Top Political News:
Paulson: no more major financial institutions will fail during current crisis
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Tuesday that he does not expect any more major financial institutions to fail during the current credit crisis.
Paulson also said he has no current plans to ask Congress to make the second half of the $700 billion financial rescue fund available before the Bush administration leaves office on Jan. 20.
Paulson says he believes the actions taken by financial authorities in the U.S. and other countries will allow all the systemically important institutions to remain viable.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081216/meltdown_paulson.html?.v=6
A committee of the Illinois House considering evidence and testimony in an impeachment inquiry against Governor Rod Blagojevich adjourned its first day of hearings after about an hour on Tuesday, after the governor's lawyer and the federal prosecutor seeking to indict him both expressed concerns.
Members of the 21-member committee say that United States Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald had asked for them more details about the witnesses the committee planned to call in its hearings. Fitzgerald asked the committee for a formal letter outlining its plans, indicating some reluctance about having witnesses testify who might harm the federal case.
The lawyer for Blagojevich, says he wanted to be present at the proceedings. The committee agreed, and Genson, who was not at the hearing on Tuesday, said he would be there when the committee reconvenes Wednesday morning.
The lawyer for Blagojevich, says: "He's not guilty, so we're going to go to court. We're not agreeing to impeachment. If you read these transcripts closely, you'll find that nobody did anything. People are just talking, and that's not against the law."
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/12/16/america/17illinois.php
Democrat politics: “It’s all in the family”
Obamas secretary of state will be Hillary Clinton, the wife of the former president. The Senate seat she’ll vacate is being pursued by Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of a president and the niece of two senators. Joe Biden’s Senate seat may go to his son Beau. Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar, Obama’s pick for interior secretary, could end up being replaced by his brother, Rep. John Salazar.
Caroline Kennedy as Senator: “Qualifications? We don’t need no stinkin’ qualifications”.
The U.S. Senate could end up looking like an American version of the House of Lords – and Republicans have begun to take notice.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16664.html
Opinion:
Calls for Republican change for the future
Republicans have lost an election and here come the usual cries for Republicans to become more like Democrats. Otherwise, they are doomed in future elections.
My response to such foolishness – idiocy that rises to the surface after lost elections – is simple: if we are to become more and more like Democrats, why bother? Why vote?
I became an “ordained” Republican not because I was in love with the label “Republican” but because Republicans such as Goldwater echoed the way I felt, believed, and because they matched my personal convictions on issues most important to me.
I have been very active in Republican politics over the years, and witnessed and participated in the Southern Strategy and the GOP rise to power in the South. I was there. I saw it. I was an integral part of it.
The GOP surge was powered by conviction and by respect for conservative values -- values such as honor, duty and country. I was anti liberal and saw and see political liberals as people who threaten the future of this country.
I work for Republican victories, but I wouldn’t bother if I thought such victories didn’t make a difference about the philosophy of government that would be reflected by the outcome. Apparently, many do not agree.
In a recent CNN interview, we heard the following from Colin Powell – a former GOP Secretary of State – but one who endorsed Barack Obama in the recent election.
Powell’s political wisdom: “The Republican party must stop ‘shouting at the world’ and start listening to minority groups if it is to win elections in the 21st century.
Powell said his party's attempt "to use polarization for political advantage" backfired last month.
First, the “polarization” charge is absurd. It reveals Powell is among those who saw opposition to Obama as inferring racism. In truth, the only racism in the last election came from Democrats.
oting Obama was totally inexperienced, had no viable success story to suggest he can do the job, and noting his demonstrated lack of enthusiasm for patriotic symbols and practices was not “polarizing”. It was legitimate political discussion. Discussion a corrupt media -- deeply in the tank for Obama -- worked feverishly to cover up and deny.
Powell suggests the GOP go after minority groups such as Black voters if they are to succeed in the future. As one who has made strenuous efforts in that regard, let me state an irrefutable fact: the GOP would waste its time seeking massive Black vote support because 90% of all Black voters are racially biased against the GOP. That prejudice - -clear racism – is totally at odds with the facts of history.. No matter. In politics, what people believe truth…regardless of fact.
Blacks believe Republicans are racist. They ignore the facts of history.
I have not only had successful Black Republican candidates (and one or two who were not successful) and even served as Communications Director for a Black GOP Cabinet member. I am not anti Black.
I welcome any and all Black voters to the GOP. I admire, respect, and would vehemently support Michael Steele. That said, any GOP effort to gain Black votes will be a waste. The same effort, funding, and time can far better be spent registering voters likely to actually vote GOP.
If attracting Hispanic voters requires the GOP to support illegal immigration and amnesty, I would reach the same conclusion. It would cost more GOP votes than it would gain from the Hispanic community.
So be it.
In Texas, a group: “Hill Research Consultants” is negative about GOP futures and says it has "discovered" that:
* The Texas electorate is dissatisfied with the status quo and
shares other Americans' yearning for change
* On most every measure tested, the generic Republican "brand" is
significantly less appealing than the Democratic one
* Negative perceptions of Republicans (arrogant, racist, corrupt,
angry, unwelcoming) are untenable for the party's long-term health
So?
Polling over the years has always shown dissatisfaction with the status quo – people always want change – “the grass is always greener” and all that. The status quo finding is meaningless.
The “Republican” brand is damaged -- it is -- for several reasons – including the mishandling of the illegal immigration issue by the Bush White House as well as by the US Senate in its amnesty efforts.
A very basic GOP problem is the corruption of the media which is spring loaded to attacking anything Republican at each and every opportunity. More than anything else, Republicans must find a means of effectively confronting the liberal media machine – all over the air TV network news operations and almost all daily newspapers. “Ethical Journalism” has become an oxymoron. That’s a shame and a serious threat to our freedom.
Finally, the negative perceptions cited by the “research” are not legitimate – again the media can take credit for those misperceptions. Misperceptions or not, they are political realities with which normal America must deal.
“Racism” is a historic factor of Democrat party policy. Officially, Democrats were still blocking Black voting as late as the second half of the Twentieth Century. The KKK was a Democrat organization.
Despite Democrat claims – civil rights played NO part in the GOP rise to power in the South.
But don’t try to sell that to anyone in academia or journalism. Truth is what people believe and Democrats today control and own truth because they dominate and own the media.
So what’s the GOP to do to survive in the future?
They must remain steadfast to their principles.
They must resist the inevitable onslaught of liberal extremism that is certain to issue forth from a Democrat conspiracy that dominates both houses of Congress and the White House. In fact, they can use Democrat liberal extremism as an anvil they can hammer with common sense and rational judgment.
They must develop research and analysis that can help develop viable and effective defenses against the corrupt media that dominates the flow of information. The Internet clearly offers a path toward that goal.
The GOP must develop an effective message. Such a message is out there. Conservatives dominate talk radio because people tune into conservative talk and reject liberal efforts in such endeavors. For what it’s worth, NASCAR is among the most popular sports and conservative based, and country-western music attracts a huge following as well.
All those things speak to values. It’s up to Republican thinkers to consider that fact, weigh the implications, and develop a message that will allow conservatives to rally around their banner and follow it to victory.
One last thing – there is that little matter of leadership – finding dynamic leader who will effectively communicate that message, inspire people, and lead the charge.
I guess I could add one additional suggestion: Make sure those charged with mapping the party’s future ignore the rantings of Colin Powell and such “experts” as this group in Texas. Neither has a clue.
I speak from experience. I became Communications Director of the RNC in the wake of the Watergate debacle. Top pollsters for the party did serious study and reported Republicans more resembled a minor party than a minority party. We were in deep distress.
I cannot avoid a chuckle – less than 5 years later, Ronald Reagan won and a new GOP era was introduced. Not because we changed or accommodated anyone in the middle - -but because we followed Reagan’s advice, “bold colors” and an image of “a shining city on a hill” – stood firm, and brought normal America with us.
That’s the path we must seek for the future. There is no “Plan B”.
Buddy
Top Blogs:
1.
Fitzgerald renews interest in Rezko-Obama deal
Appraiser claiming fraud says prosecutor's office talked to him after Blago arrest
By Jerome R. Corsi
© 2008 WorldNetDaily
Since arresting Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has renewed interest in convicted fundraiser Tony Rezko's part in the purchase of Barack Obama's Chicago mansion, according to a former real estate analyst who says he was interviewed by the federal prosecutor in the past 10 days.
Kenneth J. Conner told WND he was interviewed by investigators from Fitzgerald's office regarding the purchase of the Obama mansion and the adjacent vacant lot that Rezko's wife, Rita, purchased simultaneously. As WND reported last week, Connor filed a civil complaint in October with the Illinois Circuit Court in Cook County alleging he was fired by Mutual Bank of Harvey, Ill., because he objected to land appraisals submitted on behalf of the Rezkos and the Obamas, with the complicity of the bank.
Connor previously confirmed to WND that he told the FBI, months ago, when he initially was fired, that the bank and the Rezkos were engaged in "fraud, bribes or kickbacks, use whatever term you want," to benefit the Obamas.
Connor said his lawyer, Glenn R. Gaffney, also has been interviewed by the FBI about the Rezko-Obama deal within the past 10 days.
Connor has disclosed that during the initial investigation he met with two FBI agents for approximately an hour and a half to discuss the Rezko-Obama home purchase.
"The entire deal amounted to a $125,000 payoff from Tony Rezko to Barack Obama," Conner previously told WND.
Get the book that started it all, Jerome Corsi's No. 1 New York Times best seller, "The Obama Nation" – only $4.95 today – a fantastic $23 discount!
He explained: "If in fact the entire deal was a payoff from Tony Rezko to Barack Obama, a payoff or kickback, use whatever word you like, then for the deal to work, what had to happen was that Rezko had to over-pay for the vacant lot by as much as possible, or by the desired amount of the payoff, in any event."
Connor charges in his complaint that in June 2005, Mutual Bank president and CEO Amrish Mahajan and other Mutual Bank officers approved a loan to Rita Malki Rezko that was guaranteed by Tony Rezko so his wife could purchase a 9,090 square foot vacant parcel of real estate at 5050 S. Greenwood Avenue, Chicago.
As part of the loan underwriting process, Mutual Bank obtained a real estate appraisal from Adams Valuation Corporation that valued the vacant lot at $68.76 per square foot, allowing the bank to establish a $625,000 value for the vacant lot, on which the bank lent $500,000.
Connor claims his analysis, as well as an independent appraisal by Howard B. Richter, a member of the Appraisal Institute valued the entire 9090 square foot parcel at $54 or $490,860, establishing the $125,000 difference between the appraisal the Rezkos and the bank used and the appraisal Connor considered "fair market value."
Rezko closed on the purchase of the adjacent lot at a price of $625,000 along with the loan from Mutual Bank in the amount of $500,000, with Mutual Bank obtaining a first mortgage lien position on the Greenwood vacant parcel, according Connor's civil complaint, filed with the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois.
Connor's complaint charges Mutual Bank removed from the file an inconvenient appraisal he conducted of fraudulent appraisals submitted to permit the Rezkos and the Obamas to conclude working in collusion with one another.
The complaint argues the initial fraudulent appraisal over-valued the property to permit the bank to loan the Rezkos the maximum possible to complete their side of the transaction.
The list price for the home was $1.95 million, outside the reach of the Obama family, until Rezko came up with the idea that his wife would simultaneously purchase the vacant lot portion of the project.
The deal concluded with the Obamas buying the house for $1.65 million, at a discount of $300,000 from the initial asking price, while Rezko's wife closed on the vacant lot on the same day for the full asking price of $625,000, of which she borrowed $500,000, the a maximum allowable 80 percent from Mutual Bank.
Connor alleges his appraisal was removed from the Mutual Bank file and he was fired from the bank "under pretextual reasons" after complaining about what he considered the problems with the appraisals used by the Rezkos and the bank to complete the Obama dream property transaction.
http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=83760
2.
Gretchen Carlson Is Right
Jeffrey Lord
Gretchen Carlson is indignant.
Good for her.
It is all too easy to shrug one's shoulders at the cavalier treatment of Christmas by Washington state's governor, Christine Gregoire. With the spotlight switched on by Bill O'Reilly, Americans learned Gregoire was responsible for allowing the presence in the state's capitol of a sign denigrating Christianity and God, the sign not only present at one of the most sacred holidays in Western culture but provocatively placed next to a Christmas crèche. Among other things, the sign, created by the atheist "Freedom from Religion Foundation," rants in the typical atheist bromides that, among other things in a propaganda laundry list, "religion is but a myth and a superstition." The ensuing uproar sparked demands for other displays, including one for the fake "Festivus" holiday borne of the imagination of a Seinfeld writer.
Enter Ms. Carlson, the co-host of morning television's Fox and Friends alongside Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade. Seemingly startling her colleagues with her vehemence, Carlson made plain exactly what she thought of Gregoire's decision to effectively trash one of the most sacred holidays on the Christian calendar, a holiday celebrating the birth of Christ that is also a federal holiday. Her observations attracted attention from O'Reilly, where she tartly observed on his show that "Jesus is taking a back seat" at the celebration of His birth. She also revealed that she is the granddaughter of a minister, giving her outrage special force.
Carlson's criticism, and the passion with which she delivered it are right on the mark. She is but the latest to confront eye-rolling skepticism if not outright hostility as a defender of Christmas, joining both O'Reilly and Fox's John Gibson (the latter with a book, The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought).
It is fascinating if not laugh-out-loud funny to hear various quarters express outrage over the latest revelations swirling around Wall Street financier Bernard Madoff and Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Madoff, a longtime liberal Democrat and financial backer, and Blagojevich, the liberal Democrat from Chicago, stand accused respectively of stealing $50 billion (that's "billion" with a "b") in a massive Ponzi scheme and trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat of President-elect Barack Obama for personal profit. The outraged make zero connection between these two disasters with the centrality -- yes, the sacredness- of the Judeo-Christian values that are at the heart of the creation of America itself.
Former Judge Robert Bork once noted that "religion is essential to the health of American culture and, perhaps, to the survival of our democratic institutions." Bork (who was defeated in a bitter fight for a seat on the United States Supreme Court for holding precisely views such as this) made this observation a decade ago, and certainly has not been alone in doing so. Long before Blagojevich's profanity-laced attempt to sell the Senate seat of the president-elect of the United States to the highest bidder. Long before Americans, already reeling from the fallout of Fannie Mae's greedy power plays that imploded the US economy along with the financial security of millions, learned the other day of the stunning $50 billion Madoff Ponzi scheme.
One wonders if the victims of the economic implosion and Madoff's alleged illegal -- and yes, immoral -- behavior -- are aware of the Washington state controversy at all. If they make any connection between Gretchen Carlson's outrage and their own shocking plight at the hands of Madoff.
The presence of that crèche in the Washington state capitol is a sacred reminder of the morality that is the foundation of the American idea itself. It is a morality encoded in the laws of Washington state, laws Governor Gregoire is sworn to uphold. It is a morality enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights, not to mention carved in marble in one Washington, D.C. monument, memorial and office building after another.
Gretchen Carlson's larger point is not only plain to see for some of us, it is also plain to see that ignoring the point of what she has to say has very real world consequences.
The Judeo-Christian faith represented by that crèche includes principles -- and actually these principles are called "commandments." There are ten of them. Mr. Madoff stands accused of violating not just federal securities laws but laws specifically and deliberately based on one of these commandments: "Thou shall not steal." If this commandment is not only sacred and deserving of stand-alone presentation on a major public holiday in a state capitol, if it is just so much "superstition" and "myth" as the atheists' sign next to that crèche insists, what did Mr. Madoff do wrong?
Media reports shriek of very angry people distraught that their life savings have been plundered, of distraught investors radiating out from America and going literally around the globe. But if in fact that crèche is not sacred and is undeserving of the respectful treatment it is not receiving from Governor Gregoire, why all the upset? So Bernie Madoff stole lots of money. So he may have ruined the lives of untold numbers of people. So what? To follow the Gregoire logic, the Governor is enforcing laws that are in fact a fraud themselves, laws based on the superstition and myth discussed on the sign in her own state capitol. A sign which, by its mere presence at this time of year, implies parity with the values represented by that crèche.
Certainly we must view the fury over Governor Blagojevich in a new light as well if we are prepared to ignore what Gretchen Carlson is saying. So the guv tried to sell a seat in the U.S. Senate for personal profit? Who cares? What's to fuss? Let Blago be Blago!
For that matter, why the all the uproar over someone else in the news -- O.J. Simpson? Sure there are people all over the country who believe the ex-football great got away with the brutal murder of two people, one of them his wife. It seems this contributed to his recent conviction for trying to forcibly take back some memorabilia he believed belonged to him. (O.J. was angry that someone had STOLEN his stuff. Imagine that! Where did he ever get the idea stealing was wrong?) If that crèche in Washington state is just about superstition and myth, then O.J. (assuming he did it, of course) has been put through the ringer for years for…nothing. So he murdered two people. So what? Who cares? One cares if one believes and understands that Simpson violated not just the laws of California when he wielded that knife but a sacred value represented by that crèche in Washington state: "Thou shall not kill." That's the big deal.
Gretchen Carlson and millions of others of us -- imperfect human beings one and all -- understand instinctively the connection between the presence of that crèche as a stand-alone sacred image celebrating a sacred holiday and the bedrock of American values and law.
There is more than plenty of tolerance for debate and disagreement in our society. The First Amendment -- based on the same values Carlson is defending -- ensures this. Yet it is a fact that the sacred nature represented in the presence of that Washington crèche on the occasion of the celebration of the birth of Christ keeps us all, atheists included, protected as much as possible from the actions of a Bernard Madoff, a Rod Blagojevich or an O.J. Simpson. Not to mention a Hitler or a Stalin or a Saddam Hussein.
Ms. Carlson's outrage was right on target. She is exactly right to look into the cameras and call for the stand-alone display of that crèche. She understands perfectly what it represents, and that without the reverence and respect of those values we are all in serious trouble. If, as Governor Gregoire maintains by her own actions in this instance, that the values represented in this crèche are some sort of joke or are morally relative and no big deal, that they do not deserve to be treated with the reverence and respect millions give them, then why does Washington state need a governor at all?
After all, if it turns out some atheist investor in Washington has been robbed by Mr. Madoff, the real question from the rest of us should be: who cares?
One suspects that Gretchen Carlson knows the right answer to that question is decidedly not "who cares?" I'll bet her minister grandfather would know the answer too.
So, I'll bet, do many of the rest of us. Except, apparently, the proponents of political liberalism such as the likes of, well, Bernie Madoff and Governor Blagojevich.
And Governor Bag's fellow liberal -- Governor Christine Gregoire.
Dare I say it? Dare I write the words based on that crèche, words that some so hate? What the heck.
Merry Christmas to Gretchen Carlson.
Jeffrey Lord is a former Reagan White House political director and author. He writes from Pennsylvania.
http://www.spectator.org/archives/2008/12/16/gretchen-carlson-is-right/print
3.
Pay To Play: FBI has Grand Jury knock on Bill Richardson’s door
Bloomberg) —
A Federal grand jury is investigating how a company that advised Jefferson County, Alabama, on bond deals that threaten to cause the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, did similar work in New Mexico after making contributions to Governor Bill Richardson’s political action committees.
The grand jury in Albuquerque is looking into Beverly Hills, California-based CDR Financial CDR Financial Products Inc., which received almost $1.5 million in fees from the New Mexico Finance Authority in 2004 after donating $100,000 to Richardson’s efforts to register Hispanic and American Indian voters and pay for expenses at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, people familiar with the matter said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation asked current and former officials from the state agency if any staff members in the governor’s office influenced CDR’s hiring, said the people, who declined to be identified because the proceedings are secret. Richardson, who is President-elect Barack Obama’s designate for Commerce Secretary, has a staff of at least 30 people.
Gee Bill. I do hope this doesn’t endanger that Big Shot Commerce job you got as reward for turning your back on the people who blew the dust off of you when you were nothing. A lot of us once liked you lot.
The New Mexico probe comes two years after the FBI searched CDR’s offices as part of a nationwide investigation into whether banks and advisers conspired to overcharge local governments on financing deals. That probe by the New York office of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division is ongoing, and CDR says it is cooperating.
“They’re looking at everything related to CDR,” William Sisneros, the finance agency’s chief executive officer, said of the FBI probe. “They’re just trying to evaluate all the relationships to see what CDR was doing for the money.”
Guess what else, folks?
The investigation reflects another front in nationwide efforts by U.S. prosecutors to investigate so-called pay- to-play in the municipal bond market. The term refers to banks and advisers who make political contributions or personal gifts to public officials in return for fee-paying financing assignments.
It’s about time somebody cleaned the filthy house that is politics in this country. This is going to last for a long time, because one of these slobs always leads to another one just like him. Pay To Play is a way of life for these pigs. All except Barack Obama of course. He did it all by himself. And right there in Chicago, of all places….
It’s just too bad we can’t start over completely with Congress too. You know, file Chapter 11, restructure and throw the whole lot of them out on their asses. I’m beginning to believe there are only two kinds of people in Congress. Those who deal and get caught and those who deal and haven’t been caught.
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From my blog, Uppity Woman.
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