid that fate, the president had better take radical action -- and fast.

That means doing more than offering belated talk about jobs, or waging ineffectual on-again, off-again bank warfare. What, after all, is the point of bashing Wall Street only to then blow bonus kisses to JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief Jamie Dimon and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. head Lloyd Blankfein?

Obama needs to ditch his professorial, community-organizer mien and start cracking some heads. Unless, that is, he is intent on paving the way for a Palin presidency in 2013.

Read the entire column here: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=a4hIeftRVyvE
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Oh, lord save us from a Palin Presidency. Democratic Commentator Ken Bauer recently wrote, "If Palin is nominated, it would the best thing to happen to Obama for his reelection. She's a clown. Yes, she has a strong and vocal following. I think a lot of people will see through her act. Romney, on the other hand, is a different story."

Commentator David Reilly really tells it like it is in his column. He is right in many ways. One day Obama is raising hell about Wall Street bonuses and now he does not begrudge a bonus. He wants to regulate the banks and when the bank lobbyists get pissed and try to make him look bad, he reneges. He goes to Copenhagen to build the case for Global Warming, cap and trade, etc. For all his Green rhetoric, he comes back empty handed (which was a good thing for our Nation). Is it the concept that the less he does the less he can be blamed? He sequesters himself to consider the changes he wants in the strategy of Afghanistan. He essentially gives the generals all they asked for when the process started. (Sure, they asked for 40K troops and got 30K troops, they always ask for too many so they eventually get what they need). So far, it is a fairly weak presidency leaving much fodder for the likes of Hannity, Beck, Letterman, Leno, et al.
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Geitner and Larry the Econ Guy need to go. Rahm should stay. Rahm will remind people about all the things they dislike about slimey lawyer politicians from Chicago. He is the poster child for political A**holes. (Everyone has a little Rahm Emanual in them. We sit on it everyday!) Geitner has lost his credibility as has Summers. Can anyone really take these guys serious? I personally have a hard time having someone leading the Treasury who has cheated on his taxes. It’s Turbo Taxes Fault? No way! I have used Turbo Tax and Tax Cut and will use Tax Cut again this year. The software does not allow you to make mistakes. It warns you repeatedly when something isn't right with big red marks. Geitner lied and cheated on his taxes, end of story. If Timmy falls in the well, let’s hope Lassie ignores it.

Until we meet again, Happy Trails!