10 things you should know about John McCain (but probably don't)
Posted by: fred simon on 06 April 2008
10 things you should know about John McCain (but probably don't):1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's continued to oppose key civil rights laws.
2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."
3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.
4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."
5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.
6. He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.
7. Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he's too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."
8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates.
9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."
10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year.
Sources:1. "The Complicated History of John McCain and MLK Day," ABC News, April 3, 2008
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/04/the-complicated.html"McCain Facts," ColorOfChange.org, April 4, 2008
http://colorofchange.org/mccain_facts/2. "McCain More Hawkish Than Bush on Russia, China, Iraq," Bloomberg News, March 12, 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aF28rSCtk0ZM&refer=us"Buchanan: John McCain 'Will Make Cheney Look Like Gandhi,'" ThinkProgress, February 6, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/06/buchanan-gandhi-mccain/3. "McCain Sides With Bush On Torture Again, Supports Veto Of Anti-Waterboarding Bill," ThinkProgress, February 20, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/20/mccain-torture-veto/4. "McCain says Roe v. Wade should be overturned," MSNBC, February 18, 2007
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17222147/5. "2007 Children's Defense Fund Action Council® Nonpartisan Congressional Scorecard," February 2008
http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/PageServer?pagenam..._learn_scorecard2007"McCain: Bush right to veto kids health insurance expansion," CNN, October 3, 2007
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/03/mccain.interview/6. "Beer Executive Could Be Next First Lady," Associated Press, April 3, 2008
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h-S1sWHm0tchtdMP5LcLywg5ZtMgD8VQ86M80"McCain Says Bank Bailout Should End `Systemic Risk,'" Bloomberg News, March 25, 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aHMiDVYaXZFM&refer=home7. "Will McCain's Temper Be a Liability?," Associated Press, February 16, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=4301022"Famed McCain temper is tamed," Boston Globe, January 27, 2008
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/01/27/f...ain_temper_is_tamed/8. "Black Claims McCain's Campaign Is Above Lobbyist Influence: 'I Don't Know What The Criticism Is,'" ThinkProgress, April 2, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/02/mccain-black-lobbyist/"McCain's Lobbyist Friends Rally 'Round Their Man," ABC News, January 29, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=42102519. "McCain's Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam," Mother Jones Magazine, March 12, 2008
http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2008/03/...spiritual-guide.html"Will McCain Specifically 'Repudiate' Hagee's Anti-Gay Comments?," ThinkProgress, March 12, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/12/mccain-hagee-anti-gay/"McCain 'Very Honored' By Support Of Pastor Preaching 'End-Time Confrontation With Iran,'" ThinkProgress, February 28, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/28/hagee-mccain-endorsement/10. "John McCain Gets a Zero Rating for His Environmental Record," Sierra Club, February 28, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/environment/77913/ Posted on: 11 April 2008 by jayd
quote:
Originally posted by Mick Parry:
Jay
I agree you never tell us what to do but you certainly patronise us in droves.
Regards
Mick
Yeah, but what do I know?
Posted on: 11 April 2008 by Mick P
Jay
You said ... "Yeah, but what do I know?
I think that is half of Freds and your problem, you just don't realise you are doing it.
Regards
Mick
Posted on: 11 April 2008 by jayd
quote:
Originally posted by Mick Parry:
Jay
You said ... "Yeah, but what do I know?
I think that is half of Freds and your problem, you just don't realise you are doing it.
Regards
Mick
Excellent! 50% of my problems solved in a single post. By the gods, you are a miracle man.
Hey, let's start on your problems now... on second thought, Naim's server space is finite, so that's probably a can of worms best left unopened.
Posted on: 11 April 2008 by Mick P
Jay
Thats right, you just carry on patronising.
Regards
Mick
Posted on: 11 April 2008 by jayd
quote:
Originally posted by Mick Parry:
Jay
Thats right, you just carry on patronising.
Regards
Mick
Actually, that was just a simple insult. There's a difference.
Posted on: 11 April 2008 by Mick P
Jay
I have no more intention in dealing with you, your odious nature is defiling this forum.
Posted on: 11 April 2008 by gordon cavanaugh
quote:
Originally posted by Mick Parry:
Jayd
I do not have a sub prime mortgage so I am not a total idiot.
Your worry is that the fools who took on such mortgages will in all probability vote for Obama.
Regards
Mick
the general consensus, here in the US, is that wall street greed, facilitated by bush&co. deregulation, was largely responsible for the subprime fiasco. in fact, even conservative republicans are now calling for vastly increased government regulation of financial institutions. many banks and mortgage companies pushed minority borrowers into subprime mortgages even though the borrowers qualified for better loans. why did the banks do this? subprime loans had a higher return.
Posted on: 11 April 2008 by u5227470736789439
quote:
Originally posted by jayd:
quote:
If we are to be moderated by the USA, perhaps it is incumbent on us to be aware of the political machinations. If not then don't presume to tell us what to do
If you are to allow yourselves to be moderated by the US, so be it. Myself, I'd never presume to tell you what to do — you have Mick for that.
I sincerely wish that the USA did not presume to tell the UK what to do. With luck Mr Blair will be the last Prime Minsiter to act as Poodle to Neo-com US foreign policy. But what is happening remains, at least till we are sure the US can do us no more harm, a worry until we are certain that the result of the US election can do us no more harm than already on the World scene.
George
Posted on: 11 April 2008 by fred simon
quote:
Originally posted by gordon cavanaugh:
quote:
Originally posted by Mick Parry:
Jayd
I do not have a sub prime mortgage so I am not a total idiot.
Your worry is that the fools who took on such mortgages will in all probability vote for Obama.
Regards
Mick
the general consensus, here in the US, is that wall street greed, facilitated by bush&co. deregulation, was largely responsible for the subprime fiasco. in fact, even conservative republicans are now calling for vastly increased government regulation of financial institutions. many banks and mortgage companies pushed minority borrowers into subprime mortgages even though the borrowers qualified for better loans. why did the banks do this? subprime loans had a higher return.
Good points, Gordon.
Further, while some of those who bought into sub-prime mortgages may have been foolish to do so, they would only have been allowed to do so if the bank approved such a person knowing that they weren't qualified. Predators preying on the weak.
But many of those who are caught in the sub-prime mortgage trap did not start out as fools, but they were made fools by banks who promised one thing and delivered another ... bait and switch has been a very common practice in this market.
All best,
Fred
Posted on: 13 April 2008 by Mick P
Fred
Anyone who takes out a mortgage has to read a contract. I admit that the contract is more than 50 words, but basically if I sign a contract, either I read the bloody thing or get a trusted friend to read it and explain the conditions to me.
If someone is so bloody thick to sign up to a sub prime mortgage then they should be prevented by law from either owning a pen or having a bank account.
They were bloody dim and that is the end of it.
What worries me is that I believe 25% of all mortgages recently let in the US were sub prime and that means you have an awful lot of morons out there who have the power to vote.
Very very worrying.
Regards
Mick
Posted on: 13 April 2008 by Exiled Highlander
Mick
Stop being so bloody condescending....the average American is not that different to the average Brit in that many struggle to make ends meet and the level of education is similar so all this BS about about "morons with the power to vote" is claptrap....you have them in the same ratio in the UK.
These people simply signed up for mortgages on the terms they were offered....the contract didn't say "Sub-Prime Mortgage" anywhere on it, they simply signed up to a mortgage repayment they couldn't afford and shame on the banks for lending in the first place.
Regards
Jim
Posted on: 13 April 2008 by Mick P
Jim
Anyone with an IQ of more than 3 points above that of a poodle reads a mortgage form from begining to end. These fools have caused a world wide problem just because they were too dim to read a few pages of words strung together to form a sentence.
Sorry they were fools and even more worrying, they have the right to vote.
Regards
Mick
Posted on: 13 April 2008 by gordon cavanaugh
quote:
Originally posted by Mick Parry:
Fred
Anyone who takes out a mortgage has to read a contract. I admit that the contract is more than 50 words, but basically if I sign a contract, either I read the bloody thing or get a trusted friend to read it and explain the conditions to me.
If someone is so bloody thick to sign up to a sub prime mortgage then they should be prevented by law from either owning a pen or having a bank account.
They were bloody dim and that is the end of it.
What worries me is that I believe 25% of all mortgages recently let in the US were sub prime and that means you have an awful lot of morons out there who have the power to vote.
Very very worrying.
Regards
Mick
what about the hedge funds and investment banks that eagerly bought the repackaged subprime mortgages? how smart were they? the carlyle group, staffed to the hilt with world leaders, went under. bear-sterns needed a bailout. did these financial wizards not read the contracts? should the john majors and bushes of the world be prevented from either owning a pen or having a bank account? oh, wait, that's not a bad idea
. i think you're right.
Posted on: 13 April 2008 by Mick P
Gordon
The banks that sold the loans are high and dry, they sold the mortgages onto the global markets.
The root cause of this fiasco is the lack of intellect on the part of hundreds of dim wits who signed up to a loaded mortgage.
You can take a horse to water etc etc.
Regards
Mick
Posted on: 13 April 2008 by Mick P
quote:
Originally posted by Mick Parry:
Gordon
The banks that sold the loans are high and dry, they sold the mortgages onto the global markets. The chances are that the banks who purchased the loans would have dressed them up even better and moved them on but they did it at the wrong time. That was a commercial risk.
The root cause of this fiasco is the lack of intellect on the part of hundreds of dim wits who signed up to a loaded mortgage.
You can take a horse to water etc etc.
Regards
Mick
Posted on: 13 April 2008 by Exiled Highlander
Mick
quote:
Anyone with an IQ of more than 3 points above that of a poodle reads a mortgage form from begining to end. These fools have caused a world wide problem just because they were too dim to read a few pages of words strung together to form a sentence.
Sorry they were fools and even more worrying, they have the right to vote.
Is there an IQ test in the UK that you now have to sit in order to be allowed to vote?
Your wrath is aimed at the wrong people here - it ought to be aimed at the banks who dreamed up this stuff.
Joe Public who lives in the next street to me did not bring down the world markets, as Gordon says it was the so-called financial wizards who brought this on themselves and thus created the fallout on the markets and the P&L of the institutions involved.
Get the correct targets in sites of your shotgun before pulling the trigger.
Jim
Posted on: 13 April 2008 by Mick P
Jim
This problem started because thousands of people bought property with a subprime mortgage.
A mortgage is the biggest debt most of us will sign up to and common sense dictates that you read the small print before signing it.
These people were plain stupid.
Regards
Mick
Posted on: 13 April 2008 by gordon cavanaugh
quote:
Originally posted by Mick Parry:
Jim
This problem started because thousands of people bought property with a subprime mortgage.
A mortgage is the biggest debt most of us will sign up to and common sense dictates that you read the small print before signing it.
These people were plain stupid.
Regards
Mick
actually, some banks were so eager to lend the money, because they could repackage the mortgages and sell them at higher rate, that they gave borrowers the option of putting no money down, and if the property's value became less than the loan amount, the borrower could hand the house over to the bank, and walk away with no financial obligation or loss, and no damage to his credit report. this allowed many borrowers to buy on speculation with no financial risk. so whose the moron in this case, bank or borrower?
Posted on: 13 April 2008 by Mick P
Gordon
I would imagine the people who signed up to these "no liability" mortgages were fairly astute buy to let types. They are certainly in the minority.
The fools who were left wailing that their lives have been ruined etc are the morons with a lousy credit history, no financial acum and whothen screw it up for every else just because they cannot be bothered to read a contract.
Like I said ...... morons
Regards
Mick
Posted on: 13 April 2008 by jayd
quote:
Originally posted by Mick Parry:
Gordon
I would imagine the people who signed up to these "no liability" mortgages were fairly astute buy to let types. They are certainly in the minority.
The fools who were left wailing that their lives have been ruined etc are the morons with a lousy credit history, no financial acum and whothen screw it up for every else just because they cannot be bothered to read a contract.
Like I said ...... morons
Regards
Mick
A quick glance at your appalling lack of mastery of the rudimentary elements of grammar makes for a terrific pot/kettle story.
Posted on: 13 April 2008 by Mick P
Jay
And that coming from a man who boasted how he spent 10 years studying biochemistry.
How has this massive programme been rewarded, are you a CEO or Head of Department etc or what.
The truth is you are a patronising fool.
Posted on: 13 April 2008 by Exiled Highlander
Mick
A well known Scottish poet once wrote this as part of a much longer poem...kind of apt though....
O wad some Power the gift tae gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
It wad frae mony a blunder free us,
An foolish notion:
Cheers
Jim
Posted on: 13 April 2008 by djftw
Couldn't resist ay Jim?
I'm back in your hometown BTW, weather up here seems to be better than it was in Yorkshire! It is quite a revelation when the sun comes out, from grey to glittering!
Posted on: 13 April 2008 by Exiled Highlander
djftw
I'll be back there mid June it looks like but will spent most of my time in the hills hopefully!!
Yes it fantastic on that one day a year when the sun shines! Just a pity about how the City Council has allowed the once proud Union St to become like Any High St, Anywhere.
However, that is way off topic I fear!
Cheers
Jim
Posted on: 13 April 2008 by jayd
quote:
Originally posted by Mick Parry:
Jay
And that coming from a man who boasted how he spent 10 years studying biochemistry.
How has this massive programme been rewarded, are you a CEO or Head of Department etc or what.
The truth is you are a patronising fool.
At least I exhibit fair mastery of my own language. How does it feel to find yourself several steps down from a fool?
So many times you've said you were done interacting with me; the truth is, your word is worthless.
