Thursday, November 29, 2007

CNN In The Tank With Democrats

CNN’s last two debates have been filled with Democrat plants. And they haven’t even been difficult to discover either. I had to search all over to find analysis of the plants, so I organized them here.

In the Democrat debate all 6 questioners at the debate were plants, reported by CNN as “Undecided voters”

  1. LaShannon Spencer – Political Director for the Democratic party of Arkansas
  2. Khalid Kahn – President of the Islamic Society of Nevada, and gave $2,000 to Harry Reid in April, 2007
  3. Catherine Jackson – Devout Anti-war protester
  4. Maria Luisa – Forced by CNN to ask “diamonds or pearls” question as opposed to her pre-approved question regarding Yucca Mountain, and was a former staffer of Nevada Democratic Party Chair, Harry Reid
  5. Judy Bagley – Leader of the Culinary Worker’s Union Local 226
  6. George Ambriz – Served as president of MEChA, a Hispanic organization that calls for anti-American activities and civil-disobedience



In the Republican debate there were at least 5, possibly 6 plants that were deemed by CNN again as “Undecided voters;”

  1. Keith Kerr – Retired Army Colonel, and steering committee member for LGBT Americans for Hillary. Appeared on CNN 12/11/2003
  2. Questioner “Journey” – John Edwards Supporter. Has videos under same account wearing “John Edwards 08” shirt
  3. David Cercone – States he supports Barrack Obama on his Profile page
  4. Lee Ann Anderson – Activist for the United Steelworkers Union, who support John Edwards
  5. David McMillan – Asked why conservatives haven’t attracted more blacks. He created the YouTube group “NewsInColor” which has many pro-Edwards videos
  6. Ted Faturos – Worked as an intern for Democrat Congresswoman Jane Harman

And people still trust CNN with their news?

Info about the plants;
Democrat Debate

Republican Debate - Plant 1-4, Plant 5, Plant 6

*UPDATE* Plant 7 and Plant 8 of the GOP debate have been ousted.

We Had Been Warned Before

Thousands have been hurt by the recent collapse of the subprime mortgage industry, however the conception of this industry during the Carter Administration, and enforced during the Clinton Administration came with clear warnings like this one in 2000 entitled "The Trillion Dollar Bank Shakedown That Bodes Ill for Cities."

The Clinton administration has turned the Community Reinvestment Act, a once-obscure and lightly enforced banking regulation law, into one of the most powerful mandates shaping American cities—and, as Senate Banking Committee chairman Phil Gramm memorably put it, a vast extortion scheme against the nation's banks. Under its provisions, U.S. banks have committed nearly $1 trillion for inner-city and low-income mortgages and real estate development projects, most of it funneled through a nationwide network of left-wing community groups, intent, in some cases, on teaching their low-income clients that the financial system is their enemy and, implicitly, that government, rather than their own striving, is the key to their well-being.
The CRA's premise sounds unassailable: helping the poor buy and keep homes will stabilize and rebuild city neighborhoods. As enforced today, though, the law portends just the opposite, threatening to undermine the efforts of the upwardly mobile poor by saddling them with neighbors more than usually likely to depress property values by not maintaining their homes adequately or by losing them to foreclosure. The CRA's logic also helps to ensure that inner-city neighborhoods stay poor by discouraging the kinds of investment that might make them better off.

Those are some pretty strong words. African Americans were the most targeted for this act, and it was a valiant but flawed effort to help them off their feet. Fannie Mac did a study in 1999 looking at the credit reports of various groups of people. They found that a due to credit issues, African Americans making $65-70,000 per year had worse credit scores than whites making under $25,000 per year.

There was another article that came around as a warning in 2005, a mere 2 years before the subprime collapse.

After decades of redlining practices that starved many urban communities for credit and denied loans to racial minorities, today a growing number of financial institutions are flooding these same markets with exploitative loan products that drain residents of their wealth. Such “reverse redlining” may be as problematic for minority families and older urban neighborhoods as has been the withdrawal of conventional financial services. Instead of contributing to homeownership and community development, predatory lending practices strip the equity homeowners have struggled to build and deplete the wealth of those communities for the enrichment of distant financial services firms.

There are no precise quantitative estimates of the extent of predatory lending. But the growth of subprime lending (higher cost loans to borrowers with blemishes on their credit records) in recent years, coupled with growing law enforcement activity in this area, clearly indicates a surge in a range of exploitative practices. Not all subprime loans are predatory, but virtually all predatory loans are subprime. Some subprime loans certainly benefit high-risk borrowers who would not qualify for conventional, prime loans. Predatory loans, however, charge higher rates and fees than warranted by the risk, trapping homeowners in unaffordable debt and often costing them their homes and life savings.
...Here are some numbers to illustrate the extent of the problem: The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University reported that mortgage companies specializing in subprime loans increased their share of home purchase mortgage loans from 1 to 13 percent between 1993 and 2000. Economists at the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight found that subprime loans are concentrated in neighborhoods with high unemployment rates and declining housing values. Almost 20 percent of refinance loans to borrowers earning less than 60 percent of area median income in 2002 were made by subprime lenders, compared to just over 7 percent for borrowers earning 120 percent of median income or higher, according to research by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). The Center for Community Change reported that African Americans are three times as likely as whites to finance their homes with subprime loans; this is true even between upper-income blacks and whites. The Joint Center for Housing Studies has also revealed that race continues to be a factor in the distribution of subprime loans after other individual and neighborhood factors are taken into consideration.


And mind you those are reports from Winter of 2000, and then in 2005. And now after the fact, people are actually realizing what was happening.

Banks have been placed in a Catch 22 situation by the CRA: If they comply, they know they will have to suffer from more loan defaults. If they don’t comply, they face financial penalties and, worse yet, their business plans for mergers, branch expansions, etc. can be blocked by CRA protesters, which can cost a large corporation like Bank of America billions of dollars. Like most businesses, they have largely buckled under and have surrendered to their bureaucratic masters.
It was a time bomb waiting to happen, and the clock finally reached zero.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

A Great Disguise

You've all seen this right?



It's "The Golden Compass," a look alike to "The Chronicles of Narnia" series. But here's some info I was unaware of. The series was written by Phillip Pullman, a devout Atheist who has stated very publicly that his series of books is about killing God.
From Snopes:
Pullman left little doubt about his books' intended meanings when he said in a 2003 interview that "My books are about killing God" and in a 2001 interview that he was "trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief." (In 2002 conservative British columnist Peter Hitchens labeled Pullman "The Most Dangerous Author in Britain" and described him as the writer "the atheists would have been praying for, if atheists prayed.")


The producing company, New Line Cinemas has removed many of the anti-religious parts of the movie in an attempt to avoid a PR nightmare, but that move has created just that from both sides now. The Christian community accuses them of a stealth campaign that is aimed at creating misguided interest in the books. The atheist community is upset now as well though for "caving to the religious community."

Either way, it looked like a movie worth seeing, but I think I'll pass.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

I Can Haz Ballistic Missilez?

First it was the calls for the destruction of Israel, not only by Iran's leader, but the people as a whole.

Then it was the desire to have uranium enrichment facilities.

Then it was Iran placing a dozen SAM sites around a nuclear reactor.

Now Iran has developed a missile that can reach 1,200 miles. Enough to reach into the heart if Israel and many US bases in the Middle East.

But that's not all. Iran is still developing a ballistic missile that can travel 1,900 miles to reach most of the European countries. Maybe when Europe finally is under Mad Mahmoud's Guns, they might rethink whether he's a dangerous leader.

Monday, November 26, 2007

Leave It To The Trolls

In case you haven't heard, Dick Chaney is in the hospital for an irregular heartbeat. And here is the obligatory post on the inner workings of the mind of a Liberal Troll;

all i want for christmas is to see a blurb on tv saying cheney has died. - Fan of Man

We are praying for you Vice President Cheney…PRAYING THAT YOU DIE!!! - ProDem

DROP DEAD F66K HEAD !!!!!!!!!! - Give me back my country

On the other hand… can we impeach Bush now? - LibertyLover

Dick, we are all wishing you the best. The best funeral that one could hope for. Hope you suffer you POS - macd

a heart attack is too easy for dick. he needs a noose just like saddam. - Fan of Man (again)

Oh please, oh please, oh please, oh please…….could santa be real and give us all our christmas wish early?
Bush/Cheney
Hague Trials ‘09
Buck Fush - Buckie Boy

If I may add to all the heartfelt condolences - rot in hell - gumby

Satin. Hes waiting in the wings for you CHENEY ! Burn in hell… - Give me my country back (again)




At least one person speaks truth;
Congratulations, you guys! All these posts wishing Cheney dead will no doubt make Think Progress, already “one of the most dangerous organizations in America”, even more famous.

You people are making the Reich Wingers’ job much too easy!


Easy indeed. The DU forum about the incident isn't much better.

I can hear it already "But the views expressed by the commentators don't fully reflect the views of the creators of this page. We can't control what people post. We respect their first amendment right."

You are the creator of that page, and as such, you are liable for the things stated on that page. The first amendment states that yes, every person has the right to free expression/religion/assembly/etc...SO LONG AS IT DOES NOT INFRINGE UPON ANOTHER PERSON'S RIGHTS.

There is an easy way to minimize outbursts like this;
Require a website login to post comments, and if some one is doing things like this, revoke their right to comment.

*UPDATE* - TP is actively monitoring their comments. Many have disappeared since even starting to write this post.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

As An Engineer...


I can't help but see this as a huge waste of raw materials.

I just can't imagine how much money the scrap metal from the 888 foot long carrier could produce. The ship weighed over 60,000,000 lbs (full weight was 32,000 tons before gutting) I'm sure it would be a lot better than the $20 Million it cost to sink the ship in the first place.

Granted Florida State University estimates suggest it could create $92 Million in annual revenue for the artificial reef, but I really don't see it being that big of a cash cow.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

As Conditions Continue To Improve...


Democrats continue to ride the (D)efeatist train. The number of coalition casualties has continued to remain low, and the civilian casualties are set to be a new 2 1/2 year low.

A note for the Paulbots - Ron Paul voted AGAINST the withdrawl, but more than likely he was a vote against the $50 Billion that came with the bill.

Also, 15 Dems crossed the line and voted against the measure, while only 4 Reps crossed to vote for withdrawal.

John Boehner’s office e-mailed this to Michelle Malkin following the vote:

“By Christmas, some 3,000 American troops will return home from Iraq after achieving remarkable success in our fight against al Qaeda. And how is Congress welcoming them back? By passing yet another politically-motivated measure that cuts off funding for those continuing to serve our nation in Iraq and hamstrings the commanders who are leading them to victory. This measure will never be signed into law, and it represents yet another failure for Democratic leaders intent on putting politics before accomplishment.

“Congress would be better served by sending the President the long-overdue veterans and troops funding bill, which enjoys broad, bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. But the Majority leadership has played politics with this critical legislation, stalling its completion to take up today’s cynical proposal to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in Iraq. Consequently, returning troops and their families will face more hurdles and take more time to get the housing and health care benefits they deserve – all thanks to Congress.

“Under General Petraeus’ strategy, our troops are routing al Qaeda in Iraq, improving security for the Iraqi people, and laying the foundation for critical political reconciliation in that country. Congress should not undermine this success and risk having al Qaeda stand back up. Instead, Members of both parties should recognize that the Petraeus plan is working, continue to solidify our troops’ gains, and work to bring them home after victory, not defeat.”


H/T: Malkin

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Heh, I Ain't No Yokel

What American accent do you have?

Neutral

You're not Northern, Southern, or Western, you're just plain -American-. Your national identity is more important than your local identity, because you don't really have a local identity. You might be from the region in that map, which is defined by this kind of accent, but you could easily not be. Or maybe you just moved around a lot growing up.

Personality Test Results

Click Here to Take This Quiz
Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.
Let's see if it holds to the second test;
What American accent do you have?
Your Result: The Midland

"You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.

The South
The West
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The Northeast
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have?
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz


It had basically the same questions, but gives you the breakdown of how close to other accents I have. I get it from my mom, she was born and raised in Missouri, and although my dad grew up in East TN, his parents were from Indiana. Makes sense.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Ron Paul Had His Day...

Ron Paul fans had their day of recognition when they celebrated an attempt to destroy Parliament with massive powder kegs in 1605 by raising $4.2 Million for the congressman.

But on November 21st, its time for the Fred Heads to fight back.

Members of the Facebook community have deemed the day to be "National Giving Day for Fred Thompson for President." (web page here)

You can use this link to donate anytime, but I know I'm going to try to break the current record set earlier this month.

46” Flat-Panel LCD HDTV - $2,300
2.2 GHz, 120 GB MacBook laptop - $1,300
Xbox 360 - $399
8 GB iPod Touch - $299
2 concert tickets - $150
Guitar Hero III - $100
Booze for the weekend - $75
Average monthly cell phone bill - $70
Trip to the mall - $50
Tank of gas - $35
Theater date - $25
Fast food lunch - $8
Coke - $1.50

Having Fred Thompson as the 44th President of the United States - PRICELESS
Fred on Facebook, Myspace, Youtube, and Flickr

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Falcons Pull The Dreaded One Point Play



Actually, it's a scoring mistake by Yahoo!, but it still looks funny. They fixed it shortly after.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Whoa...

By John Coleman, founder of The Weather Channel;

It is the greatest scam in history. I am amazed, appalled and highly offended by it. Global Warming; It is a SCAM. Some dastardly scientists with environmental and political motives manipulated long term scientific data to create in allusion of rapid global warming. Other scientists of the same environmental whacko type jumped into the circle to support and broaden the “research” to further enhance the totally slanted, bogus global warming claims. Their friends in government steered huge research grants their way to keep the movement going. Soon they claimed to be a consensus.

Environmental extremists, notable politicians among them, then teamed up with movie, media and other liberal, environmentalist journalists to create this wild “scientific” scenario of the civilization threatening environmental consequences from Global Warming unless we adhere to their radical agenda. Now their ridiculous manipulated science has been accepted as fact and become a cornerstone issue for CNN, CBS, NBC, the Democratic Political Party, the Governor of California, school teachers and, in many cases, well informed but very gullible environmental conscientious citizens. Only one reporter at ABC has been allowed to counter the Global Warming frenzy with one 15 minutes documentary segment.

I do not oppose environmentalism. I do not oppose the political positions of either party. However, Global Warming, ie Climate Change, is not about environmentalism or politics. It is not a religion. It is not something you “believe in.” It is science; the science of meteorology. This is my field of life-long expertise. And I am telling you Global Warming is a non-event, a manufactured crisis and a total scam. I say this knowing you probably won’t believe a me, a mere TV weatherman, challenging a Nobel Prize, Academy Award and Emmy Award winning former Vice President of United States. So be it.

I have read dozens of scientific papers. I have talked with numerous scientists. I have studied. I have thought about it. I know I am correct. There is no run away climate change. The impact of humans on climate is not catastrophic. Our planet is not in peril. I am incensed by the incredible media glamour, the politically correct silliness and rude dismissal of counter arguments by the high priest of Global Warming.

In time, a decade or two, the outrageous scam will be obvious. As the temperature rises, polar ice cap melting, coastal flooding and super storm pattern all fail to occur as predicted everyone will come to realize we have been duped. The sky is not falling. And, natural cycles and drifts in climate are as much if not more responsible for any climate changes underway. I strongly believe that the next twenty years are equally as likely to see a cooling trend as they are to see a warming trend.


What about this consensus on Global warming you talk about?

Something Cool To Watch

FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup!

I wasn't much of a soccer fan in my early years because playing rec soccer unfortunately left a bad taste in my mouth (Played 2 years on a team that was 0-11-1 during those 2 years. The tie came from a game where the opposing team was 3 men down) but recently I've gotten a renewed interest in it. And this stuff is just awesome!

The format is 5v5 (4 plus goalie) for 3, 12 minute periods. There's more info on the rules via Wiki, but check out this video as a preview for it.

Phelps Clan Member Arrested

Shirley Phelps-Roper has been arrested for mutilation, negligent child abuse, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and disturbing the peace.

Child abuse? But why she asks? 2 words; Repetitive programming. Stop the ACLU has an amazing video about it. Be sure to check it out there or on YouTube.

It's some very sick stuff.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

IT SAYS WHAT???!!!

I'm sitting here reading this mandatory training given by the Residential Life at the University of Delaware. Seriously, go through and read this thing, it's CRAZY! (Excerpts here, if you can't read a .pdf)

And there is more to it. The President of the school was sent a letter by FIRE, a group which supports the free thought of students, about the program and some of the statements that are made, here's a section of the letter;

The approximately 7,000 students living in the university’s eight housing complexes (in which most freshmen, those not living with family nearby, are required by the university to live) are required[1] to attend training sessions, floor meetings, and one-on-one meetings with their RAs. At these training sessions, such as the mandatory diversity training session attended by students from the Rodney complex, students are introduced to the views the university believes they must hold on a wide range of issues such as internalized and institutionalized racism, diversity, environmentalism, and social justice. The diversity training provided to RAs—who then facilitate diversity training sessions for students—provides insight into some of the specific beliefs the university wishes to impose on its students. For example, RAs attended an August 2007 “diversity facilitation training” session at which they received a list of “definitions and descriptions of racism.” Those definitions included: “A RACIST: A racist is one who is both privileged and socialized on the basis of race by a white supremacist (racist) system. The term applies to all white people (i.e., people of European descent) living in the United States, regardless of class, gender, religion, culture or sexuality”; “REVERSE RACISM: A term created and used by white people to deny their white privilege”; and “A NON-RACIST: A non term. The term was created by whites to deny responsibility for systemic racism….” (Emphases added.)
The president halted the program, and wrote an open letter about the program's ending, but it seems to have the tone of "I don't care." It says;
While I believe that recent press accounts misrepresent the purpose of the residential life program at the University of Delaware, there are questions about its practices that must be addressed and there are reasons for concern that the actual purpose is not being fulfilled. It is not feasible to evaluate these issues without a full and broad-based review.
FIRE has a more in depth report on the program from Tuesday.

World Net Daily has at least two articles about the issue, and it hit the AP wires as well. Hot Air was on it like a cheap suit.

I know the Honors Program here at Tech is run by Hard-Line Liberals who will call you out in class for being a Christian or a Conservative, but they won't make you say that you're a racist or a bigot.

Defense Of The Term "Illegal Alien"

I was listening to Hannity on the radio and some one called and asked if he could stop saying "illegal aliens" and use "Undocumented Worker." Sean very calmly and easily made his point that illegal aliens are not following the legal process of migrating to the United States, therefore they are entering the country illegally. And since any person born outside of the US, legal or not, is called an alien, a person who illegally crosses the border to live in the United States is an "Illegal Alien."

Ask yourself this;
Would you call a person who steals merchandise from your store an "Unaccounted Customer?" No, you call them a thief.
Would you call someone who steals your car an "Unregistered Driver?" No, they're a car-jacker.

Capital G Geek adds that you don't call someone who sells illegal narcotics an "Unlicensed Pharmacist," you call them a drug dealer. Nice.

Hehe, as serious as this issue is, I can't go without making a joke here.

Would you call someone who takes your money without your consent an "Unregistered Banker?" No, they're the IRS.