The Bush Legacy

“�The haters still think BUSH is running for reelection. Fools.

Can't you see that their are two running-McBush and OBush.”

“
� � � � � � � � 4161.

”

“The legacy is one of promises kept.

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28784”

“Didn't really inspire confidence with his conservatism has #&%!$ed us all speech last night did he.”

“the guy can't even read off of a teleprompter well.

Can't wait to see the Oliver Stone movie.”

“September 11, 2003
New Agency Proposed to Oversee Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae
By STEPHEN LABATON

The Bush administration today recommended the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis a decade ago.

Under the plan, disclosed at a Congressional hearing today, a new agency would be created within the Treasury Department to assume supervision of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored companies that are the two largest players in the mortgage lending industry.

The new agency would have the authority, which now rests with Congress, to set one of the two capital-reserve requirements for the companies. It would exercise authority over any new lines of business. And it would determine whether the two are adequately managing the risks of their ballooning portfolios.

The plan is an acknowledgment by the administration that oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- which together have issued more than $1.5 trillion in outstanding debt -- is broken. A report by outside investigators in July concluded that Freddie Mac manipulated its accounting to mislead investors, and critics have said Fannie Mae does not adequately hedge against rising interest rates.

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

Mr. Snow said that Congress should eliminate the power of the president to appoint directors to the companies, a sign that the administration is less concerned about the perks of patronage than it is about the potential political problems associated with any new difficulties arising at the companies.

The administration's proposal, which was endorsed in large part today by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, would not repeal the significant government subsidies granted to the two companies. And it does not alter the implicit guarantee that Washington will bail the companies out if they run into financial difficulty; that perception enables them to issue debt at significantly lower rates than their competitors. Nor would it remove the companies' exemptions from taxes and antifraud provisions of federal securities laws.

The proposal is the opening act in one of the biggest and most significant lobbying battles of the Congressional session.

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

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

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

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, which is part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, was created by Congress in 1992 after the bailout of the savings and loan industry and concerns about regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which buy mortgages from lenders and repackage them as securities or hold them in their own portfolios.

At the time, the companies and their allies beat back efforts for tougher oversight by the Treasury Department, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the Federal Reserve. Supporters of the companies said efforts to regulate the lenders tightly under those agencies might diminish their ability to finance loans for lower-income families. This year, however, the chances of passing legislation to tighten the oversight are better than in the past.

Reflecting the changing political climate, both Fannie Mae and its leading rivals applauded the administration's package. The support from Fannie Mae came after a round of discussions between it and the administration and assurances from the Treasury that it would not seek to change the company's mission.

After those assurances, Franklin D. Raines, Fannie Mae's chief executive, endorsed the shift of regulatory oversight to the Treasury Department, as well as other elements of the plan.

''We welcome the administration's approach outlined today,'' Mr. Raines said. The company opposes some smaller elements of the package, like one that eliminates the authority of the president to appoint 5 of the company's 18 board members.

Company executives said that the company preferred having the president select some directors. The company is also likely to lobby against the efforts that give regulators too much authority to approve its products.

Freddie Mac, whose accounting is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and a United States attorney in Virginia, issued a statement calling the administration plan a ''responsible proposal.''

The stocks of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae fell while the prices of their bonds generally rose. Shares of Freddie Mac fell $2.04, or 3.7 percent, to $53.40, while Fannie Mae was down $1.62, or 2.4 percent, to $66.74. The price of a Fannie Mae bond due in March 2013 rose to 97.337 from 96.525.Its yield fell to 4.726 percent from 4.835 percent on Tuesday.

Fannie Mae, which was previously known as the Federal National Mortgage Association, and Freddie Mac, which was the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, have been criticized by rivals for exerting too much influence over their regulators.

''The regulator has not only been outmanned, it has been outlobbied,'' said Representative Richard H. Baker, the Louisiana Republican who has proposed legislation similar to the administration proposal and who leads a subcommittee that oversees the companies. ''Being underfunded does not explain how a glowing report of Freddie's operations was released only hours before the managerial upheaval that followed. This is not world-class regulatory work.''

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

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

Representative Melvin L. Watt, Democrat of North Carolina, agreed.

''I don't see much other than a shell game going on here, moving something from one agency to another and in the process weakening the bargaining power of poorer families and their ability to get affordable housing,'' Mr. Watt said.”

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� � � The Bush Legacy: � � Mass Death and Economic Collapse.

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


Ranking Dem on the FINACIAL SERVICES COMITTEE”

“And you clowns worship deregulation. � Congratulations on a job well done.”

“Developers lined their pockets with govt. handouts from the Shrub administration. too many homes were built. this is the result.

thank you for ANOTHER disaster, mr. president.”

“And thank YOU for another awesome post! LMFAO! I'm not sure which of these statements is more laughable:

the guy can't even read off of a teleprompter well.

Can't wait to see the Oliver Stone movie.�
Hiker19B4
10:15:09 AM
9/25/08”

“B4 has the reasoning power of tiltTiltBLAM, moron.

BAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA”

“Rats customarily LEAVE a sinking ship.

But not these ----”

“I think rosie just called noncon a moron.

I would agree.”

“http://www.nbc5i.com/news/17550315/detail.html

Iraq War Vet's Car Vandalized At Dallas University

In red paint the vandals spraypainted the message, "Soldiers are murderers."”

“I think it's blown a gasket.”

“1) I think rosie just called noncon a moron.

2) I would agree.�
Hiker19B4
11:45:06 AM
9/25/08

You make an observation then agree with yourself? Or you agree he called me a moron? Which one is it?”

“Is there anything else the Bubya Regime can #&%!$ up between now and January?


Iraq War Vet's Car Vandalized At Dallas University

In red paint the vandals spraypainted the message, "Soldiers are murderers."”
rosiemonster
9:54:50 AM
9/25/08

Well, that queers the whole deal!!
Re-elect Bubya!”

“Let me spell it out for you, non.

1. The ever erudite rosie inserted a comma at the end of his pathetic rebuke about my statement:

B4 has the reasoning power of tiltTiltBLAM, moron.

2. This was immediately following your lame comment, thus inferring that you are a moron.

3. I was merely agreeing with that assertion/observation/fact.
last edited: 9/25/08 11:51:21 AM”

“Are you really that stupid or are you just pretending for my amusement? Let's look at your moronic explanation, shall we? You claim "rosie", if that is his real name, made a rebuke about your statement, even going so far as to post that rebuke as if I somehow didn't know how to scroll backwards, yet you are asserting he was referring to me because my comment preceded his? Even though he was rebuking your statement? Have I got that right? Since it looks like you had to go back and edit your dazzling explanation, I wasn't sure that you even knew what you meant. Your posts are usually a dead giveaway, but I have to ask anyway: logic is lost on you, isn't it?

Come on, you can do better than that. Come back with a REAL zinger this time. WOW us with your brilliance.”

“I don't expect you to understand grammar, moron.”

“Not the way you explain it, retard.”

“B4 is not only a moron, but ignorant.”

“Didn't your mamas teach you: If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.

But then Stovie wouldn't have anything to say...”

“you are asserting he was referring to me because my comment preceded his? Even though he was rebuking your statement?

i dont know about you, but even when rebuking someone, i dont speak to them in third person.

maybe he meant b4 has the reasoning power of tilt COLON (not comma) moron”

“
"President Bush, in signing the defense policy bill Tuesday, issued a statement indicating he reserves the right to heed or disregard four of its provisions as he sees fit."

Congressional Quarterly
October 14, 2008



� � � � So long, Einstein! �

”

“Abuse of power? Where???”

“Did he make some smartass remarks off to the side when he took the Oath of Office??”

“Apparently, he took the LOATHE of Office.”

“He thought they said 'Pinch the LOAF' of Office.”

“President Calls for Expanding Opportunities to Home Ownership May 17, 2002

youtube



Whoops! #&%!$ed up again.



President Bush Discusses Homeownership Financing August 31 2007”

“jesus. the democrats won. arent you ever happy?”