Lawmakers' Cuba concerns are misplaced

"The black U.S. lawmakers' concerns weren't for the 300-plus Cuban prisoners of conscience listed by Amnesty International or the hundreds of dissidents working from their homes under the watch of a totalitarian regime. Or the lack of civil rights in a country with a majority black and mixed-race population ruled by an overwhelmingly white gerontocracy.

"Their angst was for the 'Five Heroes,' as Cuba's controlled media calls the Cuban government spies captured in Miami, including one sentenced for conspiracy to murder the four Brothers to the Rescue pilots killed by Cuban fighter planes in 1996.

"Let's agree that basic human rights have to be upheld for enemies -- that's the very definition of justice.

"Where's the justice in Cuba?

"Certainly the Clueless Seven, led by Rep. Barbara Lee of California, didn't make a fuss about 50 years of the Castro brothers' rule, the human rights violations or the escalating and disproportionate number of black Cubans held behind bars. Indeed, Rep. Bobby Rush, a former Black Panther, could only show his empathy 'for the suffering of political prisoners,' as he referred to the five spies.

"Just once, I'd like to see a delegation of muckety-mucks see the real Cuba. Sure, talk with Tío Fidel, as three of the Clueless reportedly did during their trip that ended Tuesday. But also go see opposition members, feel their pain.

"Rep. Kendrick Meek, who was traveling the Panhandle Tuesday in his U.S. Senate bid, offered this wise analysis of his Black Caucus colleagues' 'fact-finding' mission:

"`THREAT TO SECURITY'

"'Political prisoners jailed in Cuba are held for peacefully expressing their rights and freedoms, like Dr. Oscar Biscet and Antúnez,' he said. 'The Cuban spies held in the U.S. federal prisons were a threat to our national security. That's the difference between night and day.''

"Had the Clueless Seven removed the blinders they would have known it."

BAILOUT VOTE CONSTITUTIONAL? - 401(k)s BLEED

"'Basically they gave Congress a ransom note: 'We've got your 401(k) and if you want to see your 401(k) alive again, give us $700 billion in unmarked bills,' Sherman said."

Democrats destroy economy--blame Republicans

"But, until then, let's take another realistic look at why we are in the current financial mess. Beginning with the Democrats and President Clinton's push to force banks and mortgage companies to lend to low-income home buyers — coupled with the Democrats running Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — the process that has placed us in the position of heading toward the current financial debacle was put into place. Then, with Clinton's signing of the American Home Ownership and Economic Opportunity Act of 2000, the dye was cast. Institutions that did not want to lend monies to those who could not afford to buy homes were advised that they would be investigated by the government. Thus, the ARM (adjustable rate mortgage) came into being in full force. Huge balloon payments were the norm for the ARM and when they came due — equally huge foreclosure numbers for those who couldn't pay them were the result.

"As foreclosures increased, a domino effect began that took down mortgage companies and publicly exposed the corruptions inherent within the Democrats' personal slush funds — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Then, the commercial banks — the ones who had initially been forced to carry the bad-paper mortgages "or else" began to fail. After that, other banks and lending institutions started to experience problems and then — as the world's banks are now connected — European and Asian financial institutions have begun to crash. What was put in place by US Democrats as at its best 'good intentions' for poor folk and at its worst another way to scam the system has now caused world-wide panic in financial institutions. Note: Elected Congressional Republicans — including Sen. John McCain — have tried for years to pass legislation that would provide oversight on both Fannie and Freddie. Democrats blocked each and every attempt."

FOLLOW THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD

"No, my friends, the dirty little secret in the American economy is that our dollar is worthless. You don’t have to be a junior senator from Illinois to realize that our problems really began in 1913 when we turned the control of our money over to the un-constitutional Federal Reserve.

"Our money is controlled by a small cabal of bankers who have succeeded in ruining the once-powerful dollar. The Constitution is very clear. Article I Section 8 enumerates that Congress shall have the power 'To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;'

"Coin money…not print it. Coin means a piece of metal stamped and issued by the authority of a government for use as money. We have allowed the Fed to trade our gold and silver for paper and ink. Come on now, which do you think is more valuable?

"We are such lemmings. You see, prices are not going up as much as the value of the dollar is going down. 'Need more money, America? Cool…start the printer!' Can you say 700 billion? On top of the 600 billion they already spent on the bailout earlier this year."

Thumbs Up -- At Least He Is Willing To Admit It

“Like a lot of my Democratic colleagues, I was too slow to appreciate the recklessness of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I defended their efforts to encourage affordable homeownership, when in retrospect I should have heeded the concerns raised by their regulator in 2004. Frankly, I wish my Democratic colleagues would admit that when it comes to Fannie and Freddie, we were wrong. By the way, I wish my Republican colleagues would admit that they missed the early warning signs that Wall Street deregulation was overheating the securities market and promoting dangerously lax lending practices. When it comes to the debacle in our capital markets, there is much blame to go around for both sides."

Pressured to Take More Risk, Fannie Hit a Tipping Point

"So Mr. Mudd made a fateful choice. Disregarding warnings from his managers that lenders were making too many loans that would never be repaid, he steered Fannie into more treacherous corners of the mortgage market, according to executives.

"For a time, that decision proved profitable. In the end, it nearly destroyed the company and threatened to drag down the housing market and the economy."

and

"Between 2005 and 2008, Fannie purchased or guaranteed at least $270 billion in loans to risky borrowers — more than three times as much as in all its earlier years combined, according to company filings and industry data.

“'We didn’t really know what we were buying,' said Marc Gott, a former director in Fannie’s loan servicing department. 'This system was designed for plain vanilla loans, and we were trying to push chocolate sundaes through the gears.'”

Blast from the Past: Fannie Mae Liberals

From October 14, 2004

"Ditto for the good liberals in the Congressional Black Caucus. Members of this group are often the loudest defenders of Fannie and her brother, Freddie Mac. Can it be that the annual donations made by the Fannie Mae Foundation to the Caucus have blurred their vision too?

"Maxine Waters (D., California) cooed all over Mr. Raines, and Clay Lacy (D., Missouri) played the race card by calling the hearings a 'political lynching' of Mr. Raines, who is African-American. Are CEOs not supposed to be accountable simply because they're persons of color? By the way, Roger Barnes, the whistle-blower who was fired by Fannie after complaining about its accounting procedures, is also black. In a more consistent world -- where political principles mean something -- these liberals would be scorching a company that used a government subsidy to enrich its own executives. Instead, they're defending it."

Covering Your Fannie, Who Really Caused Our Economic Crisis?

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Timeline shows Bush, McCain warning Dems of financial mess

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The Democrat Record On Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac (2003-2007) - Updated!

"First of all, Fannie Mae Freddie Mac, these are two companies, that have been closely tied to the Democratic Party. I think is the best way to put it. And they’ve been under a regulatory cloud. That may be lifted." -- Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA)

An ACORN Falls from the Tree by Ken Blackwell

"And there’s an unexpected twist. One of the organizations accused of pushing banks into making many of the unwise loans at the heart of the current crisis is … ACORN. Now that’s ironic. An organization that possibly contributed to our current financial profits is now being considered to make money off of it. And by 'money,' I’m referring to your tax money.

"Twice already this year Congress has funneled money to ACORN. Some report that February’s economic stimulus included funds for ACORN, as did the bill to help people struggling with mortgages passed this April."

Burning Down The House: What Caused Our Economic Crisis?

Watch this 11-minute music video that explains everything.

Text of Speaker Pelosi's floor statement

"The American people did not decide to dangerously weaken our regulatory and oversight policies. They did not make unwise and risky financial deals. They did not jeopardize the economic security of the nation. And they must not pay the cost of this emergency recovery and stabilization bill."

Watch Dems Defend Fannie/Freddie Scam

"Some more inconvenient truths, via YouTube...."

O’Reilly smacks down Barney Frank

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Blame Fannie Mae and Congress For the Credit Mess

"The strategy of presenting themselves to Congress as the champions of affordable housing appears to have worked. Fannie and Freddie retained the support of many in Congress, particularly Democrats, and they were allowed to continue unrestrained. Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass), for example, now the chair of the House Financial Services Committee, openly described the 'arrangement' with the GSEs at a committee hearing on GSE reform in 2003: 'Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have played a very useful role in helping to make housing more affordable . . . a mission that this Congress has given them in return for some of the arrangements which are of some benefit to them to focus on affordable housing.' The hint to Fannie and Freddie was obvious: Concentrate on affordable housing and, despite your problems, your congressional support is secure."

How Freddie Mac Bribed House Committee

From April 2006:

"WASHINGTON - The home loan giant Freddie Mac has agreed to pay a record $3.8 million fine to settle allegations it made illegal campaign contributions.

"The fine announced Tuesday is by far the biggest ever levied by the Federal Election Commission. Because the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, widely known as Freddie Mac, agreed to pay the fine and stop breaking the law, the FEC said it would not take further action against corporate officials."

The Death of Common Sense in America

"Just to name a few examples, when you borrow money, it does eventually have to be paid back. You shouldn't buy a house you can't afford. Nobody owes you a living. It's not justice when the rulings of judges depend on ideology and personal preferences, not the Constitution. If we set up a tax system that puts all the taxes on the people at the top, they'll eventually, one way or the other, find a way to stop paying the check -- whether it be through loopholes, deliberately earning less money, or just leaving the country. Families are the building block of our society and the government should be extremely careful when it passes legislation that could negatively impact the family structure. People come before animals. You reap what you sow. It's good for America to have a patriotic populace. Many other countries aren't 'nice' and don't 'wish us well.' There is no such thing as a 'free' lunch. People who do a bad job shouldn't be rewarded for it. When you deliberately lie, your credibility should suffer for it. You don't have a 'right' to other people's property. You are the person primarily responsible for taking care of yourself."

Congress Encouraged Irresponsibility

"But the threat was not unknown. While president, Bill Clinton realized that Freddie and Fannie were out of control - but the Democrats in congress blocked action. Every year since he took office, including 17 times in 2008, President Bush echoed Bill Clinton's warnings on Freddie and Fannie. But congress ignored Bush like they did Clinton.

"Why did congress ignore the warning from both President Clinton and President Bush? The answer is simple - MONEY. Freddie and Fannie acted like a piggy bank for politicians. Some of the same politicians that caused this financial crisis are advisors/supporters to Barack Obama and control both the House and Senate committees. In 2005 the Democrats blocked legislation that would have prevented this crisis. But Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said, 'This came out of no where, this is all about the Republicans. We had nothing to do with this.' Pelosi should talk to fellow Democrats Franklin Raines, Jim Johnson, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Maxine Waters, Charles Schumer and Jamie Gorelick who are just a few of the Democrat politios that raked in millions in this scam while encouraging irresponsibility."