tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post1636054938742357661..comments2023-11-10T04:17:00.492-05:00Comments on View From The Porch: I don't get it. Will someone please explain it to me?Tamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07285540310465422476noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-35588370304356901272008-10-13T01:35:00.000-04:002008-10-13T01:35:00.000-04:00Matt, you're about 95% of the way there. The Repr...Matt, you're about 95% of the way there. The Representatives to Congress are more directly accountable to the will of the people, but they are still supposed to exercise judgement and restraint. They're just more likely than Senators to get whacked in the ballot box for it when they piss off the electorate.<BR/><BR/>FormerflyerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-69401889485990687142008-10-09T19:10:00.000-04:002008-10-09T19:10:00.000-04:00Actually, We have two houses so the good of the co...Actually, We have two houses so the good of the country and the will of the people can both be voted. <BR/><BR/>Representatives to Congress are supposed to vote the will of the people.<BR/><BR/>Senators are supposed to vote for the good of the country. (That's why the Senate wasn't elected by popular vote... Until the 17th amendment.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-33674453934758635132008-10-07T17:03:00.000-04:002008-10-07T17:03:00.000-04:00Tam, I love you like the sister I never had, but y...Tam, I love you like the sister I never had, but you are absolutely wrong about what the reps are supposed to do. What you propose is Mob Rule with a minor time lag, based the ability of one group or another to sway the masses. <BR/><BR/>Stop and think about the repercussions OUTSIDE of the debate about the bailout. You are smart and well read: It won't take you more than a few minutes to conjure up several nightmares that would be possible if our reps did what the majority wanted every time they got a notion or a strong feeling.<BR/><BR/>This doesn't make the bailout any smarter. I don't know which is worse, the disease or the current cure. But I do know that there are some oscillations that hit the ground before they bottom out. I'm not sure if this is one of them, but a lot of people I usually trust think so (and quite a few think not). I used to fly for a living, but that doesn't mean I could walk into the cockpit and land a crippled 747 in a hurricane. I might have strong opinions about how to do it, but I'd much rather someone that ACTUALLY PILOTS 747's made the attempt. Even if they fail, they had much stronger odds of pulling it off than I did.<BR/><BR/>FormerflyerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-64202940935954346782008-10-07T12:45:00.000-04:002008-10-07T12:45:00.000-04:00To the anonymous above,No, Tam has it right. The r...To the anonymous above,<BR/><BR/>No, Tam has it right. The reps are supposed to vote the way the people who put them there tell them to. If that means driving off of a cliff in the process, so be it. I have to believe that the Founding Fathers warned us of the weakness of the system somewhere but that has been forgotten. You know what the weakness is? The weakness is a very stupid electorate. All of the dumbing down of the education system along with a news media that has become a propaganda organ for the socialists has made an electorate that just doesn't have a clue of how the country should be run. So you put a bunch of doctors, lawyers, and social workers into the Congress that think that the average person is as dumb as a box of rocks and you get what we have today - bread and circuses.<BR/><BR/>To lynx217,<BR/><BR/>Don't even go there blaming Bush for this shit. There is enough information on the 'Net to connect the dots on what happened here and Bush isn't even in the top 5 for receiving the blame for this...<BR/><BR/>Joe R.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-83708784316148423572008-10-07T08:56:00.000-04:002008-10-07T08:56:00.000-04:00Anyone who claims that these problems arose becaus...Anyone who claims that these problems arose because the banking industry was "deregulated" has a pretty funny idea of what that word means. The banking industry labors under the burden of mountains of regulation, irrespective of whether a few shovelsful had been removed from the peak or not.<BR/><BR/>And the Depression was as bad a it was because of government interference in the market, not in spite of it. All that this can possibly achieve is to make things worse.<BR/><BR/>Not that I expect people to remember and vote these bastards out come November.<BR/><BR/>I'm getting awfully tired of paying people to fuck me over.perlhaqrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01920117742664645165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-86350418528447656282008-10-06T22:47:00.000-04:002008-10-06T22:47:00.000-04:00Somerled said...Members of Congress have been foll...<I>Somerled said...<BR/>Members of Congress have been following the dictates of who put them in office. That's why the nation is several trillion in debt. Every city, county, state snd instutition public or private has its hand out for federal aid. And the people who elect representatives are no different.</I><BR/>And this is why the only term limits we have are for president, everyone is for limiting the <I>other</I> guy's congresscritter's terms, not the ones who bring home the pork <I>for them</I>.Dranghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08082177597135236652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-65040135051503521032008-10-06T18:01:00.000-04:002008-10-06T18:01:00.000-04:00Members of Congress have been following the dictat...Members of Congress have been following the dictates of who put them in office. That's why the nation is several trillion in debt. Every city, county, state snd instutition public or private has its hand out for federal aid. And the people who elect representatives are no different.<BR/><BR/>Barney Frank and Chris Dodd were doing exactly what the people who put them in office wanted when they attacked those who wanted to reform lending practices.Somerledhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11027195332132735795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-58385549819817357392008-10-06T17:58:00.000-04:002008-10-06T17:58:00.000-04:00Cranky:Work in a hog farm?Hell, cut them, and then...Cranky:<BR/><BR/>Work in a hog farm?<BR/><BR/>Hell, cut them, and then feed them to the hogs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-83090416036133597162008-10-06T16:26:00.000-04:002008-10-06T16:26:00.000-04:00Tam,I must repsectfully disagree. It is the job o...Tam,<BR/><BR/>I must repsectfully disagree. It is the job of elected reps to vote intelligently for the best interests of the country.<BR/><BR/>We just get to judge them later and replace them if we disagree.<BR/><BR/>Burke had a lot of positive things to say about Parliamentarians NOT respecting theinstantanous will of the people who elected them.<BR/><BR/>Frnakly it's one of things that sets us apart from just having a demagogic system, running by a polling stattion.<BR/><BR/>"job of elected reps to vote intelligently" : there's the rubAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-43602164749912383362008-10-06T16:13:00.000-04:002008-10-06T16:13:00.000-04:00"spending their golden years in federal gray jumps...<EM>"spending their golden years in federal gray jumpsuits in some country club..."</EM><BR/><BR/>Oh please, please, please, please...<BR/><BR/>It warms my heart to think of both Barney Frank and Chris Dodd (two, for example, of many) being hauled away and tried for high crimes and misdemeanors, then spending time in the clink.theirritablearchitecthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04105315709746689270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-91545335348939207322008-10-06T16:08:00.000-04:002008-10-06T16:08:00.000-04:00Y'know what?Even if the bailout was 100% necessary...Y'know what?<BR/><BR/>Even if the bailout was 100% necessary and totally pork-free, that isn't the point.<BR/><BR/>The point is that these bastards <I>publicly acknowledged</I> that their constituents were adamantly opposed to it... AND VOTED FOR IT ANYWAY.<BR/><BR/>These are Representatives. They are not our leaders, they are not our lords and masters, they are goddam well our employees. If we tell them to take flamethrowers and go down to the mint, it is not their job to say "<I>Well, that wouldn't be in the best interest of the country, little missy...</I>", their job is to light the pilot light, say "<I>Yes Ma'am</I>", and get to torching.Tamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07285540310465422476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-30839922048734389102008-10-06T14:54:00.000-04:002008-10-06T14:54:00.000-04:00There's a shadow group called "The New World Order...There's a shadow group called "The New World Order" which is comprised of the banking giants in the world. They want to tear apart the walls separating our economy from those in Europe and Asia, etc. and create one giant world economy. Perhaps this is a way that they're trying to do it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-44003378540203291912008-10-06T14:36:00.000-04:002008-10-06T14:36:00.000-04:00What oldblinddog said.Read Amity Shlaes' The Forgo...What oldblinddog said.<BR/><BR/>Read Amity Shlaes' <I>The Forgotten Man</I>. It was precisely the actions of the government during the New Deal that prolonged the Great Depression. If FDR had left well enough alone, it would never have been as "great".Fuzzy Curmudgeonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03802539927743643041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-88398555064962476232008-10-06T13:25:00.000-04:002008-10-06T13:25:00.000-04:00I don't like the bailout, but I like the maybe 5% ...<I>I don't like the bailout, but I like the maybe 5% chance of a 1930s type worldwide decade long depression caused by doing nothing even less.</I><BR/><BR/>Just like the New Deal, this is only going to make it worse not better. Check the Dow, we are in for a ride people.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01686887449680265740noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-89647044785916135902008-10-06T13:20:00.000-04:002008-10-06T13:20:00.000-04:00I've been saying that the government did not have ...I've been saying that the government did not <I>have</I> to act, but that it was probably better that it <I>did</I> act, to restore confidence in The System. I had originally said that it should do nothing, until I started reading reports of how even people with sizable downpayments and decent jobs were geting turned down for auto loans. If credit is being squeezed that much, that indicates that businesses can't get the loans they need to operate. <BR/>We probably weren't looking at a 1930's style depression, but rather a long drawn-out recession of the sort that the Japanese have been dealing with for the last 10+ years. <BR/>As for the allegations that George W. Bush ran the economy into the ground, Presdient Bush tried several times to get Congress to act to fix the regulatory oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; on September 29th I posted on my blog a link to the text of the S. 190 [109th Congress]: Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, <BR/>Sponsors: Sen. Charles Hagel [R-NE], Sen. Elizabeth Dole [R-NC], Sen. John McCain [R-AZ], Sen. John Sununu [R-NH].<BR/>I also posted a YouTube video of the 2003/4 hearings on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which featured prominently Obama's Financial Advisor, Franklin Raines, who was at the time the head of Freddie Mac. Mr. Raines insisted that there was Nothing Wrong, and Senator Barney Frank was quite offensive in his forms of address to anyone who was sugesting that there <I>was</I> something wrong. <BR/>My problem with the bailout bill was, and remains, that it did too litle to fix the underlying problems--shoveling mortgage loan money at people who couldn't afford the payments, started under President Carter in the 1970, increased under President Clinton in the 1990s!--did little or nothing to restrict "Golden Parachutes", and gave too much power to the Secretary of the Treasury, with too little oversight. And <B>then</B> they loaded all that BS pork onto it to bribe the congrescritters to vote "Yea." <BR/>So, yes, anyone who voted yes should not be re-elected. <BR/>Alas, most voters only support that for other people's congresscritters.Dranghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08082177597135236652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-28605328929367396482008-10-06T13:16:00.000-04:002008-10-06T13:16:00.000-04:00The group who liked it apparently are better known...The group who liked it apparently are better known as "Campaign Contributors."<BR/><BR/>And, in all probable reality, they are contributors to a relatively small group of conspirators better known as "The Guilty Parties" -- i.e, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Chucky Schumer, et al.<BR/><BR/>The country got logrolled by a bunch of corrupt fat cats who knew if they didn't cover up good and quick, they'd be spending their golden years in federal gray jumpsuits in some country club in Connecticut. Or West Virginia. Or wherever that place is.<BR/><BR/>MAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-67851598587421295832008-10-06T13:14:00.000-04:002008-10-06T13:14:00.000-04:00Recall them to work barefoot on a hog-farm in Arka...<I>Recall them to work barefoot on a hog-farm in Arkansas.</I><BR/><BR/>In <B>August.</B>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-26570915485707779342008-10-06T13:06:00.000-04:002008-10-06T13:06:00.000-04:00One has to follow the money to understand why it p...One has to follow the money to understand why it passed. "Sweeteners" were added in the Senate. That allowed members of Congress to go home and say they voted for it because it funded a project to help constituents.<BR/><BR/>Anyone who has cracked open an economics book knows the bailout will simply devalue the dollar more. It will take more pinkbacks to buy the goods. This will make financial statements and balance sheets look more favorable in the short term. Then, the work force will demand a "livable wage" increase. That will cause even more jobs to go offshore and a larger influx of illegal laborers who work for less.<BR/><BR/>The nation will become increasingly dependent on foreign investors financing the debt. This threatens our sovereignty as well as the economy.Somerledhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11027195332132735795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-33025354575758813912008-10-06T12:51:00.000-04:002008-10-06T12:51:00.000-04:00Recall?Recall?How 'bout we assemble the gallows on...Recall?<BR/><BR/><EM>Recall?</EM><BR/><BR/>How 'bout we assemble the gallows on the front lawn of the Capitol instead?<BR/><BR/>I'm afraid the thick-headed morons wouldn't get the message.theirritablearchitecthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04105315709746689270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-63945710411915581402008-10-06T12:49:00.000-04:002008-10-06T12:49:00.000-04:00"...did you notice we conservatives had the Presid..."<I>...did you notice we conservatives had the Presidency, Senate and Congress all three...</I>"<BR/><BR/>Well, 'Republicans' did; I don't know about 'Conservatives'.Tamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07285540310465422476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-71094975454741280352008-10-06T12:40:00.000-04:002008-10-06T12:40:00.000-04:00"scoundrels and scalawags"... Awesome!You forgot "..."scoundrels and scalawags"... Awesome!<BR/><BR/>You forgot "dishonorable curs."Lucas Darrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01405530729663443670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-43478287461089519622008-10-06T12:38:00.000-04:002008-10-06T12:38:00.000-04:00I have a good friend who handles investment porfol...I have a good friend who handles investment porfolios, he is smart as hell, super conservative and he is in his mid 70's so I asked him to please explain this bail out to me. <BR/><BR/>His take on it is that Fannie & Freddie, created by the government, were responsible for this mess and the implication was that they would stand behind the forced crappy loans. <BR/><BR/>Like georgeh above I was told me that for us to do nothing would be a disaster but the bailout would be a hard, nasty, necessary pill to swallow. When it failed the first time my friend was enraged and he told me that all the Republicans who went along to get along for years and then voted against the bailout should be kicked out of office since the next bill would be even worse, and it was.<BR/> <BR/>My friend thought Nancy Rats-ass Pelosi played the Republicans like a trout on a light line letting them appear like idiots in the media where the truth does not matter.<BR/><BR/>Where the heck are the grown ups who should have been running the country all along; did you notice we conservatives had the Presidency, Senate and Congress all three for awhile and we let it the deregulation ride like an old fat lady playing craps in Reno.<BR/><BR/>I am a bit afraid of the outcome of the election next month and as a cop friend told me this weekend, do not pass up the chance to buy high capacity magazines and ammo during the next few months cause things don't look a bit good for gun people post election.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-1637109578133124332008-10-06T12:23:00.000-04:002008-10-06T12:23:00.000-04:00I have to agree with George. Hopefully this will b...I have to agree with George. Hopefully this will buy us time to fix what Bush fkd up in the first place so it never happens again. As one of those non-liberal, non-conservative independents, I am ashamed that we even had to consider a bailout but even more so that we didn't see this coming sooner. But that's what happens after 7 years of THIS president. But I believe we will recover. It's the American way.Lynx217https://www.blogger.com/profile/13494800019983587961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-55889667536741084982008-10-06T12:11:00.000-04:002008-10-06T12:11:00.000-04:00You don't have to like it, any more than you have ...You don't have to like it, any more than you have to like a series of rabies shots. After all, the chances of the critter that bit ya actually having rabies are pretty low, but low enough to risk?<BR/><BR/>I don't like the bailout, but I like the maybe 5% chance of a 1930s type worldwide decade long depression caused by doing nothing even less.<BR/><BR/>It's disgusting and socialistic, just like the federal entities and mandates that caused it. The time to complain about the socialism was when Fannie and Freddie were created, or when they could have been wound down painlessly.GeorgeHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10736838055941100599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15907727.post-62490242243512225432008-10-06T11:57:00.000-04:002008-10-06T11:57:00.000-04:00Recall them to work barefoot on a hog-farm in Arka...Recall them to work barefoot on a hog-farm in Arkansas.NotClauswitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14358707844087117280noreply@blogger.com