Will Hatred Ever Be Replaced with Understanding? Remembering Sue Kim Hanson on 9/11

Last night I prepared to watch President Barack Obama's Address to the Nation about the latest continuation in the war with Islamic Terrorists, the SIS or ISIL threat in Iraq and Syria.  Megan Kelly on Fox News interrupted her broadcast to show the twin beams of light thasat had, seconds ago, be illuminated on the site of the 9/11 attack.  It is a beautiful site, a beacon of strength, hope and spirit.

And yet here we are, thirteen years later, facing the same threat that destroyed so many lives on Spetember 11, 2001 and we face the same threat, perhaps even greater.  It is a threat based entirely on blind hatred.

Can we ever possibly overcome that?  Are we doomed to an ageless war that will eventually destroy us all?

September 11, 2001 was horrific.  In a few short hours 2,996 were murdered by the same terror from Islamic Fundamentalists that threatens us today.  We will make it through today? Last year the terrorists attacked Benghazi on the Anniversary of 9/11 just to commemorate the anniversary of the attack.  Our Ambassador and three others were murdered.

Since 2006 I have maintained my own small commemoration of the tragedy that was 9/11 by repeating here in this blog the story of Sue Kim Hanson and her husband Peter and their beautiful daughter Christine who were killed in the holocaust of 9/11.  I've placed a series of links at the bottom of this post to each of the preceding eight years of blog entries.

Last year I wrote that I hoped we might eventually learn to replace hate with love if we focus on the people, their lives, their loves, hopes, fears and dreams.  With a heavy heart this morning I light again that small candle of hope.  I believe understanding and love may somehow overcome hatred and evil.  At least I pray so in the memory of Sue Kim, Peter and Christine.

Please join me in remembering Peter Hanson, the handsome, young software engineer, Sue Kim Hanson, his Korean-American bride, and their two their old daughter, Christine.

The Hanson's were killed when United Flight 175 was hijacked by the terrorists and purposely crashed into the World Trade Center.

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Susan Kim Hanson was one of the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack that took the lives of 2,996 souls in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the fields of Pennsylvania.

Sue, her husband Peter, and her two year old daughter Christine were on United Airlines Flight 175 that crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Her daughter Christine was the youngest victim of the September 11th attack.

Sue was a great scientist in the making. She was a doctoral candidate in micro-biology immunology at Boston University and working on her final thesis. Her work promised to reveal the workings of a chemical believed to regulate immune responses. She had isolated in lab mice a gene suspected of being involved in asthma sufferers and AIDS patients. Her work had the potential to help millions of people.

Susan Kim was one of those wonderful American success stories. A Korean-American, Sue had lived with her grandmother in Korea until she was 6. Her mother died when she was 15 and she was raised by her strict Korean father. Through hard work and discipline, sacrifice, dedication and sheer will power she neared the goal her mother and father and grandmother had hoped she would achieve, her doctorate degree.

Dr. Hardy Kornfeld, Hanson's thesis adviser, said "She was sort of fearless. Sue just took on tasks that were incredibly challenging, and more often than not she was able to make a go at them."

That she would be attracted to the wild and undisciplined Peter Hanson was a great surprise. Three years younger than Sue Kim, Peter gained his education by following The Grateful Dead. Peter believed that the group and its music would become classics, up there with Beethoven, Bach and company, and he tried to sway the opinion of anyone who would listen. Many of our listeners to Wizard Radio would certainly agree with Peter.

But even if Sue wasn't quite convinced about the Dead, she believed in Peter. And her faith was well placed. Peter was, by all accounts, a brilliant software engineer, a great salesman and a wonderful person.

He was passionate about Sue and Sue fell head over heals in love with Peter. She obviously had a great effect on him. Legacy.com has a reprint of a New York Times article about Sue that tells the story:

"The relationship spurred Peter Hanson to clip his tangle of brownish-red dreadlocks, trade in tie-dyed T- shirts for suits, go to business school and become one of the best software salesmen his friends and family had ever met. He was vice president of marketing at TimeTrade in Waltham, Mass."

"Her bond with the Hansons was so strong that they accompanied her to California when she went to inform her father about her engagement. She worried that her father would protest because Peter Hanson was not Korean. But her family embraced the Hansons."

Sue and Peter were married and had a beautiful daughter. Sue continued to pursue her doctoral degree. She was scheduled to defend her thesis in November, 2001.
Taking a last break before finalizing her research and thesis, Sue, Peter and Christine were on their way to visit the Sue's father and grandmother in California, and take Christine to Disneyland, when they boarded United Airlines Flight 175. Peter was one of those who made a final cell phone call to his parents moments before the plane crashed into the south tower.

Sue's friend Mona Pengree writes, "Sue was awarded her PhD posthumously, as her professor finished her work on her behalf. This is a wonderful picture of her, and she shone every bit as brightly in person. Probably more. Her loss was a loss to all mankind."

Sue gave a great deal to Boston University and she gave a great deal to all of us. Her work in immunology inspired her fellow students, faculty and the University to continue her research and finish her thesis. They awarded her a doctorate degree. And they established the Sue Kim Hanson Lecture In Immunology, not just to honor her memory, but to give full credit to her work and the inspiration, the strength and the courage Sue provides to us all.

Michelle Malkin wrote this in her syndincated column:

"Eight children were murdered on hijacked airliners that crashed on Sept. 11. Christine Hanson, 3, was on United Airlines Flight 175 with her parents. She was on her first trip to Disneyland. Christine was brown-eyed and rosy-cheeked and button-nosed. At family meals, she made everyone stand and hold hands while singing the theme song from Barney. During Christine's funeral, mourners re-enacted the scene, singing:

"I love you, you love me . . ." "

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Back in 2006, the 2,996 Project asked bloggers to prepare tributes to all who died in the tragic events of September 11th. Many of those blog entries remain on line and many will be reprinted today.   Each year since the project began I have repeated my effort to honor Sue Kim, Peter and Christine.  You can read each of my essays following the links below:

September 11, 2006 - Susan Kim Hanson

September 11, 2007 - Remembering Sue Kim Hanson

September 11, 2008 - Remembering Sue Kim Hanson

September 11, 2009 - Remembering the Reality: 9-11-2001: Sue Kim Hanson

September 11, 2010 - Reflections on the Life of Sue Kim Hanson

September 11, 2011 - Tears in Tragedy - Remembering Sue Kim Hanson

September 11, 2012 - Honoring the Memory of Peter, Sue and Christine Hanson

September 11, 2013 - The Tragedy of War, The Victims of Hate - Remembering Peter, Sue Kim and Christine Hanson

"Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job,"

"Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job," is probably the most famous quote by any President in our lifetime.  President Bush's praise of FEMA Director Michael Brown during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 illustrated to ALL the American public exactly how out of touch the President was concerning the unfolding disaster in New Orleans.  The public was watching the disaster unfold, live, on television.  President Bush, briefed badly by incompetent advisers simply had no idea what was happening.

Bush rallied and by all impartial accounts did a masterful job in directing the efforts in the aftermath of Katrina, making over a dozen grueling trips and personally overseeing every aspect of the recovery*, but he is always remembered for that one quote.

Because we are now so used to President Obama lying about absolutely everthing, his stating that he's “not interested in photo ops" in defending his decision to not visit the border even one time will never receive the legendary status of the Bush "Brownie" quote.  Never-the-less it does illustrate exactly how horribly out of touch he is concerning the current border immigration crisis.

Fortunately ABC NEWS is covering the situation in depth.  Their report Here's What Obama Would See If He Visited the Border is frightening.  Be certain to read and watch the entire story at the link above. Below is a tiny portion of the report.

Children, wrapped only in Red Cross blankets, sleep on cement floors. Hundreds of young children apprehended at the border are crowded into sanitary but impersonal detention cells, their faces pressed listlessly against the glass.

Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, told ABC News that the president risks looking “detached,” calling the optics “horrible.”

“If you go down to the border, he has to see the kids that I’ve seen, young girls, young boys, you know, that have come through very difficult situations. It is a humanitarian crisis, and he can either do two things,” Cuellar said. “One, as a leader, he can be defiant and say I’m going to roll up my sleeves and see the humanitarian crisis. Or he can look detached, appear detached and say I’m doing everything long distance.”

Today it is certainly Barack Obama who is out of touch.  And, unlike President Bush during Katrina, Obama isn't doing a damned thing to alleviate the situation,  Instead he demonizes Republicans.  He makes speeches calling Republican's evil.  He doesn't even try to win over popular public support. He seems more interested in making enemies than allies. He has yet to appeal to the American Public, who would, most assuredly, rally to the cause.

Today it is Glenn Beck of all people who is doing the right thing for all the right reasons.  It is Beck who is illuminating the crisis and it is Beck who is appealing directly to the American People for support, tolerance and understanding.  

The President ought to ask Glenn Beck for a ride and join him on the border.  The President ought to appeal to the public for donation, support and a willingness to take in refugees in their local communities.  The President ought to pretend, for just a few hours to be a leader.  Frankly, Obama needs a photo-op.

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* See and read how President Bush handled the aftermath of the Katrina Crisis in Jonathan Tilove's New Orleans Times-Picayune article written in October 2009. 

The Tragedy of War, The Victims of Hate, Remembering Peter, Sue Kim and Christine Hanson

President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed December 7, 1941, "a date which will live in infamy." The horrific, unannounced and unanticipated attack on the Naval Base in Honolulu, Hawaii left 2,467 dead, Americans and Japanese combined and left America in a state of shock.

September 11, 2001 was, in many ways even more horrific.  Believe it or not, more people were actually killed, 2,996 lost their lives.  And the attack wasn't perpetrated by another nation, but by a large, loosely knit group of religious fanatics determined to bring death, destruction and humiliation on private citizens living in a country that did not agree with their strict religious beliefs.

In the minds of the terrorists, Americans had perpetrated a million wrongs and their humiliation, death and destruction was demanded by God, by Allah himself.

For the first few hours America didn't even realize we were under attack.  Our President was reading schools books to children in an elementary school in Florida. Early reports were so unclear that President Bush continued to read even after being informed of the first airplane crash.  It took hours for the events to unfold.

We saw it all on television.  Reporters and politicians were confused, bewildered and horrified.  We watched the Twin Towers collapse and the shear magnitude of the damage done slowly became clear.  Hatred turned out to be the real weapon of mass destruction.

We focused that day, as we do on most days, on the big issues.  Numbers, statistics, nations, religions. Two Thousand Nine Hundred Ninety Six dead.

But I believe we can only learn to replace hate with love if we focus on the people, their lives, their loves, hopes, fears and dreams.  That's why today, as I have every September 11th since 2006, I'm taking a time to remember Peter Hanson, the handsome, young software engineer, Sue Kim Hanson, his Korean-American bride, and their two their old daughter, Christine.

The Hanson's were killed when United Flight 175 was hijacked by the terrorists and purposely crashed into the World Trade Center.

Sue Kim was a Doctoral Candidate at Boston University.  She, Peter and Christine decided to take a vacation to Disneyland and to visit Sue Kim's father in California before she had to defend her Doctoral Thesis.

Blind hatred killed the Hanson's.  The terrorists never knew them, because to know them might have lead to understanding, to doubt in their mission, to have concerns about the justness of their cause.  The leader of the terrorists, Osama bin Laden didn't want to know people, he wanted to see numbers.  Peter, Sue Kim and Christine weren't people to the terrorists, they were just the number 3. Just 3 out of 2,996.

Please take a few minutes today to remember Peter, Sue Kim and Christine.  Say a prayer for them and their families.  Say a prayer for us all.  Remember people today, not numbers.

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In 2006 a blogger project was begun on the fifth anniversary of 9-11.  Called the "2,996 Project" volunteers were asked to write a short remembrance for each of the victims of the September 11, 2001.attack.  I was randomly assigned Sue Kim Hanson.  Each year since I have repeated my effort to honor Sue Kim and her family.  You can read each of my essays following the links below:

September 11, 2006 - Susan Kim Hanson

September 11, 2007 - Remembering Sue Kim Hanson

September 11, 2008 - Remembering Sue Kim Hanson

September 11, 2009 - Remembering the Reality: 9-11-2001: Sue Kim Hanson

September 11, 2010 - Reflections on the Life of Sue Kim Hanson

September 11, 2011 - Tears in Tragedy - Remembering Sue Kim Hanson

September 11, 2012 - Honoring the Memory of Peter, Sue and Christine Hanson

A Cautionary Tale: Detroit on the Verge of Bankruptcy

If you've got 5 minutes and 41 seconds I'll scare the heck out of you.

I realize it's Easter and Passover, not Halloween, but NPR put this horror story on the air Thursday anyway. Click it if you dare.

>>>> Bad Bets, Costly Promises Put Detroit On The Brink Of Bankruptcy <<<<

Of course this story is a tragedy.  A great city has fallen onto despair and large portions of the city are in ruin.  

But what's really frightening how many times the city leaders, mayor, city council and city fathers were warned of this apocalypse and how they always turned a deaf ear.  They steadfastly ignored the crisis and did absolutely nothing to prevent it.

FROM THE TRANSCRIPT:

HULETT: ...Joe Harris spent a decade as Detroit's auditor general. Shortly before he quit in 2005, he asked an outside consultant to look at the city's pension and retiree costs. 

 JOE HARRIS: This is his presentation to the council. 

 HULETT: The consultant's report was a shocker. It said the city was looking at more than $7 billion in retiree health care and fringe benefit costs it had not projected, let alone budgeted for. Seven billion dollars, seven times the city's annual operating budget. So, what was the response to this bombshell of a report? 

HARRIS: There was no response. There was no follow-up. There was no concern. There was no - not only by the council, there was no response by the administration either.

That's the trouble with government.  They always put off the tough decisions.  They don't listen. They never react. They deny there is a disaster and always proclaim that even IF a disaster is coming it's always dozens of years away.  They'll be plenty of time to fix the problem..... tomorrow.

This is, of course, what President Obama and the Democrats are doing today in Washington.  President Obama is kinda, sorta, maybe confident that the oncoming debt disaster won't happen until after he is out of office.  So he's ginning up the denial machine of loyal party legislators and pundits to echo his "do absolutely nothing" position. 

His position is all the more curious because only a few short years ago (before he was President) he and his fellow Democrats saw the disaster clearly and DEMANDED President Bush take instantaneous action!  In fact, Senator Obama and every single Democrat VOTED AGAINST RAISING THE DEBT CEILING.  

Of course Republicans all voted to raise the debt ceiling when George Bush was President but now that Barack Obama is President, they're all against it.

Politics rule, reality takes a back seat.  But the downfall is coming and all America is about to face a crisis that makes the current Detroit disaster look like.... an old fashioned Halloween horror story.

The World is NOT Coming to an End

TODAY'S HEADLINE:  Fiscal Cliff Talks Frozen

Two thoughts.  First and, by far, most important: If Congress fails to act the world will not come to an end.  Far from it. In fact I believe the complete failure of talks is the optimal outcome.  We need to aggressively deal with the national debt. This is the only approach that does that.

I am confident the economy will not go into recession.  In fact, I predict with confidence, it will improve.  After all Nancy Pelosi's $800 million dollar stimulus had no effect on the economy.  Neither will this tax increase coupled with the minor spending reduction.

This is much ado about nothing.

Second, in spite of my bold suggestion we allow the tax cuts to expire and the spending cuts to take effect, neither will happen.  Compromise will be reached.

The Paint By Numbers President

I have three thoughts tonight that need little or no expansion.

1.)  I remember the "Bush Haters" really well from just four years ago.  It seems like a century ago, doesn't it?  President Bush could do nothing right.  McCain lost, at least in part, because he was unable to distance himself from the reviled President Bush.

2.)  Four short years later we have the mirror image of the "Bush Haters" in the "Obama Haters." For these critics Presidnet Obama can do nothing right.  Every tiny move is subject to review and criticism.  

The newest cause celeb in the "Obama Haters" click is the growing critcism of President Obama's use of one single standard and terribly impersonal form letter being sent to the families of every soldier killed in Afghanistan, Iraq or on any duty.  One cold letter, printed and signed again and again and again.  They point out that President Bush, for all his flaws, usually wrote personal notes,often by hand.

The Gateway Pundit has covered the controversy here: Confirmed: Obama Sent Same Form Letter to Parents of All Fallen Soldiers, Marines, SEALs

3.) I will refuse to ever become an "Obama Hater."  He is not a bad man.  He doesn't deserve the vilification thrown his way. 

I'm voting for Mitt Romney for a variety of rational reasons outlined elsewhere in this blog.  I think this "letter" controversy is overblown.  But, it does reflect Obama's approach to his entire Presidency.  He has no feel for the job or its gravity.  It's all paint by the numbers, sign the form letters, then on to The View.

He's not a bad man.  He's just not the man we need in the Oval Office.

No News IS NOT Good News

Just because you didn't see or hear this headline this morning doesn't mean it didn't happen. The big networks simply chose to ignore it.


3 People Murdered and another 18 injured in Gun Violence on Saturday in Chicago

If you watch network news, ABC, CBS or NBC or if you watch cable news, FOX, CNN or MSNBC or if you listen to NPR you didn't know that.  They were all too busy rehashing the 12 murdered and 58 injured in Aurora, Colorado on Thursday morning to bother to mention that murders continue unabated across the country.


As I write this President Obama is flying over Chicago to visited the families of the victims in Aurora to give them comfort, according to the White House Press Secretary.


He will never mention the nearly 300 murdered in Chicago so far this year.  He will not be stopping to give comfort to the grieving families of Gerry Woods, Akil Partee or Pablo Hernandez, all murdered Friday night and Saturday morning.


How I wish George W. Bush were still President.  Not because I want him back in office, but because if he pulled the stunt of flying over the families of 300 black and Latino victims to give aid and comfort to 12 white victims, my fellow Democrats would condemn him for racism, insensitivity and incompetence.  Instead we have President Obama and the silence of the Democratic lambs.


I don't blame President Obama.  It's not racism, it's politics.  Colorado is a swing state.  He needs their votes.  Chicago will vote for Obama regardless of how much he ignores or even abuses its citizens.


And, lets be honest, the Chicago problem is one of unemployment, poverty and failed social engineering.  It's going to be tough to fix.  And President Obama is not up to the task.  He is way to small, way to weak to take on a mission this large.


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On a related note, my friend Steve is launching a series on the need for Gun Control and ways to successfully implement it over on his blog The Peripatetic Blogger Steve and I might not always agree on this issue, but I urge you to read his blog and consider his opinions and solutions carefully.  We need everyone's ideas.  We need all hands on deck.

Political Parties Are Our Biggest Enemy

I'll admit that Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) is an idiot, but that is quite beside the point. Still, by making one of the most absurd speeches on record, she illustrates just how totally dysfunctional our two party system has become.

Jackson Lee said: "I am particularly sensitive to the fact that only this president — only this one, only this one — has received the kind of attacks and disagreement and inability to work, only this one."

Then Jackson Lee decided to jump completely off the cliff: "Read between the lines. What is different about this president that should put him in a position that he should not receive the same kind of respectful treatment of when it is necessary to raise the debt limit in order to pay our bills, something required by both statute and the 14th amendment?"

Here is EXACTLY WHY Jackson Lee is wrong. During the last (ultimately successful) attempt to raise the dept ceiling during the tenure of President George W. Bush, NOT ONE SINGLE DEMOCRAT SENATOR VOTED TO INCREASE THE DEBT CEILING. EVERY DEMOCRAT VOTED AGAINST THE BILL TO, as Sheila Jackson Lee so eloquently put it, "raise the debt limit in order to pay our bills, something required by both statute and the 14th amendment."

So, in spite of Jackson Lee's faulty memory, Barack Obama is, in fact, being treated exactly the same way President Bush was treated. It could be argued Obama is being treated with more respect.

This entire Washington debate is just bullshit! If you are against raising the debt limit, you should hold fast to that position. If you believe it is necessary, you should support it. Period. False rhetoric,, race baiting (as Jackson Lee just engaged in), and political posturing should be stopped.

If the political parties would get out of the way we might actually get something done in this country.

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No doubt I'll get replies stating "Well, the Republicans did it, too." YES! THAT IS, OF COURSE, EXACTLY MY POINT!

Economic Pearl Harbor

The current Wall Street credit and lending crisis has been called an "economic Pearl Harbor" by mega-investor Warren Buffett. After doing as much study and research as I can, and talking with experts I trust, I believe Buffett's analogy is true.

President George Bush's speech last night was probably the very finest of his presidency. Bush was clear, logical and he didn't "talk down" to his audience as he often does. He told the true and exact story of the events leading up to the crisis and didn't play politics at all. That was a surprise.

In fact, Bush was unusually non-partisan. He clearly reached out to Democrats.

The only political note I will add is strictly my personal opinion that John McCain continues to handle this crisis about as badly as it is possible to handle it. His political "time out" and his proposal to delay the Friday night debate looks incredibly foolish.

An important part of the decision we voters must make in choosing the next President is watching how he or she handles events. McCain looks very bad here. Even if he is totally sincere in his desire to help solve this crisis, he still appears to be playing politics. As I often say, "Perception Becomes Reality."

If the McCain campaign was frightened by the polls yesterday, just wait until next week.

But let's get back to the real crisis. Warren Buffett is like the men and women who volunteered to join the military after Pearl Harbor. He immediately volunteered to serve with his FIVE BILLION DOLLAR INVESTMENT in Goldman Sachs.

From the Bloomberg article linked above:

Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Warren Buffett, calling turmoil in the markets an "economic Pearl Harbor,'' said his $5 billion investment in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is an endorsement of the Treasury's $700 billion bank rescue plan. "I am betting on the Congress doing the right thing for the American public and passing this bill," Buffett said on cable channel CNBC today. "I certainly have a vote of confidence in Goldman and vote of confidence in Congress." Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke are pushing Congress to quickly approve the proposal to remove illiquid assets from the banking system. Buffett is buying a stake in New York-based Goldman after three of the investment bank's biggest competitors collapsed or were forced into emergency sales. "I think the Treasury will pay back the $700 billion and make a considerable amount of money," Buffett said, adding that if he had $700 billion on the government's terms to buy distressed assets, he would. "Unfortunately, I'm tapped out." Goldman rose $4.95, or 4 percent, to $130 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading after Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. agreed yesterday to the investment. It will pay 10 percent interest and give Buffett the right to buy $5 billion in common stock in the next five years at $115 a share. Buffett, 78, has frequently scolded Wall Street for shoddy accounting and risky investments. He's investing in the most profitable U.S. investment bank a week after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. went bankrupt and Merrill Lynch & Co. sold itself to Bank of America Corp. Bears Stearns Cos. in March was absorbed by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

I have been a strong and unrelenting critic of Warren Buffett on these pages for his absolute failure to cease investments that are empowering the genocide in Darfur. But I certainly applaud his stepping forward today to help calm the markets and support America during this current crisis.

Rewriting History

I watched Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) on the news shows on Sunday. Long gone are the days of Tim Russert when reporters actually did their homework and did actual research. Tough questions were off the table. However, ample opportunity was given to Senator Dodd to blame everyone but himself for the current crisis.

Sadly, the bulk of the blame actually belongs at Senator Dodd's doorstep.

From THE NEW YORK TIMES, September 10, 2003:

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 — A report by outside investigators in July concluded that Freddie Mac manipulated its accounting to mislead investors, and critics have said Fannie Mae does not adequately hedge against rising interest rates. ...

"The current regulator does not have the tools, or the mandate, to adequately regulate these enterprises,'' Mr. Oxley said at the hearing. ''We have seen in recent months that mismanagement and questionable accounting practices went largely unnoticed by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight,'' the independent agency that now regulates the companies.

"These irregularities, which have been going on for several years, should have been detected earlier by the regulator ..."

A bill was placed before Congress that would have implemented the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis a decade earlier.

Guess who sounded that strong warnings about the impending crisis at Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae?

Guess who proposed the bill to increase strong REGULATION of the Housing Industry?

President George Bush and the Bush Administration!

And guess who fought it all the way?

The Bill was opposed and eventually blocked by none other than Senator Chris Dodd!

Dodd was completely in the pocket of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and Countrywide Finanace Co. Dodd was (and still is) the largest recipient of campaign contributions from the now failed housing lenders. We're talking hundreds of thousand dollars.

The New York Times news story from 2003 continues.....

''There is a general recognition that the supervisory system for housing-related government-sponsored enterprises neither has the tools, nor the stature, to deal effectively with the current size, complexity and importance of these enterprises,'' Treasury Secretary John W. Snow told the House Financial Services Committee in an appearance with Housing Secretary Mel Martinez, who also backed the plan.

After the hearing, Representative Michael G. Oxley (R), chairman of the Financial Services Committee, and Senator Richard Shelby (R), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, announced their intention to draft legislation based on the administration's proposal. Industry executives said Congress could complete action on legislation before leaving for recess in the fall.

Significant details must still be worked out before Congress can approve a bill. Among the groups denouncing the [Bush Administration} proposal today were the National Association of Home Builders and Congressional Democrats who fear that tighter regulation of the companies could sharply reduce their commitment to financing low-income and affordable housing. ...

"These two entities — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — are not facing any kind of financial crisis," said Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. "The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing."

President Bush's strong regulatory proposals died in the Senate with Senator Chris Dodd leading the effort to block any regulations or protection for the American Taxpayer.

I just love it when history gets completely rewritten.

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A grateful tip o' the Wizard's Pointy Cap goes to Wiz-ziW for pointing me to this story and providing documentation.

I Believe

Barack Obama's acceptance speech from Mile High Stadium was magnificent. If I spent a great deal of time tonight and wrote thoughtfully, carefully and with inspiration, I might be able to convey the majesty of Obama's speech. But I could never equal his own words, his own delivery and his own vision for America.

Barack Obama was just that good. And, more importantly, Barack Obama IS just that good. He is a superb leader and a true visionary.

My many conservative and Republican friends will start tonight to dissect the speech. They will probably mock the backdrop and ridicule the spectacle. I know they have to do this. They must attempt to re-level the playing field. It's going to be damned tough.

And, within days, Republicans and conservatives will begin an attack on Obama to equal or eclipse Obama's own attack on President Geroge Bush and Senator John McCain. Obama did level a personal and, at times, very stinging attack. Some of Obama's attacks will be easily parried and a few were simply wrong. Republicans must challenge those.

Ultimately McCain himself may be called upon to return the volleys that came from Obama's own lips tonight. And he probably should do this that.

But tonight we all share a very special moment. To quote Marc Cohn's brilliant lyrics in the song Walking in Memphis,

Now Muriel plays piano Every Friday at the Hollywood And they brought me down to see her And they asked me if I would -- Do a little number And I sang with all my might And she said -- "Tell me are you a Christian child?" And I said "Ma'am I am tonight"

Ask me if I believe in Barack Obama and I'll reply "Ma'am I do tonight."

So I can only hope that you all can simply absorb all of Barack Obama's words and the wonder of this evening and believe in Barack Obama. He is a great man. And this was a great moment.

The Looming Energy Crisis

The enemy is at the gates. And yet it is the internal posturing and deception by politicians that will prove to be our undoing.

The video report below is fascinating. In addition to T. Boone Picken's testimony before Congress, it contains many facts on oil production that might come as a complete surprise to most Americans.

All these things are just more facts to consider while Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi continue to block every single move to begin even the smallest effort to reduce or energy dependency.

Republicans have offered more compromise than on any issue... perhaps ever. Republicans are fully endorsing T. Boone Pickens comprehensive approach to energy alternatives and logical oil drilling.



Rank and file Democrats are rightfully afraid that the brain dead Pelosi and the puppet Reid will actually grab defeat from the jaws of victory. The Democrat Party's intransigence on this issue could greatly reduce the Democrat's potential House and Senate victories in November and might.... might... even cost Barack Obama the election.

Never in my experience have I seen a political party take such an indefensible position on an issue without any logical reason except the desire to "win."

Here we have Nancy (Nero) Pelosi fiddling while Rome (America) burns.

A Tale of Three Presidents

I'm pleased and frankly a little bit surprised to let you know that President Bush (our current President) has accepted and is now following The Wizard's very sage advice. I wrote this open letter to President Bush last week: President Bush: Accept the Victory You've Earned and Deserve

I urged President Bush to accept Iraqi President Nouri al-Maliki's plan for a phased withdrawal (or timetable, if you prefer). Now, I have to admit that it's unlikely President Bush ever read my blog, but yesterday he did agree to a Time Horizon on Troop Cuts. The Associated Press Reports:

President Bush and Iraq's prime minister have agreed to set a "general time horizon" for bringing more U.S. troops home from the war, a dramatic shift from the administration's once-ironclad unwillingness to talk about any kind of deadline or timetable.

What is especially interesting is tonight's latest little wrinkle in the negotiations. It appears to many people that al-Maliki has signaled his endorsement of our future President Barack Obama's 16 month timetable for troop withdrawal (and likely favors Obama himself in the upcoming election). Although the Iraqi government quickly denied the rumours, that is possibly only a move to save face and preserve relations with the Bush administration.

As you all know I favored the surge from it's earliest proposal by Senator John McCain. I was extremely pleased when President Bush followed that advice.

It is ironic that the success about to be enjoyed by American President Bush, Iraqi President al-Maliki and future President Obama is all due to John McCain's military strategy, the one man who will never occupy the office of President.

President Bush: Accept the Victory You've Earned and Deserve

Dear President Bush,

A rare and extraordinary moment in history is before us today. And it is a real tribute to your unwavering vision for the future of the nation and the people of Iraq and the stability of the middle east.

Rightly or wrongly, you led America and a small coalition into a preemptive war with Saddam Hussein and the nation of Iraq. And, even when faced with sagging public opinion at home and abroad, you ignored the critics and the polls and stayed the course to bring stability and plant the seeds of democracy in this once enslaved land.

As Congress demanded withdrawal, you successfully forced a major surge in troops and fought off every attempt to end the war and subsequent occupation. Hell, you won every single funding battle.

You took the hard road and made certain beyond all doubt that there were no weapons of mass destruction in the hands of this potentially powerful nation. More importantly, you deposed the despotic and unstable leader and his sadistic sons and returned this land to it's varied and noble peoples.

Today, the leader that has been duly elected by all the of Iraq people has reported to you, in both words and deeds, that Iraq has grown and is now ready to chart it's own course and resume its rightful place in among the world's sovereign nations.

Al-Qaeda in Iraq is in ruins and Iraq's own military has now assumed the lead role in routing the remaining forces. In Basra, in Sadr City, and in Mosul, Iraqi President Nouri al-Maliki has shown that he has both the will and the means to control his country.

Now is the time for you to accept the victory you have long sought. Now is the time for you to accept Nouri al-Maliki's most generous offer for a strategically negotiated timetable for withdrawal of combat troops.

There is no doubt that your acceptance of a timetable for withdrawal drawn up by the Iraqi's in consultation with our military leaders on the ground will literally turn around your entire Presidency. Your approval ratings will jump twenty points overnight.

You're not bowing to some politically mandated withdrawal plan coming from no-nothing Washington politicians. You've won that battle for the last four difficult years. No, you would be leaving on your terms. Settling the war BEFORE you leave office. What a victory!

Sure, there is a side benefit that this will benefit Senator McCain in his quest for the Presidency. Yes, as one of the original architects of the surge, McCain will share in your victory. And yes, it will effectively remove a political weapon from Barack Obama's arsenal.

And, frankly, if you fail to grasp the olive branch of victory today, you will effectively hand it to the future Persident Obama, who will not repeat your mistake. Trust me on this one, President Obama will negotiate a timetable for withdrawal. Why let Obama steal your moment in the spotlight?

The only way to prove you were right all along is to accept al-Maliki's pathway to independence. It will totally disarm your critics who claimed this was all about oil. Or power. Or greed.

Negotiate today and you can depart on your terms, at a pace dictated by the real events on the ground.

But, no matter what, negotiate today. Accept victory when it is handed to you by the Iraqi's themselves.