CALLING ALL CATHOLICS!

Very powerful video from CatholicVote.com. Not yet sure if it's powerful enough to get me to revert back to my Catholic roots. The jury is still out on that question, but I seem to be very aligned with Catholics, politically.

Shocking Video Betrays Democrat Coverup

THIS is the video the MSM does NOT want you to see. It's from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac hearings in 2004 in which several Democrats verbally attacked regulators who found huge problems in how both Fannie and Freddie were run. The obfuscation is almost too nauseating to watch, considering present day's events. Several Republicans defended the regulators and pointed out large discrepancies while naming names (like Jamie Gorelik, for instance). One can only wonder how Republican strength in numbers wasn't enough to win the day back then and avoid this trainwreck.

The urge to grab a noose and head to Washington is almost too overwhelming to ignore. And several of these people are helping to write the bill being voted on Monday or Tuesday. The MSM should go down with them for protecting them so close to election day.

(h/t Paul)

Obama Fumbled Name On Bracelet

Barack Hussein Obama, who claims to love our troops, couldn't remember the name on the bracelet he wore in the debate without looking down at his wrist. The fact that McCain knew readily the name on his own wrist, that the mother of the soldier personally gave him, sheds light on the priorities of both men. One is sincere about his devotion to our military, while the other is merely posing.

Newsbusters has a story the rest of the media is ignoring. Apparently the family of the soldier whose name Obama dons on his wrist bracelet has repeatedly asked Obama to remove it. Obama continues to show the family disrespect by ignoring their requests.

It's only about winning, in Obama's view.

(h/t to Paul and Kevin)

Obama Bunch!

From Brutally Honest...

Pretty much says it all.

Enough Blame To Go Around...TO DEMOCRATS

I always learn a lot while watching Special Report with Brit Hume. In fact, if I had access to only one news source with or without commentary, I would go with Brit. Here, Fox News explains most of what happened that led up to the current crisis. There are other reasons, of course, as I have previously mentioned. But in 2005 the start of the crisis was clearly in view, alarms were sounded, and warnings not only went unheeded but denied and thwarted by DEMOCRATS. It's no wonder the MSM (main stream media) aka TOD (tool of Democrats) is so eager to spread the blame around. Allow me to correct:

First, a word from former President Bill Clinton. Click HERE for the ABC News interview in which Clinton not only defends McCain's decision to fly to Washington to assist in bailout talks, but also seems willing to spread blame to Democrats, while incorrectly putting himself on the side of those who tried to fix things (once a liar...).

Secondly, here in its entirety is an editorial from the New Hampshire Union Leader putting the blame for the mortgage meltdown on the proper people:

[One month from tomorrow, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., will be the keynote speaker at the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner. It is a coveted and high-profile role previously filled by such notables as Hillary Clinton and Al Gore. The Democrats’ choice of House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank is, therefore, very revealing.

The party announced Frank as the keynote speaker on Sept. 11 — three days after the U.S. government took control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, costing taxpayers untold billions. That takeover probably could have been prevented had Frank not worked to thwart every attempt to limit the risks taken on by the two government-sponsored mortgage giants.

For 16 years reformers in Congress have tried to improve oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and prevent the government-chartered companies from putting the housing market and the whole economy at risk. All that time, Frank was involved in efforts to block those attempts, and in the last eight years he was a leader of those efforts.

In 2002, shortly before accounting irregularities were exposed at both companies, Frank said, “I do not regard Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as problems,” The Wall Street Journal reported. After the Freddie Mac accounting scandal in 2003, Frank said, “I do not think we are facing any kind of a crisis.”

But there was a crisis, thanks in large part to Frank, Sen. Charles Schumer and others on the leash of these companies. In Congress, they made sure there was no additional oversight, no additional limit on executive behavior and compensation, and no further restraint on the growth of the companies’ mortgage-backed-securities portfolios, among other changes.

(All of these needed reforms, by the way, have been championed for years by Sen. John Sununu.)

In fact, Frank & Co. made matters worse by pushing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to take on greater risk. They wanted more loans to people who might not qualify for traditional bank financing. And, as The Wall Street Journal has pointed out, Frank “pressured regulators to ease up on their capital requirements — which now means taxpayers will have to make up that capital shortfall.”

Even now, after the government took the companies over (which Frank repeatedly said over the years was not a possibility), Frank opposes limits on the amount of money they can risk on mortgage backed securities — the one reform that might have done the most to prevent the current meltdown and probably would do the most to keep it from happening again.]

Obama-Ayers: The Rest Of The Story

At a recent McCain event someone commented how unfair and biased the MSM is in sending so many reporters to Alaska to dig up dirt on Governor Palin, when they ought to be investigating the relationship between Barack Hussein Obama and Weather Underground founder, William Ayers (currently teaching at the University of Illinois @ Chicago and spreading his Marxist views, much to my chagrin). For those of you who haven't heard, the Weather Underground was a home-grown terrorist organization that planted bombs at the Pentagon, US Capitol, and police stations during the 1960's in order to stop the Vietnam war. Obama chaired the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC) from 1995 to 1999, which was the board on which Ayers also served.

Stanley Kurtz of the Wall Street Journal plowed through tall stacks of archival material to study the connection between Obama and Ayers to see if Obama's claim that Ayers was merely "a guy who lives in my neighborhood," and "not somebody who I exchange ideas with on a regular basis." is true, or if there was much more to it than Obama claims. As you might have already guessed, there was much more to their relationship. You might also be interested in knowing that they were trying to promote radical activism among young students via the CAC, too. Read the whole illuminating article HERE.

(h/t, Brutally Honest)

This Costly Mortgage Mess

There are many questions being asked about the mortgage crisis and the $700 billion taxpayer bailout of mortgage debt from private firms. And there are not many answers being given. But there are a few things we know for sure. First, if history has taught us anything, we know that a successful bailout is always more than the initial estimate. It was so in the the S&L crisis and it will be for this one, too. Expect it to be well over a trillion dollars. I believe many people sense this, and that's why only 28% approve a federal bailout.

Second, the liberals are not THAT upset about this. Many of them see it as something to blame on Republicans, which could lead to a sweeping Democrat victory this November. After all, the Republicans have been in power for most of the last 8 years. Never mind that Democrat President Bill Clinton signed into law the repealing of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999, which had been in force since the Great Depression, and thus making it possible for banks to own investment firms capable of dragging banks down with them. Never mind it passed the Senate 98-0 with Harry Reid and Joe Biden both voting in favor of the repeal. These socialists and their MSM allies, may of whom adore Castro, see this as an opportunity to completely regain power and kill capitalism once and for all.

Third, capitalism will never completely die. And it may not even be down for the count here, even if the bailout fails. It will merely lie on the ground for a bit, pick itself up and shake the dust off. Things might not be so prosperous for a time, but capitalism will prevail. It's only natural. Communism was proven a failure in the 1980's. And now the only thing the liberals have left to offer are socialist economies in Democratic states.

Whether or not the bailout is a good idea is something I have trouble seeing, what with so may good and bad things that may result. It may be the only way out of a much larger and deeper pit, or we might be selling out our nation's very soul. Here are a couple of links to play with: click HERE for pro and HERE for con.

Personally I don't agree with a whole lot of regulations slowing down economic growth. But I do believe in oversight. And there was none here. Or if there was any, whatever was viewed was ignored. It appears as though both the borrowers and lenders were crossing their fingers on interest rates and gambling with their (and our) financial futures.

Obviously we cannot have a total meltdown of endless consumer foreclosures and bank failures. But letting stupid consumers or lenders totally off the hook is completely unacceptable. Make the consumers who signed the dotted line pay dearly by stretching out their payments over a much longer period, like 40 to 45 years so they can keep their low monthly payments and their precious homes. And put the predatory lenders in jail. Let them pay through the nose to the government who generously bailed them out. Without this there is no credibility in government, and there will likely be a huge tax-payer revolt. Enough said.

Botched-Abortion Survivor On A Mission

Gianna Jessen doesn't appreciate Barack Hussein Obama's voting record regarding the IL Born Alive Infants Protection Act, in which he voted 4 times to let babies who survive abortions die. And the biggest reason is that she was a survivor of a botched saline abortion herself 31 years ago. Although it left her with cerebral palsy, today she lives an active life, runs marathons, and makes public appearances to bring to light Obama's true record on the matter. She also has a website called Born Alive Truth which happens to be accepting donations for this very worthy cause.

Gianna has been making the rounds on radio talk shows, appearing Tuesday on Sean Hannity and Wednesday on Laura Ingraham, both of whom found her story quite moving. "Truth is truth and we gotta get it out there," she exclaimed on Laura's show. She then related the story of how she met her birth-mother. "It was an awful time,..." she started. Gianna went on to say that her mother approached her at an event, identified herself, and said "so what do you think of that?!?" Gianna, full of the Holy Spirit, told her birth-mother she was forgiven..

Here is the ad they are running:

pic and ad borrowed from Born Alive Truth.



Update (h/t Michelle Malkin)

Obama fires back with a very slanted attack ad:

And here is Gianna's response:

“Mr. Obama is clearly blinded by political ambition given his attack on me this week. All I asked of him was to do the right thing: support medical care and protection for babies who survive abortion – as I did 31 years ago. He voted against such protection and care four times even though the U.S. Senate voted 98-0 in favor of a bill identical to the one Obama opposed. In the words of his own false and misleading ad, his position is downright vile. Mr. Obama said at the recent Saddleback Forum that the question of when babies should get human rights was above his pay grade. Such vacillation and cowardice would have left me to die if his policies were in place when I was born. Thank God they were not.”

Ralph Peters Spotlights The Darkness Of Putin

Ralph Peters, a former intelligence officer and current national security adviser to Senator McCain, is, without a doubt, an expert on military and world affairs. He has written several columns and books about such subjects and has contributed a column about Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, to this morning's issue of USA Today. Here is an excerpt:

[Does this ruthless, focused leader have a weakness? Yes: his temper. Despite his icy demeanor, Putin's combustible. He takes rebuffs personally and can act impulsively — and destructively. Instead of lulling Europeans into an ever-greater dependence on Russian gas, he angrily ordered winter shut-offs to Ukraine and Georgia, alarming Western customers. Rather than concealing the Kremlin's cyber-attack capabilities, he unleashed them on tiny Estonia during a tiff over relocating a Soviet-era memorial — alerting NATO.

Putin's invasion of Georgia was also personal. In addition to exposing the West's impotence in the region, he meant to punish Georgia's defiant president. The lengths to which Putin was prepared to go in a personal vendetta should worry us all....

...Meanwhile, our next president will have to cope with this brilliant, dangerous man. That's going to require the experience and skills to exploit every element of our national power; to convince Europe that appeasement will only enlarge Putin's appetite; and to draw clear lines while avoiding drawn guns. Above all, our president will have to take Putin's measure accurately and not indulge in wishful thinking. Managing Putin's Russia could emerge as our No. 1 security challenge.]

Read the rest of this insightful article HERE.

This is all the more important to consider, not simply due to the Russian invasion of Georgia, but how Putin might react if The Ukraine joins NATO and slips from the Soviet grasp forever. Putin has been trying to subvert this development for years in a kind of tug-of-war with the West, at times possibly manifesting itself in a mysterious poisoning of a certain pro-NATO Ukrainian presidential candidate in the not too distant past. I would not leave the matter to someone like Barack Hussein Obama. As Peters says, the matter must be dealt with by someone with the right mindset and experience who can both stop Putin in his tracks AND keep us out of a nuclear holocaust.

photo borrowed from the wise guys.

Obama Even More Dependent Upon Teleprompter

It was reported by CNN (Crescent News Network) that Obama has started taking his teleprompter virtually everywhere now, including campaign rallies and townhall events.

This news brings to mind three questions:

1) Is Obama's mind becoming old and feeble prematurely due to his downswing in the polls?

2) Just who is writing the words that show up on that teleprompter?

3) And why can't the person/people who write for him be more consistent on Obama's positions?

Just curious here. Maybe Michelle could take the teleprompter out of his embrace while he sleeps and replace it with a teddy bear or something.

Not For Women Only ---Book Review of Lady of Milkweed Manor

Not more than a couple of weeks before I renounced my membership to the University of Illinois alumni association for the university's continued support of William Ayers, I read in the alumni magazine about a former classmate, former radio coworker, and old friend with whom I (until recently) lost touch after graduation named Julie Klassen who had published her first novel just last year. It's a Christian romance novel set in Regency England called Lady of Milkweed Manor, and it's gotten some very good reviews which can be found HERE and HERE.

It's a story of a vicar's fallen daughter who finds herself an unwed mother-to-be at a time in history when people were shunned for such mistakes. Her father, an unforgiving clergyman, is no exception and banishes her from home, forcing her to take refuge at a home for unwed mothers, a manor with a garden wrought with milkweeds. Later we learn the milkweeds are purposely grown for medicinal use, and become very symbolic throughout the book and consistent with the theme that things are not always as they seem.

It's basically a story about true love and sacrifice during a period when class, manners, snobbery, and hypocrisy seemed to rule the day. But the hope lies in the triumphing of the spirit, in patience, and in the Will of God. The period in which the story takes place was one in which very few thought so highly of themselves as to question the existence of God, though their behavior might oftentimes suggest a lack of God's influence. But while the sin of indifference to the least of us seems prevalent (snobbery running amok towards those far beyond unweds, wet-nurses, and fatherless babies), abortion is never an option.

One of the interesting examples of Julie Klassen's findings through extensive, on-site research in Britain of the historical period in question, was the practice of using goats as wet-nurses, in which the babies are straddled by the beasts and fed by direct contact in order to reduce the spreading of syphilis. Other items of note are excerpts from poems or other literature from that period that are usually about milkweeds or puerperal insanity (prenatal and/or postpartum depression) found at the start of each chapter. Plus, there is a lot of breastfeeding going on throughout the book, but tastefully described and in great detail.

As an author Julie (pictured at right) seems quite adept at plot flow, keeping my interest throughout and surprising me many times. Needless to say I found the book hard to put down. Perhaps it is her years of experience as a fictional editor (giving her such wonderful talent in writing) that makes this excellent debut offering so engrossing. It is an interesting and enjoyable read not just for women, but for any anglophile or lover of Christian literature.

Click HERE for an excerpt.



Picture of author and book cover borrowed from Julie Klassen.

New York City's September 11th Commemoration Ceremony 2008

First I'd like to say that the trip into NYC went very smoothly and as scheduled. There was no confusion or problem in using the subway, thanks to the two helpful transit system employees from which I got directions. Quite a change from 10 years ago when I nearly got drawn into fisticuffs by a nasty token-collector. I was also surprised at the light traffic and ease with which I cut through to the city and then subway, so I began to expect the other shoe to drop.

In fact, when that very thing seemed to be happening (the public was not allowed to get close enough to view the commemoration program---trees were in the line of sight, among other things), I was able to secure a press pass from the authorities who, luckily for me, were armed with iPhones and Blackberries and able to view my blog (with name and picture matching that on my driver's license), which they considered acceptable credentials. To say the least, I would be feeling rather giddy about getting in, were it not for the somberness of the occasion. And so I entered just in time for the bagpipers and drums to start...

We heard from Mayors Bloomberg and Giuliani; Governors Paterson, Corzine, and Pataki; Homeland Secretary Michael Chertoff; relatives of 2,751 victims reading every name for the record; representatives from many different countries; and Young People's Chorus of New York and musicians like the great Itzhak Perlman (looking older and slimmer). Obama and McCain were there, too, but down in the pit with victims' families (neither approached the podium or made a speech of any kind). The most heartrending sight for me was the children on stage, not looking much older than the 7 years since the attacks ,and losing parents they were too young to know.

After the commemoration I found protesters lurking behind Trinity Church, St. Paul's Chapel. Fortunately there were some serious Christians there to help balance them out.

Here are several pictures I took today (click them to enlarge), the last one from in front of a Midtown firehouse door. I'd also like to point out that Urban Infidel, whom I actually never met, but literally bumped into twice today, took some great pics on the other side of the police barrier well worth viewing (as usual). Also check out Atlas for great pics.

Tomorrow Marks Seven Years

Tomorrow marks the 7th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks, and I am going to try to make my way into New York City to Ground Zero for whatever remembrance they have planned. Please pray for me. I find their subway system somewhat confusing. Chicago elevated trains are a piece of cake, but NYC subways?...Fagettaboudit.

Hopefully I will have lots of pics to share tomorrow night.

I Love Strong Women

From John Hawkins at Right Wing News. Follow the link for the names of these women. Go ahead, they don't bite.

Obama In Panic Mode ---> Calls Palin A PIG

Barack Hussein Obama is having trouble digesting the new poll numbers showing himself now trailing the unanointed pair, McCain-Palin. In fact he 's having so much trouble dealing with this that his rhetoric has sunk to name-calling.

Today in Lebanon, VA Obama said the following:

"You can put lipstick on a pig," he said to a laughing Ohio audience. "It's still a pig." "You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change. It's still gonna stink."

The Obama camp denies that the candidate's comments were sexist toward Gov. Sarah Palin or even that Obama was referring to Palin as a pig. But anyone who saw the Republican National Convention, and heard Palin's humorous ad lib in which she sums up the difference between a pit bull and a hockey-mom with one word: lipstick, can see that he was, in fact, referring directly to that. Just as anyone who knows McCain is old knows Obama was calling McCain an old fish.

The only question that remains, I suppose, is whether or not the "pig" reference is sexist.

The Obama camp released this statement from their senior advisor today:

“Enough is enough. The McCain campaign’s attack tonight is a pathetic attempt to play the gender card about the use of a common analogy – the same analogy that Senator McCain himself used about Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s health care plan just last year. This phony lecture on gender sensitivity is the height of cynicism and lays bare the increasingly dishonorable campaign John McCain has chosen to run."

I remember that comment by McCain about Hillary's health care plan, and remember I gave a low whistle and shook my head when I thought of the feminist fall-out that might occur because of it, right after I stopped laughing. I knew the lipstick-on-a-pig analogy was common in Washington, but I also knew that McCain had gotten away with a sexist analogy.

And perhaps this is to be expected from an old military guy who did hard time in Hanoi. But shouldn't more should be expected from a former University of Chicago professor and editor of the Harvard Law Review? The sexist nuance should be unmistakable to a liberal progressive professor.

Obama is in crack-up mode.

The latest Gallup Tracking Poll shows McCain-Palin holding a 5% lead over Obama-Biden.

Yet Another Horrific Sarah Palin Scandal!

It has just been reported that many many years ago (it isn't known exactly how many, but it's never too many when Republicans are involved) before Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin married her husband Todd, that he recorded on his VCR a baseball game between the Giants and Dodgers. He did this wantonly, without the expressed written permission of Major League Baseball or its affiliates. Todd Palin could not be reached for comment (we lost his cell number).

It should be noted that it's not quite against the law to record baseball games on one's own VCR for private viewing, but we here at St. Blogustine (me, myself, and I...and sometimes my cat) are disturbed by the appearance of impropriety suggested by this reckless, youthful indiscretion.

An unknown source reported the following unsubstantiated reactions:

Senator Charles Schumer-- "He should have faxed the request! I would have...hell, anyone would have!"

Senator Barack Obama-- "That is not the Todd Palin I...guess I...uh... never really knew anyway...I guess."

Senator Hillary Clinton-- "Well,...I dunno...I've always been a Yankees fan."

Okay okay, this is all a load of dreck! But I hope the point isn't lost on anyone. A lot of mud is being slung at the Palin family, not just the candidate. From a 22-year-old DUI from the husband (who must have gotten it about the same time Obama was snorting cocaine) to Trooper-gate, in which Governor Palin fired the man who was supposed to fire (and didn't) her state trooper ex-brother-in-law who tasered his 10 year old step son.

The liberal leftist media are betting that their readers are not reading beyond the headlines, like the provocative one found on the cover of a recent 'US' Magazine issue--Babies, Lies, And Scandal. While the headline implies that Palin lied, the actual article makes it fairly clear it was others who lied about Palin. Ten thousand subscribers and counting have cancelled subscriptions to that magazine because of this. It's called a backlash...and the leftist media better get used to it. In fact it may be the tipping point that loses the election for Obama.

For a real Palin scandal, click HERE.

Good-Night And Good Luck, Andrea!

It's obvious the delegates surrounding Andrea Mitchell are smothering her with balloons. And who could blame them? She has been more liberal Democrat commentator than objective news reporter during this election as well as before. She was so lucky she was surrounded by mostly Christian Republicans instead of the "great unwashed" who were causing trouble outside of the convention hall. The balloons tossed by the anarchists outside were filled with human effluence.

"Fight WITH Me!"

Last night's lengthy acceptance speech by John McCain lasted the better part of an hour, so I will not post the whole thing here. Although it was rather long, it was very moving and reduced much of the audience to tears. It also had a higher Nielsen rating than Obama's styrofoam-pillar-speech.

The new CBS poll shows McCain and Obama tied at 42%, but was done by telephone from 9-1 to 9-3. This would suggest that most of the polling was done before the Palin speech, while all of it was done before McCain spoke. Things are getting interesting.

BTW, I am not endorsing Xtremerealitycheck.com

Sarah Palin's VP Acceptance Speech At The RNC

And I think that is all of them.

Rudy Giuliani at 2008 RNC

A brilliant attack speech by Rudy Giuliani at the RNC last night. The audience wanted red meat last night and they got tons of it. See above in three parts.

Fred Thompson At The 2008 RNC

This has been considered by many to be Fred Thompson's greatest speech. See above in three parts.

Bias To The Left Of Me,... Character To The Right

The leftist rumor-mongers have proven once again that those who have no set code to live by (Holy Bible or other) will stop at nothing to get their way. Behavior that even the Left decries as immoral suddenly becomes okay when viewed through their murky cloud of moral relativism. News agencies which are supposed to be above reporting unsubstantiated and subjective tripe, reporters who are openly in the tank for Barack Hussein Obama, and columnists who have more than a decade each of experience writing about the real world have put their own self respect and credibility on hold in playing up false reports that Trig was actually Bristol's daughter. This resulted in Governor Palin releasing a statement saying that her daughter, Bristol, is five months pregnant and plans to marry the father of her soon-to-be-born baby. What a shame they couldn't show the Palins the same restraint they showed John Edwards by not jumping to conclusions or disrespecting privacy. And none of the Palins cheated on anybody!

It is assumed the reason for playing up the story is to pour cold water on the excitement felt by conservative Christians for Governor Palin being named as McCain's running mate. But nothing could be further from the truth!

All of us out here in fly-over-country have become all too familiar with teenagers getting pregnant out of wedlock. We know well of the temptations of young people today as we listen to the music, see the TV shows, notice the billboards along the interstate highways, and eye the magazine covers, all of which seem geared toward sexual stimulation. Many of us remember that in our past there might have been a time or two when we proceeded with sex with our fingers crossed rather than stop in mid-passion, get dressed and drive down to the drugstore. Or lest we forget the time the condom broke and we wondered what we did wrong as we prayed to God for no pregnancy. Most of us were lucky in that regard. A few of us were not. And while we may never know the details of what happened, it is safe to say that Bristol and her boyfriend are two kids today who were not so lucky.

Christian conservatives know the real world and know that we live in a fallen world. But we also know that God's Grace will win the day. We also see that Gov. Palin has taught her daughter the right values, because Bristol will have the baby (not abort it) and marry the father (her boyfriend). And even though Bristol has made the mistake of sex before marriage, she did show at least some discernment in dating this particular boy since he is one who did not turn tail and flee once he found out she was pregnant. Unfortunately today many young men are not taught to own up to their own responsibilities, but this one promises to marry Bristol.

So,...the Left drawing so much attention to this situation only makes the Palins that much more endearing to us as we see they are indeed genuine and walk the walk. And so long as the Left continues to believe their own propaganda about us they will continue to misjudge us and underestimate our resolve.

Photo borrowed from Fox News.