UNITED DEMOCRATS for the Epic DEFEAT of Sen. TED STEVENS
About the Author
July 16, 2008--As Barack Obama's "Campaign for Change" sweeps the Nation--the Great State of Alaska, a predominantly loyal RED State--prepares to turn BLUE. Mayor Mark Begich of Anchorage, Alaska has officially out-fundraised Sen. Ted Stevens. He is winning the 'Hearts and Minds' of the people of Alaska. An experianced, skilled, and talented administrator. He is ready to take on the DC politics and liberate both the people of Alaska and the United States Senate--but he needs the Nation's support... check out: www.begich.com
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton says her defeating Barack Obama at a contested Democratic National Convention “is not going to happen” but she is looking for a way for her delegates to vent before getting behind the future nominee ahead of the November election.
Clinton, who battled Obama for 18 months but came up shy of the delegate votes needed to capture the nomination, told a mostly female group of backers at a California fundraiser last week that she wants unity in the party, but she is asked every day whether she will put her name on the ballot.
Clinton said that her delegates want to have a role and feel that their “legitimacy is validated,” before the group moves forward to back Obama.
“I happen to believe that we will come out stronger if people feel that their voices were heard and their views respected. I think that is a very big part of how we actually come out unified,” Clinton, D-N.Y., said to applause.
“Because I know from just what I’m hearing, that there’s incredible pent-up desire. And I think that people want to feel like, ‘OK, it’s a catharsis, we’re here, we did it, and then everybody get behind Senator Obama.’ That is what most people believe is the best way to go,” she said.
“Doesn’t work that way,” shouted one supporter. The video clip of her remarks was posted on YouTube accompanied by the one-word remark, PUMA, an acronym for a group of Clinton supporters who have not committed to Obama. PUMA stands for “Party Unity My A".”
Click here to see the YouTube video of Clinton.
In the video, Clinton, who endorsed Obama on June 7 after the final Democratic primary, said that she is fully behind Obama and actually has offered more help to him than other candidates have done for other nominees in previous years.
“I think it’s fair to say if you look at recent history, I have moved more quickly and done more on behalf of my opponent than comparable candidates have. And most of them didn’t endorse until the convention,” she said, naming Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy, former California Gov. Jerry Brown and former Colorado Sen. Gary Hart, all past presidential candidates who lost the party nomination.
Obama spokesman Bill Burton nothing has been decided in terms of the role of Clinton’s delegates. He said Democrats remain united, despite the hard-fought battle between Clinton and Obama.
The Democratic convention is being held in Denver on Aug. 25-28, with the first three nights’ activities taking place at the 21,000-seat Pepsi Center. Obama is expected to accept the nomination at Invesco Field at Mile High, a 75,000-seat stadium where the Denver Broncos play. Convention planners said the venue would demonstrate the massive support Obama commands.
“You don’t have to be a delegate or party insider to witness this historic moment firsthand,” Democratic National Convention Committee CEO Leah Daughtry said, announcing the plans for credentials.
Ticket selection was designed “to showcase the gains the party has made in the West,” she said. Nearly two-thirds of the tickets will go to residents of the West and Southwest, including Colorado, where Democrats have made inroads in recent elections.
But several of Clinton’s supporters are insistent that the former first lady get a vote on the convention floor. One self-identified delegate at the California fundraiser said a petition had been formed to put Clinton’s name on the ballot.
Clinton did not oppose that idea, but said it won’t change the outcome.
“I have made it very clear that I am supporting Senator Obama and we’re working cooperatively on a lot of different matters, but I think that delegates can decide to do this on their own. They don’t need permission. They can decide under the rules of the DNC, and so I think it would be better if we had a plan that actually we put in place and everybody knew what it was and then we executed it because I just think that would go more smoothly,” she said.
Former Clinton campaign manager and Howard Wolfson also obliquely acknowledged Thursday that relations between Clinton’s and Obama’s delegates aren’t all roses and sunshine.
“You know the these two people ran against each other for 18 months there were some moments of … friction as you might imagine,” he said, stressing that Clinton is doing her part to contribute to Obama’s election.
“If you have some people that are concerned that they are not getting the respect that they are looking for, that the party not quite yet unified, what is the way to bring those people back into the party to make sure that they are enthusiastically supporting Senator Obama by the time the November election comes around? And one possible way of doing that is to have roll call that has Senator Clinton’s name placed in nomination, that is one option. There are other options and I think that the important thing is that this is going to get decided between Senator Clinton and Senator Obama in a way that I think both can agree unifies the party and bring people together,” he said.
Democratic strategist Bob Beckel added that a vote for Clinton would help relieve some of the tension between the Obama and Clinton delegates.
“They can’t stop them if they want to do it. They cast their vote for Hillary Clinton and before the final roll call is finished they are going to go back through and make it unanimous by state. That’s one way I think to let a little bit of the pressure out of this pressure cooker, but it’s there. I mean it’s bound to be. You can’t have a convention with 1,800 delegates out of 4,400 be for somebody else and not expect there is still going to be some latent animosity,” Beckel said.
Clinton is expected to deliver a prime-time address to delegates on Aug. 26, the second night of the gathering. Typically the vice presidential nominee delivers the address on the third night of the convention.
Clinton, who battled Obama for 18 months but came up shy of the delegate votes needed to capture the nomination, told a mostly female group of backers at a California fundraiser last week that she wants unity in the party, but she is asked every day whether she will put her name on the ballot.
Clinton said that her delegates want to have a role and feel that their “legitimacy is validated,” before the group moves forward to back Obama.
“I happen to believe that we will come out stronger if people feel that their voices were heard and their views respected. I think that is a very big part of how we actually come out unified,” Clinton, D-N.Y., said to applause.
“Because I know from just what I’m hearing, that there’s incredible pent-up desire. And I think that people want to feel like, ‘OK, it’s a catharsis, we’re here, we did it, and then everybody get behind Senator Obama.’ That is what most people believe is the best way to go,” she said.
“Doesn’t work that way,” shouted one supporter. The video clip of her remarks was posted on YouTube accompanied by the one-word remark, PUMA, an acronym for a group of Clinton supporters who have not committed to Obama. PUMA stands for “Party Unity My A".”
Click here to see the YouTube video of Clinton.
In the video, Clinton, who endorsed Obama on June 7 after the final Democratic primary, said that she is fully behind Obama and actually has offered more help to him than other candidates have done for other nominees in previous years.
“I think it’s fair to say if you look at recent history, I have moved more quickly and done more on behalf of my opponent than comparable candidates have. And most of them didn’t endorse until the convention,” she said, naming Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy, former California Gov. Jerry Brown and former Colorado Sen. Gary Hart, all past presidential candidates who lost the party nomination.
Obama spokesman Bill Burton nothing has been decided in terms of the role of Clinton’s delegates. He said Democrats remain united, despite the hard-fought battle between Clinton and Obama.
The Democratic convention is being held in Denver on Aug. 25-28, with the first three nights’ activities taking place at the 21,000-seat Pepsi Center. Obama is expected to accept the nomination at Invesco Field at Mile High, a 75,000-seat stadium where the Denver Broncos play. Convention planners said the venue would demonstrate the massive support Obama commands.
“You don’t have to be a delegate or party insider to witness this historic moment firsthand,” Democratic National Convention Committee CEO Leah Daughtry said, announcing the plans for credentials.
Ticket selection was designed “to showcase the gains the party has made in the West,” she said. Nearly two-thirds of the tickets will go to residents of the West and Southwest, including Colorado, where Democrats have made inroads in recent elections.
But several of Clinton’s supporters are insistent that the former first lady get a vote on the convention floor. One self-identified delegate at the California fundraiser said a petition had been formed to put Clinton’s name on the ballot.
Clinton did not oppose that idea, but said it won’t change the outcome.
“I have made it very clear that I am supporting Senator Obama and we’re working cooperatively on a lot of different matters, but I think that delegates can decide to do this on their own. They don’t need permission. They can decide under the rules of the DNC, and so I think it would be better if we had a plan that actually we put in place and everybody knew what it was and then we executed it because I just think that would go more smoothly,” she said.
Former Clinton campaign manager and Howard Wolfson also obliquely acknowledged Thursday that relations between Clinton’s and Obama’s delegates aren’t all roses and sunshine.
“You know the these two people ran against each other for 18 months there were some moments of … friction as you might imagine,” he said, stressing that Clinton is doing her part to contribute to Obama’s election.
“If you have some people that are concerned that they are not getting the respect that they are looking for, that the party not quite yet unified, what is the way to bring those people back into the party to make sure that they are enthusiastically supporting Senator Obama by the time the November election comes around? And one possible way of doing that is to have roll call that has Senator Clinton’s name placed in nomination, that is one option. There are other options and I think that the important thing is that this is going to get decided between Senator Clinton and Senator Obama in a way that I think both can agree unifies the party and bring people together,” he said.
Democratic strategist Bob Beckel added that a vote for Clinton would help relieve some of the tension between the Obama and Clinton delegates.
“They can’t stop them if they want to do it. They cast their vote for Hillary Clinton and before the final roll call is finished they are going to go back through and make it unanimous by state. That’s one way I think to let a little bit of the pressure out of this pressure cooker, but it’s there. I mean it’s bound to be. You can’t have a convention with 1,800 delegates out of 4,400 be for somebody else and not expect there is still going to be some latent animosity,” Beckel said.
Clinton is expected to deliver a prime-time address to delegates on Aug. 26, the second night of the gathering. Typically the vice presidential nominee delivers the address on the third night of the convention.
As the one-year anniversary of the housing and credit crunch approaches, investors in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have nothing to celebrate. They won’t see an end to the losses at these mortgage finance giants until after next year.
Moreover, a report from the regulator of the two mortgage finance giants gives embarrassing new detail on how Fannie (FNM: 12.25, +0.42, +3.55%) and Freddie (FRE: 7.94, +0.42, +5.58%) were mindlessly gunning the securitization engines well after the housing bubble had burst and Wall Street backed off.
Freddie Mac will report its second-quarter financial results Wednesday. Fannie Mae will release its results on Friday. Freddie Mac’s shares are down 88% this year, while Fannie’s shares have dropped 83%. More losses and writedowns for the two are likely on the way.
The Office of Housing Enterprise and Oversight says in a new report that the two combined own about $217 bn in securities minted by Wall Street firms that are backed by the shakiest home mortgages dating to 2004 and 2005, the height of the housing bubble.
The mortgages here are subprime and Alt-A loans, just a notch above subprime. To the extent that Wall Street firms book fair value losses on this pool, “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may have to do so as well,” OFHEO says.
As delinquencies and defaults on subprime loans continue, and increasingly even prime loans bellyflop, Fannie and Freddie will continue to book losses into 2009, says Credit Suisse. Some analysts say they may lose an additional $24 bn or more.
This should alarm both taxpayers and investors across the country.
Elected officials enacted a $300 bn housing bailout bill that gives these two carte blanche without any statutory limits on their colossal $5.3 tn book of business (Lehman Bros says the two have another $3.3 tn in hedges, among other items, off the balance sheet). The two have reported more than $11 bn in pre-tax losses over the last three quarters and have a history of accounting misdeeds (on a fair value basis, Fannie incurred a loss of $13.3 bn, Freddie, $24.7 bn, OFHEO says).
The housing rescue now lets the government inject tens of billions of taxpayer dollars into these two publicly traded companies, who clearly have failed in their fiduciary responsibilities. The government can now use tax dollars to buy unlimited equity stakes in the companies and their bonds if needed.
The thinking is, the Treasury will simply mint more debt and use that resulting capital to inject more liquidity into Fannie and Freddie, despite their history of accounting misdeeds, losses, misstatements and repeated dilutive equity raises that prove that these two companies do not know what they are doing. Also, the two can now borrow at the Federal Reserve.
Fear is now rampant that if the rescue doesn’t work, the US government must spend more than what the Congress said it would cost to bolster Fannie and Freddie, $25 bn, a sum it cooked up in order to sell the $300 bn housing bailout bill.
Remember, the government’s estimate of the cost to taxpayers for the S&L crisis rose from an initial $50 bn to more than $124.6 bn (not inflation adjusted).
More importantly, Congress spitballed that $25 bn number even though just this past month it sent in bureaucrats from the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to go find out what the heck is really sitting on Fannie and Freddie’s books, as it clearly doesn’t believe the management at these two levered up examples of crony capitalism.
The fear is, too, that the government may have to swallow these two obesities, causing the US dollar to plunge in anticipation of the need to mint more dollars, creating more inflation (not to mention the $99 tn in unfunded liabilities at Social Security and Medicare, according to Fed stats).
In effect, US taxpayers have been loaded into the backseat of Congress’s spaceship pointed directly at the center of the sun.
Because the market believes the US government has given Fannie and Freddie an “implicit guarantee”of their debt, for years both have used that backing to execute a sweet carry trade, where they can borrow money much more cheaply than banks and then turn around and use that money to buy things such as higher-yielding mortgage-backed securities from lenders, in turn injecting liquidity into the lending system to make more loans. The two also sell guarantees against defaults on loans for a fee.
For years, Wall Street believed their obligations were “nearly as good as Treasurys themselves,” notes Dennis Gartman of The Gartman Letter. Indeed, their securities traded as if the government backed them, and US government debt traded as if the government did not back them.
Fannie Mae was born in 1938 as part of FDR’s New Deal to get the country out of the Great Depression and provide home ownership. Back then, millions of Americans were struggling to buy homes, and also faced foreclosures, as banks weren’t lending and mortgage money had dried up.
For years Fannie sat on the government’s books, helping to expand the real estate industry. In 1968, the LBJ administration, worried about the effect of the Vietnam War on the federal budget, moved Fannie Mae off the government’s books, and Fannie became a publicly traded company.
When the savings-and-loan industry wanted its own mortgage financing creature to play with beginning in 1968, Congress obliged and in 1970 Freddie Mac was born. The two quasi-socialist mortgage finance giants then became to the US economy what off-balance sheet vehicles were to Enron, Gartman says.
When Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were limited in the dollar amount of mortgages they could buy and securitize, to $417,000, in the ‘90s, Wall Street stepped in to securitize these loans.
Wall Street then manufactured all sorts of subprime paper, paid the credit ratings agencies to get rosy ratings, and then sold this drunken daisy chain of paper to all sorts of unwitting investors from here to the Arctic Circle, now sitting as landfill in portfolios run by pension funds, hedge funds and local governments.
Wall Street firms then kept a sizable slug of this bad paper off their balance sheets to keep financial results rosy, and then wrote themselves sweet bonus checks off the goosed-up numbers.
So Wall Street, with the help of Fannie and Freddie, shot these risky loans into the ether, thus breaking the bond between the overseer, meaning the lender, and the borrower. Why care about monitoring a borrower who has no skin in the game with a zero-down mortgage when you’ve entirely offloaded that loan as a security?
As far back as 1987 the Financial Accounting Standards Board warned there was no adequate way to value these derivatives, and now Frankenstein derivatives are sluicing financial poison through the system.
Then Fannie and Freddie itself started buying Wall Street’s mortgage backed securities, securities backed by zombie loans given by banks such as Countrywide Financial (CFC), which already had pointed its conveyor belt of bad loans at Wall Street.
When the credit markets seized up in 2007, Wall Street stopped doing much of these securitization deals as its recycling machine for these cut and paste jobs had sand thrown in its gears.
But as Wall Street stepped back, check out how Fannie and Freddie stepped in big time.
OFHEO says in its recent report that while the volume of single-family mortgatges securitized in 2007 fell by 8% to $1.9 tn, as the number of single family mortgages originated declined, “Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s combined share of MBS [mortgage-backed securities] issuance rose substantially to 61.6% from 46.7% in 2006.”
Indeed, OFHEO says Fannie and Freddie “increased their MBS issuance by nearly one-third in 2007 as competition” from Wall Street “virtually ceased in the second half of the year,” though OFHEO says the two started to curtail their purchases of securities backed by shoddy loans. Too little too late.
Now teetering atop Fannie’s and Freddie’s painfully razor thin $54 bn in net worth is a pyramid of $5.3 tn in debt that is nearly half the size of the US gross domestic product. The two have much higher leverage ratios than banks or hedge funds, but lower borrowing costs due to their implicit government backing. The two whittled down their capital cushions after they gunned their lobbying engines on Capitol Hill, showering elected officials with money.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM: 41.10, +0.96, +2.39%) or Bank of America (BAC: 33.69, +1.07, +3.28%), for example, have almost as much bank-level capital as these two “combined supporting one fifth of the commitments,” says the research website The Institutional Risk Analyst, published by Lord, Whalen LLC.
So the fear is that, as mortgages belly flop right and left and an increasing number of homes go into foreclosure, the two are insolvent. Former Fed official William Poole has said as much of Freddie Mac.
But instead of reining in their colossal, outsized portfolios which has caused such danger to taxpayers, the new housing rescue legislation went in the opposite direction. It would increase the statutory limit on the national debt by $800 bn, to $10.6 tn, as the two would now get to buy and back jumbo loans worth $625,000.
And as economist Edward Yardeni points out (his reports are a must-read), both “have been scrambling to plug all the holes in their huge mortgage portfolios.” Citing the Wall Street Journal, Yardeni notes that at the end of last year, the two “started guaranteeing payments on loans that back mortgage securities held by others to delay recognizing losses on some delinquent loans.”
Yardeni adds that “earlier this year, in their most shocking (desperate) tactic to reduce losses, Fan and Fred started making loans of up to $15,000 to people who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments.”
Here are the stink bombs, potholes and steam pipes bursting in these two reckless publicly traded companies:
*Both have a total of a microscopic"did you see it, did you catch it?"$54bn in net worth, generally assets minus liabilities (don’t listen to the $81 bn figure tossed around for their total capital, that’s a pro forma fake number that doesn’t include certain losses).
*Teetering atop that razor thin wedge is a pyramid of $5.3 tn in debt.
*One stink bomb is the total of $260 bn in securitized assets backed by subprime and Alt-A loans, loans which sit in between subprime and prime. Those sums dwarf their capital positions.
*Freddie has $156.8 bn in level three assets, those illiquid securities it can’t get a pricetag on because no one wants them now. Remember, under US accounting rules, it gets to assign its own values to these assets, they could be worth more, they could be worth less.
*Fannie has $56.1 bn in level three assets, or about a seventh of its fair valued assets.
*Fannie and Freddie have combined debts of $1.59 tn, borrowings they made merely to operate their businesses. Again, that’s against just $54 bn in total net worth. Their guaranteed liabilities were 29 times their net worth at the end of the first quarter.
*They each have $2.25 bn pipelines into the Treasury, which the government now wants to expand.
*Forty years ago, when they went public, Fannie had debt of about $15 bn. Do the math against Fannie’s $804 bn in liabilities today, and the pipelines should be about $120 bn each.
Still believe that $25 bn figure Congress is selling you?
Moreover, a report from the regulator of the two mortgage finance giants gives embarrassing new detail on how Fannie (FNM: 12.25, +0.42, +3.55%) and Freddie (FRE: 7.94, +0.42, +5.58%) were mindlessly gunning the securitization engines well after the housing bubble had burst and Wall Street backed off.
Freddie Mac will report its second-quarter financial results Wednesday. Fannie Mae will release its results on Friday. Freddie Mac’s shares are down 88% this year, while Fannie’s shares have dropped 83%. More losses and writedowns for the two are likely on the way.
The Office of Housing Enterprise and Oversight says in a new report that the two combined own about $217 bn in securities minted by Wall Street firms that are backed by the shakiest home mortgages dating to 2004 and 2005, the height of the housing bubble.
The mortgages here are subprime and Alt-A loans, just a notch above subprime. To the extent that Wall Street firms book fair value losses on this pool, “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may have to do so as well,” OFHEO says.
As delinquencies and defaults on subprime loans continue, and increasingly even prime loans bellyflop, Fannie and Freddie will continue to book losses into 2009, says Credit Suisse. Some analysts say they may lose an additional $24 bn or more.
This should alarm both taxpayers and investors across the country.
Elected officials enacted a $300 bn housing bailout bill that gives these two carte blanche without any statutory limits on their colossal $5.3 tn book of business (Lehman Bros says the two have another $3.3 tn in hedges, among other items, off the balance sheet). The two have reported more than $11 bn in pre-tax losses over the last three quarters and have a history of accounting misdeeds (on a fair value basis, Fannie incurred a loss of $13.3 bn, Freddie, $24.7 bn, OFHEO says).
The housing rescue now lets the government inject tens of billions of taxpayer dollars into these two publicly traded companies, who clearly have failed in their fiduciary responsibilities. The government can now use tax dollars to buy unlimited equity stakes in the companies and their bonds if needed.
The thinking is, the Treasury will simply mint more debt and use that resulting capital to inject more liquidity into Fannie and Freddie, despite their history of accounting misdeeds, losses, misstatements and repeated dilutive equity raises that prove that these two companies do not know what they are doing. Also, the two can now borrow at the Federal Reserve.
Fear is now rampant that if the rescue doesn’t work, the US government must spend more than what the Congress said it would cost to bolster Fannie and Freddie, $25 bn, a sum it cooked up in order to sell the $300 bn housing bailout bill.
Remember, the government’s estimate of the cost to taxpayers for the S&L crisis rose from an initial $50 bn to more than $124.6 bn (not inflation adjusted).
More importantly, Congress spitballed that $25 bn number even though just this past month it sent in bureaucrats from the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to go find out what the heck is really sitting on Fannie and Freddie’s books, as it clearly doesn’t believe the management at these two levered up examples of crony capitalism.
The fear is, too, that the government may have to swallow these two obesities, causing the US dollar to plunge in anticipation of the need to mint more dollars, creating more inflation (not to mention the $99 tn in unfunded liabilities at Social Security and Medicare, according to Fed stats).
In effect, US taxpayers have been loaded into the backseat of Congress’s spaceship pointed directly at the center of the sun.
Because the market believes the US government has given Fannie and Freddie an “implicit guarantee”of their debt, for years both have used that backing to execute a sweet carry trade, where they can borrow money much more cheaply than banks and then turn around and use that money to buy things such as higher-yielding mortgage-backed securities from lenders, in turn injecting liquidity into the lending system to make more loans. The two also sell guarantees against defaults on loans for a fee.
For years, Wall Street believed their obligations were “nearly as good as Treasurys themselves,” notes Dennis Gartman of The Gartman Letter. Indeed, their securities traded as if the government backed them, and US government debt traded as if the government did not back them.
Fannie Mae was born in 1938 as part of FDR’s New Deal to get the country out of the Great Depression and provide home ownership. Back then, millions of Americans were struggling to buy homes, and also faced foreclosures, as banks weren’t lending and mortgage money had dried up.
For years Fannie sat on the government’s books, helping to expand the real estate industry. In 1968, the LBJ administration, worried about the effect of the Vietnam War on the federal budget, moved Fannie Mae off the government’s books, and Fannie became a publicly traded company.
When the savings-and-loan industry wanted its own mortgage financing creature to play with beginning in 1968, Congress obliged and in 1970 Freddie Mac was born. The two quasi-socialist mortgage finance giants then became to the US economy what off-balance sheet vehicles were to Enron, Gartman says.
When Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were limited in the dollar amount of mortgages they could buy and securitize, to $417,000, in the ‘90s, Wall Street stepped in to securitize these loans.
Wall Street then manufactured all sorts of subprime paper, paid the credit ratings agencies to get rosy ratings, and then sold this drunken daisy chain of paper to all sorts of unwitting investors from here to the Arctic Circle, now sitting as landfill in portfolios run by pension funds, hedge funds and local governments.
Wall Street firms then kept a sizable slug of this bad paper off their balance sheets to keep financial results rosy, and then wrote themselves sweet bonus checks off the goosed-up numbers.
So Wall Street, with the help of Fannie and Freddie, shot these risky loans into the ether, thus breaking the bond between the overseer, meaning the lender, and the borrower. Why care about monitoring a borrower who has no skin in the game with a zero-down mortgage when you’ve entirely offloaded that loan as a security?
As far back as 1987 the Financial Accounting Standards Board warned there was no adequate way to value these derivatives, and now Frankenstein derivatives are sluicing financial poison through the system.
Then Fannie and Freddie itself started buying Wall Street’s mortgage backed securities, securities backed by zombie loans given by banks such as Countrywide Financial (CFC), which already had pointed its conveyor belt of bad loans at Wall Street.
When the credit markets seized up in 2007, Wall Street stopped doing much of these securitization deals as its recycling machine for these cut and paste jobs had sand thrown in its gears.
But as Wall Street stepped back, check out how Fannie and Freddie stepped in big time.
OFHEO says in its recent report that while the volume of single-family mortgatges securitized in 2007 fell by 8% to $1.9 tn, as the number of single family mortgages originated declined, “Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s combined share of MBS [mortgage-backed securities] issuance rose substantially to 61.6% from 46.7% in 2006.”
Indeed, OFHEO says Fannie and Freddie “increased their MBS issuance by nearly one-third in 2007 as competition” from Wall Street “virtually ceased in the second half of the year,” though OFHEO says the two started to curtail their purchases of securities backed by shoddy loans. Too little too late.
Now teetering atop Fannie’s and Freddie’s painfully razor thin $54 bn in net worth is a pyramid of $5.3 tn in debt that is nearly half the size of the US gross domestic product. The two have much higher leverage ratios than banks or hedge funds, but lower borrowing costs due to their implicit government backing. The two whittled down their capital cushions after they gunned their lobbying engines on Capitol Hill, showering elected officials with money.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM: 41.10, +0.96, +2.39%) or Bank of America (BAC: 33.69, +1.07, +3.28%), for example, have almost as much bank-level capital as these two “combined supporting one fifth of the commitments,” says the research website The Institutional Risk Analyst, published by Lord, Whalen LLC.
So the fear is that, as mortgages belly flop right and left and an increasing number of homes go into foreclosure, the two are insolvent. Former Fed official William Poole has said as much of Freddie Mac.
But instead of reining in their colossal, outsized portfolios which has caused such danger to taxpayers, the new housing rescue legislation went in the opposite direction. It would increase the statutory limit on the national debt by $800 bn, to $10.6 tn, as the two would now get to buy and back jumbo loans worth $625,000.
And as economist Edward Yardeni points out (his reports are a must-read), both “have been scrambling to plug all the holes in their huge mortgage portfolios.” Citing the Wall Street Journal, Yardeni notes that at the end of last year, the two “started guaranteeing payments on loans that back mortgage securities held by others to delay recognizing losses on some delinquent loans.”
Yardeni adds that “earlier this year, in their most shocking (desperate) tactic to reduce losses, Fan and Fred started making loans of up to $15,000 to people who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments.”
Here are the stink bombs, potholes and steam pipes bursting in these two reckless publicly traded companies:
*Both have a total of a microscopic"did you see it, did you catch it?"$54bn in net worth, generally assets minus liabilities (don’t listen to the $81 bn figure tossed around for their total capital, that’s a pro forma fake number that doesn’t include certain losses).
*Teetering atop that razor thin wedge is a pyramid of $5.3 tn in debt.
*One stink bomb is the total of $260 bn in securitized assets backed by subprime and Alt-A loans, loans which sit in between subprime and prime. Those sums dwarf their capital positions.
*Freddie has $156.8 bn in level three assets, those illiquid securities it can’t get a pricetag on because no one wants them now. Remember, under US accounting rules, it gets to assign its own values to these assets, they could be worth more, they could be worth less.
*Fannie has $56.1 bn in level three assets, or about a seventh of its fair valued assets.
*Fannie and Freddie have combined debts of $1.59 tn, borrowings they made merely to operate their businesses. Again, that’s against just $54 bn in total net worth. Their guaranteed liabilities were 29 times their net worth at the end of the first quarter.
*They each have $2.25 bn pipelines into the Treasury, which the government now wants to expand.
*Forty years ago, when they went public, Fannie had debt of about $15 bn. Do the math against Fannie’s $804 bn in liabilities today, and the pipelines should be about $120 bn each.
Still believe that $25 bn figure Congress is selling you?
By MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 35 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens is due in federal court to answer charges that he lied about hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts from an oil services contractor.
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Stevens is the Senate's longest-serving Republican and has been a dominant figure in congressional politics for a generation. After being indicted on seven counts of lying on Senate disclosure forms, Stevens was ordered to surrender in federal court and appear before a judge Thursday.
Stevens has said little about the corruption investigation that has dogged him for more than a year. Thursday's court hearing was expected to be no different. He was expected to plead not guilty, but initial appearances are usually brief affairs.
The indictment is a blow to the senator's re-election bid. Once a seemingly invincible political figure, he now faces both Democratic and Republican challengers who hope his legal woes make him vulnerable to defeat.
Though some GOP colleagues have distanced themselves from Stevens, he has steadfastly maintained his innocence, and his campaign has pledged to continue.
To do so, he would have to ask U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan for permission to travel. Stevens was expected to remain free while he campaigns and attends to Senate business, but Sullivan was to decide what rules the senator must abide by while he awaits trial.
Stevens, 84, is accused of concealing more than $250,000 in gifts and home remodeling services he received from VECO Corp., a once powerful contracting firm. Two top VECO executives have pleaded guilty to bribing state lawmakers. The executives cooperated with the FBI and provided information about Stevens.
If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison on each of seven counts.
FWD: by;
Brett A. Encelewski,
Secretary, District-33 Alaska Democratic Party;
District-33 Precinct Captain;
Volunteer, Mark Begich for U.S. Senate
1 hour, 35 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens is due in federal court to answer charges that he lied about hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts from an oil services contractor.
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Stevens is the Senate's longest-serving Republican and has been a dominant figure in congressional politics for a generation. After being indicted on seven counts of lying on Senate disclosure forms, Stevens was ordered to surrender in federal court and appear before a judge Thursday.
Stevens has said little about the corruption investigation that has dogged him for more than a year. Thursday's court hearing was expected to be no different. He was expected to plead not guilty, but initial appearances are usually brief affairs.
The indictment is a blow to the senator's re-election bid. Once a seemingly invincible political figure, he now faces both Democratic and Republican challengers who hope his legal woes make him vulnerable to defeat.
Though some GOP colleagues have distanced themselves from Stevens, he has steadfastly maintained his innocence, and his campaign has pledged to continue.
To do so, he would have to ask U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan for permission to travel. Stevens was expected to remain free while he campaigns and attends to Senate business, but Sullivan was to decide what rules the senator must abide by while he awaits trial.
Stevens, 84, is accused of concealing more than $250,000 in gifts and home remodeling services he received from VECO Corp., a once powerful contracting firm. Two top VECO executives have pleaded guilty to bribing state lawmakers. The executives cooperated with the FBI and provided information about Stevens.
If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison on each of seven counts.
FWD: by;
Brett A. Encelewski,
Secretary, District-33 Alaska Democratic Party;
District-33 Precinct Captain;
Volunteer, Mark Begich for U.S. Senate
[This is not a very good article; but if you read 'in between the lines' you can 'see the writing on the wall']
by Steve MacDonald
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- News of the indictments against U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens comes at a time when he was already fighting for his political life.
Many polls prior to Tuesday's indictments show that the race between Stevens and Democrat Mark Begich is already close.
Without a doubt, Tuesday's announcement from the Department of Justice will have its effect on the election. But what effect it will have depends on who you ask.
It was already shaping up to be one of Stevens's toughest political campaigns ever, and the news out of Washington, D.C. could make his reelection bid even more difficult.
"Partisan politics should play no part, either in what charges we bring or in things like the timing of indictment or that type of thing," said Mark Friedrich, acting assistant attorney general. "That policy has been followed to the letter in this case."
Art Hackney, one of Stevens's long time campaign advisors, is questioning the timing of Tuesday's announcement.
"I think like most Alaskans, (I'm) flabbergasted and taken aback," Hackney said. "One cannot help, in this business, but be a little bit jaded to say it's kind of ironic. The one-year anniversary of the raid on the house, and to drop this bomb just a month before a primary election."
One person keeping his distance from the indictment is the man who perhaps could gain the most from it -- Mark Begich, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate.
"I think it's a sad day in Alaska, but we're going to keep focused on the future of this great state," Begich said.
Begich refuses to speculate on how Stevens's legal trouble will impact the election.
"It will always be close, at the end of the day I don't think it's really appropriate to talk about the campaign," Begich said. "It's an issue that Sen. Stevens will have to go through and it will go to where it goes."
While Begich is being guarded in his comments, others are not.
"I think he has a chance of winning the primary -- I don't think he has a chance to win the general," said Dave Cuddy, a Republican candidate for Senate running against Stevens in the upcoming primary.
Cuddy believes his chances of wrestling the Republican nomination away from Stevens in next month's primary just went up.
"As Republicans and Independents, as conservatives start to realize that if Sen. Stevens is the nominee, it's likely that Mark Begich will be the ultimate winner in the general," Cuddy said. "They have to start thinking about whether that's a scenario that they want to support."
In a written statement, Stevens says he's vowing to stay in the race. Most polls show Stevens and Begich are running neck and neck.
The question now is this: Can Stevens survive the news out of Washington, or will he become the latest to fall in the ongoing VECO scandal?
Tuesday afternoon, a spokesman for the Stevens campaign said the senator's reelection bid continues to "move full steam ahead." He said their office was flooded with calls and emails urging Stevens to press on.
None of Stevens' challengers say they picked up any new support as a result of today's indictment, but Cuddy said he expects to begin picking up what he calls "quiet support" from Washington, D.C., in other words, people who wanted to support his campaign but were afraid to anger the incumbent, Stevens.
Contact Steve MacDonald at stevem@ktuu.com
FWD: by;
Brett A. Encelewski,
Secretary, District-33 Alaska Democratic Party;
District-33 Precinct Captain;
Volunteer, Mark Begich for U.S. Senate
by Steve MacDonald
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- News of the indictments against U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens comes at a time when he was already fighting for his political life.
Many polls prior to Tuesday's indictments show that the race between Stevens and Democrat Mark Begich is already close.
Without a doubt, Tuesday's announcement from the Department of Justice will have its effect on the election. But what effect it will have depends on who you ask.
It was already shaping up to be one of Stevens's toughest political campaigns ever, and the news out of Washington, D.C. could make his reelection bid even more difficult.
"Partisan politics should play no part, either in what charges we bring or in things like the timing of indictment or that type of thing," said Mark Friedrich, acting assistant attorney general. "That policy has been followed to the letter in this case."
Art Hackney, one of Stevens's long time campaign advisors, is questioning the timing of Tuesday's announcement.
"I think like most Alaskans, (I'm) flabbergasted and taken aback," Hackney said. "One cannot help, in this business, but be a little bit jaded to say it's kind of ironic. The one-year anniversary of the raid on the house, and to drop this bomb just a month before a primary election."
One person keeping his distance from the indictment is the man who perhaps could gain the most from it -- Mark Begich, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate.
"I think it's a sad day in Alaska, but we're going to keep focused on the future of this great state," Begich said.
Begich refuses to speculate on how Stevens's legal trouble will impact the election.
"It will always be close, at the end of the day I don't think it's really appropriate to talk about the campaign," Begich said. "It's an issue that Sen. Stevens will have to go through and it will go to where it goes."
While Begich is being guarded in his comments, others are not.
"I think he has a chance of winning the primary -- I don't think he has a chance to win the general," said Dave Cuddy, a Republican candidate for Senate running against Stevens in the upcoming primary.
Cuddy believes his chances of wrestling the Republican nomination away from Stevens in next month's primary just went up.
"As Republicans and Independents, as conservatives start to realize that if Sen. Stevens is the nominee, it's likely that Mark Begich will be the ultimate winner in the general," Cuddy said. "They have to start thinking about whether that's a scenario that they want to support."
In a written statement, Stevens says he's vowing to stay in the race. Most polls show Stevens and Begich are running neck and neck.
The question now is this: Can Stevens survive the news out of Washington, or will he become the latest to fall in the ongoing VECO scandal?
Tuesday afternoon, a spokesman for the Stevens campaign said the senator's reelection bid continues to "move full steam ahead." He said their office was flooded with calls and emails urging Stevens to press on.
None of Stevens' challengers say they picked up any new support as a result of today's indictment, but Cuddy said he expects to begin picking up what he calls "quiet support" from Washington, D.C., in other words, people who wanted to support his campaign but were afraid to anger the incumbent, Stevens.
Contact Steve MacDonald at stevem@ktuu.com
FWD: by;
Brett A. Encelewski,
Secretary, District-33 Alaska Democratic Party;
District-33 Precinct Captain;
Volunteer, Mark Begich for U.S. Senate
by Jason Moore
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., indicted Sen. Ted Stevens on seven felony counts Tuesday.
The charges allege that Stevens accepted more than $250,000 in gifts from VECO Corp. and its CEO Bill Allen and deliberately failed to report those gifts on disclosure statements.
"Earlier today, a federal grand jury here in the District of Columbia returned an indictment charging United States Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska with seven felony counts of making false statements," said Matthew Friedrich, acting assistant attorney general, announcing the indictments Tuesday.
Most of the gifts concerned the renovation of Stevens' Girdwood home, where the FBI served a search warrant one year ago.
Prosecutors say VECO employees did most of the work, and Allen paid most of the bills.
"These items were not disclosed on Sen. Stevens' financial disclosure forms, which he filed under penalties of perjury, either as gifts or as liabilities," Friedrich said. "And further, that Sen. Stevens did not reimburse or repay VECO or its chief executive officer for these items."
In the past, Stevens said he paid the bill he received for the project. According to the Seattle Times, Stevens says he spent $130,000 on the renovation.
The indictment claims Stevens received more than $250,000 from VECO and Allen.
Reaction to the charges against the longest serving Republican in the U.S. Senate spanned the country.
"I've known Ted Stevens for 28 years, and I've always found him to be impeccably honest," said Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania. "I don't know that anything, that any stronger comment could be made, and that's my comment."
Gov. Sarah Palin weighed in.
"The news today rocks the foundation of our state, and I certainly share Alaskans concern and dismay over the turn of events today," Palin said.
Sen. Stevens Tuesday released a statement.
"It saddens me to learn that these charges have been brought against me," Stevens said. "I have never knowingly submitted a false disclosure form required by law as a U.S. Senator."
"The impact of these charges on my family disturbs me greatly," Stevens said. "I am innocent of these charges and intend to prove that."
"I talked to the senator personally," said Aaron Saunders, Stevens campaign spokesman. "He was upbeat, and the senator's been fighting for Alaska for a long time and this is another fight and he's going to keep at it."
It was eerily quiet at the senator's campaign office Tuesday. One supporter strolled in to write him a note, summing up the feeling of many.
"I was shocked by it," said John Strachan. "It's a great surprise to me. I was here for the earthquake, and I'm here for Ted's indictment, and of the two I'd rather see an earthquake. This is a disaster."
While prosecutors say Stevens did certain actions to help VECO during the time he was receiving the gifts, the indictment does not allege bribery, which would require prosecutors to prove a formal agreement that Stevens would make official acts in exchange for benefits.
Since the federal corruption investigation began in Alaska, there have been seven convictions, including three lawmakers, former Gov. Frank Murkowski's chief of staff, a lobbyist, and two VECO executives.
Prosecutors say Bill Allen is cooperating with the Justice Department in this case.
Contact Jason Moore at jmoore@ktuu.com
FWD: by;
Brett A. Encelewski,
Secretary, District-33 Alaska Democratic Party;
District-33 Precinct Captain;
Volunteer, Mark Begich for U.S. Senate
ADDENDUM (by Brett A. Encelewski):
Can we let this man possibly sit in the U.S. Senate another Decade longer? He has been corrupt for years; this is merely the first time he has been CAUGHT. The F.B.I. and the Federal Grand Jury would not indict him if they had not collated some pretty astonishing evidence against him... what I think is compelling is that they skipped his son (Ben Stevens--who was named in the VECO trials) and went straight for the big man himself) ...the writing is on the wall. Let us Unite, join the 'crusade'; join the United Democrats for the Epic Defeat of Sen. Ted Stevens.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., indicted Sen. Ted Stevens on seven felony counts Tuesday.
The charges allege that Stevens accepted more than $250,000 in gifts from VECO Corp. and its CEO Bill Allen and deliberately failed to report those gifts on disclosure statements.
"Earlier today, a federal grand jury here in the District of Columbia returned an indictment charging United States Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska with seven felony counts of making false statements," said Matthew Friedrich, acting assistant attorney general, announcing the indictments Tuesday.
Most of the gifts concerned the renovation of Stevens' Girdwood home, where the FBI served a search warrant one year ago.
Prosecutors say VECO employees did most of the work, and Allen paid most of the bills.
"These items were not disclosed on Sen. Stevens' financial disclosure forms, which he filed under penalties of perjury, either as gifts or as liabilities," Friedrich said. "And further, that Sen. Stevens did not reimburse or repay VECO or its chief executive officer for these items."
In the past, Stevens said he paid the bill he received for the project. According to the Seattle Times, Stevens says he spent $130,000 on the renovation.
The indictment claims Stevens received more than $250,000 from VECO and Allen.
Reaction to the charges against the longest serving Republican in the U.S. Senate spanned the country.
"I've known Ted Stevens for 28 years, and I've always found him to be impeccably honest," said Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania. "I don't know that anything, that any stronger comment could be made, and that's my comment."
Gov. Sarah Palin weighed in.
"The news today rocks the foundation of our state, and I certainly share Alaskans concern and dismay over the turn of events today," Palin said.
Sen. Stevens Tuesday released a statement.
"It saddens me to learn that these charges have been brought against me," Stevens said. "I have never knowingly submitted a false disclosure form required by law as a U.S. Senator."
"The impact of these charges on my family disturbs me greatly," Stevens said. "I am innocent of these charges and intend to prove that."
"I talked to the senator personally," said Aaron Saunders, Stevens campaign spokesman. "He was upbeat, and the senator's been fighting for Alaska for a long time and this is another fight and he's going to keep at it."
It was eerily quiet at the senator's campaign office Tuesday. One supporter strolled in to write him a note, summing up the feeling of many.
"I was shocked by it," said John Strachan. "It's a great surprise to me. I was here for the earthquake, and I'm here for Ted's indictment, and of the two I'd rather see an earthquake. This is a disaster."
While prosecutors say Stevens did certain actions to help VECO during the time he was receiving the gifts, the indictment does not allege bribery, which would require prosecutors to prove a formal agreement that Stevens would make official acts in exchange for benefits.
Since the federal corruption investigation began in Alaska, there have been seven convictions, including three lawmakers, former Gov. Frank Murkowski's chief of staff, a lobbyist, and two VECO executives.
Prosecutors say Bill Allen is cooperating with the Justice Department in this case.
Contact Jason Moore at jmoore@ktuu.com
FWD: by;
Brett A. Encelewski,
Secretary, District-33 Alaska Democratic Party;
District-33 Precinct Captain;
Volunteer, Mark Begich for U.S. Senate
ADDENDUM (by Brett A. Encelewski):
Can we let this man possibly sit in the U.S. Senate another Decade longer? He has been corrupt for years; this is merely the first time he has been CAUGHT. The F.B.I. and the Federal Grand Jury would not indict him if they had not collated some pretty astonishing evidence against him... what I think is compelling is that they skipped his son (Ben Stevens--who was named in the VECO trials) and went straight for the big man himself) ...the writing is on the wall. Let us Unite, join the 'crusade'; join the United Democrats for the Epic Defeat of Sen. Ted Stevens.
The budget office predicts the economy will grow at a rate of 1.6 percent this year and will rebound to a 2.2 percent growth rate next year. That's a half percentage point more than predicted but also the widely cited "blue chip" consensus of leading economists. The administration also sees inflation averaging 3.8 percent this year, but easing to 2.3 percent next year " better than the 3.0 percent seen by the blue chip panel.
"The nation's economy has continued to expand and remains fundamentally resilient," said the budget office report.
Senior administration officials downplayed the impact of the number, with one noting that as a percentage of the U.S. gross domestic product, the deficit projection would be roughly 3 percent to 4 percent.
Another senior administration official said "a lot can happen" in 18 months that could worsen or improve the outlook, such as an improved economy leading to better tax returns, or increased spending under a new administration. The official specifically warned about the impact a Democrats.
"Democrats could blow the doors off spending and drive the deficit even higher," the official said.
Congressional Democratic leaders took aim at the administration " and the Republican candidate for the next administration " for what Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called misguided priorities.
"The large budget deficit is a symptom of the many serious problems that Bush-McCain Republicans refuse to address. Rather than continuing the flawed policies that produced this result, Democrats believe we must change course," Reid, D-Nev., said.
Among the problems Reid said Republicans neglected were renewable energy, health care reform, and refocusing military efforts on Afghanistan. "Until we deal with these underlying problems, our budget deficits and the squeeze on Americas families will only get worse."
Likewise, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized what she called unrestrained spending.
"President Bush has mortgaged our future with record deficit spending on the wrong priorities. An unnecessary and extraordinarily costly war in Iraq has turned record surpluses into record deficits. Meanwhile, our economy is in a severe economic slump as a result of this President’s mismanagement," she said.
White House officials said the increase from February's $407 billion projection for the coming year is due largely to a worse economy as well as higher-than-expected costs from the $168 billion economic stimulus package passed by Congress earlier this year.
The highest post-World War II budget deficit, in terms of a portion of the GDP, was in 1983 when it was 6 percent of the national economy. The record high-dollar mark to date was in 2004, when the deficit reached $413 billion.
The new figure actually underestimates the deficit, since it leaves out about $80 billion in war costs. In a break from tradition " and in violation of new mandates from Congress " the White House did not include its full estimate of war costs.
White House press secretary Dana Perino had no comment on the new outlook figure. But she told reporters that the White House and lawmakers acknowledged months ago that they were going to increase the deficit by approving a short-term boost for the slumping economy.
"Both parties recognized that the deficit would increase, and that that was going to be the price that we pay," Perino said.
Officials said revenues are holding up better than officials hoped for the current year: With costs running about $10 billion lower than expected, the budget deficit is expected to be less than $400 billion at the end of the fiscal year this September.
The deficit for 2007 totaled $161.5 billion, which represented the lowest amount of red ink since an imbalance of $159 billion in 2002. The 2002 performance marked the first budget deficit after four consecutive years of budget surpluses.
That stretch of budget surpluses represented a period when the country's finances had been bolstered by a 10-year period of uninterrupted economic growth, the longest period of expansion in U.S. history.
In his first year in office, helped considerably by projections of continuing surpluses, Bush drove through a 10-year, $1.3 trillion package of tax cuts.
However, the country fell into a recession in March 2001 and government spending to fight the war on terrorism contributed to pushing the deficit to a record in dollar terms in 2004.
House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt, D-S.C., said the deficit projection confirms "the dismal legacy of the Bush administration: under its policies, the largest surpluses in history have been converted into the largest deficits in history."
"The nation's economy has continued to expand and remains fundamentally resilient," said the budget office report.
Senior administration officials downplayed the impact of the number, with one noting that as a percentage of the U.S. gross domestic product, the deficit projection would be roughly 3 percent to 4 percent.
Another senior administration official said "a lot can happen" in 18 months that could worsen or improve the outlook, such as an improved economy leading to better tax returns, or increased spending under a new administration. The official specifically warned about the impact a Democrats.
"Democrats could blow the doors off spending and drive the deficit even higher," the official said.
Congressional Democratic leaders took aim at the administration " and the Republican candidate for the next administration " for what Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called misguided priorities.
"The large budget deficit is a symptom of the many serious problems that Bush-McCain Republicans refuse to address. Rather than continuing the flawed policies that produced this result, Democrats believe we must change course," Reid, D-Nev., said.
Among the problems Reid said Republicans neglected were renewable energy, health care reform, and refocusing military efforts on Afghanistan. "Until we deal with these underlying problems, our budget deficits and the squeeze on Americas families will only get worse."
Likewise, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized what she called unrestrained spending.
"President Bush has mortgaged our future with record deficit spending on the wrong priorities. An unnecessary and extraordinarily costly war in Iraq has turned record surpluses into record deficits. Meanwhile, our economy is in a severe economic slump as a result of this President’s mismanagement," she said.
White House officials said the increase from February's $407 billion projection for the coming year is due largely to a worse economy as well as higher-than-expected costs from the $168 billion economic stimulus package passed by Congress earlier this year.
The highest post-World War II budget deficit, in terms of a portion of the GDP, was in 1983 when it was 6 percent of the national economy. The record high-dollar mark to date was in 2004, when the deficit reached $413 billion.
The new figure actually underestimates the deficit, since it leaves out about $80 billion in war costs. In a break from tradition " and in violation of new mandates from Congress " the White House did not include its full estimate of war costs.
White House press secretary Dana Perino had no comment on the new outlook figure. But she told reporters that the White House and lawmakers acknowledged months ago that they were going to increase the deficit by approving a short-term boost for the slumping economy.
"Both parties recognized that the deficit would increase, and that that was going to be the price that we pay," Perino said.
Officials said revenues are holding up better than officials hoped for the current year: With costs running about $10 billion lower than expected, the budget deficit is expected to be less than $400 billion at the end of the fiscal year this September.
The deficit for 2007 totaled $161.5 billion, which represented the lowest amount of red ink since an imbalance of $159 billion in 2002. The 2002 performance marked the first budget deficit after four consecutive years of budget surpluses.
That stretch of budget surpluses represented a period when the country's finances had been bolstered by a 10-year period of uninterrupted economic growth, the longest period of expansion in U.S. history.
In his first year in office, helped considerably by projections of continuing surpluses, Bush drove through a 10-year, $1.3 trillion package of tax cuts.
However, the country fell into a recession in March 2001 and government spending to fight the war on terrorism contributed to pushing the deficit to a record in dollar terms in 2004.
House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt, D-S.C., said the deficit projection confirms "the dismal legacy of the Bush administration: under its policies, the largest surpluses in history have been converted into the largest deficits in history."
Bush signed the paperwork on Monday from the Oval Office, said the officials, who agreed to reveal his decision only on grounds of anonymity. They said he approved the military's request to execute Ronald A. Gray, now 42. Gray was convicted in connection with a spree of four murders and eight rapes in the Fayetteville, N.C., area over eight months in the late 1980s while stationed at Fort Bragg.
U.S. military personnel cannot be executed unless the president approves it. Gray has been on death row since 1988.
U.S. military personnel cannot be executed unless the president approves it. Gray has been on death row since 1988.
A Rasmussen Reports poll released today shows Mayor Mark Begich with an nine-point lead (50%-41%), up from a two-point deficit last month.
That's an 11 point swing!
We've been on the air in Alaska for two weeks and these ads reminding voters of Mark's strong record of success are clearly paying dividends.
To stay on the air for the month before Alaska's primary election on August 26 we need your help.
Will you help us keep our ads and message of positive change on Alaskans' televisions?
http://www.begich.com/contribute
While this is good news, we know Sen. Stevens, his DC Republican allies, and special interest friends will now throw everything from their bag of tricks at Mark in an attempt to drive down his strong favorability ratings.
Will you donate now to help us fend off this negative onslaught and keep Mark in the lead?
http://www.begich.com/contribute
Thank you for your continued commitment to electing a U.S. Senator from Alaska of whom we can be proud.
Heather Rauch
Campaign Manager
Alaskans for Begich
FWD: from;
Brett A. Encelewski
Secretary, District-33 Alaska Democratic Party;
Volunteer, Mark Begich for U.S. Senate [AK]
That's an 11 point swing!
We've been on the air in Alaska for two weeks and these ads reminding voters of Mark's strong record of success are clearly paying dividends.
To stay on the air for the month before Alaska's primary election on August 26 we need your help.
Will you help us keep our ads and message of positive change on Alaskans' televisions?
http://www.begich.com/contribute
While this is good news, we know Sen. Stevens, his DC Republican allies, and special interest friends will now throw everything from their bag of tricks at Mark in an attempt to drive down his strong favorability ratings.
Will you donate now to help us fend off this negative onslaught and keep Mark in the lead?
http://www.begich.com/contribute
Thank you for your continued commitment to electing a U.S. Senator from Alaska of whom we can be proud.
Heather Rauch
Campaign Manager
Alaskans for Begich
FWD: from;
Brett A. Encelewski
Secretary, District-33 Alaska Democratic Party;
Volunteer, Mark Begich for U.S. Senate [AK]
http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/stories/071808/let_258680041.shtml
LETTER to the Editor printed in our local paper supporting MARK BEGICH for U.S. Senate [AK] vs. Ted Stevens. Specifically supporting 'Gun Owners For Begich.'
(v 1.5)
It is all about RESPONSIBLE GUN OWNERSHIP, and OPERATION. I, also teach kids (and adults) about books; I am an Americorps Literacy/ English-as-Second-Language tudor.
As a Native American; and Proud Alaskan--whose immediate forefathers defended and patrolled these shores during World War II--with the Alaskan Territorial Guard; I am proud to teach, and deprogram, demystify children about firearms and their role in our history and society.
Because while you hold to your stance to choose to ignore the teaching of Responsible Gun ownership; (no different than ignoring the teaching of responsible SEX...)
These KIDS ARE GOING OFF AND DOING IT ANYWAY. It starts with TV, and video-games (the "books" they choose to read; which are more like COMICS--and thats OK with the average Far-Left Progressive, because fostering and enabling boundless diversity among children is "wonderful!")...
So with the TV, and Video games (and other Media) they get their first doses of SEX and VIOLENCE; their first aspirations to GUNS, and GIRLS... but they do not even see "GUNS" (Tools of Civil Defense, Subsistence, and Responsible Sport); or "GIRLS" (sugar, spice, everything nice; women, ladies, partners, soulmates, wives)... they see "Weapons" and "pussy, tits, and ass" [please pardon--I post the term for academic description--I could use much worse, a far more graphic terminology].
Right under your noses--while you hold the high horse and banner of a Safe and "gun-less" America; your children are training themselves to be wanton and depraved, desensitized fantasy killers, car-jackers, government black agents, rapists, thugs, 'players,' gangsters, gamblers, etc. "capping innocents in the head"--comparing their high KILL SCORES, and "HEAD SHOTS" to their friends.
The next phase is the EASY ACCESS to INCREDIBLE amounts of AMAZINGLY WRETCHED PORNOGRAPHY and SADISM. In addition to all of the sub-cultural groups on the internet they may have begun to ascribe (or perhaps begun to have been prescribed to) in their geographic and/or online community.
That is why the Ultra-Liberal agenda, will never succeed. The Republican Party/ Libertarian Party is not evil (of course); and some MEASURE of CONSERVATISM is called for or this country will simply ROT and IMPLODE under ignorance and decadence, and violence, and arrogant fantasy; and then when the WATER-SHED BLOODY REVOLUTION COMES... and the children are dead or joining one side or other of the fight and Federal Troops and Rebels are fighting outside your door... you will ask yourself; where is my gun?
The adolescent... now primed by the internet and his sub-cultural/ anarchist/ atheistic/ "progressive" social institutions begins to experiment with drugs/ alcohol; have sex with multiple partners--perhaps both sexes; perhaps multiple partners, of both sexes, at the same time. Refuses to believe in any traditional values, let alone Christ.
...and eventually; succumbs to hardcore addiction, and associated gang-related activity which inevitably leads to him/her picking up a gun.. if he/she has not already done so already because it is "COOL."
So the 25 year-old highschool drop-out dead-beat bisexual, atheist, addict, gangster, emu, goth; plays SONY PlayStation 3 all day, looking for the best "HEAD SHOT score" unsatisfied, finally, he goes out and gets (3) good ones; his old history teacher who failed him 6 years ago, his old Principal, wounds 3 other students; and puts a .45 ACP round through his young, confused, enabled; and UNEDUCATED brain.
So; in additon to teaching adults that were miserably failed by the U.S. Education system how to READ; I take it upon myself to educate young kids about the TRUE meaning of firearms, and RESPONSIBLE GUN OWNERSHIP.
Q'ua, ida'ina.
Brett A. Encelewski
Secretary, District-33 Alaska Democratic Party;
Volunteer, Mark Begich for U.S. Senate [AK];
"Gun Owners For Begich";
Member, National Rifle Association
It is all about RESPONSIBLE GUN OWNERSHIP, and OPERATION. I, also teach kids (and adults) about books; I am an Americorps Literacy/ English-as-Second-Language tudor.
As a Native American; and Proud Alaskan--whose immediate forefathers defended and patrolled these shores during World War II--with the Alaskan Territorial Guard; I am proud to teach, and deprogram, demystify children about firearms and their role in our history and society.
Because while you hold to your stance to choose to ignore the teaching of Responsible Gun ownership; (no different than ignoring the teaching of responsible SEX...)
These KIDS ARE GOING OFF AND DOING IT ANYWAY. It starts with TV, and video-games (the "books" they choose to read; which are more like COMICS--and thats OK with the average Far-Left Progressive, because fostering and enabling boundless diversity among children is "wonderful!")...
So with the TV, and Video games (and other Media) they get their first doses of SEX and VIOLENCE; their first aspirations to GUNS, and GIRLS... but they do not even see "GUNS" (Tools of Civil Defense, Subsistence, and Responsible Sport); or "GIRLS" (sugar, spice, everything nice; women, ladies, partners, soulmates, wives)... they see "Weapons" and "pussy, tits, and ass" [please pardon--I post the term for academic description--I could use much worse, a far more graphic terminology].
Right under your noses--while you hold the high horse and banner of a Safe and "gun-less" America; your children are training themselves to be wanton and depraved, desensitized fantasy killers, car-jackers, government black agents, rapists, thugs, 'players,' gangsters, gamblers, etc. "capping innocents in the head"--comparing their high KILL SCORES, and "HEAD SHOTS" to their friends.
The next phase is the EASY ACCESS to INCREDIBLE amounts of AMAZINGLY WRETCHED PORNOGRAPHY and SADISM. In addition to all of the sub-cultural groups on the internet they may have begun to ascribe (or perhaps begun to have been prescribed to) in their geographic and/or online community.
That is why the Ultra-Liberal agenda, will never succeed. The Republican Party/ Libertarian Party is not evil (of course); and some MEASURE of CONSERVATISM is called for or this country will simply ROT and IMPLODE under ignorance and decadence, and violence, and arrogant fantasy; and then when the WATER-SHED BLOODY REVOLUTION COMES... and the children are dead or joining one side or other of the fight and Federal Troops and Rebels are fighting outside your door... you will ask yourself; where is my gun?
The adolescent... now primed by the internet and his sub-cultural/ anarchist/ atheistic/ "progressive" social institutions begins to experiment with drugs/ alcohol; have sex with multiple partners--perhaps both sexes; perhaps multiple partners, of both sexes, at the same time. Refuses to believe in any traditional values, let alone Christ.
...and eventually; succumbs to hardcore addiction, and associated gang-related activity which inevitably leads to him/her picking up a gun.. if he/she has not already done so already because it is "COOL."
So the 25 year-old highschool drop-out dead-beat bisexual, atheist, addict, gangster, emu, goth; plays SONY PlayStation 3 all day, looking for the best "HEAD SHOT score" unsatisfied, finally, he goes out and gets (3) good ones; his old history teacher who failed him 6 years ago, his old Principal, wounds 3 other students; and puts a .45 ACP round through his young, confused, enabled; and UNEDUCATED brain.
So; in additon to teaching adults that were miserably failed by the U.S. Education system how to READ; I take it upon myself to educate young kids about the TRUE meaning of firearms, and RESPONSIBLE GUN OWNERSHIP.
Q'ua, ida'ina.
Brett A. Encelewski
Secretary, District-33 Alaska Democratic Party;
Volunteer, Mark Begich for U.S. Senate [AK];
"Gun Owners For Begich";
Member, National Rifle Association
Senate hopeful MARK BEGICH (D) for U.S. Senate vs. 40 year incumbant Sen. Ted Stevens is finally feeling the pinch of defeat--and has started with a classical GOP mud-slinging campaign; counter-claiming/ smearing on Mark's TV ads.
As of yesterday, MARK BEGICH has out fund-raised Sen. Ted Stevens... but we all know that Stevens does not need to necessarily "fundraise". So the numbers are important mainly as a symbolic victory for Mark; and a REALITY for his campaign--to afford to stand up to the Ancient GOP Dragon of the U.S. Senate.
But Stevens is getting real concerned. He is about to spend more time in Alaska than he has in the past 25 years--kissing Yupiks butt-cheeks, and rubbing noses with Inuits; as well as lining the pockets of Alaskan media moguls and State legislators... and having his pockets lined by Industrial CEOs. This is the Alaskan GOP, motis operendi... only HE IS THE UNCONTESTED MASTER of the REPUBLICAN-SITH-GUARD... if there ever was one.
But this year is completely different. The "status quo" and the general apathy of the people does not stand... BARACK OBAMA has TURNED the KEY to DEMOCRATS everywhere.
ALASKAN DEMOCRACY is unhinged and TOTALLY OFF THE HOOK!
Barack Obama is coming to Alaska especially to SEE through victories like MARK BEGICH for U.S. SENATE and take down TED STEVENS. Do you believe people?
In J.R.R. Tolkein's 'The Hobbit' they didn't think that 'ole bastard ancient Dragon "SMAUG" could be defeated; and then a little guy came along...
The BIGGER THEY ARE; the HARDER they FALL; and the NASTIER.
And he knows it. It will be EPIC! I have begun a personal InterState campaign for contributions to THIS, the MOST CRITICAL (and WINNABLE) SENATE RACE of my generation.
BEGICH challenges the Dragon STEVENS.
"YES WE CAN, and WE WILL."
Brett A. Encelewski
Secretary, District-33 Alaska Democratic Party
Volunteer, Mark Begich for U.S. Senate [AK] Read More »
As of yesterday, MARK BEGICH has out fund-raised Sen. Ted Stevens... but we all know that Stevens does not need to necessarily "fundraise". So the numbers are important mainly as a symbolic victory for Mark; and a REALITY for his campaign--to afford to stand up to the Ancient GOP Dragon of the U.S. Senate.
But Stevens is getting real concerned. He is about to spend more time in Alaska than he has in the past 25 years--kissing Yupiks butt-cheeks, and rubbing noses with Inuits; as well as lining the pockets of Alaskan media moguls and State legislators... and having his pockets lined by Industrial CEOs. This is the Alaskan GOP, motis operendi... only HE IS THE UNCONTESTED MASTER of the REPUBLICAN-SITH-GUARD... if there ever was one.
But this year is completely different. The "status quo" and the general apathy of the people does not stand... BARACK OBAMA has TURNED the KEY to DEMOCRATS everywhere.
ALASKAN DEMOCRACY is unhinged and TOTALLY OFF THE HOOK!
Barack Obama is coming to Alaska especially to SEE through victories like MARK BEGICH for U.S. SENATE and take down TED STEVENS. Do you believe people?
In J.R.R. Tolkein's 'The Hobbit' they didn't think that 'ole bastard ancient Dragon "SMAUG" could be defeated; and then a little guy came along...
The BIGGER THEY ARE; the HARDER they FALL; and the NASTIER.
And he knows it. It will be EPIC! I have begun a personal InterState campaign for contributions to THIS, the MOST CRITICAL (and WINNABLE) SENATE RACE of my generation.
BEGICH challenges the Dragon STEVENS.
"YES WE CAN, and WE WILL."
Brett A. Encelewski
Secretary, District-33 Alaska Democratic Party
Volunteer, Mark Begich for U.S. Senate [AK] Read More »
"Obama aide calls Alaska battleground state"
by Steve Quinn
The Associated Press
Thursday, July 17, 2008
JUNEAU, Alaska -- A top aide to Barack Obama says Alaska is a battleground state that can make a difference in his candidate's efforts to become the next president.
Deputy Campaign Manager Pete Rouse on Thursday said Alaska's three electoral votes can be won by the Democrat, and they are making the state a priority.
Having defeated Sen. Hillary Clinton in Alaska's Democratic caucus, Obama reestablished campaign offices statewide last month.
The campaign has identified 18 historically Republican-backed states, including Alaska, as key battlegrounds.
Alaskans last chose a Democratic candidate in 1964, backing Lyndon Johnson over Barry Goldwater.
Since 1980, the state has sent an all-Republican congressional delegation to Washington, D.C.
FWD: from;
Brett A. Encelewski
Secretary, District-33 Alaska Democratic Party
by Steve Quinn
The Associated Press
Thursday, July 17, 2008
JUNEAU, Alaska -- A top aide to Barack Obama says Alaska is a battleground state that can make a difference in his candidate's efforts to become the next president.
Deputy Campaign Manager Pete Rouse on Thursday said Alaska's three electoral votes can be won by the Democrat, and they are making the state a priority.
Having defeated Sen. Hillary Clinton in Alaska's Democratic caucus, Obama reestablished campaign offices statewide last month.
The campaign has identified 18 historically Republican-backed states, including Alaska, as key battlegrounds.
Alaskans last chose a Democratic candidate in 1964, backing Lyndon Johnson over Barry Goldwater.
Since 1980, the state has sent an all-Republican congressional delegation to Washington, D.C.
FWD: from;
Brett A. Encelewski
Secretary, District-33 Alaska Democratic Party
Marching in the Independance Day parade of my small town with my local District Democrats was perhaps the single most glorious point in my life-to date. There are other comparable-perhaps more petty and carnal milestones; first "party," first "girl," first sports car overtaken on the highway etc.
But in the grand socioeconomic spectrum of my life, as I have crawled along; holding aloft the largest sign of my favorite candidate in one hand, the U.S./Alaska flags unfurled all around me--and my 5.56 NATO/.223 Bushmaster slung on my shoulder...
Marching with my other, albeit more Left-wing (but to their credit respectful) peers in the DEMOCRATIC PARTY. And why (you may ask) would a guy walk down the road amid a crowd of Flag-waving people carrying a decked-out ASSAULT RIFLE?
Because it is my God-given, and Constitutionally garunteed and recently reaffirmed RIGHT. To Bear Arms... and, indeed; this year--RESPONSIBILITY to remind people what the "CHANGE" is all about.
I don't think Barack Obama really even knows the full breadth and width; he of course understands that every human heart has a maxim of immense potential, often LOCKED AWAY... and he has TURNED THE KEY. But even Barack Obama cannot say (let alone control) what the CHANGE will be. He is the Medium, the conduit, the arbitrator; and THAT is what he recognizes. Every CIVIL SERVANT who knows any thing about TRUE "SERVICE THEORY" knows that all you are there to do--is to 'serve.'
Only a few in the crowd were dismayed--most were ELECTRIC; the CONSERVATIVES were swinging before us. Children kept asking two different questions; to which I had two different answers.
1)"Wow, why are you carrying a gun?" to which I said "Gun Owners For BEGICH!"
2)"That's not a real gun, is it?" or "Is that a real gun?" to which I would reply: "NO Son, that's a CIVIL LIBERTY." Read More »
But in the grand socioeconomic spectrum of my life, as I have crawled along; holding aloft the largest sign of my favorite candidate in one hand, the U.S./Alaska flags unfurled all around me--and my 5.56 NATO/.223 Bushmaster slung on my shoulder...
Marching with my other, albeit more Left-wing (but to their credit respectful) peers in the DEMOCRATIC PARTY. And why (you may ask) would a guy walk down the road amid a crowd of Flag-waving people carrying a decked-out ASSAULT RIFLE?
Because it is my God-given, and Constitutionally garunteed and recently reaffirmed RIGHT. To Bear Arms... and, indeed; this year--RESPONSIBILITY to remind people what the "CHANGE" is all about.
I don't think Barack Obama really even knows the full breadth and width; he of course understands that every human heart has a maxim of immense potential, often LOCKED AWAY... and he has TURNED THE KEY. But even Barack Obama cannot say (let alone control) what the CHANGE will be. He is the Medium, the conduit, the arbitrator; and THAT is what he recognizes. Every CIVIL SERVANT who knows any thing about TRUE "SERVICE THEORY" knows that all you are there to do--is to 'serve.'
Only a few in the crowd were dismayed--most were ELECTRIC; the CONSERVATIVES were swinging before us. Children kept asking two different questions; to which I had two different answers.
1)"Wow, why are you carrying a gun?" to which I said "Gun Owners For BEGICH!"
2)"That's not a real gun, is it?" or "Is that a real gun?" to which I would reply: "NO Son, that's a CIVIL LIBERTY." Read More »
http://www.democrats.org/page/outreach/view/bat/interstatedemsforbegich
Contribute $20 or $50 today to the MARK BEGICH campaign for U.S. Senate [AK] --which has already exceeded the longest sitting Republican Senator in the U.S. Senate; and easily the most powerful man in the District of Columbia.
End the reign of Sen. Ted Stevens by supporting MARK BEGICH. He is a man of the people--the Alaskans choice; a Democrat who gets things done. Protecting Alaskans, and Americans Civil Liberties, fighting for the highest ethical standards in Public Office; and an efficient, productive, clean, and timely energy policy for Alaska and America.
CONTRIBUTE to MARK BEGICH for U.S. SENATE-Alaska--For AMERICA.
Below is an email from Sen. candidate Mark Begich (Mayor of Anchorage, Alaska); BELIEVE in the CHANGE PEOPLE--ALASKA is GOING BLUE, we are taking the State, we are taking the Senate; we are taking the House; and we are going to take the White House with it! "YES WE CAN!"
Brett --
I can hardly believe I'm writing to tell you this, but you guys did it:
Together we out-raised Sen. Stevens in the last fundraising period by over a quarter of a million dollars.
You are part of a grassroots surge â�" over 4000 contributors in the last three months (more than four times Stevens number of donors).
We outperformed the special interest network of a 40 year incumbent.
I am humbled by the strength of your support and I'm ready to keep fighting, bringing my message to Alaska voters.
We can win this race, all because of you.
Thank you.
Mark Begich
FWD: from;
Brett A. Encelewski
Secretary, District-33 Alaska Democratic Party;
Volunteer, Mark Begich for U.S. Senate [AK]
Brett --
I can hardly believe I'm writing to tell you this, but you guys did it:
Together we out-raised Sen. Stevens in the last fundraising period by over a quarter of a million dollars.
You are part of a grassroots surge â�" over 4000 contributors in the last three months (more than four times Stevens number of donors).
We outperformed the special interest network of a 40 year incumbent.
I am humbled by the strength of your support and I'm ready to keep fighting, bringing my message to Alaska voters.
We can win this race, all because of you.
Thank you.
Mark Begich
FWD: from;
Brett A. Encelewski
Secretary, District-33 Alaska Democratic Party;
Volunteer, Mark Begich for U.S. Senate [AK]
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