BULLIES - BULLIES -BULLIES,
I have had it with bullies - and many other gripes. Plus trivial things I 'have' to share. Including art projects I am now working on.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Ron has a different job
The company no longer sells only casters though, as it did the 30's and '40s. The full spectrum of material handling, storage and movement; from hoses for gardeners to cafeteria equipment for business or schools are ideas of the companies work today.
Anyway, Ron is happy there - so I am happy.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Finding my sea legs again --
I dropped the 'art' of conversation when that whole Palin for Vice President fiasco thing happened. I thought so much more of My Fellow Americans... I am ready to put that behind me now.
I put a lot of my ART on hold a few years ago too. Depression, economy, illness -- depression. Recently, I told myself that I had to at least do a pencil sketch every day. Not a doodle - but a sketch. From that, I moved into working with colors. My granddaughter, Camille, and I had done some work with her watercolor pencils - I started really exploring this medium after her visit ended.
The watercolor pencils made me think about a way to use all this stuff I had been collecting most of my life. Really~! When I was four or five years old, my mother would sit me down with a pile of magazines and tell me to cut out pictures I liked, and then we would glue them into 'scrapbooks.' These were real scrapbooks -- I know because the work scrapbook was written on the cover. The pages are of rough newsprint.
I have collected boxes and boxes of every kind of thing through the years -- just because I liked these things. Now I am doing art with them! Something akin to assemblage, though I do use acrylic paints, colored pencils, some 'cool' watercolor crayons, chalk, some pencils --- anything I want! New rule: NO RULES.
Let me know what you think.
![]() |
This is a big one -- 20x24. It has the feel of a Life Magazine Name: Double Issue; paper paint on canvas |
![]() |
This one is called "969 years" it is like a fold-out book - every surface (back/front/joinery) is covered with canvas, paint, and 'cutouts.' |
![]() |
Called "What's Real, A Life's Work"; canvas, old valentine, other 'cutouts' this and the previous piece this is called Desk Art. this one is about 6 x 6, with a fold-out door. |
Monday, February 1, 2010
Quotation I found in a book of my Dad's
FOUR GREAT MAXIMS FOR ACHIEVING YOUR GOAL
- We must take care to launch ourselves with as strong an initiative as possible.
- Never suffer an exception to occur till the new habit is securely rooted in your life.
- Seize the first possible opportunity to act on every resolution you make
- Keep the faculty of effort alive in you by little gratuitous exercise of it every day.
William James – 1842-1910
Just thought this was good...
“Once, many years ago, to an old Scotch born carpenter, I boasted with scant tact of at least ten identifiable ancestors that arrived on the Mayflower and that every drop of my blood had been on American soil for more than two centuries.
He replied, chuckling, “Tell me this—how many nights sat ye up deciden' ye'd no' be born Chinese?”
TRANSLATION: Since my husband could not figure it out.
"Tell me this - how many nights did you sit up deciding that you would not be born Chinese?"
Thursday, September 3, 2009
The Renaissance Colors of Inglourious Basterds
More thoughts on Inglourious Basterds
... I was struck by how exaggerated all the British actors were -- like stereotypes from 1930's, 40's & 50's (Mike Myers has been panned by some, but I think that the affectations were exactly what Tarantino wanted) - much better than the 'know-it-all' (Fassbender) Hickox- Film Critic. [I do remember when some British WWII films of the 1960's seemed to have a cocky "let's let the Yanks have a go - good fun" attitude in the films. ] The Hickox character was insufferable - the actor, Fassbender, probably did it right - I liked him for being so pompous.
Now - why do I have a picture of Ron Taylor - one of my childhood glamor actors up there? Because
I have decided that I like this movie so much because it is challenging. (Same reason I love TVs LOST series.).
My next comments will be on the colors - renaissance colors.
*Fate is the Hunter" -Taylor played: Capt Jack Savage - he investigates the mysterious crashing of a passenger flight.... great movie. My new driver's license allowed me to go see it almost every night for a month in the summer of my freshman year in high school. I loved the logical ending to the movie -- let's say it was not "fate" that caused the crash.
Monday, August 31, 2009
BEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME --
But now .. ta da... Inglourious Basterds. Director Terantino is just such a genius.
I am having a hard time not being a "spoiler" but Go See The Movie.... when you do, remember this song "Cat People (putting out fire) - David Bowie" -- I can only compare the experience to a moment in 1985; I stood in the 12th century nave of Notre-Dame de Paris and thought I was the luckiest person in the world -- the light was otherworldly, the space huge (at the same time - comforting like the womb), the color breathtaking, the incense burning, my hand brushed a stone, it was cold and so smooth from others hands - the stones were soaring, my head was spinning ...... beautiful. (I imaged living in a small porrly heated home - birth, death and decay all around me - contrasted with this amazing space).... THEN, just when I thought that macimum beauty had been experienced... an organist started to play - if you can listen to the last few seconds of this organist (loud) and try to imaging what I am saying . For the only time in my life I understood religion and thought about that starstruck Saint Teresa swooning away like she had just seen the Beetles. Tears came to my eyes for the joy of the experience.
“Many are asking the question: is this allowed? Can someone portray Jews as killers who also have fun with their murderous work?”
And after this revelation, “Pope Quentin” goes on to manifest the “biggest
exorcism of all,” daily Die Welt opined.“He manages finally to send this Hitler
to the devil in a way besides suicide,” the paper said. “Historic accuracy is a
virtue, but fantasy brings liberation.”[source: Kristen Allen in " The Local Germany's News in English"] For more about this go to German's like new Terantino Film.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Been AWOL...
Here is the description from YouTube
"Add Ricky Gervais to the set of 'Sesame Street' and you come up with outrageous comedy. Check out outtakes from his interview with Muppet Elmo. The full episode airs this November when 'Street' opens with its 40th anniversary."
please enjoy....
I will be back with some thoughts this week.
Louise
Thursday, March 5, 2009
If you did not see this on the Daily Show it is really worth a look
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Just some Sunday morning philosophy

Saturday, January 31, 2009
Gaza Farms Ruined by wars....
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Gaza

Most Gazans live in eight refugee camps to which the United Nations delivers health, education, and other humanitarian services – these encampments have been here since 1948. Some of the camps are now suburbs of established Gaza towns, but most are their own camp/towns.
The population density in Gaza is one of the highest on earth. Because of the ‘temporary’ nature of refugee camps – more than 20% do not even have sewage treatment; they have no water treatment, rudimentary electricity.
According to the UN the camp populations in Gaza are Jabaliya (106,691), Rafah (95,187), Shati (78,768), Nuseirat (57,120), Khan Younis (63,219), Bureij (28,770), Maghazi (22,266), Deir al-Balah (19,534). That is 471,655 refugees and descendants of refugees just in the camps.
Gaza City has about 400,000 souls; Rafah and another large city add another 250,000. This all in about 250 square miles -about the size of Tucson Arizona.
There have been restrictions on movement for Palestinians since before 1948 – but the blockade of Gaza has stopped almost all movement of goods and services in and all products out since 2007 – this included humanitarian aid. Fuel shortages and a lack of spare parts have had a heavy impact on sewage treatment, waste collection, water supply, and medical facilities.
There used to be a single track train that ran long wise connecting the cities of the Gaza Strip – but they were damaged years ago and abandoned. France and the Netherlands built a small harbor for Gaza – but it was destroyed and never rebuilt years ago. They have one abandoned airport also. In effect they have been not only restricted to the little Gaza area – but they have been limited how much they can travel within and without. From what can be seen, the only travel that is possible (and not very probable) is on foot.
Electricity, water, sewer treatment, garbage collection are all ‘luxuries’ that citizens of Gaza can rarely count on.
Next – the West Bank – ignored out of existence.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Just take a look at the map and you conclude.....
A while back Pat Buchanan (no liberal sympathizer) and some others got in trouble for comparing the conditions in Gaza with concentration camps. But the conclusion is an easy one.
I would profer the suggestion that the Israelis should be compared with abused children that grow up to be abusers themselves. The world must stress that it is not acceptable to treat people like the citizens of Gaza are treated daily.... that some of the people in Gaza will act out if they are treated this way... It is unavoidable.
View Larger Map
Donate food to the people of Gaza here
Saturday, December 6, 2008
These are some quotations I put in my journal in 1987

"When you have an efficient government you have a dictatorship" Harry Truman
"Any education worthy of the name is bound to be dangerous" L. Neil, Australian Professor
"If
you're going to play the game properly, you'd better know every rule." Barbara Jordan
"My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference. " Harry Truman
Mark Twain spoke of the young missionary who went among the
cannibals and Twain said " They listened with the greatest of interest to
everything he had to say...and then they ate him".
"I would be wise to remember that , considering bad news, it is never out of style to at least THINK about burning the messenger." Linda Ellerbee
"El Salvador is Spanish for Vietnam" unknown
"The obscure we see eventually, the completely apparent takes a little longer" Edward R. Murrow.
"First one, then two of us-- pretty soon they'll think it's a movement" --"if three of us do it they'll think its a conspiracy" Arlo Guthry
"You can't get a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant" Bell Labs Engineer
"China is having a new war, and we are having trouble getting into it. We always have gunboats there, so if there is any shooting, why, one of our boats will get shot at, and that gives us the usual alibi. But this time is seems we only had one gunboat, and it had to maneuver around for days before it could get in the line of fire...." Mark Twain
In these difficult times.... as we sit helplessly by and watch the world.....
Remember Johnson left office in 1969.... amazing how everything old is new again.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
LDS and Proposition 8 in California

People should live their lives in the light of day – and families should be able to form and protect the family unit no matter what that family looks like. So long as people are not exploited and others are not damaged, then how can another’s choices hurt me?
The troubles affecting the early Mormon Church drove them from New York, to Illinois to Utah Territories – and drove them from practicing one of their basic tenets. Now another disaffected group is being discriminated because of beliefs that are personal, and don’t affect anyone not directly practicing this lifestyle and one of the loudest protests is coming from the LDS.
A good friend wrote to me and one thing she said was “I like the idea of boycotting Utah ...it really pisses me off that a church would spend millions of dollars on banning marriage when there's children starving in this country. Their list of priorities is f*'d.
I hope it gets overturned....”
Each of my parents had ancestors that went back to the first families (yes, the pilgrims) that settled the country that later became the United States of America. Some of those pilgrims went back to Huguenots that fled France for religious freedom in England, LatEr fled England to the Netherlands and then back to England and onto the Colonies for religious freedom in the New World. Some went on to follow some of the 19th Century religious experiments like the Oneida Colony and the fledgling LDS under the leadership of Jos. Smith in New York.
The LDS had unconventional beliefs that upset the neighbors and were driven out of New York, and every community they settled in. I grew up hearing about the atrocities done to my ancestors – in the 1970s my father and I took my children on a sort of pilgrimage to our cultural ‘holy sites’ at the early settlements; we followed the Mormon Trail from Nauvoo west and visited sites in Utah, Idaho, Nevada and California.
All my life I had such pride that my ancestors were “willing” to die for the things that they believed in.
There are people, like the ancestor pictured here, Sarah, who fled the aggre

These Mormon ancestors were willing to flee, fight and many times die for their beliefs – they truly suffered physically, emotionally and financially for nearly a century; these people walked across continents for their unorthodox beliefs. They just wanted to live in a place where they could hold their heads high and live in peace with their families – they did not ask others to live the way they lived.
Maybe it all changed in the 1890’s when the church abandoned the practice of plural marriage to stop the US Army from militarily enforcing the territory’s residents with prosecution under the new laws against polygamy. Utah was then an island of Mormons with unusual beliefs – and it was inevitable that it had to end to get statehood. So, just as a revelation had started plural marriage – a revelation ended it.
They did not force abandonment of already established families – but at least one family in the highest level of the LDS Church did forsake all its ‘sister wives’ except for the first wife.
My great grandmother, the fifth wife in a plural marriage, was abandoned and instantly was an unwed mother of two, now, bastard children – during a time that this was truly a disgrace. This young woman, in her twenties fled her home town, in shame, in the middle of the night. She invented a new history for herself by going to a mining town in an adjoining state and gaining employment as a laundry woman to support her two children – and telling people that she was a widow. She later met and married my great grandfather – they fled this community also, to set up a new lives even farther from the territory. All her life she was terrified that her history would be discovered and she would bring further shame to her husband and family.
Living their beliefs in the light of day had ended their problems, for a while, and when the law no longer protected their lives then dishonor, fear and shame returned and families were irreparably damaged.
We are going through a period in our cultural history when many are choosing to have children and not marry, a time when many parents have chosen to have very limited relationships with their children. Millions of children are neglected; tens of thousands are in foster care. And in my lifetime I have seen divorce, with children, go from disgrace to acceptance to such an extent that people think it is remarkable for my husband and I to be together for almost four decades. Yet there is a segment of our society that is still optimistic enough to want to marry and have families.
Why would any of us fight this concept? And why would any group that was so persecuted for the composition of their families inflict this upon another group that really only wants that same peace and protection of law that so long eluded the early Mormons? I just don’t get it.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Decision '08
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
The World Watches Election Results
Do you ever wonder what the world is thinking about this election?
Here is a quote from The Times online(UK):
...........................Barack Obama goes into today’s vote with the overwhelming backing of the world beyond America’s borders in a presidential race that has gripped audiences like no election before.
The rest of this article is called:
US elections: the world has no vote but it knows who it wants
Kenya -- Obama's Kenyan home ready to party
United Kingdom -- Barack Obama's grandmother cast ballot in one of her final acts
UK Reporting on Kenya:
In a printing shop in Kisumu, the capital of Senator Obama's ancestral home province in Kenya, Jumah George had no doubts about the election result even before the polls opened. He had brought in a rugby shirt to have Mr Obama's image imposed on it. "I don't want it to say 'for president', I want it to be 'president'," he said.
China -by Zhao Yi, Ge Xiangwen, Hu Fang Americans turn out in droves to cast ballot
Austrailia - Sydney Daily News - A world of policy differences -- this is a different to read, more objective approach to evaluating differences between the candidates. I like this quotation:
Obama is disciplined, deliberate and cerebral. His
intellectual curiosity would be welcome after eight years of a president with
little patience for meetings, who interrupts those who brief him with lines such
as "speed it up - this isn't my first rodeo".
Asia One News: 8 reasons why Obama will win
India: The Times Of India America's finest hour: Regime change...in time, by vote this one has some interesting "information" that I have seen no where before -- but ends with this:
It still boggles the imagination -- that could soon be reality -- that the 44th US president may be an African-American son of a Kenyan exchange student.Nigeria - by Bolaji Akinyemi - The Obama in us and the us in Obama
Ireland - Irish Bookmaker Pays Early on Obama Election Win - October 17th, it was so sure, they already paid the people who placed their bests on Obana! (One person placed a best more than $130,000!).
Netherlands - Dutch in Netherlands root for Obama
Facinating site: The Irish Betting site has dedicated a site to our American Elections -- I can't figure out how odds work. Right now the Presidential election (betting) is closed (looks like the odds were 1/20 when they closed and paid off in October). But you can still bet on Ohio, Missouri, Indiana -- and 13 others. You can bet on what time Mr. McCain will make his consession speech.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Just a joke.....
Sarah Palin was seated next to a little girl on an airplane trip back to Washington.
She turned to the little girl and said "Let's talk. I've heard that the flights go quicker
if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger."
The little girl, who had just opened her book, closed it slowly and said to Palin, "What would you like to talk about?"
"Oh, I don't know," said The Palin. "How About ‘What changes should I make to help America"? And she smiled.
"OK," the little girl says. "That could be an interesting topic. But let me ask you a question first¦
A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat the same stuff - grass.
Yet a deer excretes little round pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty, and a horse produces clumps of dried grass. Why do you suppose that is?"
Palin, visibly surprised by the little girl's intelligence, thinks about it for a second and finally says, "Hmmm, I really have no idea."
To which the little girl replies, "Do you really feel qualified to do anything for America when you really don't know SHIT?"
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Maybe I was just not paying enough attention...

Oh, not about weapons of mass destruction….. No this is about the mortgage / banking / insurance fiasco. We are all guilty – people were trying to tell us, and until it hit in our own neighborhood most of us did not pay any attention.
I have found information that New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was trying to get people to listen about the mishandling of funds when Spitzer was brought down – this article was from February 14, 2008.
As a reminder of history – Elliot Spitzer was disgraced by being discovered in a hotel room with a very expensive call girl. He left office and the people did not have the benefit of what he was trying to say.
Elliot Spitzer, a Democrat, was previously in the DA’s office of NYC, moving up to District Attorney. In that capacity he took on the .coms, the stock market, financial organizations – and did it like prior organizations took on organized crime.
Here’s a Wikipedia link to some basic information about Elliot Spitzer.
But I am starting to think that the “people who watch people” were keeping a close watch on Mr. Spitzer in order to discredit him and shut him up. He wrote an opinion piece for the Washington Post, February 14th, 2008, in which he said:
“Several years ago, state attorneys general and others involved in consumer protection began to notice a marked increase in a range of predatory lending practices by mortgage lenders. Some were misrepresenting the terms of loans, making loans without regard to consumers' ability to repay, making loans with deceptive "teaser" rates that later ballooned astronomically, packing loans with undisclosed charges and fees, or even paying illegal kickbacks.”
He goes on to point out that state attorneys generals in 49 states tried separately and together to prosecute issues relating to sub-prime loans. He says not only did Bush and his cronies do nothing – they worked together to try to protect the deceptive practices and keep restrictive laws from being placed on the books.
The administrations handcuffed the local prosecutors using a federal agency called the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Here is how they did it, says Spitzer:
“In 2003, during the height of the predatory lending crisis, the OCC invoked a clause from the 1863 National Bank Act to issue formal opinions preempting all state predatory lending laws, thereby rendering them inoperative. The OCC also promulgated new rules that prevented states from enforcing any of their own consumer protection laws against national banks. The federal government's actions were so egregious and so unprecedented that all 50 state attorneys general, and all 50 state banking superintendents, actively fought the new rules.”Read the whole article by Spitzer ends with this prophetic sentence:
When history tells the story of the lending crisis and tells of the effects on the lives of so many innocent homeowners, the Bush folks will not be judged well.
Another writer did an article for the Baltimore Chronicle, Greg Palast, on March 14, 2008. The author is firmly slanted away from the Bush administration, but his facts do check out. His article was about Ben Bernake, Federal Reserve Board Chairman, secretly handing over $200 billion to mortgage bank industry speculators during the first week in March, 2008.
The point of this article is that up until about the 5th of March, there was one person making trouble for them with these risky loans – that person was Elliot Spitzer. Mr. Spitzer was making too much noise by ‘following the money’.
Here is his short form description of what happened:
“Since the Bush regime came to power, a new species of loan became the norm, the ‘sub-prime’ mortgage and it’s variants including loans with teeny “introductory” interest rates. From out of nowhere, a company called ‘Countrywide’ became America’s top mortgage lender, accounting for one in five home loans, a large chunk of these ‘sub-prime.’”
“Here’s how it worked: The Grinning Family, with US average household income, gets a $200,000 mortgage at 4% for two years. Their $955 a month payment is 25% of their income. No problem. Their banker promises them a new mortgage, again at the cheap rate, in two years. But in two years, the promise ain’t worth a can of spam and the Grinnings are told to scram - because their house is now worth less than the mortgage. Now, the mortgage hits 9% or $1,609 plus fees to recover the “discount” they had for two years. Suddenly, payments equal 42% to 50% of pre-tax income. Grinnings move into their Toyota.”He discusses that instead of policing the banks, Bush’s OCC people went after Spitzer and anyone else that tried to get in the way of these predatory loans. The government made use of something called “federal pre-emption” (which will have to be studied on its own) – Bush’s government ordered the states to not enforce their consumer protection laws! They actually filed a lawsuit to stop Spitzer from investigating mortgage practices.
Then the poop started hitting the fan – Countrywide’s stock fell 50%, Citygroup was down 38% -- neither of which pleased the ‘sheiks of Arabe” who controlled the biggest portion of the stocks in these two businesses.
The second week in March 2008, the Carlyle Capital Group, went bankrupt! I didn’t know who the Carlyle Group were but it is apparently headed by former Bush(1)’s Senior Counsel James Baker – with partners like George Bush, the Bin Laden family and lots of other greedy disreputable people.
Michael Moore, (I know not always a reliable reference), alleges that Bin Laden family actually were forced to liquidate their interests in the Carlyle because they were causing embarrassment to the group. Moore states that the Carlyle is the 11th largest defense contractor in the USA and has line by line evidence of his information website. – I did look at the site; I did not do any fact checking. This information looked pretty interesting though.
As a result of the Feds $200 billion bailout in March, the mortgage companies’ stocks went up in price ---- Countrywide’s stock went up 17% in one day. Citygroup’s stock went up $10 billion in one afternoon!
Spitzer was arrested on the same day that the bailout occurred. Wow – what a coincident! Amazing.
On February 13th Spitzer signed papers that said in part:
“Not only did the Bush administration do nothing to protect consumers, it embarked on an aggressive and unprecedented campaign to prevent states from protecting their residents from the very problems to which the federal government was turning a blind eye.”
Then he went to a hotel and apparently ordered take out food and a call girl. He was arrested. Well that did shut him up, and apparently scared off everyone else who was looking into this…..and it took about a half year to get in so deep that they had to give even more money…..
Now I have to figure out why they had to do this in the light of day this time. Was it the amount of money – was it because every place a good accountant could ‘hide’ $700 ‘KaTrillion’ dollars was used up already? Was it because an election was going to put its spin on this – and they had to do it first? Let’s find out. Please give me your input on this information.
Related Subjects:
Short Sales
My take on short sales (selling a house for less than its mortgage) – and why banks will drag there feet on many of the homes that are at risk with the subprime debacle.
Big one and one I have not heard anyone talk about is MORTGAGE INSURANCE. Many lenders have required this insurance for new buyers, people with less than 20% down payment – FHA loans – people with bad credit scores ----- unsophisticated borrowers…. You know, exactly the same borrowers who are at risk now for losing their homes with the housing market crash and burn.
Why on earth would a mortgage holder ever negotiate with a borrower to take less than then mortgage face (even if the market has reduced the price to half its price)? The home is insured for full price. The borrower was forced to purchase mortgage insurance (about $200 per month on a $200K home) as a condition of purchase; this insured the mortgage holder’s interest in the property.
So, John Schmuck, the marginal, first time, home owner pays a much higher monthly payment than his neighbor because he does not have the resources to pay more, (does that make sense?); Then when situations change - ARM adjusts up, property taxes increase, HO insurance increases – anything that makes it impossible to meet the increased payments. The bank “bye bye” we can get our whole mortgage repaid by the insurance the home owner had to buy!
So, don’t expect to find them renegotiating any loan that has mortgage insurance on it.
Secondly, if the buyer is still making full payments on the house while they are talking to them about renegotiating the mortgage – why would they do anything? The homeowner will have to be in severe default in order to get the banks to even sharpen their pencils or ask their supervisor about this.
Another thing to consider is that banks leverage themselves and sell stock. In order to borrow money at good rates they have to have strong balance sheets. The value of stock is determined by investor confidence and that is strongly determined by the value of their assets. As long as the house (asset) is on the books at mortgage value it has a value on the books that that is fixed. Whether the house is worth less does not matter – what matters is the value of the paper (mortgage). When the banks reduce the value of an asset for the borrower, they change their assets --- if they do that for a lot of borrowers, it really screws up the bottom line.
Of course, if borrowers just throw in the keys, don’t have mortgage insurance, and walk away -- Then they have a multifaceted problem. Now they own a home that is what ever value the market will pay, and they have to pay taxes, insurance, maintenance – At that point they are probably in a position to make a deal. A little too late for the displaced homeowner.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Get rid of this woman --

Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Who do we blame....

The whack-job, fear mongering, parrots of no-change are viral emailing this information around … and most of the senders never seem to do any of their own research.
The story appears to have been agitated by a FAR right wing, Republican, Evangelical Christian, radio talk show host and writer named Joseph Farah.
( BTW Farah is so right wing, he does not approve of McCain because he remembers that McCain is not too picky about his beliefs [as long as they get him elected to something]. Farah has spent a good part of his life involved in bringing down Bill Clinton and has been involved in forming something called the Arkansas Project.”)To support his case he uses an article that was in the New York Times called Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending from 1999, written by Steven A. Holmes. Now, I am not sure if he (and the people who forward this information) are using this information to shift the blame from Republicans to Clinton or to poor minority borrowers. But it is an obvious move to shift the blame away from the GOP.
To shift the blame away from the GOP requires readers with complete ignorance about the 1990’s and too lazy to do their own research before sending on this babble to others as if it had some validity.
( Reminder – I am not a Democrat. I am a registered Republican who is an Economic Republican that has not been able to vote for a Republican since the Reagan era – when the party was hi-jacked by religious nutcases.
I am no champion of Bill Clinton because of his boorish behavior to his wife and family after infidelity ordeal; And the amount of embarrassment that they had to endure because he did not deal with that matter quickly, decisively and honestly.
I have always felt that he just should have said – “This is a private matter between my wife and I – I will not answer any questions about this matter”. Instead, the lie, though understandable, put the family in a very bad situation.
Now, since his wife and he have apparently dealt with it and comparing it to the president we have had since – I have dropped it from problems with Mr. Clinton.)
To review the salient history, Bill Clinton and the current financial situation.
Even if “Fannie Mae has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans” as the article in the NY Times states – so, what? The Clinton Administration was not in a position to do one thing - the Congress had the power.
If not Clinton then, who was the power for financial change at that time? Number one on my list is, Republican Phil Gramm of Texas. Gramm was Texas Senator from 1985 until 2002 (also served as the Democratic Congressman from 1978 – 1983 and Republican Representative from 1983 until 1985). Senator Phil Gramm is also the holder of a doctorate in economics from the University of Georgia and taught Economics at Texas A & M.
The good Senator served on the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee and Senate Budget Committee from 1989 until leaving office in 2002. Significant to this discussion is the fact that Gramm authored the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1999. This Act removed safeguards that were put in place in the 1930’s (Glass-Steagall Act) to separate banking, insurance and brokerage industries.
Glass – Steagall Act of 1933 – formed the FDIC, changed banking and tried to end speculation that had factored in the Wall Street Crash of 1929. This Act stopped banks from owning things like mortgage companies, insurance companies other financial businesses. The Gramm-Leech-Bliley Act reversed this law. Gramm was not alone in this debacle though – the vote was 362 to 57 in the (Republican controlled) House and 90 to 8 (Republican controlled) Senate .
– Clinton signed it into law.
Can anyone say “Vendetta” -- - I bet you can Ven-det- ta……
……….watch out folks. When you buy into other people’s crud - maybe even mine, folks, this is the internet - we can say anything we want … do your own research.
Nose picker - Bush
Georgie Porgie Pudd'n and Pie - Flips us off and makes us die........
He just makes you proud - doesn't he?
Monday, October 13, 2008
Interesting tidbit from the Portland Business Journal

GH: There is a high likelihood that we will get some level of health reform out of Washington as early as next year. But that possibility depends on which presidential candidate gets elected. If Sen. John McCain is elected he won’t have his own party in charge of Congress, so reform will be a bit more difficult. It is a priority for the McCain campaign to get something passed, but it is a higher priority for Sen. Barack Obama. There’s a high likelihood he would get something done relatively early in his administration.
Our son sent me this one....
The go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile Scroll down to September 26th, and read the comments - if the world were not in so much peril from this woman's placement on the brink of 'leadership' I would be tickled by this quote "She’s no more qualified than Marge Simpson." said Jennifer in Winnipeg - then again Marge would present herself much better.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
The man who forgot how to ride a bicycle....

Here I will just give the essentials – please read this article for the ‘rest of the story’.
McKinney was being raised by his single mother. In Orange County. California; this was interrupted by her death when he was 12.
Young DeWayne started surviving, and getting into trouble - Mostly really small stuff. But when a hamburger stand was robbed, the manager was killed and in a “round up the usual suspects” photo line up set. His photo was included – and with his luck his picture picked out of the line up.
A young assistant district attorney let the case against him and he was convicted. He went to prison.
Twenty years later – he was exonerated! Two other men admitted their guilt and those that identified DeWayne took back their testimony. So, twenty years later he got out of prison. The State of California gave him a settlement and said “Bye Bye.”
Rather than being bitter, DeWayne – stood on the steps of the court house and said he didn’t hold anything against anyone. Later on 20/20 he said it again.
Then he put if “money where is mouth is” he invited the judge who convicted him to officiate at his wedding.
From a man who had not seen a cell phone, who had gone to jail before he even had a bank account – he moved on to success in business. I don’t remember why they said he was in Hawaii – but he was and he noticed there were not enough ATM’s for tourists. He formed a business to fix that and became one of the biggest (maybe the biggest) owner of ATM’s in Hawaii.
McKinney died last week in Hawaii in a car accident. I would like to say ‘Bravo!” for a life well lived.
Oh – and the bit of trivia from the 20/20 interview….. Mr. McKinney said he had to relearn everything – including how to ride a bike. So, if someone tells you that “it is just like riding a bike – you never forget……” think of DeWayne McKinney
Here is a link to a man who knew him personally and writes in detail about more of his Mr. McKinney’s life and where I heard about his dealth.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
What to they want?

Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Cars - Planes - Houses, Condominiums......

Mainstreet USA - who can we relate to?
McCain cars = 13 -- 10 are American, 3 are Foreign. Some of which are: 2004 Cadillac; a 2008 Jeep Wrangler; a 2007 half-ton Ford pickup truck; a vintage 1960 Willys Jeep; 2007 Lexus; a 2000 Lincoln; and a 2001 GMC SUV; three electric called GEM's 2005; Volkswagen convertible and a 2001 Honda sedan. (Quote McCain to Detroit television station WXYZ-TV, "I've bought American literally all my life and I'm proud.").
McCain jets = 1 - Cessna Citation Excel, a midsize corporate jet that seats eight
McCain houses = 8 (4 are condos that may be rentals)
Obamas cars = 1 -- 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid.
Obama jets = 0
Obama houses = 1
McCain grew up the son of a successful military man (Admiral McCain) - went to West Point as a result - miltary pilot - worked for his wife Cindy's father for a little while -- then went to work for the Senete. Always had benefits (usually governmental), always had a preferential lifestyle. (Okay there was that 5 years in the POW camp -- )
Obama - absent father that provided no support, mother who put herself through college - grandparents who helped in his rearing. Scholarships and worked his way through college.
I think only Obama can relate to people I know.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Financial News This Week
