Note to Pierluigi: Could you discuss your views on the ongoing graffiti problem in your district? There are tags all up and down Meridian Ave, even on TREES. The “artwork” under the bridges and all along Los Gatos Creek is a depressing reminder that gangs and delinquents are laying claim to our neighborhoods.
I just read Scott Herhold’s column in today’s Mercury News and I’m pissed. Everybody needs to read this before they vote on the BART tax. It’s here: http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_10511692
Basically, Herhold tells the story about how one of Carl Guardino’s stooges dragged the BART tax opponents into court challenging their ballot statements. The opponents were able to defend a majority of the statements to the satisfaction of the judge, although some statements were disqualified due to technicalities. For the unedited ballot argument with links to the backup materials, please see this site: http://www.novtatax.org/wordpress/2008/09/the-no-on-b-argument/
Why am I pissed? Simple-Carl with his deep pockets is trying to ram this BART tax through and is willing to stomp out all dissent. Herhold states that “He [Carl] once urged replacement of transit advisory board members who opposed BART.” And Michael Burns didn’t cover himself with glory either. Herhold again: “It also raises questions about VTA manager Burns, who is clearly a partisan rather than just an administrator. Burns told me that he tries to give equal access to opponents of the tax. But one of his filings on behalf of the Leadership Group suit went to 83 pages. Need more be said?”
I’ve posted my reasons for opposing the BART tax on SJI before. Herhold sums it up: It’s a very costly system for the number of new riders it is expected to serve. It will suck money from bus and light rail service. This won’t be the last tax.”
Say “no” to Carl’s heavy-handed tactics. Vote “no” on Measure B.
Downtown is becoming plagued with bicyclists riding on the sidewalk. Daily some idiot on a bike zooms past me from behind as I walk to lunch, or court, or whatever, narrowly missing me; or is heading straight for me from the opposite direction and expects me to move aside. I don’t, so a confrontation is just a matter of time.
Until recently, the majority of the sidewalk bike terrorists have been Hispanic (why is that? And don’t all you lefties cry “racism”. My observation is empirical); but it’s now an equal opportunity problem.
Can we get some enforcement here? Bicycles are by law supposed to be on the street, not the sidewalk, and the are required to follow the rules of the road. This is becoming a public safety issue, and it’s just a matter of time until someone is seriously injured by some bozo on a bike riding on the sidewalk.
I don’t notice this in other areas where I walk, just downtown.
Sam, can you and Pete kiss and make up on this issue and get us some police enforcement. If these bozos get ticketed, perhaps they’ll get a clue that sidewalks are exclusively for pedestrians.
Was Mr. Burns on the county payroll when he wrote his 83 page filing along with attending the court hearing? I question why Mr. Burns would waste so much of his time supporting SVLG’s heavy handed tactics against the opponents over such a trivial issue. If Mr. Burns is willing to go to such lengths over this small issue, what is he willing to do if more serious issue arises? Can we trust him?
Although a registered Democrat, I consider myself to be more of a political independent on the issues and candidates. Having said that, it appears many writers and reporters in the press have blatantly given up on even attempting to be unbiased in their reporting on the presidential candidates. The press and media, with some exceptions, have lost their credibility as independent and objective investigators and fact gatherers, and the news comes across as shallow and one-sided. The press has seemingly drank the cool-aid and failed in their responsibility to report the news in an unbiased fashion. Those that our country has traditionally held up to a higher stander, ie political leaders and banking institutions have collectively failed us for the most part. The biggest failure though, in my opinion, has been the main stream press who was asleep at the wheel. They have been, and continue to be so busy delivering their own agenda, they have forgotten how to gather the facts. One needs to look no father than the failing San Jose Mercury as a prime example.
Tony D, why should I believe you as opposed to Scott Herhold? Margaret Okuzumi convinced a judge that the SLVG’s claims were without merit, and Herhold agrees after looking at the evidence, a link to which I posted here. Maybe you’d care to go through that evidence and explain to us why the arguments are wrong. The information is here: http://www.novtatax.org/wordpress/2008/09/the-no-on-b-argument/
Meanwhile, your continued defense of the BART project makes me wonder if you’re on Carl’s payroll. Are you? Why should I listen to you instead of Scott Herhold, Margaret Okuzumi and Judge Kevin Murphy?
I’ve been subjected to three of these SVLG lawsuits. The main goal is to harrass their opponents and force them to spend money.
It’s not about inaccuracies. One of their complaints was that it was unfair to describe SVLG as a “financial backer” of the 2006 tax.
SVLG companies spent over half a million dollars trying to get it passed, but this didn’t stop them from filing a lawsuit saying that they weren’t spending a penny.
Might was well say “Support The Tax; otherwise we’ll sue you.”
Is Mr. Guardino getting desperate? Today an article about how he verbally assaulted his “good friend” Pete Constant over opposing the BART tax. A quote from Constant’s letter to Mr. Guardino:
“I can honestly say that in my professional and public life I have never been treated so disrespectfully in public as that Thursday evening,” Constant ontinued. “Your angry, condescending and demeaning tone was uncalled for and unfortunately witnessed by others.”
If this is how Mr. Guardino treats his friends, how does he treat his enemies? (oops, we learned about that yesterday. He takes them to court over petty issues!)
Not to worry – the measure will go down in a resounding defeat. I sincerely hope we will have seen the last of Carl “Mr. Feel Good” Guardino on this issue. His numbers and facts have underwhelmed the voters.
WAKE UP PEOPLE——- has anyone noticed that there’s a financial crisis going on in the US that is of monumental proportions. We have one of the most important elections coming up to pick a new administration to lead our government and all I see in the “Rant and Raves” is talk about trivial things. I think we’d better wake up before it’s too late, don’t you think. By not paying attention and letting ourselves be fooled, got us an administration that has put us into the crisis we have right now. What will it take for people to see that? What will it take to see that one of the candidates has been an active participant in this administration and it’s policies and has been an active supporter of everything it has done? Until people start using their brains and look at the picture—they’re bound to be fooled again and have to live with a repeat of all the conditions that have existed for the last 8 years. But on the other hand, if they liked and enjoyed the condition the US is in—then I guess their choice is clear and shouldn’t be muddied-up by any facts.
Concerned Citizen #13,
I agree with you to the extent that I am amazed at how blind to and unaware of this problem most people seem to be.
Unfortunately, when the smoke finally clears, I’m afraid that we will still not learn the lessons that need to be learned.
I am already hearing a rewriting of recent history that is attempting to spin this whole mess to show that MORE government regulation is needed. It is Government interference that CAUSED this problem.
The truth is that the best regulator of risky financial endeavours is the marketplace. If the Government hadn’t been there to buy these garbage loans from lending institutions, nobody else would have either. The lenders would know that THEY would be left holding the bag and they never would have made these loans in the first place. It is only because of the pressure from pandering politicians (mostly Democrats) that Fannie & Freddie bought these garbage loans- ostensibly so that even low-income people could afford to buy a house.
I say let ‘em all pay the price of their own stupidity and greed. Let the hard lessons be learned.
Let Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac MBS holders get stiffed.
Let Lehman Brothers go down the toilet.
Let dopes who were too stupid to know what they were signing lose their houses.
Don’t let the U.S. Government simply print $700,000,000,000 to get all these idiots out of the holes that they dug for themselves.
Previous two posters are correct: voters should consider whether they TRUST CURRENT VTA MANAGEMENT WITH ADDITIONAL TAX FUNDS rather than yes/no on BART.
I seriously doubt there is any chance of this tax going through now anyway given economic situation.
#4 HJ,
I read Herhold’s column this morning to and I was pissed as well…but for different reasons. Margaret Okuzumi is nothing but a BART to SJ obstructionist! Under the guize of “transit advocate.” She tried to print “McCain style” nonsense against the BART 1/8 cent sales tax proposal (a dime a day?) and was rightfully confronted by the SVLG. Herhold sadly comes to M.O.‘s defense and even throws in his nonsense as well: it’s too expensive, no one will ride it, this won’t be the last tax, blah blah blah. Scott Herhold, continuing the “excellence” of the Mercury News. People wake up! A dime a day to finally bring BART to San Jose! Yes to BART and Prop. 1A/high-speed rail!
jom: re riding bikes on sidewalks. I am not at all sure it’s illegal in san jose. I think i remember that when that poor little girl got hit near Hoover MIddle at the end of spring term, she was on a sidewalk but somebody in the city said sidewalk riding is legal here. I must confess i do bike on sidewalks sometimes to avoid gnarly traffic (like the alameda) but don’t do it personally downtown. Could somebody provide the real answer here? thanks
I’m relieved and glad to see somebody at least responded to my comment.
#14—Yes I’m troubled by the fact that the government has to bail out this situation, but I will be even more concerned if the government doesn’t enact and revise regulations controlling the activities that got us into this position.
#15—Let me make an analogy so that perhaps may give some understanding—this situation could be similar to let’s say driving on our highways. #1 – Let’s say we eliminate all speed limits on our highways and assume that the people driving will be cautious and concerned (just like the administration did by severely eliminating and modifying the regulations on the financial markets and institutions). #2 – Lets also eliminate the police force on the highways since there is no speed limits to be enforced (just like the administration curtailed oversight by regulatory agencies and Congress as pertains to the financial operation on Wall Street). What kind of chaos would there be on our roads. Does anyone think there would be none?
Well, that’s about the best analogy I can give at this time. I hope people remember who was in charge of all of this from the administration and how their actions precipitated the situation the US now finds itself. And guess what—the US taxpayer is again left holding the bag—now and for generations to come.
None other than “Hope and Change” himself was at the front of the trough, managing to rack up the second most ‘contributions’ from Freddie and Fannie even though he’s only been in the senate less than 4 years.
So who’s giving economic advice to the Obama campaign? None other than our very own disgraced former Fannie Mae CEO Franklin Raines.
If the “journalists” in the news media in this country spent 5 minutes digging into this and reporting on it – this presidential election would be over.
Instead our news media is breathlessly serving up hard hitting stories about “Troopergate” and whether or not there is a tanning bed installed in the governor’s mansion.
The news media is so far in the tank for the “Messiah” that we need accountability and malpractice oversight for “journalists”.
#20—It’s a nice thought to have that you believe 90% of the people would be cautious even if their were no rules—but that’s very foolish. If that were the case—then we could eliminate all the rules that exist for everything and the majority of people would still conduct themselves respectably——I don’t think so———-
In the 1920s, when there was no backing for banks, irresponsible greed and what would now be considered criminal behavior caused the stock market crash of 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression.
This was not the first time something like this had happened. The second half of the 19th century had a number of what were then called “panics”. But the increasing complexity of society meant that the crash of 1929 was worse than anything seen before.
The Roosevelt administration proposed a way out. The government would back banks ands lending institutions if they submitted to government oversight to ensure ethical and responsible business practises.
This system worked to keep American financial markets stable for 50 years, despite wars and various other national problems.
With the election of Ronald Reagan Republicans began dismantling the regulatory part of the system, leaving the government backing intact (admittedly without very much opposition from the Democrats). Immediately white-collar criminals moved in to start gaming the system. Ever since it’s been just one incident after another—the Savings & Loan disaster, the Keating Five, Enron, and the mess we have now. In every one of them the crooks get at most a slap on the wrist while the taxpayers are left to pick up the tab.
The obvious conclusion to draw is that we should return to a system that worked well over several decades and culminated in a period when the average American was better off than at any time before or since.
While pointing out the Fannie Freddie association of Obama’s adviser Raines, you left out that McCain is also tied to Freddie and Fannie in an even closer way. His campaign manager, Rick Davis, made $2 million as a lobbyist for Fannie and Freddie Mac.
You are also wrong on the origins of the present economic turmoil. The current problems DID begin with the Reagan administration and the deregulation train that he started has continued through EVERY administration since, including Clinton and especially under the current disasterous moronic president. Here is an excerpt from an interesting article today which you will no doubt denounce as it is by a “liberal” economist who doesn’t fit into your reactionary Republican agenda.
The last time the government let banks earn their way out of negative equity was in 1980. Interest rates to bank customers topped 20 percent, driving down prices for real estate, stocks and bonds so low that the leading U.S. banks saw their net worth wiped out. Their debts to depositors and bondholders exceeded the collateral they held in their reserves to back these deposit obligations. But as soon as Ronald Reagan led the Republicans back into office, the Federal Reserve began to flood the economy with free credit, driving down the interest rates that banks had to pay. They were allowed to act as a monopoly and keep credit-card interest rates high, at 20 percent, and above 30 percent with penalties, thanks to the fact that America’s high post-Vietnam interest rates led state after state to repeal anti-usury laws to keep credit flowing.
So the banks did “earn their way out of debt.” But if you were a taxpayer who needed to use a credit card, you paid through the nose. The banks earned their way out of debt at your expense. And by the way, if you really did pay an income tax, you probably did not own commercial real estate or significant financial assets. The Internal Revenue Service made commercial real estate and a large swath of finance (at least for the wealthiest investors) income-tax free by generating tax credits that could be applied against income across the board. The capital-gains tax was lowered to a fraction of the income tax, leading investors to pay out whatever income their investments generated as interest on loans to buy property they expected to sell at a markup. And with Alan Greenspan appointed the head the Federal Reserve Board in 1987, the age of asset-price inflation had arrived.
Cities and states vied with each other to slash property taxes, replacing them with income and sales taxes that fall mainly on labor and consumers. The upshot is that wealth has polarized to an unprecedented degree. According to statistics collected by the Congressional Budget Office, the wealthiest 1% now own 57% of the nation’s returns to wealth (interest, dividends and capital gains) and the richest 10% own no less than 77%.
Nice to see the news media rushing to Obama’s defense – and so quickly!
From the article check out this whopper from the NY Times piece.
“Mr. McCain was never a leading critic or defender of the mortgage giants”.
The conveniently missing fact that would have spiked the Times smear piece is that McCain co-authored legislation in 2005 that addressed and nailed the problems at Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac to a ‘T’.
This so-called “rescue” bill before Congress is nothing of the sort. As it stands now, it’s something much more sinister. In effect, it conveys frightening dictatorial powers to Bush and his corporate insider adminstration.
Here is exactly what it says:
Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.
It says that the administration has the right to make all decisions as to the handouts of our money WITHOUT any Congressional or judicial review of any sort and that they can NEVER be held legally accountable for anything they do under its provisions, which have wide application. In preventing any representation or oversight on our behalf, the people are being annexed by corporate America, and that, my friends, is fascism.
We should all resist this bill as written however we can. The whole of Wall Street should be left to go to hell before we support Congress selling out our constitutional rights in a White House induced panic fire sale. This isn’t a question of left and right. It’s our Constitution that’s at stake. We the People will become We the Corporation. They want your social security money and they are going to get it if this bill passes. Congress and the courts can’t stop them.
Call your reps and senators fast. The rights that our Founding Fathers fought and died for will be taken away overnight if the Bush criminals get away with this. Do you really want the Decider to become the Fuhrer? Is it worth selling out our rights so that a small fraction of our population can continue operating their Wall Street Casino at the expense of the vast majority of working citizens?
Raising Keynes’ anti-Bush tirade might have slightly more relevance if the President had more than 4 months in office. Then another president takes over.
Of course, God forbid the next president’s Barack Obama. Then Raising Keynes’ warnings make sense.
Are you kidding me? 4 months is an eternity. The dirty deed will be done overnight. No oversight, no accountability. That is what the bill says. That is dictatorship. Is that what you want Hugh? Big Brother telling you what to think and do? Someone to take away the unbearable pressure of having to think for yourself?
This is way beyond your ridiculous and simplistic write-off of anyone who opposes this bill as “anti-Bush.” The action being attempted by the Bush administration is fundamentally antithetical to our Constitution and the reasoning of our Declaration of Independence. If you think it’s a good thing, then you must be getting measured for your jackboots, brown shirt and black on red swastika arm patch already. Congratulations if you get your wish. I am sure that you will make an excellent follower.
As for me, I would rather the economy went to hell and everything I have become worthless than give away our Constitutional rights, yours and mine Hugh, to the small-minded thugs and criminals on Wall Street and in the White House.
Don’t chalk it up to evil intent when mere incompetence will do.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said yesterday, is that “no one knows what to do’’ at the moment.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended the decision of Congress to adjourn. Lawmakers can always be recalled to Washington “if there is a need to do so,’’ she told reporters yesterday.
How’s that for profiles in courage?
To me it looks like Bush, Bernanke, and Paulson have no choice – Congress just wants to go home.
Nothing in my previous post should be misunderstood to mean that I’m in favor of this stupid $700+ billion bailout. Far from it. I’m sick of getting ripped off to bail out the guilty.
But I’m also tired of the far left’s knee-jerk reaction of Bush=Hitler, or as Raising Keynes puts it, “jackboots, brown shirt and black on red swastika arm patch.”
Face it: Your “Great Satan” is yesterday’s news. And the left’s Messiah, assuming he gets elected, had better produce results or he’ll be a one-term wonder like Jimmy Carter.
No Hugh. “Great Satan,” as you call Bush, is today’s and tomorrow’s news and his legacy will be to hobble future generations of Americans with crippling debt, thanks to his inept handling of the economy (and every aspect of American government) and his illegal Iraq war based on fabrications and a treasonous disinformation campaign designed to frighten unthinking Americans into allowing him a free hand to wage war in the Middle East and giving up their Constitutional rights.
Fortunately, it appears that his grab for unrestrained power in this instance is going to fail, thanks to better minds and clearer thinking in both parties. I am glad to see that you are against the bailout too.
I can see why you might be upset. Your Republican Party is going to be decimated in the coming election, and rightly so. They deserve it. They have screwed this country up beyond belief. The Democrats aren’t a whole lot better, but anything is better than the vapidity your party has on offer.
Tony D,
I watched Carl Gardino work the floor the night the VTA Board voted to put the three BART measures on the ballot.Watching “Smiling” Carl work the floor was like watching a used car sales person work a used car parking lot and about to sell a lemon to an unsuspecting customer.
Smiling Carl also likes to touch too,he puts one hand on your shoulder and smiles in your face, I can only guess where the other hand is.
Tony D,
I wish dey would remake da movie,” GET SHORTY” cause our buddy Catl Gardino would be a great acter ta play Chili Palmer,don`t ya tink.Da guys,Carl dat is comes from Chicago wher all the smart guys comes from.
Geze,what ya tink Tony? Isya wit me?
I understand your analogy but I think it’s simplistic and flawed. Go ahead. Take away speed limits. Remove the highway patrol. 99% of people will still drive carefully and responsibly out of a sense of self preservation and out of respect for the safety of others. So in the first place I think you are mistaken about the chaos that would ensue.
I will now extend your analogy to reflect what has actually happened in the mortgage situation. Let’s introduce a Government that reassures everyone, “Go ahead and speed. It’s OK. Make erratic lane changes. Drive drunk. Whatever. If you get into trouble a magic cushion will suddenly appear that will protect you from harm.”
Now all the drivers can be divided into 2 camps; 1)The 60% who are skeptical that the Government can make this claim and so they continue to drive safely. and 2) the 40% who are gullible and believe in the magical powers of regulators and Government bureaucrats like Barney Frank, and put the pedal to the metal and wind up crashing and burning.
So look at the math in your analogy.
WITHOUT Government regulation; 1% of the population behaves irresponsibly.
WITH Government regulation; 40% of the population behaves irresponsibly.
Which situation do you think will introduce more chaos?
(Gee whiz. Where’s Kathleen? I’m tired of doing all the yammering on this stupid blogsite or whatever you call it.)
They did a nice job on a ticket kiosk at the Race Street VTA station last night.(It’s conveniently tagged with “Thug Life 9/20”) You should cruise over and check it out on your way to work.
Raising Keynes can’t separate objections to this stupid bailout from his general hatred of President Bush.
On the bailout, Will Marshall writes, “Many conservatives also worry about the moral hazard of shielding reckless financiers from the stern discipline of the market. They fret that Paulson’s plan would concentrate too much economic power in the hands of one unelected bureaucrat. And judging by the market’s 300-plus point swoon to start the week, investors themselves don’t seem to have much confidence that the plan will head off a recession.”
But then Raising Keynes can’t resist bringing out all of the tired old leftist anti-bush rant. Too bad the left forgets their history.
On October 31, 1998, H.R. 4655 became public law 105-338. Basically, this law states that “it should be the policy of the United States to ‘support efforts’ to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and replace him with a democratic government. Authorized the President to provide the Iraqi democratic opposition with assistance for radio and television broadcasting, defense articles and military training, and humanitarian assistance. [Source: ]http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/19131.pdf] In case the history-challenged Bush-haters at the Impeachment Coalition can’t remember who was president at this time, it was a Democrat named Bill Clinton.
Perhaps Clinton should have been impeached! Oh, wait, he was in a very egregious case of overreach on the part of the Republican Congress. Having learned nothing, Dennis Kucinich wants to play tit-fir-tat and impeach Bush. Unfortunately, that means having the same debates of the last 5 years all over again at a time that both presidential candidates are calling for “change.”
In January 2009, Bush will be gone. It’s time for Raising Keynes, Kucinich and the rest of the Angry Left to Move On.
I love how you say we should move on and not dwell on the past 8 years and then you go on to a lame criticism of Clinton based on passage by a Republican Congress of HR 4655.
The fact is, according to your own presentation of HR 4655, it did not give any president the right to manufacture “evidence” and lie to the American people in order to invade what was essentially a third-world country and tin pot dictatorship previously supported and bankrolled by the Reagan/Bush I administration.
Bush and his “bailout” plan are inextricably linked. They cannot be separated. His administration is making the proposal now being debated in Congress. I don’t like Clinton much better than Bush, but at least he didn’t try to steal constitutional rights and $700+ billion from the citizens to help out his criminal cronies on Wall Street with no public oversight, Congressional or judicial review and no accountability. Why don’t you address that issue Hugh, or are you prevented by your blind, unquestioning following of Bush? I can well understand why you want to forget all about it and move on. Well don’t worry, the day of political reckoning is coming very soon.
The huffing and puffing and righteous indignation from both sides of the aisle in Congress is so much B.S., artfully designed to convince the American Public that the bozos who supposedly run this country really care. The people that REALLY run this country are those who have made obscene and illegal profits off the backs of a lot of unsuspecting folks who bought into a too-good-to-be-true dream of home ownership, despite the fact that they had no substantial income. Those same profit takers contribute mightily and often to the incumbents who carry their water in the Halls of Congress.
This financial debacle is not of Bush’s making alone. Past administrations and Congresses started, and then expanded, the de-regulation that has caused this crisis.
Complicit bankers, apparaisers, realtors and others just feueld a fire that was started a couple of decades ago.
And now all the self-righteous twits in Congress are getting their 15 minutes on C-Span to try to convince us that they really care about us folks.
Many years ago there was talk about taking back so-called windfall profits of Big Oil. It really went nowhere. So, if we try to take back the hundreds of millions of dollars of windfall profits (bonuses to producers of bad loans) that feuled our current mortgage crisis, we’ll also get nowhere.
Frank Quatrone got half a billion $$, paid his lawyers many millions, and eventually got off scott free. Same with Michael Milken. So, we could try to seize the hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses that went to the thieves who got us into this mess; but they could outspend us with lawyers, and still have lots left over.
The nightmare is far from over; and no matter who is our next president, it’ll end up the same ol’ same ol’…unless we have another Boston Tea Party.
Our current Congressional hearings are just another brand of bread and circuses. We are on the same path as The Roman Empire—rotting from within, with so-called leaders whose major daily effort is put into getting continually re-elected, to hose us all over again.
Is McCain ‘Bush-Lite”? Yup. Is Ms. Palin qualified to run this nation? No way. Is Joe Biden, the consumate insider, the veep choice for the candidate preaching change (what an irony)? You bet. Can Obama really effect significant change while we have pretty much the same old Congress? Highly unlikely. We’re completely hosed, folks.
“None of the above” gets my vote right now…at all levels of government.
“The people that REALLY run this country are those who have made obscene and illegal profits off the backs of a lot of unsuspecting folks who bought into a too-good-to-be-true dream of home ownership, despite the fact that they had no substantial income. Those same profit takers contribute mightily and often to the incumbents who carry their water in the Halls of Congress.”
You are so right JM. And let’s not forget that Treasury Secretary Paulson, who is seeking unlimited powers to rob from our citizens and give to his fabulously rich Wall Street co-conspirators, is one of those insiders you speak of. Unbelievable.
Raising Keynes wants us to believe the simplified leftist story that evil Bush duped everybody into the Iraq war.
“But the invasion did happen, in significant part, because the U.S. – and every intelligence service in the world that spied on Iraq – believed Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. We subsequently learned he did not have WMD . . . except for the 550 tons of yellowcake uranium recently shipped from Iraq to Canada, where it will be concentrated for use in nuclear reactors.”
But feel free to keep this argument going, all the while keeping everybody’s mind off our current problems. Somehow, in your twisted little mind, because I support Bush ohn Iraq, I’m also supporting the bailout, which means you ignored post #34 where I clearly said “Nothing in my previous post should be misunderstood to mean that I’m in favor of this stupid $700+ billion bailout. Far from it. I’m sick of getting ripped off to bail out the guilty.” By guilty, I mean the wall street fat cats of the big banks but also those dishonest homebuyers who misrepresented their incomes inorder to qualify for a loan that they were incapable of paying back. And now we’re supposed to bail these assholes out? jmo’c was correct when he said “Complicit bankers, apparaisers, realtors and others just feueld [sic] a fire that was started a couple of decades ago.” He left out “dishonest borrowers” though, and they deserve some of the blame.
You say you don’t want to discuss the Iraq war and then you go on to bring it up again. And rightly so.
The Iraq war and the “bailout” are all part of the same Bush Administration pathology. Bush lied and frightened the unthinking American public into an illegal and stupid war in Iraq that has taken the lives of thousands of Americans and killed, injured and displaced millions of Iraqis. Bush lied and frightened the unthinking American public into supporting a Patriot Act that took away rights from the people. Bush lied and frighened unthinking Americans who then let him get away with spying on them by listening into their telephone conversations. Bush lied about Valerie Plame. He said he would fire anyone who was involved, but Dick Cheney is still the VP. Bush lied about Bin Laden. He said he would get him but he didn’t. Bush lied about torture. He said he wasn’t doing it, but he was. Now Bush is lying and trying to frighten people about the “dire consequences” to the economy if unthinking Americans don’t approve giving him dictatorial powers to take our money and use it however he sees fit in order to put it into the pockets of his co-conspirators on Wall Street who are responsible for the current mess.
In addition, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have added a very significant amount to our national debt that will soon top $11 trillion! The so-far trillion-dollar-plus debt from those wars has made a large contribution to the economic failure under his administration. Our national debt is financed by foreign banks and countries, including China, because our Treasury is broke, thanks to Bush’s utter failure as a president.
Bush and his cronies have bankrupted our country, stolen our wealth, sent our jobs overseas, trampled on our Constitution, broken international pacts and treaties, violated the Geneva Conventions, committed war crimes, and destroyed our nation’s reputation as a shining beacon of democracy to be looked up to in the world. He constantly lied to the American people to get what he wanted. He’s the guy who ought to be in Guantanamo.
Raising Keynes #43,
(WARNING: This post contains language that enlightened progressives may find offensive)
Yeah. Let’s put Bush in Guantanamo. That will definitely solve the current economic problem and it will prevent all future economic problems. Good plan.
This is the deep philosophical underpinning that guides the brilliant strategy of the political left;
Our Government backed credit system would work fine as long as evil Republicans didn’t gain power.
Our Government sponsored system is perfect as long as we make sure that it is always regulated by pure and incorruptible saints who are immune to the temptations of wealth and power.
Good luck, big Government liberals.
You have insisted upon a system that was doomed to be corrupted and now that it has failed, you seem surprised and angry.
And so, predictably, one result of this whole mess will be that our wise leaders will tell us serfs that this is proof that yet more government control and regulation are required.
Liberals will enthusiastically nod their heads and meekly aquiesce. They might as well be being loaded into boxcars.
Here’s an idea.
Let’s get the Government OUT of the mortgage industry. (We conservatives have advocated this for years.) There’s plenty of capital out there to fund the secondary mortgage market. There is not now, nor has there ever been, a need for Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to be backed by the federal government.
More generally, this mess is compelling evidence that we should be extremely reluctant to involve the Government in ANY area where it isn’t absolutely necessary.
But that’s called “conservatism” and pious progressives are far too brainwashed to even listen to such heresy.
HAS ANY ONE OUT THERE NOTICED THAT MCSHAME IS “NOT” WEARING AN AMERICAN FLAG LAPEL PIN???
BUT WEEKS AGO WEREN’T THE REPUBLICANS “BAD-MOUTHING” BARACK FOR “NOT” WEARING ONE???
Note to Pierluigi: Could you discuss your views on the ongoing graffiti problem in your district? There are tags all up and down Meridian Ave, even on TREES. The “artwork” under the bridges and all along Los Gatos Creek is a depressing reminder that gangs and delinquents are laying claim to our neighborhoods.
I just read Scott Herhold’s column in today’s Mercury News and I’m pissed. Everybody needs to read this before they vote on the BART tax. It’s here:
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_10511692
Basically, Herhold tells the story about how one of Carl Guardino’s stooges dragged the BART tax opponents into court challenging their ballot statements. The opponents were able to defend a majority of the statements to the satisfaction of the judge, although some statements were disqualified due to technicalities. For the unedited ballot argument with links to the backup materials, please see this site:
http://www.novtatax.org/wordpress/2008/09/the-no-on-b-argument/
Why am I pissed? Simple-Carl with his deep pockets is trying to ram this BART tax through and is willing to stomp out all dissent. Herhold states that “He [Carl] once urged replacement of transit advisory board members who opposed BART.” And Michael Burns didn’t cover himself with glory either. Herhold again: “It also raises questions about VTA manager Burns, who is clearly a partisan rather than just an administrator. Burns told me that he tries to give equal access to opponents of the tax. But one of his filings on behalf of the Leadership Group suit went to 83 pages. Need more be said?”
I’ve posted my reasons for opposing the BART tax on SJI before. Herhold sums it up: It’s a very costly system for the number of new riders it is expected to serve. It will suck money from bus and light rail service. This won’t be the last tax.”
Say “no” to Carl’s heavy-handed tactics. Vote “no” on Measure B.
Downtown is becoming plagued with bicyclists riding on the sidewalk. Daily some idiot on a bike zooms past me from behind as I walk to lunch, or court, or whatever, narrowly missing me; or is heading straight for me from the opposite direction and expects me to move aside. I don’t, so a confrontation is just a matter of time.
Until recently, the majority of the sidewalk bike terrorists have been Hispanic (why is that? And don’t all you lefties cry “racism”. My observation is empirical); but it’s now an equal opportunity problem.
Can we get some enforcement here? Bicycles are by law supposed to be on the street, not the sidewalk, and the are required to follow the rules of the road. This is becoming a public safety issue, and it’s just a matter of time until someone is seriously injured by some bozo on a bike riding on the sidewalk.
I don’t notice this in other areas where I walk, just downtown.
Sam, can you and Pete kiss and make up on this issue and get us some police enforcement. If these bozos get ticketed, perhaps they’ll get a clue that sidewalks are exclusively for pedestrians.
Was Mr. Burns on the county payroll when he wrote his 83 page filing along with attending the court hearing? I question why Mr. Burns would waste so much of his time supporting SVLG’s heavy handed tactics against the opponents over such a trivial issue. If Mr. Burns is willing to go to such lengths over this small issue, what is he willing to do if more serious issue arises? Can we trust him?
Although a registered Democrat, I consider myself to be more of a political independent on the issues and candidates. Having said that, it appears many writers and reporters in the press have blatantly given up on even attempting to be unbiased in their reporting on the presidential candidates. The press and media, with some exceptions, have lost their credibility as independent and objective investigators and fact gatherers, and the news comes across as shallow and one-sided. The press has seemingly drank the cool-aid and failed in their responsibility to report the news in an unbiased fashion. Those that our country has traditionally held up to a higher stander, ie political leaders and banking institutions have collectively failed us for the most part. The biggest failure though, in my opinion, has been the main stream press who was asleep at the wheel. They have been, and continue to be so busy delivering their own agenda, they have forgotten how to gather the facts. One needs to look no father than the failing San Jose Mercury as a prime example.
Tony D, why should I believe you as opposed to Scott Herhold? Margaret Okuzumi convinced a judge that the SLVG’s claims were without merit, and Herhold agrees after looking at the evidence, a link to which I posted here. Maybe you’d care to go through that evidence and explain to us why the arguments are wrong. The information is here:
http://www.novtatax.org/wordpress/2008/09/the-no-on-b-argument/
Meanwhile, your continued defense of the BART project makes me wonder if you’re on Carl’s payroll. Are you? Why should I listen to you instead of Scott Herhold, Margaret Okuzumi and Judge Kevin Murphy?
I’ve been subjected to three of these SVLG lawsuits. The main goal is to harrass their opponents and force them to spend money.
It’s not about inaccuracies. One of their complaints was that it was unfair to describe SVLG as a “financial backer” of the 2006 tax.
SVLG companies spent over half a million dollars trying to get it passed, but this didn’t stop them from filing a lawsuit saying that they weren’t spending a penny.
Might was well say “Support The Tax; otherwise we’ll sue you.”
Is Mr. Guardino getting desperate? Today an article about how he verbally assaulted his “good friend” Pete Constant over opposing the BART tax. A quote from Constant’s letter to Mr. Guardino:
“I can honestly say that in my professional and public life I have never been treated so disrespectfully in public as that Thursday evening,” Constant ontinued. “Your angry, condescending and demeaning tone was uncalled for and unfortunately witnessed by others.”
If this is how Mr. Guardino treats his friends, how does he treat his enemies? (oops, we learned about that yesterday. He takes them to court over petty issues!)
http://www.mercurynews.com/politics/ci_10518680?nclick_check=1
Hugh and Steve,
Not to worry – the measure will go down in a resounding defeat. I sincerely hope we will have seen the last of Carl “Mr. Feel Good” Guardino on this issue. His numbers and facts have underwhelmed the voters.
WAKE UP PEOPLE——- has anyone noticed that there’s a financial crisis going on in the US that is of monumental proportions. We have one of the most important elections coming up to pick a new administration to lead our government and all I see in the “Rant and Raves” is talk about trivial things. I think we’d better wake up before it’s too late, don’t you think. By not paying attention and letting ourselves be fooled, got us an administration that has put us into the crisis we have right now. What will it take for people to see that? What will it take to see that one of the candidates has been an active participant in this administration and it’s policies and has been an active supporter of everything it has done? Until people start using their brains and look at the picture—they’re bound to be fooled again and have to live with a repeat of all the conditions that have existed for the last 8 years. But on the other hand, if they liked and enjoyed the condition the US is in—then I guess their choice is clear and shouldn’t be muddied-up by any facts.
Concerned Citizen
“Concerned Citizen is concerned about upcoming bailout. I hope s/he realizes that there’s something wrong with the government bailing out the guilty to the tune of $700 billion. The mere fact that this bailout sailed through with no dissenting opinion should be a warning that it’s a bad idea. See:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/20/AR2008092001059.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
And both presidential campaigns seem to have gone to sleep on this crisis:
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2008/09/21/2008-09-21_americas_stress_test.html
If the only answer from Washington is more bailouts, we’re in deep trouble.
Concerned Citizen #13,
I agree with you to the extent that I am amazed at how blind to and unaware of this problem most people seem to be.
Unfortunately, when the smoke finally clears, I’m afraid that we will still not learn the lessons that need to be learned.
I am already hearing a rewriting of recent history that is attempting to spin this whole mess to show that MORE government regulation is needed. It is Government interference that CAUSED this problem.
The truth is that the best regulator of risky financial endeavours is the marketplace. If the Government hadn’t been there to buy these garbage loans from lending institutions, nobody else would have either. The lenders would know that THEY would be left holding the bag and they never would have made these loans in the first place. It is only because of the pressure from pandering politicians (mostly Democrats) that Fannie & Freddie bought these garbage loans- ostensibly so that even low-income people could afford to buy a house.
I say let ‘em all pay the price of their own stupidity and greed. Let the hard lessons be learned.
Let Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac MBS holders get stiffed.
Let Lehman Brothers go down the toilet.
Let dopes who were too stupid to know what they were signing lose their houses.
Don’t let the U.S. Government simply print $700,000,000,000 to get all these idiots out of the holes that they dug for themselves.
Previous two posters are correct: voters should consider whether they TRUST CURRENT VTA MANAGEMENT WITH ADDITIONAL TAX FUNDS rather than yes/no on BART.
I seriously doubt there is any chance of this tax going through now anyway given economic situation.
Speaking of thin-skinned Carl, did anybody see this?
http://www.mercurynews.com/politics/ci_10518680?nclick_check=1
scroll down until “If this is how Carl treats his friends”…
If you’re not his “friend” he’ll just sue you.
#4 HJ,
I read Herhold’s column this morning to and I was pissed as well…but for different reasons. Margaret Okuzumi is nothing but a BART to SJ obstructionist! Under the guize of “transit advocate.” She tried to print “McCain style” nonsense against the BART 1/8 cent sales tax proposal (a dime a day?) and was rightfully confronted by the SVLG. Herhold sadly comes to M.O.‘s defense and even throws in his nonsense as well: it’s too expensive, no one will ride it, this won’t be the last tax, blah blah blah. Scott Herhold, continuing the “excellence” of the Mercury News. People wake up! A dime a day to finally bring BART to San Jose! Yes to BART and Prop. 1A/high-speed rail!
#3
DC,
Higher penalties and fines.
There is no graffiti problem in Singapore.
jom: re riding bikes on sidewalks. I am not at all sure it’s illegal in san jose. I think i remember that when that poor little girl got hit near Hoover MIddle at the end of spring term, she was on a sidewalk but somebody in the city said sidewalk riding is legal here. I must confess i do bike on sidewalks sometimes to avoid gnarly traffic (like the alameda) but don’t do it personally downtown. Could somebody provide the real answer here? thanks
I’m relieved and glad to see somebody at least responded to my comment.
#14—Yes I’m troubled by the fact that the government has to bail out this situation, but I will be even more concerned if the government doesn’t enact and revise regulations controlling the activities that got us into this position.
#15—Let me make an analogy so that perhaps may give some understanding—this situation could be similar to let’s say driving on our highways. #1 – Let’s say we eliminate all speed limits on our highways and assume that the people driving will be cautious and concerned (just like the administration did by severely eliminating and modifying the regulations on the financial markets and institutions). #2 – Lets also eliminate the police force on the highways since there is no speed limits to be enforced (just like the administration curtailed oversight by regulatory agencies and Congress as pertains to the financial operation on Wall Street). What kind of chaos would there be on our roads. Does anyone think there would be none?
Well, that’s about the best analogy I can give at this time. I hope people remember who was in charge of all of this from the administration and how their actions precipitated the situation the US now finds itself. And guess what—the US taxpayer is again left holding the bag—now and for generations to come.
Concerned Citizen
10Mhz.
I agree with you about the deregulation push – who would think it a good idea to let commercial banks move into investment banking, insurance, etc.
But that happened in 1999, not under Reagan.
There’s *plenty* of blame to go around – but to try and pin this on the Republicans is simply a dog that won’t hunt.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aSKSoiNbnQY0
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E06E3D6123BF932A2575AC0A9659C8B63
Let’s also have a look at the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac debacle and it’s bearing on the upcoming presidential election.
How tight are the connections between Fannie Mae and Obama?
http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008/09/update-fannie-mae-and-freddie.html
See any familiar names at the top of this list?
None other than “Hope and Change” himself was at the front of the trough, managing to rack up the second most ‘contributions’ from Freddie and Fannie even though he’s only been in the senate less than 4 years.
So who’s giving economic advice to the Obama campaign? None other than our very own disgraced former Fannie Mae CEO Franklin Raines.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/15/AR2008071502827.html
Who was given the task of selecting the Chosen One’s vice presidential running mate?
Why none other than disgraced former Fannie Mae CEO Jim Johnson.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=5047811&page=1
See a pattern starting to develop here?
If the “journalists” in the news media in this country spent 5 minutes digging into this and reporting on it – this presidential election would be over.
Instead our news media is breathlessly serving up hard hitting stories about “Troopergate” and whether or not there is a tanning bed installed in the governor’s mansion.
The news media is so far in the tank for the “Messiah” that we need accountability and malpractice oversight for “journalists”.
#20—It’s a nice thought to have that you believe 90% of the people would be cautious even if their were no rules—but that’s very foolish. If that were the case—then we could eliminate all the rules that exist for everything and the majority of people would still conduct themselves respectably——I don’t think so———-
Concerned Citizen
In the 1920s, when there was no backing for banks, irresponsible greed and what would now be considered criminal behavior caused the stock market crash of 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression.
This was not the first time something like this had happened. The second half of the 19th century had a number of what were then called “panics”. But the increasing complexity of society meant that the crash of 1929 was worse than anything seen before.
The Roosevelt administration proposed a way out. The government would back banks ands lending institutions if they submitted to government oversight to ensure ethical and responsible business practises.
This system worked to keep American financial markets stable for 50 years, despite wars and various other national problems.
With the election of Ronald Reagan Republicans began dismantling the regulatory part of the system, leaving the government backing intact (admittedly without very much opposition from the Democrats). Immediately white-collar criminals moved in to start gaming the system. Ever since it’s been just one incident after another—the Savings & Loan disaster, the Keating Five, Enron, and the mess we have now. In every one of them the crooks get at most a slap on the wrist while the taxpayers are left to pick up the tab.
The obvious conclusion to draw is that we should return to a system that worked well over several decades and culminated in a period when the average American was better off than at any time before or since.
17. Is Pierluigi Oliverio proposing outlawing chewing gum like they do in Singapore?
While pointing out the Fannie Freddie association of Obama’s adviser Raines, you left out that McCain is also tied to Freddie and Fannie in an even closer way. His campaign manager, Rick Davis, made $2 million as a lobbyist for Fannie and Freddie Mac.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/22/us/politics/22mccain.html
You are also wrong on the origins of the present economic turmoil. The current problems DID begin with the Reagan administration and the deregulation train that he started has continued through EVERY administration since, including Clinton and especially under the current disasterous moronic president. Here is an excerpt from an interesting article today which you will no doubt denounce as it is by a “liberal” economist who doesn’t fit into your reactionary Republican agenda.
The following is from:
http://counterpunch.com/hudson09222008.html
The last time the government let banks earn their way out of negative equity was in 1980. Interest rates to bank customers topped 20 percent, driving down prices for real estate, stocks and bonds so low that the leading U.S. banks saw their net worth wiped out. Their debts to depositors and bondholders exceeded the collateral they held in their reserves to back these deposit obligations. But as soon as Ronald Reagan led the Republicans back into office, the Federal Reserve began to flood the economy with free credit, driving down the interest rates that banks had to pay. They were allowed to act as a monopoly and keep credit-card interest rates high, at 20 percent, and above 30 percent with penalties, thanks to the fact that America’s high post-Vietnam interest rates led state after state to repeal anti-usury laws to keep credit flowing.
So the banks did “earn their way out of debt.” But if you were a taxpayer who needed to use a credit card, you paid through the nose. The banks earned their way out of debt at your expense. And by the way, if you really did pay an income tax, you probably did not own commercial real estate or significant financial assets. The Internal Revenue Service made commercial real estate and a large swath of finance (at least for the wealthiest investors) income-tax free by generating tax credits that could be applied against income across the board. The capital-gains tax was lowered to a fraction of the income tax, leading investors to pay out whatever income their investments generated as interest on loans to buy property they expected to sell at a markup. And with Alan Greenspan appointed the head the Federal Reserve Board in 1987, the age of asset-price inflation had arrived.
Cities and states vied with each other to slash property taxes, replacing them with income and sales taxes that fall mainly on labor and consumers. The upshot is that wealth has polarized to an unprecedented degree. According to statistics collected by the Congressional Budget Office, the wealthiest 1% now own 57% of the nation’s returns to wealth (interest, dividends and capital gains) and the richest 10% own no less than 77%.
Nice to see the news media rushing to Obama’s defense – and so quickly!
From the article check out this whopper from the NY Times piece.
“Mr. McCain was never a leading critic or defender of the mortgage giants”.
The conveniently missing fact that would have spiked the Times smear piece is that McCain co-authored legislation in 2005 that addressed and nailed the problems at Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac to a ‘T’.
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/record.xpd?id=109-s20060525-16&bill=s109-190#sMonofilemx003Ammx002Fmmx002Fmmx002Fmhomemx002Fmgovtrackmx002Fmdatamx002Fmusmx002Fm109mx002Fmcrmx002Fms20060525-16.xmlElementm0m0m0m
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s109-190
Unfortunately for the Messiah, the NY Times won’t be able to run interference during the debates.
Fellow Citizens
This so-called “rescue” bill before Congress is nothing of the sort. As it stands now, it’s something much more sinister. In effect, it conveys frightening dictatorial powers to Bush and his corporate insider adminstration.
Here is exactly what it says:
Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.
It says that the administration has the right to make all decisions as to the handouts of our money WITHOUT any Congressional or judicial review of any sort and that they can NEVER be held legally accountable for anything they do under its provisions, which have wide application. In preventing any representation or oversight on our behalf, the people are being annexed by corporate America, and that, my friends, is fascism.
We should all resist this bill as written however we can. The whole of Wall Street should be left to go to hell before we support Congress selling out our constitutional rights in a White House induced panic fire sale. This isn’t a question of left and right. It’s our Constitution that’s at stake. We the People will become We the Corporation. They want your social security money and they are going to get it if this bill passes. Congress and the courts can’t stop them.
Call your reps and senators fast. The rights that our Founding Fathers fought and died for will be taken away overnight if the Bush criminals get away with this. Do you really want the Decider to become the Fuhrer? Is it worth selling out our rights so that a small fraction of our population can continue operating their Wall Street Casino at the expense of the vast majority of working citizens?
Wake up!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/22/dirty-secret-of-the-bailo_n_128294.html
Raising Keynes’ anti-Bush tirade might have slightly more relevance if the President had more than 4 months in office. Then another president takes over.
Of course, God forbid the next president’s Barack Obama. Then Raising Keynes’ warnings make sense.
#31
Are you kidding me? 4 months is an eternity. The dirty deed will be done overnight. No oversight, no accountability. That is what the bill says. That is dictatorship. Is that what you want Hugh? Big Brother telling you what to think and do? Someone to take away the unbearable pressure of having to think for yourself?
This is way beyond your ridiculous and simplistic write-off of anyone who opposes this bill as “anti-Bush.” The action being attempted by the Bush administration is fundamentally antithetical to our Constitution and the reasoning of our Declaration of Independence. If you think it’s a good thing, then you must be getting measured for your jackboots, brown shirt and black on red swastika arm patch already. Congratulations if you get your wish. I am sure that you will make an excellent follower.
As for me, I would rather the economy went to hell and everything I have become worthless than give away our Constitutional rights, yours and mine Hugh, to the small-minded thugs and criminals on Wall Street and in the White House.
How’s that quote go?
Don’t chalk it up to evil intent when mere incompetence will do.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said yesterday, is that “no one knows what to do’’ at the moment.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended the decision of Congress to adjourn. Lawmakers can always be recalled to Washington “if there is a need to do so,’’ she told reporters yesterday.
How’s that for profiles in courage?
To me it looks like Bush, Bernanke, and Paulson have no choice – Congress just wants to go home.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=washingtonstory&sid=aVPBaUbYV_qQ
Nothing in my previous post should be misunderstood to mean that I’m in favor of this stupid $700+ billion bailout. Far from it. I’m sick of getting ripped off to bail out the guilty.
But I’m also tired of the far left’s knee-jerk reaction of Bush=Hitler, or as Raising Keynes puts it, “jackboots, brown shirt and black on red swastika arm patch.”
Face it: Your “Great Satan” is yesterday’s news. And the left’s Messiah, assuming he gets elected, had better produce results or he’ll be a one-term wonder like Jimmy Carter.
#34
No Hugh. “Great Satan,” as you call Bush, is today’s and tomorrow’s news and his legacy will be to hobble future generations of Americans with crippling debt, thanks to his inept handling of the economy (and every aspect of American government) and his illegal Iraq war based on fabrications and a treasonous disinformation campaign designed to frighten unthinking Americans into allowing him a free hand to wage war in the Middle East and giving up their Constitutional rights.
Fortunately, it appears that his grab for unrestrained power in this instance is going to fail, thanks to better minds and clearer thinking in both parties. I am glad to see that you are against the bailout too.
I can see why you might be upset. Your Republican Party is going to be decimated in the coming election, and rightly so. They deserve it. They have screwed this country up beyond belief. The Democrats aren’t a whole lot better, but anything is better than the vapidity your party has on offer.
Tony D,
I watched Carl Gardino work the floor the night the VTA Board voted to put the three BART measures on the ballot.Watching “Smiling” Carl work the floor was like watching a used car sales person work a used car parking lot and about to sell a lemon to an unsuspecting customer.
Smiling Carl also likes to touch too,he puts one hand on your shoulder and smiles in your face, I can only guess where the other hand is.
Tony D,
I wish dey would remake da movie,” GET SHORTY” cause our buddy Catl Gardino would be a great acter ta play Chili Palmer,don`t ya tink.Da guys,Carl dat is comes from Chicago wher all the smart guys comes from.
Geze,what ya tink Tony? Isya wit me?
Concerned Citizen #19,
Thanks for responding. This is SO important.
I understand your analogy but I think it’s simplistic and flawed. Go ahead. Take away speed limits. Remove the highway patrol. 99% of people will still drive carefully and responsibly out of a sense of self preservation and out of respect for the safety of others. So in the first place I think you are mistaken about the chaos that would ensue.
I will now extend your analogy to reflect what has actually happened in the mortgage situation. Let’s introduce a Government that reassures everyone, “Go ahead and speed. It’s OK. Make erratic lane changes. Drive drunk. Whatever. If you get into trouble a magic cushion will suddenly appear that will protect you from harm.”
Now all the drivers can be divided into 2 camps; 1)The 60% who are skeptical that the Government can make this claim and so they continue to drive safely. and 2) the 40% who are gullible and believe in the magical powers of regulators and Government bureaucrats like Barney Frank, and put the pedal to the metal and wind up crashing and burning.
So look at the math in your analogy.
WITHOUT Government regulation; 1% of the population behaves irresponsibly.
WITH Government regulation; 40% of the population behaves irresponsibly.
Which situation do you think will introduce more chaos?
(Gee whiz. Where’s Kathleen? I’m tired of doing all the yammering on this stupid blogsite or whatever you call it.)
#17—
P.O.—
They did a nice job on a ticket kiosk at the Race Street VTA station last night.(It’s conveniently tagged with “Thug Life 9/20”) You should cruise over and check it out on your way to work.
Raising Keynes can’t separate objections to this stupid bailout from his general hatred of President Bush.
On the bailout, Will Marshall writes, “Many conservatives also worry about the moral hazard of shielding reckless financiers from the stern discipline of the market. They fret that Paulson’s plan would concentrate too much economic power in the hands of one unelected bureaucrat. And judging by the market’s 300-plus point swoon to start the week, investors themselves don’t seem to have much confidence that the plan will head off a recession.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2008/09/22/2008-09-22_marshall_on_bailout_only_fools_rush_in.html
But then Raising Keynes can’t resist bringing out all of the tired old leftist anti-bush rant. Too bad the left forgets their history.
On October 31, 1998, H.R. 4655 became public law 105-338. Basically, this law states that “it should be the policy of the United States to ‘support efforts’ to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and replace him with a democratic government. Authorized the President to provide the Iraqi democratic opposition with assistance for radio and television broadcasting, defense articles and military training, and humanitarian assistance. [Source: ]http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/19131.pdf] In case the history-challenged Bush-haters at the Impeachment Coalition can’t remember who was president at this time, it was a Democrat named Bill Clinton.
Perhaps Clinton should have been impeached! Oh, wait, he was in a very egregious case of overreach on the part of the Republican Congress. Having learned nothing, Dennis Kucinich wants to play tit-fir-tat and impeach Bush. Unfortunately, that means having the same debates of the last 5 years all over again at a time that both presidential candidates are calling for “change.”
In January 2009, Bush will be gone. It’s time for Raising Keynes, Kucinich and the rest of the Angry Left to Move On.
Hugh #36
I love how you say we should move on and not dwell on the past 8 years and then you go on to a lame criticism of Clinton based on passage by a Republican Congress of HR 4655.
The fact is, according to your own presentation of HR 4655, it did not give any president the right to manufacture “evidence” and lie to the American people in order to invade what was essentially a third-world country and tin pot dictatorship previously supported and bankrolled by the Reagan/Bush I administration.
Bush and his “bailout” plan are inextricably linked. They cannot be separated. His administration is making the proposal now being debated in Congress. I don’t like Clinton much better than Bush, but at least he didn’t try to steal constitutional rights and $700+ billion from the citizens to help out his criminal cronies on Wall Street with no public oversight, Congressional or judicial review and no accountability. Why don’t you address that issue Hugh, or are you prevented by your blind, unquestioning following of Bush? I can well understand why you want to forget all about it and move on. Well don’t worry, the day of political reckoning is coming very soon.
37 – Nicely said, but without pictures do you think Hugh will understand it?
The huffing and puffing and righteous indignation from both sides of the aisle in Congress is so much B.S., artfully designed to convince the American Public that the bozos who supposedly run this country really care. The people that REALLY run this country are those who have made obscene and illegal profits off the backs of a lot of unsuspecting folks who bought into a too-good-to-be-true dream of home ownership, despite the fact that they had no substantial income. Those same profit takers contribute mightily and often to the incumbents who carry their water in the Halls of Congress.
This financial debacle is not of Bush’s making alone. Past administrations and Congresses started, and then expanded, the de-regulation that has caused this crisis.
Complicit bankers, apparaisers, realtors and others just feueld a fire that was started a couple of decades ago.
And now all the self-righteous twits in Congress are getting their 15 minutes on C-Span to try to convince us that they really care about us folks.
Many years ago there was talk about taking back so-called windfall profits of Big Oil. It really went nowhere. So, if we try to take back the hundreds of millions of dollars of windfall profits (bonuses to producers of bad loans) that feuled our current mortgage crisis, we’ll also get nowhere.
Frank Quatrone got half a billion $$, paid his lawyers many millions, and eventually got off scott free. Same with Michael Milken. So, we could try to seize the hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses that went to the thieves who got us into this mess; but they could outspend us with lawyers, and still have lots left over.
The nightmare is far from over; and no matter who is our next president, it’ll end up the same ol’ same ol’…unless we have another Boston Tea Party.
Our current Congressional hearings are just another brand of bread and circuses. We are on the same path as The Roman Empire—rotting from within, with so-called leaders whose major daily effort is put into getting continually re-elected, to hose us all over again.
Is McCain ‘Bush-Lite”? Yup. Is Ms. Palin qualified to run this nation? No way. Is Joe Biden, the consumate insider, the veep choice for the candidate preaching change (what an irony)? You bet. Can Obama really effect significant change while we have pretty much the same old Congress? Highly unlikely. We’re completely hosed, folks.
“None of the above” gets my vote right now…at all levels of government.
Is it not going to be a sweet sight to behold watching the ever-so-angry left go into thermonuclear meltdown mode on 11/5?
Imagine the hordes of angry left booking flights to France, packing up their sign making kits and protest costumes and moving to Canada.
So good you can taste it!
John Michael O’Connor writes in #39:
“The people that REALLY run this country are those who have made obscene and illegal profits off the backs of a lot of unsuspecting folks who bought into a too-good-to-be-true dream of home ownership, despite the fact that they had no substantial income. Those same profit takers contribute mightily and often to the incumbents who carry their water in the Halls of Congress.”
You are so right JM. And let’s not forget that Treasury Secretary Paulson, who is seeking unlimited powers to rob from our citizens and give to his fabulously rich Wall Street co-conspirators, is one of those insiders you speak of. Unbelievable.
Raising Keynes wants us to believe the simplified leftist story that evil Bush duped everybody into the Iraq war.
“But the invasion did happen, in significant part, because the U.S. – and every intelligence service in the world that spied on Iraq – believed Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. We subsequently learned he did not have WMD . . . except for the 550 tons of yellowcake uranium recently shipped from Iraq to Canada, where it will be concentrated for use in nuclear reactors.”
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/viewpoints/articles/2008/07/20/20080720vip-macheachern0720.html
But feel free to keep this argument going, all the while keeping everybody’s mind off our current problems. Somehow, in your twisted little mind, because I support Bush ohn Iraq, I’m also supporting the bailout, which means you ignored post #34 where I clearly said “Nothing in my previous post should be misunderstood to mean that I’m in favor of this stupid $700+ billion bailout. Far from it. I’m sick of getting ripped off to bail out the guilty.” By guilty, I mean the wall street fat cats of the big banks but also those dishonest homebuyers who misrepresented their incomes inorder to qualify for a loan that they were incapable of paying back. And now we’re supposed to bail these assholes out? jmo’c was correct when he said “Complicit bankers, apparaisers, realtors and others just feueld [sic] a fire that was started a couple of decades ago.” He left out “dishonest borrowers” though, and they deserve some of the blame.
#42 Hugh
You say you don’t want to discuss the Iraq war and then you go on to bring it up again. And rightly so.
The Iraq war and the “bailout” are all part of the same Bush Administration pathology. Bush lied and frightened the unthinking American public into an illegal and stupid war in Iraq that has taken the lives of thousands of Americans and killed, injured and displaced millions of Iraqis. Bush lied and frightened the unthinking American public into supporting a Patriot Act that took away rights from the people. Bush lied and frighened unthinking Americans who then let him get away with spying on them by listening into their telephone conversations. Bush lied about Valerie Plame. He said he would fire anyone who was involved, but Dick Cheney is still the VP. Bush lied about Bin Laden. He said he would get him but he didn’t. Bush lied about torture. He said he wasn’t doing it, but he was. Now Bush is lying and trying to frighten people about the “dire consequences” to the economy if unthinking Americans don’t approve giving him dictatorial powers to take our money and use it however he sees fit in order to put it into the pockets of his co-conspirators on Wall Street who are responsible for the current mess.
In addition, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have added a very significant amount to our national debt that will soon top $11 trillion! The so-far trillion-dollar-plus debt from those wars has made a large contribution to the economic failure under his administration. Our national debt is financed by foreign banks and countries, including China, because our Treasury is broke, thanks to Bush’s utter failure as a president.
Bush and his cronies have bankrupted our country, stolen our wealth, sent our jobs overseas, trampled on our Constitution, broken international pacts and treaties, violated the Geneva Conventions, committed war crimes, and destroyed our nation’s reputation as a shining beacon of democracy to be looked up to in the world. He constantly lied to the American people to get what he wanted. He’s the guy who ought to be in Guantanamo.
Pete Constant kissed and made up with Carl Guardino in a letter to the Murky News yesterday. Think he’ll do the same with Sam Liccardo?
#44
Maybe Carl promised to tie him up, and whip him.
Raising Keynes #43,
(WARNING: This post contains language that enlightened progressives may find offensive)
Yeah. Let’s put Bush in Guantanamo. That will definitely solve the current economic problem and it will prevent all future economic problems. Good plan.
This is the deep philosophical underpinning that guides the brilliant strategy of the political left;
Our Government backed credit system would work fine as long as evil Republicans didn’t gain power.
Our Government sponsored system is perfect as long as we make sure that it is always regulated by pure and incorruptible saints who are immune to the temptations of wealth and power.
Good luck, big Government liberals.
You have insisted upon a system that was doomed to be corrupted and now that it has failed, you seem surprised and angry.
And so, predictably, one result of this whole mess will be that our wise leaders will tell us serfs that this is proof that yet more government control and regulation are required.
Liberals will enthusiastically nod their heads and meekly aquiesce. They might as well be being loaded into boxcars.
Here’s an idea.
Let’s get the Government OUT of the mortgage industry. (We conservatives have advocated this for years.) There’s plenty of capital out there to fund the secondary mortgage market. There is not now, nor has there ever been, a need for Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to be backed by the federal government.
More generally, this mess is compelling evidence that we should be extremely reluctant to involve the Government in ANY area where it isn’t absolutely necessary.
But that’s called “conservatism” and pious progressives are far too brainwashed to even listen to such heresy.