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WASHINGTON (AP) - Democrats will hold sway on a new independent commission to investigate the cause of the financial meltdown and chart the nation's path ahead, with the majority party picking six members and Republicans four. While a Republican senator helped write the legislation creating the commission and says it's a fair approach, and nearly all congressional Republicans have endorsed the measure, the uneven split on the proposed Financial Markets Inquiry Commission could call into question the group's impartiality and hamper its ability to raise consensus on the issue. Lawmakers are comparing it to the widely respected 9/11 Commission, which...

Without such a well-timed swine flu epidemic, herding Americans toward the sty of the public trough would be much more difficult. Under different circumstances, initiating an endeavor of such a grand magnitude might take years to implement. Nevertheless, an opportune Mexican contribution of swine flu has provided a crisis driven opportunity, which very well may become the fulfillment of the Obama socialized health care dream. As crisis after crisis arises, Americans need to be aware that the strategy behind Obama's misuse of hardship is an effort to further an ideological socialist schema. The Cloward-Piven star pupil, Barack Obama, is aware...

In a windowless room at the Westin Hotel in downtown Denver, leading business journalists and editors explained how the media “blew it” in covering the economic meltdown. They admitted, on one hand, to falling under the sway of free-market ideology and celebrating risk-taking financial leaders and, on the other, to missing the complex story of the rupturing system by only reporting it in parts and to almost no effect for the past decade. Although not planned as confession, the discussion, which kicked off the annual conference of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW), quickly descended into an...

QUINN RALLINS, 23, graduated magna cum laude last year from Morehouse College with a dual major in international studies and Spanish. This spring, Mr. Rallins is finishing his master’s degree in comparative social policy at Oxford. He has analyzed research for the Rand Corporation in England, led workshops in Malaysia for Amnesty International and founded an organization to help orphans in the Dominican Republic. His next step? Top financial and technology companies and nonprofit groups have expressed interest in hiring him. Even in this economy, he has options. But Mr. Rallins wants to be a community organizer — just like...

WHO REALLY destroyed the base of the economy by forcing the banks to make all those millions of bad loans, pulling the rug out from under the  banks and insurance cos. IN THE FIRST PLACEYou didn't know this?  Perhaps you didn'tknow that newsmen have agendas andDELIBERATELY hid the facts from you.

Last summer, as McCain and Obama were in the midst of their campaigns to capture the presidency, a series of events dramatically changed the focus of the campaign from Iraq to the economy. June 26, 2008: Democrat Chuck Schumer leaked a memo questioning the solvency of IndyMac bank. This memo precipitated a run on IndyMac which led to its failure. Federal regulators pointedly cited U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., in explaining the bank’s failure. “The immediate cause of the closing was a deposit run that began and continued after the public release of a June 26 letter to the OTS...

President Barack Obama has no intention of helping to grow the United States economy. On the contrary, he is doing everything a President can do to weaken it. I know that sounds harsh. Maybe it seems outrageously “partisan.” Maybe it just seems outrageous. But after roughly ten weeks, Obama has consistently proposed ideas and plans (and in one case signing legislation) that will weaken the U.S. economy, not strengthen it. To attempt to view this man through the lenses of American prosperity, and to evaluate him with the same assumptions with which the behavior of other modern-day Presidents has been...

In the last 60 plus days I cannot think of one day yet where the President has done anything I like, agree with, or made me think he has an ounce of common sense in his entire being. I don’t like Bill Clinton much either but I get the feeling after seeing him in numerous interviews over the years that I could at least enjoy having a conversation with him. Even Newt Gingrich has said “Bill Clinton is very charming, intelligent and engaging, even if you feel like need a shower after meeting with him.” But when it comes to...

...FlashBack So why a 30s style bank panic now? Why Indymac? Because the left hated them. Indymac has been in the crosshairs for some time. The trial lawyers started going after them about a month ago. Not long after that, Schumer started sending letters to regulators attacking Indymac, questioning the financial viability of a bank which he had never examined. Neither Schumer, nor any of his staff even bothered to contact Indymac with any questions. Unsatisfied with the response, Schumer leaked his letters to the press. The local paper in Pasadena (where the bank is located) played along, and ran...

Lies. Deceptions. Intrigue. Skullduggery. Everything except sex. This is another one of those stories the media would be all over if it involved a president named Bush instead of one named Obama. Nearly two months after President Obama named a high-level panel to help solve the economic crisis, the group still hasnÂ’t held a public meeting. The Presidential Economic Recovery Advisory Board initially said it would meet every few weeks. That was changed to monthly. And that was updated to four times a year. HereÂ’s how Politico.com reports it: (C)omments from board members and Obama himself indicate that some members...

Of course regular readers of S&L should be long since familiar with the doings of the notorious Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). But they need to be viewed in the context of our recent examination of the ‘Cloward-Piven’ strategy. Indeed, as previously noted, ACORN was itself born out of the Cloward-Piven tactic to throw our system of government into crisis Once again, there is no better place for an overview of ACORN than Discover The Networks: ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS FOR REFORM NOW The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) is a grassroots political organization...

A note of caution to those who would try to do the right thing in this political climate. This is just a snippet of the letter. Please go to the link and read the whole thing. Please. Liddy's betrayal of his employees before Congress is detailed in the letter, but I didn't clip that part out. DEAR Mr. Liddy, It is with deep regret that I submit my notice of resignation from A.I.G. Financial Products. I hope you take the time to read this entire letter. Before describing the details of my decision, I want to offer some context: I...

Congress: The spectacle of the very same people responsible for one of the nation's great financial calamities angling to be given even more control to fix the problem would be funny if it weren't so tragic.Rep. Barney Frank, the Democrat who sits atop Congress' efforts to deal with the financial crisis, has enough chutzpah for 100 politicians — which is saying a lot. In comments before testimony from both Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Fed chief Ben Bernanke Tuesday, Frank said he wants to regulate pay on Wall Street — even for companies that aren't getting bailouts. And he called...

President Barack Obama said he believes the global financial system remains at risk of implosion with the failure of Citigroup or AIG, touching off “an even more destructive recession and potentially depression.” His remarks came in a “60 Minutes” interview in which he was pressed by an incredulous Steve Kroft for laughing and chuckling several times while discussing the perilous state of the world’s economy. “You're sitting here. And you're— you are laughing. You are laughing about some of these problems. Are people going to look at this and say, "I mean, he's sitting there just making jokes about money—”...

Geithner to call for new bonus system By: Mike Allen March 21, 2009 07:37 PM EST Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will try to cut down on risky behavior by financial institutions by asking them to tie bonuses to the long-term health of the company rather than short-term gains, according to people briefed on his plans. As part of a broad financial-regulatory plan to be unveiled this week, the administration wants to put in place reforms to get financial incentives for employees closer in line with the long-term health of the company. Basically, it’s what bonuses used to be before Wall...

Keynesian economists also fail to understand what the great Austrian economist F.A. Hayek understood; namely, that markets allocate resources by relative prices. For example, suppose consumers’ taste for fish intensifies while their taste for beef weakens. Consumers will then spend more money buying fish and less buying beef. The resulting higher price of fish relative to the price of beef will signal to entrepreneurs, investors and resource owners to produce more fish and to produce less beef. This change in production patterns is precisely what should happen. Specialized beef producers, though, aren’t so keen on this little piece of economic...

You remember this passage: Rule 11: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, polarize it. Don’t try to attack abstract corporations or bureaucracies. Identify a responsible individual. Ignore attempts to shift or spread the blame. Well, during the campaign and the first sixty days since, the POTUS's image has only been damaged by memorable individuals (with lots of video available for broadcast): Rev. Wright William Ayers AIG hearings clips Barney Frank Chris Dodd And of course the Pres and his minions's back and forth Add the frequent pop-ups of Biden, Pelosi and Reid and you have convinced the likes of...

"The fed is planning moves that would more than double its balance-sheet assets by September to $4.5 trillion from $1.9 trillion. Whether expressing approval or concern over the fed’s move, most commentators fail to understand the real magnitude of the projected expansion of the US monetary base because they don’t take into account the amount of dollars circulating abroad......................The fed’s planned balance sheet expansion results in a 15-fold increase in the base money supply. 262 Billion = US monetary base as of September 2008 (minus dollars held abroad) 3,818 Billion = projected US monetary base in September 2009 (minus dollars...

<p>Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in January indicates that the economy continues to contract.  Job losses, declining equity and housing wealth, and tight credit conditions have weighed on consumer sentiment and spending.  Weaker sales prospects and difficulties in obtaining credit have led businesses to cut back on inventories and fixed investment.  U.S. exports have slumped as a number of major trading partners have also fallen into recession.  Although the near-term economic outlook is weak, the Committee anticipates that policy actions to stabilize financial markets and institutions, together with fiscal and monetary stimulus, will contribute to a gradual resumption of sustainable economic growth.</p>

When it comes to our complex economy, Pres. Barack Obama would do well to heed the physician’s ancient commandment to first “do no harm.” Instead, Obama’s administration has been prescribing all sorts of multibillion-dollar borrowing remedies without any consistent diagnosis of what is exactly wrong with the weak economy or even how bad things actually are. Since becoming president, Obama has offered numerous bleak economic prognoses. He has told Americans: “The situation we face could not be more serious. We have inherited an economic crisis as deep and as dire as any since the Great Depression.” He has also warned,...

Obama in a press conference this morning summed up with: I just want to make sure we don't get into messes like this in the future. Well, Mr. Obama, the answer is simple. Government meddling, specifically, Democrat meddling into formerly free markets created these messes in the first place. Government forced the banks to make these so-called sub-prime mortgage loans to people who could not afford them. Get rid of government meddling into free markets and you eliminate a whole host of problems. Barney Frank and Chris Dodd should be the first to walk the plank. Hopefully, the American people...

In retrospect, we may discover that 1883 was a most significant year. We're familiar with 1848 giving us The Communist Manifesto and 1859 giving us The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, but 1883 gave us three portentous happenings. These seemingly unrelated happenings turned history toward socialism. 1. Karl Marx died on March 14, 1883, and was buried in Highgate Cemetery in London, England. The assumption that Communism died with him was logical since only six people attended his funeral. But the truth is that it had...

When easy money is waved in front of people, many partake. It looks like Enterprise rent-a-car lobbied for TARP funds and may have laid off people to give the look of a struggling company. However, the literature on their website proves contrary. Did they dupe the U.S. Government? Full Story: http://www.butasforme.com/2009/02/25/alert-enterprise-rent-a-car-may-have-fired-employees-as-fake-evidence-when-lobbing-for-bailout-money/

Dick Cheney, in his first interview after the election, makes it clear he has concerns about the new team in charge, and the use of crisis to advance a radical agenda. On how Obama let Congress write the stimulus bill: "That says to me there is no plan for stimulating the economy." Lots covered in this. Typically brilliant Cheney.

"A billion trillion here, a billion trillion there, pretty soon it adds up to real money." - - attributed to Senator (1960-1969) Everett Dirksen; revised. As closely as I can calculate, May 16, 2009, is National Insolvency Day - - the day when the principal owing on the national debt, per citizen, equals the amount of income per citizen, per year.

Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble. — Macbeth, Act 4 This incantation of the three demonic witches over their cauldron heralds the downfall of King Macbeth. It’s not witches, but the three warlocks of the new administration — President Barack Obama, his chief Chicago-machine henchman Rahm Emanuel, and his tax-cheating Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner — who are boiling the American people in a cauldron of their own, not with poisoned entrails, eye of newt, or toe of frog, but with a fatal mixture of a trillion-dollars of so-called “stimulus” dollars, draconian tax hikes, doomed-to-fail bailouts, and...

The Chinese, who hold a humongous chunk of the U.S. government's national debt, are getting nervous about America's economic prospects -and they're right to be jittery- so they're demanding security. "We have lent a huge amount of money to the U.S., so of course we are concerned about the safety of our assets. Frankly speaking, I do have some worries," the Wall Street Journal quotes Premier Wen Jiabao saying. The premier called on the U.S. to "maintain its credibility, honor its commitments and guarantee the security of Chinese assets." Short of registering a lien against the whole country, it's unclear...

What's really behind the phenomenon of Comrade Obama? EC explains how what is going on now is not something spontaneous or organic, but rather the culmination of decades of plotting, scheming, and subversion of American institutions. EC uses the plan detailed 25 years ago by Yuri Bezmenov, a former KGB officer... and a little-known radical 60's theory that the left would rather we just forget about - to show just what really IS behind the Obama phenomenon.

On November 5, 2009 Americans woke up to a very real Marxist coup - although most didn't realize it. I sat down and cried while a huge crowd gathered and were cheering. I intuitively knew something was very wrong. After watching Barack Hussein Obama destructively pursue his agenda as president, I now understand why. (UPDATE: Mar 3 - Conference Call on The Grand Jury Stephen Pidgeon: Conference Call on The Grand Jury, Click here to: Listen to the show A conference call to discuss the National Grand Jury, with Stephen Pidgeon as guest - Neil Stephen Pidgeon - Google Search...

This administration can call it whatever they want, rescuing our country with this exploitive bailout, trying to recover from the Bush administration and horrible policies, or having to have drastic Government spending and intervention due to our dire financial challenges. Most of us get it though. It is nothing more than following the rulebook of socialism and plans for a Government take over while we are distracted by endless crisis. Obama has surrounded his life with neo Marxists, socialists, anti American communists, anti Semitic racists and bold and happy terrorists. Either there is a ridiculous amount of niativity in Obama’s...

Isn't MSNBC the most off-the-hinges left wing whack job bastardized substitution for journalism in existence? Isn't it the home of the inventive and mostly imaginative and seldom true ramblings of Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann where venting against all things Christian or Conservative are demonized and the only acceptable form of worship IS Obama as Messiah? So how on earth will MSNBC explain that at 3pm EST on Wednesday, MSNBC web traffickers are FLUNKING "President Jebus" by 60%?

No man has a larger stake in a president Barack Obama administration than ultra-liberal billionaire George Soros. This decade, the Hungarian-born hedge fund investor has poured tens of millions of dollars into left-wing attack groups and Democratic campaigns. Soros’ grand plan is to destroy the Republican Party and conservative movement, while promoting the wish list of the political Left. With Democratic victories Tuesday, Soros may be on the cusp of fulfilling his dreams of social reorder — funded by a fortune of $7 billion he amassed through rampant speculation on world currencies. Soros has channeled his gains into such groups...

The term “euphemism” refers to the substitution of a vague or milder term for one that may be considered harsh, offensive or blunt. Example: George Soros is a “philanthropist”. If by “philanthropist” we mean one who creates chaos, destruction and financial ruin for his own personal gain, it’s a perfect fit. Calling Soros a philanthropist is rather like referring to the Nazi block wardens as Neighborhood Watch. Soros certainly gives lots of money away. But a philanthropist acts to improve the human condition. Soros acts solely to improve the Soros condition. Despite the lofty sounding rhetoric about an Open Society,...

Blackstone Group LP CEO Stephen Schwarzman said up to 45% of the world's wealth has been destroyed by the global credit crisis in little less than a year and a half," he told the Japan Society. "This is absolutely unprecedented in our lifetime." ......He put part of the blame on credit rating agencies. Rating companies have been the focus of intense criticism for granting top "AAA" ratings for complex bonds that later plummeted in value, resulting in subsequent rating cuts, in many cases to junk status. "Once you bought into ... the Triple A paper and it turned out was...

On Nov. 5, 2008, Americans woke up to a very real Marxist coup — although most didn't realize it. I sat down and cried while a huge crowd gathered and were cheering. I intuitively knew something was very wrong. After watching Barack Hussein Obama aggressively pursue his agenda as president, I now understand why. Most Marxist coups rely on deception — and that was certainly true of this one. Just about everything Obama said during the campaign was a calculated lie. His handlers and key supporters were equally willing to lie and deceive to gain advantage. Once Marxists seize power...

March 3, 2009Confused by Obama's planned obliteration of USA?By Sher Zieve Fearless Leader Obama is on a purposeful and unapologetic mission to destroy the United States of America. I have written myriad articles on this subject — both before and after the election of Barack Hussein Obama to POTUS (a position for which he still appears to be Constitutionally unqualified) — which are backed up by almost voluminous references. Prior to the 2008 general election, I even asked "Is the USA Ready for an American Stalin?" Chillingly, the answer appears to be 'yes.' Since Obama and his followers seized the...

Barack Obama is Destroying Our Economy on Purpose. A pair of radical Columbia University professors by the name of Richard Andrew Cloward and Frances Fox Piven wrote an article in the radical magazine known as The Nation. The article was published on May 2, 1966 and laid out what is now known as the "Cloward-Piven Strategy". The plan calls for the destruction of capitalism in America by swelling the welfare rolls to the point of collapsing our economy and then implementing socialism by nationalizing many private institutions. Cloward and Piven studied Saul Alinsky just like Hillary Clinton and President Obama....

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is sending President Barack Obama a massive bill funding domestic programs and awarding lawmakers their cherished pet projects after more than a week of partisan debate. Senators passed the measure by voice vote after voting 62-35 to shut down debate. The White House says Obama will sign the bill. It finishes up last year's budget business, which stalled as Democrats feuded with former President George W. Bush. The huge bill encountered unexpected difficulty in the wake of Obama's economic stimulus bill and a budget plan forecasting a $1.8 trillion deficit for the current budget year.

What's in a word? Whether through deliberate denseness for political point-scoring, or through genuine failure of linguistic understanding, Democrats seem to be having real trouble with the word fail. But the word fail must be defended; or more particularly its usage; or more specifically its recent usage by Rush Limbaugh, which is thematically emblematic of its usance in politics et al.

"The strategy of forcing political change through orchestrated crisis. The "Cloward-Piven Strategy" seeks to hasten the fall of capitalism by overloading the government bureaucracy with a flood of impossible demands, thus pushing society into crisis and economic collapse."

President Obama on Saturday struck back aggressively at critics of his $3.6 trillion budget proposal, casting himself as a populist crusader whose "sweeping change" has angered Washington's entrenched special interests, and promised to fight them. "I realize that passing this budget won't be easy. Because it represents real and dramatic change, it also represents a threat to the status quo in Washington," Mr. Obama said in his weekly video and radio address. Mr. Obama's language was combative and confrontational, as he promised to fight for "American families." "I know these steps won't sit well with the special interests and lobbyists...

NAM follows Chamber of Commerce with a first: Criticizing the Messiah for the first time for his bad policies. ------------------ At a time when our country is mired in a severe recession, suffering from rising job losses and a financial system in turmoil, the high taxes and anti-investment provisions proposed in the Administration’s budget plan will stifle our economy’s ability to recover, grow and create jobs. As a strong supporter of the recently-enacted legislation to stimulate economic recovery and growth, we are extremely concerned that the Administration’s proposed budget will take us in exactly the wrong direction. The benefits of...

Joe Biden made headlines by talking about a “generated crisis” for a President Obama. But is the current financial meltdown another “generated crisis?” Considering the problems in the economy, including too much federal debt, too much spending and easy credit, which have been with us for years, why did this crisis suddenly occur only six weeks before the election? And is it just a coincidence that it occurred at a time when John McCain was leading in the national public opinion polls and appeared to be on his way to a November 4th election victory? The crisis was man-made. It...

President Barack Obama's first budget includes $15 billion a year for renewable energy programs and an ambitious plan to raise $646 billion from a carbon reduction proposal. "Because our future depends on our ability to break free from oil that's controlled by foreign dictators, we need to make clean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy," Mr. Obama said Thursday morning. "That's why we'll be working with Congress on legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy." The plan uses money from a cap-and-trade program — which would allow companies to...

To determine what made Obama's campaign a success, we must look deeper to identify the basic psychological qualities that underlie these strategies. I perceive them to be: a finely developed skill in strategy, worthy of a great general [4], a tremendous audacity, enabling him to succeed in risky or controversial tactics that his opponents would not dare to attempt [5], a stage magician's skill in misdirection, compelling the public to perceive only what he wishes them to see and ignore what he wishes them to overlook, a penchant for evasion and concealment---the very opposite of his much-vaunted desire for "transparency"---often...

CHICAGO - Whoever ends up winning former Rep. Rahm Emanuel's congressional seat in a special election has some catching up to do. Congress is already in session and key legislation has been passed, chiefly a massive $787 billion stimulus package that will mean a cash infusion for states like Illinois strapped by the recession.

Hello, I am a long time reader and very rare poster, I apologize if I'm putting this in the wrong area. I don't think I've ever created a thread here before... Anyways, I am a college student and have been asked by student.com to become a "News & Politics" blog writer. I've been around that site since I was 15 or so(22 now) and accepted, and I was wondering if free republic would be willing to look over my articles before I post them? I'd appreciate your criticism much more than the criticism of high school students. I know you...

A reader reminds us of this remarkable article from the New York Times in 1999 (before Bush 43 took office), headlined, "Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending." Some excerpts (emphases mine): ...Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders. The action, which will begin as a pilot program involving 24 banks in 15 markets -- including the New York metropolitan region -- will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. Fannie Mae officials...

A rant from the WARROOM with Quinn and Rose Rant by Jim Quinn (Transcript by Neil E. Wright. Any errors are mine. I have added emphasis where I think it is appropriate.) "I want to talk more about the president's plan for the economy which will be unveiled tomorrow night. And as I've said a couple of times in this hour, I'm convinced now that its not stupidity. That its not just bold ideology. I'm convinced now that there is a global agenda to destroy the economy of the United States of America.And the reason? Very simple. You cannot establish...

Eat your heart out Jack Abramoff. President Obama looks forward to a guaranteed supply of Democrat campaign money which will make the imprisoned Republican fundraiser look like the small time operator he was. And better yet, Obama's multi-billion dollar nationwide scheme to circumvent campaign spending laws comes neatly disguised as a Hawaii-only deal for "reconciliation" and "justice". "Campaign finance" isn't even in the bill's description. It is called the Akaka Bill. Reintroduced February 4 for the 2009 Congressional session as S381 and HR862, the Akaka Bill creates a process to establish a Native Hawaiian Tribal Government. If it reaches his...