LEAVWORLD: GRAFFITI POLITTI

Pres. Bush signed the housing bailout bill into law today, which also explicitly backs up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with taxpayer money. One thing that hasn't changed under the law is the amount of political influence they weild. According to this WSJ op-ed piece , "an underreported part of this story is that Majority Leader Harry Reid refused to allow a vote on Republican Jim DeMint's amendment to bar political donations and lobbying by Fannie and its sibling, Freddie Mac." This is a serious problem, and assures that there will be further problems at both institutions. I recently decried the influence that public-sector unions have bought, and called for barring them from political activities. In that case, it's an obvious conflict of a union donating money to the politicians who appoint the opposing negotiators. In the case of the now federally-backed Fannie and Freddie, "letting them ladle cash all over Washington amounts to using government-guaranteed ...

The NY Times has rejected an op-ed by John McCain, countering the piece they ran last week by Barack Obama. Drudge quotes NYT Op-Ed editor David Shipley: "It would be terrific to have an article from Senator McCain that mirrors Senator Obama's piece. To that end, the article would have to articulate, in concrete terms, how Senator McCain defines victory in Iraq." I have a question: how does Obama define "ending" the war in Iraq, in his op-ed piece? Read both pieces here, since the NYT won't publish both candidate's opinions. Link to Obama's NYT op-ed Link to McCain's op-ed, on Drudge

I'm wondering if the excessive coverage of Obama's Middle East trip will be helpful, or hurt him. Still, it's certain that he will get much more coverage than McCain got when he last went to Iraq. Even the International Herald-Tribune, owned by the NY Times, has a story about it . McCain wasn't the nominee yet, so this isn't really comparable. Still, if McCain goes to Iraq again before the elections, I doubt that all three network anchors will try to interview him there. They'd be more likely to label it as "using the military for political purposes," and give him minimal coverage. Why does no one say that about Obama?

This Fannie Mae/Freddy Mac stuff is interesting. Here's the important business blurb, from the NY Post, Jul. 9, 2008: Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have as much as $3.7 trillion in off- bal ance sheet securities that may have to be put back on their books under a proposed accounting change. Fannie Mae has about $2.3 trillion in mortgage- backed securities off- balance sheet while Freddie Mac has $1.4 trillion, according to Bloomberg and comments by the company's regulator. Now, both of these corporations have been in trouble for some time. Here's a post from Wed. Dec. 29, 2004, from LEAVWORLD: GRAFFITI POLITTI! FANNIE MAE SCANDAL: HUH? Most people haven't paid much attention to the financial scandal at "FANNIE MAE", a semi public home mortgage agency. There is quite alot there. It's comparable to Enron, but former chairman Frank Raines is a democrat, so it gets soft-pedaled by the liberal media. This is the story that won't die; it has continued to resurf...

A while back, I cited an AP article ( link ) titled " Everything Seemingly Is Spinning Out Of Control ," and made fun of it. Well, I wasn't alone in noticing the absurdity of that concept, being spun as a news story. James Taranto at the WSJ " Best of the Web " column has now dedicated a whole segment of his column under this title. I'm excerpting all of the ones I can find right now, but you should look him up, if you like to laugh with your political commentary. Everything Seemingly Is Spinning Out of Control "Experts: Rattlesnake Venom Becoming More Potent"--headline, KCNC-TV Web site (Denver), July2 "Swimming in Drag to Help the Poor"--headline, The American Spectator Web site, July8 "Agriculture Linked to Frog Sexual Abnormalities"--headline, University of Florida press release, July5 "U.S. Agent Fires at 3 in Sleepy Town on Quebec-Vermont Border"--headline, CBC.ca , July7 "Uncertainty Aplenty as Web, Med...

Now that I've seen the clip of Jesse Jackson for the umpteenth time, I've had time to analyze it. I still can't decide if he was trying to give the other guest "talking points," or if he was telling him how he really felt. I didn't see what they said "on camera," so this puzzle is incomplete. Also, O'Reilly mentioned that they had "worse" excerpts, but that they weren't "relevant" to any of the "issues" of the campaign. This is interesting on many fronts, and poses many questions: First, when was this recorded? I saw a "Hannity & Colmes" logo in the lower right corner when O'Reilly broadcast the clips, but saw O'Reilly's logo there in the rebroadcasts on other channels. Jesse Jackson has only appeared once on the"O'Reilly Factor," but more often on H&C.". Second, what are they holding back? Should Mr. Jackson be grateful that they are living up to the "fair...

I describe myself as conservative, for a New Yorker. Not a lot of people understand what that means. It's more than I'm moderate on some social issues, though that's a part of it. First, you have to know what a "Rockerfeller Republican" is, and how they came to dominate, and ultimately destroy the NYS Republican party. Tuesday's NY Post has two scathing pieces on Rockerfeller, and his legacy. I grew up in NYC, in the '60's and '70's, fleeing to live with my dad in the suburbs in '76. I wasn't very politically aware as a child, but I was raised in a very liberal household. Most of my classmates lived in public housing, and even Republicans in NYC and state believed in huge government social programs. I clearly remember one of my earliest political thoughts: "I would gladly pay higher taxes, to help the poor." Of course, I was years from actually paying taxes, but this was the mindset of many in New York, and Gov. Rockerfeller e...

Here's a link to a deceptively-titled WSJ op-ed by Karl Rove. Rove didn't write the headline, and doesn't suggest anywhere that Obama is trying to "buy the presidency." I believe the WSJ editors tried to "jazz up" interest by making the title sound like a slam on Obama, when it's really a straight analysis piece, critiquing Obama's campaign. I want to share this with all of the Obama supporters out there, because this is the kind of realistic political analysis that they rarely see. Plus, isn't it a good thing to be able to read and respond to Mr. Rove's own words, rather than the liberal fantasies of "Dr. Evil," or whatever. Can Barack Buy the Presidency?

Joe Horn was not indicted by a Texas grand jury for shooting two theives who were robbing his neighbor's house. I wish Joe Horn was my neighbor!

A few weeks ago, I saw this AP story: ( source ) An investor who bought a congresswoman's foreclosed home filed a lawsuit against the legislator and her bank for rescinding the sale. James York had purchased the home at auction in May for $388,000 after Rep. Laura Richardson failed to make her mortgage payments. He claims Richardson used her influence as a congresswoman to force Washington Mutual Inc. and a subsidiary to later back out of the sale. "They rescinded the notice of trustee sale and put it back in her name before even telling me," York said. "It's not a difficult case. It's a valid sale." I noted that the GOP doesn't have a monopoly on "abuse of power." Now, according to Tuesday's "political grapevine," on Fox News' Special Report, she has lost at least one house to forclosure: Freshman Democratic Congresswoman Laura Richardson of California has defaulted on two home loans and lost a third house at a foreclo...