Terrier: Obama's watchdog needs some teeth

By: Daisy

Listening to President Barack Obama give his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, my ears perked up when he mentioned the word "watchdog."
"Today, American consumers finally have a watchdog in Richard Cordray with one job: To look out for them," Obama said.
Cordray is not an actual dog, but the head of a new agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The CFPB guards consumers the same way a Doberman pinscher wards off intruders behind a chain-link fence.
One of the CFPB's pet projects is monitoring student loans. Earlier this month, the New York Times reported, the agency "is stepping up its scrutiny of nontraditional lenders to students at profit-making colleges and trade schools that have high rates of default."
Cordray slammed the state of student loans in general, telling the Times: "One of the things we see and have seen is lenders who market loans for borrowers knowing that those borrowers are unlikely to be able to pay those loans."
As a dog who has not even taken a single doggie-obedience class (my behavior on the leash proves this), I am impressed with how diligently humans seek out an education. Ideally, it helps them get better jobs, earn higher incomes, and live happier lives ... and maybe this trickles down to their pets in terms of, perhaps, more and varied doggie treats.
The trouble is, higher ed has a killer cost: Student loans. The student-loan crisis makes me get up on my hind legs and bare my teeth in anger. For instance, if you go bankrupt, the only way you can discharge your student loans is if you can convince a judge you have an "undue hardship." (Thank the Congresses of 1998 and 2005.) Also, our very own "watchdog" government affects how much interest rates will change. In a bad economy like the one we're in now, these problems loom larger.
Obama is trying to help. "At a time when Americans owe more in tuition debt than credit card debt, this Congress needs to stop the interest rates on student loans from doubling in July," he said in his State of the Union address.
Yet if Obama really wants a watchdog here, then the CFPB ought to be equipped with incisors fit for a Doberman, a Rottweiler or a pit bull. It needs to financially educate the college students of tomorrow, and their families. The CFPB must help them see the big-picture aspect of loans, even when a prestigious yet pricey college / graduate school seems as appetizing as a nice, juicy squirrel does to me. And hey, Americans ... you also need to be your own watchdogs on this. I mean, I'm only a dog and even I know this financial stuff.
For alumni struggling with debt, the CFPB should press Congress to reverse its 1998 and 2005 student-loan decisions (some lawmakers have tried to do this) and post up-to-date information on its website on the variety of repayment plans and forgiveness options.
I like hearing Cordray give a low, menacing growl to lenders who have long done the same to college students and alumni. I'd like it even more if the CFPB can develop some muscle to back up its moxie.

Daisy is a 9-year-old West Highland white terrier living in Cambridge, Mass. Her column appears regularly.

Florida Homeowners 'In the Doghouse'

FL Foreclosures Cartoon, a photo by rbtenorio on Flickr.

Florida, site of the next Republican presidential primary, has a troubled housing market. National Journal reports: "Nearly 182,000 properties received foreclosure notices, according to data firm RealtyTrac."
Yet GOP presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich would rather spend their debate time attacking each other instead of discussing this important issue. Read more in the latest episode of "Capitol Hill Canine"!

"JoJoJo" Hears "Call of the Wild"

Joseph Kennedy III Cartoon, a photo by rbtenorio on Flickr.

Joseph Kennedy III, the heir to the storied Kennedy political dynasty, is mulling a run for Congress in Massachusetts. His main rival looks like Republican Sean Bielat, who gave retiring Democratic incumbent Barney Frank a run for his money in the 2010 campaign. The Political Pets urge "JoJoJo" to tread carefully in the latest episode of "Capitol Hill Canine"!

Mitt victim of 'vast four-legged conspiracy,' terrier says

By: Daisy

My human friends tell me that when Newt Gingrich was the big dog in Washington, DC, in the mid-1990s, he and his Republicans hounded President Bill Clinton so much that an expression entered US politics: "A vast right-wing conspiracy."
Now another Republican, Mitt Romney, looks set to win a dogfight against Newt for the GOP nomination, and Mitt is facing overzealous attacks from what I call "a vast four-legged conspiracy."
On Tuesday, the Boston Herald reported on an Alabama man, Scott Crider, and his business, "Dogs Against Romney." Crider takes Mitt to task -- justifiably so, in my opinion -- for driving cross-country with his wife and five children in the family station wagon in 1983 ... with their Irish setter Seamus in a crate on top.
If you visit the "Dogs Against Romney" website, you can see that Crider has a bit of Mitt's business sense. He is marketing not only T-shirts and hoodies, but also ballcaps and buttons ... even doggie tees and bandanas. They come with slogans such as "Dogs Aren't Luggage" and "Never Forget Crate Gate." And part of the proceeds go to animal welfare groups, the site says.
The Herald describes Crider as "a political independent," but someone in the pack of Republicans must benefit from the attacks on Mitt, and I'd say that someone is Newt. Indeed, the Herald mentions a Newt attack ad that lists Mitt's howlers ... including defending driving with Seamus on the roof, and a rendition of "Who Let the Dogs Out?" (It reminded me of my own "I want to go out!" bark to my owners.)
Gingrich himself has a "Pets With Newt 2012" website, which lets supporters share pictures of their pets and themselves. But Newt comes across less like a pet person and more like someone who prefers seeing animals cooped up in cages. We learn that "(as) a teenager, Newt wanted to be either a zoo director or a vertebrate paleontologist," and we get a list of his top zoos (big surprise: they include the San Diego Zoo and Bronx Zoo). And the main photo on the web page is Newt not with a cute Westie like me ... not even with a cat ... but holding what looks like a pair of monkeys! Who has monkeys for pets???
I have criticized Mitt for his dog-on-the-roof decision -- it certainly showed poor judgment -- but I believe in second chances. (Good thing my owners do, too, after all the times I've wiggled off the same leash!) Crider's designs are cute, and Newt's schemes are creative, but I'm starting to feel some sympathy for Mitt. Why, Mitt even referred to himself as "a rodent and rabbit hunter." That warms my heart much more than any T-shirt ever could.

Daisy is a 9-year-old West Highland white terrier living in Cambridge, Mass. Her column appears weekly.

Doggie Seat Puts Mitt in Hot Seat

Mitt-Dog on Roof Cartoon, a photo by rbtenorio on Flickr.

Mitt Romney's GOP rivals are dogging him with hard-hitting accusations, namely, that he makes too much money, and that he once drove cross-country with his dog on the roof of the family station wagon in 1983. The Political Pets ask Mitt if he would re-think the latter decision, in the latest episode of "Capitol Hill Canine"!

Terrier analyzes Mitt's dog-on-roof decision

By: Daisy

Even though I wasn't born yet in 1983, when Mitt Romney decided to drive cross-country with his Irish setter on the roof of the family station wagon -- a move that is being attacked by his rival Newt Gingrich -- I can sure weigh in on it.
First of all, we dogs just love riding in cars. It's great to look out the window, and not just because we get a change of scenery. Yesterday, when my co-owner Rich pulled into a gas station and rolled down the window to talk to the attendant, I could hear the chirping of the birds outside and my mouth started watering. Yum!
But when Rich takes me on a car trip, I have the whole back seat of his Toyota Corolla to stretch out on (including a red doggie blanket). Mitt actually put the family dog, Seamus, on top of his car. Now, OK, he didn't do something totally ridiculous like tie him to the roof like a Christmas tree. He used his CEO ingenuity to put Seamus in a crate and even improvised a windshield. But c'mon, the poor fella (Seamus, not Mitt) still ended up getting so scared he had what an LA Times writer called "digestive trouble."
Now, I'm not saying that what Mitt did was on the level of Michael Vick. There were seven people (Mitt, his wife and their five children) in that station wagon, and space was at a premium. Mitt even argues that Seamus liked being up on top, as opposed to inside a cramped car. I have to admit, I start to feel claustrophobic when there's just three people inside our Corolla!
But the fact is, the best place for us dogs in cars is in the back, and the less outside exposure we get, the better. "Don't allow your pet to ride with his head outside the window," the ASPCA warns. "He could be injured by flying objects. And please keep him in the back seat in his crate or with a harness attached to a seat buckle."
So to Mitt, I say this: If you really want to be President someday, I hope that in your political career, you don't improvise any more shortcuts like this, and take the time and expense to do things more responsibly. And to Rich, I say this: If you ever get the idea to put ME in a crate on top of the car, even with a windshield, I'm baring my incisors and staying home.

Daisy is a 9-year-old West Highland white terrier living in Cambridge, Mass.

Doggie-Door Diplomacy

cordray-obama, a photo by rbtenorio on Flickr.

As President Obama showed this week with his recess appointment of Richard Cordray to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, there are creative ways to get into the White House, in the latest episode of "Capitol Hill Canine"!