Quotas In Financial Overhaul Bill Courtesy of Rep. Waters?

Oh, you remember Rep. Waters, don't you? Who could forget her comments regarding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? Just in case, here's a reminder:



Uh, um, hell yes, there was a big problem with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Rep. Waters.

But wait, there's more. Here is Rep. Waters revealing her true position on the government's role in terms of Big Oil:



Okay, okay - I couldn't resist that version. Too funny. Here is the real version:



Yes, all of that stuttering trying to cover up what she had just said is real. Yowzer.

Now, personally, I think Rep. Waters has demonstrated a complete and utter lack of integrity when it comes to financial issues, judging by her comments on Fannie and Freddie. So have Dodd and Frank, for that matter. That the latter two are the authors of a financial regulatory bill should give great pause to everyone.

So, it really should come as no surprise that now she wants to legislate quotas into the new Dood-Frank Financial Regulatory bill. Oh, how I wish I was kidding. According to this Daily Caller piece, that is exactly what Rep. Waters has done,
Racial Quotas in Dodd-Frank Financial Regulatory Bill:

The Dodd-Frank financial regulatory bill, ostensibly aimed at reforming Wall Street and preventing a future financial crisis, will impose racial and gender quotas on financial institutions if passed, according to economist Diana Furchtgott-Roth.

Section 342 of the bill will establish Offices of Minority and Women Inclusion in at least 20 federal financial services agencies. These offices will be tasked with implementing “standards and procedures to ensure, to the maximum extent possible, the fair inclusion and utilization of minorities, women, and minority-owned and women-owned businesses in all business and activities of the agency at all levels, including in procurement, insurance, and all types of contracts.”

So called “fair inclusion” will apply to “financial institutions, investment banking firms, mortgage banking firms, asset management firms, brokers, dealers, financial services entities, underwriters, accountants, investment consultants and providers of legal services.”

The provision goes on to assert that the government will terminate contracts with institutions they deem have “failed to make a good faith effort to include minorities and women in their workforce.” [snip]

Good grief. Quotas? Where does that leave "anti-discrimination" regulations, then? That question is answered here:

The provision goes on to assert that the government will terminate contracts with institutions they deem have “failed to make a good faith effort to include minorities and women in their workforce.”

Diana Furchtgott-Roth, former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Labor and senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, spotlighted the controversial section in an article at Real Clear Markets on June 8th. She told The Daily Caller that the law amounts to a quota system.

“This is a radical shift in employment legislation,” she said. “The law effectively changes the standard by which institutions are evaluated from anti-discrimination regulations to quotas. In order to be in compliance with the law these businesses will have to show that they have a certain percentage of women and a certain percentage of minorities.”

Furchtgott-Roth worries that this might be a harbinger of things to come.

“So what does this mean? Are we going to get rid of anti-discrimination laws all together and just put in quotas? Could this be what’s to come in other sectors?” she questioned. [snip]


Click HERE to read the rest.

Yes, I would say this is a huge departure from anti-discrimination regulations. That a quota system is being buried in this financial regulation shouldn't really come as a surprise, I guess. But still, it does.

Wow. Has it really been less than two years since the Democrats controlled all three houses? Sure seems longer, especially considering all they have shoved down our throats. Er, I mean, "accomplished."

And I guess if Rep. Waters gets her way, we'll have another one shoved down our throats. Yep, pretty soon, quotas for everyone, coming to a business near you soon!! Good grief...

At Long Last, Intimidation Of Hillary Voters Coming To Light

It is amazing what comes out from under the rug once it has been pulled back. Recently, DOJ attorney, J. Christian Adams exposed the DOJ's dismissal of blatant voter intimidation by the New Black Panther Party. It has been a staggering expose of what is going on inside the Justice Department, especially in terms of voter intimidation and the lackadaisical approach the DOJ is taking to protect our right to vote free of fear or threat of intimidation. The short answer is, they are not, certainly in terms of the New Black Panther Party.

My favorite part of the dismissal against the NBPP in Philadelphia? The guy carrying the nightstick outside a Philly polling place has been banned from carrying "deadly" weapons near polling places. Until 2012. You read that right. He can't carry deadly weapons around a polling place in 2010, but he can when it's time for Obama to run again. WHAT a surprise.

The Obama Justice Department has become the "Get Out of Jail Free" Department for the New Black Panther Party.

But another piece of dirt coming out from under this rug of DOJ whistle blowing is something about which a number of us knew for some time. The threats of intimidation and violence toward Hillary Clinton supporters during the 2008 Primaries. The constant refrain that Obama ran a better campaign than Clinton is absurd, unless you think threatening people, lying, and cheating is "running a better campaign." Personally, I do not, especially from the party to which I gave my loyalty for decades. I dunno, I kinda have a thing against liars, cheats, and thugs - maybe it comes from my vocation. Ahem.

At long, long, last, some in the media are finally paying attention. The documentary filmmaker, Gigi Gaston, was on Fox and Friends recently, speaking out about the corruption associated with the 2008 Democratic Primaries. Her film, "We Will Not Be Silenced 2008" is a critical piece of history regarding how Obama and the DNC colluded against Hillary Clinton and the 18 million of us who voted for her. Below is Ms. Gaston speaking out about what she found:



I was like Gaston, too. A lifelong Democrat, who believed in the Party and for what it stood. I believed that we really did care about one person, one vote, that we cared about the will of the people. I could not have been more wrong, which I now acknowledge, though it was a painful - check that - excruciatingly painful realization.

The worst part was seeing the level of organization behind Obama's cheating and voter intimidation. And yes, it most definitely came from the top. There is no way on this green earth that what happened in Texas COULD happen without an organized, concerted effort. Others in states like Washington also spoke of the caucus fraud that occurred there, the busloads of people from out of state coming in to vote. There is zero way this could have happened without Obama's knowledge or acquiescence. No way. That speaks volumes about him, though not news to many of us, I am sure.

And it speaks volumes about the DNC, which received plenty of evidence that this was going on. The Hillary Clinton Campaign also notified the DNC of irregularities occurring to benefit Obama. And what did the DNC do about it? Absolutely nothing. Well, actually, they did do something - they violated the will of the people, acted in the most unethical, immoral way, dismissing the votes of Americans, and stole votes from Clinton to give to Obama.

Many of you know I have recommended Ms. Gaston's documentary before. It is staggering, maddening, and downright heartbreaking. I recommend this video to you again. It is well worth watching, so that we will be aware, forewarned is forearmed, and clearly, with this president, with this "Justice Department," prepared is what we must be.

To get you started, here is Part 1:



One last thing: if you or someone you know, experienced caucus fraud during the 2008 Primary, please, please let the good folks at "We Will Not Be Silenced 2008" know about it. They are still working to get this information out there, to expose the massive level of fraud perpetrated to get Barack Obama into the White House.

How have we come to this place in this country so fast?

Alvin Greene, SC's Thinker "Outside The Box"

You may recall that there was quite the upset in SC during the recent primaries in which an unemployed man who did no campaigning, had no real policy platform, had no campaign website, and had no campaign funds, beat out his competitor, an elected official. By a lot, I might add. Greene won with 60% of the vote. Oh, yes.

My representative, Jim Clyburn, pitched a hissy fit, insisting that the Republicans were behind Mr. Greene's candidacy and filing fee. He claimed voter fraud was responsible for the vote through faulty voting machines. The SC State Democrats tried to throw out the election results (who cares about those pesky votes anyway? We already know the Dems don't after 2008.). They failed in their attempts, and now it seems Mr. Greene's funds came from the US Government and the State of South Carolina:

[snip] State law enforcement officials wrapped up an investigation of Greene’s finances after questions were raised about how he could qualify for indigent defense and afford to pay more than $10,000 to seek the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.

Greene’s surprise June 8 upset victory over former circuit judge Vic Rawl initially caused many to speculate Republican operatives had secretly bankrolled Greene’s primary entry fee to sabotage the primary. Rawl’s defeat left Greene the Democratic challenger to U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C.

The source of Greene’s money is none other than the U.S. government and the S.C. state government, said SLED director Reggie Lloyd.

“That’s who bankrolled Greene’s entry fee for the primary,” said Lloyd, whose agency worked with 5th Circuit Solicitor Barney Giese in the investigation. “The U.S. government and the state of South Carolina funded his filing fee.” [snip]

Yes, all of the funds have been accounted for after a thorough investigation:

[snip] Last October, Greene received a $5,843 check from the U.S. Department of Defense in connection with his discharge from the military last year.

“That brought him up to more than $8,200,” Lloyd said.

Greene continued having a checking account balance of about that amount into March, when Greene received a federal income tax refund of $2,173 and a state tax refund of $932, Lloyd said.

“At that point, he had more than $11,400 in his account,” Lloyd said.

Greene was also getting a $1,100 monthly unemployment check, Lloyd said. Since Greene lived with his father and had few expenses other than “haircuts and groceries,” his unemployment check was another source of government income for the discharged veteran, Lloyd said.[snip]

In other words, you and I bankrolled Alvin Green's filing fee. Hooray for us! Ahem.

I am so sure that a sincere apology to the State Republicans is forthcoming from Rep. Clyburn immediately. Ahahahahahaha. Just kidding.

Now that the funding from Greene's filing fee has been identified, with no malfeasance on his part, I can now turn to one of his brilliant ideas for job creation. Since Obama has been so busy suing one of the 50 states instead of, oh, working to create jobs, for instance, perhaps Obama could use this idea from Alvin Greene.

And that idea for job creation is - are you sitting down? Crafting action figures of Greene. I am not kidding you. Seriously. He said this. Out loud:

[snip] "Another thing we can do for jobs is make toys of me, especially for the holidays," Greene said in the article. "Little dolls. Me. Like maybe little action dolls. Me in an Army uniform, Air Force uniform, and me in my suit."

"That's something that would create jobs," Greene continued. "So you see I think out of the box like that. It's not something a typical person would bring up." [snip]

Well, I have to give Greene that - this is NOT something a "typical" person would consider. Creating jobs by having action figures made of themselves. Yikes. Though I have to say, I am pretty surprised that Obama has not considered this as a "Works Project." I mean, the man has already written two autobiographies, so clearly, he thinks pretty highly of himself (my recently departed mother said she couldn't get through his first one - she thought it was incredibly boring. That from a woman who was a voracious reader and who always finished any book she was reading. Except Obama's. Telling, that.) Having an "action figure" seems right up Obama's alley. Just saying. I can't believe Alvin Greene beat him to it.

That, friends, is the kind of "thinkificating" of the newest Democratic candidate for US Senate from the Palmetto State. Never mind that no one would BUY the damn things, so how the workers making them would be paid is still a mystery. But Mr. Greene has not exactly come off as a Mensa candidate in his interviews anyway (or on his new website). No matter how hard the State Democrats worked, no matter how many (false) allegations they levied, and no matter how much they tried to overturn the will of the people, even if they had no idea for whom they were voting (his name was listed first), Alvin Greene IS the Democratic candidate for US Senator from SC.

You just can't make this stuff up.

What Is Going On At The DOJ?

And what does it mean for our foundational rights as a country?

Recently, J. Christian Adams, former DOJ attorney, made some serious accusations about how the DOJ is doing business under Obama. Adams' initial comments had to do with the New Black Panther Party (NBPP) about which I wrote recently, and the refusal of the DOJ to pursue a case against the NBPP despite irrefutable evidence of voter intimidation. Those charged with this issue flat out refused to even read the memoranda on the NBPP's actions. Consequently, for this and other reasons related to this case, Adams resigned his position at the DOJ.

Here is Mr. Adams describing the situation at the DOJ to Megyn Kelly, also an attorney:



But wait, there is more. Mr. Adams is no longer holding back, and has exposed another issue related to the DMV and Voter Registration law at the DOJ in this piece:



This is beyond the pale.

So, let me see. NBPP 1, Voters 0. Dead People voting 1, fair elections, 0. Lawlessness in the DOJ 1, true justice, 0.

Mr. Adams testified before the U.S.Commission on Civil Rights about this very issue this past week, stating:

"We abetted wrongdoing and abandoned law-abiding citizens," he later testified.

That is a staggering claim. Just think about that for a few minutes. This is the DOJ, after all.

One more quote from this article should also give you pause (and thanks to Ani for highlighting this):

But as the investigation unfolded, he said he discovered "indications" that the Black Panther Party was doing the "same thing" to supporters of former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primary season in early 2008. He urged the commission to pursue testimony from other Justice officials to corroborate his story.

We knew that, of course, but now we have a DOJ whistleblower confirming it. Wow.

That Obama, fulfilling his campaign promise of bringing change to America. He surely is, just not good change. Now, despite the protests by the NBPP to the contrary, voter intimidation is permitted by the DOJ, depending on who is doing it, of course.

This is a sad, sad time in our country, when voter intimidation is not just allowed, but protected, by the Department of Justice. When the DOJ states it won't be bothered with enforcement of the law against voter rolls being padded with the names of dead people, and those who are ineligible to vote.

This is our fundamental right as Americans, the right to vote, free of intimidation and threats. It is our duty to have our votes counted, and to have the process as clean as possible. It is clear that Obama's DOJ has zero interest in making that happen.

And that cannot stand.

"Square Coins, " "Trees Bent In One Direction..."

You may remember those phrases from an old commercial for Aruba. But if you don't, here is a more current one starring Lewis Black:



Nice work if you can get, it right? Oh, yeah.

So why am I going on about Aruba? Because that is where I am for the next seven days. Yes, I know, my life is so hard! Honestly, it's the only way to really get my partner, Suzy, to take a break from her demanding job. So, off we will go, with our godson in tow to celebrate his high school graduation. We will be spending a lot of time snorkeling, relaxing, eating great seafood, and sightseeing around the island.

This will be my third trip there, though you may recall the second one was right after my mom died, a difficult, painful time indeed. This time will give me the opportunity to revisit the Remembrance Rock piles my partner and I erected in Mom's memory, as well as the above-mentioned fun activities. No doubt, it will bring those memories and feelings flooding back, but will also give me the opportunity to make new memories with our 18 year old godson. No telling how many more of these week-long vacations we will have with him now that he is older (he has come to stay with us since he was 8), so we will be cherishing every moment we have with him.

Here are some photos from a previous trip so you can see just how difficult - ahem - it is to be there. Aruba is quite arid, like being in a desert out in the middle of the most amazing water. This is a pretty typical landscape of cacti, rocks, and water:



This was taken at the Natural Bridge, which, sadly, has fallen in after a hurricane came their way:



And this is a great place we found for snorkeling, just a short drive from where we will be staying (again):



Okay, one last one. Burros are wild in Aruba, and wander around the undeveloped areas:



Aren't they cute? I am looking forward to being back on that beautiful island again.

Anyway, I will be back and blogging July 9th. Hope you have a good week, and weekend. *See* you soon!