The Master of Deceit and Phony Outrage

16 September, 2008 | joanie-f

[joanie-f]

Perhaps more than any presidential candidate in recent history, Barack Obama’s pious rhetoric has focused on his concern for ‘the little people’ and his disdain for the big money represented by corporate America.

I’d like to take a brief look at the words/deeds comparison of this man, and then pose a few crucial questions regarding not only Senator Obama’s honesty, but also his personal and professional affiliation with an organization that bears much of the responsibility for the sub-prime mortgage crisis and subsequent financial meltdown, and his fitness to hold office of any kind.

In July of this year it was announced that Fannie Mae (the Federal National Mortgage Association) and Freddie Mac (the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation), America’s largest mortgage companies, are now the property of the United States government.

Along with that ownership comes some $5 trillion (with a tr) in mortgage debt. The nationalization of the two biggest mortgage companies in America occurred because it ‘was required to help millions of struggling mortgage holders and shore up the U.S. housing market.’

As a result, every American taxpayer will be forced to pay through the nose for the rest of his lifetime in order to bail out wealthy, well-connected people who committed fraud. In effect, every American taxpayer has been forced to purchase stock in two insolvent companies.

Ben Bernanke was not elected by the American people, and he is not accountable to them. Henry Paulsen was not elected by the American people, and he is not accountable to them. And the people in the corporate offices of FM and FM were not elected by the American people, and they were not accountable to them. And they were committing fraud.

In addition to the gargantuan personal debt that you and I have been forced to assume, the U.S. dollar will suffer as a result of this bailout. Inflation will increase. And the recession will worsen.

This is just the beginning of the ‘let's-make-the-U.S.-taxpayer-pay-the-price-for-the-financier/government-blunders’ roller coaster. The bailouts are going to start coming fast and furious. The big question is: How long will it take before the powers that be recognize that the boat is sinking faster as a result, and the people who are doing the bailing are going to (1) weaken to the point where they can no longer lift their bucket, or (2) mutiny. I'm betting on (1) because the American public is too clueless to contemplate (2).

The democrat party, and Barack Obama in particular, are forever crucifying big business and the financial world, while purporting to champion ‘the little people’. The democrat party, and Barack Obama in particular, are forever accusing John McCain of being in the pocket of both.

When the federal government announced two months ago that it was taking over Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, The Center for Responsive Politics decided to take a close look at the amount of political contributions the two largest mortgage companies in America have made to our Washington leadership.

If you have been in the practice of swallowing leftist media swill, you should be very surprised at the results of their study: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Invest in Lawmakers.

In the list of 354 lawmakers who have received contributions from the two mortgage giants since 1989, Barack Obama has collected the second highest dollar figure – behind only fellow leftist Christopher Dodd (D-CT). Recall, also, that Senator Obama has been in Washington for only three-plus years. So, despite the fact that this list includes the total of all of Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac’s contributions to these 354 lawmakers since 1989 (for the last nineteen years), Barack Obama has managed to eclipse all but one of his fellow senators/congressmen, some of whom have been on the Hill six times as long as he.

And democrats in total collected the large majority (57%) of those monies.

The mainstream media, and most of our leadership in Washington, would have us believe that this mortgage crisis (eventually scheduled to blossom into a full-fledge economic earthquake) occurred as the result of a combination of greed on the part of the banking/mortgage industry and ignorance on the part of prospective low-income homeowners.

That, however, is not the case. The mortgage crisis is the result of a purposeful, newly required relaxing of underwriting standards, largely foisted by our government on the banking/mortgage industry in the name of ‘ending discrimination’, and in spite of warnings from respected economists that such underwriting relaxations could lead to unprecedented defaults.

It was the regulators, not the banks, who relaxed these standards - at the behest of 'community organizers' and 'progressive' political activists.

Byron York wrote in a recent National Review article:

Perhaps the simplest way to describe community organizing is to say it is the practice of identifying a specific aggrieved population, say unemployed steelworkers, or itinerant fruit-pickers, or residents of a particularly bad neighborhood, and agitating them until they become so upset about their condition that they take collective action to put pressure on local, state, or federal officials to fix the problem, often by giving the affected group money.

In the 1980s and 1990s, groups such as the activists at ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), of which Barack Obama has been an active member (see National Review’s Inside Obama’s Acorn), began claiming that banks were engaging in discriminatory practices against minorities.

See also: The Acorn Obama Knows and Getting Paid to Watch: The Link Between Obama, the Woods Fund, Earmarks and the Mortgage Crisis.

Acorn approached sympathetic members of congress who managed to amend the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, forcing banks to collect racial data on their mortgage applicants. The predictable result was that it was ‘discovered’ that banks were indeed discriminating against minorities (the fact that those minorities were generally less financially capable of assuming a mortgage received minimal consideration in every study).

What resulted was an increase in the power of the Community Reinvestment Act, and banks were now required to relax the criteria for low income mortgage applicants. Another new, more insidious, stipulation in the revamped Community Reinvestment Act allowed for 'community organizers' to take an active part in annual bank reviews. Intimidation was the name of the game.

Banks that received poor reviews were fined. Some were denied merger requests. Others faced Justice Department action if their ‘quotas’ of minority acceptances were not met.

As if ACORN’s complicity in the entire financial meltdown weren’t enough, the organization for which Barack Obama worked both before and after attending law school, and with which he still maintains close ties, is currently being accused of committing massive voter fraud, presumably in order to get their man elected. ‘Their man’ … the one who looks out for ‘the little guy’ and who repudiates big money and the power of special interests.

I will leave you all with a few simple questions:

(1) Why is it that Barack Obama rarely, if ever, lists his ‘accomplishments’ as a ‘community organizer’?

(2) Why did Barack Obama receive more total political money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac than all but one of his fellow senators/congressmen? And how did he accomplish that amazing feat in just three short years, when many of his fellow 'leaders' have been on the job for six times as long?

(3) How difficult should it be for the American citizenry to accept Barack Obama’s pious repudiation of capitalism and the ‘greed’ of big business?

(4) If John McCain or Sarah Palin had such skeletons in their closets, would those skeletons find themselves revealed in glaring headlines from now until election day? And would congress be clamoring for hearings ... or worse?

(4) Where are the mainstream media?

Nuff said.

~ joanie

[joanie-f]

The Obama-worshippers have no idea what they are ushering into being. They’re the merely ignorant.

Sadly so.

I cannot tell you how many people I come across every day -- family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, acquaintances -- who, if I bring up the subject of the election, invariably respond in platitudes -- and, more often than not, platitudes that are merely echoes of television soundbites.

What on earth could be more important than undertstanding the beliefs of the two men who are seeking to run one's country, during an era in which there are more threats to our lives, sovereignty, and very existence than at any other time in our history?

I have said to a handful of people, in utter frustration, 'How can you love your children, and not be willing to expend the energy to understand where our potential leaders want to take us? You are condemning your children to live in a world about which you deliberately choose to exercise no informed input.'

I haven't yet lost any friends as a result, but I suspect that day may be just around the corner. :(

~ joanie

[Smokin' Joe]

There are many more blatant usurpations of power over which we should be revolting that are far more egregious than those that hit us in the pocketbook.

I thoroughly agree, but until the bread is gone and the circuses are inadequate to sate the masses, Caesar will rule.

[meadsjn]

The following text was part of a discussion on a tech discussion board, but the subject under discussion applies across the board with regard to the sad state of the nation. In my not so humble opinion, the "little people" in various corners of society have had enough of the "in" crowd.

What we're seeing with Palin's popularity is that millions and millions of people at the bottom are fed up with the institutionalized corruption, and are showing up enmass, many for the first time in thirty or forty years, to vote for a real pro-American candidate. Whether McCain stays for a complete term matters little. Palin is the energizing element in the campaign, and McCain seems to recognize this. I believe she will be more influential as VP than any other VP in our lifetimes. And I also strongly believe that she will subsequently be President. She is the right person, with the right message, with the right motivations, for this nation, at this particular time in history.

The people who lead in times of constructive change may come from anywhere in the spectrum, but they must lead from the top to bring about meaningful reforms (and they have to be a real person; not media-created vaporware). Anyone here who has tried to bring about improvements in a business, or an IT shop, or in business or IT processes, being led by mindless, inept bimbos should easily recognize the futility of trying to manage change from the bottom. It doesn't work.

So what does this have to do with unemployed or underemployed computer scientists? Everything. IT projects and IT jobs are overhead, expenditures that can easily be trimmed in tough economic times (you'll have to look back 80 years or more to find a "worse" time, long before .Net). In tough times, core business functions will get all the investment, even if they have to work with paper and pencil. In general, technology projects and innovations are reserved for periods of growth or projected growth.

Many people question what I mean by "institutionalized corruption", and whether it has ever been any different. Corruption has always been present in our politics since the nation's founding, but has cycled from bad to worse, to not so bad. The past two or three decades have brought us to this current period of "really, really pervasive corruption", in government, politics, markets, business, academia, and any other sizable group of people in society.

What is ironic about the question is that it would be asked in discussion groups where concerned citizens are dedicated to improving the political direction of the country, or on a job board where so many qualified job candidates find themselves locked out of regular employment, begging through layers and layers of corrupt recruiting firms and corrupt HR "professionals" for a few crumbs of work.

Brokered employment (where the fruits of one person's work is divided among multiple layers of non-producing thieves) is the worst form of anti-capitalist corruption (next to outright slavery); even worse than multi-generational dependency on socialist government programs.

In a real free market, providers of services would have the unemcumbered right and ability to negotiate directly with the consumers of those services, without the bureaucratic interference of any IRS rules; without the overthrow of immigration controls that served the country well for its first 200 years; without the restraint of legal free trade of services created by the multiple layers of corrupt recruiting and hiring practices.

If corruption were not so pervasive, the discussions on this board would be about making real contacts, getting the right people in the right positions, designing and developing software to make honest businesses more productive and profitable in a growing economy. Instead every single discussion on this board deals with the corruption of brokered labor, manipulated salaries and benefits, massive work-visa fraud, illegal non-compete clauses in make-believe unilateral contracts, crooks, crooks, and more crooks.

[joanie-f]

I completely agree that the tech discussion you excerpted has applications beyond a tech discussion. Those of us not involved in tech can relate to the author's points every bit as well.

I hope you have no objection to my cutting and pasting your response over on my weblog where we have been discussing the sad state of the nation and our frustration with the direction our 'leaderhip' contintues to follow. It (your reponse) pertains.

Thanks for providing the excellent additional insights.

~ joanie

[meadsjn]

No objections. That was one of my late-night rants.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

PING!

As an aside, as far as I know, Fannie and Freddie were actually taken over by Uncle Sam during the weekend of September 6 & 7. From where is this idea that they were taken over in July coming?

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

A corporation is considered a “person” by the legal system? Wow, who knew?

[browardchad]

Excellent post and links, Joanie.

Here's a few more:

The Fannie Mae Foundation Grants Awarded search page.

The Foundation had a similar corruption model as Obama, namely, awarding millions in grants to "community organizations" (including Acorn, of course), who in return would be called upon to lobby congress and create a media blitz on Fannie Mae's behalf.

This is an excellent video of a C-Span interview with Peter Wallison of American Enterprise Institute, who's written at least three books on the subject. The interview covers the history and background of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, including the widespread Beltway corruption involved, the intimidation tactics used against its critics, the Foundation, congressional donations, lobbyists, and the surprising fact that Bush, unlike his predecessor, refused to appoint board members to either.

Q & A with Peter Wallison - Fannie Mae 

(It's an hour long flash video, and well worth watching.)

[Jeff Head]

See my post 26.

[sport]

BTTT

[sport]

BUMP!!!!!!

[Gritty]

There are a lot of people who should be going to jail, but won't be. Instead, they'll be getting re-elected. Others will be sailing their yachts to their island mansions. Innocent honest people will be ruined in vicious witch hunts organized by the real perps who want to cover their tracks. We taxpayers will pay for it for the rest of our lives.

American justice and freedom will be the big loser.

[Walmartian]

Well done, joanie-f! To confirm your writing I found this link.

http://acorn.org/index.php?id=2765

They actualy claim:

ACORN members have Negotiated landmark agreements with banks in St. Louis, New York City, D.C. and others, making more than a billion dollars available for loans in low-income neighborhoods.

Blocked the gutting of the Federal Community Reinvestment Act.

Forced Fannie Mae to establish a precedent-setting program to buy community reinvestment mortgages.

[philman_36]

Where are the mainstream media?
WOW, Fox just spent a whole 15 seconds (est) reporting his FM/FM money!
At least it got 15 seconds...

[Jack Black]

Thanks Jeff and Joanie for a nice summary. Byron York’s piece in the National Review was excellent (it’s one of Joanie’s links).

Interesting to look at the California news today. The Governator is going to veto the budget, which as he says doesn’t take into account that the state is not taking in enough money to pay for all the programs it’s running.

That’s our best case scenario, with McCain in office. Some focus can be brought on the spending side by veto. In California, it’s not going to matter though: the Dems have enough votes to override. We may be in that situation in the Congress too, a little early to say.

We know that with Pelosi, Reid and Obama in there we have three of the most socialist politicians running things since FDR. Look for FDR 2 under their leadership.

Denizens of the left think that’s a great idea! They can’t wait for another FDR. The continue with the incorrect notion that he was our greatest modern President (despite having trampled on the Constitution in ways that Bush has never even dreamed of).

No one is pointing out that Fannie and Freddie are just failed socialist enterprises. One created by FDR and one by LBJ, their failure should have been understood as the final warning for the structural unsoundness of much of liberal socialism in America. Medicare and Medicaid, another pair of FDR/LBJ twins are equally unsound, and their failure will make the Fannie and Freddie look like a drop in the ocean in comparison.

We need a top-to-bottom cleansing of our politics. We need to get rid of the top heavy insiders who control everything - the people who have given millions to Obama and other legislators, both Democrat and Republican.

Whether or not McCain can be that person is unknown. That Obama can not an will not is obvious. Therefore so is our choice, despite the many misgivings that I and others on FR feel over McCain’s checkered history in the Senate.

Thanks again for the essay and note.

[Jack Black]

First off a very minor correction. You wrote “Apparently you don’t realize that the 11 member banks are the majority vote on the Federal Reserve.”.

Actually the Board of Governors consists of 7 appointed Governors for the systema and 5 Governors drawn from the Member banks. They rotate in.

Your larger point is correct. Here is my question: what law gives the Federal Reserve Bank the power to sieze and buy Insurance Companies? Unlike most normal people I’ve read the entire Federal Reserve act and it is all about BANKS not random companies in other industries. What’s next? Fed buys GM?

[ELS]

bttt

[wita]

Well stated, with only the unanswered questions remaining.

What can I as an individual do?

How dearly will we sell our lives?

Pray for ourselves our country, and the enlightenment of those who are so overcome with Bush hatred that they can’t see the forest for the trees.

There is so much coming so fast, that it is difficult for the average citizen caught up in the daily grind of supporting a family, to assimilate and digest the issues, like the housing crisis, brought to you by the very names mentioned in this thread.

The energy crisis which subtracts from everyone’s profit margin and threatens the stability of the dollar and our future progress as a nation, at least in the short term.

The Banking crisis, brought to you by the same players previously discussed.

The Border crisis, already eclipsed by the previously mentioned crises, increased unemployment, the dollar crunch and efforts to eject some of the millions, here illegally.

The climate crisis, lurking just under the energy crisis, and for the time being, overcome by events, unless we get another killer hurricane in the near future.

I’m quite sure besides Iraq, Afghanistan, Russia, Georgia, China, Africa, Cuba, etc, there are many more crises waiting in the wings to provide the necessary smoke screen for all political candidates not just on the left side of things.

...and then we might just add the age old crisis of good vs evil to really get things stirred up. Could probably put the abortion debate in that category.

Just what is left for us to do? Other than repent in sack cloth and ashes and beg the good lord above to not open the scuttles on the ship of state just yet. Gives us a chance, or is his idea to put the nation to the test yet again, to see how we survive another attempt at socializing or socialism?

What to do? What to do?

Can’t give up that’s for sure.

[wita]

betrayal of the public trust, probably needs to be followed by this statement, “by unelected bureaucrats”. If I’m not mistaken the same thing happened to the American Indian Trust funds, pension funds, various retirement accounts. Not to mention, earmarks, subsidies, social security, and more.

The greed, theft, graft and corruption in this nation have risen to monumental levels unchecked by much of anything. If we don’t get a handle on congress, the courts, and the Executive branch of Government and hack them down to twenty percent or less of today’s levels we will only reap the whirlwind to greater and greater degrees.

JMHO.

[Noumenon]

Very interesting material. Unfortunately, the corruption of which this discussion speaks is so deeply entrenched that the ‘remedy for our vices,’ to paraphrase Livy will be so catastrophic as to make our last Civil War look pale by comparison.

If we were to act to save our Republic, it will take several generations to recover from the consequences. If we recover at all.