(2007-08-31) — President George Bush today ordered the heads of the Treasury and Housing departments to find ways to help prevent people stuck with high-risk subprime mortgages from defaulting on those loans during a housing slump. In an addendum to his memo, he also directed his Cabinet Secretaries to help “cushion the blow” for people who make losing bets in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and “other regional investment centers.”
“This is what government does best,” said the president, who campaigned for office as a Republican. “It’s government’s job to protect the people who gamble from enduring any negative consequences of that behavior.”
“To put it in simple terms,” Mr. Bush added. “In the risk-reward equation, the individual takes the risk, but the government and the rest of us taxpayers stand behind him to make sure there’s a reward.”
With hundreds of thousands of home mortgage holders in precarious financial positions, Mr. Bush acknowledged that protecting them from their own bad decisions will require sacrifice by all Americans.
“Sometimes,” the president added, “it takes a village.”
Meanwhile, pre-declared presidential candidate Fred Thompson refrained from directly criticizing the president’s move, but said, “People need to understand, in a free-market economy, that invisible hand can deliver a spanking.”
38 responses so far ↓
1 JamesonLewis3rd // Aug 31, 2007 at 8:16 am
God Bless America
2 conserve-a-tips // Aug 31, 2007 at 8:36 am
Hmm. I think that I may tell the daughter to quit paying her mortgage and let the government take over. Sounds like a plan?
And to those on the road:
♪♪♪♪♪
Where have all the Scrapplers gone?
Long time driving.
Where have all the Scrapplers gone?
They’re on the road
Where have all the Scrapplers gone?
Camping, almost every one…
I wish I could have too..
I wish I cooooouuuuld have too.
I am sure the food’ll be great
Throughout the weeee-kend
I am sure the food’ll be great,
We know the cooks.
I am sure the food’ll be great,
Ms. Right’s breads and Beerme’s crates
I wish I could have gone.
I wish I coooouuuld have gone.
The songs should be good too,
Great Santiiiiii-ni’s
The songs should be good too,
Some from the past.
The songs should be good too,
Making fun of lib’rals who,
Don’t wish they could’ve gone.
Don’t wish they cooooouuulldd have gone.
Please remember us at home,
While you’re laughing.
Please remember us at home,
While you have fun.
Please remember us at home,
We’ll pray for you while your gone.
Wish we’d all gone too
Wish we’d allllllllll gone too.
Where have all the Scrapplers gone?
Long time driving.
Where have all the Scrapplers gone?
They’re on the road.
Where have all the Scrapplers gone?
Camping almost every one.
I wish I could go too.
I wish I cooooooouuuulllld go too.
♪♪♪♪
3 Maggie // Aug 31, 2007 at 8:50 am
CAT…..Sniff…..sniff…..wiping eyes
Me too!
4 JamesonLewis3rd // Aug 31, 2007 at 8:59 am
[sob]
5 Darthmeister // Aug 31, 2007 at 9:20 am
I want government to bail me out when market downturns affect my index funds! With the Demoncrats always bad mouthing the economy and encouraging sub-prime mortgages, I think it only right they initiate legislation that will reimburse me for any loses I might suffer when my index 500 funds take more than a five percent decline in any given month.
The only correction I want to see is that government reimbursement check in the mail. Now that would be progressive, right?
6 Darthmeister // Aug 31, 2007 at 9:22 am
loses = losses.
You Scrapplers get lots of pictures and post them on a mutual site somewhere. Camo is good at that.
7 Darthmeister // Aug 31, 2007 at 9:23 am
c.a.t.,
Great song parody!
8 GnuCarSmell // Aug 31, 2007 at 10:02 am
Let us now observe a moment of silence in memory of Princess Diana… Okay, now that we got that out of the way, where do I apply for my free mortgage bailout?
9 conserve-a-tips // Aug 31, 2007 at 10:24 am
Thanks guys. I didn’t mean to make you cry. I’ve been out throwing daisies into the river to watch them float away. Next, I plan on making flower chains to wear them in honor of ScrappleFace2Face.
10 MargeinMI // Aug 31, 2007 at 10:50 am
HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORAY!!!!!!! There’s hope for Michigan yet!
(Scott, OUCH! I personally know 4 folks who have been ’spanked by the bank’ in the last 6 months.)
c-a-t, It’s in my head now, and probably will be all day. [wiping tear from eye]
11 MargeinMI // Aug 31, 2007 at 10:58 am
abracadabra
12 Libby Gone // Aug 31, 2007 at 10:58 am
Now I was under the impression that going to a casino was the quickest way to double my income. Since that isn’t working I might consider asking the government to subsidize my bankrupt scale RailRoad.
13 da Bunny // Aug 31, 2007 at 12:01 pm
c-a-t, great song!
Well, since I have the misfortune of being obligated to go to Las Vegas next week for a family reunion, it’s good to know that I can gamble with impunity, since the “gubmint” will be there to bail me out of any losses I may sustain! [sigh] For the record…I do NOT like Las Vegas, and I do NOT gamble, so I guess I’ll be “havin’ some fun” there…NOT!
14 Darthmeister // Aug 31, 2007 at 12:02 pm
A day may come when government will bail out all those people who’ve spent thousands of dollars playing Lotto™ and never won. Seems only right since state governments encourage people to play Lotto™ in order to help put kids through school with their “proceeds”.
15 da Bunny // Aug 31, 2007 at 12:05 pm
Ooops…sorry! I meant to refer to Las Vegas as my “regional investment center.” Very funny, Scott!!
16 Darthmeister // Aug 31, 2007 at 12:24 pm
Just thought of something. This morning a caller to our local talk radio station angrily maintained that he won’t believe a word General Petraeus will say in his report to Congress in September, a sentiment apparently shared by many partisan, anti-war hacks in order to not honestly deal with new information about the Iraq War that isn’t filtered through the liberal media.
Therefore, I propose General Petraeus should only say negative things about Iraq and claim the war is lost thereby forcing those who are already committed to not believing anything he has to say to begin embracing the contrary notion the war in Iraq is in fact winnable!
“You only lose when you quit.” Darthmeister
Similarly, you only lose money in the stock market when you sell low. Always wait for the rebound. That’s my tip of the day and I’m stickin’ to it!
17 JamesonLewis3rd // Aug 31, 2007 at 12:28 pm
Ah, surely, there’s nothing like Las Vegas in late summer where it is not unusual for temperatures to reach 120°.
I have never been there but I remember living in the Phoenix area (Mesa) for a couple of years not long ago where 110°+ is not unusual and the asphalt streets get squished out over the curb and lawns are only for the affluent.
Yes, it is a “dry heat” but, man-oh-man, PHEW!!!!!
I loved it there
and regret leaving (major, major mistake).
18 JamesonLewis3rd // Aug 31, 2007 at 12:34 pm
Democrat [sensing that positive news is forthcoming, places fingers in ears, squeezes eyes tightly shut]: La-la-la-la-la-la…..I can’t hear you…..la-la-la-la-la-la…..
19 beekabok2 // Aug 31, 2007 at 12:39 pm
Hillary Clinton’s Top Ten Campaign Promises, as presented on Letterman last night:
10. Bring stability and long term security to “The View.”
9. Each year on my birthday, every American gets a cupcake.
8. You’ll have the option of rolling dice against the IRS for double-or-nothing on your taxes.
7. Having trouble getting a flight and Air Force One is available — it’s yours.
6. My vice president will never shoot anybody in the face.
5. Turn Gitmo into a Dairy Queen as soon as possible.
4. For over a century there have been only two Dakotas — I plan to double that.
3. We will finally have a president who doesn’t mind pulling over and asking for directions. Am I right, ladies?
2. I will appoint a committee to find out what the heck is happening on “Lost.”
1. One more pantsuit joke and Letterman disappears.
Should we be taking her seriously?
20 Darthmeister // Aug 31, 2007 at 12:51 pm
I wonder when Senator Larry Craig will quit being in denial and admit that he’s a latent Democrat? Only then will he find the love and support that he desperately needs and Democrats everywhere would rally to his side like they did for Mel Reynolds, Gerry Studds, and Barney Frank! Yeeeeeeeaaarrrgggghhh!
21 JamesonLewis3rd // Aug 31, 2007 at 1:16 pm
I’ll tell you what…..It’s stuff like this and those two guys reconnoitering ferries (and probably plenty of others that I haven’t heard about) that suggest to me that the “big one” is yet to come (and I predict that it will include multiple, simultaneous “soft” targets); that they are getting ready to totally freak everybody in the USA out.
22 conserve-a-tips // Aug 31, 2007 at 1:21 pm
Darthmeister, there is a difference between being ‘in denial’ and ‘denying’…! I would say that in Sen. Craig’s mind, he knows exactly what he is.
Coming from the “Casino State” (we actually have the highest number of casinos of any other state - something to really tout, huh?) I would like to make an observation. Our lottery is falling flat on its ’stupidity tax’ face. I would venture a guess that the Indian casinos are siphoning all of that extra money that would have been spent on the lottery. Our brilliant governor who gave us the lottery is now begging the legislature to come up with a more “dependable” way to finance college scholarships that were promised. That is political speak for “find some tax money!” Never mind that these scholarships are withheld from home schooled students and some private school students, whose parents pay taxes. Yep, in this state, that huge sucking sound is the sound of lives going down the tubes as a result of gambling.
OK, I’m down off of my soapbox.
23 camojack // Aug 31, 2007 at 1:29 pm
Mortgage rates are coming down; once they get back to 5% or so, I’m going to consolidate my debt…again.
Now I’m off to that get-together, formerly known as “ScrappleFest”…
24 Darthmeister // Aug 31, 2007 at 3:58 pm
c.a.t., point taken.
“Denial is the sincerest form of progressivism.” Darthmeister
25 conserve-a-tips // Aug 31, 2007 at 4:41 pm
I got a feeling this blog is gonna get real quiet this weekend. Sigh.
26 JamesonLewis3rd // Aug 31, 2007 at 5:14 pm
27 mig // Aug 31, 2007 at 6:44 pm
Spank away.
Sometimes people just gotta pay their dues. How many of these mortgages are builders with empty houses? Or Affirmative Action recipients?
28 mig // Aug 31, 2007 at 6:49 pm
Chirp chirp chirp… Already?
Have so much fun that it spills over and I can feel it here!
29 conserve-a-tips // Aug 31, 2007 at 7:01 pm
Mig. Still here. Just took some time off today to bake some of Ms Rightwing, Ink’s bread (two loaves) and to make some of the most awesome meatloaf I’ve made in a long time. The jalopenos are really putting on right now and so are the tomatoes, so I made some homemade hot salsa and mixed it in with the ground chuck, egg and oatmeal and made my meatloaf. I slathered some ketchup and peppers on top too and baked it and man oh man. With mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans from the garden, purple hulled peas and a big slab of that bread. I’ve died and gone to heaven. (loosening up my belt a notch)
30 Effeminem // Aug 31, 2007 at 7:32 pm
.. it takes a village to raise an idiot.
The proposals don’t really sound that bad though. They *might* have been a good idea even if we didn’t have a media-manufactured crisis.
Oatmeal in meatloaf, eh.
31 its-just-me // Aug 31, 2007 at 8:11 pm
Yep, oatmeal.
Or Cheerios…
Both are goo-ood
32 RedPepper // Aug 31, 2007 at 10:05 pm
Mr. President? Which U. S. Department is responsible for protecting those who are unlucky in love from the negative consequences of their behavior?
There’s some guy named Larry on the 1-800 line who wants to know …
33 conserve-a-tips // Aug 31, 2007 at 10:30 pm
Effeminem, yep, oatmeal in meatloaf. You see, people used to add it to extend the meat since this was a poor man’s roast, but later people liked it because of the more firm texture that it gives the meatloaf…but of course now, since we all watch our cholesterol, it is just one more way to battle the bad stuff. Oats is a great cholesterol reducer. Ya learn sumpin’ new everyday, huh?
34 Effeminem // Aug 31, 2007 at 11:38 pm
When I was a boy the womenfolk used breadcrumbs or saltines. But then after the telegraph came…
35 JamesonLewis3rd // Aug 31, 2007 at 11:52 pm
In the off chance that you are reading this and you’re interested in Calibrating your Chuckle Threshold…..
…..check this out at Power Line.
36 gafisher // Sep 2, 2007 at 7:27 pm
Re #21: A collapse of the US financial and housing markets — and that’s already started in Michigan — may beat the boom-boom terrorists to the punch.
37 Ms RightWing, Ink // Sep 3, 2007 at 2:34 pm
zip
38 MajorDomo // Sep 3, 2007 at 3:26 pm
“…ordered the heads of the Treasury and Housing departments to find ways to help prevent people stuck with high-risk subprime mortgages from defaulting on those loans during a housing slump.”
Well, he could have suggested the William Jefferson Method, and go to the refrigerator.
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