All Hail Queen Nancy

Yesterday Speaker Pelosi demonstrated to the country her total lack of ability as Speaker of the House. At a critical moment prior to the vote, she decided it was time to blame the Bush administration for all of the economic woes. Instead of focusing on the importance of passing the legislation, she opted to play the blame game.

Her comments didn't kill the bill, regardless of how some Republicans feel. There were 90-some Dems who voted against it, some at the instruction of Queen Nancy because they were freshman congressmen up for re-election. That really puts the country before the party eh? Then we get to listen to Barney Funky-Frank tell us he'd speak uncharacteristically nice to the 12 Republicans who voted against it because of the Queen's utterances, when a number of his cohorts on the Ways & Means committee also voted against it.

Queen Nancy conveniently overlooked legislation proposed in 2002 to overhaul Fannie & Freddie and tighten loan requirements. It passed the House, even though Funky-Frank voted against it, but it died in the Senate at the hands of Senator Chris Dodd, a man that I have always found to be honorable.

This entire mess is the result of people acting with the best of intentions who failed to abide by the basic tenets of making loans. In their attempt to get as many Americans into their own homes as possible, the Dems decided that a down payment and proof of income and ability to pay were not essential criteria when making loans. At that point, human nature took over. Greedy bankers and other "financial geniuses" created the mortgage-backed securities that have led us to where we currently are.

Fannie & Freddie are symbolic of how a country begins it's downhill slide into socialism, and the greedy bankers are symbolic of the dark side of capitalism. At some point we are going to have to decide, as a nation, which path leads to sustaining the greatness of our nation. Do we veer left towards European-style socialism, veer right towards unrestricted capitalism, or try and find a middle path that finds a balance between the two?

The lack of leadership on both sides of the aisle has left the American citizenry not knowing what the future holds for them; not knowing what the real reasons for the crisis are; not knowing if it's a bailout or a buy-in, and not knowing what action, if any, can get us out of this mess.

As I noted early on, I am opposed to the bailout on principle, but I see no other option that will prevent a worldwide depression.

Watching Congress over the last week calls to mind Nero and his fiddling as Rome burned, except now there are hundreds of fiddlers, out of tune, out of time, and out of touch with the people they represent. If the trillion dollars of losses in the stock market we saw just yesterday doesn't get these people moving, we'd all better get back to farming and growing our own food because the Great Depression of the 21st Century will make the Great Depression of the 20th Century look like a banker's holiday.

The 545

The political playhouse in Washington, also referred to as the Congress, has provided us with soap opera-like drama this past week. They have a plan - how nice of them to put aside election concerns and try to save the economy.

In honor of their bipartisan cooperation I am going to share an editorial by Charlie Reese, previously a reporter for the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper. If you're as sick of the "blame game" as I am, this is one of Reese's Pieces (sorry, couldn't help myself) that you'll find quite tasty.

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them. Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes? You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices: 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country. I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason.They have no legal authority.

They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash.T he politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it. The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.

When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.

If the Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ .

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems. Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

On 9-11-03 Barney Frank said Freddie & Fannie were not in distress, a claim he continued to make right up to the bitter end.

Duke Cunningham, a Republican and a war hero, sits in jail because he accepted money for favors.

The party makes no difference. The cesspool we've allowed to grow in D.C. continues to flourish, and yet most of us believe that everyone else's representative is doing a lousy job except for my representative.

I don't have the solution and I don't know anyone who does, but transparency and accountability should be part of everything an elected official does.

Apply As Needed

If we've learned anything this week its the fact that government does have an important role in the economic life of not only our country, but the world. As I write this Secretary Paulson has not made his address as yet, but the major elements of the government's plan to steady the financial markets are already known. The stock market is soaring and it appears that the Bush administration's efforts to stabilize things have helped. We're not out of the woods by a long shot, but at least a degree of confidence has been restored and markets around the world are reflecting that.

As a conservative I am not fond of the government stepping into our lives any more than necessary. This is certainly one of those times. By announcing that Money Market Funds will be insured like your bank deposits (FDIC) and limiting short selling for about 800 financial companies for a period of time, markets around the world have regained everything they lost earlier in the week. It appears that there will also be some form of restructuring of mortgages, which is a great idea.

Even Senator Chuckie chimed in this week - a 90 day freeze on all foreclosures until the debt can be restructured. I don't often find myself in agreement with Senator Shumer, but if you're going to bail out the large financial institutions, you need to extend a hand to the little guy as well.

The big problem, as I understand it, is that much of the paper that's being held on mortgages may well be based on over-valued property. Since determining the value of the "paper" is not something that can be accomplished overnight, banks are not willing to make any funds available for loans because no one knows for sure just exactly what they've got. The creation of a new federal agency to sort things out is a scary concept, but at this point I don't see any alternative if we're to maintain stability.

All the political finger-pointing in the world solves nothing; it only pleases the partisans. The truth of the matter is that greed and the lust for more money is at the heart of the issue. Making loans based upon the assumption that the housing market will continue to climb is just plain stupid. Did you have to come up with 20% down when you bought your first home? Most of us who've owned homes for sometime had to meet that criteria, but the "I want it now" American mentality overcame the tenets of good business. The banks gladly handed out the money with an adjustable rate, and that adjustable rate has come home to roost.

I applaud the quick action on the part of the President and his advisers. It has been reported that Congress will likely take action this weekend to pass the necessary legislation that will be part of the overall plan, as opposed to their earlier plans to adjourn because no one knew what to do. I can only hope that the leaders of both houses take the necessary action and not try to pass off some half-assed, watered-down legislation like the useless proposal to drill from 50 miles off the coast and out. When 88% of the oil is 50 miles or closer to the coast, you're not solving a problem or fooling anyone, and you're certainly not doing what the American people want you to do.

If Congress fails to act in the best interests of the country, there should be a lot of incumbents looking for new jobs come November 5th.

I'm On The Wagon

N0, I am not giving up Jack Daniels. I am giving up giving a crap about politics until after the election. Hurricane Ike is headed for Texas and all these two can do is rush out political ad after ad, ad nauseum. If you take a look at the current titles of my fellow bloggers that are listed on the right, you'll see some examples of partisanship that will never change the mind of the undecideds. Therefore, I am swearing off any political commentary until after the elections.

Why? Quite simply, my mind is made up, I'm voting for John McClain. No, that's not a misspelling, I'm voting for the Bruce Willis character from the "Die Hard" series of movies. If Bruce Willis decides to run, I'll vote for him. At least by voting for a fictional character I'll be more aptly expressing my opinion of how we select our Presidential candidates. And with fiction, you get to write your own ending - you can't beat that.

OK, I will pull my tongue from my cheek and correct the above statement - I am voting for John McCain. Since Senator Obama has the most liberal voting record in the Senate, and I have no desire for socialism, the choice for me is quite simple.

Candidates slandering each other is nothing new, but that doesn't make it any more palatable. If you make your decision based on anything other than your political philosophy, then we can only hope you use some criteria more relevant than lipstick on a pig, or the hundreds of flags the Dem's threw in the garbage in Denver after the convention. Obama wasn't calling Palin a pig, and it was some minor functionary who probably didn't know how flags are supposed to be disposed of who screwed up in Denver. Our non-partisan media (more fiction) tries to make mountains out of molehills to increase their ratings. At least Keith and Chris won't be in the anchor chairs anymore. Oh, by the way, the flags were rescued by some veteran's and used by Republicans for a rally.

The point being that it is the political philosophy of the candidates that matters the most. If you are undecided, turn off the damn TV and start doing some research on the positions of each candidate. To do otherwise is to fail in your duty as an American citizen.

It is more than likely that any "undecideds" have ever been to this blog, but touting windmills has never presented much of a problem to me.

So, that's it. No more politics until after the election. I can't tell you what it is that I'll choose to do, I can only tell you that I'll do my best to keep it interesting.

Happy voting.

Alice to Geri to Sarah

I have intentionally stayed away from writing while the conventions were in progress. I am so sick of listening to babbling sycophants that I'm about ready to propose we go back British-style democracy. At least there when
an election is called you only have to listen to BS for a few weeks at most. Here it never stops. The campaign for 2012 will begin shortly after election day 2008.

The biggest shocker by far was the nomination of
Sarah Palin for Vice-President. I had never heard
of her before, but I sure like what I've seen and
heard thus far. Compared to some parts of the
world we are light years ahead on equality of the
sexes, but we still haven't had a woman in either
of the two highest offices.

In case you're wondering who the young lady is, her name was Alice Paul. If you're like me, you know the name of Susan B. Anthony and the women's suffrage movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and that's about it. I became aware of her through a post in one of my Yahoo groups and decided to do a little more investigation.

She was born January 11, 1885 and passed away on July 9, 1977. She was raised as a Quaker, which explains here early interest in women's suffrage, because many of the earliest proponents of giving women the right to vote to women were Quakers. She graduated from Swathmore College, attended the New York School of Social Work, and in 1906 she made her way to England to work in the settlement house movement. While in England she became involved in the women's suffrage movement there and became quite a militant. She is credited for originating the "hunger strike" on behalf of women's suffrage.

"Each day I was wrapped in blankets and taken to another cell to be fed, the food being injected through my nostrils. During this operation the largest Wardess in Holloway (prison) sat astride my knees, holding my shoulders down to keep me from bending forward. Two other wardesses sat on either side and held my arms. Then a towel was placed around my throat, and one doctor from behind forced my head back, while another doctor put a tube in my nostril. When it reached my throat my head was pushed forward."

Upon her return to the United States she eventually split from the more moderate arm of the women's suffrage movement (National American Woman's Suffrage Association) and founded the National Woman's Party, which was to endorse a more militant approach to suffrage. They called themselves "Silent Sentinels" and stood outside the White House with signs that called President Wilson to task. Initially tolerated, they were soon being arrested for "obstructing traffic" and released. After we entered WWI, many Americans found these women to be unpatriotic and they were attached by mobs on more than one occasion.

After spending three days in jail in 1917, Alice, along with her compatriot Lucy Burns, and other suffragettes were sent to The Occoquan Workhouse. The Occoquan Workhouse was actually a prison in nearby Virgina, and on the night of November 15, 1917, it was the scene of brutality that shocked the nation.

"Under orders from W. H. Whittaker, superintendent of the Occoquan Workhouse, as many as forty guards with clubs went on a rampage, brutalizing thirty-three jailed suffragists. They beat Lucy Burns, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head, and left her there for the night. They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed, and knocked her out cold. Her cellmate Alice Cosu, who believed Mrs. Lewis to be dead, suffered a heart attack. According to affidavits, other women were grabbed, dragged, beaten, choked, slammed, pinched, twisted, and kicked." (source: Barbara Leaming, Katherine Hepburn (New York: Crown Publishers, 1995), 182.)

President Wilson soon changed his tune and lent his support to the movement. In 1919 the House and the Senate passed the 19th Amendment and ratification was finally achieved on August 18, 1920 when the Tennessee legislature ratified the amendment.

The dedication and commitment of Alice Paul and other suffragettes made it possible for Geraldine Ferraro to be the first woman nominated for the office of Vice-President, and now we have Sarah Palin as well. Although I don't feel that militancy will get you anywhere most of the time, I am very glad that someone brought her story to my attention. I intend to share it with my daughters, even though one of them is an ardent Obama supporter. It doesn't matter who you support, what matters is that you participate by exercising your right to vote.

One of the lines credited to Alice Paul was this: "If women had been allowed to participate in the end of WWI there wouldn't have been a WWII". I don't know if that's the case, but based on the observation that women are more compassionate and forgiving, she may well have been right.


When she died in 1977, Alice still held out hope that the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) would be passed. Although I found the ERA to be superfluous at the time, and I still do, I very much admire Alice Paul's efforts and dedication to bringing women to their rightful place in society - along side the men, not in back of them.

Click on the title and you'll be directed to an oral history from Alice Paul that was completed in 1976 shortly before her death.

I hope you find it as enlightening as I did.