Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Bush's Role in the Sub Prime Mess
I haven't yet heard Bush's name really mentioned regarding the financial disaster caused by the sub-prime mortgage crisis yet. Well here's a tid bit from 2002 when Bush addressed HUD.
Remarks by the President on Homeownership - HUD
Bush's "Dream Plan" specifically targeted poor minorities all across America. I guarantee you that bundling these sub-prime loans was well discussed and thought out before hand. Someone needs to point Bush's role out in this mess to the world! Here are some excerpts from Bush's speech to HUD in 2002.
"Let me first talk about how to make sure America is secure from a group of killers, people who hate -- you know what they hate? They hate the idea that somebody can go buy a home. "
"I worry about our economy, because there are people who can't find work who want to work."
"We also have got to understand, in this land of plenty, there are pockets of hopelessness and despair. You know, I mentioned the word American Dream in Atlanta. I also recognize that some people aren't sure that dream extends to them. "
"...our jobs, our collective jobs, is to make sure that notion of the American Dream extends into every single neighborhood around this country."
".....less than 50 percent of African Americans and Hispanics own homes. That ownership gap signals that something might be wrong in the land of plenty. And we need to do something about it."
"But it's going to mean we're going to have to work hard to achieve the goal, all of us. And by all of us, I mean not only the federal government, but the private sector, as well."
"And so I want to, one, encourage you to do everything you can to work in a realistic, smart way to get this done. I repeat, we're here for a reason. And part of the reason is to make this dream extend everywhere"
"The third problem is the fact that the rules are too complex. People get discouraged by the fine print on the contracts. They take a look and say, well, I'm not so sure I want to sign this. There's too many words. (Laughter.) There's too many pitfalls. So one of the things that the Secretary is going to do is he's going to simplify the closing documents and all the documents that have to deal with homeownership"
"It is essential that we make it easier for people to buy a home, not harder........We've got people who have newly arrived to our country, don't know the customs. We've got people in certain neighborhoods that just aren't really sure what it means to buy a home."
"There's some people out there that can fall prey to unscrupulous lenders.........." Bush goes on here, but I just find this an odd choice of words considering what has happened since.
"And so, therefore, I've called -- yesterday, I called upon the private sector to help us and help the home buyers. We need more capital in the private markets for first-time, low-income buyers."
Remarks by the President on Homeownership - HUD
Bush's "Dream Plan" specifically targeted poor minorities all across America. I guarantee you that bundling these sub-prime loans was well discussed and thought out before hand. Someone needs to point Bush's role out in this mess to the world! Here are some excerpts from Bush's speech to HUD in 2002.
"Let me first talk about how to make sure America is secure from a group of killers, people who hate -- you know what they hate? They hate the idea that somebody can go buy a home. "
"I worry about our economy, because there are people who can't find work who want to work."
"We also have got to understand, in this land of plenty, there are pockets of hopelessness and despair. You know, I mentioned the word American Dream in Atlanta. I also recognize that some people aren't sure that dream extends to them. "
"...our jobs, our collective jobs, is to make sure that notion of the American Dream extends into every single neighborhood around this country."
".....less than 50 percent of African Americans and Hispanics own homes. That ownership gap signals that something might be wrong in the land of plenty. And we need to do something about it."
"But it's going to mean we're going to have to work hard to achieve the goal, all of us. And by all of us, I mean not only the federal government, but the private sector, as well."
"And so I want to, one, encourage you to do everything you can to work in a realistic, smart way to get this done. I repeat, we're here for a reason. And part of the reason is to make this dream extend everywhere"
"The third problem is the fact that the rules are too complex. People get discouraged by the fine print on the contracts. They take a look and say, well, I'm not so sure I want to sign this. There's too many words. (Laughter.) There's too many pitfalls. So one of the things that the Secretary is going to do is he's going to simplify the closing documents and all the documents that have to deal with homeownership"
"It is essential that we make it easier for people to buy a home, not harder........We've got people who have newly arrived to our country, don't know the customs. We've got people in certain neighborhoods that just aren't really sure what it means to buy a home."
"There's some people out there that can fall prey to unscrupulous lenders.........." Bush goes on here, but I just find this an odd choice of words considering what has happened since.
"And so, therefore, I've called -- yesterday, I called upon the private sector to help us and help the home buyers. We need more capital in the private markets for first-time, low-income buyers."
Friday, January 18, 2008
Forget Reagan and Listen
All Barack Obama said was;
I don't want to present myself as some sort of singular figure. I think part of what's different are the times...I think Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not. He put us on a fundamentally different path because the country was ready for it. I think they felt like with all the excesses of the 1960s and 1970s and government had grown and grown but there wasn't much sense of accountability in terms of how it was operating. I think people, he just tapped into what people were already feeling, which was we want clarity we want optimism, we want a return to that sense of dynamism and entrepreneurship that had been missing.
Sadly, everyone STOPPED listening at Ronald Reagan. So, typical of the way things are today. I doubt Barack just said this off the top of his head without giving it much thought beforehand. I have always viewed Barack as a THINKER, and someone who has the ability to put things into context and see them in a whole picture. Barack is not a man of rhetoric and empty talking points. But, because you just might be, you STOPPED LISTENING as soon as Ronald Reagan was mentioned.
Ok, forget Ronald Reagan, and read this as a stand alone statement.
"I think they felt like with all the excesses of the 1960s and 1970s and government had grown and grown but there wasn't much sense of accountability in terms of how it was operating."
What was America going through during these times? Do you even remember? How did you and the rest of America feel during these years? Were you happy and confident with the direction of America? Or were you ready for "change" and a new direction? Barack did not say,"let's go back to the Reagan years", and he surely didn't in any way praise Reagan's policies.
And what about now, today, 2008, how do you feel?
Now let's take this part of Barack's statement as a stand alone also.
"..tapped into what people were already feeling, which was we want clarity we want optimism, we want a return to that sense of dynamism and entrepreneurship that had been missing."
What, you don't want "clarity" as to just what the hell direction America going anyway? Would you just rather continue to fight among one another, let alone the world, than to have a clear vision for America and just bicker over the use of Ronald Reagan's name?
Is "optimism" and hope and positive thinking ways for leadership not your idea of a better America?
Maybe you're just upset because Barack didn't inject "God" into his statement or, military, and most powerful nation, and flag, and prayer, AFTER he mentioned Ronald Reagan. Then again maybe your 're upset because this is all you thought of when you heard Ronald Reagan's name.
American's need to learn to LISTEN, and get out of the mentality that Ronald Reagan did bring to America. Stop thinking division and left and right, and Clinton, Reagan, and start thinking about America and where we want to go from here. I choose a path.
I don't want to present myself as some sort of singular figure. I think part of what's different are the times...I think Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not. He put us on a fundamentally different path because the country was ready for it. I think they felt like with all the excesses of the 1960s and 1970s and government had grown and grown but there wasn't much sense of accountability in terms of how it was operating. I think people, he just tapped into what people were already feeling, which was we want clarity we want optimism, we want a return to that sense of dynamism and entrepreneurship that had been missing.
Sadly, everyone STOPPED listening at Ronald Reagan. So, typical of the way things are today. I doubt Barack just said this off the top of his head without giving it much thought beforehand. I have always viewed Barack as a THINKER, and someone who has the ability to put things into context and see them in a whole picture. Barack is not a man of rhetoric and empty talking points. But, because you just might be, you STOPPED LISTENING as soon as Ronald Reagan was mentioned.
Ok, forget Ronald Reagan, and read this as a stand alone statement.
"I think they felt like with all the excesses of the 1960s and 1970s and government had grown and grown but there wasn't much sense of accountability in terms of how it was operating."
What was America going through during these times? Do you even remember? How did you and the rest of America feel during these years? Were you happy and confident with the direction of America? Or were you ready for "change" and a new direction? Barack did not say,"let's go back to the Reagan years", and he surely didn't in any way praise Reagan's policies.
And what about now, today, 2008, how do you feel?
Now let's take this part of Barack's statement as a stand alone also.
"..tapped into what people were already feeling, which was we want clarity we want optimism, we want a return to that sense of dynamism and entrepreneurship that had been missing."
What, you don't want "clarity" as to just what the hell direction America going anyway? Would you just rather continue to fight among one another, let alone the world, than to have a clear vision for America and just bicker over the use of Ronald Reagan's name?
Is "optimism" and hope and positive thinking ways for leadership not your idea of a better America?
Maybe you're just upset because Barack didn't inject "God" into his statement or, military, and most powerful nation, and flag, and prayer, AFTER he mentioned Ronald Reagan. Then again maybe your 're upset because this is all you thought of when you heard Ronald Reagan's name.
American's need to learn to LISTEN, and get out of the mentality that Ronald Reagan did bring to America. Stop thinking division and left and right, and Clinton, Reagan, and start thinking about America and where we want to go from here. I choose a path.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Move-On
Hillary said in New Hampshire: This is very personal for me. I have so many ideas for this country and I just don’t want to see us fall backwards. emphasis mine.
Fall backwards? How much more backwards can America be right now? What is it Hillary fears that America would fall backwards on? Is she afraid of moving backwards on the lousy lop-sided trade deals that have cost millions of American jobs in the last 16 years? Perhaps Hillary doesn't want to see her powerful corporate lobbyist friends fall backwards and take a back seat to the American people when it comes to current policy on things like healthcare, pharmaceuticals, banking, television and radio market ownership, the politicization of our judicial system, and the fact that most Americans have sat idly by while our Constitution has been shredded, ripped apart and ignored completely. And oh, all that executive power that the next president will be handed due to our current totally backward thinking do nothing, spineless, self-absorbed Congress.
Maybe Hillary doesn't want to see the insane ideology of American domination of the Middle East to fall backwards. After all, the war machine certainly gives her lots of money now don't they. Then there's the current position of American policy on torture and rendition that perhaps Hillary doesn't want to see fall backwards either. Does Hillary view alternative energy for America as falling backwards also? And gawd forbid No Child Left Behind were to fall backwards.
We are currently a nation that is nearly $10 TRILLION dollars in debt, we are stuck in an illegal occupation of Iraq that costs us billions of dollars a day, healthcare is a mess, education is failing, wages are falling, prices are rising, the straw houses bush built to grow his economy are on fire, and Hillary tells Americans,".. I just don’t want to see us fall backwards."
Odd choice of words in my opinion. I think this is the gaff of the 2008 race for the Democratic nomination. Hillary has stolen Obama's message about change and hope and confidence in the American people, but then subconsciously slips her real view on how she see's those changes as backwards. What would Freud say I wonder? I mean considering her past support for all the things that have really put America on this backward track we've been on for so long and all.
Hey Hillary, maybe you should have said "Move-on" instead of fall backwards.
Fall backwards? How much more backwards can America be right now? What is it Hillary fears that America would fall backwards on? Is she afraid of moving backwards on the lousy lop-sided trade deals that have cost millions of American jobs in the last 16 years? Perhaps Hillary doesn't want to see her powerful corporate lobbyist friends fall backwards and take a back seat to the American people when it comes to current policy on things like healthcare, pharmaceuticals, banking, television and radio market ownership, the politicization of our judicial system, and the fact that most Americans have sat idly by while our Constitution has been shredded, ripped apart and ignored completely. And oh, all that executive power that the next president will be handed due to our current totally backward thinking do nothing, spineless, self-absorbed Congress.
Maybe Hillary doesn't want to see the insane ideology of American domination of the Middle East to fall backwards. After all, the war machine certainly gives her lots of money now don't they. Then there's the current position of American policy on torture and rendition that perhaps Hillary doesn't want to see fall backwards either. Does Hillary view alternative energy for America as falling backwards also? And gawd forbid No Child Left Behind were to fall backwards.
We are currently a nation that is nearly $10 TRILLION dollars in debt, we are stuck in an illegal occupation of Iraq that costs us billions of dollars a day, healthcare is a mess, education is failing, wages are falling, prices are rising, the straw houses bush built to grow his economy are on fire, and Hillary tells Americans,".. I just don’t want to see us fall backwards."
Odd choice of words in my opinion. I think this is the gaff of the 2008 race for the Democratic nomination. Hillary has stolen Obama's message about change and hope and confidence in the American people, but then subconsciously slips her real view on how she see's those changes as backwards. What would Freud say I wonder? I mean considering her past support for all the things that have really put America on this backward track we've been on for so long and all.
Hey Hillary, maybe you should have said "Move-on" instead of fall backwards.
