Friday, November 14, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Labels: Economy;bailout;auto industry;welfare;executives;union;credit
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Labels: Politics;freedom;United States;republicans;democrats;Jefferson;Adams;voters;
Labels: Taxes; New York; Bloomberg;Politics; Russia; Israel;Schumer;Stocks
Thursday, October 23, 2008
- 43% of 5th and 7th graders are not supervised after school
- 30% of kids ages 12-17 are at risk for depression
- 33% of children in 5th and 7th grade do not feel safe at school
- 67% of 9th and 11th graders do not feel safe at school
- 48% of students in 9th and 11th grade report not having a supportive or caring adult in their school or community
- 69% of 9th and 11th graders do not feel connected to their schools
- 88% live near a park, playground or open space
Sunday, October 05, 2008
- Dec, 2004- U.S. Govt estimated annual cost of illegal immigration in California over $10 Billion
- Fair (Federation for American Immigration Reform) estimates the cost of illegal aliens to be at $10.5 Billion per year with a prediction that amount will swell to $30 Billion by 2020
- Steve Jobs- Liberal with a net worth over $5 billion
- Eric Schmidt- Liberal with a net worth over $5 billion
- George Lucas- Liberal with net worth over $3 billion
- Haim Saban- Liberal with net worth over $3 billion
- Steven Spielberg- Liberal with a net worth over $3 billion
- Barbra Streisand
- Tom Hanks
- Alec Baldwin
- Herb Alpert
- Ben Affleck
- Warren Beatty
- Candace Bergen
- James Brooks
- Les Charles
- Chevy Chase
- George Clooney
- Matt Damon
- Ted Danson
- Larry David
- Laurie David
- Michael Douglas
- Richard Dreyfuss
- Peter Farrelly
- Sally Field
- Jane Fonda
- Harrison Ford
- Barry Gordy
- Dustin Hoffman
- Alan Horn
- Ron Howard
- Quincy Jones
- Steven King
- Garry Marshall
- Bette Midler
- Ed Norton
- Rhea Perlman
- David Hyde Pierce
- Rob Reiner
- Denise Rich
- Russell Simmons
- Kevin Spacey
- Jerry Springer
- Sharon Stone
- Bob Weinstein
- Harvey Weinstein
- Bradley Whitford
- Robin Williams
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
The recent outburst by Biden on coal demonstrates some fissures in their team unity effort.
This outburst is interesting for several reasons.
First, Obama and Biden are either not communicating with each other about critical issues or Biden simply does not care that Obama supports clean coal. Or maybe Biden knows that Obama does not support clean coal development and is simply pretending to be in support of the clean coal technology to win over a segment of moderate and conservative voters.
Democrats around the country had to jump on this issue right away to assure voters that Obama is in support of coal.
Next, Biden was asked the question about coal by a young women who seems to be leftward leaning. When watching the encounter, Biden seems almost hostile to her. He actually grabs her by the shoulders and points his finger at her, gets in her face and does not recognize her body language, which seems to indicate she is a bit taken aback by his aggressive response to her question.
Third, the exchange clearly demonstrates Biden's frustration with the campaign and his position on the ticket. Biden is a guy with a reputation for thinking he is one of the smartest guys in the room. He seems to be increasingly frustrated playing second fiddle. He seems to be seeking and needing credit- the finger pointing and explaining that he is the guy who introduced the world to global warming 22 years ago ( I thought Al Gore discovered Global Warming or Global Climate Change or whatever we are calling it today)...Biden needs people to know that HE is the guy who first introduced solar energy bills 26 years ago...
It has to be hard for Biden to know that half of the Democratic Party wishes he wasn't the person on the ticket. The comment that Hillary might have been a better pick for VP, the misspeak that FDR took to the airwaves to be honest with the people when the stock market crashed in 1929 and his clear derailment about coal all raise red flags.
Biden appears dissatisfied with the way things are going. Either his speech writers are struggling or he is speaking off the cuff. Biden definitly seems to be willing to tell people what they want to hear, even if he knows he is misspeaking.
Biden is not rising to the occasion- he seems to lack control and composure. Biden is becoming a weak link and will need to regain his balance as we head towards the debate. He has had a long career- it is sad for him that he is not living up to the hype.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were a disaster in the making and people in DC knew the end would come years ago.
A statement by Senator John McCain, May 25, 2006:
Mr. President, this week Fannie Mae's regulator reported that the company's quarterly reports of profit growth over the past few years were "illusions deliberately and systematically created" by the company's senior management, which resulted in a $10.6 billion accounting scandal.
The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight's report goes on to say that Fannie Mae employees deliberately and intentionally manipulated financial reports to hit earnings targets in order to trigger bonuses for senior executives. In the case of Franklin Raines, Fannie Mae's former chief executive officer, OFHEO's report shows that over half of Mr. Raines' compensation for the 6 years through 2003 was directly tied to meeting earnings targets. The report of financial misconduct at Fannie Mae echoes the deeply troubling $5 billion profit restatement at Freddie Mac.
The OFHEO report also states that Fannie Mae used its political power to lobby Congress in an effort to interfere with the regulator's examination of the company's accounting problems. This report comes some weeks after Freddie Mac paid a record $3.8 million fine in a settlement with the Federal Election Commission and restated lobbying disclosure reports from 2004 to 2005. These are entities that have demonstrated over and over again that they are deeply in need of reform.
For years I have been concerned about the regulatory structure that governs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac--known as Government-sponsored entities or GSEs--and the sheer magnitude of these companies and the role they play in the housing market. OFHEO's report this week does nothing to ease these concerns. In fact, the report does quite the contrary. OFHEO's report solidifies my view that the GSEs need to be reformed without delay.
I join as a cosponsor of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, S. 190, to underscore my support for quick passage of GSE regulatory reform legislation. If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole.
I urge my colleagues to support swift action on this GSE reform legislation.This Reform Act was sponsored by 4 REPUBLICANS (McCain, Hagel, Dole and Sununu) and didn't pass.
While Obama was taking campaign contributions from Fannie and Freddie, McCain was telling his fellow Senators to wake up and join him in efforts to fix the problem. Unfortunately, the Congress failed to act.
Reports that many people think Obama will be better able to address economic issues than would McCain only serve to point out how far removed from reality many Americans remain. This may be due in large part to the fact that many Americans receive their news from left-leaning journalists who use their power to control what news their viewers and readers see and hear.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Labels: Palin; Michelle Obama; Election