Attention: ARABS ARE BEASTS. That is all.

Read the story below. There is no justification for this ghastly crime. The actions of these two animals can be explained simply as so much more of the demonic bloodlust stamped into arab DNA.

Arabs , and more so devout Muslim arabs, crave murder. Their visceral tug toward acts of brutal, bloody homicide is the single answer to every problem, grievance, frustration, or slight. Hatred, anger, grievances, lies, thievery, destructiveness, and poetic fantasies of blood soaked vengeance is an autonomous arab impulse.

It's some evolutionary quirk honed to provide a ready green light to commit unprovoked, craven butchery at a moment's notice.

Some people dream of money. Others dream of sex. Arabs dream of murder.

I simply do not believe there is an arab lacking this itch, regardless of how deeply hidden it may be, and I'm certain that any arab reading this will immediately feel the urge to brutally kill me.

Jews reason. Arabs kill.

Palestinians say they killed cabbie for revenge
July 9, 2009
JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Two Palestinians confessed to killing an Israeli taxi driver for revenge.

Muhammad Khaldi and Muhammad Uda told Shin Bet interrogators that they murdered Gregory Rabinovich in May to avenge the death of a relative, an Islamic Jihad operative, at the hands of the Israel Defense Forces, according to reports.

The suspects were arrested May 23 by the Shin Bet, which lifted a gag order on the case Thursday.

Rabinovich was found strangled near the northern town of Gan Yavne.

Khaldi and Uda, of the West Bank village of Arana near Jenin, were charged with Rabinovich's murder in Petach Tikvah District Court.

(Now) I Shop at Trader Joe's

I just read about Trader Joe's principled stand against Anti-Israel activists demanding that Israeli products be removed from their store shelves.

As happy as I am for this rejection of Anti-Israel activism, I equally appreciate the willingness of a national chain to defy political pressure when other retailers might have easily made the spineless business decision to fold.

There is a Trader Joe's in my neighborhood and I will start shopping there more often. In the event that you may choose to do the same, I've provided a list of many Trader Joe's store locations.


CONNECTICUT

Danbury*
113 Mill Plain Rd.
Danbury, CT 06811
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 203-739-0098

Darien*
436 Boston Post Rd.
Darien, CT 06820
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 203-656-1414

Fairfield*
2258 Black Rock Turnpike
Fairfield, CT 06825
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 203-330-8301

Orange*
560 Boston Post Road
Orange, CT 06477
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 203-795-5505

West Hartford*
1489 New Britain Ave.
West Hartford, CT 06110
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 860-561-4771

Westport*
400 Post Road East
Westport, CT 06880
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 203-226-8966


DELAWARE

Wilmington*
5605 Concord Pike
Wilmington, DE 19803
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 302-478-8494


DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA/ MARYLAND

Washington DC
1101 25th Street NW
Washington, DC 20037
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 202-296-1921

Annapolis*
160 F Jennifer Road
Annapolis, MD 21401
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 410-573-0505

Bethesda*
6831 Wisconsin Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20815
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 301-907-0982

Columbia*
6610 Marie Curie Dr. (Int. of 175 & 108)
Elkridge, MD 21075
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 410-953-8139

Gaithersburg*
18270 Contour Rd.
Gaithersburg, MD 20877
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 301-947-5953

Pikesville*
1809 Reisterstown Road, Suite #121
Pikesville, MD 21208
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 410-484-8373

Rockville*
12268-H Rockville Pike
Rockville, MD 20852
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 301-468-6656

Silver Spring*
10741 Columbia Pike
Silver Spring, MD 20901
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 301-681-1675

Towson*
1 E. Joppa Rd.
Towson, MD 21286
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 410-296-9851


MASSACHUSETTS

Acton*
145 Great Road
Acton, MA 01720
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 978-266-8908

Arlington*
1427 Massachusetts Ave.
Arlington, MA 02476
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 781-646-9138

Boston*
899 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02115
Trading Hours: 9 am - 10 pm
Phone: 617-262-6505

Brookline
1317 Beacon Street
Brookline, MA 02446
Trading Hours: 9 am - 10 pm
Beer & Wine Sales: 9 am- 10 pm Mon-Sat
12 pm - 10 pm Sun
Phone: 617-278-9997

Burlington*
51 Middlesex Turnpike
Burlington, MA 01803
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 781-273-2310

Cambridge
748 Memorial Drive
Cambridge, MA 02139
Trading Hours: 9 am - 10 pm
Beer & Wine Sales: 9 am - 10 pm Mon-Sat
12 pm - 10 pm Sun
Phone: 617-491-8582

Framingham
659 Worcester Road
Framingham, MA 01701
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Beer & Wine Sales: 9 am- 9 pm Mon-Sat
12 pm - 9 pm Sun
Phone: 508-935-2931

Hadley*
375 Russell Street
Hadley, MA 01035
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 413-587-3260

Hanover*
1775 Washington Street
Hanover, MA 02339
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 781-826-5389

Hyannis*
Christmas Tree Promenade
655 Route 132, Unit 4-A
Hyannis, MA 02601
Trading Hours: 9 am - 9 pm
Phone: 508-790-3008

Needham Hts*
958 Highland Avenue
Needham Hts, MA 02494
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 781-449-6993

Peabody*
300 Andover Street, Suite 15
Peabody, MA 01960
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 978-977-5316

Saugus*
358 Broadway, Unit B
(Shops @ Saugus, Rte. 1)
Saugus, MA 01906
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 781-231-0369

Shrewsbury*
77 Boston Turnpike
Shrewsbury, MA 01545
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 508-755-9560

Tyngsboro*
440 Middlesex Road
Tyngsboro, MA 01879
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 978-649-2726

West Newton*
1121 Washington St.
West Newton, MA 02465
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 617-244-1620


NEW JERSEY

Edgewater*
715 River Road
Edgewater, NJ 07020
Trading Hours: 9 am – 10 pm
Phone: 201-945-5932

Florham Park*
186 Columbia Turnpike
Florham Park, NJ 07932
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 973-514-1511

Marlton*
300 P Route 73 South
Marlton, NJ 08053
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 856-988-3323

Paramus*
404 Rt. 17 North
Paramus, NJ 07652
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 201-265-9624

Wayne*
1172 Hamburg Turnpike
Wayne, NJ 07470
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 973-692-0050

Westfield
155 Elm St.
Westfield, NJ 07090
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 908-301-0910

Westwood*
20 Irvington Street
Westwood, NJ 07675
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 201-263-0134


NEW YORK

Brooklyn
130 Court St
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 718-246-8460
Alcohol: Beer Only

Commack*
5010 Jericho Turnpike
Commack, NY 11725
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 631-493-9210

Hartsdale*
215 North Central Avenue
Hartsdale, NY 10530
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 914-997-1960

Hewlett*
1280 West Broadway
Hewlett, NY 11557
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 516-569-7191

Lake Grove*
137 Alexander Ave.
Lake Grove, NY 11755
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 631-863-2477

Larchmont*
1260 Boston Post Road
Larchmont, NY 10538
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 914-833-9110

Merrick*
1714 Merrick Road
Merrick, NY 11566
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 516-771-1012

New York (Union Square Grocery)
142 E. 14th St.
New York, NY 10003
Trading Hours: 9 am - 10 pm
Phone: 212-529-4612
Alcohol: Beer Only

New York (Union Square Wine)
138 E. 14th St.
New York, NY 10003
Trading Hours: 9 am - 10 pm Mon-Sat
12 pm - 9 pm Sun
Phone: 212-529-6326
Alcohol: Wine Only

Oceanside*
3418 Long Beach Rd.
Oceanside, NY 11572
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 516-536-9163

Plainview*
425 S. Oyster Bay Rd.
Plainview, NY 11803
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 516-933-6900

Queens*
90-30 Metropolitan Ave.
Queens, NY 11374
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 718-275-1791

Scarsdale*
727 White Plains Rd.
Scarsdale, NY 10583
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 914-472-2988


PENNSYLVANIA

Ardmore*
112 Coulter Avenue
Ardmore, PA 19003
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 610-658-0645

Jenkintown*
933 Old York Road
Jenkintown, PA 19046
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 215-885-5240

Media*
12 East State Street
Media, PA 19063
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 610-891-2752

North Wales*
1430 Bethlehem Pike (corner SR 309 & SR 63)
North Wales, PA 19454
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 215-646-5870

Philadelphia*
2121 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Trading Hours: 9am - 10pm
Phone: 215-569-9282

Pittsburgh*
6343 Penn Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15206
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 412-363-5748

Wayne*
171 East Swedesford Rd.
Wayne, PA 19087
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 610-225-0925


RHODE ISLAND

Warwick*
1000 Bald Hill Rd
Warwick, RI 02886
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 401-821-5368


VIRGINIA

Alexandria 612 N. Saint Asaph Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 703-548-0611

Bailey’s Crossroads
5847 Leesburg Pike
Bailey’s Crossroads, VA 22041
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 703-379-5883

Centreville
14100 Lee Highway
Centreville, VA 20120
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 703-815-0697

Fairfax
9464 Main Street
Fairfax, VA 22031
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 703-764-8550

Falls Church
7514 Leesburg Turnpike
Falls Church, VA 22043
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 703-288-0566

Newport News
12551 Jefferson Ave., Suite #179
Newport News, VA 23602
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 757-890-0235

Reston
11958 Killingsworth Ave.
Reston, VA 20194
Trading Hours: 9 am - 9 pm
Phone: 703-689-0865

Richmond (Short Pump)
11331 W Broad St, Ste 161
Glen Allen, VA 23060
Trading Hours: 9 am - 9 pm
Phone: 804-360-4098

Springfield
6394 Springfield Plaza
Springfield, VA 22150
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 703-569-9301

Virginia Beach
503 Hilltop Plaza
Virginia Beach, VA 23454
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 757-422-4840

Williamsburg
5000 Settlers Market Blvd (corner of
Monticello and Settlers Market)
Williamsburg, VA 23188
Trading Hours: 9 am – 9 pm
Phone: 757-259-2135

*For accurate driving directions on the
web, please use 5224 Monticello Ave.

If you were going to see the President...

Our whole lives, we've been fed that classic guilt trip about coming late to davening: "If you were going to see the President of the United States, you'd make sure to be on time. But for the Master of the Universe, your Creator, you come late? Shaygetz!"

But it sure would be fun to say, "Well, I DID go to see the POTUS, and I DID come late." Now, if I were invited to meet the President of the United States, I'd make sure to be on time, even if I still come late to davening.

But these kids (article pasted below) have a lifelong get-out-of-guilt-free card (If any of them are Jewish, they just may enjoy the chance to use it).

(By the way, when you click through to the link, make sure to read through the comments. It's delightful to know that Democrats and liberals have developed such a yen for personal responsibility.)


Sobbing Kindergarteners Snubbed for Steelers?
Kids locked out of White House; officials say they were too late


Picture caption reads: President Obama enjoys his new Steelers jersey after making children cry.

By ANNE REYNOLDS
Updated 11:19 AM EDT, Fri, May 22, 2009

Thursday was supposed to be the highlight of the year for more than 100 kindergarteners from Stafford County, Va. They got up early and took a chartered bus to the White House for a school field trip. But when they arrived, all the 5-year-olds got was a lesson in disappointment.

A group of young students didn't get to tour the White House, and they say it's because of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The buses from Conway Elementary arrived at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue a little later than planned, and they were locked out.

"We were going to the White House, but we couldn’t get in so I felt sad," 5-year-old Cameron Stine said.

Parents say they were just 10 minutes late for their scheduled tour. School officials say White House staff said they needed to get ready for the president's event with the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers, so they couldn't come in.

"I was angry cause they were disappointed," parent and chaperone Paty Stine said.

The Steelers and the Obama administration used their time together to create 3,000 care packages for U.S. troops as part of a Wounded Warriors initiative.

A lot of preparing had gone into the trip. Conway Elementary teachers had been planning the trip for months, each child paid $20 for a seat on the chartered bus, and names were submitted to the White House for clearance.

Parents say they tried to make it on time, but their chartered buses hit heavy traffic that slowed them down substantially. They thought they were supposed to show up by 10:15, but they say they arrived at 10:25 instead, and couldn’t get in.

"The person who headed this White House trip up came out and said, 'I’m sorry, the White House tour's off.' There were a lot of crying kids," parent Barbara Stine said.

The White House tells a slightly different story. A spokesperson said the group was actually supposed to be there at 9:30, but they held the gates for the group until 10:30, 15 minutes longer than they told the group, but when they still hadn't arrived, they had to draw the line.
Paty Stine said the White House staff should have made an exception. She feels the kindergarteners were snubbed for the Steelers.

"Here we have President Obama and his administration saying, 'Here we are for the common, middle class people,' and here he is not letting 150 5- and 6-year-olds into the White House because he’s throwing a lunch for a bunch of grown millionaires," Stine said.

Thursday night the White House released this statement: "The President and First Lady are dedicated to opening the doors of the White House to the public, and it is unfortunate to see young people miss a tour. The visitor’s office is already working to reschedule the group."

Parents say it's probably too late. The school year ends in a few weeks and they doubt the tour can be made up in that time.

Happy Earth Day (chumps)

Enjoy this delightful Earth Day greeting from the late George Carlin.*






Contains some foul language

Obama is Oblowing it

Can you visualize one trillion dollars ($1,000,000,000,000)? I couldn't. Then the good folks at Mint.com make it a bit easier to see why Obama is Oblivious.

At least the financial catastrophe was called off.

One question: if things are "not as bad as we think," then why is he "signing an imperfect omnibus bill because it's necessary for the ongoing functions of government"?

Who is this guy fooling?

Global Warming went to see a man about a horse

It makes perfect sense. With the worldwide hysteria of Global Warming cooling off due to the most inconvenient cooling trend of the last few years, Orthodox Climatologists are now convinced that Global Warming -- which really, really, really, really does exist, and is really, really, really, really caused by evil humans (READ: Republicans) -- is taking a break.

No. Really.

Global Warming: On Hold?
Michael Reilly, Discovery News


Warming, What Warming?


March 2, 2009 -- For those who have endured this winter's frigid temperatures and today's heavy snowstorm in the Northeast, the concept of global warming may seem, well, almost wishful.
But climate is known to be variable -- a cold winter, or a few strung together doesn't mean the planet is cooling. Still, according to a new study, global warming may have hit a speed bump and could go into hiding for decades.

Now this is entirely reasonable. Apparently, Global Warming is shy. Must be all the attention it's been getting these last few years.

Earth's climate continues to confound scientists. Following a 30-year trend of warming, global temperatures have flatlined since 2001 despite rising greenhouse gas concentrations, and a heat surplus that should have cranked up the planetary thermostat.

It's almost polite for the article to to admit that the Earth's climate continues to confound scientists. According to Al Gore, scientists know everything, unless they happen to be disagreeing with him. I also find it funny to read the incredulous, "Should have cranked up the planetary thermostat."

"This is nothing like anything we've seen since 1950," Kyle Swanson of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee said. "Cooling events since then had firm causes, like eruptions or large-magnitude La Ninas. This current cooling doesn't have one."

Now, everybody, calm down. I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation for this. How could there not? Scientists, after all, are paid by their grant awards to know everything:

How does this square with temperature records from 2005-2007, by some measurements among the warmest years on record? When added up with the other four years since 2001, Swanson said the overall trend is flat, even though temperatures should have gone up by 0.2 degrees Centigrade (0.36 degrees Fahrenheit) during that time.

The discrepancy gets to the heart of one of the toughest problems in climate science -- identifying the difference between natural variability (like the occasional March snowstorm) from human-induced change.

But just what's causing the cooling is a mystery. Sinking water currents in the north Atlantic Ocean could be sucking heat down into the depths. Or an overabundance of tropical clouds may be reflecting more of the sun's energy than usual back out into space.

"It is possible that a fraction of the most recent rapid warming since the 1970's was due to a free variation in climate," Isaac Held of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Princeton, New Jersey wrote in an email to Discovery News. "Suggesting that the warming might possibly slow down or even stagnate for a few years before rapid warming commences again." Swanson thinks the trend could continue for up to 30 years."

So either this fabricated hysteria is 30 years too early, or Global Warming is NOT the most urgent issue of our generation. But fortunately...

"...he warned that it's just a hiccup, and that humans' penchant for spewing greenhouse gases will certainly come back to haunt us."

(READ: We'd better act now before the Republicans win back control of the government.)

"When the climate kicks back out of this state, we'll have explosive warming," Swanson said. "Thirty years of greenhouse gas radiative forcing will still be there and then bang, the warming will return and be very aggressive."

Or so he hopes. (READ: S’iz shver tzu zein a climatologist*)


* It’s hard to be a climatologist.

Were you invited to the White House yet?

The piffle that passes for news these days is astonishing. The story below was distributed by the Associated Press and presented as news.

Seems that ever since the Obama family occupied the White House, it's become quite a social environment -- social as in cocktail parties, concerts, conga lines, cheerful get-togethers, and various sumptuous feasts (so nice of us to foot the bill).

I have no problem with the President living it up. Even if the nation is on the verge of economic catastrophe (his words) and fighting two wars.

But I do have a problem with President Obama's specious explanation for his ramped up social schedule; and how this and other outrageous statements go virtually unchallenged by our curiously subdued national press.

President Obama says:

"The governors' dinner was "a great kickoff of what we hope will be an atmosphere here in the White House that is welcoming and that reminds everybody that this is the people's house," Obama told the state chief executives after they had dined on Maryland crab, Wagyu beef, Nantucket scallops and citrus salad."

Thanks for the reminder. Incredibly this steaming pile, complete with menu description, was preceded with this breathless commentary by the AP reporter:

"The flurry of entertaining is in keeping with the Obamas' promise to make the White House a more open place for everyone."

Did she have bamboo shoots in her fingernails when she said that? Maybe it was just the mesmerizing sincerity of this "Aw shucks" remark from the President:

"We are just temporary occupants. This is a place that belongs to the American people and we want to make sure that everybody understands it's open," he said.

Everyone understands it's open? Really? Perhaps I've neglected to check the mailbox for the invitation. It is possible my Evite to yuck it up at the White House for Wednesday night (that's party night at the WH) went straight to my spam folder? No wonder I've been spending Wednesday nights washing my hair.

It's nice the President and this AP reporter are in thrall of every word he says. But this (!!!???):

"Sometimes when you're in the presence of the most powerful person in the world, in the most powerful democracy in the world ... I was in awe that I was comfortable," said Honda, chairman of the Asian Pacific American Caucus. "I think that's his style and how he grew up, who he is. "He's down to earth and engaging," Honda said.

Fawning comments like these belong in the junk mail I get from Kupat Ha'ir. Certainly not a mainstream wire service.

And this must have come from Pravda:

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn, said Obama was very cordial, and he and the first lady made guests feel comfortable. The president talked to everyone before the game started, she said, including a 12-year-old boy who asked Obama where the bathroom was.

"My favorite part was when he personally served us cookies - oatmeal raisin - when we were watching the game," she said.

Am I still on same round, blue globe, or another planet altogether? Had someone repeated this lobotomized blather about our previous president, it would have triggered weeks of 24/7 scrutiny and commentary by major media outlets.

...not to mention, months of fodder for our suspiciously disinterested "F- You Corner" of bloggers, pundits, commentators, comedians, and your garden variety of frothing activists. Not a word.

It is possible they're too focused on bashing a man who is no longer president, and blaming all of life's ills in a legislative body which is no longer in the majority?

Better question: is this how all totalitarian regimes begin?



Here's the article. Just make sure you have a waterproof bag or bowl nearby:

Obama kicks up White House entertaining

Mar 2, 6:58 AM (ET)

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE


WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House is the place to be on Wednesdays.

Since the presidency changed hands less than six weeks ago, a burst of entertaining has taken hold of the iconic, white-columned home of America's head of state. Much of it comes on Wednesdays.

The stately East Room, where portraits of George and Martha Washington adorn the walls, was transformed into a concert hall as President Barack Obama presented Stevie Wonder with the nation's highest award for pop music on Wednesday.

A week before that, the foot-stomping sounds of Sweet Honey in the Rock, a female a cappella group, filled the East Room for a Black History Month program that first lady Michelle Obama held for nearly 200 sixth- and seventh-graders from around Washington.

Cocktails were sipped during at least three such receptions to date, all held on Wednesdays.

Bookending the midweek activity were a Super Bowl party for select Democratic and Republican lawmakers and a dinner for governors, the new administration's first black-tie affair. It was capped with a performance by the 1970s pop group Earth, Wind and Fire, and a conga line.
The flurry of entertaining is in keeping with the Obamas' promise to make the White House a more open place for everyone.

The governors' dinner was "a great kickoff of what we hope will be an atmosphere here in the White House that is welcoming and that reminds everybody that this is the people's house," Obama told the state chief executives after they had dined on Maryland crab, Wagyu beef, Nantucket scallops and citrus salad.

"We are just temporary occupants. This is a place that belongs to the American people and we want to make sure that everybody understands it's open," he said.

At the dinner in the State Dining Room, the Obamas looked comfortable, chatting and smiling with their guests. Afterward, they escorted the governors down the hall to the East Room, which had been arranged with few tables and chairs to encourage dancing to "September,""Boogie Wonderland" and other hits from a musical group Obama listened to growing up.
The conga line formed after the media were escorted out and, apparently, after Obama had called it a night.

"Thank you also for waiting until I had left before you started the conga line," the president told the governors the next morning. "I hear it was quite a spectacle."

Some Obama guests say he immediately puts them at ease. He indulges them and serves cookies, too.

"People like me felt comfortable in his presence," said Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif., a self-described "poor country boy" who said he felt like a "freshman going to the senior prom" when he attended a White House reception for leaders of the congressional caucuses.

"Sometimes when you're in the presence of the most powerful person in the world, in the most powerful democracy in the world ... I was in awe that I was comfortable," said Honda, chairman of the Asian Pacific American Caucus. "I think that's his style and how he grew up, who he is.

"He's down to earth and engaging," Honda said.
Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., was among those invited for the Super Bowl. He said Obama, an avid sports fan, joined his guests for most of the game between the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers.

"It wasn't a circumstance where he came in and said 'Hi' and then left," Franks said. "He actually stayed and watched the game."
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn, said Obama was very cordial, and he and the first lady made guests feel comfortable. The president talked to everyone before the game started, she said, including a 12-year-old boy who asked Obama where the bathroom was.

"My favorite part was when he personally served us cookies - oatmeal raisin - when we were watching the game," she said.
The gathering over hot dogs and hamburgers was one of several get-to-know-the-members-of Congress events Obama held as he lobbied lawmakers to support the nearly $800 billion tax-and-spend economic package he recently signed into law. His efforts produced no Republican votes in the House and just three in the Senate, but Franks said he still appreciated the Democratic president's efforts to reach out to the opposing party.

"I think the value of social interaction like this is not so much that it co-opts anyone in any way. It certainly didn't in my case," said Franks, who said he had a substantive conversation with Obama at the party, "I think it humanizes and personalizes opponents. We can diminish politics and try to work together for what's right for the country."

Obama played the role of "first fan" at the Wonder tribute, where he opened up about his and his wife's common enjoyment of Wonder's music.

"As Stevie knows, I'm a huge fan. And he has been a great supporter," Obama said before presenting the award-winning, singer-songwriter with the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song from the Library of Congress.

He said Wonder's songs "became the soundtrack of my youth" and that in them he "found peace and inspiration, especially in difficult times."

Obama presented the medal to Wonder, then wrapped the singer in a bear hug. As the media were led out of the room, Wonder struck up "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours," which was a staple of Obama's campaign rallies.

LOAN MODIFICATION IS A SCAM!!!

Q: What do sub-prime mortgages, life insurance cash settlements, day-trading, Amway, selling cell-phones*, and car leasing* have in common?

A: They're all sleazy, get-rich-quick schemes that have proved uncommonly attractive to overly-uneducated, overly-unambitious Mesivta graduates.

Loan modification is a sleazy exploitative scam that preys on desperate people facing the loss of their homes. Loan modification companies are popping up in the NY area like zits on a 13-year-old.

I've posted an article from Crains describing what this is all about. I can close my eyes and just picture several people I know, who are no doubt feverishly at work to set themselves up in this scummy new cash cow.

If YOU'RE reading this -- you'd better not one of them:

Mortgage holders are marks

By Daniel Massey
Published: November 30, 2008 - 5:59 am

Shelly Ann Bell was only a month behind on her mortgage in August, but with the interest rate scheduled to adjust upward and $4,000-a-month payments staring her in the face, she knew it would soon be impossible to keep up.

So when the 28-year-old nurse manager got a call from a man promising to help modify the mortgage on her single-family home in Springfield Gardens, Queens, it sounded like a way out of her troubles.

She says she paid $2,150 to the Loan Modification Group, a Florida-based company, and was told to cease making monthly mortgage payments. She's now five months behind, and in danger of losing the home she bought in 2007 so her 3-year-old son could grow up with a backyard.

“I haven't gotten a loan modification,” she says. “I haven't gotten anything from them.” The company could not be reached for comment.

With citywide foreclosures up 50% over a year ago, some of the same bankers and brokers who sold unaffordable, subprime loans are now joining the rapidly growing ranks of mortgage modification consultants.

While some members of what an online ad called one of the “fastest-growing job markets in the country” run legitimate businesses, housing advocates say many are taking people's money and doing little or nothing in return.The burgeoning industry has caught the attention of the FBI's New York office and the state attorney general.

At best, loan modification companies provide homeowners with a service they could get for free from their lenders or nonprofit housing counselors, says the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Frequently, they ask homeowners for thousands of dollars up front, which is illegal in 12 states, including New York, unless the fee is made to a lawyer or nonprofit. As part of the sales pitch, homeowners are often advised to stop making mortgage payments, putting their homes in further jeopardy of foreclosure.

Often, the companies do little to facilitate an affordable mortgage modification, advocates say.

Firms bombard homeowners with mailings and phone calls; they scour public records for homeowners whose properties are in danger of being foreclosed, and they advertise on Craigslist.

“You see one here and there, and then all of a sudden you realize it's an epidemic,” says Jessica Attie, co-director of South Brooklyn Legal Services' Foreclosure Prevention Project. “They sound very appealing. It's hard for people to know many are not legitimate companies.”

Attorney Adam Cohen of MFY Legal Services' Foreclosure Prevention Project, says one of his clients paid nearly $5,500 to American Modification Agency, a Long Island company that also operates as Amerimod Modification Agency. He was drawn by a flier stating that AMA was the “only company that is registered, licensed, insured and bonded to modify mortgages in the United States that has a 100% success rate and money-back guarantee.”

That cloak of professionalism is misleading, as there is no way to be licensed as a mortgage modification consultant, Mr. Cohen says. And AMA not only failed to produce an affordable modification for his client, but it also caused the client to fall $30,000 behind on his mortgage by telling him not to make his payments, Mr. Cohen says.

John Schaefer, an attorney for AMA, says the client was already substantially behind in his payments and that the company was able to facilitate a modification within 22 days, which the client reneged on. As for the claims in the flier, an AMA spokesman says the agency had “no record of authorizing or authenticating” the leaflet.

The company, which claims to have 400 agents, has raised concern among officials in New Jersey, where the Mercer County clerk recently issued a consumer alert that AMA purported in phone solicitations to be working with the clerk's office.

Law enforcement agencies are zeroing in. The Illinois attorney general last month filed seven lawsuits against modification firms that failed to negotiate workouts for clients. And the Colorado attorney general has filed 15 cease-and-desist orders against such companies.

In New York, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office is reviewing complaints, a spokeswoman says. The FBI's New York office is also investigating.

“We are aware of it and are working diligently to address the issue,” says Supervisory Special Agent Rachel Rojas. “This is a new scheme, and we assume it's going to get worse.”

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* selling cell-phones and leasing cars are not inherently sleazy at all. But they were in the 80s, and late 90s, respectively, when opening a leasing company or a cell phone store became the career ambition of every smooth-talking conscience-deprived yeshiva boy on the East Coast.