Not “Because of Obama” but “Because We Are Americans”
What you are about to witness is the sad and sorry state of the black community - MY community.
For too long, the promises of "hope" and "change" obscured the one fact in every black person's life that makes them unique amongst the "people of the world;" we have forgotten that we are Americans and that our protection from government comes from the US Constitution.
The Democrat party's politics remove the Constitution from the minds of every grievance group they create - then seek to supplant the constitution with ever large government intervention in our lives. Without diminishing her triumph last Thursday, when Senator Biden kept repeating the word "regulation," Governor Palin should have quipped, "just like we need regulations for abortions from the Federal government, Joe?"
With blacks, the Democrat party, through its microcosmic experiment of socialism, destroyed the family, removed the role of fathers, and affected a 70% out of wedlock childbirth rate - and an even more petrifying abortion rate compared to other races. The same Constitution that freed black from slavery will deliver...[working on this part]
With Hispanics, the Democrat party, through is guise of "workers' rights," plans to enjoin the Latino into the black welfare state by obfuscating nationalism rendering the boundaries of the constitution both limitless and worthless. The immigrant need only follow the law and come here legally with the desire to become a citizen to receive far more blessings of liberty under our constitution than being turned into a slave labor class of "migrant" or "temporary workers" where they are treated as commodities exported from their own failed nation states to work for ours. The Constitution protects all citizens - so seek citizenship legally.
With gays, another group to which I "belong," the Democrat party requires restrictions on the first amendment in areas of free speech, freedom of association and freedom of religion. They intone unconstitutional "hate speech" codes and craft "hate crimes" legislation precisely to prevent gays from turning to their constitution for guidance. The only hate crimes legislation needed for gays is the second amendment. [still working...]
It's better than decent, but it was about as enjoyable as "Don't Mess with the Zohan." This movie will make for excellent DVD viewing and great present for all of your conservative friends. I think we should support the movie in the theaters so that it ranks, but if you can - see it at the matinee. 10.75 was a bit much.
Wells Fargo and Wachovia (two of my banks) Will Merge Creating a Coast to Coast Enterprise
This is very good news and you will notice that they firmly state they are not taking a single penny in tax payer dollars and will be the nation's #1 small business lender and the #2 mortgage lender. Now, I thought there was no more money to be loaned?
WELLS FARGO PRESS RELEASE
SAN FRANCISCO & CHARLOTTE, N.C.—(BUSINESS WIRE) - Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) and Wachovia Corporation (NYSE:WB) said today they have signed a definitive agreement for the merger of the two companies including all of Wachovia's banking operations in a whole company transaction requiring no financial assistance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency.
Under the agreement, Wells Fargo will acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of Wachovia in a stock-for-stock transaction. In the transaction, Wells Fargo will acquire all of Wachovia Corporation and all its businesses and obligations, including its preferred equity and indebtedness, and all its banking deposits.
Under terms of the agreement, which has been approved unanimously by the boards of both companies, Wachovia shareholders will receive 0.1991 shares of Wells Fargo common stock in exchange for each share of Wachovia common stock. The transaction, based on Wells Fargo's closing stock price of $35.16 on October 2, 2008, is valued at $7.00 per Wachovia common share for a total transaction value of approximately $15.1 billion. Wachovia has almost 2.2 billion common shares outstanding. The agreement requires the approval of Wachovia shareholders and customary approvals of regulators.
Wells Fargo will record Wachovia's credit-impaired assets at fair value. The acquisition is expected to exceed Wells Fargo's internal rate of return goal and add to Wells Fargo's earnings per share in the first year of operations, excluding integration costs, write-downs, transaction charges, and credit reserve build. Wells Fargo expects to incur merger and integration charges of approximately $10 billion. To maintain its strong capital position, Wells Fargo intends to issue up to $20 billion of new Wells Fargo securities, primarily common stock.
"We at Wachovia have great admiration and respect for the people and businesses at Wells Fargo and we are extremely pleased to join forces with this outstanding company," said Robert K. Steel, President and CEO of Wachovia Corp. "Today's announcement creates one of the strongest financial firms in the world and is great for all Wachovia constituencies: our shareholders, customers, colleagues and communities. This deal enables us to keep Wachovia intact and preserve the value of an integrated company, without government support. The market presence and composition of our businesses, along with our service-oriented cultures, are extraordinarily complementary and this combination creates great potential for sustained stability and growth."
"This agreement represents a compelling value for Wachovia shareholders," said Wells Fargo Chairman Dick Kovacevich. "It provides superior value compared to the previous offer to acquire only the banking operations of the company and because Wachovia shareholders will have a meaningful opportunity to participate in the growth and success of a combined Wachovia-Wells Fargo that will be one of the world's great financial services companies. We are combining the industry's number one ranking customer service culture of Wachovia with the industry's number one sales and cross-selling culture of Wells Fargo. The best in service and the best in sales, an unbeatable combination. Wachovia shareholders also will benefit from holding the stock of a strong financial institution, the U.S. bank with the highest credit ratings and with a long history of increasing dividends on its common stock. Wachovia's brokerage and asset management businesses, which would have been left behind in the prior proposal, are tightly interwoven with Wachovia's core banking business - and this agreement avoids the complexity and unavoidable loss of value in trying to separate them, which would have disrupted Wachovia's team members and customers. We also bring to this merger agreement our 157 years of experience in financial services and the unparalleled convenience we can offer Wachovia customers through one of the most extensive financial services distributions systems in North America. We have the highest regard for the quality and commitment and caring of Wachovia team members. We believe their demonstrated commitment to outstanding customer service and their highest standards of community leadership are identical to our own values. And, of course, this agreement won't require even a penny from the FDIC."
The combined company will have a strong presence in Charlotte, which will be the headquarters for the combined company's East Coast retail and commercial and corporate banking business. St. Louis will remain the headquarters of Wachovia Securities. In addition, three members of the Wachovia Board will be invited to join the Wells Fargo & Company Board when the transaction is completed.
Kovacevich said, "This agreement is an outstanding opportunity for Wachovia common and preferred shareholders and debt holders, team members and customers, for the Charlotte and St. Louis communities and indeed all of the communities that Wachovia serves, and for the U.S. government and our banking system. It makes compelling business and strategic sense and is simply an incredible fit that will result in an immensely strong, stable financial services company that will carry on Wachovia's proud tradition of being one of the very best financial institutions in the world."
"We know this has been a time of great uncertainty for Wachovia team members and many of its customers as their company has gone through a very painful and challenging time of unprecedented change in our industry," said Wells Fargo President and CEO John Stumpf. "We want to assure them we'll do everything we can to make the integration of our operations as smooth as possible. An important measure of success for this integration will be our ability to retain as many of the talented Wachovia team members as possible so they can continue to provide outstanding service and financial advice to their customers and continue their careers with Wells Fargo."
The combined company will be one of North America's most extensive financial services distribution networks:
6/30/08
Wells Fargo Wachovia Combined
Assets Trillion $609 billion $812 billion $1.42
Deposits $339 billion $448 bllion $787 billion
Customers 28 million 20 million 48 million (1)
Assets Under Mgt. (Mutual Funds) $151 billion $107 billion $258 billion
Stores 5,941 4,820 10,761
ATMs 6,950 5,277 12,227
Team Members 160,000 120,000 280,000
(1) unadjusted for customer overlap
Wells Fargo's Chief Financial Officer Howard Atkins said Wells Fargo used conservative assumptions in evaluating this opportunity. "As always, we only consider acquisitions that add to earnings per share no later than the third year after purchase and earn an internal rate of return of at least 15 percent," said Atkins. "This acquisition comfortably exceeds all our financial requirements. This is a unique opportunity to expand both our Community Banking and Wholesale Banking presence in current markets and enter some new markets by acquiring another full service financial services retail banking company with a strong culture of customer service and community involvement very similar to ours."
Wells Fargo and Wachovia will create the nation's premier coast-to-coast community banking presence. The combined company will have community banks in 39 states and the District of Columbia. The acquisition will establish a Wells Fargo Community Banking presence for the first time in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Wells Fargo already has a Community Banking presence in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas (pending), California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
The combined company will be #1 in deposit market share(2) in 17 of its 39 Community Banking states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Minnesota, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and Virginia. Ninety-three percent of its deposits will be in states in which it ranks #1, 2 or 3 and the combined company will rank #1 in ten of the nation's 20 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in deposit market share.(2)
(2) excludes deposits greater than $500 million in a single banking store Wells Fargo also is the nation's:
* #1 small business lender
* #1 agricultural lender
* #1 commercial real estate broker
* #2 largest mortgage originator
* #2 largest mortgage servicer
* #2 largest debit card issuer
* #1 financial services provider to middle market businesses in the western U.S. and a national presence in commercial banking (29 states)
* largest bank-owned U.S. insurance brokerage
In connection with the agreement, Wachovia and Wells Fargo entered into a share exchange agreement under which Wachovia is issuing Wells Fargo preferred stock that votes as a single class with Wachovia's common stock representing 39.9 percent of Wachovia's voting power.
Wells Fargo was advised on the transaction by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and JPMorgan Securities, Inc. was the exclusive financial advisor to Wells Fargo. Wachovia was advised on the transaction by Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, Goldman Sachs & Co. and Perella Weinberg Partners.
Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company with $609 billion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance through almost 6,000 stores and the internet (wellsfargo.com) across North America and elsewhere internationally. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. is the only bank in the U.S., and one of only two banks worldwide, to have the highest possible credit rating from both Moody's Investors Service, "Aaa," and Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, "AAA."
Just reintroduce the exact same proposal and call it the "Get it Now?" Bill.
Look, I think they should give the money directly to homeowners, or rather to the creditors who hold their bad mortgages, and save these people's houses. This will have the side effect of keeping houses in marginal neighborhoods from going vacant and attracting criminal elements back into areas that had been improving -- dragging our recovering cities back into the toilet of urban decay a la the '70s and '80s.
Would paying of the loans individually cost more than $700 billion? I don't see why, but it might. But it also would stretch the pain over the length of a 30-year mortgage.
As for the administration's proposal, guaranteeing bad investments doesn't seem like a great long-term strategy towards a strong economy, but is it worth it to start a recession to "allow the market to run it's course"?
I won't quibble with the Republicans who believe the government should stay out of the market; I just want them to acknowledge the economy will tank if nothing's done. Hell, I pretty much agree with the do-nothing crowd. But none of them have come forward to argue the strategy, they're just resisting spending taxpayer money on abstract principle.
"It's too expensive" is not a reason to fight the fix, if the short term costs will be higher.
Let's hear someone make the case not to guarantee these bad loans and not just criticize the proposed solution.
Quite Possibly the Most Dangerous News Report I’ve Heard in this Election
What on earth is going on here???? We need legal foundations to sue the state and the US Congress to enact legislation removing this from these prosecutor's jurisdiction and if not the US Congress, but the MO state assembly.
This bodes well for my coverage of the election I read nothing - I only voted on CNN, MSNBC and Drudge. Wrote my post below, checked email and updated twitter. Then went to The Corner and was glad to see I was seconded.
He faltered during the first ten minutes..but after that, Barry's grimace was unmistakable and I am sure turned off many voters.
McCain seemed lively and honest and Barack seemed mad to even have to descend back to earth for this trivial thing.
His facial expressions will do him in. And when MSNBC's online poll only has Barack Obama winning the debate by 50 to 36, you know that McCain soundly beat.
Trust me when I say this - because I my mom is STILL an Obama supporter and she said McCain did well.
And Barack couldn't answer the simplest question - what will you CUT? His answer was to "postpone" all these increases in spending.
You think 8 years is enough? I think 3 Trillion is enough. Work with it or get out of town.
McCain Makes Disasterous Political Decision to Suspend Campaign to Work on Financial Legislation?
hold on...Rick Davis is too smart for this. McCain had a few fumbles this week, but there is NO WAY Rick would stay on as his adviser if this was not a head fake.
McCain goes to Washington. Good. Let Sarah do all the campaigning! She can smack around Obama and Biden together. And if Obama wants to show up to the forum to try to embarrass McCain, let Sarah show up and debate him instead.
She cleans his clock and McCain looks good because she can get nasty in ways he cannot.
Haven't we all been WISHING McCain would step aside and let Sarah do all the talking here?
I'm opposed to the death penalty for a number of reasons, but mostly because it results in people innocent of crimes being killed by the government.
In this case in India, however, I find myself enthusiastically applauding the application of the ultimate punishment.
An Indian court sentenced six men to death Wednesday for the brutal killings of a low-caste woman and her three young children, officials said, in a case that has highlighted the daily violence faced by India's "untouchables."
The court in Bhandara, a town some 470 miles northeast of Mumbai, also sentenced two others to life in prison for their role in the 2006 killings, sparked by a land dispute between members of higher castes and the family from the lowest caste, known as Dalits.
The family was beaten to death with sticks, iron rods and chains, and their bodies were dumped in a canal. The woman's husband was the only survivor in the attack, said prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam.
Discrimination based on caste — the complex social system that divides people into hundreds of groups defined by livelihood, class and ethnicity — has been outlawed for more than half a century in India.
But it remains pervasive, particularly in rural India where people from lower castes are often barred from using upper-caste drinking wells, kept out of temples and denied spots in village schools. Ignoring the prohibitions is often met with violence.
It’s that Time, Again - Make some Phone Calls; They Work!
Below is the email I received with instructions on how to work the McCain virtual phone bank. Let me offer some personal advice:
1. Write your own script. Do no sound like a robo-call because the person who answers will not listen. Write down three POSITIVE reasons why you are supporting the McCain - Palin ticket (and none of them need to be about McCain!). Something like: Hi, my name is Aaron Arnwine. I APOLOGIZE for calling unannounced, but I would like to ask you 3 quick questions about the November elections - and I want to hear your honest FEELINGS. For whom do you plan to vote? (none of this "can McCain count on your support"). What is the single most important factor in this election to you? Would you mind if I give you two reasons why I support McCain - Palin? If you think you may be interested in voting for McCain or Palin, the form asks for your email, would you mind providing that to me? Or would you like to have someone contact you in the mail? This should be as easy as ordering a pizza. Just be sure NOT to sound like an airhead reading a cue card.
2. And don't argue, simply send them to FactCheck.org or something similar. Tell the caller that you're interested in knowing everything you can about the candidates and you believe that most people rely on FactCheck.org to see if what they've heard is true or rumor and invite the person to that site.
3. Choose people in your time zone and in your area. Nothing is more annoying than for someone in the south to hear my West Coast accent calling them at 9pm. Call between 7:30pm and 8:00pm (local news time).
Got it? Good...
Team,
Last week, our campaign launched a grassroots effort to put you in touch with voters all across the country through our online phone bank.
The polls all show this election is in a dead heat, and we expect the polls to stay close until Election Day. That's why it's so important for you to get involved today. This election will be won by turning out key voters all over the country. You can help the McCain-Palin campaign win by taking 30 minutes out of your evening to make 20 calls for John McCain and Sarah Palin.
The Obama-Biden campaign has hired hundreds of paid staff and is spending millions of dollars bombarding undecided voters with advertisements filled with negative, misleading and false information about John McCain and Governor Palin. We need your help to combat this and get the truth out to these voters. You are the most effective surrogate we have in this campaign. By reaching out to undecided voters, one by one, you are taking a crucial step towards our victory.
Today, we are only six weeks away from Election Day and we need your help right now. In such a close election, taking 30 minutes to make 20 calls for John McCain and Governor Palin can make the difference.
As always, I appreciate your hard work and dedication to our team!
Sincerely,
Christian Ferry
Deputy Campaign Manager
P.S. John McCain and Governor Palin are ready to lead our country and ready to challenge the status quo. Please do your part to elect the McCain-Palin ticket in November by making calls today through our online phone bank. The work you are doing today will make a big difference on Election Day. Thank you.
I read nothing - I only voted on CNN, MSNBC and Drudge. Wrote my post below, checked email and updated twitter. Then went to The Corner and was glad to see I was seconded.
