Author: AliceDem

County Would Buy Foreclosures to Sell As Affordable Units

Gerald E. Connolly, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, proposed last night using county funds to buy foreclosed properties and then sell them at below-market prices to working families.

Doing so would not only create affordable housing in one of the nation’s most expensive communities, but it would also help protect neighborhoods in danger of decline from the exploding number of homes going into foreclosure across Fairfax, Connolly said in his annual State of the County speech at the government center.

“Taking a home out of foreclosure would help restore stability to a neighborhood and restore confidence in the local real estate market,” said Connolly, a candidate for Congress. “Workforce housing is in great demand but short in supply.”

The real estate crash offers an historic opportunity for localities willing to take advantage of it.

Why The Obama/Clinton Rules Led Us To This Rough Campaign

Then, expecting Clinton to be knocked out in Texas, NBC and some Left blogs were bitterly disappointed and argued Clinton should drop out even though she won both Ohio and Texas (some even float the idea that the Texas caucus results were the true contest in Texas, rather than what they were – proof positive that caucuses disenfranchise voters.)

Indeed, disenfranchisement now becomes the key guiding principle of some Obama supporters – they support it at every turn. My own personal anger is tied up in the attitudes about the Michigan and Florida revotes. Everyone knows that Barack Obama blocked revotes in Florida and Michigan. No one outside of Michigan and Florida seems to care.

Let me put it bluntly, the dirtiest politics practiced in this campaign was Barack Obama’s blocking of the Michigan and Florida revotes. There is nothing uglier in politics, nothing dirtier, than blocking voters’ chances to vote. The stain on Barack Obama for this will not wash away with me. (BTW, I am not saying Clinton would not have done the same thing, I THINK she would have. But she did not.) Especially since I believe it would have helped Obama in the general election.

The biggest disappointment for this reader has been the spectacle of former election integrity advocates actually cheering on massive disenfranchisement.

Anatol Lieven, Financial Times

It may seem incredible to say this, given past experience, but a few years from now Europe and the world could be looking back at the Bush administration with nostalgia. This possibility will arise if the US elects Senator John McCain as president in November.

Over the years the US has inserted itself into potential flashpoints in different parts of the world. The Republican party is now about to put forward a natural incendiary as the man to deal with those flashpoints.

The problem that Mr McCain poses stems from his ideology, his policies and above all his personality. His ideology, like that of his chief advisers, is neo-conservative. In the past, Mr McCain was considered to be an old-style conservative realist. Today, the role of the realists on his team is merely decorative.

In November we will have two choices, More Wars/Fewer Jobs, and the Democratic nominee. There will not be any other choices. Thousands of people all over the world, particularly in the Middle East and South Asia, are depending upon us to do the right thing. I will be voting for the Democratic nominee. I hope others will join me.

Those whose delicate sensibilities do not permit them to vote for the Democrat are advised to have a nice refreshing cup of STFU.

I just found out that the IRS has launched an investigation into Senator Obama’s appearance before the UCC’s General Synod last summer.

It seems that someone running an anti UCC web log thinks he is entitled to a place on the official church blog. Rev. Chuck Currie has more on his personal blog.
This is another obvious example of how the Busheviki have perverted the institutions of government to political purposes.

It is also part of a larger attack on churches by conservative groups, such as Howard Ahmanson’s subversion of the Episcopal church or Scaife’s subversion of the Methodist Church.

It is important to understand the conservative takeover of the US is not merely a question of politicians and a few stink tanks, it is relentless and is aimed at every institution in American society. They are like communists  in that respect. Everything is subverted to their cause.

Just got this email from DC Vote:

DC Vote is taking our message to the states again. This time, we’re heading to Oregon.

Staff members Eugene Kinlow, Nell Schaffer and Jaline Quinto will travel to Portland and Eugene from March 10-14 to meet with community groups, students and media in order to spread the message about DC voting rights. Already on the agenda are meetings with the Urban League, the Portland Business Alliance, Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, AFL-CIO, League of Women Voters, Jewish Student Union at Lewis and Clark College, Portland State University NAACP, and more. We’ll end our trip with a co-sponsored social event with the Bus Project of Oregon.

Anyone in the pond live in Oregon? If so please give my pals from DC a big welcome.

Nicole Kidman To Play Valerie Plame

AHN

“She’s perfect if you’ve ever met Valerie,” Director Doug Liman tells MTV. The ‘Bourne Identity’ director says of Kidman on taking the lead role. He also reveals that the actress was his choice to play Angelina Jolie’s role in ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ but was unable to do so and that had him pinning for the actress for this role.

Who should play Novak? Rove? Libby? Fitzgerald? Will Jane and Christie make cameo appearances?

Have fun.

Ohio: Lawsuit Over Primary Ballots

The American Civil Liberties Union asked a federal judge to block the March 4 presidential primary in Ohio’s most-populous county if it switches to a paper ballot system that does not allow voters to correct errors. In a follow-up to a suit it filed Jan. 17, the A.C.L.U. of Ohio asked for a preliminary injunction against any election in Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland, if the switch is made. The lawsuit argued that the proposed paper-ballot system would violate voters’ constitutional rights because it does not allow them to correct errors before the ballots are cast.

How do we get the ACLU turned around on this one?

In the grand scheme of things this is not terribly important, but it does illustrate the revolving door of American politics. It also illustrates that this is not a Washington, DC problem, it is an American problem:

Casino fight turns fierce, ugly

For example, lawyer Lance Boldrey drafted the original Bay Mills land-settlement agreement as a legal adviser to Gov. John Engler. After Engler left office, Boldrey took a job with Dykema-Gossett, a prominent Detroit law firm.

In his new role, Boldrey is advising casino developer Mike Malik, who’s positioned to make tens of millions of dollars in management fees if Bay Mills opens a Port Huron casino.

Under the Michigan Bar’s code of ethics, Boldrey would be allowed to advise Malik only if he first obtained a waiver from Engler’s successor, Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

Liz Boyd, the governor’s press secretary, confirmed that Boldrey indeed has obtained such a waiver.

Bennington Twp Violating Election Laws

Shiawassee Dems received a report that Bennington Twp is questioning people who do not have a photo ID.  The person who reported states that he was harassed until he produced one.  The worker even said, “If you don’t have a photo ID, how did you get here?”

I believe the law states that if a person does not have an ID, the election worker is supposed to ask if the voter lives in the precinct, and then ask if the voter will sign an affidavit.

This is a perfect example of why the Democratic party must do a better job of recruiting election officers. We spend too much time getting legal observers for election day and neglect the far more important task of recruiting election officers.

This is also a subject that has been neglected on blogs.

The Financial Empire Strikes Back

There’s an interesting piece over in the L.A. Times about how the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is gearing up to fight back all of that scary populism that has somehow crept into the political process recently.

It is worth remembering that the Chamber of Commerce is led by Tom Donohue who is under investigation by the SEC.