HR 1424: Bailout - timing is everything, yes!

Yesterday, I accompanied a friend on a 300 mile journey to a major medical facility. We had our respective family dogs along. We set out at 6AM and returned around 6PM. In the midst of this "adventure" we took a turn up a mountain top onto a property which has a home built of marble - probably built in the early 1900s. During this journey we spoke of many things. One, why won't Obama produce a birth certificate? Why should he, he's a pawn and someone owns him. He needs no bona fides. Just the power that is behind him. Then I ask myself who owns Obama. My guess - Syria and Iran, through the dealings of Tony Rezko... We spoke of McCain and ventured guesses about why he won't just pull out all of the stops and say, "Look, you idiots in the media, the reason I can't raise my arms but so high is because when you were in diapers or getting high from the breast milk your drugged out hippie mother - now serving in Congress - was feeding you, I was having all of my bones broken by the North Vietnamese during my stay at the Hanoi Hilton..." Our crass media makes fun of him, naturally as liberal socialists they would being filled with tolerance and compassion. Then we turned to the "economy" and the "government-made crisis". Funny about the timing thing. Did this "crisis" just manifest itself NOW or was it sprung upon us now? Why? To saddle the Democrats with so much more debt they won't be able to generate even more give-away programs? Or, maybe just the opposite, to give the Democrats excuses to raise taxes on small businesses, put more people out of work and re-institute government work programs like the WPA. But then, only real men who are not victims want to work. The others will just take a hand-out. Or perhaps, since we now have Homeland Security and the ever-intrusive TSA (I say just go naked to the airports. Save the time of having to dress, undress, dress again and/or having to be x-rayed six ways to Sunday.) along with the Read ID thing and "tighter" security of law-abiding American citizens, maybe it seemed like a good time for the government to take over the housing industry and, even though the IRS has access to ALL of our financial records, scoop up the banking industry at the same time. Who'd notice? And then, of course, we discussed the Middle East and who would attack whom first: Iran and Mad Jad striking Israel or my man, Ben ordering a pre-emptive Israeli attack on Iran. Or would our President decide, "Hey, I'm a lame duck so I think I'll just give Israel the nod." I really don't know what is going on and I can't get a read on who will be elected as our next president. Is McCain the fall-guy just taking a beating like he did in Hanoi but refusing to fight or is Obama the "annointed" one as Bill Clinton was back in 1992 or whenever? It would be nice to see Obama's birth certificate just for fun. We do know he was trained and identified as Muslim from ages 6 through 10 while living in Indonesia with his avid anti-American Marxist mom. For the past 20 years - Bush-Clinton-Bush - our government has opened our borders and flooded our nation with illegal immigrants from at least 26 different nations. Our nation is providing free health care, free education, and free city services to these illegals at tax payer expense and NOW we get to buy the "bad paper" on the homes these folks have bought too. We were a nation of laws - once upon a time. Even our mafia played within their own code of laws, so to speak, and didn't bother the average citizen who stayed out of their way. Now we have illegal alien gangs growing nearly unmolested by the police; we still give federal dollars to "sanctuary cities" willfully breaking our laws; we have the value of some homes going down because, in at least one city, the "call to prayers" are played 5 times a day in the public square - no separation of church and state there. But the thing that confounds me the most is that I do not understand why it seems that our government - our elected officials - seem hellbent on destroying our nation. Is it to hasten the "new world order"? Is it because as a people, we have an ethic and a spirit that is hard to break? Is it simply because the government can do as it likes? Maybe things weren't moving fast enough. My goodness, localities are getting those cameras up on every street corner as quickly as possible. You know what I mean. But timing is everything and right now, right here, at this time, I wonder why the "created crisis" had to occur now. To force the United States into the Atlantic Union? We know the North American Union is only the first step to the Union of the Americas. To force us to scream for "government" help? To give the UN and the G8 opportunities to clamp down on whatever freedoms we have left? To pave the way for an American "dictator" or Leninesque-charismatic leader of the "religion of the state?" The only thing I know positively - nothing happens by accident. We took a big financial hit as a result of 9/11 but nothing like the one inflicted upon us by our elected "leaders" for a myriad of reasons. There is so much "blame" to go around Jamie Gorelick may finally get caught in this one or even better no one will go to jail because there's so much blame, where would we start? Of course prosecutions really depend upon who is elected. Obama = no heads roll. McCain = maybe some investigation. The question is: Who has the most to gain from this "created crisis" and in what ways? Like my mother always said, "Follow the money..." But in this case, money is only one of the motivators... Money is power but the power being garnered under the confusion of this "government-created crisis" (seems the bailout made it worse) is not based solely on "money"; I suggest it is based on the grab for raw, unadultrated, gut-wrenching power. If you want to comment and answer some of these questions, please look beyond simple partisan politics. If you are inspired to write a post regarding your take on the situation, link your post here. We need an American discussion or even speculation on what's behind the timing - is it only to effect a political election or is it to manipulate nations into the "new world order"? Or is it just market corrections and a bit of profit-taking?

God, Rudyard Kipling, and the HR 1424 economic crisis

In an article, Pope says House build on sand, the Pope mentions the Gospel of Matthew. We are told that "greed" and now perhaps Barney Frank's romantic involvement with an official at Fannie Mae and assorted other things - most worldly - have led to the current "credit crisis". Well, maybe a few other things have had a hand in the crisis besides the political and legislative things we can list starting with the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977. "Reinvestment" like "broadly shared prosperity" are liberal socialist code for "stealing from hard workers and giving to those who do not work." It is Marxism in action. Back to, back to... During the VP debate, Sarah Palin stated that it was time for the American people to stand up, take charge of their own lives, be responsible for their own financial decisions, and vow to never be taken advantage of again. Strong words and words worth our consideration. Here are just a few of the ways we have been taken advantage of and also ways in which we have not taken responsibility for our own actions:

• allowing prayer to be ripped out of our government schools while at the same time deferring to Muslims for prayer rooms and foot-washing stations. Heathen at best; indoctrination at worst. We have enabled our schools from K-12 through post-doctoral work to become "indoctrination camps".
• spitting in the face of God, the very God for whom our earliest settlers crossed dangerous waters to establish a land where they could pray to God and live by His tenets. Our liberal socialists and their willing handmaidens of the ACLU have worked mightily to destroy our families, to create "new constructs" of marriage, and to deny the rest of us free expression of our beliefs in God in the open. A young woman student has the microphone plug pulled to stifle her words at a graduation ceremony because she had the audacity to thank God and to give God the credit for her success. Why is she not free to express that appreciation and to acknowledge the inspiration of God in her life? Because the "state" fears God and wants to become the "savior" upon whom all must bow down and to whom all must give thanks.
• wantonly encouraging or turning a blind eye to unwanted pregnancies leading to the killing of 50 million Americans since 1973. Birth control is available and has been but we - many men and women - have chosen against it. With "abortion on demand" we have been led down the path that allows abortion people to take our possibly raped young teenagers across state lines for abortions without parental knowledge or involvement...the litany goes on.
• allowing illegal aliens to flood our nation and to use up our resources. Our government is importing "rebellion". Over 20 million illegal aliens have flooded our nation, invading our nation and our government has not fulfilled one of its enumerated powers which is to defend us against invasion. Drug cartels are now using our national parks as growing fields for illegal drugs.
• giving citizenship to children born here whose parents are illegal aliens and are not under the jurisdiction of our laws. Ask them and they will tell you they are citizens of Mexico. Allowing "sanctuary" cities to be established and then continuing to give these cities "tax dollars."

The list goes on but you get the idea. I seldom speak of God and His importance to our nation so allow me this indulgence. Many people know that they accomplish nothing without God and Jesus Christ in their lives. They only have life because He gives it to them. Our nation and her people need to come back to God - as a general statement. Many people in this great nation are very God-centered. Remember Obama's slight against all of us who believe in God - we are the most tolerant people on earth. All of fly-over country is God-centered. Thinking Americans who see times of trouble ahead need to step back from the brink of fear and read the words from 2 Timothy 1:7

"For the Spirit that God has given us does not make us timid; instead, His Spirit fills us with power, love, and self-control." (from the Good News, New Testament)

My personal favorite version is from the New Revised King James, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power and of love and of a sound mind." We - the people - need our wits about us as we see the world markets reeling; as we hear loud voices in our midst screaming against God as an antiquated "idea"; as we see the likes of Islamic terrorists threatening our way of life at every turn; and as we, if we are honest, realize that many of our own elected leaders beginning in 1977 have led us into the current crisis, why? To have us scream to the state for help,... We - the people - may do just a bit better if we step back and perhaps ask God for personal guidance. Take a few moments in prayer and ask for direction that will hold us steady, as Rudyard Kipling said, in his poem "If", while all about us are losing their minds. "If" recited by Dennis Hopper can be found here and in written form here, you will be reminded once again of what it takes to be a man. That's what we Americans are, in the plural, non-politically correct bastardization of our language, "Men." We are Americans. As Sarah Palin said, we can get a grip on ourselves. We can take responsibility for our own actions. And as I say, we can turn to God, to our houses of worship, to that still, small voice within each of us that calms us when all about us are going mad... I'm not saying that God will intervene and stop this madness. Of course not. He will allow us our folly. I am only suggesting that, if we turn to God, bring God back into our lives and into the life of our nation, He will give us the strength and the wisdom to survive and get through this "man-made crisis" with that sound mind. God bless you; God bless our troops; God bless our leaders who have their wits about them; and God bless our nation, The United States of America as long as our sovereignty still holds.

Obama: ACORN and our Economic Crisis

To start the ball rolling, let's look at a post at My Flanders Fields, A fifties view of communism - simple times. This post struck my interest because Socialist Democrat is just a tad too genteele for what Obama and his backers both here and in the Middle East want to inflict upon us. But all of the terms such as "community organizer", "Sol Alinsky's Radicalism", Socialism, Marxism, "liberation theory" and the like - oppressive and anti-American all have us on the outter most edge of the cliff. I'll say AGAIN - the "crisis" we see unfolding around us, propagated by Democrats starting with Jimmy Carter and his Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, has House Democrats in a frenzy to cover-up their culpability so that they, like OJ Simpson searching for the killer or killers of his former wife, Nichole Brown Simpson, will float the smoke screen of investigations and thereby be able to cover their own culpability. We can lay this crisis at the feet of Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Chuck Schumer, and more Democrats who used earlier mortgage lending laws and supported groups such as ACORN for the sole purpose of buying voters. The following is a link that is a must-read. For a brief description and extraordiary comments PLEASE see Fox News Special: Saving Our Economy: What'$ Next. Also, do everything you can to see the Fox News Special with Bret Baier, Saving our Economy: What'$ Next!, aired October 4 and 5, 2008 as well as the Sean Hannity special on Obama and his ties to radical Islam. Who got Obama into harvard? Why can't we have access to his theis paper? What did Obama really do as a "community organizer" and how closely does he follow the teachings of Sol Alinsky? (or Alensky) Further, what are his ties to ACORN? Simply, Obama is dangerous for our economy and untimately for our way of life. During my lifetime and my interest in politics, two politicians seeking the presidency have actually given me cause for concern both for the same reasons - their charisma and what many see to be their radical and oppressive views - Robert F. Kennedy and now Barack Obama. To be very candid, I remember seeing one of Robert (Bobby) Kennedy's speeches when he was running for the Democrat Presidential nomination. Bobby Kennedy had the charisma of his brother, JFK, but where they differed was that Bobby had the sharp edge of radical, gut-pounding force with the rhetoric akin to other "world" dictators I shall refrain from naming. Today, JFK would be viewed as a conservative; I submit that Bobby would not have had that legacy. I mention Bobby Kennedy only to point out that it is the ideologies that we need to fear, not the color of any man's skin. In Obama's case, I fear the color of his skin coupled with his appeal to our impressionable youth eager to "made a difference" from emotionalism will lead them like the Pied Piper, and us with them, over the cliff. Sadly, it is they who will be enslaved by his Marxist ideology. At Oraculations: Community Terrorism At Fox News: Lawmaker accused of conflict of interest - but it goes farther than that. For a beginning list of articles about Obama's links to ACORN, please see: National Review - Obama and ACORN Here are a few more links given withing the comments from the initial link: Congressman Shays on Financial Crisis How AIG's Collapse Began a Global Run on the Banks Transcript of O'Reilly and Barney Frank Fox News Specials Freddie and Fannie compilation of history and facts (VANITY) One quotation from a blogger named "Natural Law" found in the second comment in initial link: "I am demanding that the Justice Department begin a full RICO investigation that will not exempt anyone inside or outside of government. I am encouraging those whose businesses were harmed by these culprits file numerous suits against the offending parties. If Raines, Schumer, Dodd, Frank, and the like do not end up penniless and in orange jump suits then we need to seriously reread the words of Thomas Jefferson when he said..." ~~~~ Natural Law goes on to discuss RICO laws and how average citizens hurt by this government-fed and led crisis can file civil suits against the people who brought about the crisis. If you are a small business owner or a Senior who has seen his pension wiped out, this read is worth your while. It's about time...Free Republic If you read the comments at Free Republic.com and see the Fox News Special and still believe you are going to vote for Barack Obama, then you will have only yourself to thank for our financial "crisis" and the destruction of our economy and our way of life. One additional link: Obama and the Annenberg Files: the mystery deepens. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were required to give "risky" loans, packaged as not credit-worthy borrowers. These government-backed institutions funneled billions of dollars from foreign investors into our mortgage market. These mortgage institutions are backed by the federal government and thus our very homes and our economy are now at risk. Obama was a young lawyer in Chicago helped ACORN intimidate banks into making "racially" motivated loans. Chuck Schumer went to weak housing markets and pushed Freddie and Fannie to make or to buy up risky loans. Barney Frank went for the "affordable housing". None of the Democrats in 2005 voted for regulatory oversight bill. All of the Republicans voted for regulatory oversight, against public supported mortgages, and against corporate "welfare." Keeping Democrats in power in the House and the Senate will ensure that the trangressions of Democrat leaders will be covered-up, as in not-investigated, and the foxes will be stewing the chickens in the pot of economic boiling water.

HR 1424 or HR 3997: Congress abort that "bailout" bill

If there were ever a case for abortion, HR 1424 (formerly HR 3997) screams out to be aborted. Talk about the "gang rape" of the House AND the American people by the Senate. (I'm not talking about whether we need a "free market" bill or not; I'm talking about outrage at the Senate as well as Paulson and the horse he rode in on.) The House started work on ONE issue and ONE issue only: an Economic Stabilization Bill. Why? To address the GREATEST economic crisis the world, no - the universe - has ever seen. Pelosi wails, "700B dollars!" Tsk, tsk, she beat her breasts and wailed at the outrage of the request brought about by the most HORRIBLE economic policies of the last 8 years. The House of Representatives is the body that must pass ALL spending bills, but never mind that little Constitutional provision. And now the Senate, usurping the authority of the House, "bitch-slaps" the peasants in the House of Representatives and takes another bill, HR 1424 and says, "We'll see that 700B and raise ya over 100B." The collectively "most deliberative body of morons in the universe" cannot even focus on ONE piece of legislation at a time and do that one job well. No, they show us how serious this "crisis of crises" is by dressing it up like Miss Piggy on holiday, lipstick and all. Shame on them. And shame on the Democrats in the House and Senate who scoffed at the calls for Freddie and Fannie to get Congressional oversight. (H/T to Liberally Conservative) I call on ALL Representatives in the House who have any knowledge of their appropriations responsibilities and any sense of the Senate's intervention into the "job" of the House and REJECT HR 1424. Find "free market" solutions - whether you are a Democrat or a Republican. For the sake of the people, come together in statesmanship just this once and draft a "free market" solutions bill to handle the Henny Penny mess dropped in your lap just before you want to go home for your campaigns. Talk about an October bribe... Well, are you men or children being taken to the woodshed by Daddy Bear and his Bully Brothers in the Senate? Can't either House of Congress focus on ONE issue and pass a clean bill addressing that ONE issue? No, given the chance, they have to muddy up the waters on EVERY bill. Well, come November 4th, maybe WE - the PEOPLE - should focus on getting rid of everyone in the House and Senate who votes to pass "this porky pig". Shame on all of the leaders of the Senate. At least we, the people, now know how seriously the Senate takes this "mother of all economic crises". Cross-posted at Eternity Road.

Bailout and the Credit Crisis?

Just listening to the President explain the "credit crisis" and praising the Senate and the Senate's passage of the H.R. 1424, Economic Stabilization Act "economic stabilization bill" (HR 1424). Another good source: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-h3997/show So, now folks with businesses and folks with homes and savings, folks who have been paying their bills and their mortgages for decades are being penalized - threatened with the loss of everything they have built - because 5% of the people and small businesses who were given "risky loans" under the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 and its associated reiterations under Bill Clinton - with money to ACORN (Community Organizers) so that they can pressure banks to make these "risky loans" - We are the people who cannot get loans because others (acting under government-imposed legislation) have put us all at risk. We are crying "uncle" and the Uncle Sam who created the crisis is riding to the rescue. Sound anything to you like the rapid changes in our society as a result of the terrorist attack of 9/11/01? Just a domestic terrorist run against the stability and the "free market" capitalism of our economy to create more government owernship of our former "free market" system. Lenin would be proud and so would any and all who used the same tactics to establish their tyrannies over the last century. And so no one goes to jail... A pox on all their houses. Can anyone say, "Enron?" Create the panic and then legislate the solution. Community Reinvestment Act/Cartoon But the good news is that the Senate has usurped the authority of the House to create "spending" legislation. Bring on the PORK! You betcha! A Congressman is now speaking of how terrible it is that the American people have no confidence in Congress. Duh! (He also said we are a democracy; ummm..., no, we are a representative republic.) And the Senate added the "pork barrel" spending - Whoo hoo! What scum...

HR 3997, now HR 1424 moves US closer to Socialism

HR 1424, The Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, formerly known to us as HR 3997, has passed the Senate with a vote of 74 to 25. The only Senator not voting was Ted Kennedy. The Senators voting AGAINST this bill did so in a bipartisan was: 15 Republicans and 10 Democrats. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HR01424: H.R. 1424, Economic Stabilization Act is the vehicle used by the Senate to spend 700B dollars with the addition of several billion dollars for mental health legislation and money for rural schools. Here is the voting record for H.R. 1424: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00213 The voting results can be found at: Senate Roll Call Vote on H.R. 1424 An additional name for the passed bill is: H. R. 1424 As Amended; Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007. Here is a link to the classification of Senators of the 110th Congress which includes when they come up for re-election. The Republicans voting against the encroachment of government into the housing market were: Allard, R-CO Barrasso, R-WY Brownback, R-KS Bunning, R-KY Cochran, R-MS Crapo, R-ID DeMint, R-SC Dole, R-NC Enzi, R-WY Inhofe, R-OK Roberts, R-KS Sessions, R-AL Shelby, R-AL Vitter, R-LA Wicker, R-MS The Democrats and lone Independent (Lieberman is classified as an ID-CT) voting against the encroachment of government into the housing market were: Cantwell, D-WA Dorgan, D-ND Feingold, D-WI Johnson, D-SD Landrieu, D-LA Nelson, D-FL Stabenow, D-MI Tester, D-MT Wyden, D-OR and Sanders, I-VT The Senators voting for the advance of Socialism and up for re-election in Nov. 2008 are: (I have not included those - to me knowledge - who are NOT running for re-election because they are leaving the Senate.) Lamar Alexander Max Baucus Joe Biden, Jr. Saxby Chambliss Norm Coleman Susan Collins John Cornyn (this one surprises me) Larry Craig Richard "Turban" Durbin Lindsey "Amnesty" Graham Chuck Hagel Tom Harkin John F. Kerry Frank Lautenberg Carl Levin Mitch McConnell Mark Pryor Jack Reed John D. Rockefeller Gordon Smith John Sununu I conclude only that some of the members of the "most deliberative body on earth" simply have little or no respect for the American people. As Diane Feinstein said, her office had 91K calls from her constitutents, 85K said "NO" to the passage of this bill and yet they keep re-electing her. But fret not, her future is secure with the millions her husband has made, as I understand it, from his commerce with Communist China. So, Di-Fi has no problem "blowing off" 85K of her constituents. She is up for re-election in 2012. Her constituents will have long since forgotten her dismal of them and their 85K calls and e-mails for a NO vote on this legislation. I would just end by pointing out that each constituent who takes the time to call or send an e-mail represents thousands of others who have the same point of view but did not call or e-mail. I don't know the ratio.

HR 3997: How the Dems cooked your goose!

I have to share this with you. It is House Committee hearings back in 2004 with the esteemed Maxine Waters, among others, saying there are no problems at Fannie Mae. This found at Liberally Conservative. How Democrats cooked your Fannie You'll love it and you'll love Liberally Conservative's blog. He is a class act and he speaks from Chicago itself. Larger version here and here. And then a fun one: Community Reinvestment Act/Cartoon.

Bailout and the 2008 Election

Socialism / Nationalization fails every time! Remember that. Socialism stifles our spirits and breaks our will to work and/or to be exceptional. Socialism teaches men to do as little as they can to get by in the workplace... Now, I have trust in the American people - if we are informed. The more we demand that the government "do" for us, the weaker we become individually and the more the government controls us. Every facet of our lives. Did you know that if you want stay in a motel when you are traveling and you want to pay your bill in cash, you must let them make a copy of your driver's license! Why? Federal law. Now we have an important election coming up and it is important for many reasons - not because of "skin color" or "gender." It is important because it will speak loudly about we, the people. Do we want a Socialist/Marxist society? One in which the working class FINALLY figures out that whether they do a good job at work or not, it doesn't matter. Do we want to continue "loans to anyone" who cannot prove that they are a good credit risk? Because of "political correctness"? Or can this financial "crisis" be a turning point where we, the people, return to common sense and demand it of our elected leaders? I assure you, regardless of our financial situation when this "crisis" is averted, they'll still get their salaries and their benefits as well as their automatic pay increase. AND, if we do not re-elect some of them, THEY'LL STILL get their pay and benefits for life. Now, that may be "law" but that is criminal. The North American Union is fact; we cannot stop it as things stand now. There are ways to stop it but only the Texans and maybe the folks in New Mexico and Arizona have the grit to do what needs to be done. Socialism is getting more pervasive and that WE CAN CHANGE! At the very least, we need some serious gridlock in DC. We cannot afford, our children cannot afford, this long slow - Batan march - into Socialism. And Obama along with Harry Reid and Madame Speaker "I'm only two heartbeats away from the presidency" Pelosi (the richest woman, if not richest person in either branch of Congress) are chomping to bury our independence and the fire that beats in the American heart. This election is not about you as Obama said, but it is up to us. Freedom or Socialism? You decide... Is Freedom just to hard a task anymore or do we have the "fire in our souls" to stand up and fight for freedom - RIGHT HERE AT HOME where it is most threatened? You won't find freedom in "government handouts"...

Bailouts - Dr. D speaks

Here is a response from Dr.D. to one of my posts. He has great points that need to be in any "plan" that is enacted:

"You say that we should lend the money to these "failing companies." But the truth is, they are not credit worthy, so you are asking us, the American people, to do exactly what the banks have been doing for the last 20 years, namely making bad loans. How does this solve anything at all? If we are to make the loans you describe, I think that there need to be criminal penalties for the executive officers of those companies receiving the loans if they fail to pay them back on schedule. There needs to be strict control of the company's ability to pay high salaries to executives until such time as the loans are repaid. Too many big shots will see this as just another opportunity to rip the American people off. You asked if this was Constitutional. Surely you were joking! Of course, it is not. We have not had Constitutional government in ages. Our federal government abandoned the Constitution many years ago when it became just too inconvenient and restrictive for their taste. What we have is nothing at all like what the Founding Fathers had in mind!"

Couldn't have said it better myself. Of course I was joking! But not about this: How about "jail with no bail" to the executive officers... But one more thing, Letter to Sen. Mitch McConnell I have been calling and e-mailing my Congressman and Senators. I'm sick of "throwing" money at failing enterprises such as our government educational system without strict penalties for "failure". If anything proves we need less Socialism and more "free market" Capitalism, this bank/lending debacle proves it in Aces. How does loaning the money make it better? Loaning it with strict penalties, jail-time, and NO golden parachutes to the execs is better than "giving" the money to them. I don't trust the Treasury Secretary, the Federal Reserve, or any one in the Democrat Leadership on this issue. So "strict control" over any money loaned is essential. That and ending "affirmative action" lending, period. As far as I am personally concerned, I'd never run my household finances like the "loons" have set up and established the monopolies and the combinations of tasks - banking, home mortgages, brokerage houses - within institutions. The "bundling" that has led to this mess is the cross-inbreeding of tasks under several financial institutions. Down the road, we should dissolve the "monopolies" we have established under legislation/deregulation legislation passed by Congress and signed into law or continued by several respective presidents. Nobody is squeaky "clean" on this one up until now but some folks better start washing their hands with anti-monopoly soap PDQ. One more quotation from Rich: "Beach Girl: Catching up on all of your recent posts; right on! This entire fiasco is a distraction to what is so obvious to me, government precedent to run our economy. We have heard Senator Boxer say she would take over the oil companies when they were making too much money. Now they want to take over Wall Street when they are losing money. These politicians want the keys to the "capitalist treasury". Imagine if they could get their hands on a vehicle to make money instead of graveling to the taxpayers all the time. Nirvana! Not one democratic leader beleives in our system. They want to over throw it any way they can. They are all corrupt and need to be changed; now! Term limits by force of the vote on November 4th. I am sick of these idiots. Frank and Dodd should be investigated at a minimum. The entire congress most likely will be tied to the dirty political money of Wall Street. It is time for a real change. If not now, when?" I concur - Barney Frank and Chris Dodd need to investigated at the least however, with Czarina Pelosi in control of the government - no chance of that.

Bailout - US Government, not US Realtors!

The United States government should not turn "we, the people" into the United States of Realtors. We should "loan" money to these financial institutions at reasonable interest rates and let them "work their way out" of the mess they have created. The United States government should keep itself out of any further "social engineering" and not demand that financial lending companies "loan to anyone who they know cannot pay the loan back." Part of our capitalist system is based on "free enterprise", a "free market" which means an open market without government interference. What has been going on at the behest of our Congress over the past 14 years or so has been interference / tinkering with sound lending practices. Many people are part of that "free market" system through their 401Ks offered through the companies for whom the people work. Now, Congress wants us to buy "bad paper" which we wouldn't do... So, lend the "failing companies" the money. Charge realistic interest rates. Demand that loans are no longer given to folks or to businesses that simply do not have the credit history that would demonstrate that they could in any way repay their loans. That is foolish, bad business, and SOCIALISM writ large. See where it got us. Thanks, Congress... Keep the American people from buying "bad paper" which none of us would knowingly do. We aren't that stupid and any of us who have home mortgages and work hard have had to develop the credit inorder to be able to get the home loans in the first place. We had to meet criterion or standards before any bank would loan us money. Lastly, let's break up the monopolies that Congress has created. Banks should do bank stuff; stock brokerage houses should do stock stuff. Merging these functions was clearly a very "bad" deal for the American people. I have just one tiny question here. Constitutionally, is it even "legal" for this kind of machinations under the US Constitution? I'm talking about from the beginning? Encouraging "social engineering" that opened the door for greed and bad financial practices. Doesn't the Federal Government have limited powers? Or do they just screw us any which way they can under the "commerce clause." I don't think that is what the Founders had in mind...