Joe's Right About Iraq War

To his credit, Joe the Plumber actually cares about Iraq and understands its role in the larger War on Terror, "I'm not sorry that we're in Iraq ... what we've done over there is an incredible, incredible thing. Has it kept us safe? Absolutely."  Fantastic!  You Go Joe!

Joe's right to be proud of America's liberation of Iraq.

Unlike Joe, Obama and the Democrats continue to bad mouth America and our liberation of Iraq.  If I hear Obama complain, one more time, we're worse off because of the Iraq War, I'll go ballistic.  Last night, at the last Presidential debate, McCain should have said looked Obama in the eye and asked,

Would you prefer that Saddam still rule Iraq?

Obama has said many times that the strategy of "containing" Saddam was working and had Bush not invaded Iraq, Saddam would have eventually been forced out (he doesn't say how) or more likely, contained and prevented from threatening the U.S.  Strategically, this is flawed thinking.  In addition, it is bad judgement about what was really happening. 

According to many reports, it is much more likely that the opposite is true - that Saddam would have convinced the U.N. to drop sanctions and the Oil for Food program entirely.   It is well documented that Saddam had promised many in the French, German and Russian governments financial incentives to support lifting sanctions and prevent a U.S. invasion.  That's why it was so hard to get Security Council cooperation for Operation Iraqi Freedom - most of the Security Council was bought and paid for.  In fact, I thought there was even allegations that British politicians may have been bribed.

So removing Saddam and his sons through sanctions and "tough diplomacy" is and was pure fantasy.  Bush, who was elected U.S. President responsible for the decisions he makes, could not engage in such fantasy but Obama could because he was just state senator at the time with absolutely no responsibility for decision making, running essentially unopposed.  But lets examine Obama's fantasy for a moment.

What if Saddam had been in charge since 2003?

A public health specialist at Columbia University, Richard Garfield, estimated there to be as many as 350,000 "excess deaths" or deaths in excess of normal infant mortality, in Saddam's Iraq from August 1991 and March 2002 or about 3,000 per month.  

Let me repeat, about 3,000 children per month died from malnutrition, and other preventable causes, while Saddam built several Presidential Palaces and monuments to himself and his sons.  These aren't just any palaces, they're 7 to 10 times the size of the White House or Buckingham Palace:

Again, 3,000 children per month, while Saddam was "contained" by the U.N.  That means...

Under Obama's plan, hundreds of thousands more Iraqi children would be dead.

Yes, Obama's plan would have saved over 4,000 U.S. soldiers their lives, and billions of dollars, but about 200,000 Iraqi children would be dead, thousands of young girls would have been raped by Saddam's sons and thousands of dissenters would have been tortured or disappeared in the night.

In addition:

• 23 million Iraqis would still be oppressed by a murderous dictator instead of free, voting and helping us with terrorism.
• Iraq and Iran would now be in an arms race.  If Saddam did not have WMDs, you can bet that, by now, he would have acquired them to counter Mahmoud's and Iran's aggression.
• Saddam would still be rewarding the families of suicide bombers ($25,000 each) for each successful mass-murder of Jewish Israelis.
• Saddam may have wiped out another Kurdish town with chemical weapons like he's done before.
• Instead of a free and democratic Iraq providing a model for how warring tribes can resolve their differences peacefully through the courts and the ballot box, Saddam's Iraq would reinforce the long-standing Middle East tradition that aggression is rewarded with power.
• If left in power, Saddam may have invaded Kuwait again or Saudi Arabia or Jordan.  If Obama thinks Saddam and his sons would have behaved over the last 5 years or the next eight, his judgement is even worse than I thought.

Contrary to Obama's constant lies about Bush creating a mess in the Middle East that the next President will have to clean up, Bush has actually made things much easier for the next President.  Does anyone believe al-Maliki will be a greater problem for U.S. than Saddam?  Does anyone believe Iran would have been less of a threat with Saddam next door for the last five and the next eight years?  Is it harder or easier to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict without Saddam's payments to the families of suicide bombers?

The odds of a much wider Middle East war have gone down dramatically.  The "Arab street" has seen, for the first time in hundreds of years, Kurds, Sunni and Shia work together to solve their problems peacefully.  Of course, there is still violence and danger in Iraq but it is clearly on track to provide an inspiring example of democracy in the heart of the Middle East.  This will make it harder for Al Qaeda to recruit and retain members who will see for themselves that America removed a murderous dictator, helped Arabs stand up their own democracy and will leave in 2011 as friends and liberators - not imperialists, not Arab haters, not evil. 

Bush and McCain were right to liberate Iraq and win a key battle in the War on Terror.  

Obama was wrong to advocate that the U.S. allow Saddam to keep raping, torturing and murdering.

Trinity Murder Cover-Up?

I recently discovered that the Choir Director of Trinity Church of Chicago, Barack Obama's former church, was murdered just before Christmas, 2007.  I also discovered that news of this murder is disappearing.

First, here's a summary, by KOAM-TV, Chicago, of the murder by a site that, as of today, still posts the story @ http://www.koamtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7540623:

CHICAGO (AP) - Authorities are investigating the death of the choir director of the Chicago church where presidential contender Barack Obama is a member.

Donald Young was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds Sunday in his apartment on the city's South Side.

His funeral will be Thursday.

Reverend Jeremiah Wright at Trinity United Church of Christ says Young was well-loved by the congregation. He says Young taught fourth grade and was planning to attend graduate school to become a school principal.

The story is also posted at these sites:

• ABC7 Chicago @ http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=5854125
• Fox News @ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,318267,00.html

Here are links that have since been pulled:

• Google News: Donald Young Dies
• ChicagoTribune.com: Teacher Found Slain in His South Shore Apartment Video (December 25, 207)
• The Associated Press: Chicago Choir Conductor Found Slain (December 25, 207)
• Chicago Sun-Times: South Side Church Choir Director Killed (December 25, 207)

Why?  Why would news orgs pull links to stories about the murder of the choir director at the most famous church of this election season?  Why has there been no follow-up to this?  Doesn't it make sense to take a harder look at the murder of a member of the church of Barack Obama?

I'm not one for conspiracy theories but it's a fact Donald Young was murdered and it's a fact that news of this murder is disappearing. 

Why?

McCain Let U.S. Down

I'm disgusted the Senate's approved that monstrosity of a 450 page "economic rescue plan".  Back up for a minute.  What brought the greatest country in the world to it's knees - at least it's financial markets?  Too much "Toxic Paper"!  It's unclear to me this bill does anything about toxic paper - might even be worse.

Under Clinton's masterful, shameful use of Carter's Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), Clinton quintupled sub-prime loans from $200 billion to over $1 trillion by the end of the 1990s.  Now, $200 billion is important; Over $1 trillion is really important.  Over $1 trillion of toxic paper is Clinton's legacy that our financial markets are choking on. 

Bankers in Germany, Japan and Dubai never guessed that something called "U.S. mortgage obligations" might contain mortgages made without income verification.  Once they found out, they tried to dump those mortgages but they were so intermixed in very, very complex Wall Street creations that it was hard to figure out what any U.S. mortgage-related product was worth.

The result?  A loss of confidence in U.S.

We don't need a windfall $700 billion bailout for those who profited.  Let Wall Street sort out it's own mess of complex products.  We certainly don't need more pork, especially now - it sickens me that Congress added more pork and tax breaks during a national crisis and McCain went along with it.

The way to restore a crisis of confidence is pretty simple.  Take solid lasting steps that demonstrate you're being honest and effective.  In addition, any plan put forward must be in place for 5 years so people and business has confidence the next President will not undo what's done now.  

Here's a plan that will restore confidence in our government and our markets:

1. Dodd, Frank & Paulson Must Resign – These three Democrats have betrayed the public’s trust, with historic results, and need to go now.  Their resignations say loud and clear:  Corruption in Washington caused the problem, not free markets.   
2. 5 year phase-out of gov’t-sponsored sub-prime loans - the “toxic paper” that crippled our credit markets. 
3. Suspend the mark-to-market rule – this will repair distressed bank balance sheets overnight (see below).
4. 5 year suspension of cap gains tax – this will flood US financial markets with new capital and not penalize folks who invest in America when we need it most.
5. Life the Ban on Offshore Drilling - this single act will lower structural costs for families and businesses across the country and around the world and jump-start the economy.   

This is the kind of plan I would have expected John McCain would champion.  It's about accountability, reform, energy independence and prosperity.  If McCain and the President had insisted on this plan, the Democrats would have to a) go along or b) vote against the bill and risk financial catastrophe and the voter's wrath in one month.  We would end up with more freedom, not less.

Either way, we would have the Change We Need.

Instead, McCain voted to keep the car going down the wrong road rather than make a U-turn that may be difficult but respects the will of the people, respects the science of free market economics and restores confidence in our government to do what's right for voters, not campaign donors. 

McCain went along to get along.  I'm very disappointed.

If McCain can't take the lead on this "bailout" maybe McCain-Palin will lead U.S. by running on a similar plan that will restore the crisis of confidence.

Paulson is a Chicago Democrat

According to Dana Perino, White House Press Secretary, no matter what rescue plan Congress gives him to sign, he "would look to his Secretary of the Treasury and Ben Bernanke, the Fed Chairman, ..." and ask them if this plan will save our economy. 

Wow, so even if 20% of the plan's profits would go to ACORN, the massive corrupt leftist got-out-the-vote-for-Obama group, the President is going to sign it because Hank Paulson gives the thumbs up??  So who is this unelected man that the President has granted authority over $700 billion of our money?

I count myself among the better informed.  However, I did not know Hank Paulson was a Democrat, born in Palm Beach and raised in Bloomington Hills, a wealthy suburb of Chicago.  I have nothing against common folk from Chicago but after looking into Barack Obama's background, I have some concerns about a few of Chicago's power players. 

Let's take a quick review of the more famous Chicago Democrats:

• Jeremiah Wright - former pastor of a hugely influential Chicago church where a pastor can say “God Dam* America” (to thunderous applause), and return the next Sunday.
• Tony Rezco - convicted felon that Obama helped get $100 million in grants, loans and tax credits for 11 buildings in Obama’s district that are now boarded up.
• Bill Ayers - former terrorist who helped to bomb NY Police HQ, the Pentagon and the Capitol.  In 1969, Ayers participated in planting a bomb at a statue dedicated to police casualties in the 1886 Haymarket Riot.  When Obama launched his first campaign for elected office - he held the event in Ayers' home in Chicago.  As alarming as that is, even more alarming is Ayer’s influence on our kids education - 26 education books published…so far!.
• Madeleine Talbot - Stanley Kurtz called ACORN "the most politically radical large-scale activist group in the country", Chicago ACORN it's most radical chapter, and Talbot their leader in the late 1990s who invited Obama to train her staff.  In 1997, as an example of ACORN's "direct action" tactics, Talbot was led away in handcuffs after she led 200 Acorn protesters to storm the Chicago City Council session by pushing over the metal detectors and pushing back police. 

In addition, it turns out that ACORN had a remarkable role, with help from Congressional Democrats like Chris Dodd and Barney Frank, in creating the toxic paper that our financial markets are now choking on.  

So, do I trust an unelected Democrat from Chicago to run the largest rescue plan in history? 

Section 8 of Paulson’s plan states: “Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.”  No review by a court of law or administrative agency?  So Paulson has arranged it so I can't even "trust but verify".  No thanks.

We haven't even talked about Paulson's conflicts of interest given that Paulson was Chairman and CEO, after 32 years, at Goldman Sachs - which happens to be the last independent investment bank standing.  It's been reported that "unlike the previous bailouts and managed liquidations of Goldman competitors Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch and Lehman...in which shareholder value was largely wiped out, Goldman's stock could rise under the Paulson plan..."

Lastly, thank God, are the recent reports that many of Paulson's former executives at Goldman are "bundlers" for Obama's campaign - going so far as to email Obama's campaign manager details of the "private" discussions between the Secretary and House Republicans.

THAT'S IT! 

Paulson must resign, along with the leading Democrats pushing the toxic paper that crippled the world's financial markets.

Fire Dodd, Frank & Paulson!

Mark-to-Market explained

Many have asked what the mark-to-market rule is.  The best explanation I found is this Forbes article by Brian Wesbury and Bob Stein:

Imagine if you had a $200,000 mortgage on a $300,000 house that you planned on living in for 20 years. But a neighbor, because of very special circumstances, had to sell his house for $150,000. Then, imagine if your banker said you had to mark to this "new market" and give the bank $80,000 in cash immediately (so you would have 20% down) or lose your home.

Isn't that ridiculous?  This single rule is forcing banks, on a regular basis to lower the value of mortgage related assets on their books.  Because, by law, banks have to have a to keep a fixed ratio of assets, deposits and loans, they must stop lending until they add enough capital offset the markdown. 

Banks stopped lending - that's the credit crunch.

All because the "toxic paper" the government injected into the system, since the 90s, had to be marked down at fire-sale prices.

According to the Washington Post, this "accounting standard, has been cited as a contributing factor in the collapses of American International Group, Freddie Mac and Lehman Brothers".  The Post continues, "each quarter, companies must affix a price tag to those securities and report it in their financial statements, even if they do not plan to unload them right away"

So, today - the last day of the fiscal quarter - would be a perfect day to relax the rule and let banks price these complex assets closer to their "book value" rather than a "fire-sale" price.

.

Stand Up McCain!

At the 2008 GOP Convention, you eloquently challenged all of us to stand up:

"Fight for what’s right for our country.
Fight for the ideals and character of a free people.
Fight for our children’s future.
...stand up, stand up and fight. Nothing is inevitable here. We’re Americans, and we never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history."

Now, I'm asking you to stand up for freedom and against the Paulson Plan.

I listened to the speeches on the House floor in support of and against the Paulson plan.  It is clear that more than just $700 billion of taxpayer money is at stake.  One after another, Democrats rose to speak about the failure of the free markets, about the failure of the Bush-McCain ideology.  What ideology are they talking about?  Capitalism, free markets and freedom from government abuses of power.

Free Markets are on trial and they're losing badly.

You and Sarah need to stand up for free markets and set the record straight.  This is not a failure of free markets - quite the contrary , it's a failure of government intervention into free markets.  It is a failure of the Clinton Administration's efforts, in 1993,  to force banks to lend money to people they would not have otherwise loaned money to.  Sub-prime loans increase five-fold under Clinton from $200 billion to over $1 trillion and that "toxic paper" has finally come home to roost.

Priority One - call for Dodd & Frank to resign immediately.

America is against this bill because it does not stop the underlying problem, government-sponsored sub-prime loans, nor does it hold accountable Members of Congress that rejected reform of sub-prime loans, Democrat leaders in Congress.  In fact, it puts the fox in charge of the hen house.

Here’s a four-step bill America will vote for:

1. Resignations of Chris Dodd and Barney Frank – Democratic leaders of the Senate and House Banking Committees
2. 5 year phase-out of government-sponsored sub-prime loans - all CRA, Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac loans.
3. Suspend the Mark-to-Market rule – this will repair bank balance sheets overnight.
4. 5 year suspension of cap gains tax – this will flood US financial markets with new capital.

These four steps can be done quickly and will help restore confidence in our government and our markets.

In addition, they could suspend the corp income tax, to attract even more foreign investment and create millions of new jobs.  Also, you could submit a bill for term limits for Congress - Senators to two terms (12 years) and Representatives to four terms (8 years).  This will help address the long-term problem of corrupt leadership, but these ideas may be too controversial to pass quickly.

Bush's effort in 2005 to reform the GSE might have helped us avoid this mess - Obama, Dodd and Frank, in fact, all Democrats opposed reform, and all Republicans were for it.  In any event, it is completely unacceptable that the same Democratic leaders that injected toxic sub-prime loans (Dodd, Frank, Waters) into our financial markets can oversee any new scheme.   We need a bill that makes Democrats nervous, not Republicans.

Senator McCain - stand up and lead the effort for a good bill Americans will support - Congress will follow.

Thanks...Matt

Throw Lying Dems Out!

When they announced Harry Reid and Chris Dodd were going to hold a press conference, I turned to my wife and said, "I'm going to count the lies on my fingers while they speak".  I got to seven and turned the TV off.  I'm really angry.

I HATE CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS!

They lie and lie and lie.  Now I found out they wanted 20% of any profits given to groups like ACORN!!  I hate that they have any say in this rescue plan.

Is there any way we can just flush Congress down the drain and start over with a special election?

Is there a lever on the side somewhere? 

In other words, term limits effective immediately.  It could be like college football where every year the seniors retire and a group of fresh faces and freshmen (women too!) come to Washington. 

Barring that, given that this is largely a Democrat mess, any Rescue Plan must eliminate the bad acts that caused the crisis and hold accountable those culpable:

1. No money for ACORN
2. Five year phase out of all the substandard lending that got us in this mess - all CRA, Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac loans.
3. Require Joint House & Senate hearings to document the role of those responsible for pushing substandard loans (Barney Frank, Bill Clinton, Chris Dodd, Franklin Raines, Bob Rubin, etc..)
4. Require Joint investigations into the vast amounts of money given to leading Democrats (Dodd, Obama are #1 and #2 recipients) and the probable quid pro quo for increased GSE substandard loans for their contributors. 
5. Term limits, effective immediately - the President is limited to two terms - limit Senators to two terms (12 years) and Representatives to four terms (8 years). 

Unless you take concrete steps to stop these problems, why should voters believe the rescue plan will work?

I will not play the moral equivalence game by throwing up my hands and saying - they're all corrupt!  They're not.  Yes, I know McCain and other Republicans took some money from GSEs but they clearly did not push legislation on their behalf - All Republicans supported Bush's efforts to reform these institutions back in 2005 - all Democrats were opposed.

If you blame everybody, you really let the worst offenders off the hook. 

Without Clinton and the Democrats pushing these loans in the 1990s, substandard loans would have never increased five fold, from $200 billion to over $1 trillion, and brought our financial markets to their knees. 

Throw the bums out!