Well the wooden arrow, race track, wool research bill passed the Senate.And now everyone is 'fer it.
(And Senator Nellie reached down into his metaphor bag and pulled out "a skunk with a bow". Because if he had said a "lipsticked pig" everyone would have gotten offended -- and confused. Here's one: It was a hairless Mexican rat, that you thought was actually a Chihuahua, so you voted for it. There, everyone's clear now.)
Now Lee Terry is most likely for a House version. No word on Esch.
Mike Johanns was for it. And Scott Kleeb says he is "reluctantly" for it, because, dang it, he has a family now! A family! You hear that? NOT a bachelor playboy anymore! OK? Clear?
But frankly, we'd be happier if the House told the Senate, "No, but if you take out all the additional pork we'll vote for it."
Nice.
***
We had this forwarded to us and it's sort of amazing.
Check out this story, in the New York Times, from 1999:
You can read the whole thing here.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.
...
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.
...
In moving, even tentatively, into this new area of lending, Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980's. (Emphasis added).
Could there have been a more prescient article? I would think you are going to see this quoted more and more in the near future.
And feel free to quote that second paragraph to your friends.
***
Rasmussen Reports is going to be updating its polling info on the Nebraska Senate race at 3pm (Central) and the Presidential race in Nebraska at 5pm today.
Unfortunately, we will most likely be away from the Leavenworth Street computer banks, and won't be able to update.
Click there yourselves at 3 and 5, and feel free to talk it up.
***
And in case you've missed it, the Omaha Mayor's race has kicked it up another notch.
Dan Goaley, formerly of Coldwell Banker, is now the President of the "Draft Jim Vokal Committe", a/k/a "Run Jimmy Run!", organized to "convince" Councilman Jim Vokal to run for Mayor.
You can see a little bit more at RunJimmyRun.org. And you may have already seen the billboards. (The billboards where it's very difficult to read the candidate's LAST NAME and we don't know what office they'd like him to run for...)
Vokal, when he's not busy counciling, works at Coldwell Banker. And the other money people behind this rollout are also apparently Coldwell Banker types.
On this note, the word also is that Scott Hazelrigg will not run for Mayor, but may be considering challenging Franklin Thomspon for his Council seat.
And it's just a hunch, but if Vokal is in, we don't see Dan Welch making the move. But who knows...
***
We will put up another open page for Veep Debate comments, right around the start time. Be sure to come back and blab it up.
Posts
23 comments:
Well, I don't read the NY Times and I'm a little shocked that folks here, including Street Sweeper read the NYTIMES. According to all of Mcain's strategists, it isn't really a fair newspaper.
And seriously, BTW, It is pretty fascinating to see everyone try to blame this economic crisis on Freddie/Fannie. Did they have a role to play? Sure? Are they responsible for this meltdown? No. Although maybe we can talk to McCain's campaign manager, who may or may not still be on payroll for them. Or maybe we could blame JFK and LBJ for their role in the housing crisis. Wow, 1999, not exactly impressive.
Anon, you just don't get it, do you? Fannie and Freddie were warned that this would happen in an economic downturn, back in 1999!
At what point did they attempt to change their policy to reflect this? Why didn't they stop buying up these sub primes so lenders would quit writing the sub primes, if there was no one to buy them off of "good banks" books, they would have had to quit writing them, their Boards would never have allowed them to continue.. Everyone gets mad that the mortgage writer and the lender preyed upon the poor guy that bought his first house at age 41 and is now in foreclosure and in debt up to his eyeballs (see WH story). Everyone wants to know why did those evil mortgage brokers prey on poor people and put them into loans they would never be able to afford? BECAUSE THEY WERE INCENTED TO BY FM AND FM! That's why.
If McCain's employee has questions to answer, so be it. If he left because the folks that wanted "to spur banks to make more loans to people with less-than-stellar credit ratings" weren't willing to change there "automated underwriting systems" to quit making specific criteria loans, then I thank him for walking away from a bad policy that no one seemed to want to change.
As for no one here reading New York papers, thanks for the insult. I guess you just found out that there are a few other people out here that are almost as smart as you.
Rasmussen poll is at 2pm and 4pm, not 3 and 5.
Adjust your calendar watches.
-SS
Hey, why hasn't Lee Terry been utilizing his "truth squad" guy, Richard Carter? It seems like now would be the time to have him front and center on the campaign trail since he's an expert on economic policies and all.
I heard something about a debate between Hagel and Kerry. Any info on that?
Freddie and Fannie statutorily could not buy sub prime loans. That is why the sub prime were bundled and sold as securities on the open market. Freddie and Fannie problems are related to value of homes falling and other problems, but not directly to sub prime defaults.
Not true anon 1:23.
F/F CAN buy subprime Mortgage backed securities, and frankly that's what got them in trouble. they borrowed huge sums to buy high-yielding but risky MBS. when these securities became toxic, Fan and Fred went down.
So Kleeb gains ground, from a 25 point advantage to a 14 point advantage for Johanns. Kleeb has taken the lead among independents and was down 47-30 in the last poll among them. Johanns has a higher unfavorable now (34 vs 32 for Kleeb). Johanns' very unfavorables went from 6% to 15% more than doubling.
Very interesting.
Did you see on Fremonter.com where Kleeb predicted he would win? It's on video at that site. Check it out.
Good number movement for Kleeb, his advertising has done the job for him.
"A pretty hat on a walrus", "skunk with a bow". Wow.
Run Jimmy Run, is great that the Jim Vokal is out there supporting Jim Esch like that. With the extra emphasis in the "Jimmy" that just helps out Esch with name recognition.
Wow! Kleeb is only 14 points behind! Only 7 really because if just 7% changed their votes...and if you throw out weekends and holidays, it's only 5%. Plus take out the time you spend sleeping, it's only 3. So Johanns' lead is within the margin of error, really.
I wonder which office Kleeb will run for in 2010?
Let's see, Hagel won when he was 17 points back with a week to go. More and more Nebraskans are figuring out that a senatorship is not an entitlement for a lifer and opportunist.
More and more Nebraskans are talking that Johanns is a Bush yes man, and Iron Mike will just be another extension of the Bush policies. He will be another Adrian Smith, voting the party line. He has always looked out for himself, the party, then us.
Unless someone can find it on Johanns website,(And I'm sure someone will,) I can't find the word Republican Party, or his Sugar Daddy, George Bush.
Kind of like a lot of Republicans asking their Election Boards to put GOP Party behind their name on the ballot instead of Republican. Even the Republicans are afraid of what their party has done to their chances.
Look! Obama is within the margin of error, too!
Not real surpised that Nebraska will go red, is anybody here? I was hoping we could get a breakdown in the congressional districts, Rasmussen even mentioned that Nebraska splits electoral votes, but yet they dont have the numbers. If McCain is ahed by 19 and that statewide, i think Obama must be close in CD2 at least.
And i am still shocked that there hasn't been a poll done by anyone (OWH???) for CD2 prez.
I think you probably have to be a premium subscriber to get that data. If it shows Obama close in the CD2, look for a press release in about 3...2...1...
This bailout bill is an abomination. It stands against everything collectively refered to as "Nebraska Values" because it is an enabling legislation for crooks to keep sucking this nation dry.
I am hearing reports that Lee Terry will switch his vote - what a disingenous move - he knows this is not right, but he is a pussy and i bet they got to him - probably got calls from a bunch of Omaha bankers and maybe even Warren himself.
The Senate is in the pocket of Wall Street, and furthemore, not having to stand up before the people every election cycle, the Senators are insulting the American people.
This is called extortion!!!
Ben Nelson is a part of the "extortion crew" too this time. And what's with the freaking pork barrel spending - 6 million for wooden aarows!!! what's wrong with metal arrows....
I am disgusted.
I hope Adrian and Jeff don't chicken out.
He did recieve a call from Buffet, that was a MAJOR reason he has changed his mind. Warren essentially told him that any bailout is better than the option of turning them down.
Re. 3:31. Hagel ran for office with two purple hearts, having built companies, and having been a Congressional Chief of Staff, a Reagan appointee, etc.
You who compare Hagel to guys who have done nothing useful in life, had better suck in your rabid mouth foam and contemplate this rather strikingly dry fact: You cannot invent experience for those who lack it, no matter how much you foam.
The annoying thing about the whole mortgage crisis is how the GOP is letting it be spun as a failure of regulation, when actually it was a failure of government. It's no coincidence that the US, unlike most Western democracies, has a partially socialized mortgage lending system. The article you post, and others, show how under political pressure, the FMs continually loosened mortgage qualification criteria throughout the nineties and this decade. The subprime lenders, being squeezed out of the market for medium risky loans, took on very risky loans. While other countries have had real-estate crashes, no country is experiencing our default rate.
What we need to (and won't do, with a democrat-controlled Congress) is sell off what's left of the FMs completely, and get the gummint out of the mortgage lending business.
I wouldn't let Bush off the hook entirely, though. Bush in this case, as in many others, failed to reverse bad policies put in place by the earlier administration.
Vokal is getting some bad advice from someone. He doesn't stand a chance against Daub, and he probably won't finish better than Suttle. So he'll give up his City Council seat and won't even make it out of the primary. On the bright side, he will be providing a paycheck to a certain consultant after Nov 4th -- I think that is what this is all about.
Ka-ching!
Let's see. 50 plus dead dogs, spiked police pensions. Yeah, thanks Jim Vokal. Great job. I'll be taking this message to 72nd and Dodge, trust me.
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