This is a portion of a discussion I had with a couple of friends… it went in an interesting direction.

Lyle

See Economy Watch here . * It’s been said many times that the banks have much to gain and nothing to lose by foreclosing. So it is easy to see why they are strongly against any program that is designed to keep homeowners in their homes.

It appears they have any ally in a key government position, who is willing to block government actions that would save both individuals and the government vast sums of money (even after it was shown to work). Apparently DeMarco thinks it is more important that the banks and investors make money than that he reduce the losses faced by the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that he is supposed to be responsible for. Read the rest

I have learned the hard way to always have a barf bag handy when reading the news.  After hurling recent meals in spontaneous reaction to reading about the glories of Super-O, I now know that having a sturdy disposable bag at the ready saves on some serious cleaning bills.  It has only moderately improved my marriage, but I’m hoping my wife will stay at this address, albeit in her own wing, until the Romney Administration comes into power.  When that time comes, I hope we can once again share a meal and keep it down!

I used to think brown paper bags were the answer, but they don’t hold up very well.  Clear plastic bags are completely out of the question – UGH! – so I now favor those white plastic shopping bags.  We seem to have an endless supply of them, bringing home about ten per week from the grocery stores, and I’m only using about half that many to get through the morning newspapers on a good week.  Disposing of them neatly is the tricky part.  I don’t have any Obama fans living on my street, so I can’t easily fulfill the obvious fantasy. Read the rest

It was Cooper’s top story, and the evening’s KTH (Keeping Them Honest) critique. KTH: Are Republicans waging a war on women?

“MoveOn.org insists House Republicans want to keep student loan rates low by waging war on women’s health. Keeping Them Honest, Anderson Cooper digs into the numbers and facts.”

Yes. It really happened on Cooper’s May 3rd show. Cooper told the MoveOn.org spokesperson he should be reporting the facts, not meeting “his agenda.” And, when President Obama is cutting millions from his 2013 budget, Cooper added, “I don’t see MoveOn.org ad attacking President Obama. You only seem interested in attacking Republicans because that meets your political agenda.” Woah!

Below, more from Cooper’s blog, “Claiming the funding impacts women more than anyone else is untrue”:

Read the rest

Far be it for me to have an insider’s knowledge. However. My gut reaction to the MSM version of events is that Chen Guangcheng, who’d endured 18 months of house arrest, beatings and more ordeals, injured his leg enroute to the U.S. embassy: He was NOT in good shape physically or mentally. He didn’t know about his wife and children (see photo below). Yet somehow he came, rather quickly, to the happy conclusion that he could go to a Chinese hospital but remain with U.S. representatives and talk to his wife and attorney. A few questions: (1) Why didn’t U.S. officials enable Chen to communicate with his wife AND his attorney while he was still safely at the embassy? Why did he have to leave the embassy to call them? (After all, he changed his mind about leaving the embassy — after it was too late — once he talked to them and learned she’d been tied up and beaten for two days.) (2) Why did U.S. embassy staff release him to an unknown fate without ensuring Chen had ALL the information? (3) Why did they give Chen assurances they’d be able to remain with him in the hospital? [SEE UPDATES BELOW, including Bill Kristol's and Nick Kristoff/David Gergen's observations.]

One thing for sure: David Gergen and Nick Kristoff, on Anderson Cooper’s CNN show tonight, made it VERY clear that this can quite likely blow up in the Obama Administration’s face. Hillary departs for Bangledesh tomorrow. Chen, Gergen and Kristof are sure, won’t be aboard Hillary’s plane. Here’s Romney:

“President Obama’s campaign slogan may be ‘Forward’, but our new video shows how he has moved this country backward.”

* Bumped Up *

God bless my friend and former colleague, “RETIRED,” for his pithy, insightful comments on the question of torturing suspected terrorists. His recommendation that you read the Ali Soufan book, The Black Banners, and compare his story with the nonsense spun by Jose Rodriguez in Hard Measures is spot on.

If you are not up for the reading, then you can watch the two men for yourself and make your own judgment. Here is Ali Soufan speaking to 60 Minutes:

Disclaimer. I know Ali and consider him a friend. He is a straight shooter. Read the rest

Update: An example of Salon’s brain on drugs with side effects including hallucinations, agitation and confusion. “How to make Mitt look small” — “After last night, Romney is probably done complaining about Obama’s ‘politicization’ of bin Laden’s death.” (more at the end)

VeteransForAStrongAmerica.org: President Obama has spiked the Bin Laden Football so hard that Navy SEALS, retired and active duty, are hammering him over his zealous efforts to take credit for their handiwork.

In response to President Obama hiding behind our troops and taking credit for their actions – we’ve released our newest ad entitled CREDIT.

Six months and counting.

The lives of countless numbers of families and individuals are likely forever changed by what transpired at MF Global. Yet there remains no real accounting nor full retribution for the fiasco which unfolded within the walls of the firm that traced its roots to the late 1700s.

Certainly we can expect that trustees and regulators will put forth some thousand page reports trying to detail the minute by minute demise of MF Global. Do you think those reports will mean anything to the lives of the people impacted? I don’t. Why? How do you recapture trust? When there is NO real trust, there is NO real justice, and NO real closure. It is that simple. Read the rest

We learn via the WSJ that President Obama has a “hit” list. Shades of Tricky Dick! Really? This would be scary stuff if we didn’t have investigative reporters and the MSM to alert the public. Oh wait…

Presidential “Hit List.” Just the phrase should send a chill up your spine. The President of the United States has a “hit list” of people, private citizens, who have the effrontery to contribute to the campaign of his opponent. He has made their names public. He has a website that is smearing them. The frakkin POTUS!

Barack Obama, the obamacrats and the obamamedia would like you to believe that everyone that doesn’t like, support  or trust him, feels that way because of the color of his skin. We are frightened or confused because he doesn’t “look” like us. Because of course most of us have never seen a black man before. Seriously? Dems really need to climb out of the 60′s. Read the rest

Just a quick note about the 60 Minutes interview with the former head of the CIA’s clandestine service, Mr. Jose Rodriguez. I have known Jose since the Contra Wars in 1986. He is not a friend, but we worked the same area and issues back in the day. I served on the Central American Task Force for a short stint before becoming the Honduran analyst in the Central American Branch.

What he said on 60 Minutes about water boarding and its efficacy is a goddamn, self-serving lie. He is a disgrace to the intelligence service and all that it is supposed to stand for. The only person who has testified under oath about water boarding and what was gleaned from interrogations that did not require torture is Ali Soufan. Here’s a challenge–let’s put everyone under oath and ask them about what really went on. I have $5000 Jose that says you don’t have the balls to do so in a court of law.

I will be writing more on this, but watching his nauseous bullshit is infuriating. Read the rest

For the non-sport inclined among us, “SPIKING” the ball does not mean you secretly pour vodka or gin into it. Nope. It is something that some football players, particularly players labeled “hotdogs,” do when they score a touchdown, heave the ball into the ground and then engage in some sort of weird, celebratory dance. Such a display tends to be unseemly.

SO . . . . speaking of unseemly, did you see Barack Obama and his team try and fail with their “SPIKE THE BALL” moment on the anniversary of Bin Laden’s death? How do these guys get a reputation for being so smart when they repeatedly do such dumb things. Like? Accusing Mitt Romney of being soft on terrorism and not having the stones to kill Bin Laden. OOPS!

It was bad enough that the Obama team trotted out Bill Clinton to level the charge. Frankly, what an appalling act of chutzpah from Clinton. While I applaud will Bill for helping rein in government spending and growth during his tenure, he was passive aggressive on the issue of terrorism and certainly failed to turn the dogs loose in going after Bin Laden. This really was a low moment and further “stains” the reputation of Clinton. I thought he was smarter than this politically.

Sometimes when players, who are not accustomed to scoring, try to spike the ball it turns into a disaster. Here’s an example: Read the rest

This may be the Obama campaign, all of it, repeated from now until November 6.

A presidency fixed on a murder by gunshot.

Ironic? Dubious? Does it means that Mitt Romney or George Bush or any Republican would not have launched a operation against Bin Laden?

Is this the foreign policy campaign of POTUS Obama? The man who shot Liberty Valance, Seals Scenario? Read the rest

Breaking News, April 30, 12:30 p.m.: EPA official Al Armendariz has resigned for talking publicly about his team’s “crucifixion” of oil and gas companies in “the oil-rich South and Southwest region.” Armendariz insisted his staff only attacked guilty companies. However, Armendariz’s example required the murder of five random men regardless of guilt. Further, his resignation doesn’t solve the problem — his crucifixion strategy surely needed prior approval of his superiors and cooperation of his underlings.

This video was posted by Larry Johnson on April 26.

This week is a sad moment for America. We have ceded our lead and presence in space. I watched the space shuttle on its funeral journey aboard a 747 at Dulles earlier this week. Now the U.S. begs and buys seats as mere passengers aboard Russian space craft some at NASA and in the government not so long ago derided dismissively.

We end the week with the Russians in space and China planning on making claims on the moon. Our moon.

Read the rest

The annual incest competition in Washington, DC–aka the Washington Correspondents Dinner–went off last night without President Obama killing the number two guy in al Qaeda, Ayman Zwahiri. However, there was some killing, at least the verbal variety, by Jimmy Kimmel. I am presuming most of you neither watched nor were invited to the affair. So here you go:

I think Kimmel did a great job. He punched everyone. Read the rest