I accidentally deleted the 'CIA Deputy Director' story yesterday morning while doing some mod work. I was hoping we could get it back but unfortunately could not.
My apologies to all.
AoS.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/16/2010 00:00 ||
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A pity that the other problems with the CIA are not dealt with so easily.
#5
Does this mean the Army of Steve will see its first court martial?
Hardly rises to Court Martial level. More of an Article 15 judgement, he'll have to pull extra duty fumigating the sink trap and swapping out kegs in the O Club.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/16/2010 12:35 Comments ||
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Way too little, way too late, but better than anything else they've done to date. Appropriate sentence for all involved execs would be confiscation of ill-gotten gains, then to be locked in pillory in public place with immunity to anyone throwing vile things at them.
#2
Good, send their asses here to Phoenix were i'm upside down by 45% on my home. I have a special place for them out in the desert, sheriff Joe would love them.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
04/16/2010 12:56 Comments ||
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"Undisclosed in the marketing materials and unbeknownst to investors, a large hedge fund, Paulson & Co. Inc., with economic interests directly adverse to investors in the [CDO], played a significant role in the portfolio selection process," the complaint said.
The complaint said Paulson had an incentive to stuff the CDO with mortgage-backed securities that were likely to get into trouble. SEC enforcement chief Robert Khuzami alleged that Goldman misled investors by telling them that the securities "were selected by an independent, objective third party."
"The product was new and complex but the deception and conflicts are old and simple," said Mr. Khuzami.
...
"Credit markets are seeing a sizeable impact from the Goldman news," said Bill Larkin at Cabot Money Management. "The question is, has the SEC discovered what may have been a common practice across the industry? Is this the tip of the iceberg?"
Not just "discovered", one would hope, but feeling comfortable enough about the markets to trot out the CYA litigation.
GS&Co marketing materials for ABACUS 2007-AC1 – including the term sheet, flip book and offering memorandum for the CDO – all represented that the reference portfolio of RMBS underlying the CDO was selected by ACA Management LLC (“ACA”), a third-party with experience analyzing credit risk in RMBS. Undisclosed in the marketing materials and unbeknownst to investors, a large hedge fund, Paulson & Co. Inc. (“Paulson”), with economic interests directly adverse to investors in the ABACUS 2007-AC1 CDO, played a significant role in the portfolio selection process. After participating in the selection of the reference portfolio, Paulson effectively shorted the RMBS portfolio it helped select by entering into credit default swaps (“CDS”) with GS&Co to buy protection on specific layers of the ABACUS 2007-AC1 capital structure. Given its financial short interest, Paulson had an economic incentive to choose RMBS that it expected to experience credit events in the near future. GS&Co did not disclose Paulson’s adverse economic interests or its role in the portfolio selection process in the term sheet, flip book, offering memorandum or other marketing materials provided to investors...The deal closed on April 26, 2007. Paulson paid GS&Co approximately $15 million for structuring and marketing ABACUS 2007-AC1. By October 24, 2007, 83% of the RMBS in the ABACUS 2007-AC1 portfolio had been downgraded and 17% were on negative watch. By January 29, 2008, 99% of the portfolio had been downgraded. As a result, investors in the ABACUS 2007-AC1 CDO lost over $1 billion. Paulson’s opposite CDS positions yielded a profit of approximately $1 billion for Paulson.By engaging in the misconduct described herein, GS&Co and Tourre directly or indirectly engaged in transactions, acts, practices and a course of business that violated Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, 15 U.S.C. §77q(a) ("the Securities Act"), Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. §78j(b) ("the Exchange Act") and Exchange Act Rule 10b-5, 17 C.F.R. §240.10b-5. The Commission seeks injunctive relief, disgorgement of profits, prejudgment interest, civil penalties and other appropriate and necessary equitable relief from both defendants.
Wayne County prosecutors today filed written arguments saying former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has violated his probation and should be jailed.
Prosecutors contend in a 22-page document filed with Wayne County Circuit Judge David Groner that Kilpatrick hid more than $650,000 that could have been used for the $1-million restitution stemming from his criminal conviction and the text message scandal. They also charge that Kilpatrick lied to the court and "fraudulently conveyed assets to others to avoid his obligation to pay restitution."
Groner said he will announce his decision next week on whether Kilpatrick violated his probation, a finding that could land Kilpatrick behind bars.
One of Kilpatrick's lawyers, Michael Alan Schwartz, argued in a filing today that there is no point in sending the ex-mayor to an "already overburdened corrections system."
"It is easy to take the view that the defendant should be punished, punished, punished," Schwartz wrote. "There are those in the community who would be pleased to see the defendant and his family suffer."
Schwartz also quoted a passage from the Bible, a tactic he has used before in this case: "Justice, justice shall you pursue, that you may thrive and occupy the land that the Lord your God is giving you."
During a hearing last month, Beverly Smith, area manager for the state Department of Corrections, said Kilpatrick did not surrender his Internal Revenue Service, state or city tax refunds, as ordered. She said he did not tell her about $657,000 that went through the joint account with his wife Carlita Kilpatrick, or that the Kilpatrick Civic Fund picked up the $15,042.69 bill to move the family to Texas.
Nor did he tell her about a $240,000 loan from four Detroit business leaders - including his boss, Compuware owner Peter Karmanos, and others.
Karmanos hired Kilpatrick as a salesman at Covisint, a Compuware subsidiary based in Texas, upon the former mayor's release from jail early last year.
Wayne County assistant prosecutors Athina Siringas and Robert Spada also pointed out during the hearing that the former Detroit mayor failed to make a $79,011 payment in February.
Defense attorneys counter that Kilpatrick has lived up to the agreement as best he could and that some of the financial demands are unreasonable at this time.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/16/2010 00:00 ||
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"...so I told the judge 'I ain't got it!'."
"What'd the judge say?"
"He said 'Well, you better GET it.'"
Joe Sixpack shouldn't have to pay for Rosie O'Donnell's home insurance. Yet as crazy as it sounds, the House Financial Services Committee next week is expected to consider lending a helping hand to the owners of some of the most exclusive properties in the country. If bailing out homeowners with upside-down mortgages was bad, this idea is much worse because it redistributes wealth from the middle class to benefit the superrich.
Sen. Bill Nelson and Rep. Ron Klein, both Florida Democrats, introduced the Homeowners' Defense Act. According to Mr. Klein, this proposal would "spread the risk" of natural disasters, which means mitigating his constituents' risk by putting the rest of the country on the hook. The motive is clear, as Florida has a track record of racking up billions in damage from hurricanes. In 2004, Hurricane Charley caused $13 billion in destruction, and Hurricane Wilma's price tag reached $20 billion the following year.
The state has attempted to tackle the problem on its own. After a number of small insurance firms went under in the wake of Hurricane Andrew in 1992, Florida introduced the equivalent of a public option for property insurance. The state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has since become the largest insurer, covering $400 billion in property.
Not surprisingly, the political pressure to keep rates low has placed the system on an unsound financial footing. In the event of a major catastrophe, claims under state policies would be backed by a state re-insurance fund. This fund, according to a report released earlier this month by the nonprofit Florida TaxWatch, has just $11 billion in assets to cover liabilities that could reach $29 billion.
Mr. Klein and Mr. Nelson want taxpayers around the country to make up the difference. Their plan creates a federal reinsurance scheme for states that have a public option - that is, for Florida and California. States could borrow $200 billion to cover their claims. A "national catastrophe risk consortium" would also spread the risk among other states. Mr. Klein calls this a "private-market solution to bring down the cost of homeowners' insurance." It's hardly a private-market solution when Congress would have to legislate it, and this desired outcome is exactly why the proposal should be rejected.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/16/2010 00:00 ||
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If bailing out homeowners with upside-down mortgages was bad, this idea is much worse because it redistributes wealth from the middle class to benefit the superrich. Mr. Klein and Mr. Nelson want taxpayers around the country to make up the difference.
SCREW THAT PROPOSED LEGISLATION! Where the hell do Nelson and Klein get such cockamamie elitists ideas? Let Rosie O'Donnell pay for her own homeowners insurance. She bought the friggin house. No one's paying for my home owners insurance. Most of these people don't like or care about me and people like me. I get nothing but a sense of loathing from the likes of the Hollywood and Democratic elite.
#2
You wish to live on the MOON! Oxygen may be a problem. You wish to live in Floriday, guess what, bad weather may be a problem. You want to move inland a few hundred miles, hurricanes are less of a threat. You move to Kansas.... well, there are other problems. You decide - YOU PAY!
#5
Welcome to the land of skyrocketing insurance costs. I continue to hear reports of medical insurance hikes as insurance companies prepare for soon coming federal mandates concerning pre-exisiting conditions, and "children" up to age 26 of the insured, etc.
The Obama White House opposes a move in the Senate, led by South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham, to raise federal gasoline taxes within still-developing legislation to reduce green house gas emissions and boost alternative energy supplies, senior administration sources told Fox. I can't wait until Graham has to run for office again. I look forward to contributing to anybody who runs against him.
Officially, the stated White House policy, articulated by spokesman Ben LaBolt, is the administration would "review" Graham's proposed 15-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax increase.
But sources told Fox the White House will oppose Graham's gasoline tax gambit because senior advisers believe it has three flaws: it will shield the oil and gas industry from paying to lower green house gas emissions; it will force higher prices on consumers still struggling during the recession; and it will not change driving behavior enough to significantly reduce tail-pipe emissions.
The federal gasoline tax is currently 18.4 cents per gallon.
The Graham plan remain a bit opaque and is the subject of intense talks within GOP ranks. Graham is trying to build Republican support for a climate change and alternative energy bill. To do that, Graham is looking for what his spokesman Kevin Bishop called "sector specific" revenue sources as an alternative to across-the-board taxes on carbon-based pollution under a so-called cap-and-trade system.
"This is still a work in progress," Bishop said of Graham's gasoline tax. "We are in negotiations and nothing has been agreed to."
The concept, Bishop said, is to use a higher gasoline tax to help vehicle tailpipe emissions, which he said account for one-third of all green-house gases. The White House, administration sources tell Fox, already believes it's accomplished that with new, stricter fuel efficiency and tailpipe emissions standards.
While most on Capitol Hill regard Graham's proposal a gasoline tax, that not how it's being legislatively marketed. Graham instead calls his idea a "linked fee."
Why?
Because the tax links the price of the higher gasoline tax to the average cost of emission permits the federal government would give to electric utilities and power plants. The emission permits would allow companies to buy the right to pollute or trade the credits they earn for reducing pollution to other plants or utilities that release more green house gases.
Under Graham's plan, the 15-cent per gallon gasoline tax woud rise alongside the price of the permits purchased by factories and utilities. Similarly, the gasoline tax would fall as the price of those permits decline. It's a complicated formula that Bishop concedes has yet to be fully drafted and yet to win any signifcant Republican support.
Graham's idea has drawn initially favorable reaction from numerous integrated oil and gas companies and may, Bishop said, attract the support of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Oil and gas companies that long-opposed higher gasoline taxes have warmed to one this time as an alternative to what they fear could be higher carbon taxes tied to their refinery operations.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/16/2010 00:00 ||
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Absolute insanity! Graham must GO!
They've obviously been pissing away the 18.4 cents they're getting NOW! Why must they insist on more?
#2
It doesn't make a significant difference whether one applies a gas tax at the pump, an 'excess profits' tax, or 'crap and trade' taxes; in all three cases the consumer ends up paying and the effect on global warming is vanishingly small (at most.) The differences between plans are in the ability of the politicians to blame the evil oil companies for the increased price and to engage in corrupt deals.
#4
I wish I could assert that Lindsey Graham is the only national Republican capable of getting to the left of President Zero, but we have the counter-example of Sen. Bennett of Utah to put paid to that wishful theory.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
04/16/2010 14:21 Comments ||
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arrogant ass. I will take great pleasure in crippling his congressional majority this fall, and ejecting him and his wookie wife from the people's house in 2012
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/16/2010 18:10 Comments ||
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How about 'F you! Socialist tool!'. What an ass. What do you think the media would have done to Bush had he said something like this?
He doesn't realize that, for each Tea party attendee there are 50-100 who work for a living.
Here's hoping that November 11th is a hell of an awakening for him.
#6
I actually heard someone on the radio this morning say that if it wasn't for the "Ostructionist Repubclicans" that Obama would get a lot of things done. Jesus! How stupid can people be?
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
04/16/2010 20:34 Comments ||
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Obama & his lefty pals are such one trick ponies. All they have as a response to any criticism is mockery and provocation.
[Iran Press TV Latest] US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said that the Senate may pass legislation to "rein in" Wall Street in order to counter those "reckless" in the market.
"Never again should those who are reckless on Wall Street cause people to be jobless on Main Street, and this is going to be our fight as we go forward," the Democratic leader told reporters at her weekly press conference.
The House of Representatives approved its version of the bill last year, so Senate passage would trigger bicameral talks aimed at crafting a compromise measure, to be approved by both chambers before it could go to Obama for final approval.
A Democratic financial regulatory reform bill has already passed out of the Senate Banking Committee by Democrats without Republican support in a 13 to 10 vote, paving the way for a full Senate debate.
The legislation would introduce numerous Wall Street reforms, creating a potentially powerful consumer financial protection agency, placing checks on executive bonuses and curbing risky investments.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/16/2010 00:00 ||
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How delusional is she?
The government decided that there should be no limit to the amount of credit in it's currency area (turning it into a commons).
The government loved all the tax this generated.
Bad money crowds out good, so as you bump up the supply of credit, those who invest HAVE to choose riskier and riskier uses.
The problem is simple. There's FAR too much credit swimming around the economy, and it's the fault of politicians.
#2
I look at Queen Nancy and it seems no one is home. It's not Wall Street that regulates, passes laws, and establishes policy. Subprime loans and derivatives were the time bomb created by Congressional and the Federal bureaucratic policies. Who came up with the idea, that everyone should have a house with no job, no money down, and no means to pay?
#3
"Never again should those who are reckless on Wall Street cause people to be jobless on Main Street..."
That's Congresses job!
Posted by: Formerly Dan ||
04/16/2010 11:59 Comments ||
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Queen Nancy's doing her patriotic duty in building up the wrecked reputation of Wall Street by engaging in public persecution of that currently-hated institution. Only her intervention could possibly redeem the financial industry's bankrupt public relations.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
04/16/2010 14:15 Comments ||
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I'm sure the Donk's are going to return all the campaign contribution monies derived from the ill gotten gain.
The Tea Party is hosting a Tax Day rally on Thursday in Washington, but the Republicans leaders in the House and Senate are not invited.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (Ariz.), House Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio) and House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) were not asked to speak at the April 15 rally in front of the Washington Monument.
According to officials with Freedom Works, the organization coordinating the event, the leaders haven't redeemed themselves since backing the 2008 Wall Street bailout bill.
Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas), who chairs Freedom Works, told The Hill, "What [Tea Party activists] are saying to the officeholders and office-seekers is, 'Earn your spurs and you can get on our stage.' There's an old line: 'We don't call you a cowboy until we can see you ride.'
"How did McConnell and Boehner vote on [the Troubled Asset Relief Program]? TARP has been the acid test," Armey said.
Though the four Republican leaders won't partake in the Thursday festivities, a handful of their colleagues were invited to fire up a crowd of possibly thousands, including third-ranking House GOP Rep. Mike Pence (Ind.), who voted against the Wall Street rescue measure.
Pence, however, will not be able to attend because he is introducing former President George W. Bush at an event in Indianapolis.
Republicans Reps. Tom Price (Ga.), Michele Bachmann (Minn.), Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.), Steve King (Iowa) and Ron Paul (Texas) and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) are scheduled to address the crowd.
Price and Blackburn spoke at the Tea Party march on Washington last fall, an event organized by Armey's advocacy group as well as a coalition of fiscally conservative issues groups and Tea Party Patriots.
Even though no Democratic lawmakers are scheduled to speak, organizers of Thursday's event contend it is nonpartisan.
Mike Gaske, one of the national coordinators for the Tea Party Patriots, said, "This is the people's event. This is not a Republican event. It is a time for the Tea Party movement to get up and represent what the Tea Party is all about."
A recent poll showed that four of every 10 Tea Party members are either Democrats (13 percent) or independents (28 percent).
Politicians who voted for TARP hoping to crash the Tea Party gathering should think twice, said Max Pappas of Freedom Works.
"The Bush Wall Street bailout was the tipping point, and things kept getting worse from there and we have seen Republicans booed off a stage who voted for the bailout and then suddenly talking about how fiscally responsible they wanted to be," Pappas said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/16/2010 00:00 ||
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McConnell is a mush, not much better than McCain or Graham - basic Beltway insiders. Part of the problem, and in the way of the solution.
They better get it into their pointed little heads _ the top of the GOP has failed, and we are just as likely to vote them out in a primary. Ask Bennett of Utah how that's working.
#2
a RINO is just as bad as a donk... at least with the donk, you know up front you are gonna get screwed.
Posted by: abu do you love ||
04/16/2010 1:25 Comments ||
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I like this...the Tea Party ought to be the mechanism by which that watch-dogs and scares politicians into staying true to fiscal conservatism and core Constitutional principles - the Tea Party should never become a wing of the GOP...I almost always vote GOP at the national level but am sick of so many of them being Dem-lite or feeling this pathetic need to be liked by the D.C. cocktail party circuit...
#4
'Earn your spurs and you can get on our stage.' There's an old line: 'We don't call you a cowboy until we can see you ride.'
There are good conservatives out there. The rest have failed the trust of the American people just as the Donks. Time to clean house [and Senate], and the White House in 2012. We need to get some honest people in office who don't consider office another form of long-term government welfare. Get rid of the elitists who think they are entitled. We don't need more of the same of what we've been getting for a long time.
#5
Good for the organizers. The tea party is about smaller government and less taxes. If the RINOs can't get that through their pointy heads, they should expect to be given the cold shoulder.
#6
Top down has failed. Time for grass roots to take over. What were those famous first three words. larger than all others, written with a pride that is palpable more than 2 centuries later...?
WE THE PEOPLE
Posted by: No I am the other Beldar ||
04/16/2010 12:25 Comments ||
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Oh hell yeah! There are problems within both parties. Rino's aren't really much better than liberal Democrats. The more of them kicked to the curb the better.
Posted by: Jefferson ||
04/16/2010 12:41 Comments ||
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Funny that the best, straightest reporting on this phenom is coming from TheHill.com, maybe also Politico.com. The reporters are drawn from the same milieu that NYT-WaPo-ABC-CNN etc are, but thehill.com and politico.com have a lot fewer editors looking over their backs.
IOW, the problem may be the editorial hierarchy and the need for reporters to kiss the arses of those in power to advance up the ranks at the old media organizations. Eliminate the hierarchy, give reporters more freedom, and shift to the online model of politico.com and thehill.com, and perhaps we'll see fairer, more insightful coverage....
#9
Hey -- John Boehner ("Bay'-ner") has been doing a good job leading Republican opposition in the House to all the Democratic efforts. Remember back when the Democrats actually turned off the lights in the House, and Rep. Boehner led the discussion by the Republicans in the dark, twittering events to the outside world?
(CNSNews.com) -- Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) said Tuesday that labor unions were the strongest force for "good government" in the United States.
Grayson was appearing on a live webcast with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka to promote a new website (www.paywatch.org) that publicizes executive pay for the nation's largest companies.
Both said they wanted to bring to light large corporate paychecks to rally support for financial regulatory reform bills being considered on Capitol Hill, where Grayson said he saw bank lobbyists working their influence on members of both parties to elicit favorable outcomes.
Explaining that he believed those activities were unethical, Grayson said, "And it's a shame, you know? I try to live my life as if somebody upstairs were watching over me all the time and could see everything that I'm doing. And I wonder how their constituents would feel knowing that they cater to these lobbyists the way that they do--both Democrats and Republicans."
Although he inferred that he tries to behave as if a higher being were keeping a close eye on him, Grayson is no stranger to intemperance.
Most recently, he burst in on a meeting of the Orange County Republican Party that they were conducting at a Perkins Family Restaurant.
The group reportedly admonished him for treating his constituents that way, and Tom Tillison of the Orlando Tea Party asked him, "Don't you feel that you at least owe them an explanation for your recent votes?"
Grayson reportedly responded, "I don't owe them anything. They're trying to defeat me."
The congressman also caught flak last September during debate on the original House version of the health care reform bill, when he accused Republicans of having no health care plan and wanting people to "die quickly."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/16/2010 00:00 ||
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Bought, and saying what he was paid to say. Definition of an honest politician?
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
04/16/2010 6:10 Comments ||
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Does Grayson have a serious mental disturbance? Is he fit to hold office?
#5
And thus we can transcribe another page of Grayson's Devil's Dictionary.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
04/16/2010 14:18 Comments ||
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Another representative of our idiotic, arrogant-with-zip-to-be-arrogant-about political class.
We really need an entirely new political class in this country. Something is deeply wrong with the nature of US politics that it attracts so many nuts and losers.
Democrats, including Rep. Betty McCollum, launched into an assault on incivility Tuesday, saying incendiary words from members of Congress were inflaming tensions that could provoke another incident of Oklahoma City-style domestic terrorism.
"When Members of Congress compare health-care legislation to 'government tyranny,' 'socialism,' or 'totalitarianism' -- in the hopes of scoring political points -- it's like pouring gas on the fire of extremism," McCollum said.
"When Members of Congress compare health-care legislation to 'government tyranny,' 'socialism,' or 'totalitarianism' -- in the hopes of scoring political points -- it's like pouring gas on the fire of extremism," McCollum said.
McCollum's St. Paul office was one of a few that received an envelope containing gasoline-soaked tatters of an American flag and a letter that called her things not fit for print in this or any publication. Several police departments, including St. Paul and the Capitol Police, are investigating.
"The members of this House -- Democrats and Republicans -- have a duty and an obligation to end the dangerous name-calling that can only inspire the extremist militias and phony patriots," McCollum said. "In the most free, prosperous and greatest democracy on earth it is time to return to a civil, decent debate of public policy."
"I don't want another 'Oklahoma City' to ever take place again," McCollum said. "Just as we would not give aid and comfort to al-Qaida, let us not allow the words of elected leaders give comfortable excuses to extremists bent on violence."
Oklahoma Republicans hit back, with Rep. Tom Cole saying in a statement that "the fact that a member of Congress would invoke this tragedy to make a cheap political statement is reprehensible. Members of both parties should show respect for the victims' families and refrain from using rhetoric that politicizes this tragic event."
Nowhere in that floor speech did she say the name Michele Bachmann, but it's pretty clear that the darling of the Tea Party right fits the bill as someone whose rhetoric McCollum would like to be toned down. Bachmann has said the recently passed health care bill amounts to socialism, that the tactics used to pass it amounted to tyranny. A quickie search didn't show an example of her calling it totalitarianism, though plenty of Republicans (like Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch) have.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/16/2010 00:00 ||
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No, Obama and the Pelosi leftist oligarchy in Congress are doing quite well at agitating people by steamrollering them and ignoring their voices.
#2
The truth is that the Dems are hoping very much for something like that which they can exploit to tar the center/right in a way to affect the elections in November.
Never waste a crisis, and all that. I wouldn't put it past them to have one of their own commit an act and pretend to be a conservative, just to get that result. It's what they do.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
04/16/2010 6:36 Comments ||
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"When Members of Congress compare health-care legislation to 'government tyranny,' 'socialism,' or 'totalitarianism' -- in the hopes of scoring political points -- it's like pouring gas on the fire of extremism," McCollum said.
They're not comparing, they're describing.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
04/16/2010 6:37 Comments ||
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BS from the left. Historically, if you look at the violence in the streets, it is Democrats who foster and incite it. The last election, there were drive-by shootings at Republican headquarters. The son on an elected official (Democrat) hacked into Sarah Palin's email. That is making its way through the courts. The Black Panthers intimidated voters at the polls in the last election. SEIU's and ACORN's head knockers roughed up people at the polls. Fictitious people were registered at the polls. We are still waiting for the results of a police investigation in Bobby Jindal's niece's beat up in New Orleans. It looks suspicious. Recently, Democratic Congressmen and women make assertions about the use of the 'N' and 'F' words at a Tea Party that were never proven or heard by anyone else. If you go back further to the "Days of Rage" in Chicago, Bill Ayers is probably familiar with that event. How about the various bombings and shooting of police by violent groups on the left? Betty, why don't you just stuff a sock in your mouth until something intelligent is ready to come if that is possible.
#5
The problem is complicity of mass media with the deceptions. Were there truly investigative reporting these abuses would come to light and generate the outrage which they should.
Posted by: No I am The Other Beldar ||
04/16/2010 11:53 Comments ||
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Timothy McVeigh was an Iraqi I vet. What McVeigh did was heinous. There is no justification for what he did. In his mind, however, he justified what he did because of Waco and Ruby Ridge. At Waco, Janet Reno, ordered a heavy handed approach to the Branch Davidians at Waco. From what I understand David Koresh, the leader of the Davidians could have been picked up on the road just about any day of the week while he was running. At Ruby Ridge, Randy Weaver, a green beret Viet Nam vet was a loner. He built a place on Ruby Ridge in Northern Idaho. Weaver was arrested for selling illegal firearms to an undercover agent. The ATF maintained that the weapons supplied by Weaver were illegally shortened when Faderley (an undercover ATF agent posing as a biker) received them, Weaver has claimed otherwise. One thing led to another and the Department of Justice (Janet Reno was Attorney General) surrounded Weaver's cabin. A shootout ensued whereby Randy Weaver, his friend Kevin Harris; Weaver's son Sammy was killed (shot in the back), Weaver's wife was shot in the head and killed while holding their baby, and Weaver's dog was shot. Weaver sued the Federal government and received a settlement of $3.1 million. Harris received $380,000.
So Congresswoman McCollum, why not tell the entire story about Timothy McVeigh while you are talking about inciting violence. The left owns more than its share of violence. McVeigh has been pretty much determined to be a loner--not a part of some vast right wing conspiracy. Can you think of a single modern day incident attributable to the Tea Party, Republicans or conservatives? Unless you can provide such answers you are just stirring up divisiveness.
#8
A part of what is happening is that those of us on the right aren't giving attention to a major source of influence, the MSM. Our fellow citizens, in a large way, don't get cable, don't read blogs, and don't see the same info that those of us on the right see and have come to accept as common knowledge.
This vacuum allows the MSM to write unfounded drivel like the building script that the public outrage is turning into a dangerous, racist, violent tide....utter crap but a building set of talking points.
In addition to continuing the tea party efforts to influence politicians, do we not need to consider a similar effort to confront, in educated, peaceful, but energetic ways, the propaganda machines thas the liberals/progressives/socialists use to mis inform the public? Not just demonstrations at political centers, but in front of the NYT and WaPo, with signs demanding they tell a balanced story? Yhey have always been on the offensive end of the poilitical dynamic, perhaps they will not do well on defense, and cannot avoid reporting demonstrations at their front door.
#10
Was it Mr. McVeigh or his partner in crime who was connected to the MILF (I think...) through a girlfriend, and actually visited the Philippines not long before their little attack?
In which Gizmodo takes B.O. to task for ditching the space program, in effect turning Americans into the incurious herd animals he thinks we should be.
My question is: if Kennedy's vision was to put a man on the moon in ten years working from the technological base that was then in place, why can't we do it in a year and at less cost using the technology we have now?
Posted by: Fred ||
04/16/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Fred,
The problem with NASA goes back to the late 60s and early 70s as they were winding down from Apollo. Their focus shifted from exploration and research to becoming a welfare program for the aerospace industry. They have to re-invent the wheel every time they want to do something, because otherwise nobody makes any money.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
04/16/2010 6:17 Comments ||
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#2
Extortion funded Manned Space Programs are a HUMUNGOUS misallocation of taxpayers money.
The only thing that putting a man on the moon proved was that Capitalism can afford a parasitic state more comfortably than Marxism.
#4
The CIA's payroll is hidden in NASA's budget in addition to all the cross technology used by the military and NSA. Obama isn't ditching the space program but gutting defense and looking like he's making tough fiscal cuts.
#6
The CIA's payroll is hidden in NASA's budget in addition to all the cross technology used by the military and NSA. Obama isn't ditching the space program but gutting defense and looking like he's making tough fiscal cuts.
You get the idea that was the intent; to gut defense.
The White House ripped CBS News on Thursday for publishing an online column by a blogger who made assertions about the sexual orientation of Solicitor General Elena Kagan, widely viewed as a leading candidate for the Supreme Court.
Ben Domenech, a former Bush administration aide and Republican Senate staffer, wrote that President Obama would "please" much of his base by picking the "first openly gay justice." An administration official, who asked not to be identified discussing personal matters, said Kagan is not a lesbian. I can remember a time, oh, 2005 or so, when a MSM organization outing a Supreme Court nominee would have won a Pulitzer prise ...
CBS initially refused to pull the posting, prompting Anita Dunn, a former White House communications director who is working with the administration on the high court vacancy, to say: "The fact that they've chosen to become enablers of people posting lies on their site tells us where the journalistic standards of CBS are in 2010." She said the network was giving a platform to a blogger "with a history of plagiarism" who was "applying old stereotypes to single women with successful careers."
The network deleted the posting Thursday night after Domenech said he was merely repeating a rumor. The flare-up underscores how quickly the battle over a Supreme Court nominee -- or even a potential nominee -- can turn searingly personal. Most major news organizations have policies against "outing" gays or reporting on the sex lives of public officials unless they are related to their public duties.
A White House spokesman, Ben LaBolt, said he complained to CBS because the column "made false charges." Domenech later added an update to the post: "I have to correct my text here to say that Kagan is apparently still closeted -- odd, because her female partner is rather well known in Harvard circles."
CBS executives at first defended the column, noting that it appeared in an opinion section that contains contributions from blogs and publications on the left and right.
Dan Farber, editor in chief of CBSNews.com, said that Domenech's column "just got through our filters" and that if his staff had seen "a controversial statement like that, we'd want to get more evidence of its accuracy" before publishing it. "But once it is out there," Farber said, "the better approach is just to address it head-on rather than trying to sweep it under the rug."
He changed his mind about yanking the column after receiving an e-mail from Domenech, which the blogger also sent to The Washington Post. Farber said in a statement that "after looking at the facts we determined that it was nothing but pure and irresponsible speculation on the blogger's part."
"I offer my sincere apologies to Ms. Kagan if she is offended at all by my repetition of a Harvard rumor in a speculative blog post," Domenech said. That's not an apology. It doesn't matter whether Ms. Kagan is offended, what matters is what Domenech wrote.
Actually, while in common usage, that formulation is an insult. What it means is, if you choose to actually be offended by what I am claiming is an innocently meant comment, you are very much in the wrong and stupid as well. Mr. Wife's formerly favourite niece used that one on me recently, and was so angered when I called her on it that she wrote out what she'd really meant. Mr. Wife disowned her.
CBS initially added that statement to an editor's note that also reported the White House denial.
In his e-mail, Domenech said that the naming of an openly gay justice would show "how far we've come as a society" and that this "will be an issue of political discussion, whether we like it or not."
Domenech is editor of a year-old Web site called the New Ledger, from which the CBS column was reprinted. He is also editor of the City, a religion-oriented publication of Houston Baptist University.
Rumors invariably raise a difficult journalistic choice: whether to report on them and give them credence, or withhold them and fail to acknowledge what insiders are discussing. Marc Ambinder, a blogger for the Atlantic, wrote Monday about what he called "a baffling whisper campaign" about Kagan "among both gay rights activists and social conservatives. . . .
"So pervasive are these rumors that two senior administration officials I spoke with this weekend acknowledged hearing about them and did not know whether they were true. . . . Why is she the subject of these rumors? Who's behind them?"
#2
I really don't care about her personal life. I care about her position on interpreting the Constitution; I fully expect she would be yet another liberal 'revisionist', and as such I would not want her on the Court. ANY Zero appointee would be similarly revisionist though. But if this one 'comes out of her closet' she would be uncriticizable, as a member of a victim group.
#3
Wouldn't shock me if the people behind the "whisper campaign" weren't advocates of a competing (and equally "liberal") potential nominee.
Posted by: Mike ||
04/16/2010 11:03 Comments ||
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#4
If she were a libertarian lesbian then all would be fine.
Posted by: No I am the other Beldar ||
04/16/2010 11:57 Comments ||
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#5
I also could care less about her sexual orientation, whatever it might be. Like Glenmore, I'd prefer her not to be on the court because of her judicial philosophy. But the odds are that Bambi isn't going to nominate a conservative or even middle of the road type legal scholar. Kagan is pretty smart and has shown herself to be a little flexible. If she's run out of town the next nominee might be pretty darned scary. Just saying.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/16/2010 13:43 Comments ||
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#6
I really don't care about her personal life. I care about her position on interpreting the Constitution
#8
hmmm - I thought this was the Lindsey Graham thread
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/16/2010 16:15 Comments ||
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#9
The big concern is that if she was homosexual, that the Democrats are trying to further Balkanize the SCOTUS, by declaring this in future to be the "homosexual" chair.
They obviously have an agenda item to make the SCOTUS a "liberal rainbow court", ignoring any constitutional purpose other than to advance leftism. This was first seen in justice Thurgood Marshal, who proved himself utterly incapable of the job.
#10
All I care about the SC nominee is that they narrowly interpret the constitution based on it's content rather than in light of international law, feelings, empathy, or the phase of the moon.
Will Obama choose someone like that? Not a snowball's chance in hell.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The Obama White House opposes a move in the Senate, led by South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham, to raise federal gasoline taxes within still-developing legislation to reduce green house gas emissions and boost alternative energy supplies, senior administration sources told Fox.
