Morning Open Thread
Chat away...
Comments (75) «
From yesterday:
Should not the PMI companys have covered the loss of equity to the lenders do to foreclosure?
20
bossman on January 12, 2009 at 02:11 PM
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As in the bankrupt AIG? Why do you think they went bust?
You are missing the real problem. PMI doesn't cover the mortgage backed securities nor does it cover derivatives (futures) taken out against those securities. It just covers losses of income the lender would have received if not for a foreclosure.
29
rjsnj on January 12, 2009 at 02:58 PM
PMI does not cover the full exposure of the lender. They are covering the top slice (maybe 20% in this case) plus some fees. In the case of a 90% loan, then PMI is usually 10% of loan amount. In order for the Lender not to void their claim for the PMI coverage, several things must happen. The lender must manage the default to its completion, usually foreclosure or a workout or short sale. Any agreement short of foreclosure must be approved by the PMI company.
PMI may want the house back following a foreclosure, in order to attempt to recoup any loss they may have due to a claim. In that instance, they may not approve a short sale.
PMI will often approve a short sale if the market indicates that they have no shot at recouping their loss or claim. Or often, there is some middle ground, whereby the Lender could sell it for 85 to 90% of the original loan amount, thereby reducing any such claim to PMI. Much like any foreclosure and dealing with Loss Mitigation, each case is different... not sure why, maybe it is the Rep you deal with, the latest whim of mgmt based upon their recent losses, et al... Those policies change all the time, so the best thing to do is ask... and see what they say.
Just know that unless you are paying 100% of what is owed the Lender, they will need to get PMI to concur with any decision on their part, so they do not lose their opportunity to file the insurance claim, except in the rarest of instances, a Lender may decide to forego the PMI claim.
Again, why isn’t PMI covering the loss
http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/lcddata.html?ticker=AIG
AIG seems to be still trading on the NYSE. Now, did they or they not go under
.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/04/AR2005050402377.html
“AIG spokesman Christopher Winans declined to comment. The company on Sunday said it would correct five years of earnings results for reinsurance and other transactions that inflated the company's net worth by $2.7 billion. Chairman and chief executive Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg resigned in March.
An FBI report says the bureau's review of the industry is focused on insurance-related corporate fraud, the diversion of policyholder premiums for the personal benefit of agents and brokers, and workers' compensation frauds that target pools of small businesses. Reinsurance is also a topic of the review, said Brian Lamkin, chief of the FBI's financial crimes section.”
Inflating the book by 2.7 billion! Are you telling me the FBI doesn’t think this is a big deal?
“Investigators are expected to begin their work in the accounts departments of the four companies with the intention of seeing where a trail might lead. The FBI believes that the near-collapse of the four triggered the Government’s proposed $700 billion (£378 billion) bailout of Wall Street by putting the entire financial system in jeopardy.”
“putting the entire financial system in jeopardy” yet the FBI has not made one allegation, no indictment, no arrests, no secret wire taps, not even a don’t do that again boys.”
Not one update on the web about this investigation since September 24th.
I don’t know about you but something smells fishy?
What is the starting salary of an FBI Special Agent? The initial starting salary for an FBI Special Agent ranges between $54000 - $58000 per year. This doesn’t include the add ons.
How many of you make this kind of money?
In closing: Here is what Mr. Liddy thought about the assistance the American people gave AIG.
We have an old saying down south,
“ Don’t piss down my back and tell me it raining”
sorry for length, but this is a really good one......
Whatever faint hope President-elect Barack Obama's national security team may have held of pushing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the back burner went up in smoke in recent days. As ever, "the conflict," now focused on Gaza, is squarely front and center on a new American president's plate.
My hope is that the president-elect will seize this crisis and its aftermath as an opportunity to set a bold new course for America in the Middle East. What better step for a president looking to define a new role for the United States in the 21st century than to lead Arabs and Israelis toward settling their long-running conflict peacefully and comprehensively.
What would a bold move by the new president look like? With talk of a first 100-days presidential visit to a Muslim nation, why not use that forum to extend a welcoming American hand to the Arab League Peace Initiative, which offers Israel acceptance from 22 nations in the region in return for a land-for-peace resolution of its conflicts with its neighbors?
Following that gesture, why not take Air Force One straight to Israel and use the full weight of the presidency to coax a new Israeli government to accept the invitation to explore the initiative, too. In twin speeches to Muslim and Jewish audiences, outline the clear concessions each side will need to make, and commit to do what it takes personally to make that agreement happen together with key international partners.
Imagine the impact in the Middle East and throughout the world on the dismal public perception of the United States. Imagine the impact on Iran if a lower level of anti-American sentiment began to erode its position as leader of the opposition to the U.S. and Israel - or if Syria could be lured from its grasp. Imagine an Israel accepted, finally, by all its neighbors, freed by diplomacy from rockets and terror. Imagine extremist groups deprived of the conflicts that fuel the fires of terror.
It's hard to argue how such a move would not serve U.S. interests. Washington hands and Jewish communal leaders may shake their heads - believing no president would ever risk the domestic political fallout they think such an effort might bring.
But a transformational president - if that is indeed what Obama intends to be - will recognize not only that the world needs such an initiative but that the American Jewish community is ready for it as are the people of Israel and of Palestine - if not their leaders.
In fact, the most recent events in the region make such an initiative not simply attractive but downright urgent. Soon, the Israeli attack on Gaza will wind down. It is doubtful that Israel will have stopped the rockets or toppled Hamas, and there is no chance of Hamas breaking Israel's will with its rockets.
A new cease-fire will end the violence (on terms that might well have been possible with real effort before the attack) and both peoples will be left to confront the futility of their military options.
A bold Obama-led initiative is perhaps Israel's last chance to find a peaceful way out of a downward spiral caused by a conflict that its own prime minister has now said publicly threatens Israel's viability as a Jewish, democratic state.
http://www.truthout.org/011309L
we must pray that Obama is brave enough to take this bull by the horns, and end this strife which has gone on so long........
The one thing that Obama has going for him as far as Foreign policy is, is that the entire World cheered and were thrilled to see him become President Elect!!! They are eager and ready for a new direction by the USA!
(I wonder if those last few Repugs understand this, and understand that they are FAR FAR in the minority in the entire world)
bossman on January 13, 2009 at 11:15 AM
I think the key word in all of this is fraud.
You can't anticipate every way criminals may operate (although it helps to have SOME regulation), but you can go back and reconstruct the crime and prosecute EVERYONE who knowingly cooperated in the crime.
The accessories to this crime should have the screws put to them till we find out the truth about who were the major players. The subprime economy was set up by Newt's Contract with America. It didn't create conditions for Ponzi schemes to happen. It was a Ponzi scheme.
Those who pushed for deregulation knew exactly what they were doing and need to be prosecuted...especially the politicians who were complicit.
Sandy, I found this piece of special interest on who is to blame for a lot of this mess we are in:
WASHINGTON — Freddie Mac secretly paid a Republican consulting firm $2 million to kill legislation that would have regulated and trimmed the mortgage finance giant and its sister company, Fannie Mae, three years before the government took control to prevent their collapse.
In the cross hairs of the campaign carried out by DCI of Washington were Republican senators and a regulatory overhaul bill sponsored by Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb. DCI's chief executive is Doug Goodyear, whom John McCain's campaign later hired to manage the GOP convention in September.
Freddie Mac's payments to DCI began shortly after the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee sent Hagel's bill to the then GOP-run Senate on July 28, 2005. All GOP members of the committee supported it; all Democrats opposed it.
In the midst of DCI's yearlong effort, Hagel and 25 other Republican senators pleaded unsuccessfully with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., to allow a vote.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/19/freddie-mac-paid-gop-cons_n_135995.html
2/3 of 109 Professional Historians say Bush is worst President in History of the USA !!!
Bush leaves office next Tuesday with the lowest sustained approval ratings of any modern president. With the exception of hard-line neo-conservatives and other far-right hawks who ruled the roost in Bush's first term, the overwhelming consensus of veteran analysts here is that his "global war on terror" -- for which he is likely to be most remembered -- has inflicted unprecedented and possibly permanent damage on Washington's image abroad. The latter problem may not matter to those who, like Vice President Dick Cheney and the "neo-cons", have long disdained diplomacy and other forms of "soft power". But the unexpected difficulties confronted by U.S. military forces in Afghanistan and Iraq -- as well as the transparent failure of "hard power" to have the desired effect in other "terror-war" theatres, such as Somalia and Pakistan (or Lebanon, in Israel's case) -- have exposed the limits of a U.S.-dominated "unipolar world", and the ability of the U.S. armed forces to enforce
“ou can't anticipate every way criminals may operate (although it helps to have SOME regulation),”
SandyH on January 13, 2009 at 11:45 AM
Oh you want to talk about regulation read this
Form yesterday
BOSSMAN - thanks for bringing up mortgages and foreclosures in the context of Obama's stimulus package.
I would say that the closing costs are the real killer for many who want to refinance.
In addition - I would like to hear more about the possibility of refinancing done through an agency such as FHA - it seems like a sound pragmatic approach to help those in need of keeping homes - to find a range of payment that they can afford - even if it were a temporary arm - with the hope of a recovery our of this economy.
Keep this conversation alive - see if the Obama administration will keep contact with some of the wisdom at the grassroots level.
33
From on January 12, 2009 at 03:12 PM
Thank you for the support and glad to converse with you
Now Im going to share a true real life story that has happened to me personally
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/24/the-fed-grants-gmac-given-bank-holding-status/
“It isn't clear, however, whether or not GMAC actually raised enough money through the bond buyback. The Fed said "emergency conditions" justified its actions, which makes us think the Fed just said "Here, take it." Looked at from a dealer perspective, it makes sense”
It appears that GMAC, Whom I have a mortgage with , succeeded in becoming a bank holding company. However, they really don’t qualify because the do not meet the requirement for capital of the Federal Banking regulation.
However the Federal Government turns there head and allows them Bank Holding status. Thus, a total disregard for federal law.
I can only conclude that the Phase I often hear “the rule of law” is totally bullshit!
By the way is the FBI investigating this?
Now, I had an S Corp and ran a one man mortgage brokerage. I went out of business do to the slow down and my corporation was slapped with a 6000 dollar federal tax lien which I can’t pay. Now, When it came to me. The Federal Government didn’t look the other way. No question asked , no discussion, They just said fuck you pay it.
Now, here is where it really gets good!
As I said I have a GMAC mortgage which Im falling behind on because I don’t have a job. I called GMAC up to see if I could get some payment relief. I asked if I could maybe pay interest only or principle only. I asked if I could as you say refinance. I asked is there anything that can be done.
**** you know what they said*****
***Pay it or we foreclose!***
I can’t document the phone call because im not the FBI so can’t record conversations anytime I feel like it but I can document that I dialed there number and the duration of the call .
Now if you where me. What would you be thinking?
Will you would be thinking this
The law doesn’t apply equally to everyone.
Some people get special rights under the law.
We have a multi tear legal system in which the law is applicable in different ways depending on which level you are in.
Or maybe we just make it up as we go along.
http://washingtonindependent.com/21517/fbi-agent-illinois-high-in-running-for-most-corrupt-state
FBI Special Agent Robert Grant described the state of Illinois politics thusly:
“If [Illinois] isn’t the most corrupt state in the U.S., it’s certainly one hell of a competitor.”
http://washingtonindependent.com/21517/fbi-agent-illinois-high-in-running-for-most-corrupt-state
FBI Special Agent Robert Grant described the state of Illinois politics thusly:
“If [Illinois] isn’t the most corrupt state in the U.S., it’s certainly one hell of a competitor.”
You would be thinking why is the FBI making a big deal about governor Blagovich and making comments about how corrupt the state of Illinois is.
I think the Federal Government needs to look in the mirror.
Hillary doing very well on her confirmation hearing. And the Repugs know better than to appear obstructionists and start in on her ! (so far anyways)
Pam: I watched some of the hearings this morning and Sen. Clinton is indeed doing very well and we should all be proud of her. I was somewhat amused by the looks on the faces of those on the panel who were questioning her. To a man, each treated her with complete respect (amazing!) and there appeared to be a certain amount of genuine affection. It was like they were questioning a relative - like a sister - whose accomplishments they were particularly proud of. Did you get that sense, as well?
Good morning / afternoon, all!
So much for Chimpy's "BTW I'm a swell guy, so don't forget about my what you call 'leg-uh-see'" tour.
He couldn't even fill the Press Room for his last (and very rare) press conference.
And even with papering the room with White House flunkies, the send-off was markedly underwhelming.
White House press corps sends off Bush with awkward goodbye.
Listen to that tepid applause. I've heard more rousing ovations watching a golf tournament.
MaryMac, yes, indeed, I was amazed at the respect they showed to her. I was ready for a battle. I think they are waiting till Thursday, when Holder gets on the hot seat! They do not know the meaning of the word "bi-partisan". The game is to obstruct. It will be to make the Senate and Obama look as bad as they can, so someone like Palin or Romney can waltz in .
Doo-Bee-Doo-Bee-Doo on January 13, 2009 at 12:51 PM
Are you serious? That is too funny!
RE: BOSSMAN
Thanks for keeping the pressing issue of mortgages and foreclosures alive on this blog. This conversation needs to happen nation-wide, and connect with the new administration. Something has to be done. I have had a local Democrat speak to me about possible FHA low interest refinancing. As I stated somewhere yesterday on this blog as did another person - housing and jobs are fundamentals we need. I have sent an email to leaders - that in my area - I would have potential for organizing a town hall meeting on this. I think this needs to be organized - in all areas - when the new administration comes into office. Hopefully, grassroots organizing/wisdom/social justice will prevail. Yes, you are right - we've had too much of the top down corruption.
Fromm on January 13, 2009 at 01:08 PM
I totally agree. We need to do our best to keep up the pressure to 'bail out' from the bottom up and stop funnelling tax dollars to the rich and shameless executives.
Now that we own Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, why not use them. Set up an on-line application as well as provide physical applications at grocery stores, libraries and all public buildings. Allow any home owner who is stuck with a high interest or adjustable rate mortgage to convert to a 40 year (or even 45 year) fixed rate at 6.5 up to 7%. Make the loan for the balance due plus closing and all other costs associated - rather than the appraised value of the home. Use the bailout cash to 'loan' all of the fees associated with the loan until they can be re-couped via the payments on the home.
This will allow those who need a temporary 'fix' to keep their homes, stop the 'value' nose dive that real estate has taken, preserve the tax base for cities and states, as well as help to identify what is truly toxic debt.
It will also be the least costly of all of the solutions anyone so far has proposed, as the tax payers will - over the long haul - not just re-coup their investment - they should turn a small profit.
Even if 50% of the people who take advantage of this one-time offer turn around and are forced to 'default' a 2nd time, it will still be 50% better than it is right now - especially since we are facing a 2nd housing bubble about to burst. (See 60 minutes about the ARM loans.)
As Judges Named, Minnesota Senate Legal Fight Grows
Monday 12 January 2009
»
by: Brian Bakst, The Associated Press
St. Paul, Minnesota - Three judges put on the bench by governors of three political parties will hear the highly charged election lawsuit that stands between Minnesota and its second U.S. senator.
The panel named Monday by the state's highest court will preside over a Republican Norm Coleman's court case that seeks to overturn Democrat Al Franken's 225-vote advantage following a long recount. The case is expected to take months to resolve.
Yesterday, a co-worker who is a citizen but was not born/educated here in the USA asked me to explain the situation in Illinois and the situation in Minnesota.
In the course of doing so, I came to remember how very important each and every Senator is. Not that Representatives aren't important but the Senate is the big 'balance' with each State represented equally with 2 a piece. On January 21, 2009, the Senate - newly elected and those returning - will need to 'hit the ground running' as there will be a lot of legislation coming at them. They need to be prepared and up to speed ASAP.
All of the controversy and legal delays need to end and need to end right now.
This country needs leadership, we need the Senate whole and complete, Paterson in NY needs to quit dragging his feet and appoint someone and the legal issues in MN need to get settled within the next few days!
Let's get with the program people!
Good afternoon, all.
I found this article insightful...
What Obama Can Learn from Lincoln's Inaugural
John Stauffer
Professor of English, African and African American Studies, Harvard
Posted January 11, 2009
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-stauffer/what-obama-can-learn-from_b_156997.html
Another Bush Legacy: 84 Percent More Unemployed
Friday 09 January 2009
by: Isaiah J. Poole, The Campaign for America's Future
Let history be clear on one point when it comes to Bush's mismanagement of the economy: Since January 2001, the month George W. Bush took office, the number of unemployed people has increased more than 84 percent.
That statistic is based on seasonally-adjusted data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released today. While most of today's economic focus is on the direct impact of the economic downturn on employment, it is equally important to keep the long view in mind, for in the long view is the evidence that conservative economic approaches to creating jobs have utterly failed and their proponents are thoroughly discredited.
When President Bush took office, the unemployment rate was 4.2 percent and the ranks of the unemployed stood at just over 6 million. As it turns out, the nation would never again see unemployment that low during the entire Bush term. Today, the unemployment rate is 7.2 percent and there are 11.1 million people unemployed.
Also noteworthy is the employment-to-population ratio. When Bush took office, that ratio was 64.4 percent. It would never see that level again. It went down through his presidency to today's 61 percent. That's through all of the business and high-income tax cuts that Bush and conservatives said would create jobs.
Economic Policy Institute economist Heidi Shierholz today noted that "the end of 2008 saw the fastest rate of job loss since the first quarter 1975." And EPI president Lawrence Mishel says in our podcast (left) that the first-year rise in unemployment in this recession, which officially began in December 2007, exceeds all but one of the recessions of the last 38 years and more than unemployment rose in total in the 1990s and early 2000s recessions. Unless there is a dramatic policy intervention, Mishel warns, we will see unemployment exceeding 10 percent by the end of 2009 or early 2010. For African Americans, the unemployment rate could top 18 percent. Already, Mishel points out, underemployment - those who are working part-time when they want to work full-time - is running about 13.5 percent.
Since Bush took office, there has been what columnist Marie Cocco describes as "an extravagant orgy of tax-cutting": $1.35 trillion over 10 years in 2001, $350 billion in 2003, $146 billion in 2004 and $142 billion in 2006. And yet, despite the utter failure of supply-side economics to yield the level of job growth that would have blunted this recession, the right won't let the tax-cut mantra go. Today, Lawrence Kudlow complains that President-elect Barack Obama's stimulus plan is "not reducing marginal tax rates on large and small businesses or individuals." Michael Reagan grouses that this is a time when it is "essential for out-of-control government spending to be halted and drastically cut back" and chides Obama, along with right-wing members of Congress, for rejecting "the tried-and-true approaches to economic stability."
Tried and true? More like tried and calamitous. The results are as plain as the state unemployment offices that can't handle the flow of new claims. Yet, the conservative counterargument continues to be reflexive opposition to government and uncritical worship of corporate tax cuts. What's clear is that the people who comprise the 84 percent increase in the number of unemployed under Bush's watch need a new direction.
hmmmm, "Smart Power" ! I like the sound of that ! As compared to Stupid Hawkish Power of the last 8 years, which produced NOTHING, except for 4220 Dead US boys, over a million dead Iraqis, a world image that is in the toilet, and a joke of an administration.
WASHINGTON – Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday that she intends to revitalize the mission of diplomacy in American foreign policy, calling for a "smart power" strategy in the Middle East and implicitly criticizing the Bush administration for having downgraded the role of arms control.
At a confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, President-elect Barack Obama's choice for secretary of state sailed smoothly through an array of non-contentious questions, signaling the likelihood that she will be confirmed swiftly. By the end of a morning session that lasted a little over three hours, Clinton appeared to have made no stumbles and encountered no challenges to her basic vision for foreign policy.
Clinton, who will relinquish her seat in the Senate when confirmed, spoke confidently of Obama's intentions to renew American leadership in the world and to strengthen U.S. diplomacy.
Mysterious credit card charge may have hit millions of users
By Mitch Lipka, Globe Correspondent | January 11, 2009
Several Internet complaint boards are filled with comments from credit card customers from coast to coast who have noticed a mysterious charge for about 25 cents on their statements.
The charge shows up on statements as coming from "Adele Services" in Melville, N.Y. There is no business by that name listed in Melville, or registered to any business anywhere in New York, for that matter.
Two theories of what is going on have advanced on message boards and among consumer advocates: Someone is trying to find out whether an illegally obtained credit card number will work before making a bigger charge, or they're trying to rip off tiny amounts from tons of people.
The latter theory has more credibility at the moment. The Better Business Bureau in Louisville reports that, at least so far, those who have been hit with the small charge have yet to get slammed with a bigger charge. The bureau speculates that the number of possible victims could be in the millions.
It's not clear how the numbers got in the hands of the people making the charge, but consumer advocates say it is most likely through either a data theft or someone using a computer to generate numbers.
Former Massachusetts assistant attorney general Edgar Dworsky, who runs ConsumerWorld.org, said the scam reminded him of an old adage: "It's easier to steal $1 from a million people than $1 million from one person," he said.
Most people, Dworsky said, are likely to overlook or ignore the small charge. "Isn't that the perfect scam, when the victim doesn't even know something has been taken?" he said.
Take a look at your credit card statements, and if the charge is there, don't let it slide. It's what the thieves want you to do. Instead, file a dispute with your credit card company, and lodge complaints with the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov) and the Internet Crime Complaint Center (www.ic3.gov) - which is run by the FBI, the National White Collar Crime Center, and the Bureau of Justice Assistance. Federal law enforcement officials tend to react when the complaints reach a certain volume.
Greetings MARYMAC
Thanks for your thoughts. And I would add - cover the closing costs.
Memphis? I restored two grave markers of brothers on opposite sides of the Civil War - buried up north, and the Confederate brother enlisted at Memphis, lived and died there after the war. The library in Memphis was very friendly, and mailed be a copy of his obituary. It helped in requisitioning a new Confederate veteran stone for one Ed Garvin.
marymac_memphis on January 13, 2009 at 01:41 PM
mary,
We are told that we are a nation of laws not people. That we are a republic not a democracy. That freedom and justice exists because of the government and those who run it?
Everything is ass backward in this country and has been for some time now. Let's see how well Obama can change things through the government and the law although I think the task is stacked against him...and us.
imho, we need a participatory democracy instead of this unresponsive, irresponsible republic.
did you read this one, MaryMac? On Erin Brockovitz and the TVA ?
Fromm: Thanks for the kind words about our library. It is one of the few things in Memphis that I am proud of but it is wonderful. If you ever have the opportunity, I highly recommend the Main Library on Poplar Avenue, which was constructed only a few years ago. They did a good job!
Pam:
I had not seen that particular article about the TVA mess in East Tennessee although I have seen others who say basically the same thing. TVA, which a federally owned corporation, was once one of the greatest assests of this country but, like so many of our country's assests, it has been de-funded, politicized and allowed to deteriorate. IMHO, it's just another failure of the Bush administration. Thanks for the article. Please bring others to my attention in case I miss them!
CactusBarrack on January 13, 2009 at 02:45 PM
We leave the racist cheap shots to Republicans like yourself.
This is truly an uplifting story...
From a Visionary English Physicist, Self-Adjusting Lenses for the Poor
By Mary Jordan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, January 10, 2009
OXFORD, England
Joshua Silver remembers the first day he helped a man see.
Henry Adjei-Mensah, a tailor in Ghana, could no longer see well enough to thread the needle of his sewing machine. He was too poor to afford glasses or an optometrist. Then Silver, an atomic physicist who also taught optics at Oxford University, handed him a pair of self-adjusting glasses he had designed, and suddenly the tailor's world came into crystal-clear focus.
"He grinned and started operating his machine very fast," said Silver, 62, who aims to distribute his special glasses throughout the developing world.
Silver said he wants to provide eyeglasses to more than a billion people with poor eyesight. For starters, he hopes to distribute a million pairs in India over the next year or so.
In the United States, Britain and other wealthy nations, 60 to 70 percent of people wear corrective glasses, Silver said. But in many developing countries, only about 5 percent have glasses because so many people, especially those in rural areas, have little or no access to eye-care professionals.
Even if they could visit an eye doctor, the cost of glasses can be more than a month's wages. This means that many schoolchildren cannot see the blackboard, bus drivers can't see clearly and others can no longer fish, teach or do other jobs because of failing vision.
"It's about education, economics and quality of life," Silver said...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/08/AR2009010803492_pf.html
"n the course of doing so, I came to remember how very important each and every Senator is. Not that Representatives aren't important but the Senate is the big 'balance' with each State represented equally with 2 a piece"
Senators are territorial representatives and congressmen are population representatives.
WASHINGTON (AP)– More than 7 million poor people who are elderly, blind or disabled and receive cash benefits averaging $477 a month could get an extra monthly payment as part of President-elect Barack Obama's $800 billion economic recovery plan.Democratic congressional aides said the idea of an extra Supplemental Security Income payment is gaining traction on Capitol Hill as lawmakers and staff aides hold daily meetings to work out details of the upcoming stimulus bill. The aides spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations.
Democratic lawmakers hope to have an economic stimulus bill ready for Obama's signature by mid-February, although officials indicated Monday night that numerous provisions are unsettled.
Several said the emerging legislation likely will provide at least $70 billion over the next two years to help states meet the demand for Medicaid, which provides health care for low income people, and another $25 billion more to help individuals who cannot afford to pay for private, post-employment health benefits.
An estimated $35 billion is tentatively ticketed for additional unemployment benefits...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090113/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_stimulus
Sounds like a plan to me. It is good to see that the disadvantaged are going to be recognized again after eight years of neglect by the GOP.
If McCain's daughter refuses to comment on palin, I can't wait until she tries to come out in 2012,
John McCain's 24-year-old daughter Meghan has kept blogging at the popular site she started during her father's presidential campaign. But she tells Monday Morning Clacker that there's one subject she won't discuss.
If you could change one thing about the election what would it be?
"Nothing, it was the most liberating experience of my life and I am such a different person now than I was when I started the blog. It was truly an invaluable experience and I sit here today as an incredibly proud daughter and member of the Republican Party."
So, no comment on the selection of Governor Sarah Palin as Senator McCain's running mate?
"Sarah Palin is the only part of the campaign that I won't comment on publicly."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/13/meghan-mccain-palin-one-t_n_157440.html
First the Energy multinationals drove up the cost of corn and other food products for bio-fuels. Now Big Oil is going to drive up the cost of water for shale oil development? Energy to make energy?
Shell Oil's pursuit of local waters could have big impacts
By Tom Ross
Steamboat Springs — When Shell Oil revealed last week it had filed for substantial water rights in the Yampa River west of Craig, the news marked another milestone on the road to fulfilling a prophecy made 2 1/2 years ago:
Powerful interests are coming after the water that originates from melting snow in the mountains of Northwest Colorado...
http://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/2009/jan/11/shell_oils_pursuit_local_waters_could_have_big_imp/
I assume "clean coal" is another big user of fresh water? Why aren't we demanding that Big Oil look to alternative energy sources other than those that make people hungry and thirsty?
The American Southwest is going to become a wasteland by the end of this century devoid of all people and vegetation if this foolishness continues. This is dumber than burning all those fossil fuels to warm the planet.
We should have none there was a reason why the Bush clan was buying up water reservoirs in Paraguay. These Texan oil men just can't seem to do make money except by creating more problems for everyone else.
Whose planet is it anyhow? The Lord’s or Big Oil's to plunder?
the AZ troll should be on his hands and knees PRAYING and PRAYING that Obama suceeds. that way, he will not have to go and do odd jobs to make an extra buck to supplement his paltry SS check from being a meter maid all his life !
But NO, AZ Troll would Rather that Obama and the Dems fail! Let this economy truly fall into greater depression. Let his kids and friends and other lose their jobs. Let the Bush era failures continue under Obama! That will make them happy!!! The poorer, the dumber they are, the more these Repugs are against Obama! Pathetic !
I usually like Helen Thomas but if she considers the dub a 'nice guy,' I have to question her judgement. Still, the article isn't bad:
Bush Is a Nice Guy, but He Flubbed 9/11 Twice
Friday 09 January 2009
by: Helen Thomas, Hearst Newspapers
Washington - As he leaves office, President Bush is passing on to his successor two wars and a growing economic debacle. What a way to go!
Because of Bush's policies, the U.S. also is complicit in the Israeli attack on the Palestinians on the Gaza Strip by providing a "made-in-America" high-tech arsenal for the assault and blocking a ceasefire for nearly two weeks, a move intended to help the Israelis consolidate their hold.
Not to worry, Bush says he isn't concerned about how history will view his militant eight years in the White House, telling ABC News that he "won't be around to read it."
Well, they say that journalism is the first draft of history. So I am going to predict that those future historians will not deal kindly with the Bush presidency.
39
PamB on January 13, 2009 at 03:52 PM
They are the anti-stimulus crowd - afraid of what Democratic success will mean and how it will bring about the total destruction of the Republican Party. They don't give too hoots about the country - just the success of the party. What a bunch of fools!
End the Occupation of Gaza
Here is a link with an open letter to the Obama administration, calling for the end to Israeli occupation of Gaza.
http://www.endtheoccupation.org/form.php?modin=137
Israeli occupation needs to end if a settlement of the current war is to be achieved.
Another good resource that covers the history and how this oppression comes back to bite us:
"The Wrath of Jonah: The Crisis of Religious Nationalism in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,"
by Rosemary Radford Ruether and Herman J. Ruether
2002, Fortress Press, Minneapolis.
PamB on January 13, 2009 at 03:41 PM
Pam,
I guess if she had to comment on Palin, she would no longer be "an incredibly proud daughter and member of the Republican Party"? Come now, she knows her father made an incredibly silly mistake choosing Palin as his running mate and the Republican Party fell right in behind him because of the Religious Right.
So perhaps Meagan is interested in going into politics and must keep quiet least she not bring down the wrath of the Religious Far Right? They sure did a number on Tom Daschle....
Religious Right Targets Obama Picks, Daschle and Holder
By Bill Berkowitz
January 11, 2009
In 2002, American Renewal, a political action committee affiliated with Tony Perkins’ Family Research Council, placed advertisement in South Dakota newspapers comparing then-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. According to Americans United’s Church & State magazine, “The ad place[d] photos of Daschle and Hussein side by side and ask[ed], ‘What do Saddam Hussein and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle have in common?’ It then goes on to assert that both oppose drilling for oil in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Reserve.” In the subsequent election, Daschle lost his Senate seat.
That was then. Now, although Daschle, nominated to be Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, appeared to sail through the first of his two hearings before the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee chaired by Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) this past Thursday, the religious right will not be letting him off the hook quite so easily. While conservative evangelical groups haven’t revived the Hussein linkage, two days before Kennedy’s committee was scheduled to meet on Daschle, Focus on the Family began mobilizing its supporters, calling on them to contact their senators and urge them to vote “no” on Daschle’s nomination. Ashley Horne, federal policy analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said that “Citizens who care about family values should be concerned about Daschle’s nomination. Constituents should make their opposition heard on this nominee.”
These fundamentalists are like pit bulls. Once they get their teeth into someone they refuse to let go. So much for not transgressing against others. Meagan knows who she is dealing with and must not comment on the new Virgin Mary of the Far Right.
marymac_memphis on January 13, 2009 at 04:18 PM
Mary,
Have you read any of Molly Irvin's articles about Bush. She knew him well...
40
marymac_memphis on January 13, 2009 at 04:18 PM
mary, Chimpy is around right now and he doesn't read anything. So what does he care what history books will have to say avout him. All he needs is his bubble and his bottle.
Chimpy is such a wuss and a classless asshole he didn't even bother to call on Helen Thomas at his presser yesterday, and in fact booted her out of her seat not long ago (probably because he needed the space for another male hooker).
Chimpy is so terrified of any questions that he wimped out on a photo op with the traveling press corps on his last trip on AF1.
Bush refuses to have his picture taken with the press corps on last Air Force One flight.
SandyH on January 13, 2009 at 04:29 PM
Wow! I had read a few things by her before but I loved that article. I will make it a point to Google her and read more! I will look for the books at my library!
Thanks for the heads up!
WolfgangBanger on January 13, 2009 at 04:29 PM
The article is pro-water. But thanks for giving us your viewpoint.
SCHMO THE DUMBER strikes again!
Joe The Plumber Fights With Israeli Reporter
It's not clear how this philosophy jibes with this exchange, transcribed by Firedoglake, where Joe tries to force an Israeli reporter to judge whether or not the country is "bad."
JOE: The story here is people are being killed and the media's slanting it and trying to make it Hamas is, uh, as far as, that Israel's being bad. Do you believe Israel is bad?
REPORTER: Do I believe it?
JOE: Yeah, do you?!
REPORTER: I'm Israeli, so...
JOE: So answer the question!
Story continues below
REPORTER: No, I don't think Israel is bad.
JOE: Do you think Israel has every right to protect itself?
REPORTER: Yeah.
[pause]
JOE: You do?!
REPORTER: Yeah.
JOE: Have you said that on air?
REPORTER: I'm just a reporter.
Clinton seeks a 'smart power' Middle East strategy
By ROBERT BURNS and ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writers
WASHINGTON – Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday that she intends to revitalize the mission of diplomacy in American foreign policy, calling for a "smart power" strategy in the Middle East and implicitly criticizing the Bush administration for having downgraded the role of arms control...
Clinton, who will relinquish her seat in the Senate when confirmed, spoke confidently of Obama's intentions to renew American leadership in the world and to strengthen U.S. diplomacy.
"America cannot solve the most pressing problems on our own, and the world cannot solve them without America," she said, her daughter Chelsea seated behind her in the audience. "The best way to advance America's interest in reducing global threats and seizing global opportunities is to design and implement global solutions. This isn't a philosophical point. This is our reality."...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/clinton_confirmation
Reality? But didn't the Bush administration say you could create your own? Well, it guess that's why the Bush Legacy Project isn't going over so well...and people are sharing their "boiling anger" with Bush's administration over on CNN's comment page...
iReport.com: Readers share impassioned, often angry, thoughts on Bush
(CNN) -- The last eight years In the United States have included momentous events including the September 11 attacks, the Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina and an economic recession.
Historic moments defined President Bush's time in office, and now the world must wait to see how history will define him.
Just 27 percent of the respondents to a recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll said they approved of Bush's handling of his job as president.
Respondents also indicated they didn't want him to have future influence, with 66 percent saying they didn't want to see the president return to public life...
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/13/bush.legacy.irpt/
bbl
marymac_memphis on January 13, 2009 at 04:46 PM
mary,
LOL. I thought McCain said we are all Joe the Plumber. The Israelis don't want to be?
If Joe could just figure out what a war correspondent does, he might decide to concentrate more on his singing career?
later.
Limbaugh’s Crazy Conspiracy Theory: Democrats Started The Economic Crisis To Help Elect Obama
Karl Rove and Bill O’Reilly also recently claimed that the economic crisis was deliberately manufactured — not by Democrats but by journalists who wanted to help elect Obama.
Okay - now I have heard it all. Big time economists like Krugman and Stiglitz and over a dozen more saw this coming nearly 5 years ago. They wrote articles and books and practically screamed from the roof-tops that the Republican economic policies were sending us into another Great Depression; but, now the gas bags have decided that the democrats, supporters of Pres. Obama and journalists are the root cause.
What a bunch of idiots!
Petition: Make Suicide/Homicide Bombing a War Crime
-------------------------------------------------
http://www.petitiononline.com/bombings/petition.html
A Call for UN & World Leaders to Prosecute Organizers of Suicide/Homicide Bombings Against Civilians as War Criminals
To: UN and World Government Leaders
We, the undersigned, petition the United Nations, its Security Council and World Government Leaders to join Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to declare that homicide/suicide bombings and acts of terror against civilians are "war crimes against humanity."
Furthermore, we insist that the United Nations, its Security Council and World Government Leaders declare that raising infants and children to become suicidal/homicidal bombers is a violation of fundamental human rights, a breach of the Geneva Convention and a war crime. We ask that those political, governmental, military and religious organizations and their leaders and supporters be prosecuted by the International War Crimes Tribunal to the fullest extent of International Law.
It is our firm belief that when these genocidal war crimes cease, populations will not have to conduct defensive actions against terrorism. When that happens, there stands to be improved chances of peace in the world through negotiation and civilized conflict resolution. The petitioners firmly believe that conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere can and must be resolved by diplomatic, political and negotiated means, but that when civilians are attacked by terrorists, there is no recourse but for defensive measures.
We have signed this position and sent it to people of all faiths, ethnic backgrounds and political beliefs with the hopes that the UN and World Leaders will not only vote to divest countries of their weapons of mass destruction, but upon the immorality and criminality of raising of innocents to kill other innocents.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned
marymac_memphis on January 13, 2009 at 04:46 PM
This was on Countdown and The Rachel Maddow Show last night on MSNBC. What really surprised Joe the Schmuck was that not everyone is "out to get" Israel in the press.
WolfgangBanger on January 13, 2009 at 05:36 PM
What burns me up about terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah is that they hide behind their women and children hoping to get them blown up so they can use it as propoganda and, inevitably, most of "doves" fall for it every time. Hamas and Hezbollah are nothing more than the Islamic version of the KKK.
Franken going to court to get seated By Aaron Blake Posted: 01/13/09 04:17 PM [ET]
Attorneys for Minnesota Democrat Al Franken said they have filed a petition with the Minnesota Supreme Court to get their candidate seated in the Senate.
The move came a day after Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) and Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie (D) rebuffed the campaign’s request to certify Franken's election.Franken’s lawyers are citing federal law and the Constitution, which state that the governor and secretary of state must sign off on the winner of an election, and that a state should have two senators, respectively.
Minnesota has a law, though, that prevents an election result from being certified during a legal challenge. Republican Norm Coleman’s lawyers are contesting the result put forward by a state recount panel last week, which had Franken on top by 225 votes.
Franken lawyer Marc Elias did not criticize the decisions of Pawlenty and Ritchie, but said federal law is more specific than the Minnesota law.
“No doubt, in doing so, they rely on a different section in the law, which we acknowledge creates a tension,” Elias said.
http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/franken-going-to-court-to-get-seated-2009-01-13.html
How deliciously ironic is this? The Franken campaign will probably end up citing Bush v. Gore to win this case and be seated as the junior senator from MN.
Hamas remains defiant despite pounding
By Ilene R. Prusher Tue Jan 13, 3:00 am ET
Jerusalem – Israeli forces continued to bombard the homes of Hamas leaders on Monday as the war in the Gaza Strip entered its 17th day. So far Israel says that at least 300 militants are among the more than 900 Palestinians killed.
But Hamas insists that it has not been significantly hurt – tactically speaking – by the onslaught. Government offices and tunnels have been destroyed. Its leaders are pinned down, unable to move freely or show their faces in public or even communicate on cellphones that can be tracked by the Israeli army. Israel recently killed Amir Mansi, commander of Hamas's Gaza rocket division, and its stream of Qassams has dropped 50 percent since the assault began. But it is still able to launch rockets at Israel.
Has Israel decimated the Hamas leadership – and eroded its support among Gazans? Are its senior political chiefs based in Syria calling the shots and prolonging a battle that war-weary Gazans would increasingly like to see ended?
Inside Gaza, relief is needed immediately; rebuilding could take five years. Hamas in Gaza sent a three-man delegation to Cairo to work on reaching a deal. But Hamas leaders from abroad have taken a harder line, indicating that it would rather fight until the last man than agree to a cease-fire that doesn't meet its demands.
Khaled Mashaal, the Syria-based political leader of Hamas and the man who holds more sway than any of the Hamas leadership in Gaza, says that Hamas will only agree to a truce if all border crossings are open. He rejects any new measures to prevent the smuggling of additional weapons into Gaza.
Mr. Mashaal said Monday that Hamas won't accept "any discussion" about restricting its possession of weapons, adding, "No one has the right to limit the right of our people to look for a rifle to defend ourselves."
Israel, meanwhile, says that Hamas has been seriously damaged and may be close to agreeing to the Egyptian-brokered deal. It told reporters that Hamas's military wing is in disarray and falling apart.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20090113/ts_csm/ohamasview
No matter who is at fault, I pray for those innocent individuals on both sides of this horrible conflict.
After they empty out Gitmo there will be plenty of room for ChimpCo.
Whitehouse: If Obama doesn’t investigate Bush’s crimes, I will.
Then, ON TO THE HAGUE!!
marymac_memphis on January 13, 2009 at 05:55 PM
No matter who is at fault, I pray for those innocent individuals on both sides of this horrible conflict.
As do we all, Mary.
Sandy, Seems Missy Palin is still out there giving interviews, and the latest is that Bloggers are Bored and pathetic. We 'picked' on poor, poor Sarah and her litter. We asked who's child was Trig, the last one. We made fun of her saying she could see Russia from her house ! She thinks we are all very bad people! heehee
Wolf asked Carville along with Bill Bennet (Repug) what they thought Palin should be doing, and even the Repug said "go on vacation and keep her mouth shut!!" The American public is getting sick of her stupidity!!!
AP source: Ex-FCC official to be tapped as chair Tuesday January 13, 11:32 am ET By Joelle Tessler, AP Technology WriterAP source: Obama to tap former Internet executive and FCC official Genachowski to be FCC chair
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President-elect Barack Obama plans to nominate a key technology advisor to be the next chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, according to a person who has worked with the transition team on technology issues.Julius Genachowski (jen-uh-KOW'-skee) held several positions at the FCC during the Clinton administration. He also was an executive at IAC/InterActive Corp. from 1997 to 2005. And he served as a law clerk at the Supreme Court from 1992 to 1994. He and Obama were friends at Harvard Law School.
The Obama team would not confirm earlier reports of the planned appointment. The person knowledgeable about the plans to nominate Genachowski spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been formally announced.
It's time to bring back the Fairness Doctrine if for no other reason than to watch the GOP twitch. On a serious note, when it comes to politics, everything should be called right down the proverbial middle including airtime.
The future Noah's Arks, for those whose countries will lose land as the Sea Levels rise from Global Warming!!!
A Floating Island to Welcome Climate Refugees
From the Maldives to the Gulf of Bengal, the rise in sea level risks depriving 250 million people on the planet of lodging and land over the course of the twenty-first century. The least-alarming forecasts predict a one-meter sea level rise will lead to the loss of six percent of dry land in the Netherlands, 17.5 percent in Bangladesh and as much as 80 percent in the Majuro Atoll, in Oceania.
To this climatic nightmare, Vincent Callebaut opposes a dream-like response. The young Franco-Belgian architect has forged himself a reputation through his ecological projects, anchored in realist technologies, but navigating the frontiers of science fiction.
Imagine amphibious city-atolls of 50,000 inhabitants, ecological and self-sufficient, afloat on the oceans wherever the winds and the currents take them. Called "Lilypad," this concept of a floating ecopolis is meant to be a futurist Noah's Ark for the climate refugees to come.
http://www.truthout.org/011309E
»
by: Grégoire Allix, Le Monde
By Lee Hill Kavanaugh | Kansas City StarHe rolls into the parking lot of Leon's Thriftway in an old, maroon Impala with a trunk full of frozen meat. Raccoon — the other dark meat.
In five minutes, Montrose, Mo., trapper Larry Brownsberger is sold out in the lot at 39th Street and Kensington Avenue. Word has gotten around about how clean his frozen raccoon carcasses are. How nicely they’re tucked up in their brown butcher paper. How they almost look like a trussed turkey … or something.
His loyal customers beam as they leave, thinking about the meal they'll soon be eating.
That is, as soon as the meat is thawed. Then brined. Soaked overnight. Parboiled for two hours. Slow-roasted or smoked or barbecued to perfection.
Raccoon, which made the first edition of The Joy of Cooking in 1931, is labor-intensive but well worth the time, aficionados say.
"Good things come to those who wait," says A. Reed, 86, who has been eating raccoon since she was a girl.
"This right here," she says, holding up a couple of brown packages tied with burlap string, “this is a great value. And really good eatin’. Best-kept secret around.”
Raccoons go for $3 to $7 — each, not per pound — and will feed about five adults. Four, if they’re really hungry.
Those who dine on raccoon meat sound the same refrain: It's good eatin'...
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/59566.html
In 21st century America, it's a darn shame some have to resort to this. This is yet another glaring indictment of the Bush fiscal policy.
PamB on January 13, 2009 at 06:20 PM
The one that cracked me up was when she claimed that the MSM had a 'class' bias when she had the nerve to compare herself to Caroline Kennedy.
Yes, class bias - Kennedy has class and Sarah can spell it, she just can't use it in a sentence because she can't properly construct a sentence, don't cha' know!
uhhhhh, It was not the point that she said 'you could even see Russia from a part of Alaska'!!
(THAT she said)
It was the point that she was trying to use that, as some kind of experience with Foreign Policy!!!! That SNL picked up on it and made it into a joke only made her look that much more stupid and naive and unsophisticated about the world !
MaryMac, Palin does not even know what the term "class' means. You don't see Caroline Kennedy with a 16 year unwed daughter ! You don't hear stories of a witchdoctor laying of hands on her during a religious ceremony! You don't hear of Caroline not being able to name one single newspaper she reads. Or not know what the Bush Doctrine even means. No, if it were not for low-class, Sarah would have no class at all!!!
And for a bit of clarity:
"I can see Russia from my house!" spoken in satire of Palin's foreign policy credentials by Fey on the TV comedy show Saturday Night Live.Palin['s] actual quote was: "They're our next-door neighbours and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska."
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/world/i-can-see-russia/2008/12/16/1229189584297.html
Six of one, half a dozen of another...
Pam:
I have, in the past, vacationed in Mexico and took a two day cruise to the Bahamas and I went to Toronto on business once, is that sufficient foreign policy experience to qualify for one-step away from the Presidency? Sarah Palin would say - you betcha!
Yes she did. McMoosebrain said that right after Al Gore said he invented the Internet.
Sorry, Pug. YOU can lie but a clearly labled COMEDY SHOW gets your panties in a knot, yet you Pugs still insist that Gore claimed to have invented the 'net?
you assholes can't have it both ways.
Palin:
"I can see Russia from my porch!!!"
YES, she said that. It was on TV.
HERE is what Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf (Cerf is considered the "father of the Internet") had to say about you scum sucking Pug LIARS:
Al Gore was the first political leader to recognize the importance of the Internet and to promote and support its development.No one person or even small group of persons exclusively "invented" the Internet. It is the result of many years of ongoing collaboration among people in government and the university community. But as the two people who designed the basic architecture and the core protocols that make the Internet work, we would like to acknowledge VP Gore's contributions as a Congressman, Senator and as Vice President. No other elected official, to our knowledge, has made a greater contribution over a longer period of time.
(...)
The Vice President deserves credit for his early recognition of the value of high speed computing and communication and for his long-term and consistent articulation of the potential value of the Internet to American citizens and industry and, indeed, to the rest of the world.So, yeah, as the 2 scientists who get credit for inventing the internet have said, Al Gore was just as important.
Be that as it may, Stupid Mc Stupid, Nitwit of the North DID say she 'could' (if she ever went to that island and met her constituents) see Russia from AK, and since AK is her home she can see Russia from her home.
Besides that, she is just a worthless piece of shit.
Keep talking, Sarah McMoron, You'll clinch the Fundie moron vote and take away half of Huckabee's base.
and as John Cole posted at Balloon Juice:
My God, Sarah Palin is such a train wreck. If I wasn’t enjoying watching her destroy her future viability so much, I might tell her to just be quiet for her own sake. You really have to read this exchange to believe it.Even top Pugs (if there are any left) are telling her to take a LOOOOOOONG "vacation" and to stop embarrassing the party and herself. But you know how those failed "Beauty Queens" are. They CRAVE attention. Maybe that's why people are wondering if she was schtupping Todd's "business partner".
Democrats seek criminal probe of Bush 'abuses'
By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Writer 1 hr 42 mins ago
WASHINGTON – The incoming Obama administration should launch a criminal investigation of Bush administration officials to see whether they broke the law in the name of national security, a House Democratic report said Tuesday. President-elect Barack Obama has been more cautious on the issue and has not endorsed such a recommendation.
Along with the criminal probe, the report called for a Sept. 11-style commission with subpoena power, to gather facts and make recommendations on preventing misuse of power, according to the report by the Democratic staff of the House Judiciary Committee.
The report covers Bush administration policies that Democrats have protested for some time. Among them: interrogation of foreign detainees, warrantless wiretaps, retribution against critics, manipulation of intelligence and political dismissals of U.S. attorneys.
The White House was asked for comment on the report Tuesday, but did not immediately respond.
However, in an interview this month with The Associated Press, Vice President Dick Cheney said, "I can't speak for everybody in the administration, but my view would be that the people who carried out that program — intelligence surveillance program, the enhanced interrogation program, with respect to al Qaeda captives — in fact were authorized to do what they did ... ."
Cheney said legal opinions supported the officials.
"And I believe they followed those legal opinions and I don't have any reason to believe that they did anything wrong or inappropriate," the vice president said.
Obama said last week in a television interview, "We're still evaluating how we're going to approach the whole issue of interrogations, detentions and so forth. And obviously we're going to be looking at past practices and I don't believe that anybody is above the law. On the other hand I also have a belief that we need to look forward as opposed to looking backwards."
Obama said intelligence officials were "extraordinarily talented people who are working very hard to keep Americans safe. I don't want them to suddenly feel like they've got to spend all their time looking over their shoulders and lawyering."
Obama said he has not made a final decision about a Sept. 11-type commission.
The criminal probe may need a special prosecutor named by the attorney general, the report said.
An alternative would be expansion of an existing investigation into the CIA's alleged destruction of a tape or tapes showing harsh interrogation methods against a prisoner.
The criminal investigation would include issues apart from national security, such as whether laws were violated in the politically inspired firing of U.S. attorneys.
Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said his staff has met with the Obama transition officials on the report. The president-elect's transition team has not endorsed it.
The congressionally appointed commission should have subpoena power, the report said. It suggested the new president order "full cooperation by all present and past federal employees with requests for information."
Conyers already has introduced legislation to form the commission.
Doo-Bee-Doo-Bee-Doo on January 13, 2009 at 07:26 PM
What is really troublesome is that there are Republicans who actually believe that being able to see Russia constitutes foreign policy experience. Can someone please explain to me how being able to see a foreign country is equal to experience meeting with and negotiating with foreign leaders?
This is a great article!
Unions Need Unity
Tuesday 13 January 2009
by: David Bacon, t r u t h o u t | Perspective
Oakland, California - Twelve unions met in Washington, DC, last week and announced they're considering rejoining the two labor federations, the American Federation of Labor/Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and Change to Win (CTW), which split apart five years ago. The initiative came from the incoming Obama administration, which told union leaders it didn't relish the idea of dealing with competing union agendas.
Many progressive labor activists greeted the idea with a sigh of relief. "Dividing the labor movement was never a good idea to begin with," said Bill Fletcher, former education director for the AFL-CIO and now director of field services for the American Federation of Government Employees. Fletcher and many others believe that, while US unions have big problems, they can't be cured by division, competing federations or simply changes in structure. Instead, they call for a re-examination of labor's political direction.
Unions are at their lowest point in membership since the 1920s, representing less than 10 percent of the workforce. Obama's election, which they pulled out all the stops to achieve, promises some degree of change from federal policies that have accelerated that decline. The president-elect has appointed potentially the most pro-union labor secretary since the 1930s - Congresswoman Hilda Solis. A potential Congressional majority could pass the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make union organizing much easier and protect workers from retaliatory firings while they unionize. Obama has promised to sign the bill if Congress passes it.
Read the whole article: http://www.truthout.org/011309S
A Wake-Up Call for Science Education
Monday 12 January 2009
»
by: Alan I. Leshner, The Boston Globe
A study by Trends in International Mathematics and Science finds that the US is behind many industrialized countries in preparing students in math and science. The US is not even represented in the top ten nations for education in math and science.
President-elect Barack Obama has named Harvard and Woods Hole physicist John P. Holdren to serve as assistant to the president for science and technology and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Three other renowned scientists - Jane Lubchenco, Eric Lander, and Harold Varmus - also were tapped by Obama to fill key roles.
Holdren's appointment, announced weeks before the inauguration, took place earlier than that of any other science adviser in modern times. Even so, the reinvigoration of US science advice cannot happen soon enough.
The latest alarm bell just rang and it's official. The United States is once again missing from the list of top-10 science and math education countries. A new Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study confirmed that America lags behind many other industrialized countries at the task of preparing tomorrow's labor force. Long-term economic growth depends on a fully competent talent pool, including workers who can excel in a technology-based economy. But young people in many less-developed countries now outperform their American counterparts in both science and math.
Interestingly, eighth-graders in Massachusetts actually tied for first place worldwide in science, while the state's fourth-graders ranked second among nearly 60 other nations. Clearly, the United States is capable of sustaining high-quality K-12 science and math programs. We simply are not providing equal educational opportunities for all of America's children. Now is the time to tackle the science education problem if we want long-term, stable improvements in our national economy and quality of life.
We learned about US students' stagnant science scores while also, not coincidentally, confronting the largest number of job losses since 1945.
In my last post, the part that starts "Even top Pugs..." is mine, not from Balloon Juice. This blog scrunched that into the block quote, despite the end close tab.
It happens.
None the less, Palin sucks as a local AND national candidate.
None the less, Palin sucks as a local AND national candidate.
79Doo-Bee-Doo-Bee-Doo on January 13, 2009 at 08:01 PM
Small remark, from a very, very, small person.
So the right wing nuts sore losers still can't acknowledge they lost the election. Hey right wing nuts:
YOU LOST THE ELECTION
YOU LOST IT BAD
GET OVER IT
Now isn't this a nice headline:
Coleman's Office Closed -- Burris Office Opens
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-clemons/colemans-office-closed_b_157819.html
Hey Normy you lost, now get out of town.
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