Current+Event+of+2.19

=**February 18th 2009**=

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[|Help Is On The Way? Obama Outlines Mortgage Plan]
 * By SCOTT MAYEROWITZ**

Today President Barack Obama promised to aid 9 million homeowners facing foreclosure or mortgage problems. Previous plans have focused solely on homeowners already in foreclosure, but this new one will also focus on aiding those at risk. His plan is to prevent foreclosures in the future. The plan targets two groups of homeowners hurt by the mortgage crisis: some 4-5 million families who's house values have dropped, but are not in danger of foreclosure and the other group of 3-4 million with adjustable-rate mortgages. The plan will refinance new mortgages for the first group and will have their loans modified to a lower interest rate for at least 5 years. It has been estimated that the program will exceed $75 billion. It is also helping out homeowners already in foreclosure. It will reduce their monthly payments. First it is up to the banks and mortgage services to get the monthly mortgage payments down to 38% of the borrowers gross pay. After they have reached that goal, the government aid steps in to work to get that loan to 31% of debt-to-income ratio. This plan also acts as an incentive program. Loan services get a $1,000 up-front fee for modifications to meet their requirements. They then get $1,000 "success fee" each year a borrower stays current for up to three years. Borrowers can get up to $1,000 each year for 5 years if they stay current on their modified mortgage payments.

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In other news, Al Sharpton along with many other American civilians black and white are outraged by a cartoon posted in the New York Post by cartoonist Sean Delonas. Adding to this anger is the fact that the New York Post is not apologizing for the cartoon, but are indeed defending what many believe to be a racial attack towards Barack Obama. In the cartoon a monkey is being shot down by two white police officers saying that "they're going to have to find someone else to write the stimulus bill now". Not only does it seem Delonas issaying that Obama has the intelligence of a monkey, but the history and hurt behind comparing African-Americans to have to physical features similiar to and the low intelligence of the monkeys is especially disheartening as the country has for the majority just united over a change many thought would never happen in the United States of America. In the background of the picture there is also a flyer saying beware of the dogs which many believe to be another racial slur as in the mid 1900's, African-Americans were sicked by vicious police dogs to maintain order. To add insult to injury, the monkey cartoon was based off of another current event involving a woman having to have her pet monkey brutally put down. The monkey attacked a guest of the woman's, and clawed her eyes out among other injuries. The fact that Obama is being connected to a killer monkey, therefore, a killer of the U.S economy by doing his best to revive it quickly, is disturbing to say the least.