Rep. Barney Frank: Wall Street Journal Editorial Board Does It Again

Rep. Barney Frank: Wall Street Journal Editorial Board Does It Again: "That same year, when the Bush administration insisted that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac raise the percentage of below-median income homeowner mortgages they bought, I was correctly quoted in a Bloomberg article on June 17th as saying that this would 'do some harm,' and the writer noted that 'Frank's comments echo concerns...that the new goals will undermine profits and put new homeowners into dwellings they can't afford.'
It was a consistent series of statements like that on my part, and efforts to act on them --although these were often unsuccessful when I was in the minority -- that led frequent Republican economic appointee and Wall Street Journal contributor Larry Lindsey to write in April of this year that 'Barney Frank is the only politician I know who has argued that we needed tighter rules that intentionally produce fewer homeowners and more renters. Politicians usually believe that homeownership rates should - must - go ever higher.'
In fact, I was one of the supporters in 1994 of the legislation that directed the Federal Reserve to restrict inappropriate mortgages at the subprime level, and I also lamented Alan Greenspan's refusal to implement this - a refusal which he in a forthright manner acknowledged recently was a grave error. When he refused to do this, I and others in Congress, mostly but not only Democrats, pushed for legislation to restrict subprime mortgages."

This is the money quote. The Ayn Rands of America have attempted to put the blame on this entire crises on the left and particularly the poor. Just listen to Rush or Fox "News" on any given day. But the facts do not support their arguments. But when has reality driven anything for current "conservative" Republicans.

Rep. Barney Frank: Wall Street Journal Editorial Board Does It Again

Rep. Barney Frank: Wall Street Journal Editorial Board Does It Again: "For example, on February 18, 2002, at a hearing on the budget I said 'I am in favor of trying to help lower-income people get the advantages of homeownership...but almost by definition, the large majority of poor people are going to need rental housing.' On March 6, 2004, the National Journal reported that 'When the FHA's plan to insure subprime loans was included in a Senate-passed appropriations bill, Frank...a staunch supporter of low-income housing, wrote a highly critical letter urging that the measure not be included ... Not only had the House committee not examined ...the proposal he said then, but the measure also offered no protection against lenders inappropriately steering people towards these high-cost loans. Nor did it offer safeguards to ensure that participants 'were fully suitable for homeownership.''"

Here is the Wall Street Journal assisting the Fox "News" project to dumb down America on the mortgage crises. It is always best when you screw up royally to blame someone else. Anyone.

A new Senate star emerges from the auto row - Capitol Hill- msnbc.com

A new Senate star emerges from the auto row - Capitol Hill- msnbc.com: "Folksy, wry, and relentlessly focused on detail, Corker has outshined all his GOP colleagues on the Banking Committee and most of his Democratic ones in interrogating the auto industry executives and UAW President Ron Gettelfinger."

Finally, a real Republican emerges from the trash heap of the past fourteen years.

Pentagon faulted for not preparing for roadside bomb threat - Yahoo! News UK

Pentagon faulted for not preparing for roadside bomb threat - Yahoo! News UK: "The US Marine Corps asked the Pentagon's inspector general to perform the audit after coming under fire for setting aside an urgent request from field commanders in 2005 for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) armored vehicles.
'DoD (Department of Defense) was aware of the threat posed by mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in low-intensity conflicts and of the availability of mine-resistant vehicles years before insurgent actions began in Iraq in 2003,' the audit found.
'Yet DoD did not develop requirements for, fund, or acquire MRAP-type vehicles for low-intensity conflicts that involved mines and IEDs,' a summary of the report said.
'As a result, the department entered into operations in Iraq without having taken available steps to acquire technology to mitigate the known mine and IED risk to soldiers and Marines,' it said."

Just another dry report that some graduate student will use in his thesis proving the incompetence and disdain for the American military by the administration of George W. Bush. Just salute and do it. Do not ask questions as the chicken hawks know it all.

Watchdogs Chide Treasury on Bailout - WSJ.com

Watchdogs Chide Treasury on Bailout - WSJ.com: "In separate testimony, the Government Accountability Office and a congressional oversight panel said Treasury has doled out billions of dollars to banks with no way to ensure they comply with government-mandated restrictions, or they are using the money to help increase the availability of credit to consumers.
The four-person oversight panel, in its first report to Congress, said it found Treasury has 'administrated the [Troubled Asset Relief Program] without seeking to monitor the use of funds provided to specific financial institutions.' (Read the full oversight panel report)
'Treasury cannot simply trust that the financial institutions will act in the desired ways; it must verify,' the 38-page report said.
Gene Dodaro, acting comptroller general of the U.S., acknowledged the program has been in place only a short time, but said GAO 'found that Treasury has yet to address a number of critical issues.'
These include basic problems such as how to ensure banks are complying with executive compensation and dividend restrictions, and the broader issue of how to measure the success of the program. Treasury has also failed to formalize plans for the upcoming transition to the administration of President-elect Barack Obama, and has not established a system of internal controls.
'Until these issues are resolved, there is heightened risk that the interests of the government and taxpayers may not be adequately protected and that [Treasury] may not achieve its mission in an effective and efficient manner,' Mr. Dodaro said in prepared remarks before the House Financial Services Committee."

Here is another example of what historians will be looking at sometime in the future. And it will show the incompetence and contempt for the American Taxpayer by the Bush administration in a major way.

Media Matters - Hannity complained of DOJ bias in rapid Stevens prosecution, but Stevens reportedly requested speedy trial

Media Matters - Hannity complained of DOJ bias in rapid Stevens prosecution, but Stevens reportedly requested speedy trial: "Summary: On his radio show, Sean Hannity complained of Sen. Ted Stevens' speedy trial on corruption charges, contrasting it with Rep. William Jefferson's case, saying that 'justice moves at lightning speed' for Republicans like Stevens. Hannity added, 'Not only do you get indicted, you get tried, you get convicted in record time, but the Justice Department moves so fast, it's like some kind of national emergency.' But Hannity did not note that Stevens and his attorneys reportedly requested a speedy trial following his indictment so that Stevens could 'clear his name' before Election Day."

Just another example of a Fox "News" presenter dumbing down America. And he does it five days a week on national TV, and A"thank God Rush saved it"M radio.

Joe the Plumber: McCain "Appalled Me," Made Me Feel "Dirty"

Joe the Plumber: McCain "Appalled Me," Made Me Feel "Dirty": "While Wurzelbacher was critical of McCain, he gushed about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. 'Sarah Palin is absolutely the real deal,' he said.
You know, I only got to spend a short amount of time with her but, you know, it was been asked if I felt any presence when I was with John McCain or Barack Obama. You know, with Sarah Palin, I don't want to say I felt a presence but she definitely had energy and she definitely went to work for American people, and it disgusts me on how often they try to bash her just for her sincerity. It's just, you know, she really wants to work for America and I mean, I wish people would listen to her and let them, and let her work for us. You know, she wants to serve us. She's not looking for power."

Man, I just can't quit her. Please God, Sarah and Joe or Sarah and Huckaf**k, or Sarah and Baseball Mitt. Please God, just keep Sarah and Joe the Plumber at the top of the Republican Party. The country needs them.