Shelter Skelter
Barney Frank, once said he wanted Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to roll the dice for affordable housing. Now, after dusting off billions of dollars of rubble from the collapsed housing market, he wants Fannie and Freddie abolished.
First Amendment vs. First Amendment
Pelosi wants an investigation of first amendment stomping Ground Zero Mosque protesters. Nat Hentoff is investigating the man behind the mosque, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. Hentoff, a powerful defender of the first amendment, doesn’t care for the location of Cordoba House either. Here’s his column.
The New Republic’s Todd Gitlin thinks the mosque is swell. Both writers take a look at the Imam’s book, What’s Right with Islam is What’s Right with America, and his claim that Islamic law fits the U.S. Constitution. Here’s Gitlin’s column.
Clunkers
There’s not much question who was in the driver’s seat when the economy first went off-road. Bush careered between the Bear Sterns bail-out, Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac takeover, loans to AIG and GM, and the 700 billion dollar TARP. (Go here for an excellent bail-out timeline by ProPublica.) (And here’s the story in a Nov. 2008 cartoon). Obama then grabbed the wheel and put the pedal to the metal with the 800 billion dollar stimulus. At that point Krauthammer says, “Obama bought the economy”.
A Stone’s Throw from Civilization
The wisdom of the voters is hard to comprehend when the local electorate is busy stoning young couples. To their elected leader’s credit, President Karzai condemned the act of Sharia Law.
Crapped Out
The guy can’t get a break. The Boston Herald reports that water at some Martha’s Vineyard beaches has fecal contamination.
