The same people who for decades decried the lack of “affordable housing” (another Marxist Cloak Phrase, in the same vein as “living wage”) have, over the last 30+ years, caused a total breakdown in what was one of the more stable parts of the American economy over the last 100 years. That being the real estate market.

With foreclosures at a record rate, the number of mortgages underwater rising from about 5% around the time TARP I was passed to around 25% today and with the commercial real estate market also teetering, we could be in for not only a double-dip Depression, but a new housing crisis that could dwarf what started two years ago.

The major byproduct of this whole situation was of course, the passing of the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 that was signed by President Carter. For a complete recap of how that act, along with ACORN and their chief attorney, Barack Obama helped to contribute to the current situation, read my post from last year, “ACORN: How A ‘Community Organization’ Helped Destroy the Mortgage Industry”.

Now comes word that the Barney Frank/Chris Dodd/Maxine Waters-led Crony Stalinist Slush Fund known as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could cost the U.S. taxpayer at least $389 billion, if not a lot more.

From Newsmax:

For all the focus on the historic federal rescue of the banking industry, it is the government’s decision to seize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in September 2008 that reportedly is likely to cost taxpayers the most money.

So far the tab stands at $145.9 billion and rising, the New York Times reports.

The Congressional Budget Office has predicted that the final bill could reach $389 billion.

Some analysts even estimate the total may reach $1 trillion, which Sean Egan, president of Egan-Jones Ratings, recently told Bloomberg is “a reasonable worst-case scenario.”

Egan told Bloomberg that the final tally could hit $1 trillion assuming a 20 percent loss on the companies’ more than $5 trillion in loans and guarantees, similar to what other big mortgage companies, like Countrywide Financial, suffered.

The two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) now own more houses than there are in Seattle and are foreclosing on homeowners whose mortgages they guaranteed, the Times said.

Fannie and Freddie maintain the houses for a while, then resell them at a huge loss.

Just another example of the Left’s Utopian Dream going up in flames, while pushing this country closer to total and complete insolvency. I cannot wait to see how expensive “free” health care will be.

His blathering a few days ago:

“None of them can pick up a hoe. They can’t pick up a shovel. They can’t plant a flower. They can’t clear a bicycle path. They can’t do anything. Our people do that.”

The next time I see a “public service” union employee actually work, I am sure millions across America will see the spirit of Teddy Kennedy at their nearest AA meeting, clutching a copy of The Book and singing hosannas. And all of the potholes in D.C. will be filled once and for all, to boot.

His resignation today (Source: Morning Call)

Allentown union official Nick Balzano has been a political punching bag all week because he threatened to file a grievance against the city for allowing a Boy Scout to clear a walking path in a city park.

Three days of taking body blows nationally from conservative pundits, a rebuke from the Lehigh Valley’s congressman and even a lashing from his own union led Balzano to voluntarily resign his position Thursday as head of the local Service Employees International Union.

Balzano said he and seven other executive officers of the local SEIU stepped down.

”I am proud of the work I and the rest of the executive board have done over the years,” he said.

He had ”nothing against Boy Scouts” and was just ”trying to protect my jobs,” said Balzano, who had served as union president for nearly a decade.

Go molest a rattlesnake, moron.

Eric Zimmerman over at The Hill (Hat Tip – Big Government) reports that ACORN received a sum of $200,000 in Justice Department funds over the last seven years.

ACORN and its affiliates received $200,000 in Justice Department grants between 2002 and 2009, according to a report issued Friday by the department’s inspector general.

No DOJ grants went directly to ACORN, but a handful of grants were awarded either to ACORN affiliates or to other organizations that sub-contracted projects to ACORN.

The report, requested by House Judiciary Committee ranking member Lamar Smith (R-Texas), also found a few instances of ACORN mismanagement of federally contracted work.

For example, ACORN received a $20,000 sub-contract to do community outreach on crime prevention in New York. The organization that contracted with ACORN has not released the funds yet, claiming that ACORN submitted reimbursements “outside the scope of the agreement,” including “fringe benefits” for the salaried staffer working on the project.

In another instance the city of Phoenix contracted with the “ACORN Institute” to receive about $9,000 to canvass citizens and raise awareness about a tax credit and a tax assistance program. The city hasn’t paid ACORN yet due to “poor reporting by the ACORN Institute regarding another project not related to DOJ grant funds.” Phoenix is trying to terminate its contract with ACORN.

The DOJ did not audit the funds that went to ACORN or its affiliates, but did conduct an audit of one of the organizations that contracted with an ACORN affiliate. That audit concluded that the organization “did not properly manage the grant and did not adequately monitor some of its 36 sub-grantees, including the [American Institute of Social Justice],” an ACORN affiliate.

Smith seized on the report to call for a broader review of ACORN activities.

“Given the willingness of some ACORN employees to ignore the law, it comes as no surprise that the IG’s report found several instances in which ACORN and its affiliates failed to adhere to proper procedures,” Smith said in a statement.

“Because the Justice Department’s review found only small amounts of taxpayer dollars going to ACORN, it is imperative that the Inspectors General from federal agencies that have provided millions to ACORN undertake the same kind of review. The Justice Department IG’s report may prove to be just the tip of an iceberg-sized fraud.”

You can read the full report here.

When the next GOP President and Congress takes over, probably in 2013, they will need to have the DOJ’s printers, copiers and fax machines working as hard as the printing presses are now in handing out subpoenas and handing down indictments. And that is just counting ACORN and it’s parasitical, criminal affiliates. This truly will be just the tip of the iceberg.

Andrew Breitbart on Hannity last night: (Source: Big Government – Hat Tip: ASPF)

Breitbart: There’s a lot of hypocrisy and the dust has settled for ACORN and at the end of the day they’ve recognized that Eric Holder, the Attorney General, has not initiated an investigation into ACORN after we now have seven tapes. There were five initially that came out, ACORN was defunded by the Senate, was defunded by the House, lost it’s link to the Census; while all that damage occurred, Congress didn’t come in to investigate them, obviously not the Attorney General’s office, and they’ve now realized let’s get back into business because they realized that the dust settled and they were not being investigated, it was Hannah, James, and me who were being investigated, that’s why we’ve been forced to offer this latest tape.

Hannity: Are you saying, Andrew, that there are more tapes?

Breitbart: Oh my goodness there are! Not only are there more tapes, it’s not just ACORN. And this message is to Attorney General Holder: I want you to know that we have more tapes, it’s not just ACORN, and we’re going to hold out until the next election cycle, or else if you want to do a clean investigation, we will give you the rest of what we have, we will comply with you, we will give you the documentation we have from countless ACORN whistleblowers who want to come forward but are fearful of this organization and the retribution that they fear that this is a dangerous organization. So if you get into an investigation, we will give you the tapes; if you don’t give us the tapes, we will revisit these tapes come election time. (Emphasis mine)

Hannity: This is a blockbuster, what you’re saying here. You guys have more tapes, you’ll release them before the election, that could have a big impact on the election, obviously…

Go to the Big Government link to see the video.

From House.gov (Hat Tip; ASPF)

Dems Vote to Give ACORN Regulatory Authority

WASHINGTON – During consideration of H.R. 3126, legislation to establish a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA), Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee voted to pass an amendment offered by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) that will make ACORN eligible to play a role in setting regulations for financial institutions.

The Waters amendment adds to the CFPA Oversight Board 5 representatives from the fields of “consumer protection, fair lending and civil rights, representatives of depository institutions that primarily serve underserved communities, or representatives of communities that have been significantly impacted by higher-priced mortgages” to join Federal banking regulators in advising the Director on the consistency of proposed regulations, and strategies and policies that the Director should undertake to enforce its rules.

By making representatives of ACORN and other consumer activist organizations eligible to serve on the Oversight Board, the amendment creates a potentially enormous government sanctioned conflict of interest. ACORN-type organizations will have an advisory role on regulating the very financial institutions from which they receive millions of dollars annually in direct corporate contributions and benefit from other financial partnerships and arrangements. These are the same organizations that pressured banks to make subprime mortgage loans and thus bear a major responsibility for the collapse of the housing market.

So, an organization that is under investigation in more than a dozen states for voter fraud, embezzlement and tax evasion is to be given virtual regulatory authority over entities that they receive and disperse funds from. That is, when they are not stealing taxpayer funds meant for legitimate governmental duties.

Life in the age of ObamaCorn.

Instead of the usual dead, illegal or Mickey Mouse fraudulent ballots being used to steal an election, they now will send their agents to collect information from you and will cast your ballot for you.

From Fox News: (Hat Tip – txvet2 over at MichelleMalkin.com)

Brian Suozzo voted with an absentee ballot in the Working Families Party primary on Sept. 15 because, as his application stated, he was “at home recovering from medical procedure.”

Jessica Boomhower’s application said she would be attending a “work conference in Boston.”

Michael Ward couldn’t vote in person because he was “taking care of elderly parent.”

Kimberlee Truell was on a “Bus trip to casino,” as was Miguel Vazques.

The only problem with these absentee ballot records at the Rensselaer County Board of Elections in Troy, N.Y., is that they’re phony, voters and investigators say — and they’ve prompted what’s being called an unprecedented investigation of suspected voter fraud.

Thirty-eight forged or fraudulent ballots have been thrown out — enough votes, an election official admits, to likely have tipped the city council and county elections in November to the Democrats. Candidates would have been able to run both on the Democratic and Working Families Party lines in two weeks, and that could have given the Democrats the general election.

And this is all you really need to know:

Hillary Clinton garnered 2.7 percent of her total votes from the WFP line when she first ran for Senate in 2000, which increased to 5 percent of her total vote in 2006. In September, Clinton’s former campaign manager for her 2000 Senate run, New York City Councilman Bill DeBlasio, who has been endorsed by the WFP, beat two long-established politicians in the Democratic primary. Critics also accuse the Working Families Party of having a long association with the troubled activist group, ACORN. Bertha Lewis, ACORN’s CEO, is one of the party’s co-founders. The New York Times reported this month that “Patrick Gaspard, the White House political director, worked with ACORN in New York to set up the Working Families political party and sat on the party’s board with Ms. Lewis.”

I wonder how of an impact this type of Chavez-like tactic will have in the NY-23 election which is coming up shortly.

In the most predictable act that this pus-filled boil of a Congress has yet pulled off since The Missing Kenyan was sworn into office, comes news that America’s second-largest criminal enterprise, (behind only the Democratic National Committee itself) will be again be sucking like Halloween vampires hopped up on speed on the taxpayer’s wallet come November.

Speaking on radio station KTKL today, Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) revealed that ACORN’s “defunding” was to only last one month and once October is up, they will be partying like it is January 2009.

Short, but sweet.

As discussed in the interview and elsewhere, is it not so coincidental that during the one month that Congress pretended to “defund” ACORN, they receive an $900,000 “grant” for firefighting and fire prevention. A grant that was originally earmarked for the state of Louisiana and their firefighting programs and stations.

From Sweetness & Light:

September 22, 2009

(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Sen. David Vitter today sent a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano urging that she rescind an Assistance to Firefighters Grant awarded to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

“With fire departments all over Louisiana – and the rest of the country – struggling to make ends meet and get the equipment and training they need to protect their local communities, the idea of a million dollar grant going to ACORN is unsettling, to say the least,” said Vitter. “ACORN’s continued contempt for state and federal laws has placed their entire organization under a cloud of serious scrutiny, and this grant should be rescinded and awarded to a more deserving group of first responders.”

A grant in the amount of $997,402 was awarded to ACORN under the FY 2008 Fire Prevention and Safety Program. In his letter, Vitter questions the logic behind awarding such a large sum to an organization with no clear expertise in fire safety and prevention.

“I’ve had grave reservations about ACORN for some time, and over the past year, we’ve seen numerous examples of serious allegations of wrongdoing on the part of this organization and its employees across the country,” Vitter said. “I simply can’t see the logic behind diverting much needed funding from worthy fire departments to this organization.”

The only thing that this POS criminal organization knows about fires is starting them.

From FOX News (Hat Tips: ASPF and Michelle Malkin)

Arrest warrants have been issued in Miami for 11 people suspected of falsifying information on hundreds of voter registration cards — including registering the name of the late actor Paul Newman — the Florida state attorney’s office told FOXNews.com.

The FBI and state authorities took six people into custody Wednesday as it issued 11 arrest warrants for voter registration fraud in Homestead, Fla., in June 2008.

“Names were filled out on the registration forms that were not actual voters,” said Ed Griffith, a spokesperson for the state attorney’s office. Griffith said the names included people who were already registered voters, fictitious names, and the name of the late actor Paul Newman, who died in Sept. 2008.

Griffith said the workers being sought were hired to register voters by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN. He said ACORN alerted the state attorney’s office after it reviewed hundreds of voter registration cards it suspected were fraudulent. Griffith said that none of the names in question actually voted.

In a statement sent to FOXNews.com. on Wednesday, Florida ACORN board member Leroy Bell said, “We want to commend the state attorney for taking decisive action. Today’s action demonstrates the seriousness we brought to the task of not only expanding the electorate, but also of protecting the integrity of the voting process.

How many of those fraudulent registrations had names that began, Jose, Donald Duck or Deceased?

They certainly bring “diversity” to the voting booth. You could make a movie about ACORN and call it, “The Dead, the Illegal and the Fictitious”

The newest Chicago/Union Extortion Scheme: Strong-arm home-based caregivers into joining their ranks.

From the Chicago Tribune: (Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin)

Kathy Keith has cared for a son with Down syndrome for 23 years and never dreamed that one day organized labor would consider her a prime candidate for a union card.

So she was skeptical when representatives from two of the nation’s largest unions began competing for her attention over the last few weeks with unannounced visits to her home, mailings and phone messages promising to fatten her state stipend.

The Bartlett resident is among about 3,000 people who receive state funding to assist someone at home with a developmental disability. As a result of an executive order signed by Gov. Pat Quinn in June that allows collective bargaining by “individual providers of home-based support services,” unions are now trying to sign them up in an unusual effort to boost membership.

The move has left some care providers angry and confused. Many are mothers, fathers or close relatives who are caring for loved ones, advocates say.

“Are you saying I can go on strike and not wipe my son’s rear end?” Keith said, questioning if union membership would pit her interests against her son’s.

Soon, she and others expect to receive ballots by mail that ask them to join the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) or the Service Employees International Union(SEIU). Or they may vote against representation.

Caregivers who vote against joining a union or don’t vote at all would get to choose whether to become members if SEIU or AFSCME receives the most votes, but even if they decline to join, they will have to pay “fair share” dues, according to union representatives.

That folks, is called extortion.

Those “dues” (aka protection money) will be draining what limited resources many of these families have for providing care for their loved ones.

Pam Harris of Western Springs said she will vote against joining a union and is angry over what she calls “strong-arm tactics.” She worries about what will happen if she is forced to join a union as a caregiver for her son, Josh, 20, who has a rare genetic syndrome that causes cognitive and physical disabilities.

“I need that money for my son,” said Harris, who spends $1,400 a month on medical insurance for her son.

Organizers showed up at her doorstep on a recent Sunday morning, she said.

“I am not an employee of the state,” Harris said. “I work from my home. I don’t want the union in my home. I can Norma Rae with the rest of them.”

And the most laughable line:

Anders Lindall of AFSCME addressed some of the fears that families have expressed.

“It is absolutely critical for people to understand that the union would not interfere in any way with their control over hiring or any decisions about the care made for individuals,” he said.

Oh, I am sure the same thing was said when the UAW was formed.

Once they get their foot in the door, the union goons will be dictating, at the government’s behest, who the caregiver can hire, what they can pay the employee etc. After all, since a lot of these caregivers receive government money either via stipends from the state and/or SSI benefits via the federal government, you can bet there will be a lot of hooks and conditions built in. The unions will basically just act as the musclemen for the government.

Purple shirts, brown shirts. It is all the same in the end.

Desperate to stop the popular uprising against ObamaCare and under orders from the President himself, union thugs were hastily dispatched to fan out, invade and disrupt local town halls.

And to also do what union thugs do best. Act as Ton Ton Mocoute members. Or at least White Panther members.

In St. Louis, a health care town hall that was to be headlined by Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO) was invaded by SEIU goons, who proceeded to lock out a 1,000 strong contingent who arrived to listen and participate.

As reported by Gateway Pundit:

In this video you see one Carnahan supporter allowed into the meeting at Bernard Middle School through a side door. There were 1,000 tea party taxpayers stranded outside the main door.

When two SEIU members attempted to get in the same side door marked “handicapped” the crowd went nuts and blocked them at the door. Did you notice how nonchalant the SIEU members were about getting inside the door? Like they knew right where to go.

As the event was winding down. violence broke out when one citizen, who was handing out “Don’t Tread on Me” flags was set upon and attacked by as many as six goons.

As reported by STLDaily.com

UPDATE: St. Louis County police say six people were arrested. Two of those were arrested on suspicion of assault, one of resisting arrest and three on suspicion of committing peace disturbances. Carnahan was gone when the ruckus started.

Kenneth Gladney, a 38-year-old conservative activist from St. Louis, said he was attacked by some of those arrested as he handed out yellow flags with “Don’t tread on me” printed on them. He spoke to the Post-Dispatch from the emergency room of the St. John’s Mercy Medical Center, where he said he was waiting to be treated for injuries to his knee, back, elbow, shoulder and face that he suffered in the attack. Gladney, who is black, said one of his attackers, also a black man, used a racial slur against him before the attack started.

“It just seems there’s no freedom of speech without being attacked,” he said.

In Tampa, more union goon behavior:

From Red State:

Early reports coming in from Florida indicate the hastily scheduled townhall with Kathy Castor ended badly, as predicted, because of SEIU thugs.

The event was conveniently held in a forum where only 250 people could fit. 1000 people showed up. SEIU members were given reserved seating that took up at least half of the 250 seats. As people came in who visibly oppose the Democrats healthcare plan, SEIU members barred access to the room.

From TBO.com:

The problems began when a crowd of around 500, many of them recruited to attend by interest groups both for and against the proposal, sought to enter the meeting room. The room, in the offices of the Hillsborough County Children’s Board on East Palm Avenue, has a capacity of only about 250.

Several hundred people, mostly opponents, wound up outside or packing a hallway leading into the meeting room. Some scuffled with members of the sponsoring groups who manned the doorway.

One man who said he was injured and intended to file a police complaint, Randy Arthur of Oldsmar, was outside the meeting room with his wife, Kathy Arthur, when organizers tried to close the doors.

She said he was slammed against a wall. He later talked to police officers, his knit shirt ripped and a few scratches visible on his chest.

Among the crowd outside, opponents and a smaller number of proponents got into occasional shouting matches.

After trying to speak, Castor left at about 6:40 p.m., taking jeers as she left.

“They’re hiding from their constituents. She works for us and needs to listen,” said Karen Jaroch, a Tampa homemaker and organizer for the 9-12 Project, set up by TV commentator Glenn Beck, which had recruited its members to attend.

How interesting that these once peaceful, if a bit heated town halls have all of the sudden turned into a war zone. And all of it orchestrated by the White House, and as is always the case when unions and Left-Wing parasites show up anyplace, it degenerates into hate speech, shouting threats and violence. This is their hallmark, their raison d’ete and a tactic they have perfected for the better part of half a century. And a lot of it funded by your tax dollars.

However, in spite of their little temper tantrums in FL and MO today, they are vastly outnumbered and they know it. Which is why the word went out for them to quickly mobilize and try to crush dissent in ways that would make the mullahs in Iran smile knowingly.

Only time will tell how all of this will play out. I do not think it will be all that pretty.