Sunday, March 23, 2008

Given the demonstrated close relationship

between Hussein and Rezko, I find this as even more reason for Hussien not wanting to be identified by his obviously Muslim middle name, "Hussein."

Tony Rezko, who is standing trial on federal corruption charges, was sued Friday by a former business partner and son of Nation of Islam founder Elijah Muhammad, who is accusing Rezko of taking ownership of Muhammad's house without his consent.

The lawsuit by Jabir Muhammad accuses Rezko of persuading Muhammad and his wife to put their home into trust with Rezko.

The suit goes on to say that Rezko then took legal control of the home, which is in the Kenwood neighborhood.


Chicago Tribune

Krugman goofs

My old bud Larry P sent me an email with this article by Paul Krugman.

I read it with low expectations. Over the years Krugman has proven to me that he is not a disinterested observer, and Left Wing economists turned columnists have a habit of seeing the result, but never the cause. He did not disappoint.

Contrary to popular belief, the stock market crash of 1929 wasn’t the defining moment of the Great Depression. What turned an ordinary recession into a civilization-threatening slump was the wave of bank runs that swept across America in 1930 and 1931.


Ordinary recessions do not have stock market crashes like Black Friday. And the cause was the purchase of stock on margin, as low as 10%. Once the fall started buyers couldn’t cover the margin without selling which further dropped the price which increased the margin call which increased the selling…. I’m sure you get the point.

The bank runs were the result of panic and rumors that the banks, like the stock market, were over leveraged. That many were didn’t help the situation.

Krugman also suffers from selective memory, failing to remember the Carter years and the Savings and Loan crisis, which Congress did nothing to fix, all its new laws came too late. The crisis, simply put, was caused by the S & L’s having too many low interest rate loans outstanding. When the rate of return became too low to pay the interest rates demanded by the Carter years inflation, people moved their money elsewhere and quit saving. The S & L industry collapsed. With little money to loan interest rates went out of sight, the housing industry collapsed and we had both inflation and recession.

I well remember taking a transfer based on “take it or be laid off,” having a house for sale that I left about $40,000 in and trying to purchase another when interest rates were in the 16-18% range for a 30 year fixed rate loan.

The solution then, and my salvation, was a negative Adjustable Rate Mortgage . It allowed me, and millions of others, to buy a house. With the Fed squeezing inflation out of the economy and the Stock Market recovering due to Reagan’s tax cuts I was able to re-finance and move forward.

Now, what’s happened? Krugman opines:

For example, in the old system, savers had federally insured deposits in tightly regulated savings banks, and banks used that money to make home loans. Over time, however, this was partly replaced by a system in which savers put their money in funds that bought asset-backed commercial paper from special investment vehicles that bought collateralized debt obligations created from securitized mortgages — with nary a regulator in sight.
As the years went by, the shadow banking system took over more and more of the banking business, because the unregulated players in this system seemed to offer better deals than conventional banks. Meanwhile, those who worried about the fact that this brave new world of finance lacked a safety net were dismissed as hopelessly old-fashioned.


Again Krugman confuses cause and effect.

The system described exists because it became socially acceptable. In fact, many on the Left ranted over “red lining” and other bank practices used to keep the bank from making bad loans. People who had demonstrated they couldn’t manage money and who couldn’t afford to pay back a conventional loan were serviced by the so-called sub-prime market. If the government turned a blind eye to the situation, and it did, the reasons were that lots of money was being made and it was the politically correct thing to do.

And while it was the Demo Left calling the tunes, the Repubs get no kudos for trying to prevent it.

The acceptance of people into the system who should have been left out has yielded the result.

That the players on the finance side took every opportunity to become rich I have no doubt. I also have no doubt that I would be happy to see some of them put in jail. But after observing the do-nothing Demos and their “oversight,” I get nervous whenever they start to micro manage.

The Feds have stated they “have our back.” Under the Bush administration they have done more to try and fix the situation than any time in history.

And what has the Demos done? Call for more tax cuts as Reagan did? As Bush did?
No. The Demos call for tax increases. That is a sure way to make the problem worse.
But Krugman failed to mention that. But then I believe he is a Demo.

Link

WG's blather continues

weeder gander wants to keep talking about me calling Hussein, Hussein. His comments are quoted, with my mine below.

(I had written)Parsing doesn't become you because unlike Hussein you don't have an adoring fan base to let you mouth words and walk away


(wg)I'm sorry you feel threatened enough to disparage my parsing ability because of an insecurity about your own, but you really aren't making sense now.


Actually, parsing is generally not consider a nice trait, given that it is usually associated with people who want to duck and dodge. Kinda like being considered a smart crooked politician... Oh, didn't mean to bring up Jefferson Clinton that is....

(I had written)You had a motive, call it reason if you like, to decide to make a rather typical comment about my using Hussein.


(wg wrote)Yes, I said I was curious, and the comment wasn't pro or anti BHO, and was mostly an observation which you responded to with honesty and snark, much more of the latter than the former.


If that was true, why didn't you just leave it alone??

(I had written) so I know that it wasn't original with you, but a "talking point" from Hussein's camp and camp followers.

(wg wrote)Sorry, I might know some folks who are BHO supporters, but none of them brought your usage to my attention.


I didn't say that anyone had brought Tall Cotton to your attention. I wrote that I have seen the same complaint before.

(I had writen)Tell me. Did you read it on KOS? MoveOn? Some other Leftie blog?

(wg wrote)I saw your blog comment and the usage was so unusual that I felt the necessity to remark and satisfy my curiosity about it. I do not frequent either site, but I have been known to lurk at a Leftie blog you've commented at, FWIW.


Ah, so it is coincidence that you made the same comment that other Lefties have made. Including one who does comment on TL.

(wg wrote)I don't think you're mentioned in either website, but like most people who demonstrate paranoid behavior, you lack a sense of proportion about common human behavior.


I never said I was mentioned. Is this claim another reading problem or just a typical attempt at changing the subject. And do you deny that using "Hussein" in conjunction with Hussein the Demo Candidate is a politically radioactive thing to do?

And why do you think that is true?

(I wrote)The post asked if Hussein is a racist. I used his words and the definition of racism for comparison. I didn't even mention his 20 year association with a Minister that a reasonable person would have rejected 19 years and 11
months ago. I didn't need to.

(wg wrote)I didn't know that being a racist entitled you to use the middle name of said racist in refering to them.


Heh, to steal a favorite from one of TL's author's.

Are you now claiming that we must have permission to use a person's middle name??

As for you calling me a racist, I was waiting for that and you didn't disappoint me.

(wg wrote)The things I've learned on the internets!

(I wrote)You know, whatever language I speak you can't answer the question.

(wg wrote) I just did.


Nothing like declaring something and running off, eh?

Of course, the fact that you didn't have a logical or reasonable answer to my question should be overlooked because?????????????


I gave you an answer. That you can't understand it is your problem. I will repeat it.

I just resent being told that I can't call Hussein, Hussein. I think it an attempt by Hussein to tell me what to write and what to think.

BTW - As you know, calling someone a racist, as you did me, is a no-no at TalkLeft.
I prefer to let you get away with it because I haven't made a racist statement. Hussein did. Your support of him defines you.






This is beyond outrageous

Get this: Right in the middle of the hottest presidential primary in decades, both Obama and Hillary are sending their foreign policy honchos to Damascus. These advisors are people who have a chance of running US foreign policy in the next administration.

They aren't shy. They are taking over our foreign affairs right now, because they are entitled to. They know better than our elected officials.


Guess they are trying to get the pole position for The Surrender Race.

Damascus has also been the transit point for thousands of jihadis going to Iraq to commit suicide-murders against Americans and Iraqis. If you want to talk to Al Qaida and the gang, Damascus is your place. Syria's President Assad is also Iran's best buddy in the Arab world. (Iran is the State Department's biggest terror-sponsoring state.) So Assad is the go-to guy for all the terror sponsors.


Link

These are your candidates, dear Demos. Enjoy them. Declare your agreement with what they are doing.

Stupid things and schools

Proving again that no group of organizations top what we find in schools:

SEASIDE, Calif. — A 15-year-old girl who stopped an out-of-control school bus she was riding on was handed a Saturday detention instead because she was skipping school.

Marina High School student Amanda Rouse was on a bus with 40 elementary school students Wednesday morning when the driver fell out of her seat after a turn and hit her head.

Rouse jumped up and applied the brakes, bringing the bus to a halt after striking two parked cars. No one was injured.

But Rouse said she was punished because she wasn't supposed to be on the bus.

Rouse said she fell ill on the way to school, but instead of calling in sick, she asked the bus driver for a lift back to the bus yard before the accident happened. She must attend Saturday school as punishment for failing to call in sick that day.

"She is in trouble with school because she made the wrong decision," said Rouse's grandmother, Sally Correll. "But I can't help but believe that she was where God wanted her to be."