A Time to Smile: The McCain-Palin Tradition

Yo, Hank! Way to go, Hoss!

Nikki

The Turning Point

In every battle there comes a time, a turning point, that determines whether the battle will be won or lost. Sometimes that turning point doesn't come until late in the battle; sometimes it comes early.

We have witnessed such a time.

The debate tonight between John McCain and Barack Obama hasn't even begun, but it's already totally irrelevant to the outcome of the election.

It's over.

The election is over and the winner is Barack Hussein Obama. I freely admit to be choking extremely hard as I type these words, and I assure you I will be overjoyed to eat a plate of crow if I'm proven wrong.

McCain lost the election the day he announced the suspension of his campaign in order to return to Washington to support passage of the bailout bill. That was his campaign killer. He should have stayed on the stump, listened to the will of the people, and then acted on their behalf. But he didn't. It was his game-changing moment and he blew it.

The American people are fed up. We're sick of predatory politicians, arrogant bureaucrats, over-compensated golden-parachuted executives, and the elitist MSM. We're not the least bit inclined to bail out any of them. Call it what they will, but like a rose, a bailout by any other name is still a bailout.

The Wall Street elites and the greedy politicians, primarily the Dems, wanted the bailout but the people on Main Street did not. And we were adamant about it with our emails and calls to our representatives in Washington. Republican and Independent Conservatives did not want it in any shape or form. The market did not want the bailout bill and it reacted by delivering staggering losses. The market knows it has witnessed the nationalization of a major sector of the American economy and it recognizes an enemy of free enterprise.

The poll numbers are hardening and the election has now passed the point of no return. At least 45% of all American voters have made up their mind -- they are voting for Obama, some blindly, and some defiantly. Seven percent of the remaining 55% are leaning in Obama's direction. That happens in elections when the economy turns sour.

There is now no plausible argument to indicate a quick recovery in the credit crisis, and the more the economy tanks, the more the voters will turn to the Democrats. The Republicans are in power in the executive branch only, but fair or not, that's always where the buck stops and the blame drops.

Bill Clinton got it right years ago: "It's the economy, stupid." Elections always come down to the economy and how it affects our everyday lives. We vote with our pocketbooks, our credit cards, our savings, investments, and our disposable income. Anyone who doesn't recognize this is ignorant of history or simply in denial of the workings of human nature.

In the meantime, we will keep working hard for the McCain-Palin ticket and do everything we can to get out the vote. There will be time enough to prepare for the Obama impact.

But God is in control and His ways are not our ways.

Let's not forget it took four years of suffering under Jimmy Carter to give us two terms of the great Ronald Reagan.

Disclaimer: I've spent the day attempting to talk myself in off the ledge, but with the economy tanking and the extremely strong prospect of Obama in the Oval Office, I think I'll just stay out here. I truly believe the above scenario will prove to be correct, but you have no idea how hard I'm praying to be wrong.

Nikki

Obama's Strange Bedfellows

The fact that this video is not new does not diminish its importance in the quest to see who Barack Obama is, and what he really believes.

The best I can say for what is shown here is that it's quite disturbing. And, at the other end of the spectrum -- May God help us!

Nikki

Obama's Choices

The Constitution is so much more than mere words on a piece of parchment. It's the document on which our country was built -- who we are and how we want to live. It must never be entrusted to those who do not love it enough to die for it.

The next administration could possibly appoint as many as 5 new justices to the Supreme Court. The wrong appointments would mean disaster for America. Do you really trust Barack Hussein Obama to make the right appointments?

Some choices are too important to ignore. This is one of those choices.

Barack Obama -- do you really know who he is and what he believes?

Nikki

Bailout: Sweet & Sour Pork

After taking a 3 page bill and porking it up to 451 pages, the Senate passed the Bailout Bill by a vote of 74 – 25. It's expected to go to the House for a vote Friday morning and then to President Bush for signing into law.

But wait, it's not that simple. Let's look at some of the so-called sweeteners our senators put into the bill. The facts may surprise you – they sure surprised the heck out of me! Are our elected officials truly serving the interests of the people or is this a case of legislative abuse being foisted on the taxpayer at a time of crisis?

The Bailout Bill, known as HR1424, began life as The Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007, but it's now being called The 2008 Emergency Economic Stabilization Act.

Don't let the name change fool you -- the original bill's proposed spending for mental health remains in the bill and it is going to cost the taxpayers an enormous amount of money over a very long period of time. That's how they do things in Washington. They should have been honest with the public and kept the bill's original name – the very concept of a $700 Billion bailout (plus) certainly toys with my mental health, and for all the pols who are addicted to pork, there's a nice fix in there for them.

Nuff said. Let's look at some of what's included:

Sec. 503. Exemption from excise tax for certain wooden arrows designed for use by children. A proposal to exempt the excise tax for any wooden arrow shaft consisting of all natural wood with no laminations or artificial means to enhance the spine. Estimated cost to the taxpayer = $2 million.

Sec. 317. Seven-year cost recovery period for motorsports racing track facility. Track owners want to be able write-off the cost of their facilities, including grandstands, parking lots and concession stands, over seven years. Auto track owners are trying to get out of paying more taxes - which they'd have to do if they deducted less every year. Estimated cost = $100 million.

Sec. 308. Increase in limit on cover over of rum excise tax to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. A rebate on excise taxes charged on rum imported from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Estimated cost to the American taxpayer = $192 million.

Sec. 301. Extension and modification of research credit. Extension of a lucrative tax credit for companies doing research and experimentation in the United States. Companies that have benefited from this provision include Microsoft Corp., Boeing Co., United Technologies Corp., Electronic Data Systems Corp. and Harley-Davidson. Estimated cost $19 billion.

Sec. 504. Income averaging for amounts received in connection with the Exxon Valdez litigation. A tax break for Exxon Valdez plaintiffs. Rep. Don Young (R-AK) is a supporter. Estimated taxpayer cost = $49 million.

Sec 502. Provisions related to film and television productions. Special tax incentives to attempt to keep film and television productions in the U.S. Rep. Diane Watson (D-CA) is a primary supporter. Estimated cost to the taxpayer = $478 million.

Sec. 325. Extension and modification of duty suspension on wool products; wool research fund; wool duty refunds. Tariff relief for the U.S. worsted wool fabric producers that use imported fibers and yarns, as well as U.S. tailored clothing manufacturers that use imported fabrics as inputs. Supported by Reps. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) and Melissa Bean (D-IL). Cost to the taxpayer = $148 million.

Sec. 309. Extension of economic development credit for American Samoa. A tax credit for certain corporations operating in American Samoa. Estimated cost = $33 million.

And there's more, but you get the idea.

Memo to Washington: When election time rolls around, you campaign for our votes and you ask us to trust you; yet, during what could be a Herbert Hoover moment for our country, you refuse to give us a clean bill that directly addresses only the important issue at hand.

Make no mistake, something must be done to loosen the credit markets but we do not need this porked-up legislation that absolves the guilty while weighing heavily on the backs of the innocent. Simply stated, this is a bad bill. You could have -- should have -- done much better for those you claim to serve.

Don't tell us our economy is crashing, that the entire financial world as we know it is about to come to an end if this bill isn't passed, and then have the audacity to stuff your pork into the folds of a $700 Billion piece of legislation that will burden our children, our grandchildren, and perhaps even our great grandchildren, all the while hoping that we won't notice.

The sad part is, usually we don't.

Nikki

Give This Video 11 Minutes Before You Vote

A fast moving video that explains how we got into this financial mess, it provides sources and is easy to understand. View it full screen if possible. It was removed from You Tube after 1.2 million hits due to a music copyright claim by Warner Brothers. It has been reposted on You Tube as Version II but who knows if it will be pulled again.

You owe it to yourself to see it while you can.




Give this video 11 minutes of your time before you vote. It could change your mind.

Nikki

A Letter to My Representative

My Representative voted NO on the first bailout bill, and the following is a letter that I emailed to say thanks for the vote, and to offer my suggestions for a common sense solution that I believe will do much to alleviate our current credit crisis without soaking the taxpayer for generations to come.

If you like this solution, please feel free to copy and paste this letter and email it to your representatives and senators.

Nikki

Congressman XXXX,

First, I want to thank you for your NO vote on the House's bailout bill. As I'm sure you know, the amount of money Treasury Secretary Paulson wanted, $700 Billion, would have placed an unbelievable burden on the already over-burdened American taxpayer, both now and for several generations yet to come. And the idea that Paulson wanted sole control over the dispersion of this money was a socialistic ploy that no American could allow to happen. Again, I appreciate your vote and I will remember it when it's time for me to cast mine.

Secondly, while realizing that Main Street will suffer from frozen credit markets and something must be done to remedy this, I would like to put forth the following simple, common sense suggestions, that if implemented, should quickly begin adding liquidity -- at far less expense to the American taxpayer than the unacceptably expensive and socialistic Paulson Plan.

1. Remove Mark To Market accounting rules on all subprime Tier III bonds and mortgages. This keeps companies from being forced to artificially mark down their inventory below the value of the underlying mortgages and real estate. This would have an immediate effect of stabilization on failing banks and it would add no cost to the taxpayer. Former Speaker Newt Gingrich estimates this step alone would solve approximately 70% of the liquidity problem.
   
2. Provide all subprime bonds and mortgages with an underlying FHA-type insurance. These government-insured loans would have an instant market all over the world, and thus, create immediate liquidity. Companies receiving this government-backed insurance must comply with all items through #6 below:
   
3. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent into a 6% fixed-rate mortgage.
   
4. Roll back all payments (with no late fees or legal costs) into the balance. This would bring homeowners current and give them a chance to keep their homes.
   
5. Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage refinancing or the sale of the property to pay off the loan. In cases of imminent foreclosure or short sale, proceed as the FHA already does, and do not hold the borrower liable for any deficit balance so that the mortgage company will be motivated to work with the borrower while limiting foreclosures. Estimated cost: less than $50 million instead of $700 billion,
   
6. Cancel ALL golden parachutes for existing and future CEO's while their companies hold these government-insured bonds and mortgages.
   
7. And lastly, remove the capital gains tax in order to stimulate investors into the real estate and stock market in hopes of gaining tax-free profits. This step should create immediate liquidity. And again, it would add no cost to the taxpayers.
   
   

The wealthy will benefit, and they should because it will be their money that is stimulating the economy. I believe these steps will enable liquidity to flow into the credit markets while providing the American borrower adequate relief in order to survive this current crisis.

These ideas did not originate with me; rather, they are a collection of good ideas I gathered while listening to many others.

I trust you will give these suggestions your most serious consideration.

Sincerely,

Your Name
Your Address and Zip Code
Your Email Address

Prayer, God and War: The Media Elites vs. Palin, Clinton, JFK, FDR, and Lincoln

Shame on you, Charlie Gibson!



God bless Sarah Palin!

Video courtesy of Newt Gingrich

Nikki

The Used Car Mortgage

The Used Car Mortgage is one phase of the current credit crisis that I have always found incredibly hard to believe. Having purchased several homes, I'm familiar with the required documentation and the required amount of money for a down payment or an equity sale. I'm very aware of the relationship between the amount of money paid up front and how it relates to the monthly payment and the financing of the balance. The Used Car Mortgage, however, is something else entirely.

I've never understood how companies like Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae – the companies once headed by Obama advisers Jim Johnson and Franklin Raines -- could be publicly traded while at the same time being government sponsored. But they are and they're legal. A bit of history sheds some light on how it came to be this way.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed the Community Reinvestment Act that pushed Freddie and Fannie into aggressively lending to impoverished minority communities with what Carter said were hopes of raising them to middle class. History shows that poor minorities would have been better served if they had been offered jobs and education instead of mortgages they couldn't afford to pay, but Carter didn't see it that way.

Fast forward to 1995 -- President Clinton directed Robert Rubin, his Secretary of the Treasury, to re-write the rules for Freddie and Fannie, and by 1997 Clinton, using his HUD Secretary, Mario Cuomo, double-teamed the process. In so doing, Clinton turned the quasi-private mortgage-funding firms into semi-nationalized monopolies that not only dealt in mortgage paper but they also began making loans to large Democratic voting blocks, and handing out jobs and money to political allies. Corruption was inevitable.

Clinton had put Freddie and Fannie into the subprime market in a huge way. They now had immense leverage due to government guarantees that allowed them to hold only 2.5% of capital to back their investments. Banks were required to hold 10%.

Business boomed for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae as they dumped billions of dollars into loans in poor communities. They became the used car salesmen of the mortgage market, generating the "No job -- No income documentation = No problem" loans. If you had a pulse you could get a mortgage. The insanity had begun.

By 2007, Freddie and Fannie owned and guaranteed nearly half of the $12 Trillion US mortgage market. This was an overwhelming exposure of taxpayer money into private equity and it was doomed to fail.

It was only a matter of time.

Nikki

Congratulation to the American Taxpayer

Congratulations to the American taxpayer! Like it or not, all of us will soon own over $700 billion in bad mortgages – mortgage paper that isn’t worth its face value. And to add insult to injury, the Feds want us to believe they will be able to sell it for profit. So much for fairy tales.

And if that doesn’t make you mad, add this comment from Dem VP hopeful, Sen. Joe Biden on ABC’s Good Morning America: “Raising taxes is patriotic. We want to take money and put it back in the pocket of the middle class.”

Maybe ol’ Joe would be happy if I just endorse my check and send it all to the government. Would that make me more patriotic? Sorry, that’s not change I can believe in.

I'm furious and you should be too!

I’m a strong advocate for free enterprise. Our capitalistic system is by far the best in the world because it causes us to rise to our best – no, it demands our best and it rewards our entrepreneurial efforts, hard work and ingenuity with a good living and our share of the American dream.

I don't like what's happening to our free market economy. I don't like what's happening to the survival of the fittest in the rough and tumble market where he who builds the better mouse trap wins, and he who builds an inferior one re-groups his resources and tries again or falls by the wayside.

Free markets must have overseers, and they do, a body known as the Securities and Exchange Commission, but it failed to do its job for whatever reason. We cannot afford to have failure at such levels, but the SEC is not the only culprit in this crisis.

Regulatory bodies must be tough minded watch dogs with the highest degree of integrity and moral character, guardians of the public trust who aren’t afraid to bark when something doesn’t smell right, when something goes bump or when things simply feel wrong. There’s a fine line between not enough regulation and too much, and the overseerer must walk that tightrope constantly because a slip in either direction can be fatal. Our own history, as well as that of Europe, is proof that too much regulation hinders growth and kills business.

In 2003, President Bush called for a full investigation and re-regulating of the SEC. He said it was tottering on the brink of disaster but he was shot down by Congressmen Barney Frank and Chris Dodd of the powerful Federal Banking Committee. Frank claimed there were no looming problems. The story was reported in the liberal New York Times on September 11, 2003, but got little attention. On May 23, 2006, Sen. John McCain stood on the floor of the Senate and called for a full investigation of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and he too was blocked.

For those who don't follow the stock market, the type of bailout we're witnessing began under former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, along with the monetary policy that led to the imploding credit crisis. Greenspan was an advocate of the Adjustable Rate Mortgage in all of its insanity, as well as ridiculously low interest rates that encouraged the creation of severely underfunded credit policies. I truly believe Greenspan will go down as one of the worst central bankers in history. But again, there is no sole culprit.

This much I know -- if, on the day of disaster, you were long the stock of either Fannie or Freddie, you lost your money. If you were short the stock (betting it would go down), you won and pocketed profits. It's legal and I've done it a few times in years past, but there’s something very un-American about it.

I’m beginning to question what country I'm living in. Since when are profits private and losses public? This doesn't sound like America, Toto.

We're fast becoming a Socialist nation. What’s next -- socialized health care, a socialized auto industry? And while they're at it, they could socialize the credit card industry too. And how about Sallie Mae and student loans? Maybe I'll send them my utility bill.

The whole mess is a travesty of woefully inadequate monetary policies, graft, corruption and greed, and now that the inmates are running the asylum, they want a blank check drawn on the taxpayers' account to spend as they see fit. This must not be allowed to happen!

It's true that something must be done to rescue the credit markets, and soon, but no blank checks for anyone -- not now, not ever! It would be a terrible injustice to the taxpayer -- a dagger into the heart of every honest, hard working American.

Memo to Washington: Be very careful with our money. Proceed with great caution, for when free market capitalism goes away, the American dream will go with it.

Nikki

Welcome to The Shepherd Report

I have no agenda other than to satisfy my own desire to write – to force myself to think, to research and assimilate facts, and to reason and form my own conclusions. Next is the ultimate step where I put my thoughts into a public forum where they risk the reader’s criticism and rejection or perhaps, only the damning of faint praise. But I welcome it all. I’ve done it before and I’m relatively free from battle scars.

It was in the late 1980’s when I first aimed my modem tones toward the then-largest online service at a blazing 600 baud. A few short years later I was writing a monthly column where I interviewed and wrote about the CEO’s and technology visionaries who were bringing the internet to Everytown, USA. These were the people running the companies that made up the technology boom in the stock market. It was an exciting time and I enjoyed the gig tremendously. But that’s enough history for now.

I'm a Southerner, born and bred. I’m opinionated. I am also tolerant, and I hope you will feel free to state your views on any given subject within the confines of good taste and proper language. Click on the comment button and talk back to me.

You, the reader, won’t always agree with what I write and that’s okay. I won’t always hit one out of the park, but I’ll usually take a swing.

More later…

Nikki Shepherd