MyFoxSpokane

Are we at the final crossroads? Are we at the crossroads of our Country and our World? We are Americans, we have always been the basic design for freedom in the world. We are same people who have fought and died for freedom all over the world, and to think we are ready to give up our basic beliefs and freedoms. Giving them up to people who believe that the world should be controlled by one government. Is that to be our fate, are our children and grand children going to be raised other than American? We have people right here in this country that feel that way and some of them are high up in our own government. The theorists of the Global Economy and those who are advocates of open borders are just the first wave. We are being sold out from within and the snow job has been so great that no one is even actively fighting it. It all sounds so ridiculous that I even hate to put my name to it, but if you look at the events of the last few decades and put them in order what do you come up with?

1. We have allowed the United Nations to locate here in America, and in doing so gave them total diplomatic immunity to our laws. Giving them a place to spy and gather information on us.

2. We slowly allow much of our Gross National Product to be shipped offshore in the form of jobs and allow the products to come back with little on no duty involved.

3. We add NAFTA to the mix and offer them duty free access to our country through Mexico. We even offer to build them a highway to the middle of our country to haul their goods.

4. Our government turns its back on the fact that we have at least 20 million illegal immigrants living among us, using up our medical facilities and placing huge demands on our schools and our public works.

5. We are told we do not have enough natural resources to support ourselves, so we import billions of barrels of oil from the Middle East giving them in return Trillions of our dollars. We do this when it’s well known that we have large resources available for drilling right here in our own area of the world.

6. We are being sold a ‘Bill of Goods’ about Global Warming, and how we must believe without proof that it exists. We are told that we can buy Carbon Credits and it will help our earth somehow. The only thing green about this scam is the money that is being made off of it. It has added huge cost increases to every product we make here in America, and who pays for it? We do.

7. This is not something that either political party is responsible for, this is far bigger than the Republicans and the Democrats here in America. This is a global push for control and if you want to find the source, find the money trail. It’s a private club that only the richest can join.

8. The Europeans were told that going to the ‘Euro’ would help their economy. What it has done is help the economy of the poorer nations in the area and depleted the richer ones treasuries. Who benefits from this, only the club members who bought into these third world countries and have made billions in the process. The same people who have dreams of controlling the world and have the money to do so. I’ll bet they have a few Carbon Credits to sell too.

Now I don’t want to sound like a total Whacko, but I’m afraid for our way of life. I don’t think every day Americans ever believed that this could happen here. I think this global financial crisis is just another step in the plan. Out of panic we allow ourselves to lose more and more freedoms. Freedoms that are sacred to our way of life. The United States Government buying into business and financial institutions is unheard of, it’s Socilaism, and it’s the first step towards total government control. What privately held company can compete with the government? Have you priced ammunition lately? It is getting scarcer and higher priced daily. Gee, do you suppose they don’t want us to have any?

I believe the start of this was when we allowed foreign countries to buy America. I know, it’s been going on for a long time but did you know how much money we have allowed China to invest here in America? Do you know how much money we have given the Saudi’s to buy our country with? This is money that we have given them because we have not allowed ourselves to be self sufficient in oil. It may be too late for us to drill for oil, maybe we should just drill into their bank vaults. Who owns our big companies and banks anyway, do we even know? How much of Citi Bank does China own?

For years we supplied the world with food, we were always known as the ‘Bread Basket of the World.’ Now we can barely afford to run our family farms and make a living. The government decided we should turn our corn into gasoline and what happened? They destroyed the corn market and raised food prices everywhere. We now have the Global Warmists in the government taxing the cattle ranchers, because their cows give off methane gas. If that was a real problem the plains must have been terrible in the 1800’s with those millions of Buffalo just wandering around passing gas. I guess old Buffalo Bill Cody and the boys who shot them for their pelts did the world a favor.

If I sound disgusted it’s because I really am. We need to somehow get back to reality in this country. The idea of the political correctness police running our country is appalling to me. I still believe we have enough people who believe in America, to get our country back. We don’t need to be isolationists but we don’t need to be globalists either. What ever happened to good old COMMON SENSE?

And that’s my opinion,
Don

URGENT, PLEASE READ AND FOLLOWUP. For the last two years I have been asking you all to get involved in the greatest injustice perpetrated on law enforcement. Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos have been locked up in Federal Prison long enough. The President has only a few days left to pardon these two Border Guards whose only crime was to shoot a drug smuggler in the rear end as he tried to escape capture. The man was carrying a large amount of drugs and was known to the Border Patrol as a mule for the cartels. I don’t know about you but I would rather have a drug smuggler with a bullet in his butt in prison than two guys who were defending my country. Federal Prosecutor, Johnny Sutton saw it differently and actually indemnified the smuggler so he could come here and testify. A few weeks later he was re arrested carrying more drugs to sell on our city streets. I guess he couldn’t get away so fast this time because he had a bullet in his butt. This travesty has gone on long enough. If anyone should be in prison it’s this prosecutor. Please take time right now to write to the White House and demand this pardon. This is a reprint of an article I posted several weeks ago and time is running out for these men.

REPRINT FROM NOVEMBER 12. 2008
One last time Mr. Bush, here’s your chance to redeem your self in the eyes of many. You have two Border Agents Compean and Ramos locked up in Federal Prison for doing what 90% of Americans wanted them to do. It’s in your power to commute their sentences and bring them back to their families. These men are hero’s to most Americans and are considered political prisoners by the Bush Administration. They should be released immediately and they should receive 100% of their back pay. Your Federal Prosecutor Johnny Sutton painted a picture of a poor itinerant Mexican just trying to make a living he met these two Border Agents who were on patrol in an area assigned to them to prevent smugglers and illegal aliens from entering the country. These two bullies shot this poor Mexican in cold blood in the rump as he tried to get away with his 700 pounds of dope. Come on Mr. Bush enough is enough. This Mexican who was shot was given immunity by Sutton to testify against these men and soon after was re arrested for smuggling even more dope into the country. If they had just aimed a little higher we would have less junk on our streets. These men have had to be placed in solitary confinement for their own protection as they are surrounded by Mexican drug smugglers in these prisons. It would be like you being placed in a prison with Al Qaeda prisoners who are sworn to kill you. What are you thinking Mr. President? What kind of deal with Mexico could you possibly have to keep these brave men incarcerated?

You have asked and received support from many of us for the war in Iraq. Actually we are embroiled in three wars Mr. President, Iraq, Afghanistan and the war on drugs which we are losing badly. We have documented cases of actual military incursions across our border where the Mexican Soldiers have guarded the escape of drug smugglers even firing their weapons in the process. All this and you let Sutton keep these two locked up in a living heii. I voted for you twice and I must say I am totally disappointed in your last term. Most of us were so proud of the way you took charge after 9/11 but you have failed badly in all areas of the domestic front. You have personally set back the Conservative Movement at least ten years. Please Mr. President I beseech you, release these men immediately and remove all stigma from their record. They and their families have suffered greatly at hands of your administration.

Ask the people of this Nation who they would call a hero, Scooter Libby whom you released immediately or Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean who are still locked up in prison. I guess if you’re not a Washington insider it just doesn’t count.

America it’s our fight now, we have do everything in our power to get these men released. They were doing their job trying to protect us when they were caught up in some insider event that I believe had nothing to do with what actually happened. The politics involved in this goes much deeper than just the wounding of a known drug smuggler. Cops shoot it out and wound drug dealers all the time and nothing ever is said about it, why then is this injustice still going on?

And that’s my Opinion,
Don

Dons political blog is on vacation. This is a special report. I know I said I was going to take a week off but this email came to me and I felt it was time sensitive. I have not verified the origin of the email but I have looked into the verification notes at the bottom of the articles. Any other verification or remarks on the content may be left on the blog.

emailed to me an Dec. 26th 2008
Boy, was I confused. I have been hammered with the propaganda that it is the Iraq war and the war on terror is bankrupting us. I now find that to be RIDICULOUS.
I hope the following 14 reasons are forwarded over and over again until they are read so many times that the reader gets sick of reading them. I also have included the URL's for verification of all the following facts.

1. $11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each year by state governments.
Verify at: http://tinyurl.com/zob77

2. $2.2 Billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches for illegal aliens.
Verify at: http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html

3. $2.5 Billion dollars a year is spent on Medicaid for illegal aliens.
Verify at: http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html

4. $12 Billion dollars a year is spent on primary and secondary school Education for children here illegally and they cannot speak a word of=2 0English!
Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.0.ht

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5. $17 Billion dollars a year is spent for education for the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies.
Verify at http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.h

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6. $3 Million Dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens.
Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.h

tml

7. 30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens.
Verify at: http://transcripts..cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.

html

8. $90 Billion Dollars a year is spent on illegal aliens for Welfare & social services by the American taxpayers.
Verify at: http://premium.cnn.com/TRANSCIPTS/0610/29/ldt.01.html

9. $200 Billion dollars a year in suppressed American wages are caused by the illegal aliens.
Verify at: http://transcripts..cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.

html

10. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two and a half times that of non-illegal aliens. In particular, their children, are going to make a huge additional crime problem in the US.
Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/12/ldt.01.h

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11. During the year of 2005 there were 4 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens that Crossed our Southern Border also, as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from Terrorist Countries. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroin and marijuana, crossed into the U. S from the Southern border.
Verify at: Homeland Security Report: http://tinyurl.com/t9sht

12. The National policy Institute, 'estimated that the total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion or an average cost of Between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period.'
Verify at: http://www.nationalpolicyinstitute.org/pdf/deportation.

pdf

13. In 2006 illegal aliens sent home $45 BILLION in remittances to Their countries of origin.
Verify at: http://www.rense.com/general75/niht.htm>

14. 'The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration: Nearly One million sex crimes Committed by Illegal Immigrants In The United States .'
Verify at: http: // www.drdsk.com/articleshtml

The total cost is a whopping $ 338.3 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR. Are we THAT stupid? If this doesn't bother you then just delete the message. If, on the other Hand, it does raise the hair on the back of your neck, I hope you forward it To every legal resident in the country including every elected representative in Washington, D.C. - five times a week for as long as it takes to restore some semblance of intelligence in our policies and enforcement thereof.

I don't advocate streaming emails but since this started as an email feel free to use what ever info you glean from the content. I would also suggest you verify any info you send on.

And that's my opinion,
Don

Christmas like it used to be. As we enter into this most wonderful of seasons for Christians, I can’t help remembering so many Christmas’s past. The wonderful thing about living, is the fact that we can take so many great memories with us as we go through life. My family was never what you would call wealthy yet we had a spirit that made us feel rich. The Christmas season was like no other, we would go to town to see the fantastic displays in the store windows. People were always friendly and would stop and talk even to total strangers, as we walked from one store front to the other, enamored by the colorful and animated displays. Then we would climb into the old 37 Chevrolet and head out for home and a hot cup of cocoa. Christmas day was a busy one in our household. My parents always had an open house with traditional eggnog and cookies and banana or pumpkin bread. The eggnog was spiked with more than a little whiskey and was always a big hit with the neighbors. Dad was always in charge of the turkey and would get up early to put it on. It was normally about a 25 pound bird from a local farm. The open house would end about noon and mom would be busy getting things ready for all the Uncles and Aunts and all the Cousins to arrive. It would be dinner with all the trimmings, turkey and dressing, sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes and of course lots of cranberry sauce. My Aunt Ellen was always in charge of the pies and she was a master baker of pies, pumpkin, mince meat and as a special treat for us kids she would sometimes bring one of her famous rhubarb pies.

As I said, we weren’t wealthy but dad always made sure we had presents to open. Most of our gifts were homemade right down in his shop in the basement. We did have one rich Aunt who always remembered us kids at Christmas, Aunt Mabel was a beautiful blond just like a movie star, and always brought us something special. Christmas had some sad times too. I can remember when my oldest brother was away in the Pacific in WWII. Mom always made sure there was a place for him at the table, just in case he would come strolling in the door. We had several cousins who were also away at war during that period and prayers always were special at those times, hands seemed to squeeze a little harder as we said our grace. It seemed like things just got back to normal and Korea popped up, and my other brother was gone for two Christmas’s. We were the lucky family in our neighborhood though, every one of our cousins and my whole family came home safe. I guess our prayers were answered.

My dad was a nut about the Christmas tree, it had to be big and full. If there was a blank spot on the tree he would get the drill out make a hole in the trunk and piece in another branch. Our tree was always spectacular and no one could ever figure out how we always found one so perfect. (It’s our secret, dad would say.) Christmas went on like this for many years as I was growing up and when my wife Jan and I were married we couldn’t wait to host the big day. My family, mom dad and my brothers are all gone now but Jan and I still carry on the tradition of the special Christmas eggnog in the giant crystal punch bowl my dad used so many years ago. We still have friends in on Christmas morning and with each batch we toast to dad for making Christmas so special for all of us. The only difference is we take our tree out of the box, instead of the forest. Dad probably rolls over every year just thinking about that artificial tree.

I know this is probably boring to all of you but these memories are what makes Christmas special to me and my family and I just wanted to share that feeling with you. From my family to yours, a very Merry Christmas and skoal dad, here’s one for you.

This will be the last blog until after the New Year, so please be safe and have a wonderful Christmas and a very happy New Year.

GOD BLESS AND KEEP OUR TROOPS SAFE.

Don

When did the car companies lose their focus? Where did the Auto Companies go wrong? That’s a question for the ages and it will have several different answers depending on who you talk to. First of all I blame the management 30 to 40 years ago who thought the cash cow would never go away. They allowed their egos to run away with their commonsense. The contracts with the UAW are just an example of the greed and stupidity expressed by these people. The union using their typical strong arm methods threatened strikes at the drop of a hat. Management being so afraid of losing cash producing production would fold and give them what ever they wanted.

The quality standards during the period from the early 70’s to the mid to late 80’s was so shoddy that they gave the Japanese manufactures not only a foot in the door but allowed in their whole companies. While the American managers were blaming poor quality on the work force and not the process, the Japanese were discovering the process of Lean Manufacturing. After World War II, Sakichi Toyoda, who owned the Toyoda Spinning and Weaving company, wanted to build autos for the general public, not unlike Henry Ford in America. He smartly hired an efficiency expert named Taiichi Ohno to develop a method to produce high quality automobiles. During the next 30 years, Ohno developed the Toyota System of automobile production, now known as Lean Manufacturing. The whole bases of Ohno’s concept was the elimination of all waste and produce extremely high quality products.

Since Taiichi was building a car company out of an existing company he was fortunate because Toyoda, the owner of the spinning company had designed a system to shut-off the production line anytime a flaw was detected. He used this same concept on the automobile manufacturing production line. The line was stopped immediately when any flaw was discovered. Work check off sheets were developed by the workers themselves to inspect the production at the end of each work cycle. The workers were formed into teams that worked together with pride,to keep quality at its highest and production levels high at all times.

As I stated before, during the period before and shortly after the war the American manufactures were living the high life, no competition in sight so what ever it took to keep the line running was okay. Costs skyrocketed as they avoided strike after strike with minor cost increases due to labor demands, but there was no where else to go if you needed wheels. When Toyota hit the market in the U.S. they were first laughed at almost like the oil burning Honda two cycle motorcycles and only the nerds would be caught dead on one. Then in 1970 they brought in a little sports car called the 240Z, all hell broke loose and they soon were seen all over America. Toyota had arrived on our shores. Soon after, the Datsun pickup started showing up on jobsites around town. What did our automobile companies do, they laughed some more and came out with bigger and heavier cars and trucks. People soon found that they had a bonus in their little Toyotas and Datsuns,(the later eventually becoming Nissan) they didn’t break down very often. They kept going and going year after year. American cars at that time were considered scrap after 100K miles. Toyota was advertising that their vehicles were designed to go over 200K miles.

It has taken the present management of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler years to make up for these errors in judgement by their predecessors. The method of production used in the Toyota factories is not allowed in our factories because the UAW has threatened to walk out. Ford has built a plant in Brazil that uses a form of the lean production method and is extremely successful with it. I would suggest anyone interested in this subject go to the following web site and check it out.

http://info.detnews.com/video/index.cfm?id=1189

The UAW has said it will never allow this type of plant here in the U.S. To blame the present management alone for this crisis is wrong, other than the fact that I believe their salaries should be in line with the companies profit base. I also believe they have too deep of a management level in the area of production, this could be caused by a union who once again interfered with process. Too many people doing the same basic job. There is also the question of duplication in the various manufacturing areas, such as three or four different brands with the same basic construction, like Expedition and the Navigator or the Tahoe, Yukon. There must be a way to reduce costs by either making these units in the same plant side by side or doing away with the duplication entirely.

If the UAW would agree to a similar package as is presently used in the Southern auto manufacturing plants and the above changes were made in management and production, all could be well in the industry. If not I would suggest the Big Three move to one of the few remaining Right To Work States that are left.

And that’s my opinion,
Don
Research for this article was done through Wikipedia.

remembering days of Infamy I want to take this time to remember our Hero’s who fought and died on December 7th, 1941. I know I’m a few days late, but this is a date that should never go by unnoticed as long as we are able to draw a breath in freedom. It is a lesson learned the hard way, just as it was on September 11, 2001. Our children and our grand children should be taught to respect and honor these dates as long as they live. If we forget, we become susceptible to history repeated over and over. The cold blooded attack on Pearl Harbor changed the world for good. We Americans came together as one and with a monumental effort here at home, and across the sea’s, we faced our enemies and soundly defeated them. In my opinion, prior to the 9/11 attacks we had lost our focus on our vulnerability and much of the zest for freedom that our mothers and fathers of the 40’s had. There are a lot of reasons for this, one of which is the fact that we hadn’t had to face such diabolical evil in our lifetimes. The Cold War never actually brought us face to face with an enemy as did Pearl Harbor or September 11th. Once again I feel we have lost our zest for freedom, and this will more than likely lead to another tragic event for our history books to report. The Terrorist danger we are fighting against now, has been twisted and lost in the machinery of politics, and has really divided us as a people. The elections are over, and it’s time to remember that as Americans, we owe ourselves and our descendents the right to defend our Nation from all enemies.

In 1941 it took 5 years and hundreds of thousands of our precious youth, to win two wars fought at the same time. One in the Pacific, against the Japanese, and one in Europe, against Germany. Since that time, we have fought in two so called Police Actions, where our politicians put our military in harms way for political reasons and in each case, Korea and Viet Nam they did not allow them the opportunity for victory. As a serviceman from that era I can tell you personally of the resentment that has been felt by many who served. Our military should never be offered up without the full intentions of attaining victory. Not one drop of blood should be shed, nor one life lost to a cause, doomed to failure from the start. I know not all of you are feel the war in Iraq and Afghanistan is justified. A lot of this prejudice towards this fight is the results of our internal politics, and a press hostile towards the military. The fact is, we were brutally attacked by an evil enemy far worse than what we fought in 1941. We are now faced with a choice at this time in our history, we can either fold our tents and return home to await the next attack, or allow our military the opportunity to finish their task once and for all.

No one wants to see our brave men and women to come home more than I, but if they once again come home without victory, they will feel their losses will have been in vain. Our war on terror will not be over until Alqeda is defeated and is incapable of mounting an attack on ours or any other shores. We have the distinction of knowing where our enemy is hiding in the Mountains of Pakistan, and we should bomb them daily with gusto until the Tribal Counsel has had enough and either throws them out or turns them over for prosecution. There are no Civilians to worry about in this war, Alqeda has taught us that already.

And that’s my opinion,
Don

Lets shake up Congress Sometimes I find myself wondering why some things seem so clear to me, and are so ridiculously hard to solve for the Congress. Am I so smart that everyone should just listen to me or is it that Congress makes things so difficult on purpose just to hide more pork and confusion in them? Don’t flatter yourself Don, it’s the latter. It’s the M.O. of the Congress to make things so hard to understand that no one can figure out what, and why they do what they do. These guys make our laws, break our laws, and manipulate our laws and it seems we can do nothing about it. They spend our money foolishly, they talk about Billions like it was $100, and they only have to work for a few years and if they want they can retire for life. Do you ever wonder why so many Lawyers run for the Public Office? Stop and think about it, they are the only ones trained to understand the language used and they are only ones that can somehow justify, the moral dilemma that they must suffer, as they get deeper and deeper into the program. Just as they do when they have to represent a person that they know is guilty of a horrible crime.

I honestly believe that we should put mandatory term limits on the Senate and House, and do away with professional politician’s altogether. I cannot believe that we couldn’t find enough honest people to do the job. I think we should do away with the ridiculous retirement program that these guys have built for themselves, and make them rely on Social Security like the rest of us. No wonder not much has been said about the UAW retirement program by these guys. The one Congress has, is even more ridiculous. Our Congress should be a part time job, and their pay should be commensurable with the amount of time they spend on our business. The least time they spend in Washington the least damage they can do to us. With communications as good as they are, there is no reason to have them in Washington at all. They could set up a video discussion format and electronic voting, this would save a few Billion in transportation and expenses we presently pay for. It would really be a whole lot easier for them to get the feel of their constituency on various bills by just walking down the street where they live.

Visualize this; instantaneous communication, no travel expense, no more behind closed door deals, and the best thing of all, everything would be on the record. They would schedule time to make their presentations electronically and all members would be mandated to be in attendance for so many hours a day. Committees could be handled the same way. If it were up to me, I would do away with the ability to vote ‘present,’ and make them vote yes or no on the bills presented before them. This would force them to really pay attention to the actual business at hand and allow their constituents a chance to see how they really voted. Just think we could rent out the new visitor center and get some of the $200 Billion dollars in over run on construction costs back in our pockets. The only people old Harry Reid would have to smell, are his cronies down in Search Light, Nevada.

Now I know none of this is really going to happen, but I can dream can’t I? We spend Billions on these clowns and they spend so much effort on partisanship, that nothing gets accomplished anyway. I say, send them home and elect a group of our real peers, people who have had to work for a living, and know what it takes to keep a business afloat or a family fed. People who have had to balance their checkbooks like the rest of us, to make ends meet. To make things even better I feel elections should be the result of local campaigns not influenced by outside money. A candidate should only be allowed to take money from donors in his district. It will reduce the tremendous burden of fund raising in the millions, and make the candidates more responsible to the people who elect them and not the party.

And that’s my opinion,
Don

We saved the Bigshots, now lets save main street I tried to listen to the Senate Hearing today regarding the automobile industry bail out. The talk continues to be centered on only the auto makers and the UAW. Somewhere someone has to realize that there are millions more people involved. The dealer network across this land employs millions more, the auto parts store even more again. I have always disliked the theory, and the use of the word bailout. What the auto industry needs is to put their houses in order by renegotiating with their suppliers, the union and to realign their product line to eliminate duplication. (especially GM.). If they sold off the Saab line and redesigned the Hummer line they could get by with a smaller bridge loan to help them back into the black ink. Ford could follow suit with the elimination of duplication between the Ford, Mercury and Lincoln lines. The astronomical salaries being paid to top executives, seem to be ridiculous to the rest of the country. This is especially true when the companies are losing such big money. The only bonus’s that should be paid at a time like this is for creative ideas that make the company money.

There seems to be a misconception that the dealers cost the factories money, the only money the dealers have cost the factories according to the National Association of Auto Dealers (NADA) is fronting the signs that the dealers lease from the factories. Without the dealers, there would be no service centers to take care of their products.

The government should be involved as a guarantor for these loans only, and the banks we have already bailed out should handle them. These banks should demand a business plan with definite targets for improvements. If it were up to me I would establish a credit line that coincides with these targets.

I have heard in the press that they are talking about dropping several lines over all, this can have a terrible consequence on the dealers for those lines who have spent their money on product development, warranty parts and specialized training. There needs to be a plan in the works to assist both the dealers and the workers caught in the middle.

General Motors and Ford are publicly held companies but unless I’m mistaken, Chrysler is a privately held company and should be in an entirely different category.

Something that could be a real economic stimulus for Main street, would be to earmark a portion of these bridge loans to offset the tremendous losses suffered by dealerships during this recession. The hardest hit are small towns, where the dealerships are a main source of revenue. Who do you think sponsors Little League and Pop Warner Football. Who do the local schools go to for financial support?

It’s time to take the politics out of the equation, and for the Republicans and the Democrats to work together, to solve this crisis before it turns the industry into a rusty heap. Millions of lives are in the balance, lives who had absolutely nothing to do with causing this crisis.

And that’s my opinion,
Don

The Progressive movement What’s wrong with winning? I keep hearing from everywhere how young kids should learn to play games, but avoid keeping score. To me the whole idea of learning to play a game is to learn to win and also to learn to accept losing now and then, it’s just part of growing up. How do you prepare someone for the real world if they have never won at anything? I really don’t know who they’re trying to fool with this, because ask my grandson who won the soccer game and he’ll tell to the point what the score was. To me this is about as stupid as it can get. What are we raising, a generation of losers instead of champions. I have never seen a loser on a box of wheaties? Am I wrong or hasn’t always been the goal of parents to prepare their children for life, liberty and happiness?

I’m sorry if I offend anyone, but we have let a few self-promoting, so-called child psychologists possibly ruin a whole generation of great kids. It started with Dr. Benjamin Spock in the 60’s, and has spread throughout the education system. I do not advocate child beating or any type of child abuse, but a child who throws a tantrum, needs to be punished and a quick smack on the hynie never hurt any ones psyche. It may have caused some embarrassment, but I bet they thought twice about doing it again. Parents have become afraid of their children; you seldom see them chastise them when they are misbehaving in a public place. I have seen little girls go completely out of control in a mall, while their mothers just sit and wait for their tantrum to end. My folks would have boxed my ears in if I ever showed that type of disrespect.

When I pick up a magazine and read how a child psychiatrist or psychologist is advocating not keeping score in a game or not giving anyone a failing grade because it will effect their self confidence, it makes me want to shout. What gave these people the right to destroy the very fiber of American life? We are winners, we always have been and hopefully always will be. Teaching kids that it’s okay to lose offers no incentive for them to succeed in what ever they choose to do. Is that what has happened to our glorious Legislators? Were they taught that there should be no reward for winning? I can hear it now, don’t worry son, if you get into trouble someone will be there to bail you out. It is so sad to think that some of my greatest memories, football or baseball games that were won with an outstanding play, will possibly never be in my great grandsons future. Will he be taught that no matter what, someone will be there to take care of him, instead of conditioning him to be self-sufficient.

What will be next, will they decide for him that fishing or hunting is cruel, and not to be practiced? Will he even have the right to own a gun for his own protection, as he grows older? How will he even know right from wrong, if he is never allowed to fail or win? Now I’m not really worried about my great grandson, actually he’ll do just fine, his parents are well centered, and will give him the proper direction in his life to succeed. It’s the other kids I really worry about, the ones that will have to look life eyeball to eyeball someday, and really will have no idea what’s in store for them.

And that’s my opinion,
Don

Assets of experience When we reach a certain age life takes on a different perspective. What used to be normal suddenly becomes the oddity. What used to be funny becomes tired and childish. There are many examples of this but until one reach’s that stage it is impossible to comprehend. I guess this is what they call the generation gap. Movies, music and even dancing all takes on a different meaning. I spent years in the music business working with some of the top rockers in the 70’s, now any kind of loud music drives me right up a wall. I used to roughhouse and wrestle with my boys, now when they come over and start roughhousing with their small sons or daughters it makes me nervous and agitated. I guess when you get older you see things differently. When I was in the service I could wake out of a dead sleep and be ready for anything at a moments notice, now it takes me 5 minutes to walk urgently from the bed to the bathroom. At least two minutes are required just to straighten up enough to walk. The one thing that has not gone away is the knowledge and experience I have gained through a lifetime of effort.

I’m telling you this because it may be the difference in how we look at the same problems. You may jump quickly to a theory of how to accomplish something and I may take a few minutes to look back and call on personal experience to decide on how something should be. I’m not saying that your way is always wrong but many times I can remember having done or seen the same thin earlier in my life. Experience is not something to take lightly. We in America have a habit of thinking that only the new way is the right way, and we pass up the chance many times to learn from those who have experienced similar problems. I was asked not long ago that if this is true, why do we send youngsters to fight a war? It was a legitimate question, because it’s true, we do send youngsters to fight a war.

The best way I can explain this is, we take the most experienced troops in the field and make teachers of them. They have to somehow breathe knowledge into these raw recruits, and allow them to become an extension of their own being. Only when a recruit can actually feel that they can see through the eyes of their trainer, and call on the trainers experience as if it were their own, are they ready for combat. The soldier who bluffs his way through training and thinks he has all the answers is not going to survive very long in a firefight. The worse part is they may get others injured or killed in the process.

I think it’s safe to say that the military uses experience to teach survival and to prepare their charges for the duties that may be required of them. Yet we Americans as a whole refuse to call on the experience of our elders for guidance. A great example of this is the mandatory retirement of airline pilots, at 60 years old. It doesn’t matter that they have a lifetime of experience to call on, it doesn’t matter that their health is perfect. All that matters is that they must be getting senile because of their age. If I needed a brain surgeon I surely wouldn’t want the one who just graduated, I would rather have the 65 year old that had done this procedure successfully a million times.

In the next few months we will be faced with some of the toughest and most life altering decisions in our history. We can go only with the theory of youth or should we maybe weigh with it the experience of those who have survived previous economic disasters. Experience is an immeasurable asset and yet we waste it so many times by ignoring the lessons learned by those who have traveled the path before us.

And that’s my opinion,
Don

Please Mr. President! The other day the President took time from his busy schedule to pardon two turkeys. In that same period of time he could have used his efforts to pardon Compean and Ramos, two Border Agents who have been incarcerated for some time now for shooting and wounding a known drug trafficker in the buttocks. These men have been treated like gangsters and locked up with some of the very people they have arrested. They are now being held in isolation because of threats and beatings. It’s time Mr. President to pardon these men and make damn sure they get their back pay. This whole trial and subsequent hearings have been a sham and you and your staff no it. If anyone should be locked up it’s the Federal Prosecutor that perpetrated this sham.

You have asked and received support from many of us for the war in Iraq. Actually we are embroiled in three wars Mr. President, Iraq, Afghanistan and the war on drugs which we are losing badly. We have documented cases of actual military incursions across our border where the Mexican Soldiers have guarded the escape of drug smugglers even firing their weapons in the process. All this and you let the creep Johnny Sutton keep these two locked up in a living heii. I voted for you twice and I must say I am totally disappointed in your last term. Most of us were so proud of the way you took charge after 9/11 but you have failed badly in all areas of the domestic front. Please Mr. President I beseech you, release these men immediately and remove all stigma from their record. They and their families have suffered greatly at hands of your administration.

I call on every American who reads this to get involved. All you have to do is demand their release. These are not common crooks, they were doing the job they were appointed to do. The fact that the Prosecutor Johnny Sutton gave immunity to this drug smuggler so he could testify against Compean and Ramos, and then this despot turned around and was captured bring more drugs into the country just weeks later, should be lesson enough. I’ll bet Sutton is enjoying his holidays with his family, I don’t know how he could even sleep at night with these two on his conscience. Write to the President from every city in the country, let him know how disgusting this is. If you don’t want to write or don’t have the time, just send him this message:

Mr. President, FREE COMPEAN AND RAMOS, and reinstate them at full pay. They were doing what 90% of Americans asked that they do, protect our borders. There are millions of us watching what you do with them, if you think your legacy is in trouble now, just leave office without this injustice being corrected.

Americans for Justice

just cut this out and mail it to;
PARDON COMPEAN AND RAMOS,
c/o President George W. Bush,
1600 Pennsylvania ave.
Washington, D.C. 20500

For the sake of justice, please take the time to do this one small thing to right a grievous wrong that has been done.

And that’s my opinion,
Don

Hey dad, can you hear me? I wish I could still talk to my father. He and his generation experienced so much in their lifetime, that is the experience that is missing from our generation and from our leadership in general. The Great Depression of the twenty’s and thirties was at least 100 times worse than we have faced. Dad and his fellow blue collar workers traveled great distances to find a scrap of employment. While white collar workers were jumping out of windows my dad was building Coulee Dam. There was no bailout for them nor was there any welfare for he and my mother to fall back on. It changed people for life, as I have stated in earlier blogs, he never trusted the banks again until he was well into his 50’s.

Most people survived this period or should I say endured this era. The same generation went into World War II within a few years of the depression. Talk about having it rough, they fought their way through Europe and the Pacific Islands only to come home for three years and then off to Korea. Did I mention that many of the older ones were involved in World War I before the depression? When people of knowledge mention the Greatest Generation, they are referring to these men and women who through their grit and determination went on to build the greatest nation the world has ever seen. The strongest economy, the strongest military and the most resilient people that ever populated a continent. It has taken our generation just 40 years to destroy all that they had built.

I blame my father’s bunch for making life too easy for us. They didn’t want their children to suffer as they did. Commendable yes, smart no. We weren’t prepared to face the world as they were. We didn’t have the grit nor the backbone and we constantly proved it by just throwing money at whatever problems that may come up. There were no cures for economic problems, that would have been too cruel to those who failed to measure up. If we didn’t take care of them who would? We have in this generation created a welfare state that has destroyed the work ethic of America. Now we are expanding that welfare State by a bail out here and a bail out there, to the point that no one is taking responsibility for their own actions.

Life’s tough sometimes and that means the tough have to step up and take charge. We must learn the word no, it seems to have escaped from our vocabulary and is the missing element in our world today. If we continue down this path we will by the end of the next decade be totally at the mercy of stronger nations. We mock the civil rights in China, yet they are the ones who through grit and determination will be the conquers of the future. Yes they are cruel masters of their own people, yet they have built a strong nation both economically and militarily. They have responded our criticism with disdain, they have seen what our ways have done to weaken or resolve and ability to lead the world. I do not suggest that we become like China, I do propose we start becoming more conservative in our response to critical matters. Throwing money at everything has proven to be the wrong way. We can start by teaching our children that life is not always a bowl of cherries and sometimes they will lose. We have created a generation of people who think it’s okay to lose and just turn the other cheek and everything will be fine. Where has this approach gotten us so far? We sure as heck won’t ever be known as the Greatest Generation as it stands now.

And that’s my opinion,
Don

Are we next? The terror attack in Mumbai, India has Alqeda written all over it. From the precision timing to the staging itself showed a great deal of planning and Alqeda style training. It’s now time for the government of Pakistan to either ramp up their anti terror program in the mountains, or let us do it for them. No more stalls and sovereignty claims to hold off our bombers. I say flatten the these terrorist hideouts to oblivion. I’m sorry some civilians are going to die but in case you didn’t notice, some died yesterday too, in Mumbai.

What scares the heck out of me is that this whole thing looks like a practice run for a shot here in the States. I have felt for months that it was coming and probably to the West Coast as the major cities there, are so close to the sea. Speedboats could be off loaded from a freighter easily within reach of several major ports. We already know they have people imbedded here in the U.S. so how hard would it be to have a van waiting to whisk them off to any number of hotels or resorts in California, Oregon or Washington. Remember these guys don’t need an exit plan, they are totally prepared to die for the cause.

With the governments criminal lack of attention to either of our borders, leaves other possibilities for penetration, that would have little chance of failure. Somewhere, somehow, we have to get the idea across to these imbeciles in charge, that we need to close our borders. Why can’t they see the handwriting on the wall? The irony of the fact that why we continue to keep Compean and Ramos, the two Border Patrol Agents who tried to help secure our sovereign border in prison, totally escapes me. For all we know we could be letting in hundreds of Alqeda as we speak. I hate to think that the only thing stopping such an attack from Mexican soil, is the corrupt Mexican officials in charge there.

If a similar attack to the one in Mumbai was to happen in San Francisco or Seattle, how long would it take the counter insurgent teams to react? I’ll guaranty you that with the Terrorists desire to kill and their persistence to die for their cause, many would be lost before a reaction could be mounted. Why do we have to wait for it to happen before we clean out their terror camps in Pakistan? We know where the Pakistani nukes are located and we could probably take them out within minutes with a precision attack for the air with cruise missiles and penetrating smart bombs so that can not be the reasoning. I don’t know about you but I am sick of being told that we can’t hit them first for a change. These are not people that we will ever be able to convert to our way of life, or even be able to coexist with.

It’s time to act and act quickly or the next attack just might be right in your neighborhood. First and foremost close our borders to anyone who doesn’t belong here. Secondly give the Pakistani’s a warning through diplomatic channels that they have only a few days to react or we will carry out our own Jihad on the terrorists.

And that’s my opinion,
Don

What did we learn in the debate last night? For one thing we learned that John McCain is not an orator and Obama is. We learned that substance is not what we say but what we do. The American people have been fooled before by smooth orators many times; Jim Jones, Jim Baker, David Koresh, Marshall Applewhite and so many more. We are accustomed to hearing about these things and they seem to roll off peoples back. Some are so ready for change that they care less about a candidates background. I’m sure the people who followed any of these so called leaders felt the same way. Senator Obama may be just the ticket for our society but I’m not about to take his word for it, I want to see facts about his background before he becomes my president. I would like to see his thesis from collage to see what his thoughts were back then, I would like to get a real understanding of his relationship with the domestic terrorist Ayres, I think we need to know his real feeling toward Reverend Wright and what his relationship with ACORN has been. There have been so many radical people in his background that have not been yet revealed by the major media sources and I feel we should get to the bottom of his relationships before jumping in on his bandwagon.

Who is John McCain? He’ a terrible Orator we know that but what are his true values? He is a war hero, has been a Senator for many years. Is known as a maverick in his party and has jumped party lines many times in the past to get his agenda through. He has built inter party relationships with several democratic senators and has joint authored many bills that have crossed party lines. He has been vetted by every media representative in the country and some overseas.

I know I will get a lot of flak for comparing Obama to the above characters but we don’t know anything about him. He was a neighborhood organizer for the Daley machine in Chicago and that could be a problem for him. He has associated himself with people like Tony Rezzco who is now in prison. His longtime friendship with William Ayres. These thing have a enough poison in them that they require real answers. I only ask the diehard followers to examine the facts as they are presented. You are not just messing with your country it’s mine too and I really don’t look forward to a socialistic America and that is how I feel we are headed.

And that’s my opinion,
Don

Tonight during the debate, Senator Obama showed a glimmer of his true self. I refer you to the fact that he repeatedly ignored time constraints during the debate. This occurred several times even after repeated warnings by Tom Brokaw, that the time constraints had been agreed to before the debate by both parties in the debate. And, finally Senator McCain was forced to demand equal time if Senator Obama was going to continue that behavior.

Now, I say that we saw a bit of his true self or character, for the following reasons:

1. He has no regard for keeping his word--He did not abide by agreed to constraints.

2. He has little regard for others in forcing himself first--he over ran Senator McCain in speaking while Senator McCain was supposed to have the floor.

3. He does not abide by the rule of law--he protracted his speaking times.

4. He has limited ability to think on or plan for subjects which require strategic or tactical thinking--He should have had a strategy to get his ideas across to the people without breaking pre-existing rules of order.

5. He has not been open to the people about his plans for them in the future--Witness the generalities with which he stated that some of his plans might have to wait because of the economy, not stating which ones and agreeing to Senator McCain's possible choice of a Treasury Secretary.

I think that I have said enough that you might be able to discern for yourself the difference between Senator McCain and Senator Obama. It is my belief that Senator McCain is a Gentleman of Honor and a Statesman, as well as a true Patriot. I believe that Senator Obama is Politician. And, there is a difference between the two.

With the world around us going crazy how should we respond? We could be panic stricken and sell off our future or work out the problems and survive this financial crisis.

How did all this happen?
Fannie Mae was created in 1938 as part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal. The collapse of the national housing market in the wake of the Great Depression discouraged private lenders from investing in home loans. Fannie Mae was established in order to provide local banks with federal money to finance home mortgages in an attempt to raise levels of home ownership and the availability of affordable housing.

Initially, Fannie Mae operated like a national savings and loan, allowing local banks to charge low interest rates on mortgages for the benefit of the home buyer. This lead to the development of what is now known as the secondary mortgage market. Within the secondary mortgage market, companies such as Fannie Mae are able to borrow money from foreign investors at low interest rates because of the financial support that they receive from the U.S. Government. It is this ability to borrow at low rates that allows Fannie Mae to provide fixed interest rate mortgages with low down payments to home buyers. Fannie Mae makes a profit from the difference between the interest rates homeowners pay and foreign lenders charge.

For the first thirty years following its inception, Fannie Mae held a veritable monopoly over the secondary mortgage market. In 1968, due to fiscal pressures created by the Vietnam War, Lyndon B. Johnson privatized Fannie Mae in order to remove it from the national budget. He also put in place at that time additional programs as part of his Great Society Program.

New York Times - Clinton Adminstration Pressured Fannie Mae
September 30, 1999

In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.
The action, which will begin as a pilot program involving 24 banks in 15 markets -- including the New York metropolitan region -- will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. Fannie Mae officials say they hope to make it a nationwide program by next spring. Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits.

The company was under additional pressure to go deeper into unqualified home loans during the 90’s by the politicians who wanted more minority lending. When the Bush administration asked for an investigation in 2003 to these practices they were blocked by Barney Frank and Christopher Dodd who claimed all was well in these companies and that an investigation would just hurt minority loan possibilities. Many of these politicians were getting financial aid from Fannie and Freddie including Obama and McCain. Obama receiving more than 120K and McCain over 20k. This is not a just a republican fiasco as we have been told, there is plenty to go around in both parties. It started when Johnson privatized these companies to fool the public as to his budget deficits and was magnified during the Clinton years by the push for minority housing and the elimination of mortgage redlining. This was all brought to a head when Speaker Pelosi used the opportunity of the congressional vote to place radical partisan politics into the congressional record blaming the Bush administration policies for all things negative. The Bush administration and Senator McCain had actually called for oversight in 2003 and were rejected by the Democratic House.

We will have plenty of time to place blame for this mess but first we have to get through it intact. Our goal should be to redevelop a financial basis in which to judge our future achievements. All previous goals and targets have been obliterated and should be discarded.

Just like this bailout, we are being railroaded into believing that Obama is the answer for change by the liberal press. We really need to spend some time studying his personal history and properly vetting his candidacy before rushing headlong into more problems. Our goal should be to place our trust in the person with the very best chance of making America stronger and safer both physically and monetarily. I would suggest everyone watch the David Asner program regarding the whole story behind the Freddie and Fannie collapse. Hopefully Fox will re air it soon.

To those who are for Obama, I am not asking you to change your vote, I am asking you to open your minds to the fact that he could possibly be a totally different person than you believe him to be. It doesn’t hurt to be sure does it? Wouldn’t you rather be safe than sorry, this is the only country we have.

And that’s my opinion,
Don

When all is said and done we will have chosen a new President who will be expected to guide us through the next four years. This person has to be very careful as we are in such a vulnerable stage in our country. We have a financial crisis on one hand and an on going war against terrorism on the other. We have just had our House vote a 700 Billion dollar bailout supposedly for the banking industry to keep this crisis from effecting us poor folk on Main street. From what I can tell there seems to be some added pork to this program. We cannot gut the military to survive this economic slow down. That would put us at risk every day for a terrorist attack. So where is it going to come from? The easiest way I know is to build the economy and get industry rolling again. Here are a couple of ways to do just that.

The thing no one is really focused on in this blame game called campaigning is real heath care solutions. Obama seems like he wants to promise everything to everybody and we all know that socializing medicine is not going to work, McCain hasn't focused on the problem yet so what needs to be done? As a business man employing over 20 people I can tell you the cost for medical coverage is totally out of hand. The way it works now is that 2 or 3 people have medical conditions that drive up the cost for all employees. Should I lay off those with conditions? I think not, these people have been with us through thick and thin and they would be unable to obtain insurance on their own. I believe that if the government is going to subsidize health care one way it could be done is through employer medical plans. I have had to change our policies as a company to avoid layoffs. Once upon a time we were able to pay 100% of the employees health care policy and 60% of the family. We are now only able to afford 70% of the employee and 40% of the family. This has created hardships for several of our people as well as the company this year because costs have skyrocketed. We have had a few drop from the program and I am sure are going without. If you want the government to create a medical assistance program do it by offering a special subsidized package through Medi-care for those hard to insure employees. This will allow much lower rates for the rest of the crew. It would also be a huge benefit if we could put a cap on medical damage awards that drive up Doctors malpractice insurance. Fat chance for that with the world being run by lawyers but worth a try.

Economic help for existing small business; Instead of putting all the 700 billion into the hands of wall street and a few pork driven projects maybe we could save a few small business’ by loosening up the SBA and funding a program for quick financing up to $500,000 for small business. I have heard just this last week of many companies who have survived for years closing their doors for lack of financing. Downturns like this one really have a terrible affect on small companies. Business drops off and the overhead goes on. Usually they try to hang onto their employees too long and pay the consequences. These would be good risk loans compared to some that the government is planning to bail out. This would also create a surge in business by maintaining employment strength in an area. Car Dealers all over the country are failing because of this lack of consumer credit availability. You may think it doesn’t matter if a car dealer fails but what about the hundreds of families that it affects and the related business' that suffer? What happens when you go to buy your next vehicle and there is no competition for the surviving dealer, whoops there goes the price.

I wish we could get this election over with and start our recovery. The problem is the election won’t stop partisan politics it never has and nothing good will come without both sides working together. Term limits is sounding better and better.

And that’s my opinion,
Don

Whoa, hold on there partners, you’re in such a rush that you just may have made a huge mistake. Under estimating the anger of Americans is not that wise. Ask Hirohito. Our goal here in this country has always been to work hard and develop wealth by saving and investing in our future. You may have just given away our future to a bunch of crooks on Wall Street and panderers on the hill. We out west don’t really cotton to this so called bailout of the rich and arrogant. I see nothing that will free up main street in all this, no easing of car loans or any other consumer advantages. Assuming that by re liquefying the rich guys and in turn the shallow politicians who have helped rape these financial institutions all will be well is like the terrorists blowing up the World Trade Center and assuming we won’t retaliate. This little fiasco better work and work great or you can kiss your cushy jobs goodbye. For the Democrats to try to blame this all on deregulation is about as sane as Clinton saying he didn’t have sex with that woman. McCain called for an investigation 2 years ago and Barney Frank and Senator Dodd blocked it saying that it was well and under their control. When the administration attempted to warn of the volatility of Fannie and Freddie they blocked that also.

The Republicans are not totally clean in this as well. They have had their collective hands in this cookie jar too. Not as deeply as Senator Dodd, Obama and Congressman Frank but in there just the same. I wondered what it would take to get some type of non partisan activity on the hill and now I know, just cut off their money source.

For Barak Obama to say his hands are clean is just as ridiculous. He hired the two main perpetrators of the demise of Fannie and Freddie to be his financial advisors, that is until they got too hot to deal with then just like he did with Reverend Wright he divested himself from them. Obama is the number two recipient of these monies from Fannie and Freddie. I guess some of you just believe that he didn’t have sex with that woman therefore you can assume Obama didn’t have his hand in the jar either.

This is going to be a rocky road for the next few months as we the people you borrowed from (using your language not mine) wait to see the results of your action. If all of a sudden as I anticipate it will, the market keeps dropping and the dollar shows a continued weakness and you are forced to come back for more, I can tell you all heii will break loose. In all honesty, I sincerely hope you are right and all gets back to normal as I only want what’s best for this great country.

And that’s my opinion,
Don

Where did our financial woes begin?
Clearly understand where the problem originated and who they work for now.

Interesting info . . . Here is a quick look into 3 former Fannie Mae Executives who have played big on Wall Street.

Franklin Raines was a Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Fannie. Mr. Raines was forced to retire from his position with Fannie Mae when auditing discovered severe irregulaties in Fannie Mae's accounting activities. At the time of his departure The Wall Street Journal noted, "Raines, who long defended the company's accounting despite mounting evidence that it wasn't proper, issued a statement late Tuesday conceding that "mistakes were made" and saying he would assume responsibility as he had earlier promised. News reports indicate the company was under growing pressure from regulators to shake up its management in the wake of findings that the company's books ran afoul of generally accepted accounting principles for four years." Fannie Mae had to reduce its surplus by $9 billion.

Raines left with a "golden parachute valued at $240 Million in benefits. The Government filed suit against Raines when the depth of the accounting scandal became clear. http://housingdoom.com/2006/12/18/fannie-charges/ The Government noted, "The 101 charges reveal how the individuals improperly manipulated earnings to maximize their bonuses, while knowingly neglecting accounting systems and internal controls, misapplying over twenty accounting principles and misleading the regulator and the public. The Notice explains how they submitted six years of misleading and inaccurate accounting statements and inaccurate capital reports that enabled them to grow Fannie Mae in an unsafe and unsound manner." These charges were made in 2006. The Court ordered Raines to return $50 Million Dollars he received in bonuses based on the miss-stated Fannie Mae profits.

Tim Howard - Was the Chief Financial Officer of Fannie Mae. Howard "was strong internal proponent of using accounting strategies that would ensure a "stable pattern of earnings" at Fannie. In everyday English - he was cooking the books. The Government Investigation determined that, "Chief Financial Officer, Tim Howard, failed to provide adequate oversight to key control and reporting functions within Fannie Mae,"

On June 16, 2006, Rep. Richard Baker, R-La., asked the Justice Department to investigate his allegations that two former Fannie Mae executives lied to Congress in October 2004 when they denied manipulating the mortgage-finance giant's income statement to achieve management pay bonuses. Investigations by federal regulators and the company's board of directors since concluded that management did manipula te 1998 earnings to trigger bonuses. Raines and Howard resigned under pressure in late 2004.

Howard's Golden Parachute was estimated at $20 Million!

Jim Johnson - A former executive at Lehman Brothers and who was later forced from his position as Fannie Mae CEO. A look at the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight's May 2006 report on mismanagement and corruption inside Fannie Mae, and you'll see some interesting things about Johnson. Investigators found that Fannie Mae had hidden a substantial amount of Johnson's 1998 compensation from the public, reporting that it was between $6 million and $7 million when it fact it was $21 million." Johnson is currently under investigation for taking illegal loans from Countrywide while serving as CEO of Fannie Mae.

Johnson's Golden Parachute was estimated at $28 Million.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

FRANKLIN RAINES? Raines works for the Obama Campaign as Chief Economic Advisor

TIM HOWARD? Howard is also a Chief Economic Advisor to Obama

JIM JOHNSON? Johnson hired as a Senior Obama Finance Advisor and was selected to run Obama's Vice Presidential Search Committee

It seems when push comes to shove it’s the people that get shoved. Although we had little to do with the problems of the financial world it looks as if we are the ones who will pay in the long run. I have tried to justify this bailout in my mind and it just doesn’t add up. I thank both the 228 democrats and the republicans who have held out for a better deal, without their support we would be owing 700 Billion by now. The problem is we need to get the problem solved and solved sooner than later. IF Nancy Pelosi would get her head out of her derriere long enough to work with all parties instead of trying to lay a blame blanket on the republicans it might just come together. Everyone knows the seriousness of the situation and should be willing to work these details out in a package that we can at least swallow without choking.

This package should include the recovery of much of the monies paid out to the candidates as well as the former managers of Fannie and Freddie. Senator Dodd and Frank should be among those returning this money to the funds. I will be damned if the public should be responsible for their windfalls.

This package should not make anyone rich nor should it exclude the attempt to renegotiate any home loans that may be salvageable. Keeping families in their homes and out of foreclosure should be a major part of this scheme. A salary cap should be placed on any project that benefits from this program including the automakers windfall package. A complete history of this whole negotiation including names and statements of each participating politician should be made public immediately. We the people want to know who and why they voted as they did. No more backdoor meetings and secret agreements between politicians.

Banks should be placed on notice that it is imperative that they move quickly to re-establish a flow of money into the economy in the form of consumer loans. Auto loans and consumer product loans will help rebuild our sagging economy faster than any government programs. To be sure the money should not be placed in the hands of the Secretary of the Treasury for disbursement as he see’s fit. The bulk of the money should be put into a trust and trustee’s should be appointed from each party to decide the disbursement of funds. It’s time for the politicians in Washington to wash their hands and come clean. Do the job that we sent them there to do.

And that’s my opinion,
Don

Are we at our final Crossroads?

URGENT, PLEASE READ AND FOLLOW UP.

Dons political blog is on vacation, this is a special report.

Christmas the way it used to be.

When did the car companies lose their focus?

Remembering the days of Infamy

Lets shake up Congress

We saved the Bigshots, now lets save Main st.

The progressive movement

Assets of experience

Please Mr. President

Hey dad, can you hear me?

Are we next?

Who are these guys?

Thus a child speaks again

Stop look and listen

When all is said and done

Whoa there Bucko

Where did our financial woes come from

When push comes to shove we get shoved

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