MAXINE WATERS: ‘GANGSTER’ BANKS MUST MODIFY LOANS OR ‘WE’RE GONNA TAX THEM OUT OF EXISTENCE’

While speaking at a Los Angeles Town Hall event recently, Rep. Maxine Waters introduced an interesting idea when it comes to banks and loan modification. According to her, it’s up to the federal government to make sure people can afford their mortgages. So much so that it’s time the president “bring the gangsters in, put them around the table, and let them know that if they don’t come up with loan modifications and keep people in their homes, that they’ve worked so hard for, we’re gonna tax them out of business.”

Watch the video below:

Video:  Maxine Waters wants Obama to use extortion

On radio Thursday, Glenn Beck called the comments “extremely dangerous” and said it could be a setup for ultimate government control. Still, he did speak out against crony capitalism — including banks that exploit loopholes — and special interests.

Encore! Obama repeats appearance on 'most corrupt' list

OBAMA WATCH CENTRAL

Encore! Obama repeats appearance on 'most corrupt' list…  Joined by Boxer, Emanuel, Ensign, Pelosi, Rangel, Waters

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Posted: December 18, 2010
9:55 pm Eastern

By Bob Unruh
© 2010 WorldNetDaily

Barack Obama has been encored on the "Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians" for 2010, a list published annually by the a Washington-based organization that focuses on transparency, accountability and integrity in the government, politics and law of the United States.

"Remember the promise President Obama made just after his inauguration in 2009? 'Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency,'" said Judicial Watch in today's announcement.

"Instead, Americans have suffered through lies, stonewalling, cover-ups, corruption, secrecy, scandal and blatant disregard for the rule of law … this has been the Obama legacy in its first two years."

The full list, in alphabetical order, names: Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.; Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel; Sen. John Ensign, R-N.V.; Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.; Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., D-Ill.; Barack Obama, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y.; Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky.; and Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif.

About Obama, the report said he was "caught in a lie" over what he knew about Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's "scheme to sell the president's vacated Senate seat."

The report explained, "Blagojevich's former Chief of Staff John Harris testified that Obama had personal knowledge of Blago's plot to obtain a presidential cabinet position in exchange for appointing a candidate handpicked by the president. In fact, according to Harris's court testimony, Obama sent Blagojevich a list of 'acceptable' Senate candidates to fill his old seat. Obama was interviewed by the FBI even before he was sworn into office. He claimed he and his staff had no contact with Blagojevich's office."

The White House did not respond to a WND request for comment.

According to Judicial Watch, "Unfortunately federal prosecutors never called the president or his staff to testify under oath."

Further, Obama broke "his famous pledge to televise health-care negotiations."

"In 2010, we learned why he broke his pledge. In what is now known as the 'Cornhusker Kickback' scheme, Obama and the Democrats in the Senate 'purchased' the vote of one of the last Democrat hold-outs, Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson, who opposed Obamacare over the issue of covering abortions with taxpayer funds," the report said.

"Nelson abandoned his opposition to Obamacare after receiving millions of dollars in federal aid for his home state, helping to give the Democrats the 60 votes they needed to overcome a Republican filibuster. Same goes for Louisiana Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu, who received a $100 million payoff in what has been called 'The Louisiana Purchase.' (The Kickback was so corrupt that Democrats stripped it out at the last minute. The Louisiana Purchase, on the other hand, became law of the land.)" the report said.

"Obama lied about his White House's involvement in this legislative bribery that helped lead to the passage of the signature policy achievement of his presidency," the report said.

Founded in 1994, Judicial Watch describes itself as a constitutionally conservative, nonpartisan education foundation that promotes transparency, accountability and integrity in government, politics and the law."

The other celebrities "honored" on the list:

• Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. – who, it appears, "still needs an ethics lesson," the report said. She's chair of the Senate Select Committee on Ethics, and presided over a year-long investigation into the "preferential treatment" Sens. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and Kent Conrad, D-N.D., may have gotten from Countrywide Financial. Senate rules prohibit members from getting loan terms not available to the general public, Judicial Watch said.
  "The evidence clearly showed that Dodd and Conrad knew they were receiving preferential treatment despite repeated denials. Yet Boxer's Senate Ethics Committee allowed Dodd and Conrad to wriggle off the hook with a light admonition that suggested the two senators should have exercised better judgment.
  But that's not all, the report said. "Boxer failed to mention (or disclose on her official Senate Financial Disclosure documents) that she and her husband have signed no less than seven mortgages with Countrywide! At the time of the hearing, Boxer reportedly indicated she had paid off two Countrywide mortgages, but did not mention the others.
• Former Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel – who "didn't earn the nickname 'Rahmbo' for being a mild-mannered shrinking violet," Judicial Watch said. Among his issues cited: He served as Bill Clinton's chief money-man when the Clinton campaign was "corrupted by foreign money." He was a "ruthless political combatant" in defending Clinton in the Lewinsky scandal. He allegedly interfered with Senate elections in Pennsylvania and Colorado by offering federal appointments to Rep. Joe Sestak and Andrew Romanoff and participated "in the Blagojevich scandal."
  "According to sworn testimony during the 'Blago' trial, Emanuel served as Obama's chief negotiator with the Blagojevich team as the former Illinois governor attempted to illegally sell Obama's former Senate seat to the highest bidder. Unfortunately, the federal prosecutor cut short the case against Blagojevich and Emanuel and other Obama insiders were never called to testify," Judicial Watch reported.
  And, regarding the elections, "Sestak and Romanoff were not Obama's favored candidates, so Emanuel and Messina apparently attempted to unlawfully persuade them to abandon their campaigns.
  "Emanuel left the White House under an ethical cloud and has decided to throw his hat in the ring for mayor of Chicago, where he again stands accused of ignoring the rules and violating the law regarding candidate residency requirements," the report said.
• Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev. – publicly admitted an affair with the wife of a staff member, and evidence "indicates" he tried to cover up his shenanigans "by bribing the couple with lucrative gifts and political favors," Judicial Watch said.

  The New York Times said, JW reported, that, "Payments of $96,000 to the Hamptons also were made by Sen. Ensign's parents, who insist this was a gift, not hush money. Once a lobbying job was secured, Senator Ensign and his chief of staff continued to help [Doug] Hampton, advocating his clients' cases directly with federal agencies."
  But Judicial Watch reported not only did the lobbying apparently violate Senate rules, the "$96,000 in 'gifts' provided to the Hamptons were clearly hush payments."

• Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. – Where to start? He allegedly "intervened" for Rep. Waters on behalf of hishome-state OneUnited Bank to get Troubled Asset Relief Program money, and "to this day, Barney Frnak continues to defend his role in the meltdown of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, saying he was just as blindsided as the rest of America when the two government sponsored enterprises collapsed, triggering the financial crisis."
  But the report said The Boston Globe documented that Frank should have known.
  "Frank wasn't wrong," said Judicial Watch. "He was just lying through his teeth. Frank claims that he 'missed' the warning signs with Fannie and Freddie because he was wearing 'ideological blinders,' which was just his lame attempt to blame Republicans. But he did not miss them. According to evidence uncovered by Judicial Watch, he just chose to ignore them," the report said.
• Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill. – was described by the Chicago Sun-Times as directing "a major political fundraiser to offer former Gov. Rod Blagojevich millions of dollars in campaign cash in return for an appointment to the U.S. Senate." Judicial Watch said while "Blago" was convicted on one of 24 charges related to the scheme, it is Jackson "who should be on the hot-seat."
  "According to Jackson's fundraiser, Raghuveer Nayak, the Illinois congressman asked him to offer not $1.5 million, but a whopping $6 million in campaign cash to Blagojevich to secure the Senate seat!" Judicial Watch said. "In addition to his corrupt deal-making, in 2010 Jackson was also nailed for conducting an improper and potentially criminal relationship with a female 'social acquaintance.'"

  

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. – Judicial Watch said "Air Pelosi" now is grounded.
  "Judicial Watch uncovered documents back in 2009 detailing attempts by Pentagon staff to accommodate Pelosi's numerous requests for military escorts and military aircraft for herself and her family as well as the speaker's 11th-hour cancellations and changes. In 2010, Judicial Watch kept the pressure on Pelosi, uncovering documents that demonstrated the speaker was using U.S. Air Force aircraft as her own personal party planes. Overall, the speaker's military travel cost the United States Air Force $2,100,744.59 over a two-year period — $101,429.14 of which was for in-flight expenses, including food and alcohol," the report said.
  Among the purchases were Johnny Walker Red scotch, Grey Goose vodka, E&J brandy, Bailey's Irish Cream, Maker's Mark whisky, Courvoisier cognac, Bacardi Light rum, Jim Beam whiskey, Beefeater gin, Dewar's scotch, Bombay Sapphire gin, Jack Daniels whiskey, Corona beer and several bottles of wine.
  "Moreover, Pelosi also abused the rules by allowing members of her family to join her on taxpayer-funded Air Force flights. For example, on June 20, 2009, Speaker Pelosi's daughter, son-in-law and two grandsons joined a flight from Andrews Air Force Base to San Francisco International Airport. That flight included $143 for on-flight expenses for food and other items. On July 2, 2010, Pelosi took her grandson on a flight from Andrews Air Force Base to Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California, which is northeast of San Francisco," the report said.
• Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., – Earlier this month the U.S. House voted 333-79 to "censure" Rangel, which, the report said, is next to expulsion as the most serious sanction that can be taken. Judicial Watch said Rangel's ethics violations included forgetting to pay taxes on $75,000 in rental income, misusing his congressional office to raise money for his private center, misusing his residentially zoned Harlem apartment as a campaign headquarters and failing to report $600,000 in income.

  "It is worth noting that the [House] committee did not consider other serious corruption charges against Rangel. For example, it has been alleged that Rangel preserved a tax loophole for an oil company in exchange for a Rangel Center donation. The committee also did not consider the charge that Rangel used improper influence to maintain ownership of his highly coveted rent-controlled apartment – the same apartment he improperly used for campaign activities," Judicial Watch said.

  "As this is Washington, politicians of both parties will pretend that censure is a serious punishment. But it is a 'punishment' that simply requires Rangel to come to the well of the House and hear a disapproving statement read by lame-duck House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In the real world, you get fired or thrown in jail for abusing your office and not paying your taxes," the report said.

• Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky. – Judicial Watch said Rogers, even though the 2010 election focused on cutting government spending, was named chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and according to ABC, "In two years, Rogers pushed through 135 earmarks worth $246 million. He's brought tens of millions of dollars into his hometown of Somerset, Ky., so much so that the town has been dubbed 'Mr. Rogers' neighborhood.'" Judicial Watch said those earmarks included $17 million for an airport that is so disused the last commercial airline pulled out in February [2010].
  Other expenditures he sought included $5 million for a Namibia-based group that employs his daughter.
• Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif. – The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (known informally as the House Ethics Committee) plans to hold hearings on Waters, according to the AP, on allegations "Waters broke the rules in requesting federal help for a bank where her husband owned stock and had served on the board of directors."
  Judicial Watch has investigated the Waters/OneUnited Bank scandal for months. In fact, JW successfully sued the Obama Treasury Department to get documents and obtained explosive e-mails from the Treasury that provide documented evidence to support the charges against Waters.
• It also reported a lobbyist reportedly paid Waters' husband $15,000 in consulting fees at the time she was co-sponsoring legislation that would help save a client.

Judicial reported among those listed on the "most wanted" list in earlier years was former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, later sentenced to nearly six years in prison for a fraudulent casino deal.

Another individual previously cited was former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, who recently was convicted of funneling corporate money to Texas candidates. He's planning an appeal.

A third is Dodd, who announced he would not run for re-election and as of January, will be out of office.

The 2009 list included Dodd, Obama, Frank, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Attorney General Eric Holder, Pelosi, Rep. John Murtha, Ensign, Jackson and Rangel.

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Bob Unruh is a news editor for WorldNetDaily.com.

At Least We Can Agree On Something!

Obama's 47 Percent Approval Lowest of Any President at This Point

President Obama's job approval rating has fallen to 47 percent in the latest Gallup poll, the lowest ever recorded for any president at this point in his term.

Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and even Richard Nixon all had higher approval ratings 10-and-a-half months into their presidencies. Obama's immediate predecessor, President George W. Bush, had an approval rating of 86 percent, or 39 points higher than Obama at this stage. Bush's support came shortly after he launched the war in Afghanistan in response to the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said he doesn't "put a lot of stock" in the survey by Gallup, which has conducted presidential approval polls since 1938, longer than any other organization.

"If I was a heart patient and Gallup was my EKG, I'd visit my doctor," Gibbs said in response to questions from Fox. "I'm sure a six-year-old with a Crayon could do something not unlike that. I don't put a lot of stake in, never have, in the EKG that is daily Gallup trend. I don't pay a lot of attention to the meaninglessness of it."

Gallup Editor-in-Chief Frank Newport responded: "Gibbs said that if Gallup were his EKG, he would visit his doctor. Well, I think the doctor might ask him what's going on in his life that would cause his EKG to be fluctuating so much. There is, in fact, a lot going on at the moment -- the health care bill, the jobs summit, the Copenhagen climate conference and Afghanistan."

The new low comes as Obama struggles to overhaul the nation's health care system and escalates America's involvement in the Afghanistan war. He is also presiding over a deep and prolonged recession, with unemployment at 10 percent.

"There's no doubt Obama's 47 percent is mainly a result of the continuing bad economy," said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. "But there is also a growing concern about government spending and debt, and a sense that Obama is trying to do too much, too soon."

He added: "President Obama has reason to be concerned about his ratings. Even in tough times, presidents have usually been able to stay above the critical 50 percent mark in the first year, when the public is most inclined to give the new incumbent the benefit of the doubt."

Obama officials have not always shown disdain for Gallup. During last year's presidential campaign, Obama adviser David Plouffe, trumpeted "the latest Gallup poll" to reporters because it showed that 53 percent of Americans did not find Obama Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, "trustworthy."

When Gallup began taking presidential approval polls 71 years ago, Franklin Roosevelt had been president for more than five years. During his remaining time in office, his job approval rating never fell below 48 percent.

The next 11 presidents, both Democrats and Republicans, all had higher job approval ratings than Obama at this stage of their tenure. Their ratings were:

-- George W. Bush, 86 percent
-- Bill Clinton, 52 percent
-- George H.W. Bush, 71 percent
-- Ronald Reagan, 49 percent
-- Jimmy Carter, 57 percent
-- Gerald Ford, 52 percent
-- Richard Nixon, 59 percent
-- Lyndon Johnson, 74 percent
-- John Kennedy, 77 percent
-- Dwight Eisenhower, 69 percent
-- Harry Truman, 49 percent

The poll is an average of a three-day tracking of 1,529 adults taken Dec. 4-6. It has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

By Bill Sammon - - FOXNews.com

Latest polls show Obama’s approval at below 50% (varying between 46 and 50% this week); number of people who identify themselves as Conservatives as between 43% and 51%, depending on poll and wording of question, and the number of people who identify themselves as Liberals only 19%.

REVEREND JACKSON SLAMS OBAMA

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT (From Rush Limbaugh)

RUSH: The Reverend Jackson is not happy about this. Last night on PBS on the Tavis Smiley show, Tavis Smiley talked to the Monochrome Coalition chairman and whatever else he is, the Reverend Jackson, and the question: "Some think the blame Bush rhetoric no longer applies that Obama used successfully in the campaign."
JACKSON: He essentially owns more and more. When Bush left office there were 30,000 troops in Afghanistan. We're now going to a hundred thousand, so we kind of own the Afghanistan mission. We bailed out the banks. We kind of own a plan now where you have more foreclosures than you do have modifications. We're losing jobs by the droves. Unemployment levels are disastrously high. We are the canary in the mine. We're on the front side of its pain and the backside of its prosperity. Urban America is black, but Appalachia basically is white. We must not be seen as marginal America.

RUSH: I'll tell you what's going on here with this. The Reverend Jackson -- and I got two more stories in the stack today about how black unemployment is through the roof, black unemployment is terrible, the black frame of mind is terrible, they're depressed, Obama is not doing anything for them. How is that Hoax and Change working for you? They're all livid. I mean they thought there was going to be an exact 180 degree economic reversal and it's done nothing but get bad for everybody, but they're especially upset about it because they look at him as one of them and now they feel abandoned. I'm sure Tiger Woods' choice of females is not helping 'em out with their attitudes there, either. Folks, about that, I got a great piece to share with you from Lisa Schiffren at the AmericanThinker.com on the parallels between Tiger Woods and Barack Obama. The theme is that both are the result of lies, falsely crafted images that are in no way representative of who they really are. I'll get to that in a mere moment.

One more sound bite here from Reverend Jackson. Oh, and there's total disarray over in Copenhagen, something called the Danish texts. Poor nations have found out they're going to get screwed with the climate talks over there. Oh, yeah, it's big. And then Dingy Harry is out there with his slavery comment. I don't know, folks. I have faith in all things good, and this stuff just cannot triumph, at the end of the day it just won't. This is utter disaster. Anyway, back to the Reverend Jackson, Tavis Smiley said, "How do black leaders, how do black folk, how do black people make that case to the president? In other words, how do you push back on him respectfully when you know that black folk in the 90th percentile love this president?"

JACKSON: They also love to keep their houses and they also love their jobs. So the issue is about policy. It's not about our appreciation of the impact of this presidency. We found through the attorney generals that these major banks profiled blacks and Latinos. They circumvented community reinvestment laws. As opposed to getting a bailout, they should be facing the courts for breaking the law. On the black and brown side is where the water came in the boat. But the water didn't stop. It kept on coming, the water kept coming across. A rising tide will not lift those boats stuck at the bottom that have holes in them.

RUSH: So there's trouble in paradise out there. The Reverend Jackson, his anger is pretty muted here but he's pretty mad. (interruption) What is it, Snerdley? What is it? Hm-hm. Hm-hm. Well, no, he said it's about skin color thing, but, look, the bottom line is, all of this was supposed to have vanished. We were supposed to have a postracial country. Look at the divisions that have sprung up. Look at the partisanship, the divide has gotten wider. The Reverend Jackson is not happy at all, and all of it was so predictable. Look, I'm a little long. I gotta take a quick break and we'll come back, we have more samples of Obama's Hoax and Change speech at Brookings today plus a damn good Stack of Stuff to get through, so sit tight. We'll be right back.

END TRANSCRIPT

Read the Background Material...

• UK Guardian: Copenhagen Climate Summit in Disarray After 'Danish Text' Leak

Thanks, Rush!!

Black Caucus War Against Obama

A civil war is breaking out within the left of the Democratic Party pitting the Congressional Black Caucus against the first African-American president.

The battle began when California Congresswoman Maxine Waters complained publicly about the Administration’s failure to do more to help minority-owned businesses in the current recession. (Translation: In the new Stimulus of “Jobs” Bill making its way through Congress, they want a larger take). It continued yesterday when ten members of the Black Caucus refused to participate in a meeting of the House Banking Committee which was considering the bill to restructure financial regulations forcing Chairman Barney Frank to push the bill through by the uncomfortable margin of only 31-27.

The latest shot in the battle was fired by Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss) a card carrying regular of the Black Caucus. Faced with the need to investigate the gate crashing at the White House during the recent state dinner for India, he chose to embarrass the Administration by subpoenaing White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers rather than quietly negotiating for her appearance.

That Thompson’s action was a deliberate slap in Obama’s face is obvious (even though the media has missed it). Since when does a liberal Democratic committee chairman embarrass a liberal Democratic president by forcing a liberal Democratic Social Secretary (from Chicago no less) to resist a subpoena to appear at a hearing? Since he wanted to send a message to Obama and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel that the Black Caucus did not like being taken for granted.

The merits of the controversy are obvious. What possible reason would a Social Secretary, for goodness sakes, have for the assertion of executive privilege that is usually reserved for issues of national security? Obviously, none. But Thompson chose his target well. He struck at the social core of the Chicago Mafia that runs the White House, probably striking within the Obama family as well.

You don’t do that to a president of your own party, your own ideology, and even your own race unless you want to make a point.

The friction between the Black Caucus and Obama escalated when Waters berated the Administration for failing to rework a business loan from Goldman Sachs to the Inner City Broadcasting Corporation. Inner City is run by Pierre Sutton, son of Percy Sutton, the long time media giant in the African-American community. Two weeks after she raised the issue in a meeting with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Emanuel, Goldman saw the light and restructured the loan.

Coming on top of liberal angst with the decision by the “peace” president to escalate the war in Afghanistan, this split with the black caucus comes at an awkward time.

But you pay a price when you mess with the African American Caucus and the Suttons. The Obama Administration is feeling it. It’s kind of fun to watch.

Source: Front Page

And Take Heart… Palin now as popular as Obama

Barack Obama has sunk to a new low in Gallup's job approval numbers. The polling firm reported Monday that Obama's approval rating had dropped to 47% in their rolling three day average.

Perhaps equally important, Gallup says 46% of the people they asked disapprove of the job Obama is doing as president.
Those numbers are almost identical to favorable/unfavorable numbers for Sarah Palin in a new CNN poll , which showed the former Alaska governor at 46% favorable and 46% unfavorable.

Given the Obamedia's unparalleled trashing of Palin and their sycophantic support of the One, these new numbers--even if temporary--bespeak two important points: the waning influence of the legacy media, and the appeal that Palin has to a substantial portion of the public.

By: William Tate – American Thinker
Page Printed from: (Shout Out to Babs from As.A.Mom) http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/12/palin_now_as_popular_as... at December 08, 2009 - 04:48:50 PM EST

And the good thing is that Palin’s numbers are going up while Obama’s numbers are going down…