Why bother?

"Why the Foreclosure Settlement Could Mean More Pain for Homeowners"

By Meg Handley | U.S.News & World Report LP – Fri, Feb 10, 2012
http://news.yahoo.com/why-foreclosure-settlement-could-mean-more-pain-homeowners-202109788.html

Why even bother to pay your mortgage anymore?
My husband and I have always tried to do "the right thing" and with the grace of God we were able to maintain our house and pay our mortgage faithfully every month.
It seems that in this "new era" the "new normal" is to expect Uncle Sam to pay for someone else's mistakes  using your money!
I'm not saying that the majority of those who bought into the "everybody should own a home" lie and fell pray of the banksters (with DC_land blessings)  has done it on purpose or maliciously ...
These are very hard times, and Lord knows, my heart goes out to those that are having to endure this recession and lose everything they worked hard for. But, I can't get past that this is another bailout disguised as a "rescue from the heavens" to those who were fooled into buying "the american dream". Wake up people! Follow the money trail, DC-land will give your money to the banksters, so they can graciously forgive part of somebody else's principal!
What about your principal? Since you are not under water, that 50% loss in home value just doesn't count? Sorry, your house is worth 50% less, but since it was your loss and not the bank's you get stuck with it. Is it fair that you are helping your neighbor pay for his house, with your taxpayer money, when you just lost 50% of your hard earned equity?
Here's the kicker:
We all know that if we all lose our homes to foreclosures, the market will be saturated with homes and the value of these homes will be next to zero. Well, banksters would be stuck with a bunch of homes that they can't sell and they wouldn't be able to profit from either new loans or from the sale of the homes. But our government is willing to save the day and basically buy the debt from the banks in exchange for lowering the principal and getting homeowners to stay in their homes. With new lower home values, the banks get to keep the difference of the old higher principal amount and the new lower adjusted principal amount. In reality banks have not lost one penny
But remember, all homes will now be worth significantly less, forever, and if you are not in the red, and  the value of your home is not less than what you owe, too bad! You're are stuck with the loss.

Gee, it's so nice of you to let me have something I always had in the first place!

Freedom of worship anybody?

02/10/2012

Obama announces ‘accommodation’ for religious institutions on contraception.

Amid a backlash from many Catholics and proponents of religious liberty, President Barack Obama announced Friday that his administration will not require religious institutions like hospitals and universities to provide free contraception to their employees in their health insurance.

Speaking to reporters at the White House Friday, Obama offered a compromise that would allow women to obtain free contraception but would require them to obtain it directly from their insurance companies if their employers object to birth control because of religious beliefs.

"Whether you're a teacher or a small businesswoman or a nurse or a janitor, no woman's 's health should depend on who she is, or where she works, or how much money she makes," Obama said, calling free contraceptive care a "core principle" of his health care law, which requires that all preventive services be provided at no cost to patients.

Obama went out of his way to say that he supports freedom of religion, pointing out that one of his stints as a community organizer in Chicago was funded by a Catholic group.

"As a citizen and as a Christian I cherish this right," Obama said. "I saw that local churches did more good for a community than a government program ever could."

Planned Parenthood and the Catholic Health Association each approved of the compromise, which 

he White House is calling an "accommodation," 
YAHOO! News by Holly Bailey and Liz Goodwin contributed reporting.

Read more...

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/obama-announce-accommodation-religious-groups-contraceptive-rule-enough-170500694.html

Are we there yet?

In the name of safety, we are allowing our government to consistently attack and take away our freedom.

Do you really trust the judgment of a government who calls Christians, Veterans and followers of the constitution, terrorists? Do you really trust the judgement of a government that gives Kudos to anyone who tells on his neighbor and purposely imposes an agenda that causes distrust and division among people?

The war is not against terrorism like they want us to believe. The war is all out against those who won't submit!

Group Forces Congressional Hearing On Big Sis’ Twitter

Drudge Spying, Homeland Security is monitoring the web for anti-government sentiment and signs of social unrest.

Infowars.com

February 9, 2012

A privacy advocacy group has swayed Congress to hold a hearing next week into the Department of Homeland Security’s practice of monitoring social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, as well as media reports and organizations, including The Drudge Report.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) recently obtained close to 300 pages of documents, as a result of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, detailing the federal agency’s “intelligence gathering” practices on the web.

Among the documents were guidelines from DHS instructing outside contractors to monitor the web for media reports and comments that “reflect adversely” on the agency or the federal government.

As Reuters reported last month, in early 2010 contractors were asked to spend 24 hours monitoring news media coverage on popular websites, including Facebook, Twitter, Hulu, WikiLeaks, as well as news sites including the Huffington Post and The Drudge Report.

The contractors were required to provide the DHS with feedback on any potential “threats and hazards”, as well as “any media reports that reflect adversely on the U.S. Government and the Department of Homeland Security (D.H.S.) ability to prevent, protect and respond, to recovery efforts or activities related to any crisis or events which impact National Planning Scenarios.”

The documents also state that the program should highlight “both positive and negative reports on FEMA, C.I.A., C.B.P., ICE, etc., as well as organizations outside of D.H.S.”

The documents obtained by EPIC indicate that following the exercise, a procurement official awarded an $11.3 million contract to General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems in order to carry out the monitoring on a “24/7/365 basis”.

EPIC director Ginger McCall notes that monitoring what people are saying about government policies goes too far and has a chilling effect on free speech.

“The Department of Homeland Security’s monitoring of political dissent has no legal basis and is contrary to core First Amendment principles,” she said.

“The language in the documents makes it quite clear that they are looking for media reports that are critical of the agency and the U.S. government more broadly,” said McCall. “This is entirely outside of the bounds of the agency’s statutory duties.”

DHS officials have admitted that monitoring of social networks for negative opinion was undertaken by the agency, but claim that the operation was a one off test and was quickly dropped as it did not meet “operational requirements or privacy standards,” which “expressly prohibit reporting on individuals’ First Amendment activities.”

EPIC argues otherwise and has presented evidence that suggests the practice is being held up by the DHS an an example that should be emulated.

“They are completely out of bounds here,” McCall said. “The idea that the government is constantly peering over your shoulder and listening to what you are saying creates a very chilling effect to legitimate dissent.

The Congressional hearing, DHS Monitoring of Social Networking and Media: Enhancing Intelligence Gathering and Ensuring Privacy, will be held Thursday February 16th.

However, it is already apparent where the House subcommittee for intelligence and counter-terrorism stands on the matter. As reported by Reuters, the top two members of the subcommittee, Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-PA) and Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA), wrote to DHS Intelligence Chief Caryn Wagner last month, pressing her to more carefully monitor users’ posts on sites such as Facebook and Twitter, in order to help detect “current or emerging threats.”

As we have also previously reported, The DHS has openly announced that it is actively monitoring social media for signs of “social unrest”, in a bid to pre-empt any sign of social dislocation within the United States.

——————————————————————

Steve Watson is the London based writer and editor for Alex Jones’ Infowars.net, and Prisonplanet.com. He has a Masters Degree in International Relations from the School of Politics at The University of Nottingham in England.

The Great Equalizer!

We are bombarded everyday with negative news regarding the use of fire arms, and seldom we hear anything about a positive outcome.

Here is a typical situation that justifies the right to carry weapons and self defense 

Glendale teen shoots at intruder coming in doggie door

by Sasha Lenninger - Feb. 7, 2012 12:00 PM


The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team

A 17-year-old girl shot at a man who tried to break into her Glendale home through the doggie door, police said Tuesday.

Shortly after 11:30 a.m. Monday, Glendale officers responded to a call of a burglary in progress at a home near 71st Avenue and McLellan Road, Glendale police Sgt. Brent Coombs said.

The 17-year-old told police she heard her door bell ring but did not answer.

A short time later, she heard someone go over her gate to the backyard. She then saw a younger man reach through the home's doggie door and attempt to unlock the latch, Coombs said.

The 17-year-old armed herself and fired a shot at the doggie door, Coombs said. The suspect fled, although it's unknown if he was injured, Coombs said.

Officers searched the area, but were unable to locate the man.

The suspect is described as a Black man in his late teens or early 20s. He is estimated at about 5-foot, 6-inches to 5-foot, 8-inches with a thin build. He was last seen wearing a navy blue sweatshirt with a hood, blue jeans and a wool winter cap.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2012/02/07/20120207glendale-teen-shoots-intruder-coming-doggie-door-abrk.html#ixzz1m1El1HBs