Congress Fails to act - Heaven Help Us !

by Larry Lubell

The House of Representatives, on a 228-205 vote, failed to pass the $700 Billion dollar bill seen by many as our last, best hope at rescuing the financial industry.

Over the weekend, it seemed as if our Law makers would have a moment of clarity. where they put the good of the nation over the easiest campaign slogan to sell. That they would actually "Lead" rather than take a poll; sadly that was not the case.
Too many lawmakers apparently refused to go along with the unpopular legislation with elections just five weeks away.

The compromised plan, which is designed to stabilize U.S. credit markets by freeing up some badly needed capital working and attempting to put a bottom to the crises; needed 218 votes for passage. But it came up 13 votes short. The final vote was 228 to 205 against with about 60% of Democrats voted for the measure, but less than a third of the Republicans backing it.

"We're all worried about losing our jobs," Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., declared in an impassioned speech in support of the bill before the vote.

"Most of us say, 'I want this thing to pass, but I want you to vote for it — not me. "
"We're in this moment, and if we fail to do the right thing, Heaven help us," Ryan added.

After news that the deal had been done; Investors who had been counting on the rescue plan sent the Dow Jones plummeting 700 points as it became clear the measure failed to get the necessary Republican support,

"Our time has run out," said Rep. Spencer Bachus, the ranking Republican on the House Financial Services Committee. "We're going make a decision. There are no other choices, no other alternatives."

Barney Frank, D-Mass.warned: "Today is the decision day. If we defeat this bill today, it will be a very bad day for the financial sector of the American economy and the people who will feel the pain are not the top bankers and top corporate executives but average Americans."

This crisis has been hitting the African Americans and Hispanic communities particularly hard. It was often these communities that were targeted by many of the predatory loan companies that caused many of the financial problems working through the market today. People were "UP-Sold" into homes that they could not afford, sometimes at inflated prices. The real estate brokers working with Mortgage brokers, would bend rules, find "Loop-Holes" often with a "Wink and a Nod" from banks that knew they could package these loans up and sell them in a game of "Hot Potato". Take your cut, but just don't get stuck holding the hot potato.

In 1990, Nationwide, 73 percent of whites owned homes, while that number was just 46 percent of African Americans and Hispanics. There was a push, in large part by African American lawmakers, to increase home ownership in minority areas. This was seen as a way out of being a part of the "Working poor". It was also seen as a way to stabilize an area and reduce crime. Fannie Mae was seen as a way to help get loans to those that needed them. But as is often the case, an attempt to help those in need, was seen by some as a license to steal.

There were TV shows promising riches by following others success "Buying then Flipping" homes. We were all sold on the idea that we could by a home, slap on a coat of paint, plant a few flowers, then burn a scented candle furring the open house- and in two weeks clear a $20,000 profit. Suddenly we were all Donald Trump.

All common sense legislation, and reasonable regulation was dismantled. Congress appointed the foxes to guard to henhouse, and then we trusted their monthly count of the number and health of the chickens. Each person whose job it was to check the health of the hens, just passed the responsibility down the line. Wall Street was the place stuck holding the hot potato; therefore, it is there that many will list as the "Personification of evil."

This disaster was caused by greed from the bottom up, and a complete brake-down of any "Adults" standing in the way of what were obviously bad deals.
1. Loans with no money down.
2. People that did not qualify for the loans without short-term temporary interest only ARMS.
3. Stated Income loans (A loan that encouraged lying)
4. Inflated home prices, and loans to large areas filled with new track homes where very few had any equity, and even a small fall in values would lead to collapsing prices.

JIm Cramer had been pushing hard for this bail-out plan, that he called the "Invest in America Plan." He was outraged at the inability for the Lawmakers to get this done.

"We needed it. Without it, the stock market will now reflect a series of assumptions":
1. Worldwide economic collapse;

2. A depression that is a sequel equal to the Great Depression;

3. Many, many more bank collapses than we have had already; and

4. Much more unemployment and many, many foreclosures.

"I don't want to bury the punchline, but when you add these worst-case prices together you get Dow Jones 8378, which, reluctantly, I admit is where we are going if everything fails with the plan and the economies here and worldwide are left to their own devices."

When we see the Dow Fall 770 points in one day, falling to 10,365 and falling nearly 4,000 points from yearly highs we are clearly at the point of crisis.
"On this day congress had a moment do the right thing, and they failed, Heaven help us

$700,000,000,000.00

While President Bush urges lawmakers of his own party in the House to back a $700 billion bailout of Wall Street. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. seized WaMu, one of the nation's largest banks.

Washington Mutual Inc. overnight imploded under the weight of its enormous volume of bad mortgages, the FDIC then sold the assets to JPMorgan Chase & Co. for $1.9 billion
Banks and brokerage houses are falling and merging so fast they look like Gladiators having a bad run of luck against a Colosseum full of hungry lions. It is clear that the whole mortgage industry
is simply in water over it's head and they no longer have the strength to tread water.

The idea that the "Market place" will be able to sort this out by it's self has been abandon by all but a small percentage of the true anti regulation die-hard's. To the vast majority, it is clear that the
federal government has to step in and shore up the banking system. The problem is that some of these anti regulation true believers lawmakers, in the house, have rejected Bush's $700 billion bank bailout and have stalled any
deal coming forward.

While I have a difficult time with the idea of fixing the problem by handing money over to the same people that messed it up in the first place. And I fully understand that it is a grave mistake to expect the U.S. Government to micro manage
the economy. I agree that it is the private sector that creates wealth, jobs and expands the economy. But just as the Democratic party has given up on the discredited idea that the government can solve all of our problems; it is time for the right wing of the Republican party to abandon the notion that deregulation is the silver bullet to all of our problems. An intelligent view of how we got to this current mess, demonstrates that both the public and private both have a role to play.

Larry Lubell

McCain / Obama Debate Cancelled ?

Today, John McCain announced he'll suspend his campaign to return to Washington in order to focus on the economic crisis. McCain's campaign also stated that it wanted to push-back Friday's debate with Barack Obama, to an unspecified later date.

I applauded the wisdom of the McCain camp to cancel the first day of their convention; as a result of a category 4 hurricane hitting Texas. Clearly they did not want to be seen as having a "Party", wearing funny hats, and throwing "Red-meat" to the crowd while a split screen showed people's home being washed-away.

Political ploy or not, I like the idea that McCain is going back to Washington to do his job as a Senator at this crises point in our nations economy.I do have a problem with delaying Friday's debate with Obama.

At a time when the Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, is asking for a $700. billion financial bailout, to save America from the worst financial disaster since the Depression, I think we need to hear what Obama and McCain plan to do to correct the mess one of them will inherit. A debate is not a party, a time for merriment, it is a time to hear both candidates stand up before us to explain and defend their ideas. A chance for us to decide who's strategy seems to ring most true, and whom do we trust to transport us from where we are now, to safer ground.

We need to here both men explain why they think the system collapsed, what they did while in government to help prevent the disaster; and most important what specific legislation they will seek to in act in response.

Albert Einstein said " No problem can be solved from the same consciousness that created it." It seems like the same people that brought America to the point of apocalypse, now want a blank check to fix the problems they caused.

I for one, would like to hear both men face each other directly, not through campaign mud slinging, let them both make the case why their the one to put things right.

Larry Lubell

Insurance Information Page: 24 Hour Car Info Help

Insurance Information Page: 24 Hour Car Info Help

CERN - Scientific breakthrough or "End of the World".

On Wednesday September 10th, CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) will commission its Large Hadron Collider. The LHC website describes the facility this way.
The LHC, the world's most powerful particle accelerator, measuring 27 kilometres in circumference, will bring advances in our knowledge of matter and the Universe. The LHC will accelerate minute particles and collide them at the centre of four large detectors, ALICE, ATLAS, CMS and LHCb. The LHC is an exceptional scientific tool employing state-of-the-art technology to further fundamental science. It comprises over 1800 superconducting magnet assemblies, for example, and is maintained at a temperature of -271.3°C, just 1.9 degrees above absolute zero. The four experiments that will study the particle collisions are technological triumphs in themselves, the largest of them as tall as a five-storey building.
While some of the worlds greatest physicists have been working for years hand in hand with engineers and scientists from dozens of different disciplines, There are a group of running around, doing their best "Chicken- Little" impersonation screaming "The sky is falling" In fact, scientists behind the world's biggest-ever scientific experiment have received death threats from critics who claim it could cause the end of the world.

Prof Hawking said the £4.4bn machine, in which scientists are about to recreate conditions just after the Big Bang, is "vital if the human race is not to stultify and eventually die out."
And he sought to ease fears that the machine could have apocalyptic effects. "The world will not come to an end when the LHC turns on," Prof Hawking said, adding: "The LHC is absolutely safe."
Scientists at the CERN research centre in Switzerland are aiming to use the machine to gain a better understanding of the birth and structure of the universe, and to fill gaps in our knowledge of physics.

Legal bid to stop CERN atom smasher from `destroying the world`
Hawking, who made his name in the study of Black Holes, sought to assure the public of the particle accelerator safety stated "
"Collisions releasing greater energy occur millions of times a day in the earth's atmosphere and nothing terrible happens. The world will not come to an end when the LHC turns on."
"If the LHC were to produce little black holes, I don't think there is any doubt I would get a Nobel Prize, if they showed the properties I predict.
"However I think the probability that the LHC has enough energy to produce little black holes is less than 1 per cent - so I'm not holding my breath."
Prof Hawking made clear that the LHC project is one of the most important in the history of scientific endeavor. Asked to choose between it and the space program, he said: "That is like asking which of my children I would choose to sacrifice.
"Both the LHC and the Space program are vital if the human race is not to stultify and eventually die out. Together they cost less than one tenth of a per cent of world GDP. If the human race can not afford this, then it doesn't deserve the epithet 'human'."

Youtube/ the #1 place for news (or Rumors)

You do you trust for news and facts?
How can you tell if what you are seeing, reading or hearing is true, or even where it's coming from.

Here are a few to watch and decide for your self.

YouTube - McCain's YouTube Problem Just Became a Nightmare
Who's Trig's Mother?
Bristol Palin, Sarah Palins Out of Control Teen
KTVA, Local CBS Affiliate, Reports On Palin Trooper-Gate Sca
Sen. Barack Obama's Full Speech to the DNC
Barack Obama, Islam, Terrorists & Terrorism Obama is a Terrorist!
Old Man McCain Going Senile Before the Cameras
John McCain -- War Hero

Couture Wars

The "Right" bashes "Popular couture every chance they get, but they sure like to use the songs that couture creates.

John McCain's camp again finds it's self trying to defend the use of copyrighted material against the wishes of the creators and performers that brought the music to life.
This is not the first time the McCain team has had this problem, several months back, his campaign received a Cease and Desist from John Mellencamp demanding that they stop using his tunes "Our Country" and "Pink Houses.and again when In August, when Jackson Browne was outraged to find that Ohio Republicans used his song "Running on Empty" in an attack ad against Obama.

It raises two questions:
1. Why do members of the "Right" produce so little music worth listening to.
2. Were they as careful vetting the songs as they were their VP pick.

"I feel completely F#ck@d over," the band's Nancy Wilson told EW on Thursday night after their song was played following McCain's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. According to TMZ -- which broke the scandal, the band has filed a cease and desist order.

Palin has the nick name "Barracuda: so it is easy to see why playing the song had a certain degree of logic. The song was used as a theme for Governor Palin Wednesday night after her speech. The Band "Heart" acted swiftly by issuing a statement asking the campaign to stop use their of copyrighted material music..
"We hope our wishes will be honored," the band said in a written statement.

After three separate artists, and their legal representatives issued formal complaints, you would think the McCain camp would respect both the will of the artists or at least the law- No such luck. After the close of McCain's speech Thursday night, what song came through the PA system? You guessed it ... "Barracuda."

After the speech, Nancy and her sister Ann issued the following statement to EW:

"Sarah Palin's views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women. We ask that our song 'Barracuda' no longer be used to promote her image. The song 'Barracuda' was written in the late 70s as a scathing rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, particularly for women. (The 'barracuda' represented the business.) While Heart did not and would not authorize the use of their song at the RNC, there's irony in Republican strategists' choice to make use of it there."
.
A legal representative of Browne stated "In light of Jackson Browne's lifelong commitment to Democratic ideals and political candidates, the misappropriation of Jackson Browne's endorsement is entirely reprehensible,"

Van Halen was also upset to find that Their song "Right Now" was used against their wishes at a rally announcing Palin as McCain's running mate.

If people were prosecuted for "Uploading" songs from Napster, how could the legal minds behind the convention not understand better than to "Steal"copyrighted intellectual property, and play it on a world stage.
Is this a question of F*ck Y@u, we will do what ever we want, or an example of carelessness Either way it raises questions about the campaign.

Bristol Palin's "Shotgun-Wedding"

Sarah and Todd Palin have released the following statement in conjunction with the McCain campaign:

"We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us. Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned.
We’re proud of Bristol’s decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support.
"Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family. We ask the media to respect our daughter and Levi’s privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates."

All parents know that despite our best wishes, and most carefully crafted plans, often life throws you a curve. I am sure that watching their daughter, drop out of school, give up, or put on hold any plan of college; because she got pregnant, was not the film they played in their heads. But as a family they made choices based on their beliefs, values and priorities- and I respect their choices.
What upsets me is Sarah Palin unwillingness to let others have the power to make these tough choices according to their own belief set.

My wife and I discussed the "What if" question of Down Syndrome when she was pregnant, We did not have to face that heart-wrenching choice, but if we did- our decision would have been not to carry to term. If faced with our 17 year old child informing us that she was with child, we would not encourage her to get married; but instead to have an abortion or give the child up for adoption. If I had a 17 year old son that told us how he got his friend pregnant, I would not encourage him to marry the girl. Of course I would not tolerate him just "Walking-away"- but I could not in good conscience let him give up his dreams. He would be selling himself short, and living a life filled with regret, and what ifs that would tear him apart and result in him being an unhappy husband and father, which would make both the mother and child's lives both miserable.

But, maybe I'm wrong?
The point is, while I respect her right to follow her Beliefs and values; she wants to make it illegal for me to follow mine. That is what I object to - that is what gets me angry.

Sure I think we should respect the privacy of candidate's children; however
When you force others to follow your will, People have the right to call you on it.
during Sarah Palin's 2006 gubernatorial race, Palin again stated that she is against abortion unless a doctor determined that a mother's life would end due to the pregnancy. That even in the case of her own daughter being the victim of rape, she would still oppose the right to an abortion. These views are well outside the mainstream. I am sorry to say this, but, I cant help but feel that the impending marriage of her daughter,is less a tale of "Star-Crossed-Lovers" and more an example of old fashion "Shotgun-Wedding".
But that might be popular not just with Anti-Abortion crowd, but the NRA as well.

Larry Lubell