The Handout President
by J.C. ArenasLast week, with eyes glazed to the tube and hands filled with overflowing tubs of popcorn, the nation watched as the most powerful man in the world temporarily stepped down from his post to serve as a mere committee chairman of the bipartisan health care summit.
The Chairman-in-Chief spoke condescendingly, counted everyone’s minutes except his own, and ultimately watched his team get thoroughly embarrassed on national television in a political Stupor Bowl.
For nearly the past year, Congressional Democrats have run around like chickens with their heads cut off, ignoring the opposition to the president’s legacy-making initiative, and feverishly making deals which each other so enough support could be garnered to get a bill passed—any bill.
In their haste to make history, it’s unfortunate that the manufactured-crisis of health-care reform has unnecessarily dominated the national debate while a real, alive-and-well, housing crisis has continued to manifest itself.
Last year, the president’s signature housing program, Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), was supposed to stem the tide of foreclosures. In the words of his Treasury Secretary, the initiative would “show results quickly”, but homeowners, mortgage companies, and legislators all questioned its effectiveness. For a few months, foreclosures were down, until December, when filings had its first month to month increase since July.
Was the increase a sign of things to come?
In a word, yes.
On Christmas Eve, while the nation was more engaged in holiday festivities than the day’s news cycle, the president calmly and coolly signed an executive order that issued a blank check to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to cover their losses from the reeling residential real estate market.
Freddie Mac had to be ecstatic; after all, it posted a $7.8 billion loss in the year’s Q4. But CEO Charles E. Haldeman, Jr. proclaimed we’re far from being out of the woods of the housing crisis.
“We start 2010 with some early signs of stabilization in the housing market, with house prices and home sales likely nearing the bottom sometime in 2010. We expect that low mortgage rates, relatively high affordability and the homebuyer tax credit will help continue to fuel the recovery. Still, the housing recovery remains fragile, with significant downside risk posed by high unemployment and a potential large wave of foreclosures.”
The president’s administration already has a solution to the potential large wave of foreclosures coming down the pike; banning foreclosures altogether. This past week, Bloomberg reported that the administration is hoping to convert HAMP into the ultimate authority on foreclosures. The program’s bureaucrats would have the power to screen and reject foreclosure attempts.
Coming from a president who purports to not be a proponent of big government, I’m absolutely shocked, and by shocked I mean I’m not surprised at all.
People shouldn’t be given the ability to remain in homes they can’t and won’t be able to afford. It’s only furthering their misery and allowing Freddie Mac to celebrate a decrease in losses on its balance sheet.
This nation needs a leader who understands that until individuals and businesses accept responsibility for their actions and take the subsequent losses as a result, the economy can’t possibly recover because there won’t have been any sort of correction to allow it to do so.
Unfortunately, in November of 2008, the electorate of the greatest nation ever known to man chose the handout president, who’s determined to control the nation’s resources and provide its citizenry with what he feels it needs. The never-ending gifts of housing, unemployment benefits, expansions of already existing entitlements, and creations of new entitlements will expand the societal underclass and perpetuate its dependence upon the government for its way of life.
This is not the American dream; he’s not The One.
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144 Comments
The Handout President?
He needs to get his hand out.
He needs to get his hand out of our damn pockets!
he and this Congress.
More like the American nightmare.
A picture is indeed worth a thousand words.
Barry the Professor looks like Steve Erkel, Kathleen Sebillius looks either petrified or mesmerized ( I can't decide for sure) and Mitch McConnell looks like he is trying to stifle a fart.
Did Rep. slaughter got her free denture healthcare?
Interestingly enough, we are in the midst of a manufactured Health Care crisis. It has sucked all the oxygen out of the room. In the interim, the real crisis, the Financial Crisis goes on unchecked, unabated. The wheels are fixing to fall off the wagon, and NOBODY is paying attention. NOBODY is sounding the alarm. As Rahm Emanuel famously said: "Never let a good crisis go to waste"………..
Moral hazard has become a joke in this country. Banning foreclosures = no new house loans. Why lend money when there is a significant chance it won't be repaid in full?
I have never wished any of my days away…but I cannot wait until Nov. 6, 2012. I hope to God there is something still left of it for my children and grandchildren when the handout President is gone. And hopefully the Nov. 2, 2010 will at cripple this spend thrift to a standstill.
How much fun was it to watch the sob stories vs. facts and will of the American People go toe to toe! What a contrast. Good job GOP. FINALLY!
No. You need to change your perception.You arelooking at it all wrong.
Join the party! Free Section 8 Housing for all!
No more forclosures, for nobody will own anything. We will all drive a Government Motors Auto, live in Government Housing, and eat Gubment Cheese……
Can't wait to see how this all plays out. We have FDR redux in office, with a limp-wristed Congress bowing to all of his wishes. Once Americans get the Federal Government back (because they aren't representing us now) I can only hope all of this junk Obama has put into place can be removed. Small government is the answer to this mess, not 500 or so elite school marms who think they know whats best for the "little people".
Obama should just ban payments that would solve everything!
DEATH TO PROGRESSIVISM!
I'm from the government and I'm here to help…
…whether you like it or not…
The more Obama engages in health care the worse the public feels about it.
After the Dems commit suicide and go it alone by shoving this monstrosity down our throats, the cries will change from kill the bill to "Repeal the Bill".
Viscpa, you give new meaning to the term 'four F club'…
“The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.”
Alexis de Tocqueville
That was dam funny…
obama does not have his hand out, he has both hands holding the largest ever wheel barrow, and he would like to have it filled with large denomination bills, so he can play robin hood, and hand out his obama stash.
We have the best Health Care in comparison to the rest of the world. Undoubtably, the system has faults it's not perfect however, the faults are caused by our Government. I agree with Cowboy, Hussein needs to take his hand out and keep his damn hands out of our pockets!
/sarc tag in use there Cowboy? lol
…at that point there are two clicks from the shadows.
Maybe we all should file for an extension on our tax file. Cut them off! No Money ,No funny!
Na-cho-cheez
The really insulting part about the whole "healthcare reform" issue is that Mr. O and his gang truly believe that if they simply change the wording we will eventually say OK, OK.
Change the name of the "nuclear option" to "reconciliation" then to "simple majority" – it is as though they are telling each other "eventually we will hit on a name the the people will like".
And why not, this has worked in the past, after all who is against "affordable housing" if you were to understand it's normal definition? Who is against progress? Who is against family planning?
Whether it be the name of a bill or a program politicians have been putting lipstick on pigs and selling them to the public for years and years now.
Pardon my improper English but IT AIN'T GOING TO WORK ANY MORE!
how can you tell when it is cold in dc?? politicians have their hands in their own pockets
i am waiting for the cadillac in every driveway. come on, its unfair my neighbor has a cadi, and i only have a buick.
The lefts long-sought dream of destroying the middle class is coming true.
OTHERWISE IT WILL BE DEATH BY PROGRESSIVISM!!!
So, I'm walkin' back to the hotel on K Street and who do I see but Barry himself! I'm just carrying my package and minding my business when he stops me and puts his hand out. Naturally I reached to protect my wallet. I was so relieved when I found out all he wanted was a cigarette and one of my beers.
I guess he has to get out and sneak a few here and there since the docs told him to "moderate his alcohol intake".
Made me wonder though, is this whole health care thing a reaction to the high premiums he faces due to his own voluntary lifestyle choices?
A Father [authority figure] that does not discipline [correct, allow to face consequences of actions, etc] hates his child [person disposed to an authority].
This is pulled right out of Proverbs from the Bible. There are a lot of them in there that effectively show why this president and liberals are BAD for America.
Was he a little short guy in a black trench coat and a patch over his left eye, nasty scar on his right cheek? Coupla' goons, maybe 6 footers, wearing sunglasses at night right behind him? Don't worry, they are from "Organizing" for Amerika. They just want to "protect" you, ya know, so nothin' unseemly like happens… that's all…
"the president’s signature housing program, Home Affordable Modification Program"
Just a rename of what punctured the economy in the first place.
Well, if you can't persuade voters with ideas and common sense – BRIBE them with OTHER people's money.
Obama is a blithering idiot, devoid of ideas, other than marshalling forward the evil of Marxism.
I disagree CL. Mitch looks as tho he just $hit his panties and Kat is giving Bar a hand job….seriously, look carefully….lol
With Dubs and Spinners/
Randy ist ein Nazi-Tool drängen anti semitischen Müll, was ein Clown! Seig Heil Randy – Seig Heil!
Hey mr Obama its about Personal Responsibility. You wouldn't understand that. Who paid for your College?
Progressives are allways willing to give away other peoples money, after they take a small fee for the service, as to handing out their own money, not so much.
What's the difference between common criminals and the president, senators, and congressional representatives?
Criminals wear Ski masks when they hold you up and they don't get a pension for doing it.
I wish I were kidding
Sounded like a 10 gauge pump.
Ya know what?
I just looked at the photo again, and you are absolutely correct.
It is time for Mitch to start wearing Depends,and Kathleen needs some lotion.
I stand corrected.
Executive orders…death of Constitutional government by a thousand cuts! It is time for a Constitutional Amendment to abolish the practice.
No one is factoring in commercial real-estate. That shoe is about to drop and it’s gonna be ugly.
J.C. : Please re-title your post to; The Handjob President. by Jergens
C.L. a picture to cherish…
Jergens, Kleenex, Depends.
Sounds like a Johnson & Johnson commercial………….
I guess the Kleenex explains the look on The One's face as he asks: Hey, anybody got a tissue?
Good call CL…
Sometimes, humor, and brevity are good, but in the scheme of things, this is truly pathetic.
Dhaffy, fonz, is that you? ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Hanzo
Or bribe them with their own money! ;^) ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Hanzo
Along with the 5-year A.R.M.'s. I've heard some economists claim there are TWICE as many 5's as there are 3 and 4 year ARM's put together! We've seen what the 3 and 4's have done. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Hanzo
According to the late Percy Sutton, Saudi Prince Alwaleed paid for Obamao's Harvard Law education.
LftCstCnstv,………you must be a teacher, can't even do improper English properly……here, let me help ya,
i've had more practice than you………
IT AIN'T GONNA WORK NO MO !
Oh children of Israel,… if only you would have stayed in Egypt,… than
we would not have to bear the burden of the Fonz, Randy and Dhaffy
I hate it when you guys talk like this
The Jews today are mostly Khazars who are Turks who converted to Judaism in the 9th Century so the already tenuous claim on that land in Palestine is entirely void.
I do too, Ralph.I wish there wasn't a reason to. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Hanzo
Well boys, for the resedential paper, you have Fannie and Freddie, Chris and Barney to thank, For the commercial paper, Goldman Sachs played a key role. They made the market. The feces is fixing to hit the propeller.
Everybody better duck and cover when it does. There will be quite the shit storm.
And after the Kleenex, a smoke and a shot!
See that sweat on obamaroids brow in the pic? Sebilius is leaning away, thinking, I gotta' sit beside
your alkie stinkin' ass for 6 hours today? Someone bring me a clothes pin for my nose.
Yep, and their "rosey" predictions were that the Commercial Real Estate Market would hit bottom last October, and it hasn't yet, it's picking up more steam on it's way to the bottom now.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Hanzo
If they choose to pass it with reconcilliation, then it can be repealed with reconcilliation.
We are so screwed. 2012 is too far away.
…….and nobody had the foresight to pack a parachute………
Probably sittin' there, grinning like a oppossum, stinking like a skunk. Smellin' like left over chitlins and stale Ripple. No wonder Mitch is grimmacing……
St Seinor
"Palestine" is an evil creation of those evil, WHITE, racist Brits. Israel didn't exist until modern times… Used to be called Judea? JEW DAY UH? Palestinians are actually Jordanians (another Brit construct?)
Well, at least your entertaining in a way…
Notice McCain passed on David Gregory's invitation to call him a socialist?
I wonder, pot calling the kettle…oops.
Good one Cowboy!
Obama is trying to Greece the American economy.
.
Damn fine logo you have there MissY8s! I love it!
Obama is trying to Greece the American economy.
.
Has no one noticed that the executives at the failing and bailed out Fannie and Freddie, all political appointees from the dem side for nearly 20 years, continue to recieve high salaries, pay lots of money in lobbying (should they be able to do that being a GSE?) and still the financial situation there is only getting worse and no one is talking about if or when we will ever see any of that money again. Or,,,that the whole program of modifications have failed miserably,,,,,and they have the arrogance to focus on a non-problem like HC or Climate Change, Don't Ask, Don't Tell,,,,Where is this admin's priorities??? They are, to quote a great veteran,,"Stuck on Stupid"
Is Fannie and Freddie part of the executive branch? If not, how can he sign an executive order giving them more money?
Jack
Obama is trying to Greece America.
.
Whatever the scale is, we give the exact same amount to Egypt.
Jack
What do you expect from a guy who owes his entire life to affirmative action and handouts. OPM. The sweet nectar of the socialists.
HAMP…or as we out here in California have the "California Home Unaffordable Modification Program"..or as I like to call it C.H.U.M.P…
Obama finally got to be the biggest drug pusher in the USA and gave all those jobs to the illegal aliens in return for their illegal voting for mid term elections
Not far from Yosemite's waterfalls and in the middle of California's redwood forests, Mexican drug gangs are quietly commandeering U.S. public land to grow millions of marijuana plants and using smuggled immigrants to cultivate them.
Pot has been grown on public lands for decades, but Mexican traffickers have taken it to a whole new level: using armed guards and trip wires to safeguard sprawling plots that in some cases contain tens of thousands of plants offering a potential yield of more than 30 tons of pot a year.
"Just like the Mexicans took over the methamphetamine trade, they've gone to mega, monster gardens," said Brent Wood, a supervisor for the California Department of Justice's Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement. He said Mexican traffickers have "supersized" the marijuana trade.
Interviews conducted by The Associated Press with law enforcement officials across the country showed that Mexican gangs are largely responsible for a spike in large-scale marijuana farms over the last several years.
Local, state and federal agents found about a million more pot plants each year between 2004 and 2008, and authorities say an estimated 75 percent to 90 percent of the new marijuana farms can be linked to Mexican gangs.
In 2008 alone, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration, police across the country confiscated or destroyed 7.6 million plants from about 20,000 outdoor plots.
Growing marijuana in the U.S. saves traffickers the risk and expense of smuggling their product across the border and allows gangs to produce their crops closer to local markets.
Distribution also becomes less risky. Once the marijuana is harvested and dried on the hidden farms, drug gangs can drive it to major cities, where it is distributed to street dealers and sold along with pot that was grown in Mexico.
About the only risk to the Mexican growers, experts say, is that a stray hiker or hunter could stumble onto a hidden field.
The remote plots are nestled under the cover of thick forest canopies in places such as Sequoia National Park, or hidden high in the rugged-yet-fertile Sierra Nevada Mountains. Others are secretly planted on remote stretches of Texas ranch land.
All of the sites are far from the eyes of law enforcement, where growers can take the time needed to grow far more potent marijuana. Farmers of these fields use illegal fertilizers to help the plants along, and use cloned female plants to reduce the amount of seed in the bud that is dried and eventually sold.
Mexican gang plots can often be distinguished from those of domestic-based growers, who usually cultivate much smaller fields with perhaps 100 plants and no security measures.
Some of the fields tied to the drug gangs have as many as 75,000 plants, each of which can yield at least a pound of pot annually, according to federal data reviewed by the AP.
The Sequoia National Forest in central California is covered in a patchwork of pot fields, most of which are hidden along mountain creeks and streams, far from hiking trails. It's the same situation in the nearby Yosemite, Sequoia and Redwood national parks.
Even if they had the manpower to police the vast wilderness, authorities say terrain and weather conditions often keep them from finding the farms, except accidentally.
Many of the plots are encircled with crude explosives and are patrolled by guards armed with AK-47s who survey the perimeter from the ground and from perches high in the trees.
The farms are growing in sophistication and are increasingly cultivated by illegal immigrants, many of whom have been brought to the U.S. from Michoacan.
Growers once slept among their plants, but many of them now have campsites up to a mile away equipped with separate living and cooking areas.
"It's amazing how they have changed the way they do business," Wood said. "It's their domain."
Drug gangs have also imported marijuana experts and unskilled labor to help find the best land or build irrigation systems, Wood said.
Moyses Mesa Barajas had just arrived in eastern Washington state from the Mexican state of Michoacan when he was approached to work in a pot field. He was taken almost immediately to a massive crop hidden in the Wenatchee National Forest, where he managed the watering of the plants.
He was arrested in 2008 in a raid and sentenced to more than six years in federal prison. Several other men wearing camouflage fled before police could stop them.
"I thought it would be easy," he told the AP in a jailhouse interview. "I didn't think it would be a big crime."
Scott Stewart, vice president for tactical intelligence at Stratfor, a global intelligence company in Austin, Texas, said recruiters look for people who still have family in Mexico, so they can use them as leverage to keep the farmers working — and to keep them quiet.
"If they send Jose from the hometown and Jose rips them off, they are going to go after Jose's family," Stewart said. "It's big money."
he did , he did , he did stifle a fart .
Study has already been done Dec 2009, and 89% of Americans think media is biased in favor of liberals/Obama. Sorry to rain on your parade.
Moreover, an exhaustive study was done by two economists- one from UCLA and Univ. Chicago (forgot names) and they wrote a book on it. It concluded that Fox was just slightly center right, while the rest of big media was significantly to the left, or slightly left. From Left to Right (not proportional):
[FAR LEFT]..MSNBC, NYT, CBS, NBC, ABC LA Times, …..Drudge Report, WSJ,…[CENTER].. FOX, IBD………….. [FAR RIGHT]
You're really just studying people on this site aren't you? Try the HuffPo and let us know.
.
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Income redistribution, aka, REPARATIONS. Buy a house you can't afford, never mind, we won't check
your credit rating, fall behind on your payments, never mind, we'll mediate, new pmt schedule, still
can't make the pmts, never mind, we'll rent the house to you, can't pay the rent, never mind, we'll
give you a gubmnt voucher for half your rent. Welcome your NEW neighbors folks, they're gonna' be
sooooo up-lifting for the neighborhood. I'm sure your property values will sky-rocket in the next 10 years.
You think a R Congress or Pres are going to reverse these policies, kick these minority folks out of
your neighborhood,……….R U NUTZ ???
Not by a long shot. Officially we give about 2/3rds but the UNofficial aid we give to Israel in the form of loan guarantees and loans (which are ALWAYS forgiven and thus become aid) dwarfs the official aid.
FURTHER the only reason we give aid to Egypt is BECAUSE we give aid to Israel, so it is the cost of giving aid to Israel.
JRvette, ……..saw a report about this on tv about 3 yrs ago,……..scary for those who enjoy spending
time in the 'great outdoors'. You accidentally stumble onto one of those guarded fields, while hiking,
your life expectancy diminishes exponentially, I'd bet. I don't spend time in California, but if it's going
on there it's soon to be, if not already everywhere. Thanks for posting this information.
Bwahahahaha!
The anti-Israel kooks are back! Join the club, Randy! Dhasselhoff and TheFonz will check your coat at the door.
Instead of simple majority, how about a majority of simpletons?
Hey! Remember how Obummer wanted to give the American people the same benefits that the Congress and Federal employees have, how it was so wonderful? Why not just put everyone into that plan? Should only take about two pages and we could save a lot of trees.
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/outrage/unvote.asp
what is the scale YOUR friends agree with the U.S.A.?
Nice call, mojo, on the Greece analogy.
LOL! Snopes is run by a pair of Zionist Jews.
I used to live in Louise Slaughter's district. It never ceases to amaze me that an incompetent fool like that continues to get re-elected. Seriously, between Ms. Slaughter and President Obama, these two can't muster enough brain power to come in out of the rain.
True story, Wildbill……and also………once Congress figured out that they could vote themselves all kinds of entitlements……….and NOT have to live by the same rules, regulations, and ethics that they expect the rest of us to do – under penalty of prosecution – our goose was cooked……….especially when they also figured out that they could bribe the public, reward themselves, and keep their damn 'jobs' for as long as they could keep the majority fooled!!!!
Well, there ARE people (voters, even!!!) who think that FUBO is paying for all of these programs from his personal 'stash'!!! And a lot of others who think that it comes from 'the government'………although, it could be from our printed money, OR the Chinese government!!! Meanwhile…………the rest of us are out here in the trenches, trying to get through another day, or week, or month……….and these bloodsucking leeches are draining us for whatever we're worth………………it's all about getting as MANY people addicted to the government, or dependant ON the government, as possible!!!!
These vipers aren't stupid……but they are too arrogant and superior ( in their own minds) to understand that it is people like US who make this country work……that is spelled W-O-R-K……….for all of you little ticks who have never considered the idea of trying to be productive and responsible!!!!
A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years.
Great nations rise and fall. The people go from bondage to spiritual truth, to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from dependence back again to bondage.
Prof. Alexander Frazer Tytler
Sort of like, …HAMPER…
Liberals: Hampering the growth of the American economy since 1960.
no joke killa,………….I want a bumper sticker that just says W-O-R-K ! ….or GET A DAMN JOB, LOSER
When I go grocery shopping, mid morning, there are scores of 20 something couples in there, with
a baby. a cart full of microwavable meals, & paying for it with a Lone-star card,(food stamps). I always
try to look at the guys hands to see if they're working mans hands. Usually not, i'm sorry to say. Our
unemployment is very low, there's no excuse for a person who wants a job, not having one. As long
as these social programs continue, they have no reason to work. We're out of money to continue these
programs, but I'd bet if we cut them off abruptly, we would have riots in the streets. These young folks
have never known anything other than welfare.
Damn.. you guys are jerks and idiots – as well as pessimistic to no end. It's always frightening when I happen upon one of your little hidey holes where you all gather together to bash the government with impunity… with your southern drawl noticeable even in print.. go watch some nascar – drink some cheap beer and get out of political discussion.. leave that to the adults please..
Even if what you say it true, which it isn't, Randy, you need to learn some geography! The Kjazars weren't Turks and didn't ever live in Turkey.
Today's so-called Palestinians are mostly from Jordan, with some who are actually Egyptians, and a few Yemenis. They have a far more tenuous claim to what land they now live in; let alone Israel, than any Jewish person, anywhere!
Factual history and geography are obviously NOT your forte, Randy.
Well ole Rahm isn't long for this job IMHO….and the real crisis is Jobs. The never wrong guy just won't admit his shortcomings and we are doomed for disasters til the end of his term…
The Conservative Edge
You didn't just "happen" upon this site, there is nothing "SECRET" about this site at all, and you are just a moribund troll. Be gone, little kid; you can't stay with the ADULTS.
I don't know about the 'corporate' part………but you must be telling the truth about the 'welfare'. And you start out with some name calling, and some assumptions………and even accusations of southern drawl, NASCAR, cheap beer………it all sort of spits out of your mouth like bile…………………and then you say we should leave the political discussion (I'd say ANY discussion, from what I can tell about you!!!) to the adults……………………OK, that sounds fair enough. So, what are YOU going to do with YOUR useless time, meat??? You've revealed yourself to be another narrow-minded, clueless moron, who thinks he's a lot smarter than he really is………kind of like the MESSIAH you voted for…………………FUBO!!!!!
"Unfortunately, in November of 2008, the electorate of the greatest nation ever known to man chose the handout president, who’s determined to control the nation’s resources and provide its citizenry with what he feels it needs"
Hope and Change? It is now opaquely transparent that it is turning into Fear and Anxiety, soon to be replaced by Anger and Resentment, with the ultimate finale being Contempt and Loathing.
Welcome to the big leagues Barry.
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