WASHINGTON (AP) — In his farewell address to the nation, President George W. Bush is acknowledging that many of his decisions are unpopular with the American people. But he says there can be no debate about the results.

Indeed, a text of the speech comes with a laundry list of what Bush says are successes.

In the text, released by the White House in advance of the address Thursday night, the president says Afghanistan and Iraq have changed for the better.

Bush credits his administration for improving public schools, creating a new Medicare prescription drug benefit and finding more money for veterans.

What about the bad economy? Bush says his team took decisive measures to safeguard it.

The bottom line, Bush says, is there have been good days and tough days during his term.

On that, even his critics would agree.

(I just corrected two misspelled words in the Associated Press article. And these liberal idiots are considered “professional journalists”?)

President Bush made many socialist decisions to “safeguard” the economy.

Why are liberals complaining? Liberals should love President Bush when it comes to the economy.

Well, what goes around, comes around, and when President-elect Obama takes office, it will be my turn to disrespect Obama and give him an EPIC FAIL every time he screws up.

I cannot wait to be called a “racist”, too! (Will liberals dare call me, a Puerto Rican, a “minority”, a racist?)

Let us grade President Bush’s tenure:

Response after 9/11/01: A+

Afghanistan: B+ (The job is not done, yet. Victory is within our grasp, though.)

Iraq: B+ (Again, the job is not done, but victory is within our grasp. Our brave military will have to mop-up the terrorist bastards that are still hiding.)

Al Qaeda: B+ (They are still out there, however, they have been severely cut off from the outside world.)

Osama bin Laden: Grade pending. President Bush still has a few more days to find him and kill him.

AIDS in Africa: A+. Not even liberals can spin this as a “failure”.

Pro-Life: A+. Abortions have dropped during the past 8 years.

Economy: D-. President Bush inherited President Clinton’s recession, 9/11 and Enron screwed the economy, President Bush then cut taxes, the economy rebounded and the Dow Jones index went past 14,000 points. The economy tanked in September of 2008, especially with Bear Stearns becoming worthless, and John McCain lost the presidency due to the economy. More and more banks lost money, the auto manufacturers lost money, more businesses spanning several different sectors went out of business, Bernard Madoff ripped off the world (including his own sister) of $50 billion dollars, and now the nation is facing 7.2% unemployment.

Final Grade: B-

Those are the only issues I really care about.

Oh, wait. One more issue.

Pissing of liberals: A+++

Sweet.

Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin

Sweet.

Daily Press

It looks like the Highlander is in and the Prius is out — for now at least.

Trucks and sport utility vehicles will outsell cars for the first time since February, according to a December report by Edmunds.com, which tracks industry statistics.

“Despite all the public discussion of fuel efficiency, SUVs and trucks are the industry’s biggest sellers right now as a remarkable number of buyers seem to be compelled by three factors: great deals, low gas prices and winter weather,” said Michelle Krebs of AutoObserver.com, a division of Edmunds.com, in a prepared statement.

“It was this summer that customers were concerned about the gas mileage. It hasn’t been a topic of conversation lately,” said Dave Lawson, the general sales manager at Pomoco Chrysler Jeep Dodge in Newport News. The majority of Pomoco’s inventory is SUVs, and its best-selling models are minivans.

Ed Morrissey states that Americans currently prefer sport utility vehicles over sedans and hybrids due to the lowered price of gasoline, as well as the fact that SUV’s provide more safety in crashes than cars, especially during harsh winter conditions.

Also, I believe Americans, especially males, prefer SUV’s over hybrids because SUV’s are much more cooler and stylish than dull and boring hybrids.

Which one of these vehicles will get me laid on Saturday night?

Or…

Hat Tip: Hot Air

NY Daily News

Is the porn industry up next for a bailout? If porn titans Joe Francis and Larry Flynt have anything to do with it, it will.

Yes, ladies and gentleman, the titans of pornography are begging for a bailout.

Joe Francis, creator of the “Girl’s Gone Wild” video series, and Larry Flynt, founder of Hustler, will ask Congress for a $5 billion bailout, according to TMZ.

Why does the porn industry need a bailout? Because apparently even porn is getting smacked by the recession.

XXX DVD sales have taken a hit - about a 22% hit, according the TMZ.

“With all this economic misery and people losing all that money, sex is the farthest thing from their mind,” Flynt is quoted as saying on TMZ. “It’s time for Congress to rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America.”

Francis thinks that the porn industry deserves a bailout just like the auto and financial industries got, and he said he’ll go to DC to get it, according to TMZ.

“Congress seems willing to help shore up our nation’s most important businesses; we feel we deserve the same consideration,” Francis is quoted as saying on TMZ.

Is the porn industry really experiencing a severe downturn? It depends on who you ask.

Francis Koenig’s fund AdultVest, which invests in porn-related assets, was up 50% in 2008, according to Tom Johansmeyer’s article in next month’s Atlantic (as reported by The Huffington Post). But video sales are down.

“The industry’s not going anywhere,” Koenig says. “You’ve got 6 billion people on the planet,” he laughs, “and they’re all horny.”

The porn industry generated about $12 billion in 2007, according to the Atlantic article.

$12 billion in 2007 for a bunch of dvd’s?

How much did the “Who’s Nailin’ Paylin” dvd sell, Mr. Flynt?

You don’t need a bailout, dude. You need new legs!

Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin

breitbart.com

American socialite Paris Hilton has declared herself a saviour who shops for the greater good in tight economic times.

In Sydney to host an exclusive New Year’s dance party, the 27-year-old heir to the Hilton hotel fortune this week drew criticism for spending 5,560 Australian dollars (3,844 US dollars) in a 40-minute shopping spree.

Local charities accused her of callous excess but Hilton Wednesday defended the splurge.

“I’m in Australia, I think it’s important to help out, you know, the economy out here, everywhere in the world,” she told reporters, ahead of her New Year engagement.

“And what’s wrong with doing a little shopping? It’s New Year’s, I need a New Year’s dress.”

Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard, questioned during a news conference Tuesday about Hilton’s shopping spree, commended the socialite for recognising Australia’s attraction as a fashion and shopping destination.

“I heard that a politician said that,” Hilton said. “I thought that was very sweet and it’s true.”

Hilton will be paid 100,000 Australian dollars by the party’s promoters for her Sydney appearance, promising a number of costume changes ahead of midnight.

All rich people need to follow Paris Hilton’s example and spend money!

If rich people are not going to use their money to start new businesses and hire middle class workers, at least spend the money and stimulate the global economy.

Thanks, Paris!

The pleasure of Stacie’s company used to cost $450 an hour, but no longer. Her clients were capped at 35 and older; today she’s taking almost anyone. Sex acts once off the menu are suddenly back on — recession specials, served with a side of shrugging compromise.

If she doesn’t do more for less, Stacie says, another prostitute will. And her weekly income is still down by half.

The illegal prostitution economy in Clark County is a multimillion-dollar beast fed by a black market so diverse that it’s impossible to pin down. On one hand, mid-range prostitutes like Stacie say they’re being crippled by the economy. On the other, high-end call girls claim they’re not feeling much pain. And the women charging the least reportedly are making the most these days — counter-intuitive in an industry where bargains come with risks.

Consider the work of sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh, who surveyed hundreds of high-end prostitutes in New York and discovered that 40 percent of “trades” in the sex economy never went beyond light petting or kissing.

In Las Vegas, the economy’s effect on call girls is even more complicated: The bulk of clients — or johns — here are from out of town, tourists or businessmen who spend days in convention halls and nights in hotel rooms with to-your-door entertainment. These men are bread and butter for local prostitutes, provided the clients come to town. And anybody in the hospitality industry — here that illicitly includes call girls too — can agree that fewer men are flying in, with less money to spend.

Meanwhile, more women reportedly are getting into the business, which creates a classic supply and demand squeeze. An escort agency owner told the Sun he’s getting about 40 interested applicants every day, the majority of whom are women running from the wreckage of lost finance jobs.

Now fold another factor into that dynamic: When the economy is bad, when people feel their mortgages closing in, they seek comfort: alcohol, cigarettes, gambling, pornography and perhaps prostitution.

When all these elements collide in the nebulous economy of escorting, a trend emerges: The Clark County call girl economy has a tipping point — about $650.

In Vegas, prostitutes who charge between $600 and $700 are being hit the hardest. The women (and the smaller number of men in the business) who charge in the $200 to $300 range are doing the same business as before, if not better, according to Susan Lopez, founder of the Sin City Alternative Professionals’ Association for local sex workers. And women who charge thousands of dollars for multi-hour appointments tell Lopez, and the Sun, that they’re not really being affected at all.

Although this is no scientific study — and people should be wary of any numbers that claim to definitively capture any element of the sex-for-pay market — the tipping point does make sense: People tightening their belts are downgrading to cheaper service; people who don’t need to tighten their belts aren’t really doing it at all. If you can buy a Bentley today, the logic goes, you’re probably going to be able to buy one tomorrow.

Or maybe you’ll buy an evening with Rebecca. She’s been a call girl in Las Vegas for several years, after leaving a job in finance behind. Winters are always slow, she says, but overall, the money is good. How good? Her best month was $32,000. An average month is more like $15,000.

“I get a lot of doctors and lawyers and they don’t even blink,” she said. “By January or February I’m fully expecting to raise my rates.”

Her rates, for now, are $2,000 to start. Overnights cost $4,000. Travel and multiple-day excursions are negotiable.

If you don’t believe people would pay that kind of money, consider the case of former New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer, who authorities allege spent $80,000 on escorts in one year, despite having a lot more to lose than the cash.

Well, Ricky will be happy to know that going rates are now at half-price or less.

Like Snoop Dogg says, “I don’t love them hoes”, but Stacie sounds cute.

Read the rest of the article at Las Vegas Sun.

Or “jobs”?

breitbart.tv

The editors of Scoop This have blogged extensively about the jobs, the economy, and the Wall Street bailout. I heard President Bush say last week that it will take some time for the bailout to take effect, but President Bush reassured everyone that the bailout will work. I hope that the bailout does work and jobs come back, especially in the semi-rural area where I live, but I believe that the trillion dollar plus bailout (that number includes previous bailouts) was spent unwisely.

Perhaps I am crazy, but I would have allowed the free market system to reign supreme and let these banks and sub-prime mortgage businesses fail. If these people cannot make sound business decisions, why give them more money that they should not be trusted with? Instead of bailing out banks and sub-prime mortgage lenders, that money should have been allocated to small and medium-sized businesses and allow those businesses to expand, grow, and hire more workers from the unemployed work force. Also, this money could have been used to start new businesses that have a clear mission objective to make money and expand. Does this sound like socialized capitalism? Is there such a thing?

My point is that this money should have been given to small and midsized businesses, as well as aspiring entrepreneurs, that will truly use the money to build, grow, and expand their business, while hiring from a pool of workers eager to continue their careers, and above all, make money for their families. I believe my plan is as good as any to jump start America’s economy and create Joe Biden’s magical three-letter word: J-O-B-S.

(As an aside, I will try to continue to blog more tonight, but I have been sick with fatigue, among other symptoms, though I hope to be back blogging full time tomorrow. I know I keep saying I will be back soon, but when I lay down my head, I fall asleep for nearly a whole day. What is worse, when I wake up, I still feel fatigued and run down. Oh well. I guess I need more Vitamin C. And orange juice.)

Obama Sued Citibank Under CRA to Force it to Make Bad Loans

Posted on 03 October 2008

Do you­ rememb­er how­ w­e tol­d you­ that the Democrats an­­d g­rou­ps associated w­ith them l­ean­­ed on­­ b­an­­ks an­­d even­­ su­ed to g­et them to make b­ad l­oan­­s u­n­­der the Commu­n­­ity Rein­­vestmen­­t Act w­hich w­as a f­actor in­­ cau­sin­­g­ the econ­­omic crisis (see HERE an­d­ HE­RE­ ) … w­ell lo­o­k at w­hat s­o­me f­ello­w­ b­lo­g­g­ers­ have dug­ up­ w­hile res­earchin­g­ O­b­ama’s­ leg­al career. Lo­o­ks­ like a typ­ical ACO­RN­ law­s­uit to­ g­et b­an­ks­ to­ han­d o­ut b­ad lo­an­s­.

In­ thes­e law­s­uits­, ACO­RN­ makes­ a b­o­g­us­ claim o­f­ Redlin­in­g­ (den­yin­g­ p­o­o­r p­eo­p­le lo­an­s­ b­ecaus­e o­f­ their ethn­ic heritag­e). They p­ro­tes­t an­d g­et the lo­cal media to­ rais­e a b­ig­ s­tin­k. This­ s­tin­k mean­s­ that the b­an­k f­aces­ tho­us­an­ds­ o­f­ p­eo­p­le clo­s­in­g­ their acco­un­ts­ an­d g­et lo­cal p­o­litician­s­ to­ lo­b­b­y to­ s­to­p­ the b­an­k f­ro­m do­in­g­ s­o­me f­uture b­us­in­es­s­, exp­an­s­io­n­s­ an­d merg­ers­. If­ the b­an­k g­o­es­ to­ co­urt, they w­ill w­in­, b­ut the damag­e is­ already do­n­e b­ecaus­e w­ho­ is­ g­o­in­g­ to­ laun­ch a b­ig­ camp­aig­n­ to­ g­et the b­an­k’s­ rep­utatio­n­ b­ack?

It is­ imp­o­rtan­t to­ un­ders­tan­d the n­ature o­f­ thes­e law­s­uits­ an­d w­hat their p­urp­o­s­e is­. ACO­RN­ f­iled to­n­s­ o­f­ thes­e law­s­uits­ an­d ALL o­f­ them alleg­e racis­m.

C­as­e­ Nam­­e­
Bu­yc­k­s-Ro­berso­n­ v. C­i­ti­ban­k­ F­ed. Sav. Ban­k­ F­ai­r Ho­u­si­n­g/Len­di­n­g/I­n­su­ran­c­e
Do­c­k­et / C­o­u­rt 94 C­ 4094 ( N­.D. I­ll. ) F­H-I­L-0011
State/Terri­to­ry I­lli­n­o­i­s
C­ase­ Su­mmar­y
Pla­i­nt­i­ffs fi­led­ t­hei­r­ cla­ss a­ct­i­o­n la­w­sui­t­ o­n July­ 6, 1994, a­llegi­ng t­ha­t­ Ci­t­i­ba­nk­ ha­d­ enga­ged­ i­n r­ed­li­ni­ng pr­a­ct­i­ces i­n t­he Chi­ca­go­ m­et­r­o­po­li­t­a­n a­r­ea­ i­n vi­o­la­t­i­o­n o­f t­he Equa­l Cr­ed­i­t­ O­ppo­r­t­uni­t­y­ A­ct­ (ECO­A­), 15 U.S.C. 1691; t­he Fa­i­r­ Ho­usi­ng A­ct­, 42 U.S.C. 3601-3619; t­he T­hi­r­t­eent­h A­m­end­m­ent­ t­o­ t­he U.S. Co­nst­i­t­ut­i­o­n; a­nd­ 42 U.S.C. 1981, 1982. Pla­i­nt­i­ffs a­lleged­ t­ha­t­ t­he D­efend­a­nt­-ba­nk­ r­eject­ed­ lo­a­n a­ppli­ca­t­i­o­ns o­f m­i­no­r­i­t­y­ a­ppli­ca­nt­s w­hi­le a­ppr­o­vi­ng lo­a­n a­ppli­ca­t­i­o­ns fi­led­ by­ w­hi­t­e a­ppli­ca­nt­s w­i­t­h si­m­i­la­r­ fi­na­nci­a­l cha­r­a­ct­er­i­st­i­cs a­nd­ cr­ed­i­t­ hi­st­o­r­i­es. Pla­i­nt­i­ffs so­ught­ i­njunct­i­ve r­eli­ef, a­ct­ua­l d­a­m­a­ges, a­nd­ puni­t­i­ve d­a­m­a­ges.

U.S. D­i­st­r­i­ct­ Co­ur­t­ Jud­ge R­uben Ca­st­i­llo­ cer­t­i­fi­ed­ t­he Pla­i­nt­i­ffs’ sui­t­ a­s a­ cla­ss a­ct­i­o­n o­n June 30, 1995. Buy­ck­s-R­o­ber­so­n v. Ci­t­i­ba­nk­ Fed­. Sa­v. Ba­nk­, 162 F.R­.D­. 322 (N.D­. I­ll. 1995). A­lso­ o­n June 30, Jud­ge Ca­st­i­llo­ gr­a­nt­ed­ Pla­i­nt­i­ffs’ m­o­t­i­o­n t­o­ co­m­pel d­i­sco­ver­y­ o­f a­ sa­m­ple o­f D­efend­a­nt­-ba­nk­’s lo­a­n a­ppli­ca­t­i­o­n fi­les. Buy­ck­s-R­o­ber­so­n v. Ci­t­i­ba­nk­ Fed­. Sa­v. Ba­nk­, 162 F.R­.D­. 338 (N.D­. I­ll. 1995).

T­he pa­r­t­i­es vo­lunt­a­r­i­ly­ d­i­sm­i­ssed­ t­he ca­se o­n M­a­y­ 12, 1998, pur­sua­nt­ t­o­ a­ set­t­lem­ent­ a­gr­eem­ent­.
Pla­i­nt­i­ff’s La­w­y­er­s A­lexi­s, Hi­la­r­y­ I­. (I­lli­no­i­s)
FH-I­L-0011-7500 | FH-I­L-0011-7501 | FH-I­L-0011-9000
Chi­ld­er­s, M­i­cha­el A­llen (I­lli­no­i­s)
FH-I­L-0011-7500 | FH-I­L-0011-7501 | FH-I­L-0011-9000
Cla­y­t­o­n, Fa­y­ (I­lli­no­i­s)
FH-I­L-0011-7500 | FH-I­L-0011-7501 | FH-I­L-0011-9000
Cum­m­i­ngs, Jeffr­ey­ I­r­vi­ne (I­lli­no­i­s)
FH-I­L-0011-7500 | FH-I­L-0011-7501 | FH-I­L-0011-9000
Lo­ve, Sa­r­a­ No­r­r­i­s (Vi­r­gi­ni­a­)
FH-I­L-0011-9000
M­i­ner­, Jud­so­n Hi­r­sch (I­lli­no­i­s)
FH-I­L-0011-7500 | FH-I­L-0011-9000
O­b­ama, B­ar­ack H. (Il­l­in­o­is­)
FH-I­L-0011-7500 | FH-I­L-0011-7501 | FH-I­L-0011-9000
W­i­ck­ert­, Jo­hn­ Hen­ry­ (I­lli­n­o­i­s)
FH-I­L-0011-9000

quoted from mediacircus

I’m going to borrow a line from a commenter and say “looks like Obama just committed murder in front of hundreds of witnesses.” Now watch our lurking liberal fascist sympathizers deny everything. It’s what fascists do best… rewrite/ignore history. Denials in 3…2…1.

This is from a New York Times Article written in 1999:

In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.

The action, which will begin as a pilot program involving 24 banks in 15 markets — including the New York metropolitan region — will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. Fannie Mae officials say they hope to make it a nationwide program by next spring.

Fannie Mae, the nation’s biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits.

Sarcasm: Yeah, looks like it’s “all Bush’s fault” because of “deregulation.” *cough*

And yet, do we see any indication that Democrats intend to change their welfare state mentality which pressured private banks into taking these unnecessary risks? Of course not. In fact, one of their few objections to this bailout was that it didn’t redistribute enough wealth to these same “lower income” people who took out loans that couldn’t be paid back! I think they got their wishes in the final draft.

Yet, somehow Democrats continue to trick the lemming masses into believing that they’re on our side… give me a break. Yeah… keep voting Democrat and ignoring reality and common sense, morons.

I did not know that the “American dream” was to live in the “middle class”. Americans strive to be as successful as possible so they can make as much money as possible. That is not greed. That is determination, hard work, and sacrifice - the very ideals America was founded upon. These ideals are also synonymous with capitalism.

John McCain was right when he said that “$5 million is rich” at the Saddleback Forum. McCain was also right when he said that he wants everyone to be rich. Who doesn’t? But it takes hard work to get there, and John McCain understands that. If you want to be poor and live in poverty, then you are in the wrong country.

Barack Obama wants to raise taxes on people that make $250,000 and higher. Most of the people that make $250,000 are owners of small businesses who cannot afford such a tax. A tax increase on people that make $250,000, especially small business owners, means another $18,000 for the government. That money could have been used to hire another company employee, or used for employee bonuses and benefits, or used for building and office upgrades. An $18,000 tax increase for small business owners means at least 1 employee is going to get fired to make up the tax difference.

Small businesses are the “middle class”, Obama! And yes, these small businesses are struggling. They are not getting their fair “shake”, Obama. You want to shake all the extra money out of their pockets!

Yes, there will be a change in taxes if Obama is elected President, but there will be no hope.

Dir Sirs and Madams,

I am writing to let you know that I am not stupid. I also want you to know that the American people are not stupid. We have seen the spin you guys are trying to pass as truth about what really happened at the White House meeting yesterday.

The biggest lie I’ve seen thus far is the blaming of House GOP Congressmen “ruining” this bill which is supposed to “save” our economy. I happen to know that this is a lie and I hope most Americans do as well because it flies in the face of how the House of Representatives actually works.

The reason I know it’s a lie is because the Democrats, not the Republicans, control an overwhelming majority of the seats in the US House of Representatives. This means that if a bill which is supposedly a “fantastic idea” that will “save our economy” will get pushed through the House with or without GOP support there.

The only reason the bill is not getting passed is because Pelosi refuses to allow it on the House Floor. Democrats won’t put the bill on the floor of the house is because they know the bill is loaded with corruption and it will make our economy worse in the long run. If they can’t pass it without Republican votes, it means that the blame down the road (assuming the media wakes up by then) will be rightfully be passed to the Democrat Party.

We voters want the Democratic Leadership to know that we are paying very close attention to this issue and despite the media refusing to challenge the absurdity of your spin, we still see right through it.

Now, please adjourn congress without passing any form of this corrupt bill that is both bad for our country and bad for our economy. I hope that this is the last “Service” you people will be doing for our country as I hope you are all kicked out of office on November 4th for continuing to insult the intelligence of voters.

Have a nice day,

Kelsey Golden