bleedorange

Sure, no problem. Sorry, it's one of my main issues this year.

If only we had more Supreme Court justices that actually read the Constitution instead of making things up on the fly. Oh well, hopefully McCain will get elected and help rectify that a little.

Text of S. 190 Actions on bill: Essentially died in Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

When did this crisis originate? Was its genesis in 1968 when LBJ privatized it? Was it during the late '90s and early '00s when James Johnson and Franklin Raines were in charge? Of course there was a lack of oversight and that falls on both parties, but everything I have seen from you and people on this board is how the Republicans are to blame for everything. I certainly don't think you can absolve Republicans of this and I'm not trying to defend Bush. Hell, I never even voted for the guy. But Democrats have been in charge since the early '90s and have found plenty of ways to vote agai

So the actual people in charge since 1991 -- James Johnson, Franklin Raines, Jamie Gorelick -- who are Democrats that have served in Democratic administrations and have paid themselves millions of dollars for heading these companies are not to blame? And it was LBJ who privatized these companies to get them off the books. Yet they were still tax exempt, backed by the government, and never had to report anything to the public while racking up $5 trillion in debt. But McCain and other Republicans who tried to introduce legislation for reform and oversight of these companies are to blame?

I meant the ones in charge at the two companies. The ones actually falsifying the books. Not who had a majority in Congress.

Yeah, let's not have a commission. Let's focus our efforts on silly commissions and hearings over things like steroids and baseball. But when it comes to executives of government sponsored entities stealing millions and ultimately forcing taxpayers to bail them out and then the congressmen who benefited the most from these shady operations...let's not investigate that or look into it.

I think you completely missed the point. Of course, it is something that has been brewing for years. The desire for all people to own their own homes regardless of whether they could afford them. That's what started it all. Of course, there was no accounting for the criminal executives that cooked the books that enabled them to make loans with no real regard for the future while raking in millions in personal compensation. The fact that these were all democrats or democratic appointees seems to be immaterial to some. There is evidence that the Bush Administration appealed for reform in

Ah, yes. By wide and vast margins -- two seats in the Senate, about 20 in the House. And I've never really known the NY Times to cherry pick quotes, but whatever.

And here was McCain as co-sponsor of Senate Bill 190 (FEDERAL HOUSING ENTERPRISE REGULATORY REFORM ACT OF 2005) on the floor in 2006. GovTrack: Senate Record S. 190: Floor Speeches At least Chuck Hagel, McCain, Elizabeth Dole, and John Sununu could see this coming three years earlier only to see the bill die in committee.

The funny thing about the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae crisis is that despite Obama's rhetoric on the subject and the "failed Bush policies" he is running against, Republicans weren't the ones in charge. And five years ago, it was Bush that tried to regulate these companies. New Agency Proposed to Oversee Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (9/11/03) And Franklin Raines, Jim Johnson, and countless others gave themselves tens of millions of dollars in compensation while doing it. And the tool used by ranking democrats to prevent this kind of oversight was the appeal for providing houses to poor p

That's definitely a great one. The sentimental side of me would have to go with the presentation of the Class Protector Award. That scene always gets me.

It's hard to pick just one moment, but I also think it's hard to argue with the end of The Gift in terms of drama, suspense, and emotion.

I'm surprised Georgia is still receiving first-place votes.

Our girl is about three weeks away from her first birthday!

Doesn't the term "Latin America" refer to almost everything south of the United States, including South America?

???

I would be willing to bet that beauty pageant moms are the absolute worst.

A really cool story on Tony Romo in today's Fort Worth Star-Telegram: A fine Sunday indeed for Tony Romo

It's official.

Lost Highway said "witty swipe." Are you just looking for fights now?

I completely agree. This can almost be a chicken or the egg argument. I find the McCain camp to be responding more to the various things that have been said about Palin. You can argue that's why she was chosen, to be able to play the gender card, but this will only lead to disagreements based on what you would like to believe rather than what are the actual reasons for the Palin choice. I'm not defending it on this ground, but what political ads out there don't take liberties with facts and present them in a negative light (although I think this is your broader point). Of course,

Wasn't he the chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee where the bill was sent and passed through? And, again, who determines what is "age and developmentally appropriate"? No. I simply questioned how "racially charged" ads would play in the non-Southern states where they are being used. Of course, my larger point is how it is ridiculous that this is being portrayed as a racially-charged issue. It's not. And the fact that there are white kids in the ad does not make it racial.

Not entirely accurate, but definitely effective. I say not entirely mainly because there have been a few comments addressing concerns over having five kids and having time to be a VP. The one thing I have not been able to understand (and I posted about it a few days ago to no real response other than the beginnings of another abortion debate) is the assertion that Palin is not a feminist. Personally, I think the fact that she has been able to go from mom to city council to mayor to governor pretty much personifies what feminism is supposed to be about. But somehow, a woman who chooses to