Thursday, March 26, 2009
Soros Makes Billions As Stocks Collapse
George Soros has no worries about the global recession. He and a handful of others in the arcane and virtually unregulated world of hedge funds have made a bundle off the global recession.
“I'm having a very good crisis,” Soros says, quoted by the U.K. Daily Mail.
As the Obama administration sets its sets on reining in the industry, Soros and others literally made billions by taking contrarian bets against stocks.
As stocks fell in half, pension funds collapsed and millions of savers watched their 401(k)s founder, Soros made $1.1 billion last year.
“It is, in a way, the culminating point of my life’s work,” Soros told The Australian.
Institutional Investor’s Alpha magazine reports that the best-paid hedge fund managers were paid $11.6 billion last year, the third-best year on record, although down sharply from the $22.5 billion in paychecks they cashed in 2007.
Among the top earners (all are estimates):
• James Simons, Renaissance Technologies, $2.5 billion
• John Paulson, Paulson and Co., $2 billion
• John Arnold, Centaurus Energy, $1.5 billion
• George Soros, Soros Fund Management $1.1 billion
Even if you were pretty bad at running a hedge fund it was a good year, the magazine reported. Average take-home pay for the top echelon was $464 million and the average fund CEO packed away $2 million.
George Soros has no worries about the global recession. He and a handful of others in the arcane and virtually unregulated world of hedge funds have made a bundle off the global recession.
“I'm having a very good crisis,” Soros says, quoted by the U.K. Daily Mail.
As the Obama administration sets its sets on reining in the industry, Soros and others literally made billions by taking contrarian bets against stocks.
As stocks fell in half, pension funds collapsed and millions of savers watched their 401(k)s founder, Soros made $1.1 billion last year.
“It is, in a way, the culminating point of my life’s work,” Soros told The Australian.
Institutional Investor’s Alpha magazine reports that the best-paid hedge fund managers were paid $11.6 billion last year, the third-best year on record, although down sharply from the $22.5 billion in paychecks they cashed in 2007.
Among the top earners (all are estimates):
• James Simons, Renaissance Technologies, $2.5 billion
• John Paulson, Paulson and Co., $2 billion
• John Arnold, Centaurus Energy, $1.5 billion
• George Soros, Soros Fund Management $1.1 billion
Even if you were pretty bad at running a hedge fund it was a good year, the magazine reported. Average take-home pay for the top echelon was $464 million and the average fund CEO packed away $2 million.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Sen. Gregg: U.S. Heading to 'Banana Republic'
U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg told CNN’s Lou Dobbs Wednesday night that the United States would be turned into a “banana republic” by the Obama administration’s budget plan.
President Barack Obama’s budget, Gregg explained, “puts on the books a massive amount of debt. It doubles our national debt in five years, triples it in 10 years. And as far as the eye can see, essentially, it is running deficits of over $1 trillion a year.
“And you just can't afford that,” said Gregg, R-N.H, who was Obama’s choice for secretary of commerce before he withdrew his name over what he described as philosophical differences. “We get up to -- it's a technical term, but we get up to a public debt ratio to GDP of 80 percent, which is about twice what most people think is sustainable. And if we maintain that level, which is projected in the president's budget, you basically -- you're running a banana republic is what it comes down to. You can't afford to pay those debts.”
Gregg also explained that, in addition to a fiscal document, the budget plan was very much an ideological blueprint that takes the country far to the left. Unlike President Bill Clinton, who raised taxes to help pay off the deficit, the Obama administration will use tax revenues to dramatically increase the size of the federal bureaucracy in areas like healthcare and environmental programs.
“And it grows it so fast that it basically outpaces our ability to pay for it, in my opinion. Gregg continued. “And that's why we've got this looming issue, which is going to be very difficult for our children to deal with, which is they're going to have a debt that far exceeds their capacity to pay it.
Gregg acknowledged that Obama’s plan could in theory cut the deficit in half by the end of his term in 2012. But he pointed out that those estimates are based on extremely rosy scenarios that suppose a lofty rate of growth that hasn’t been seen in the United States in decades.
“But even if he is right, even if they hit those numbers, they're still going to be running deficits, according to the CBO, that will range in the trillion-dollar range,” Gregg said. “I mean, you just can't -- the reason you can't close this down is because he's expanding the size of the government so quickly, the spending of the government so quickly.”
U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg told CNN’s Lou Dobbs Wednesday night that the United States would be turned into a “banana republic” by the Obama administration’s budget plan.
President Barack Obama’s budget, Gregg explained, “puts on the books a massive amount of debt. It doubles our national debt in five years, triples it in 10 years. And as far as the eye can see, essentially, it is running deficits of over $1 trillion a year.
“And you just can't afford that,” said Gregg, R-N.H, who was Obama’s choice for secretary of commerce before he withdrew his name over what he described as philosophical differences. “We get up to -- it's a technical term, but we get up to a public debt ratio to GDP of 80 percent, which is about twice what most people think is sustainable. And if we maintain that level, which is projected in the president's budget, you basically -- you're running a banana republic is what it comes down to. You can't afford to pay those debts.”
Gregg also explained that, in addition to a fiscal document, the budget plan was very much an ideological blueprint that takes the country far to the left. Unlike President Bill Clinton, who raised taxes to help pay off the deficit, the Obama administration will use tax revenues to dramatically increase the size of the federal bureaucracy in areas like healthcare and environmental programs.
“And it grows it so fast that it basically outpaces our ability to pay for it, in my opinion. Gregg continued. “And that's why we've got this looming issue, which is going to be very difficult for our children to deal with, which is they're going to have a debt that far exceeds their capacity to pay it.
Gregg acknowledged that Obama’s plan could in theory cut the deficit in half by the end of his term in 2012. But he pointed out that those estimates are based on extremely rosy scenarios that suppose a lofty rate of growth that hasn’t been seen in the United States in decades.
“But even if he is right, even if they hit those numbers, they're still going to be running deficits, according to the CBO, that will range in the trillion-dollar range,” Gregg said. “I mean, you just can't -- the reason you can't close this down is because he's expanding the size of the government so quickly, the spending of the government so quickly.”
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Sen. Dodd's Wife Paid by AIG
Senate Banking Committee chairman Christopher Dodd, who received $280,000 in campaign contributions from AIG, is now defending his wife’s involvement with the beleaguered insurance giant.
According to a report in RealClearPolitics.com, Jackie Clegg Dodd worked as an outside director from 2001 to 2004 for a Bermuda-based company affiliated with AIG — IPC Holdings Ltd.
In 2003, Clegg received $12,000 per year and an additional $1,000 for each IPC directors and committee meeting she attended, according to a proxy statement. Clegg served on the audit and investment committees during her final year on the board.
Dodd, whose Recovery Act amendment in February ratified hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses to executives at AIG and who has been a recipient of campaign contributions from that struggling company, was quick to downplay his wife’s involvement.
“To try to connect the AIG bonuses and my wife’s service on the board of this company, which ended five years ago, is nothing more than a cheap political attack,” Dodd said.
But according to the RealClearPolitics report, Clegg was a busy hands-on director, attending more than 75 percent of board and committee meetings – all while serving as the managing partner of Clegg International Consultants, LLC, which she created in 2001.
In 2001, a public offering of 15 million shares of IPC stock raised $380 million. IPC simultaneously raised more than $109 million through a private placement sale of 5.6 million shares of stock to AIG -- giving AIG a 20 percent stake in IPC.
AIG sold its shares in IPC in Aug. 2006.
IPC paid millions each year to other AIG-related companies for administrative and other services.
American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is a major American insurance corporation based in New York City.
It suffered from a liquidity crisis after its credit ratings were downgraded. In Sept. 2008 the Federal Reserve Bank created an $85 billion credit facility to enable the company to meet its cash obligations.
In Nov. 2008 the U.S. government increased the total loan package to $152 billion. The company came under the gun following its allocation of about 165 million USD as bonuses to its executives.
Senate Banking Committee chairman Christopher Dodd, who received $280,000 in campaign contributions from AIG, is now defending his wife’s involvement with the beleaguered insurance giant.
According to a report in RealClearPolitics.com, Jackie Clegg Dodd worked as an outside director from 2001 to 2004 for a Bermuda-based company affiliated with AIG — IPC Holdings Ltd.
In 2003, Clegg received $12,000 per year and an additional $1,000 for each IPC directors and committee meeting she attended, according to a proxy statement. Clegg served on the audit and investment committees during her final year on the board.
Dodd, whose Recovery Act amendment in February ratified hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses to executives at AIG and who has been a recipient of campaign contributions from that struggling company, was quick to downplay his wife’s involvement.
“To try to connect the AIG bonuses and my wife’s service on the board of this company, which ended five years ago, is nothing more than a cheap political attack,” Dodd said.
But according to the RealClearPolitics report, Clegg was a busy hands-on director, attending more than 75 percent of board and committee meetings – all while serving as the managing partner of Clegg International Consultants, LLC, which she created in 2001.
In 2001, a public offering of 15 million shares of IPC stock raised $380 million. IPC simultaneously raised more than $109 million through a private placement sale of 5.6 million shares of stock to AIG -- giving AIG a 20 percent stake in IPC.
AIG sold its shares in IPC in Aug. 2006.
IPC paid millions each year to other AIG-related companies for administrative and other services.
American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is a major American insurance corporation based in New York City.
It suffered from a liquidity crisis after its credit ratings were downgraded. In Sept. 2008 the Federal Reserve Bank created an $85 billion credit facility to enable the company to meet its cash obligations.
In Nov. 2008 the U.S. government increased the total loan package to $152 billion. The company came under the gun following its allocation of about 165 million USD as bonuses to its executives.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Obama's Pentagon Says No More War On Terror!
The U.S. is no longer waging a "global war on terror," according to an official memo.
But it’s not that the terror threat has ended. In a memo e-mailed this week to Pentagon staff members, the Defense Department’s office of security review stated that “this administration prefers to avoid using the term 'Long War' or 'Global War on Terror' [GWOT]. Please use 'Overseas Contingency Operation.'"
That phrase has already been heard in Congress, The Washington Post reported. Last week Craig Duehring, assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower, said in congressional testimony: “Key battlefield monetary incentives [have] allowed the Air Force to meet the demands of overseas contingency operations even as requirements continue to grow.”
However, the origin of the wording change is unclear. The memo said it came from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which reviews the public testimony of administration officials before it is delivered. The memo advised Pentagon personnel to “please pass this onto your speechwriters and try to catch this change before statements make it to OMB.”
But OMB spokesman Kenneth Baer said: “There was no memo, no guidance. This is the opinion of a career civil servant.”
The Bush administration adopted the phrase “global war on terror” shortly after the 9/11 attacks, and during his second term President Bush spurned an effort by then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to change the wording to “global struggle against violent extremism.”
But a government directive last year did instruct Americans in the counter-terrorism and diplomatic communities not to use the words “jihadist” or “mujahideen” to describe terrorists, and instead to use “violent extremist.”
It also banned the term “Islamo-fascist” on the grounds that it is “considered offensive by many Muslims.”
The U.S. is no longer waging a "global war on terror," according to an official memo.
But it’s not that the terror threat has ended. In a memo e-mailed this week to Pentagon staff members, the Defense Department’s office of security review stated that “this administration prefers to avoid using the term 'Long War' or 'Global War on Terror' [GWOT]. Please use 'Overseas Contingency Operation.'"
That phrase has already been heard in Congress, The Washington Post reported. Last week Craig Duehring, assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower, said in congressional testimony: “Key battlefield monetary incentives [have] allowed the Air Force to meet the demands of overseas contingency operations even as requirements continue to grow.”
However, the origin of the wording change is unclear. The memo said it came from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which reviews the public testimony of administration officials before it is delivered. The memo advised Pentagon personnel to “please pass this onto your speechwriters and try to catch this change before statements make it to OMB.”
But OMB spokesman Kenneth Baer said: “There was no memo, no guidance. This is the opinion of a career civil servant.”
The Bush administration adopted the phrase “global war on terror” shortly after the 9/11 attacks, and during his second term President Bush spurned an effort by then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to change the wording to “global struggle against violent extremism.”
But a government directive last year did instruct Americans in the counter-terrorism and diplomatic communities not to use the words “jihadist” or “mujahideen” to describe terrorists, and instead to use “violent extremist.”
It also banned the term “Islamo-fascist” on the grounds that it is “considered offensive by many Muslims.”
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Jindal Urges GOP to Confront Obama
WASHINGTON - Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal again found himself carrying the Republican mantle opposite a primetime appearance from President Barack Obama on Tuesday, saying Republicans must be ready to defy the president when they disagree with his policies.
He also joked about his widely panned response to Obama's address to Congress last month.
"We are now in the position of being the loyal opposition," Jindal said at a Republican congressional fundraising dinner that only by coincidence fell on the same night as Obama's news conference. "The right question to ask is not if we want the president to fail or succeed, but whether we want America to succeed."
Saying "the time for talking about the past is over," Jindal said Republicans have begun to find their voice after back-to-back elections losses—motivated by what he called historic Democratic spending excess.
Jindal is widely considered a potential 2012 GOP presidential candidate, but his televised response to Obama's speech at the Capitol last month was widely panned. Some compared his delivery to the late children's television host Mister Rogers and said the address could hurt Jindal's national potential.
At Tuesday's $2,500-per-plate dinner—which President George W. Bush headlined last year—Jindal opened his speech by poking fun of himself. He threatened to deliver a reprise of the earlier performance and then jokingly compared it to torture.
"They're not allowed to show my speech at Gitmo anymore," he said. "They've banned that."
The National Republican Congressional Committee, which works to get Republicans elected to Congress, said it raised more than $6 million at the event.
WASHINGTON - Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal again found himself carrying the Republican mantle opposite a primetime appearance from President Barack Obama on Tuesday, saying Republicans must be ready to defy the president when they disagree with his policies.
He also joked about his widely panned response to Obama's address to Congress last month.
"We are now in the position of being the loyal opposition," Jindal said at a Republican congressional fundraising dinner that only by coincidence fell on the same night as Obama's news conference. "The right question to ask is not if we want the president to fail or succeed, but whether we want America to succeed."
Saying "the time for talking about the past is over," Jindal said Republicans have begun to find their voice after back-to-back elections losses—motivated by what he called historic Democratic spending excess.
Jindal is widely considered a potential 2012 GOP presidential candidate, but his televised response to Obama's speech at the Capitol last month was widely panned. Some compared his delivery to the late children's television host Mister Rogers and said the address could hurt Jindal's national potential.
At Tuesday's $2,500-per-plate dinner—which President George W. Bush headlined last year—Jindal opened his speech by poking fun of himself. He threatened to deliver a reprise of the earlier performance and then jokingly compared it to torture.
"They're not allowed to show my speech at Gitmo anymore," he said. "They've banned that."
The National Republican Congressional Committee, which works to get Republicans elected to Congress, said it raised more than $6 million at the event.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
A Bailout for Newspapers?
WASHINGTON - With many U.S. newspapers struggling to survive, a Democratic senator on Tuesday introduced a bill to help them by allowing newspaper companies to restructure as nonprofits with a variety of tax breaks.
"This may not be the optimal choice for some major newspapers or corporate media chains but it should be an option for many newspapers that are struggling to stay afloat," said Senator Benjamin Cardin.
A Cardin spokesman said the bill had yet to attract any co-sponsors, but had sparked plenty of interest within the media, which has seen plunging revenues and many journalist layoffs.
Cardin's Newspaper Revitalization Act would allow newspapers to operate as nonprofits for educational purposes under the U.S. tax code, giving them a similar status to public broadcasting companies.
Under this arrangement, newspapers would still be free to report on all issues, including political campaigns. But they would be prohibited from making political endorsements.
Advertising and subscription revenue would be tax exempt, and contributions to support news coverage or operations could be tax deductible.
Because newspaper profits have been falling in recent years, "no substantial loss of federal revenue" was expected under the legislation, Cardin's office said in a statement.
Cardin's office said his bill was aimed at preserving local and community newspapers, not conglomerates which may also own radio and TV stations. His bill would also let a non-profit buy newspapers owned by a conglomerate.
"We are losing our newspaper industry," Cardin said. "The economy has caused an immediate problem, but the business model for newspapers, based on circulation and advertising revenue, is broken, and that is a real tragedy for communities across the nation and for our democracy.
Newspaper subscriptions and advertising have shrunk dramatically in the past few years as Americans have turned more and more to the Internet or television for information.
In recent months, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Rocky Mountain News, the Baltimore Examiner and the San Francisco Chronicle have ceased daily publication or announced that they may have to stop publishing.
In December the Tribune Company, which owns a number of newspapers including The Baltimore Sun, The Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times filed for bankruptcy protection.
Two newspaper chains, Gannett Co Inc and Advance Publications, on Monday announced employee furloughs. It will be the second furlough this year at Gannett.
WASHINGTON - With many U.S. newspapers struggling to survive, a Democratic senator on Tuesday introduced a bill to help them by allowing newspaper companies to restructure as nonprofits with a variety of tax breaks.
"This may not be the optimal choice for some major newspapers or corporate media chains but it should be an option for many newspapers that are struggling to stay afloat," said Senator Benjamin Cardin.
A Cardin spokesman said the bill had yet to attract any co-sponsors, but had sparked plenty of interest within the media, which has seen plunging revenues and many journalist layoffs.
Cardin's Newspaper Revitalization Act would allow newspapers to operate as nonprofits for educational purposes under the U.S. tax code, giving them a similar status to public broadcasting companies.
Under this arrangement, newspapers would still be free to report on all issues, including political campaigns. But they would be prohibited from making political endorsements.
Advertising and subscription revenue would be tax exempt, and contributions to support news coverage or operations could be tax deductible.
Because newspaper profits have been falling in recent years, "no substantial loss of federal revenue" was expected under the legislation, Cardin's office said in a statement.
Cardin's office said his bill was aimed at preserving local and community newspapers, not conglomerates which may also own radio and TV stations. His bill would also let a non-profit buy newspapers owned by a conglomerate.
"We are losing our newspaper industry," Cardin said. "The economy has caused an immediate problem, but the business model for newspapers, based on circulation and advertising revenue, is broken, and that is a real tragedy for communities across the nation and for our democracy.
Newspaper subscriptions and advertising have shrunk dramatically in the past few years as Americans have turned more and more to the Internet or television for information.
In recent months, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Rocky Mountain News, the Baltimore Examiner and the San Francisco Chronicle have ceased daily publication or announced that they may have to stop publishing.
In December the Tribune Company, which owns a number of newspapers including The Baltimore Sun, The Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times filed for bankruptcy protection.
Two newspaper chains, Gannett Co Inc and Advance Publications, on Monday announced employee furloughs. It will be the second furlough this year at Gannett.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Barney Frank Calls Justice Scalia a 'Homophobe'
WASHINGTON -- Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank called Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia a "homophobe" in a recent interview with the gay news Web site 365gay.com.
The Democratic lawmaker, who is gay, was discussing gay marriage and his expectation that the high court would some day be called upon to decide whether the Constitution allows the federal government to deny recognition to same-sex marriages.
"I wouldn't want it to go to the United States Supreme Court now because that homophobe Antonin Scalia has too many votes on this current court," said Frank. The video of the interview is available online.
Frank's office did not respond to a request Monday to expand on his remark. Scalia also had no comment.
Scalia dissented from the court's ruling in 2003 that struck down state laws banning consensual sodomy. He has complained about judges, rather than elected officials, deciding questions of morality about which the Constitution is silent.
Controversial topics like gay rights and abortion should not be in the hands of judges, he has said, calling on people to persuade their legislatures or amend the Constitution.
WASHINGTON -- Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank called Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia a "homophobe" in a recent interview with the gay news Web site 365gay.com.
The Democratic lawmaker, who is gay, was discussing gay marriage and his expectation that the high court would some day be called upon to decide whether the Constitution allows the federal government to deny recognition to same-sex marriages.
"I wouldn't want it to go to the United States Supreme Court now because that homophobe Antonin Scalia has too many votes on this current court," said Frank. The video of the interview is available online.
Frank's office did not respond to a request Monday to expand on his remark. Scalia also had no comment.
Scalia dissented from the court's ruling in 2003 that struck down state laws banning consensual sodomy. He has complained about judges, rather than elected officials, deciding questions of morality about which the Constitution is silent.
Controversial topics like gay rights and abortion should not be in the hands of judges, he has said, calling on people to persuade their legislatures or amend the Constitution.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Sen. Shelby Losing Confidence in Geithner
Shaky ground. That's what Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is on these days with Congress and many in the country, according to the Senate Banking Committee's top Republican.
Sen. Richard Shelby doesn't think Geithner will last long unless he starts doing a better job.
Shelby says he has less confidence in Geithner each day -- over the AIG bonus mess, solving the nation's financial troubles and helping turn around the economy.
Shelby said Sunday on "Fox News Sunday" that Geithner will have to do a "180-degree turnaround" to be a successful treasury secretary.
But President Barack Obama has faith in Geithner. The president tells CBS' "60 Minutes" that if Geithner offered to resign, the answer would be, "Sorry buddy, you've still got the job."
Shaky ground. That's what Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is on these days with Congress and many in the country, according to the Senate Banking Committee's top Republican.
Sen. Richard Shelby doesn't think Geithner will last long unless he starts doing a better job.
Shelby says he has less confidence in Geithner each day -- over the AIG bonus mess, solving the nation's financial troubles and helping turn around the economy.
Shelby said Sunday on "Fox News Sunday" that Geithner will have to do a "180-degree turnaround" to be a successful treasury secretary.
But President Barack Obama has faith in Geithner. The president tells CBS' "60 Minutes" that if Geithner offered to resign, the answer would be, "Sorry buddy, you've still got the job."
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Two Faced: Dodd Protected Bonuses, Now He Wants Them Out
Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd on Monday criticized the bonuses given to executives of American International Group Inc. and suggested that the government could tax the recipients to recoup some or all of the payouts.
But it was Dodd who inserted language — known as the Dodd amendment — in the $787 billion stimulus bill that allowed all bonuses awarded before February 11, 2009, to be paid to AIG executives. That very amendment, which is now law, is now the chief hurdle to government officials who want to recover that money.
The amendment was meant to restrict executive pay for bailed-out banks, but it also included the exception for "contractually obligated bonuses agreed on or before Feb. 11, 2009."
Dodd is the largest single recipient of 2008 campaign donations from AIG, with $103,100, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. That was more than presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain got, and nearly three times the $35,965 Sen. Hillary Clinton received.
Dodd's amendment in the stimulus bill is a "prohibition on what the president is now talking about," Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor, the House minority whip, told Fox News, referring to regaining the money through taxation or other means.
But Dodd is telling reporters that his original language was changed in committee and he is not to blame.
"When the language went to the conference and came back, there was different language," he told Fox News. "I can tell you this much, when my language left the Senate, it did not include it (the exception). When it came back, it did."
Early Thursday evening, though, Democrats were at a loss to explain how and why the Dodd amendment was altered. Much of the stimulus bill was rushed through Congress with little opportunity to read or study exactly what was in it, despite frequent GOP requests to do exactly that.
AIG lost $61.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008, the biggest quarterly loss in corporate history, and has received $173 billion in federal aid. But the company is paying $165 million in bonuses to employees of its financial products unit.
Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, thundered on Monday: “This is another outrageous example of executives — including those whose decisions were responsible for the problems that caused AIG’s collapse — enriching themselves at the expense of taxpayers.”
Incredibly, Dodd has now demanded a full briefing from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury on why “clauses weren’t attached to the four AIG bailouts to halt bonuses,” according to the New York Daily News.
“Why wasn’t the Fed putting conditionality four different times they provided resources to AIG?” Dodd asked.
Meanwhile, the News is reporting that New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said his office will investigate whether the bonus payments are fraudulent because they were promised when AIG knew it wouldn’t have the money to cover them.
Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd on Monday criticized the bonuses given to executives of American International Group Inc. and suggested that the government could tax the recipients to recoup some or all of the payouts.
But it was Dodd who inserted language — known as the Dodd amendment — in the $787 billion stimulus bill that allowed all bonuses awarded before February 11, 2009, to be paid to AIG executives. That very amendment, which is now law, is now the chief hurdle to government officials who want to recover that money.
The amendment was meant to restrict executive pay for bailed-out banks, but it also included the exception for "contractually obligated bonuses agreed on or before Feb. 11, 2009."
Dodd is the largest single recipient of 2008 campaign donations from AIG, with $103,100, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. That was more than presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain got, and nearly three times the $35,965 Sen. Hillary Clinton received.
Dodd's amendment in the stimulus bill is a "prohibition on what the president is now talking about," Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor, the House minority whip, told Fox News, referring to regaining the money through taxation or other means.
But Dodd is telling reporters that his original language was changed in committee and he is not to blame.
"When the language went to the conference and came back, there was different language," he told Fox News. "I can tell you this much, when my language left the Senate, it did not include it (the exception). When it came back, it did."
Early Thursday evening, though, Democrats were at a loss to explain how and why the Dodd amendment was altered. Much of the stimulus bill was rushed through Congress with little opportunity to read or study exactly what was in it, despite frequent GOP requests to do exactly that.
AIG lost $61.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008, the biggest quarterly loss in corporate history, and has received $173 billion in federal aid. But the company is paying $165 million in bonuses to employees of its financial products unit.
Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, thundered on Monday: “This is another outrageous example of executives — including those whose decisions were responsible for the problems that caused AIG’s collapse — enriching themselves at the expense of taxpayers.”
Incredibly, Dodd has now demanded a full briefing from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury on why “clauses weren’t attached to the four AIG bailouts to halt bonuses,” according to the New York Daily News.
“Why wasn’t the Fed putting conditionality four different times they provided resources to AIG?” Dodd asked.
Meanwhile, the News is reporting that New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said his office will investigate whether the bonus payments are fraudulent because they were promised when AIG knew it wouldn’t have the money to cover them.
Late Nite Jokes
Jay Leno
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day. Of course, Saint Patrick’s Day is a little different this year — nobody has any green left.
A Saint Patrick’s Day quiz: What’s the difference between an AIG executive and a drunken Irishman? A drunken Irishman spends his own money.
In a speech yesterday, President Barack Obama lashed out about the excessive AIG bonuses. He was so upset he changed his slogan from “Yes We Can” to “Oh No You Don’t.”
The Republicans are onboard too. Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley told AIG executives to either quit or commit suicide. Now see, that’s just plain wrong. I mean, why give them the option of suicide?
David Letterman
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day. I drank a huge bottle of green beer and felt horrible, just horrible. Turns out it was mouthwash.
Beautiful day in New York City. So beautiful, AIG gave a bonus to Al Roker.
After receiving bailout money and going broke again, AIG has given huge bonuses to its executives. They’re getting bonuses for doing a horrible job . . . well, heck, I should get one.
If anyone drinks too much today and needs a good way to sober up, just take a good look at your 401(k) statement.
Craig Ferguson
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day. Saint Patrick is famous for ridding Ireland of its snakes. At one time, Ireland was all snakes and potatoes.
I don’t know how he got rid of them — I think he put them on a plane.
Saint Patrick’s Day is a much bigger holiday in America than it is in Ireland. Because let’s face it — the Irish don’t need an excuse to go drinking. “What are we going to drink to today?” “Well, it’s Monday.” “Monday, you say? Well, off we go!”
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day. The water in the water fountain in front of the White House was dyed green . . . which might be the only green Americans see for some time.
This morning, the president was gifted with a box of shamrocks from the Irish prime minister. It’s a tradition, I guess. What they should do is transplant those shamrocks onto the vice presidents forehead.
They had a big St. Patty’s Day party at the White House complete with corned beef and cabbage and green beer. It’s an important part of Obama’s “everybody-get-drunk-and-forget-about-the-economy” policy.
Things got ugly when Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, mistook Dennis Kucinich for a leprechaun and tried to choke him for his gold.
Jimmy Fallon
A Delta Airlines flight had to return to the airport yesterday after hitting a flock of birds during takeoff. The plane landed safely back on the runway, and everyone’s just fine. But I heard Captain Sully Sullenberger yelling, “boooooring.”
Here in New York, a judge ruled that a woman cannot sue a bar owner after she slipped while dancing on the bar. The case is called The People v. “Come on Eileen.”
A 62-year-old woman in Florida hit a hole-in-one with her very first swing on a golf course. She said she didn’t even know she had done anything special until her husband started to strangle her.
Jay Leno
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day. Of course, Saint Patrick’s Day is a little different this year — nobody has any green left.
A Saint Patrick’s Day quiz: What’s the difference between an AIG executive and a drunken Irishman? A drunken Irishman spends his own money.
In a speech yesterday, President Barack Obama lashed out about the excessive AIG bonuses. He was so upset he changed his slogan from “Yes We Can” to “Oh No You Don’t.”
The Republicans are onboard too. Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley told AIG executives to either quit or commit suicide. Now see, that’s just plain wrong. I mean, why give them the option of suicide?
David Letterman
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day. I drank a huge bottle of green beer and felt horrible, just horrible. Turns out it was mouthwash.
Beautiful day in New York City. So beautiful, AIG gave a bonus to Al Roker.
After receiving bailout money and going broke again, AIG has given huge bonuses to its executives. They’re getting bonuses for doing a horrible job . . . well, heck, I should get one.
If anyone drinks too much today and needs a good way to sober up, just take a good look at your 401(k) statement.
Craig Ferguson
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day. Saint Patrick is famous for ridding Ireland of its snakes. At one time, Ireland was all snakes and potatoes.
I don’t know how he got rid of them — I think he put them on a plane.
Saint Patrick’s Day is a much bigger holiday in America than it is in Ireland. Because let’s face it — the Irish don’t need an excuse to go drinking. “What are we going to drink to today?” “Well, it’s Monday.” “Monday, you say? Well, off we go!”
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day. The water in the water fountain in front of the White House was dyed green . . . which might be the only green Americans see for some time.
This morning, the president was gifted with a box of shamrocks from the Irish prime minister. It’s a tradition, I guess. What they should do is transplant those shamrocks onto the vice presidents forehead.
They had a big St. Patty’s Day party at the White House complete with corned beef and cabbage and green beer. It’s an important part of Obama’s “everybody-get-drunk-and-forget-about-the-economy” policy.
Things got ugly when Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, mistook Dennis Kucinich for a leprechaun and tried to choke him for his gold.
Jimmy Fallon
A Delta Airlines flight had to return to the airport yesterday after hitting a flock of birds during takeoff. The plane landed safely back on the runway, and everyone’s just fine. But I heard Captain Sully Sullenberger yelling, “boooooring.”
Here in New York, a judge ruled that a woman cannot sue a bar owner after she slipped while dancing on the bar. The case is called The People v. “Come on Eileen.”
A 62-year-old woman in Florida hit a hole-in-one with her very first swing on a golf course. She said she didn’t even know she had done anything special until her husband started to strangle her.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Obama, Congress Knew About AIG Bonuses for Months
WASHINGTON -- Cue the outrage. For months, the Obama administration and members of Congress have known that insurance giant AIG was getting ready to pay huge bonuses while living off government bailouts. It wasn't until the money was flowing and news was trickling out to the public that official Washington rose up in anger and vowed to yank the money back.
Why the sudden furor, just weeks after Barack Obama's team paid out $30 billion in additional aid to the company? So far, the administration has been unable to match its actions to Obama's tough rhetoric on executive compensation. And Congress has been unable or unwilling to restrict bonuses for bailout recipients, despite some lawmakers' repeated efforts to do so.
The situation has the White House and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on the defensive. The administration was caught off guard Tuesday trying to explain why Geithner had waited until last Wednesday to call AIG chief executive Edward M. Liddy and demand that the bonus payments be restructured.
Neither Obama nor Geithner learned of the impending bonus payments until last week, senior administration officials told The Associated Press late Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity about internal discussions.
Publicly, the White House expressed confidence in Geithner _ but still made it clear he was the one responsible for how the matter was handled.
"I do know that Secretary Geithner last week engaged with the CEO of AIG to communicate what we thought were outrageous and unacceptable bonuses," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. Gibbs declined to provide a timeline that would show when members of the administration _ including the president and others at the White House _ became aware of the bonuses.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Obama's chief economic adviser Lawrence Summers said: "In the context of what we're doing, Secretary Geithner was notified, he has said, last week. As he reported to the rest of us, he moved aggressively and immediately, aggressively and immediately, to recoup whatever could be legally recouped. He recognized that you can't just abrogate contracts willy-nilly, but he moved to do what could be done."
The bonus problem wasn't new, as many lawmakers and administration officials knew only too well. AIG's plans to pay hundreds of millions of dollars were publicized last fall, when Congress started asking questions about expensive junkets the company had sponsored. A November SEC filing by the company details more than $469 million in "retention payments" to keep prized employees.
Back then, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md., began pumping Liddy for information on the bonuses and pressing him to scale them back. "There was outrage brewing already," Cummings said. "I'm saying (to Liddy), 'Be a good citizen. ... Do something about this.' "
Around the same time, outside lawyers hired by the Federal Reserve started reviewing the bonuses as part of a broader look at retention and compensation plans, according to government officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. The outside attorneys examined the possibility of making changes to the company plans _ scaling them back, delaying them or rescinding them. They ultimately concluded that even if AIG's bonuses were withheld, the company would probably be sued successfully by its employees and be forced to pay them, the officials said.
In January, Reps. Joseph E. Crowley of New York and Paul E. Kanjorski of Pennsylvania wrote to the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department pressing the administration to scrutinize AIG's bonus plans and take steps against excessive payments.
"I at that point realized that we were going to have a backlash with regard to these bonuses," Kanjorski said in an AP interview. In a meeting with Liddy later that month, he said he told the AIG chief that "all hell would break loose if we didn't find a way to inform the public ... and that we should take every step to put that information out there so we wouldn't have the shock."
Around the same time, Congress and Obama's team were passing up an opportunity to put in place strict laws to revoke bonuses from recipients of the $700 billion Wall Street bailout. In February, the Senate voted to add such a proposal to the economic recovery bill that cleared Congress, but in final closed-door talks on the measure, that provision was dropped in favor of limits that affect only future payments.
"There was a lot of lobbying against it and it died," said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who proposed the measure with Republican Sen. Olympia J. Snowe of Maine. He said Obama's team is sending mixed messages on what will and won't be tolerated on bonuses, with the president coming out strongly against excessive Wall Street rewards but top officials not following through.
"The president goes out and says this is not acceptable, and then some backroom deal gets cut to let these things get paid out anyway," Wyden said. "They need to put this to bed once and for all."
Last Wednesday, an apparently tense conversation between Geithner and Liddy brought the matter to a head. Geithner had learned of the bonus payments the previous day, said a Treasury Department official familiar with the government's dealings with AIG.
Liddy, in a letter to Geithner on Saturday, referred to their "open and frank conversation" over the retention payments on March 11. "I admit that the conversation was a difficult one for me," Liddy wrote.
On Thursday, as Treasury lawyers scrambled to find a way to cancel the payments, Geithner informed the White House of the situation, and senior aides there relayed it to Obama, the administration officials said.
Meanwhile, the administration moved to get ahead of what was certain to be an embarrassing story.
Unprompted, officials leaked news of the bonuses to select reporters late Saturday afternoon, highlighting what Geithner had done to try to restrain the payments. The story quickly became fodder for the Sunday news talk shows.
Then on Monday, the president himself came out strongly on the issue, calling the payments "an outrage" and publicly directing his team to look for ways to cancel the payments.
Questioned repeatedly to explain this in light of the fact that the administration had already scoured its options and come up empty _ and that the bonuses had already gone out the door to their recipients _ Gibbs said that the president wanted his aides to make sure "to exhaust all legal remedies."
That's done little to quell the expressions of outrage that were blasting about by Tuesday.
"It's shocking," said Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the minority leader, that "the administration would come to us now and act surprised."
WASHINGTON -- Cue the outrage. For months, the Obama administration and members of Congress have known that insurance giant AIG was getting ready to pay huge bonuses while living off government bailouts. It wasn't until the money was flowing and news was trickling out to the public that official Washington rose up in anger and vowed to yank the money back.
Why the sudden furor, just weeks after Barack Obama's team paid out $30 billion in additional aid to the company? So far, the administration has been unable to match its actions to Obama's tough rhetoric on executive compensation. And Congress has been unable or unwilling to restrict bonuses for bailout recipients, despite some lawmakers' repeated efforts to do so.
The situation has the White House and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on the defensive. The administration was caught off guard Tuesday trying to explain why Geithner had waited until last Wednesday to call AIG chief executive Edward M. Liddy and demand that the bonus payments be restructured.
Neither Obama nor Geithner learned of the impending bonus payments until last week, senior administration officials told The Associated Press late Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity about internal discussions.
Publicly, the White House expressed confidence in Geithner _ but still made it clear he was the one responsible for how the matter was handled.
"I do know that Secretary Geithner last week engaged with the CEO of AIG to communicate what we thought were outrageous and unacceptable bonuses," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. Gibbs declined to provide a timeline that would show when members of the administration _ including the president and others at the White House _ became aware of the bonuses.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Obama's chief economic adviser Lawrence Summers said: "In the context of what we're doing, Secretary Geithner was notified, he has said, last week. As he reported to the rest of us, he moved aggressively and immediately, aggressively and immediately, to recoup whatever could be legally recouped. He recognized that you can't just abrogate contracts willy-nilly, but he moved to do what could be done."
The bonus problem wasn't new, as many lawmakers and administration officials knew only too well. AIG's plans to pay hundreds of millions of dollars were publicized last fall, when Congress started asking questions about expensive junkets the company had sponsored. A November SEC filing by the company details more than $469 million in "retention payments" to keep prized employees.
Back then, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md., began pumping Liddy for information on the bonuses and pressing him to scale them back. "There was outrage brewing already," Cummings said. "I'm saying (to Liddy), 'Be a good citizen. ... Do something about this.' "
Around the same time, outside lawyers hired by the Federal Reserve started reviewing the bonuses as part of a broader look at retention and compensation plans, according to government officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. The outside attorneys examined the possibility of making changes to the company plans _ scaling them back, delaying them or rescinding them. They ultimately concluded that even if AIG's bonuses were withheld, the company would probably be sued successfully by its employees and be forced to pay them, the officials said.
In January, Reps. Joseph E. Crowley of New York and Paul E. Kanjorski of Pennsylvania wrote to the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department pressing the administration to scrutinize AIG's bonus plans and take steps against excessive payments.
"I at that point realized that we were going to have a backlash with regard to these bonuses," Kanjorski said in an AP interview. In a meeting with Liddy later that month, he said he told the AIG chief that "all hell would break loose if we didn't find a way to inform the public ... and that we should take every step to put that information out there so we wouldn't have the shock."
Around the same time, Congress and Obama's team were passing up an opportunity to put in place strict laws to revoke bonuses from recipients of the $700 billion Wall Street bailout. In February, the Senate voted to add such a proposal to the economic recovery bill that cleared Congress, but in final closed-door talks on the measure, that provision was dropped in favor of limits that affect only future payments.
"There was a lot of lobbying against it and it died," said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who proposed the measure with Republican Sen. Olympia J. Snowe of Maine. He said Obama's team is sending mixed messages on what will and won't be tolerated on bonuses, with the president coming out strongly against excessive Wall Street rewards but top officials not following through.
"The president goes out and says this is not acceptable, and then some backroom deal gets cut to let these things get paid out anyway," Wyden said. "They need to put this to bed once and for all."
Last Wednesday, an apparently tense conversation between Geithner and Liddy brought the matter to a head. Geithner had learned of the bonus payments the previous day, said a Treasury Department official familiar with the government's dealings with AIG.
Liddy, in a letter to Geithner on Saturday, referred to their "open and frank conversation" over the retention payments on March 11. "I admit that the conversation was a difficult one for me," Liddy wrote.
On Thursday, as Treasury lawyers scrambled to find a way to cancel the payments, Geithner informed the White House of the situation, and senior aides there relayed it to Obama, the administration officials said.
Meanwhile, the administration moved to get ahead of what was certain to be an embarrassing story.
Unprompted, officials leaked news of the bonuses to select reporters late Saturday afternoon, highlighting what Geithner had done to try to restrain the payments. The story quickly became fodder for the Sunday news talk shows.
Then on Monday, the president himself came out strongly on the issue, calling the payments "an outrage" and publicly directing his team to look for ways to cancel the payments.
Questioned repeatedly to explain this in light of the fact that the administration had already scoured its options and come up empty _ and that the bonuses had already gone out the door to their recipients _ Gibbs said that the president wanted his aides to make sure "to exhaust all legal remedies."
That's done little to quell the expressions of outrage that were blasting about by Tuesday.
"It's shocking," said Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the minority leader, that "the administration would come to us now and act surprised."
Monday, March 16, 2009
Bush: Obama 'Deserves My Silence,' Not Criticism
CALGARY, Alberta - Former President George W. Bush said he won't criticize President Barack Obama because Obama "deserves my silence," and said he plans to write a book about the 12 toughest decisions he made in office.
Bush declined to critique the Obama administration Tuesday in his first speech since leaving office. Former Vice President Dick Cheney has said that Obama's decisions are threatening America's safety.
"I'm not going to spend my time criticizing him. There are plenty of critics in the arena," Bush said. "He deserves my silence."
Bush said he wants Obama to succeed and said it's important that he has that support. Talk-show host Rush Limbaugh has said he hoped Obama would fail.
"I love my country a lot more than I love politics," Bush said. "I think it is essential that he be helped in office."
Bush said that he doesn't know what he will do in the long term but that he will write a book that will ask people to consider what they would do if they had to protect the United State as president.
He said it will be fun to write and that "it's going to be (about) the 12 toughest decisions I had to make."
"I'm going to put people in my place, so when the history of this administration is written at least there's an authoritarian voice saying exactly what happened," Bush said.
"I want people to understand what it was like to sit in the Oval Office and have them come in and say we have captured Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, the alleged killer of a guy named Danny Pearl because he was simply Jewish, and we think we have information on further attacks on the United States."
Bush didn't specify what the 12 hardest decisions were but said Iraq is better off without Saddam Hussein in power.
Bush was also full of jokes throughout his speech and during a question and answer session with former Canadian Ambassador in Washington Frank McKenna.
He joked that he would do more speeches to pay for his new house in Dallas.
"I actually paid for a house last fall. I think I'm the only American to have bought a house in the fall of 2008," he quipped.
He added that he would do whatever former first lady Laura Bush asked him to do.
He also said his mother is doing well. Barbara Bush was released from a Houston hospital Friday, nine days after undergoing heart surgery.
"Clearly he can't live without her," Bush said of his father and former President George H.W. Bush.
CALGARY, Alberta - Former President George W. Bush said he won't criticize President Barack Obama because Obama "deserves my silence," and said he plans to write a book about the 12 toughest decisions he made in office.
Bush declined to critique the Obama administration Tuesday in his first speech since leaving office. Former Vice President Dick Cheney has said that Obama's decisions are threatening America's safety.
"I'm not going to spend my time criticizing him. There are plenty of critics in the arena," Bush said. "He deserves my silence."
Bush said he wants Obama to succeed and said it's important that he has that support. Talk-show host Rush Limbaugh has said he hoped Obama would fail.
"I love my country a lot more than I love politics," Bush said. "I think it is essential that he be helped in office."
Bush said that he doesn't know what he will do in the long term but that he will write a book that will ask people to consider what they would do if they had to protect the United State as president.
He said it will be fun to write and that "it's going to be (about) the 12 toughest decisions I had to make."
"I'm going to put people in my place, so when the history of this administration is written at least there's an authoritarian voice saying exactly what happened," Bush said.
"I want people to understand what it was like to sit in the Oval Office and have them come in and say we have captured Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, the alleged killer of a guy named Danny Pearl because he was simply Jewish, and we think we have information on further attacks on the United States."
Bush didn't specify what the 12 hardest decisions were but said Iraq is better off without Saddam Hussein in power.
Bush was also full of jokes throughout his speech and during a question and answer session with former Canadian Ambassador in Washington Frank McKenna.
He joked that he would do more speeches to pay for his new house in Dallas.
"I actually paid for a house last fall. I think I'm the only American to have bought a house in the fall of 2008," he quipped.
He added that he would do whatever former first lady Laura Bush asked him to do.
He also said his mother is doing well. Barbara Bush was released from a Houston hospital Friday, nine days after undergoing heart surgery.
"Clearly he can't live without her," Bush said of his father and former President George H.W. Bush.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Pelosi Backs Talk Radio Regulations
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is supporting legislation that will force the Federal Communications Commission to “promote diversity” on the airwaves – a move many see as a stealth effort to regulate conservative-dominated talk radio without bringing back the controversial Fairness Doctrine.
Pelosi, D-Calif., has thrown her support to an amendment in a Senate bill that directs the FCC to explicitly “take actions to encourage and promote diversity in communication media ownership and to ensure that broadcast station licenses are used in the public interest,” according to CNS News.
The amendment has become known as the Durbin amendment, after its sponsor, Senate Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
“Certainly, I support Mr. Durbin in most things,” Pelosi told CNS News. “Diversity in media ownership is very, very, important.”
The amendment is clearly an attempt to revive the Fairness Doctrine – an unpopular FCC regulation removed in 1987 that forced broadcasters to grant equal airtime to opposing political viewpoints, Republican Rep. Mike Pence told CNS News.
“Its clear to me that Democrats, having failed in their frontal assault on talk radio in America through the Fairness Doctrine, are now shifting strategy to a form of regulation that is essentially the Fairness Doctrine by stealth,” Pence, R-Ind., a former radio broadcaster, told CNS.
Minutes after the passage of the Durbin amendment last Thursday a separate amendment that would ban the restoration of the Fairness Doctrine, which was proposed by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), was also attached to the same D.C. voting rights bill and passed by a vote of 87-11.
House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said he thinks Republicans may be able to muster the votes to stop it when it gets to his chamber.
“I think as we get into the appropriations process you will see us continue our effort to make sure the Fairness Doctrine is not put back into place,” Boehner told CNS News at his weekly press conference on Thursday. “And I do believe the votes are in the Congress to make sure that happens.”
The primary text of the Durbin amendment reads:
SEC.9 FCC Authorities. (a) Clarification of General Powers. – Title III of the Communications Act of 1934 is amended by inserting after section 303 (47 U.S.C. 303) the following new section:
SEC.303B. Clarification of General Powers. (a) Certain Affirmative Actions Required – The Commission shall take actions to encourage and promote diversity in communication media ownership and to ensure that broadcast station licenses are used in the public interest. …
The language is virtually identical to a policy position that has been long developed by Democrats and has been recently taken up by the Obama administration over calls by some to revive the Fairness Doctrine. The White House now aims to “encourage diversity in the ownership of broadcast media, promote the development of new media outlets for expression of diverse viewpoints, and clarify the public interest obligations of broadcasters who occupy the nation's spectrum.”
That philosophy is part of a position established earlier at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank headed by former Obama transition leader John Podesta. The center published a report calling for a new “localism” and “ownership diversity” regulations to balance conservative talk radio with so-called “progressive” talk radio.
The report, “The Structural Imbalance of Political Talk Radio,” concludes with the following recommendations:
“[A]ny effort to encourage more responsive and balanced radio programming will first require steps to increase localism and diversify radio station ownership to better meet local and community needs. We suggest three ways to accomplish this:
Restore local and national caps on the ownership of commercial radio stations.
Ensure greater local accountability over radio licensing.
Require commercial owners who fail to abide by enforceable public interest obligations to pay a fee to support public broadcasting.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is supporting legislation that will force the Federal Communications Commission to “promote diversity” on the airwaves – a move many see as a stealth effort to regulate conservative-dominated talk radio without bringing back the controversial Fairness Doctrine.
Pelosi, D-Calif., has thrown her support to an amendment in a Senate bill that directs the FCC to explicitly “take actions to encourage and promote diversity in communication media ownership and to ensure that broadcast station licenses are used in the public interest,” according to CNS News.
The amendment has become known as the Durbin amendment, after its sponsor, Senate Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
“Certainly, I support Mr. Durbin in most things,” Pelosi told CNS News. “Diversity in media ownership is very, very, important.”
The amendment is clearly an attempt to revive the Fairness Doctrine – an unpopular FCC regulation removed in 1987 that forced broadcasters to grant equal airtime to opposing political viewpoints, Republican Rep. Mike Pence told CNS News.
“Its clear to me that Democrats, having failed in their frontal assault on talk radio in America through the Fairness Doctrine, are now shifting strategy to a form of regulation that is essentially the Fairness Doctrine by stealth,” Pence, R-Ind., a former radio broadcaster, told CNS.
Minutes after the passage of the Durbin amendment last Thursday a separate amendment that would ban the restoration of the Fairness Doctrine, which was proposed by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), was also attached to the same D.C. voting rights bill and passed by a vote of 87-11.
House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said he thinks Republicans may be able to muster the votes to stop it when it gets to his chamber.
“I think as we get into the appropriations process you will see us continue our effort to make sure the Fairness Doctrine is not put back into place,” Boehner told CNS News at his weekly press conference on Thursday. “And I do believe the votes are in the Congress to make sure that happens.”
The primary text of the Durbin amendment reads:
SEC.9 FCC Authorities. (a) Clarification of General Powers. – Title III of the Communications Act of 1934 is amended by inserting after section 303 (47 U.S.C. 303) the following new section:
SEC.303B. Clarification of General Powers. (a) Certain Affirmative Actions Required – The Commission shall take actions to encourage and promote diversity in communication media ownership and to ensure that broadcast station licenses are used in the public interest. …
The language is virtually identical to a policy position that has been long developed by Democrats and has been recently taken up by the Obama administration over calls by some to revive the Fairness Doctrine. The White House now aims to “encourage diversity in the ownership of broadcast media, promote the development of new media outlets for expression of diverse viewpoints, and clarify the public interest obligations of broadcasters who occupy the nation's spectrum.”
That philosophy is part of a position established earlier at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank headed by former Obama transition leader John Podesta. The center published a report calling for a new “localism” and “ownership diversity” regulations to balance conservative talk radio with so-called “progressive” talk radio.
The report, “The Structural Imbalance of Political Talk Radio,” concludes with the following recommendations:
“[A]ny effort to encourage more responsive and balanced radio programming will first require steps to increase localism and diversify radio station ownership to better meet local and community needs. We suggest three ways to accomplish this:
Restore local and national caps on the ownership of commercial radio stations.
Ensure greater local accountability over radio licensing.
Require commercial owners who fail to abide by enforceable public interest obligations to pay a fee to support public broadcasting.”
Late Nite Jokes
Jay Leno
Over the weekend in D.C., first lady Michelle Obama was at a homeless shelter serving food to the homeless. Isn’t that nice? Reaching out to the middle class . . .
Former president George W. Bush says he will start a speaking tour. Just as soon as he learns how to speak.
President Obama signed a bill overturning Bush’s restrictions on stem-cell research. He said stem-cell research can help save lives, cure diseases, help develop better hair plugs for Joe Biden.
President Obama said that he is against human cloning. See, I think there ought to be exceptions. For example, let’s say Obama can find a nominee who can pay his taxes . . .
David Letterman
A new poll says Americans are less religious than ever before. But I think Americans are religious. Just watch them when they look at their 401(k)s . . . “Oh, God . . .”
The economy is bad. So bad, even Tom Cruise is taking antidepressants.
The stock market is going down, down. Today, I tipped my cab driver with 100 shares of GM stock.
The New York Stock Exchange is now a 99 cent store.
Craig Ferguson
Daylight Saving Time has started, which means you get an extra hour of daylight to watch your savings go down the toilet.
I was in Indianapolis over the weekend. It’s great there and I’m not just saying it because my boss, David Letterman, is from there. They’re renaming Indianapolis to David Letterman-opolis or something in honor.
“Dancing With the Stars” had its season premier. They asked me to be on, but it fell through. I love “Dancing With the Stars,” though. Being able to vote makes me feel like I’m part of the show. So does dressing up in heels and dancing around.
Jimmy Fallon
Republicans are attacking Obama because he says he wants to negotiate with the Taliban. Obama responded, “Hey — right now I’d rather deal with the Taliban than the Republicans.”
North Korea leader Kim Jong Il won re-election with 100 percent of the vote. Kim said he looked forward to finding common ground with his opponent until he kills him.
In Salt Lake City, Utah, two female junior high school teachers were arrested after they had sex with the same 13-year-old student. I don’t know what the big deal is — in Utah, that’s home-schooling
Jay Leno
Over the weekend in D.C., first lady Michelle Obama was at a homeless shelter serving food to the homeless. Isn’t that nice? Reaching out to the middle class . . .
Former president George W. Bush says he will start a speaking tour. Just as soon as he learns how to speak.
President Obama signed a bill overturning Bush’s restrictions on stem-cell research. He said stem-cell research can help save lives, cure diseases, help develop better hair plugs for Joe Biden.
President Obama said that he is against human cloning. See, I think there ought to be exceptions. For example, let’s say Obama can find a nominee who can pay his taxes . . .
David Letterman
A new poll says Americans are less religious than ever before. But I think Americans are religious. Just watch them when they look at their 401(k)s . . . “Oh, God . . .”
The economy is bad. So bad, even Tom Cruise is taking antidepressants.
The stock market is going down, down. Today, I tipped my cab driver with 100 shares of GM stock.
The New York Stock Exchange is now a 99 cent store.
Craig Ferguson
Daylight Saving Time has started, which means you get an extra hour of daylight to watch your savings go down the toilet.
I was in Indianapolis over the weekend. It’s great there and I’m not just saying it because my boss, David Letterman, is from there. They’re renaming Indianapolis to David Letterman-opolis or something in honor.
“Dancing With the Stars” had its season premier. They asked me to be on, but it fell through. I love “Dancing With the Stars,” though. Being able to vote makes me feel like I’m part of the show. So does dressing up in heels and dancing around.
Jimmy Fallon
Republicans are attacking Obama because he says he wants to negotiate with the Taliban. Obama responded, “Hey — right now I’d rather deal with the Taliban than the Republicans.”
North Korea leader Kim Jong Il won re-election with 100 percent of the vote. Kim said he looked forward to finding common ground with his opponent until he kills him.
In Salt Lake City, Utah, two female junior high school teachers were arrested after they had sex with the same 13-year-old student. I don’t know what the big deal is — in Utah, that’s home-schooling
Monday, March 9, 2009
Rush Limbaugh Is Right About Obama
By: David A. Patten
Former House Majority leader Dick Armey told Newsmax in an exclusive interview Friday that he joins talk radio host Rush Limbaugh in hoping that President Obama’s efforts to impose a "nanny state" agenda on America will fail.
Asked if he agreed with Limbaugh’s controversial sentiments, Armey replied, "Well sure. I mean, who wants to see America [imitate] so many other nations that have gone down this primrose path of thinking government can be the nanny state and provider of all things?" [Editor's Note: See the Full Newsmax interview with Dick Armey - Go Here Now].
In fact, Armey said, "a great many Americans" agree with Limbaugh. But he went on to say that Limbaugh should have been "more circumspect and more judicious" in his choice of words, to avoid being misconstrued.
“A quick translation is: 'Rush says he wants the president to fail - Rush hates America,'" explained Armey, who was a chief architect of the Contract with America. "My only comment on Rush is, 'Rush, you know the rules of the game of political discourse well enough to have not walked yourself into that trap.' And by some inference, not to have walked some of us into that trap with him."
The 18-year House veteran also took strong exception to the anti-Limbaugh media campaign orchestrated in recent weeks out of the West Wing of the White House by Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Pundits have generally viewed that as a calculated effort to hurt Republican prospects with swing voters.
“Let’s say you’re the average American citizen," Armey told Newsmax. "The guy’s president of the United States. You’d say, 'I bet the guy has some real serious work to do.' But his chief of staff is what, operating as a political hack? Ronald Reagan did not let the political hacks in the White House. His point was very simple: ‘We’ve got serious work to do. People in this country who are good people have trusted us, and I’m not sitting here listening to a bunch of politics, let’s talk about policies.'"
For Obama to govern effectively on behalf of the people, Armey said, he needs to tell his staff: "'We don’t do politics here. This is where we do the nation’s work.’ And get the political hacks out of there. Bush had too many political hacks in the White House, and certainly Clinton politicized everything."
Armey tells Newsmax that he doesn’t expect that to happen because of what he calls two of the cardinal rules of politics: "Democrats perpetrate, and Democrats get away with it."
"So what you will see," Armey predicted, "is this president, to a greater degree [and] to a more harmful degree than the Clinton presidency, using the White House and the executive branch of government as a political instrument on behalf of his party. It will start with the next Census. It's already started. And the orthodox press will simply let them get away with it. They will broker no criticism of the man. It’s a fascinating thing."
Armey held out hope, however, that Republicans could return to power soon.
"I do believe the Democrats will overreach," he said, but added that Republicans must commit to an agenda that will benefit America, rather than just pursue a return to power for power's sake.
"My point to the Republicans is, I'm not interested in the Republicans having the majority to serve the purposes of the Republican Party. If you don't have a purpose for America I could care a less whether you get to be in the majority. And I believe the voters have the same attitude," Armey said.
Armey currently serves as co-chairman of the Washington, D.C.-based FreedomWorks organization, leading a grassroots effort to mobilize some 500,000 activists on behalf of lower taxes, limited government, and greater liberty. He has written four influential books: Price Theory: A Policy-Welfare Approach (1977); The Freedom Revolution (1995), The Flat Tax (1996), and Armey’s Axioms (2003).
The former House Majority Leader also told Newsmax that the Obama administration is basing its response to the nation's economic crisis on outdated economic theories.
"The more they do, the more we have the investor class sitting on the sidelines, people are holding back, they're not going be involved with this. So this thing is a wound that is open and infested," he said.
Although Armey expressed confidence that the nation's markets will eventually straighten themselves out he said Obama is "running around acting like he’s the newfound savior" based on erroneous economic theories. That, he said, "is not doing a bit of good. It’s actually just making the problem worse."
By: David A. Patten
Former House Majority leader Dick Armey told Newsmax in an exclusive interview Friday that he joins talk radio host Rush Limbaugh in hoping that President Obama’s efforts to impose a "nanny state" agenda on America will fail.
Asked if he agreed with Limbaugh’s controversial sentiments, Armey replied, "Well sure. I mean, who wants to see America [imitate] so many other nations that have gone down this primrose path of thinking government can be the nanny state and provider of all things?" [Editor's Note: See the Full Newsmax interview with Dick Armey - Go Here Now].
In fact, Armey said, "a great many Americans" agree with Limbaugh. But he went on to say that Limbaugh should have been "more circumspect and more judicious" in his choice of words, to avoid being misconstrued.
“A quick translation is: 'Rush says he wants the president to fail - Rush hates America,'" explained Armey, who was a chief architect of the Contract with America. "My only comment on Rush is, 'Rush, you know the rules of the game of political discourse well enough to have not walked yourself into that trap.' And by some inference, not to have walked some of us into that trap with him."
The 18-year House veteran also took strong exception to the anti-Limbaugh media campaign orchestrated in recent weeks out of the West Wing of the White House by Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Pundits have generally viewed that as a calculated effort to hurt Republican prospects with swing voters.
“Let’s say you’re the average American citizen," Armey told Newsmax. "The guy’s president of the United States. You’d say, 'I bet the guy has some real serious work to do.' But his chief of staff is what, operating as a political hack? Ronald Reagan did not let the political hacks in the White House. His point was very simple: ‘We’ve got serious work to do. People in this country who are good people have trusted us, and I’m not sitting here listening to a bunch of politics, let’s talk about policies.'"
For Obama to govern effectively on behalf of the people, Armey said, he needs to tell his staff: "'We don’t do politics here. This is where we do the nation’s work.’ And get the political hacks out of there. Bush had too many political hacks in the White House, and certainly Clinton politicized everything."
Armey tells Newsmax that he doesn’t expect that to happen because of what he calls two of the cardinal rules of politics: "Democrats perpetrate, and Democrats get away with it."
"So what you will see," Armey predicted, "is this president, to a greater degree [and] to a more harmful degree than the Clinton presidency, using the White House and the executive branch of government as a political instrument on behalf of his party. It will start with the next Census. It's already started. And the orthodox press will simply let them get away with it. They will broker no criticism of the man. It’s a fascinating thing."
Armey held out hope, however, that Republicans could return to power soon.
"I do believe the Democrats will overreach," he said, but added that Republicans must commit to an agenda that will benefit America, rather than just pursue a return to power for power's sake.
"My point to the Republicans is, I'm not interested in the Republicans having the majority to serve the purposes of the Republican Party. If you don't have a purpose for America I could care a less whether you get to be in the majority. And I believe the voters have the same attitude," Armey said.
Armey currently serves as co-chairman of the Washington, D.C.-based FreedomWorks organization, leading a grassroots effort to mobilize some 500,000 activists on behalf of lower taxes, limited government, and greater liberty. He has written four influential books: Price Theory: A Policy-Welfare Approach (1977); The Freedom Revolution (1995), The Flat Tax (1996), and Armey’s Axioms (2003).
The former House Majority Leader also told Newsmax that the Obama administration is basing its response to the nation's economic crisis on outdated economic theories.
"The more they do, the more we have the investor class sitting on the sidelines, people are holding back, they're not going be involved with this. So this thing is a wound that is open and infested," he said.
Although Armey expressed confidence that the nation's markets will eventually straighten themselves out he said Obama is "running around acting like he’s the newfound savior" based on erroneous economic theories. That, he said, "is not doing a bit of good. It’s actually just making the problem worse."
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Top 10 Spending Bill Boondoggles
The cloud of earmarks in the $410 billion spending bill now before Congress has obscured systemic problems with the bill that are even more serious, watchdog groups reviewing the legislation tell Newsmax.
As debate on the bill resumes Monday, the focus will likely continue on oft-frivolous earmarks, including millions for researching the odor of pig urine, studying the spawning habits of shrimp, and $200,000 sought by a California Democrat for a tattoo-removal program.
The non-earmark portion of the bill, however, is also rife with controversial policies and billion-dollar boondoggles, budget analysts tell Newsmax. It would increase federal discretionary spending at more than twice the rate of inflation.
“While the public is focused on some atrocious earmarks, that shouldn’t divert the public from some amazing spending increases and unconscionable policies elsewhere in the bill,” Brian M. Riedl, lead budget analyst for the Heritage Foundation, tells Newsmax.
Based on watchdog reports and recommendations, here’s a Newsmax list of the bill’s top 10 non-earmark boondoggles:
$97 Million for a Program That’s Being Cancelled — When the government decided to replace old nuclear warheads with new ones, scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory said they needed two new buildings to produce the necessary plutonium components. One of those structures is reportedly nearing completion.
President Obama recently announced, however, that he is canceling the Reliable Replacement Warhead program based on scientists’ recommendation that it’s unnecessary. That should save the public a lot of money, right?
Think again: Officials are moving forward with the second new building anyway. The spending bill includes $97 million for the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement (CMRR) facilities at Los Alamos. That’s up from $74 million in 2008, which was a big increase from the $54 million spent in 2007. In other words, the budget for a program that is now being eliminated has increased 80 percent in the past two years.
“The question is why are they building this building?” asks Laura Peterson of Taxpayers for Common Sense. “There’s been a lot of concern about taking on a giant new construction project at Los Alamos, when the primary justification for the project is gone. From our point of view, that’s some pretty questionable funding.”
Amtrak Rides the Gravy Train — It’s a perpetual money hog, so much so that Riedl comments Amtrak “loses more money, the more that people ride it.” Rather than encourage Amtrak to become more self-sufficient, Congress keeps using tax dollars to subsidize it.
The discretionary spending bill awards Amtrak a 10 percent budget boost. And that’s on top of the $1.3 billion Amtrak was just awarded in the $787 billion stimulus bill. Could someone pull the emergency stop, please???
Congress Pays Itself — When President Obama warned that the current economic circumstances would require a willingness to sacrifice, that apparently didn’t include Congress. The discretionary spending bill fund contains an 11 percent increase in legislative branch operations, which members of Congress use to run their offices. The 11 percent hike is about three times the 2008 rate of inflation, and dwarfs last year’s 4 percent increase. If approved, Congress will spend $4.4 billion on its own operations.
At least some of the funds will go to promote, at least indirectly, the political interests of the congressmen themselves. “This gives lawmakers more resources to meet with more lobbyists, and also advertise themselves more back home,” Riedl tells Newsmax.
Stealth Earmarks — When is an earmark not an earmark? Simple: When no congressman’s name is attached to it.
After an earmark has been repeatedly authorized year after year, and especially once its sponsor has left Congress, it is likely to appear as part of the basic spending bill. And once an expenditure is no longer an earmark per se, it is apt to receive far less public scrutiny.
How much of the $410 billion spending measure consists of these “non-earmark earmarks?” It takes a lot of digging to come up with a precise number, so no one knows for sure yet. But consider this: Taxpayers for Common Sense estimates there were $3.5 billion of undisclosed earmarks hidden in last year’s spending bills.
Caving in to Castro — Most Americans probably don’t realize it, but the United States sells $780 billion of agricultural and food items each year to Cuba to keep its citizens from starving. Because the Castro government was notorious for late payments, the United States required that Cuba pay in advance for its purchases.
The stimulus bill includes language that would waive this requirement, granting Cuba more favorable trade terms. The bill would also ease travel restrictions, bringing a much-needed source of cash to Castro’s Cuba.
As Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., commented on the Senate floor: “The last thing we need in this economic time is for us to be providing credit to a country that is uncreditworthy.”
Agriculture -- Sowing Seeds for Fiscal Disaster? — Thanks to the spending bill, the budget for the Department of Agriculture jumps a remarkable 13 percent. That’s an additional $2.4 billion to run the department. While agriculture is an important part of the nation’s economy, economists do not generally expect it to play a leading role in getting the country out of the recession. Why does the department need an increase that figures to be at least four times the rate of inflation this year? That’s what independent budget analysts would like to know.
Kicking Poor Kids Out of Rich Schools — Congressional Democrats have found billions to spend on pet projects and earmarks, but there’s at least one program they would like to eliminate. Called the D.C. Scholarship Opportunity Program, it helps disadvantaged inner city kids attend private schools. The teachers’ unions opposes the program because it relies on a dreaded voucher system.
Parents of children in the program receive $7,500 in vouchers. The vouchers enable 1,700 poor kids to escape D.C.’s overcrowded, failing public school system. Instead, they can attend private schools like Sidwell-Friends, where the Obamas send their two daughters.
Congressional guardians of the public trough have inserted language that would cancel the program after next year, unless Congress and the city school board specifically vote to reauthorize it. That’s considered highly unlikely.
Riedl’s comment: “The only spending cut in the spending bill is a measly $13 million to kick children out of their schools, while leaving billions of dollars in pork and waste. It boggles the mind. It’s amazing.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office has suggested the program could survive. But the bill directs D.C. officials to prepare a smooth transition if the program is terminated. You don’t have to be gifted to read the writing on that wall.
Pricey Diplomacy — With former Senator Hillary Clinton at the helm, the State Department is in line for a huge budget increase under the spending plan. The budget, including billions in donations to countries abroad, will jump by 12 percent.
An obvious question: When a country is losing 700,000 jobs a month, should it increase spending to win friends and influence people abroad? One program is being cut by 60 percent, however: The Millennium Challenge Corporation, a Bush-era program that awards money to countries making Democratic reforms.
Regulatory Excess — According to Bloomberg.com, regulatory agencies across the board would receive a huge shot in the arm. Leading the way: The Food and Drug Administration, whose budget grows by a whopping 19 percent to $2 billion.
Other examples: The Consumer Product Safety Commission budget jumps by nearly a third to $105 million. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s budget goes up 6 percent to $513 million. And the Securities and Exchange Commission, which failed to prevent the securitization of sub-prime mortgages from wrecking the economy, is rewarded with a 4 percent budget increase, to $943 million.
32 Billion Reasons for Concern — Federal spending, due to the overall impact of the spending bill, would rise by $32 billion. That’s a budgetary expansion of about 8.3 percent, more than twice the rate of inflation.
And that doesn’t take into account the $700 billion bailout or the $787 billion fiscal stimulus plan. All this in a year when 4 million Americans have lost their jobs, and the federal budget deficit is expected to exceed $1.3 trillion.
The cloud of earmarks in the $410 billion spending bill now before Congress has obscured systemic problems with the bill that are even more serious, watchdog groups reviewing the legislation tell Newsmax.
As debate on the bill resumes Monday, the focus will likely continue on oft-frivolous earmarks, including millions for researching the odor of pig urine, studying the spawning habits of shrimp, and $200,000 sought by a California Democrat for a tattoo-removal program.
The non-earmark portion of the bill, however, is also rife with controversial policies and billion-dollar boondoggles, budget analysts tell Newsmax. It would increase federal discretionary spending at more than twice the rate of inflation.
“While the public is focused on some atrocious earmarks, that shouldn’t divert the public from some amazing spending increases and unconscionable policies elsewhere in the bill,” Brian M. Riedl, lead budget analyst for the Heritage Foundation, tells Newsmax.
Based on watchdog reports and recommendations, here’s a Newsmax list of the bill’s top 10 non-earmark boondoggles:
$97 Million for a Program That’s Being Cancelled — When the government decided to replace old nuclear warheads with new ones, scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory said they needed two new buildings to produce the necessary plutonium components. One of those structures is reportedly nearing completion.
President Obama recently announced, however, that he is canceling the Reliable Replacement Warhead program based on scientists’ recommendation that it’s unnecessary. That should save the public a lot of money, right?
Think again: Officials are moving forward with the second new building anyway. The spending bill includes $97 million for the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement (CMRR) facilities at Los Alamos. That’s up from $74 million in 2008, which was a big increase from the $54 million spent in 2007. In other words, the budget for a program that is now being eliminated has increased 80 percent in the past two years.
“The question is why are they building this building?” asks Laura Peterson of Taxpayers for Common Sense. “There’s been a lot of concern about taking on a giant new construction project at Los Alamos, when the primary justification for the project is gone. From our point of view, that’s some pretty questionable funding.”
Amtrak Rides the Gravy Train — It’s a perpetual money hog, so much so that Riedl comments Amtrak “loses more money, the more that people ride it.” Rather than encourage Amtrak to become more self-sufficient, Congress keeps using tax dollars to subsidize it.
The discretionary spending bill awards Amtrak a 10 percent budget boost. And that’s on top of the $1.3 billion Amtrak was just awarded in the $787 billion stimulus bill. Could someone pull the emergency stop, please???
Congress Pays Itself — When President Obama warned that the current economic circumstances would require a willingness to sacrifice, that apparently didn’t include Congress. The discretionary spending bill fund contains an 11 percent increase in legislative branch operations, which members of Congress use to run their offices. The 11 percent hike is about three times the 2008 rate of inflation, and dwarfs last year’s 4 percent increase. If approved, Congress will spend $4.4 billion on its own operations.
At least some of the funds will go to promote, at least indirectly, the political interests of the congressmen themselves. “This gives lawmakers more resources to meet with more lobbyists, and also advertise themselves more back home,” Riedl tells Newsmax.
Stealth Earmarks — When is an earmark not an earmark? Simple: When no congressman’s name is attached to it.
After an earmark has been repeatedly authorized year after year, and especially once its sponsor has left Congress, it is likely to appear as part of the basic spending bill. And once an expenditure is no longer an earmark per se, it is apt to receive far less public scrutiny.
How much of the $410 billion spending measure consists of these “non-earmark earmarks?” It takes a lot of digging to come up with a precise number, so no one knows for sure yet. But consider this: Taxpayers for Common Sense estimates there were $3.5 billion of undisclosed earmarks hidden in last year’s spending bills.
Caving in to Castro — Most Americans probably don’t realize it, but the United States sells $780 billion of agricultural and food items each year to Cuba to keep its citizens from starving. Because the Castro government was notorious for late payments, the United States required that Cuba pay in advance for its purchases.
The stimulus bill includes language that would waive this requirement, granting Cuba more favorable trade terms. The bill would also ease travel restrictions, bringing a much-needed source of cash to Castro’s Cuba.
As Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., commented on the Senate floor: “The last thing we need in this economic time is for us to be providing credit to a country that is uncreditworthy.”
Agriculture -- Sowing Seeds for Fiscal Disaster? — Thanks to the spending bill, the budget for the Department of Agriculture jumps a remarkable 13 percent. That’s an additional $2.4 billion to run the department. While agriculture is an important part of the nation’s economy, economists do not generally expect it to play a leading role in getting the country out of the recession. Why does the department need an increase that figures to be at least four times the rate of inflation this year? That’s what independent budget analysts would like to know.
Kicking Poor Kids Out of Rich Schools — Congressional Democrats have found billions to spend on pet projects and earmarks, but there’s at least one program they would like to eliminate. Called the D.C. Scholarship Opportunity Program, it helps disadvantaged inner city kids attend private schools. The teachers’ unions opposes the program because it relies on a dreaded voucher system.
Parents of children in the program receive $7,500 in vouchers. The vouchers enable 1,700 poor kids to escape D.C.’s overcrowded, failing public school system. Instead, they can attend private schools like Sidwell-Friends, where the Obamas send their two daughters.
Congressional guardians of the public trough have inserted language that would cancel the program after next year, unless Congress and the city school board specifically vote to reauthorize it. That’s considered highly unlikely.
Riedl’s comment: “The only spending cut in the spending bill is a measly $13 million to kick children out of their schools, while leaving billions of dollars in pork and waste. It boggles the mind. It’s amazing.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office has suggested the program could survive. But the bill directs D.C. officials to prepare a smooth transition if the program is terminated. You don’t have to be gifted to read the writing on that wall.
Pricey Diplomacy — With former Senator Hillary Clinton at the helm, the State Department is in line for a huge budget increase under the spending plan. The budget, including billions in donations to countries abroad, will jump by 12 percent.
An obvious question: When a country is losing 700,000 jobs a month, should it increase spending to win friends and influence people abroad? One program is being cut by 60 percent, however: The Millennium Challenge Corporation, a Bush-era program that awards money to countries making Democratic reforms.
Regulatory Excess — According to Bloomberg.com, regulatory agencies across the board would receive a huge shot in the arm. Leading the way: The Food and Drug Administration, whose budget grows by a whopping 19 percent to $2 billion.
Other examples: The Consumer Product Safety Commission budget jumps by nearly a third to $105 million. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s budget goes up 6 percent to $513 million. And the Securities and Exchange Commission, which failed to prevent the securitization of sub-prime mortgages from wrecking the economy, is rewarded with a 4 percent budget increase, to $943 million.
32 Billion Reasons for Concern — Federal spending, due to the overall impact of the spending bill, would rise by $32 billion. That’s a budgetary expansion of about 8.3 percent, more than twice the rate of inflation.
And that doesn’t take into account the $700 billion bailout or the $787 billion fiscal stimulus plan. All this in a year when 4 million Americans have lost their jobs, and the federal budget deficit is expected to exceed $1.3 trillion.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Russian Minister Push Wrong Reset Button On Ties
GENEVA – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrovwith a red "reset button" to symbolise improved ties, but the gift drew smiles as the word "reset" was mistranslated into the Russian for "overcharge."
"I would like to present you with a little gift that represents what President Obama and Vice President Biden and I have been saying and that is: 'We want to reset our relationship and so we will do it together," said Clinton, presenting Lavrov with a palm-sized yellow box with a red button.
Clinton joked to Lavrov: "We worked hard to get the right Russian word. Do you think we got it?"
"You got it wrong," said Lavrov, smiling as the two pushed the reset button together before dinner at a Geneva hotel.
He told Clinton the word "Peregruzka" meant "overcharge," to which Clinton replied: "We won't let you do that to us."
"We mean it and we look forward to it," she said of "resetting" the relationship, a phrase that Joe Biden first used at a security conference in Munich.
Lavrov said he would put the gift on his desk.
GENEVA – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrovwith a red "reset button" to symbolise improved ties, but the gift drew smiles as the word "reset" was mistranslated into the Russian for "overcharge."
"I would like to present you with a little gift that represents what President Obama and Vice President Biden and I have been saying and that is: 'We want to reset our relationship and so we will do it together," said Clinton, presenting Lavrov with a palm-sized yellow box with a red button.
Clinton joked to Lavrov: "We worked hard to get the right Russian word. Do you think we got it?"
"You got it wrong," said Lavrov, smiling as the two pushed the reset button together before dinner at a Geneva hotel.
He told Clinton the word "Peregruzka" meant "overcharge," to which Clinton replied: "We won't let you do that to us."
"We mean it and we look forward to it," she said of "resetting" the relationship, a phrase that Joe Biden first used at a security conference in Munich.
Lavrov said he would put the gift on his desk.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Obama Policies Feed Market Panic
Since Barack Obama was sworn in as president on Jan. 20, stocks have tumbled to record lows — with investors losing an estimated $2.5 trillion in market value.
The trend continued Thursday, with the Dow closing down 281 points, a 4.1 percent drop for the day. Since Inauguration Day, the Dow has fallen 20.4 percent.
All week, negative headlines have competed with the slumping market ticker, including early news Thursday that General Motors might well go bankrupt despite billions in taxpayer loans.
As selling sped up, Citigroup traded at one point under $1 a share, General Electric dipped under $7, and international financial names like Barclays saw declines of nearly 30 percent on the day.
"Everybody is so bearish right now that you would expect to be in the midst of a counter-trend rally," Steven Goldman, market strategist at Weeden & Co, told CNNMoney.
"But the implosion in the banking and insurance sectors is just overwhelming."
Obama has moved aggressively on economic and fiscal policies. But investors — if the market is any indication — are giving his initiatives a chilly response.
On Feb. 17, Obama signed a stimulus bill worth $787 billion — the largest spending bill in history. But the Congressional Budget Office indicates only 20 percent of the funds will be spent this year, and the nonpartisan group suggests that the package could do more economic harm than good.
Obama also gave the green light to an omnibus $431 billion House Democratic spending bill laden with close to 9,000 pork-barrel spending items.
Plus, Obama revealed that he plans increase marginal tax rates on those earning more than $250,000.
The new taxes will yield more than $1 trillion in government revenues, but some economists believe the news of increased taxation will suck the wind out of any economic recovery.
In the middle of the market meltdown Thursday, Obama spent the day talking about a massive increase in healthcare spending, including a proposal in his budget that sets aside $634 billion in a 10-year reserve fund to pay for expanded care.
The drumbeat of bad news was too much for stocks, including:
• U.S. bankruptcy filings surging 31 percent in 2008.
• More than 600,000 Americans filing claims for jobless benefits for a fifth straight week, the worst performance since 1982.
• U.S. factory orders falling for a sixth straight month in January, official data showed.
• One in every eight U.S. households with mortgages ended 2008 behind on payments or in foreclosure, reported the Mortgage Bankers Association.
"The auto industry is effectively being wiped out or nationalized, however you want to think about it," Rick Campagna, portfolio manager at Provident Investment Council in Pasadena, Calif., told Reuters.
"Now you're talking about a good portion, if not all, of the banking sector being wiped out. It's just getting relatively dire."
Since Barack Obama was sworn in as president on Jan. 20, stocks have tumbled to record lows — with investors losing an estimated $2.5 trillion in market value.
The trend continued Thursday, with the Dow closing down 281 points, a 4.1 percent drop for the day. Since Inauguration Day, the Dow has fallen 20.4 percent.
All week, negative headlines have competed with the slumping market ticker, including early news Thursday that General Motors might well go bankrupt despite billions in taxpayer loans.
As selling sped up, Citigroup traded at one point under $1 a share, General Electric dipped under $7, and international financial names like Barclays saw declines of nearly 30 percent on the day.
"Everybody is so bearish right now that you would expect to be in the midst of a counter-trend rally," Steven Goldman, market strategist at Weeden & Co, told CNNMoney.
"But the implosion in the banking and insurance sectors is just overwhelming."
Obama has moved aggressively on economic and fiscal policies. But investors — if the market is any indication — are giving his initiatives a chilly response.
On Feb. 17, Obama signed a stimulus bill worth $787 billion — the largest spending bill in history. But the Congressional Budget Office indicates only 20 percent of the funds will be spent this year, and the nonpartisan group suggests that the package could do more economic harm than good.
Obama also gave the green light to an omnibus $431 billion House Democratic spending bill laden with close to 9,000 pork-barrel spending items.
Plus, Obama revealed that he plans increase marginal tax rates on those earning more than $250,000.
The new taxes will yield more than $1 trillion in government revenues, but some economists believe the news of increased taxation will suck the wind out of any economic recovery.
In the middle of the market meltdown Thursday, Obama spent the day talking about a massive increase in healthcare spending, including a proposal in his budget that sets aside $634 billion in a 10-year reserve fund to pay for expanded care.
The drumbeat of bad news was too much for stocks, including:
• U.S. bankruptcy filings surging 31 percent in 2008.
• More than 600,000 Americans filing claims for jobless benefits for a fifth straight week, the worst performance since 1982.
• U.S. factory orders falling for a sixth straight month in January, official data showed.
• One in every eight U.S. households with mortgages ended 2008 behind on payments or in foreclosure, reported the Mortgage Bankers Association.
"The auto industry is effectively being wiped out or nationalized, however you want to think about it," Rick Campagna, portfolio manager at Provident Investment Council in Pasadena, Calif., told Reuters.
"Now you're talking about a good portion, if not all, of the banking sector being wiped out. It's just getting relatively dire."
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Obama Created an Atmosphere Of Panic
CNBC “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer says if he’s on the administration’s enemies list he’s in good company because President Obama’s agenda “is crushing nest eggs around the country.”
Cramer, who says he used to make “six figure” donations to Democrats before his media contract prohibited it, described talk host Rush Limbaugh as “a genius of the medium.”
On Wednesday, Limbaugh said he and Cramer were on the White House enemies list, and predicted the administration “was going to shut Cramer up pretty soon, too, but he’ll go down with a fight.”
Limbaugh, Cramer says, was “dead right.”
“I was on my hackles when I heard White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs’ answer to a question about my pointed criticism of the president,” Cramer wrote in a column posted Thursday on Mainstreet.com.
Cramer has been a strong critic of Obama’s, suggesting his budgetary problems have been destroying wealth by hurting the stock market.
On Wednesday, Gibbs said: “I’m not entirely sure what he’s pointing to, to make some of the statements. And you can go back and look at any number of statements he’s made in the past about the economy and wonder where some of the backup for those are, too.”
Cramer’s response to the blatant slam on Thursday: “Obama has undeniably made things worse by creating an atmosphere of fear and panic rather than an atmosphere of calm and hope.”
Cramer said he personally agrees with Obama’s agenda, but says that in the current economic circumstances it is “radical,” and should be put on hold until the business climate improves.
“If that makes me an enemy of the White House,” Cramer wrote, “then call me a general of an army that Obama may not even know exists -- tens of millions of people who live in fear of having no money saved when they need it and who get poorer by the day.”
CNBC “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer says if he’s on the administration’s enemies list he’s in good company because President Obama’s agenda “is crushing nest eggs around the country.”
Cramer, who says he used to make “six figure” donations to Democrats before his media contract prohibited it, described talk host Rush Limbaugh as “a genius of the medium.”
On Wednesday, Limbaugh said he and Cramer were on the White House enemies list, and predicted the administration “was going to shut Cramer up pretty soon, too, but he’ll go down with a fight.”
Limbaugh, Cramer says, was “dead right.”
“I was on my hackles when I heard White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs’ answer to a question about my pointed criticism of the president,” Cramer wrote in a column posted Thursday on Mainstreet.com.
Cramer has been a strong critic of Obama’s, suggesting his budgetary problems have been destroying wealth by hurting the stock market.
On Wednesday, Gibbs said: “I’m not entirely sure what he’s pointing to, to make some of the statements. And you can go back and look at any number of statements he’s made in the past about the economy and wonder where some of the backup for those are, too.”
Cramer’s response to the blatant slam on Thursday: “Obama has undeniably made things worse by creating an atmosphere of fear and panic rather than an atmosphere of calm and hope.”
Cramer said he personally agrees with Obama’s agenda, but says that in the current economic circumstances it is “radical,” and should be put on hold until the business climate improves.
“If that makes me an enemy of the White House,” Cramer wrote, “then call me a general of an army that Obama may not even know exists -- tens of millions of people who live in fear of having no money saved when they need it and who get poorer by the day.”
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Obama Backtracks on Promise to Purge Pork
WASHINGTON – Despite campaign promises to take a machete to lawmakers' pet projects, President Barack Obama is quietly caving to funding nearly 8,000 of them this year, drawing a stern rebuke Monday from his Republican challenger in last fall's election.
Arizona Sen. John McCain said it is "insulting to the American people" for Obama's budget director to indicate over the weekend that the president will sign a $410 billion spending bill with what Republicans critics say is nearly $5.5 billion in pet projects known as earmarks.
"So much for the promise of change," McCain said in the first of many assaults he is likely to make against pork-barrel spending this year.
Democrats contend that earmarks in the bill total only $3.8 billion, less than 1 percent of the amount Congress is approving to finance government programs through September. Taxpayers for Common Sense, an anti-earmark watchdog group, counts them differently and found $7.7 billion worth.
And Democrats are not alone in funding pet projects. As the minority party in Congress, Republicans claim roughly 40 percent of earmarks, though McCain and House GOP leader John Boehner of Ohio, among others, refuse them. The largess is likely to help ease the measure's way through the Senate.
White House Budget Director Peter Orsazg said Sunday that the new administration wants to "move on ... get this bill done, get it into law and move forward." Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, called the bill and its 8 percent spending increase over 2008 "last year's business."
Obama is hardly the first president to promise to make Congress change its pork-barreling ways, and he certainly won't be the last. But he is the first to retreat so quickly, after only six weeks in the White House.
"I just went through a campaign ... where both candidates promised change in Washington, promised change from the wasteful, disgraceful, corrupting practice of earmarked, pork-barrel spending," McCain said. "So what we doing here? Not only business as usual, (but) an outrageous insult to the American people."
Only a week ago, Obama was pressing Democratic leaders in Congress to pare back the earmarks at a private White House meeting.
The president, however, hit a brick wall with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and other Democrats who treasure their right to send taxpayer money to their states and districts for park improvements, university research grants, equipment for police departments and redevelopment projects.
"I'm here to tell everyone that we have an obligation as members of Congress to help direct spending to our states," Reid told reporters last week.
That's the kind of treatment President George W. Bush got from his allies in Congress after he took office eight years ago. Like Obama, he wanted to curb lawmakers' appetite for pet projects, but he also was firmly rebuffed.
In Bush's case, it was top GOP leaders — House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois and House Majority Whip Tom DeLay of Texas — who defended earmarks and made the White House back off. They saw them as helping endangered Republicans keep their seats and a way to reward rank-and-file lawmakers willing to toe the leadership's line.
The common thread for Obama and Bush is that the strongest defenders of earmarks also were or are their top allies in Congress — the very people a president needs to advance the rest of his agenda.
Obama administration officials making the rounds on the Sunday news shows promised reductions in the next round of spending bills — and said it was simply time to move on from last year's business.
"We're going to have to make some other changes, going forward, to ... reduce the ultimate number," Emanuel said on CBS' "Face The Nation" on Sunday.
Obama, who swore off his own earmarks during last year's campaign after seeking them earlier in his Senate career, promised last year to force earmarks down to 1994 levels — when Democrats were ousted from their longtime congressional majorities.
Instead, according to an analysis by the GOP staff of the House Appropriations Committee, Obama is poised to sign a measure containing 7,991 earmarks totaling $5.5 billion. That's on top of $6.2 billion worth of pet projects passed last year when Congress adopted a bill bundling together the budgets for the Defense, Homeland Security and Veteran Affairs departments.
Because of rules imposed by Republicans in the waning days of GOP control of Congress and strengthened by Democrats two years ago, the earmark process is far more transparent than it was before. The cost and purpose of each earmark, along with its sponsor or sponsors, is identified in documents accompanying the legislation and on the Internet.
With the new transparency, it's far easier for voters and anti-pork groups such as Taxpayers for Common Sense, a Washington-based watchdog group, to scrutinize legislation.
Among its many earmarks, the pending bill contains grants for social services agencies to help seniors and at-risk youth, money for police department to purchase dashboard cameras, agricultural research such as $1.7 million for honey bee research in Texas, road projects and help for transit agencies.
WASHINGTON – Despite campaign promises to take a machete to lawmakers' pet projects, President Barack Obama is quietly caving to funding nearly 8,000 of them this year, drawing a stern rebuke Monday from his Republican challenger in last fall's election.
Arizona Sen. John McCain said it is "insulting to the American people" for Obama's budget director to indicate over the weekend that the president will sign a $410 billion spending bill with what Republicans critics say is nearly $5.5 billion in pet projects known as earmarks.
"So much for the promise of change," McCain said in the first of many assaults he is likely to make against pork-barrel spending this year.
Democrats contend that earmarks in the bill total only $3.8 billion, less than 1 percent of the amount Congress is approving to finance government programs through September. Taxpayers for Common Sense, an anti-earmark watchdog group, counts them differently and found $7.7 billion worth.
And Democrats are not alone in funding pet projects. As the minority party in Congress, Republicans claim roughly 40 percent of earmarks, though McCain and House GOP leader John Boehner of Ohio, among others, refuse them. The largess is likely to help ease the measure's way through the Senate.
White House Budget Director Peter Orsazg said Sunday that the new administration wants to "move on ... get this bill done, get it into law and move forward." Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, called the bill and its 8 percent spending increase over 2008 "last year's business."
Obama is hardly the first president to promise to make Congress change its pork-barreling ways, and he certainly won't be the last. But he is the first to retreat so quickly, after only six weeks in the White House.
"I just went through a campaign ... where both candidates promised change in Washington, promised change from the wasteful, disgraceful, corrupting practice of earmarked, pork-barrel spending," McCain said. "So what we doing here? Not only business as usual, (but) an outrageous insult to the American people."
Only a week ago, Obama was pressing Democratic leaders in Congress to pare back the earmarks at a private White House meeting.
The president, however, hit a brick wall with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and other Democrats who treasure their right to send taxpayer money to their states and districts for park improvements, university research grants, equipment for police departments and redevelopment projects.
"I'm here to tell everyone that we have an obligation as members of Congress to help direct spending to our states," Reid told reporters last week.
That's the kind of treatment President George W. Bush got from his allies in Congress after he took office eight years ago. Like Obama, he wanted to curb lawmakers' appetite for pet projects, but he also was firmly rebuffed.
In Bush's case, it was top GOP leaders — House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois and House Majority Whip Tom DeLay of Texas — who defended earmarks and made the White House back off. They saw them as helping endangered Republicans keep their seats and a way to reward rank-and-file lawmakers willing to toe the leadership's line.
The common thread for Obama and Bush is that the strongest defenders of earmarks also were or are their top allies in Congress — the very people a president needs to advance the rest of his agenda.
Obama administration officials making the rounds on the Sunday news shows promised reductions in the next round of spending bills — and said it was simply time to move on from last year's business.
"We're going to have to make some other changes, going forward, to ... reduce the ultimate number," Emanuel said on CBS' "Face The Nation" on Sunday.
Obama, who swore off his own earmarks during last year's campaign after seeking them earlier in his Senate career, promised last year to force earmarks down to 1994 levels — when Democrats were ousted from their longtime congressional majorities.
Instead, according to an analysis by the GOP staff of the House Appropriations Committee, Obama is poised to sign a measure containing 7,991 earmarks totaling $5.5 billion. That's on top of $6.2 billion worth of pet projects passed last year when Congress adopted a bill bundling together the budgets for the Defense, Homeland Security and Veteran Affairs departments.
Because of rules imposed by Republicans in the waning days of GOP control of Congress and strengthened by Democrats two years ago, the earmark process is far more transparent than it was before. The cost and purpose of each earmark, along with its sponsor or sponsors, is identified in documents accompanying the legislation and on the Internet.
With the new transparency, it's far easier for voters and anti-pork groups such as Taxpayers for Common Sense, a Washington-based watchdog group, to scrutinize legislation.
Among its many earmarks, the pending bill contains grants for social services agencies to help seniors and at-risk youth, money for police department to purchase dashboard cameras, agricultural research such as $1.7 million for honey bee research in Texas, road projects and help for transit agencies.
Late Nite Jokes
Jay Leno
The Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is offering a pledge of $900 million to the Palestinians in Gaza. Let’s hope they don’t spend it all on rocks this time.
Apparently we ran out of banks here to bail out, so now we’re bailing out the West Bank.
The U.S. government guaranteed the $900 million will go directly to the Palestinian people . . . why can’t we get that deal in this country?
Ben Bernanke said the recession might end this year. Yeah, he also said Paris Hilton could win an Oscar.
Late Show Top Ten
Top Ten Signs Your Stockbroker Is Losing It
10. His "office" is in the patio section at Walmart
9. Assures you President McCain will lower interest rates
8. Buys 15,000 shares of a company called "Gogle"
7. He has a seat on the Bayonne Stock Exchange
6. When you ask him what he thinks about the market, he does this: "meow"
5. Last week, got into a shouting match with his calculator
4. Claims to be the bastard child of Merrill and Lynch
3. When the opening bell rings, he screams, "Fire!"
2. Makes you call him "mommy" so he can list you as a dependent
1. During the day he handles your money; at night he handles your wife
David Letterman
Cold in New York City . . . 24 degrees. No, wait — that was the Dow Jones average.
So cold, instead of the Yankees, Madonna is sleeping with the Miami Heat.
So cold, Bernie Madoff says he needs a penthouse in Florida.
Bernie Madoff’s wife, Ruth, says she wants to keep $69 million. She wants the money. I guess that makes sense because once he’s in prison, she won’t be getting any of that fraud money.
Craig Ferguson
The stock market is fluctuating wildly. I haven’t seen this much bouncing up and down since Clinton was in the White House.
There’s a mall that’s been playing Barry Manilow music to drive away teenagers. Apparently it works. But now it’s infested with aging gay people.
The L.A. Board of Supervisors has declared the first week of March “No Swearing Week.” No swearing in L.A. and Christian Bale has left town . . . coincidence?
Doesn’t the L.A. Board of Supervisors have anything better to do? Unemployment’s at 10 percent in Los Angeles; the gang problem is out of control; the air is unbreathable . . . let’s get rid of the swearing!
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Happy Square Root Day. Square Root Day is when the day and the month are square roots. So if you multiply 3 and 3, you get 9. The last one was 2-2-04. It’s a holiday founded back in the '40s by a group of students who felt they weren’t getting enough wedgies.
On every Square Root Eve, Pythagoras flies through the air on his magical slide rule bringing polynomials and fractions to all good girls and boys.
Mostly boys.
Rush Limbaugh has admitted he is rooting for Barack Obama to fail. He was in Washington over the weekend giving his “No We Can’t” speech.
Jay Leno
The Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is offering a pledge of $900 million to the Palestinians in Gaza. Let’s hope they don’t spend it all on rocks this time.
Apparently we ran out of banks here to bail out, so now we’re bailing out the West Bank.
The U.S. government guaranteed the $900 million will go directly to the Palestinian people . . . why can’t we get that deal in this country?
Ben Bernanke said the recession might end this year. Yeah, he also said Paris Hilton could win an Oscar.
Late Show Top Ten
Top Ten Signs Your Stockbroker Is Losing It
10. His "office" is in the patio section at Walmart
9. Assures you President McCain will lower interest rates
8. Buys 15,000 shares of a company called "Gogle"
7. He has a seat on the Bayonne Stock Exchange
6. When you ask him what he thinks about the market, he does this: "meow"
5. Last week, got into a shouting match with his calculator
4. Claims to be the bastard child of Merrill and Lynch
3. When the opening bell rings, he screams, "Fire!"
2. Makes you call him "mommy" so he can list you as a dependent
1. During the day he handles your money; at night he handles your wife
David Letterman
Cold in New York City . . . 24 degrees. No, wait — that was the Dow Jones average.
So cold, instead of the Yankees, Madonna is sleeping with the Miami Heat.
So cold, Bernie Madoff says he needs a penthouse in Florida.
Bernie Madoff’s wife, Ruth, says she wants to keep $69 million. She wants the money. I guess that makes sense because once he’s in prison, she won’t be getting any of that fraud money.
Craig Ferguson
The stock market is fluctuating wildly. I haven’t seen this much bouncing up and down since Clinton was in the White House.
There’s a mall that’s been playing Barry Manilow music to drive away teenagers. Apparently it works. But now it’s infested with aging gay people.
The L.A. Board of Supervisors has declared the first week of March “No Swearing Week.” No swearing in L.A. and Christian Bale has left town . . . coincidence?
Doesn’t the L.A. Board of Supervisors have anything better to do? Unemployment’s at 10 percent in Los Angeles; the gang problem is out of control; the air is unbreathable . . . let’s get rid of the swearing!
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Happy Square Root Day. Square Root Day is when the day and the month are square roots. So if you multiply 3 and 3, you get 9. The last one was 2-2-04. It’s a holiday founded back in the '40s by a group of students who felt they weren’t getting enough wedgies.
On every Square Root Eve, Pythagoras flies through the air on his magical slide rule bringing polynomials and fractions to all good girls and boys.
Mostly boys.
Rush Limbaugh has admitted he is rooting for Barack Obama to fail. He was in Washington over the weekend giving his “No We Can’t” speech.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Obama: Stock Market 'Ups and Downs' Unimportant
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama compared the stock market Tuesday to the daily tracking polls used during campaigns, saying that paying too close attention to how Wall Street "bobs up and down" could lead to bad long-term policy.
"What I'm looking at is not the day-to-day gyrations of the stock market, but the long-term ability of the United States ... to regain its footing," Obama said after meeting in the Oval Office with visiting British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
He said the developments he follows most closely are whether lending is flowing more freely, businesses are investing and the unemployed are going back to work.
The president said he is "absolutely confident" that those things will happen. But Obama also said that it will take time for the mistakes of the past to work their way through the system and that the spectacular losses happening now are a "natural reaction" to those mistakes.
"There are a lot of losses that are working their way through the system and it's not surprising the market is hurting as a consequence," he said. "`We dug a very deep hole for ourselves. There were a lot of bad decisions that were made. We are cleaning up that mess. It's going to be sort of full of fits and starts, in terms of getting the mess cleaned up, but it's going to get cleaned up. And we are going to recover, and we are going to emerge more prosperous, more unified, and I think more protected from systemic risk."
On Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average plunged far below the 7,000 mark to end at 6,763 — the lowest close for the Dow since April 25, 1997. The 300-point drop Monday leaves the index more than 52 percent below its record high of 14,164.53 set in October 2007.
"The stock market is sort of like a tracking poll in politics. It bobs up and down day-to-day," Obama said. "And if you spend all your time worrying about that, then you're probably going to get the long-term strategy wrong."
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama compared the stock market Tuesday to the daily tracking polls used during campaigns, saying that paying too close attention to how Wall Street "bobs up and down" could lead to bad long-term policy.
"What I'm looking at is not the day-to-day gyrations of the stock market, but the long-term ability of the United States ... to regain its footing," Obama said after meeting in the Oval Office with visiting British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
He said the developments he follows most closely are whether lending is flowing more freely, businesses are investing and the unemployed are going back to work.
The president said he is "absolutely confident" that those things will happen. But Obama also said that it will take time for the mistakes of the past to work their way through the system and that the spectacular losses happening now are a "natural reaction" to those mistakes.
"There are a lot of losses that are working their way through the system and it's not surprising the market is hurting as a consequence," he said. "`We dug a very deep hole for ourselves. There were a lot of bad decisions that were made. We are cleaning up that mess. It's going to be sort of full of fits and starts, in terms of getting the mess cleaned up, but it's going to get cleaned up. And we are going to recover, and we are going to emerge more prosperous, more unified, and I think more protected from systemic risk."
On Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average plunged far below the 7,000 mark to end at 6,763 — the lowest close for the Dow since April 25, 1997. The 300-point drop Monday leaves the index more than 52 percent below its record high of 14,164.53 set in October 2007.
"The stock market is sort of like a tracking poll in politics. It bobs up and down day-to-day," Obama said. "And if you spend all your time worrying about that, then you're probably going to get the long-term strategy wrong."
Late Nite Jokes
Jay Leno
Spring break officially starts this week. This is the time when the term “bail out” has a whole new meaning.
It was this week in 1854 that the Republican Party was founded with only a handful of true believers. Just like today.
At the Conservative Political Action Conference, Mitt Romney was picked over Sarah Palin, in a straw poll, to be the next presidential candidate, which is kind of interesting. I mean, one is a pretty face obsessed with hair and makeup, and the other, of course, is governor of Alaska.
The Obamas are expecting the arrival of the first dog in April. Actually, this will be the Obamas’ second choice of a dog. The first dog had some tax problems.
Late Show Top Ten
Top Ten Things Overheard In New York During Today's Snowstorm
10. "The snow's falling as fast as the Dow"
9. "It's nice to see the streets glistening with something besides urine"
8. "I just got fined 50 bucks for groping a snowman"
7. "We'll have to postpone the annual garbage pickup until next year"
6. "My cousin brought back some primo rock salt from the Dominican"
5. "Starbucks is selling something called a 'Slushaccino'"
4. "Al Gore can suck it!"
3. "Look, there's Letterman — get him!"
2. "No, officer, I offered her $50 to blow on my hands"
1. "Regis attached a snowblower to his Rascal scooter"
David Letterman
A foot of snow here in New York City. That Mayor Bloomberg is up to his ears in trouble.
Good news — the foot of snow broke the fall of jumping stockbrokers.
There’s so much snow in the suburbs, you can’t see the foreclosure signs.
Conditions were so bad that at LaGuardia, a US Airways jet accidentally landed on the runway.
Craig Ferguson
There was a terrible blizzard all over the East Coast. Police say there would have been terrible traffic jams if people still had jobs to go to.
News from Iraq: The Iranian minister says Hollywood must apologize for making movies that are offensive to Iranians. It was in The New York Times so there might be some truth to it. Maybe.
Hollywood doesn’t apologize to anyone. I’ve seen dozens of crap movies and they’ve never apologized to me. But I don’t have nuclear weapons. Wait — neither do you, Iran.
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
MSNBC had a report on the top consumers of online porn by state. It turns out 8 of the top 10 are red states. John McCain must be delighted about all the hands he shook while he was there.
Here in California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s approval rating has dropped. People seem to be having second thoughts about having elected a robot to run the state.
Cold and snowy and throughout most of the country. Here in L.A., it was in the mid-80s over the weekend. The only time we have to shovel our driveways is when Lindsay Lohan throws up on them.
Jay Leno
Spring break officially starts this week. This is the time when the term “bail out” has a whole new meaning.
It was this week in 1854 that the Republican Party was founded with only a handful of true believers. Just like today.
At the Conservative Political Action Conference, Mitt Romney was picked over Sarah Palin, in a straw poll, to be the next presidential candidate, which is kind of interesting. I mean, one is a pretty face obsessed with hair and makeup, and the other, of course, is governor of Alaska.
The Obamas are expecting the arrival of the first dog in April. Actually, this will be the Obamas’ second choice of a dog. The first dog had some tax problems.
Late Show Top Ten
Top Ten Things Overheard In New York During Today's Snowstorm
10. "The snow's falling as fast as the Dow"
9. "It's nice to see the streets glistening with something besides urine"
8. "I just got fined 50 bucks for groping a snowman"
7. "We'll have to postpone the annual garbage pickup until next year"
6. "My cousin brought back some primo rock salt from the Dominican"
5. "Starbucks is selling something called a 'Slushaccino'"
4. "Al Gore can suck it!"
3. "Look, there's Letterman — get him!"
2. "No, officer, I offered her $50 to blow on my hands"
1. "Regis attached a snowblower to his Rascal scooter"
David Letterman
A foot of snow here in New York City. That Mayor Bloomberg is up to his ears in trouble.
Good news — the foot of snow broke the fall of jumping stockbrokers.
There’s so much snow in the suburbs, you can’t see the foreclosure signs.
Conditions were so bad that at LaGuardia, a US Airways jet accidentally landed on the runway.
Craig Ferguson
There was a terrible blizzard all over the East Coast. Police say there would have been terrible traffic jams if people still had jobs to go to.
News from Iraq: The Iranian minister says Hollywood must apologize for making movies that are offensive to Iranians. It was in The New York Times so there might be some truth to it. Maybe.
Hollywood doesn’t apologize to anyone. I’ve seen dozens of crap movies and they’ve never apologized to me. But I don’t have nuclear weapons. Wait — neither do you, Iran.
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
MSNBC had a report on the top consumers of online porn by state. It turns out 8 of the top 10 are red states. John McCain must be delighted about all the hands he shook while he was there.
Here in California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s approval rating has dropped. People seem to be having second thoughts about having elected a robot to run the state.
Cold and snowy and throughout most of the country. Here in L.A., it was in the mid-80s over the weekend. The only time we have to shovel our driveways is when Lindsay Lohan throws up on them.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Obama Will Agree to 9,000 Earmarks
President Barack Obama is set to sign a $410 billion spending bill with some 9,000 earmarks – a practice he repeatedly criticized on the campaign trail last year.
Dismissing the congressional pork as “last year’s business,’’ White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanual said Sunday that the president wasn’t happy with the earmarks. But, Emanuel said, Obama would nevertheless sign the bill.
Republicans criticized the increased spending and the abundance of earmarks, which account for $3.8 billion of the omnibus.
Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., speaking on ABC's "This Week," said the "fact that there are 9,000 earmarks in this bill and the fact that the vetting process just doesn't take place the way it should -- we ought to stand up and draw the line right now and stop the waste."
A practice criticized by both presidential candidates last year, earmarking involves individual lawmakers tacking home-state projects onto enormous spending bills. Funds are then diverted – with little oversight – to projects ranging from roadwork to Mafia museums.
The number of earmarks has risen dramatically in the last few years, drawing criticism from those who say the provisions are wasteful and divert money from more important projects.
The House approved the $410 billion spending bill last week to fund government operations through fiscal 2009, which ends in October. The legislation, which would increase spending by nearly 9 percent over the previous fiscal year, contains huge increases for health care, education and alternative energy.
The Senate is expected to approve the legislation this week.
Saying it would raise taxes during a recession, unfairly redistribute wealth and add greatly to the deficit, Republicans also took aim at President Barack Obama's $3.6-trillion budget on Sunday.
Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl, the second-ranking Senate Republican, told "Fox News Sunday" that the fiscal year 2010 budget is "terrifying" in its policy proposals and "mind-boggling in the numbers." Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, the top Republican on the House Budget Committee, called the budget the biggest change in the relationship between the government and the economy since the New Deal.
"It's almost as if we are relocating the headquarters of the economy…to Washington, D.C.," Mr. Ryan said.
Neither Republican leader expressed confidence, however, that the GOP could block Mr. Obama's budget from passing Congress. "You can't stop this in the House," Mr. Ryan said, and "it's going to be very difficult to stop in the Senate
President Barack Obama is set to sign a $410 billion spending bill with some 9,000 earmarks – a practice he repeatedly criticized on the campaign trail last year.
Dismissing the congressional pork as “last year’s business,’’ White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanual said Sunday that the president wasn’t happy with the earmarks. But, Emanuel said, Obama would nevertheless sign the bill.
Republicans criticized the increased spending and the abundance of earmarks, which account for $3.8 billion of the omnibus.
Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., speaking on ABC's "This Week," said the "fact that there are 9,000 earmarks in this bill and the fact that the vetting process just doesn't take place the way it should -- we ought to stand up and draw the line right now and stop the waste."
A practice criticized by both presidential candidates last year, earmarking involves individual lawmakers tacking home-state projects onto enormous spending bills. Funds are then diverted – with little oversight – to projects ranging from roadwork to Mafia museums.
The number of earmarks has risen dramatically in the last few years, drawing criticism from those who say the provisions are wasteful and divert money from more important projects.
The House approved the $410 billion spending bill last week to fund government operations through fiscal 2009, which ends in October. The legislation, which would increase spending by nearly 9 percent over the previous fiscal year, contains huge increases for health care, education and alternative energy.
The Senate is expected to approve the legislation this week.
Saying it would raise taxes during a recession, unfairly redistribute wealth and add greatly to the deficit, Republicans also took aim at President Barack Obama's $3.6-trillion budget on Sunday.
Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl, the second-ranking Senate Republican, told "Fox News Sunday" that the fiscal year 2010 budget is "terrifying" in its policy proposals and "mind-boggling in the numbers." Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, the top Republican on the House Budget Committee, called the budget the biggest change in the relationship between the government and the economy since the New Deal.
"It's almost as if we are relocating the headquarters of the economy…to Washington, D.C.," Mr. Ryan said.
Neither Republican leader expressed confidence, however, that the GOP could block Mr. Obama's budget from passing Congress. "You can't stop this in the House," Mr. Ryan said, and "it's going to be very difficult to stop in the Senate
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Obama Wants to Punish Those Who Succeed
President Barack Obama wants to “punish” those who succeed and who helped make America great, radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh told a wildly cheering crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday.
Limbaugh said Obama and the Democrats are waging an “assault” on capitalism by raising taxes on those who make more than $250,000 and by expanding welfare, limiting deductions on charitable contributions, increasing the deficit and giving the government an expanding role in Americans’ lives.
“We can take this country back. All we need is to nominate the right candidate,” he said.
Just before he spoke, CPAC released the results of its straw poll of attendees. For the third year in a row, Mitt Romney won the poll. Of the 1,757 conservative activists who cast votes, 20 percent favored the former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate. Romney was followed by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, with 14 percent of the vote. Texas Rep. Ron Paul and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin each received 13 percent.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich got 10 percent of the vote, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee received 7 percent. South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford received 4 percent, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani got 3 percent, and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist received 1 percent.
“Let me speak about President Obama for just a second,” Limbaugh said, as he delivered the closing speech on a stage festooned with a glowing blue drape and 16 American flags topped with eagles. “President Obama is one of the most gifted politicians, one of the most gifted men that I have ever witnessed. He has extraordinary talents, he has communication skills that hardly anyone can surpass. I’m very serious about this. It just breaks my heart that he does not use his extraordinary talents and gifts to motivate and inspire the American people to be the best they can be.”
Instead, Limbaugh said, Obama “seeks a path that punishes achievement, that punishes success, and he speaks negatively of the country. Ronald Reagan used to speak of a shining city on a hill. Barack Obama portrays America as soup kitchens, some dark night in a corner of America that’s very obscure. He constantly is telling the American people that bad times are ahead, worse times are ahead. And it’s troubling, because this is the United States of America.”
What made America great is “the freedom, it’s the ambition, it’s the desire, the wherewithal, the passions that people have.” That is what “gave us the great entrepreneurial advances, the great inventions, the greatest food production, the human lifstyle advances in this country,” Limbaugh said. “Why shouldn’t that be rewarded? Why is that now the focus of punishment? Why is that now the focus of blame?”
In an aside, Limbaugh said, “There’s one other business where the customer’s always wrong, and that’s the media. If you ever call them to complain about whatever they do, they say yessir, yessir, three bags full, they hang up and say you’re too stupid to know how they’re doing what they’re doing. You can’t get it, you’re not sophisticated enough. So that’s another business where the customer’s always wrong.”
Referring to Obama’s massive stimulus package and budget plan, Limbaugh said, “It’s not new. It’s not change. And it’s not hope.”
Limbaugh warned that Republicans should not let concerns about racial insensitivities limit criticism of Obama’s policies. “It doesn't matter to me what his race is. He’s liberal, and that’s what matters.”
Limbaugh added, “The racism in our culture was exclusively and fully on display in the Democrat primary last year. We didn’t ask if he was authentically black. What we were asking was, ‘Was he wrong?’ We concluded, ‘Yes.’”
Limbaugh said, “The racism, the sexism, the bigotry that we are all charged with ... doesn’t exist on our side.” He added. “We want everybody to succeed.”
Limbaugh derided those who found fault with his saying he hopes Obama fails. He said Democrats hoped George Bush would fail, and they hoped we would fail in Iraq. In fact, Sen. Harry Reid said we had lost the Iraq war.
“So what is so strange about saying I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to reconstruct and reform this nation so that capitalism and individual liberty are not its foundation?” Limbaugh asked.
Limbaugh said he wants the “country to survive. I want the country to succeed.”
Obama is in the “honeymoon phase,” Limbaugh said, and conservatives shouldn’t get discouraged.
“We are not quitting. We are not giving up,” he said. “The country is too important.”
President Barack Obama wants to “punish” those who succeed and who helped make America great, radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh told a wildly cheering crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday.
Limbaugh said Obama and the Democrats are waging an “assault” on capitalism by raising taxes on those who make more than $250,000 and by expanding welfare, limiting deductions on charitable contributions, increasing the deficit and giving the government an expanding role in Americans’ lives.
“We can take this country back. All we need is to nominate the right candidate,” he said.
Just before he spoke, CPAC released the results of its straw poll of attendees. For the third year in a row, Mitt Romney won the poll. Of the 1,757 conservative activists who cast votes, 20 percent favored the former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate. Romney was followed by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, with 14 percent of the vote. Texas Rep. Ron Paul and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin each received 13 percent.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich got 10 percent of the vote, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee received 7 percent. South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford received 4 percent, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani got 3 percent, and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist received 1 percent.
“Let me speak about President Obama for just a second,” Limbaugh said, as he delivered the closing speech on a stage festooned with a glowing blue drape and 16 American flags topped with eagles. “President Obama is one of the most gifted politicians, one of the most gifted men that I have ever witnessed. He has extraordinary talents, he has communication skills that hardly anyone can surpass. I’m very serious about this. It just breaks my heart that he does not use his extraordinary talents and gifts to motivate and inspire the American people to be the best they can be.”
Instead, Limbaugh said, Obama “seeks a path that punishes achievement, that punishes success, and he speaks negatively of the country. Ronald Reagan used to speak of a shining city on a hill. Barack Obama portrays America as soup kitchens, some dark night in a corner of America that’s very obscure. He constantly is telling the American people that bad times are ahead, worse times are ahead. And it’s troubling, because this is the United States of America.”
What made America great is “the freedom, it’s the ambition, it’s the desire, the wherewithal, the passions that people have.” That is what “gave us the great entrepreneurial advances, the great inventions, the greatest food production, the human lifstyle advances in this country,” Limbaugh said. “Why shouldn’t that be rewarded? Why is that now the focus of punishment? Why is that now the focus of blame?”
In an aside, Limbaugh said, “There’s one other business where the customer’s always wrong, and that’s the media. If you ever call them to complain about whatever they do, they say yessir, yessir, three bags full, they hang up and say you’re too stupid to know how they’re doing what they’re doing. You can’t get it, you’re not sophisticated enough. So that’s another business where the customer’s always wrong.”
Referring to Obama’s massive stimulus package and budget plan, Limbaugh said, “It’s not new. It’s not change. And it’s not hope.”
Limbaugh warned that Republicans should not let concerns about racial insensitivities limit criticism of Obama’s policies. “It doesn't matter to me what his race is. He’s liberal, and that’s what matters.”
Limbaugh added, “The racism in our culture was exclusively and fully on display in the Democrat primary last year. We didn’t ask if he was authentically black. What we were asking was, ‘Was he wrong?’ We concluded, ‘Yes.’”
Limbaugh said, “The racism, the sexism, the bigotry that we are all charged with ... doesn’t exist on our side.” He added. “We want everybody to succeed.”
Limbaugh derided those who found fault with his saying he hopes Obama fails. He said Democrats hoped George Bush would fail, and they hoped we would fail in Iraq. In fact, Sen. Harry Reid said we had lost the Iraq war.
“So what is so strange about saying I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to reconstruct and reform this nation so that capitalism and individual liberty are not its foundation?” Limbaugh asked.
Limbaugh said he wants the “country to survive. I want the country to succeed.”
Obama is in the “honeymoon phase,” Limbaugh said, and conservatives shouldn’t get discouraged.
“We are not quitting. We are not giving up,” he said. “The country is too important.”
