Scoop’s Views

It seems just about half the members of the U.S. House of Representatives have half a brain, or, if not that, then at least the commonsense God gave to individuals fiscally responsible for managing household budgets.

Barack Obama, however, is not among that crowd: he had this strange idea that the very CEOs that got the financial institutions into a mess should receive “reasonable compensation packages.” Those CEOs should be paying compensation to the U.S., to the homeowners they helped defraud by giving mortgages to people who never should have qualified for them in the first place.

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It’s no surprise I hold utter contempt for politicians who have been in office for more than two terms. In fact, I despise most politicians who are serving their second term in office, as these people are generally on the road to a lifelong career as a politician.

In a perfect society, this probably wouldn’t be a problem, but in our less-than-perfect society, a first-term politician learns many of the “tricks” of the political trade, and in their second term, if they wait that long, they begin practicing and honing those tricks to their benefit. Things that typically benefit politicians generally do not benefit the American public (a.k.a. voters or constituents).

Tags: 2008 Presidential election, election 2008, Internet crowd, News, presidential candidates, presidential election

Earlier today, around 2:10 p.m., miscommunication between a Congressional staffer, as well as workers at Cleveland’s City Hall, led to news reports from the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Associated Press, and CNN, among other news outlets, to prematurely report the death of U.S. Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones, 57, who was serving her fifth term in Congress.

This evening, at 6:12 p.m., however, the Congresswoman was pronounced dead about 24 hours after being taken to the hospital by ambulance. She would have celebrated her 59th birthday in 21 days, on September 10.

Tags: aneurysm, aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, Barack Obama, Bethany Baptist Church, brain aneurysm, Carib News Multi-National Business Conference, Case Western Reserve University, Central State University, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Heights Ohio, Cleveland Heights Police Department, Cleveland Ohio, Cleveland Public Schools, Cleveland State University, Delta Sigma Theta, Democratic National Convention, Dr. Gus Kious, East Cleveland Ohio, Flora Stone Mather College, forum on electoral reform, hematoma, Hillary Clinton, Human Rights Campaign of Cleveland Equality Award, Huron Hospital, Huron Road Hospital, Marcus Garvey Award, Mervyn Jones, National Bible Association Capitol Hill Distinguished L, Notre Dame College, Stephanie Tubbs Jones, subarachnoid hemorrhage, superdelegate, U.S. Congress, U.S. House of Representatives

Congress has approved a $300 billion funding measure to help people who are at risk of losing their homes due to foreclosure, and now, it seems, almost every media outlet in the country is busy touting the ways to stake claim to your chunk of change from that bailout.

To be in foreclosure means you haven’t paid your mortgage. Wow! What a concept. Most of the people in the current mortgage crisis are people who managed to get mortgages from lenders who offered sub-prime loans. The loans were given to people with a variety of options, but many people who never would have managed to get a mortgage from traditional lenders managed to buy a home. Great. Until the taxpayer-funded bailout.

Tags: afford, approved, bills, Congress, crisis, dream homes, emergency bailout, financial woes, fiscally-responsible, foreclosure rates, foreclosure risk, foreclosures, home affordability, homeowners, in foreclosure, lenders, lending institutions, loans, mortgage bailout, mortgage crisis, mortgage lenders, political correctness, politically correct, politicians, sub-prime, sub-prime mortgages, subprime, subprime mortgages, taxpayer bailout, taxpayer money, taxpayers, traditional mortgages

While you and I are sitting at home, enjoying all the creature comforts, American fighting men and women are in distant lands, including Afghanistan and Iraq, sweating their butts off, literally, while going on patrols, doing raids, and other duties, and their performance – or responses – could be the difference between life-and-death.

As for Sen. Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic presidential candidate who is doing a tour of specific areas in Afghanistan and Iraq, supposedly getting a first-hand look at the situation on the ground, things are much different. His environment will be hot, sandy, dirty, but secure, for the most part. Because Obama, like McCain and others during past trips, are members of Congress, the military will provide a shroud around the “dignitaries” – ensuring, to the best of their ability, the survival of the elected officials, even at the expense of service men and women.

Tags: 2008 presidential candidates, 82nd Airborne Division, airborne, armed conflict, Barack Hussein Obama, Barack Hussein Obama II, Barack Obama, barry o'bomber, body armor, desert fatigues, Ft. Bragg, G.I. Bill, Harvard University, heroes, infantry, infantry platoon leader, insurgents, John F. Kennedy School of Government, John McCain, LBE, load bearing equipment, McCain abortion, McCain for President, McCain issues, McCain potatoes, Obama for President, off-the-record, paratrooper, photo op, photo opportunities, publicity stunt, Purple Hearts, real heroes, rucksacks, security details, U.S. Army Rangers, United States Army, United States Military Academy at West Point, Vietnam, water, weapon and ammo, weapons qualification, West Point

MSNBC is reporting former Republican Sen. Phil Gramm is stepping down as co-chairman of Republican John McCain’s presidential campaign.

Tags: co-chairman, former Republican senator, John McCain, McCain for President, nation of whiners, Obama for President, Phil Gramm, Phil Gramm resignation, Phil Gramm resigns, presidential campaign, resignation

Senate is rewarding telecommunications providers for breaking the law
York Times is reporting that the United States Senate, by a vote of 69-28, approved a bill overhauling the rules covering secret government eavesdropping and granting immunity to telecommunications companies that aided in the wiretapping of Americans without warrants. Doing Chicago-style two-stepping, Barack Obama, who originally spoke harsh words against the illegal wiretaps, voted today in favor of granting immunity to the telecommunications companies. His former presidential contender, Hillary Clinton, stayed true to her original position and voted against the immunity.

Tags: Barack Obama, Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, David Stout, domestic spying, due process rights, eavesdropping, Eric Lichtblau, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigations, federal courts, FISA, foreign, Hillary Clinton, Homeland Security, illegal wiretapping, immunity, intrusions, mismanagement, National Security Agency, No Such Agency, NSA, phone subscibers, re-election, Senate, senators, telecommunications companies, telecoms, terrorist attacks, terrorists

It seems Sen. Joe Lieberman (Independent-Connecticut) is firing up President George W. Bush’s dusty old propaganda machine used to make Americans worry more than necessary about a potential terror attack.

In the case of Lieberman, a guy who’s unsuccessfully sought a seat in the White House in the last two presidential elections (2000 and 2004), using fear tactics in hopes of boosting support for the candidate he is supporting on the November Presidential ballot: Sen. John McCain (Republican-Arizona).

Tags: 1960s, 9-11, 9/11, Arizona, attacks, Barack Obama, Capitol Hill, Cold War, Connecticut, cronies, Department of Homeland Security, DHS, dirty bombs, double-talkm, Dubya, forked-tongues, gas masks, George W. Bush, hip waders, Illinois, Joe Lieberman, John McCain, meals-ready-to-eat, MREs, nuclear annihilation, presidential campaigns, presidential elections, press conference, propaganda, propanda machine, protective masks, re-elected, rhetoric, senators, September 11 2001, terror, terrorists, Washington DC, White House

While Hillary Clinton focuses on staying in the 2008 presidential race as long as possible, meaning as long as she and former president and husband Bill Clinton, can afford to make loans to her campaign, Barack Obama is busy personally answering calls from concerned voters in Kentucky, Florida, and Michigan.

Although votes were counted in Kentucky last night without issue, many people there still have questions about Barack Obama and his intentions, especially as they relate to the Blue Grass state.

Tags: American public, Barack Hussein Obama, Barack Obama, Blue Grass state, campaigning, Campaigns, Democratic Party, Elections, electorate, Florida, Kentucky, Michigan, November 2008, Obama, phone calls, politicians, Politics, presidential election, voters, votes, White House

It seems that every few months, another multi-term politician is apologizing and stepping down from office, or, in the case of a Congressman who sought homosexual encounters in airport men’s rooms, promising to step down, but lying about that, as well.

The latest politician caught in the adulterous web is the six-term Rep. Vito Fossella (R-NY), who was nabbed by police in Alexandria, Virginia, just after midnight on May 1.

Tags: adultery, airport, Alexandria Virginia, Alexandria Virginia police, apologizing, apology, BAC, blood alcohol test, Congress, congressman, driving while intoxicated, DWI, Elections, extra-marital affair, homosexual encounters, Laura Fay, men's room, New York, New York Giants, police, Republicans, sick children, sick daughter, Super Bowl champions, Vito Fossella, White House

Last night’s glaring ending to the six-week Pennsylvania primary election was proof enough that Sen. Barack Hussein Obama never cared about Pennsylvania; intended his inflammatory comments as many around the country interpreted them; and just “wants to get on with the game” of the election.

Tags: American troops, Barack Hussein Obama, Barack Obama, coward, deal breaker, Ed Rendell, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Indiana, inevitable defeat, Iraq, Michael Nutter, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Primary election, Philadelphia, Sadr City, true colors

Obama is spending money left-and-right in his attempts to woo the voters in Pennsylvania. He’s running commercials that are seemingly accurate, but some of the truths — the realities — at the fringes of the ad are in question. Did the pharmaceutical industry really put wording in legislation that Medicare cannot negotiate for lower prices with manufacturers of medications? No.

It was politicians, just like Barack Obama — a senator — put together the wording, and later, after being approved by a committee, was sent to the Senate and House, for approval. If the wording bothered Sen. Barack Obama, why did the senator from Illinois not make a motion to change or delete the wording? It’s a common practice, as is another common practice of adding bills that alter other legislation onto popular bills being brought for vote. Barack Obama has had time to change the Medicare language about price negotiations he’s ranting about.

Tags: Barack Obama, campaign, care, Catholic church, China, church-goers, commenorative postage stamp, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, compassion, family histories, fishing, George W. Bush, hunting, Iraq, job creation, jobs, landfills, Military, National Academy of Sciences, PATRIOT Act, Percy Lavon Julian, Philadelphia, racist attitudes, rifles, Rosa Louise McCauley Parks, scared, shotguns, shredder, small towns, Sudanese, tactics, volunteers, Women