The Republican Thread

[ChiSox_Sonix]

I guess on a really base level you could look at it like "well if i need to pass a drug test to get the job that pays for your welfare, why shouldn't you have to pass a drug test to receive it"?

 

I understand that the majority of people on welfare really need the program, but the system is also highly abused. Of course, bringing children into it complicates it tremendously, as they are not at fault for what their parents do or don't do. I would support some sort of testing system if it was feasible and made sense for everyone involved.

[StrangeSox]

I take this action after 11 years of dedicated, honorable service to A.I.G. I can no longer effectively perform my duties in this dysfunctional environment, nor am I being paid to do so. Like you, I was asked to work for an annual salary of $1, and I agreed out of a sense of duty to the company and to the public officials who have come to its aid. Having now been let down by both, I can no longer justify spending 10, 12, 14 hours a day away from my family for the benefit of those who have let me down.

 

I have to call BS on this. He agreed to an annual "salary" of $1 and a deferred "bonus" of 3/4's of a million dollars if he worked there for a year. He didn't do this out of a sense of duty; he did it because he knew he was going to be paid a rather large sum of money at the end of his contract period. I also don't feel much sympathy for him have to work 10-14 hour days. Plenty of people work that long without $750,000 worth of compensation.

[southsider2k5]

I think because they can't find anyone to work at the Sec Treas office, they are just monitoring Soxtalk for my ideas now...

 

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Politics/st...7336&page=1

 

Geithner Proposes New Wall Street Overseer

The Treasury Secretary Wants to Overhaul How Regulators Monitor Wall Street

By MATTHEW JAFFE and SCOTT MAYEROWITZ

March 26, 2009

 

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner wants to create an independent regulator charged with ensuring that the companies involved in today's complex financial transaction don't ever bring the economy crashing down again.

 

Among the targets for reform in his plan unveiled today: credit default swaps and other types of derivatives that have been blamed for exacerbating the economy's troubles. And hedge funds, which have become important market players in the last few years, would now be required to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

One of the prime concerns is that some of these companies are so interconnected with the rest of the economy that if they fail, the domino effect could topple the entire financial system. That was the fear with AIG and Bear Stearns and Geithner hopes that the new regulator would be able to control that systemic risk.

 

Geithner outlined the plan in testimony today before the House Financial Services Committee, his second appearance in three days before the panel.

 

Geithner said that Wall Street and the financial system have "failed in basic fundamental ways."

 

"The system proved too unstable and fragile, subject to significant crises every few years, periodic booms in real estate markets and in credit, followed by busts and contraction," he said. "Innovation and complexity overwhelmed the checks and balances in the system. Compensation practices rewarded short-term profits over long-term return."

 

To fix the system, Geithner said the government can't just make "modest repairs at the margin," but must write "new rules of the game."

 

"We can't allow institutions to cherry pick among competing regulators, and shift risk to where it faces the lowest standards and constraints," he said.

 

The financial crisis was caused in part because rating agencies and regulators simply did not understand or address the actions of the big banks and other players until they had already resulted in catastrophic losses.

 

Under the proposed new rules, investment companies would be required to have more cash on hand and take less risks.

 

The independent regulator Geithner is proposing would be separate from the Treasury Department and could come possibly from the Federal Reserve System. The aim is to end turf wars between the various government agencies tasked with overseeing the economy.

 

The regulator would have sweeping authority to examine any complex financial structure to assess its risks of going under and affecting the economy at large. It would oversee major insurance companies, hedge funds and financial derivatives markets.

 

The plan would also impose a uniform set of standards on large financial companies to limit their scope and risky activities.

 

The goal is to prevent another failure of a company like Lehman Brothers or insurer AIG and to limit exposure to the rest of the market if such firms were to topple.

 

Another goal is to prevent fraud such as those by admitted Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff and accused scammer Allen Stanford -- grand-scale frauds that exposed major regulatory gaps and highlighted the need to strengthen enforcement and improve transparency for all investors.

 

The Obama administration is asking Congress to act quickly on its proposed reforms. Late Wednesday night, it sent Congress a 61-page bill that would give the government expanded powers to seize control of nonbank financial institutions. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the committee's chairman, has signaled that he could act on the measure as soon as next week.

 

The administration's tactic is in stark contrast to the Bush administration, which believed in less regulation and that the markets would set how much risk they should take on.

 

Obama's regulations aim to oversee companies not so much on the form they take -- bank, investment bank or insurance company -- but based on the type of transactions and business they conduct. A major criticism of the oversight structure to date is that insurance companies like AIG were involved in Wall Street's transactions but were supervised by traditional insurance regulators.

 

Two of the main targets for added oversight are credit default swaps and hedge funds.

 

Credit default swaps, which trade in a $60 trillion global market without government oversight, are contracts to insure against the default of financial instruments like bonds and corporate debt. They played a prominent role in the credit crisis that brought the downfall of investment banking giant Lehman Brothers in the fall and pushed AIG to the brink of collapse, forcing the government to provide more than $180 billion in support.

 

Hedge funds, vast pools of capital holding an estimated $1.5 trillion in assets, operate mostly outside of government supervision. As the market crisis deepened in the fall, hedge fund selling was widely cited as one of the reasons for increased volatility that pounded stocks and bonds.

 

U.S. law generally does not require hedge funds or other private pools of capital to register with a federal financial regulator, although some funds that trade commodity derivatives must register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and many funds register voluntarily with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As a result, there are no reliable, comprehensive data available to assess whether such funds individually or collectively pose a threat to financial stability.

 

House Committee to Vote on Blocking Bonuses

 

Finally, Geithner will unveil new standards for money market funds to reduce the risk of rapid withdrawals. Money markets have traditionally been seen as one of the safest and most conservative investments. They wouldn't make anybody rich, but they weren't supposed to ever decline in value.

 

As the financial crisis worsened and one fund actually lost value -- or broke the buck in money market terms -- there was a run on the entire money market industry. Investors pulled their money out of the funds, causing further pressures on the stock market.

 

There is also expected to be some action today on how to handle bonuses.

 

Before Geithner testifies, the House committee will vote on the markup of a measure to empower the government to stop future bonus payments at bailed-out financial institutions if Geithner and regulators determine that the employee compensation is "excessive."

 

The measure is a watered-down proposal compared to the lawmakers' legislation last week to put a 90 percent tax on bonus payments at bailout recipients after the $165 million bonus mess at AIG.

 

With reports from The Associated Press

[NorthSideSox72]

I think because they can't find anyone to work at the Sec Treas office, they are just monitoring Soxtalk for my ideas now...

 

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Politics/st...7336&page=1

Finally seeing the light. Lots of folks in the industry have been saying this for a long time. I know someone who is an attorney at CFTC, and she agrees as well.

 

[Cknolls]

The Star Tribune reports:

 

President Obama used the flooding in the Red River Valley to insist that society needs to take global warming seriously.

 

In a White House interview with a handful of reporters, including Janell Cole of the Forum of Fargo, the president said the current flooding cannot necessarily be blamed on global warming, but he said it should be a signal to act.

 

"If you look at the flooding that's going on right now in North Dakota and you say to yourself, 'If you see an increase of 2 degrees, what does that do, in terms of the situation there?'" the president told the reporters. "That indicates the degree to which we have to take this seriously."

 

Obama began by saying that "the science around climate change is real; it is potentially devastating."

 

 

 

 

As Wikipedia explains:

 

The Red River in Manitoba and the U.S. States of Minnesota and North Dakota has flooded repeatedly through the centuries, endangering lives and property. The river is highly prone to flooding because of its northward flow. As spring approaches, the snow is melted from south to north alongside the riverflow. There is also the possibility that the surplus water can hit unmelted ice on the river and back up. The flatness of the terrain and small slope of the river is a significant factor.

 

 

 

 

Everything is global warming's fault. What a disgrace.

 

[StrangeSox]

Doesn't that quote say that he specifically said that it isn't caused by global warming? I think he was using it to illustrate how damaging a flood can be.

[Cknolls]

The NEW Apolitical Dept. of Justice: Compliments of the Nat'l. Review:

 

 

Democrats complained endlessly about the supposed “politicization” of the Bush Justice Department. When asked about this at his confirmation hearing, Eric Holder piously pledged that his Justice Department would “serve justice” and “not the fleeting interests of any political party.” America, he intoned, was “in dire need of a less political and more independent Justice Department.”

 

But an e-mail and flyer recently circulated to Justice Department employees indicate Attorney General Holder has an interesting definition of what it means to be “less political.” The flyer invites all employees to attend a speech in the main Justice building on Pennsylvania Avenue. In fact, it notes, all “upervisors are encouraged to grant official time to employees to attend this event.”

 

And what pillar of the legal profession will be lecturing Justice employees to help them “serve justice” in a “less political” way? Why, none other than Donna Brazile, whose own website biography describes her as a “[v]eteran Democratic political strategist” and a Vice Chairman at the Democratic National Committee.” Brazile is marketed by more than one speaker’s bureau at a cost ranging from $10,000 to $20,000. The flyer doesn't say how many taxpayer dollars are going to pay a Democratic political consultant to speak to career employees at the Justice Department (sounds like a good FOIA request). Good thing the Department

 

 

I can smell the change all the way from Chicago.

[Cknolls]

Via Media [email protected]

 

On Friday March 20, Keith Olbermann named "Twitter" the Worst Person in the World — specifically, a conspiracy to create a fake Twitter profile for him. Here's the transcript:

 

But our winner is Twitter. I told you this was trouble. I find out today that I have 13,900 some odd followers on Twitter. I‘m not on Twitter. I tried to sign up last summer and abandoned the project. I found this out when I got a piece of junk e-mail today, at my address, from some outfit trying to barnacle on to the Twitter process. Though it was my address, it had somebody else‘s name on it, possibly whoever was perpetuating the fraud. The subject line read “Dan Cooper Media, local Tweet request.” And the e-mail began, “hi Dan Cooper Media.”

 

Who is Dan Cooper and why would he be getting spam e-mail about my fake Twitter account? He is one of the five architects of Fox News. Despite all this, Twitter will not suspend the phony account in my name. Just remember, whoever you think you are following on Twitter, might be them and it might not. Twitter, tonight‘s worst persons in the world.

 

And now the really funny part. This is from today's New York Times "Bits" blog on Twitter's future business model:

 

The team does not yet know what the paid service will include, but Mr. Stone said it will likely offer things like analysis of the traffic to businesses’ Twitter profiles and verified accounts so customers know they are talking to the actual business. (That would help businesses avoid the Keith Olbermann mishap earlier this week. Mr. Olbermann named Twitter “the worst person in the world” for allowing a fake account under his name, but it turned out that MSNBC was running the account, unbeknownst to Mr. Olbermann, says Mr. Stone.)

 

Anyone know of an apology to Fox News yet? I did a quick search of the show's transcripts from Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and didn't see one.

 

Also of note, I actually was following Keith Olbermann on Twitter for a day or so, until I realized he wasn't using it. Whoever is in charge of the feed now has blocked it from public view. But, from what I remember, the posts were in the first person. Maybe NBC should admit that it was ghost-posting for one of its anchors?

 

 

[mr_genius]

Via Media [email protected]

 

On Friday March 20, Keith Olbermann named "Twitter" the Worst Person in the World — specifically, a conspiracy to create a fake Twitter profile for him. Here's the transcript:

 

But our winner is Twitter. I told you this was trouble. I find out today that I have 13,900 some odd followers on Twitter. I‘m not on Twitter. I tried to sign up last summer and abandoned the project. I found this out when I got a piece of junk e-mail today, at my address, from some outfit trying to barnacle on to the Twitter process. Though it was my address, it had somebody else‘s name on it, possibly whoever was perpetuating the fraud. The subject line read “Dan Cooper Media, local Tweet request.” And the e-mail began, “hi Dan Cooper Media.”

 

Who is Dan Cooper and why would he be getting spam e-mail about my fake Twitter account? He is one of the five architects of Fox News. Despite all this, Twitter will not suspend the phony account in my name. Just remember, whoever you think you are following on Twitter, might be them and it might not. Twitter, tonight‘s worst persons in the world.

 

And now the really funny part. This is from today's New York Times "Bits" blog on Twitter's future business model:

 

The team does not yet know what the paid service will include, but Mr. Stone said it will likely offer things like analysis of the traffic to businesses’ Twitter profiles and verified accounts so customers know they are talking to the actual business. (That would help businesses avoid the Keith Olbermann mishap earlier this week. Mr. Olbermann named Twitter “the worst person in the world” for allowing a fake account under his name, but it turned out that MSNBC was running the account, unbeknownst to Mr. Olbermann, says Mr. Stone.)

 

Anyone know of an apology to Fox News yet? I did a quick search of the show's transcripts from Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and didn't see one.

 

Also of note, I actually was following Keith Olbermann on Twitter for a day or so, until I realized he wasn't using it. Whoever is in charge of the feed now has blocked it from public view. But, from what I remember, the posts were in the first person. Maybe NBC should admit that it was ghost-posting for one of its anchors?

 

 

Olbermann is a moron.

[lostfan]

Not sure where else to put this, but this made me chuckle.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/...ritney-concert/

(CNN) — House Republican Whip Eric Cantor — among the unlikeliest attendees at a Britney Spears concert earlier this week in Washington — told CNN Thursday he went to the teen-dominated show for a political event, to "help the team."

 

"I had a political event there, and it was simply because it was there to help the team, that's why I was there," Cantor told CNN's Dana Bash.

 

According to a Republican aide, Cantor was specifically raising money at the concert for his political action committee, ERICPAC. The event was hosted by the Truckers Association, which has a box at the Verizon Center, where Spears was performing.

 

The Web site Wonkette first reported Cantor was spotted at the event, which took place as President Obama held a prime-time press conference.

 

Cantor told CNN the concert — part of the singer's "Circus" tour — was "quite a show."

 

"I hand it to the performer, she was something," he said.

 

The congressman also said his daughter was "really mad" he did not bring her to the concert. "She had school that day, and the next, and I wasn't going to bring her up here to miss it."

I know how it is.

Edited March 26, 2009 by lostfan

[bmags]

you guys should really link your articles.

[Cknolls]

you guys should really link your articles.

 

 

If you are referring to me they are blog entries from National Review Online.

[EvilMonkey]

Card check horror story in real life. Employees threatened, visited at homes, etc, just like everyone fears would happen.

 

[bmags]

http://media.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MD...mZhZjk4NmZkN2M=

 

click the date/time at the bottom left of the post.

[kapkomet]

Card check horror story in real life. Employees threatened, visited at homes, etc, just like everyone fears would happen.

 

I also like the fact that Fred Smith (CEO of FedEx) came right out and said if this passes, he will cancel his $5 billion order for jets from Boeing. Nothing like taking MORE money right out of circulation... keep going, Mr. Obama, you will get your socialistic state if you keep it up. Capitalism sucks!

[mr_genius]

WOW

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politic...0,5682373.story

 

Rahm Emanuel directly linked to Freddie Mac and knew about what was going on.

 

Immediately upon joining the board, Emanuel and other new directors qualified for $380,000 in stock and options plus a $20,000 annual fee, records indicate....

 

"You know there was a patronage system and these people were only going to serve a short time," Coffee said. "That's why [they] get the stock upfront."...

 

During his brief time on the board, the company hatched a plan to enhance its political muscle. That scheme, also reviewed by the board, led to a record $3.8 million fine from the Federal Election Commission for illegally using corporate resources to host fundraisers for politicians. Emanuel was the beneficiary of one of those parties after he left the board and ran in 2002 for a seat in Congress from the North Side of Chicago....

 

The Obama administration rejected a Tribune request under the Freedom of Information Act to review Freddie Mac board minutes and correspondence during Emanuel's time as a director......

 

In his investigation, Falcon concluded that the board of directors on which Emanuel sat was so pliant that Freddie Mac's managers easily were able to massage company ledgers. They manipulated bookkeeping to smooth out volatility, perpetuating Freddie Mac's industry reputation as "Steady Freddie," a reliable producer of earnings growth. Wall Street liked what it saw, Freddie Mac's stock value soared and top executives collected their bonuses.

Edited March 27, 2009 by mr_genius

[southsider2k5]

It was most interesting that the most open administration in history used the same FOIA denial that they blasted Bush for hiding stuff with to protect the meeting minutes.

[NorthSideSox72]

It was most interesting that the most open administration in history used the same FOIA denial that they blasted Bush for hiding stuff with to protect the meeting minutes.

The Obama administration has already made leaps and bounds past BushCo in terms of releasing information documents. BUT, in this case, this pisses me off, and its stinks of corruption. They'd better the heck reverse course on protecting Rahm this way, and soon. I agree completely that this is a B.S. move.

 

[kapkomet]

The Obama administration has already made leaps and bounds past BushCo in terms of releasing information documents. BUT, in this case, this pisses me off, and its stinks of corruption. They'd better the heck reverse course on protecting Rahm this way, and soon. I agree completely that this is a B.S. move.

NSS, with respect, no, the Obama administration has NOT made leaps and bounds about releasing information. They release what they WANT to release. I'm quite tired of the "Obama is so much better" when in reality, he's doing exactly the same things, just with a different political agenda.

[NorthSideSox72]

NSS, with respect, no, the Obama administration has NOT made leaps and bounds about releasing information. They release what they WANT to release. I'm quite tired of the "Obama is so much better" when in reality, he's doing exactly the same things, just with a different political agenda.

Sometimes he is. But he released a whole bunch of stuff, it was discussed here, and changed the FOIA rules to be enforced more in favor of requestors. I don't have the articles in front of me anymore.

 

I think its interesting, the discussions about Obama, seem to have already run out to the extremes on both sides. Either he's a pariah who is ruining the country and doing worse than Bush was, or he's the man among men and he has saved us from Bush and the big bad economy. Neither are true. Obama has already done more positive things than Bush, but, Obama has also done some s***ty things (some of which Bush did, some of which are uniquely Obama).

 

In any case, I happen to agree with the folks that are upset about this FOIA request being denied. It is a corrupt, protective move. BushCo's tactic was, instead of protecting certain pieces, would just put up a wall against almost all intrusion whatsoever. Clearly, some sunlight is better than none, so Obama is doing better, IMO. But you are right in that there are still things that either one, and for that matter most other politicians, will do everything in their power to keep secret, for selfish reasons.

 

[southsider2k5]

The Obama administration has already made leaps and bounds past BushCo in terms of releasing information documents. BUT, in this case, this pisses me off, and its stinks of corruption. They'd better the heck reverse course on protecting Rahm this way, and soon. I agree completely that this is a B.S. move.

 

The reason they are "better" so far is that they don't have any of their own stuff to hide yet. Any administration can release stuff from their opposition, because they aren't going to look bad doing it. If they are already blocking requests for information on people in their own house, it isn't a good sign for how open they are going to be in the future.

[NorthSideSox72]

The reason they are "better" so far is that they don't have any of their own stuff to hide yet. Any administration can release stuff from their opposition, because they aren't going to look bad doing it. If they are already blocking requests for information on people in their own house, it isn't a good sign for how open they are going to be in the future.

In that case, we'll see how things look in a few years. If they reverse the policy changes, then you will be right.

 

[kapkomet]

What SS was saying is more my point. This guy is going to CYA just like everyone else does. I don't think my statement is an extreme, it's just reality.

 

[Cknolls]

WTF?:

 

 

http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/03/gr..._same_thing.php

 

 

 

 

Grassley is starting to sound like Biden.

Edited March 27, 2009 by Cknolls

[Cknolls]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/20560.html

 

 

 

Somebody needs a diaper change.

 

 

 

Would it be too much to ask for Reid to provide some examples. After all he did vote againstRoberts, so how, exactly was he fooled?

Edited March 27, 2009 by Cknolls