Connecting immigration and the mortgage crisis?
By Steve Benen Tuesday Dec 25, 2007 1:00pm
There’s shameless right-wing pandering, and then there’s this level of shameless right-wing pandering.
Janice Easley’s fury over illegal immigration boiled over Saturday as she confronted Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson at the Music Man Square museum.
She said she recalled a film about Mexicans who wanted to take over California and New Mexico. Calling illegal immigrants a taxpayer burden, she wondered whether Americans could march in the streets of Mexico and demand welfare. When Iowans call up the power company, she said, “everything is in Spanish; it’s sickening.”
“You are so, so right,” Thompson responded. English should be the national language, he told the retiree, and immigrants bear some of the blame for the home-loan crisis. “A lot of them couldn’t communicate with the people they were getting the mortgage from,” he said.
I’ve seen the Republican field link immigration to national security (terrorist will sneak across the Mexican border), and link immigration to the culture war (Roe v. Wade allegedly made immigration necessary), but linking immigration to mortgages and sub-prime loans? That’s a new one.
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Fred Thompson. Committing random acts of senility and stupidity.
Oh, and Happy Day-After Fristmas.
There's a special place in hell from Fred Thompson
he's wrong, it's all the Jews' fault
Clytemnestra @ 3:
I meant for
There's a special place in hell FOR Fred Thompson</
I tend to link the sub-prime mortgage crisis to slimy bankers and Wall St. number-crunchers, myself.
igor @ 4:
Don't forget the Masons and the Trilateral Commission.
Anyone want to bet Thompson will be the next GOP candidate to drop out?
Edwin @ 6:
Combine this with a healthy dose of willful ignorance on the parts of many ex-homeowners.
the repubs are the same as they've ever been as this article shows
Eugenics Laws Restricting Immigration
http://www.eugenicsarchive.org/html/eugenics/essay9text.html
Fred is simply preaching to (his) choir... people that already lay all blame for every misery known to mankind at the feet of anyone considered non-conservative.
Press 1 for English and get over yourself...bitch. If it makes you feel any better, Spanish is still the 2nd option.
¡Oye, puta... chingaste!
Symon @ 11:
Seriously! No one is asking them to be bilingual, even though all Americans should be, just be considerate to people that are more comfortable speaking Spanish. When I go to other countries it is always nice for them to accomindate me by speaking English rather than me mumbling out broken sentences.
In republican world, if you can't blame it on Bill Clinton, blame it on brown people with funny names.
This is a very good article that explains the real problem:
The mortgages were the seed corn for the coming disaster. Credit card debt is next.
This one has to take the cake. Blaming the unwise or even fraudulent lending practices that many lenders employed to get buyers on immigrants (illegal or otherwise) is just plain wrong. Once again, we see how the party of "accountability" really are. They refuse to punish those lenders and banks but instead bail them out.
On another note, maybe learning Spanish along with English is not such a bad thing to have afterall. In fact, most people from other nations that I know speak several languages. Americans such as Janice Easley simply do not like change. I for one, am picking up a few words and phrases in Spanish and I think its great.
Avid Reader @ 15:
Agreed. I saw that same article and those numbers are staggering.
ShouldBeWorking @ 8:
And a Bush?Cheney government that applauds this kind of practise, while turning a blind eye. Lend money like crazy to people who can't pay it back. Package the debt and sell it to pension funds (so everyone --working class-- loses a little). Then rush in to bail out billionaire bankers with tax-payer money. Spread the losses around to the vast majority of the American working class, while the rich get richer, and blame it all on brown people. Perrrrrfect; when do we start?
even if he's right, how is it the Mexicans' fault for being tricked and coerced into shady real estate deals by english speaking con artists?
even if he was right, thats a damn good follow up question... but the guy's dead wrong. english speaking con artists hustled english speaking idiots, not spanish speaking idiots.
personally though I love this real estate disaster. I'm making some pretty good money, and poised to make really good money in the next year or two..... right about the time bankers are going to be so desperate to sell houses they'll sell them half price to a guy like me with shitty credit! hell, there's an article on CNN's homepage today about how foreclosures are causing housing prices to be at a record low. NICE!
I don't think this guy quit Law and Order, I think Law and Order quit him. They surely got tired of dumb and dumber. And by the way I don't see a lot of Mexican Immigrants owning homes around here or anyplace. So how did they cause the crisis.
That's one big stinking pile of pandering that's ever come out of a politicians mouth. The crisis was caused by nothing other than greed on behalf of bankers that knew better, politicians who wanted to continue bringing home the bacon to their districts and lenders who thought they could take advatage of bargain basement interest rates even after reading the fine print. But might there be something else going on here?
Why would a real smart guy like the great Greenspan keep interest rates so low for so long? Why would others around the world who were sharp investors keep buying this worthless debt? Why didn't the Federal Regulators do their job? Why did Bernanke keep the boys up late with the printing presses going 24/7 spinning out more worthless dollars?
Well, somethig very interesting has bee going on little noticed by the general public over the last few weeks. The Middle East oil pumpers who take our worthless dollars are now using them to purchase large positions in US banks. Merrill got 6.5 Billion and Citibank gets billions as do others in the form of bailouts all with ever increasing worthless dollars. Does anyone see a pattern here? This all looks like it was a set up from the begining. So what if joe six pack goes bankrupt, we already took care of that loop hole a couple fo years ago by changing the bankruptcy laws. Who cares if food prices keep going up as America is too fat anyway and people should shiver a little more in the winter as it builds character in people, just look at how the Russia do it.
Everything that happes in this world happens for a reason. They are not random events as the C.I.A. is a perfect example of your government hard at work in causing troubes and wars in other countries all the time. To use an immigrant as an excuse for the financial mess we're in today is pathetic at best. Go back to acting Fred. At least more of your message might be heard there with the rest of the nonsense that we watch as mindless droans.
Face it folks, learning language uses brain power and we all know self proclaimed "conservatives" are too embarrassed to attempt that. Most of them even refuse to use the English language correctly.
I think Thompson is an idiot. I call him Big Bird. However I am not as liberal as you folks, I think the illegals are a drain on the taxpayers.
The southern gates were opened and incentives put in place to draw our southern friends up this way. Its part of the strategy to create the North American Union modeled on the European Union.
The mainstream media news model prostitutes will tell you it doesn't exist but I think most people by now realize just how thick the propaganda really is.
Peace
Bitter Scribe @ 7:
Not if dropping out takes any effort on his part.
Rose @ 23:
That may be. I'm not American, and I live on another continent, so I don't know about your "illegals" too well. But to blame the mortgage crisis on them is simply wrong. It's a way to spread hatred and gather all the bigots under one big umbrella.
I cannot begin to describe my animosity towards every last one of the Republicans (and any Dems) who've been pushing this anti-immigrant meme. My dear mother, who taught me tolerance by example (among many other things) has decided to become a virulent racist, echoing all of the Aztlan BS pushed by Tancredo, Malkin, and their ilk. While I realize this crap must have struck some sympathetic chord in her, I know that at one point, she was a sensitive and respectful person.
Don't expect any better lines from Good Ol'Boy Fred until the writers strike is over.
Da Spyda @ 28:
Very good point!
These guys will say anything to get elected...... he is also probably too stupid to understand what he is saying.... is this the best America can offer as a leader..... come on country..... doesn't matter what your political strip is.... this is a joke... a sad joke... Haven't we learned not to put another imbecile in the White House.... this guys IQ could even be lower than George Bush's....
The whole immigration debate is just racism...... there is really no difference than other historic waves of immigrants.... many illegal Irish, German and Scots also came to this country.... Also Asian, Canadians, etc..... the language thing is also bullshit..... there use to be many German language newspapers in this country.... by the third generation almost all immigrants, German or Hispanic, almost totally forget their mother language.... Company's have their call centers and advertising in Spanish because of all the
legalhispanic immigrants in this country.... it makes good business sense..... also learning how to speak multiple languages is actually a good thing... it is only the U.S. that really only has one language...And overall illegal immigrants have a net positive economic impact to this country, providing a very large pool of hard working cheap labor..... they also pay sales tax..... and sometimes income tax if they have fake id.... so they do pay for some of the benefits they get from the state.... most however get no benefits from the state...
At the end of the day it will really does not mater how many immigration officiers you hire or how high you build the fences this country will become more brown.... it is simple demographics that will make the difference..... plus the strongest economy on the planet next to the some the poorest hispanic countries in the world.... America just better get use to it.... however, the racism will likely get worse.... good help us if we elect a racist president....
Adrew @ 21:
Agreed. I've been seeing the same thing from the Middle East. Not to mention China and Singapore have also been buying up banks. I think they are tired of having to buy U.S. debt and this sub prime crisis is speeding that up so they are buying up assets. Strategic assets at that.
Since when does Spanish speaking equal illegal immigrant?
If she's upset about recent immigrants still speaking their native language, she must be outraged at the 3rd-generation Polish still speaking Polish and reading a Polish-language newspaper like we have here in Buffalo.
What, she isn't?
jr @ 9:
Great site! How ironic that this should come out of Cold Spring Harbor where the infamously idiot savant James D. Watson was once President (and, may I brag, where my cousin got his phD).
First, let me give a heartfelt thanks to John Amato, for listening to my subtle hints and agreeing to a two-cent/word rate for me, beginning Jan 1st.
I'll finally be able to buy that second home I've been wanting, that the mortgage broker has been trying to sell me. I mean, who can go wrong, the terms are nothing down, a 1.1% interest loan, with interest-only payments. At two cents a word, I can make my house payments with only 3,055 words/day. If I write 20 hours/day, that's only 152 words per hour. Piece of cake. (I can panhandle the rest of my monthly nut)
I'm getting an illegal alien to front for me on the purchase, because of the tremendous tax breaks they get, plus knowing that if I get carpal tunnel, or something, I can always get State or Federal assistance in his name.
Look for a lot more frequent, and longer, posts from me. Maybe I shouldn't be swinging for a $1M second home, but what the hell, if I have a problem, I can always sell it for $2M, the appraised value, and buy something smaller.
By the way, I'm curious, I haven't noticed any of the rest of you thanking Mr. Amato for his generosity. Don't you think he deserves a pat on the back?
Let me get this straight:
The woman, when presented with an opportunity to ask a question of a presidential candidate, "...recalled a film about Mexicans who wanted to take over California and New Mexico..." (documentary, drama, docu-drama, mockumentary, who knows) in an effort to preface her actual question, which was to ask the candidate "...whether Americans could march in the streets of Mexico and demand welfare..." and share her frustrations when calling "The" Iowa power company.
The candidate replies that he agrees with the woman (!?!), that English should be the national language, and that the mortgage crisis can be partly attributed to the inability of immigrants to "...communicate with the people they were getting the mortgage from..." (which would, logically, be an argument for more multi-lingual instruction, rather than against it).
Can you say:
"Another poorly-conceived and obviously planted question."?
It's always important during election season to get everyone talking about how the people with the least amount of power and the least amount of resources are responsible for all of our ills. It takes attention away from the really big problems of society that can be laid at the feet of the rich and powerful.
Talk about how health care is expensive becuase of poor people who don't have it, while ignoring all of the issues raised by "Sicko" for example.
iiiiii've got a crush on jack thompson's racist-baiting... c'mon, sing along, ya'll knowyuh wanta...
I can't believe how contrary I'm sounding today:
C&L, are you falling for propaganda?
These words, ...and immigrants bear some of the blame for the home-loan crisis, are not the words of Thompson, but rather, are the words written by the LA Times staff writer, Finnegan.
Thompson only said, A lot of them couldn’t communicate with the people they were getting the mortgage from.
Not the same thing in my book.
My God, it seems to me that we have enough talking points to attack without inventing new ones. Stuff like this can set us up for disaster in 2008: nobody likes to be played for a fool.
Joe O. @ 31:
And to think that they are buying up our strategic assets with our more and more worthless dollars. Why don't we just hang a huge for sale sign on the White House lawn highlighted with neon lights. Oopps....... I forgot, our politicians are already spoken for by the highest bidder on K street. Silly me.
the so-called "immigration debate" is just a Republican wedge issue like gays were.....
the problem is the Republican party is split on this.... the big business part of the Republican party likes the illegal immigrants.... the white trash racist element does not.... they are also scared that they have entirely lost the hispanic vote which continues to grow in importance and which Bush actively courted...
Immigration as an issue is a lose-lose issue for the Republican party....
So, according to Fredrick of Hollywood, it's the immigrants fault that they didn't understand English well enough to realize that they were getting screwed in their mortgages. It's never corporate America's fault according to Repugs; it's always the consumers fault.
igor @ 4:
People laugh, but the Coast Guard has been given specific instructions not to interfere with the submarines flaunting the Star of David, that have been going up and down the West Coast, transporting illegal aliens from Tijuana, Ensenada, Puerto Vallarto to LA, San Francisco, Seattle.
It's rumored that they're about to start a second route, from Cancun, Acapulco, through the Gulf of Mexico, to Miami, Charleston, New York.
One of the ironies, is that they're refueling in Newport Beach, using an ExxonMobile credit card that's listed to their US foreign-aid account.
craig @ 32:
You can't tell if someone is Polish by their skin pigment so they don't count.
There are Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Atheist et . . . dismantling our republic right now . . . selling it piece by piece.
Religion gives sociopaths cover with the sheeple.
I wonder if actor Fred actually sat in front of a mirror, for countless hours, practicing that sh*t-eating grin?
Perhaps he should practice being less vain, and put on the glasses he needs, so he won't make such a ridiculous mistake again
Preacher Boob @ 45:
That grin comes when he thinks of his trophy wife's cans.
there is something criminally wrong with the entire gop. besides the pledge, do these assholes get a large spoon for the bush/cheney butt buffet?
RayC @ 46:
actually, that shit-eating-grin comes from thinking about larry craig's wide stance!!!!!
Avid Reader @ 44:
If your first statement is true, then who's buying, the Buddhists!?!
And if your second statement is true, how do you reconcile the actions of the Atheists in your first statement!?!
As a person who USED to live in California but was forced to move out to become a homeowner... I tell you the truth.
What drove up the prices of homes in California was DRUGS.
If a person sells drugs and becomes rich doing so, which is the highest paying job in SoCal.... then what do they do with the money?
They go to the neighborhoods where they want to expand their "base" of business and offer the sellers of modest homes 5 times their value to accept cash. Who would not sell a $100K home for $500K for cash? Well that kind of home selling not only opened up the drugs to each and every neighborhood in the state, it drove the cost of living so high to buy a home that the WORKERS were forced to go to their employers for raises over and over again.
The employers could not keep up with the glut in the payroll, so they MOVED OUT OF THE STATE. Thus, the economy has been broken by the DRUG DEALERS.
THAT IS THE TRUTH OF WHAT HAPPENED IN CALIFORNIA.
The Hispanic population there is a constant. They have been there for 300 years consistently and that is just an historic fact. In fact it is a historic fact for the entire American Southwest. This idea that we are a WHITE nation is a LIE LIE LIE
which is invented by the WHITE PEOPLE WHO GIVE YOU THIS WHITE HOUSE! ! ! ! !
So that is the truth if anyone wants to know.
And the origin of the drugs?
CIA.
Truth.
Like I said.
Fred who?
This is especially idiotic considering that illegal immigrants are about 10 times LESS likely to be in default on their mortgages than Americans generally.
Illegal immigrants can buy property and get mortgages in all 50 states. They are so good at paying their bills on time that most mortgage companies actively seek out illegals for lending. Yes, they take a few extra steps in verification when doing so, but that doesn't even come close to explaining the discrepancy. It appears that illegals simply have better work ethic and values than most over-borrowed Americans.
This also applies to credit card debt. Illegals as a demographic are among the best credit risks.
I wonder what Republican candidates will have to say about this!
http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2007/12/6651_coming_soon_to...
Why is Texas so f*cked up?
Rose @ 23:
Not as big as those who profit on the
War On Terrorwar for oil. Too many to list here. (Besides, everybody knows who they are anyway)Grampa Fred will say anything now. For all those who know what it takes to buy a home in the United States as you give to give your DNA to the bank or loan company for a home loan. Now is Grampa Fred going to say it was the immigrants fault that we illegally invaded Iraq to steal oil. Time for Grampa Fred to retire and take his stolen money and rest. I know the Middle East Leaders are laughing their asses off with the GOP candidates and they know Bush is a joke. Now Dick got played by the Middle East and the Generals have less respect by the soldiers then ever.
I know this should be obvious but "shameless" means "without shame"
Quick, Henry. the Flit!!!!!
(for you youngsters, Flit was a bugspray.)
I have "Freddie" hats, lined in tinfoil, they have a small DVD player attached to the back and the wearer can rotate the screen down and see every episode of everything ever taped of him, from the FT memorial dog (he won 1st in basset hound and they ended it out of shame, hence "memorial") show to "dancing with the infirm"
His response didn't even makes sense. Not that this is shocking or anything, I just don't see the point. The mortgage crisis is fueled by US citizens not being able to pay the escalating interest rates, not Mexicans. I would however, love to see his statistics.
Thjis guy is vomitous.. Doesn't he belong in a box or something? Another fine day in the United States of Xenophobia! Next up, the Iraq war and 9/11 are the fault of Mexican immigrants!
Oops, like Fred, I forgot to proofread!
Priceless ... and he looks like the grinch with eggnog bloat
Udon Nomee @ 49:
There are sociopaths of all different persuasions. They sell to each other . . . they bundle stuff up and sell it to you in your retirement accounts et . . .
dadams @ 47:
Remember 10 or 15 scandals back . . . Coke snorting bible thumping homosexual homophobes trying to pick up young boys in chat rooms.
Immigrants, legal and illegal are the republicans new blacks. Back when Nixon ran, the party became the party of the white men and used the fear and hatred that southern white males had of black people to win campaigns. Nothing has changed.
One of the reasons that the republican party is so successful is because it is the party of hatred and fear, and the marriage of the republican party to the "christian" religion (which is a blasphemy to Jesus) has been able to magnify that hatred and fear 10 fold. It has become acceptable for "christians" to hate. It is acceptable for "christians" to be angry and to go around looking for fights where none exist. (War on Christmas) "christians" have lost the message of Christ, and replaced it with the messages of hatred from Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, and the other hateful mean false prophets of the republican party.
Now the spanish speaking immigrants are the target of the republican hate group. It doesn't matter whether this hatred hurts the people who are spewing it or not. I read of one town that decided it was going to make life for its immigrant population so untenable that they would leave. Well, they did leave and along with them went a lot of business and now the town is suffering an economic downturn. The old addage of be careful what you ask for became real for this town.
thoes japalenos need to march on bush the boy god!
Avid Reader @ 63:
And again, where do atheists fit into that?
For fuck's sake, I have absolutely had it with this crap. "Everything is in Spanish"? EVERYTHING? You CAN'T speak English in Iowa anymore? Are you really saying that, you moron?
No. What you are saying is that it's "sickening" for you to have to think that there are ANY Spanish-speaking people out there. You're fucking pathetic and stupid. You have just proven that you do not deserve American citizenship. If I made the laws, I'd take it from you. My eight-year-old deals with not getting his way better than you do. And he's not all that great at it, I'll tell you.
I don't care how old you are; grow the fuck up.
Sorry. It had to be said. Or so I thought.
Rose @ 23:
Republicans like it that way.
Hate works for the republicans. It always has. Ignorant hateful people flock to the republicans for protection of whatever it is that they fear and hate. What is so funny, is how many of them think that they are christians.
Phillip @ 40:
Ding-ding-ding, a WINNER!
Repugs think that illegal immigration is their path to success in '08. Stay tuned for a Wylie Coyote-esque conclusion..
I didn't read every post so I apologize if this is a repeat of anything that came before, BUT, man do I miss Jon Stewart. I mean, the strike started right after Thompson entered the race and a bit before he started getting really bizarre because he saw he didn;t have a chance in hell at the nomination. The only joke I recall is JS talking about Fred and posting a picture of Frankenberry instead of fred. I about peed my shorts. The resemblance is striking!
So a big part of the mortgage disaster is loans to "illegals". Damn I didn't realize that the credit qualifications had slipped to that level. I guess I'll put my dog in for a sub-prime loan. Dead Fred the idiot child
Yeah, 73, I guess the lenders didn't think to ask for social security numbers for interest reporting purposes like they are REQUIRED TO DO!
Errr, make that Wile E. Coyote-esque.
LOL! Terrorists enter the country with legal means with visas and such and take up flight classes in Florida.
It would be easier for a terrorist to cross the Canadian border instead of the dangerous Mexican border.
US arms traffickers traffic their weapons to Canada just as Canadian drug traffickers traffic drugs to the US. The war on drugs and the war on arms trafficking is a big ass failure.
I find it funny when the GOP tries to tie Terrorists jumping the border via the more dangerous Mexican border to tie in with illegals.
All of this is just big hating on anything Spanish speaking and out right hate mongering with no bounds racsim
I am against illegal immigration. Though I don't think we should build a wall, or send (try to send) the 12 million plus illegals back to their countries of origin, I think they should be fined heavily, AND given an avenue to becoming legal citizens. I don't think a wall across the border is a good idea either.
I think blaming the illegals on the sub-prime mortgage crisis, is just plain ignorant. It's clearly the fault of the lenders, and the people wanting to buy a home that was outside their means...illegals have NOTHING to do with this...
On a side note...I heard a news program on NPR over the weekend, that illegal immigrants have a better record of making their mortgage payments than do Americans...I think that's kinda fucked up if it's true.
working hard to get the hispanic vote, eh fred?
With Fred as a prime example, it's clear we need as many new immigrants as possible to improve the American work ethos.
Keep at it GOPers!
Hispanics are the 2nd largest ethnicity in this country, and they will be *the* voting block most likely to neutralize the power of the Christian right wing electoral pandering machine in the next couple of decades.
So keep at it assholes, keep antagonizing these people and watch your party plunge into irrelevance. We can only hope!
Then again, Dems will surely find new and more creative ways to screw their political machine and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory yet again.
Anyhow, I always got a chuckle about people who have to hold for 20+ mins on the phone, and their main complain seems to be the 0.01 secs it took them to press 1 for English. The percentile of their time wasted is so low, yet that is what they feel most outraged about... the stupidity, and general bigotry among certain sectors of this society is so appalling as to make me ashamed of sharing the same piece of land with these assholes.
she wondered whether Americans could march in the streets of Mexico and demand welfare.
I guess this dumb bitch didn't bother to look and see why immigrants (from more countries them just Mexico) gave up a days pay to march on our streets. it sure wasn't to ask for welfare...it was to protest proposed legislation known as H.R. 4437, which would raise penalties for illegal immigration and classify unauthorized immigrants and anyone who helped them enter or remain in the US as felons. Just because they are looking for a better way of life and the Republicans don't want to share doesn't make them felons.
The stupidity of the Republican party just kills me (and millions of people for real).
oops I was still using my Joke Name from yesterday, sorry the one from O'Rielly's Dumb Ass was really mine, and I don't come from Bill'O-job's ass.
What an idiot.
I'm very sorry...let me rephrase that:
What a FUCKING idiot!
As a progessive Democrat I can only hope that all of the Republican candidates - whether for president, congress or the senate - will bless us with such monumental blunders of absolutely unbelievable stupidity. And it looks as though they are going to oblige us more than we could have ever possibly imagined. Mittens' daddy was marching with MLK,Jr., though he was a thousand miles away. Why, HE must have been who they based the comic-book hero The Flash on, because he was so fast he could be in two places at once, and Mittens saw it all because of his Magic Underwear. Huckabee wants to quarantine citizens while freeing convicted rapists/murderers and Giuliani hires the NYPD to clean up the poop of the dog walked by his hootchie mama. Ron Paul is a racist Nazi fuck who has fooled people because of his stance against the war, mainly because the money spent on Iraq would be better spent herding his political enemies into concentration camps (the guy is a fucking loony that makes Lyndon LaRouche look like FDR). McCain's head will explode once he has to answer any questions that don't have to do with his years as a VietCong prisoner, and will spend 95% of his time trying - vainly - to defend his support for President Dickhead and his policies. Duncan Hunter and Allen Keyes? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I've shit more viable presidential candidates.
So keep up the good work, boys. Now if the Dems could just get a spine, they could crush the Republican Party into powder. Inherent contempt, impeachment, investigations - wouldn't those be nice New Year's gifts to us?
Didn't the American taxpayer bail Neil Bush out of the Silverado Savings and Loan scandal to the tune of a billion dollars in the 1980's?
I giuss our tax dollars are only good for bailing out those who pay the least into the US Treasury.
Off to Quebec with her and her english-speaking friends!
O'Rielly's Dumb Ass @ 81:
The irony of it all, is that for the most part what it is now the South Western United States, were at some point North West Mexico. So in some senses, Americans not only walked on Mexican streets demanding welfare... but they went a step further and took the whole thing right out.
It is obvious that these crusty old White folk are not of the opinion that what is good for the goose must also be good for the gander.
The formula is simple: Republicans have to have someone to hate. It isn't about solving problems or making government work better. It's about scapegoating a relatively unpowerful element of the population in order to play on the fears of those who have more. Without this tactic, Republicans would *NEVER* win an election. They simply have no ideas.
Joe O. @ 17:
Shades of the S&L disaster.
Part of the reason we pay tax dollars is to have open, transparent, and fair financial markets. Time and again the big money players are allowed to make their own rules and rig the system in their favor.
Terrible @ 22:
Do you mean like bush?
I heard Dennis Kucinich speak to a spanish (mexican?) lady using her language.
WOW, he was quite impressive.
RayC @ 46:
I think he grins like that whenever he fills his pants...
My, My, my. This particular topic always seems to bring out the best in us. Don't mean to change the subject, but in the same ball park as open boarders, does anyone find it even remotely interesting that with such pourous boarders the big bad terrorists haven't attacked again in over six years? It would be laughable to think that this administration might have gotten something right after creating a totally new industry in our country to replace our manufacturing base called Father Land Security...oops, I mean Home Land Security where everyone gets to spy on their neighbor and as a country we look more and more like a show from the Twilight Zone. Oh! look over there! A shopping bag that's unattended. Let's spend $65,000 for a Swat team and bomb sniffing dogs to tell us it was just a bag of someones vomit left over from yesterdays Christmas celebrations. This country and the people running it are getting really pathetic.
As much as I hate to admit it, Thompson is right. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has been giving monies to illegals to build homes as well as other tax-payer's services. Here in OKC, OK, I saw a business the other day who called themselves the 'Immigrant's Bankruptcy Service'. Now if that ain't a kick in the pants, I don't know what is. Isn't that a contradiction in terms? They took away the bankruptcy option from American citizens and gave it to ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS???? This is a crime...
Sure, they can, because they're not fascists like you.
Yeah, why should people who pay taxes for the same service as you have someone to help them in their native language?
So if they can't communicate, doesn't that technically make the loaner responsible for exploiting them?
The bad actor, fred, is a total tool of the right wing machine - just as reagan was in his time. The man is dangerously stupid, lazy, and even more incurious than bush (and that is scary as hell). Look up moron in dictionary, and there will be his picture.
Nancy @ 92:
No, Nancy, he's not. In spite of your desire to believe it, English comprehension is not a root cause of the credit crisis.
Uh... Nancy (#92).... where does your Oklahoma business say "illegal"? What part of bankruptcy law don't you understand? If a law firm choses to sell its services to immigrants (or even in a minority language -- say Choctaw, which you Okies should learn, being the native language of the place), how is that costing the taxpayer's money?
The only qualification required to get a mortgage this past 7 years is a pulse.
Unfortunately no one was required to read the fine print.
What will the Reich Wing stoop to next? Here is a partial list:
"It's the Christian's fault"
"It's the rock stars fault"
"It's the Muslim's fault"
"It's Russia's fault"
"It's China's fault"
"It's Bill and Hillary Clinton's fault"
"It's Hollywood's fault"
liberalNmoderation @ 77:
The NPR story is here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17597739
I heard the same story. It was surprising I must say. Even us liberal minded individuals hold certain prejudices. It's hard to shake sometimes.
Nancy @ 92:
The crime there is that they took the bankruptcy option away from American citizens, not that the option was opened to undocumented workers. I don't understand this "they took it from us and gave it to them" mentality. Let's stop fighting like spoiled children over who should get the crumbs when people who don't deserve it get to eat the entire pie.
scape goat issues to make you forget that your country is being run by Haliburton, Chevron, Texaco, Exxon, GM, HMOs and the Military Industrial Complex.
Gay Marriage, Abortion and Illegals are fake issues drummed up to make you forget about reality. The reality that Dick Chenney is running your country for the special interests that he works for.
Illegal Immigration is distraction issue to make your forget the bigger problems.
Debate debate debate, this is all strategy by the dark lord of the sith Dick Chenney to extend the grips of the dark side beyound his years after he leaves office and returns to Haliburton to swim in a pool of cash
Funny, I blame Fred Thompson for all of my financial problems.
FRED THOMPSON is the best person to lead this country. He is a true conservative and has been his entire life. All one has to do is check his record to see this.
During my time in the Army as an Intelligence Analyst, I served under both Presidents Carter and Reagan (as my commanders in chief). Without argument, President Reagan was the best commander-in-chief a military person could ever have served under. Fred Thompson possesses the same qualities and vision as President Reagan in that he is strong on national defense and sees a dire need to secure our borders and control immigration.
I can think of no better person to lead this country and fix the problems we have. He is the only candidate from either party who has specific and detailed plans on border security and immigration reform; revitalization of America’s armed forces; saving and protecting Social Security; and tax relief and economic growth. These are detailed on his Web site at www.fred08.com . I challenge you to find any other candidate who has laid out specific plans to fix anything.
Fred Thompson has published his first principles, some of which are mentioned above. In addition to those, he strongly believes in individual liberty, personal responsibility, limited government, federalism, traditional American values, the rule of law and is a strong proponent of the Second Amendment — all concepts established during the birth of our country and documented in our Constitution.
Again, try to find any candidate who has laid out their plans to “fix” this country. You will find they all speak in vague and abstract terms on their plans.
For those who have heard Fred Thompson speak, you will usually hear him say that the Fred Thompson you see today is the same Fred Thompson you saw yesterday and is the same Fred Thompson you will see tomorrow. He stands by his principles and values and doesn’t shift his positions based on polls or public opinion; in other words, he doesn’t say what the voters want to hear just to get elected, but remains steadfast on his views and convictions.
During his time in the Senate he focused on three areas: to lower taxes, strengthen national security and expose waste in the federal government. Fred Thompson has foreign policy experience, having served as member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Senate Intelligence committees.
As chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, he opened the investigation in 1997 on the Chinese government’s attempt to influence American policies and elections, and this investigation identified connections with the Clinton administration (documented in the committee’s report).
As a member of the Finance Committee, he worked tirelessly to enact three major tax-cut bills. Fred Thompson remains steadfast and even though a person may not agree with all his views and he understands some may disagree with him, you can count on him to be consistent and unwavering.
Don’t be fooled by his laid back approach and what critics call his “laziness.” As a former assistant U.S. attorney, he earned a reputation as a tough prosecutor and he possesses the toughness this country needs in order to tackle today’s and tomorrow’s issues.
I ask that you take a hard look at what this country needs, then take a hard look at all the other candidates’ views, policies, their records and their track record on consistency. Fred Thompson possesses integrity, loyalty, commitment, energy and decisiveness, all traits of an effective leader, and will emerge as the best person to take this country boldly forward.
Please help Fred win in Iowa:
https://www.fred08.com/contribute.aspx?RefererID=c637caaa-315c-4b4c-9967...
That "Frederick Paxson" post just gave me the hives.
I'm allergic to bullshit.
the foreclosure rate is lowest amongst... wait for it.... illegal aliens! As a group, they pay their bills, especially mortgages better than almost any other group. The lenders are bending over backwards to get them mortgages, because they rarely default.
Nancy @ 92:
Nancy,
Please point out exactly where in the Bankruptcy Bill they distinguish between legal and illegal residents. I would surely love to see this specific portion that disallows bankruptcy in any case with being illegally in the US as an exeption to that case. In order for your point to have even remotely made sense, this should be no problem.
Marketing wasn't your major, was it?
Illegal Mexican Immigrants are the Republican Party's Jews.
Stay tuned for breaking news on how they breed like vermin... :?
I'm impressed Fred Paxson can cut & paste so well. CONSIDER ME A SWAYED VOTER!!!11
Wait a minute! It's been a while since I've been to a real estate closing, but don't the purchasers and sellers have to provide information for the IRS - social security numbers for example. How the fuck can illegals be buying homes, Fred? You wanna elaborate on that one?? This guy becomes more and more of a buffoon everyday. At least they could hide Ronny Reagan's stupidy (for a brief while, anyway).
That's "stupidity" Tucking Fypos!
gene214 @ 110:
Yes, when I last checked, you had to show income, tax returns, assets, employment and many other items to show that you could repay the loan. I find it interesting that people without legal employment, no assets, no legal income as well as probably little to no credit are the cause of the mortgage problem. Most, if not all illegals rent. I doubt a realtor would even bother with them if they didn't pre-qualify.
One more thing: If senile old bats like this Janice Easley person think illegal Mexicans are the problem, just wait until the Russians, Chinese, Indians start buying up property at fire sale prices here in the States. Between the mortgage crisis and the Dollar in free fall thanks in no small part to our GOP President's absolutely moronic foreign and economic policies , real estate in the US will be gobbled up in no time. I hope Easley ends up with some Russian mob thug as a landlord.
Fred Thompson - Bringin' Senility back
When Iowans call up the power company, she said, "everything is in Spanish; it's sickening."
For the benefit of Ms. Easley, who seems to be challenged by her telephone. It works like this m'am: (I'll say it slowly) PRESS 1 FOR ENGLISH PRESS 2 FOR SPANISH. I can only assume it's the math involved that's tripping her up.
ashton @ 112:
There were a whole class of instruments called "No Doc's" that started circulating around 2001-2.
They did not require anything more than a clean credit record and proof of a job.
I saw those and knew right then that this was going to be a fiasco.
But you DID have to be a US citizen to qualify for those.
The people who are the problem are also the victims at this point - these are people who wanted the American Dream™ as sold to them all their lives and were convinced that these types of loans could get it for them even though there was no way in hell they could
a) qualify for a real loan,
b) afford the home they just purchased given their income level,
c) ever hope to make the payments after the loan reset and they actually had to pay the principal.
There were some who benefited, the ones these loans were meant for: the investors.
If you took a loan like this you were SUPPOSED to get in, do a quick improvement and flip the property for profit.
Most people however are not all that educated and instead used them to buy their primary homes.
Don't get me wrong here, house flipping is vile and wrong and it was this more than anything that caused the home prices to balloon beyond the average persons reach like they have.
But the crisis itself is because of the people who didn't think before they went for it (who are now the victims of it), and the loan offices who's prime motivation was to bundle these instruments into bonds and sell them for profit (the main benefactors if this nightmare).
Fred Thompson is not intelligent enough to understand this even if it were explained to him, and I am of the mind that it is also way above the heads of the average American as well.
Was the movie she was talking about "Wild Wild West"? Did she also ask Fred's opinion on Giant Mechanical Spiders?
If interested in what the Sub-Prime fiasco is really all about, especially you Chris from Americablog, a full accounting can be found that was just posted a few miutes ago at www.worldreports.org
I would advise all who hold a mortgage that either has reset its interest rate or is going to reset in 2008, to contact an attorney and do exactly what those mortgage holders in Ohio did.....and won their case!
This is what the bought and paid for MSM in our country has kept from you for years and why the entire system is going to collapse in on itself.
Bitter Scribe @ 7:
How will he ever break the news to the Thompson Twins? After all, she was so counting on becoming first lady.
Frederick Paxson @ 103:
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You've gotta be fucking kidding us, right?? Somebody out there tell me that Paxson is posting satire - please!! Fred Paxson - intelligent analcyst.
I just shit a turd and it had more knowledge than this old, sad oxygen thief. He is a perfect candidate for euthanasia!!! He looks dead.
No, no, no!
Here is the REAL reason behind the subprime mortgage crisis! ;)
http://pttbt.ca/2007/12/06/subprime-monopoly-a-christmas-treat.html
Nancy @ 92:
At least be troll enough to say what you feel: "as much as I LOVE to admit it, Thompson is right..."
I hate people who try to play things with: "I am not a racist but those damn #$!# " or "I am open minded but those damn #$#@$@# ".... All in the name to excuse their own bigotry and indefensible positions by trying to pretend they are something they are not.
PS. Obviously you have never tried to apply for a loan w/o a social security and a proof of employment, eh? So let's stop making shit up, shall we?
those damn people....just where do they think they are.....
Blue Buddha @ 12:
Meaning?
www.worldreports.org
www.worldreports.org
APPENDIX A:
Deutsche Bank Foreclosures tossed out of Ohio United States District Court:
“They owe nothing”: Thursday, 15 November 2007. Judge Christopher A. Boyko of the Eastern Ohio United States District Court, on October 31, 2007, dismissed 14 Deutsche Bank-filed foreclosures in a ruling based on lack of standing for not owning/holding the mortgage loan at the time the lawsuits were filed. Judge Bokyo issued an order requiring the Plaintiffs in a number of pending foreclosure cases to file a copy of the executed Assignment demonstrating [that] Plaintiff (Deutsche Bank) was the holder and owner of the Note and Mortgage as of the date the Complaint was filed, or the Court would enter a dismissal.
The Court’s amended General Order No. 2006-16 requires Plaintiff (Deutsche Bank) to submit an Affidavit along with the complaint, which identifies Plaintiff as the original mortgage holder, or as an assignee, trustee, or successor-interest. Apparently Deutsche Bank submitted several Affidavits that claim that Deutsche Bank was in fact the owner of the mortgage Note, but none of these Affidavits mention assignment or trust or successor-interest. Thus, the Judge ruled that in every instance, these submissions create a “conflict” and they “do not satisfy” the burden of demonstrating at the time of filing the complaint, that Deutsche Bank was in fact the “legal” Note holder. While the decision is great for homeowners in distress (due to providing a new escape hatch out of foreclosure), it is a bblow to the cause of sorting out the high-finance side of the mortgage mess. Jacksonville Area Legal Aid Attorney, April Charney, made these comments in regard to the Ohio Federal Court Ruling:
This Court Order is what I have been saying in my cases. This is rampant fraud on every Court in America, or nonjudicial foreclosure fraud where the securitized trusts are filing foreclosures when they never own/hold the mortgage loan at the commencement of the foreclosure’.‘That means that the loans are clearly in default at the time of any eventual transfer of the ownership of the mortgage loans to the trusts. This means that the loans are being held by the originating lenders after the alleged ‘sale’ to the trust, despite what it says per the pooling and servicing agreements and despite what the securities laws require’. This means that many securitized trusts don’t really, legally, own these bad loans’.‘In my cases, many of the trusts try to argue equitable assignment that predates the filing of the foreclosure, but a securitized trust cannot take an equitable assignment of a mortgage loan. It also means that the securitized trusts own nothing’.‘So, with this decision, it appears confirmed that investors in the mortgage débacle may in fact own nothing – not even the bad loans that they funded. It seems that their right to the cash flow from the underlying properties does not extend to ownership of the properties themselves, thus clouding the recovery picture considerably’.
April Charney further remarked:
‘This opinion, once circulated and adopted by State and Federal Courts across the country, will stop the progress of foreclosures, at first in judicial foreclosure states, across America, dead in their tracks’.
mudshark @ 124:
sarcasm switch /ON...
Bill Chambers @ 125:
Meaning: "I feel your pain."
gene214 @ 120:
If Thompson has always stayed the same, and not changed, his diaper must be a load. Is that why he has that expression? Some one should change him, why not you?
Why do you insist on erroneously calling it immigration? It's ILLEGAL ENTRY.
Rucka @ 105:
They're still illegal.
Marge @ 20:
Sam Waterston's character (Jack McCoy) got promoted to District Attorney, so you might be right in Law and Order knowing how to quit Frederick of Hollywood.
And Janice Easler is another reich-wing nut bag who, as a woman, probably knows her place. /snark
kaT @ 131:
No, they're not. People are not illegal; acts are. If those who fume about "illegals" could be made to understand that distinction, then maybe we could begin to have a constructive debate on what to do about those who commit the act of entering this country illegally.
kaT @ 130:
Why do you insist on calling it 'illegal entry'? It's ILLEGAL EMPLOYMENT.
Preacher Boob!
Your true colors show!
Defending another Repug besides RP?
And after all the denials of being a Repug shill trying to sell RP on an earlier thread even.
Don't feel alone though, you RP bot/Repug trolls are slipping on the Hillary thread as well. You are the 3rd to blow your cover this evening.
It was always a matter of time before you guys blew it.
Associating illegal immigrants with big shitpile isn't so new. It seems to be the standard line among a certain group of Orange County Republicans, one of whom I heard on the phone spouting it at the Doughy Pantload the last time I saw him on C-Span, had to be a month ago.
Mexicans who wanted to take over California and New Mexico?
Could it be they want THEIR land back?
Hey, I can't stand all the Tancredo-type nativists and close-the-border xenophobes who are haranguing immigration to death, but I certainly don't want to call up a utility or other American-based company and hear Spanish as the primary language on the other end of the line.
Apply that same logic while visiting another country. Do you expect to hear English as the first language in, say, France? Italy?
I'm open to persuasion on this admittedly visceral feeling.
Medical Diagnosis by Video @ 137:
THEIR land they stole from the Amerinds?
Udon Nomee @ 134:
Why be euphemistic, call it like it is, illegal alien invasion.
Unfortunately ol' Fred isn't too far off the mark. I live in California and know people who deal in real estate. Many people of all race and origin jumped into these loans not understanding them. It just happens a whole lot of them were taken advantage of due to the lack of English skills by ethic-less a-holes. I think (actually just hope) the point he may be alluding to is that having so many illegal immigrants affects housing.
Trust me- If there were no illegal immigrants in California my rent would be much lower due to availability of property. Just happens many who live here who do not master English or read their contracts with a lawyer before they got screwed by their loans. That goes for "Americans" and Mexicans
The above statement does not even come close to any kind of endorsment , Kucinich for me, but an observation that does directly relates to sustaining the lives of my family and achieving the American dream.
Preacher Boob @ 140:
(OK. You all see this, right!?! I mean, he asked for it, right!?!)
Please, if you are going to use words you don't understand, do it among those who are as easily befuddled by them as you are.
One cannot be euphemistic, and one does not "...call it like it is..." by employing lame, made-up euphemistic references in an attempt to over-simplify concepts that are already pretty damn simple.
Thanks for playing, though.
And here I thought it was the Escalade driving (it's the 00's after all) welfare queens that were responsible. I guess I never appreciated just how ruinous the immigrants are to our economy. Thanks, Fred.
Do you ever get the feeling that these guys would burn a cross if they thought it would get them the nomination?
kaT @ 130:
Well, immigration is the more accurate word. Immigration is merely moving into a foreign country to live permanently. Some people merely migrate to the US in search of work, but with no intention of living here permanently. Some enter illegally. Some enter legally, but stay and continue to live here and work here illegally (employed illegally by citizens, mind you). Many immigrants are here legally, believe it or not! Many immigrants of whatever status, probably a majority, are not Spanish speakers, yet many are more adept at their native languages than they are with English.
The US clearly depends on all immigration for its economy. Perhaps the US needs to change the laws so that all immigration needed for the economy is legal. Maybe the borders should be open and people should be free to come and go. If you're a free market believer, like the right wingers (including Ron Paul), that should appeal to you, right?
People having simple minded, bumper sticker views of immigration is a problem that must be overcome in order to deal with immigration policy.
As I recall the conservative view on the immigration "crisis" stems from aborting too many babies from poor families who would be just as willing to do the same crap jobs for the same crap wages as illegals. But, according to Bill Bennet, aborting black babies is okay, then crime would go down.
Immigration is an issue, but we have bigger criminals in the White House to take care of first, and illegal or not, we are referring to human beings who are trying to provide for themselves and their families. It's the government of Mexico causing the problem, and we have facilitated it to this level all willingly in the name of cheap labor and capitalism. You reap what you sow.
Bardia @ 99:
True indeed. A sad state of affairs. What happened to work ethic this country used to have? Hell for that matter...what happened to ethics?
Slightly off subject. I live in south florida. LOTS of immigrants. Mostly Cubans, who once they set foot on land (wet foot/dry foot policy) they can stay. But Haitians, no way, they get deported back to Haiti immediately. I think it's unfair to give one group of immgrants/refugees preferential treatment over another group. (Not sure why that is)
And as for language, I think it's the duty of every American to learn as many languages as possible, encourage your kids to do the same. Speaking only one language can be a severe handicap in business, and in life. At the same time, immigrants (illegal or not) should learn to speak English in order to assimilate more easily into our society. This country benefits greatly from immigrants. Though sometimes the transition can be somewhat rough.
Edwin @ 26:
Thompson is only half right, the real problem is with Corporate America.
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/may2007/110507abovethelaw.htm
http://www.google.com/custom?domains=www.prisonplanet.com&q=Bank+of+Amer...
Thompson, like many Americans, bashes illegal immigrants while ignoring the fact that their existence kept the price of new home construction, home improvement, landscaping etc. significantly lower than if only citizens were employed. Why not turn your outrage on employers?
opus @ 146:
While Bill Bennet is a jackass, and drawing a hypothetical connection between aborting the babies of any ethnic group and crime rates is is not only intellectually lazy, but morally reprehensible, he never said that aborting black babies is "okay".
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