Life in OUR America, Volume 2, The Livyjr Files Options

[Livyjr]

Middle East - AP

"Four GIs Killed in Attacks Across Iraq"

By ANTONIO CASTANEDA, Associated Press Writer

In London, a British parliamentary committee issued a report Tuesday saying excessive use of force by U.S. troops had antagonized Iraqis and made the process of rebuilding the country more difficult.

The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, which scrutinizes Britain's foreign policy, also suggested that Iraq had replaced Afghanistan as a training ground for international terrorists.

And taking the HYPERSONIC JUMP here on the old, trustworthy MAGIC CARPET, let's float on over to JOLLY OLDE, and see what is going on over there, besides their House of Commons just waking up, apparently, to the fact that when George W. Bush says he is a "war president", he means exactly what he is saying, which is that he is a president OF WAR, and TURMOIL, and CHAOS!

No wonder these guys over there lost the American Revolution!

They can't see the nose on their faces, let alone fathom what is going on, even under their own feet!

What a bunch!

Which makes me glad that we won!

Can you imagine that crowd governing us?

And speaking of "governing", what's this with the GREAT APPEASOR, the "Neville Chamberlain" of OUR times, the inestimable "MR. SUAVE", the dapper Tony Blair:

World - Reuters

"Blair Calls May 5 UK Election as Lead Shrinks"

2 hours, 44 minutes ago

By Mike Peacock

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tony Blair confirmed on Tuesday the worst-kept secret in British politics -- that an election will be held on May 5 -- as polls suggested a real contest for the first time since 1992.

With Iraq weighing heavily on his ratings, Blair put his government's economic credentials at the heart of the campaign.

Confirming the date after visiting Queen Elizabeth in traditional pre-election protocol, Blair vowed to build on eight years of growth to entrench future investment in public services -- which he says his Conservative opponents will slash.

"It's a big choice, it's a big decision."

"The British people are the boss and they are the ones that will make it," he told reporters outside his Downing Street office.

Blair had delayed the long-expected announcement by a day due to the death at the weekend of Pope John Paul.

Public anger over the Iraq war could slash Blair's parliamentary majority -- five new opinion polls showed his party has lost support to the main opposition Conservatives.

Embarrassingly, one of the ruling Labour party's candidates, Stephen Wilkinson, said on Tuesday he was defecting to the Liberal Democrats, the only major British party to oppose the Iraq war.

"Who would have thought a Labour government would become a lap dog to George Bush's right wing Republican administration," Wilkinson said.

Conservative leader Michael Howard focused on Blair's perceived Achilles Heel -- reduced public trust post-Iraq.

"The choice before voters on May 5 is very clear," he told party supporters.

"They can either reward Mr. Blair for eight years of broken promises ... or they can vote Conservative.

REAL CONTEST

Surveys in Tuesday's Guardian, Times and Independent newspapers gave Labour a lead of just 2 or 3 percentage points.

Separate surveys of voters who said they would definitely vote even gave the Conservatives a lead.

If those figures were replicated on polling day, analysts say, Blair would still win a third term but with a much looser grip on parliament.

At the previous two elections in 1997 and 2001, Blair easily won triple-digit majorities.

Britain's electoral map, which concentrates constituencies in Labour's urban strongholds, means the Conservatives must win a larger share of the vote than Labour to take power.

The Financial Times said the 5-point Conservative lead in its poll of definite voters would still return Blair to power but with a parliamentary majority slashed from 161 seats to just 27.

If he wins, Blair would make history by becoming the first Labour premier to clinch a third consecutive term, equaling the record of former Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher.

Blair came to power in 1997 after the 1992 vote, which Labour had been widely expected to win, swung to the Conservatives at the last minute.

If Blair's power is weakened this time, he could quickly become a lame duck as he has already stated he will not seek a fourth term.

The biggest fear of Labour strategists, mirroring the polling evidence, is that their core supporters do not bother to turn out.

Blair will visit a key marginal constituency later on Tuesday to ram home that point.

(Additional reporting by Madeline Chambers, Peter Graff)

[Livyjr]

And speaking of "governing", what's this with the GREAT APPEASOR, the "Neville Chamberlain" of OUR times, the inestimable "MR. SUAVE", the dapper Tony Blair:

World - Reuters

"Blair Calls May 5 UK Election as Lead Shrinks"

By Mike Peacock

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tony Blair confirmed on Tuesday the worst-kept secret in British politics -- that an election will be held on May 5 -- as polls suggested a real contest for the first time since 1992.

With Iraq weighing heavily on his ratings, Blair put his government's economic credentials at the heart of the campaign.

Aaaahhhh, the DAPPER MAN is going to pin his re-election hopes in JOLLY OLDE on his "economic credentials"!

Ah, yes!

IT IS THE ECONOMY, STUPID!

Business - USATODAY.com

Sandra Block: Your Money

"Scary days could be ahead for adjustable-rate mortgages"

1 hour, 58 minutes ago

Sandra Block, USA TODAY

For millions of homeowners with adjustable-rate mortgages, it's gut-check time.

Short-term interest rates have been rising steadily since they dipped to record lows last spring.

The average initial rate for a one-year ARM is now 4.33%, up from 3.46% a year ago, according to mortgage giant Freddie Mac.

So if your one-year ARM is about to hit its first birthday, you're going to have to dig deeper to pay the monthly mortgage bill.

Most ARMs contain caps on how much their rates can increase each year.

But even with those limits, an adjustment can be painful.

Many borrowers who took out a one-year ARM at 3.5% last year will see their rate adjust to about 5.5%, says Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH Associates, a mortgage-consulting firm.

On a $250,000 mortgage, that works out to an additional $297 a month.

Borrowers who used short-term ARMs to buy homes they couldn't otherwise afford may find themselves unable to make the higher payments, says Barry Glassman, a financial planner with Cassaday & Co. in McLean, Va.

Despite the risks of a big upward adjustment, ARMs are more popular than ever.

More than 36% of mortgages had adjustable rates last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

That's the highest since the trade group began tracking adjustable-rate mortgages in 1990.

Economists say rising rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have stoked the popularity of ARMs.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.04% last week, the highest since June.

In addition, homeowners have become more sophisticated about mortgage products, says David Lewis, executive vice president of ING Direct.

"There are a lot more people questioning the prevailing wisdom" of traditional fixed-rate mortgages, Lewis says.

Many don't plan to stay in their homes for more than a few years and are unwilling to pay a premium for a 30-year fixed rate, he says.

How to cope

Whether you have an adjustable-rate mortgage or are considering one, new strategies are in order.

Tips for folks who have an ARM and are getting nervous:

•Work out the worst-case scenarios in advance.

Even if your ARM doesn't adjust for a few more months, it's not too soon to start planning.

There are lots of mortgage calculators on the Internet that let you calculate how a rate increase will affect your monthly payment.

Freddie Mac has several useful tools at http://www.freddiemac.com.

Use the calculators to figure out what will happen to your payments if your interest rate rises to 4%, 6% or even 7%, Glassman says.

•Pay attention to your caps.

In many cases, rate increases are limited to 2 percentage points a year and 6 percentage points over the life of the loan.

For example, if your initial rate was 2.75% and your lifetime cap is 6 percentage points, you'll never pay more than 8.75%, no matter how much rates rise.

The annual caps give you some breathing room, says David Herpers, director of consumer affairs for mortgage lender Amerisave.

If you took out an ARM when rates were low, the rate after your first adjustment will probably still be lower than the rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage, he says.

If you think you're going to move in a couple of years, you may be better off just sticking it out.

•If you don't plan to move for a while, consider refinancing to a hybrid ARM.

Hybrid ARMs offer a fixed rate for up to 10 years before adjusting.

You probably won't lower your rate, but you'll avoid another shock next year, Gumbinger says.

The average rate on a five-year hybrid ARM is now 5.66%, he says.

While that may be higher than the adjusted rate for your one-year ARM, "At least you can feel secure that you're not going to have worse pain coming," he says.

Risky business

If you're shopping for a mortgage, think hard about the potential risks of a one-year ARM.

To keep inflation in check, the Federal Reserve is expected to continue raising short-term interest rates through 2005.

For borrowers who can afford a longer-term mortgage but want to free up cash for other purposes, a one-year ARM might make sense, Lewis says.

But if a short-term ARM is the only way you can afford the payments, you can't afford the house, he says.

A five-year hybrid ARM carries a higher rate, but it's a "more reasonable gamble," Gumbinger says.

By the time it adjusts, there's a good chance that "you'll have either moved, or we may be on the downward side of an interest rate spiral."

Sandra Block covers personal finance for USA TODAY. Her Your Money column appears Tuesdays. Click here for an index of Your Money columns. E-mail her at: sblock@usatoday.com.

[jeffmoskin]

"It's a big choice, it's a big decision."

"The British people are the boss and they are the ones that will make it," he told reporters outside his Downing Street office.

And I hope they at least COUNT THE G*D D*MN VOTES CORRECTLY. At least the Brits have a tradition of fairness.

More than I can say for the Bush Family and Turdblossom.

[Livyjr]

At least the Brits have a tradition of fairness.

And actually, jeffmoskin, I don't mind the English all that much, myself!

And I'll tell you what, you want to see some real good "politics" in action, their Parliament is the place to go!

In fact, there may be a TV station somewhere that carries it live!

Some damn good fights there!

Hong Kong's too, but I think England's is really the better one, myself, and maybe what we common folk over here really do need is some ENGLISHMAN in OUR CONGRESS fighting for OUR rights!

A fight it would be!

And so ......

[Livyjr]

And I'm going to say as a trained United States Army infantryman who served in combat in Viet Nam, and who reached the rank equivalent to sargeant, and thus, enlisted-troop "management" level, that this next story troubles me, for its implications, TO US, the American people!

It is no secret at all that for some time now, I have been extremely critical of a POLICY of this Bush government that seems to be based on a CALLOUS DISREGARD for human life, which has OUR military troops, TO ME, wantonly killing people in Iraq with impunity!

Only recently in here did I post an article where some security consultant speaking FOR THE BUSH GOVERNMENT stated that you don't want the troops hesitating to open fire!

Well, I'll tell you what, a trained and DISCIPLINED infantryman DOES NOT DO what these troops are seeming to do, which is to shoot without knowing exactly where that bullet is going, AND WHY!

Even back in the Viet Nam times, as long ago as they were, there were mock villages with pop-up targets, and before firing at any target, the infantryman discerned the target and the nature of it!

IF IT WAS NOT A THREAT, IT WAS NOT ENGAGED!

NEVER!

And the Bush Co.'s appear to have reversed that, which starts to smack more and more of outright murder to me, AND I AM STANDING TALL IN HERE, ON THE RECORD, AS BEING AGAINST THAT POLICY!

And why am I saying this now?

Because of this next article here, where George W. Bush's people just shot someone else who was not any kind of threat at all to them, at all:

World - Reuters

"Cameraman for CBS Wounded by U.S. Troops in Iraq"

29 minutes ago

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An Iraqi freelance cameraman who works for CBS News was shot and wounded on Tuesday in northern Iraq by U.S. troops who mistook his camera for a weapon, the U.S. military and CBS News said.

The cameraman and reporter suffered minor injuries when he was shot while covering a firefight for CBS in Mosul, CBS News said.

It asked that the man's name not be reported for his protection.

The U.S. military said in a statement from Mosul released at the Pentagon that U.S. soldiers had been involved in an engagement with at least one suspected insurgent who was "waving an AK-47 (assault rifle) and inciting a crowd of civilians."

During the incident, "an individual that appeared to have a weapon who was standing near the insurgent was shot and injured."

"This individual turned out to be a reporter who was pointing a video camera," the military statement said.

"Regretfully, the reporter was injured during the complex and volatile situation," the military said, adding that the incident was under investigation.

The suspected insurgent was killed, the military said.

The man, who was from Mosul, was taken to a U.S. military hospital where he was treated for what the military said were minor wounds.

He was expected to make a full recovery.

end quotes

WE HAVE PEOPLE IN GEORGE W. BUSH'S VERSION OF AN ARMY THAT CANNOT TELL A MOVIE CAMERA FROM A WEAPON?

IS THAT FOR REAL?

WE HAVE PEOPLE IN GEORGE W. BUSH'S ARMY IN IRAQ WHO ARE SO POORLY TRAINED THAT THEY HAVE NO IDEA AT ALL WHAT A WEAPON LOOKS LIKE?

THAT IS INCREDIBLE!

WHAT GROSS INCOMPETENCE, FROM THE TOP RIGHT ON DOWN!

WHAT A BUNCH OF B** S***!

HOW VERY GEORGE BUSH!

[Livyjr]

Politics - AP

"Government: Nuke Waste Papers May Be False"

Thu Mar 17, 6:39 AM ET 

By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The government disclosed that scientists on the Yucca Mountain project may have falsified documents, dealing the latest blow to plans to bury the nation's nuclear waste in Nevada.
 
Supporters of the nuclear waste dump insisted the development wouldn't derail it.

On the Net:

Yucca Mountain background: http://www.ocrwm.doe.gov/ymp/index.shtml

And talk about BOONDOGGLES and a government that apparently thinks that the "family" that lies like a rug together, STICKS TOGETHER, or something like that, anyway, we have this following on YUCCA MOUNTAIN:

Politics - U. S. Congress

"Official: U.S. May Not Build Waste Dump"

Tue Apr 5, 4:29 PM ET

By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The planned nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain in Nevada won't be built unless the Energy Department is confident of the supporting science after investigating e-mails that showed workers discussing fabricating data, an official said Tuesday.

Under angry questioning from Nevada lawmakers, deputy director Theodore Garrish said the department was preparing to apply for a license to run the dump, but "we have not made a final decision yet as to when or whether to file those documents, and some of that will be based on this investigation."

"I can assure you we will not go forward unless we can have the feeling ourselves first that this repository will be safe," said Garrish.

Reassurances from Garrish and Charles Groat, the director of the U.S. Geological Survey, didn't satisfy the Nevadans.

They have seized on the e-mails, written by USGS employees, as the latest reason to kill the dump planned for 90 miles north of Las Vegas.

Officials from Gov. Kenny Guinn on down expressed outrage Tuesday during a House Government Reform subcommittee hearing.

"The fact that data may have been intentionally fabricated in service of shoring up predetermined and politically driven conclusions calls into question the very legitimacy of this entire program," Guinn said.

The Energy Department disclosed March 16 that e-mails written between 1998 and 2000, principally by two USGS scientists, suggested the workers might have falsified documents.

Porter's committee has released redacted versions of dozens of the e-mails that show workers discussing concocting facts and keeping two sets of figures, one for themselves and one to show quality assurance officers.

In one e-mail a USGS scientist wrote:

"I don't have a clue when these programs were installed."

"So I've made up the dates and names."

"... This is as good as it's going to get."

"If they need more proof, I will be happy to make up more stuff."

The workers were studying how water moved through the desert site where the government wants to store 77,000 tons of commercial and defense nuclear waste for at least 10,000 years.

The USGS validated Energy Department conclusions that water seepage was relatively slow, so radiation would be less likely to escape.

In written testimony, Garrish downplayed the significance of the e-mails.

"This appears to be a lapse in quality assurance protocol and, at this time, we have no evidence that the underlying science was affected," his written testimony said.

He seemed to soften his position when he addressed the subcommittee, suggesting more study was needed.

"The impact of this issue is yet to be determined, and yes, we are concerned about the integrity of the data, and what was done was inexcusable," Garrish said.

The inspectors general of the Energy and Interior departments are conducting criminal investigations with help from the FBI, and the Energy Department is studying the impact on the scientific underpinnings of the planned waste dump site.

But Nevada lawmakers called Tuesday for additional reviews.

Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., who chaired Tuesday's hearing, said he wanted an independent commission similar to the presidential commission that investigated the 1979 accident at Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island.

Porter also said he was summoning the two main USGS workers who wrote the e-mails to testify at a hearing next week.

Their identities have not been released.

Groat said Tuesday they are no longer on the Yucca project but are still employed by USGS.

John Mitchell Jr., president and general manager of Bechtel SAIC, the Energy Department's managing contractor on the Yucca project, also testified Tuesday.

He said the e-mails were originally discovered by Bechtel workers in early December and were discussed by high-ranking company officials, but weren't turned over to the Energy Department until March.

Porter was the only member of the House Government Reform federal work force and agency organization subcommittee to attend Tuesday's panel.

He invited Nevada's other two House members, Republican Jim Gibbons and Democrat Shelley Berkley, to join him in questioning witnesses.

That turned the three-hour hearing into a face-off between Nevadans adamantly opposed to Yucca and government officials committed to it, and there was little budging on either side.

A planned completion date of 2010 for the Yucca project was recently abandoned by Energy Department officials.

A new date has not yet been set.
___

On the Net:

Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management: http://www.ymp.gov

Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects: http://www.state.nv.us/nucwaste

Nuclear Regulatory Commission: http://www.nrc.gov

[Livyjr]

And talk about BOONDOGGLES and a government that apparently thinks that the "family" that lies like a rug together, STICKS TOGETHER, or something like that, anyway, we have this following on YUCCA MOUNTAIN:

Politics - U. S. Congress

"Official: U.S. May Not Build Waste Dump"

Tue Apr 5, 4:29 PM ET   

By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The planned nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain in Nevada won't be built unless the Energy Department is confident of the supporting science after investigating e-mails that showed workers discussing fabricating data, an official said Tuesday.

Under angry questioning from Nevada lawmakers, deputy director Theodore Garrish said the department was preparing to apply for a license to run the dump, but "we have not made a final decision yet as to when or whether to file those documents, and some of that will be based on this investigation."

"I can assure you we will not go forward unless we can have the feeling ourselves first that this repository will be safe," said Garrish.

Reassurances from Garrish and Charles Groat, the director of the U.S. Geological Survey, didn't satisfy the Nevadans.

They have seized on the e-mails, written by USGS employees, as the latest reason to kill the dump planned for 90 miles north of Las Vegas.

Officials from Gov. Kenny Guinn on down expressed outrage Tuesday during a House Government Reform subcommittee hearing.

"The fact that data may have been intentionally fabricated in service of shoring up predetermined and politically driven conclusions calls into question the very legitimacy of this entire program," Guinn said.

The Energy Department disclosed March 16 that e-mails written between 1998 and 2000, principally by two USGS scientists, suggested the workers might have falsified documents.

Porter's committee has released redacted versions of dozens of the e-mails that show workers discussing concocting facts and keeping two sets of figures, one for themselves and one to show quality assurance officers.

In one e-mail a USGS scientist wrote:

"I don't have a clue when these programs were installed."

"So I've made up the dates and names."

"... This is as good as it's going to get."

"If they need more proof, I will be happy to make up more stuff."

And I could have been one of these, actually, a GOVERNMENT EXPERT WHO LIES LIKE A RUG, ON DEMAND, FOR MONEY, OF COURSE, and so gets to stay on and then retire, SO LONG AS THE LIES KEEP COMING, of course, EXCEPT ......

In my case, I couldn't "pass" the lie detector test!

Yes, that is right, I couldn't pass the TEST, and so, I had to be "removed", and forcibly so in my case, as once it was definitively proven in my own case THAT I WOULD NOT LIE, then I was became like a "disease-bearer" to the LOCAL POWER, and I had to be "PUT DOWN" for the good of "society", as not only would I not tell the requisite lies, as these USGS "CERTIFIED SCIENTISTS" know how to do above here, BUT ....

In my case, I was going even further by using MY KNOWLEDGE and MY INTEGRITY to show others WHAT THE LIES REALLY LOOKED LIKE, and therefore, how to expose them, for all the candid world to see!

AND SO .....

BAAANG!

Down the HAMMER had to come!

THE TRUTH IS DANGEROUS!

DESTROY THE TRUTH, and you shall be FREE!

To see what I am talking about here, go back up to this Yucca Mountain article above here, and focus in on this one sentence that I have copied below here, and think on who is saying the words, and why:

"The fact that data may have been intentionally fabricated in service of shoring up predetermined and politically driven conclusions calls into question the very legitimacy of this entire program," Guinn said.

end quote

DATA MAY HAVE BEEN FABRICATED IN SERVICE OF ...........

And just fill in the blank after that, folks, FILL IN THE DAMN BLANK, because that is the game, if you know where the "bread" really is, and who has the "butter", and where that "butter" is going to land, IF you but play YOUR "cards" the right way, and so, "MAKE NICE" to the MAN with the money in his hand, BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE CAN!

"EVERBODY DOES IT, LIVYJR, SO WHO IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, HOLDING OUT HERE?"

"WE OWN YOU, WE OWN THAT LICENSE OF YOURS, SO GET OUT THERE ON THE STREET AND START PEDDLING YOUR *** LIKE WE ARE PAYING YOU TO DO!"

"OR ELSE!"

I'm surprised over the years at how many people have told me how crazy I was to not "go along", as these USGS SCIENTISTS appear to have done above, here, and I am also surprised by how few people have "applauded" my integrity for standing up to the lies, which, of course, then raises the rhetorical question of whether we should have integrity or not, based upon "public opinion polls", and who has the "money", and what THEY want that money to "buy" ........

And as soon as it gets to that thought of "TAKING A TURN, FOR THE MONEY" even forming in the mind of the licensed professional engineer who has a duty 24/7, whether anyone else is even looking or not, to protect and safeguard life, health and property, REGARDLESS, then in my simple view, WE ARE ALREADY IN TROUBLE, and it goes right downhill from there, TO ...

Well, here, with this Yucca Mountain debacle as a clear-cut example, of where GOVERNMENT SCIENTISTS without an apparent shred of integrity have been able to keep this BOONDOGGLE alive for so long, and to KEEP THE GOVERNMENT MONEY FLOWING, into their pockets, BASED ON NOTHING, apparently, but a pack of lies!

DUTY, and its concomitant, responsibility versus GEETUS, MOOLAH and MAMMON!

Duty!

And that is regardless of the consequences, or at least as I was taught, myself, by those who preceded me as licensed professional engineers in the State of New York FOR THAT PURPOSE, AND THAT PURPOSE, ALONE!

"You want to MAKE MONEY, sonny boy, DON'T BECOME A licensed engineer!"

"LICENSED ENGINEERS HAVE A DUTY", and that DUTY just gets right in the way of making money, so, make a choice!"

And I did!

And really, it was a simple one, for me, anyway!

Marry DUTY, and make the most of the marriage, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health!

But DUTY is really gone, is it not?

Isn't DUTY really what gets in the way of PROSPERITY, and power, of course?

IF DUTY is going to keep you from telling the GOVERNMENT REQUIRED LIES that bring in the BIG BUCKS today, and if living in CORPORATIA today REQUIRES a lot of money just to be poor, AND, all the others in YOUR PROFESSION are already making the BIG BUCKS by lying, FOR THE GOVERNMENT, in service of shoring up predetermined and politically-driven conclusions, then doesn't COMMON SENSE alone dictate going along?

After all, if it is the government itself that is promoting the lies, WHO CAN THEN FAULT YOU for being just one more liar in a whole stable full of them?

And there is where I am, myself, to be truthful, wondering about that "equation", and how it ever came to be!

Life in OUR America!

Hhhhmmmmm.

For how much longer will it be so?

The question for the moment, anyway!

LIVE!

LATE-BREAKING!

Developments as they occur!

Stay tuned!

[jeffmoskin]

WASHINGTON - The planned nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain in Nevada won't be built unless the Energy Department is confident of the supporting science after investigating e-mails that showed workers discussing fabricating data, an official said Tuesday.

Doesn't bother me a bit. A big waste of money. They should NEVER bury stuff they don't know anything about. Instead, they should keep it in water pools above ground until science figures things out.

Once you bury it, some scientist discovers that a particular isotope is poisonous, has a half life of 10 billion years, and is leaking into the ground water.

Then what?

[Livyjr]

Doesn't bother me a bit.

A big waste of money.

They should NEVER bury stuff they don't know anything about.

Instead, they should keep it in water pools above ground until science figures things out.

Once you bury it, some scientist discovers that a particular isotope is poisonous, has a half life of 10 billion years, and is leaking into the ground water.

Then what?

If you're one of them GUMMINT science boys that can tell 35 to 40 lies a minute for those big bucks, then you never ask that question, and you know you don't have to worry about lying, because if anyone challenges you, they are crazy, BECAUSE THEY DID CHALLENGE YOU, for which they will be considered to be a DANGEROUS MENTAL PATIENT and they will then be swept off the street ON THE ORDERS OF A GUMMINT DOCTOR who has never seen them, and they will be put in a GULAG, or a state-sponsored mental institution, and that will be that!

WHAT PROBLEM?

WHO SAID THERE WAS A PROBLEM?

[Livyjr]

And little by little, as this next story attests, the IRON CURTAIN now rapidly descends on OUR America, which now appears from some points-of-view to be becoming as much or even more insular and paranoid than North Korea is supposed to be!

"Policy alters border travel - Americans returning from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean would need passports under plan to tighten security

By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press
First published: Wednesday, April 6, 2005

WASHINGTON -- Americans traveling to Canada and Mexico would need passports to come home to the United States under guidelines proposed Tuesday in the latest effort to deter terrorists from entering the country.

The new rules, which would be phased in by 2008, apply to Americans traveling from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, the Caribbean and Panama.

They also apply to citizens from those countries who want to enter the United States -- prompting Canadian officials to announce that they might reciprocate.

The regulations mark a dramatic shift from a policy that allows Americans to return home from neighboring countries without a passport.

An estimated 60 million Americans -- about 20 percent of the national population --have passports.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said U.S. officials have been working with their international counterparts for some time to shore up security measures without crimping the flow of commerce across borders.

The new rules were called for in intelligence legislation Congress passed last year.

"There's a very strong awareness that these are tremendous commercial borders and that you don't want to hinder the commercial activity," Rice said in an interview with The Associated Press.

"But at the same time, you've got to have some controls that help you prevent people who are trying to come in and hurt us."

She added:

"It's part of the recognition that in 2001, when Sept. 11 happened -- and frankly before that, when you think about the millennium plot in 1999 -- these were borders that I think no one could call secure."

Canada was deeply embarrassed by the millennium terrorist plot, when U.S. customs caught a man with explosives trying to enter Washington state from Canada in December 1999.

Canadian Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan said American citizens may need passports to cross the northern border if the U.S. follows through with its regulations.

"Our system has really always worked on the basis of reciprocity," McLellan told reporters outside the House of Commons in Ottawa.

"And therefore we will review our requirements for American citizens and we're going to do that in collaboration with the United States."

"There's no point in either of us going off in a direction without working together to determine how best we can facilitate the flow -- a free flow -- and movement of low-risk individuals," she said.

Canada is the United States' largest trading partner, with $1.2 billion worth of goods crossing the border every day.

Nearly 16 million Canadians entered the United States last year, generating an estimated $7.9 billion in travel-related revenues, according to data provided by the Travel Industry Association in Washington.

A spokesman for the Mexican Embassy in Washington said the regulations "won't affect the tourism flow or people who trade and do business between the three countries in North America."

The new requirements would take effect on Dec. 31, 2007, for travelers entering the United States from Mexico and Canada by land, and on Dec. 31, 2006, by air or sea.

The deadline is a year earlier -- Dec. 31, 2005 -- for travel from Bermuda, the Caribbean and Panama.

The proposed rules are scheduled to be completed this fall.

Until then, the government will solicit comments from the public.

Currently, Americans generally need to show a driver's license or other government-issued photo identification to cross the border from Canada.

Customs officials usually require more proof from Americans returning from the other countries affected by the new rules, including both government-issued photo IDs, like a driver's license, plus proof of citizenship, like a birth certificate.

On occasion, Americans returning from these countries are allowed back after only verbally declaring their citizenship, said Homeland Security Deputy Assistant Secretary Elaine K. Dezenski.

Once the new system takes effect, people entering the United States from Mexico will continue to be able to use a border crossing card, or SENTRI card, instead of passports.

These cards are obtained after background checks and other security measures.

On the northern border, the NEXUS card for preapproved, low-risk travelers; and the FAST card for commercial workers will be acceptable instead of a passport.

[Livyjr]

Dear Livyjr,

We are acting in response to a disturbing pattern in which a handful of Republican leaders seek the ability to do whatever they want, whenever they want, without regard to principle.

We have to act because America can't afford to go where they're trying to take us.

http://www.johnkerry.com/usatoday

The Republican drive to silence your voice in Washington is in high gear.

House Leader Tom DeLay has led a no-holds-barred drive to silence all opposing voices in the Congress.

He also engineered a highly partisan effort to force the redrawing of congressional districts in Texas - funded by heavy-handed tactics that led to the indictment of three close DeLay associates.

And last week, DeLay issued an ominous threat that federal judges (appointed by both Democrats and Republicans) who dared to defy his wishes in the Terry Schiavo case will have to "answer for their behavior."

Making President Bush's judicial nominations immune to a Senate filibuster is the next step in the GOP's out-of-control grab for power.

If Senator Frist, the Senate Majority Leader, can convince enough Republican Senators to go along, the nomination and confirmation of judges will become a tightly-controlled, one-party affair.

We're calling on Republican Senators to persuade their party's leaders not to pursue this reckless course.

Sincerely,

John Kerry

Ah, yes, good 'ole "TEXAS TOMMY" Delay!

What would be a day in OUR America with 'ole "TEXAS TOMMY" and his capers down there in Washington, D$C$, and the sunshine of his smile to brighten up our otherwise dreary non-republican lives for us, and so, make our dreary lives all that much more precious to us, for the comfort that "TEXAS TOMMY" does bring to us, yes, indeed!

In fact, let's just take a moment here to give "TEXAS TOMMY" all of OUR love, and a great big hug, to boot!

Ahhh, felt good, didn't it?

Yeah, right!

"House GOP backs DeLay amid ethics scandals"

By DAVID ESPO, Associated Press
Last updated: 2:06 p.m., Wednesday, April 6, 2005

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans expressed strong support for Majority Leader Tom DeLay on Wednesday, dismissing persistent Democratic criticism of the Texan as evidence of partisan politics.

"I don't see any wavering of the support for the leader."

"I think a lot of members think he's taking arrows for all of us," said Rep. Roy Blunt, third-ranking among GOP leaders.

Blunt and others spoke out on DeLay's behalf as Democrats leveled a new charge -- that the ethical controversy surrounding him was distracting from congressional efforts to tackle pressing problems.

"When politicians, the Republican majority, decides it is above the law, the American people are now seeing that they have a price to pay -- at the pump, for their pharmaceuticals, and in the absence of initiatives that would help grow our economy, and to feed our children, provide for the health of our people, protect our environment, and, indeed, even provide for the common defense," said Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California.

DeLay, R-Texas, was admonished three times last year by the House ethics committee, and fresh questions have been raised in recent weeks about his overseas travel over several years.

In addition, three associates are under indictment on state charges in Texas in connection with an effort to redraw the state's congressional districts.

Additionally, lobbyist Jack Abramoff, long close to DeLay, is under investigation by the Justice Department and the Senate Indian Affairs Committee for with work he did for Indian tribes.

DeLay has denied any wrongdoing, and has not been charged with violating any law.

"Nancy has two years to get the majority, she knows this is her only shot," said Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., speaking of Pelosi.

He said Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, chairman of the House Democratic campaign committee, "is her partner" in the attacks.

Pelosi said Congress had been distracted at the same moment Blunt and other GOP leaders held a news conference to trumpet their accomplishments so far and announce plans to pass several other bills by the end of next month.

They claimed credit for legislation to provide funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a bill to provide relief to victims of the Tsunami in Asia and a measure to limit the scope of class action lawsuits.

Among the priorities for the next eight weeks, they said, are a bill for permanent repeal of the estate tax as well as a measure making it harder for consumers to shed debts in bankruptcy court.

Energy and welfare legislation are also on the list.

Two Democratic-aligned groups made fresh low-budget attacks on DeLay during the day.

The Campaign For America's Future said it would run ads in The Washington Times, which is widely read by Republicans in Congress.

The ad says DeLay does not measure up to the ethical standards of former Presidents Reagan and Eisenhower or the late Sen. Barry Goldwater, the GOP presidential candidate in 1964.

Separately, the American Project Action Fund unveiled a Web site urging consumers to contact businesses that have donated to DeLay's Legal defense Fund.

"Let these corporations know that unless they stop supporting Tom DeLay, you'll stop supporting them," it says.

[Livyjr]

Ah, yes, good 'ole "TEXAS TOMMY" Delay!

What would be a day in OUR America with 'ole "TEXAS TOMMY" and his capers down there in Washington, D$C$, and the sunshine of his smile to brighten up our otherwise dreary non-republican lives for us, and so, make our dreary lives all that much more precious to us, for the comfort that "TEXAS TOMMY" does bring to us, yes, indeed!

In fact, let's just take a moment here to give "TEXAS TOMMY" all of OUR love, and a great big hug, to boot!

Ahhh, felt good, didn't it?

Yeah, right!

"House GOP backs DeLay amid ethics scandals" 
 
By DAVID ESPO, Associated Press
Last updated: 2:06 p.m., Wednesday, April 6, 2005

"When politicians, the Republican majority, decides it is above the law, the American people are now seeing that they have a price to pay -- at the pump, for their pharmaceuticals, and in the absence of initiatives that would help grow our economy, and to feed our children, provide for the health of our people, protect our environment, and, indeed, even provide for the common defense," said Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California.

And here, I am just returning from the "JUDICIAL" part of the forum, where I have another thread going on what I am calling therein, "RAMPANT, CREEPING TOMMY-ISM", which is having the effect of stripping from us, at least where I am, OUR democratic processes of government!

And "TOMMY-ISM" can no more be separated from "TEXAS TOMMY", himself, than a dog can be separated from its fleas, er, tail!

The two just somehow seem to go together, regardless of how you take a look at the "picture"!

I have that thread going over there because it is more of an analytical thread looking at a very specific set of issues related to JUDGES and the law, and so, I did not want to place that discussion in here, where I like to try and take a "wider" view of LIFE in OUR America, as it occurs and develops on a daily basis, on a wide range of fronts, including the economy, and the environment, and of course, politics, and Iraq, which to me, really is just an extension of REPUBLICAN politics through violence on a peoples OUTSIDE the United States, so as to be able to steal their oil from them, so that some "FRIEND OF A REPUBLICAN" can have it instead!

"SPREADING THE WEALTH", the REPUBLICANS call that I think, and if I have it right, it is actually a part of their "RELIGIOUS BELIEF SYSTEM", but that is a discussion for over in Mr. A.B.'s "RELIGION and POLITICS" thread entitled "George W. Bush v. The Holy Bible", and so, I will take a moment to invite people over there as well, for some more specific discussion on that one subject, which is an interesting one, in and of itself!

In the meantime, we have these words of Nancy Pelosi above to consider in here, and that is DO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE REALLY HAVE A PRICE TO PAY when REPUBLICANS in fact, ARE ABOVE THE LAW, at least where I live in OUR America!

And if we do, in what form will it come, and how will we know?

SO!

Stay tuned for that set of answers!

LIVE!

Life in OUR America!

[Livyjr]

The other day, I happened to be out, and so, I figured I'd better get some gas, before it goes up again!

Mid-range (89 octane) was $2.40 per gallon.

We're expecting it to be well over $2.50 pretty soon, and God alone knows what it will be when summer hits, but more than I am going to pay, except for emergencies, is what I think, anyway, as do many others up here who are gearing up for life as it was back in the 1940's and '50's, except with some more modern equipment like a lighter, smaller chainsaw than was available back then.

As for me, I really am there now, pretty much, myself!

I do my own dishes, so I don't need to worry about running a dishwasher, and I don't watch TV, so I don't have to worry about one of them, either, and I don't drive that much anymore, and so ......

I guess it just works out that I am "on schedule", and the world is catching up with me!

SO!

How about that for "timing", will you?

Neither a foot behind, nor an inch too far ahead!

There with the grace of GOD go I!

[Livyjr]

And while I with the grace of God go my own way, what has happened here, in Afghanistan?

International News

"U.S. copter crash in Afghanistan kills 16 - Military hasn't released identities"

The Associated Press
Updated: 1:39 p.m. ET April 6, 2005

KABUL, Afghanistan - A U.S. military helicopter crashed in a dust storm in southeast Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing 16 people in the deadliest military crash since the U.S.-led offensive began in 2001.

“Eighteen people, including crew members and passengers, were listed on the flight manifest; two remain unaccounted for,” the U.S. military said in a statement.

An Afghan police official said all the dead, including the four crew, appeared to be American.

The U.S. military initially had reported nine deaths.

It did not explain the difference and had not released the identities of those killed.

One of two helicopters

Military spokeswoman Lt. Cindy Moore told The Associated Press that the helicopter was one of two Chinooks flying to the main American base at Bagram, north of Kabul, when controllers lost radio contact.

Abdul Rahman Sarjang, the chief of police in Ghazni, said the helicopter came down at about 2:30 p.m. near a brick factory 3 miles outside the city and burst into flames.

U.S. troops rushed to cordon the area to look for any survivors.

Sarjang said there was no sign that enemy fire brought it down.

According to U.S. Department of Defense statistics, at least 122 American soldiers had died before Wednesday’s incident in and around Afghanistan since Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led war on terrorism, began after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Accidents have proven almost as deadly as attacks from Taliban-led insurgents, including a string of helicopter crashes and explosions caused by mines and munitions left over from the country’s long wars.

Other recent deaths

Most recently, four U.S. soldiers died when a land mine exploded under their vehicle south of Kabul on March 26.

Last November, six Americans — three civilian crew members and three U.S. soldiers — died when their plane crashed in the Hindu Kush mountains.

The military’s last fatal helicopter crash occurred a month earlier when a pilot was killed in the west of the country.

About 17,000 U.S. troops are in Afghanistan battling a stubborn Taliban-led insurgency focused on the south and east.

The top U.S. commander here, Lt. Gen. David Barno, told AP the size of the U.S. force would be reviewed after Afghan parliamentary elections in September.

[Livyjr]

And while I with the grace of God go my own way, what has happened here, in Afghanistan?

International News

"U.S. copter crash in Afghanistan kills 16 - Military hasn't released identities"

The Associated Press
Updated: 1:39 p.m. ET April 6, 2005

KABUL, Afghanistan - A U.S. military helicopter crashed in a dust storm in southeast Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing 16 people in the deadliest military crash since the U.S.-led offensive began in 2001.

According to U.S. Department of Defense statistics, at least 122 American soldiers had died before Wednesday’s incident in and around Afghanistan since Operation Enduring Freedom, the U.S.-led war on terrorism, began after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Accidents have proven almost as deadly as attacks from Taliban-led insurgents, including a string of helicopter crashes and explosions caused by mines and munitions left over from the country’s long wars.

"TO FIGHT, you must be brutal, and ruthless, and the SPIRIT of RUTHLESS BRUTALITY will enter into the very fibre of OUR national life, INFECTING Congress, the courts, the policeman on the beat, the man in the street ......"

- Woodrow Wilson

And while we are on the subject of casualties of war, INFECTED by the SPIRIT of RUTHLESS BRUTALITY that George W. Bush and HIS crowd have injected, or INFECTED OUR national life with ........

Here's one more of what is likely to be many, many more!

"Stress cited in abuse case - Soldier charged with injuring baby told police noise triggers 'something inside me'"

By BOB GARDINIER, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union
First published: Wednesday, April 6, 2005

TROY -- A 23-year-old soldier on leave from Iraq and charged with seriously injuring his infant son by shaking him and throwing him told police his patience was worn thin from his war experiences.

Brian J. Benoit of Troy Hills Apartments was released on $50,000 bail Tuesday morning while a grand jury investigates the felony abuse case involving brain trauma to his son Zachary.

Benoit's wife of one year, Jessica Benoit, 22, gave birth to Zachary last August while his father was in Iraq.

The baby, who is recovering at Albany Medical Center Hospital, suffered brain trauma, a broken rib, brain swelling, an injured wrist, an abrasion on his nose and a bruise below his eye and on one leg, officials said.

"I have been shot at and have had to shoot at the enemy," Benoit said in the statement he gave police March 30.

His son was admitted to Albany Med the day before.

"Loud bangs and screams tend to trigger something inside me."

"It has caused me to react differently to stressful situations."

Benoit and his lawyer Peter Lynch appeared Tuesday before Rensselaer County Judge Patrick McGrath, who set bail.

Benoit's father, Joseph Benoit, with the help of a bail bondsman, immediately put up a bond, and Benoit was released.

An active-duty soldier on 90-day leave from Iraq since February to spend time with his wife and child, Benoit was assigned to a U.S. Army Reserve transportation company based in Pittsfield, Mass.

He was arrested Thursday outside his parents' Cohoes home and charged with first- and second-degree assault and reckless endangerment, all felonies, and endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.

The child's injuries allegedly occurred in his Troy apartment around the middle of March.

Benoit pleaded not guilty Friday in Troy City Court.

He had been in the Rensselaer County Jail without bail until Tuesday.

In his statement, Benoit said his son cried often and his wife had spoiled him and turned him into a "momma's boy."

"I think he cries so much because he is not familiar with me," Benoit said in his statement.

"This bothers me a great deal."

Benoit said that at times, "I would shake him out of total frustration."

"There were also times where I would put him down hard and really fast in the bed causing the bed to bounce a little bit."

Jessica Benoit also gave a statement to police saying she was afraid of Benoit after he came back from Iraq.

She said they argued a lot about the baby and that she realized she really didn't know her husband that well.

She said the couple rushed to get married in February 2004 because they knew they were going to have a baby and Benoit was about to leave for Iraq.

"Brian thought that I was babying Zachary too much," Jessica Benoit said.

"We argued a lot about this."

"Brian even pinned me down on the bed and wouldn't let me go to Zachary."

"I remember numerous times Brian would shake the crib when Zachary was crying."

"He would shake the crib so hard that it would bang into the wall."

"I was always afraid and would yell at him to stop."

"Brian would stop only when Zachary stopped crying."

When setting bail, McGrath noted that Benoit had no prior run-ins with the law.

Troy Detective Sgt. John Cooney said the boy was expected to be released from intensive care but would remain at the hospital.

Rensselaer County Child Protective Services officials reviewed the case and took custody of the baby, removing him from the care of both parents pending a review of the case.

Cooney would not say whether further charges will be filed in the case.

Bob Gardinier can be reached at 454-5696 or by e-mail at bgardinier@timesunion.com.

end quotes

I think that Woodrow Wilson knew of what he was speaking about!

Too bad this dolt that we're stuck with don't have a clue!

[Livyjr]

The other day, I happened to be out, and so, I figured I'd better get some gas, before it goes up again!

Mid-range (89 octane) was $2.40 per gallon.

We're expecting it to be well over $2.50 pretty soon, and God alone knows what it will be when summer hits, but more than I am going to pay, except for emergencies, is what I think, anyway, as do many others up here who are gearing up for life as it was back in the 1940's and '50's, except with some more modern equipment like a lighter, smaller chainsaw than was available back then.

As for me, I really am there now, pretty much, myself!

I do my own dishes, so I don't need to worry about running a dishwasher, and I don't watch TV, so I don't have to worry about one of them, either, and I don't drive that much anymore, and so ......

I guess it just works out that I am "on schedule", and the world is catching up with me!

SO!

How about that for "timing", will you?

Neither a foot behind, nor an inch too far ahead!

There with the grace of GOD go I!

"Energy prices prompt warning - Greenspan cites strain but hopes market forces will bring stability"

By JEANNINE AVERSA, Associated Press
First published: Wednesday, April 6, 2005

WASHINGTON -- High oil and natural gas prices have put energy markets under the greatest strain in a generation, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Tuesday, but he warned against interfering with market forces he hoped would stabilize prices.

Greenspan expressed a hope that higher prices would spur conservation by businesses and consumers and greater energy exploration by energy companies.

That should help get prices under control, he said.

In remarks for an energy conference, he said policy-makers should avoid any action that would "distort or stifle the meaningful functioning of our markets."

Greenspan spoke via satellite to the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association meeting in San Antonio.

"We must remember that the same price signals that are so critical for balancing energy supply and demand in the short run also signal profit opportunities for long-term supply expansion," Greenspan said, in urging that market forces be allowed to take care of the problem.

The Bush administration has been pushing Congress to enact energy legislation.

Lawmakers in the House are working on a bill with the aim of promoting increased production of a broad range of energy sources -- from coal to natural gas.

The measure is not expected to have much impact on the price spikes seen in recent weeks, however.

[Livyjr]

Spring!

Glorious spring!

Makes one want to be outside, with one's hands deep in the earth, feeling that "sense of renewal" that comes from the earth at this time of the year, at least where I am on OUR America, which is a patch of woods in upstate New York where I have been for over fifty years now, from the time that I was but a small child, here in OUR America.

It is interesting, to me, anyway, to be an older person now on this same piece of land where I was ONCE a small child, because I still have many of the memories of being that small child looking into the woods where I now walk as an older "adult", whatever that word really is supposed to mean in this modern world of ours today.

Has life changed?

Or is it still the same?

To me, as one who is walking among a woods that has been here "forever" to me, no, things have not changed at all.

Trees that were there when I was young are still there, and the cycle of life that has always been there, remains, apparently undisturbed by what transpires out there in "CAESAR'S WORLD", which is everything beyond my property lines, or outside the bounds of my patch of woods, as I see it, anyway.

This morning, when I came outside, there was one bird in particular that was singing at the top of its lungs, and I stood there, and listened to that bird for a bit, thinking on what its message was to the world and to me, since I was obviously there to hear its song, and whatever message was contained in that song, which really is just joy at being alive, I think, anyway.

It always amazes me how tiny birds can live through the winters up here and survive to sing one more time in the spring, when it is a struggle for me, to be truthful, to do the same.

Sure does put some "teeth" into that saying somewhere in the Bible about the birds being favored of God!

Of course, I guess if you don't believe in any kind of "god", that would apparently strip your own birds of any kind of protection, and so, in your own place, maybe they don't survive the winter, but here, for me, where I leave "nature" to itself, somehow those tiny birds do survive, and from the way they sing on spring mornings like this, THEY SEEM TO BE THE FIRST ONES to know!

SO!

How about that?

[Livyjr]

The other day, I happened to be out, and so, I figured I'd better get some gas, before it goes up again!

Mid-range (89 octane) was $2.40 per gallon.

We're expecting it to be well over $2.50 pretty soon, and God alone knows what it will be when summer hits!

Gas today was $2.43 per gallon, same grade of gas, same station!

God loves Dick Cheney, apparently, and HIS, as well, and so, is providing them with this bounty from right out of OUR pockets.

SO!

Let's everybody take a moment, and give Dick Cheney a great big hug, 'cause .....

God loves him so!

[Livyjr]

And turning to more immediate matters for us, as the Pope is now gone, and Iraq in fact, was invaded, despite whatever the Pope may have thought about it; what does this following story bode for OUR future, besides yet more lurid tales of yet more corporate scandal, here in the "ethically loosey-goosey" America of the ANTINOMIAN PRIME and the Fabulous Bush Co.'s, and yes, "BIG TOMMY", too:

Business - Reuters

"Fannie Mae Investigation Widens"

By Kristin Roberts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal investigators probing accounting problems at Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) are now questioning how the No. 1 U.S. home finance company treated trusts that it set up to sell securities.

The magnitude of accounting problems at the company remains unclear.

But Fannie has already estimated that problems identified so far could result in a profit restatement of more than $11 billion.

Sources close to the various investigations of the company's accounting say the restatement may be much larger.

end quotes

COOK, COOK, COOK, THOSE COMPANY BOOKS!

LOOT, LOOT, LOOT, THAT COMPANY RIGHT TO DEATH!

Go Fannie, yeah right, shake that thing!

Business - Reuters

"Snow Warns Fannie, Freddie Pose Threat"

Thu Apr 7,10:43 AM ET

By Kristin Roberts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could threaten the economy if Congress fails to curb their investment activities, U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said on Thursday.

In a second day of hearings before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee on the hot political issue of how to rein in government-sponsored enterprises, Snow told Congress to limit the size of the companies' mortgage portfolios, saying they are not needed to fulfill the core mission of supporting housing.

What's more, their size and the interest rate risk they carry potentially threatens the financial system and the economy.

"The risks undertaken by the GSEs, if not properly managed, may pose a threat to their solvency, the stability of the other financial institutions and the strength of our economy," Snow said in comments that often echoed Wednesday's testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.

Snow said Congress should phase in limits on the companies' portfolio activities in order to protect the markets.

He also said the lines of credit the companies enjoy as part of their charter, and which he said markets falsely see as a sign that the government backs GSEs' debt, would only be used if a GSE were in "significant financial distress."

"Congress may wish to consider reforms in this area as well," Snow said in his prepared testimony.

The Bush administration has twice in recent years torpedoed legislation aimed at beefing up oversight of the extensive companies on the grounds that the measures lacked teeth.

Some lawmakers have already indicated that curtailing GSEs' mortgage portfolios may be disruptive to markets.

The apparent disagreement between some lawmakers and the White House may set the stage for a protracted struggle over precisely how to impose controls over the huge mortgage lenders that most agree in principle are needed.

Earlier this week, a key House Republican, who was widely expected to propose the toughest measures and stiffest regulation of the companies, left out provisions to impose strict limits on portfolio activities.

His bill would give a new regulator power to order the companies to cut their portfolios, but not require it.

That countered advice from the Federal Reserve, which argued that limits were needed to reduce the risks the companies pose.

Snow also urged Congress not to overlook the advantages of placing a new regulator for the GSEs within the Treasury Department -- a tricky subject that policymakers continue to debate as they try to lessen the view on Wall Street that the companies are extensions of government.

Alphonso Jackson, secretary of the Housing and Urban Development Department, added his endorsement to that idea.

But, also in testimony before the Senate committee, Jackson said a core element of oversight should remain at his department to ensure that affordable housing objectives are met.

[Livyjr]

Business - Reuters
 
"Snow Warns Fannie, Freddie Pose Threat"

Thu Apr 7,10:43 AM ET 

By Kristin Roberts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could threaten the economy if Congress fails to curb their investment activities, U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said on Thursday.

Snow said Congress should phase in limits on the companies' portfolio activities in order to protect the markets.

He also said the lines of credit the companies enjoy as part of their charter, and which he said markets falsely see as a sign that the government backs GSEs' debt, would only be used if a GSE were in "significant financial distress."

Some lawmakers have already indicated that curtailing GSEs' mortgage portfolios may be disruptive to markets.

Well, here is where we are, isn't it?

I mean right above here, with these couple of stories on Fannie Mae, and the GUMMINT, and well, yes, us too, BECAUSE ....

Fannie is out there doing up the town ....

ON OUR CREDIT CARD!

"Strutting that stuff" for the boys on Wall Street, and they love it, BECAUSE ....

Because of those "lines of credit" that are TAPPED right into OUR national treasury, which leaves us on the hook for whatever!

When I think of Fannie Mae, of course, I have to think in the same breath about George W. Bush's "PLAN" to divert OUR social security money over into WALL STREET, and the Fannie Mae's of that world, and, of course, what WOULD happen to that money if and when the WALL STREET LOOTERS got their "filthy-to-me" hands on it, and as luck would have it, I happened to run into a friend today who is in that type of business, of investments, and so, I asked him what would happen if Fannie tanked, to those who had invested in that stock.

"Well, that is simple", he said.

"They would lose their money, just as was the case with Enron!"

And so, we chatted about that for a while, and my perspective on the matter of the ANTINOMIAN PRIME Bush Co.'s plan to turn more of OUR money over to these thieves and looters out there that support him and HIS in the REPUBLICAN PARTY remains as HARD as it was before.

Which is to say, I am dead set against it!

WALL STREET is a place, as far as I am concerned, where gamblers go, to do whatever it is that gamblers do, and god bless them for that, BUT NOT ME!

My old-fashioned conservative philosophy is that if you want to have money in your pocket, LEAVE IT THERE!

Conversely, if you want to get rich quick, be born a Rockefeller, and if you weren't, well, get over it, and go on with your life!

BUT .....

I'm not in charge, and those who are, like "TEXAS TOMMY" Delay, well, they just seem to have the "JONES" for more and more money, and so ......

And so, we have a problem in OUR America today that is based upon probably thirty years worth or so, now, of nothing but lies that has reached a proportion of where the GUMMINT can no longer have the truth be told, as it will cause the biggest financial crash in this country's history, and it also cannot let the lies continue, as that too will cause the biggest financial crash in this nation's history, AND .....

Is there a third option?