2/28/08

U.S. Home Foreclosures Jump 90% as Mortgages Reset

And the results of the bush ownership society start rolling in:
Bank seizures of U.S. homes almost doubled in January as property owners failed to make higher payments on adjustable-rate mortgages.

Repossessions rose 90 percent to 45,327 last month from the same period a year ago, according to RealtyTrac Inc., a seller of foreclosure statistics that has a database of more than 1 million properties. Total foreclosure filings, which include default and auction notices as well as bank seizures, increased 57 percent.

``The most troubling thing is that we are seeing more and more of these properties actually going all the way through the process and going back to the banks,'' Rick Sharga, executive vice president of Irvine, California-based RealtyTrac, said.

snip

More than 233,000 properties were in some stage of default last month. Total filings increased 8 percent in January from December, RealtyTrac said today in a statement.

Yes! The banks problems are the most troubling issues. Never mind the millions of American families that are or will be looking for new places to live, *IF* they can with their credit in ruin. Of course, the banks and mortgage companies are more worried about their demands for corporate welfare to keep them afloat through their hard times than they are about Joe and Suzy Sixpack living in the front seat of their car with the kids in the back seat...

This is only the beginning and it is only going to get worse.

Can Foreign Born John McCain Be President?

The fact that John McCain was born in a foreign land has even the McCain campaign scrambling for legal cover:
Mr. McCain’s likely nomination as the Republican candidate for president and the happenstance of his birth in the Panama Canal Zone in 1936 are reviving a musty debate that has surfaced periodically since the founders first set quill to parchment and declared that only a “natural-born citizen” can hold the nation’s highest office.

The phrase “natural born” was in early drafts of the Constitution. Scholars say notes of the Constitutional Convention give away little of the intent of the framers. Its origin may be traced to a letter from John Jay to George Washington, with Jay suggesting that to prevent foreigners from becoming commander in chief, the Constitution needed to “declare expressly” that only a natural-born citizen could be president.

Ms. Duggin and others who have explored the arcane subject in depth say legal argument and basic fairness may indeed be on the side of Mr. McCain, a longtime member of Congress from Arizona. But multiple experts and scholarly reviews say the issue has never been definitively resolved by either Congress or the Supreme Court.
Just some food for thought as conservatives seem to be on their way to nominating the first Panamanian born candidate for President of the United States of America. Not that he is likely to win, and I wonder if McCain is related to Manuel Noriega?

2/26/08

Does John McCain Support the Troops?

clammyc at ePluribusMedia thinks McCain has a clear track record of dumping on the troops:

Since everyone is at least a bit familiar with John McCain’s record when it comes to strolling through a market in Baghdad with hundreds of his closest guards, or how he wants to stay in Iraq for 100 years (except when he flip flops on that).

But not that many really, truly know just how horrific his voting record is when it comes to the troops. And it is pretty consistent – whether it is for armor and equipment, for veteran’s health care, for adequate troop rest or anything that actually, you know, supports our troops.

This is chock full of links to the roll call votes, and the roll call votes have links to the actual underlying bills and amendments. I present this so that there is support and things that can be rattled off when saying that McCain is not a friend of the military. Feel free to use it as you want, but this can be tied into the “Double Talk Express”. But here is a very quick statement - John McCain skipped close to a dozen votes on Iraq, and on at least another 10 occasions, he voted against arming and equipping the troops, providing adequate rest for the troops between deployments and for health care or other benefits for veterans.

In mid 2007, Senator Reid noted that McCain missed 10 of the past 14 votes on Iraq. However, here is a summary of a dozen votes (two that he missed and ten that he voted against) with respect to Iraq, funding for veterans or for troops, including equipment and armor. I have also included other snippets related to the time period when the vote occurred.

Go check out just how John McCain is no friend of the soldiers... It is truly disgusting how McCain has turned his back on the troops time and time again.

Here is just a taste of what clammyc is talking about:
April 2003: McCain urged other Senate members to table a vote (which never passed) to provide more than $1 billion for National Guard and Reserve equipment in Iraq related to a shortage of helmets, tents, bullet-proof inserts, and tactical vests.
The vote to table it by the Republican controlled Senate basically broke down by party line (52-47) and effectively killed it... McCain and the Republicans do not give a damn about the soldiers, especially considering their promise of endless war. To this day the National Guard and Reserves are still short on beans, bullets and other supplies.

Suicides in the U.S. Army increased 20 percent in 2007 from the previous year; that word came today in reports on internal Army documents. They showed as many as 121 suicides in the ranks in 2007. More than a quarter of those -- about 34 -- happened in Iraq. Army officials have said the troops are under increased stress, partly due to long overseas deployments.

An independent commission warned today the National Guard is even less combat-ready than it was a year ago. The commission on the National Guard and Reserves reported to Congress. It said the two forces do not have the equipment or training they need.

All thanks to the way John McCain and other Republicans treat the troops... Republicans kill anything in congress that tries to force bush to honestly support the troops. ABC's Political Punch knocks out the highly partisan far right wingnuts that screeched over Obama's statements in the debate the other night:

Some are quibbling about whether or not the "commander in chief" can be held responsible for how well our soldiers are being equipped, since Congress provides the funding for the military, but the Pentagon (and ultimately President Bush) are in charge of the funding mechanism.

I might suggest those on the blogosphere upset about this story would be better suited directing their ire at those responsible for this problem, which is certainly not new. That is, if they actually care about the men and women bravely serving our country at home and abroad.


Meanwhile, John McCain has made clear his support for bush's continued failed policies. I have asked this question over and over again:

Do you really support the troops?

Do you even know what kind of support they really need?

Apparently Barrack Obama does know what the troops really need, according General Casey's assessment of the truth behind what the right wingnuts were screeching about after the debate:

Today Gen. George Casey, Chief of Staff of the Army, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee with a very different take on the story. From the AP ...

Gen. George Casey, the Army's chief of staff, said Tuesday he has no reason to doubt Barack Obama's recent account by an Army captain that a rifle platoon in Afghanistan didn't have enough soldiers or weapons.

But he questioned the assertion that the shortages prevented the troops from doing their job.

Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Casey said the incident would have occurred in 2003 and 2004 following the Iraq invasion. He said he remembers it as a "difficult time" trying to rush armor and other equipment to the troops.

He didn't endorse what Obama said, which there's no need for him to do. And he was frank about the supply difficulties that were widely reported at the time and which few people who follow these matters question. But mostly, if the AP report is an accurate guide, Casey sought to answer the question to the extent possible without engaging the politics of it.

This is not some partisan nit to pick. The Bush administration has had a dangerous and corrosive tendency to partisanize the Pentagon and use it to game domestic political controversies and campaigns.
According to General Casey the situation is still getting worse for the military:
"The cumulative effects of the last six-plus years at war have left our Army out of balance, consumed by the current fight and unable to do the things we know we need to do to properly sustain our all-volunteer force and restore our flexibility for an uncertain future."

John McCain can take his partisan campaign and incompetent support of bush failure and go sit in the right wingnut corner and rotate on it. America has no more room for continued GOP failures.

Chris Dodd Definitely Endorsing Obama

From My Email inbox and confirming Scarce's diary concerning rumors of an impending endorsement of Barack Obama by Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd:
Dear Stephen,

We have been through a lot in this past year and your friendship and support have meant so much to me. That is why I wanted to let you know of my decision to endorse a Democratic candidate for President - and that I have decided to support Barack Obama.

We all understand how much is at stake in this election and that it is more important than ever that we put a Democrat in the White House.

And while both of our Party's remaining candidates are extremely talented and would make excellent commanders-in-chief, I am throwing my support to the candidate who I believe will open the most eyes to our shared Democratic vision.

I'm deeply proud to be the first 2008 Democratic presidential candidate to endorse Barack Obama. He is ready to be President. And I am ready to support him - to work with him and for him and help elect him our 44th President.

Put simply, I believe Barack Obama is uniquely qualified to help us face this housing crisis, create good jobs, strengthen America's families in this 21st century global economy, unite the world against terrorism and end the war in Iraq - and perhaps most importantly, call the American people to shared service and sacrifice. In this campaign, he has drawn millions of voters into politics for the first time in their lives and shown us that we are united by so much more than that which divides us.

That is why I believe the time has come for Democrats to come together as a Party and focus on winning the general election. The stakes are too high not to.

The last seven years have been as difficult as any I can remember. More than ever, we need a President who will inspire us to take part in the political process and change our country's path.

Today, when we need it most, we are hearing a new call from Barack Obama. And I hope you, like me, will answer it in the affirmative.

Please get involved in Barack Obama's campaign now: http://action.barackobama.com/doddsupporters


Sincerely,

Chris Dodd

2/25/08

Right Wingnut Frenzy Over Soldier's Assertions

Right wingnuts were hysterical over this story:

In last week’s Democratic debate, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) said he was told by an Army captain that his platoon’s resources in Afghanistan were shortchanged because of the Iraq war. Seeking to turn Obama’s remarks into a political attack, Sen. John Warner (R-VA) immediately questioned the authenticity of the statement. But ABC News contacted the Army captain, who backed up Obama’s story. And now the New York Times reports that soldiers in Afghanistan are still strapped for resources:

And they felt eclipsed by Iraq. As Sgt. Erick Gallardo put it: “We don’t get supplies, assets. We scrounge for everything and live a lot more rugged. But we know the war is here. We got unfinished business.”

Jon Soltz and VetVoice have more.
Crooks and Liars has more on this as well:

During the Austin debate last week, Barack Obama made this comment:

“You know, I’ve heard from an Army captain who was the head of a rifle platoon — supposed to have 39 men in a rifle platoon,” he said. “Ended up being sent to Afghanistan with 24 because 15 of those soldiers had been sent to Iraq. And as a consequence, they didn’t have enough ammunition, they didn’t have enough humvees. They were actually capturing Taliban weapons, because it was easier to get Taliban weapons than it was for them to get properly equipped by our current commander in chief.”

Well, you had to know that a statement like that–insinuating that life is not all wine and roses for our troops being sent for their third, fourth and fifth rotation into the Gulf–was just going to make the wingnuts crazy. (I won’t link them, but you’ll find links here)

ABC's Political Punch knocks out the highly partisan far right wingnuts that screeched over Obama's statements:

Some are quibbling about whether or not the "commander in chief" can be held responsible for how well our soldiers are being equipped, since Congress provides the funding for the military, but the Pentagon (and ultimately President Bush) are in charge of the funding mechanism.

I might suggest those on the blogosphere upset about this story would be better suited directing their ire at those responsible for this problem, which is certainly not new. That is, if they actually care about the men and women bravely serving our country at home and abroad.

I have asked this question over and over again:

Do you really support the troops?

Do you even know what kind of support they really need? I could tell you but you politically partisan right wingnuts will not like the answers. You never did like the truth...

2/24/08

Add brought to you by Republicans For Fear!

"Republicans for Fear!" are also known as your local and national GOP candidates and politicians - like Chris Shays, Joe Lieberman and John McCain - that have lost their frickin' minds:



Please feel free to crap your pants in fear as the GOP tries to scare you into giving up what little freedom you have left in order to protect the bush legacy of illegally spying on Americans from being fully investigated.

Or you could be more logical and patriotic by impeaching bush to protect The Constitution and The Bill of Rights.

It all depends on whether you put bush, the GOP and partisan politics above The Constitution, OR if you put country over partisan politics.

Take your pick and make your stand so we know who and what you are...

I think I may need a bigger bra?


Because, somehow, my Blog has managed to grow to a "double E"? I had noticed this post over at Moue Magazine, by Brandy, and was planning on writing about this:
This post is brought to you by the letter "E"
Maryanne of the excellent blog Maryannaville bestowed upon us the Excellent Blog Award. Award rules stipulate that recipients must pay it forward to ten other worthy bloggers. Here are my choices for the Excellent Blog Awards. Acceptance speeches are welcome, but not mandatory, and we reserve the right to cue the orchestra if you ramble for too long.

ROTUS, Cangrejero of The Midpoint, The Political Cat, Monkeyfister, Stephen from Drinking Liberally…, Flea of One Good Thing , The honorable Mr. Jon Swift , Shaun of Kiko’s House , The Station Agent of Ice Station Tango (who is having technical difficulties), And… Skippy B. Roo . Congrats, everyone and we’ll meet you at the open bar.

Surprisingly, skippy also nominated me for this... Leaving me feeling twice as humbled as Blue Girl, Red State:
It is with humble gratitude we accept this award, bestowed upon us by one of our original tour guides through the wilds of blogtopia (and yes, he did indeed coin that phrase)...Skippy! Skippy was tapped by the lovely Brandy at moue magazine, in addition to us, he also tapped some fine blogging talent (and poached some of our obvious choices) when he also reached out and touched:

zaius nation, zen comix, whiskey fire, vidiot speak vagabond scolar, mike, the mad biologist, the galloping beaver, echidne of the snakes, drinking liberally in new milford, the culture ghost, correntewire, cookies in heaven, cannablog, blue gal, and badtux, the snarky penguin.
Much like skippy, "we are just honored to be nominated..." Well, in my case "I am honored" since this is not a group Blog and I am not a doctor, nurse nor royalty. And doubly so, NOT just because two Bloggers singled me out but because of the quality of the other Blogs that are listed up there. There are a lot of great Blogs in Blogtopia (y!sct). Many of them are huge compared to this little corner of it, and some of them are relatively new and just developing a readership community. But they are all great in their own way.

So... Here I go before the kegs up there run out or the beer gets flat:

Hat City BLOG

Connecticut Bob

Spazeboy

Ravings of a Semi-Sane Madwoman

1%moreconcious

Cool Justice

Man Eegee

The Life and Times of a Carolina Parrothead

The Crone Speaks

The Strange Death of Liberal America

And yes! I am going over ten since I got it twice, and since this is about sharing some of your favorite places. Trust me... I could easily add 20 more with all of the Blogs I read.

The Liberal Journal

Alien Trucker

PSOTD

Howard Empowered

House of the Rising Sons

The Field Negro

ThePoliticalCat

Mock Paper Scissors

Identity Check

My View of "It"

As I said, I could easily add another 20 Blogs and still have left some very worthy places out but it is my hope that some of the Blogs I chose will, by sheer luck, pick them out... And all of those Blogs are not necessarily in any particular order. They truly are all great in their own way!