1 MILLION ILLEGALS have mortgages!!
Posted By: be a good American and pay it for them!! on 2009-02-25
In Reply to: It's still interesting to see - sm
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She did loan her campaign 10 million dollars - she owes over 20 million - but...
Hillary says she is not worried about paying herself off, just the other people she owes money to (but I bet she will get her money back somehow). I just read where Barack personally wrote her a check himself for $2300 (the most by law any individual can contribute to a campaign).
The problem is her donors expect him to help her pay this money off if he wants them to continue to support his campaign financially, and he needs their money to finance the general election campaign. Also, they say Hillary can devote more time campaigning and helping his financial situation if she is not having to try to raise money still for her debts.
So anyway, there it is in a nutshell...
How do you figure that those with mortgages
Decreasing the mortgage payment by 30% would only lengthen the repayment terms. Mortgage holders wouldn't get anything out of it, but probably would end up paying more over the course of time due to interest.
What cracks me up is you asking "what's in it for me?" and then complaining about the greed of others. Hypocrits are everywhere.
LOL! Oh, I am sure Obama will pay our mortgages
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How many mortgages got sold to other banks?
Look at the big picture. They were selling houses to anyone who would sign on the dotted line - they did not give a fig whether or not you could afford it. They then boxed up a pile of these mortgages and sold them to other banks or mortgage companies with the premise - here's a box of rocks, there's gotta be a diamond in there somewhere. They WANTED these mortgages to fail. The housing market was booming - take the down payment, pass the mortgage around - foreclose on hapless patsies - and resell the house. They were MAKING MONEY OFF OF DOING THIS!!! But, they got greedy, and that box held all rocks and no diamonds. They screwed themselves as well as the American people who fell for this sham. But who is going to suffer the most?
I thought it was refinancing mortgages
at lower interest rates so the mortgagee can afford the payments? If you could see the blocks and blocks of boarded up homes in Cleveland.......ruining the value on the homes that are still occupied, increasing crime in what was decent neighborhoods.....I'd rather these homes be occupied and SOMETHING be paid back rather than leave them to the vandals and thieves who are stripping the siding, copper pipe and turning them into meth labs......
They not only can apply, they receive mortgages
%%
so, in other words, mortgages made
through private mortgage companies are not included?
and what about people on fixed incomes who don't have mortgages
What if all this triggers inflation and screws them?
benefits for illegals...
Alright which party is for doing something about the illegals that are crossing our border and not just to work but to take advantage of goverment benefits. More specific which person who is running? Has this been mentioned by any of them? Let me enlighten everyone on some things. Let everyone see just how messed up this country is becoming. I live near an illegal immigrant who has found out she is pregnant. Well she went to the office where you apply for Medicaid to pay for the baby and they told her unless she could prove she was a US citizen no help. Well that is the way it should be. She goes to Georgia. They say same thing. She has now gone to Louisiana, which is not the state where she even lives either. They are going to give her benefits. They don't even check. What is the deal? She is illegal, has a job that she said wanted proof she could work in the US legally. She got around that somehow. I don't know how. She pays no taxes here. But yet she can get Medicaid? What the heck is going on here? She doesn't even live in Louisiana. She gave them someone elses address. How can the country let this continue?
SCHIP and Illegals
I do not have an article where Bush himself said it; I heard him on TV on one of those blurbs talking about it. The opposition of the Republicans is that the present bill is an expansion of SCHIP (to the tune fo 6 billion dollars) and opens the door to make it easy for illegals to get on the program legally...although some states who administer SCHIP already do it on the "honor system" and don't ask for proof of citizenship, so you tell me how many are already on it.
This is from an article that sums up what I have read:
Democratic SCHIP Bill Benefits Illegal Immigrants, GOP Charges
(CNSNews.com) - House Republicans said Thursday they hope to block provisions of a Democratic bill to expand health care coverage for poor children that could open up the coverage to illegal immigrants.
The Children's Health and Medicare Protection (CHAMP) Act would expand the existing State Children's Health Insurance Program - more than doubling it in size - and "improve beneficiary protections under the Medicare, Medicaid and the [SCHIP] program."
As Cybercast News Service previously reported, the bill has come under fire from Republicans who view its expansions in coverage as a step toward nationalized health care. Republicans are now also attacking the bill because of three sections dealing with immigration issues.
"Illegal immigrants are about to get an unexpected boost thanks to the Democratic Congress," House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said in a statement Thursday.
"The Democrats have a proposal that not only raises taxes on middle class families and slashes funding for a popular Medicare program ... it eliminates the requirement that persons applying for Medicaid or SCHIP service show proof of citizenship or nationality."
Calling the bill "poorly crafted," Boehner said the proposal would "dole out billions of dollars to states who then have the option of whether or not to verify that a person is an American citizen before providing taxpayer-funded health benefits like Medicaid and SCHIP. The bill also eliminates the current five-year waiting period required for legal immigrants to receive government health benefits."
One provision, Section 132, would remove a requirement that legal immigrants wait five years before being eligible for government-funded health care coverage, according to Republican opponents.
The other two sections have potential applicability to illegal residents. Section 143 would give states the option of requiring proof of citizenship for enrollment in the programs. Opponents say the provision allows states to "return to a system of blind trust."
As to pandering to get the Hispanic ILLEGAL vote, why do you think this bill is crafted this way from the Dems to make sure they can get their kids on SCHIP? Dems have been chasing the illegal immigrant vote even more so than Republicans...in fact, they COUNT on it. I have heard Bush talk about amnesty and that is one of the places that he and I disagree. Although, I don't think he is courting the Hispanic vote or he would not be vetoing a program that puts them right on the SCHIP rolls no questions asked...now would he??
I think it is more important to let the bill stay as-is for 6 months than to open it up as a freeforall for illegals to get their kids on it. YES, I think it is more important. I am not a Republican, but I am a fiscal conservative, and I certainly agree in this case.
And yes, before you ask, I have children. I may not have everything I want, but I can insure my kids. And I don't make $80,000 a year either...about expanding SCHIP to cover "middle income" families. They are talking about a family of 4 with total income of $80,000 a year (2 adults 2 kids) being eligible for a program that was designed to cover low income kids. THat is what...400% of the poverty level and how much higher than the median income in the US? I'm sorry, but an annual income of $80,000...there should be a way for those folks to cover their children. They are not talking about cancelling any other programs or any way to pay for this 6 billion dollar expansion other than a cigarette tax, which everyone knows will not cover it all. Yes, I think kids should have health care... but if they are going to pay for it for an annual income of $80,000 they might as well pay for it for ALL kids, period. And that is the first step toward socialized medicine, and I don't need a Democrat or a Republican to tell me that. I can see the handwriting on the wall. Do some research on socialized medicine in Canada...the pros and the cons...and see if you really want that happening here.
And if they are going to do that, they might as well pay it for everyone = socialized medicine. Be careful what you ask for. Government run medical care...I don't think you want to go there.
And, frankly, if they want to expand it to cover a family of 4 making $80,000 a year, I don't think it should be a freebie. Maybe offered at a lower rate than families who make more than that...but come on. A family making $80,000 a year should be able to insure their children. Insuring their children should be their FIRST priority. You tell me what would keep a family of 4 with annual income of $80,000 from being able to insure their children? If anything, it is because 35-40% of their income comes off the top in TAXES right now to pay for all the social programs in this country. Why not LOWER taxes to help them pay their premiums instead of taxing us all MORE to give them health care? Why not do that? But you say tax cut to a Democrat and they get apoplectic.
Perhaps it is because people don't want to prioritize and don't want to do without anything in order to insure their children, would rather spend it on something else. There ARE families who choose to do that. You are naive if you think there are not.
Honestly, if we do not control spending, and we give more and more entitlements and extend those entitlements higher and higher up the income level...can you not see the vicious circle? Are we going to extend it in another 5 years for families of 4 who make $120,000 a year because we have taxed everyone so much that now THEY can't afford to insure their children? Come on! Why not prioritize? Take all the money earmarked for social programs, put insuring children at the top, insure all the children if that is what the american people think is most important, and whatever is left, dole out to the remaining programs. Try prioritizing instead of more programs, more taxes, more programs, more taxes. I personally think that 35-40% in taxes off the top of our incomes is ENOUGH.
Stimulating Illegals
Investor's Business Daily 03/12/09
Economy: At least 300,000 of those stimulus jobs will go to illegal aliens who are likely to send that money home to their native countries. Just whose economy are we stimulating?
The stimulus package is supposed to stimulate the American economy and create American jobs, but missing from it are measures to guarantee that. As a result, say both the Heritage Foundation and the Center for Immigration Studies, hundreds of thousands of these jobs will go to illegal aliens, and much of the money they earn will not be spent here.
The original House version included a provision requiring employers to check registration status with the E-Verify system before hiring. This provision was missing from the Senate bill and was not in the final version sent to President Obama.
The Obama administration has also delayed at least until May 21 a Bush administration executive order requiring federal contractors to use E-Verify. It was supposed to take effect in January.
Last Tuesday, 75 representatives of both parties sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader John Boehner urging them "to protect taxpayers and legal workers by including these critical jobs protection provisions in any future economic recovery legislation."
In a February report by the Heritage Foundation, senior research fellow Robert Rector looked at the 2 million construction jobs the stimulus is supposed to create. "Without specific mechanisms to ensure that workers are U.S. citizens or legal immigrants authorized to work," he concluded, "it is likely that 15% of these workers, or 300,000, would be illegal immigrants."
Steven Camarota, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies, comes up with the same figure for construction jobs based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey and other independent findings that 15% of all construction workers in the U.S. are illegal aliens.
Camarota says the total number of stimulus jobs going to illegals may be higher. At least a million more jobs are said to be created by the stimulus, and with 5% of the overall U.S. work force consisting of illegals, they could get another 50,000 non-construction jobs.
Rector sees another downside. "The fact that illegal aliens send a substantial portion of their earnings abroad reduces the stimulus effect that their employment has in the United States," he says.
Remittances, Mexico's second-largest source of foreign income after oil, dipped 3.6% to $25 billion in 2008, compared with $26 billion the previous year, according to Mexico's central bank. Will our stimulus improve Mexico's economy?
"It's outrageous that in a bill designed to provide employment for Americans, Congress has deliberately chosen to allow jobs to be given to illegal immigrants," Rector adds.
We think so too.
He wants amnesty for illegals. How is that
How is amnesty for illegals GOOD for Americans? It's NOT! Cut off the ability for them to work here. Every time they are picked up by police, ship them home. Secure the border. Compared to all the spending Obama wants to do, these are CHEAP solutions that will free up jobs for hard-working Americans. Not great jobs, no, but jobs that can help make ends meet in hard times! Jobs for the ones first laid off! Spending money on "good" causes is not what is needed during a crisis like this. Saving money and very careful spending that promotes private enterprise and hiring are what will rescue us.
I completely disagree with the Republicans who stopped the 95% taxing of the bonuses to AIG employees. That was one obviously smart thing the Dems were trying to do, and I'm furious the Reps stopped it.
I've been sending faxes to my reps on these important issues. You can too, through the Numbers USA website. Let our elected leaders know we aren't falling for their propaganda, and we know there are smarter, cheaper solutions to our country's problems. www.numbersusa.com/
Amnesty for illegals
I am amazed nearly everyday with the idiotic things that come from our government. This one about made me spit out my beverage when I heard it. Amnesty for illegals is a horribly bad idea. What message does that send to the ones who are trying to become citizens the right way. This also sends a message for more and more illegals to come our way. This is an outrage. Absolutely ridiculous! We spend billions of dollars on illegals the way that it is.
This wouldn't have anything to do with Obama's aunt or anything.....now would it? Or maybe this is just his ploy to get more votes by turning them into legal citizens. Either way.....it is an ignorant thing to do. This is one area I truly 100% disagreed with McCain on. He wanted amnesty too.
BAD IDEA!!!
My biggest concern is how many illegals are
+
This thread is about bailing out illegals,
but I don't agree with bailing out the banks and CEOs either.
Bullhockey, illegals are paid in cash, there is NO tax being taken out. nm
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Illegals voting???? One word ACORN. nm
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I want secure borders to keep out terrorists and illegals...
Having lived in a border state and, now, even further north, it is evident that illegal immigrants are taking over our country. We are in a financial crisis and yet, much of a social service money goes to those who do not even pay taxes on the money they earn. They sure as heck spend our taxes, though. I am not against immigrants, just those who do not do it legally. There are certain hoops that need to be jumped through and, I bleieve, are well worth it to live in this great country.
By law he can detain illegals......unfoturtunately our laws
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And yet MILLIONS of illegals are taking jobs in this
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you're wrong, S. FLA the illegals paid on the books
at least the ones I know.....the ones who did arrive with at least a visa.....and who get paid off a company payroll and not off the books or in cash is what I mean....
we'd be better off without illegals..he deserves a commendation, not a civil suit...
++
heck I wouldn't mind giving illegals benefits if I could
and i'm nervous about my 3 month waiting period at my new job for health insurance!
Wow 48 million
Where would we have put all those babies? We could build cities just for them. that's 48 million more vying for welfare, running through the penal system. How many serial murderers could have been in that 48 million? The numbers DO speak volumes. Obviously the condom hasn't caught on. But that's not the point. As our populations has grown, so has all of the other statistics, including the number of abortions. If you have your way, the social ramifications will be HUGE, huge. You're not into socialist state. You can't be thinking that if a woman is forced to have a child she doesn't want with more than likely no father to hlep that all of a sudden she is going to turn into June Cleaver because someone says she has to? The only people who will benefit from overturning Roe vs Wade will be the one who run the black markets on baby selling. The demographics speak volumes as well. Where are the largest numbers of abortions happening? It is not middle class Bible America. You are choosing the unborn over the living and saying it is okay to sacrifice the mothers and the fathers for the sake of an ideal in a foreign country. If that is not a complete contradiction I don't know what is.
And I might add...his "credit" will put how many more million...
did it say, into the no tax bracket? the words were "the credit will eliminate federal taxes for 10 million low income families. To add to all the others who don't pay taxes. So how is he going to pay for his big government? He will have to raise everyone's taxes....handwriting on the wall.
Yep. Me and about 70 million other Americans.
x
Yes? Tell that to 40 million dead Jews. NM
25 million people to be exact
be afraid, be very afraid. It's the vast right wing conspiracy. Boo!
Million Phone March...sm
See link...
I am not willing to assume that 1.2 million babies...
would have horrible lives. I can't see killing them all just in case some might suffer. But how is our choice to decide whether or not someone lives based on what kind of life they might have? I think it should be the choice of the creator, myself. I am curious as to what you think your creator thinks about choosing to kill an unborn child? I think mine's heart breaks every time one happens...over 2000 times a day. Yes, that's what I think.
It's quick? It's horrible but its quick? Good grief!!
You keep discounting the right of the child to live. Who are you, the mother, or anyone else, to say that child has no right to live? Do you think your creator endowed you with that right? Just curious.
Over 18 million voted for him in primaries
absolutely NOBODY has voted for Palin in this contest. Why should we be stuck with yet another Bush? She "governs" Alaska just as Bush "governed" the country. She likes to handoff decisions to others. People try to get in contact with her and wear "Where is Sarah?" buttons. No thanks to McPain.
You slammed dems, ignored 5 million
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Obama picks up about $9 million in
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) - Barack Obama partied with Hollywood celebrities Tuesday night and with the help of Oscar-winning singer and actress Barbra Streisand raised an eye-popping $9 million for his presidential campaign and the Democratic Party.
The night was split into two glitzy events, a reception and dinner costing $28,500 each at the Greystone Mansion, followed by entertainment by Streisand at the nearby Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel. About 250 people were expected at the dinner and about 800 at the entertainment, which cost $2,500 a ticket.
It was a day of contrasts for Obama. Earlier in the day, the Democratic presidential candidate spoke about the public's deepening economic anxieties and portrayed Republican challenger John McCain as out of touch with the needs of hardworking people.
Then he flew to California for a night of hobnobbing with Hollywood notables.
McCain groused about Obama mixing it up with celebrities. He told a rally in Vienna, Ohio on Tuesday that Obama "talks about siding with the people, siding with the people just before he flies off to Hollywood for a fundraiser with Barbra Streisand and his celebrity friends. Let me tell you my friends, there's no place I'd rather be than here with the working men and women of Ohio."
A night earlier, McCain was with deep-pocketed donors in Florida and raised $5 million, a fact noted by Obama's campaign.
"I don't know who showed up down in Florida where he raised $5 million but my guess is that it wasn't a lot of nurses, firefighters and police officers," Obama's senior strategist, David Axelrod, told reporters. "The whole corporate lobbying community is rallying to his side. We're going to have to struggle to keep pace. You can't challenge that group and not expect them to have a lot of money."
While the final total was not determined, Obama's campaign did not dispute estimates that the twin events would bring in $9 million for Obama and the Democratic Party. That would be his second-biggest, fundraising day. Obama received $10 million from online donors the day after McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, delivered her speech at the Republican convention.
On another big fundraising night in California, Obama raised $7 million in August in San Francisco.
Obama is financing his presidential race with private contributions after abandoning a pledge to take public financing capped at $84 million. His campaign announced Sunday it had collected $66 million in August, a fundraising record for any presidential candidate in a monthlong period.
By comparison, McCain raised $47 million in August, a personal best for his campaign as well. After claiming the GOP nomination, McCain accepted the $84 million in taxpayer funds allotted by the public financing system for the race.
Wow, suing for 6 million, nuff said.
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Unemployment numbers. What is 12.5 Million?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,506405,00.html
What I do not get is it states 4.4 million jobs have been lost since the recession began, but now at 12.5 million. So, about 8 million have been unemployed during, well, basically this year and last year? I guess I am in SHOCK a it is hard for me to want to believe it.
*************************
Unemployment by the Numbers: How Bad Is It Hurting?
Friday, March 06, 2009
* Print
* ShareThis
More people are unemployed in America than live in Ohio or go to church in Texas.
Unemployment statistics don't usually leap off the page, but the latest report from the Department of Labor offers some astounding figures. More than 651,000 jobs were cut in February, continuing a steep drop that has raised the unemployment rate to 8.1 percent, its highest level since 1983.
Matched up against some of the latest stats made available by the Census Bureau, those numbers really do begin to add up.
• 651,000 jobs were axed in February, a number larger than the populations of:
- Baltimore
- Seattle
- Denver
- El Paso
- Washington, D.C.
• 12.5 million people are unemployed in the U.S., which is more than the number of:
- people watching ABC's "Lost" this season
- women attending college
- male scientists and engineers
- Americans who grow herbs
- people who played tackle football in the past year.
• 12.5 million people is also a number larger than the populations of 45 states, including
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Michigan
- Virginia
• 4.4 million jobs have been lost since the recession began in December 2007, which is larger than the population of the entire San Francisco Bay Area.
• 2.6 million jobs have been lost in the past four months, which is like every Presbyterian in America getting the ax in one winter, or about the number of senior citizens in Florida.
• 8.6 million people have been forced to work part-time for economic reasons, which is more than the population of New York City, or more than the number of people who try to quit smoking every year.
The roll continues, and it is a stark one: construction companies eliminated 104,000 jobs in February, factories cut 168,000 jobs, retailers sliced nearly 40,000, professional and business services got rid of 180,000, financial companies reduced payrolls by 44,000, and leisure and hospitality firms chopped 33,000 positions.
Despite all the doom and gloom in the Labor Department's numbers, at least one sector had a pretty rosy February: the government boosted its number of employees last month.
Click here to see the Labor Department report.
Tea parties vs the million man march
All this controversy over the number in attendance af last week's tea parties, and who was there! I would think over a quarter-million participants would rank right up there as far as demonstration statistics go.
There was another demonstration in 1995 which planned to attact a million demonstators. Wikipedia has this:
......... Finally, within the first twenty-four hours following the March a conflict between March organizers and Park Service officials erupted over crowd size estimates. Initially, the National Park Service issued an estimate of about 400,000 attendees; a number significantly lower than March organizers had hoped for. After a heated exchange between leaders of the March and Park Services the estimate was raised to 850,000* but still fell short of the organizers’ estimate of over 1 million. The controversy over the number of men who actually participated in the March has yet to be firmly resolved. *[guess they were getting the 2 for 1 special?]
Even back then, folks were hollering 'recount,' I don't recall seeing any female or white faces in that crowd, either. I think that was pretty sexist and racist. The point is, you hang with like-minded individuals. Nobody put out the 'whites only' sign at the tea parties. It was equal opportunity, and if you were a hard-working black business owner you might have been there.
I've said a million times
claiming to be a Christian does not make you one. Granted even when we become a Christian we still mess up, and are by no means perfect, but we are supposed to TRY to be more Christ-like.
I think I got lucky with my church. The drama is very minimal, if present at all. Of course, there are only about 30-40 of us who are members, that may have something to do with it. Not much room for cliques in a church that small!
Hillary is broke, had to loan herself 5 million.sm
LOL. Maybe she will use her money and Bill's speaking engagement fees to pay for our new Universal Healthcare Program.
Clinton loaned her campaign $5 million
Senator Hillary Clinton confirmed at a press conference in Virginia this afternoon that she'd loaned her campaign $5 million, and said, "The results last night proved the wisdom of my investment.."
Spokesman Howard Wolfson emailed with the news minutes earlier:
Late last month Senator Clinton loaned her campaign $5 million.The loan illustrates Sen. Clinton’s commitment to this effort and to ensuring that our campaign has the resources it needs to compete and win across this nation. We have had one of our best fundraising efforts ever on the web today and our Super Tuesday victories will only help in bringing more support for her candidacy.
As I reported earlier, she's drawing on a pool of personal wealth estimated to be as much as $41 million, as well as a reported payout to Bill Clinton of $20 million from the Los Angeles billionaire manager Ron Burkle.
Clinton told reporters that her fundraising was healthy, but that "my opponent was able to raise more money, and we intended to be competitive, and we were."
Clinton also emailed supporters today with an ambitious online fundraising goal: to, over the course of three days, "raise $3 million to fund our history-making campaign."
There are 1.2 million abortions in this country every year....
and a great many of those are teenagers. Are you saying the parents of all those teenagers lack judgment and responsibility? Check out how many are minorities. So are you now saying that all those minority parents lack judgment and responsibility?
Boy, you are really grasping at straws here. It is hard to believe that you could really even post such a thing, but less believe it!
So, the 2 million dollars went back to Alaska.
nm
Best case scenario, 1 million evacuees.
110 residents from Greater Houston DIED ON THE ROAD during evacuation for Hurricane Rita from Houston 3 years ago.
Better 1.2 million dead babies a year?
I think we get where you are coming from.
He's not talking about million dollar houses.
He's talking about people that got schnuckered so they can keep their homes. Maybe they would reduce the principle, but that would also keep people in their homes and make the other homes in that neighborhood keep their value.
Do you understand the concept that if the homes around you go into foreclosure then that brings your home value down? 
2.9 million jobs tied to 3 car companies
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1858702,00.html?cnn=yes
Pretty scary stuff. Another Great Depression coming?
2.6 million jobs lost in 2008 alone.
There are plenty of able-bodied folks out there who are out of work ALSO through no fault of their own, in view of this ever shrinking job market. Handicapped have to overcome THAT obstacle, too.
To mt: Really over a million people took place in the protest. s/m
http://www.windsorstar.com/News/Turnout+tepid+modern+parties/1500117/story.html
To mt: Really over a million people took place in the protest? s/m
Check out this Canadian news article on this pitiful event -- this might answer your question about why no other news stations were giving this much air time -- NOT NEWSWORTHY!! Not even 10s of thousands, much less a million!! Where did you get your statistics? Is that what you heard on TRIX news? 
http://www.windsorstar.com/News/Turnout+tepid+modern+parties/1500117/story.html
For a city of 4 million plus and then having to bus in people from Cobb
even if they had 20,000 which I heard crowd estimates about 15,000, that is not a lot of people. With radio personality Sean Hannity here, think probably most went to see his spouting off. That man is going to have a stroke if he keeps on with his rantings.
One million people are protesting in Iran...sm
What the Mousvi supporters are trying to do in Iran is to show the world that they can bring down the Ahmedinejad and hopefully also the leader of the theocray
WITHOUT
the meddling of the US for which they did not ask.
There are also in the cleric council contradicting opinions regarding the legitimate outcome of the election and how to proceed in solving this massive protests.
Ahmadinejad, meanwhile, left the country to Russia!!
This shows AGAIN the diplomatic excellence of Obama AND Biden when they held back their meddling and interfering, letting the people try it on their own!
If it were up to McCain and Cheney they would have made out of this conflict a 2nd-Iraq siituation, probaly invaded Iran!
U.S. owes Iraq $208 million, auditor says (see article)
U.S. owes Iraq $208 million, auditor says
Gouging, shoddy work by Halliburton blamed
James Glanz, Edward Wong, New York Times
Saturday, November 5, 2005
An auditing board sponsored by the United Nations recommended Friday that the United States repay as much as $208 million to the Iraqi government for contracting work in 2003 and 2004 assigned to Kellogg, Brown & Root, the Halliburton Co. subsidiary.
The work was paid for with Iraqi oil proceeds, but the board says it was either carried out at inflated prices or done poorly. The board did not give examples of poor work.
Some of the work involved postwar fuel imports carried out by KBR that previous audits have criticized as grossly overpriced. But this is the first time that an international auditing group has suggested that the United States repay some of that money to Iraq.
The U.N. group, the International Advisory and Monitoring Board of the Development Fund for Iraq, compiled reports from an array of Pentagon, U.S. government and private auditors to carry out its analysis.
A spokeswoman for Halliburton, Cathy Mann, said the questions raised in the military audits, carried out in the Pentagon's Defense Contract Auditing Agency, had largely focused on issues of paperwork and documentation and alleged nothing about the quality of the work done by KBR. The monitoring board relied heavily on the Pentagon audits in drawing its conclusions.
Mann said, in an e-mail response to questions, that it would be completely wrong to say or imply that any of these costs that were incurred at the client's direction for its benefit are 'overcharges.'
The monitoring board, created by the United Nations specifically to oversee the Development Fund -- which includes Iraqi oil revenues and some money seized from Saddam Hussein's government -- said that because the audits were continuing, it was too early to say how much of the $208 million should ultimately be paid back.
The KBR contracts that have drawn fresh scrutiny also cover services other than fuel deliveries, like building and repairing oil pipelines and installing emergency power generators in Iraq. The documents released Friday by the monitoring board do not detail problems with specific tasks in those broad categories but instead summarize a series of newly disclosed audits that call into question $208,491,382 of the company's work in Iraq.
The monitoring board's authority extends only to making recommendations on any reimbursement. It would be up to the U.S. government to decide whether to make the payments, and who should make them.
Vice President Dick Cheney's former role as chief executive of Halliburton has led to repeated charges, uniformly dismissed by Cheney and the company, that it received preferential treatment in receiving Iraq-related contracts.
The Bush administration repeatedly gave Halliburton special treatment and allowed the company to gouge both U.S. taxpayers and the Iraqi people, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, the senior Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee, said in a statement on the new audits.
In Iraq on Friday, insurgent attacks -- including one in which the attackers disguised themselves as women -- left at least 16 Iraqis dead.
Al Qaeda in Iraq, the leading insurgency group, said in a statement posted on an Islamist Web site that two Moroccan Embassy employees had been condemned to death, the Associated Press reported. There was no indication Friday that they had been killed.
The U.S. military said Friday that two more soldiers had died the previous day, one in a noncombat incident and one when his convoy struck an explosive.
In the day's deadliest assault, insurgents dressed in women's clothing attacked a police checkpoint in Buhruz, 35 miles north of Baghdad, killing at least six Iraqi police and injuring at least 10 others, U.S. and Iraqi officials said.
The gunmen were armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars, and pulled up in five cars, an Interior Ministry official said. The policemen managed to kill at least two of the gunmen, he added
Senate to vote on S. 2611 that allows up to 30 million illegal
The Senate is about to vote on a crucial bill, the revised H.R. 4437, that could give amnesty to 12-30 million illegal aliens and open the door for their relatives and a new flood of illegals to enter, which could mean 100-200 million new people coming into the country in 20 years according to expert analysis, virtually all poor, diminishing wages, increasing the crime rate, and bankrupting tax coffers. Now is the time to call any of the key Senators who could be persuaded into a NO vote, otherwise, there is a chance the House-Senate joint committee will approve for a likely vote in the House:
Lindsay Graham (SC): (202) 224-5972
Chuck Hagel (NE): (202) 224-4224
Richard Lugar (IN): (202) 224-4814
Mel Martinez (FL): (202) 224-3041
John McCain (AZ): (202) 224-2235
Richard Shelby (AL): (202) 224-5744
Olympia Snowe (ME): 202) 224-5344
Arlen Specter (PA): (202) 224-4254
Ted Stevens (AK): (202) 224-3004
George Voinovich (OH): (202) 224-3353
John Warner (VA): (202) 224-2023
Robert Bennett (UT): (202) 224-5444
Sam Brownback (KS): (202) 224-6521
Lincoln Chafee (RI): (202) 224-2921
Norm Coleman (MN): (202) 224-5641
Susan Collins (ME) (202) 224-2523
Larry Craig (ID): (202) 224-2752
Mike DeWine (OH): (202) 224-2315
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