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"New Obama Chief of Staff, Others on Board, Missed "Red Flags" of Alleged Fraud Scheme"


And I quote:

"President-elect Barack Obama's newly appointed chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, served on the board of directors of the federal mortgage firm Freddie Mac at a time when scandal was brewing at the troubled agency and the board failed to spot "red flags," according to government reports reviewed by ABCNews.com.

President-elect Barack Obama's newly appointed chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, served on the board of directors of the federal mortgage firm Freddie Mac at a time when scandal was brewing at the troubled agency and the board failed to spot "red flags," according to government reports reviewed by ABCNews.com.

According to a complaint later filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Freddie Mac, known formally as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, misreported profits by billions of dollars in order to deceive investors between the years 2000 and 2002.

Emanuel was not named in the SEC complaint (click here to read) but the entire board was later accused by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) (click here to read) of having "failed in its duty to follow up on matters brought to its attention."

Read the whole thing...there will be propaganda.

The U.S. Senate just passed this Act declaring that John McCain, born in the nation of Panama (that's not a state in the U.S.A.) is "a natural-born citizen."

Isn't that really convenient? This way, the nation gets to avoid various substantial ethics-violation charges and an impeachment if and as Panama-born McCain is ever elected to and then sworn into the Office of the President, an office that is restricted to and only to persons born in the United States of America.

So, now that restriction has been broadened to include McCain, a person born in Panama, born on a U.S. military base to U.S. citizen parents, he's been tweaked into "natural-born" status by the Senate while he is anything but natural-born to any other definition of the expression. This is madness.

The fact is, the reality is, that McCain was not born in the U.S.A. and he's not a "natural-born citizen." Except, now the Senate declares him so, so, I guess that means the moon's not made of creme cheese, except when it's running for President.

I was interested to read this recent entry by Greg Gutfeld on his blog -- "REPLACE-ALOGUE: LIKE WATER FOR VODKA" -- because I'd grown weary otherwise of anticipating anyone else would ever understand me when I've asked, numerous times in my life, "why drink decaffeinated coffee? I mean, it's coffee, you drink it BECAUSE it's caffeinated! What's the point, otherwise?"

Drinking "decaffeinated coffee" is a contradiction of terms. It's like saying, "I'll have vodka but pour water into the glass instead and tell me it's vodka."

I wrote about the water-to-vodka comparison on my own before I read Gutfeld's piece -- similarly titled (thus, I applied quotation marks to my title but I'd already written it -- a bit of kiss-up to Gutfeld if nothing else), but found his blog after writing my draft here and then wondering if there was anyone else in this whole wide world who could see or ever has seen the obvious about this dratted invention that strips the merit out of coffee and then perpetuates the lie about the icky substance that remains: a decaffeinated, liquid nonsense. Numerous times I've stood in an aisle in COSTCO while buying "the real thing" with strange people scurrying to buy, otherwise, "decaffeinated coffee," who stare at me with that empty and blank, glassy wide-eyed, silent look at my persistent questions -- "what's the point"? -- as to their intents.

If you want water, order water. If you want vodka, order vodka. If you want coffee, order coffee. If you want "decaffeinated coffee," order coffee icecream or just stir some brown sugar -- or other flavoring substance with a caramel or chocolate color -- in water, heat it up and then lie to yourself that you're drinking something else.

One of life's little ongoing self deceits: "decaffeinated coffee" ~is~ coffee, when it really isn't. No more than a bucket on a set of roller skates is a Mercedes Benz...except when you pretend it so. A big imagination is a wonderful thing as long as you know what you're doing.

I'm peeved with this dratted "google-analytics.com" holdup on each site I try to access that deploys this stalker (tracking) cookie. The pages "load...load...load" while waiting for the google-launched java scripted "cookie" to complete it's exchange attempt with my browser.

Google should not be involved as third-party intruder to site access traffic. Or if they insist (and they do), then a seamless process needs to be developed (however, the process is what's dubious here -- and google goes beyond gathering site traffic).

For sites that join in this tracking cookie deed -- formally, they're sites on which Google "helps website owners analyze how users use their sites," (to the utter annoyance of many people who attempt site visits) -- the process is irritating to what would otherwise be a unique visit.

Most everyone who administers a website recognizes the usefulness of logging and monitoring site traffic; but the effect the google-analytics tracking activity has on affected sites is that it actually discourages site traffic.

Websites that enable google-analytics discourage traffic and if what they actually seek is to record and monitor site traffic in general, they would be better to stear away from google-analytics; thus, for sites that use google-analytics, I question their motives because they're reaching for increased information as to site traffic per visitor.

Places such as Breitbart, for starters. I'd like to just access Breitbart and just read a frickin' article or view a frickin' video but I have to wait a prolonged while until google-analytics.com concludes it's attempts to do it's deed before the content will load (the site loads, but once specific content is selected, then comes the wait for the google-analytics.com tracking cookie).

And that means, when I have a lot to do, I then discontinue the attempt to visit that (any similar) site because I have other things to do than wait for billionaires to pad their bank accounts and exploit my browsing. Sometimes it's necessary to accomplish a whole lot in perhaps thirty minutes and waiting thirty-to-forty seconds for purposes of indulging a tracking cookie is not tolerable to the detriment of other information that can be done in that time elsewhere.

I dig marketing as much as anyone but the google-analytics stalking-tracking stuff is just too much for my sense of good manners and my patience while their participating sites pause on pause while pausing on pause while the internet waits on pause for google-analytics to run up behind your site visit so as to loiter there.

Google gets a lump of coal for this activity this "Holiday Season" from me.

To everyone else, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

"Mel Gibson Arrested on DUI" blares the headline.

UPDATED: at "3PM" the headline now reads:
"EXCLUSIVE: Mel Gibson Busted for DUI" and the DRUDGEREPORT updates their link to read: "...ARRESTED ON SUSPICION OF DUI..." so Gibson's aren't as clear-cut as earlier presumptions by the media (and, about what I was speculating when I first wrote this entry, as follows).

And with that headline, from the comments section that follows over at TMZ, comes utter nonsense and crude devastation jabbing forth from some.

No excuses here, just trying to give sense to what otherwise seems to be mass panic because Mel Gibson was arrested and, from the comments over there (TMZ), because of Gibson's Christian faith, some assume that means he has no human vulnerabilties or weaknesses -- and then there are insane comments, which I'm not even going to try to give sense to), but that he was arrested on suspicion. That could mean suspicion, or, it could mean suspicion of driving under the influence, or it could mean, suspicion.

Jul 28th 2006 3:00PM -- Mel Gibson was arrested by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in Malibu, Calif. early this morning for suspicion of DUI. Bail was set at $5,000.

He was pulled over for speeding as he was heading eastbound on the Pacific Coast Highway and a Breathalyzer test was administered. The arrest report lists the time of arrest as 2:36AM and the time booked as 4:06AM. Gibson was released at 9:45 a.m.

A spokesman for the Los Angeles Country Sheriff's Department told TMZ, "Mel Gibson was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence. H e was released later this morning. The investigation was still ongoing, just like it would be with any other person."

A rep for Gibson (says) they are "checking into" the matter.

If someone's taking anti-depressants or other mood stimulators, those medications can accelerate the effects of a tiny bit of alcohol -- shouldn't mix them, to be realistic, but to those who do, that's a potent combination bound to distort one's motor and perceptual abilities. And, since Gibson is said to own homes in Malibu nearby to where he was taken into custody early this morning, it sure seems reasonable that he was driving home.

I'm not justifying it -- clearly he piqued the curiosity of a Los Angeles Sheriff -- but he's hardly immune to personal issues and crises or even disregard of the important, same as the rest of us. It's always peculiar, however, how it is that some people who are so keen on substance abuse and substance use and any or all sorts of behaviors without regard for restrictions of any kind by society, by morals and ethics, are the first to ridicule someone -- in this case, Gibson -- for substance use (if that's the problem, although it's not shown yet that that is the issue here, just that there's suspicion adequate enough to arrest). Never can figure out the infexibility and rush to judge and even to condemn by those among us who regard their own behavior as privileged and beyond touch of condemnation, as do many atheists, certainly most Liberals.

I was saying my prayers when I woke up this morning before dawn, around 4:30 A.M., PST, and I included Gibson in those prayers. I was surprised that he appeared in my thoughts at that time but now I know why.

A person starts over by starting over. You start at a new point and then move forward from there, regardless of any failing or detrimental prior point. Hope he finds peace. I sure do wish Gibson well and thank him for a huge amount of entertainment and inspiration. Hope he's alright, hope he finds peace. Hope he makes more of those great movies that we fans love so much. Hope he finds peace.

Second Update

Again from TMZ, this: "...A sheriff's official told TMZ Gibson had a blood alcohol level of .12. The legal limit in the state of California is .08.

I feel even more empathetic here and wish him the best -- alcohol can be a hard substance to leave alone, particulalry once things seem to be going well: most deceptive at times such as those, "cunning, baffling, powerful." Gibson is certainly not alone in this experience and Christ is with him.

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