DCRepublican.com

This is not what I meant when I suggest that more Austrians need to in public office.

read more | digg story

I knew Jesse Jackson pissed off a lot of people, but I didn’t see this one coming at all. It used to appear that Jesse Jackson was revered by many in the rap game, but it appears that in the eyes of some rappers, his time is up.

From MTV News:

“On Thursday (July 10), the rapper responded to Jackson’s videotaped whisper on Fox News, when the reverend said, “See, Barack’s been, um, talking down to black people on this faith-based … I want to cut his n—s off.” Nas says the civil-rights leader is finished.

“I think Jesse Jackson, he’s the biggest player hater,” Nas fumed during a conference call. “His time is up. All you old n—as, time is up. We heard your voice, we saw your marching, we heard your sermons. We don’t wanna hear that sh– no more. It’s a new day. It’s a new voice. I’m here now. We don’t need Jesse; I’m here. I got this. We got Barack, we got David Banners and Young Jeezys. We’re the voice now. It’s no more Jesse. Sorry. Goodbye. You ain’t helping nobody in the ‘hood. That’s the bottom line. Goodbye, Jesse. Bye!”"

read more | digg story

Washington, DC - The scandal surrounding the Dodd-Countrywide mortgage bailout bill continues to grow, as news surfaced that Barack Obama received a suspicious deal on a home mortgage in 2005 from Northern Trust in Illinois. The massive $1.32 million loan, nicknamed a “super super jumbo” loan by mortgage lenders, allows Senator Obama to pay preferential, below market rates on his six-bedroom, four-car garage, home that includes a wine cellar and a solarium. This is the same controversial home Senator Obama bought with the help of a sweetheart land deal with convicted felon and political insider Tony Rezko.

read more | digg story

Help stop this legislation! Hidden deep in the Senate housing legislation is a sweeping provision inserted by Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) that affects the privacy and operation of nearly all of America’s small businesses. There is a good chance that we can still stop this, but not without everyone’s help.

read more | digg story

A clever speech by House Republican Policy Committee Chairman Thad McCotter.

read more | digg story

Despite the research from the Congressional Budget Office that shows that some 35% of those bailed out are more than likely to default anyway, some members of the Senate seem ready to charge on with this waste of taxpayers money at full speed.

It makes you wonder, who is this bailout really helping? Is it Chris Dodd who doing a favor for his friends at Countrywide? We’ll know soon enough.

read more | digg story

I’m actually quite surprised by how little national attention the Senate race in Minnesota has been getting. Of all of the Senate races currently happening, it’s this race, without a doubt, that will be one of the most lively and expensive.

For those of you who haven’t been following this race, basically its between the incumbent, Norm Coleman and former Saturday Night Live comedian and ultra-lefty, Al Franken.

Judging by this article, it looks like its going to only get more heated.

From CNN.com:

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The first time Norm Coleman went up against a celebrity for statewide office, he was slammed by former pro wrestler Jesse Ventura.

Coleman did better against his second famous opponent, edging former Vice President Walter Mondale to win his seat in the U.S. Senate.

He’s hoping to repeat that success in his third run against a well-known name in as many tries — Democrat Al Franken, the former “Saturday Night Live” comedian and radio host.

Sen. Coleman has become one of the state’s most recognizable politicians.

But in preparing for his latest fight, Coleman has tried to turn the spotlight back on Franken, criticizing some of the more outrageous or profane things he’s said or written in years of comedy routines and liberal commentary.

“If the partisan disease is what’s tearing Washington apart, for years he was part of that,” said Coleman, who officially launches his campaign Wednesday. “The talk radio culture, the Rush Limbaughs, the Ann Coulters, the Al Frankens. If that’s the disease, I’ve tried to be the cure to that disease for a long time.”

Coleman said Franken wouldn’t be able to “work across the aisle with people he has so ridiculed and so debased.”

It’s important to note that when Norm Coleman was first elected as the Mayor of Minneapolis in 1993, he ran as a Democrat, so he already has many ties to the Democrat establishment in the state. However, I guess “once friends, always friends” doesn’t apply here:

Coleman is no stranger to wild campaigns. First elected mayor of St. Paul in 1993 as a conservative Democrat, he switched to the Republican Party three years later. Many Democrats have resented him ever since.

Obviously, this isn’t going to be an easy race for Coleman to win. However, I’m convinced that his campaign manager, the “behind the scenes rockstar,” Cullen Sheehan has a strategy that will be able to appeal to the conservative base, but also reach out to the moderates who might not be sure how they are going to vote yet.

This is a race that I think the blogosphere can have a great impact in, simply because many people are going to be interested in following what Al Franken is doing as the campaign heats up.

I think its almost impossible to predict the outcome of races in Minnesota, just look at their former Governor, former WWF start Jesse Ventura.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for having a strong economy and the United States maintaining a global economic advantage. However, one thing that I am opposed to more than anything is the government stepping in and using tax-payer funds to help support companies that seem to be going under. Furthermore, I don’t think that any arm of the government, especially the Federal Reserve, should step in and give advantages to certain companies based on their positioning or weight in the market.

From AOL News:

News that the government plans to free up billions of dollars at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , a move that could help struggling homeowners, for a time helped quell some of the market’s fears. But it couldn’t stave off selling late in the session by investors who have seen big advances evaporate many times during the course of the credit markets crisis and decided to preserve some of their gains.

Some would argue that because both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSE’s) that the government should step in make sure they remain strong, without any risk to those who borrow money. However, despite the fact that it is a GSE, Fannie Mae is also a publicly traded company.

Furthermore, GSE’s are simply suppose to be companies that can make loans. These companies are not meant to be backed by the government, nor are they meant to receive any special treatment, or welfare from the United States Government, regardless of the condition of the economy.

Definition of Government Sponsored Enterprise from the Investopedia:

Privately held corporations with public purposes created by the U.S. Congress to reduce the cost of capital for certain borrowing sectors of the economy. Members of these sectors include students, farmers and homeowners.

GSEs carry the implicit backing of the U.S. Government, but they are not direct obligations of the U.S. Government. For this reason, these securities will offer a yield premium over Treasuries. Some consider GSEs to be stealth recipients of corporate welfare.

Examples of GSEs include: Federal Home Loan Bank, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), Federal Farm Credit Bank and the Resolution Funding Corporation.

While Ben Bernanke might think that he is helping the economy by freeing up these dollars from lenders and slashing rates, I personally think that the troubles of the economy can work themselves out. The more we interfere with the market, the more investor fears are going to increase. Increased investor fears could eventually lead to a sell-off once more people come to realize that we are headed into a recession, if not there already.

Apparently its not only Packer fans who will be having a depressing Monday

Smile

Reuters is reporting that an Islamic website says that it will be releasing a new Osama Bin Laden recording about the status of terrorist attacks in Iraq.

According to the article, these messages have often been released within three days of being announced on these terrorist websites.

If you’re interested in reading on it more, here is the link:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071228/ts_nm/qaeda_binladen_tape_dc_2;_ylt=AuDWXFES8PZVOnFUkl0335xX6GMA