Free Republic

This will make you sick. The first video is the report on WSB-TV Atlanta yesterday on "distressed" homeowners, often unemployed, getting their mortgages refinanced with government backing down from as high as 11% down to 2%, 30 year fixed. What is worse is the second video, raw footage that shows the scope of the effort -- the length of the line of moochers waiting to get in so we can bail them out. I'm kind of shocked at the numbers. While Obama was trying to kill us with "health care" with his right hand, he was transferring the rest of...

A proposal that would allow mortgage servicers to modify loans without fear of lawsuits from disgruntled investors has been approved by the U.S. House. The provision, originally introduced by Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-11, as a separate bill, was approved this week, 234-191, as part of a broader bill to help financially strapped home buyers hold onto their homes. Millions of mortgages were bundled together and sold to investors as securities. Some lenders are reluctant to reduce the principal or interest rate on troubled loans — even if those loans are in danger of foreclosure — because they fear legal action...

It didn’t have all the drama of a Rick Santelli on the floor of an exchange, revving traders up with a call for a tea party. But in his own way, CBS’s Ray Martin struck a forceful blow against the mortgage bailout plan this morning. And like his CNBC counterpart, Martin called out the president by name. Today’s Early Show ran a feature in which average citizens submitted questions to two experts, including Martin, a CBS financial consultant. Using taped questions, the network of course exercises total control over what issues will air. It was telling, then, that the Early...

Looks like Rick Santelli got under Pres. Obama’s skin even more than we realized. More than a week after the CNBC correspondent criticized the mortgage bailout plan, there was the president’s press secretary today, still taking snide shots at him. Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs’ contemptuous comment came in response to a question from Chip Reid of CBS suggesting that the administration had retooled the plan in light of the “backlash that a lot of people had, not just on cable, but a lot of people had, fearing that people who behaved badly will be rewarded.” Before Reid could finish his...

Do press secretaries need press secretaries? If so, Robert Gibbs would be well-advised to retain the services of Matt Lauer. Jousting with Rick Santelli this morning, the Today co-anchor made a spirited defense of the White House press secretary. At one point, Lauer emphatically denied that Gibbs intended to threaten the CNBCer by calling out Santelli contemptuously by name. Santelli let it be known that it was his wife who had put the ominous interpretation on Gibbs’ words. View video.

Protesters at Dobson High School where Obama was presenting his mortgage bailout plans. There are some really GREAT signs! I wonder why the nightly news did not cover this. They wouldn't hide things from us now would they?

Is this the new standard? It's OK for one member of the MSM to ask another for whom he voted? Great: bring it on! On this afternoon’s Hardball, Chris Matthews put the question to Rick Santelli. And rather than resorting to the typical dodges, Santelli answered the question without hesitation. CHRIS MATTHEWS: Let me ask you a question: did you vote for Obama or McCain? RICK SANTELLI: I voted for Mr. McCain. It should be between me and my God–but I did! MATTHEWS: I want to know where you’re coming from personally, because you’re coming down hard on Barack, that’s...

The new loans can apply to homeowners who are current in their payments. You do not have to have missed payments to get the bank’s attention. As long as the borrower stays current on their new loan they can also get an incentive of $1,000 per year for five years, applied to pay down their mortgage principal.

***EXPRESS YOUR ANGER*** FREEP These 65 Republican Congressmen These Republicans need to hear from you and the best way to do it ... is by phone. "The House of Representatives is currently experiencing an extraordinarily high amount of email traffic. The Write Your Representative function is therefore intermittently available. While we realize communicating to your Members of Congress is critical, we suggest attempting to do so at a later time, when demand is not so high. System engineers are working to resolve this issue and we appreciate your patience." Most of their e-mails are backed up since the start...

Former Reagan diplomat Alan Keyes commented Sept. 23 on the federal government's bailout of mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The former Assistant Secretary of State, currently running for president as an independent, said the bailout plan as proposed by the Bush administration would effectively transform our nation into "a socialist society." The following is the text of Keyes' statement: What I have to say about the bailout is that, with a concrete proposal on the table, it becomes much more obvious what is actually going on right now, and I think that we have to confront it. And...

US stock futures point to huge rally following government bailout of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac U.S. stock futures pointed to a huge rally Monday as investors rushed to lay bets on a broad economic recovery following the weekend announcement that the U.S. government plans to bail out mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Stock futures jumped more than 2 percent.

All we hear these days is whining from reckless home borrowers and their banks. But did you know that renters are 32 percent of American households? And that homes in foreclosure are less than 2 percent? So why is Congress rushing to bailout high-flying borrowers and their lenders with our tax dollars? Sign the petition, watch the video and then check out the pictures from the Capitol Hill delivery! The next wave of signatures will be delivered next week. http://angryrenter.com/?go=7453

Why should American taxpayers have to pay to bailout reckless lenders and borrowers? The website Angryrenter.com, launched just last week, has a vitiation demanding that Congress not pass any bailout programs that reward risky borrowing and lending. To wit: "Let the free market sort it out!" The petition is gathering 40 to 50 signatures per hour, according to spokesman Adam Brandon, who adds that the site is already getting 15,000 visitors a day. "There's a huge segment of the country saying, 'We don't want our money used for a bailout,'" said Brandon. AngryRenter.com is backed by FreedomWorks, the conservative, free-market...

“Risky as hell.” That’s how the Heritage Foundation’s David John describes U.S. Rep. Barney Frank’s mortgage bailout program. He’s an economist who takes the consequences of this taxpayer-backed bailout seriously. Unlike, oddly enough, Frank himself. The Hill recently quoted Frank as saying it’s “irrelevant” how many people are actually helped by his $300 billion plan. “I would hope a million would benefit. There’s no downside. Why not try?” Only a Bay State pol could hand out $300 billion in taxpayer promissory notes and then say “What’s the downside?” It’s like Tip O’Neill getting the go-ahead on the Big Dig and...

All we hear these days is whining from reckless home borrowers and their banks. But did you know that renters are 32 percent of American households? And that homes in foreclosure are less than 2 percent? So why is Congress rushing to bailout high-flying borrowers and their lenders with our tax dollars? Unfortunately, renters aren't as good at politics as the small minority of homeowners (and their bankers) who are in trouble. We don't have lobbyists in Washington, DC. We don't get a tax deduction for our rent and we don't get sweetheart government loans. Quite simply, we are just...

It is easy to call yourself a supporter of economic freedom and the rule of law amidst a rapidly rising economy. Now with dark clouds of the recent rise in mortgage foreclosures—and more expected on the horizon—political expediency has eroded the support for free markets in some of its perceived champions. Even self-proclaimed devotees of the late Milton Friedman, President George W. Bush and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, sound more like critics than Friedman supporters. In the wake of a perceived mortgage crisis both have attempted to use the coercive power of government to solve the problem. Both plans center...